# Chapter 1926: Endgame
The Northern Domain invasion began, a fierce battle erupted, and the northern border of the Eastern Domain fell into great chaos, blood staining the sky.
Xia Qingyue came to the Moon Prison. This was her final meeting with Shui Meiyin.
"Elder Sister Qingyue." Shui Meiyin approached her, her gaze trembling. She already sensed what was coming.
The Cosmic Thorn and the stone slab engraved with the Heaven-Defying World Scripture appeared in Xia Qingyue's hands, which she then gently pushed toward Shui Meiyin.
"From today on, you are the new master of the Cosmic Thorn—its sole master. And as for this incomplete Heaven-Defying World Scripture, I entrust you to deliver it to him."
Shui Meiyin took it gently. "Is Big Brother Yun Che about to come?"
Xia Qingyue said, "The turmoil in the northern border appears to be grand in scale, but it has dragged on for far too long. Clearly, it is meant to draw attention away, while the core forces have likely already infiltrated the southern border in secret."
"The Xuan practitioners of the Northern Domain have already completed their transformation under his command. The cultivators of the Eastern Domain are still completely unaware that the dark profound force of the Northern Domain is no longer as prone to outward emission as they once believed. The vast deviation in their inherent understanding will be enough to catch the Eastern Divine Region completely off guard when the Northern Domain forces launch their surprise attack."
"That moment should be very close now. It is also time for you to leave."
"I understand." Holding the Cosmic Thorn in hand, she did not immediately depart. Instead, she looked at Xia Qingyue, her lips parting slightly, as if she wanted to speak but held back again and again.
Xia Qingyue shook her head with a smile. "There is no need to persuade me anymore. You should be happy for me... happy that I have finally found release."
"But... still..." The hand holding the Cosmic Thorn trembled incessantly.
"Hand those four Huanxin Liuying Jade to him at the right moment. If we can take down the Zhou Tian Realm, using its unique Zhou Tian Projection to reveal them to the world would be even better. The truths engraved within them will be enough to shatter the faith of the resisting Xuan cultivators in the Eastern Domain, causing their will to fight to collapse. The Western Domain and Southern Domain will also be profoundly affected."
"Once you leave, I will spread the news that you have escaped with all my might. Everything will connect seamlessly, perfectly."
Tears slowly traced down her cheeks. Shui Meiyin could only nod softly but firmly. "I will... do it."
"The people of the Yue Shen Realm... I entrust them to you as well." Xia Qingyue smiled. "I will disperse all the core forces of the Yue Shen Realm outside its borders, and then Yue Wuji will secretly lead them to that space where they will not be discovered."
"The Yue Shen Realm will be handed over to him intact, with no one resisting, and naturally, there will be no killing or destruction. Coupled with my death, everything in the Yue Shen Realm will at least be preserved."
"After ten years... or a hundred years, when he stands at the pinnacle and no longer harbors hatred, you can have him return the Yue Shen Realm to Yue Wuji and the others. You saved Lan Ji Star; you preserved everything for him. He will not refuse. I also believe that someone as clever as you will surely find better words, a better way, and a better outcome."
Shui Meiyin stared into her eyes and said word by word, "Elder Sister Qingyue, rest assured. I will... I absolutely will do it."
But she could not do it.
Because Yun Che gave her—gave the Yue Shen Realm—not even the slightest chance.
Shui Meiyin left... Shortly after, her "escape" was discovered. In a rage, Xia Qingyue used "intentionally letting Shui Meiyin escape" as a pretext to send away Jin Yue. Then she dispatched Lian Yue to search the surrounding star regions, and Yao Yue to the Liuguang Realm...
One by one, the Moon Gods and Moon Divine Envoys were sent out, as if she had nearly lost her mind in fury.
But she herself silently returned to her bedchamber.
Soon, her words proved true. In the southern border of the Eastern Domain, the dark Xuan practitioners who had secretly infiltrated and lurked suddenly bared their pitch-black fangs, viciously plunging into one unprepared Eastern Domain star region after another.
Over at the Zhou Tian God Realm, just as Zhou Xuzi had mobilized the forces he had painstakingly gathered and teleported to the northern border, the dimensional formation was destroyed... The most terrifying shadow of darkness descended upon the empty lands of Zhou Tian.
