Chapter 1615: Like the First Meeting
The Celestial Yin Realm.
The Nether Sovereign looked left and right, seeing Di Yiyue and the Celestial Yin Goddess blocking him in from both sides.
Even he couldn't help but feel a flicker of panic at this moment.
Now, without the Nether Sea, without the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, facing Di Yiyue—who had helped him perfect the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate and the path of reincarnation—he might not even be able to withstand her, let alone the Celestial Yin Goddess, who had returned from the dead!
The hatred these two women held for him was unimaginable!
The Nether Sovereign forced a faint smile. "Yiyue, I've missed you so much. Even though I killed you on the orders of the Heavenly Sovereign Hao, I didn't destroy your physical body. You should understand my feelings. My heart for you is true..."
*Boom!*
Di Yiyue and the Celestial Yin Goddess attacked from both sides simultaneously, both unleashing their most powerful divine abilities. Di Yiyue was the most ruthless; since her resurrection, her cultivation and strength had skyrocketed. She had cultivated the Imperial Throne technique to the level of the Lesser Celestial Court, forming ten celestial palaces into a Lesser Celestial Court.
She had originally been the one the Kai Emperor valued most, considered the person with the highest talent in the Yankang Era, a rare Dulin Spirit Body. On her wedding night, she was ambushed by the Nether Sovereign, losing over twenty thousand years of time.
But after being resurrected by Qin Mu, she absorbed the fruits of the Yankang reforms, and her cultivation and strength once again surged forward. After experiencing the war in the Taixu region, her current strength had long surpassed the Nether Sovereign's.
The Celestial Yin Goddess, on the other hand, was the weakest among the Dao-born ancient gods and one of the earliest to die. Ironically, this allowed her to break free from the shackles of being an ancient god.
To deal with her, the Nether Sovereign first gained her trust, then set a trap to ambush and severely wound her. He then let the starving ghosts of the Celestial Yin Realm devour all her flesh, blood, and soul, leaving only a layer of skin!
In the end, the starving ghosts possessed the Celestial Yin Goddess's skin, while the Nether Sovereign obtained what he wanted: the Celestial Yin Realm, the Celestial Yin runes, and the Nether Sea refined from the soul black sand of the Celestial Yin Realm.
It was by killing the Celestial Yin Goddess that the Nether Sovereign earned his title as the Nether Capital Black Emperor.
After Qin Mu reshaped her soul and resurrected her, the Celestial Yin Goddess broke free from the constraints of being an ancient god. She was no longer an ancient god and could instead cultivate and comprehend other Dao techniques.
Over the years, her strength had long surpassed what it was before!
The two women attacked together, unleashing their deadliest moves. Seeing this, the Nether Sovereign's heart turned ruthless: "Back then, I killed them and felt guilty, so I always avoided them out of shame. To achieve great things, one cannot afford to be soft-hearted! I am now the Nether Heavenly Sovereign. Which Heavenly Sovereign doesn't have blood on their hands?"
He pushed his divine power to its limit, manifesting five celestial palaces behind his head. In the past, he could only activate four celestial palaces and needed the help of the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate to forge eight. But during the Yankang reforms over the years, he had also benefited, finally cultivating a fifth celestial palace.
If he still had the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, he could unleash the Lesser Celestial Court technique of nine celestial palaces and stand a chance in battle.
But now, the Heavenly Gate was destroyed. The moment the Nether Sovereign's divine abilities clashed with the two women's, his Dao techniques and divine powers crumbled.
The Nether Sovereign spat blood and flew backward. Suddenly, a ribbon flew over, wrapped around his neck, and yanked him back.
"Since you're so ruthless, don't blame me for being heartless!"
A fierce light blazed in the Nether Sovereign's eyes as he activated his reincarnation divine ability, thinking to himself, "If it comes to it, we'll all perish together! I'll drag you both into reincarnation and make you sink forever!"
He had confidence in this.
Even though the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate was destroyed, his Great Dao of Reincarnation remained. This path, surpassing the Nether Capital's Great Dao, was his greatest asset.
