Chapter 1916: Broken Soul
"Where will he… go?" Shui Meiyin asked, her eyes blurry with tears.
"Don't worry too much. He will come out of this. After all, he is no longer the person he was back then…"
Her voice gradually weakened. Mu Xuanyin, who had been saying "don't worry," finally lowered her eyes with a soft sigh and whispered, "I'll follow him from a distance. You tell the Demon Empress about these matters—she'll find a way."
"Mm." Shui Meiyin nodded softly. She watched Yun Che's gradually disappearing figure and murmured, "I can peer into others' hearts, but I've never been able to see clearly into Sister Qingyue's heart. I can warm the souls of others, but I alone am unable to help Brother Yun Che."
"It's all my fault… If only I could have done better…"
"It's not your fault." Mu Xuanyin shook her head. "In this world, nothing can ever be absolutely flawless. That Eternal Shadow Stone in Wuxin's hands… rather than an accident, it's more like a kind of destined providence."
She understood Shui Meiyin's feelings all too well. Because deep in her own heart, there was also a secret she could never tell Yun Che.
That… a daughter he had never even seen, and had already lost forever.
Yun Che's chaotic aura grew farther and farther away. Mu Xuanyin concealed her presence, her figure darting as she silently followed.
But then, she suddenly stopped and turned her head to ask, "Meiyin, those Moon Gods and Divine Envoys who disappeared from the Moon God Realm—do you know where they are hiding?"
Shui Meiyin was startled for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Sister Qingyue opened a special space in a distant lower realm using the Cosmic Thorn… She said that even if her death ultimately failed to protect the Moon God Realm, at least the core lifeline of the Moon God Realm could have a final retreat."
“…So that’s how it is.” Mu Xuanyin sighed softly.
Over the past few years, Chi Wuyue had mobilized the power of various realms but had never been able to find any trace of those Moon Gods and Moon God Envoys. That had become another unresolved matter in her heart.
So this was the reason…
Moreover, Xia Qingyue was not originally from the Moon God Realm. She had become the Moon God Emperor for less than ten years, yet she seemed to have a very special feeling for the Moon God Realm and… an obsession.
————
The vast starry domain was filled with twinkling stars, yet they could not reflect the slightest light in Yun Che's pupils.
His body drifted like a puppet, carried along by the chaotic star domain currents, unaware of where he had wandered.
Once upon a time, he believed it was Xia Qingyue who destroyed Blue Pole Star.
But, tracing it back, the one who truly brought disaster to Blue Pole Star was actually himself.
And Xia Qingyue was the one who had silently protected Blue Pole Star for his sake.
She forced him to transform, forced him onto the path he most needed to walk, and even saved his fate, his homeland, his family, his soul, and everything about him…
If she hadn't done all that behind the scenes, even if he still lived in this world today, he would only be a lost soul who had lost everything and could only wander aimlessly through the lonely, dark Northern Domain.
But…
Why…
Why did you choose to leave silently…
Now, I have grown into the person you wanted to see. I have reached the heights you hoped for.
But why can't you be here to witness it all with your own eyes?
Back then, to make me grow, to make me sever my attachments and hesitation, you couldn't tell me everything.
But afterward, what was your choice for…
What was it that weighed on your shoulders… No matter what it was, why wouldn't you let me bear it with you, face it with you…
You paved the road for me, guided me to achieve the best life—why did you leave such an ending for yourself?
…………
"Yun Che of the Yun Clan takes Xia Qingyue as wife. Unfilial to in-laws, discordant with clan, murdered father and brother, heartless and devoid of righteousness, venomous as a snake and scorpion… Even ten thousand words could not exhaust his sins."
"Resolved to divorce, severing all ties forever! Henceforth, no more love or kindness, only eternal hatred that lasts ten thousand generations!"
…………
"Ha… haha…" Yun Che laughed, a laugh of boundless sorrow. The twitching corners of his mouth dripped with drops of scarlet blood.
She had saved his life.
And all he had left her was the most hateful gaze, the most vicious and decisive words… and the destruction of everything she cherished with his own hands…
What pierced his soul even more was that he had not even a single chance to undo it, to make amends… not even a chance to repay or atone.
Without realizing it, he arrived at an exceptionally quiet space.
This was the most desolate starry domain in the vast Eastern Divine Region.
Just a few months ago, he had told Yun Wuxin in the calmest, most indifferent tone that this had once been the location of the Moon God Realm, which he had destroyed to the point that no trace of its existence could be found.
Indeed, as far as the eye could see across the boundless starry domain, there truly was not a single trace left of the former Moon God Realm.
Yun Che reached out with trembling fingers, grasping at the empty space before him…
This was the star realm she once ruled, the space where her figure had long lingered.
But his fingers, gradually losing strength, could not touch even the slightest hint of her aura no matter how hard he tried.
His body drifted again, and in his dazed state, he knew not how much time passed before he stopped in another empty starry domain.
This was the place where he and Qianye Ying'er had fought their decisive battle against Xia Qingyue. All the stars big and small that once existed in this space had been completely destroyed.
"I exhaust all my power, unfold a hundred breaths of Purple Que Divine Domain."
Back then, Xia Qingyue had directly burned her life force from the very start, spreading out the overwhelmingly powerful Purple Que Divine Domain, pushing both him and Qianye Ying'er onto the defensive.
After that, almost all of her power had surged madly toward Qianye Ying'er.
From the very beginning, she had placed herself on the path of death… the power she burned with everything she had at the end was solely to kill Qianye Ying'er.
