# Chapter 1706: Dark Growth
Yanmo Realm, Eternal Dark Bone Sea.
Jiexin Jieling, Ye Li, Yao Die, Qing Ying, Lan Ting, Hua Jin, Yu Wu, Chan Yi... the nine Demonesses all sat cross-legged on the ground, their demoness aura surging violently.
Around them, the ancient yin energy that had accumulated for who knows how many years kept churning and roaring, every instant stirring up air currents as violent as world-destroying hurricanes.
Yun Che floated in the air, his eyes tightly shut. Where his five fingers pointed, the dark yin energy frantically surged toward the bodies of the nine Demonesses, yet without harming them in the slightest. Instead, it continuously performed a bizarre fusion with their own power in a way that transcended common understanding.
After being crowned as the Demon Lord and with the three royal realms of the Northern Domain submitting to him, Yun Che could finally unleash another heaven-defying power of the Dark Eternal Calamity without any reservations.
Dark Growth!
This very ability was the reason why, when he first heard Qianye Ying'er mention the Eternal Dark Bone Sea at the core of the Northern Domain, his eyes had blazed with a strange light.
In corresponding special environments, he could absorb the elemental power around him and fuse it into his own strength.
This kind of fusion could be achieved through the Void Law, and also through the Evil God's elemental power combined with the energy absorption of the Great Dao Pagoda Art.
But... within the dark domain, the Dark Eternal Calamity was the supreme existence.
Not only could it allow Yun Che to fuse the surrounding darkness into his own power, but it could also be applied to others.
Although limited by constitution, applying it to others would certainly be far less effective than using it on himself... but even if it were only half as effective, it would still be an undeniably heaven-defying power!
And the Eternal Dark Bone Sea... simply seemed to exist for this very purpose!
The Eternal Calamity aura on Yun Che's body connected to the bodies and profound veins of the nine Demonesses. The masterless ancient yin energy continuously transformed into the demonesses' dark power.
Every twelve hours of enduring the Dark Growth required at least ten days for them to adapt and consolidate.
In other words, even for powerful beings like the Demonesses, Yan Mo, or the Moon Devourers, they needed over ten days to endure twelve hours of Dark Growth.
Yet the growth in dark power they gained in return was so immense it made them shudder.
Outside the Eternal Dark Bone Sea, above the Yanmo Demon Domain, Chi Wuyue and Qianye Ying'er were leisurely conversing.
"Tian Guhu now calls himself the 'Demon Son.' He has rallied more and more young profound practitioners, striving to maintain order in the major star realms and help the weak. Regardless of actual results, his influence among the younger generation is immense. Countless have responded to his call. At least in terms of momentum, he shows the Northern Domain the positive changes brought by the Demon Lord's arrival."
"Our Demon Lord really did find a treasure." Chi Wuyue spoke in a praising tone.
"Hmph. A beast harboring a demon's heart can naturally smell the scent of demons on others." Qianye Ying'er's gaze quickly swept over Chi Wuyue, then she suddenly smiled faintly and said in a strange tone: "Your primordial yin aura is still intact? If others were to learn of this, the men who died before would be one thing, but now that you are the Demon Empress... wouldn't our Demon Lord be suspected of being useless?"
"Eh?" Chi Wuyue let out a long sound of surprise, her seductive eyes lightly glancing at Qianye Ying'er: "Speaking of this matter, it really is quite disheartening. This empress's newly wedded Demon Lord is constantly entangled by other women, favoring them day and night without cease. This empress can't even get a single drop of dew."
Qianye Ying'er raised an eyebrow and said lightly: "That depends on each person's skill, wouldn't you say?"
Toward Chi Wuyue, Qianye Ying'er still harbored a strong hostility.
However, this hostility had undergone a rather subtle change compared to before.
It was no longer about intolerance, but rather leaning toward... competition?
And Qianye Ying'er knew very well in her heart that Chi Wuyue wasn't "unable to compete" with her, but simply had no time.
After the coronation ceremony, she was far busier than Yun Che.
Chi Wuyue clearly knew why Qianye Ying'er had pushed her to become the Demon Empress, but she had never resisted, nor had she ever exposed it.
This was also what she wished.
"Then this empress is naturally far inferior to you." Chi Wuyue said. "After all, this empress is still a pure blank sheet of paper, while you, over these years, have been indulging in debauchery with this empress's Demon Lord day and night."
"Now the 'Fandi Shennü' who captivates the world is not just about her grace and charm. How could this empress possibly compare? Sigh."
Chi Wuyue let out a sorrowful sigh.
Qianye Ying'er pursed her lips and suddenly asked: "The men in your life... were they all puppets?"
"Of course." Chi Wuyue smiled faintly. "Speaking of which, in dealing with men, this empress seems quite similar to you."
"Oh?" Qianye Ying'er glanced sideways.
"Back then, you bore the name of 'Divine Maiden.' Born high above, you held men in extreme contempt and disgust. The men in your eyes were probably only of two types: useful tools and useless trash."
"..." Qianye Ying'er did not refute. This was indeed who she was back then.
In fact, even now, it was still the same. There was just one special exception.
"And this empress was born carrying a wisp of the Nirvana Wheel Demon Emperor's demon soul. Though far from your divine maiden's nobility, on a soul level, I too am high above, instinctively looking down on all beings in the world."
"Especially toward men, I am extremely repulsed. Like you, I only see them as useful tools and useless trash. Mere mortal men, how could they be worthy of touching this empress's body? Becoming puppets under the demon soul, offering their power and life's achievements—that is their greatest use."
