Chapter 1656: Eternal Dark Bone Sea
Eastern Divine Region, Yue Shen Realm.
A beam of moonlight, soft and gentle, shone in like frost and snow.
A cold wind danced lightly, and amidst the layered ripples of the gauze curtains, a hazy, dreamlike female figure was faintly visible.
She stood by the window, her beautiful eyes closed. Her long hair and purple garments fluttered in the wind, and amidst the calm, there was a sense of distance and nobility that made one dare not look directly, let alone harbor any thought of desecration.
A young girl walked over softly. She wore a light yellow palace dress, her appearance peerless, enough to become a source of chaos in any star realm.
Her steps were light and respectful, her head slightly bowed. The bright moonlight fell upon the girl's cheeks and delicate body, illuminating a tender face as pitiable and captivating as a newly bloomed lotus, and a graceful curve that could stir the heart with just a fleeting glance.
The girl stopped in the hall, bowed gracefully, and said softly, "Master, Jin Yue has something to report."
Yue Shen Di's beautiful eyes opened, and deep within her pupils was a purple light even deeper than before: "What is it?"
"Reporting to Master, just now Lian Yue sent a message that thirty hours ago, Zhou Tian Shen Di, who had concealed his aura and disguised himself to leave the Zhou Tian God Realm, has returned to his realm, but... he seems to have suffered not light injuries. Lian Yue specifically investigated a short stretch of his tracks before his return. Within a hundred miles, he spilled blood thirty-four times, and... it seems to be heart blood."
The girl's voice was as light and pleasant as a nightingale's, yet carried a quiet elegance like her appearance.
"...I understand." Yue Shen Di said, "To bleed so much, his aura must be extremely chaotic, and he left such conspicuous traces. It seems many people have already noticed this."
"Another matter." Jin Yue raised her snow-white hand, her palm holding a purple crystal jade: "This is what Master instructed some time ago."
Yue Shen Di did not take it, but lightly swept it with her divine sense and said, "Very good. Give it to Yao Yue, and have her deliver it to [Luo Changsheng] at an appropriate time within a year."
"Remember, it must only fall into Luo Changsheng's hands, must not be known to anyone else, nor should he detect any traces of us."
"Especially... it must be within a year!"
"Yes, Jin Yue will do it immediately." Jin Yue bowed respectfully and rose gracefully.
"Jin Yue." Yue Shen Di suddenly called out to her.
Jin Yue quickly turned back: "Does Master have any further instructions?"
"A few days ago, I instructed you to destroy something... are you sure it has been destroyed?" Yue Shen Di spoke calmly, with no discernible emotion.
Jin Yue was slightly startled, then lowered her eyes and said, "Master's orders, Jin Yue dare not delay, it has long been destroyed."
"That's good." Yue Shen Di slowly closed her eyes, also concealing the deep purple light as profound as the vast ocean: "You may withdraw."
Jin Yue turned and walked away slowly... faintly, she sensed that Yue Shen Di seemed somewhat weary.
Returning to her own bedchamber, Jin Yue came to the couch, opened a barrier, and then gently took out a small bronze mirror from her personal space.
Somewhat dim metallic luster, utterly ordinary metallic aura. This was an extremely common bronze mirror, a kind of ornament popular only in the mortal lower realms.
Pressing the bronze mirror to her palm, a hint of moonlight appeared. With her power, the slightest movement of her aura could reduce it to powder.
But, in the girl's slightly trembling clear eyes, the moonlight in her hand finally dissipated slowly.
"If Master truly wanted to destroy it, she would have done it herself, and not handed it to another."
"What if, in the future, Master regrets it..."
Her hand opened, moonlight reappeared, but this time it formed a small, gentle protective barrier.
Very carefully, she placed the bronze mirror back into her personal space. Jin Yue, Yao Yue, and Lian Yue were Xia Qingyue's three most intimate maidservants. Lian Yue, who managed the intelligence network, and Yao Yue, a Moon Goddess, often carried out missions outside. Jin Yue had accompanied her the longest, and she knew very well that this bronze mirror had once been something Xia Qingyue never left her side.
——
Eastern Divine Region, Zhou Tian God Realm.
"Cough... cough..."
Zhou Tian Shen Di clutched his heart, bloody foam constantly spilling from his mouth, yet it could not relieve the searing pain in his heart by even half.
Back then, his beloved wife smiled at the corners of her lips, tears in her eyes, and with her last wisp of vital energy, she personally, tremblingly placed Zhou Qingchen into his arms, and then departed forever. As a Divine Emperor, he had wailed loudly, heartbroken. He had thought that in this life, there could be no greater sorrow.
But the pain in his heart now far surpassed that of that year.
He had watched helplessly as Zhou Qingchen perished tragically before his eyes, not even a trace of his corpse remaining... It was he who had personally brought him to the Northern Divine Region... It was his palm strike back then that had been repaid upon Zhou Qingchen.
It was as if ten thousand poisoned blades were continuously, in the cruellest way, slicing apart his heart and soul. This kind of pain could not be described in any words.
Self-blame, deep regret, resentment... even more like countless demons frantically tormenting him.
"Master..." Tai Yu knelt half-kneeling beside him, his own aged eyes filled with tears.
Zhou Xuzi was usually quite stern with Zhou Qingchen, but the guardians all knew that he truly regarded Zhou Qingchen as his very life.
Zhou Xuzi shook his head, and only after a long time did he finally speak with difficulty: "I'm fine... fine... cough!"
Another mouthful of thick blood spat out, falling to the ground, scarlet and piercing, like a heart cut out alive.
