Chapter 1308: Transformation
Having received the answer she sought, Mu Xuanyin's long-held heart finally relaxed a little. She said no more, her gaze shifting away from Xia Qingyue as her figure slowly dissolved into the air, leaving no trace of her presence.
Fifty years… Could he truly wait fifty years?
Xia Qingyue bowed lightly in the direction where she had stood, then turned and walked away.
"Since Shen Xi broke precedent and kept Yun Che behind, whether to protect a secret or because of the Glazed Heart you bear, there would have been no reason not to keep you as well." Behind Xia Qingyue, Mu Xuanyin's cold, clear voice suddenly sounded again. "Why did you give up this opportunity that others would beg for in vain, only to return to this place where you have completely offended everyone?"
Xia Qingyue halted her steps, speaking softly, "The Moon God Emperor had great kindness to me—saving my life and nurturing me, and also saving and redeeming my mother. I have never repaid him, yet I seriously damaged his reputation. If I were to simply walk away… how could I face the world any longer?"
Mu Xuanyin frowned slightly. "…Your mother?"
"Yue Wugou." Before this woman who would risk infiltrating the Moon God Realm for Yun Che, Xia Qingyue spoke the secret so bluntly.
"…!!" Mu Xuanyin's gaze trembled for an instant, yet there was not too much surprise in her heart—instead, a sense of relief. So that was why she had a Glazed Heart—she was born of a Stainless Divine Body.
"Moreover, what good would it do for me to stay there?" Xia Qingyue sighed softly. "Come out with him after fifty years, and then continue to hide and flee, forever living in constant anxiety under your protection?"
Mu Xuanyin's brow furrowed deeply. "What do you mean by that?"
Xia Qingyue turned around, meeting her icy gaze again. "Qianye Ying'er already knows Yun Che's greatest secret. For that, she did not hesitate to plant the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal on him. During these fifty years in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, Qianye Ying'er cannot touch him. But what about after fifty years? Do you think Qianye Ying'er will let go?"
Mu Xuanyin said coldly, "No."
"You are his master, the one who cares for him most. Then, do you dare to kill Qianye Ying'er and remove this threat forever?" Xia Qingyue asked.
"…" Mu Xuanyin's icy eyes narrowed. "I dare not. And I cannot kill her."
"Yes, you dare not." Xia Qingyue shook her head gently. "My mother was not harmed by the Star God Realm back then, but by Qianye Ying'er. The Moon God Emperor dared to vent his anger on the Star God Realm, yet chose to suppress this truth. The world knows that the Star God Emperor's son, Tianlangxing Shen Xisu, died because of Qianye Ying'er, yet the Star God Emperor also chose to endure."
"None of you dare. Even the mighty among you do not dare to lay a hand on Qianye Ying'er. So… after fifty years, Yun Che and I, targeted by Qianye Ying'er, will have no choice but to hide, flee, and endure, forever living in her shadow, never knowing true peace… until one day we fall completely into her hands. The past grievances and hatreds will never be repaid by her."
"…" Mu Xuanyin did not refute, and could not refute.
"In those days with Yun Che, I experienced much helplessness—helplessness when facing choices, helplessness when facing betrayal, helplessness when facing absolute power, helplessness when facing death, helplessness when facing humiliation, helplessness when facing the Death-Pleading Seal… and it reminded me of the helplessness when facing our sect's calamity back then, and the helplessness of being unable to return after all these years in the God Realm…"
"I have grown to despise this feeling."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Mu Xuanyin asked.
Xia Qingyue looked up, closed her eyes, and spoke slowly, "Back then, the Moon God Emperor once told me that I possessed both a Glazed Heart and an Exquisite Body, an unprecedented 'divine miracle' in the history of the God Realm—even the Primordial Zhou Tian couldn't compare to me. But I was precisely missing the most important thing that could match it…"
"Ambition."
Mu Xuanyin: "…"
She looked at Mu Xuanyin and suddenly asked, "Senior Mu. Compared to me, Yun Che, who inherited the Creation Divine Power, should be even more deserving of the title 'divine miracle' bestowed by heaven. The Ninefold Thunder Tribulation is the best proof. So, in your view, what is he most lacking?"
"Ambition." Mu Xuanyin answered without hesitation.
Among those with exceptional talent, who does not wish to become famous, to establish their own sect and dominate the world? Even at the level of King Realms, they desperately pursue the elusive divine path.
Yun Che's talent was an utter anomaly—he possessed the world's only Creation God inheritance. But he had no ambition of that sort at all. His growth was extremely fast, but in the eyes of other profound practitioners, the purpose behind his desperate cultivation was laughably simple… No one would believe that had it not been for meeting Mo Li, he would have had zero interest in the title of "Sealed Realm First."
Even coming to the God Realm was not for pursuing a higher level of the divine path, but solely to meet Mo Li.
"Yes." Xia Qingyue sighed and nodded. "He is the one most qualified and most in need of ambition, yet he is precisely the one most lacking in it. What he cares about most has always been his family and his women. Ambition… he never had it before, and perhaps never will."
"Since he won't have it, then I must."
"What are you trying to accomplish by saying all this?" Mu Xuanyin's icy gaze sharpened again. The oppressive feeling emanating from Xia Qingyue grew clearer—it was no illusion.
