# Chapter 1720: Blood Stains the Zhou Tian (2)
In the Yue Shen Realm, Shenyue City.
Xia Qingyue had just returned from the Zhou Tian God Realm. The moment she stepped into Shenyue City, she felt something was off.
A large number of Moon Guards were dispersing, rushing straight out of the Yue Shen Realm.
"What's going on?" Xia Qingyue frowned, letting out a low hum.
Under the voice of the Divine Emperor, the entire Shenyue City came to a halt. Yao Yue, Lian Yue, and Jin Yue quickly appeared before Xia Qingyue. Lian Yue said urgently, "Master, Shui Meiyin... she is no longer in the Moon Prison!"
"!?" Xia Qingyue's eyes instantly turned icy cold, then sharply pierced toward Jin Yue: "Jin Yue! Did I not tell you to keep a close watch on her!"
Jin Yue's delicate body bowed, her voice panicked: "Master, your servant received the order and immediately went to the Moon Prison, but when this servant reached the depths of the Moon Prison, I discovered... discovered that Shui Meiyin had vanished without a trace."
"Are you saying that Shui Meiyin escaped on her own before that?" Xia Qingyue suddenly turned her gaze and called out, "Heng Zhi!"
A tall man in silver armor quickly approached and knelt below: "Your servant pays respects to the Divine Emperor."
Yue Hengzhi, the supreme commander of the Moon Prison guards.
"It has been six months since I last personally entered the Moon Prison. During these six months, has anyone forcibly broken through the thirty-three layers of barriers at the bottom of the Moon Prison?" Xia Qingyue looked down and asked.
Yue Hengzhi replied without hesitation: "Absolutely not. If the barriers at the bottom of the Moon Prison were impacted by any foreign force, Heng Zhi would surely detect it. As for those who actively opened the barriers at the bottom of the Moon Prison, in these six months, it has only been..."
He glanced at Jin Yue, his voice lowering a few notches: "...only Divine Envoy Jin Yue."
Yao Yue, Lian Yue, and Jin Yue, as the three close attendants of the Moon God Emperor, had many privileges. There was no place in the Yue Shen Realm they could not enter... including the depths of the Moon Prison.
"Hmph!" Xia Qingyue's gaze shifted slightly. At this moment, Jin Yue also raised her head in panic... For the first time, Xia Qingyue looked at her with such coldness, making her feel as if she had fallen into a cruel ice prison.
"Jin Yue," Xia Qingyue's voice was cold, carrying pain and disappointment: "Just how great a benefit did the Liuguang Realm give you, that you dare to act against me under my very eyes!"
Jin Yue was greatly alarmed and said frantically, "Your servant would never dare! Your servant has never..."
"You still dare to quibble!"
Xia Qingyue flicked her purple sleeve. A purple light struck heavily against Jin Yue, sending her flying far away.
"Jin Yue!" Lian Yue was shocked and quickly flew to catch Jin Yue.
Yao Yue said urgently, "Master, Jin Yue has served by your side for many years. She has always been loyal and devoted, and considers serving you the greatest honor of her life. She would never do anything to betray you."
"Shut up!" Xia Qingyue said coldly. "This matter is not for you to plead for mercy."
"..." A trail of blood slowly dripped from the corner of Jin Yue's lips. She lay dazed in Lian Yue's arms, her eyes chaotic and unfocused, like ten thousand shattered rays of starlight.
Among the three close attendants of the Moon God Emperor, she was the first to serve Xia Qingyue. Back then, Xia Qingyue was not yet the Moon God Emperor, and their bond was as close as sisters. She was even the only person Xia Qingyue would pour her heart out to.
When Yue Wuyai died, Xia Qingyue became the Moon God Emperor. Gradually, she became distant... then farther and farther away, even beginning to seem like a stranger.
But... this was the first time Xia Qingyue had raised a hand against her. Compared to the physical pain, her heart, engraved with the image of Xia Qingyue, was shattered piece by piece, piercing to the bone.
"Master, your servant did not," she knelt again on the ground, her words laced with tears: "Even if your servant dies, I would never do anything to betray you."
"Is that so?" Faced with Jin Yue's sorrow, Xia Qingyue's eyes remained icy cold. "Fine. Considering that you have indeed served by my side for many years, I could assume that Shui Meiyin used her Stainless Divine Soul to bewitch your mind."
"But do you know why I imprisoned Shui Meiyin!? Once her Stainless Divine Soul fully awakens, she will be terrifying beyond measure! Right now, the Eastern Divine Region has just been struck by the demon calamity. If she escapes at this time, she is likely to side with the demon camp. In the future, she will be an extremely huge hidden danger!"
