Chapter 1275: The Crystal Moon
Shenyue City instantly buzzed with exclamations, and everyone's gaze became incredibly intense.
Yue Shen Di's words...that immensely mysterious divine empress, for whom Yue Shen Di had gone so far as to summon everyone under heaven with the divine moon hanging in the sky, was finally about to appear before their eyes!
High above in the distant sky, Qianye Ying'er's phoenix eyes behind her golden mask narrowed slightly: "Let me take a good look at this woman who has made Yue Shen Di almost float to the heavens—what kind of person is she."
Even Gu Zhu, who had always been as calm as an ancient well, released an unusual divine light from his pupils.
"Qing...yue!?"
The name Yue Shen Di called out made Yun Che and Mu Bingyun both start.
Mu Bingyun glanced at Yun Che and murmured, "What a coincidence."
Yun Che nodded slightly: "Yes, indeed. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I last heard that name."
"'Coincidence?'" Huo Poyun heard this and asked, "Brother Yun, do you know this divine empress?"
"'Of course not,'" Yun Che shook his head and told him frankly, "'My first wife in the lower realm was also named "Qingyue," so suddenly hearing those two words stirs a bit of emotion.'"
"'Eh... I see.'" Huo Poyun nodded, but from Yun Che's expression, it was clearly not just "a bit of emotion."
The two words "Qingyue" stirred ripples in Yun Che's heart.
Twelve years ago, in that small city called Liuyun, he had married Xia Qingyue—the young girl who had given him dignity when he was at his most humble and powerless.
They were betrothed before birth and formally married—truly a real couple... though they had never consummated their marriage.
The Cang Feng War... the Heavenly Lake Secret Realm... dreaming back to Cang Yun... jointly defeating the Sword Saint... entering the Immortal Palace together... Their relationship had been subtly changing all along, and Yun Che had secretly rejoiced in feeling Xia Qingyue's icy heart slowly melting for him...
But all of this came to an abrupt halt on the day he left for the Shenhuang Empire.
He was "buried" in the Primordial Mystic Ark...
Bing Yun Fairy Palace suffered a calamity, and Xia Qingyue, as the last hope, was teleported to an unknown world.
Three years later, he returned to Tian Xuan Continent, but Xia Qingyue had been unheard of ever since.
Unknowingly, it had been eight years.
The vast world was so immense. Where that dimensional array left in Bing Yun Fairy Palace by Mu Bingyun had sent Xia Qingyue—no one knew, and there was no way to search. The only hope was that Xia Qingyue would one day return to Lan Ji Star, to Tian Xuan Continent on her own.
Seeing Yun Che suddenly fall into a melancholic state, Mu Bingyun comforted him, "Don't worry. Heaven will protect her."
She had returned to Tian Xuan Continent three times and had long ago seen Xia Qingyue from above the clouds. Later, she gradually learned of her relationship with Yun Che.
Yun Che smiled: "She also said that Qingyue is one whom heaven protects, no need to worry."
She was referring to Mo Li. Mo Li had told Yun Che that Xia Qingyue possessed the "Nine-Xuan Exquisite Body" and the "Ice Crystal Heart." The former was the best dual cultivation cauldron in the world, and the latter was a heaven-blessed body.
Among the billions of living beings in the world, it was perfectly normal for names to be similar or identical. Yun Che quickly suppressed his melancholy and looked full of anticipation at Yue Shen Di's side, waiting for the appearance of that mysterious divine empress.
Yue Shen Di's unusual behavior and the never-before-seen divine empress deeply piqued the curiosity of everyone in the Eastern Domain. They didn't have to wait long; under Yue Shen Di's gentle voice, a figure slowly walked out from Dun Yue Immortal Palace and came to Yue Shen Di's side.
For a moment, Shenyue City, gathered with countless experts of the Eastern Domain, became so silent that a pin drop could be heard. Everyone seemed to have their hearts and souls heavily struck by something, completely holding their breath.
