Chapter 1375: Severing Thoughts
Above Yaohuang City, Xiao Yaohou silently watched Yun Che's reunion with his parents without disturbing them.
"His profound force... there really is no way to restore it?" she asked Su Linger beside her.
Su Linger spoke softly: "Nothing is absolute, but his profound veins are too special. The hope is slim. Perhaps... Master might have a way."
She said the last part very lightly. She had just examined Yun Che's body condition, and it was clear that even Medicine Master Yun would likely be powerless.
Xiao Yaohou's gaze dimmed slightly. After a long silence, she said: "If there truly is no remedy in the end, then we must do everything possible to extend his lifespan... no matter the cost."
She could accept Yun Che becoming a cripple, because they could protect him and ensure no one harmed him in the slightest. But she could not accept him leaving this world before she did... an ordinary body also meant an ordinary lifespan.
"Mm..." Su Linger nodded slightly but could not give a clear promise. She looked down below and said softly: "I've known for a long time that Sister Yuechan was once the number one beauty of the Cang Feng Kingdom. It's absolutely true."
"Hmph, he's taken all the advantages for himself." Xiao Yaohou gave a light snort.
Su Linger couldn't help covering her lips: "Indeed, especially you, little demon empress. It seems he's taken every advantage that could and couldn't be taken from you."
"..." Xiao Yaohou's beautiful eyes turned like lightning, her gaze slightly flustered. Of course she knew what Su Linger was referring to... Back then, after she and Yun Che married and she thought she had only three years left to live, her greatest desire was to leave a child with Yun Che to continue the demon emperor bloodline. At that time, Yun Che told her with utter seriousness that to conceive a child quickly, they would need to constantly change various positions and postures, in various different places...
When it came to matters between men and women, Xiao Yaohou was a complete blank slate, while Yun Che was the renowned divine doctor of the Illusion Demon Realm who could heal any ailment—so naturally, whatever he said went. As a result, during that period... she, the dignified little demon empress of the Illusion Demon Realm, was arranged by Yun Che into various shameful poses that even brothel women would find unbearable, and she obediently complied with all his excessive demands...
It wasn't until later, when she went to the God Realm and discussed intimate matters with Feng Xue'er and Su Linger, that she realized she had been suffering Yun Che's lewd humiliation and bullying every single day!
"Hmph, just wait—I'll give him a proper lesson today!" Xiao Yaohou gritted her teeth slightly.
"Alright, alright," Su Linger laughed behind her hand. "Then tonight, I'll leave him entirely to you. Make sure to get back all the advantages he's taken."
"Oh, and you know what Yun Che gege likes most is..." Her lips drew close to Xiao Yaohou's ear and whispered softly.
"~!@#¥%..." Xiao Yaohou's jade-like face instantly flushed with an extremely enchanting redness, and then her figure turned and she fled in panic.
"Hehe..." Su Linger smiled lightly behind her lips. When she turned her gaze back, her expression gradually became serious again.
"There must be a way," she murmured softly.
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Eastern Divine Region, Yin Xue Realm, Ice Phoenix Holy Hall.
Bathed in the blizzard, Mu Xuanyin descended from the sky and walked in slowly. Her gaze was icy and vacant—so much so that she didn't even notice Mu Bingyun was inside the hall.
"Sister!" Seeing her return, Mu Bingyun stepped forward. "Did you find his family?"
"...I found them," Mu Xuanyin answered somewhat woodenly.
"Did you tell them?" Mu Bingyun walked over, and the two sisters stood together, forming the most beautiful scene in the Yin Xue Realm.
"No," Mu Xuanyin replied, her cold voice carrying a hint of emptiness.
Mu Bingyun was the person in this world who understood Mu Xuanyin best. From the depths of her sister's eyes, she sensed something unusual but did not ask. She nodded slightly and said: "If you don't know how to broach the subject, then let me go."
"No!" The moment Mu Bingyun finished speaking, Mu Xuanyin's voice sharply rang out.
"Why?" Mu Bingyun frowned slightly.
"I said no, and that means no!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized the urgency in her tone. She closed her eyes slightly and softened her voice: "Although Yun Che is dead, the commotion he once caused was too great. The secrets he carried are still things many people desire to uncover. And his starting point in the God Realm was our Yin Xue Realm—there might still be many eyes watching this place. I possess Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick, so no one can track my movements... but if you go there, and someone catches even a trace of your presence, it might bring danger to that place."
"..." Mu Bingyun looked at her quietly but did not receive her direct gaze in return. She sighed softly and said, "I understand."
Her fairy-like figure turned and slowly walked away... But as she neared the hall's entrance, she stopped, closed her beautiful eyes, and spoke softly: "Sister, have you noticed? In the past, you never hid anything from me. But in these past few years, whenever it concerns him, you always avoid and conceal..."
Mu Xuanyin: "..."
"We are sisters bound by blood, each other's only family. You can deceive others, and you can deceive yourself... but do you truly believe I can't sense anything at all?"
Mu Xuanyin's gaze rippled.
