Chapter 1596: Settlement
The Tiangang Cloud Clan was steeped in a thick, bloody aura, even heavier than the blood was the ashen aura of death.
The Wasteland Dragon Lord, Nine Radiance Heavenly Venerable, and Void Void Daoist all died here. The doom of the Tiangang Cloud Clan was already sealed.
What they should think of first, and the only thing they could think of, was how to escape... But the "criminal clan" brand was engraved by the Burning Moon King Realm. To flee in fear of guilt before the final verdict would add sin upon sin. The Northern Domain was vast, but where could they flee, and who would dare to take them in?
Dragon blood stained the ground beneath his feet. Yun Che walked far before suddenly stopping.
"A father who lost his daughter must also be... even more... even more strong."
What a pale statement. It came from Yun Shang's lips, yet it nearly shattered his soul.
Letting out a long breath, he turned his gaze to Qianye Ying'er, who had remained silent all along, and said coldly, "You're not mocking me?"
Qianye Ying'er's eyes were looking into the distance. Hearing Yun Che's words, she let out a very soft laugh: "That little girl's father is dead, while my father is still alive; her profound strength is crippled, while I can decide life and death with a snap of my fingers, yet I'm actually a bit envious of her."
"Ha," her smile turned somewhat desolate and cold. "The Fandi Shennü, who once regarded all living beings as mere chicken dogs, is now envious of a crippled little girl... How ridiculous!"
Yun Che glanced at her and walked ahead.
This was the location of the Tiangang Cloud Clan's ancestral temple, now reduced to a pile of ruins.
The ancestral land. If it were the Yun Che of the past, he would surely feel reverence. But now, only indifference remained. He stood at the center of the ancestral temple ruins and stomped his right foot heavily.
Boom!
The ground collapsed, shattering the barrier beneath along with it. Yun Che sank into a hidden, isolated small world, facing a group of utterly horrified Yun Clan members.
The clan leader, Yun Ting, and a group of elders who were relatively less injured had apparently been discussing important matters here.
"Yun Che, you..."
Before the words could leave his mouth, Qianye Ying'er's figure lightly descended, standing beside Yun Che. The voices immediately stopped, and almost everyone shrank back a step.
Yun Che's face was dark and cold. He spoke in a deep voice: "Everyone except Clan Leader Yun, get out!"
Given the brutality and ruthlessness Yun Che had displayed today, coupled with what had happened earlier at the ancestral temple, if Yun Che directly attacked and slaughtered them on the spot, they wouldn't find it strange in the slightest.
But what he said was only "get out."
Perhaps the only reason was Yun Shang's words after she woke up... the plea that made them feel ashamed to the point of death.
Yun Ting's face was covered in an abnormal layer of gray, whether from physical injury or emotional wound. His expression shifted violently, then he waved his hand and said, "You may go."
After a brief silence, the elders all retreated silently. If Yun Che truly wanted to do something to Yun Ting, even if they were all present, they couldn't stop him.
Qianye Ying'er flicked her finger, creating a soundproof barrier. She could guess seven or eight out of ten parts of what Yun Che wanted to say or do, but she clearly had no intention of stopping him.
"Venerable Yun... cough, cough, cough, cough..." As soon as he opened his mouth, Yun Ting burst into a series of extremely painful and rapid coughs, each cough bringing up brownish froth.
He took several heavy breaths before continuing, "May I ask what... your orders are?"
"Do you know why you're still alive?" Yun Che said.
Yun Ting lowered his head, let out a powerless, ashamed murmur: "Shang'er..."
"She doesn't know about the forbidden blood-moving technique you wanted to cruelly use to strip her of her Violet Sky Armor after she was severely injured." Yun Che's voice suddenly turned several degrees colder, each word piercing the soul: "You'd better... never let her find out!"
"..." Yun Ting's mouth twitched. After a long time, he let out an excessively heavy sigh and said, "You are... the eminent master who bestowed grace upon Shang'er?"
