Chapter 1964: Chaos of the Soul (Part 2)
"Back then, Long Bai suddenly returned to the realm and launched a surprise attack on the Ten Directions Canglan Realm with the Dragon City of Heaven and Earth. Yet, what you saw was our formation prepared and waiting." Chi Wuyue's gaze slanted downward: "Guess why?"
"..." Qi Tianli couldn't answer, nor dared to. And indeed, this was a question that had often crossed his mind over the years, yet he never dared to inquire.
"Because Zhou Xuzi's eyes are this Empress's eyes."
Chi Wuyue's voice grew slower and deeper, and Qi Tianli couldn't tell for a moment whether it came from his ear or from the depths of his soul: "The reason he managed to escape the Eastern Divine Region and flee to the Dragon God Realm was not because he was lucky, but because this Empress allowed him to live."
"A strand of this Empress's Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul is attached within his soul. From then on, everything he saw, everything he heard, even every fleeting thought, would be known to this Empress without reservation."
"And he himself has no awareness of it at all."
The demonic sound coiled around his soul, lingering long. And at that moment, a terrifying demonic roar, as if from ancient times, suddenly erupted within Qi Tianli's soul sea, instantly causing his spirit to tremble and shrink.
He did not dare to resist, nor did he even have time to resist. With a roar in his soul sea, his world turned into an endless expanse of pitch-black darkness...
After an unknown amount of time—perhaps only a few moments, perhaps years had passed—Qi Tianli's vision became clear again.
Beneath his feet was still the Imperial Cloud City. Before his eyes was still Chi Wuyue, looking down at him with demonic eyes.
The Demon Empress's voice slowly sounded in his ears: "From this moment on, you are the second Zhou Xuzi."
"From now on, everything you see, hear, think, and do will be under this Empress's control without omission."
"If you dare to commit any further transgressions, or even have a single thought of it, this Empress will immediately detect it. At that time..." Chi Wuyue's tone was calm, but every word pierced his soul: "Even ten Azure Dragon Emperors cannot protect your Qilin lineage!"
A slave mark, naturally, was a nightmare that no one dared to touch. But those who were branded with a slave mark, though they would serve unto death, would not feel the slightest sorrow or shame; instead, they would regard such service as their lifelong honor.
But to have one's soul stolen by Chi Wuyue, to live forever under her demonic eyes and shadow, in constant anxiety and without respite—for a figure like Qi Tianli, the latter was undoubtedly far crueler.
But all of it was his own fault. With immense sorrow in his heart, Qi Tianli could only kowtow in gratitude.
Chi Wuyue turned around and said coldly: "The fact that you have been soul-stolen by this Empress, I will announce to the realms as a warning to others. Now, scram back to your Qilin Realm. For the time being, it's best that you don't let the Yun Emperor see your face, or else I can't guarantee he won't change his mind."
Qi Tianli lowered his head and rose, staggering as he straightened his knees, almost falling heavily to his knees again.
"Thank you, Demon Empress... This old man takes his leave."
He bowed and stepped back, his voice strained. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly stopped. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke: "Demon Empress, this old man... dares to speak a word."
"Speak." Chi Wuyue responded without turning around.
Qi Tianli took a deep breath and said: "Mo Beichen has spoken before this old man many times, describing the Abyss Emperor. In his words, the Abyss Emperor is a mild-tempered, benevolent ruler who detests conflict and bullying. The Abyss was originally a calamitous world filled with endless misery and death, and it was only under the Abyss Emperor's guidance that it gradually became stable."
"And so?" Chi Wuyue narrowed her eyes.
"Mo Beichen would not deign to lie before this old man. If the Abyss Emperor is a gentle and benevolent person, and his invasion of this world is merely for the survival of the Abyss's inhabitants, then the arrival of the Abyss might not necessarily bring terrible calamity."
"This old man dares to say... Although the Yun Emperor is supremely powerful in this world, even a single Mo Beichen is already like this. If one day the Abyss truly descends, even if the Yun Emperor were ten times stronger, he would have no possibility of resisting."
"Therefore, this old man still believes that for the peace of this world and the survival of all beings, instead of forcefully rejecting, it would be better to attempt harmony and integration."
"Heh!" Chi Wuyue laughed softly. She lifted her gaze into the distance, her pupils trembling with deep demonic light: "This Empress never hands the initiative of fate over to others! "And you have made an even greater mistake."
The demonic light condensed into a cold glint in her eyes: "You underestimate the Yun Emperor too much! He is the successor of the Evil God and the Demon Emperor. Do you think his current state is his limit? Do you think the mere Abyss is worthy of making him bow his head!?"
"Get lost!"
Her palm reached out behind her, and a dark storm blasted Qi Tianli far away amid his startled cry, sending him plummeting down from the Imperial Cloud City.
She withdrew her hand, standing still for a long time in silence.
She had not actually soul-stolen Qi Tianli.
The essence of soul-stealing was to separate a strand of her Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul and secretly attach it to another's soul.
She was not so cheap as to waste her demon soul on a spineless coward at a time like this.
But the suggestion she had planted would be enough to bind Qi Tianli unto death.
However, what she had said to Qi Tianli at the end was no empty boast spoken to suppress him.
The ancient knowledge left in the Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul made her more aware than anyone of what kind of existence the Evil God's inheritance and Demon Emperor's inheritance that Yun Che bore truly were.
The Abyss's power was indeed enough to make anyone in this world despair at the mere thought.
But Yun Che might become a huge variable.
The prerequisite was that he developed enough awareness and resolve.
…………
"Father!"
The door was pushed open abruptly, and Yun Wuxin rushed in, followed by Qianye Ying'er, who looked quite composed.
