Chapter 1649: Demon Emperor's Soul
Qianye Ying'er stood at the other side of the Mysterious Ark, gazing at another equally vast dark star domain.
Chi Wuyue slowly walked over. When her gaze touched Qianye Ying'er, her steps paused slightly.
Golden hair flying, skirt ribbons fluttering—the world often praises beautiful women with "eyes and brows like a painting," but the golden-haired woman in sight, even just a silhouette, was a charm that no painting could capture.
Fandi Shennü, the perfect masterpiece bestowed upon the world by the heavens, exhausting countless spiritual essences of heaven and earth, had become the private possession of an avenging demon... Anyone who even thought of it would probably feel sharp heartache.
"When I am around, she never exceeds three feet from him on ordinary days. Yet today she's over ten zhang away. This scene is quite rare." She teased in a leisurely tone.
Qianye Ying'er snorted coldly: "Every year on this day, his mood is at its worst. I can't be bothered to provoke him."
She shot a sidelong glance at Chi Wuyue and said, "You seem to be completely unafraid of failure this time. Your opponent is Zhou Tian Shen Di!"
"I never underestimate my opponents." Chi Wuyue smiled slightly. "But I never underestimate myself either. Moreover, this certainty was delivered to me by his own hand."
"You mean... the bargaining chip in his transaction?"
"Yes." Chi Wuyue's snowy hand flicked her hair, her strands dancing in the wind, and even the black mist that always clung to her visibly thinned, vaguely revealing a jade-like face as hazy as a dream: "To him, it was a chip I couldn't refuse—one no one could refuse."
"That he would produce such a chip has always struck me as rather unbelievable."
Qianye Ying'er sneered: "Hah, aside from the matter of Zhou Qingchen, for him to step into the Northern Domain border as Zhou Tian Shen Di and negotiate with you, the Demon Empress, is already a huge taboo. He must succeed in one go and cannot allow any mistakes or accidents that would force a second attempt. So no matter how big the chip he offers, I wouldn't be surprised."
Chi Wuyue turned her eyes and let out a soft exclamation: "Why don't you ask me what his chip is?"
"If you want to say it, say it yourself." Qianye Ying'er stared at the star field, her face expressionless. How could she comply with Chi Wuyue's wish?
"Oh dear," Chi Wuyue's jade lips held a smile: "What an unruly child."
"If you want obedient ones, go find your own male pets." Qianye Ying'er sneered coldly.
"Male pets? Hehehehe..." She let out a delicate laugh, then said slowly: "In those days, the Divine Legacy Force of the Jingtian Divine Realm was mostly inherited by men. But when it came to me, all those who inherited it were women."
"And furthermore, my most important criterion for selecting demonesses is not talent, not background, but... appearance."
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"From Jie Xin to Chan Yi, in terms of looks, each one is chosen from billions of miles. Even the favored consort of that Burning Moon Divine Emperor isn't worthy to compare with any of them."
"Guess... why is that?"
"..." Qianye Ying'er suddenly felt inexplicable discomfort all over her body, and her slender brows unconsciously furrowed: "What are you trying to say?"
"What I mean is..."
Chi Wuyue's voice suddenly came very close. Qianye Ying'er instinctively turned her gaze, only to find her face already inches away. Strands of soft, warm breath clearly brushed against her lips, and behind the black mist, her eyes seemed to have stars flashing by: "When men get boring, one might come to prefer women, you know."
Qianye Ying'er sharply stepped back, her eyes icy and stern, her whole body tingling.
"Ha ha ha ha." With a burst of hearty laughter, Chi Wuyue had already twisted around and drifted away.
She was heading toward Yun Che.
Dark storms kept sweeping past, but Yun Che's heart was as still as a dead pool.
Sensing Chi Wuyue's approach, he didn't turn back and suddenly said: "What exactly is your soul?!"
Chi Wuyue walked until she was right beside Yun Che, then stopped, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Her lips parted, seeming both smiling and reproachful: "You actually waited until today to ask this question—that really surprises me."