"Although he is a junior, although he is your disciple, still..." Mu Bingyun raised her head, gazing at the swirling snow, and spoke words even she herself found hard to believe: "He bore the power of the Creation God, faced the Fire Prison Flood Dragon without fear of death for your sake, defeated the former Four Divine Sons in just three years, single-handedly threw the Star God Realm into chaos, and made the Heavenly Slaughter Star God willingly transform into the Evil Infant for him... Such a man, I don't think it's shameful for you to have fallen for him. On the contrary..."
Her snow-white robe rose and fell gently beneath her chest. She did not finish her sentence, instead turning to leave.
"He's not dead." Behind her came Mu Xuanyin's voice.
Her steps halted. Mu Bingyun spun around sharply: "What did you say!?"
"He's not dead," Mu Xuanyin repeated, still with her eyes closed. "In that world called Lan Ji Star, I saw him."
Mu Bingyun quickly walked back, her icy breath slightly disturbed: "But his soul crystal was clearly shattered. You even saw the cause and manner of his death with your own eyes. How could it..."
"I don't know," Mu Xuanyin shook her head. "But it was him, without a doubt. However, his profound force is completely lost. Perhaps he used some method to escape death and return to the world he came from, and the price was losing all his power."
Mu Xuanyin spoke with such certainty that even though it was too incredible to believe, Mu Bingyun could no longer doubt it: "Then you..."
"I didn't meet him," Mu Xuanyin said. Her gaze finally turned, now exceptionally calm: "He is living well there. Though he has lost his profound force, his body is unharmed. That place has parents and clansmen who care for him, friends, wives, and a lovely daughter... The most powerful auras and the finest women of that world are all by his side. No danger, no pressure, no enemies—not even anyone who could threaten him."
"Nor is there a strict, merciless master who yells at him and beats him. Every single day there is a thousand times better than his days in the God Realm."
"So why should I disturb him again?"
"But—"
"No buts." Mu Xuanyin's gaze grew even colder: "Thinking the Heavenly Slaughter Star God is dead was indeed the greatest pain in his life. But if he were to learn that she is still alive, it would only be crueler for him, who now has no power. I think even the Heavenly Slaughter Star God herself, if she knew Yun Che was still alive, would definitely not want him to know she's still alive, nor would she go looking for him."
Mu Bingyun's lips moved slightly. Looking at Mu Xuanyin's icy expression, she didn't know what to say.
"Compared to the situation he faced in the God Realm these past few years, the present state of affairs is undoubtedly the best outcome for him. Let him live out his life in the world he was always meant to stay in—free from worries, free from disasters, free from afflictions. Don't let him be drawn back into the disputes and grudges of the God Realm, and don't stir up his memories of the God Realm... There is no better result than this..."
Her quiet words sank into the heart, and the two sisters fell silent.
In Yun Che's world, Mo Li was already dead, not transformed into the Evil Infant. And in the eyes of the God Realm, Yun Che was already dead... For Yun Che, this was truly the best outcome, allowing him to be free from all danger and attachment.
Only...
"Sister... have you truly decided this?" Mu Bingyun asked, her voice very, very soft. Mu Xuanyin's heart, frozen for ten thousand years, had been melted by Yun Che in just a few years... If it was so difficult for her to fall in love with someone, then the sorrow of this moment must be equally deep.
"From now on, I will never go there again, and you are never to go there either. Let it be as if he never appeared," she said slowly and resolutely, then turned around and faced the cold pool at the center of the holy hall: "After you leave, announce three things to the entire sect."
"First: earlier, to prepare for the Xuan God Assembly, the Minghan Heavenly Lake was opened wide, causing a great loss of its spiritual energy. From now on, for a thousand years, unless there are special circumstances, Minghan Heavenly Lake will not be opened. No elders, palace masters, or sect disciples may enter!"
"Second: Yun Che is dead. No one in the sect shall ever mention that name again. Anyone who does... shall be severely punished!"
"Third: Accept Mu Feixue as a personal disciple. In seven days, hold a sect assembly for the apprenticeship ceremony."
"..." Mu Bingyun finished listening, nodded slightly, and then slowly walked away.
When she reached the hall's entrance, the snow was still falling outside, having already continued for several months without stop. Mu Bingyun halted her steps, quietly turned back to look at Mu Xuanyin's silhouette, sighed softly in her heart, but ultimately said nothing and left in silence.
Mu Xuanyin's icy eyes closed slightly. She did not move. In the center of the holy hall, the cold pool was dotted with a single pure white ice-feather spirit flower.
In the waters of Minghan Lake, it would never wither.
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As the "Demon Lord" of the Illusion Demon Realm and the "True Person Yun" who saved the Tian Xuan Continent—he was not only a myth of the Profound Way but a name known to every man, woman, old, and young across both continents.
The news of Yun Che returning from another higher-dimension world spread with incredible speed, but along with it came the rumor that his profound force was completely crippled, that he had returned to being an ordinary mortal.
Since he had already accepted this crippled state and was prepared for a lifetime of it, he had no intention of hiding or avoiding it. He never stopped such rumors from spreading, nor did he conceal or evade when those around him asked.
His parents were alive, his clan was flourishing. He had a wife and daughter, beautiful women surrounded him, no enemies, no worries... Compared to the heavy burdens and crises he had faced in the God Realm, this life was undoubtedly comfortable and pleasant to the extreme—especially the women by his side, whom others couldn't even dream of in ten thousand lifetimes.
So pleasant that it was hard to notice the swift passage of time.