"Such a grave crime, even if you were truly bewitched by the Stainless Divine Soul... how could I spare you!"
Without giving Jin Yue a single word of defense, she pronounced her verdict coldly: "Get out of the Yue Shen Realm immediately. From this day forth, you are never to set foot in the Yue Shen Realm again!"
"Master..."
"Whoever dares to plead for her will be punished with the same crime!"
Lian Yue and Yao Yue bit their lips at the same time, their eyes chaotic, but they dared not speak another word.
Jin Yue's beautiful eyes lost their luster. She looked at Xia Qingyue, then slowly raised her hand and pressed her palm against her heart: "Master, your servant... would rather die... to prove my innocence."
"Die?" Xia Qingyue showed no emotion, still indifferent as before: "You should know that I never like to leave loose ends. If you die before me, then your parents, your siblings, and all your direct relatives will be buried with you... You are free to try."
Jin Yue's body swayed. Her already pitiable delicate face took on an even more sorrowful pallor.
"Jin Yue..." Lian Yue called to her softly, shaking her head slowly.
Finally, the hand on her heart slowly lowered. The tears Jin Yue had been holding back burst forth, instantly soaking her cheeks. She bowed her head deeply to Xia Qingyue: "Master, Jin Yue knows... that I have committed a grave mistake. From now on, I can no longer serve by your side."
"Please, Master... take good care of yourself."
"..." Xia Qingyue did not respond. Instead, she turned away coldly, as if unwilling to look at Jin Yue again, or perhaps as if she did not want anyone to see her expression.
Slowly rising, Jin Yue bowed deeply to Xia Qingyue once more, then prepared to leave, looking utterly lost and forlorn.
"Wait." Xia Qingyue suddenly spoke.
Jin Yue's body trembled, thinking Xia Qingyue had changed her mind. But what reached her ears was even more heart-wrenching words: "I never want to see you again in this life. Take all your family and leave the Eastern Divine Region within thirty-six hours! Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"..." Jin Yue felt as if she had been struck by a cold wind. Her body swayed repeatedly, and she let out a nearly despairing cry: "Jin Yue... will obey your orders."
Jin Yue departed, leaving a trail of tears with every step.
And Xia Qingyue never once turned around to see her off.
"Lian Yue," facing away from everyone, Xia Qingyue gave orders coldly: "Take some people and immediately search the surrounding star regions. Turn the earth over three feet deep if you must, but capture Shui Meiyin!"
"While searching, remember to spread the news that she escaped from the Yue Shen Realm. Anyone who provides clues will be heavily rewarded."
"Yao Yue, personally keep an eye on the Liuguang Realm!"
"Yes, Master." Lian Yue and Yao Yue accepted their orders.
At this moment, the north was being invaded by demon people. Once the situation spiraled out of control, their Yue Shen Realm would have to go and suppress it immediately. Yet at this critical time, they were diverting so much core strength to search for a single Shui Meiyin...
But with Xia Qingyue's rage so intense and Jin Yue driven away, how could they dare to question or speak further?
At the same time, Xia Qingyue's figure slowly faded and soon vanished from their sight and spiritual perception.
…………
Shui Meiyin had escaped from the Yue Shen Realm. This news spread quickly with the Yue Shen Realm's extensive search. However, with the demon calamity at hand, this news drew attention but did not cause any further ripples.
In the Zhou Tian God Realm, Zhou Xuzi was already standing before the teleportation profound formation. He had stood still for over half an hour, pondering all possible battle scenarios.
The news of Shui Meiyin's escape from the Yue Shen Realm reached his ears, but it did not distract him.
Finally, his mind clearly mapped out the star realms in the northern part of the Eastern Domain that had been invaded and the distribution of demon people. His eyes opened, a cold gleam flashing: "Activate the great formation."
The dimensional array erupted with a blinding white light, covering a region of several tens of miles.
"Taiyu," Zhou Xuzi transmitted a low voice: "Always be ready to receive my transmission. The moment the time is right, immediately use the Zhou Tian's Voice to mobilize all star realms and profound practitioners from the central and southern regions. Press north with full force and jointly exterminate the demon people who have no way out."
"Taiyu understands." Taiyu Venerable's voice came quickly.
The dimensional array operated with fierce intensity. The overwhelming dimensional force stirred the surrounding space into wave after wave of roaring tides.
In such a short time to construct such a massive dimensional array, only the Zhou Tian Realm could accomplish this in the present era.
"Everyone," the Zhou Tian God Emperor faced the assembled upper realm kings, saying: "This calamity all stems from this old man. To have received the assistance of so many, this old man is deeply grateful."
