Fen Juechen regained consciousness with a violent start, as if he had been torn from one nightmare only to be thrown into an even worse one.
The cold mountain air sliced through his lungs. He was lying on his back on uneven stone, the gray sky spinning above him. This place…?
He recognized it immediately—it was a mountain he used to train on during his time in the Floating Cloud City. Which meant… he had returned to the Profound Sky Continent? What was going on…?
"…What… happened?"
Confusion hit him like an icy wave. The last thing he remembered was… Yun Che. The hatred. The revenge—he was finally going to kill him. He had been in the Illusory Demon Realm, waiting for his master's orders to fulfill that desire… and then… darkness.
He blinked several times, trying to piece the fragments together. His heart raced. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
It was then that the voice echoed inside his mind—deep, ancient, laced with cold satisfaction.
"Congratulations, my disciple. You have finally taken your revenge."
Fen Juechen froze.
"Master…?"
He instinctively looked forward.
And there he was.
Yun Che—or what remained of him—lay a few meters away, face-down on the cold stone. The body was mutilated beyond recognition: arms gone, legs crushed into bloody pulp, the bare torso covered in deep purple and black bruises, dried blood pooling around him. His face was deathly pale, eyes closed, breathing shallow and irregular. He looked on the verge of death, yet still alive. Still suffering…
Fen Juechen's stomach churned.
"I… I did this?"
The master's voice came again, patient, almost paternal.
"In truth, one of that trash's allies sensed your killing intent and your profound strength and decided to interfere. I had to take control of your body for a moment to protect you, and I seized the opportunity to leave that trash in this state. He tried to escape with the help of that ally when the two realized they were no match for me… But then another ally arrived to assist him. That greatly complicated matters, since your body is incapable of withstanding my full power… In short, I had to teleport you away from there to the Profound Sky Continent. Fortunately, I was able to bring that trash along as well… The rest I leave to you."
Fen Juechen blinked slowly.
Then, as if a dam had burst inside him, tears began to fall. He dropped to his knees before Yun Che's broken body, shoulders trembling. Thick tears streamed down his face, dripping onto the stone.
"Master…" His voice came out hoarse, broken, carrying an emotion he rarely allowed himself to feel: "Thank you…"
He bowed until his forehead touched the cold ground, trembling hands gripping the stone until his knuckles turned white.
"Thank you… for giving me this chance… for letting me finish this… I… I will never forget what you have done for me…"
The tears continued to fall, mingling with Yun Che's dried blood.
"Master… I will end him. Now. Once and for all."
He raised his face; his bloodshot eyes burned with fanatical determination.
"He will suffer… more than I ever suffered. More than anyone has ever suffered."
Fen Juechen slowly stood up and approached the prone body.
Yun Che did not move.
Fen Juechen stopped a few steps away from Yun Che's broken form.
His bloodshot red eyes fixed on the mutilated figure.
He tilted his head, as though appraising an unfinished work of art.
"I thought of many ways to kill you, Yun Che…" His voice came out low, hoarse, almost a venomous whisper. "I thought of burning you alive with flames until your skin melted layer by layer. I thought of stripping away your profound strength drop by drop, leaving you as empty as a dried husk. I thought of hanging you by your tendons on the walls of the Blue Wind Imperial Palace so everyone could watch the great 'hero' slowly fall apart."
He took a step forward. The sound of boots crushing cold stone echoed in the mountain silence.
"But none of that… none of that would be enough."
Fen Juechen slowly crouched beside the body. His trembling fingers touched Yun Che's face…
"You took everything from me. My family. My dignity. My name. My life. You turned me into the monster I am now… and still had the audacity to live as though you were a hero."
He laughed—a dry, broken sound filled with pure hatred.
"Words are not enough. Pain is not enough. Humiliation is not enough." His eyes blazed with a madness even the master inside him had not expected to see so raw: "Only one thing can truly satisfy me. That is to eat your flesh and drink your blood. Only then can the pain in my heart be quenched…"
Without another word, he opened his mouth—ordinary human teeth, yet the intent was beastly.
And he bit down.
His teeth sank into Yun Che's chest, just above the heart. The sound was wet, grotesque—flesh tearing, bone cracking. Hot blood gushed into his mouth. Yun Che's eyes snapped open; a hoarse, feeble scream escaped his ruined throat.
Fen Juechen did not stop.
He tore deeper, ripping chunks of flesh with his teeth, chewing slowly, deliberately. Blood ran down his chin, dripping onto the stone. He swallowed each piece as though drinking his own revenge. When he reached the heart—still feebly beating—he thrust his hand into the open hole in the chest, fingers closing around the warm, pulsing organ.
