Chapter 1647: The Zhou Tian Wager
Eastern Divine Region, Zhou Tian God Realm, bottom of the Zhou Tian Tower.
Here, all was gray and dim, with only a few points of Mysterious Jade emitting a faint light.
Not just light—everything here was isolated from the outside world, including sound and even aura.
Even though this was the most heavily guarded location within the Zhou Tian God Realm, forbidden to all without the personal permission of the Zhou Tian God Emperor, layers upon layers of barrier formations were still spread throughout.
At the center of the dim space, Zhou Qingchen sat in silence. This was his two hundred and twenty-ninth day here.
He remembered it with absolute clarity, because every single day here was longer than any year in his past millennium of life.
In the past, retreating for several years would pass with a calm heart. But these few short months had made him realize just how terrifying the passage of time could be.
Hummm.
A sound rang out. The long-sealed door was pushed open carefully and slowly, and the initial noise was instantly and completely suppressed.
As the door opened, a sliver of bright light shone in. It was not intense, but it made Zhou Qingchen instinctively raise his hand to block it.
Confined here, he should have craved light. Yet this faint brightness stung his eyes.
Because now, he was a demon.
“Father King.” Zhou Qingchen rose to his feet and bowed respectfully.
Zhou Xuzi walked over slowly. In just a few short months, he seemed to have aged a little more, but his face still carried a gentle, wind-like smile: “Qingchen, how have you been lately?”
Zhou Qingchen replied, “Reporting to Father King, this past half-month, there have been no signs of unrest from the darkness profound energy. Your son’s heart has also calmed considerably.”
“That’s good.” Zhou Xuzi smiled and nodded. “The situation is far better than imagined. It also shows that our ancestors have been watching over us in the shadows. So you must firmly believe that the darkness within you will one day be purified.”
This time, Zhou Qingchen did not respond as he had before. Instead, he suddenly said, “Father King, your son has been meditating this past period, and some thoughts have arisen in my heart… thoughts that perhaps should not exist. I do not know if I should ask Father King about them.”
“Heh heh, if you have something to say, just ask.” Zhou Xuzi said. The root of Zhou Qingchen’s current plight lay with him. Burdened by inner pain and deep guilt, his attitude toward Zhou Qingchen had become much gentler than before.
“Your son wants to ask…” Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Qingchen still hesitated. Meeting his father’s gentle gaze, he finally asked, “Is the dark profound force truly so unforgivable?”
“Oh?” Zhou Xuzi frowned slightly, but still maintained a gentle demeanor and said with a smile, “Dark profound force is the symbol of negative power. When there is no dark profound force in the world, there will be no power of evil. Especially for us, who inherit the legacy of the gods, eradicating the dark profound force from the world is a mission passed down through generations, without need for words.”
“Why would you suddenly ask such a question?”
Zhou Qingchen had heard these words countless times from Zhou Xuzi and many others ever since he first began cultivating the profound way. He had never questioned them, as they were as fundamental as water and fire being incompatible.
Facing his father’s gaze, he voiced his truest doubts: “Demons who bear dark profound force will have their humanity obliterated by it, becoming ferocious, bloodthirsty, and brutal, willing to commit any evil for their own benefit… The dark profound force is a heresy in this world. As profound practitioners of the God Realm, whenever we encounter a demon, demonic beast, or demonic spirit, we must do our utmost to destroy them.”
“And so, after becoming a demon, I have been in constant fear, afraid of becoming a monster losing all humanity and conscience.”
Zhou Xuzi: “…”
He raised his own hands. As his profound force circulated, a layer of black aura slowly rose from his palms. His fingers did not tremble, and his eyes and voice remained calm: “It has been over seven months now. The frequency of the dark profound force’s eruptions has been decreasing. My body has fully adapted to its presence. Compared to the beginning, I am now more of a true demon.”
“But…” He closed his eyes slowly. “Why do I not feel myself turning into such a beast? My rationality, my sense of guilt—they still exist clearly. The things I was unwilling or unable to do before, I am still unwilling and unable to do now.”
“The only negative change I can clearly sense is that when the dark profound force erupts, my emotions also become irritable…”
He raised his hands a bit higher, the dark profound aura between his fingers growing denser: “Father King, is the dark profound force really not that terrifying? Could it be that our understanding of the dark profound force and demons has always been wrong from the very start?”
“Enough!”
A furious rebuke dispelled all the gentleness from Zhou Xuzi’s face. As a God Emperor who upheld the most righteous path and took the annihilation of darkness and evil as his lifelong mission, he could not believe or accept that such words came from his own son, from the chosen successor of Zhou Tian.