The great calamity of the demonic tribulation truly descended at this moment, plunging the Eastern Divine Region into immense chaos.
At the Moon God's Bedchamber, Yue Wuji arrived hastily.
The outside world was turned upside down, but the Moon God Emperor remained in prolonged silence. Yue Wuji, who had rushed in, had no time for formalities and said urgently, "Moon God Emperor, countless star regions in the Eastern Domain are now under siege. The Zhou Tian God Realm is being bathed in blood... You must recall all the Moon Gods and Moon Divine Envoys immediately to rescue Zhou Tian!"
"Even if not for Zhou Tian, you must recall all forces to defend our realm! The demon people clearly had long-laid plans, and they are far more terrifying than imagined. At any moment... they might devour our Yue Shen Realm!"
He felt that her earlier uproar over Shui Meiyin's escape was highly inappropriate. Now that disaster had suddenly struck, her continued inaction only deepened his dissatisfaction and confusion, making his heart burn with anxiety.
"Wuji," Xia Qingyue's voice was as silent and cold as the moon, contrasting sharply with the panic of the Golden Moon God. "There is something I need to give you."
"...?" Yue Wuji was about to ask, but an endless, pure moonlight caught his eyes, leaving him stunned.
In Xia Qingyue's hand was the inheritance artifact of the Yue Shen Realm, the core of the Moon God lineage—the Yue Huang Liuli.
"Yue Wuji," Xia Qingyue said slowly, "from today on, you are the successor Divine Emperor of the Yue Shen Realm."
"..." Yue Wuji's knees visibly trembled, nearly causing him to fall to the ground in shock.
"Moon God Emperor, what... what are you saying?" He stepped back and exclaimed.
"I am not joking." Xia Qingyue extended her hand, making the Yue Huang Liuli float before Yue Wuji. At the same time, a faint glimmer of light condensed into a soul seal at her fingertip, shooting toward his brow.
Within the soul seal was the location of a distant lower realm.
"After you take the Yue Huang Liuli, immediately use it to transmit a message to all the Moon Gods and Divine Envoys, then lead them to this space by the fastest and most secret means. From then on, you must not take a single step out of there until someone comes to meet you."
Clearly, Yue Wuji could not understand nor accept her words. He shook his head. "Moon God Emperor, this action would be equivalent to abandoning our realm and fleeing!"
"Yes, it is indeed abandoning our realm and fleeing."
Instead of an explanation, Yue Wuji received confirmation from Xia Qingyue.
"This Northern Domain invasion has already taken shape as a surprise attack, unstoppable. If we fight head-on, we will surely lose, and the Yue Shen Realm will be trampled. Only by this method can we ensure the safety of the Yue Shen Realm."
"Your words are gravely mistaken!" Yue Wuji said heavily. "Our Yue Shen Realm has dominated the Eastern Divine Region for hundreds of thousands of years. Why should we fear mere demon people? Even if, for the sake of argument, the demon people's momentum truly becomes irresistible, we must fight first to live up to the name of a king realm and the dignity of the Moon God lineage!"
"To abandon our realm and flee without a fight—once the demon people are purged in the future, our Moon God lineage will become the laughingstock of the entire world!!"
Xia Qingyue was not surprised by Yue Wuji's words. She sighed softly and said, "Everything you say is correct, but... I cannot explain too much. You only need to remember one thing."
The purple light in her eyes pierced into Yue Wuji's pupils, straight into his soul: "I received great grace from the former emperor, a debt I could never repay even in death. Guarding the Yue Shen Realm was a solemn vow I made before his grave. Therefore, I will never betray the Yue Shen Realm... This seeming loss of dignity and self-abasement by fleeing is, for the Yue Shen Realm, the best arrangement."
"..." Yue Wuji wanted to say more, but looking into Xia Qingyue's eyes, he could not doubt a single word she said, and for a moment, words failed him.
He believed that she would never betray the Yue Shen Realm.
"This dark calamity will be far more cruel than you imagine. The fates of the various king realms in the Eastern Domain are already uncertain. Trust me, it will not be long before you understand what I am saying now. And for now..."