With a brutal yank, he tore out the heart.
He brought it to his mouth.
He bit.
Blood trickled from the corners of his lips as he chewed, eyes closed in sick ecstasy. Each bite was slow, savored. Each swallow of blood was a hymn of hatred finally sated.
When he finished, the heart was gone.
He stepped back from the corpse, face and hands drenched in vivid red. Yun Che's body lay open, the gaping hole in his chest exposed, lifeless eyes staring blankly at the gray sky.
Fen Juechen stood, breathing heavily.
Tears still streamed down his face, but now they were tears of relief.
"It's over…" he murmured, voice hoarse: "It's really over."
He looked up at the sky.
"Master… I did it."
Silence in his mind.
Then the deep voice answered, low and satisfied.
"Yes, my disciple. You did."
Fen Juechen fell to his knees again—this time not from pain, but from absolute emotional exhaustion.
"Thank you… for everything."
He closed his eyes.
And for the first time in years, he felt something close to peace.
The cold mountain wind blew, carrying the metallic scent of blood away.
Yun Che was dead.
And he, at last, was free…
.
.
.
.
.
On the other hand, Ren Zu almost felt a trace of pity—and even a faint lament—upon seeing Fen Juechen truly believe he had finally fulfilled his "revenge." For a brief instant, he almost felt tempted to hand over the real Yun Che so that this vengeance could actually be carried out…
Even he had not imagined that Fen Juechen's hatred ran so deep that he would want to eat Yun Che's flesh and drink his blood. What kind of pain did a person need to carry in their heart to reach such an extreme? He could not quantify it, but he knew it had to be something unbearable. And yet… there had been people in his previous life who actually liked that trash… Well. Perhaps they were the same type of people who idolize criminals just because they're attractive. He remembered a few such cases from his past life, anyway…
The entire situation had, obviously, been orchestrated by him.
After retrieving Xia Qingyue along with Feng Xue'er, he quickly teleported with both of them to the Illusory Demon Realm. There, he perfectly played his role upon finding his unconscious adoptive parents, immediately showing deep concern.
Without wasting time, he asked the two girls to look after them while he resolved the situation. With convincingly urgent tones, he explained that the Divine Burial Mist had been used to render everyone unconscious and that whoever deployed it most likely possessed the antidote.
Thus, he hurriedly departed—seemingly in desperate haste… all to "find" the cure.
He then staged a flawless performance, and the audience included a planet-destroying loli: a portable Divine Master.
Nothing could be allowed to fail.
To ensure that, he manipulated Fen Juechen flawlessly and, using his original body, staged the entire confrontation. He even released a carefully measured fraction of his killing intent to make everything more convincing. After nearly "killing" him, he found the antidote to the Divine Burial Mist inside his spatial ring and used it. Then he casually shattered the barrier isolating the Illusory Demon Imperial City.
Right afterward, he subtly activated his cultivation method, drawing in and refining all the Divine Legacies that Yun Che had lost, along with the Heavenly Profound Treasures.
Including, of course… Hong'er.
For that, he had to break the previous contract and forge a new bond with himself as master. Fortunately, the process also completely erased her memories related to Yun Che and Jasmine. When Hong'er awoke, it would be as though she had never known either of them… as though she had been inside the Primordial Profound Ark from the very beginning.
…But that was not entirely his fault. The situation was a direct result of the "contract breach." He didn't know exactly what mechanism had been triggered, and very likely no one knew that particular side effect even existed. After all, that bond should never have been… breakable. It only became possible because of his extremely domineering cultivation method. And at that moment, he was beginning to believe that—even if that had been the only thing he gained at the start of his journey—he could still become the strongest existence in that world with relative ease.
It's worth noting that he also managed to obtain the Primordial Profound Ark. Though it was nearly useless to someone who already possessed complete mastery of Spatial Laws, it could still prove useful at some point.
After absorbing all the Divine Legacies through his cultivation method—as well as the Heavenly Profound Treasures—making them his eternal and absolute master, he precisely calculated the perfect moment to "fall" unconscious.
It was exactly when the Little Demon Empress advanced toward him.
At that instant, he deliberately severed his own senses, focusing entirely on refining his gains… and, behind the scenes, completing the entire performance involving Fen Juechen. He had complete trust in his wife to protect him. Moreover, he still had his own portable Divine Master who had bonded with him the same way she had with Yun Che and the Queen—as extra layers of security.
There was no reason to worry.
For a moment, an almost amused thought crossed his mind:
Should he perhaps release a manual titled "How to Completely Deceive a Portable Divine Master"?
To him, everything had been… far too easy.
