# Chapter 1302: Severance of Affection
"Not... going!" Yun Che clenched his teeth so hard they might crack. "I told you... this matter... I must... face it... together with you..."
Xia Qingyue's chest heaved violently. After a long silence, she spoke in a cold voice: "One of them is my adoptive father, who has been as kind to me as a mountain, and the other is my birth mother, whose life is nearly at its end. I have failed them both. No matter how they treat me, it is what I deserve. Even if I must atone with my life, I would do so willingly... What does any of this have to do with you?"
"We were husband and wife for twelve years, but it was a marriage in name only, with little union and much separation. Though we were married, our feelings were as fragile as thin ice."
"...!" Yun Che's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't understand why Xia Qingyue was saying these things.
Finally, she turned around to face him once more. But her face and eyes had turned utterly cold, devoid of any emotion. She knelt down, and in her hand was the very marriage contract that belonged to them.
"To protect your dignity, I betrayed my adoptive father and birth mother. To save your life, I journeyed to this distant place... With this, I have honored our marriage enough. I owe you nothing more. From now on, you belong to the Western Region's Dragon God Realm, and I belong to the Eastern Region's Moon God Realm. We go our separate ways, with neither gratitude nor resentment!"
"Our marriage... from today onward... is severed in both kindness and affection!"
Riiip...
With a soft sound, the marriage contract in Xia Qingyue's hand shattered into countless pale fragments, which scattered and crumbled into even finer dust... until it became nothing at all, leaving not a single trace behind.
Shen Xi: "..."
"Ah?" He Ling's beautiful eyes widened as she stared blankly at the scene before her. She couldn't understand. Just moments ago, she had knelt and begged for him, willing to risk her life for him. How could she suddenly become so heartless?
"Qing... yue..." All the blood in his body rushed to his head. Yun Che could no longer breathe. "You..."
She stood up and turned away, no longer looking at him. Coldly, she said: "You should know how terrifying Qianye Ying'er is. If you don't want to die, don't leave the Dragon God Realm until your wings are fully grown. Fifty years from now, whether I, Xia Qingyue, live or die, whether I face fortune or disaster, it will have nothing to do with you!"
"..." Yun Che kept opening his mouth, wanting to say something. But with the blood rushing to his head, his mind was a chaotic mess, and he couldn't make a single sound.
The prolonged torment had already left his consciousness weak and fragile. Now, with the blood rising to his head and attacking his heart, his vision suddenly went dark, and he fainted dead away.
But the hand gripping the corner of her dress remained tightly clenched... holding on with almost all the strength and will he had left.
Xia Qingyue raised her head and took a deep breath. Then she bent down, and bit by bit, she pried Yun Che's hand loose from her skirt.
Without another word, she walked forward slowly. With each step, her face grew calmer. When she was ten steps away, her expression had turned completely icy, showing not a trace of tenderness or reluctance.
"Senior Shen Xi, Qingyue takes her leave."
With that, she prepared to fly away... But at that moment, her body suddenly trembled violently. A spurt of blood shot from between her lips, splattering a shocking streak of crimson across the pure ground before her.
That spurt of blood seemed to drain all her strength. She slowly sank to her knees, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. Between her falling strands of hair, teardrops fell silently, one after another. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop them.
"Ah..." A long sigh echoed through the heavens and earth. "Why must you put yourself through this?"
Xia Qingyue's shoulders shook violently, but she stubbornly refused to make a sound... After a long while, she finally stood up and said softly: "I no longer... have the right to live for myself..."
"Other than yourself, no one can force you to do this," Shen Xi said gently.
Xia Qingyue shook her head faintly. Her jade-like arm waved, and the Dun Yue Immortal Palace appeared above her. But instead of immediately entering it, she suddenly turned back. A cluster of profound light flashed around her body, then, following her will, flew toward the unconscious Yun Che.
The profound light attached itself to Yun Che's body and disappeared into him. At the same time, the Dun Yue Immortal Palace flickered with a bright white light for an instant.
The Dun Yue Immortal Palace had changed owners.
"Senior Shen Xi, if Qingyue still lives fifty years from now, I will surely repay your great kindness today. If Qingyue is no longer in this world... then I will repay you in the next life."
Shen Xi: "..."
She rose into the air and flew far into the east. Soon, her figure and aura had vanished beyond the eastern horizon, leaving behind only heavy loneliness and desolation, along with that long trail of blood... still glaringly crimson.
A gaze turned toward the direction of her departure, only withdrawing after a long time. A soft sigh: "So passionate and devoted, yet so fiercely stubborn. Such an extraordinary woman is indeed rare. May heaven bless her."
He Ling had been kneeling beside Yun Che the whole time, her emerald-green eyes fixed on him. She had only met this man for the first time, and they had never had any connection before... yet he had become her greatest and final emotional anchor in this world.
"Master, is he... alright?" He Ling asked worriedly, her face still streaked with glistening teardrops. The blow from He Lin's death had been too great. If not for Yun Che being her emotional anchor, she might have already broken down.
"Bring him inside."
"Yes." He Ling quickly wiped the tears from her face, carefully picked up Yun Che, and stepped into the barrier.
As soon as she entered the barrier, the hazy mist that had been visible from outside vanished completely in an instant. What appeared before her was a breathtakingly beautiful world of myriad colors.
Here, green grass stretched softly, a hundred flowers bloomed in splendor, and countless exotic blossoms displayed their almost bewitching beauty. Intertwined with the verdant grass, they formed a sea of flowers and greenery. Beyond the flowers and grass, the air, the earth, the trees, the flowing water, the sky... everything was as pure as if it had come from an illusory dream.
