Chapter 1609: Middle Stage of Eternal Calamity
The news that Liuguang Realm had once hidden the demon Yun Che and was punished by the Yue Shen Realm and Zhou Tian God Realm quickly spread, causing a long uproar in the Dong Shen Domain.
In the three thousand years since the Zhou Tian Convention, Liuguang Realm had gained a mid-rank Divine Lord, Shui Yingyue, and the miracle girl Shui Meiyin. Their prominence had risen to the point where they almost overshadowed all upper star realms. In the eyes of many, Liuguang Realm had already replaced Shengyu Realm and become the foremost among the upper star realms.
Now, the two core figures of Liuguang Realm—Shui Qianheng was crippled, Shui Meiyin was confined, and they were burdened with an indelible crime. Liuguang Realm's once-blazing prestige had undoubtedly fallen a thousand zhang in an instant.
And the world knew well that if not for Zhou Tian Shen Di's plea, Shui Qianheng would not even have kept his life.
Nine days later, Shui Qianheng quietly abdicated his position as Realm King of Liuguang Realm, passing it to his eldest daughter, Shui Yingyue. This should have been a great event that shook the Dong Shen Domain, with myriad realms coming to celebrate. But Liuguang Realm completed it in utter silence—no grand ceremony, no invited guests.
As for Shui Meiyin's fate over the next thousand years, no one could know or predict.
…………
Tai Chu Divine Realm.
A pale world, as if eternally covered in a layer of ash.
Roaring, tearing... and then, muffled, despairing wails.
Three thousand-zhang giant beasts fell simultaneously amidst earth-shaking tremors. As the slowly settling dust revealed itself, the figure of Qianye Ying'er emerged. Her soft sword flew out, slicing open the corpses of the three giant beasts, retrieving their intact mysterious pills, and tossing them beside Yun Che.
Yun Che sat cross-legged amid a pile of rubble, eyes closed, breathing steady, utterly unresponsive to his surroundings.
He had remained in this state for seven days.
Tai Chu Divine Realm—according to legend, the only "miniature world" that had existed since the dawn of chaos without collapsing. And there were even rumors that this "miniature world" might be larger than the Divine Realm, perhaps even larger than the chaos space itself.
Its atmosphere was completely different from the outside world.
The living beings within—whether flowers, grass, trees, or birds, insects, fish, and beasts—were also different from those outside.
In common understanding, Tai Chu Divine Realm belonged to the chaos world as a miniature world. But everyone who entered it would find it entirely different from the miniature worlds they knew. It was more like another vast world independent of chaos.
Moreover, its existence seemed even more exalted than the chaos world.
Because any Xuan adept who knew of Tai Chu Divine Realm would understand how dangerous a place it was. Although its upper limit was the same as the Divine Realm's—peak Divine Lord—its lower threshold was terrifyingly high: the Divine Sovereign realm was the bare minimum to set foot in Tai Chu Divine Realm! For a Divine Lord to venture deep, he would have to take ever-increasing risks.
Over a million years in the Divine Realm, those Divine Lords who stood at the pinnacle of the Xuan Path and were hardest to fall—aside from those who died of old age—lost their lives most often in Tai Chu Divine Realm.
After eliminating the nearby Xuan beasts, Qianye Ying'er returned to Yun Che's side. Instead of continuing to cultivate, she silently watched his calm appearance.
A year ago, they had come to Tai Chu Divine Realm mostly out of necessity. They could not risk falling into the hands of Jiehun Realm or Fenyue Wang Realm.
Tai Chu Divine Realm's risks and resources surpassed any other place. Several months after arriving, as they hunted more and more Tai Chu Xuan beasts, a strange and terrifying ability suddenly manifested in Yun Che...
After directly absorbing and converting the power of mysterious crystals, when he held a Tai Chu Xuan beast's mysterious pill in his hand, he could absorb its power just like a mysterious crystal—and directly transform it into his own power!
At first, it was rough, but two months later, he had become as proficient as with absorbing mysterious crystals.
She could not understand what this bizarre ability of Yun Che's was, and he had never spoken a single word about it to her.
From mysterious crystals formed by heaven-earth spiritual energy to mysterious pills condensed by Xuan beasts, it seemed the limits of this strange ability were far from reached. It was impossible to imagine what even more terrifying capabilities it might display in the future.
In fact, she had fleeting, horrifying thoughts... Could it one day be possible to directly plunder the cultivation of other Xuan adepts!?
This was not the deepest part of Tai Chu Divine Realm, yet it was already teeming with Divine King beasts and Divine Sovereign beasts. A Xuan beast's mysterious pill was equivalent to a human's Xuan meridian. What it contained was not ordinary profound energy, but the source force of powerful Xuan beasts—incomparable to the spiritual energy in mysterious crystals.
With a large number of crystals seized earlier from the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult, and his growing proficiency in absorbing the power of mysterious pills, Yun Che had no conventional cultivation, yet his cultivation grew day by day.
When he arrived at Tai Chu Divine Realm, he had just entered the Divine Sovereign realm. Now, he was at Level 4 of the Divine Sovereign realm.
Every minor breakthrough in the Divine Sovereign realm was like climbing to heaven. It required not only vast resources but also the full effort of a talented Xuan adept over a thousand or even ten thousand years. Yet in just one year, without any cultivation, Yun Che had crossed three heavenly chasms.
Unfortunately, the only witness to this shocking feat was Qianye Ying'er.
With no need to cultivate the Xuan Path deliberately, this year Yun Che had devoted almost all his energy to cultivating Dark Eternal Calamity.