Having witnessed Yun Che's terrifying strength and his care for Yun Shang that far exceeded ordinary bounds, how could he not realize that the eminent master who brought all kinds of miraculous changes to Yun Shang was actually Yun Che.
Earlier, when Nine Radiance Heavenly Venerable shouted "Half-step Divine Lord," they were shocked to the extreme. But afterwards, even the mighty Wasteland Dragon Lord and Void Void Venerable were easily crushed by him. Such strength was far beyond just a half-step Divine Lord!
"Yes."
"A person like you, why are you so good to Shang'er?" Yun Ting asked.
What he saw of Yun Che was not only great strength but also a terrifying temperament. His ruthlessness that didn't even put the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult in his eyes, and his brutality that left dragon blood and dragon corpses everywhere... Even with his experience, he felt deeply horrified. So why was such a person exceptionally good to Yun Shang alone?
He couldn't think of a reason.
Yun Che raised his arm. In Yun Ting's astonished gaze, a bolt of orange light flashed by.
"!!" Yun Ting was struck as if by lightning, exclaiming uncontrollably: "Heaven... Heaven Gang Divine Power!"
"You!" He suddenly raised his head, staring at Yun Che in disbelief: "You... you... you are a member of my Tiangang Cloud Clan!"
"I am not." Yun Che's eyes were as cold as ever, and he replied coldly: "My ancestors already left the Tiangang Cloud Clan long ago."
"..." Yun Ting's mouth fell open, his features trembling. After intense agitation and shock came boundless complexity. The way he looked at Yun Che had undergone a fundamental transformation.
After a long while, he lowered his arm. His old eyes were misty, and his voice was as faint as if in a dream: "So, you are his descendant."
"Is he... still alive now?"
"Dead," Yun Che said. "Of my Illusion Demon Cloud Clan, only I am still alive now."
"..." Yun Ting was stunned again, then muttered dejectedly: "Dead... Illusion Demon Cloud Clan... dead... ha... hehe..."
He laughed, a laugh of extreme sorrow.
He should have hated him to the bone, but upon hearing of his death, the first thing that welled up was not satisfaction, but grief.
"That's fine, that's fine," he muttered: "Dead, there's no more pain or attachment; dead, no more choices or struggles; dead... all debts are settled... truly liberated."
His soliloquy carried a deep desolation, and even a thick intent to die.
The intent to die before despair arrived.
"You want to die that badly?" Yun Che glanced at him, then suddenly gave a cold laugh: "But I still don't want to let you die!"
His figure flickered, instantly appearing behind Yun Ting. His palm struck directly at Yun Ting's back, the power of the Life Miracle instantly released and instantly withdrawn.
Bang!
Yun Ting let out a startled cry, stumbling forward heavily, spraying a mouthful of black blood. He clutched his chest... then suddenly, he raised his head, turned around, stared blankly at Yun Che, his face full of disbelief.
"The curse mark left in your body by the Burning Moon Divine Realm has been lifted," Yun Che said with his hands behind his back. "With your own foundation and the resources of the Tiangang Cloud Clan, it won't take long for you to return to your former state."
The curse mark in Yun Ting's body suppressed his profound strength at the Divine Sovereign realm, preventing him from returning to the Divine Lord realm. Although this curse mark was strong, it was far less domineering than the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal. It was a dark curse mark most susceptible to the power of light. With the Life Miracle, which surpassed everything in level, Yun Che casually lifted it.
With his cultivation restored, his remaining lifespan would also be greatly extended. Sensing his current physical state, Yun Ting was stirred beyond measure.
He thought Yun Che had come to interrogate him for crimes, but instead...
He stepped forward, ready to bow deeply, but saw Yun Che directly turn his back and say: "There's no need to thank me. I saved you only because you still have some use!"
Yun Ting's body stiffened there. Yun Che's cold words could not extinguish the excitement in his heart—excitement to the point where he didn't know what to say for a moment.
"I saved Yun Shang because her profound art and Heaven Gang Divine Power caught my attention," Yun Che said in a deep voice with his back to him. "I kept her by my side to witness your clan's current situation with my own eyes through her... Only later did I see the shadow of my departed daughter in her."
