Chapter 1262: An Unsolvable Crisis
"Mo Li..."
Yun Che held the crying little girl tight in his arms. In all the years he had spent with Mo Li, sharing a body and having their souls meld together, feeling her existence at every single moment, he had never embraced her this tightly before.
Yun Che raised his head and closed his eyes, his heart filled with incomparable warmth and satisfaction. It was a feeling of finally restoring completeness to a life and soul that had been fractured and incomplete. Feeling the spread of tears on his chest, everything he had experienced and dedicated over the past three years was so worth it.
Cai Zhi's lips were wide open as she stared blankly at the two tightly embracing each other...
Just moments ago, she had been so furious and aggressive, yet the moment she saw him, both her emotions and tears burst forth simultaneously.
Cai Zhi considered herself the person in this world who understood her sister best, but she never knew her sister could cry so torrentially, as if the world itself was collapsing.
"Sis... ter..." she murmured softly, covering her lips with her small hand. For some unknown reason, her vision gradually blurred.
She turned around and silently left. Even after flying far away, Mo Li's loud crying still echoed in her ears... Her heart carried a trace of sadness, yet at the same time, she was deeply happy.
"Sister, that's wonderful." Cai Zhi whispered, wiping the teardrops from the corners of her eyes, quickening her pace, and leaving the Star God Hall.
She wanted to know what had happened during the time she was supposedly "reflecting." Yun Che was number one on the Seal God Platform and was personally brought back to the Star God Realm by the Star God Emperor. So, did that mean the "chasm" between him and her sister might be possible to cross...
"Why did you come looking for me?"
Mo Li's face was still stained with tears, and her starry eyes were noticeably reddened. She looked at Yun Che and asked a very silly question.
Yun Che thought for a moment, then replied, "The Golden Crow Soul Spirit in the Huan Yao Realm told me that if I couldn't see you within five years, I would never be able to see you for the rest of my life. So..."
"...If it weren't for the Golden Crow Soul Spirit's words, wouldn't you have come?" Mo Li said softly. "That day, when I saw you on the Seal God Platform, I was both scared and shaken, but I wasn't particularly surprised. Because deep down, I knew you would come one day. I just didn't expect it to be so soon, and even less did I expect you to appear in the Zhou Tian Realm."
"As for the Golden Crow Soul Spirit's words, they were just an excuse you used to convince yourself at the time."
Mo Li was undoubtedly the person who understood Yun Che the best. As for the Golden Crow Soul Spirit... she understood why it had said those words.
Soul spirits can communicate with soul sounds. Although that Golden Crow Soul Spirit existed in the Huan Yao Realm, it could also learn many things about the Divine Realm through the Golden Crow Soul Spirit in the Yan Shen Realm. That rumor, coupled with the unique ancient memories of the Golden Crow Soul Spirit, was enough for it to guess some things that even the people of the world didn't know.
"Yeah." Yun Che didn't deny it at all. Even without the Golden Crow Soul Spirit's words, after meeting Mu Bingyun, he would definitely have chosen to follow her to the Divine Realm.
"But, what exactly did the Golden Crow Soul Spirit mean by that? Why did it say that if I couldn't see you within five years, I would never be able to see you again?"
When he asked this, Yun Che's voice was filled with urgency and tension.
Mo Li snorted very calmly: "To become a complete Star God, after inheriting power, one must also enter a special secret realm for training. When I met you, I had only recently inherited divine power and hadn't undergone training yet. After returning to the Star God Realm, I naturally had to complete this 'ritual.' This training is not only arduous but also takes a very long time—possibly hundreds, or even thousands of years. This time is very short from the perspective of the Divine Realm, but extremely long from the lower realms—long enough to forget anything. That's why it said that."
Mo Li spoke extremely calmly, unwilling to show any cracks.
"...I see." Yun Che's brow twitched slightly, uncertain whether he believed it or not.
"Earlier, when I ordered you to leave, you said you found the dark seed left by the Evil God and completely eliminated the demonic affliction from your body... is that true?" Mo Li changed the subject.
"Of course!" Yun Che opened his palm, and a ball of dark profound energy rose from his palm before vanishing instantly. He was showing Mo Li that his control over dark profound force was as effortless as controlling flames and ice.
Mo Li's brows tightened, and she said sternly, "Back in the Tian Xuan Continent, I once told you that dark profound energy is a heretical existence that heaven and earth cannot tolerate. You witnessed the fate of that demon called 'Wei Hen' and how everyone treated him. You must never, under any circumstances, reveal your dark profound force in front of anyone! Otherwise, in this Divine Realm, anyone could kill you!"
