# Chapter 1861: Eternal Clouds Descending (Part 2)
"The sinner Qilin Realm's Realm King, Qi Tianli, pays respects to the Demon Lord."
The Qilin Emperor, along with a group of Qilin Divine Lords, respectfully bowed behind Yun Che, awaiting their fate next.
"...Azure Dragon Realm's Realm King, Qing Que, pays respects to the Demon Lord."
The Azure Dragon Emperor followed the Qilin Emperor's words and actions, bowing at his side. However, she did not seem willing to crown herself with the words "sinner."
What fate awaited them next was no longer within her control. She had calmed her heart for a long time, and no matter the outcome, she was prepared.
Yun Che had been silently watching from afar as the Northern Domain profound practitioners sorted out their kin's remains. After a long while, he finally turned around.
And when he turned, his gaze twitched slightly, and his upper body involuntarily leaned back.
The Qilin Emperor's face was old and darkened, his body withered and short. Coupled with his efforts to suppress his imperial aura before Yun Che, he appeared like an ordinary old man with a humble and refined demeanor.
As for the Azure Dragon Emperor...
Her upper body was half-bowed in a respectful salute... yet she was still a full half-foot taller than Yun Che.
And when a man faced a woman taller than himself, there was often an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Even the Demon Lord of the Northern Domain was no exception.
Yun Che's gaze involuntarily drifted down to her lower body... Those jade-like legs, faintly visible beneath her water-blue long skirt, with their graceful curves, were astonishingly long.
"...Kneel!" Yun Che said coldly.
The Qilin Emperor did not hesitate. He knelt as commanded.
The Azure Dragon Emperor also bent her knees and knelt.
The sense of oppression vanished. Yun Che let out a silent breath and looked down with icy eyes at the two kneeling Divine Emperors.
As king realms of the Western Region that had followed Long Bai, the Qilin Realm and Azure Dragon Realm had suffered surprisingly little loss in combat power.
According to Chi Wuyue's sound transmission, up to the moment Yun Che stepped out of the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, the combat losses of the two realms were only about ten percent... even lower than the most powerful Dragon God Realm.
Because in these two realms, the Divine Emperors led the way in slacking off, while the other Divine Lords held back in various ways. If not for fear of offending the Dragon Emperor, they would probably have wanted to find a chance to escape far away from the very beginning.
After that, when they were ordered to exterminate Wanxiang, Chilong, and Huilong... under the terrifying suppression of the Dragon God, it was like chopping vegetables. It was hard to die, and at most a few were injured by Wanxiang's counterattacks.
"Your performance just now was not bad. On the Western Divine Region's side, we indeed need some suitable stepping stones."
Yun Che's words were cold and without any restraint.
The Qilin Emperor quickly said, "Rest assured, Demon Lord. The star realms under the control of our Qilin and Azure Dragon will all submit to the Demon Lord and will never harbor any disloyalty. As for the other Western Region star realms, this old subject and the Azure Dragon Emperor will do our utmost..."
"Hmph!" Yun Che coldly interrupted his words, slowly raising his hand tainted with killing intent: "Before that, among your two clans, all those who slaughtered my demon race's profound practitioners, get out and kill yourselves now!"
"If one is missing, I will slaughter your entire clan!"
Yun Che's words dripped with murderous intent with every syllable.
But as his words fell, not a single person stepped forward from the Qilin and Azure Dragon clans.
Yun Che's expression suddenly turned dark, and he let out a low, cold laugh: "Very well. It seems you want this Demon Lord to take matters into my own hands. But when I do, the dead won't be just..."
"No, no!" The Qilin Emperor quickly interjected, "Demon Lord, it's not that our two clans are afraid of death, but this old subject and the Azure Dragon Emperor had long given strict orders. On today's battlefield, our two clans' people have never dealt a killing blow to any Northern Domain profound practitioner."
"Heh!" Yun Che sneered, "Ridiculous! Such foolish words, and you actually made them up!"
"It does sound quite ridiculous and laughable," Chi Wuyue's voice drifted over faintly. "But what he said is true. Otherwise, I wouldn't have directly suggested that you temporarily pardon them."
"Indeed it is so," Qianye Bingzhu also said lightly.
"...?" Yun Che was stunned for a moment.
"Demon Lord, what Your Highness said is absolutely true," a Purple Qilin behind him said resolutely. "Before today arrived, our master had given strict orders: if we had to fight the demon race, we should seek opponents of equal strength. If forced to be on the overwhelming side and the enemy was pushed into a dead end, we were only to let other clans deliver the killing blow."
"Slaying the demon race, for other clans, is a merit to be fought over. But for us... it's a grave offense that would be punished by our master," another Purple Qilin said. "Thus, from start to finish, not a single person in our clan dared to kill. On the contrary... many demon race profound practitioners fought to the death and killed quite a few of our clansmen."
"...!" This truly exceeded Yun Che's expectations.
"Why?" He looked at the Qilin Emperor and asked.
