Chapter 1694: Xuanwu Yinyao
Yun Che's mind had never been in such chaos and confusion.
His master's two personalities — they didn't belong solely to Mu Xuanyin, but to two people?
Chi Wuyue, the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain — she was his master's other personality…
How could such a thing be? How could such a thing be…
How absurd and dreamlike, how utterly fantastical.
And yet, he didn't have even the slightest strength to doubt it.
Because whether it was her soft, coquettish words or her soul-stirring charm, they all directly touched the deepest figures and memories within his heart and soul.
This kind of clear, complete soul-stirring could never be a disguise or imitation.
Moreover, these were secrets that no one else knew — and would never be allowed to know — except him and his master.
But the woman before him… she was clearly the Demon Empress of the Northern Divine Region!
How could she be the one who accepted him as her disciple in the Yin Xue Realm… personally recaptured him when he made a mistake and ran away… abandoned the entire sect to teach him alone before the Xuan Shen Assembly… never allowed anyone to bully him… though she was stern and cold, she repeatedly indulged his great mistakes… and would even give up the Yin Xue Realm and her own life to protect him… that master of his!
Wait!
It was as if a dark needle suddenly stabbed into his soul. His entire body went cold. He raised his head sharply, forcefully suppressing the chaos in his heart, and said in a low voice: "You… hijacked her soul?"
But Chi Wuyue gently shook her head: "At that time, I did indeed think of doing so. However, for a certain reason, I ultimately gave up and chose to 'attach myself' instead."
His turbulent gaze gradually focused. Yun Che said in a low voice: "Indeed… indeed… No, that's not right! When did you infiltrate the Yin Xue Realm? What exactly did you do to her?"
Chi Wuyue was not at all surprised by Yun Che's reaction. She let out a long sigh in her heart and said slowly: "I will tell you everything. I will also let you… see all of me."
Yun Che: "..."
The black mist swirled, and Chi Wuyue walked slowly toward Yun Che, her voice carrying a faint demonic tone: "Yun Qianying should have told you that ten thousand years ago, I lured Qianye Fantian and Zhou Xuzi to the border of the Northern Domain and fought a fierce battle with them."
"In the eyes of the Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, as well as the Yan Mo and Burning Moon Emperors, what I did back then, after becoming an Emperor, was a test of the strength of the two strongest Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, and also a display of ambition."
"But in truth, only I myself knew that that battle had a special purpose — to lure them into the territory of the Northern Divine Region and, by taking advantage of the dark aura, quietly complete a soul attachment."
When Qianye Ying'er first mentioned the Demon Empress to Yun Che, she had already told him about the events ten thousand years ago. At that time, facing the two strongest Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, as well as the strongest Guardian and Brahma God, Chi Wuyue was defeated and retreated into the Northern Domain.
Qianye Fantian, Qianye Wubei, Zhou Xuzi, and Taiyu Zunzhe pursued her directly into the Northern Domain, intending to take advantage of her defeat to kill her on the spot. But she lured tens of thousands of miles of demonic energy to devour their hearts and remnants of their souls, leaving these two strongest Divine Emperors with a shadow that would never fade for the rest of their lives.
As Chi Wuyue said, when Qianye Ying'er mentioned it to him, she said that battle was clearly a test by Chi Wuyue, and it also exposed her immense ambition.
This ambition to step out of the Northern Divine Region was precisely the most important reason why Qianye Ying'er strongly urged Yun Che to cooperate with the Demon Empress.
But the answer Chi Wuyue personally gave him was completely different.
"Fantian Shen Di, Zhou Tian Shen Di, Brahma God, Guardian… they are the most core existences of the Eastern Divine Region, and what they can come into contact with are also the most core powers and secrets of the Eastern Divine Region and the three Divine Regions."
"If I could use my Demon Emperor's soul to quietly attach myself to one of them, I could see the true state of the three Divine Regions and many of the most important secrets through his eyes."
"Unfortunately, I still somewhat underestimated the strength of the Fan Di God Realm and the Zhou Tian God Realm. Even after luring them to the border of the Northern Domain, I still couldn't find enough of an opportunity. Several forceful attempts all failed, so I had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and capture a person who had accidentally entered the battle."