She wore a moon-white long dress with a long train trailing on the ground, as if she had slowly walked out from the moon. Her figure was like a fairy or a dream, her skin like flawless white jade, like frost and snow glistening in the winter sun. Her face seemed to have been bestowed with all of heaven's effort and favor; even the most gorgeous words in the world could not capture even a fraction of its charm.
The moment she stepped out, it was as if an incredibly bright and dazzling rosy light shone into everyone's eyes, making the whole world extraordinarily radiant.
Yue Shen Di was no ordinary figure—he was one of the Four Divine Emperors of the Eastern Domain, the most honored man in the entire god realm. Yet, standing quietly by Yue Shen Di's side, she almost overshadowed Yue Shen Di's presence, and even more so, dimmed almost all the brilliance of the world. Even the divine moon shining overhead seemed to have lost some of its luster.
"'She... is so beautiful...'" Shui Meiyin's hand touched her lips as she muttered in a daze.
"'...'" Shui Yingyue's eyes stared straight, unable to look away. As a divine maiden of the Eastern Domain with peerless beauty and noble birth, at this moment, she actually felt a deep suffocation and an unprecedented sense of inferiority from the depths of her soul—for the first time in her life.
"'Just by her temperament and appearance alone, she is worthy of Yue Shen Di,'" said Liuguang Realm King Shui Qianheng.
Those who could be present here were no ordinary mortals, yet countless were entranced, countless were lost.
"'Wow...'" Huo Poyun exclaimed softly, "'Although I've never seen the Dragon Queen Divine Maiden, the legendary Dragon Queen Divine Maiden could at most be like this, right?'"
He finished speaking and looked at Yun Che, expecting his agreement, but the moment his gaze turned, he was suddenly stunned.
Yun Che stared fixedly at the woman who had appeared at Yue Shen Di's side, his eyes wide open as if he had suddenly lost his soul.
At first, Huo Poyun thought he was stunned by her beauty, but then he saw that in Yun Che's dazed eyes, pupils were violently dilating and contracting. Gradually, his slightly open lips began to tremble, and finally, his whole body started shaking uncontrollably.
His entire face even quickly took on an abnormal pallor.
"'Brother Yun, what's wrong?'" Huo Poyun quickly asked.
"'...'" Yun Che had no reaction, but his state jolted Mu Bingyun, who was also stunned. She suddenly turned back, her icy eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Because the woman who appeared at Yue Shen Di's side, the one about to become the divine empress of Yue Shen, she had seen before, and Yun Che had seen her even more.
Xia... Qing... yue!
"'She really is a great beauty,'" Qianye Ying'er praised from the distant clouds in a tone devoid of emotion.
"'Heh heh,'" Gu Zhu laughed darkly, "'In terms of appearance, she is the first to earn young miss's praise.'"
Qianye Ying'er's lips twitched in an ambiguous smile: "'With such celestial beauty, it would not be an exaggeration to say she is unmatched in the Eastern Domain. Yet she has been obscure until now—that is strange. However... if it were only this, it shouldn't be enough to make Yue Wuyai put on such a grand show.'"
In Gu Zhu's murky old eyes, a strange gleam flashed. From his bark-dry lips, three hoarse words slowly came out: "'Crys...tal... Heart.'"
"'...'" Qianye Ying'er's body stiffened for a moment, then her expression changed violently, and her gaze at the scene below completely transformed.
After a long while, she finally averted her gaze and murmured to herself, "'So that's it...'"
Meanwhile, in the main hall, Zhou Tian Shen Di also slowly stood up. His brows furrowed, initially in confusion, but as his gaze fixed, confusion quickly turned into deepening shock.
"'Zhou Tian, what's the matter?'" Fantian Shen Di frowned. Something that could make Zhou Tian Shen Di show such an expression was definitely an earth-shattering discovery.
Zhou Tian Shen Di had no reaction; his shocked expression seemed as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. After a full few breaths, he spoke slowly in a rather low voice: "'Crys...tal... Heart...'"
"'What!?'" These three words made all the Wang Realm members seated in the main hall startle, then their expressions changed drastically.