"I know." Yun Che nodded. "Don't worry. With the Evil God's power, as long as I don't want to, it will never be exposed."
"Why did you go to the bottom of Jueyun Cliff? And how did you find this dark seed?" Mo Li's starry eyes turned. "Something that could make you defy the oath I forced you to swear... must have been for a woman!"
"Uh..." Yun Che gave an awkward laugh. "It was... for Ling'er."
"Hmph, I knew it." Mo Li snorted coldly.
"As for that dark seed, it was given to me by a very peculiar little girl under that dark abyss."
"...A little girl?" Mo Li suddenly turned her head, startled. "How could anyone exist in a place like that?"
"It's indeed hard to believe." Yun Che said slowly. "Her hair was a special silver color, and her eyes had four different colors. Even stranger, I had never seen her before, yet she seemed very... close to me? She gave me the dark seed willingly. Oh, and she didn't have a physical body—she was purely a soul entity. The place she lived in was a sea of Netherworld Brahma Flowers, and she seemed never to leave that flower sea."
Mo Li frowned: "In that terrifying dark environment, the erosion of the soul is irreversible. Back then, I didn't dare to appear as a pure soul entity in the Slay Moon Demon Cave, and that place is the same. Yet she, being a soul entity, could exist there and relied on the Netherworld Brahma Flower sea... and she also had the Evil God's dark seed..."
Mo Li fell into deep thought...
Unless... it was a demon soul!
A pure demon soul!
That girl—could she be a... demon that had existed since ancient times?
And the Evil God, who possessed the dark seed...
"Hehehe... Do you really... think... the Evil God... is a god..."
Shiyue Mojun's last words before his death suddenly echoed in Mo Li's mind, causing her brows to sink sharply.
"Oh, by the way, the Brahma flower you destroyed that day was the one she gave me." Yun Che said, a slightly mischievous look on his face.
Mo Li turned her face away and snorted lightly, "You know perfectly well I didn't destroy it."
"Haha..." Yun Che laughed. "That's why I told you, I didn't believe a single word of what you said that day, or what you said when you left. We've been soul-bonded for so many years; how could I not tell whether you're telling the truth or lying?"
"..." Mo Li's breathing was slightly disordered. Then she spoke softly, "You have many secrets on you that must never be discovered by others, yet you chose to appear in the Eastern Divine Region, the place most likely to expose those secrets. So that day, I had no choice but to do my utmost to drive you away. Every moment you stayed increased the danger. I never expected the result to be the exact opposite."
"I know." Yun Che nodded. "Actually, that day, as long as I could see you, even without you saying a single word, I would have abandoned the battle and left the Zhou Tian Realm myself. Or, if you had sent me a message to wait in a more suitable place, I wouldn't have hesitated. But... what you said that day was too absolute. Even though I didn't believe it, I was still terribly afraid—afraid that if I didn't give everything to become first on the Seal God Platform, I would never see you again."
Mo Li averted her gaze, not letting Yun Che see the sorrow flashing deep in her eyes. She said softly, "After you saw me, would you really have just left and never returned to the Divine Realm? No, you wouldn't have."
"..." Yun Che's chest heaved. "This time, will you drive me away again?"
Mo Li shook her head. "The situation is completely different now. The last thing you should do now is go back."
"Right now, you are far too dazzling. Before you, the two most dazzling figures of this generation in the Eastern Divine Region were Luo Changsheng of the Shengyu Realm and Shui Meiyin of the Liuguang Realm. Their brilliance came from a naturally extraordinary physique and a Stainless Divine Soul respectively. Behind them stood the powerful Shengyu Realm and Liuguang Realm."
"And you—your brilliance far surpasses theirs—but you lack the strength to protect yourself and the power to shelter you. You are like an ownerless bright pearl, bound to attract countless coveters and snatchers. The most terrifying thing is that you carry too many things on you that even the King Realms cannot understand. 'Heavenly Dao Child' barely explains all the peculiarities about you, but the 'True God prophecy' could drive the King Realms to commit unimaginable madness because of you..."
"You simply cannot understand what the word 'True God' means to the King Realms."
Yun Che: "..."
"Now, everyone wants to know where you came from and what secrets that place hides that could produce a 'Heavenly Dao Child' like you. If they find out you came from 'Lan Ji Star,' countless eyes will turn to that planet. Traces of the Phoenix, Golden Crow, and Dragon God inheritances will be discovered, making them even more certain that this tiny planet must hide an enormous secret... For Lan Ji Star, for the people there... especially those connected to you... the consequence would be utter annihilation!"
