# Chapter 1682: Collapse of Belief
Yanmo Realm, Eternal Dark Demon Palace.
"King Father." Yan Jie bowed respectfully behind Yan Emperor Yan Tianxiao.
Yan Tianxiao turned around and asked, "Have the three ancestors made any moves?"
Yan Jie shook his head. "None."
"Has the sealing formation been attacked?" Yan Tianxiao asked again.
Yan Jie replied, "These past few days, I have been personally keeping watch. The grand formation sealing the entrance to the Eternal Dark Bone Sea has never shown any signs of being struck by force."
After speaking, he straightened up and continued, "But that is only to be expected. Having fallen into the hands of the three ancestors, he simply cannot have any strength to struggle. Even if the barrier were wide open, he would have no chance to escape."
Yan Tianxiao furrowed his brows, seemingly lost in thought.
"King Father, should I enter and investigate?" Yan Jie asked.
"No," Yan Tianxiao raised his hand. "The fact that Yun Che possesses the Demon Emperor's power is at least true. The three ancestors have been trapped in the Eternal Dark Bone Sea for a long time, and their greatest desire is to touch the darkness beyond the boundary. After they capture Yun Che, they will certainly use every means to strip him of all secrets related to the Demon Emperor's inheritance."
"There is a slight chance they might forcibly seize the Demon Emperor's inheritance."
Although he knew this possibility was extremely slim. But if it were anyone else, they would definitely try by any means necessary.
"If they fail, or if they succeed, the ancestors will come out on their own. Complete silence means they are fully focused on this matter. If we barge in and disturb them, it would be a grave offense."
Yan Jie's whole body stiffened, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty is right. I was reckless."
"But..." Yan Tianxiao raised his eyes and looked into the distance. "It has been six days now, yet there is no movement from the Jiehun Realm side. They couldn't possibly think that Yun Che has bluffed us all and is now occupying the Eternal Dark Bone Sea to cultivate, could they? Hmph, ridiculous."
"Keep a close watch on the Jiehun Realm. Report immediately if there is any unusual activity."
"Yes."
Yan Jie accepted the order and left.
Yan Tianxiao stood still, pondering for a long time, but could not find any flaw. He even began to wonder if Yun Che was merely a pawn discarded by Chi Wuyue?
Given Chi Wuyue's ruthless methods, she was absolutely capable of that.
Yan Tianxiao thought so.
But...
He could never have dreamed of what kind of life the three founding ancestors of their Yanmo Realm had been living over these six days...
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Loud noises resounded continuously in the Eternal Dark Bone Sea, but the heaven-shaking power was completely torn apart and swallowed by the excessively miserable screams.
Yun Che's body radiated pure white light, and the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword in his hand swung repeatedly. The mighty sword's might, carrying both supremely sacred and supremely cruel Light Profound Force, bombarded the three Yan ancestors in turn.
Heavenly Wolf Strike, Primordial Fang, Star Sorrow, Instant Prison Calamity, Azure Wolf Claw, Blood Moon Immortal-Slaying Sword!
The first six swords of the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture were continuously cycled onto the three Yan ancestors by Yun Che.
As the most domineering heavy sword art of the era, even the first sword of the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture, Heavenly Wolf Strike, consumed a great deal of energy. In his daily training, Yun Che would be half-exhausted after just one round.
But here, it was all blasted out wildly as if it cost nothing. In just six days, his mastery of the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture had subtly improved.
And the three Yan ancestors became his sandbags for sword practice—and immortal sandbags at that! Even if occasionally smashed into two pieces by the excessively violent sword might and light devouring, as soon as the light converged, they would quickly regenerate in the darkness.
This immortality was originally the three Yan ancestors' unparalleled, heaven-defying ability across the ages.
But under Yun Che's Light Profound Force, it became the greatest nightmare of their lives.
Their own power and ghost claws struck their bodies countless times—wringing their own throats, blasting their own meridians and heart vessels... They wanted to die, all their will and beliefs crazily craving death.
