Chapter 1330: Burning the Boats to Break the Boundary
Eastern Divine Region, outside the Star God Realm.
The Brahma Heaven God Emperor and the Zhou Tian God Emperor, the two with the highest status and strength in the vast Eastern Divine Region, were both standing at the edge of the Star God Realm, staring at the Star Soul Barrier. The expressions of the two Divine Emperors were far from calm.
Although the Star Soul Barrier had been raised, the dimensional profound formation connecting the four great king realms at its periphery had not yet been closed. At this moment, a flash of light appeared within the formation, and a person bathed in the radiance of moonlight slowly walked out.
The Moon God Emperor!
Three of the four Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region had all gathered here at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement.
"Heh heh, it seems you couldn't sit still after all," the Brahma Heaven God Emperor said with a smile.
The Moon God Emperor showed no surprise at finding the Brahma Heaven God Emperor and the Zhou Tian God Emperor here. He stared intently at the Star Soul Barrier, but even with his power, his spiritual perception could not penetrate it. He turned his head and asked, "What great event is the Star God Realm preparing? Do either of you two Divine Emperors have any clue?"
"Even the Star Soul Barrier has been raised. No one can detect even a shred of information. How could there possibly be any clues?" said the Zhou Tian God Emperor. "The last time the Star Soul Barrier appeared was at the very beginning of the Star God Realm's founding. That time, it was a matter of life and death, and they had no choice but to open it. Now that it appears again... it must be a matter of destiny."
If the fate of the Star God Realm were truly about to change, it would not affect just the Star God Realm itself. The structure of the four great king realms of the Eastern Divine Region would inevitably shift as well. These three Divine Emperors could not simply sit by and watch.
The brows of the three Divine Emperors furrowed. The Brahma Heaven God Emperor said, "The consumption of the Star Soul Barrier must be enormous. It has already persisted for several days; it shouldn't be able to hold out much longer. By then, everything will be known."
But they all knew full well that by the time the Star Soul Barrier closed, everything would already be finished. The outcome at that moment was something they could neither foresee nor change now.
At that moment, an abnormal energy fluctuation came from the west, approaching at an extremely rapid speed.
The three Divine Emperors all turned their heads simultaneously: "That aura is..."
The Moon God Emperor reacted the most strongly, almost turning around instantly, his brows heavy: "The Evading Moon Immortal Palace!?"
The extreme speed of the Evading Moon Immortal Palace was such that even a Divine Emperor would find it difficult to catch up. From the Dragon God Realm all the way here, Yun Che had kept the Evading Moon Immortal Palace at maximum speed, without a single moment's pause or deceleration.
In just three days, flying from the Dragon God Realm to the Star God Realm... this was a speed that, under normal circumstances, would be impossible to believe even in dreams. But for Yun Che, it still felt as slow as a breath being an entire year.
The Heavenly Chen Jade he had obtained during the Profound God Convention, which he had initially thought would be of little use, had repeatedly become his life-saving straw. It had helped him escape from Qianye and Gu Zhu, taken him to the Reincarnation Forbidden Land... and now, it had brought him to the Star God Realm in a miraculously short time.
The speed of the Evading Moon Immortal Palace was far faster and fiercer than that of a falling meteor. Amidst a piercing sound sharp enough to tear through a thousand miles, the Evading Moon Immortal Palace shot into the sight of the three Divine Emperors...
Then slammed heavily into the Star Soul Barrier.
BOOM!!!
What did it mean to collide head-on at the most extreme speed in the current world? The sound of that collision was like stars crashing together. The air currents over an entire thousand-mile region were instantly thrown into chaos, stirring up countless disastrous storms.
Yet the Star Soul Barrier stood firm under such an impact. Even at the very center of the collision, there was not a single trace or mark to be found.
The Evading Moon Immortal Palace was, after all, the Evading Moon Immortal Palace. It tumbled sideways from the terrifying collision but was not visibly damaged. However, Yun Che was far from fine. The incredibly fierce impact struck him like a ten-thousand-jun weight directly in the chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of scarlet blood on the spot. But he didn't even bother to calm his seething energy and blood. His eyes were fixed on the Star God Realm, which was right before his eyes, and he let out a great roar: "He Ling, let's go!"
He Ling transformed into a streak of green light and returned to the Heavenly Poison Pearl. At the same moment, Yun Che shot out of the Evading Moon Immortal Palace and charged straight toward the Star God Realm.
"Yun Che!?"
Although the terrifying collision had stirred up a thousand-mile storm, it naturally could not affect the three Divine Emperors. The moment Yun Che's figure appeared, the gazes and auras of the three Divine Emperors locked onto him simultaneously. Each of them wore an expression of surprise.
