Chapter 1767: The Truth
Qianye Ying'er's words were undoubtedly pointing toward a result that Yun Che and He Ling had never considered before—the true culprit behind the massacre of the Wood Spirit clan chief, his wife, and countless Wood Spirits fifteen years ago might... no, almost certainly could not be the Fantian Divine Realm.
Given Qianye Ying'er's current position, she would have no reason to deliberately shield the Fantian Divine Realm.
Yun Che could clearly sense He Ling's soul trembling violently.
"Furthermore," Qianye Ying'er continued, "Royal Wood Spirits are extremely rare, rumored in many accounts to have gone extinct. And their Wood Spirit Pearls are fundamentally incomparable to ordinary ones. At the level of the King Realms, there is little interest in common Wood Spirit Pearls, but the sight of a Royal Wood Spirit would ignite intense greed."
"But the one who acted allowed the Wood Spirit clan chief, who possessed a special Wood Spirit Pearl, the chance to self-destruct. That is to say, he likely did not recognize it as a Royal Wood Spirit, which suggests that the perpetrator lacked experience and was not too old."
"His goal was not the Royal Wood Spirit Pearl but merely to gather some ordinary Wood Spirit Pearls."
"..." Yun Che frowned, remaining silent for a time.
Golden profound light was rare but not unheard of. For instance, his Golden Crow Flame, as his profound strength and the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record advanced, would burn with a flame increasingly closer to gold. Another example was Qianye Ying'er herself, who, even without her Fan God divine power, would occasionally release golden divine radiance through the Oracle.
However, a naturally emitted profound aura that was golden in color was, in his memory, unique to Fantian and Nanming. Within the Eastern Divine Region, only the Fantian Divine Realm possessed this trait.
As the first King Realm of the Eastern Divine Region, this was common knowledge among profound practitioners. Thus, upon encountering someone with an externally released golden profound aura in the Eastern Divine Region, anyone would immediately identify them as a member of the Fantian Divine Realm—even if they had never personally interacted with Fantian before.
Moreover, for Fantian profound practitioners below the Divine Sovereign Realm, the golden tint in their profound aura was so faint as to be nearly indistinguishable. Even Yun Che was unaware of this fact.
Given the outcome, the one who attacked the Wood Spirit clan chief indeed did not seem like a Divine Sovereign or Divine Lord, especially not one from the Fantian Divine Realm.
If the Wood Spirit clan chief had indeed judged the attacker's identity based on the color of their profound aura before dying, then... the conclusion reached by the Wood Spirit clan might have been wrong from the very beginning.
Yun Che noticed a change in Qianye Ying'er's expression and suddenly asked, "Have you found something else?"
Qianye Ying'er replied, "You said before that this incident occurred fifteen years ago. That time frame reminds me of a trivial matter I should have long forgotten."
Yun Che: "?"
Qianye Ying'er paced lightly and said unhurriedly, "Around fifteen years ago, Nan Wansheng visited the Fantian Divine Realm. Hmph, that old thief would often cross the divine regions, like a repulsive fly. Unless he had some use to me, I would always avoid him whenever I learned of his arrival."
"But that time was slightly different. He did not come alone as usual but brought three people. Two were Nanming elders at the Divine Lord Realm, and their purpose in accompanying him was to protect the third person."
"Nan Wansheng's son, Nan Qianqiu."
"..." Yun Che heard this name for the first time.
"This Nan Qianqiu was Nan Wansheng's youngest son, not born of his primary wife, but his talent stood out among his other useless children like a chicken among flies. At just eighty years old, he had already reached the Divine King Realm and had just gained recognition from the Nanming Divine Power, which had been vacant for two thousand years and was the hardest to inherit."
At this point, Qianye Ying'er paused and looked at Yun Che.
As expected, Yun Che's gaze gradually turned cold.
Son of Nanming...
Fifteen years ago...
Cultivation at the Divine King Realm...
Golden profound aura, time, cultivation level, and also relatively young age with limited experience... Everything matched Qianye Ying'er's earlier deductions perfectly!
Withdrawing her gaze, Qianye Ying'er continued, "At the time, I thought Nan Wansheng came to show off his son to Qianye Fantian—after all, Qianye Fantian often used to subtly mock him for lacking a worthy successor—and also to let that Nan Qianqiu familiarize himself with the King Realms of the Eastern Divine Region early on. But what his true purpose was, I couldn't be bothered to ask back then."
Given Qianye Ying'er's temperament in those days, a mere Nan Qianqiu did not even qualify to be remembered by her, let alone for her to inquire about his affairs.
