# Chapter 1696: Instant Vanishing Ice Gleam
They came in a grand manner, yet it ended without a single confrontation taking place.
Cangxue Binglin Beast led the profound beasts away in a grand procession. When it received Mu Bingyun's consent, it expressed endless gratitude and was so moved to tears that it wished it could immediately kowtow until its head broke.
After retreating a distance, Cangxue Binglin Beast suddenly sped up, almost scrambling and crawling away in panic, fearing that Mu Bingyun might regret it. There was no trace of the majestic bearing of a profound beast overlord, only a deep fear so vast that it had shattered its will multiple times, enough to make it dare never rebel again for the rest of its life.
"This trip turned out to be without shock or danger, with blades unstained by blood." Mu Tanzhi said happily. Like everyone else, the oppression in his heart had completely dissipated.
But Mu Bingyun was still gazing into the distance, murmuring, "Who exactly..."
When she asked Cangxue Binglin Beast who had forced it to do this, she saw clearly the extreme panic it showed while vehemently denying.
To make a Divine Sovereign level profound beast show such an attitude, it was likely that it had encountered oppression at the Divine Lord level.
Moreover, the methods must have been extremely cruel, practically scaring the life out of Cangxue Binglin Beast.
"Two possibilities," Mu Tanzhi said. "One is the Yue Shen Realm."
Mu Bingyun's icy eyes instantly turned cold. She said coldly, "No. Yue Shen Di publicly declared that Yin Xue Realm has shown her kindness, and that no one should take it out on Yin Xue Realm. This was merely to show that she is not an ungrateful person... Hmph, if she had sent someone to do this, she would be eager for the entire Dong Shen Domain to know."
"Then it is the Yan Shen Realm King." Mu Tanzhi glanced at Mu Bingyun's expression and sighed softly.
The matter of Yan Shen Realm King Huo Poyun's infatuation with Mu Feixue had been known to both realms for a long time. In fact, if Mu Feixue said a single word, given the Yan Shen Realm King's formidable strength, even if the profound beast overlords of the Northern Domain and Southern Domain rebelled simultaneously, he could easily suppress them.
But favors are ultimately meant to be repaid. Moreover, what the Yan Shen Realm King hoped they would repay... everyone knew clearly.
So neither possibility was an answer that Mu Bingyun wanted to hear.
"Return to the sect."
Muttering softly, Mu Bingyun rose into the air, turned, and flew away.
This extremely large-scale profound beast rebellion ended with a result countless times better than expected, but Mu Bingyun's heart was not at ease.
The profound beast army retreated to their territory, and the people of the Bing Huang God Sect also all departed.
The Endless Snow Domain became quiet once more.
In the distant sky, in a space that no one had looked at, a faint pale blue ice gleam suddenly flashed for an instant, like a momentary twinkle of a star, and then vanished in a blink, leaving no trace behind.
————
Chi Wuyue left.
With Yan Emperor at the lead and Yan Mo behind, they courteously escorted Chi Wuyue out of the Yan Mo Di Yu, watching dazedly as she left.
Inside the Imperial Hall, Yun Che stood with eyes closed, silent for a very long time.
Earlier, his aura had connected to the dark yin energy of the Eternal Dark Bone Sea, Yan Yi and Yan San's auras had suppressed Chi Wuyue, and outside the hall, Yan Emperor and several Yan Mo were poised to strike... He pointed at Chi Wuyue and arrogantly asked her how she would break the situation.
Without a doubt, in this "confrontation" between him and Chi Wuyue, not only had Chi Wuyue successfully broken the situation, but he... had suffered a complete defeat.
He had even emotionally collapsed in front of his regained "Master".
Indeed, there is nothing better in the world than regaining what was lost. Especially, the more painful and desperate the loss was back then, the more this regained possession would strike the soul.
Although it was only incomplete, and a somewhat dreamlike and bizarre regaining.
After standing still for a long time, Yun Che's expression had returned to its usual indifference. But after his emotions calmed down, he felt an even deeper confusion.
In those years, she had indeed been his Master... On this point, he no longer doubted.
But his Master, in body, was the complete Mu Xuanyin, and in will, Mu Xuanyin was also the dominant one.
And Chi Wuyue... her more important and complete identity was the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain.
"He Ling..." he asked, somewhat dazed, "Can I really continue to regard her as my Master?"
"I... I don't know." What Yun Che couldn't answer, He Ling even less could. Especially, in those years when Yun Che and his Master were together day and night, He Ling was not by Yun Che's side and did not witness that period which was most important to them.
"Can those words she said be true?" Yun Che asked again, his eyes ethereal. The feeling swirling in his heart, besides confusion, was a deep sense of fearing loss and gain.
"I will never let anyone hurt you or betray you again. All those who deceive you, hurt you, let you down, no matter who they are, I will make them pay a thousandfold, ten thousandfold."
"Everything you desire, all the most beautiful things in the world, even if I have to take them by force, I will give them all to you, to compensate you..."
These words softly spoken in his ear, when recalled now, would cause anyone to surely find it hard to believe that they came from Chi Wuyue's mouth.
It was like a mother's unconditional doting on her child, or a woman's boundless infatuation with a man... And neither of these should appear in Chi Wuyue.
Because she was the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain, who dominated the north with demon might, sealed as an emperor and plundering souls, feared by the world!
"I don't know." He Ling still shook her head weakly, then gently replied, "But, my own feeling is... the words she spoke to Master were all from the heart."
