# Chapter 1686: Eternal Dark Despair
The three Yan Mo Ancestors were as if possessed by demons, intending to change the rulership of the Yanmo Realm. When Yan Tianxiao resolved to resist his ancestors, he might never have dreamed that the first to betray him would be his own son, the one he valued most and had chosen as the "Yanmo Crown Prince."
"Crown Prince, have you... have you lost your mind!" the ninth Yan Mo, Yan Tu, roared angrily.
Yan Tianxiao flew up, arriving at Yan Wu's side. Divine Emperor's power surged as he rapidly suppressed her injuries. Only then did he slowly turn his head. His eyes held not anger, but deep disappointment and sorrow. He did not speak.
Yan Wu slowly rose, her face pale, her entire body trembling. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, flames seemingly blazing in her beautiful eyes.
"Yan... Jie!"
This was the first time she had directly called her elder brother by name: "You... animal!"
Yan Jie's expression shifted rapidly, then he shouted, "The ancestors' command is Heaven's decree! Without our ancestors, where would the Yan Mo be? Without our ancestors, where would we descendants be? Going against the ancestors and rebelling against superiors — that is what makes one an animal!"
If his heart had been full of turmoil after striking, when he roared out these words, he instead became incomparably calm... It was a calmness he had never experienced in his life.
He even suddenly felt that this might be the boldest, most ruthless, and wisest decision he had ever made!
A man who wishes to achieve great things cannot be indecisive and soft-hearted! When the opportunity comes, he must be ruthless for himself!
"Unfilial... son!" Yan Tianxiao murmured softly, then let out a long, deep sigh.
He understood why Yan Jie had done this.
Yan Jie had received the Yan Mo inheritance, and his innate talent was extremely outstanding. Without dispute, he was chosen as the Crown Prince, his aura shining upon the world, destined to smoothly succeed as Divine Emperor in the future.
But Yan Wu's birth and growth... she had received the Yan Mo inheritance as a child, and later reached the Tenth-rank Divine Lord at the mere age of three thousand, her radiance far surpassing his.
This undoubtedly made Yan Jie, as Crown Prince, anxious and uneasy.
In Yan Tianxiao's view, this was both a heavy pressure and a driving force and test for Yan Jie.
If he could strengthen his conduct under the pressure from Yan Wu, he would surely become an even more outstanding Yanmo Crown Prince.
Thus, Yan Tianxiao had deliberately shown appreciation and favoritism toward Yan Wu in front of Yan Jie over the years... even intentionally spreading rumors that he might depose the Crown Prince and make Yan Wu the Crown Princess.
In recent years, based on Yan Jie's behavior, Yan Tianxiao began to feel that he might have overestimated Yan Jie's ambition and endurance, but he still held great expectations.
Yet...
Today, it came to this. How sorrowful.
"Very good, excellent." Yun Che praised, his eyes narrowing into two sinister slits. "Worthy of being the Yanmo Crown Prince."
Yan Jie quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for the praise, Cloud Emperor. As a descendant, obeying the ancestors' will is the rightful path and natural order! And the Cloud Emperor is the Demon Emperor reincarnated, a supreme blessing from the Heavenly Dao to the Northern Domain. Assisting the Cloud Emperor is also following the Heavenly Dao!"
Having said that, he stepped aside, facing Yan Tianxiao and the Yan Mo clansmen, and said, "Father King, and all brothers and clansmen, the ancestors' will cannot be defied, and the Heavenly Dao's will cannot be defied even more! Do not persist in your delusions any longer!"
His demeanor and words were several times more unyielding than before.
Over the years, he had been crushed under Yan Wu's radiance. Though he was the officially designated Yanmo Crown Prince, in everyone's eyes, he was far inferior to Yan Wu in every aspect... Even he himself felt deep inferiority when facing Yan Wu.
But now, the opportunity to escape all this had come!
The invincible three Yan Mo Ancestors had sided with Yun Che, and the Yanmo Duming Cauldron had also fallen into Yun Che's hands.
And behind Yun Che were the Jiehun Realm and the recently conquered Fenyue Realm.
Though he also could not fully understand why the three Yan Mo Ancestors had done this, as long as he weighed the scales — on one side, the three Yan Mo Ancestors, the Yanmo Duming Cauldron, the Jiehun Realm, and the Fenyue Realm; on the other side, the Yanmo Realm having lost its guardian god and inheritance lifeline...
