Chapter 1654: Soul Collapse
"......"
Zhou Xuzi knelt there, motionless. His mouth opened, but he could not produce any sound. Facing the gloomy darkness, his eyes were a horrifying pale.
There was no more beautiful blood than this, and no more complete despair.
True despair has never had color, never had sound.
Just like that year, when Yun Che witnessed the destruction of Lan Ji Star.
And what is more despairing than despair is the despair after hope is given.
"Heh... heheh..."
The gloomy laughter was like the chanting of a demon. Yun Che swung his arm, flinging off the filthy blood. Staring at Zhou Xuzi, who knelt collapsed, his soul departed, the hatred that filled his entire being ignited with a bone-deep pleasure for the first time: "Old dog Zhou Tian... how does it feel?"
"Seeing the most important and most innocent relative die tragically before your own eyes, doesn't it feel great!? Great to the marrow!"
"I am the bloodthirsty, brutal, sinful, inhuman, nonexistent, and world-intolerable demon you all speak of! And you actually believed the words of a demon!"
"You foolish old dog actually believed the words of a demon!!"
"Ha... haha... hahahaha..."
"Hahahahahaha!"
He laughed madly, his black hair dancing wildly, but every burst of laughter carried blood and pain that made the heart tremble and the soul ache.
"......" Zhou Xuzi finally moved. His head turned slowly—a God Emperor's body moving stiffly and slowly, like a cheap puppet manipulated by threads. His mouth finally produced a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz:
"You... all..."
"The Primordial World Pill is a good thing." Chi Wuyue said indifferently. "But today, I would have preferred it if the one who came was Yun Che instead of me."
"To personally experience the pain and despair Yun Che suffered back then, how do you feel? Oh no, no..." Chi Wuyue shook her head. "You're still far from it. After all, you still have your homeland, countless subordinates, relatives, and descendants."
"What you owe him..." Chi Wuyue slowly extended her little finger, as white as jade. "You've only repaid this tiny bit so far."
"But don't worry. One day, you will repay it all—every bit, ten times, a hundred times over!"
Though it was Yun Che's hatred, Chi Wuyue's gaze and eyes were so cold and piercing.
"......" Zhou Xuzi's body began to tremble... tremble again. Suddenly, blood gathered in his pale pupils, and traces of blood trickled from his ears, nose, and mouth.
"Aaaahhh!"
Zhou Xuzi—the gentlest and most peaceful God Emperor in the divine realm—let out a beast-like roar. His profound energy burst forth wildly like shattered stars, instantly splitting heaven and earth, changing the wind and clouds.
The power of a despairing God Emperor—how terrifying it was!
Chi Wuyue was prepared. She struck Yun Che's chest with a palm, sending him flying far away. Her left hand swept a black ribbon heavily, directly striking Zhou Xuzi.
The power of two God Emperors erupted simultaneously. The vast darkness instantly transformed, riddled with holes.
Zhou Xuzi had gone completely mad. He let out howl after howl, sounds never heard before. His rampaging God Emperor power was released chaotically.
Boom!!
An abnormal air explosion sounded within the space of destruction created by the two emperors' power. Yun Che, flung away by Chi Wuyue's palm, was covered in blood-colored profound energy. With a roar even more hoarse and frantic than Zhou Xuzi's, his vermilion great sword swung directly at Zhou Xuzi's head.
"Old dog Zhou Tian... die... die!!"
In the Yanhuang state, Yun Che's peak combat power could rival a seventh-rank Divine Lord. If the clear-minded Zhou Xuzi had seen it, he would have been greatly shocked.
But... suddenly sensing Yun Che's approaching aura, Zhou Xuzi, like a despairing wolf scenting blood, ignored Chi Wuyue's power entirely and lunged madly at Yun Che.
Boom!
The earth overturned, thousands of mountains collapsed. Zhou Xuzi's waist and ribs were cut open by Chi Wuyue's ribbon, leaving a bloody gash. And his power slammed heavily into the Heaven-Defying Sword.
