Chapter 1278: The Fuse
After Jinyue finished speaking, she suddenly felt the world fall into an eerie silence, as if even the air had frozen, its flow completely halted.
Perplexed, she looked up and saw Xia Qingyue's motionless back and a long stretch of silence.
"Divine Empress?" she tried calling softly.
In response, there was only a suffocating stillness.
A strange unease rose in Jinyue's heart. She parted her lips but dared not make another sound.
After who knows how long, Xia Qingyue's voice finally reached her ears: "Repeat what you just said."
"Ah… yes." Jinyue quickly answered, then nervously repeated, "Young Master Yun Che said: This is a wedding gift for Your Highness from Xiao Che of Liuyun City."
Her heart pounded wildly, her voice trembling with anxiety, afraid of uttering a single wrong word.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"He?" Jinyue was momentarily dazed from tension. "Does Your Highness mean Young Master Yun Che?"
"…"
"He… he is in the outer seating area." Jinyue answered, even more nervous. At that moment, she suddenly recalled Xia Qingyue's reaction upon hearing the name "Yun Che" before, and her heart lurched.
Xia Qingyue turned around, her beautiful eyes falling on the jade box that Jinyue had been holding against her chest. "Jinyue, give it to me."
"…Yes." Jinyue stepped forward, carefully placing the jade box into Xia Qingyue's hands.
Her expression was as indifferent as always, but when Jinyue handed over the box, she thought she saw her jade-like fingers tremble slightly.
The box was made of moonstone, pure and flawless white. Yet when Xia Qingyue took it in her hands, it seemed dim and lusterless compared to the glow of her skin, which was even fairer than jade.
The jade box was opened. It was empty inside.
"It's empty," Xia Qingyue said softly.
"Ah?" Jinyue was stunned. She quickly looked into the box, her face losing color as she said urgently, "How… how can it be empty? I saw Young Master Yun Che put something in it with my own eyes, and… and this box has been in this servant's hands the whole time, never touched by anyone…"
"…What did he put in?" Xia Qingyue asked, her slender fingers gently stroking the inside of the box, her crescent brows twitching almost imperceptibly.
"It was… a rolled-up piece of paper. This servant… truly saw him put it in with her own eyes…" Jinyue trembled with nervousness.
"…" Xia Qingyue was silent for a moment, then gently closed the jade box. "There are traces of spatial distortion at the edge of the box. The item inside was taken by someone using an extremely superb space power."
There was no surprise, no panic, no anxiety or anger. From start to finish, she was utterly calm and placid, as if her emotions could never stir.
"Ah?" Jinyue's lips opened wide, completely at a loss.
"You may withdraw," she said, turning around.
"Your… Your Highness…"
"Withdraw. It was not your fault." Her voice betrayed no emotion, but at the very least, there was no hint of blame.
"Yes… This servant takes her leave." Jinyue stepped back twice, then left uneasily.
Dun Yue Immortal Palace fell silent once more.
She stood there quietly, slowly closing her eyes. As her beautiful eyes shut, the world of Dun Yue Immortal Palace seemed to lose its most radiant luster.
In the soundless world, she stood still for a very long time, as if time itself had frozen.
Until a footstep broke the stillness.
"Heh heh, Qingyue, it's about to begin. Prepare yourself."
Yue Shen Di walked over, a genuine smile on his face. This was perhaps the happiest day of his life.
At the sound of Yue Shen Di's voice, Xia Qingyue opened her beautiful eyes and slowly turned around. "Adoptive Father, Qingyue has a request."
"Oh?" Yue Shen Di looked surprised.
"Please give Dun Yue Immortal Palace to Qingyue." She spoke slowly, each word as light as a cloud.
"Hahahaha!" Yue Shen Di laughed heartily, a rare excitement even surfacing on his face. "Qingyue, in all these years, this is the first time you've asked me for something. Good, very good."
"Before long, the entire Yue Shen Realm will be yours, let alone this mere Dun Yue Immortal Palace!" Xia Qingyue's request only lifted Yue Shen Di's already excellent mood further. "Since you want it, I'll give it to you right now."