The difference between superior and inferior was clear!
When the three Yan Mo Ancestors instantly suppressed Yan Tianxiao, displaying unparalleled power, Yan Jie's last hesitation completely vanished.
Being the first to pledge allegiance would undoubtedly win the most favor.
He also deeply knew that the best way to pledge allegiance was to offer a substantial token of loyalty!
So he struck his full-powered palm at the strongest Yan Mo... This strike was not just to offer a token of loyalty; it also contained years of pent-up resentment and jealousy.
"You traitorous dog!" Yan Tianxiao cursed, then let out a deep sigh. "I, the king, prided myself on unparalleled skill in controlling others, yet I was blinded by a hawk pecking my eyes."
In the midst of his self-mocking sigh, he raised the Yan Mo Spear in his hand. The tip of the spear pointed not at Yun Che, but at Yan Jie.
"Heh, Yan Tianxiao, your son is far more aware of the times than you are." Yun Che taunted, then his voice suddenly turned deep. "Cripple him."
Faced with Yan Tianxiao's furious glare, the lingering authority of his father still made Yan Jie's nerves tense, but his gaze turned even more ruthless.
When Yun Che shouted "Cripple him," Yan Jie thought he was ordering the three Yan Mo Ancestors to attack Yan Tianxiao, but he suddenly felt three immense forces pressing down from behind.
His heart was greatly alarmed as he quickly tried to resist. However, the three dark forces were as vast as the might of heaven. Before his Yan Mo power could even be released, it was crushed back into his profound veins, and then his limbs and entire body were pinned down, unable to move an inch.
As a Yan Mo, Yan Jie's Ninth-rank Divine Lord power was undoubtedly formidable.
But the ones attacking him were the three Yan Mo Ancestors!
Under the combined suppression of the three Yan Mo Ancestors, even Yan Tianxiao would find it hard to break free, let alone Yan Jie.
"Cloud Emperor, you... what is the meaning of this!" Yan Jie gnashed his teeth and struggled, but the space around him seemed completely frozen. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move a single finger.
Not only Yan Jie, but all the Yan Mo people were stunned.
"Heh," Yun Che let out a cold laugh without even looking at him, saying indifferently, "When your clan faces disaster, you do not fight desperately. Instead, as the Crown Prince, you are the first to rebel, and you even severely wound your own sister."
"A piece of trash like you deserves to serve me!?"
Yan Jie's face twisted. Just as he was about to argue, his pupils suddenly dilated, and the words about to leave his mouth turned into a terrified roar: "You... what are you going to do!"
Yun Che grabbed the Yanmo Duming Cauldron with one hand. Profound energy surged, and a wisp of black energy emerged from the cauldron, wrapping around Yan Jie, magnifying his terror a thousandfold in an instant.
"Stop... stop it... stop it!" Yan Jie's pupils were splitting, his face as pale as paper. His entire body trembled in fear. He struggled even more desperately, but could not break free from the three Yan Mo Ancestors' restraint no matter what.
"Cloud Emperor... I abandoned my father's clan to pledge allegiance to you... I am the first to serve you! You cannot treat me like this... Cloud Emperor! Cloud Emperor... you cannot treat me like this!"
"Ah!!"
His terror and pleas turned into a desperate cry of despair the moment the black light of the Yanmo Duming Cauldron was released.
Under the black light, a stream of dark energy surged out from Yan Jie's body like a torrent, returning to the black cauldron.
This was the Yan Mo source power inherited by Yan Jie, now forcibly taken back by the Yanmo Duming Cauldron under Yun Che's control.
"Ah... aahh!" Yan Jie's continuous screams gradually weakened, but his cries became more and more piercing: "Yun Che... Yun Che, you will die a miserable death... Father King, save me... save me... aaaahhh..."
No one responded to his screams and wails — not Yun Che, not the Yan Mo Ancestors, not any of the Yan Mo people.
The Yan Mo Ancestors were jointly restraining Yan Jie, and Yun Che was forcibly stripping Yan Jie of his Yan Mo power using the Yanmo Duming Cauldron. This was the best time for the Yanmo Realm to strike.
But Yan Tianxiao did not move.
In his line of sight was Yan Jie's agonized, twisted face; in his ears were his miserable, desperate cries. There was no pleasure in Yan Tianxiao's heart, only deep pain and sorrow... After all, this was the son he had cherished for ten thousand years, the one on whom he had placed his greatest hopes.