But, their life force was connected to the entire Eternal Dark Bone Sea. Unless they could leave, or destroy the entire Eternal Dark Bone Sea, or Yun Che used Light Profound Force to completely erase their existence.
Otherwise, wanting to die, wanting to end themselves, was a fool's dream.
And how could Yun Che truly obliterate them, how could he give them a chance to leave?
In the purgatory of light, what ultimately remained for them was nothing but endless torment and despair.
Occasionally, when Yun Che transformed light into flame and unleashed the Nine Suns Heavenly Wrath and Splendid Red Lotus that normally took him a long time to muster, burning them, it was practically a great mercy.
This inhuman torture, they endured over and over again in these six days. Their lives and souls were devoured again and again, restored again and again. Just as a torn throat healed, it would be torn apart once more...
Clang!
Yun Che sheathed his sword, and the Light Profound Force radiating from his body completely extinguished.
In the darkness, the three Yan ancestors lay on the ground, their bodies writhing as life and soul began to recover once more.
But now, they no longer attempted to escape, because it was useless... completely useless.
That devil-like... no, that being a million times more terrifying and cruel than a devil, he was truly the master of darkness! The yin energy of the darkness here was all under his control. The three of them had nowhere to flee.
"Kill me... please kill me..."
At first, they would curse and roar, even when begging for death, shouting "If you have the guts, kill me!"
But now, they only begged, begging with the utmost degradation.
Death... in the purgatory of light, they could not imagine anything more beautiful than death.
If it were anyone else, such torment would have already driven them completely mad.
But they could not only regenerate life but also souls. Even wanting to completely collapse into living dead was a luxury.
"Kill me... kill me... please..."
Such murmurs escaped from the mouths of each Yan ancestor. The extreme despair and pitifulness made even the darkness and yin energy here desolate.
"Death?"
Yun Che narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly and deeply: "You old ghosts are so useful that you can't be found anywhere in the entire divine realm. It would be a pity if you died."
"You..." Yan Wanli turned around. When Yun Che's figure reflected in his pupils, from his eyes to his entire body, to his internal organs, everything trembled in fear: "You... exactly..."
"Simple." Yun Che said. "Slave Mark, or... continue playing."
"Hah... hah..." Yan Wanhun gasped, his body trembling, but his words still carried a trace of stubborn determination: "We three... occupied the Bone Sea... founded Yanmo... all beings bow before us..."
"Even if we fall into eternal damnation... we will never... be your dog!"
As the ancestors of Yanmo, the supreme beings of the Northern Divine Realm, if they were implanted with a Slave Mark, all their glory and dignity would be lost!
The entire Yanmo Realm would also be utterly disgraced because of this.
Even their power would be used by others, and the first target would be the Yanmo Realm they had dedicated their lives to, and their countless descendants.
Thus, even driven to this point, they still refused to submit.
"Dog?" Yun Che laughed. "For ordinary mortals, being a dog is indeed a great humiliation. But you three old ghosts, stuck in the darkness for hundreds of thousands of years, neither human nor ghost—how is your life comparable to an outside dog?"
"If I go out and casually catch a guard dog, it wouldn't deign to trade places with you. Where do you get the face and qualification to compare yourselves with dogs?"
The three Yan ancestors panted and moaned, unresponsive. Compared to the purgatory of light, this kind of verbal humiliation was nothing at all.
"Oh, right," Yun Che said as if suddenly remembering something, slowly drawling, "In the past few days, I was having too much fun and seemed to have forgotten to tell you something."
He raised his hand—this movement made the three Yan ancestors' entire bodies convulse violently—but then, the light shining on Yun Che's hand was not the nightmare white light, but Dark Profound Force.
"The Dark Eternal Calamity I bear has the most extreme mastery over darkness in this era, including, of course... allowing you to completely break free from the dark shackles of this Eternal Dark Bone Sea."
Yun Che's words made the three Yan ancestors freeze, then slowly turn their heads: "What did you... say?"