Back then, Yun Che had failed to enter the Zhou Tian Pearl and had disappeared without a trace. But a year had passed, enough time for the Eastern Divine Region to learn of his whereabouts. After all, there were quite a few people in the Dragon God Realm who recognized the Evading Moon Immortal Palace.
They all knew that Yun Che was now in the Dragon God Realm, likely still under the protection of the Dragon God... after all, the Dragon God had publicly expressed his desire to adopt him as a son.
Especially the Brahma Heaven God Emperor. He not only knew that Yun Che was in the Dragon God Realm, but also that he was definitely in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land. Because under heaven, only the Dragon God's Empress Shen Xi within the Reincarnation Forbidden Land could break the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal.
Receiving the protection of the Dragon God's Empress Shen Xi was a hundred times more unbelievable than receiving the protection of the Dragon God himself!
Qianye Ying'er knew full well that Yun Che was definitely in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, and she also knew that he was dissolving the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal she had planted at no small cost. Yet she had never thought to go to the Dragon God Realm to capture Yun Che. It wasn't that she couldn't enter the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, but that she couldn't... or rather, dared not.
Provoking the Dragon God... was merely provoking the Dragon God. And as the supreme being under heaven, broad-minded enough to embrace all rivers, he might not even bother to argue with a junior woman. Moreover, as long as the bottom line wasn't touched, the Dragon God would definitely be unwilling to openly break with the Brahma Emperor Divine Realm.
But if she provoked the Dragon God's Empress Shen Xi... then the Dragon God, who commanded the world and looked down upon the chaos, would directly turn into a mad dragon! And he would be the most terrifying mad dragon in the world.
This was no joke, because the Dragon God's Empress Shen Xi was exactly the bottom line and the reverse scale that the Dragon God could never tolerate. This had been common knowledge in the Dragon God Realm, and even the entire God Realm, for hundreds of thousands of years.
(So, if Yun Che never left the Reincarnation Forbidden Land for his entire life, he would be safe and sound his whole life, and it would be hard for him to face danger... provided that the Dragon God never discovered the special relationship between Shen Xi and him.)
With the three Divine Emperors all present, Yun Che's gaze swept over them, but his body did not pause for a moment, charging straight toward the Star Soul Barrier.
When his gaze passed over them, the hearts of the three Divine Emperors all stirred simultaneously.
Because his pupils were actually as red as blood.
Seeing that Yun Che was safe and sound, the Zhou Tian God Emperor, who had always harbored regret in his heart, felt a great sense of relief. He stepped forward and said, "Yun Che, why are you... wait! That's the Star Soul Barrier!"
Watching Yun Che charge at full speed towards the Star Soul Barrier, the Zhou Tian God Emperor quickly called out to stop him. But in the next instant, before the eyes of the three Divine Emperors, they all watched helplessly as Yun Che's body, after a brief pause, passed straight through the Star Soul Barrier that even they could not break, entering the territory of the Star God Realm, and then flew off into the distance.
"This..." The Zhou Tian God Emperor was astonished.
The Brahma Heaven God Emperor flashed over to the position where Yun Che had passed through the Star Soul Barrier. He reached out his hand to touch it, but was instantly repelled. He frowned slightly and said, "The only ones who can pass through the Star Soul Barrier like this are the twelve Star Gods. Could it be... that Yun Che possesses the essence blood of some Star God?"
Star God essence blood was incredibly precious, impossible to bestow lightly on others. But they had seen with their own eyes that Yun Che had directly passed through the Star Soul Barrier... There was no other explanation.
"He should be in the Dragon God Realm. Suddenly appearing here, looking so flustered and hurried, and passing through the Star Soul Barrier... it must be related to the great event happening in the Star God Realm," the Zhou Tian God Emperor said with a frown. "What exactly is going on?"
Thinking of how, at the end of the Profound God Convention, Yun Che had not chosen the Brahma Heaven or Zhou Tian realms, but had instead chosen the Star God Realm, and had unhesitatingly followed the Star God Emperor back to the Star God Realm... the Zhou Tian God Emperor fell into contemplation.
Meanwhile, the Moon God Emperor's heart was even more complicated than theirs. Gazing in the direction Yun Che had gone, he sighed secretly in his heart: Qingyue actually gave him the Evading Moon Immortal Palace... Ah, in the end, she is still a daughter.
——————
In the moment before passing through the Star Soul Barrier, Yun Che held his breath and heartbeat completely still, praying desperately in his heart that it would succeed... Finally, a miracle occurred. His body passed straight through the Star Soul Barrier, without even feeling any significant resistance.