His current cultivation and strength were inferior to Di Yiyue's and the Celestial Yin Goddess's, but using this divine ability to pull the two women into reincarnation, wash away their memories, and reduce them to mortals was not difficult.
They were getting closer and closer.
He knew he only had one chance to strike, because Di Yiyue and the Celestial Yin Goddess far surpassed him in strength. Only when they struck him would he have the opportunity to hit them.
Thus, this was a move of mutual destruction!
Di Yiyue held her sword, standing on another Reincarnation Heavenly Gate, her red robes fluttering in the wind.
The Nether Sovereign saw her flowing red garments—the bridal attire he had draped over Di Yiyue himself. Unconsciously, he recalled the days he had spent with her.
Perhaps those were the happiest times he had known since assassinating the Imperial Heavenly Sovereign.
Ever since he and the Heavenly Sovereign Hao killed the Imperial Heavenly Sovereign, he had been plagued by nightmares, trapped in the guilt of that murder. The Imperial Heavenly Sovereign was a hero in his eyes, his elder brother, someone he looked up to.
But under the Heavenly Sovereign Hao's coercion, and to save his own life, he had no choice but to join forces with the Heavenly Sovereign Hao to assassinate the Imperial Heavenly Sovereign in the Manhui Corridor Pavilion at the Jade Pool.
After the Imperial Heavenly Sovereign's death, he kept staring at his own hands, always feeling that they were stained with blood that could never be washed clean.
After killing the Imperial Heavenly Sovereign, he had no choice but to board the Heavenly Sovereign Hao's chariot, becoming his lackey. He had to learn to be more cunning, more treacherous, just to survive the brutal Longhan Era and live on as the Nether Capital Black Emperor.
The Four Color Emperors had changed countless times, but he alone stood like an evergreen tree, never falling.
Yet he was always trembling with fear, always unable to feel true joy—until he met Di Yiyue.
Those were happy times. He let go of all his burdens and defenses, falling in love with Di Yiyue. He was sincere.
But when the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns told him to strike at the Kai Emperor's Celestial Court and eliminate Di Yiyue on their wedding day, he hesitated and struggled.
He once fantasized about rebelling against the Celestial Court, running away with Di Yiyue, living in obscurity with this woman, spending a plain and ordinary life together.
He even thought about defecting to the Kai Emperor's Celestial Court, marrying Di Yiyue, and fighting a spectacular battle against the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns on the battlefield, dying a heroic death. Perhaps that could wash away his past sins and earn him a good name after death!
But in the end, he was a coward.
He didn't dare to oppose the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns. He didn't want to lose the status he had earned through betrayal, flattery, and selling himself out. So on their wedding night, as Di Yiyue shyly turned her back to him, he trembled as he raised his sword and plunged it into his bride's back.
He looked at Di Yiyue, dressed in her phoenix coronet and red bridal robes. They were very close now. The Nether Capital Heavenly Gate beneath Di Yiyue's feet erupted with power, suppressing his cultivation and divine power, while the sword in her hand was about to pierce his chest.
At this moment, if he activated his reincarnation divine ability, Di Yiyue would have no way to dodge!
The Nether Sovereign raised his hand, a smile spreading across his face—the same smile that had charmed countless girls.
*Chi!*
Di Yiyue's sword light pierced through his heart. The sword rain shot out from his back, sweeping through the celestial court behind his head, shattering celestial palaces one by one, collapsing halls, and destroying the foundation of his Dao techniques and divine powers.
The Nether Sovereign's hand also touched Di Yiyue's cheek. He stood on the Heavenly Gate, facing her, just like when they first met. Back then, he saw this beautiful divine race girl, so heroic and spirited, and he felt the urge to flirt with her.
At that time, he reached out to touch her face, and she stabbed at his heart with her sword.
Back then, his other hand caught her blade. This time, he didn't.