So close, her soul-stirring enchanting voice almost coiled directly around his soul's depths.
If Yun Che were any other man—or even his former self—he would probably be too limp to stand.
"If I ask, will you tell me?" Yun Che said coldly.
"For you, yes." Chi Wuyue smiled sweetly and endlessly. In this brief alone time with Yun Che, she was not the Demon Empress, but a seductive enchantress.
Yun Che: "..."
"You can probably guess some of it, after all, only you can detect it." Chi Wuyue said: "It's just that I am far less fortunate than you. It's only a very tiny wisp of soul. The original owner of that soul is called..."
"Nirvana Wheel Demon Emperor."
Yun Che's brow furrowed deeply, his expression slightly moved: "As I suspected."
Nirvana Wheel Demon Emperor, along with Jie Tian Mo Di, was one of the Four Ancient Demon Emperors.
At Hunluo Heaven, when Chi Wuyue personally transmitted her voice to those three Yan Mo, the soul aura she released had caused his Dragon God Soul... to tremble for an instant.
The Primordial Azure Dragon, as the emperor among dragons, had surpassed ordinary true gods in ancient times.
And the only things capable of making the Dragon God Soul tremble, of surpassing it in level, were the souls of Creation Gods and Demon Emperors!
Now that Chi Wuyue admitted it herself, her soul indeed contained a wisp... a remnant soul aura from an ancient Demon Emperor!
Aside from the briefly returned Jie Tian Mo Di, there was actually another remnant of a Demon Emperor in this world!
Even if it was only the tiniest wisp, it was still soul power at the Demon Emperor level!
No wonder she rose from a mere mortal woman to the Empress of the Northern Domain; no wonder her soul power left two Divine Emperors, Qianye Fantian and Zhou Xuzi, with shadows for ten thousand years.
Perhaps her terrifying insight and scheming also originated from this.
"Other than me, only you know this." Chi Wuyue smiled faintly: "To others, I can rely on it to look down on everything. But compared to you, it is almost negligible. Deliberately being reserved and hiding it would be laughable instead."
"Hmph, who would dare to look down on a Demon Emperor's soul!" Yun Che said.
Chi Wuyue shook her head with a smile, saying softly: "The Creation God power you bear is the Evil God's Mysterious Vein; the Demon Emperor power you bear is the source bloodline of Jie Tian Mo Di. And you also cultivate their exclusive ultimate profound arts."
"As for the Demon Emperor's soul on me, it is only a wisp as tiny as a grain of dust. I have no qualification to compare with you. Its greatest use..." She gave Yun Che a shallow glance, her eyes briefly dreamy: "is merely to play some special little tricks."
"Otherwise, how could I have been locked in a cage and unable to escape?"
Yun Che suddenly turned his head, his gaze turning cold and sharp: "How do you know the words 'Evil God's Mysterious Vein'?"
Back then at the edge of Chaos, when facing Jie Tian Mo Di, he publicly revealed the secret of inheriting the Evil God's power, but what he said then was "Evil God Source Power." He never revealed that he possessed the Evil God's Mysterious Vein within him.
Because Mu Xuanyin had warned him more than once: if one day he was forced to expose the secret of the Evil God's power, he must never expose the existence of the "Evil God's Mysterious Vein." Power at the Creation God level gives more of a feeling that it can hardly be seized, while "Mysterious Vein" is a concrete thing that would infinitely stimulate others' desire to take it by force.
Aside from those very close to him, even the Eastern Divine Region only knew of his Evil God Divine Power, not the Evil God's Mysterious Vein. Chi Wuyue, far away in the Northern Divine Region, had spoken the four words "Evil God's Mysterious Vein" with perfect clarity.
"..." Chi Wuyue was briefly stunned, then her lips parted slightly, her light voice dreamlike: "Secrets are a woman's greatest charm. They make those who want to investigate them cling to the soul and become obsessed. Guess... do you think I would be willing to tell you?"