When Jasmine had left back then, she had left behind a drop of her Star God blood for Yun Che. In the words she left behind, she told Yun Che that this drop of Star God blood could increase his lifespan and physique. But in truth, in her private heart, wasn't it also to allow a part of her body to merge permanently with Yun Che, never to part in this life?
At that time, she could never have imagined that this drop of Star God essence blood she left for Yun Che would allow him to pass through the despairing barrier that should have been impossible to breach, and would completely change the course of both their lives.
Entering the Star God Realm, Yun Che quickly summoned the Evading Moon Immortal Palace again and flew towards the central Star God City at maximum speed.
Jasmine, wait for me... I will never allow you to be so willful alone...
Never...
A streak of light flashed across the sky of the Star God Realm, so fast that even the experts of the Star God Realm could barely see it with their naked eyes, let alone catch up or stop it.
The territory of the Star God Realm was not large. Before long, the second layer of the Star Soul Barrier came into view. Behind this layer of the Star Soul Barrier lay the Star God City he had once visited.
His goal was right before his eyes. He did not know what had already happened inside, nor whether Jasmine was still alive. The only thing he knew was the outcome of his own journey there.
But there was not a trace of fear or panic in his heart. Even the anxiety that had filled every corner of his mind and soul quickly subsided, replaced by an incredibly calm state of mind.
BANG!!
Another loud noise rang out as the Evading Moon Immortal Palace collided once more with a layer of the Star Soul Barrier. In the same instant, Yun Che had already left the Evading Moon Immortal Palace, his body passing through the second layer of the Star Soul Barrier and plummeting straight down from the air.
At the center of Star God City, the light of profound energy filled the sky. With the initiation of the ritual, the bodies and powers of all the Star Gods and elders were firmly linked to the sacrificial array. Before the ritual ended, they would be unable to move, let alone withdraw their power... and forcibly interrupting was absolutely impossible.
The barrier surrounding them, as well as the barrier sealing Jasmine and Cai Zhi, had also undergone a strange transformation. With the concentration of power, these two layers of barriers were even tougher than the Star Soul Barrier. Even if someone wanted to break them now, even if the three Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region all arrived together, it would be absolutely impossible.
A heavy, overwhelming force pressed in from all directions, enveloping every corner of the bodies and souls of Jasmine and Cai Zhi. Under the blood sacrifice array, this power would gradually strip away the flesh, blood, souls, and power of Jasmine and Cai Zhi, merging them with the body and power of the Star God Emperor, giving birth to the "qualitative change" they so eagerly anticipated.
Under this terrifying power, Jasmine and Cai Zhi were completely suppressed. They could not muster even a shred of struggling strength, nor could they even end their own lives, let alone escape.
"Sister, it's my fault... it's all my fault..."
Cai Zhi's pupils were hollow. She muttered dazedly, repeating these words over and over... Her cognition had collapsed, her world had crumbled. Everything had become so dark...
On the day she successfully inherited the Celestial Wolf Divine Power, feeling the incredibly powerful force on her body, she had been overjoyed and satisfied. Because she could no longer be looked down upon and bullied, no longer be helpless and pitiful. In the years since Jasmine's return, she had hoped even more to become stronger quickly, so that one day she could protect her sister...
It turned out that everything... was an abyss and a nightmare...
Instead, it had harmed her last remaining loved one...
The state Cai Zhi was displaying now was the very one Jasmine had always worried about and feared seeing the most. Using what little strength she had left, Jasmine hugged Cai Zhi tightly and said softly, "Cai Zhi, it's not your fault. It's my fault. I was foolish enough... to believe that old scoundrel still had a shred of humanity... I was far too foolish... I should have taken you and left long ago... gone far, far away, and never come back..."
Whether it was regret or hatred... everything was already too late.
The image of Yun Che flashed through her mind, and Jasmine painfully closed her eyes. That day, she had forcefully betrothed Cai Zhi to Yun Che. One important reason for this was to restrain Yun Che's resentment... She understood Yun Che too well. If, in the future, he learned that she had been sacrificed to death, he would surely hate the Star God Realm to the extreme and lose all reason in his quest for revenge.
She had hoped that, when the time came, Yun Che would remember that Cai Zhi was already his wife, remember the promise he had made, and thus not commit acts too rash.
But now, not only her, but Cai Zhi would also share the same fate as her. When Yun Che learned of everything in the future, instead... it would only deepen his hatred and madness.
Yun Che, please live well, no matter what... even if it's only to take revenge for me and Cai Zhi, you must live well.
This was her final concern and hope... but in just a few short breaths, it was utterly shattered.
BOOM!!!!
With an immense crashing sound, a figure plunged down from the sky above Star God City.