"These past few days, I questioned several Fan Kings about the events of that year. The first answer I received was quite enlightening. On that visit, the very first thing Nan Wansheng asked Qianye Fantian about was... Wood Spirits."
"!!" Yun Che's brow furrowed deeply, and he said coldly, "Give me the details."
Qianye Ying'er crossed her arms and continued, looking ahead, "A large part of Nan Qianqiu's cultivation was forcibly boosted by external forces and piled up with spiritual medicines. After reaching the Divine King Realm, his foundation was very unstable, and his profound aura was impure. Therefore, to accept the inheritance of the Abyss God Divine Power in the shortest time and with the most perfect condition, he had to purify his profound aura."
She turned her golden eyes and lowered her voice: "Thus, he needed a large number of Wood Spirit Pearls."
Yun Che's brow grew heavier, and his hands slowly clenched.
The tragedy of the Wood Spirit Royal Clan was a very minor matter in the vast divine realms. What Yun Che knew came only from fragmentary accounts from Wood Spirit clansmen.
No one would have imagined that such a "minor matter," occurring in the Eastern Divine Region, would involve the first King Realm of the Southern Divine Region.
Coincidence?
Profound aura, time, individuals, cultivation, purpose... How could there be a coincidence that fit so perfectly in the world?
"If the Nanming Divine Realm wanted Wood Spirit Pearls, they had a million ways to get them. Why come to the Eastern Divine Region? And in person..." Yun Che asked in a chilling tone.
"Heh, the reason is simple." Qianye Ying'er sneered. "Among the four divine regions, Wood Spirits have long been extinct in the Southern Divine Region. There are the most traces in the Western Divine Region, but Nanming wouldn't dare go there to do such dirty work."
"To purify profound aura, the most efficient are Wood Spirit Pearls that still retain some life aura—that is, freshly 'obtained' ones. Naturally, Nan Qianqiu had to come along. However, that was a secondary reason. At that time, Nan Wansheng was probably considering making him the Crown Prince, and his requirements would be a thousand times stricter than before. Matters concerning his own interests, big or small, had to be personally secured by him."
Having once been chosen by Qianye Fantian as his successor, she understood this perfectly well. Ordinary princes and princesses could enjoy resources and glory, but a Divine Emperor's successor... their will, methods, and schemes had to undergo countless brutal trials.
Personally obtaining the Wood Spirit Pearls he needed was, for the future Crown Prince of Nanming, an extremely minor part of his life training. It was likely that even he himself had long forgotten about it.
"As for Nan Wansheng coming along, it was merely an excuse to come see me." Qianye Ying'er said contemptuously.
Yun Che pondered briefly, then suddenly asked, "Then, was the information about the Wood Spirits' location... leaked to Nanming by the Fantian Divine Realm?"
"How could that be?" Qianye Ying'er said disdainfully. "Although Wood Spirit Pearls are precious, they are not enough to catch Qianye Fantian's eye. Moreover, hunting Wood Spirits touches upon taboos. As cunning as he is, how could he leave an unnecessary handle in Nanming's hands over such a trivial matter?"
"Besides, you only told me the time earlier, not the star realm where the Wood Spirit chief was killed. These past few days, I've traced Nan Qianqiu's movements from that year and learned of a place. I wonder if it matches the place you know."
"..." Yun Che had indeed not told Qianye Ying'er where the Wood Spirit chief's disaster occurred. It wasn't that he forgot, but that he didn't know. When Qingmu described it to him back then, he only mentioned it was "a star realm close to a certain King Realm."
Over the years, both he and He Ling had been convinced that the culprit was from the Fantian Divine Realm. Since it would touch upon the most painful memories, he naturally wouldn't ask He Ling about the details of that incident.
Qianye Ying'er's gaze turned westward, and she said slowly, "Wangzhou Realm, a medium-level star realm, surprisingly close to here."
"He Ling," Yun Che sank his thoughts and asked, "Is this the place?"
If even the location matched, then no matter how unbelievable, there could be no other possibility.
"..." For a long time, he did not receive a reply from He Ling. All he could sense was her soul trembling violently in pain and sorrow.
Silence was already an answer.
From the initial doubt upon hearing it, to the astonishment as piece after piece fit, now it had become an indisputable fact.
Seeing Yun Che's expression, Qianye Ying'er also had no doubts. She gave a low laugh and said, "Fantian and Nanming have been rivals for years. Who would have thought that the biggest setback Fantian ever suffered would be because of a mere Nan Qianqiu!"
Among the countless races in the vast divine realms, the origin of the Wood Spirit race involved the Creation God, but their power was undoubtedly weak. Even the clan chief had merely reached the Divine Spirit Realm.