"In this regard, men are the same, you know."
Crack!
A sharp gust of wind suddenly struck, cutting through space and severing the colliding gazes of Chi Wuyue and Yun Che.
Qianye Ying'er appeared between them like a phantom, her gaze coldly meeting Chi Wuyue's: "Then let those women around you thoroughly investigate the secrets on your body! Yun Che and I have... absolutely... no... interest!"
Chi Wuyue's eyelids narrowed slightly, her autumn-like eyes gradually dimming with sorrow. She turned around and sighed softly: "I suppose so. You have been stationed in the Holy Domain for several months, yet you have never thought to look at my true face. Your heartlessness wounds me."
"Hmph," Qianye Ying'er lowered her brows and sneered: "Chi Wuyue, you can use these lowly fox-like tricks to toy with lowly men. But if you try to seduce Yun Che with them... you will only humiliate yourself!"
"Also, don't blame me for not warning you." Qianye Ying'er's eyes and voice turned even colder: "On the first day of our cooperation, we warned you: never try to do things you shouldn't. You shouldn't want me... and Yun Che as your enemies!"
With her back to Qianye Ying'er, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Chi Wuyue's mouth: "What a sensitive girl. I like you more and more."
Qianye Ying'er: "...!?"
The Dark Mysterious Ark gradually slowed down at this moment. Hua Jin's figure arrived silently, landing before Chi Wuyue: "Master, we will arrive in half an hour. Should Hua Jin scout ahead first?"
"No need." Chi Wuyue said: "The other party is the one who fears any deviation above all."
"Yes, Hua Jin understands."
Hua Jin's figure vanished, and the Dark Mysterious Ark's speed resumed, heading straight for the Northern Domain border.
From beginning to end, Chi Wuyue seemed completely unconcerned about being detected by other forces in the Northern Divine Region.
"Half an hour left," Chi Wuyue looked back: "Will you do it yourself, or should I personally take action to subdue you?"
The moment Chi Wuyue finished speaking, Yun Che suddenly turned around and punched his own chest.
Bang—
The Dark Mysterious Ark shook violently.
Wounds spread wantonly across Yun Che's body. In an instant, half his clothes were stained black, and blood seeped from all seven orifices, especially gushing from the corners of his mouth.
"You—" Qianye Ying'er took half a step forward, then forcibly stopped.
A dark light flashed on Yun Che's body, and the blood immediately turned dark, like residual blood that had dried for years.
"Actually, you don't need to go this far." Chi Wuyue looked away: "To avoid exposing his whereabouts as much as possible, besides Zhou Qingchen, Zhou Xuzi will bring at most one other person—most likely that First Guardian named Tai Yu."
"If he comes alone, of course, even better."
"This time, I specially brought Jie Xin and Jie Ling. Although they can't do anything to Zhou Xuzi and Tai Yu, killing Zhou Qingchen under their hands doesn't seem too difficult. And most importantly, there's no risk... Are you sure you must do it yourself?"
"..." Yun Che didn't answer at all. He walked past Chi Wuyue and stood at the very front of the Mysterious Ark, blood droplets heavy with hatred continuously dripping from his tightly clenched fingers.
Qianye Ying'er walked to Chi Wuyue's side, stopped, and mocked: "I never thought that the so-called Demon Empress could ask such a stupid question."
Chi Wuyue smiled and said: "Many men like clever women, but no man likes women who are too clever. Showing a bit of foolishness now and then might make it easier to stir a man's heart... What do you think?"
"Hah, so this is how the Northern Domain's Demon Empress rises by clinging to men. Truly an eye-opener. But I suppose it's no surprise, after all... the men of the Northern Domain are all a bunch of wastes content in their cages."
With a merciless sneer, Qianye Ying'er coldly walked away... but somehow, Chi Wuyue's words kept lingering in her soul, refusing to disperse.