He did not defend himself against the accusation of being framed, because he knew no one would believe it. A forced clarification would only backfire.
"Lord Zhou Tian God Emperor, you flatter us. You have maintained order in the Eastern Domain, resolved the Evil Infant calamity, and pacified countless disasters—your merits are boundless. This current calamity cannot obscure even a fraction of your sacred radiance," an upper realm king immediately said.
"This tribulation is a shared tribulation for our entire Eastern Divine Region! How can it be borne by the Zhou Tian God Realm alone? Those cowardly, useless star realms in the northern border... once the demon people are wiped out, we will settle accounts with them properly!"
"With all our strength combined, mere demon people can be completely swept away within ten days!"
Although the Zhou Tian God Realm was the supposed culprit behind all this, its divine might and sacred reputation accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years remained unshakable.
Six Guardians, thirty Zhou Tian elders, over one hundred and forty upper star realm kings had arrived in person, bringing with them the core combat power of their respective realms.
Added to Zhou Xuzi himself, there were nearly two hundred Divine Lords, several thousand Divine Sovereigns, and a massive contingent of Divine Kings and Divine Spirits... intermingled with the breaths of various terrifying profound artifacts.
As the Moon God Emperor had said, the Zhou Tian God Realm had not moved for several days, but once it did, it intended to drive the invading Northern Domain demon people straight into a desperate dead end.
"After the demon disturbance is pacified, this old man will naturally give an account to all of you, and to the Eastern Divine Region."
With that, Zhou Xuzi waved his hand: "Open the formation. Let's go!"
The dimensional force was released, directly teleporting wave after wave of Eastern Domain's powerful figures from the Zhou Tian God Realm to the northern border—the rear of the invading demon people.
In less than two quarters of an hour, everyone had been teleported.
The Zhou Tian God Realm fell into tranquility.
But no one noticed that this tranquility was tinged with a hint of strangeness.
Not long after the Zhou Tian God Emperor left, three hunched black figures emerged from a patch of darkness at the edge of Zhou Tian, then separated into three directions and vanished back into the darkness.
North of the Eastern Divine Region's border, a dense white light spread out, and a dimensional array appeared out of thin air, from which a large number of figures flew out. Each one emitted an exceptionally vast aura.
Zhou Xuzi, accompanied by Zhou Qingfeng, was the last to step out of the profound formation.
This place was extremely quiet—so quiet that it was eerie. Not a single demon figure was seen.
"Lord, how shall we proceed?" asked a Guardian while releasing his spiritual sense to scan the surroundings.
Zhou Xuzi extended his hand, and a massive projection appeared before him. On the projection was a complete map of the star realms in the northern region of the Eastern Domain, with the demon-invaded star realms marked in black.
He pointed his finger, and dozens of white dots appeared on the projection: "Take these fifty locations as starting points. Form teams of three realms each. Seal off all escape routes for the demon people... No need to worry about the state of the star realms; focus entirely on exterminating the demon people."
"When the Zhou Tian's Voice sounds and the north-south encirclement is complete, they will have no escape above or below!"
The Zhou Tian God Emperor's voice was extremely low.
Among the invading demon people, there were quite a few Divine Lord-level demon people, but no figures from the Royal Realms. While sneering inwardly, he also couldn't help but feel relieved.
"As expected of the Zhou Tian, famed for their mastery of spatial power. A very good encirclement and killing strategy. I wish you success in advance."
A woman's voice, soft as a gentle breeze and alluring as a demon's chant, drifted faintly from behind.
Zhou Xuzi's gaze turned icy cold. In the same instant, everyone whirled around.
In the northern sky, a woman's figure stood silently, only a few miles away from them... Yet not even Zhou Xuzi had detected when she had appeared there.
"Demon Empress!" The projection vanished. Zhou Xuzi turned to face her, fixing his gaze on Chi Wuyue's figure and speaking with a faint smile: "This old man thought you wouldn't dare to step out of the darkness."
The words "Demon Empress" made the Zhou Tian Guardians and the assembled upper realm kings change color drastically.
She was alone, with no other aura around her.
BOOM!!
Six Zhou Tian Guardians stepped forward simultaneously, releasing their Zhou Tian divine power all at once. It was like a thunderclap from the heavens; the clouds in the sky were all scattered by their divine might.
"Do not act rashly." Zhou Xuzi raised his hand to stop them.
On the opposite side, there was only Chi Wuyue. On this side, however, was an assembly of terrifying power.
But, having previously faced Chi Wuyue twice and suffered heavy losses both times... now facing her for the third time, even with such an overwhelming force arrayed against her alone, his heart could not relax in the slightest. It remained as heavy as ten thousand mountains pressing down on his soul.
