Chapter 1834: Desperate Canglan (9)
Cang Shitian took his orders and left, leaving a group of Sea God Envoys staring at each other in bewilderment.
"What do we do?" one Sea God murmured.
Beneath their feet, the Fulan Sea God lay sprawled in a pool of blood, half his body embedded in the ground, his breath already as faint as a thread.
The Sea God power on his body had been forcibly withdrawn, and under extreme weakness, he could not even rise.
Given Cang Shitian's utterly frenzied state, no one dared to rescue him without his command—otherwise, they might well end up sharing the same fate.
"What else can we do?" Another Sea God sighed, then gritted his teeth. "Is there a second option!?"
Of course not.
Chi Wuyue walked slowly, her snow-white face calm and indifferent. Her demonic eyes inadvertently drifted toward the direction of the Royal Hall... She longed to take another look at the Zhou Tian Pearl where Yun Che resided, but she knew she could not approach.
Although there were as many as seven layers of barriers separating them, with the Dragon Emperor and the Western Domain emperors outside, any attention drawn to it could still risk detection.
Golden hair fluttering, Qianye Ying'er had already arrived in front of Chi Wuyue. From Chi Wuyue's face, she saw an exceedingly rare gravity and gloom.
"No more backup plans?" she asked.
"Half a one left," Chi Wuyue said. "But it should only be a drop in the bucket. In the end, everything still depends on a miracle."
Neither spoke for a long time.
Earlier, they had always wanted to slow down the vengeful thoughts in Yun Che's heart that burned like fire, driving him to take any risk and pay any price. But now, they were desperately hoping he would leave the Zhou Tian Divine Realm impatiently and ahead of schedule.
A fresh, fragrant breeze lightly swept by. Cai Zhi's petite figure came before the two women, her gaze lifting to Chi Wuyue.
"How did you manage that?" she asked very seriously.
Chi Wuyue smiled slightly. "There are many complexities involved here, hard to explain quickly. Besides, you're still young now; it's better not to delve too deeply."
After a pause, she added, "I meant in terms of age."
"...Fine, don't say it then!" Cai Zhi turned to leave.
Qianye Ying'er spoke coldly: "Your husband slept with someone else's Dragon Queen, right under his nose in the Dragon God Realm, for an entire year. It's that simple."
"...?!!" Cai Zhi's starry eyes widened, unable to speak for a long time.
"Hmph!" Qianye Ying'er sneered. "The more saintly a woman appears on the surface, the more of a slut she is behind the scenes."
Her words carried resentment. In today's crisis, she could overlook Yun Che's fault, but the "Dragon Queen" had to take most of the blame!
Cai Zhi turned and shot her a cold glare: "Still not as good as a so-called divine maiden who's been done over six thousand times."
"..." Qianye Ying'er's golden eyes narrowed. "Oh? You've improved."
"At a time like this, both of you cool it down." Chi Wuyue pressed her brow, then explained to Cai Zhi: "Long Bai forcibly mobilized all the Divine Lords of the Western Domain's royal realms, awakened the Withered Dragon Venerable, and mobilized the Qiankun Dragon City. His primary goal wasn't to wipe out our Northern Domain demon race in one fell swoop, but to vent his hatred and jealousy toward Yun Che."
"So, we provoked those deep-seated hatreds and jealousies, pushed him nearly to the brink of losing control, and then told him Yun Che would return in five or six hours. He would obediently wait until then... After all, if he couldn't crush us in front of Yun Che's face, the pleasure of his vengeance would be greatly diminished."
Cai Zhi's chest heaved quite violently for a moment, then she suddenly asked: "Why not say a few more hours?"
"Going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short," Qianye Ying'er said.
"I wasn't asking you!" Cai Zhi scolded coldly.
" (￣▽￣)~ Pfft," Qianye Ying'er pursed her lips.
Chi Wuyue said calmly: "A day has twelve hours; six hours is the median, invisibly aligning with a person's psychological equilibrium—neither too short nor too easy to accept. Being greedy would only backfire."
"???" Cai Zhi didn't understand at all.
"Cai Zhi," Chi Wuyue said slowly, "after six hours, the fierce battle will surely begin. Then we will rely heavily on the Primordial Dragon Clan."
"There's no need for you to remind me of that," Cai Zhi said. Although this action would inevitably implicate and doom the Primordial Dragon Clan, in such a predicament, such sentimentality had no place.
"I have one request, and you must agree to it."
"Oh?" Chi Wuyue looked at her.
"Zhou Xuzi... must be left for me!"
Her words were low and slow, her gaze cold—yet they carried an unyielding resolve and a bone-deep hatred.
"Alright." Chi Wuyue nodded slightly.
————
Roar!!
A dragon's cry shook the sky, purple light flickered in and out of existence. The vast, boundless Zhou Tian Divine Realm seemed to have just endured a great calamity, every strand of aura churning in chaos, taking a long time to settle with difficulty.
"Succeeded! Yun Che-gege, you succeeded!"