…………
"Yun Che, Qianye Ying'er is now your slave. You can use her, exploit her, vent your hatred on her, rape her, torment her… however you wish. But one thing you must remember!"
"She is someone I must kill! I set up this scheme to make her your slave, not because I don't want to kill her, but because I cannot kill her for now! Whatever happens between you and her is none of my concern. But… you must never develop any feelings for her! And certainly don't produce any children with her! Understand?!"
"…"
"There's another matter you should keep in mind… a thousand years from now, Qianye must die by my hand!"
…………
That day, that battle. Xia Qingyue had trapped Qianye Ying'er in the Purple Moon Prison, and then the Purple Que Divine Sword had stabbed straight toward her back… a strike enough to heavily wound her, perhaps even kill her.
But he had used his own body to shield Qianye Ying'er. A bloody hole had appeared in his waist. The force of his subsequent counterattack had heavily wounded Xia Qingyue in return, scattering a sky full of blood…
The destructive moonlight of the Moon God Realm illuminated Xia Qingyue's pale face. Her jade arm, which held the Purple Que Divine Sword, bore the bloodstained marks he himself had inflicted. She seemed to feel no pain, only letting out a faint, dreamlike whisper:
"Yun Che, do you still remember the oath you made to me back then?"
…………
The Moon God Realm she most wanted to protect…
Qianye Ying'er, the one she most wanted to kill…
Every corner of his soul felt as if it were being brutally torn and gnawed.
"Ah… aaah… aah…"
Blood oozed from between his teeth, his pupils dilated and contracted intermittently, and from his throat came a constant stream of anguished moans that did not sound human.
The power that had repeatedly struck Xia Qingyue back then… every single blow, every single sword strike, had now become the most extreme torture in the world, slicing through Yun Che's heart and soul, making him wish he were dead.
In silent agony, he lifted his head. Through his dim vision, he seemed to see Xia Qingyue's blood-drenched figure fleeing from long ago… blood soaking her red robes, an endless coldness and heartbreaking beauty.
He took a step forward, walking onward to pursue and touch the path her figure had once traced.
Until he left the Eastern Divine Region, until the Tai Chu Divine Realm.
…………
The Abyss of Nothingness, a vast expanse of white mist.
He stood at the edge of the abyss, gazing into the endless void that reduced everything to nothing.
This was the place she had chosen as her final resting place.
He and Xia Qingyue had both grown up in Flowcloud City.
But, in his memories, the earliest clear image of her was her figure dressed in a bright red wedding gown.
Before the age of sixteen… everything about her from his childhood and adolescent years had become so vague.
In his memories, her final figure was also dressed in a bright red robe.
One scene, breathtakingly beautiful like an immortal; the other, heartbreakingly desolate.
"…Yun Che, remember this: you will not die by my hand in the end!"
Bam!
Yun Che collapsed weakly to his knees. In his eyes, even the darkness was fading away bit by bit, leaving only a blank, soulless white.
You thought that there might be a slight chance I would someday learn the truth… so with your last remaining strength, you broke free from my grasp and took your own life.
Until the very last moment, you were still thinking of me…
I…
"Yun… Che?"
In his blurry world, a woman's voice came, tinged with surprise.
Jun Xilei stood not far from him, her beautiful eyes, which held a hidden sword aura, staring blankly at Yun Che, who was kneeling on the ground, his whole body trembling incessantly. For a long time, she could not believe her own eyes or senses.
But he showed no reaction to her arrival or her voice.
His hand was clutching his chest desperately, his fingers twisting as if about to snap… as if he wanted to use those fingers to gouge out his own heart.
"Are you… alright?" Jun Xilei tentatively took two steps forward. When she touched his aura, she stopped abruptly as if frightened.
He was clearly not injured, but his aura was chaotic to the point of being completely disordered. And his face… was a terrifyingly ghastly white, like wax paper, utterly devoid of any trace of color.
Jun Xilei stood there in shock.
Now, he was the Yun Emperor who looked down upon all the realms—how could he…
Just then, Yun Che's deathly pale face suddenly flushed with a surge of red.
Pfft—
A long stream of blood shot from Yun Che's mouth, spraying into the far-reaching, endless Abyss of Nothingness before him.
His pupils lost all color, and his kneeling body slumped forward weakly.
"Yun Che!!"
With a startled cry, Jun Xilei cast all caution aside. Her figure dashed forward, catching Yun Che's falling body.
In her panicked movement, Yun Che's face buried itself heavily into her chest… Jun Xilei's body stiffened abruptly, and her mind went blank for a brief moment. Just as she instinctively moved to push him away, she realized the man in her arms was completely motionless.
Somewhat flustered, she shifted Yun Che from her chest to her knees… He had actually fallen unconscious. But even in his unconscious state, his teeth were clenched tightly, and his features constantly twisted in pain.
The trails of blood at the corners of his mouth were even more shocking.
Behind her, an aged presence approached slowly.
"Master," Jun Xilei asked, bewildered, "What… happened to him?"
Jun Wuming sighed softly and said, "Extreme pain breaks the soul; extreme grief burns the heart. He must have suffered a great trauma to his heart."
"Trauma… to his heart?" Jun Xilei looked down at the man in her lap, a strange ache stirring within her heart.
"For someone at his level and with all he has experienced, the only one who could push him to this state is himself." Jun Wuming's voice was rough. "It seems that something has happened in his life that he cannot forgive himself for."
Cannot… forgive himself?
Without thinking, she reached out her hand, touching his face, trying to smooth away the constant waves of pain that rippled across it.
She couldn't understand…
His strength and his status were already so supreme. What could still cause him such pain? What could make him unable to forgive himself…