# Chapter 1748: "Secret"
When the will to protect collapses, the defenses naturally crumble one after another. The battle situation in the Eastern Domain, which had briefly become deadlocked, progressed rapidly as the Zhou Tian projection spread. Within just one day, more than ninety percent of the "strongholds" had already been breached.
Once all the "strongholds" were broken and occupied by the demon people, the Northern Divine Domain could firmly grasp the core lifeline of the Eastern Divine Domain.
Zhou Tian Realm.
A pitch-black profound ship flew in from above, blotting out the sun, and slowly descended upon the still-ruined and chaotic Zhou Tian land.
"Brother Yun Che!"
Before the profound light of the ship had fully dissipated, an ethereal cry rang out urgently. Then a maiden's figure, like a black butterfly falling from the sky, plunged straight toward Yun Che, scattering crystalline teardrops in midair.
"How dare you!"
A Burning Moon Divine Envoy immediately stepped forward... but was kicked back by Fen Daoqi, who muttered inwardly: "Are you blind?! That's a Soul Heaven Ship! How could someone coming down from that be ordinary!?"
Yun Che turned around, his pupils reflecting Shui Meiyin's bright, flawless, tear-streaked delicate face.
She crashed heavily onto Yun Che, hugging him tightly and sobbing "waa waa" into his chest. From the first teardrop, her tears completely burst their banks. In an instant, she had soaked a large patch of Yun Che's chest.
"Hmph!" Qianye Ying'er crossed her arms, looking away.
The girl before him was still the familiar black pupils, black hair, and black long dress. Even her smile and tears were exactly like the clearest Shui Meiyin in his heart.
He had transformed from a World-Saving Divine Son into a Demon Lord of darkness. His heart was filled with hatred for the Three Divine Realms. His hands had just stained with the blood of countless Eastern Domain lives... Yet she still held him tightly, without any fear, estrangement, or flaw born from his change and his devilish acts these past days.
Yun Che reached out and gently stroked the girl's hair, as dark as the night.
Above the Soul Heaven Ship, several more figures slowly descended.
All the Moon Devourers and Burning Moon Divine Envoys bowed uniformly: "Greetings, Demon Empress!"
Chi Wuyue's figure slowly descended, smiling as she watched Yun Che and Shui Meiyin embracing. Behind her, instead of Jie Xin and Jie Ling, followed a stunning woman in a water-blue rainbow dress with eyes like the bright moon over a vast ocean, and a middle-aged man in blue robes.
Shui Yingyue, Shui Qianheng.
The non-dark aura of a fifth-level Divine Lord made the Burning Moon Xuan Adepts frown slightly, but as they were brought by Chi Wuyue, no one acted rashly.
Yun Che looked up at the two, his gaze not filled with dark malice, but showing rare gentleness.
Shui Qianheng's aura was now only at mid-stage Divine Sovereign realm. The rumor that Shui Qianheng had been crippled by Xia Qingyue was indeed not false.
Shui Yingyue glanced at Yun Che, then saluted with a complex expression: "Shui Yingyue of Liuguang, pays respects to the Northern Domain Demon Lord."
Shui Qianheng also raised his hands to bow... but Yun Che reached out and pressed them down, saying: "Senior Shui, I have implicated you all."
These few words made Shui Yingyue and Shui Qianheng both look up, their eyes shaking violently.
Yun Che, who had slaughtered Zhou Tian in a bloodbath before the entire Eastern Divine Domain, was so cruel and terrifying. Anyone who saw him at that time would have no doubt that he had turned into a true demon under hatred and resentment.
But this sentence, carrying sincere guilt, made them clearly realize that the abyss of darkness had not completely swallowed his original humanity.
Shui Qianheng shook his head and revealed a relieved smile: "There is no implicating. Our Liuguang Realm simply made the choice that least violated our conscience."
"And I knew you would definitely return. However..." A hint of complexity crept into the smile at the corner of his mouth: "I never expected it to be so soon, so earth-shattering. I thought it would take at least a thousand years."
In Yun Che's arms, Shui Meiyin finally lifted her head. She raised her creamy-white face, in the closest distance, staring blankly and infatuatedly at Yun Che... Completely ignoring where they were or how many people were present, she just gazed at him tenderly, as if trying to make up for all the years of longing, worry, and concern.
Shui Meiyin was still so ethereally beautiful that people almost dared not touch her eyes... The Burning Moon Xuan Adepts glanced at Chi Wuyue, then peeked at Qianye Ying'er, and very consciously lowered their gazes.
"Brother Yun Che, it's really so good that you're okay..." She murmured softly: "These years, I've been worried every day... I thought it would be so long before I could see you... It's really good..."
Qianye Ying'er couldn't bear it any longer and said abruptly: "Those four Illusion Heart Shadow Jade were yours?"
"Besides our Liuguang Realm, there is no Illusion Heart Shadow Jade left in the world." Shui Yingyue said coldly.
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
Yun Che reached out, gently wiped the teardrops from Shui Meiyin's face, looking into her eyes as he asked: "Meiyin, those four projections—were they really inscribed by you?"
Even though everything pointed to Shui Meiyin, he still wanted to hear the answer from her own lips. Because these four Illusion Heart Shadow Jade... regardless of their function, the intention and even the grace hidden behind them was far too great.
"Mm!" Shui Meiyin nodded vigorously. Her brows curved, and her black eyes sparkled like diamonds: "Although the Illusion Heart Shadow Jade doesn't emit any aura when inscribing, I was still very nervous at the time. Luckily, I was never discovered."
Her answer caused the dark cultivators present to be deeply shaken, and their gazes toward Shui Meiyin instantly changed completely.