"Now, you are no longer human. You are merely pitiful dark puppets of this Eternal Dark Bone Sea. But I can make you break free from being 'puppets' and become human again."
"Your power will not be lost, you will have independent life and soul, and that will be enough for you to leave here and live for ten thousand years!"
Yan Wanqui twisted his body and said in a trembling voice: "Are you... speaking the truth?"
Independent life and soul, able to leave here and live for ten thousand years!?
What a luxurious dream this was!
"And the price? Being my dog." Yun Che's sinister words struck the souls of the three Yan ancestors with extreme coldness and weight.
"No... don't be fooled!" Yan Wanli screeched. "We have been here for over eight hundred thousand years. Such a thing... cannot exist, cannot! He is just mocking... luring us into a trap."
"Hah, ridiculous." Yun Che snorted disdainfully. "If I cannot take you out, what use are three useless dogs chained here? As sandbags to kick around?"
"Being a dog is humiliating? That depends on whose dog you are." Yun Che smiled coldly and lowly, the darkness in his closed fingers vanishing instantly. "You must have heard that the Fenyue Realm, which has stood alongside Yanmo for hundreds of thousands of years, has fallen into my hands. Next will be this Yanmo Realm."
"I believe, by now, you won't doubt that I can easily do this."
The three Yan ancestors' bodies convulsed again.
"When the darkness of the Northern Domain is unified, I will point my sword at the three divine realms, release darkness from its cage, spread it to every corner of the three divine realms, and make darkness the new master of the divine realm!"
"And I am not only the master of darkness. In the future, I will also be the master of this world!"
"..." The three Yan ancestors had all turned their heads, staring blankly, listening to Yun Che's shocking words and the ambition they had never harbored in over eight hundred thousand years.
"And you will be the loyal dogs of Yanmo, of this dark grand plan for the Northern Divine Realm, the loyal dogs of the future master of heaven and earth!"
Yun Che's words were deep and slow, and his eyes shone with a profound black light that even the three Yan ancestors could not penetrate.
Without a doubt, both the ability to help them leave this place and his dark grand plan had an extremely powerful appeal to the three Yan ancestors long trapped in the Eternal Dark Bone Sea.
And Yun Che had not "forgotten" to tell them earlier.
Once the Slave Mark is planted, one becomes a loyal dog thoroughly and completely for life. For beings like the Yan ancestors, they would never accept it no matter what.
But...
After experiencing one inhuman torture after another, unable to die, and suddenly having a blessing they never even dared to dream of laid out before them, along with a magnificent vision that could ignite the blood and will of any dark Xuan practitioner...
Then the most steadfast and unbreakable belief would easily waver and collapse.
In the violently shaking gazes of the three Yan ancestors, Yun Che slowly raised his hand: "Continue being bugs in the abyss, or become the loyal dogs of the future master of chaos!"
"I will now give you one more chance to choose."
"Of course, you have every right to refuse. And I have not yet had my fill of playing. I have plenty of time to keep you company."
His words were like an emperor's divine decree, or like a demon's mockery.
"Ugh!"
Yan Wanqui moved. He struggled to rise, then took faltering steps, slowly walking toward Yun Che, and then in front of Yun Che... he knelt down limply.
"Old ghost, you... what are you doing!" Yan Wanli shouted with eyes wide and cracking.
"What he said is right..." Yan Wanqui said with difficulty, every word almost grinding a tooth to pieces: "Rather than clinging to life here, neither human nor ghost, it's better to be a dog that can live under the light of day!"
"Moreover... he has the ability to make us three old ghosts who thought ourselves invincible unable to live or die... He is the Demon Emperor's successor... He has the ambition to make darkness rule the world... Being his dog doesn't seem so unbearable."
"As for whether it's true or false... I'll be the test!"
Crack!!
Several of his teeth were shattered together, black blood spurting from his mouth. He stared fixedly at Yun Che, uttering the most difficult and most ruthless words of his life: "Imprint... mark!"