All of this is because of me... Mo Li murmured in her heart.
"I know all this." Yun Che said.
"If you know, then why did you still do it!" Mo Li couldn't contain her agitation, her voice rising several notes. But then her eyes turned sorrowful, as if speaking to herself: "You've always been like this... always..."
"Yun Che, you would never abandon the things you care about... and that is your greatest personality flaw." Mo Li closed her eyes. "You would slaughter the Fen Tian Sect for Lingxi, face Prince Huai for the Yun family, and risk your life to pick a broken Brahma flower for me... how could you possibly be willing to give up everything you have on Lan Ji Star?"
"But now, how can you return..."
"I... have actually thought of a way." Yun Che said hesitantly.
Mo Li immediately turned her gaze. "What way?"
Yun Che reached out his hand and took out the Void Stone from the Heavenly Poison Pearl. "With this."
"The Void Stone? The one Cai Zhi gave you?"
"Uh... I only found out today that it was left for me by little... Cai Zhi." Yun Che was still having trouble processing that "Little Mo Li" was actually Mo Li's younger sister. "The Void Stone can perform instant transfer in any space, leaving no trace that can be tracked."
"And then?"
Yun Che continued, "In one month, I will enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm within the Zhou Tian Pearl along with the other 'Chosen of Heaven.' Since it's an internal divine realm of the Zhou Tian Pearl, naturally no one can spy on it, and once inside, one cannot leave on their own. So, I plan to leave a false impression of my death inside the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, then use the Void Stone to leave the Zhou Tian Pearl and return to Lan Ji Star."
Mo Li: ""
"In that way, with the illusion of my death in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm and the fact that I never came out, the people of the Divine Realm won't suspect that I've vanished."
After finishing, Yun Che said with slight unease, "It should... work, right?"
"You're too naive!" Mo Li shook her head. "The preliminaries of the Mysterious God Convention were projected within the Zhou Tian Pearl. It set the rules and determined the results—imagine how high its intelligence is! Even if you could fool everyone else's eyes, there's absolutely no way you could fool the Zhou Tian Pearl! Although the Zhou Tian Pearl is currently masterless, it has always been willingly used by the Zhou Tian Realm. Are you so sure it won't inform the Zhou Tian Realm about this?"
"...The Zhou Tian Pearl is a Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasure. Something at its level should disdain reporting such trivial matters, right?" Yun Che said somewhat weakly.
"Fine, even if that's the case." Mo Li's brows were tightly furrowed. "After you return to Lan Ji Star, can you really never come looking for me again and truly cut off everything you have in the Divine Realm forever?"
"..." Yun Che's mouth opened slightly, and his hands tightened abruptly. Of course, he had thought about this matter, but the sudden ninefold heavenly tribulation that shocked the world had also pushed him into an unexpected "dead end." This was the only method he could think of.
"And, after you return to Lan Ji Star, will you really feel at ease? Xia Qingyue and Xia Yuanba's mother is clearly a person from the Divine Realm. Why did she choose to leave after awakening her memories and power, and never return?"
"During your years in the Divine Realm, you should have heard that when it comes to concealing one's aura, no one in the world is better than me. But back then, due to a moment of carelessness, I was still detected by Yu Luo."
"Your profound power has now entered the divine path, which is already extremely conspicuous in the lower realms. After the Seal God Battle, the top experts of the Eastern Divine Region have firmly memorized your aura. Unless you abandon your profound power, once a 'what if' occurs, it will trigger the most terrifying consequences. Even if it never does, you will live in constant anxiety. Are you truly willing to live like that?"
Every word Mo Li spoke was not an exaggeration but the most straightforward, cruelest truth.
After Yun Che's nine tribulations stunned the world, Mo Li had thought deeply about his future. She understood far better than Yun Che himself what he was about to face.
What happened to Lan Ji Star meant nothing to her. Even if the entire planet was destroyed, she wouldn't bat an eye. But she knew clearly what that meant to Yun Che.
"Mo Li, is there... something you want to tell me?" Yun Che asked.
She looked at him, her words heavy: "If you want to protect yourself and protect Lan Ji Star, then what you must do—and the only thing you must do—is become strong enough! Strong enough to make all beings in the Divine Realm respect you, fear you, and dread you. Strong enough that only you can control the fate of others, and no one can control your fate... just like in the Tian Xuan Continent and the Huan Yao Realm!"