Chapter 1401: The Dragon Emperor's Shattered Heart
Under the Dragon Emperor's low roar, a divine sense as vast as the heavens instantly released, engulfing the entire Reincarnation Forbidden Land. In an instant, the breeze halted, space congealed, all flowers and grasses stopped swaying, and even the flying birds, bees, and butterflies, as well as every drifting grain of sand, froze in midair, motionless.
"..." Shen Xi lowered her gaze slightly, silently murmuring "truly disobedient," but couldn't bear to scold him. She sighed and said, "There is no one else here."
"No, there is indeed the presence of another here." The Dragon Emperor's brow sank. "What audacity, to trespass into the Reincarnation Forbidden Land! For this single crime, execution of nine entire clans is warranted!"
"You need not search further." Shen Xi spoke slowly. "There is truly no one else here. What you have detected is the child in my womb."
Given the Dragon Emperor's stature, when he was in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, his mind was always in its most relaxed and unguarded state, and he never deliberately released his divine sense.
But once he unleashed his divine sense with full force, there was nothing under heaven that could escape his spiritual perception. Hence, Shen Xi no longer needed to conceal it.
"..." It was as if a billion-ton hammer had directly struck his brain. The Dragon Emperor's mind went "buzz," and then, for the first time in his life, he was absolutely certain that his hearing had suffered an absurd deviation: "You... what did you just say?"
"What you have detected is the child in my womb." Shen Xi repeated calmly. She glanced at the Dragon Emperor and said slowly, "With your abilities, you should have already sensed it just now. Why are you unwilling to believe?"
"..."
"...."
"........"
The world fell into a terrifying silence. The divine sense engulfing the Reincarnation Forbidden Land trembled violently, as if caught in a fierce wind. The Dragon Emperor stood there motionless, his two pupils expanding and contracting at a terrifying amplitude, like balloons being repeatedly inflated and deflated.
His reaction made Shen Xi frown. She shook her head in disappointment. "Dragon Emperor, I have taught you many times before: as the emperor of the Dragon God clan and the supreme sovereign of this era, you are the one who must never let his heart be disturbed. No matter when or where, no matter the circumstances, you must never forget your dignity as the 'Dragon Emperor.'"
"..." The Dragon Emperor remained motionless, as if his soul had fled. Perhaps he had heard Shen Xi's words; his trembling dragon eyes finally regained a trace of focus, but they erupted with a most chaotic light—a light no one would ever believe could appear in the Dragon Emperor's gaze. He took a step forward, his body swaying: "Who is it... who... is it! Whose child is it!!"
His voice, when it emerged, was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping. With each word he shouted, the ground beneath his feet split open with a deep crack.
"..." Shen Xi did not speak, but let out a faint sigh. She had not wanted the Dragon Emperor to know of this matter precisely because she feared this moment... and the Dragon Emperor's reaction was even more unseemly than she had anticipated.
I suppose this is my own doing... She shook her head inwardly.
The Dragon Emperor's mind was in chaos, as if the very heavens had collapsed, but at least he retained the most basic ability to think. Shen Xi's temperament was extremely indifferent; she had no desire to interact with the world. Even he, each time he visited, would only stay for a short while before leaving immediately... In recent years, even in recent centuries... millennia... tens of millennia... hundreds of millennia... besides him, only one man had ever entered this Reincarnation Forbidden Land.
Yun Che!
"Yun... Che... Yun Che!?"
This name roared from his mouth. His dragon eyes stopped contracting and dilated to their maximum. "No... impossible... impossible... absolutely impossible... no... it is him... him... no no... not... no..."
Yun Che was the only man besides him to have ever come here, and he had stayed for as long as a year. He was the only possibility... but how could the Dragon Emperor possibly believe it? How could he possibly accept it!?
When he first learned that Shen Xi had taken Yun Che in, although he was surprised, he quickly let it go—because Yun Che was indeed an extraordinary person, and the very special Dragon God aura on him made it not incomprehensible that Shen Xi would be willing to save him.
But he never, ever could have imagined...
