Chapter 1875: Abyss Psalm
"Heh!" Yun Che gave a low, cold laugh, his gaze chilly: "Then did you see the demon in my eyes?"
Cang Shuhong stared directly into his pupils and said softly, "The demon in the Demon Lord's eyes is dark and ferocious, as if it wants to devour someone at any moment. But it seems to only appear in the Demon Lord's pupils, unwilling to dwell in his heart and soul again."
Yun Che: "..."
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"Cough, cough cough cough cough!" Sensing that Qianye Ying'er's expression was off, Cang Shitian quickly interjected, "Demon Lord, how is Shuhong's condition?"
"..." Yun Che stared deeply into Cang Shuhong's soft, water-like eyes. A faint white light appeared on his body, and then this white light, following his hand holding her soft palm, slowly covered her entire body.
With her congenital deficiency in life meridians, if a Realm King Divine Emperor hadn't spared no expense to keep her alive, she would never have lived to this day.
Within the white light, every part of Cang Shuhong's body, like withered crops receiving rain, was rapidly generating an increasingly stronger vitality.
Anyone who had been frail and sickly their entire life, upon encountering such a miracle, would surely be speechless with excitement, overjoyed. But the Cang Shuhong in Yun Che's perception, whether in breath or heart and soul, was like still water untouched by wind, almost without a single ripple.
Yun Che furrowed his brows and looked up, only to find Cang Shuhong still silently gazing at him, with a calm and focused look that was difficult to understand.
An hour passed. Yun Che maintained the same movement and posture throughout, not saying a single word the entire time.
Finally, he withdrew his arm, while the white light remained on Cang Shuhong's body. Beneath her, at this moment, a light profound array set with Life Miracle was slowly unfolding.
Cang Shitian's tense expression suddenly shifted. He stepped forward and said, "Shuhong, you... how do you feel?"
Cang Shuhong bowed gracefully: "Shuhong thanks the Demon Lord for this blessing."
"Hmph, you should indeed thank me." Yun Che turned around and said coldly, "But don't you forget what you should use to repay this blessing!"
Cang Shuhong looked up and said softly, "The Demon Lord's blessing, the Demon Empress's favor... Shuhong will not disappoint for the rest of her life."
"It's best if that's the case!" Yun Che said. "Stay in the array for at least six hours every day. In a month, you'll be no different from an ordinary person. In two months, your cultivation will recover to the peak you once reached. By then, I will come to align you with the Canglan Divine Power."
Before Cang Shitian and Cang Shuhong could respond, Yun Che's figure flickered, and he had already left the Mysterious Ark: "Ying'er, let's go."
"Ah... Farewell, Demon Lord!" Cang Shitian couldn't even react in time. Suppressing the strong urge to check on Cang Shuhong's condition, he quickly teleported to follow Yun Che.
Qianye Ying'er moved, and just as she was about to leave the Mysterious Ark, she suddenly stopped and said sideways, "To be chosen so readily by that woman Chi Wuyou, there must be more to it than just being Cang Shitian's sister. I'm curious to see just how much weight this sickly princess, who's been in hiding so long even I almost forgot about her, really carries."
Cang Shuhong said softly, "Shuhong has always been in hiding, merely surviving, without desires or thoughts. To be reborn now is already a great blessing. I have no more vain hopes in this life, and it's hard to live up to the expectations of the Fantian Divine Emperor."
"Hmph, are you questioning the Demon Empress's judgment?" Qianye Ying'er gave a low, cold laugh. "Putting everything else aside, that woman's eye for people has never been wrong."
Cang Shuhong lifted her head, meeting Qianye Ying'er's fierce golden eyes directly.
"Extreme wisdom leads to harm; deep love leads to a short life." Cang Shuhong softly murmured, "In the first half of my life, I left the mortal world to nurture my heart. In the second half, I will have no infatuations, no vain hopes. Only by bringing peace to the Southern Domain can I repay the Demon Lord and Demon Empress for their blessing."
"Peace in the Southern Domain? With you?" Qianye Ying'er chuckled dismissively. "Then you'd better make sure you can do it. I don't want there to be useless women bearing his Imperial Consort's name, tarnishing his future Imperial title!"
