Chapter 1903: Journey (7)
A small mystical boat rippling with dreamy light carried Yun Che and Yun Wuxin as it flew swiftly toward the west.
In order to adapt to the aura of the divine realm as much as possible, Yun Che had spent the past few months taking Yun Wuxin to roam through the void with their physical bodies. But since this trip involved crossing star regions, he had "borrowed" a mystical boat from Cang Shuhe; otherwise, reaching the Western Divine Realm would take an unknown amount of time.
"Father, what exactly was that thing Aunt Shuhe secretly gave you when she saw us off?" Yun Wuxin asked curiously.
"Nothing much, just a cookbook she wrote herself." After saying this, Yun Che couldn't help but grumble, "She could have just transmitted it to me directly with a soul imprint, but instead she had to use such a troublesome method."
Yun Che pursed her lips slightly. "I don't believe you don't understand such a simple thought in a woman's heart."
"Ah." Yun Che let out a soft sigh. "When a daughter grows up, it really does bring some worries sometimes."
Yun Wuxin extended her fair little hand toward him. "Whatever. I want to see it."
"Fine, fine." Yun Che didn't hesitate much. With a push of his palm, a book scroll made of a strange material and glowing with a soft blue radiance floated onto Yun Wuxin's palm.
She carefully opened it, and in that instant, her beautiful eyes brightened considerably, and an uncontrollable exclamation escaped her lips: "So beautiful. Just looking at the handwriting alone is a delightful pleasure."
It was more than just handwriting... Although Yun Che seemed not to care much about this cookbook, he knew very well in his heart that every single dish recorded here was the essence of Cang Shuhe's entire ten thousand years of work.
Countless attempts, countless adjustments, countless periods of dedicated focus... and every dish had never been revealed to the world.
Especially during this past month, Yun Che's cooking skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and he had become even more aware of how precious this cookbook was... it was comparable to the Life Miracle in the medical path.
"Aunt Shuhe is beautiful, a Divine Emperor, and excels in every way beyond imagination. It's almost unreal how perfect she is."
This was hardly the first time Yun Wuxin had expressed such admiration for Cang Shuhe.
She reluctantly shifted her gaze away from Cang Shuhe's handwriting, looked at Yun Che, and said, "Father, I'm increasingly feeling that the best women in this world have all been taken by you."
"Otherwise?" Yun Che raised his head proudly. "Don't forget who your father is."
"However, you should never mention those words of praise for your Aunt Shuhe in front of your Aunt Qianye."
"Huh? Why?" As soon as she asked, Yun Wuxin understood, and she blinked at her father. "Oh... of course I know that!"
"And don't let her know about this cookbook either." Yun Che reached up and rubbed his forehead, his tone slightly helpless. "Otherwise, she'll definitely ask to see it, and then she might do something strange with it."
"I know, I know."
—————
Yun Che had never deliberately hidden his whereabouts. By the time he reached the Western Divine Realm, the Qilin Emperor was already waiting there early. As soon as he saw Yun Che, he led a group of Qilins quickly forward.
"Qi Tianli respectfully welcomes the arrival of Emperor Yun and the little princess." Qi Tianli bowed first, and when his gaze fell on Yun Wuxin, he firmly etched her appearance and aura into his memory.
"I knew you would pull this stunt."
Yun Che walked past him but didn't drive him away immediately. Instead, he said calmly, "Tianli, tell me about the current situation in the Western Domain. Just the important points."
"Yes!"
Qi Tianli walked behind Yun Che with his upper body slightly bowed, keeping his words as concise as possible: "The Sinful Dragon Realm has been fully controlled by the Empress herself, and all of the young Dragon Gods under my command have been properly settled..."
"The unstable elements of Chi Long and Wan Xiang have been completely purged, and the Viper Dragon Realm is now fully under Azure Dragon... the Azure Consort's control." Discreetly wiping the cold sweat that had instantly covered his forehead, the Qilin Emperor continued, "The Order Maintenance Bureau, led by Commander Qingruo, has been extended to eighty percent of the upper-level star realms and sixty percent of the middle-level star realms..."