Moreover, her appearance here at this time could not be a coincidence.
"In the end, I am merely a weak woman. How could I dare to personally step into this terrifying dragon's pool and tiger's den of the Eastern Divine Region?" Chi Wuyue's voice was soft and sweet, entering the ear and penetrating the heart, causing even the Divine Lords to feel a tingle of numbness, while the Divine Sovereigns and Divine Kings gradually had their vision blur and their profound energy unconsciously subsided.
"Hmph!" Zhou Xuzi let out a light snort, which served to clear the mind and shake the soul, jolting those who had fallen into slight stupor. They instantly broke out in cold sweat.
The image of Zhou Qingchen's tragic death flashed before his eyes. Zhou Xuzi's five fingers slowly clenched. Suppressing his fury, his voice slowly deepened: "Tell all your people from the Jiehun Realm to come out now. Hiding and skulking will only invite ridicule!"
Chi Wuyue lightly pressed her lips together and let out a soft laugh, a laugh full of meaning: "The Zhou Tian God Emperor's suspicious nature really hasn't changed at all. My lovely children are not here. They are in a place that will bring you an even greater 'surprise,' hmm."
"?" Zhou Xuzi frowned sharply.
Chi Wuyue's gaze shifted languidly. Facing this terrifying assembly of auras before her, which could crush anything, she showed not a trace of fear. Instead, her smile deepened: "Gathering so much power in such a short time and constructing such a fearsome dimensional array—truly worthy of the Zhou Tian Realm. How admirable."
"But," she let out a faint sigh, speaking with a hint of coquettishness: "If such a massive force has been moved out of the Eastern Divine Region and cannot return for a while... what then?"
The moment her voice fell, the dimensional array in the distance, which had just completed its teleportation mission, suddenly trembled violently, then collapsed with a boom, scattering into a sky full of broken white light.
"!!!" This abrupt change caused Zhou Xuzi's face to change drastically.
The foundation of this dimensional array was within the Zhou Tian Realm. For it to suddenly collapse, the only possibility... was that the main array within the Zhou Tian Realm had been destroyed!
…………
Zhou Tian God Realm.
From three directions at once, earth-shaking rumbling sounds erupted.
And with them, dark auras rose to the heavens—shadowy and bone-chilling.
The dimensional array that had just been constructed to teleport Zhou Xuzi and the others to the northern border of the Eastern Domain collapsed and shattered amidst a terrifyingly dark radiance.
At the same time, the dimensional arrays positioned around the Zhou Tian Realm, connecting the various Royal Realms and many main regions of the Eastern Divine Region, all rapidly collapsed under suddenly descending darkness.
Everything happened abruptly, with no warning at all.
These main dimensional arrays had existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Each was extremely resilient and could never be destroyed by ordinary power.
But the ones annihilating these main profound arrays were the three most terrifying existences of the Northern Divine Region—the Three Yan Mo Ancestors!
The Zhou Tian God Realm was violently shaken. Countless figures poured out like a flood, rushing straight toward the directions where the dark auras erupted.
And in the center of the Zhou Tian God Realm, in a core area where even the Zhou Tian elders could not casually enter, a black figure gradually materialized from the void and walked out slowly.
Yun Che!
No one knew how he had arrived or when.
Even the Zhou Tian Guardian who stayed behind had not detected any abnormal figure or aura from beginning to end.
Before him was a massive bell. This was another Divine Legacy Artifact of the Zhou Tian Realm. After the Zhou Tian Realm became a Royal Realm, it had been renamed the "Zhou Tian Bell."
It was through this bell that the "Zhou Tian's Voice" could transmit anyone's voice throughout the entire Eastern Divine Region with ease.
Placing his palm on the Zhou Tian Bell, Yun Che forcefully activated its power with his dark profound energy. The corner of his mouth curled into a sinister sneer, like a malicious ghost:
"Children of darkness, let your wild dance begin!"
The Zhou Tian Bell resounded, transmitting a terrifying, gloomy demonic voice to every corner of the Eastern Divine Region, echoing across every sky within the Eastern Domain.
Beneath this demonic sound, as if it came from the depths of the abyss, the entire Eastern Divine Region suddenly became gray and oppressive.
Countless Eastern Domain profound practitioners looked up in terror. And in countless corners of the Eastern Divine Region, pairs of dark eyes that had been waiting for a long time suddenly snapped open, releasing endless, violent demonic light.
————
[This chapter is quite long, so it was posted late. The evening chapter might also be a bit late.]
[Absolutely remember the girl Jin Yue. She carries a super~critical item.]