Chapter 1631: Qianying Shadow Butterfly
The atmosphere within Huangtian Que had already become exceptionally strange. Everyone was still in shock over the Demoness Shadow Butterfly's attitude and invitation towards Yun Che. Yun Che's response, however, instantly caused every inch of space and every wisp of air within Huangtian Que to freeze solid.
Shadow Butterfly's expression sank sharply. The originally gentle and soft gaze, completely devoid of hostility, suddenly flashed with a bone-piercing coldness.
Chi Wuyue... In the Northern Divine Realm, there was no one who did not know this was the name of the Demon Empress.
Yet, no one had ever dared to utter this name directly.
Especially for the Demonesses, the Demon Empress was the most supreme existence in their lives. Yun Che calling her by name directly had already touched upon their greatest taboo!
"Bold...ly!" Tian Muhe, who had just stabilized his injuries, turned around in fury and roared, "How dare you speak the Demon Empress's name directly! Today..."
A sudden force pressed down, forcibly cutting off his voice. Tian Muhe turned his head and saw Tian Muyi's grave expression. The latter slowly shook his head at him.
Tian Muhe immediately fell silent, but when he looked at Yun Che, his gaze still trembled with uncontrollable agitation.
Although he had been injured by Shadow Butterfly, all his hatred and anger were focused on Yun Che. Tian Guhu had been injured by Yun Che on their own turf, and the damage to their reputation and spirit far outweighed the physical harm. He... and anyone from Huangtian Domain absolutely did not want to see Yun Che walk out alive.
Originally, because the Demoness Shadow Butterfly was openly shielding Yun Che, they dared not act rashly. But now, facing the Demoness's invitation, Yun Che's response could not even be described as arrogant. He was simply forcing his own grave!
"Who does the Demoness think she is to invite him?" Not even the supreme Divine Emperors of the present era would dare utter such words!
And directly calling the Demon Empress by name... wasn't this simply seeking death!
After Yun Che had defeated Tian Guhu and made a stunning impression, everyone saw him as shrouded in an extremely mysterious halo. But in the blink of an eye, he had perfectly embodied the phrases "rejecting a gracious offer," "there is a road to heaven but you refuse to walk it," and "you insist on barging into hell's door."
"Heh, interesting." Fen Jieran chuckled as he rubbed his chin. He had originally planned to immediately investigate the origins of these two. Now, it seemed there was no need.
Just by directly uttering the name "Chi Wuyue," he was already as good as dead.
Shadow Butterfly's expression changed very subtly, but everyone distinctly felt that chilling intent that seemed to pierce their souls instantly. Her voice had also lost its previous gentleness: "If not for my master's prior instructions, your words alone would make death a thousand times too merciful!"
"Fine then." Shadow Butterfly slowly raised her hand. Her fair jade-like fingers shimmered with a faint radiance, fluttering like dancing spirits: "Compared to inviting, I actually prefer dragging you back."
Yun Che's lips curved. Though it formed a smile, it strangely carried not the slightest hint of amusement: "You still have time to obediently return to your Jiehun Realm now. Otherwise... you will regret this."
"Just the two of you?" Shadow Butterfly responded indifferently.
As for Yun Che's words, they sounded like a huge joke to everyone's ears.
Shadow Butterfly was one of the Nine Demonesses under the Demon Empress. A Ninth-rank Divine Lord, an existence surpassing all Upper Realm Kings.
Not to mention she also had equally powerful sisters, and behind her stood the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain, whose name alone made souls tremble and hearts shudder.
Yun Che's words were simply too stupid for words.
Yun Che glanced sideways at Qianye Ying'er, his voice still faint: "Don't say I didn't warn you. The woman beside me... she absolutely detests women with high status, high cultivation, and good looks. Are you sure... you want to fight us?"
"You talk too much." Qianye Ying'er twirled her hair around her finger, speaking airily.
"Hmph." As a Demoness, Shadow Butterfly rarely grew angry. But Yun Che's indifferent words stabbed at her fury with every syllable. She said coldly: "I have never doubted my master's will. But this time, it seems my master has misjudged you. After all, rumors are ultimately just rumors!"
