## Chapter 1716: Dark Invasion
Qianye Ying'er did not answer directly. Instead, she said in a low voice: "Back then, when we sent away the Calamity Demon Empress at the edge of the Chaos, you were not present. So, you may not know who it was that truly forced Yun Che into darkness and pushed him to the brink of despair."
Chi Wuyue: "..."
"It was the Dragon Emperor," Qianye Ying'er said, her gaze shadowed. "At that time, just before the Crimson Scar disappeared, Zhou Xuzi struck the Evil Infant out of the Chaos. Yun Che was furious at Zhou Xuzi, and Nanming Shendi and Qianye Fantian stood against him."
"And that alone wouldn't have pushed Yun Che into a dead end. After all, Yun Che had just saved the world; everyone owed him their lives. In particular, the most powerful figure, the Dragon Emperor, had always held Yun Che in high regard, even wanting to adopt him as a foster son. When Yun Che was afflicted by my Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal, it was the Dragon God Realm that took him in and saved him."
"He only needed to speak a single word for Yun Che, and everything could have been resolved."
"But the Dragon Emperor did not speak up for Yun Che. Instead, he directly rebuked Yun Che and pressured everyone present, acting far more ruthlessly than Nanming and Qianye."
"When the Dragon Emperor took the lead, and the first Divine Emperors of the three Divine Regions all stood against Yun Che, the other Divine Emperors and Realm Kings had no choice but to follow. Afterwards, Yun Che exploded in rage, triggering the Eternal Calamity Mark left by the Calamity Demon Empress, causing demonic aura to leak out, giving everyone the perfect excuse to kill him—and thus he was driven to death's door."
Qianye Ying'er's golden brows furrowed coldly: "The Dragon Emperor's attitude towards Yun Che was something that puzzled me for a long time afterward. I think everyone who knew of the Dragon Emperor's esteem for Yun Che would have been confused."
"..." Chi Wuyue frowned in silence.
Back then, when Yun Che was exposed to darkness at the edge of Chaos, she was indeed not present.
But the force that had dealt Mu Xuanyin a fatal blow had come from the Dragon Emperor.
Now, looking back, the Dragon Emperor's viciousness at that time seemed very much at odds with the rumors of his aloof and unassuming nature.
"Only after arriving in the Northern Divine Region did I accidentally learn something from Yun Che," Qianye Ying'er said. "He slept with the Dragon Queen."
"...!" Chi Wuyue's brow twitched sharply. "What did you say?!"
"This beastly man has done so many outrageous things that it's hard to believe," Qianye Ying'er said with hatred.
After a moment of shock, Chi Wuyue frowned, suddenly recalling the time when she had met with Yun Che and the Zhou Tian Divine Emperor. Taking advantage of his self-induced state of being under her soul control, she had lightly asked him that question:
"Then, in your heart, which woman is the most beautiful?" ①
And Yun Che's answer had been "Shen Xi."
She hadn't thought much of it at the time and had even teased him about it. After all, "the Dragon Queen, the Divine Maiden" was the epitome of feminine grace in this era. He had been taken in by the Dragon Queen in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, so it was not strange that he had seen her true face, and his answer was even less surprising.
"Beast... beast!" Chi Wuyue's ample chest heaved with a magnificent, turbulent motion. "Even a married woman dared to defile! And the Dragon Emperor's wife, no less, who had shown him great kindness!"
As she spoke, a faint disappointment flickered in her heart.
"No," Qianye Ying'er said in a soft voice. "This matter might not be so simple. Afterwards, Yun Che emphasized one thing to me many times, even getting angry over it."
"She is Shen Xi, not the Dragon Queen."
"..." Chi Wuyue fell into silence, her brows deeply furrowed.
"Although Yun Che is an insatiable beast and an out-and-out scoundrel, when it comes to loyalty and righteousness, he is actually rather stubborn to the point of being rigid," Qianye Ying'er said with a neutral expression, as if praising him.
"And at that time, the Dragon Emperor had done him a favor. If Shen Xi truly were the Dragon Emperor's wife, he would never have touched her."
With Shen Xi's immortal beauty and divine grace, she could instantly shatter any man's will, making him forget all bonds of loyalty and ethics... but in this regard, Qianye Ying'er surprisingly believed in the beastly Yun Che. And this belief was not without reason.
Because back then, during the time she was his slave, Yun Che had never once touched her, for the sake of Xia Qingyue and Mo Li.
"Meaning..." Chi Wuyue murmured, "Shen Xi is not the Dragon Queen... That statement might be true?"