And with Qianye Ying'er as an excellent furnace, the progress of Dark Eternal Calamity was faster than even he had anticipated.
At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, meeting Qianye Ying'er's gaze fixed on him.
Seven days—this was the longest he had been in a meditative trance since entering Tai Chu Divine Realm.
In this extremely dangerous place, even a Divine Emperor would not dare to enter such a trance alone.
The instant his eyes opened, a profound black light flashed in the center of his pupils.
Black profound light was perfectly normal for a "demon." But this black light blazed from Qianye Ying'er's eyes straight into her soul, causing her heart—and even her Xuan meridian—to tremble violently.
What is this?
"You've been silent for so long. Looks like you've made a major breakthrough," Qianye Ying'er said, surprised but inwardly expectant.
Yun Che slowly raised his hand, looking at his palm, and murmured, "Finally... the fusion of the demon blood is half complete."
"Demon blood?" Qianye Ying'er narrowed her eyes slightly. "And?"
The fusion of demon blood always happened during their bodily union. Yun Che's sudden stillness for seven days obviously couldn't be just for that.
A strange smile curled on Yun Che's lips. He extended his arm toward Qianye Ying'er, his fingers slowly closing.
Suddenly, Qianye Ying'er's entire body convulsed violently. Her dark profound energy surged up spontaneously, erupting fiercely.
This shock was no small matter. Qianye Ying'er's face changed dramatically as she quickly gathered her mind to suppress the inexplicably disturbed profound energy. She clearly felt that her dark profound energy was being manipulated by an unseen will—like an invisible hand.
Yun Che lowered his arm, and the black light in his eyes faded. The feeling of her own power being controlled by another vanished. Qianye Ying'er stepped back two paces, her golden eyes fixed on Yun Che... With her understanding of the Xuan Path, in just a few breaths, her jade-like face was covered in fine beads of sweat.
"Is this... the Demon Emperor's power you once mentioned, capable of controlling all demons of the Northern Domain?" Qianye Ying'er's voice was abnormally slow.
She had heard long ago from Yun Che that once Dark Eternal Calamity was cultivated to its peak, all living beings who cultivated dark profound energy would become his tools. She had never doubted it—because it came from the power of Jie Tian Mo Di!
But facing it personally now, the terror in her heart could not be suppressed.
It could directly manipulate another's dark profound energy... Could such a thing really exist in this world?
"No, it's not enough, far from enough," Yun Che said in a low voice. "For now, I've barely stepped into the middle stage. It's still a long way from the great achievement stage and the extreme stage."
"To what degree can you now interfere with another's dark profound energy?" Qianye Ying'er asked. Her current cultivation had been restored by Yun Che to Level 4 of the Divine Lord realm, yet her power had been so easily and violently stirred... Was this just the entry into the middle stage of Dark Eternal Calamity?
"That level just now is probably my limit," Yun Che said coldly. "At this level, I still don't have the qualification to 'cooperate' with the Demon Empress as an equal. However..."
His gaze turned dark. "Maybe by this time next year, it will be enough."
"No, there's no need to wait until next year," Qianye Ying'er thought for a moment and said, "Starting today, you can cultivate your Dark Eternal Calamity on me. I think with your ability, reaching the great achievement stage you desire should..."
Qianye Ying'er's voice suddenly stopped, and her gaze sharply turned south. "Someone's coming. And this aura..."
"Zhou Tian God Realm people!" Yun Che said, his voice sinking to the lowest point.
Zhou Tian God Realm—this place he had once respected the most—now, those four words were stained with endless ferocity and hatred in his heart.
"Two people," Qianye Ying'er released her spiritual sense and continued. "Quhui, the head of the Zhou Tian Arbiters, the host of that Xuan God Convention you attended. The other person... Hmm?"
Her brow furrowed slightly, seemingly surprised that this person had come here.
"Zhou Tian Crown Prince... Zhou Qingchen!" Yun Che precisely murmured the name of the other aura's owner.
Quhui Zunzhe and the Zhou Tian Crown Prince—these two had appeared in Tai Chu Divine Realm!
"Let's go!" Qianye Ying'er said decisively.
"Change our auras," Yun Che said.
Qianye Ying'er frowned sharply. "What are you trying to do? Zhou Qingchen might be a waste, but he is the Zhou Tian Crown Prince appointed by Zhou Tian Shen Di! Him appearing in a place like this—his protective escort cannot possibly be only Quhui. There is likely a Guardian nearby!"
Yun Che stood up. He casually wiped his palm across his face, and in an instant, his features changed to a completely different face. The wind elements around him stirred silently, occasionally raising gentle, peaceful whirlwinds.
With relaxed features, his face no longer held any coldness but was entirely peaceful. Even his eyes radiated a warmth that easily inspired goodwill.
Qianye Ying'er reached out and grabbed Yun Che's arm tightly. "What exactly are you going to do? Now is not the time. Hold yourself back!"
"Hold back?" Yun Che let out a particularly terrifying sneer. "Who is he? He is Zhou Tian Shen Di's most beloved son! His son!!"
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"What good does killing him do?" Qianye Ying'er's hand still gripped him tightly. "Is venting momentary hatred worth taking such a huge risk?"
"Kill him?" Yun Che smiled still, his already horrifying grin becoming even more terrifying. "Why would I kill him? I'll send him back to his father, that old dog Zhou Tian, completely intact—not a single hair missing. Oh no, wait—maybe there will be a little extra something."
Qianye Ying'er: "??"