Zhou Tian Shen Di's voice carried a penetrating power as if out of control, making it clearly heard by all the cultivators in the outer hall. In an instant, it was as if three thunderclaps struck their ears, and Shenyue City instantly became a clamor.
"'Crys... Crystal Heart!?'"
"'Ice Crystal Heart? Is it really... true? Wasn't it said that a "Crystal Heart" could no longer appear in the world?'"
"'This was said by Zhou Tian Shen Di himself—how could it be false?'"
"'No wonder... no wonder Yue Shen Di changed his previous attitude, no wonder Yue Shen Di went to such lengths... a Crystal Heart, a Crystal Heart blessed by the Heavenly Dao!'"
"'If the legends are true, with Moon God Realm obtaining this Crystal Maiden as divine empress, in the future, wouldn't it... wouldn't it...'"
"'Of course the legends are true—isn't Zhou Tian God Realm the best proof!'"
Extreme shock appeared on everyone's face. In the history of the god realm, many were born with extraordinary physiques—some could possess dual divine powers, some were attuned to certain elemental profound forces, and some like Luo Changsheng could combine multiple elements and divine powers. The most top-tier and rarest were the "Stainless Divine Body" like Yue Wugou and the "Stainless Divine Soul" like Shui Meiyin.
But if there was one physique that could cause a great upheaval across the entire god realm, it would definitely be the "Crystal Heart."
According to ancient records, the so-called "Crystal Heart" was a fragment of the soul left behind after the self-destruction of the Primordial Divine at the beginning of chaos, containing the last "Primordial Force" in the world. All living beings, powers, and rules in the world were born from the Primordial Divine, and the Crystal Heart, bearing the last "Primordial Force," was something the Heavenly Dao itself must protect at all costs.
Perhaps because the Primordial Divine was female, all those with a Crystal Heart were women, recorded as "Crystal Maiden" or "Heavenly Dao's Daughter."
Interestingly, Yun Che's current title "Heavenly Dao's Son" matches perfectly.
In the records, even during the Age of Gods, those with a "Crystal Heart" were extremely rare, and in the entire history of the god realm, only one had appeared.
That was Zhou Tian Taizu from six hundred thousand years ago!
If the ancient records about the Crystal Maiden being blessed by heaven were hard to fully believe, then Zhou Tian Taizu, who possessed a "Crystal Heart" six hundred thousand years ago, made the world clearly see what "heaven's blessing" meant in shock.
The only revealed Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasure, the Zhou Tian Pearl, voluntarily acknowledged her as its master and came under her control.
Under her leadership, Zhou Tian Realm became a Wang Realm that overlooked the Eastern Domain in just a thousand years, surpassing Star God Realm and Moon God Realm, and has remained proud ever since.
From then on, no one doubted that the "Crystal Heart" was blessed by the Heavenly Dao. However, they also believed that in an era when the Age of Gods had ended, chaos grew increasingly turbid, and Primordial Qi became thinner, the appearance of Zhou Tian Taizu was already the final miracle, and no Crystal Maiden could ever appear again.
But...
In their line of sight, the woman standing quietly by Yue Shen Di's side, for whom Yue Shen Di had gone so far as to invite the entire Eastern Domain with the divine moon hanging overhead—she not only had the bearing of a divine maiden and a world-toppling beauty, but she was also a "Crystal Maiden" with a "Crystal Heart"!
The second miracle since Zhou Tian Taizu!
At this moment, they fully understood why Yue Shen Di had gone to such lengths for this wedding ceremony and for this divine empress.
No, being able to obtain a Crystal Maiden as divine empress—even if he did ten times, a hundred times more, it would be only right and proper!
While everyone was either lost in a daze or shocked, only Yun Che—he looked as if he had suddenly fallen into a freezing abyss, his whole body trembling violently, his gaze terrifyingly chaotic.
Gradually, even his aura began to spiral out of control.
"'Yun Che...'" Mu Bingyun frowned with icy brows, her voice urgent.
Crack...
The jade cup in Yun Che's hand shattered under his uncontrolled profound energy.