The Qilin Emperor let out a sigh filled with boundless sorrow and said, "Our Qilin are the auspicious beasts praised by the world. As the supreme beings of the Qilin clan, we dare not defile this good name. We abhor bloodshed and killing, seeking only peace for ten thousand generations."
"We dared not offend the Dragon Emperor, so we had to obey orders and come here. But this old subject also dared not offend the Demon Lord... Although the Demon Lord is young, you bear the power of the Evil God and have obtained the legacy of the Demon Emperor. Based on this old subject's experience, the Demon Lord has shocked and terrified me time and again, and I gradually came to believe that the Demon Lord truly has the ability to overturn heaven and earth."
"Thus, even with a tenfold advantage, this old subject still had to strive to keep a last thread."
"If the Dragon Emperor wins, we are willing to accept severe punishment. If the Demon Lord wins... we might also gain a strand of hope for survival."
Yun Che narrowed his eyes and let out a faint laugh: "Well said — 'striving to keep a last thread.' Well said — 'old fox.' Calling you the Qilin Emperor is probably an insult to you."
The Qilin Emperor bowed again: "We only seek a peaceful existence; we have never had any ambition or disloyalty. This old subject has always held the utmost respect and admiration for the Demon Lord. I only beg... the Demon Lord to spare our lives."
"A peaceful existence? Heh, so afraid of death. Then if someone who can surpass this Demon Lord appears in the future, you will immediately kneel and switch sides, won't you?" Yun Che mocked.
"Yes," the Qilin Emperor answered without any hesitation. "Our Qilin bloodline is extremely difficult to pass down. Across all generations, continuity surpasses everything. Within our control, we never bully others; outside of it, we simply go with the flow."
"But," the Qilin Emperor quickly added, "the Demon Lord's might is enough to shake heaven and earth. Even someone as powerful as the Dragon Emperor was casually crushed by the Demon Lord. For a thousand generations to come, there will never again be anyone who can surpass the Demon Lord. Thus, our Qilin clan will forever revere the Demon Lord as our supreme ruler. This is the oath of the Qilin imperial clan, with heaven and earth as witnesses."
"..." Yun Che's gaze shifted to the Azure Dragon Emperor: "Are you of the same ilk?"
The Azure Dragon Emperor said, "The Azure Dragon is the dragon of protection. Our dragon bodies and dragon power exist solely for protection. The Demon Lord need only investigate the history of our Azure Dragon clan to know that our clan has never actively offended any other clan, nor have we ever involved ourselves in others' conflicts."
"Everything today is out of necessity. Killing the Chilong and Huilong clans was also out of necessity."
"..." The latter redundant words startled the Qilin Emperor into sweating profusely. He wanted to speak but stopped.
"If we receive the Demon Lord's forgiveness, as long as our bottom line is not touched, our clan will fully obey the Demon Lord's commands from now on. If the Demon Lord insists on exterminating us... then we have no choice but to resist to the death."
The Azure Dragon Emperor's words were plain and cold, almost devoid of emotion. Her manner was quite reminiscent of Mu Xuanyin back then.
"Little Azure Dragon!" Cang Shitian roared and jumped out: "Are you threatening the Demon Lord!?"
"No, no! The Azure Dragon Emperor absolutely means no such thing!" the Qilin Emperor said urgently. "She is merely straightforward in temperament and overly rigid in her principles... otherwise, she would not have been unwilling to exert her full strength even under the Dragon Emperor's gaze today."
An Azure Dragon Divine Attendant behind the Azure Dragon Emperor raised her head and said, "Demon Lord, back then you saved all the realms, including our entire Azure Dragon realm. Our master has always been immensely grateful to you. When you revealed your dark profound force and were hunted by the multitudes, our master never changed her view of you because of your dark power. On the contrary, she constantly felt powerless about it and deeply ashamed... In this fierce battle, our master transmitted sounds three times: to fight only in pretense and never to deliver killing blows."
"If the Demon Lord does not believe, you are free to seize my memories."
With that, the Azure Dragon Divine Attendant closed her eyes and dispersed her soul power.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Yun Che slowly clapped his hands, each sound striking the heart: "Interesting. Truly interesting. One clan focuses on self-preservation and seeking safety, always leaving a way out. The other values protection and abhors war, strictly adhering to principles. Two races with no ambition or sharpness can actually govern a king realm. Heh, if not for your talent advantages far surpassing other races, you would probably have been exterminated long ago."
The Qilin Emperor lowered his head: "The Demon Lord's lesson is well taken."
But in his heart, he breathed a long sigh of relief... because he could sense that Yun Che was not angered by the Azure Dragon Emperor's words; instead, his cold and sinister aura had eased somewhat.
"Hmph, you've lived too comfortably," Chi Wuyue said languidly. "If you had been born in the Northern Divine Region..."
She didn't finish, but everyone understood her meaning and could feel the invisible resentment from the Demon Empress of the Northern Domain... For this million years, the Northern Divine Region had suffered too bitterly under the persecution of the Three Divine Regions. Only today did they finally see the dawn.
Now, how should they treat the Three Divine Regions? With vengeance for vengeance, or...
And the power to decide all of this rested solely on Yun Che.