"Oh, there's something I might as well tell you in advance." Qianye Ying'er turned her head, her back to Cang Shuhong. "The price of forcibly aligning with the Canglan Divine Power is a short life."
"It might even be shorter than the life you were barely clinging to."
With these cutting words, Qianye Ying'er's figure had already receded into the distance.
Cang Shuhong's expression remained utterly undisturbed, but Rui Yi beside her turned pale with fright.
"Miss, what she just said..."
"Don't tell my brother about this." Cang Shuhong slowly closed her eyes.
"But..."
"You must not disobey." Cang Shuhong said faintly, "My brother has protected me for half my life. Now that Heaven and Earth are in turmoil, it's time for me to atone."
"...Yes." Rui Yi lowered her head, biting her lip hard.
............
Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er traveled north all the way back to the Eastern Divine Region.
The two finally parted ways. Qianye Ying'er headed for the Fantian Divine Realm. After all, she was still the Fantian Divine Emperor, and the current Fantian Divine Realm had suffered heavy losses. No matter what, she had to go back and take the lead.
Somewhat laughably, she, who had once striven her whole life for the title of "Fantian Divine Emperor," was now almost forced by Yun Che to barely return and deal with matters.
Crossing vast star regions, Yun Che arrived at a desolate place. Traces of catastrophe were everywhere, especially a giant rift that split the earth, as if cutting the entire world in two. Anyone who saw it would find it shocking.
This was the former Star God Realm.
Soon, Cai Zhi's petite figure appeared in Yun Che's sight.
She stood quietly before a huge monument, her hands clasped before her chest. On the monument were engraved the names of six Star Gods.
Though this place had long been destroyed, it was ultimately the origin and glory of the Star Gods. Cai Zhi chose to bury them here and had kept vigil for a very, very long time.
"Cai Zhi." Yun Che walked to her side, calling out in a very soft voice.
Cai Zhi slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the monument before her and murmured softly like a dream: "All these years, I hated them so much... But why, in the end, did they die for me?"
Yun Che grasped her little hand and said, "They had no choice but to obey the Divine Emperor's orders back then. Their fall for you was also a form of atonement. I believe that when they left, they must have been very peaceful and willing."
"After all, my Cai Zhi is so cute, who could truly dislike her?"
Cai Zhi lightly pinched Yun Che's palm and snorted softly, "You've said that to Sister too, I bet."
"..." Yun Che thought hard for a moment, then said seriously, "I think I actually have."
But Cai Zhi didn't respond. She suddenly stared blankly ahead, her vision gradually blurring: "Brother-in-law, I want to tell them that I've forgiven them... Will they be able to hear me?"
Even though she carried the Heavenly Wolf Divine Power born from resentment, even though her strength and body had fallen deep into darkness, the softest nature at the core of her soul had never truly changed.
The smile on Yun Che's face faded. He sighed inwardly and took out the Star God Wheel from the Heavenly Poison Pearl: "If you have regrets, then find suitable successors for their powers. In a way, it will be their rebirth... and the rebirth of the Star God Realm."
On the Star God Wheel, six star points flickered slowly... The source powers of the Heavenly Poison, Heavenly Origin, Heavenly Firmament, and Heavenly Kui Star Gods had already been sacrificed to eternity.
The appearance of the Star God Wheel caused the Heavenly Wolf Divine Power on Cai Zhi to resonate. She slowly reached out, took the Star God Wheel in her hands, and suddenly froze for a moment before murmuring, "Why isn't there Sister's power?"
Yun Che said in a heavy voice, "The Inner and Outer Chaos are completely separated, so the Divine Source can never return."
Cai Zhi was still dazed. Then she suddenly looked up: "Brother-in-law, is it possible that Sister... is still alive?"
"..." Yun Che stood frozen, his gaze shifting away, unable to answer for a long time.
Cai Zhi put away the Star God Wheel, turned around, and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm leaving."
"..." Yun Che came back to his senses: "Where to?"
"The Tai Chu Divine Realm, of course." Cai Zhi said. "It's long past time to put them back."
"Alright." Yun Che smiled. "Come back soon. On the day we return to Lan Ji Star, I want to take you to meet my parents as soon as possible."