Before his words faded, Yue Shen Di waved his hand, and a shimmering white divine light radiated from his body. It then detached and flew forth. In that instant, the brightness of the entire Dun Yue Immortal Palace dimmed.
With a change in his hand gesture, the divine light flew toward Xia Qingyue and merged into her figure. Almost simultaneously, the briefly extinguished light blazed again, illuminating the inner world of Dun Yue Immortal Palace in pure white.
Dun Yue Immortal Palace was recognized throughout the God Realm as the fastest profound vessel, and it was also the top treasure of the Yue Shen Realm, always belonging solely to the Yue Shen Di. Yet now, with just one sentence from Xia Qingyue, he gave it to her without hesitation… and even felt delighted.
"Thank you, Adoptive Father, for granting my wish." She bowed slightly.
"Heh heh, I'm glad you like it. You never need to thank me." Yue Shen Di smiled faintly and turned to leave. "The wedding ceremony will begin in another half quarter-hour. Prepare well. This will surely be the most important day for the Yue Shen Realm in all these years."
"Adoptive Father," Xia Qingyue suddenly called out, stopping him as he was about to leave. "Please remember one thing I say."
"…Oh?" Yue Shen Di turned his gaze, looking puzzled. He clearly felt that Xia Qingyue was somewhat unusual at this moment, but perhaps it was due to the occasion, so he didn't pry too much.
"In the future, no matter what happens, Qingyue… will never let the Yue Shen Realm down."
After saying this, she closed her eyes. Perhaps she didn't want Yue Shen Di to see the chaotic light deep within them.
"…" Yue Shen Di furrowed his brow. "Qingyue, you…"
"Qingyue only wishes for Adoptive Father to remember these words forever… No matter what happens in the future, I hope Adoptive Father will recall them." She continued, each word very, very soft, as if from a dream.
Puzzled, Yue Shen Di was stunned for a moment, but ultimately did not press further. He smiled happily. "Qingyue, with words like yours, even if 'that prophecy' of the Tianji Realm were to come true tomorrow, I would have no regrets."
Yue Shen Di left. Xia Qingyue remained standing still, her eyes tightly shut, and did not open them for a long time.
Half of her world was endless white, the other half a boundless void. She stood alone at the node of two worlds… Gradually, even her figure was swallowed by both worlds, leaving only a pale emptiness.
…
…
Star God Realm, Tiansha Star God Palace.
"Sister!"
Cai Zhi's ethereal voice came from afar. When she appeared before Mo Li, her little face was still flushed with excitement.
"What's got you so worked up?" Mo Li glanced at her.
"Sister, I finally found out who the new Divine Empress of the Yue Shen Realm is! It's a person with an 'Ice Snow Glass Heart'!" Cai Zhi exclaimed excitedly. "The legendary Glass Heart! It's appeared again."
Mo Li's reaction was extremely cold. "Oh? Hmph! No wonder that old thief Yue Wuyai…"
Mo Li stopped mid-sentence, then turned and asked, "Do you know what the Divine Empress's name is?"
"Of course I do." Cai Zhi nodded. "The Yue Shen Di calls her 'Qingyue'."
"…" Mo Li's entire body stiffened, and then she shot to her feet.
"Ah!?" The sudden turmoil in Mo Li's aura startled Cai Zhi. "Sister, what's… wrong?"
Mo Li's brow sank deeply. She reached out and grabbed Cai Zhi's arm tightly, pulling her up instantly. "Come with me!"
"Ah? Go… where?"
"To the Yue Shen Realm!"
…
…
As the time for the wedding ceremony drew nearer, the heroes of the Eastern Domain were all eagerly waiting.
At that moment, two people walked side by side into the outer seating area.
The outer seating area held millions of people, noisy and chaotic, but the arrival of these two immediately attracted countless gazes.
The reason was that the moon robes they wore bore platinum-colored divine moon patterns, exuding an intangible nobility and pressure.