With Long Bai dead, Qi Tianli was the Divine Emperor with the highest seniority in the Western Divine Realm. His understanding of the Western Domain surpassed everyone alive, and his actions were extremely proper and thorough, leaving no loopholes.
After listening silently to Qi Tianli's concise and clear report, Yun Che nodded as if satisfied. "Very good. You may go."
"Your Majesty," Qi Tianli did not leave immediately but bowed and said, "You have not concealed your whereabouts along the way. I am worried that some might approach you out of admiration for the Emperor, and even more so that some who overestimate themselves might take the opportunity to attempt assassinations."
"With Your Majesty's divine might, naturally no one can approach you, but I fear they might disturb the little princess. If Your Majesty does not mind, please inform me of your destination, and I will immediately send people to clear the path ahead."
"No need." Yun Che's expression remained unchanged. "This journey of mine is intended to show my daughter the various aspects of the world. We've already encountered over a dozen of those laughable assassination attempts, and she's grown tired of them."
"Ah... then... may I ask when Your Majesty will visit the Azure Dragon Realm... for a short stay?" Qi Tianli probed cautiously.
He knew very well that before coming to the Western Divine Realm, Emperor Yun had stayed in the Ten Directions Canglan Realm for over a month!
But Yun Che said, "I spent some time in the Southern Domain, so I won't be staying long in the Western Domain. I won't be going to the Azure Dragon Realm. I imagine the Azure Dragon Emperor doesn't want to see me either."
"Ah, this..." The Qilin Emperor wanted to try again.
"Wuxin, let's go."
Yun Che grabbed Yun Wuxin's wrist and teleported away directly, leaving the Qilin Emperor standing there, letting out a long, deep sigh.
"Have to be proactive, have to be proactive," he muttered quietly. "But getting that child to be proactive... ah."
—————
"Father, where are we going now?"
Yun Che looked ahead. "...I want to go to the Dragon God Realm first."
Just as Yun Wuxin was about to ask something else, she sensed a faint sadness in her father's voice.
The former Dragon God Realm, Reincarnation Forbidden Land.
Before leaving last time, Yun Che had infused this place with a considerable amount of Light Profound Force, so when he arrived again this time, the sight before him was no longer barren.
Green grass had formed shade, colorful flowers dotted the land, and occasional bird calls and insect chirps could be heard... but it was destined to never return to that fairyland more dreamlike than imagination.
"Shenxi, I've come to see you."
Standing before the tombstone he had erected with his own hands, Yun Che gazed silently for a long time.
After Yun Wuxin bowed several times, she quietly stood by her father's side.
"Back then, you used all kinds of words and methods to urge and guide my growth, wanting me to surpass Long Bai, to surpass everyone in the world... Now I've done it, but I can't let you see it."
"And what's more, I will never know the reason why you treated me the way you did."
"Huff..." Yun Che let out a long breath, then stared ahead, murmuring, "Strange clouds and chaotic winds brush the bright mist, Sleeping with Xi amidst ten thousand flowers."
Such a scene had forever vanished from his life.
Yun Wuxin looked up. "Was that a poem father wrote for Aunt Shenxi back then?"
Yun Che recited softly, "The clouds represent me, Xi represents her, and the 'bright mist' was the Light Profound Force that had always gently enveloped this fairyland because of her. But I am still here... while the jade has perished and the mist has dissipated."
Yun Wuxin furrowed her brow and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "I don't really understand the feelings between you and Aunt Shenxi back then. I just feel that those two lines of yours... are a bit frivolous and presumptuous. Wouldn't she be angry hearing them?"
"Mn, you're right."
Yun Che completely agreed with Yun Wuxin's words, as if they had struck straight into his heart: "She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Even Qianye and Wuyo are slightly surpassed by her. The shock I felt when I first saw her back then will never be forgotten in my lifetime, and it will never be replicated."
Yun Wuxin's lips parted in surprise... surpassing Yun Qianye and Chi Wuyou? She couldn't imagine what kind of breathtaking beauty that would be.