"That person was a woman holding an ice sword, her entire body radiating a cold aura, with eyes that seemed capable of freezing souls. Her cultivation had just reached the Divine Lord Realm, but she clearly underestimated the battle and her opponents. Forcibly joining the fight, she was easily subdued by me and taken into the Northern Divine Region." ①
Yun Che's brows twitched violently.
"I read her memories and learned her name and background — she was called Mu Xuanyin, the new Realm King of the Yin Xue Realm."
Yun Che's gaze trembled again, but he forcibly held back from speaking and concentrated on every word reaching his ears.
"The Yin Xue Realm is the star realm closest to the Northern Divine Region in the Eastern Divine Region. It often encounters dark profound practitioners who despairingly flee the Northern Domain — the 'demon people' as recognized by the Eastern Divine Region. As the leader of the Yin Xue Realm, many from the lineage of the Realm King have died at the hands of Northern Domain profound practitioners. Not only ancestors, but also many close relatives who appeared in her life… Therefore, she harbored a deep hatred for the Northern Divine Region."
"..." Yun Che slowly clenched his hands. Mu Xuanyin's extreme hatred for demon people was something Yun Che knew very well, because her and Mu Bingyun's father had died at the hands of demon people.
Whenever she encountered demon people, she would do her utmost to slay them. This was also the most important sect rule and even creed of the Bing Huang God Sect.
But for him, a demon person bearing dark profound force whom everyone wanted dead, she…
"Also because the Yin Xue Realm was so close, she detected that fierce battle. Hating demon people to the extreme, she joined the battle without hesitation, wanting to kill me."
"After capturing her, I originally intended to hijack her soul and make her completely my puppet. With her status, although she couldn't come into contact with the true core, she was still a Realm King of a middle-level star realm and had the cultivation of the Divine Lord Realm. She could at least become an excellent pair of eyes and ears, a useful pawn."
"But just as I was about to implement the soul hijacking, I suddenly discovered that deep within her soul, there was actually a hidden divine soul of an extremely high level."
"And that divine soul was not simply fused with Mu Xuanyin's source soul, but was clearly connected to an independent other will. If I hadn't possessed a Demon Emperor's soul myself, I wouldn't even have been able to detect its existence."
"..." Yun Che knew that was the divine soul of the Ice Phoenix God Spirit.
So ten thousand years ago, while granting Mu Xuanyin power, she had also attached her will to it, looking at the outside world through her eyes.
Later, because of him, she had even quietly interfered with Mu Xuanyin's will.
Only, the Ice Phoenix God Spirit did not know that the strand of divine soul she left in Mu Xuanyin's body had saved her at that time.
"At that time, that strand of independent divine soul will was asleep. If I forcibly hijacked the soul, it would surely awaken, and might even trigger an unpredictable counterattack. So I ultimately chose to attach my soul… attaching one-tenth of my Demon Emperor's soul to Mu Xuanyin's soul."
"..." Yun Che's body swayed slightly.
The Ice Phoenix God Spirit had never mentioned the existence of the Demon Emperor's soul, and had even expressed confusion to him about Mu Xuanyin's split personality — it wasn't that she was pretending; it was that in the entire ten thousand years, she had truly never detected Chi Wuyue's existence.
Because the Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul that Chi Wuyue bore was the only Demon Emperor's soul in the current world. Compared to the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul, it was an entire major level higher.
Thus, Chi Wuyue knew of the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul's existence, but the Ice Phoenix God Spirit had never known of Chi Wuyue's existence.
And Mu Xuanyin… neither of them did she know at all.
Back then, when he learned that the Ice Phoenix God Spirit had interfered with Mu Xuanyin's will, he unleashed uncontrollable anger toward the Ice Phoenix God Spirit, whom he had always deeply respected and thanked — because to Mu Xuanyin, it was too cruel.
He never imagined that besides the Ice Phoenix God Spirit, her will had not purely belonged to herself since ten thousand years ago.