The smile on his face was the same as before, as if trying to awaken Di Yiyue's memories. But the Celestial Yin Goddess's hand had already reached his back. The strike was so fierce that it directly shattered his primordial spirit, smashing his soul into soul black sand!
At the same time, Di Yiyue's sword light completely dismantled his five celestial palaces. The violent divine power spiraled out of control—the celestial palaces and court were borrowed power, borrowed from the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Land. So when they collapsed, this power ran wild!
The Nether Sovereign spat blood, forcibly trapping his soul black sand within his body. He opened his mouth, wanting to say the same words he had said when they first met, as charming and suave as before.
But when the words reached his lips, they turned into what he most wanted to say: "Forgive me. Back then, I didn't dare to resist. I have always loved you."
Blood surged into his throat, making his words indistinct.
The Nether Sovereign struggled to control his body, trying to appear as composed and charming as before, to maintain his final image in front of the woman he had loved. But his words were drowned out by the rising blood, reduced to meaningless sounds.
*Boom!*
His physical body exploded, turning into a mist of blood. Countless soul black sand surged like a tide, scattering in all directions.
"How is it?"
The Celestial Yin Goddess quickly landed on the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, waving her hand to dispel the blood mist and black sand. She frantically patted Di Yiyue up and down, asking urgently, "The Nether Sovereign hit you in the end. Are you hurt? That bastard is so insidious; his divine abilities and Dao techniques are impossible to guard against! Are you hurt?"
Di Yiyue's gaze was dazed. The Celestial Yin Goddess kept waving her hand in front of her face before she snapped back to reality, murmuring, "His final strike had no power at all, and it concealed no divine ability... In that last moment, I felt he had no killing intent toward me anymore..."
The Celestial Yin Goddess breathed a sigh of relief, pulling her close to examine her, even checking her soul. Only after confirming that Di Yiyue hadn't fallen victim to the Nether Sovereign's schemes did she fully relax, saying, "The Nether Sovereign is so wicked. That man must be made of pure malice; he never did a single good deed in his life! I think you should still let the Mu Heavenly Sovereign examine you, just in case there's some divine ability I can't detect. By the way, what did he say to you just now?"
Di Yiyue shook her head. "I didn't hear clearly."
A wave of melancholy washed over her. The man she had once loved most, and later hated most, had finally died by her hand.
At this moment, she felt no joy at having avenged herself. Instead, a deep sadness welled up in her heart.
She looked down at the Nether Sovereign's blood staining the Reincarnation Heavenly Gate they had built together. The Heavenly Gate emitted a faint light, erasing any possibility of his resurrection.
Perhaps she understood his techniques and divine abilities better than he did. That was why Qin Mu had secretly sent someone to inform her, giving her the chance to exact her revenge.
But now, as she recalled the moments she had shared with the Nether Sovereign, that melancholy only grew stronger.
Those were the happiest days of her life.
She had once thought she loved the Kai Emperor, until she met the Nether Sovereign. She was drawn to this man, believing they could support each other, believing they could resolve the conflict between the Celestial Court and the Kai Emperor Era.
But reality proved that their love meant nothing in the face of power, desire, and the unstoppable tide of the world.
Her dream had turned to bubbles. Love had become a cold ice coffin, turned into hatred, turned into blades aimed at each other.
She had avenged herself, yet tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
"I have completely forgotten that man."
She said to the Celestial Yin Goddess, "The Kai Emperor is gone, and Carefree Realm has lost its backbone. The war between the Celestial Court and Yankang probably won't drag on much longer. I will not disappoint the Kai Emperor's expectations. I will not repeat the mistakes of the past. As the First Heavenly King, I will lead Carefree Realm in the final battle against the Celestial Court!"
The Celestial Yin Goddess said joyfully, "Congratulations on avenging your great hatred. I feel relieved too."
Di Yiyue nodded, but there was no smile on her face. She looked at the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, and the scene of her first meeting with the Nether Sovereign surfaced before her eyes again.
She shook her head, cutting off her thoughts, and left the Celestial Yin Realm.