Her understanding of Yun Che's nature far surpassed Qianye Ying'er's. Indeed, if she were his benefactor's wife, he would never touch her under any circumstances, let alone speak of "Shen Xi" with such ease.
Qianye Ying'er said, "At first, I was only amused, mocking Shen Xi as a slutty woman with a holy exterior but a wanton heart. But after he got angry several times, I began to consider a very ridiculous possibility..."
"Perhaps the so-called 'Dragon Queen' never existed at all. It was merely a laughable facade that the Dragon Emperor created to deceive the world—and to deceive himself!"
Chi Wuyue's eyes were as cold as a deep pool. She did not feel shocked or amused, but instead pondered what dangers might lie hidden if all of this were true.
"Have you ever tried to verify this with Yun Che?" Chi Wuyue asked cautiously.
"No," Qianye Ying'er shook her head. "I asked many times, but he never wanted to talk about Shen Xi. If I pressed even a little, he would get angry."
"..." Chi Wuyue pondered for a moment, then said, "Dragons are by nature lecherous, but everyone knows that the Dragon Emperor deeply loves the Dragon Queen. To show his devotion to her, for hundreds of thousands of years, he not only refrained from any affairs with other women but even avoided close contact whenever possible. All the world praised him."
"If there is only Shen Xi in this world, and the 'Dragon Queen' never truly existed, yet he was willing to hold onto this phantom title and remain alone for so many years..."
"His feelings for Shen Xi are far beyond 'deep'—they are almost terrifying."
Chi Wuyue's expression grew increasingly solemn. "If he is so obsessively in love, and then learns that Shen Xi has been defiled by another—a human junior less than thirty years old..."
Chi Wuyue did not finish. She could not even imagine just how deep the Dragon Emperor's hatred for Yun Che would be if everything she suspected were true.
But in that case... his sudden change of attitude towards Yun Che would no longer be surprising.
Then...
Chi Wuyue suddenly understood the fear Qianye Ying'er had shown earlier.
"You're worried that the Dragon Emperor will act forcefully?" Chi Wuyue said.
The Zhou Tian Divine Realm had provoked the Northern Divine Region first. Facing retaliation from the North, the Western and Southern Divine Regions had no reason to interfere. They would only sit back and watch the fire, gloating... and they would not need to worry about the flames spreading to themselves.
Because could the Eastern Divine Region not handle a group of demons who had just escaped their cage and were seeking death?
By the time the Eastern Domain fell under a thunderous assault, it would be too late for them to react.
But if the conjectures about the Dragon Emperor and Shen Xi were true, then once the Dragon Emperor heard that Yun Che had set foot in the Northern Divine Region, he would likely—no, certainly—take action!
It had nothing to do with the cause, nothing to do with the grudges between the Divine Regions. It was only because of the Dragon Emperor's deep hatred and murderous intent towards Yun Che—an enmity that might far exceed anyone's imagination.
"Yes," Qianye Ying'er said in a low voice, letting out a slow breath. "I hope all this is just my groundless imagination. But between the 'Dragon Queen' never having existed for over two hundred thousand years and Yun Che being a beast, I would rather believe the latter."
Previously, Qianye Ying'er had only occasionally entertained these conjectures. Her main interest was in mocking Shen Xi and taking deep pleasure in it.
She had concentrated all her efforts on the revenge plans targeting the Northern and Eastern Divine Regions, never thinking much about this aspect.
But just now, when she considered the dangerous factors, her mind inadvertently touched upon her earlier guesses about Shen Xi, and a chill ran down her spine.
"Regardless, we must ask Yun Che about this immediately!"
Qianye Ying'er was about to move, but Chi Wuyue reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"There's no need to ask," Chi Wuyue said. The surprise on her face had faded, and her tone was calmer and more composed than before.
Qianye Ying'er: "?"
Chi Wuyue turned her gaze, looking at Yun Che's figure in the distant sky, and said slowly, "The true cause and effect of this matter is something we can only guess at, but Yun Che himself knows it clearly."
"In this war of revenge, the one who cannot afford to fail is him. Yet he has never mentioned such an important destabilizing factor even half a word."
Qianye Ying'er frowned slightly. "You mean?"
"Either we are overthinking," Chi Wuyue said. "Or..."
The Dragon Emperor might hate Yun Che to the extreme.
But does Yun Che not hate the Dragon Emperor just as much!
If the Dragon Emperor learns that Yun Che has reappeared in the Eastern Divine Region, he will almost certainly appear and act personally.
Similarly, Yun Che, having bared his fangs of revenge, would undoubtedly be itching... to kill the Dragon Emperor at the very first opportunity.