It was the power of a rampaging God Emperor. No matter how heaven-defying Yun Che's progress, there was no way he could truly contend with a God Emperor's might.
As if struck by a star, a earth-shattering boom echoed. Yun Che spat a jet of blood, flying sideways like withered wood swept by a storm—but immediately, he twisted in midair, swallowed the blood in his mouth, and even though his wrist bones were broken, the Heaven-Defying Sword in his hand gathered hatred's blood light again as he pounced at Zhou Xuzi once more.
Chi Wuyue sighed inwardly. This situation, she had long anticipated.
It was also the main reason she had brought Jiexin and Jieling.
She floated into the air, forming a demon seal with her hands. In an instant, the dark power in the surrounding space rapidly converged, pressing down on Zhou Xuzi. At the same time, black light flashed in her pupils. The Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul pierced through the darkness, stabbing straight at Zhou Xuzi's soul.
The Demon Empress's soul, which had once left him a shadow for ten thousand years, invaded again. Zhou Xuzi's soul shuddered, and his form and power were forced back layer by layer under the dark suppression, but his killing intent remained overwhelming, his hatred filling the sky as he recklessly aimed for Yun Che's location.
A barrier appeared out of nowhere, heavily repelling Yun Che, who was charging desperately at Zhou Xuzi. Two white figures shot out from the darkness, one left and one right, firmly restraining Yun Che.
Jiexin and Jieling.
The combined force of two tenth-rank Divine Lords completely controlled Yun Che from head to toe. He couldn't even move a finger, let alone charge at Zhou Xuzi.
"Ahhhh... I want him dead... dead! Aaaahhh!!"
Yun Che struggled madly, roaring with all his might. Every roar brought flying bloody spittle.
Jiexin and Jieling remained expressionless. Restraining Yun Che was their only task today.
Here, Chi Wuyue held the dark domain. Lost in desperate madness, Zhou Xuzi's soul was easily ravaged by Chi Wuyue's demon soul. His roars grew more painful and shrill with each one. But he seemed completely insane, still lunging toward the direction of Yun Che's aura, the light of hatred in his eyes as blood-red as Yun Che's.
At that moment, another powerful aura rapidly approached from afar, soon revealing the figure of Taiyu Venerable within the black mist.
Though Zhou Xuzi had not transmitted a sound, the massive commotion of two emperors battling could hardly escape his notice.
Zhou Xuzi, having lost his mind, showed no trace or aura of Zhou Qingchen...
Taiyu Venerable instantly understood what had happened. Only Zhou Qingchen's death could drive the Zhou Tian God Emperor to madness.
But this was the dark domain. The Northern Domain Demon Empress was before him, along with two demon women whose dark auras made his hair stand on end instantly, and an eighth-rank Divine Lord's aura was rapidly approaching...
"Master, go!"
Taiyu Venerable tore through layers of darkness, rushed to Zhou Xuzi's side, and grabbed his arm: "Go! Quickly!"
Bang!
His arm and body were violently shaken off by Zhou Xuzi.
Taiyu Venerable dodged and blocked in front of Zhou Xuzi again, his wide eyes fixed on Zhou Xuzi's chaotic and ferocious gaze: "Master! Do you want Qingchen to die in vain... Go! Return to the realm! Take revenge!"
The name "Zhou Qingchen" stabbed straight into the depths of his soul. Zhou Xuzi's entire body shuddered violently, and his pupils finally regained a trace of clarity.
Amid the dark storm that devoured everything, a glimmer of light suddenly swirled in. Under such terrifying power, it was nearly ninety percent destroyed, but the remnant still emitted flawless white light, deeply imprinted into Zhou Xuzi's pupils.
He was stunned for a moment, then tremblingly reached out, holding this broken jade in his hands, gripping it tightly, afraid it would be harmed even a little more.