Of course, this was a special case. He possessed every single element needed to execute that plan to perfection: flawless acting, an enemy consumed by hatred toward Yun Che to manipulate and guide onto the right path, extraordinarily powerful methods… and an intellect more terrifying than anything under the heavens.
Thanks to the extraordinary reputation he had built in the Illusory Demon Realm—combined with the entire performance—to the eyes of everyone, the story was simple: he was the hero who defeated the enemy that had attacked them all… and who even saved his own "brother"… Or would it be "sister"?
As for Yun Che's supposed recovery, the truth was quite different. It was simply impossible to restore lost arm and leg function in that condition—not after the precise and deliberate damage he himself had ensured. What he returned was only the appearance.
In practice, Yun Che would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
And that wasn't even the cruelest part.
To ensure there would be no miraculous comeback…
While using his profound art to "heal" Yun Che, he secretly activated his cultivation method—a technique capable of subduing and refining all things between heaven and earth—this time combined with the Primordial Chaos contained within his unique physique…
That physique, the "Immortal Jade Dragon Physique," had been forged using the "World-Prime Liquid" as a catalyst. Since then, the "Primordial Chaos" within him had become far more evident—though that detail was not the most important at the moment. Even in diluted form, the World-Prime Liquid came from an immeasurably more powerful universe than the current one and shared the same origin as the Ancestral Goddess.
In other words, his current existence shared the same origin as the creator of that universe, and thus he was capable of assimilating powers derived from her. Using that foundation as a magnet, he executed the decisive step, employing his cultivation method to refine…
That was how he managed to attract… and subdue… the very thing he truly desired.
The "Ancestral Sacred Body," also known as the "Ancestral God's Body of Nothingness."
A unique bodily constitution born from the Law of Nothingness.
Something that, in the original story, belonged exclusively to the Ancestral God… and to Yun Che.
It was that constitution that allowed Yun Che to accommodate multiple Divine Legacies without conflict—when originally, the natural limit for any cultivator was only three.
Now…
That privilege was no longer his.
He himself had received that "unique physique" and it had fused with him as well.
Speaking of which, it took no more than a few minutes to refine the Evil God's Immortal Blood. Under normal circumstances, that should have completely destroyed and rebuilt his Profound Veins—but thanks to his cultivation method, the process took a far more… controlled path.
Instead of being forcibly remodeled, he simply assimilated the legacy.
As a result, his Profound Veins now directly carried the powers of the Evil God.
Even so, he deliberately restrained his own level advancement, since he had absorbed two Evil God Seeds simultaneously.
As for the Divine Phoenix blood, it was the easiest to refine. He already possessed that bloodline; all that occurred was a slight increase in its purity. The Soul Origin and its associated gift were even simpler to integrate.
The soul and bone marrow of the Dragon God… that process was somewhat painful. The bloodline, on the other hand, was assimilated with far greater ease.
Thanks to the Heavenly Tyrant Manual, his marrow was already extraordinarily pure. Thus, the moment it fused with the Dragon God's marrow, something even more astonishing happened: it began naturally producing the Primordial Azure Dragon bloodline within his body.
The concentration of his draconic bloodline skyrocketed dramatically, continuously increasing with no sign of slowing down.
His physical body grew visibly stronger… becoming more and more terrifying.
It took him three hours to assimilate everything.
By the end of the process, the concentration of the Dragon God bloodline had finally reached the same level as the Vermilion Bird, Golden Crow, and Divine Phoenix bloodlines within his body. In terms of purity and concentration of divine bloodlines, it could be said that he now occupied an unprecedented position throughout the entire Primordial Chaos. Perhaps… the first to ever reach such an absurd level.
Five hours later, he had completely refined every legacy he had stolen from Yun Che, and his strength had increased several times over what it had been before.
Meanwhile, controlling Fen Juechen's body—which had already been teleported to the Profound Sky Continent—he took the next step of the plan. Using the severed arm of Yun Che that he had deliberately kept stored in his spatial ring for exactly this purpose, he recreated a perfect replica of the original. Now it became clear why he had made Fen Juechen recover the limb earlier… and why he had taken such care to preserve those arms.
Everything had been preparation.
When he finished the final arrangements, he simply allowed his disciple to carry out the carefully fabricated revenge of his own.
Now, only one stage remained.
Reaching an agreement with Jasmine… and tying up a few loose ends.
Then, yes.
Everything would be perfect.
Well, it was time to wake up and put on another performance for a while…
________________________
(A/N: I have a proposal for you, everyone! 🎯
The first goal has been successfully reached: 300 Power Stones have already been collected! Congratulations to everyone who participated — thanks to you, here's the chapter I promised, I hope you enjoyed it!! 🎉
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