"And the Netherworld Brahma Emperor?" Qianye Ying'er asked. "Could you not control him?"
"Correct." Chi Wuyue said. "This empress chose him back then because he was the weakest of the three Divine Emperors at the time, and the easiest to soul-steal."
"But even the weakest Divine Emperor is still a Divine Emperor. I gradually broke down his mental defenses, exhausted all my strength, and finally succeeded in stealing his soul. However, his soul struggled violently and could break free at any moment. So, this empress had no choice but to shatter his soul, turning him into a soulless living corpse."
"Alas," she sighed lightly, as if still feeling some regret: "What a shame, he would have been an excellent puppet."
Qianye Ying'er squinted slightly and said flatly: "When it comes to vicious cruelty, I am still far inferior to you."
"Hehehehe. To achieve great things, one must avoid hesitation and indecision. Men are like this, and women should be the same."
Chi Wuyue let out a charming laugh, her curves trembling, then spoke leisurely: "Compared to men, women as beautiful as jade are far more delightful. Those nine children by my side, their beauty... would you also like to experience it?"
Her demonic voice entered the soul, seductive and heart-stirring. If it were the Qianye Ying'er who first encountered Chi Wuyue, she would have already lost. But now, her jade lips curved slightly, her voice becoming just as languid and soft as Chi Wuyue's: "Compared to that, I am more curious... back then in the Yan Shen Realm, when Yun Che forced himself on you, how did you feel?"
After the coronation ceremony, Chi Wuyue had, as promised, revealed her "identity" to Qianye Ying'er.
And in considerable detail.
Such frankness naturally brought the two women closer.
"The feelings he brought—who in this world knows better than you?"
The Demon Empress's "counterattack" arrived in an instant. She turned her gaze forward, a layer of soul-stirring mist quietly rising in her infinitely seductive eyes: "It was also after that day that both Mu Xuanyin and I vowed to find him again and firmly hold him in our hands."
"Oh?" Qianye Ying'er said with a half-smile: "You care so much about Yun Che just because of 'that one time'?"
She knew that wasn't the case, but she wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity to tease Chi Wuyue.
"Of course." Chi Wuyue said. "A woman as remarkable as this empress was defiled by a little brat like him. How could I not settle accounts with him?"
She giggled, radiating boundless charm.
"..." Qianye Ying'er was speechless.
"Speaking of Mu Xuanyin, there is something this empress has always been concerned about." Chi Wuyue's smile faded.
"Worried that Yun Che is a beast who even messes around with his own master?" Qianye Ying'er snorted coldly, then slightly frowned, as she suddenly noticed Chi Wuyue's expression was rather unusual.
Chi Wuyue looked ahead and spoke slowly: "When this empress attached my soul to Mu Xuanyin, her soul was already inhabited by the Ice Phoenix's divine soul."
"At first, the Ice Phoenix divine soul was merely observing the outside world through Mu Xuanyin. But in the final years, due to Yun Che's appearance, the Ice Phoenix divine soul imposed a will interference on Mu Xuanyin: 'unconditionally be good to Yun Che.' To avoid being detected by the Ice Phoenix divine soul, I did not stop it."
"Later, just before Jie Tian Mo Di left, the Ice Phoenix divine soul's will interference disappeared. Even that wisp of soul... and the soul source it pointed to, completely dissipated."
"But after the dissipation, it left behind a strange patch of crystalline blue light in Mu Xuanyin's sea of consciousness."①
"What was it?" Qianye Ying'er asked. Mu Xuanyin had long since passed away, yet Chi Wuyue brought this up. There must be a special reason.
Chi Wuyue shook her head: "If I knew, I wouldn't have been puzzled all this time. This empress tried to probe it but found nothing. However..."
The light in her eyes slowly condensed, and her voice became somewhat ethereal: "Outside Lan Ji Star, when her life ended and her soul scattered, as my demon soul separated from hers, in my final consciousness, I seemed... to vaguely see that blue light envelop her dissipating ice soul."
Qianye Ying'er's golden brows deeply furrowed: "What do you mean?"
Chi Wuyue still shook her head: "I don't know. I confirmed many times afterward that Mu Xuanyin was indeed dead. It's just..."
She didn't continue. Chi Wuyue turned her gaze to Qianye Ying'er and said seriously: "This matter must never be told to Yun Che. If a miracle is to happen, he will see it in the future. If not... a hope like a firefly, once shattered again, would bring him pain no less than before."
Qianye Ying'er stared fixedly at Chi Wuyue, surprised and puzzled by the word "miracle" in her words.
Qianye Ying'er did not know that when Yun Che died in the Star God Realm all those years ago, he had actually returned to the divine realm alive — like everyone else in the divine realm, she thought that during the Evil Infant Calamity, he had simply used some method to safely escape from the Star God Realm.
But Chi Wuyue knew it clearly.
Phoenix Nirvana!
In the incomplete memories of the Nirvana Wheel Demon Emperor, there existed an obscure piece of knowledge.
In that ancient age before the conflict between the divine race and the demon race had fully intensified, the Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix — two divine beasts recorded and perceived as mutually opposing and contradictory, naturally seen as mortal enemies in terms of attributes...
Had once belonged to the same clan.
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[①: Chapter 1512: Truth That Should Not Be Known – Chapter 1513: Zhou Tian Crown Prince]