The girl's joyful voice sounded like a heavenly melody. Shui Meiyin pounced onto Yun Che, her smooth, fair legs wrapping around his waist, her jade-like arms hugging his neck, laughing and refusing to let go.
"Huff—"
Yun Che let out a long breath and opened his eyes. Ignoring the sweat beading on his face and body like rain, the corners of his mouth also curled into the most gratified and satisfied smile since entering the Zhou Tian Divine Realm.
Succeeded. Finally succeeded!
Before entering the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, completing the scene he just had would have cost him dearly in self-harm.
Now, for the first time, he could succeed completely without exceeding the limit of his soul's load.
And in terms of time, it only took a little over two years.
Good. With this...
His hands rested on Shui Meiyin's soft, delicate waist, and he closed his eyes in contentment: "This is all your credit. Without you, I couldn't have done it in another hundred years."
"Not at all, Yun Che-gege is just very skilled. And I... have always belonged to you." Shui Meiyin's cheeks flushed with peach-pink, her voice soft and lingering.
"Ah!"
A soft cry escaped her as Yun Che pulled her down by her jade-like legs and pinned her to the ground.
Yun Che tilted the corner of his mouth, revealing a wolfish look in his eyes: "So, how should I thank my little Meiyin?"
Shui Meiyin stuck out her tongue slightly, her voice coquettish: "At times like this, you're even more of a big villain than the Dark Demon Lord."
"I am a villain!" Yun Che's expression and gaze grew even more lascivious: "And I can be evil to a degree you can't imagine... You'll find out soon enough."
He lunged downward sharply. In the midst of the vigorous movement, one of the three-colored Liuyin stones hanging around his neck—the one shaped like a little fist—dangled onto Shui Meiyin's crescent-moon-like collarbone, lightly brushed by Yun Che's chin.
"Daddy, you can't fool around with flowers and grass!"
Yun Wuxin's childish voice rang in his ear, instantly freezing Yun Che, who was about to commit beastly acts, in embarrassment.
Shui Meiyin covered her mouth with her hand and let out a "pfft."
Yun Che's fingers lifted the fist-shaped red Liuyin stone, then suddenly froze, staring at it for a long while.
"Yun Che-gege, what's wrong?" Shui Meiyin asked timidly.
"Uh..." For some reason, Yun Che appeared flustered, then said, "Suddenly remembered... a very important matter."
"Important matter?"
"It's just... just..." Yun Che's old face flushed slightly, his throat twitching a few times before he spoke with some difficulty: "Back then, when we met in the Zhou Tian Realm, you were fifteen, actually... only four years older than Wuxin."
Shui Meiyin: "..."
"So," Yun Che's throat made a loud "gulp," "when everything is over and I take you to meet Wuxin, you must never tell her that! Instead, you have to say you're over three thousand years old!"
Shui Meiyin blinked, looking at Yun Che's extremely earnest, flustered, and somewhat worried expression, and couldn't help but let out another "pfft." After laughing for a while, she comforted him: "Alright, I know."
Yun Che involuntarily straightened up, holding the Liuyin stone in his hand, and froze there again.
"Mother also told me to tell Daddy that when he sneaks out and does strange things with other aunties, he must be very careful not to bump into this Liuyin stone."
Yun Wuxin's words when she "introduced" this red Liuyin stone to him echoed in his ears, making him smile involuntarily.
"I feel," he suddenly murmured, "that Wuxin is calling me. She wants me to leave here earlier, to reunite with her soon."
Shui Meiyin also sat up, leaning against his shoulder: "There should still be four or five months until the Zhou Tian Divine Realm closes. Since you miss her so much, let's head out early. That way, He Ling-jiejie won't have to work so hard either."
"Mm!" Yun Che nodded, gently putting down the Liuyin stone in his hand: "After three more cycles of cultivation, I should be able to control it perfectly. Then we'll leave early."
————
For the Northern Domain profound practitioners, these were the shortest six hours of their lives.
They passed in an instant.
No miracle occurred. Chi Wuyue's eyes, at that moment, once again deepened into an abyss.
"This Ten Directions Canglan Realm is going to turn into a pool of blood," Qianye Ying'er murmured.
"Don't forget what I said to you before." With a deep glance at Qianye Ying'er, Chi Wuyue walked forward.
"..." Qianye Ying'er did not answer.
Outside the Canglan Barrier, the auras began to stir restlessly.
"Dragon Emperor, six hours have passed," said the Cang Dragon God.
"..." After being silent for six full hours without moving at all, Dragon Emperor Long Bai slowly turned around, his dragon eyes sweeping toward the east.
"Where is Yun Che?"
Just three words, yet like an overshadowing dark cloud, they pressed heavily down on the entire Canglan Realm.
"The divine realm is so vast, and the place the Demon Lord went to is extremely far. Five or six hours was merely my estimate; some deviation is perfectly normal."
Chi Wuyue's voice and figure approached from far to near, facing the Dragon Emperor's heavenly might directly. Her tone remained as serene as a demonic abyss: "Since the Dragon Emperor has already waited for six hours, what harm is there in waiting a little longer?"
"Dragon Emperor, something is wrong!"