Tai Yu sighed inwardly, his gaze sharpening slightly, then he suddenly said, "Master, should we..."
"No, no..." Zhou Xuzi's voice was weak, but he slowly waved his hand: "We must not act impulsively, never act impulsively again... I have already caused Qingchen's death, how can I let my Zhou Tian suffer further losses because of this."
"And... since Qingchen is gone, how could I let the truth of him being framed as a demon be exposed... Let him depart pure and clean."
"I understand." Zunzhe Tai Yu closed his eyes in pain: "But if Master's depression is not vented, I fear... sigh."
"Qingchen will not have died in vain."
Zhou Xuzi's eyes were lifeless, but his weakened voice contained a darkness and gloom deeper than he had ever possessed in his life.
"The prophecy was not wrong. Yun Che is indeed a demon destined to bring calamity to the world."
"I still have ten thousand years of lifespan. The remainder of my life... shall have but one thought."
"To avenge Qingchen with my own hands. I will definitely... rid the world of this demon with my own hands!"
This was the most resolute oath he had ever made in his life.
If before, he still harbored some guilt towards Yun Che, now there was only a hatred etched into his bones.
A few days later, news spread across the Eastern Divine Region that Zhou Tian's Crown Prince, Zhou Qingchen, had suffered a backlash from his profound force while in seclusion and had tragically fallen.
The Zhou Tian God Realm was draped in white everywhere, and all realms were astonished, with countless speculations.
——
Northern Divine Region, Soul Plunder Realm.
With the Nine Demonesses, twenty-seven Soul Spirits, and three thousand six hundred Soul Attendants all completing their Dark Alignment under Yun Che's hand, the core strength of the Soul Plunder Realm had undergone earth-shaking changes.
The terrifying thing was that this change was silent. Unless they engaged in full-force combat, others could not perceive it from their aura alone.
And as time passed, the results of this transformation would grow greater and greater, gradually allowing them to far surpass those demons of the same former aptitude and level.
But relying solely on this to annex the Burning Moon Realm or the Yan Mo Realm was still fundamentally impossible in the short term.
In the long term... it would take at least a thousand years.
A thousand years was not long for the Divine Realm. To grow to the point of overwhelming other King Realms in a thousand years was already a speed worthy of a miracle.
But Yun Che simply could not wait that long.
The "three years" he had set was not a plan, but an absolute minimum!
After facing the brutal killing of Zhou Qingchen by Zhou Xuzi and experiencing a brief moment of venting, what followed was not a temporary release, but a persistent irritability.
In the ten days since returning to the Soul Plunder Realm, Yun Che had remained in a state of quiet cultivation.
His hatred was too great, too deep, and Zhou Xuzi was only one of them.
The barrier at the hall's entrance twisted, and Chi Wuyue's figure walked in, surrounded by swirling black mist.
Glancing at Yun Che's current state, Chi Wuyue said with a smile, "It seems you've recovered well. I was quite worried about you these past few days."
Her voice, both coquettish and alluring, and faintly carrying a hint of a young girl's pitiable charm, caused even Qianye Ying'er's heart lake to stir considerably. She quickly stood up, moved to Yun Che's side, and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"That depends on the man beside you," Chi Wuyue's brows arched charmingly. "He called me here."
"..." Qianye Ying'er was momentarily speechless.
"The Eternal Dark Bone Sea... what kind of place is it?" Yun Che looked up and asked.
This was a name Qianye Ying'er had mentioned to him before entering the Soul Plunder Realm, and he had kept it firmly in mind.
"Oh?" Chi Wuyue's beautiful eyes lightly glanced at Qianye Ying'er, then said, "The Eternal Dark Bone Sea is located at the very center of the Northern Divine Region, at the bottom of the Yan Mo Realm. Why do you ask about this place?"
"It is said to be the source vein of darkness in the Northern Divine Region?" Yun Che asked... though, when Qianye Ying'er had first told him this rumor, he had directly dismissed it.
"Source vein?" Sure enough, Chi Wuyue narrowed her eyes and said, "Others might believe that. But to you, who bears the power of Jie Tian Mo Di, it should be nothing but a joke, shouldn't it?"
"The Northern Divine Region is diminishing every year, every moment. If there really were such a thing as a source vein, it would have long been a dead vein."
Chi Wuyue continued, "Although it cannot be called a source vein, it is indeed the place with the densest dark aura in the Northern Divine Region, and it is also the most important reason for the Yan Mo Realm's prosperity to this day."
"Where does its dark aura come from?" Yun Che pressed on.
Chi Wuyue said, "According to ancient records, back then the Divine Clan and the Demon Clan were locked in bitter warfare year after year, and a large number of gods and demons perished every year. High-ranking demons had their own burial tombs... but by today, most of those demon god relics have been thoroughly plundered."
The same went for the Divine Clan. Most of the divine power inheritances obtained in the Divine Regions, aside from a few remnants of will, were obtained through such "plundering."
And even now, countless people in the Divine Realm were still desperately searching for those undiscovered "opportunities."
"As for the low-ranking demons, who were also the most numerous, their demon corpses were all discarded in one place."
"The intensity of the Divine-Demon War was far beyond imagination. The number of dead demons grew larger and larger, until eventually, the place where demon corpses were buried became a vast sea of corpses. As time passed, the demon corpses turned into countless demon bones."
"That is the 'Eternal Dark Bone Sea' of today."
"Therefore, that place has long accumulated an incomparably dense aura of yin, death, and resentment. The density of its dark aura is absolutely unparalleled anywhere else in the Northern Divine Region."
As she spoke these words, Chi Wuyue saw a dark, strange light flash in Yun Che's eyes.