That was not just rebellious—it was outright heretical!
Zhou Xuzi, who rarely grew angry, furrowed his brow and was about to deliver a slap. But as his gaze met the black aura in Zhou Qingchen’s hand, his eyes trembled. He forcibly suppressed the surging anger, extended his hand, and instantly wiped away the dark aura Zhou Qingchen had released.
“Qingchen, how can you say such things?” Zhou Xuzi forced himself to remain composed, but his voice trembled slightly. “Darkness is a heresy that cannot coexist with the world! This is the law of the mortal realm! It is the ancestral precept! It is the will of the Heavenly Dao!”
Facing Zhou Xuzi’s reprimand, Zhou Qingchen, usually respectful and obedient, suddenly took a step back and spoke even more forcefully than before: “If darkness is truly an unforgivable evil in this world, then why did the Calamity Demon Emperor sacrifice herself and her entire clan for the safety of the present age!”
“Why did the Heavenly Slaughter Star God, who controlled the Evil Infant Myriad Calamity Wheel, appear to seal the Chaos Wall at the risk of being surrounded and eliminated!”
“Why did Yun Che, bearing the dark profound force, face the Calamity Demon Emperor alone to save the world!”
“Silence!”
With a flick of his long sleeve, an extremely heavy slap sent Zhou Qingchen flying far away. Zhou Xuzi’s hair and beard stood on end, his entire body trembling: “Qingchen, you… do you even know what you’re saying! You’ve gone mad! The dark profound force is already eroding your rationality and nature! Wake up properly!”
“Cough… cough cough.” Zhou Qingchen supported himself against the wall and slowly stood up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingers, lowered his head, and said slowly, “The one who is not clear-headed is the one who raves like a madman and speaks nonsense. What your son just said was all witnessed by Father King and your son ourselves, experienced firsthand…”
“Still not shutting up!”
Boom!
Zhou Xuzi’s blood rushed to his head. The Mysterious Jade beneath his feet shattered into large pieces, with powder flying everywhere.
Zhou Qingchen’s long hair was disheveled, and he breathed heavily. Slowly, he knelt down, his head bowed: “Your son spoke recklessly and offended… Father King, please forgive me.”
For Zhou Qingchen, this darkest period of over two hundred days had become the clearest time of his life.
Only by bearing the darkness could one truly understand it.
Perhaps this was the most cruel aspect of Yun Che’s first act of revenge against Zhou Tian.
It not only destroyed the body of this Zhou Tian successor but also shattered the beliefs he had always held firm.
Blood dripped slowly from the corner of Zhou Qingchen’s lips, each drop stabbing into Zhou Xuzi’s heart and soul. All his anger was replaced by pain. He sighed deeply, stepped forward slowly, and pointed his finger. With a light flash of profound light, the red mark on Zhou Qingchen’s face faded away.
“Qingchen,” he said slowly, “rest assured, I have already found a way to restore you. No matter what, no matter the cost, I will surely accomplish it.”
“This is your father’s promise to his most important son.”
“Your son… believes in Father King.” Zhou Qingchen replied softly, but his head remained buried beneath his disheveled hair, never lifting.
Zhou Xuzi turned and left, his footsteps silent but incredibly heavy.
Leaving the layers of barrier formations, Zhou Xuzi did not immediately exit the Zhou Tian Tower. Instead, he headed toward the lowest level, the most secret place in the Zhou Tian God Realm.
That was the location of the Zhou Tian Pearl.
However, his footsteps were sometimes heavy, sometimes wavering.
“The ancestral precepts… the will of the Zhou Tian… the pursuit of a lifetime… the struggle of half a life… how could they be wrong, how could they be wrong…” He murmured to himself, over and over.
During this time, he had come to the spirit of the Zhou Tian Pearl again and again, hoping it might recall some ancient memories and find a way to save Zhou Qingchen. But every time, the answer was the same: “Since Yun Che could forcibly impose it, there is a possibility he can remove it… and that is the only possibility.”
Just as he was about to step into the forbidden domain where the Zhou Tian Pearl resided, a voice transmission suddenly reached his soul.
This transmission made him stop in his tracks, his entire body shaking violently. He abruptly turned and flew away at an extremely fast speed.
Leaving the Zhou Tian Tower, the Taiyu Venerable was already waiting for him in the main hall. Zhou Xuzi landed directly before him and said heavily, “Taiyu, what you said… is it true?”
“Absolutely true.” The Taiyu Venerable nodded slowly. Given his status, unless he was one hundred percent certain—even ninety-nine percent wouldn’t do—he would not utter the words “absolutely true.”
