Chapter 1700: Yun Che Conferred as Divine Emperor (Part 2)
As for the title of Divine Emperor, Yun Che had truly never given it much thought.
A Divine Emperor—the supreme existence of the current era. Those who were conferred as Divine Emperors all sought the pinnacle of the Profound Way and absolute power, standing aloof between heaven and earth, looking down upon all living beings.
But Yun Che only sought revenge. What his imperial title was mattered not at all to him.
"Since you brought it up, you should already have an answer," Yun Che said directly.
"I have two options," Chi Wuyue spoke slowly. "First, you bear the demonic blood and demonic arts of Jie Tian Mo Di, and are her sole inheritor. Thus, you could directly inherit the name 'Jie Tian Mo Di'."
"This imperial name, in the Northern Divine Region, carries with it supreme demonic majesty."
Yun Che frowned slightly. "And the second?"
"Evil Emperor," Chi Wuyue said gently. "The turning point of your fate was after inheriting the Evil God's legacy, bearing the Evil God's Mysterious Vein. Even calling yourself the Evil God would not be excessive."
"Moreover, the word 'Evil' is neither good nor evil, yet it carries connotations of unruliness and disdain, fitting your fate and state of mind quite well."
Chi Wuyue finished speaking but did not ask for Yun Che's opinion. Instead, she turned her beautiful eyes and asked Qianye Ying'er: "What do you think?"
Qianye Ying'er's expression was cold and stern. "He is not Jie Tian Mo Di, nor is he the Evil God. He is... unique and unparalleled, needing no borrowed name or authority from others. He is Yun Che."
"Oh?" Chi Wuyue smiled faintly, her gaze lowering slightly. "It seems you already have a plan firmly in... mind."
"Northern Domain Demon Lord—Yun Emperor!" Qianye Ying'er said with fixed eyes. "Yun—eternally suppressing the heavens, looking down in pride upon all beings. When Yun descends, it can cover the world and overturn the seas; when Yun rages, it becomes the nine heavens' thunder."
"Moreover, it is his surname. Since his power makes him the emperor of the world, let all living beings forever engrave the word 'Yun' in their hearts!"
After Qianye Ying'er finished speaking, she moved her lips lightly, furrowed her brow, and transmitted to Chi Wuyue: "This is also the eternal glory he can give to his family and clan!"
The meaning behind these words was that using 'Yun' to crown the world could, to some extent, erase his deep guilt toward his family and clan. It could allow his family and clan to eternally continue their glory... and their lives.
Compared to Qianye Ying'er's hostility, which had clearly surged many times beyond what it was before, Chi Wuyue showed no intention of "picking up the challenge" to compete. Instead, she smiled faintly and nodded in praise: "Very good. Demon Lord Yun Emperor. Then let it be settled like this."
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
Yun Che looked up. "I haven't answ—"
"The second matter concerns that little girl from the Glazed Light Realm in the Eastern Divine Region," Chi Wuyue said.
Yun Che was startled, then turned sharply: "Shui Meiyin? What happened to her?"
Chi Wuyue's true self had never come into contact with Shui Meiyin, but 'Mu Xuanyin' had seen her more than once. Back then, the marriage between Yun Che and Shui Meiyin was something she had personally facilitated... though it ultimately did not come to fruition.
"About two years ago," Chi Wuyue said slowly, "news spread that the Glazed Light Realm had taken you in and protected you, and Yue Shen Di imposed a sanction."
The name 'Yue Shen Di' simultaneously stabbed at the nerves of both Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er.
Yun Che's heart and soul trembled violently, and he said in a low voice: "Sanction... what does that mean?"
Chi Wuyue's voice softened, her demonic tones soothing the heart: "It is said that Glazed Light Realm King Shui Qianheng took full responsibility for the matter. Yue Shen Di originally intended to kill him, but fortunately Zhou Tian Shen Di arrived in time to dissuade and plead for mercy... After that, the sentence was changed from death to crippling. At the same time, Shui Meiyin was imprisoned in the Yue Shen Realm, and her confinement was to last a full thousand years."
"..." Yun Che said nothing and did not move, but his expression was dark and murderous.
In Yun Che's heart and soul, the only pure land left in the Eastern Divine Region, besides Yin Xue Realm, was the girl who, on the day his darkness was exposed and the world became his enemy, still clung tightly to him, soaking his back with her tears.
That was the only warmth in that day as cold as an icy hell.
"After Shui Qianheng was crippled, he stepped down from the position of Realm King. The current Glazed Light Realm King is Shui Yingyue. As for Shui Meiyin, after being imprisoned in the Yue Shen Realm, there has been no news. The Glazed Light Realm tried to visit several times, but was always driven out."
Crack!
Yun Che's tightly clenched hand bones dislocated violently, and his teeth ground audibly.
Back then, he had left the Glazed Light Realm as soon as he woke up and had gone to great lengths to sever all connections and traces, yet he still ended up implicating them, and so severely at that.