It was the longevity jade he had personally forged for Zhou Qingchen on the day of his birth.
It had never left his side his entire life.
The madness dissipated, tears streaming down his aged face. He turned and flew away shoulder to shoulder with Taiyu Venerable, but his back was as desolate as the dying sunset clouds.
"Yun Che... Chi Wuyue..."
Zhou Xuzi's voice came from afar, every word filled with grief and hatred that shook the heavens: "With the full strength of Zhou Tian Realm, the Eastern Divine Region, and the Three Divine Regions... I swear to trample the Northern Divine Region and grind your bones to dust!"
"Uh... ahh!"
The sky suddenly darkened. The dark profound energy imposed by Jiexin and Jieling was slightly twisted by Yun Che using Dark Eternal Calamity. Caught off guard, Yun Che broke free abruptly and lunged at Zhou Xuzi.
Chi!
A tearing sound cut through the air. A golden shadow shot over, and the moment it touched Yun Che's body, it wrapped around him layer by layer like a spiritual snake, forcibly sealing his movements.
A black shadow flickered. Qianye Ying'er stood before Yun Che, grabbing his shoulders, and said in a deep voice: "You can't kill him. Save your strength!"
In the distance, the figures of Zhou Xuzi and Taiyu Venerable had completely disappeared, their auras also vanished from perception.
Yun Che's pupils contracted, his whole body swayed, and a large spray of blood mist erupted from his mouth. His gaze went vacant, as if all his vitality and soul had been drained. He slowly collapsed.
His consciousness scattered, and he fell unconscious.
He had killed Zhou Qingchen before Zhou Xuzi's eyes, venting his anger. But that was all it could do—vent anger.
Watching Zhou Xuzi right in front of him yet being powerless, self-hatred was the deepest pain and torment.
Chi Wuyue walked over, glanced at Yun Che, who had fainted in hatred, and sighed: "Though he has transformed into an evil ghost, he still acts like a child."
Qianye Ying'er picked him up and said in a very soft voice: "Perhaps everyone has forgotten—his age is only half a Jiazi... He is still a child."
Chi Wuyue: "......"
Qianye Ying'er stepped forward, walking toward the direction of the Primordial Mystic Ark. Her steps were light, her pace slow. After a while, their figures disappeared into the darkness.
"Ah," Chi Wuyue shook her head gently, murmuring: "I wonder if this is right or wrong."
"Hua Jin," she called softly.
A flash of color, and Hua Jin appeared silently before Chi Wuyue, kneeling.
"How is it?" she asked.
Hua Jin extended her hand, offering a pitch-black demon bead: "Everything the master wanted is inside. We also have to thank the cooperation of that Zhou Tian God Emperor."
Chi Wuyue reached out and took it, gently sweeping her spiritual sense. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly: "Very good."
Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. Her figure instantly became ethereal and vanished before Hua Jin.
"......!?" Hua Jin subconsciously opened her mouth, then instantly sealed the sound that was about to escape. Her aura also completely concealed itself, her entire being disappearing like a ghost.
Chi Wuyue shot straight through the dark space. The moment her form reappeared, her vast spiritual sense was fully unleashed, instantly extending ten li, a hundred li, a thousand li, ten thousand li...
But immediately, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Get the hell out!" She shouted lowly, and the surrounding space rippled continuously for a long time.
No aura, no trace, no response whatsoever.
Withdrawing her spiritual sense, Chi Wuyue stood still, muttering to herself: "Was it an illusion?"
A light exhale, and her figure turned, disappearing.
One breath... two breaths... three breaths!
Chi!
Space split abruptly. Chi Wuyue's figure reappeared, and her spiritual sense spread out at the fastest speed.
How could she believe in something like an illusion?
But this time, she still found nothing.
That fleeting, faint aura seemed to have, in an extremely short instant, fled beyond the reach of her spiritual sense, leaving her with nowhere to search.
But such a person simply could not exist in this world.
Who could it be...