WOOOOM——
The space expanded, and the air within a hundred-mile radius was instantly expelled. The suddenly released pressure of a Divine Lord engulfed the entire Huangtian Que.
Indeed, from the very beginning, she had identified Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er's identities due to [a faint, distinctive aura]. Everything that followed merely confirmed this. She had also noticed that Yun Che seemed unafraid to let her know who he was.
As a Demoness, she naturally knew that Yun Che had stolen the Primordial Divine Marrow that had been hidden by the Burning Moon Divine Realm and which the Demon Empress had been searching for for ten thousand years. But she hadn't blown up on the spot, hadn't exposed him, and had even been showing favor to Yun Che as a Demoness... because this was the Demon Empress's order.
She knew that the Demon Empress had never met Yun Che, and had learned from the Demoness Chan Yi that Yun Che's cultivation was at the Divine King Realm. Thus, she had never been able to understand why the Demon Empress valued this person so highly.
Coming here today, she was certain that the Demon Empress must have misjudged the situation. Ignoring the man's potential, these two mangy dogs fleeing from the Eastern Divine Realm were so arrogant in the face of Jiehun Realm's proactive goodwill that not even ten thousand descriptions of "stupid" could do it justice!
If not for the Demon Empress's orders, she wouldn't have even deigned to personally deal with someone like him.
The aura of a Demoness was no small matter. In an instant, the battlefield at Huangtian Que fell into complete chaos. The young Heavenly Lords, utterly unable to resist, were sent flying far away in an instant.
Yun Che's body trembled violently, his robes billowing as if ten thousand mountains pressed down upon him. However, to Shadow Butterfly's surprise, despite being enveloped by her aura at such close range, Yun Che's face showed no sign of pain. His calm expression made her frown slightly.
"Qianying," Yun Che said in a low voice. "A Demoness as our first battle... quite a good start. You wouldn't... let me down after I gave you half that Primordial World Pill, would you!"
Qianye Ying'er let out a very soft laugh, speaking hauntingly: "You just said you'd make her regret this. If I can't back that up, wouldn't that make you lose face... How could I bear to let that happen."
Her ethereal voice faded, the light of the Inverse Abyss Stone dissipated completely, and black light exploded from her body, radiating into a massive Dark Domain that directly tore apart the Demoness Shadow Butterfly's aura.
As their auras collided, wind and clouds raged violently over Huangtian Que.
Beneath the terrifying storm, Yun Che's figure retreated rapidly, all the way to thirty miles away. His expression was stiff and cold as he watched from a distance.
"Ghh!?"
"Aaaaahhhh..."
The horrifying storm couldn't suppress the sudden cries of shock. Every face looked as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer—extremely deformed and twisted.
Tian Muyi, Yan San'geng, Huo Tianxing... Even those as powerful as they felt their hairs stand on end at that moment, utterly aghast. Their gazes were fixed on the woman who had turned to face the Demoness Shadow Butterfly. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't believe their senses.
"Eighth... Eighth-rank Divine Lord!" Tian Muyi blurted out in shock. Those few words alone nearly shattered countless hearts.
An Eighth-rank Divine Lord. The late-stage of the Divine Lord Realm. This was the very level occupied by the Demonesses, the Yama Kings, and the Moon Devourers of the King Realms!
Tian Muyi, the number one Realm King beneath the King Realms, was also an Eighth-rank Divine Lord!
This was announced by Tian Muyi himself. The crowd couldn't believe it, but neither could they disbelieve.
"Who... who is she?" Huo Tianxing's voice trembled. "When did the Northern Divine Realm produce such a figure!"
Reaching the level of an Eighth-rank Divine Lord meant that any such person was a well-known existence throughout the Northern Domain, akin to a celestial being. Yet not a single person had the slightest impression of this veiled, golden-haired woman whose black light blotted out the sky. Even the Dark Aura she released was profoundly unfamiliar.