"..." Yun Che's expression was complex. A bit dazedly, he asked: "Why did you think to use Illusion Heart Shadow Jade to leave these images?"
"Actually, the first time I inscribed it was just to secretly record the scene at the edge of the chaos, because everyone said that scarlet crack likely concerned the fate of the Divine Realm. But I unintentionally inscribed the scene of the Demon Emperor senior's return to the world."
"And afterward, Brother Yun Che successfully changed the Demon Emperor senior and became the World-Saving Divine Son praised and thanked by all Divine Emperors and Realm Kings. But every time I saw Brother Yun Che, my soul would always feel an unexplainable unease. So I continued to secretly inscribe everything with the Illusion Heart Shadow Jade..."
"It seems I was right after all."
The reason Shui Meiyin gave was not deep scheming or plotting, but more like it was done out of a particularly strong desire to protect Yun Che, born from a vague unease.
Warm currents surged in Yun Che's heart. Though he was now in the bottomless darkness, there was still always a warm, bright light firmly tied to him in this world.
"Than—"
He had not spoken words of gratitude for too long, but just as the first word left his lips, a small hand as warm as jade covered his mouth. She shook her head, her eyes shimmering with light: "Brother Yun Che is my fiancé. It's only natural for me to protect my future husband. I don't want you to thank me."
Yun Che smiled and touched her cheek: "Alright, no thanks."
"All these years, you were imprisoned in the Moon God Realm?" Yun Che asked.
"Mm." Shui Meiyin nodded: "Xia... Qingyue locked me in the deepest level of the Moon Prison. But actually, she could never have confined me. The reason I stayed inside all along was to protect Father and the others, and the Liuguang Realm."
"Oh?" Yun Che's brow twitched.
Shui Meiyin continued: "After learning of some strange actions by the Northern Divine Domain, I guessed that Brother Yun Che was about to return, so I secretly left the Moon God Realm. Fortunately, I was timely enough to deliver these images into Brother Yun Che's hands."
"Xia Qingyue couldn't confine you at all? Why?" Yun Che asked.
"Secret. I'll tell you another time... together with a very, very big surprise, hehe!" She narrowed her eyes and smiled, her charm captivating hearts.
Yun Che didn't press, smiled, and said: "Alright. Also, don't worry—Xia Qingyue, who hurt your father and imprisoned you, is dead. The Moon God Realm has also turned to ashes. You no longer need to worry about oppression from the Moon God Realm."
"...?" The starlight in her charming eyes suddenly stopped shining. From between her slightly parted lips came a very soft sound: "Dead...?"
"Mm." Yun Che said: "She died in the Abyss of Nothingness. Unfortunately, I didn't get to kill her with my own hands. She forcibly preserved the last shred of her power and leaped directly into the Abyss of Nothingness... Hm? What's wrong?"
Tears suddenly rolled down Shui Meiyin's face.
She quickly raised her hand to wipe away the water marks on her face. When she opened her eyes again, they were once more blooming with a smile: "Great, she's finally dead... She treated Brother Yun Che so badly, treated Father so badly... She was the worst... the worst person in this world..."
"She finally... finally..."
Suddenly, Shui Meiyin lurched forward, burying her head deep into Yun Che's chest again. Her shoulders shook violently, and she made intermittent sobbing sounds that she tried desperately to hold back.
Yun Che reached out to support her shoulders, feeling the dampness rapidly spreading across his chest again. Slightly amused, he said: "Why are you crying again?"
He even felt like teasing her: Over three thousand years old... and still acting like a little kid.
Shui Meiyin shook her head forcefully in his arms, making broken, sobbing sounds: "I... I'm just... too happy... Brother Yun Che has finally come back... Xia Qingyue... is finally dead too... I... I'm really so happy... so happy... waa..."
On the other side, Chi Wuyue had been silently watching Shui Meiyin's back, a slight hint of confusion knitting her brows.
After quite a while, Shui Meiyin finally calmed her emotions. She lifted herself from Yun Che's arms, then suddenly swept a warning gaze around, putting on a fierce expression: "Brother Yun Che is my fiancé. No matter how excited or how much I cry, it's not too much! None of you... are allowed to laugh at me!"
"No, wouldn't dare." Fen Daoqi quickly lowered his head.
"Hahahaha!" Shui Qianheng, however, burst into hearty laughter.
Qianye Ying'er: (ˉ▽￣～) Cut~
"Meiyin, why did the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor meet with you alone?" Yun Che asked.
Like Qianye Ying'er, he was deeply puzzled by the existence of the fourth projection. At least the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor had never mentioned meeting Shui Meiyin alone to him.
"The Demon Emperor senior always knew about my secret inscribing of images," Shui Meiyin replied. And her words surprised no one.
As an extremely high-grade shadow stone, the Illusion Heart Shadow Jade could fool the spiritual senses of Divine Lords and Divine Emperors, but it would never be able to deceive an existence like the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor.
"After she resolved to leave, her biggest worry was that Brother Yun Che might be betrayed. So she sought me out and entrusted me with something very important—something only a Stainless Divine Soul could control—and asked me to help Brother Yun Che if a bad outcome occurred in the future."
"What is it?" Yun Che asked... Something only a Stainless Divine Soul could control?
Shui Meiyin, however, shook her head, a mysterious smile on her face: "I can't say yet."
"Brother Yun Che," before he could press further, she lifted her eyes to meet his, her gaze becoming infinitely crystalline and deep: "I never want to see similar things happen again. So, become the ruler of this chaos, the creator of the world's rules, okay?"
"With the inheritance of the Evil God and the Demon Emperor senior, you can definitely do it. Only you truly have such a qualification."
"On that day, I will tell Brother Yun Che all the secrets... okay?"