Chapter 1476: Poison Activation
"How was it?" On the return journey of the Mystic Ark, Xia Qingyue asked.
"It's done." Yun Che let out a light sigh of relief: "The poison will fully activate in three hours. Qianye Fantian himself wouldn't dare touch the Evil Infant Demon Qi easily, so before that, unless something major happens, he shouldn't discover the Heavenly Poison hidden within the demonic energy."
"That's good."
"But..." Though it went without danger or surprise, Yun Che still couldn't shake a lingering sense of fear: "That was Qianye Fantian. We really have quite the nerve."
"If you didn't have Jie Tian Mo Di as your backing, I would never have dared either." Xia Qingyue said calmly: "Around this time tomorrow, we should have results. If it succeeds, that's best. If it fails... I will bear the consequences myself."
"I was the one who administered the poison. If it fails, I'll share the consequences with you." Yun Che said seemingly casually.
"You'd better mind your own affairs." Xia Qingyue completely ignored his words: "Have you thought of a way to deal with the matter of the demon god's return?"
Yun Che shook his head: "Not at all."
Xia Qingyue: "..."
The greatest hope was undoubtedly Hong'er and You'er, but...
"Facing existences at the level of Demon Emperors and Demon Gods, the mortals of this world are truly too insignificant and powerless." Xia Qingyue lowered her voice: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, and don't force yourself to succeed. You're not an appointed savior, nor are you obligated to become one."
Yun Che smiled: "Mm, I understand. Thank you."
Yun Che's thanks made Xia Qingyue's gaze turn, complex.
"By the way, since you've returned, you probably haven't visited Senior Shen Xi in the Dragon God Realm, have you?" Xia Qingyue asked in a calm tone: "She is your lifesaver, and she gave you the Light Profound Force. Without Senior Shen Xi, today's plan would never have been possible."
"Mm, I haven't." Yun Che leaned his back against the wall, a slight odd expression on his face: "And I won't be going for a while."
"Why? Because she's in seclusion?" Xia Qingyue turned her gaze back.
Yun Che shook his head, his expression a bit unnatural: "Although I don't know what's happening on her end, she's definitely not in seclusion."
"Oh?" Xia Qingyue seemed to have taken interest: "The matter of Dragon Empress Shen Xi's seclusion was personally stated by the Dragon God Emperor, and it's no secret in the Dragon God Realm. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Because I understand her better than anyone... ahem, I mean, Shen Xi's profound force is very special, so she doesn't need ordinary seclusion. Also, being in the Dragon God Realm's greatest forbidden ground, the only one who can 'disturb' her at any time is the Dragon God Emperor. And if she wants to be undisturbed for a long time, she would directly seal off the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, basically without telling the Dragon God Emperor in advance—he'd just see it and leave on his own. Even if she did tell him, given her extremely detached nature that doesn't want any involvement with the mortal world, she wouldn't allow him to make it known throughout the entire Dragon God Realm, let alone outside."
Xia Qingyue: "..."
"Besides, between her and the Dragon God Emperor, there's actually a special boundary that outsiders definitely wouldn't believe exists. Add in an even more special reason—unless absolutely necessary, she would never want to borrow or owe anything to the Dragon God Emperor, not even the slightest bit. So... even if she really wanted to go into long-term seclusion, she would never use the Dragon God Emperor's power to create another sealing barrier."
Xia Qingyue gave Yun Che a deep look.
"So that day in the Yin Xue Realm, when Zhou Tian Shen Di told me about Shen Xi's seclusion, I was already puzzled. Later, when I went to the Zhou Tian Realm and met the Dragon God Emperor, the way he looked at me and the things he said to me were quite... uh, never mind." Yun Che stopped himself mid-sentence.
"You only spent a short year in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, yet you can understand Senior Shen Xi so well?" Xia Qingyue said with apparent meaning.
"Understanding a woman is never that easy." Yun Che curled his lip, implying something: "These are just some of her basic habits and principles."
"For now, I can only focus on Senior Jie Yuan's side and can't spare any attention. Before going to the Dragon God Realm to find her, I think I need to understand more things first, or else I might... mm..."
"Why all this careful hesitation and even some evasiveness?" Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes flashed with a strange light: "Could it be that you have some unspeakable difficulty in the Dragon God Realm?"
"No, no, no!" Yun Che quickly shook his head: "It's just some personal matters. I'll handle them myself."
The matter between him and Shen Xi was far too taboo—even Xia Qingyue and Mu Xuanyin must absolutely not know even a hint of it.
Xia Qingyue's thoughts were terrifyingly meticulous. Afraid that if he kept talking, she might suddenly pick up on something, Yun Che forcefully changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask... what's that thing you're wearing around your neck?"
"..." Xia Qingyue's gaze froze, but she didn't answer.
Yun Che had only asked casually to change the subject, but Xia Qingyue's reaction piqued his interest. He leaned forward: "What exactly is it? I've never seen you wear anything like this before, and you even kept it on when we were dealing with Qianye Fantian... don't tell me it was given by some man!"
"How childish!" Xia Qingyue sneered, brushing her hand across her snow-white neck and removing the round mirror that had been hanging there: "Look if you want to."
Yun Che took it, glanced at it, and said in confusion: "It looks like just a very ordinary bronze mirror. Why are you wearing this?"
"It's a keepsake left to me by my mother." Xia Qingyue said: "Inside it is imprinted a phantom image of my father and of Yuan Ba and me in our childhood. It was also the only thing my mother secretly took with her when she left my father back then."