"No matter what the world thinks, Brother Yun Che will always be the best... the very best person in my heart. So... please... you must live... live safely with all those you love... okay..."
Back then, at their last meeting, when they parted, her tear-filled eyes and tearful whispers were the precious starlight that kept him from completely falling into darkness during the most grim months that followed.
Yue Shen Di...
Xia Qingyue!!
Yun Che's eyes blazed with hatred, strands of uncontrollable murderous aura chaotically interweaving in his pupils.
The brilliant scene of the Lan Ji Star's destruction was the most cruel nightmare of his entire life.
His hatred and killing intent toward Xia Qingyue surpassed even his feelings for Zhou Xuzi.
"As expected of Yue Shen Di, truly ruthless enough," Qianye Ying'er said in a low voice, then glanced at Chi Wuyue with some surprise.
It was perfectly normal for Xia Qingyue to act this way—first, to more thoroughly sever any traces of having once been the wife of a demon; second... she feared that Shui Meiyin's deep affection for Yun Che might become a great threat in the future.
As a ruthless Yue Shen Di, she naturally had to use this excellent excuse to firmly control Shui Meiyin, who bore a Stainless Divine Soul and might become a future calamity.
"There's no need to wait until after the Divine Emperor Consecration Ceremony," Yun Che said slowly, each word deep and low. "Start building momentum immediately... have Hua Jin go to the Eastern Divine Region right now!"
"That's a bit hasty," Chi Wuyue said, casting a sidelong glance. "But since it is the Demon Lord's command, how could I refuse?... Half an hour ago, she had already set off."
She knew Yun Che too well. She had anticipated the reaction he would have after she told him about Shui Meiyin.
But at the same time, she did not want to hide it from Yun Che. No man likes being kept in the dark, even if it is well-intentioned.
Yun Che said no more. He let out a long breath, and with a flicker of his figure, he descended from the Soul Luo Heaven. He needed to find a place to calm down.
"Oh?" Chi Wuyue looked at Qianye Ying'er with beautiful eyes. "Why aren't you following him? Aren't you afraid... some other woman will take advantage of his vulnerability?"
Qianye Ying'er looked back at her, as if trying to see through her entire heart and soul through her eyes: "Given how isolated the Northern Divine Region is from the Eastern Divine Region, to be able to gather intelligence to this extent, you must have expended considerable effort, right?"
"Under the darkness of the Eternal Calamity, the chance of dark aura being exposed outside the Northern Region has dropped by a thousand or even ten thousand times. So..." Chi Wuyue's gaze was both seductive and hazy. "It wasn't that difficult. Conversely, people from the three Divine Regions still find it nearly impossible to obtain intelligence from our Northern Region."
"Why did you specifically tell him about that little girl from the Glazed Light Realm?" Qianye Ying'er asked. "He shouldn't be bored enough to mention anything about her to you."
"Little girl?" Chi Wuyue smiled lightly. "I can call her that, but you cannot. After everything that happened in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm... in terms of age and seniority, she is actually your older sister."
"...Answer my question." Qianye Ying'er asked the same question she had asked before: "Who exactly are you?"
"After the Divine Emperor Consecration Ceremony is complete, I will tell you. Although..." Chi Wuyue said softly, "it would be better if you didn't know."
Qianye Ying'er did not press further, nor did she go to find Yun Che. Instead, she suddenly shifted the topic: "Do you know Xia Qingyue?"
"Yes," Chi Wuyue replied. "My understanding of her might be much deeper than yours."
"Oh?" Qianye Ying'er did not question that, but asked: "Then, based on your understanding of her, what kind of person is she?"
The faint smile on Chi Wuyue's face disappeared, and her eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of dark mist: "I bear the soul of a Demon Emperor, and I once prided myself on my unparalleled ability to read people. But Xia Qingyue severely dented my confidence in that regard. In my judgment at the time, Xia Qingyue was someone who would absolutely never hurt Yun Che."
"And yet, she turned out to be the one who struck him the most cruelly and ruthlessly," Qianye Ying'er sneered.
"So, the hardest thing in this world is to truly see through a woman." Chi Wuyue looked into Qianye Ying'er's golden eyes, her lips slightly curled. "After all, women... are far too changeable."
Qianye Ying'er's golden brows furrowed: "Are you talking about me?"
Chi Wuyue smiled: "Back then in the Middle Wasteland Realm, when you stripped off Chan Yi's clothes in front of Yun Che, you must have especially wanted to see Yun Che's beastly nature take over and violently defile Chan Yi, right?"
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"In the Emperor Heaven Realm, when you fought with the Demon Butterfly and she asked you what profound art you cultivated, you told her to 'ask your future master,' and 'ask in bed'."
Qianye Ying'er: "........"
"At that time, you must have been desperately hoping that Yun Che would debase and ruin every woman of high status who caught his eye... just like what happened to you, so you could gain a kind of twisted balance and pleasure."