At the same time, another layer of shock surged deeply within him.
The Yanmo Duming Cauldron could indeed forcibly reclaim the Yan Mo inheritance, but... to control the Yanmo Duming Cauldron, one must possess the Yan Mo bloodline.
Like all divine and demonic source artifacts, the Yanmo Duming Cauldron should have been a useless piece of trash in the hands of others.
But in his sight, Yun Che was clearly using the Yanmo Duming Cauldron with his own hands to strip away Yan Jie's Yan Mo inheritance!
Yan Jie's cries grew weaker and weaker, until at last they became desperate sobs.
The dark torrent gradually ceased. As the light of the Yanmo Duming Cauldron completely faded, Yan Jie's Yan Mo power had been fully stripped away.
To a Yan Mo, this was undoubtedly the cruelest nightmare in the world.
Within the internal space of the Yanmo Duming Cauldron, a thick, dark clump of light had been added, like a quiet, pitch-black flame burning.
Yan Jie's dark aura had plummeted to the Divine Sovereign Realm — this was his own original power. His eyes were dim, his face ashen, and he no longer had the strength to shout or struggle.
Yun Che waved his hand, and the three Yan Mo Ancestors pushed, sending Yan Jie tumbling down, landing before Yan Tianxiao and Yan Wu.
"This piece of trash is better left for the Yan Emperor to handle himself," Yun Che said with a sidelong glance. "I don't want to dirty my hands with such a dog."
Yan Jie lay there like a dead dog, not getting up, not begging for mercy. He knew what his fate would be. Begging for mercy would only vainly trample on the last shred of his pitiful dignity.
What was even more pathetic was that he lay there for a long time, and no one approached him. No one even came to take him away or drag him off.
Had his choice been wrong?
Perhaps not.
At least he had not acted purely on impulse. He had considered his position and future, and had made sufficient calculations.
He simply did not know that what Yun Che hated most was betrayal.
And from the Yan Mo's standpoint, Yan Jie's betrayal in a time of crisis, coupled with his treacherous severe injury to the core strength of the Yan Mo — Yan Wu — was equally unforgivable.
"Ruthless enough." Yan Tianxiao's gaze only swept over Yan Jie once before completely looking away. "But also stupid enough!"
"Oh?" Yun Che raised an eyebrow.
"Hmph!" Yan Tianxiao said, "In this world, the ones that bite their masters the hardest are the dogs that betray them! Under the current situation, this dog... you discarded him too early!"
Just ten breaths ago, Yan Jie was still his most valued son. Now, he was being referred to as a "dog."
"Hahahahaha!" Yun Che laughed loudly, looking down with pride. "Yan Tianxiao, it seems you have completely failed to understand your current situation. If I want to crush those who defy me, why would I need a dog that betrayed its master!"
As his voice fell, a dark light suddenly shone from his body. His black hair danced in the wind, and a storm rose behind him, spreading to the sky.
Within the storm, the entrance to the Eternal Dark Bone Sea — one... ten... a thousand... ten thousand... countless dark storms rose like dragons emerging from the abyss, roaring at the world. In an instant, they filled the Eternal Dark Demon Palace and the entire sky above the Yanmo Demon Domain.
Eternal darkness blotted out the sky, and heaven and earth were devoid of light.
The vast Yanmo Demon Domain — every living being, every piece of land, every inch of space — was instantly and heavily crushed under the pressure of darkness, death, and despair.
It was like the omen of the apocalypse suddenly descending.
"Ah... ah... aahh..." Yan Tianxiao stepped back, his head raised high, his pupils dilated. The one who had been radiating imperial majesty a moment ago was now terrified and discolored under too great a shock, his throat involuntarily emitting terrified moans from the depths of his soul.
"This... this... this, this, this... aah!"
Various cries of terror and even despair echoed through the space.
Because the power covering the sky was absolutely a force... sufficient to instantly destroy the Yanmo Demon Domain, to destroy everything!
The familiar dark aura was unmistakably the ancient dark yin energy from the Eternal Dark Bone Sea... which, with a wave of Yun Che's arm, had swept over the Yanmo Demon Domain like an overturned sea!
Under such power, even the three Yan Mo Ancestors felt suffocated and bowed their heads in reverence.
"Now, do you understand?" Yun Che raised his arm to the sky, speaking with lowered brows. With just a light release of his hand, the immense force from the Eternal Dark Bone Sea would be enough to bury everything below.