Chapter 478 - Empress Cang Yue (1/2)
The ice flames left Yun Che’s palm and latched onto the surface of the stone door. There was no roar of power, nor was there any eruption of Phoenix flames or Frozen End energy; in fact there was not even the slightest bit of sound or light that normally came with the release of power. The ice flames simply slowly extinguished themselves and disappeared, without making a single sound.
However, fist-sized depressions had appeared on the parts of the stone door where the ice flames had landed!
These depressions curved inwardly to form perfectly shaped hemispheres. The surface of these depressions were extremely smooth, comparable to a perfectly crafted mirror; it was as if this surface had been polished using the world's most exquisite craftsmanship.
After observing these depressions closely, Yun Che’s face was filled with joy and surprise. Before, when he had activated Purgatory and used his strongest attack, even after breaking Dragon Fault in the process, he had only been able to cause a crack the size of his pinky nail. It had barely given him the slimmest glimmer of hope that he could one day escape from this place. However, because of the miracle caused by the ice flames, he could clearly envision the day he would walk out of this place!
“Very good!”, Yun Che said excitedly as he clenched both his fists, “If this is the case, I might only need to repeat this process several hundred times until I can create a big enough gap for me to escape!”
Once again, Yun Che spread out both his eyes, ignited his Phoenix flames, and concentrated his Frozen End. But this time, before he could even begin to combine the two, his mind swam, and a deep sense of fatigue seemed to have come forth from his profound veins. The reaction of both his mind and profound strength caused him to hesitate for a moment. He released both the Phoenix flames and the Frozen End energy and began to meditate, focusing fully on recovering both his profound energy and mental strength.
After a while, Yun Che’s profound energy and mental strength had recovered to around their peak condition, and he once again began to fuse together the ice flames. This time, the fusion took slightly less time than it had before. Once again, he smashed the ice flames against the stone door in the exact same spots which he attacked before. After the ice flame had once again done its silent and deadly work, the width and the depth of those fist-sized depressions had noticeably increased, but the surface was still as smooth as a mirror, with no hint of roughness.
Yun Che’s only goal right now was to escape this place where he had been trapped for the last eighteen months. So the rest of his time was spent on two activities; the first was the fusion of ice flame, the second was the recovery of his profound energy and mental strength. Every day was spent repeating this process over and over again… Unknowingly, the time he took to fuse the ice flames became faster and faster. Initially, he could only fuse it twice a day. However, this rose to thrice a day, then four times a day… After five months had passed, when Yun Che was in peak condition, he could even forcibly fuse the ice flames up to five times a day!
Compared to how it was initially, the time required to fuse the ice flames and the profound and mental energy it consumed had all been reduced by several times.
Moreover, after undergoing this process, both his profound and mental strength had been greatly tempered...
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Profound Sky Continent, Blue Wind Nation.
Presently, two years had already passed since the news of Yun Che’s death in the Primordial Profound Ark. While Yun Che was undergoing a life-and-death struggle in the Primordial Profound Ark, Blue Wind Nation had long ago descended into chaos and become a land beset by war.
Blue Wind Nation’s capital, Blue Wind Imperial City.
“Your Majesty, it is a disaster. New Moon City has been completely occupied and both Governor Murong and General Zhen Huai have fallen in battle. Some disciples from the New Moon Profound Palace tried to organize further resistance… But they have all been killed in battle as well… Presently, New Moon City, Bluefire Region, Solid Earth Territory… Have all been lost to us……”
The bearing of bad tidings caused the expressions of everyone present to change agitatedly. Blue Wind Palace Chief Dongfang Xiu said in a shocked voice, “How can it be this fast? Didn’t New Moon City have four hundred thousand troops garrisoned there?!”
“Reporting to Palace Chief Dongfang, yesterday the Divine Phoenix Empire’s siege unit was bolstered by the sudden addition of four experts from the Divine Phoenix Sect. They were reportedly all Tyrant Profound level experts… Over half of our four hundred thousand troops were killed under the might of their Phoenix flames… Half of New Moon City has also been burned into cinders!” The heavily wounded soldier shouted as he began to sob loudly.
Four Overlords…
All of those present were amongst the highest echelons of power within Blue Wind Nation, but once they heard such news, sweat broke out all over their bodies as their faces blanched and their hearts began to birth a feeling of utter despair. All of their gazes began to concentrate on Cang Yue.
Cang Yue was dressed in a set of gold clothing, wearing a purple gold crown on her head. She stood on the tower of the city gate, gazing towards the south; it seemed as if she could see the faraway flames of battle. Her expression still retained its majesty, and her beautiful eyes were filled with calm, as if the loss of New Moon City had not affected her in the least.