The Suxin Dragon God suddenly spoke: "If Yun Che were truly rushing here at full speed, his aura would inevitably be released on an enormous scale. But in the last few hours, I mobilized almost all the intelligence networks in the Southern Domain and even the southern border of the Eastern Domain, scouring countless surrounding star regions, and there isn't even a single trace of Yun Che's aura."
"Very likely, they are waiting here not for Yun Che at all! Instead, after learning of our formation and the existence of the Withered Dragon Venerable and the Qiankun Dragon City through some special means, and realizing they cannot resist and face certain death, they used this method to stall us in order to buy enough time for Yun Che to escape back to the Northern Domain!"
Although Suxin Dragon God's words were not the truth, the general direction was not wrong.
After the initial nearly uncontrollable rage, Long Bai had long since calmed down. But since he had personally said to wait for six hours, with his status as Dragon Emperor, even if he later felt something was wrong, he would not go back on his word.
Six hours had passed, yet his vast spiritual sense detected no trace of Yun Che's aura. Suxin Dragon God's words rekindled anger in his heart.
"You're playing me?" The Dragon Emperor's gaze, for the first time, fixed on Chi Wuyue.
If she were not the Northern Domain Demon Empress, just the direct gaze alone would be enough to instantly shatter her soul.
"Heh heh," Chi Wuyue suddenly laughed at this moment, a laugh both eerie and seductive, her voice becoming extremely soft and languid: "Our Demon Lord should now have safely returned to the Northern Divine Realm. Even if you chase after him with the Qiankun Dragon City now, you won't catch him."
"..." Long Bai's brows sank like sharp swords.
"The great name of the Dragon Emperor has thundered in our ears for ten thousand years. Now that I see you, you're just a foolish blockhead. With just a few words from me, you obediently stood there for six hours. Even the few pets I keep in my demonic pond aren't as obedient as you."
The Dragon Emperor's expression did not change... But Chi Wuyue's next words instantly detonated a heaven-destroying thunder.
"With a blockhead like you as Dragon Emperor, no wonder the Dragon Queen had to give you a nice green hat."
Buzz——
In the minds of everyone present, it was as if ten thousand heavenly thunders had exploded simultaneously.
Long Bai's face instantly turned a terrifying dark blue-green, his bulging dragon eyes nearly bursting.
Boom!!!!
Space shattered into pieces. Boundless rage drove his dragon aura to erupt uncontrollably, violently knocking back the Dragon Gods, Dragon Lords, and even the five Withered Dragon Venerables behind him.
And Long Bai—as the Emperors of the Dragon Gods and the leader of the Western Domain—struck without warning in the midst of everyone's disbelief and unpreparedness, smashing straight down.
A sky-shaking rumble erupted as Long Bai's claw heavily struck the scarred Canglan Barrier.
Bang... Crack!!
One strike, just one strike. Under the most extreme and terrifying power in the world, the Canglan Barrier shattered directly, azure fragments scattering across the sky.
Long Bai's right arm manifested a huge pale dragon claw shadow, tearing toward Chi Wuyue with terrifying dragon might and murderous aura.
Before people could recover from the shock and bewilderment of Chi Wuyue's words, they couldn't react in time to the Dragon Emperor's sudden strike. But Chi Wuyue had long been prepared; her demonic shadow silently flickered away.
Boom————
The Dragon Emperor's strike; every move was a natural disaster.
The Canglan Divine Realm instantly split into countless ravines, sending a group of demon practitioners flying far away. Amid the calamity, Chi Wuyue's afterimage was instantly annihilated. Her true body appeared above, letting out a low shout: "Open!"
Ding!
In the sky, the scattered fragments of the shattered Canglan Barrier were flying chaotically. But at that moment, a dense blue light suddenly permeated through.
The startled Dragon Gods, upon seeing this blue light, first froze for a moment, then their expressions changed in unison, and they shouted in alarm: "Dragon Emperor!"
In their panic, they didn't even have time to think, charging forward like mad.
But...
For those six hours, Cang Shitian had not been in anyone's sight. Because he had been at the core of Canglan, firmly controlling the power of the Canglan Barrier, keeping it in a state ready to be instantaneously released at any moment, as Chi Wuyue had instructed.
Bang!
The Canglan Barrier reformed, once again tightly sealing the Canglan Divine Realm.
The seven rushing Dragon Gods slammed hard into the reopened Canglan Barrier.
Outside the barrier, all the Western Domain practitioners stood dumbfounded.
Inside the barrier... was Dragon Emperor Long Bai, radiating killing intent in all directions.
The supreme commander of the Western Domain was thus isolated, alone, from the entire massive Western Domain army.
In the sky, Chi Wuyue's ice-cold, heart-piercing demonic command rang out:
"Kill!!"
The demon's cry tore at hearts, the light dimmed instantly. In that split second, Yan Yi, Yan San, Yan Tianxiao, Jie Xin, and Jie Ling all attacked the isolated Long Bai simultaneously.
From behind, the power of Qianye Ying'er, Qianye Bingzhu, Qianye Wugu, and Gu Zhu erupted violently, surging down.