Even if it cost him dearly!
Chi Wuyue's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at Yun Che's shadowy figure, immersed in darkness. A wistful sigh escaped her: "It seems he has been keeping far more hidden from us than I imagined. Ah, a grown-up man always makes one feel a little... lost."
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"Since he doesn't want to talk about Shen Xi, don't force him," Chi Wuyue said softly. "However, we should still pay as much attention as possible to the movements of the Dragon God Realm."
At that moment, a female figure slowly emerged from the darkness and bowed before Chi Wuyue: "Master, the mission in the Southern Divine Region is complete."
"Were you noticed by anyone?" Chi Wuyue asked.
Hua Jin hesitated for a moment, then said, "No. Nanming Shendi has been enjoying himself outside these days, which made things much easier."
"Good," Chi Wuyue smiled. "As expected of my good Jin'er. To travel back and forth between the Northern and Southern Divine Regions so quickly without leaving any trace—such an impressive feat could probably only be accomplished by my Jin'er."
"Speaking of which," she turned her gaze to Qianye Ying'er, "What wonderful secret does that soul crystal hold?"
Qianye Ying'er crossed her arms and said indifferently, "A secret you'd better never know. All you need to know is that the so-called number one Divine Emperor of the Southern Domain has always been a very useful dog."
"He was before, and he is now and will be—the same!"
With that, not giving Chi Wuyue any chance to press further, she flickered away, appearing beside Yun Che. Yet she did not ask him about the Dragon Emperor or Shen Xi.
But Chi Wuyue suddenly frowned and looked down, saying, "Hua Jin, did someone notice you?"
She knew her nine Demonesses too well; she had clearly sensed that moment of hesitation in Hua Jin.
Hua Jin was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "Probably not. But... when I approached the Imperial Palace of Nanming Shendi, there were a few moments when I vaguely felt like I was being watched."
"Oh?"
"However, the soul crystal successfully reached Nanming Shendi's hands, and his divine sense never touched my location, so perhaps... it was just a feeling."
She said "feeling" very lightly, because Chi Wuyue had long ago warned all the Demonesses that the two most unreliable things in the world were men and "feelings."
Chi Wuyue paused briefly, did not press further, and said, "That's good. You may go."
In the distant horizon, the ten dark demon blades were drawing ever closer to the Eastern Divine Region.
Behind them, a hundred thousand colossal profound vessels and millions of various profound boats had also arrived at the border of the Northern Domain, covering the entire sky. The oppressive dark aura spilled out of the Northern Domain like a black cloud.
The moment the first wave of demon blades had pierced through the Northern Divine Region, there was no longer any need for concealment.
Chi Wuyue did not go to Yun Che's side. Instead, she suddenly recalled the fleeting feeling of being watched after her meeting with the Zhou Tian Divine Emperor—a feeling she had dismissed as mere "illusion" back then.
"..." She was silent for a very, very long time.
---
In the northern border of the Eastern Domain, the ten star realms closest to the Northern Divine Realm—other than the Yinxue Realm—suddenly saw a dark shadow spreading across the sky.
At first glance, it looked like a black hole slowly opening in the northern firmament.
"What... is that?"
Countless profound practitioners looked up in shock toward the north... The black hole was approaching, growing larger, and as it expanded, figures emerged one after another, dense as locusts.
"De... demons!"
Dark demons—and a swarm of demons so massive it had never been seen before!
Before the first profound practitioner's scream had faded, a dark shadow descended through the sky, carrying a terrifying demonic might that could overturn the heavens and the seas. He was the leader of the Northern Domain's Demon Lords, the supreme commander of these ten dark "demon blades"—Tian Guhu!
The Imperial Heaven Sword gathered the demonic power of the Yan Mo, and he slashed down mercilessly.
Boom——
Under the might of a late-stage Divine Lord, how fragile was a middle-ranked star realm? With a single strike, the massive star realm was split open with a crack ten thousand miles long, and countless lives were annihilated in an instant.
The first strike of the Northern Divine Region's revenge and counterattack was made by Tian Guhu. In that single instant, he felt his life was already complete.
"Children of darkness," he pointed his sword downward, overlooking the creatures fleeing and screaming in terror, "vent your hatred with blood and life to your heart's content!"
With that command, the curtain rose on a brutal and bloody battle. His gaze locked onto the south, and he went alone, heading straight for the heart of this star realm—the sect of its Realm King.
---
[①: Chapter 1652]
[Large-scale inter-realm battles will be simplified, focusing more on results. The narrative will still focus more on the ensuing battles of the protagonists... Well, that's how it is.]