She was Shen Xi! The only divine maiden in the world! The ten-thousand-generation benefactor of the Dragon God clan! A woman whom even all the Divine Emperors dared not hope to see, whom even he, the Dragon Emperor, was not worthy to touch!
And Yun Che... was merely a slightly exceptional junior of a very small generation... how could it be... how could it be!!
"She is indeed the child of Yun Che and me." Shen Xi turned her immortal face away from his unsightly appearance and said bluntly, "Thirty months ago, I conceived her with Yun Che. However, my fate is bound, and I cannot leave this place, so she cannot be born either. In another seven years, I will be free of my bonds and can leave here, and only then can she be born."
Buzz...
The Dragon Emperor's body shook violently... the words in his ears were Shen Xi's own admission.
His gaze completely shattered. His dragon eyes burst with countless bloody streaks. His eternally majestic face twisted in an instant like a vicious ghost: "No... impossible... false... how could such a thing happen... how could such a thing possibly happen..."
"Shen Xi... you are Shen Xi! How could Yun Che... how could he!!"
"Dragon Emperor!" Shen Xi finally frowned. "You have lost your composure!"
In the past, Shen Xi's mild rebuke would always immediately sober the Dragon Emperor, but this time, he only grew more frenzied: "False... it's all false! How could you possibly be with Yun Che..."
"Long Bai!" Shen Xi's disappointment deepened. With a light rebuke—a direct address she rarely used—she said, "Is this the demeanor of a Dragon Emperor? Is this the state of mind you have cultivated over three hundred thousand years?"
"Listen to me," Shen Xi's voice was still gentle, but carried profound indifference. "I am Shen Xi. What I wish to do, where I wish to go, to whom I wish to offer myself, with whom I wish to bear children—these are all my own will! They have nothing to do with anyone else, and even less to do with you!"
The Dragon Emperor froze on the spot.
"A hundred thousand years ago, two hundred thousand years ago, three hundred thousand years ago... from the first year you harbored delusional thoughts toward me, I told you to forever sever that vain hope! In my eyes, you are the same as everyone in the Dragon God lineage—a junior I am obligated to care for. I know that all these years, you have never been willing to completely let go of that delusion, so I did not wish to let you know of this matter. But I never expected you to lose your composure to such an extent!"
"Remember well: you are the emperor of the Dragon God lineage, the supreme sovereign of this chaotic era. You have no right to be so unhinged!" Shen Xi paused for a moment, then sighed. "Still, this is also good. You can completely sever the delusion you should have ended long ago, and seek a true dragon queen to continue the Dragon God lineage."
"No... no, no." Shen Xi's words did not restore the Dragon Emperor's clarity. The blood vessels in his dragon eyes spread, and his aura grew more chaotic with each breath. "Delusional thoughts... I have long since had no delusional thoughts... because I am not worthy... even though I became the Dragon Emperor, I am still not worthy... being able to approach you from time to time, to hear your voice, is already a unique blessing from heaven bestowed upon me..."
Shen Xi: "..."
"I have never dared to hope—I have never even dared to hope to touch the hem of your robe—because I am not worthy! And no one in this world is worthy!" The Dragon Emperor's voice went from trembling to hoarse. "And that Yun Che... what right does he have... what right... what right... no... it's all false... all false!!"
No one could imagine the Dragon Emperor in such a state.
Indeed, as he said, he had never dared to hope for Shen Xi. Even after becoming the Dragon Emperor, Shen Xi remained a dreamlike figure he could only look up to. He had known Shen Xi for three hundred thousand years, had been the Dragon Emperor for over two hundred thousand years, and the title of Dragon Emperor and Dragon Queen had existed for two hundred thousand years as well... but from beginning to end, he had really never even touched Shen Xi's hair tips or the hem of her robe.
And over the years, as the only person in the world who could enter the Reincarnation Forbidden Land and converse closely with Shen Xi, he was already immensely satisfied.
He never dared to hope for Shen Xi's favor... he also knew that Shen Xi would never, ever be inclined toward him, nor toward anyone else in this age.
But why...