Cai Zhi was stunned for a moment, then "swoosh!" turned her face away, suppressing her much faster heartbeat, and said, "Hmph! You've definitely said that to every woman. I won't fall for it."
"I've only said it to you! After all, you're the only one who could be considered my legally wedded wife!" Yun Che said with a straight face. "And I've told you many times, no more calling me brother-in-law! I am your husband!"
Cai Zhi curled her nose: "No! I'm going to keep calling you brother-in-law!"
Yun Che looked astonished, then a sly grin spread across his face: "Oh~~ I see. So you have such a strange fetish!"
"Fetish?" Cai Zhi didn't quite understand, then put on a serious face: "I want everyone to know that you're a villain who went after his sister-in-law even though he already had her older sister!"
Yun Che: (⊙o⊙)...
"And... this way, you'll never forget Sister, hehe."
Cai Zhi stuck out her tongue, her charming figure already floating lightly into the distance, leaving Yun Che standing there in a daze.
He turned his head and looked toward the east.
"Brother-in-law, is it possible that Sister... is still alive?"
Cai Zhi's soft murmur echoed in his mind again and again... He stared eastward, motionless, silent for a long time.
It wasn't until several hours later that he finally pulled his thoughts back and flew toward the direction of the Liuguang Realm.
............
Tai Chu Divine Realm, Abyss of Nothingness.
Jun Wuming sat cross-legged on the ground, his aged eyes closed. A withered leaf from an unknown source drifted down, but before it could get close, it was evenly severed by an invisible sword aura.
Jun Wuming opened his aged eyes and looked at the two scattered withered leaves... He could perceive clearly enough that his remaining lifespan was less than five years.
Perhaps he would never live to see the day Jun Xilei reached the pinnacle of the sword path.
"Lei'er, you're back." He spoke softly, his voice like a thin mist.
Jun Xilei's figure descended slowly, kneeling reverently on the ground.
"Master, everything is true." Jun Xilei said. "Long Bai is dead. In the Western Region, aside from the Azure Dragon and Qilin Realms, the cores of all the other Realm Kings have been destroyed. What's stranger is that the Divine Realm hasn't fallen into complete chaos because of this; instead... it seems they've all resigned themselves to Yun Che's rule."
"..." Jun Wuming let out a long sigh: "Your Master once praised him as a true child of destiny. It turns out no one in this world is worthy of judging him."
"..." Suddenly thinking back to the desperate battle between the Mysterious Divine Convention and Yun Che, Jun Xilei's heart felt a moment of indescribable complexity.
"Cast aside distracting thoughts, focus your mind, and enter the sword." Jun Wuming said slowly, while inwardly murmuring: Your Master doesn't have much time left to be with you. From now on, you will truly be... all alone.
At least back then, I had formed a subtle good connection with Yun Che. In this era where Yun Che rules the heavens, her future can perhaps be a bit more reassuring.
"Yes."
Facing Jun Wuming, whose remaining breath was fading, Jun Xilei was utterly obedient. She sat down and was about to concentrate her mind when her soul suddenly stirred inexplicably.
Her closed, clear eyes snapped open again, looking in the direction of the Abyss of Nothingness.
"Why the sudden distraction?" Jun Wuming asked.
Jun Xilei's brows slowly furrowed, her gaze fixed on the location of the Abyss of Nothingness. But after a long while, that soul tremor did not return.
"Master, did you... hear any unusual sound?" she turned and asked.
"Alas," Jun Wuming sighed softly, "Distracting thoughts will surely disturb the soul. Since your battle with Yun Che back then, his shadow has never truly been erased from your sword heart."
Jun Xilei was suddenly flustered: "Master, I..."
"This is neither wrong nor demonic." Jun Wuming said gently, "He is the ruler who will cover the world. Only when you are strong enough can you truly draw close to him."
"..." Jun Xilei wanted to deny it, but her lips opened and closed several times without making a sound.
Unconsciously, her heart sank into the sword, and a formless sword intent began to stir around her... until it was nearly silent.
Not far away, the white mist of the Abyss of Nothingness drifted, suddenly disturbed without wind in a certain instant, then returned to calm.