Yun Che already knew from Mu Xuanyin about the ending of Yue Wuyai and Yue Wugou, so Xia Qingyue's words made his expression stiffen, and the bronze mirror in his hand felt several times heavier, even his movements becoming careful: "So that's it... May I open it and look?"
"As you wish." Xia Qingyue said.
Yun Che reached out and, with very gentle movements, pried open the bronze mirror. Beneath the surface was imprinted a phantom image about three inches long, showing a man around thirty years old and a young boy and girl about three or four years of age.
Yun Che immediately recognized the man as a younger Xia Hongyi. Compared to his now calm and indifferent demeanor, the Xia Hongyi in the phantom image was smiling brightly and full of spirit and vigor.
The girl was exquisitely carved and still very young, but her beauty was already beginning to form.
The boy was a bit younger than the girl but had a physique that didn't match his age. Though only three, he could almost be described as "stocky."
"Qingyue, you were so cute when you were little." Yun Che said with a smile. His childhood memories were already blurry, and until their marriage when he turned sixteen, he had rarely seen Xia Qingyue. So, though they were in the same city and had been betrothed since childhood, Yun Che had no very clear impression of Xia Qingyue before she turned sixteen.
"As for Yuan Ba... it seems that not just when he grew up, but even at this young age, the two of you standing together don't look like siblings at all."
Xia Qingyue: "..."
"Your mother kept this bronze mirror hidden all along, which shows that..."
"Enough, don't say it." Xia Qingyue cut him off before he could finish: "I don't want to hear it."
Yun Che stopped. His gaze dropped and, just as he was about to close the bronze mirror, his brows suddenly jumped sharply.
The phantom image in the mirror... Xia Hongyi remained unchanged. Beside him was a thin young boy with a childish face.
Only these two figures remained. Gone was the unusually robust young Xia Yuanba, and there was no trace of Xia Qingyue either.
His brows sank heavily. He shook his head hard, and as the slight blur before his eyes cleared, when his gaze focused again, the phantom image in his sight had returned to normal—a young Xia Hongyi, a young Xia Yuanba, and a young Xia Qingyue.
What he had just seen must have been an illusion.
"What's wrong?" Noticing Yun Che's expression change and him suddenly shaking his head, Xia Qingyue asked suspiciously.
"Uh, nothing, nothing. Probably overexerted my profound force; my mind was a bit hazy just now."
As he spoke, Yun Che carefully closed the bronze mirror and returned it to Xia Qingyue: "Your mother—by title, my mother-in-law—I've never been able to pay my respects to her. That's one of my greatest regrets. I hope she can be without worries or sorrow in the other world."
Xia Qingyue took the bronze mirror and re-hung it around her snow-white neck... in these past few years, it had never left her person.
...
Fan Di God Realm.
Xia Qingyue's parting words were clearly meaningful, and they had truly planted a thorn of poison in Qianye Fantian's heart—one he couldn't ignore or forget even if he tried.
If, while already afflicted with Evil Infant Demon Qi, one were then poisoned with Godslayer Desolation Poison... would it really cause some kind of mutation capable of killing a God Emperor? No one knew, because it had never happened in the present world. And that uncertainty was what made it most terrifying.
Moreover, the "Myriad Tribulations of Oblivion" caused by the mutation of Heavenly Poison Pearl's poison and Evil Infant Demonic Power was the most terrifying four-character phrase in all of chaos since ancient times.
Therefore, though Qianye Fantian knew perfectly well that Xia Qingyue's words might be motivated by ulterior motives, he still firmly remembered every word she said, and it disturbed his mind for a long time afterward... Little did he know, a terrible demon had already been planted within his body.
When the Heavenly Poison Pearl regained its poison spirit, it meant not only the rapid recovery of its poison power, but also that the unique Heavenly Poison it produced had gained life and consciousness.
And the one controlling that life and consciousness was, naturally, He Ling, and Yun Che.
All of the Heavenly Poison had been silently hidden within the Evil Infant Demon Qi inside Qianye Fantian's body, set to activate after three hours... Since they said three hours, it was three hours!
Three hours later, before Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had even reached the Moon God Realm, Qianye Fantian, who had been sitting in silent meditation in his divine hall, suddenly shuddered violently and abruptly opened his eyes, his aura in complete chaos.
Before the divine hall, the Ninth Brahma King, who had been standing guard there, spun around, his heart jumping. It had been countless years since he had felt such a violent fluctuation in Qianye Fantian's aura. He quickly said: "God Emperor, what's wrong?"
The moment he finished speaking, Qianye Fantian's body shook again. He lunged forward violently, a cloud of pitch-black smoke erupting from his body, causing his complexion to become shrouded in a black aura in the blink of an eye. A soul-piercing cold spread rapidly through the hall.
"This is..." The Ninth Brahma King's face changed dramatically: "Demonic Qi flare-up? Didn't Yun Che purify it just a few hours ago? How could it..."
Before he could finish, his pupils suddenly contracted... Following the black smoke, a strange green light suddenly exploded from Qianye Fantian's body.
And at that moment, Qianye Fantian's face became incredibly pained and twisted.
Within his body, the Heavenly Poison Force erupted completely. In that instant, it was as if a jade-green demon god had suddenly awakened, pulling the slumbering dark demon god into a violent awakening.
"Poison... it's poison! Agh!"
At the level of a God Emperor, one should be immune to all evil and impervious to all poisons. But Qianye Fantian's face twisted like a demonic ghost's. With an agonizing scream, he collapsed to his knees, his entire body trembling and convulsing, unable to stand for a long time.
The aura on his body was so chaotic that the Ninth Brahma King could scarcely believe it... the frantically circulating God Emperor Force could not suppress the rampaging black light on his body, nor could it suppress the strange, chilling green radiance.