"..." Yun Che, curled up on the bed, slowly raised his head and let out a somewhat dazed whisper: "Wuxin."
Seeing that her father had indeed awakened, Yun Wuxin hastily suppressed the tears welling in her eyes, carefully took his hand, and asked: "Father, you... how are you?"
Looking at his daughter, Yun Che showed a gentle smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Once I can circulate my profound energy a little, I'll recover in a few days."
"..." Qianye Ying'er frowned. She glanced at Yun Wuxin but hesitated to speak.
Yun Che's mood was clearly extremely unusual. Yun Wuxin hadn't noticed, but how could she not?
"Mm!" Yun Wuxin nodded vigorously. "As long as Father is okay, everything else is fine. I... I'll go tell Mother and Master right away."
Yun Che neither nodded nor shook his head. Instead, he raised his arm, his eyes somewhat vacant as he looked ahead. "Wuxin, Qianying, help me up first. I want to go out and take a walk."
"Ah? Now?" Yun Wuxin looked worriedly at his condition. "But you were so severely injured and just woke up..."
"Come on." Qianye Ying'er, however, reached out and directly pulled his arm up. "Don't worry, your father isn't that fragile. As long as he's awake, there won't be any more problems."
As Yun Che stood up, an abnormal sensation of joints came from Qianye Ying'er's palm, but his expression remained dazed, as if he felt no pain at all.
Supported by Qianye Ying'er and Yun Wuxin, Yun Che walked out of the bedchamber.
A slightly cold wind hit him. Before his eyes was the familiar Imperial Cloud City, the supreme divine domain of this world that belonged to him.
Nothing had changed, yet everything seemed to have changed.
Like a lifetime ago.
The former "supreme" had turned out to be so insignificant and powerless...
He Ling was gone...
Hong'er said that on the first day he fell unconscious, she had vanished, never to appear again.
Without even a chance to say goodbye.
"Master, for me, this is the best ending. So, please, never grieve for me, okay..."
How could he...
How could he not grieve...
Together day and night, lives intertwined, souls connected.
She saw everything he saw, experienced all his experiences, sensed every fleeting emotion of his, and gave him companionship that never left for a single moment.
Deep in his subconscious, he had never imagined He Ling would leave him, and he never knew how deeply he relied on her.
But she suddenly left, forever vanished from his world. Even when he frantically searched through the Heavenly Poison Pearl and the Zhou Tian Pearl with his consciousness, he could not sense even a trace of her former presence.
In his body and his soul sea, it felt as if two massive voids had suddenly appeared, filled with indescribable pain and emptiness.
"Father... Father?" Yun Wuxin gently shook Yun Che's arm. But even after two calls, Yun Che remained staring blankly ahead, unresponsive.
Only then did she notice something wrong with her father.
Qianye Ying'er shook her head at her.
Yun Che rarely lost himself like this; he was undoubtedly suffering from a great soul wound.
Qianye Ying'er's golden brows furrowed tightly... Could it be due to the blow from the battle with Mo Beichen, or the deaths of Cang Shitian and Huo Poyun?
Neither seemed likely, right?
Yun Che's thoughts grew more and more chaotic.
Yan Yi, Yan Er, Yan San were all gone. Without them, his deterrent power as the Yun Emperor would undoubtedly drop significantly.
Although they were loyal because of the slave mark, their presence was no longer around. They would no longer appear at his casual summons.
Back when he subdued them in the Eternal Dark Bone Sea, he had never imagined that one day he would feel a hint of reluctance and sadness at their loss.
Cang Shitian died. The Canglan lineage was severed forever. The Ten Directions Canglan Realm existed in name only, and its control over the Southern Divine Region had undoubtedly fallen to its lowest point. On top of that, with the realms in panic, the pressure that Cang Shuhong would face from now on was unimaginable.
The imminent arrival of the "Abyss" had already spread throughout the divine realm. Although Chi Wuyue had only given a brief description, the level of upheaval in the divine realm was easy to imagine.
After all, even he, the emperor of this world, felt so dark and powerless.
A single Mo Beichen had pushed him to such a state, even causing him to lose He Ling forever.
When the Abyss came, what would he use to resist?
Did he even have the slightest qualification to resist?
Heh... Yun Che closed his eyes and laughed at himself.
At that moment, what surfaced in his heart was the figure of Jie Tian Mo Di.
If Jie Tian Mo Di hadn't left, with her power, Mo Beichen would be nothing but an ant before her. Even if the Abyss came out in full force, she could surely resolve it easily.
How ridiculous that he had tried so hard back then. Jie Tian Mo Di had sacrificed herself to preserve this world, and Mo Li had suffered Zhou Xuzi's scheming because of it...
And in the end, it had come to...
...
His chaotic mind suddenly halted.
At that instant, it felt as if a long-forgotten glimmer of darkness flashed by.
He quickly cast aside all distractions, focusing with all his might... Finally, in a certain moment, he recalled a voice from Jie Tian Mo Di, long buried in a corner of his memory:
"The chaotic world today harbors a great secret and a great hidden danger.
"This memory fragment has a seal I set. When one day you perfectly fuse with my Demon Emperor source blood and can perfectly command the Dark Eternal Calamity, you will naturally be able to easily undo its seal!" ①
"Wuxin, Qianying!" Yun Che opened his eyes and suddenly spoke.
The tone was completely different from before, startling Yun Wuxin.
"Help me back to the bedchamber and set up the barrier again," Yun Che said solemnly.
His intuition told him that there was nothing more important than this at this moment.
"I need some time to calm my heart."
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①: For those who have forgotten, please refer back to [Chapter 1536 - Dark Eternal Calamity]