"Moreover, your Master has always doted on you like this, right?" He Ling said softly.
Yun Che: "..."
Yes, Master had always doted on him like this.
After committing such a big mistake, when brought back, she only scolded him verbally, and then instead poured all her time and energy into him alone. Other core disciples considered it a grace to enter the Minghan Heavenly Lake for a single day, yet she let him soak in it year-round.
For him, she could immediately turn against the Sword Lord on the spot, and could, in a fit of rage, cut off Luo Guxie's arm without considering the consequences for her sneak attack.
Even more, for him, she could face all the Divine Emperors of the three divine realms alone.
But that was all the will of Mu Xuanyin.
Chi Wuyue... the other side of Master, could she really be the same?
"Moreover," He Ling continued softly, "Although she is not the dominant will of Master, you must not overlook one thing: she and Mu Xuanyin share knowledge and feelings. All the experiences Mu Xuanyin had with you are also her experiences with you, not a single bit missing."
"If Mu Xuanyin could love you so much, why can't Chi Wuyue?"
"No, it's different." Yun Che shook his head, his eyes still filled with an unbreakable haze. "She went from being an ordinary mortal step by step to become the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain. Her experience, her schemes... especially her Demon Emperor soul, are far beyond what Xuanyin can compare to."
"What Xuanyin shared with me was her entire soul. But Chi Wuyue... is only a very small part of her soul."
"How could someone like that be the same as Xuanyin? How could she truly harbor such feelings for me... someone she encountered through a wandering will?"
Yun Che couldn't fully convince himself. Perhaps anyone else would find it hard to believe as well. After all, if Chi Wuyue was so easily "captivated", how could she have become the Soul-Plundering Demon Empress who looks down upon the Northern Domain.
"I cannot answer Master's question," He Ling said softly. "Just as I have never been able to understand why Master Shen Xi was willing to give herself to Master."
"..." Yun Che was stunned for a moment.
"However, Master's words remind me of a question I once asked Master Shen Xi." He Ling recalled as she spoke. "At that time, I asked Master Shen Xi: The Dragon Emperor, whether in cultivation or status, is the number one in the world, so lofty and so devoted, why have you never felt the slightest attraction to him? Is it that there is no romantic love in your world?"
"Master Shen Xi answered then that she did not lack romantic feelings; on the contrary, even the most heartless woman would have an eternal, indestructible longing for romantic love, the most beautiful thing in the world. It's just that a woman is more willing to be conquered by a man stronger than herself. The higher her position and the more powerful she is, the more this is true."
"If one day a man appeared in her life who was worthy of causing her to fall, she might even choose... to take the initiative to conquer him."
"..." Yun Che was slightly startled, amazed that these were actually words spoken by Shen Xi.
"At the time, I could not understand those words of Master Shen Xi at all. But..." He Ling's voice weakened. "Now I understand."
"In this world, there are many, many powerful people, but only Master is truly the one and only in the world, and indeed the only one worthy of Master Shen Xi." He Ling said. "Qianye Ying'er is the same. She once looked down on all men. Nanming Shendi was so powerful, Tianlang Xisu was so devoted, but in her eyes, they were all tools."
"But by Master's side, in just a few short years, she changed so quickly and so greatly."
"No, Chi Wuyue is different. She is completely different from them." He Ling's words made Yun Che still shake his head. "What Chi Wuyue is skilled at using is not only men's power, but also men's emotions. She has experienced too many men. Even Jingtian Shendi fell under her hand."
"How could someone like her fall so easily and so completely?"
In the beginning, although Chi Wuyue bore the Demon Emperor soul and gained increasingly powerful strength, she was alone with no backing force. So she used men to rise, and while conquering men, she gradually took control of their forces and foundations, step by step, from middle rank, to upper rank, and then to the King Realm.
Finally, while conquering Jingtian Shendi, she took over the entire Jingtian Shen Realm with astonishing methods, and then gradually transformed the Jingtian Shen Realm into her own Jiehun Realm, and thus she became an emperor.
Not just in the Bei Shen Domain, but across the entire God Realm, one could not find another woman with experiences comparable to hers.
Even the most renowned Fan Di Shen Nü, Qianye Ying'er, in the God Realm back then, her starting point was also standing on the shoulders of the Fan Di Shen Realm.
He Ling was silent for a good while, then suddenly said, "Master, just now... just now when she hugged you, I noticed something very strange."
Yun Che: "?"
"Chi Wuyue she... was... a virgin."
Yun Che was taken aback, and the words blurted out, "Impossible!"
Chi Wuyue rose step by step by seducing one man after another to become the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain. This was common knowledge in the Bei Shen Domain.
Even Qianye Ying'er, before she set foot in the Bei Shen Domain, had known this clearly very early on.
"Although it greatly contradicts the known information, what I perceived is exactly this." He Ling's voice was very weak and soft, but without hesitation.
Wood Spirits, as a race created by the Life Creation God Li Suo, are the purest and cleanest race, most sensitive to sin and most drawn to purity.
And the purest and most pristine thing on a woman is the primordial yin aura. With close contact, He Ling could perceive it clearly.
"..." Yun Che stood there, speechless for a long time.
"Perhaps the real Chi Wuyue is not at all what we have heard. After all, rumors are just rumors, often untrustworthy."
"Moreover, as Master said, truly understanding a person is extremely difficult. Master, do you really understand... her?"
Yun Che closed his eyes, silent and deep in thought for a very long time in the quiet no one dared to disturb.