“Do you know the details?” Zhou Xuzi asked.
The Taiyu Venerable shook his head. “The details are difficult to ascertain. Yun Che has indeed fallen into the hands of the Jiehun Demon Empress. The Yanmo Realm once demanded his extradition from the Demon Empress.”
“The Yanmo Realm?” Zhou Xuzi frowned slightly.
“Mm.” The Taiyu Venerable said, “Although Yun Che bears dark profound force, to the Northern Divine Region, he is still a person from the Eastern Divine Region. They harbor an ancient enmity toward the Eastern Divine Region, so once they identified Yun Che, they naturally viewed him as an external heretic.”
“Coupled with the Evil God inheritance and the Heavenly Poison Pearl on him, word might have reached the upper echelons of the Northern Divine Region’s king realms. Thus, once Yun Che’s identity was exposed in the Northern Divine Region, his situation would be dire.”
“His earlier appearance in the Taichu Divine Realm was likely due to his identity being revealed, forcing him to flee into the Taichu Divine Realm to escape pursuit. After harming Qingchen and exposing his whereabouts, he was forced to flee back to the Northern Divine Region.”
“Before falling into the Demon Empress’s hands, he seemed to have deeply offended her. As for the Yanmo, he killed a very important figure of theirs. From this perspective, although Yun Che’s strength has changed in an inexplicable manner, he is surrounded on all sides in the Northern Divine Region.”
Hearing this outcome, it was not surprising at all, whether because of Yun Che’s identity or the secrets he carried.
Zhou Xuzi thought for a moment and asked, “Approximately when did this happen?”
“Probably a month ago,” the Taiyu Venerable said, then frowned. “The Demon Empress had initially agreed to the matter, but after succeeding, she remained completely silent for a whole month. Perhaps, after capturing Yun Che, she had no intention of using him for a ‘transaction.’ After all, how could she let go of the secrets on Yun Che!”
“No,” Zhou Xuzi shook his head slowly. “Secrets are, after all, just secrets—unseen, untouchable. But my bargaining chip is something she cannot refuse. Moreover, what I proposed was merely forcing Yun Che to remove the darkness from Zhou Qingchen, with a promise not to kill him outright or bring him back to the Eastern Divine Region… She has even less reason to refuse.”
“She is certain that I will eventually receive the news and that I will contact her proactively.”
The Taiyu Venerable let out a soft sigh. He knew that even if it meant falling into complete passivity, Zhou Xuzi would yield.
“The descendants of demons are cunning and greedy. The more anxious I am, the more exorbitant her demands will be… But Qingchen cannot wait. His mind is already being eroded by the darkness. Every day adds another variable. If it’s too late, it may become completely irreversible, sigh.” Zhou Xuzi’s face was full of exhaustion. “But fortunately, she has indeed captured Yun Che.”
The Taiyu Venerable looked at Zhou Xuzi and said, “It seems, however, that my lord is not too worried about this transaction.”
Zhou Xuzi looked ahead and said slowly, “That bargaining chip—she cannot possibly refuse it. No one… can refuse it.”
The Taiyu Venerable frowned deeply and asked, “My lord, what exactly is the bargaining chip you are using?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly thought of something, his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, “Could it be… could it be…”
Zhou Xuzi closed his eyes and remained silent.
The look of shock froze on the Taiyu Venerable’s face, and it took a long time for him to slowly calm down. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh and said, “My lord has dedicated half his life to the Zhou Tian and this age. It is time to live for himself once.”
Zhou Xuzi said slowly, “After this matter, I will no longer be the Emperor of Zhou Tian. This price—let Qingchen repay it himself.”
“Taiyu… thank you for what you just said.” He said sincerely. Although the Taiyu Venerable’s words were brief, to him, they were immense spiritual comfort.
The Taiyu Venerable smiled and shook his head. “Between us brothers, there is no need for such superfluous words. However, that Demon Empress is not only incredibly cunning but also has a strange and terrifying soul power, as I have experienced before. You must be extremely cautious.”
“Rest assured.” Zhou Xuzi said. “If I weren’t thoroughly prepared, how would I dare step into the borders of the Northern Domain. Before that, the most important thing is to conceal my whereabouts… Taiyu, I leave it to you.”
“My lord, rest assured.”
Withdrawing the soundproof barrier, Taiyu turned and left. In his memory, since Zhou Xuzi became emperor, this was the first time he had truly acted out of personal desire.
Perhaps only Zhou Qingchen could make him do so.