What happened afterward, Yun Che could imagine without Chi Wuyue needing to tell him. She only needed to naturally let Mu Xuanyin go. Afterward, the awakened Mu Xuanyin would return to the Yin Xue Realm, completely unaware that another person's soul had attached itself to her soul — a terrifying Demon Emperor's soul that she would never be able to detect.
That meant, from that day on… from the very beginning, the master he knew, respected, spent time with, was infatuated with… who had unknowingly walked into the deepest part of his heart and then vanished forever from his life — was not the pure Yin Xue Realm King Mu Xuanyin. Rather, she was a combination of Mu Xuanyin and Chi Wuyue.
Two personalities… the personalities of two people.
But…
"Answer me one question." Yun Che finally spoke, his voice rough: "To what extent can you interfere with her will?"
"Very shallow," Chi Wuyue answered. "As shallow as you perceive it to be. Even with a Demon Emperor's soul, soul attachment is ultimately just attachment. It cannot independently control her body, cannot change her decisions. Its only unique advantage is that it never needs to worry about being detected by her."
Yun Che: "..."
"I can see what she sees, hear what she hears, listen to her thoughts, perceive her feelings. My existence is also regarded by her as a second personality derived from her own heart — from rejection, to gradual acceptance, and finally, she even came to enjoy it, would actively let my will take the lead… enjoying that complete, unrestrained release."
"But no matter what, I am ultimately just an attachment. On matters of no principle, she would comply with this 'personality's' decisions. But for things she firmly determined, no matter how much this 'personality' tried to interfere, it could never truly stop her."
"Your master, though not a pure Mu Xuanyin, that was ultimately her body, and throughout, it was her will and her personality that took the lead."
Chi Wuyue closed her eyes, her already soft voice becoming even gentler: "In the ten thousand years, I saw many things through Mu Xuanyin, and I fully realized that with my strength alone, wanting to change the fate of the Northern Divine Region was nothing but a fool's dream."
"Just as I was preparing to remove the attachment of my demon soul from her, you appeared. The aura of the Evil God on you attracted all my attention the moment you stepped into the Bing Huang God Sect."
"So, by my will, she (I) met you, she (I) accepted you as a disciple, she (I) was curious about your Evil God Divine Power and Dragon God Soul, and afterward, my curiosity toward you grew deeper and deeper… and I also unknowingly fell into an increasingly dangerous abyss."
Yun Che: "..."
"During that time, I sensed the will interference from the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul — a will that said 'you must be good to him.' She didn't detect it, and I didn't stop it, nor could I stop it."
"But this interference from the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul was actually completely unnecessary."
"Especially… after experiencing the Burial God Fire Prison, I perceived a great change in her state of mind. During the time you escaped and she couldn't find you, that was the most confused and unsettled period for her heart and soul in ten thousand years. And I deeply knew that this confusion of hers was because of what."
Her enchanting eyes slowly opened, the reflected light hazy like crystals embedded with stars.
When she spoke of the past between Mu Xuanyin and Yun Che, behind every "her" was hidden an "I."
At that time, she had laughed at Mu Xuanyin — as the Realm King of Yin Xue Realm and a cultivator of the Ice Phoenix God-Sealing Canon, which sealed away emotions, she had gradually fallen for a little man who caused trouble everywhere, and in terms of status, he was her personal disciple.
But while she was laughing at Mu Xuanyin, she was completely unaware that while her will was influencing Mu Xuanyin, she was also being influenced in reverse.
Moreover, everything Mu Xuanyin experienced concerning Yun Che was also everything she and Yun Che experienced together.
While Mu Xuanyin was quietly sinking, she too was quietly sinking — even if her true body and source soul were in the distant Northern Divine Region.
Especially above the Burial God Fire Prison, within the Primordial Mystic Ark…
When Yun Che defiled Mu Xuanyin, Mu Xuanyin's will was unconscious. Chi Wuyue, attached to Mu Xuanyin's soul, could not independently control her body to wake her or resist, but that part of her demon soul will was always awake.
That time, Mu Xuanyin was defiled in body while unconscious, but she herself was defiled in soul from beginning to end.
———
①: This was foreshadowed and mentioned earlier in Zhou Tian and Taiyu. Those who forgot can go back and reread Chapter 1621.