Yun Ting: "..."
"Ten thousand years ago, the Burning Moon King Realm learned of the nature of the 'sacred object' guarded by your Tiangang Cloud Clan for some reason, and thus forced you to hand it over," Yun Che stated, not asked. "This matter caused a huge division within the clan. You advocated handing over the sacred object to protect the entire clan's safety, while the Second Clan Leader would rather die than let the 'sacred object' fall into other hands."
"In the end, under the irreconcilable division, the Second Clan Leader took his followers and the 'sacred object,' left the Tiangang Cloud Clan, and also left the Northern Domain, never to be heard from again. He also caused your lineage to suffer great calamity from then on."
"...Did he leave it behind?" Yun Ting asked, somewhat dazed.
"No. Half was said by Yun Shang, half guessed by me," Yun Che said. "My ancestors left no records or traces of the Tiangang Cloud Clan. Apart from the distant bloodline connection, the Illusion Demon Cloud Clan had long since severed all ties with the Tiangang Cloud Clan."
"Is that so..." Yun Ting gave a bitter smile: "Regarding that matter back then, the Burning Moon King Realm was not something my clan could defy. Handing over the sacred object to exchange for the whole clan's safety—I never believed I was wrong. And guarding the sacred object was an ancestor's instruction, my clan's mission—he was equally not wrong."
"But he fled with the sacred object, pushing the Tiangang Cloud Clan from its peak into hell! He wanted to sever ties with the Tiangang Cloud Clan, but seemed to forget that it was the Tiangang Cloud Clan's sacred object, not the Illusion Demon Cloud Clan's, and certainly not his own... cough... cough..."
Overwhelmed by anger, Yun Ting's face and body twitched in pain.
Yun Che said nothing, did not argue.
"Hah..." After a moment, Yun Ting's breath relaxed. He smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Enough. Everything has already been set in stone. He is no longer in this world. These matters are utterly meaningless now and have nothing to do with you."
"But having a descendant like you, he must be very comforted."
"That sacred object," Yun Che suddenly said, "is it the Lunhui Jing?"
"!?" Qianye Ying'er, who had been leaning against the wall in a weary, drowsy state, suddenly snapped her eyes wide open.
Yun Ting raised his head, his pupils abruptly dilating.
Although his back was to Yun Ting, the instant soul tremor behind him had already given him the answer.
"The true cause and specific details of that matter back then, I don't want to know," Yun Che said. "Who was right and who was wrong, I also don't want to probe. From now on, I have no connection with the Tiangang Cloud Clan, neither favor nor grievance."
"The reason I am meeting you this time is to tell you one thing." Yun Che turned around, looking at Yun Ting: "I am going to annihilate the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult and temporarily end your calamity."
Yun Che's words were undoubtedly earth-shattering to Yun Ting.
"But you remember this," Yun Che's voice became low and cold: "I am not doing this for your Tiangang Cloud Clan, nor am I atoning for my ancestors' sins. I am doing it for Yun Shang... for one sentence of hers."
He stepped forward, walking past the completely stunned Yun Ting: "I am not killing any of you because I don't want her heart to be stained with any dust. I am saving your entire clan because I don't want her world to fall into darkness. As for you... Don't doubt whether I can do it. Instead, think carefully about how you will make it up to her in the future!"
Even lifting the seal on Yun Ting's cultivation was so that there would be a Divine Lord-level power by her side to protect her.
Yun Ting didn't know how long he stood frozen. When he finally woke from his trance and hurriedly turned around, Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er had long since vanished from his sight and spiritual perception.
Bang!
A colossal dragon corpse thousands of feet in size was kicked aside. Yun Che walked into the thunder domain, crossing it to leave the Tiangang Cloud Clan. He didn't know when he would enter this place again. Or perhaps he would never return.
"The Lunhui Jing is on you?" Qianye Ying'er suddenly asked.
Yun Che did not answer.
"Another question," Qianye Ying'er's eyebrow arched slightly: "Back then in the Dragon God Realm, did you sleep with the Dragon Queen!?"