"..." Qianye Ying'er's gaze condensed slightly, but she said nothing.
"But now, you have jumped from one extreme to another," Chi Wuyue said with profound meaning. "When I told you to understand yourself, I didn't intend for this result, you know."
Qianye Ying'er's heart and soul were twisted... before and still now.
"Even if I become the Empress, I'll be the only one allowed to sleep with him?" Chi Wuyue chuckled. "Such crude words, hard to imagine even from a brothel woman, yet they came from the mouth of the Fandi Shennü. This kind of panicked, desperate way of staking your claim is even worse than a fledgling bird. Are you that afraid of me?"
"I... afraid!?" Qianye Ying'er's jade-like face froze with cold, but her heart was in turmoil.
This terrifying woman before her—almost every word struck deep into her soul... even into corners that she herself had not yet seen clearly.
She was afraid. When Chi Wuyue's words entered her ears, she realized she truly was afraid.
Back then, when she lost her most precious familial bonds, she fell into the abyss.
Now, what she feared most in the deepest recesses of her soul, what almost every fiber of her being dreaded—what she never dared to even consciously think about—was losing again.
Just as Chi Wuyue had said before, the Fandi Shennü, who once cared only for her own benefit and viewed all beings as tools and dogs, had degenerated into a bewildered fledgling bird that had completely lost itself.
And the only one who could 'save' her was herself.
Chi Wuyue took a slow step forward, standing beside Qianye Ying'er, their shoulders lightly touching. She breathed slowly and said softly: "You really don't need to be afraid of me. As long as you don't become another Xia Qingyue, I will never be your enemy, nor will I steal him away from you. On the contrary, as I told you before... what I feel toward you is mostly gratitude."
"Moreover," her voice softened, her demonic tones bewitching the heart, "if I could share a bed and serve the same man with the Fandi Shennü, I would greatly look forward to it... I believe he would also enjoy it very much."
"........"
A wave of numbness washed over Qianye Ying'er's entire body. When she came back to her senses, Chi Wuyue was no longer by her side.
But her terrifying demonic voice still lingered between her soul and heart, impossible to shake off.
——————
Inside and outside the Soul Plunder Sacred Domain, countless beings surged, every aura so powerful it made hearts shudder and souls tremble.
The sky above the Soul Plunder Realm was thick with demonic clouds, the heavens hanging lower than usual, black and oppressive as if they might collapse at any moment.
Countless Realm Kings and overlords gathered at the Soul Plunder Realm. Within the Sacred Domain, upper-level star realms sat solemnly upright. Outside the Sacred Domain, a boundless sea of people spread out.
Black clouds roiled, black mists churned. Countless dark profound formations operated in every corner of the Soul Plunder Sacred Domain. These dark profound formations were built with the demonic legacy artifacts of the Burning Moon Realm at their core, forged collectively by the three king realms. They could project today's Divine Emperor Consecration Ceremony to every corner of the Northern Divine Region.
All the floating islands of the Soul Plunder Realm gathered above the Sacred Domain. Even more astonishing were the three enormous shadows high in the sky that even the upper-level Realm Kings found awe-inspiring.
The main profound warships of the three king realms: Soul Plunder, Yan Mo, and Burning Moon!
Today, all of them gathered in the sky above the Soul Plunder Realm. Three manifest demon gods looked down upon the beings of the Northern Region.
The scene was grand and magnificent, unprecedented in history.
Northern Region powerhouses gathered in droves, but whether inside or outside the Sacred Domain, there was a terrifying silence, with even whispered conversations few and far between. They sometimes looked up at the heavens, sometimes held their breath deeply... They knew they were about to witness the history of the Northern Divine Region.
The history of the Northern Divine Region would forever remember this day.
Yun Che—the supreme Demon Lord jointly endorsed by the three king realms of the Northern Region.
Was it a mutual scheme by the three king realms for some purpose, or had this young man, rumored to come from the Eastern Divine Region and barely thirty years old, truly subdued the three king realms so completely in such a short time?
Time flowed slowly. After a long silence, finally...
Rumble rumble rumble!
A dull roar came from above. The three main warships of the king realms slowly descended at this moment. The formless and terrifying pressure seemed to bring the entire sky crashing down together.
A voice full of soul-seizing, emperor-like majesty rang through the air, resounding across the Soul Plunder Realm and every corner of the Northern Divine Region: "The hour has come. Welcome the Demon Lord!"
The one who shouted was none other than Yan Tianxiao.
The former number one Divine Emperor of the Northern Region had personally become the host of this Divine Emperor Consecration Ceremony.
The shock in the hearts of Northern Region profound practitioners was beyond words.
As Yan Tianxiao's voice fell, the three main warships stopped descending. A demonic light passed between them, spreading out a dark path.
At the end of the dark path, a man in a black robe, with eyes like an abyss, stepped onto the demonic light and appeared in the pupils of all Northern Region profound practitioners.