In the Northern Divine Region, he had growled many times that he would turn the Three Divine Regions into a dark purgatory, make those he once saved live forever in calamity, fear, regret, pain, and despair.
But from the day Yun Che suddenly decided to enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, Chi Wuyue strongly felt that Yun Che's mentality seemed to have changed... and quite significantly.
"Pardon or kill?" Chi Wuyue asked.
The hearts of all the Qilin and Azure Dragon members were hanging high...
Yun Che turned around and walked away directly: "You decide."
He remembered that back at the edge of the Chaos, outside the Lan Ji Star, among the numerous Realm Kings and Divine Emperors of the king realms, only the Qilin Emperor and Azure Dragon Emperor had never kicked him when he was down — even with the Dragon Emperor present.
At these words, the Qilin Emperor's heart suddenly relaxed, and his whole body felt almost drained.
Glancing at Yun Che's retreating figure, Chi Wuyue parted her jade lips and said slowly: "You made a very wise choice today. This choice saved your lives, and it saved your entire clans."
"Remember everything today. Don't be foolish in the future."
"Thank you, Demon Lord, for sparing our lives. Thank you, Demon Empress, for your grace!" The Qilin Emperor kowtowed heavily, trembling all over with excitement after his narrow escape: "Our Qilin and Azure Dragon clans will henceforth wholeheartedly serve the Demon Lord and Demon Empress, and obey all commands and orders. In overseeing the Western Divine Region, our two clans will do our utmost and will not disappoint the Demon Lord and Demon Empress, or we are willing to accept severe punishment."
The Qilin Emperor knew many things the Azure Dragon Emperor would be ashamed to say, so he said them for her.
The Qilin Realm and Azure Dragon Realm had been on good terms throughout history — this was common knowledge. Because their codes of conduct were too similar.
And the Qilin Emperor had always regarded the Azure Dragon Emperor as half a disciple and half a daughter, watching her grow, watching her ascend to emperor... Today, he had also pulled her and the entire Azure Dragon realm back from the brink of death.
The Qilin and Azure Dragon members behind were also excited beyond measure. At this moment, they deeply understood that since the Demon Lord's return to the world, the Qilin Emperor's various acts of cowardice and hesitation were actually a great wisdom beyond others' reach.
After a long time, the Qilin and Azure Dragon members slowly rose from the ground, their bodies drenched in sweat that had not yet dried, feeling as if they had been reborn.
The Azure Dragon Emperor raised her head and looked toward Yun Che, who was far away.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the petite Tiansha Xingshen in his arms. He had not teleported away at all. His slightly lowered eyes silently gazed at her face, as if hoping she would see him first when she woke up.
This scene made it hard to connect him with the Demon Lord who had just bloodily slaughtered four clans in the Western Region.
On the other side, Shui Meiyin's figure appeared before the Qiankun Dragon City.
The Qiankun Dragon City floated high in the sky outside the Canglan Divine Realm, far from the battlefield. Moreover, as an ancient divine vessel, even though it was touched by many aftereffects, it remained unscathed.
With Long Bai dead, the Qiankun Dragon City had lost its master.
Shui Meiyin silently watched for a long time, then extended her snow-white hand... In an instant, the strange red patterns covering the underside of the Qiankun Dragon City flickered faintly and then dissipated.
In that fleeting moment, the Qiankun Dragon City had changed owners.
The spatial divine power of the Qiankun Dragon City originated from the Cosmic Thorn. As the master of the Cosmic Thorn, even if Long Bai were still alive, forcing a seizure would not have been too difficult for Shui Meiyin.
A flash of demonic light appeared behind her, and Chi Wuyue's figure emerged.
White mist drifted, ancient aura stretched vast, divine palaces stood proudly... Looking down upon everything in the Qiankun Dragon City, even Chi Wuyue was deeply amazed.
"It's three hundred and sixty li in both length and width, with over two hundred palaces of various sizes. About thirty percent of the palaces contain independent spaces that have not yet collapsed, making them much larger than they appear from the outside."
"Although it doesn't look very large overall, every brick and tile is made of ancient divine stone. Even though more than ninety percent of its divine power has dissipated, it remains indestructible in the current era."
Shui Meiyin continued: "Additionally, every palace in the city has ancient seals. The Dragon God Realm obviously didn't dare to forcibly break them and could only wait for them to naturally dissipate. Perhaps that is one of the main reasons it never appeared in a million years."
"When Long Bai awakened it, he only used it for spatial jumps. In other words, these dragon city palaces have never been utilized."
"So?" Chi Wuyue's beautiful eyes shifted.
Shui Meiyin blinked and smiled lightly: "How about making it Yun Che's imperial city?"
The Qiankun Dragon City was a profound vessel forged by the ancient Evil God and gifted to the ancient Dragon God.
It was both a legacy of the Evil God and a legacy of the Dragon God.
For Yun Che, it was truly the most fitting... In the current era, only he was truly worthy of this Qiankun Dragon City.
"Great idea," Chi Wuyue said, her charming eyes curving slightly. "But the name needs to be changed."