Her gaze carried five parts of a Divine Emperor's authority and five parts of a deep supplication: "You have not yet taken the Yue Huang Liuli, so I am still the Moon God Emperor. This is an imperial decree, not to be disobeyed... Once you take the Yue Huang Liuli, you will simultaneously take on the future of the Moon God lineage. The safety of the Moon God lineage must come before all else."
After a long silence, Yue Wuji finally knelt slowly:
"Wuji... humbly obeys the Divine Emperor's decree!"
His trembling voice fell, and he extended his hand, unbearably slowly, to receive the Yue Huang Liuli.
Xia Qingyue turned around and uttered a very soft whisper: "Everything is in your hands now... Uncle."
"...!?" Yue Wuji's head shot up, his dilated pupils fixed on her back.
The sound that had entered his ears was too faint, making it impossible for him to tell for a moment whether it came from reality or illusion.
"Go. This is not a time for hesitation or delay."
Yue Wuji left.
At this moment, Xia Qingyue was no longer the Moon God Emperor, but simply Xia Qingyue.
She left her bedchamber, stood above the Divine Moon City, and silently watched the projection from the Zhou Tian Realm—watched it stain the sky with blood, watched the bodies strewn across the fields, watched the forced emergence of the Zhou Tian ancestor, and watched as even he was humiliated and destroyed... witnessing the final fate of this Eastern Domain king realm.
The Divine Moon City was exceptionally quiet today. The crescent moon hanging in the sky was also exceptionally bright, draping a layer of enchanting silver frost over the city.
Until a certain moment, her gaze suddenly turned cold.
Because Qianye Ying'er's aura radiated straight from the nearby star region.
So soon, have you come...
His hatred for me is already so urgent and impatient.
Moonlight fell like frost. Her purple dress, symbolizing her identity as the Moon God Emperor, slipped off, revealing a flash of jade-white snow, which was then covered by a splash of deep red.
Her red dress fluttered, her long hair danced, stunning the bright moon, dimming the moonlight.
"I cannot decide the beginning, but at least I can... decide my own end!"
With a soft whisper, her jade fingers spread apart, and the Purple Que Divine Sword bloomed with deep purple radiance.
She raised her arm, her gaze falling not on the sword, but on her arm.
The red sleeve reflected her purple eyes. When dreams scatter, this was the first color in her life.
An object slowly slipped from her sleeve, but it was immediately caught by a wisp of aura and drifted into her hand.
It was a marriage contract... the very one she had ruthlessly "destroyed" in front of him back then.
It landed in her palm, and the contract unfurled in the wind.
She stared blankly at it... Written on it were Cang Feng and Liu Yun, written on it were Xiao Che and Qing Yue...
Still the same handwriting, the same names from long ago.
"Why... are you... not fake..."
She murmured softly as her fingers slowly tightened... but at a certain moment, they suddenly loosened.
She folded the marriage contract and tucked it into the sash that cinched her slender waist.
Her purple eyes turned cold and deep. Her figure in red swept up a majestic purple radiance as she flew alone toward the distant star regions, until she completely disappeared beneath the moonlight.
She saw Yun Che. She saw Qianye Ying'er, who was prepared to burn her own life to kill her.
But...
BOOM—
At that instant, Yun Che sealed off all his senses in agony...
Once, the image of the Yue Shen Realm turning to ashes had brought him so much joy, made him laugh wildly to the point of near madness.
Now, he dared not use his sight... nor his hearing to touch it...
"Is fate truly so irresistible?"
In the sea of his soul, there was her lost murmur and her dull eyes from that time...
As he reviewed one scene after another from her illusory memories, Yun Che could no longer imagine how utterly broken her heart and soul must have been when she faced the Yue Shen Realm reduced to ashes.
The images of the illusory memories stopped at this point.
Because every scene after that was one they had experienced together. Now, revisiting these images, every moment was an almost cruel torture for Yun Che.
Leaning against the stone wall, Yun Che's whole body trembled, the sound of his teeth chattering filled his mouth, and tear tracks crisscrossed his face... one after another, even though he nearly bit through his teeth, he could not stop.
"Do you regret knowing all this?"
This was no longer the soul sea space but the real world. Yet in his heart, the faint, dreamlike voice of a woman still echoed.