Two late-stage Divine Lords releasing their profound energy simultaneously on the same battlefield was a calamity just in terms of pressure alone. The pitch-black profound light illuminated countless pale faces. Especially for those from Tianluo Domain, who had been the first to jump out and demand to capture Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er—from the Tianluo Realm King to the Luo siblings, every one of their pores was trembling violently, their whole bodies drenched as if by a torrential rain.
They had actually planned to attack an Eighth-rank Divine Lord!?
Years ago, a single Primordial World Pill had allowed the Zhou Tian Ancestor to cross three minor realms in the Divine Lord Realm, recorded as a miracle in the history of the Profound Dao.
And Qianye Ying'er, with half a Primordial World Pill, had crossed four minor realms of the Divine Lord Realm in half a year!
Just as He Ling had said, the Primordial World Pill refined with the power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl and her Wood Spirit power was absolutely incomparable to the one the Zhou Tian Ancestor had obtained back then.
Shadow Butterfly's hair lifted as she frowned deeply.
Qianye Ying'er. The Divine Maiden of the Eastern Divine Realm who had fled to the Northern Divine Realm with Yun Che. The rumor that her cultivation had been abolished had reached her ears long ago, and the Demoness Chan Yi had personally witnessed it back then... According to Chan Yi, the Fandi Shennü she had seen had already fallen to the Divine Sovereign Realm.
But that was less than two years ago. How could there be such an exaggerated difference?
However, it was clear that Qianye Ying'er possessed a profound artifact that could perfectly conceal her aura, having completely fooled even her earlier, let alone Chan Yi.
With this thought, two butterfly-shaped black glows slowly appeared in the Demoness Shadow Butterfly's eyes: "So that's it. No wonder you're so arrogant. Unfortunately..."
In the Divine Lord Realm, every step was a heavenly chasm. How difficult it was to cross a single minor realm, and how enormous the gap a single minor realm represented, could not be understood by those below the Divine Lord Realm.
An Eighth-rank Divine Lord facing a Ninth-rank Divine Lord meant absolute insurmountability and absolute impossibility of victory.
Without further ado, Shadow Butterfly's expression turned cold. She reached out her hand and grabbed at the void.
Qianye Ying'er's hand also swung out in the next instant.
"Damn it... Fall back!!" Tian Muhe's face changed drastically as he roared. This was a collision of domains between two late-stage Divine Lords. At this distance, even a Divine Sovereign could not withstand the aftershock.
It would be fine if Huangtian Que was destroyed, but this place gathered the most outstanding younger generation of the Huangtian Sect. If they perished here, the loss would be unimaginable.
"It's too late." Tian Muyi forced himself to remain calm and let out a sky-shaking roar: "Barrier!" Two late-stage Divine Lords fighting in Huangtian Que... As the number one Realm King, he wished he could curse their mothers.
Under his roar, Tian Muyi, Huo Tianxing, and the Viper Saint Lord quickly acted together, erecting a sealing barrier.
BOOOOM!!
Light was completely devoured. In a world of lightless darkness, nearly half of Huangtian Que instantly collapsed. The barrier erected by the three strongest Realm Kings sank heavily but ultimately managed to protect the other half of Huangtian Que and the terrified crowd within.
The other Upper Realm Kings also woke up from their stupor, quickly moving forward to pour their power into the barrier. But their gazes were all fixed skyward.
The clash between the Demoness Shadow Butterfly and an Eighth-rank Divine Lord was a calamity happening right before their eyes, and a battle at the pinnacle of the Profound Dao that one might only witness once in a lifetime.
The two Dark Domains collided, tearing and devouring each other, yet they ended up evenly matched. Shadow Butterfly's expression changed slightly once more.
In terms of cultivation, Qianye Ying'er was clearly inferior to her. But when their Dark Auras clashed, she sensed a kind of suppression that absolutely should not exist...
Level suppression!
As a Demoness subordinate to the Demon Empress, the Dark Arts she had inherited and cultivated were undoubtedly at the pinnacle of the present era, with almost no one surpassing her. At least within her knowledge, the only one who could truly surpass her in "level" was the Demon Empress, whose power was [special].