She was no longer that gentle and delicate Princess Cang Yue, whose whole existence revolved around Yun Che. She was now the empress of Blue Wind Nation, held the ultimate authority within her country, and was responsible for leading her people in these dark and troubled times.
She turned around, as her Phoenix-like eyes surveyed the people around her, and spoke in a voice as calm as water, “Everyone, now that New Moon has been lost, does anyone have anything to say?”
All the officials gathered looked at each other, but no one stood forth to speak. Divine Phoenix Empire was just too strong. Compared to Blue Wind Nation, the disparity between the power of both of these nations could be said to be akin to heaven and earth. Engaging in war with the Divine Phoenix Empire could not be termed as a battle, it was instead a one-sided massacre and suppression. The Divine Phoenix Empire invasion had not even lasted for two years, yet Blue Wind Nation had lost more than half of its territories, and even more importantly, the five most important major cities had been lost as well. In fact, it was likely they would soon come knocking on the doors of the Blue Wind Imperial City itself… Without even considering the present Blue Wind Nation, even if it was a Blue Wind Nation which was stronger by ten times, it still would not be enough to withstand this assault.
In the face of absolute power, all schemes and fighting spirit were nothing but fleeting shadows.
Under this death-like oppressive silence, one person couldn’t tolerate it any longer and stood up, shouting: “Royal sister! This battle is unwinnable and any further resistance, besides increasing the number of casualties, is utterly meaningless! Divine Phoenix Empire’s army is already pressing upon on our gates, and will reach Blue Wind Imperial City in no time at all. To surrender now and end this war is the most correct decision!”
The one who spoke was precisely Second Prince Cang Ye… No, following Cang Yue’s coronation as Empress, he had already been elevated to that of Grand Prince, no longer remaining a princeling. After those words left his mouth, the faces of several of the generals present darkened with fury… However, these generals were strictly in the minority. The eyes of the large majority present flickered, because what Cang Ye had said was what was buried in the heart for the longest time; it was just that they did not dare to voice it out.
“How presumptuous of you!” Cang Yue shouted in rage, “Our nation is imperiled, New Moon City has fallen, but instead of thinking of your country and hating the Divine Phoenix Empire, you dare to say such shameful things in front of everyone! You have utterly disappointed this empress!”
Cang Ye saw the reactions of the people surrounding him, clenched his teeth, and harshly cried, “Royal Sister! In regards to the strength of Divine Phoenix Empire, and the continued existence of our Blue Wind Nation, we are all well aware of the impending outcome! All of this so-called resistance is simply meaningless! If we surrender and take the initiative to welcome the Divine Phoenix Army, the war will end immediately. Our Blue Wind Nation will be absorbed under the banner of the Divine Phoenix Empire and not only will we be allowed to live, we will even be granted significant status as nobles….”
“Silence!” Empress Cang Yue’s beautiful brows arched and she yelled in fury, “Cang Ye! As a grand prince of the imperial family, how can you utter such outrageous and shameless words? Have you forgotten the atrocities Divine Phoenix Empire has inflicted on our nation? Have you forgotten how many of our citizens died to defend our country? Have you forgotten how our royal father died… In the face of this national grievance and in front of the bones of countless heroes, you dare to show such cowardly behavior and would choose to be a defeated dog…”
Cang Yue’s chest violently heaved, her extreme disappointment and anger clear for all to see, “Because this was your first offence, this empress will, for the time being, forget what you have just said. However, if you dare say anything to besmirch the dignity of our Imperial family again, this empress will definitely not spare you!”
Being fiercely reprimanded by Cang Yue in front of all the high officials caused Cang Ye’s face to darken. He once more clenched his teeth and shouted in a discontented voice, “Royal Sister! I am not cowardly or afraid of death! It is for our Blue Wind Imperial Family, for the lives of all of those present, and even for our entire Blue Wind Nation that I say these things! Divine Phoenix Empire is everywhere, all the large sects have surrendered, and even Xiao Sect took the initiative to welcome them and express their loyalty… We can only continue on if we survive, and to be able to tolerate momentary shame is the hallmark of a real man… Moreover, royal sister, now that you are the empress of Blue Wind, if you take the initiative to surrender, the Divine Phoenix Empire may even let you continue on as the Blue Wind Nation’s ruler. If you do not do this, there is only a dead end awaiting you. The two fates are as different as heaven and earth… Royal sister, please come to your senses!”
“Bastard!” Empress Cang Yue roared in a low voice, her majestic gaze turning cold enough to pierce bone, “Men! Drag Cang Ye out below this tower and behead him for all to see!”
Once the words had come out of Cang Yue’s mouth, all the people present were thrown into a state of shock. Immediately, more than ten senior officials hurriedly stood up, but before they could utter a single word, they were cut off by Cang Yue’s icy voice, “Whoever dares to plead for his sake, will be implicated as well!”