Her profound strength was at the Divine Spirit Realm, yet she could create a sense of pressure. That defied all reason.
"Since none of you dare, will not, and cannot kill Qianye Ying'er, then I will have to do it myself." Xia Qingyue spoke softly and slowly, as if stating something utterly ordinary. "Heaven has granted me a Glazed Heart and an Exquisite Body, so I will follow heaven's will and do what a 'divine miracle person' should do. Even if it means risking everything, even if it means resorting to any means, I will not allow myself and him to live only in her shadow!"
"You… want to kill Qianye?" Mu Xuanyin said coldly. "On what basis?"
"Not on what basis, but because there is no other choice."
"You think too simply." Mu Xuanyin gave her a deep look. "Qianye Ying'er's terror does not come from herself alone. Behind her stands the Fan Di God Realm. She has countless admirers across the Eastern, Western, and Southern Divine Regions. With a single word from her, countless experts would go mad for her, even to the death."
"I know." Xia Qingyue said softly. "So… if I fail or die, in fifty years, I ask you, Senior Mu, to take him out of the Reincarnation Forbidden Land and persuade him to stay in the Dragon God Realm."
"Oh, and one more thing," Xia Qingyue continued. "He and I have severed our emotional bonds. We are no longer husband and wife, and have no further relationship. Everything I do from now on—whether smooth or against the current, whether blessing or calamity, whether righteous or evil, whether life or death—has nothing to do with him. I also promise you, Senior, that my future 'any means' will never involve you or the Yin Xue Realm."
"If, in the future, I am fortunate enough to create sufficient opportunity, I ask you, Senior, to send him back to the world he wishes to return to. He never belonged here. As for me… I can never return."
With a deep bow to Mu Xuanyin, Xia Qingyue turned and left, walking with slow steps, gradually disappearing from sight.
Her steps were heavy, as if bearing the weight of ten thousand shackles, or as if she was resolutely walking toward an endless abyss.
Mu Xuanyin stood still, her icy brows tightly furrowed, waves of shock surging in her heart.
At the wedding ceremony in the Moon God Realm that day, she had hidden in the shadows above and seen Xia Qingyue from afar. At that time, the Xia Qingyue she saw had eyes that were cold and vacant, seemingly filled with endless confusion… even emptiness, as if she had never woken from a dream.
But the Xia Qingyue of today was a completely different person from what she had seen that day.
Under sustained, violent shock, a person's state of mind could indeed shift or even transform in a short time… but if this was Xia Qingyue's transformation, it was far too drastic.
Moreover, that subtle soul pressure was not something that "transformation" could bring.
"Is she serious?" Mu Xuanyin murmured softly. She was surprised at her own reaction—because those words from Xia Qingyue, coming from a woman whose profound strength was only at the Divine Spirit Realm and whose age was less than half a Jiazi, should have been utterly absurd and laughable.
This was the Moon God Realm, an extremely dangerous place. Mu Xuanyin could not stay long. Her figure and aura vanished into the air again, leaving no trace of her ever having been there.
Leaving the Moon God Realm, standing in the vast void, Mu Xuanyin revealed her figure, quietly looking westward. After a long time, she sighed softly, "Erchen, the fruit of today… do you regret coming to the God Realm?"
Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm, Reincarnation Forbidden Land.
Yun Che sat cross-legged, eyes closed, golden patterns flickering on his body. Shen Xi stood before him, still surrounded by white light, her immortal form hazy. As her jade finger pointed down, a wisp of white light slowly floated across Yun Che's body until it fully merged into him.
With the light's integration, the golden patterns on his body also disappeared.
Yun Che stood up, instinctively about to perform a junior's salute, then immediately remembered she disliked formalities. He straightened himself and said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Shen Xi."
"No need." Two words, light and soft, and Shen Xi turned away.
She spent almost all her time in meditation. Yun Che could only see her during the brief moments when she suppressed the Death-Pleading Seal. But this time, she did not leave immediately. She said softly, "Your heart has been very unsettled. That is not good for dispelling your Death-Pleading Seal."
"Yes… I will try to adjust, Senior." Yun Che said, sighing deeply in his heart.
Fifty years… Fifty years!!
How could I possibly calm down!
The time Yun Che had promised Xiao Yaohou and the others for his latest return was less than two years away!
And with Qianye Ying'er targeting him, given her terror, as long as she lived, even after leaving here in fifty years, he still could not return.
This place could be said to be the purest, safest, and most tranquil place in the entire God Realm. But every time Yun Che thought of this, he simply could not settle his mind.
These past days, Shen Xi could always feel that Yun Che's mind was never at peace. She suddenly said, "If you want to dispel the Death-Pleading Seal on you more quickly, there is a method."
Yun Che was startled. "What method?"
"This method can only be realized when the Death-Pleading Seal is suppressed to a certain degree. Now is not the time." Shen Xi said softly. "When the time comes, I will naturally tell you."
To Yun Che, this was undoubtedly great news. He quickly said, "If so, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Senior Shen Xi."
"…Go comfort Ling'er. The blow she suffered is too great. Only you can 'save' her."
Shen Xi stepped forward, her immortal figure fading like a ghostly mist, slowly disappearing.
Her words left Yun Che stunned for a moment. Save?
Why did she say "save"?