Anyone coming here for the first time would truly believe they had stepped into a fairy-tale world... without a speck of dust or filth, without sin, without conflict.
As He Ling walked forward, the flowers and grass around her all gently swayed toward her. Some jade bees and colorful butterflies flew over joyfully, dancing around her in circles.
Passing through the world of flowers and grass, ahead lay a simple bamboo hut. Green ivy climbed all over the hut, and the door was made of the same verdant bamboo. Apart from that, the bamboo hut had no other adornments. The entire world held nothing else of complexity.
No luxurious palaces, no dazzling profound light... only this small bamboo hut that blended perfectly with the whole world.
Before the bamboo hut stood a female figure bathed in mist.
No, upon closer inspection, it wasn't mist at all. It was clearly a mass of white light. The white light was somewhat dense but exceptionally natural and soft, gently obscuring her features. One could only vaguely make out an incredibly graceful silhouette.
This white light did not seem to be released deliberately, but rather naturally surrounded her body, as if it were originally part of her.
As He Ling drew nearer, the woman in the white light slowly turned around. At the same time, a holy aura rushed toward her... Yes, holy, a holiness in the truest sense, even sacredness. It made one acutely aware of the impurity of one's own body and soul, made one want to kneel and worship, made one feel that even approaching her, even casting another glance at her, was an unforgivable desecration.
This was different from the holy aura cultivated by some in their upbringing. Her sacredness came from the depths of her soul, and could strike directly into the depths of another's soul.
He Ling gently laid Yun Che on the ground, then bowed deeply: "Master, it was Ling'er who made the excessive request. Ling'er..."
"Don't say it," she shook her head gently, her voice extraordinarily soft and sweet. "This was a promise I made to you back then. I am simply fulfilling it now."
"..." He Ling bit her lip hard, her heart trembling so much she couldn't speak.
Back then, Shen Xi had saved her life, a debt she could never repay. And now, taking Yun Che in—He Ling knew very well what that meant to Shen Xi. This great kindness truly could not be repaid in ten lifetimes.
Though fate had been incredibly cruel to her, being able to encounter such a master made her deeply grateful to heaven.
Yun Che had fallen unconscious again, his body tense and his face still full of pain. Shen Xi bent down slightly. Her palm, covered in holy white light, gently pressed down. Instantly, a denser layer of white light enveloped Yun Che's body and lingered for a long time.
Under this layer of light, Yun Che's body and the expression on his face gradually relaxed. Even his breathing slowly steadied, no longer harsh.
"The 'Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal' that was cast on him is planted simultaneously in his soul, blood, tendons, and body. It is the most vicious curse in the world. The person who cast this Death-Pleading Seal on him is Qianye Ying'er, the Fandi Shennü of the Fan Di God Realm, the foremost of the four royal realms in the Eastern Divine Region."
Though she hadn't touched his body, she had clearly identified the caster from the soul imprint left by the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal.
"Fandi... Shennü..." He Ling murmured softly. Though she rarely came into contact with the outside world, the name "Fandi Shennü" was thunderous.
"The Fandi Shennü is extremely scheming, rarely appears in public, and even more rarely acts personally. Yet she would go so far as to damage her own soul origin to cast the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal on him. It seems this young man must possess something she desires," Shen Xi said gently, every word as soft as if floating on clouds.
"Could it be... could it be for the Wood Spirit Pearl he carries? He Lin's Wood Spirit Pearl!" The thought made He Ling's emotions chaotic again. A royal Wood Spirit Pearl was one of the few things in this world that could drive even the royal realms mad.
"No," Shen Xi shook her head faintly. "Though the royal Wood Spirit Pearl is a sacred object that would make countless beings covet it, it would not drive the Fandi Shennü to such lengths."
"For the next half-month, I will do my utmost to suppress his Death-Pleading Seal. After that, when it flares up, it will not be as agonizing. During this half-month, I will keep him in a state of deep sleep. So rest assured."
He Ling kowtowed heavily: "Master, Ling'er... Ling'er... he... I entrust him to you, Master."
"Go," Shen Xi said with a slight smile.
"Yes."
He Ling obediently stood up, cast another glance at Yun Che, then quietly walked away so as not to disturb her.
After walking a great distance, she slowly crouched down, hugging her shoulders. Her entire figure almost blended into the surrounding flowers and grass... Finally, she could no longer control herself. Her shoulders shook, her hand desperately covering her lips as tears burst forth like a dam breaking, falling in torrents...
"The Wood Spirit Clan, which should have been protected by nature, has instead suffered so much sorrow. If the great Li Suo had a spirit, she would surely be pained."
Shen Xi sighed softly. She raised her right arm and lightly pointed a jade finger. A point of white light slowly descended, heading toward Yun Che's brow... She was preparing to temporarily seal his memories.
She had told Xia Qingyue that during Yun Che's time in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, his memories would be sealed. He would not remember anything from before, and after leaving, he would not remember anything that happened here... This was a boundary Shen Xi could not cross.
The white light drifted down and touched Yun Che's brow... But in the next instant, that white light suddenly dispersed, accompanied by a soul-shaking dragon's roar.
ROAR!!!
In this world where only butterflies danced and insects sang, this dragon roar was utterly shocking. It frightened the crying Wood Spirit maiden, and made the immortal figure within the white light tremble all over.
"Master!"
The Wood Spirit maiden wiped away her tears as fast as she could and ran back anxiously: "What happened? That sound just now..."
Before she could finish, her beautiful eyes suddenly froze. She could clearly see that the immortal figure of Shen Xi, bathed in white light, was trembling violently. Her pointed jade finger was frozen in the air, and for a long time, she did not withdraw it.
It was as if her very soul had been suddenly snatched away.