No wonder the former Dragon Emperor, Long Bai, had been infatuated with her for hundreds of thousands of years.
"At that time, I knew her identity—she was the 'Dragon Empress' among the 'Dragon Empress and Divine Maiden' as the world called them. I also knew that the 'Dragon Empress' had never truly existed, but was merely a fantasy that Long Bai, unable to attain her, used to deceive the world and himself."
"And yet, such a Shenxi was won over by me, and she was the one who took the initiative."
"Back then, I had deep doubts in my heart, and I was wary of Long Bai... but more than that, I felt pride and complacency." Yun Che shook his head in self-mockery. "Later, relying on her gentleness, I became increasingly unrestrained in front of her. Those two lines of poetry were indeed a frivolous show-off. But she wasn't angry at the time; instead, she showed a smile, which was rare."
The smile that bloomed then was also deeply imprinted in his soul.
Although it had only been about ten years since then, thinking back now, he had been like a naive and complacent child.
"Wuxin, if you had ever seen her, you would fully believe that there really are women like immortals in this world. But... no matter how perfect a life may be, there are always regrets and irreparable disappointments."
Yun Wuxin's eyes were full of longing.
—————
Although the Western Divine Realm was the largest divine realm in the God Realm, Yun Che did not take Yun Wuxin to stay there for long.
Three months later, they had already left the Western Divine Realm and headed east. But instead of heading straight for the Eastern Divine Realm, they stepped into the Tai Chu Divine Realm as they passed the core of the God Realm.
The gray sky and earth, the ancient aura—without a doubt, it spread another entirely different world before Yun Wuxin's eyes and in her understanding.
Yun Che took Yun Wuxin deeper into the Tai Chu Divine Realm, recounting its history and races to her.
The Tai Chu Divine Realm contained countless ancient ferocious beasts, so dangerous that even Divine Lords dared not venture deep easily. But being able to take Yun Wuxin, who had only just entered the divine path, freely through it was something that basically only Yun Che in the current world could do.
No one had ever been able to touch the edge of the Tai Chu Divine Realm. But it had a place referred to as its core.
After visiting the Primordial Dragon Clan, Yun Che took Yun Wuxin toward that recorded "core" location.
"The Abyss of Nothingness is said to be the center of the Tai Chu Divine Realm. Its essence is an extremely vast void that reduces everything that falls into it to nothingness, whether living or dead, even power, space, sound, and light. So when we get there, we can only observe from afar and must never approach."
Although with him by her side, Yun Wuxin couldn't possibly get close, Yun Che still emphasized this point.
As he spoke, the image of that red figure falling into the abyss flashed through his mind... He shook his head slightly and only managed to force it away after a long moment.
"Even someone as powerful as father cannot get close?" Yun Wuxin asked.
"Of course," Yun Che said. "According to records, in the distant era of the gods, when a True God perished, the power scattered from their dead body would cause disasters like heavenly calamities. Therefore, to punish gods who had committed unforgivable sins, they were often thrown into the Abyss of Nothingness, directly reduced to nothingness—no pain, no lingering consequences."
"Even ancient True Gods could be completely annihilated, so what about me?"
"So terrifying!?" Yun Wuxin was deeply shocked. Then she suddenly thought of a question: "Then what kind of power maintains this Abyss of Nothingness? Even gods can be so easily annihilated... that's a power that far surpasses the realm of gods."
During this time traveling with her father, her understanding of "realms" had become much clearer and more thorough.
Yun Che shook his head with a smile. "That's a question even the ancient True Gods couldn't answer. The Abyss of Nothingness was left behind by the Primordial Gods when they created the world. Only the eternally fallen Primordial Gods truly know the mysteries of the Abyss of Nothingness."
Just then, Yun Che's figure suddenly stopped, and a hint of peculiarity appeared in his gaze as he looked ahead.
"Father, what's wrong?" Yun Wuxin stopped and asked.
"To encounter an old acquaintance in a place like this," Yun Che chuckled. "Come on. Let me introduce you to a highly respected elder... and a young elder who doesn't have such a good temper."