Weak, yet carrying a treasure, in this world of the strong preying on the weak, they were bound to suffer cruel persecution and hunting. If not for the explicit ban, Wood Spirits would have long been extinct.
When the current Wood Spirit clan chief died, no one knew, and no one truly cared. Nor would anyone think that the death of this small, weak clan chief would implicate the fate of two "first King Realms."
And Qianye Fantian, until his death, never knew that Fantian had taken the fall for Nanming—a seemingly trivial but ultimately catastrophic black mark.
"Nanming... Nan Qianqiu." Yun Che murmured, and a terrible black light slowly gathered in his eyes.
He Ling's soul fluctuations still did not stop; instead, they became increasingly abnormal. Yun Che's heart tightened. Not bothering to greet Qianye Ying'er, he quickly sank his consciousness into the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
Within the world of the Heavenly Poison Pearl, He Ling sat with her knees bent, her head deeply buried in her knees. Sensing Yun Che's arrival, she slowly lifted her head, then stood up somewhat flustered to greet him: "Master..."
Her eyes trembled and were confused, carrying a heartbreaking haze.
Without a word, Yun Che stepped forward and gently embraced her.
Leaning against Yun Che's chest, He Ling closed her eyes, and her shoulders began to tremble. A soft sobbing sound escaped her lips: "I... I killed the wrong people... killed... so many... I..."
"No, you didn't kill the wrong people." Yun Che gently stroked her jade-like back and whispered in her ear, "The Fantian Divine Realm was the greatest obstacle to our conquest of the Eastern Divine Region. Without you, we couldn't have taken the Eastern Divine Region so quickly. Likewise, if not for your efforts, which allowed us to gain control over the Fantian Divine Realm early, we wouldn't have learned the truth now."
"Now, both your goal and mine have taken a huge step forward. This was achieved by you, and only you could have accomplished it... the most remarkable result." Yun Che smiled gently in her ear. "So, you don't need to be sad at all. You should feel happy and proud."
These brief words gradually turned the coldness in He Ling's soul into an ever-deepening warmth. Her shoulders stopped trembling, and her hands quietly tightened around Yun Che. Her voice, still carrying sobs, came out: "Mm... I'll listen... to Master..."
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from beside Yun Che's ear, transmitted by a Burning Moon Divine Envoy:
"Reporting to the Demon Lord, a Nanming envoy requests an audience."
The word "Nanming" made Yun Che frown deeply.
He gave He Ling a reassuring look, withdrew his consciousness from the Heavenly Poison Pearl, and directly said, "Let him come over."
"What perfect timing." Qianye Ying'er glanced sideways toward the south. "It seems that having witnessed the fate of the Fantian Divine Realm and the Moon God Realm, Nan Wansheng can no longer sit still."
Yun Che did not respond, his expression cold and heavy.
Although everything fit perfectly, it was still just a guess... and Nanming would definitely be able to provide the most conclusive answer.
Soon, a man dressed in golden robes with an extraordinary bearing was led in by the Burning Moon Divine Envoy. Seeing Yun Che, he bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings to the Demon Lord. Congratulations to the Demon Lord for dominating the Eastern Divine Region and rewriting the history of the divine realms in just half a month."
Yun Che narrowed his eyes at him. "Are those your master's exact words?"
"Yes." The Nanming envoy replied with neither humility nor arrogance, then extended both hands, presenting an invitation that emitted a special golden radiance: "I have come on behalf of my king, Nanming Shendi, to cordially invite the Demon Lord to attend the Nanming Crown Prince Investiture Ceremony. My king personally said that if the Demon Lord would deign to attend, it would be the great honor of the ceremony."
"..." Yun Che's brow twitched slightly. He flipped his hand, and the invitation appeared in his grasp.
Time: Seven days from now.
Newly appointed Crown Prince...
Nan Qianqiu!
Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er exchanged a silent glance.
A cold and eerie smile flickered across Yun Che's lips. He put away the invitation and said with a light laugh, "Go back and tell your master that this Demon Lord will definitely arrive on time."
The Nanming envoy was clearly taken aback.
Though far away in the Southern Divine Region, they were well aware of what had happened in the Eastern Divine Region, if not the full details, then at least seven or eight out of ten.
In just half a month, the Eastern Divine Region had been stained with blood reaching the heavens, and the fates of the King Realms were one more miserable than the last. Yun Che's cruelty and brutality, even just from rumors, sent chills down one's spine.
Upon arriving, he had been prepared to be brutally killed by Yun Che. He never expected to receive such a peaceful response.
After a half-second pause, he bowed and said, "I shall return to report immediately. My king greatly anticipates the Demon Lord's arrival and will be extremely pleased to hear of your reply."