Although these people were seated in the outer area, each was a top-tier big shot from their respective star realms, all of extraordinary status. Yet as these two walked through, they held their heads high, their gazes slanted upward, showing undisguised disdain for everyone around them.
They were like two emperors condescending to walk among commoners.
Wherever they passed, the nearby Eastern Domain experts all stiffened.
From a distance, watching them pass, a young profound practitioner muttered discontentedly, "Who are these two? They're acting all high and mighty."
"Don't talk nonsense!" The elder beside him hurriedly suppressed his voice as fast as possible, whispering, "These two are Imperial Princes!"
"Im… Imperial Princes!?" The young profound practitioner was greatly shocked.
"The moon robes they wear, along with the divine moon patterns, are symbols of the sons of a God Emperor." The elder said gravely. "Their life auras are only about a hundred years old. They should be the two youngest sons of the Yue Shen Di!"
"Strange, what are these two Imperial Princes doing in the outer seating area?"
The two were of similar stature. The one on the left had narrow, long eyes, a stern and imposing face; the one on the right always had a curled lip, his face bearing what seemed to be an innate arrogance. Both had life auras around a hundred years old, but the profound energy rippling from their bodies made everyone's hearts shudder.
Third-level Divine King!
A hundred-year-old Divine King, even in a King Realm, was an undisputed genius. Moreover, they were the supremely honored sons of a God Emperor!
The 361st Imperial Prince, Yue Huan!
The 362nd Imperial Prince, Yue Jinxi!
In this outer seating area, filled with middle-tier and lower-tier star realms, these two were nothing short of emperors descending from heaven. Wherever they went, the Eastern Domain profound practitioners were all shaken and silent.
At the same time, they wondered why they had come here.
The two passed through layer upon layer of seats, under countless overt and covert gazes, until they reached the seating area of the Yin Xue Realm and the Yan Shen Realm. There, they stopped behind Yun Che.
"You, are Yun Che?"
The arrogant-faced Imperial Prince, Yue Jinxi, looked Yun Che up and down, his eyes narrowing slightly. As for everyone around Yun Che, he completely ignored them.
Yun Che turned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two. He said coolly, "I am."
"Hmph, I thought the famous 'Number One in the God-Sealing Assembly' and 'Son of Heaven's Way' would be in the main hall or the outer hall, but I didn't expect to find you in the outer seating area. You made me search quite a while."
"Still, given your background, sitting here is only fitting."
As Yue Jinxi spoke, every word, every moment of his eyes and expression exuded arrogance. As a son of a God Emperor, he naturally had the capital and qualification to be arrogant. Even Yun Che's identity as "Number One in the God-Sealing Assembly" seemed only worthy of a second glance in his eyes.
He emphasized the phrase "this Imperial Prince," intending to remind Yun Che of his status.
Yun Che's gaze flicked over the divine moon patterns on their robes, then he didn't look at them again. He slowly filled his jade cup and asked Huo Rulie, "Who the hell are these two morons?"
*A few matters to discuss:*
*1. Our official fan groups are numerous and hard to manage, so we haven't created new official groups for a long time. Many friends have started their own groups, which is welcome. However! Quite a few pirate sites have created reader groups in my name. That's one thing, but the key is… some actually charge a fee to join!*
*Are you kidding me!*
*Our official groups are listed in the "Work-Related" section. Anyone interested can join. Absolutely no official group requires a fee to enter! Don't be fooled… I got fooled myself.*
*2. My public WeChat account is "Huoxing Yinli". This is the only one! Only this one!! Only this one!!! Others like "Huoxing Yinli Zhi Ni Tian Xie Shen", "Huoxing Yinli Xiao Hao", "Huoxing Yinli Guan Fang" and such are all fakes! Some even have ridiculously high follow counts… For f*ck's sake!*
*3. Don't get used to the current update pace. (*′∇`*)┛*
*Also, thanks for the recent surge in subscriptions and generous tips. More updates indeed mean more rewards. I'll… try to work harder.*