She and Yun Che... a person she had only just met, whose age was not even a ten-thousandth of his, whose cultivation, background, status, reputation... not a single aspect could compare with him...
And she even had his child...
Shen Xi turned her back to him and said calmly, "I have already said: what I wish to do is determined by my own will. It has nothing to do with you. What happens between Yun Che and me is my freedom. Whether he is worthy or not is also determined by my wishes, and has absolutely nothing to do with you or anyone else."
"No... how can it be unrelated?" The Dragon Emperor shook his head. He stumbled, nearly collapsing to the ground. "You... are the Dragon Queen! You are my Dragon Queen! All of the Western Divine Region, all of the world knows you are my Dragon Queen!"
Shen Xi closed her eyes slightly. The Dragon Emperor's words undoubtedly showed that he had completely lost his mind. Shaking her head, Shen Xi said in a disappointed and weary voice: "The origin of the title 'Dragon Queen'... have you truly forgotten? I did not oppose it at the time, only for the sake of peace and quiet. Moreover, to me, it was utterly meaningless. You should be perfectly clear on this in your heart. Why do you deceive yourself and others?"
But if she had known back then that a person like Yun Che would appear in the world, perhaps she would not have been so "meaningless."
The Dragon Emperor knew better than anyone the origin of the title "Dragon Queen." He was also perfectly clear that "Dragon Queen" was the highest honor a woman in the world could receive, but to Shen Xi it was truly just a meaningless title. And this title would make the world stop disturbing her in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, so she had no reason to refuse.
But that was only the case for Shen Xi.
As for the Dragon Emperor, he had spread that title as quickly as possible across the Western Divine Region and even the entire Divine Realm, wishing for the whole world to know that Shen Xi was his Dragon Queen... He knew it could never be, and in his heart he never harbored hope, yet with this little bit of grace-like consent, he wove for himself a humble dream.
But now, even that humble dream was about to shatter completely.
From the moment Shen Xi had saved him from the brink of death, it had been a full three hundred thousand years... three hundred thousand years of an obsession he knew was hopeless but could not let go. He did not know whether to blame himself or heaven...
Or to blame Yun Che.
"I do not wish to say more on this matter." Shen Xi's beautiful eyes closed, her breath as faint as a wisp of cloud. "For the time being, you need not go to the Eastern Divine Region, and even less reason to come here. What you need most right now is to calm your heart. This may be a very good opportunity for you."
"If I had known earlier that a person like Yun Che would appear in the world, I would never have agreed to the name 'Dragon Queen.' After I leave the Dragon God Realm, it may possibly tarnish your reputation in the future. That is my fault, and I will compensate your Dragon God clan several times over."
She never wished to owe anyone anything.
The Dragon Emperor's pupils were still constricting, his lips trembling. Looking at Shen Xi's back, his heart and soul echoed with her words—words full of disappointment, the kind of disappointment one has for a junior—and he could no longer utter a single word.
Although, even without Yun Che, no matter how many more years passed, until his life ended, he would still never earn even a sideways glance from Shen Xi.
But beneath his lack of hope was his firm belief that no one in the world was worthy of her.
Hatred and jealousy are like venomous snakes that can devour even the toughest reason and will... even dignity and kindness.
For they are the most terrible demons in the world.
Especially the jealousy born of an obsession lasting three hundred thousand years.
The Dragon Emperor finally took a step. He did not fly, but walked away step by step. Each step caused the ground to tremble violently... these were undoubtedly the heaviest steps of the Dragon Emperor's life.
The Dragon Emperor—the name of the supreme sovereign of chaos. In terms of strength of mind, he was unquestionably the foremost in this age, unmatched. But at this moment, in his heart and soul, a demon was struggling, rampaging, howling... and in its roar, it madly devoured all his thoughts...
Finally, even in his dragon eyes, two black shadows of demons were reflected... until they drowned all his reason.
He suddenly turned around. The world of the Reincarnation Forbidden Land abruptly echoed with a twisted, despairing dragon roar... a screaming dragon shadow of profound light, as if from a splitting abyss, blasted straight toward Shen Xi's lower abdomen.