But now, not only did she feel level suppression from Qianye Ying'er, she could clearly sense... that this suppression was extraordinarily distinct and powerful!
Under the [intense] level suppression, Qianye Ying'er, whose profound strength was a full minor realm weaker, actually managed to completely withstand her Dark Shadow Butterfly power.
With a soft murmur, Shadow Butterfly's hands danced lightly, her aura changing abruptly. Countless dark butterfly silhouettes suddenly appeared within the dark world. Thousands of butterflies danced around Qianye Ying'er, each shadow trailing the abyss's gloom and the aura of death.
Qianye Ying'er's figure turned gracefully. Golden light split the sky as she grasped the Oracle in her hand and swept it lightly. Instantly, within the world of black butterflies, dazzling golden streaks tore open. Beneath the golden marks, the black butterflies that could devour the void itself dissipated like wisps of smoke, none able to approach Qianye Ying'er.
"!?" Shadow Butterfly's hands stopped dancing. She closed her fingers, and the ten thousand butterflies swirled back, gathering behind her to form a hundred-zhang butterfly shadow. As its wings spread, she appeared beside Qianye Ying'er like a phantom. The folded butterfly wings instantly transformed the space where Qianye Ying'er stood into a dark abyss that devoured all souls.
BOOM——
PUFF!!
In the Northern Divine Realm, no one ever doubted the power of a Demoness. Above Huangtian Que, every instant the Demoness Shadow Butterfly struck brought darkness upon heaven and earth, demonstrating to countless experts present the true form of a Demoness.
Hearing and witnessing were two entirely different concepts. Witnessing with one's own eyes, and even feeling the Demoness's power up close, the visual and spiritual impact was indescribably immense, even for the Upper Realm Kings. Their reverence for the Demonesses and the King Realms doubled.
But what shocked them even more was that such formidable power, such a terrifying Demoness, still could not suppress the golden-haired woman opposite her!
The Dark Arts cultivated by Qianye Ying'er all came from Yun Che—or more precisely, from Jie Tian Mo Di. Her talent and comprehension in the Profound Dao were inherently extremely high, and her knowledge of the Profound Dao was no less than anyone else in the present era. Coupled with merging with the Demon Emperor's blood, her mastery of Dark Arts was second only to Yun Che.
Over the years of dual cultivation with Yun Che, the fusion of the Demon Emperor's blood within her body advanced daily, and her understanding and control of Dark Arts became increasingly effortless. After cultivating the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture, which Yun Che had initially given her, to its Great Perfection, she selected several other Dark Arts left by Jie Tian Mo Di. Though it had only been a few years, she had easily cultivated all of them to Great Perfection.
Although these Dark Arts could not compare in level to Dark Eternal Calamity, they were by no means inferior to the Fantian Divine Art she had once cultivated, which had taken her hundreds of years to reach Great Perfection.
Amidst the tremors of heaven and earth, nearly sixty percent of Huangtian Que had turned to dust in the darkness. Shadow Butterfly's attacks grew increasingly violent. Every flap of her butterfly wings stirred up storm that swallowed heaven and devoured earth, yet from beginning to end, she could not suppress Qianye Ying'er.
On the contrary, the extremely heavy level suppression was like a towering mountain constantly closing in, gradually unsettling her mind and soul.
BOOOOM!
Black light exploded. A massive dark vortex bloomed in the void, lingering for a long time without fading.
The two finally separated. Shadow Butterfly did not attack again. She looked at Qianye Ying'er, her voice carrying a deep, low tone: "Where did you obtain the Arts you cultivate!"
Qianye Ying'er narrowed her golden eyes slightly. Beneath her veil, an eerie and enchanting gaze clearly mingled with a twisted quality. She said softly and hauntingly: "That question, you should ask your future master. And it's best... to ask it while in bed."
"...?" Shadow Butterfly was stunned for a moment, then gently exhaled and murmured: "My master said I cannot kill him, but she never said I cannot kill you."