Chapter 1968: The Strange and Mysterious Mirror
Mo Beichen's eyes were always cold and hollow, as if the only thing carried within his body was the honor of an Abyss Knight. But from the standpoint of those of the present world, it was impossible to feel any pity for him.
At that moment, Yun Che asked the question he most wanted answered: "The force field of the Abyss passage is so terrifying that even Jie Yuan turned back halfway. What method did the Abyss use to send these people through the force field and into the Tai Chu Divine Realm?"
Chi Wuyue took a moment to organize her thoughts, then said, "Essentially, it was spatial piercing."
"Spatial piercing?" Yun Che immediately understood. "I see."
What kind of existence was Jie Tian Mo Di? She was a Demon Emperor above even the Demon Gods. If even she feared that force field, how could the True Gods of the Abyss possibly resist it?
Those sent from the Abyss to the Tai Chu Divine Realm had not broken through the force field—it was a teleportation that pierced through space.
"Based on the perception Jie Tian Mo Di left you, you should be very clear about the current state of the Abyss passage. Its current law of existence is completely detached from common sense and understanding. That incredibly powerful force field can easily distort and destroy any form of external interference."
"To pierce the space of the Abyss passage is undoubtedly extremely difficult."
Yun Che fully agreed with Chi Wuyue's words. The space of the Abyss passage—even the Cosmic Thorn, which still had some residual power when Jie Yuan returned, might not have been able to pierce it easily. Otherwise, Jie Yuan, who had the Cosmic Thorn on her at the time, would not have decisively turned back.
"Then what method did they use to successfully pierce the force field of the Abyss passage?" Yun Che's brows furrowed as he listened intently.
Chi Wuyue said slowly, "I mentioned earlier that the beginning of the Abyss world was when Yuan Huang, using immense power and a mysterious Mysterious Artifact, established the first living land in the Abyss."
"That mysterious Mysterious Artifact was a Space Mysterious Artifact."
"In those early years, the Abyss dust in the Abyss was too dense, and maintaining that living land depended heavily on that Space Mysterious Artifact. Over time, the prolonged release of its power caused it to become exhausted, eventually to the point of depletion."
"Fortunately, by then, the Abyss dust in many regions of the Abyss had weakened significantly, so maintaining the living lands no longer required forcing reliance on that artifact. That Space Mysterious Artifact, due to excessive consumption, fell into a long period of dormancy. Later, as the Abyss world developed and passed down its legacy, it slowly recovered."
"So," Yun Che said, "what they used is Yuan Huang's Space Mysterious Artifact?"
"That's right." Chi Wuyue nodded slightly. "Yuan Huang began attempting to use it to pierce the Abyss passage a very, very long time ago. Every time the power of that Space Mysterious Artifact fully recovered, he would gather all his own power and that of all the True Gods in the Abyss to open a spatial channel trying to pierce into the Tai Chu Divine Realm."
"That Space Mysterious Artifact, so bizarrely powerful, combined with the strength of all the Abyss's True Gods, eventually did manage to penetrate the Abyss's force field. But that terrifyingly formidable force field would also distort the spatial channel to an extreme degree."
"So, they tried again and again, failed again and again, and adjusted again and again."
"The Abyss force field is constant. As long as they could succeed once, by following the trajectory of that successful channel, every subsequent attempt could also succeed."
"...!" Yun Che's heart sank heavily.
"Every attempt exhausted the power of that Space Mysterious Artifact, and its recovery was exceptionally slow. At first, it took several thousand years to fully recover. But later, it seemed Yuan Huang found a way to restore its power, and its recovery speed grew faster and faster."
"By now, it only takes fifty years to fully recover."
"In other words..." Chi Wuyue's gaze locked onto Yun Che's eyes. "Fifty years from now, the spatial channel from the Abyss to the Tai Chu Divine Realm will open again. At that time, what descends will no longer be mere pioneers!"
"Fifty years..." Yun Che slowly clenched his hands and gave a faint smile. "That really is a chilling number."
"No."
Chi Wuyue's words drove Yun Che's already icy heart straight into a ten-thousand-foot frozen abyss: "You forgot about the 'Time Black Tide' of the Abyss. Right now, the Abyss is in its 'rising tide' phase."
"In the current rising tide, the time acceleration is tenfold. That means the Abyss's fifty years, converted to our world..."
"Is only five years!"
Crack... Crack...
Yun Che slowly stood up, the joints in his fingers emitting a series of misaligned sounds. His expression was dark and dazed, and for a long time, he did not speak.
Fifty years—a mere blink in the river of history, incapable of bringing any level of change.
Now, facing Mo Beichen, they felt powerless and despairing. Fifty years later, they would feel the same.
And five years—to a world—was even less than a snap of the fingers.
Chi Wuyue also stood up and gently took his arm, saying nothing, just silently watching him.
In the quiet space, the chaotic and violent beating of Yun Che's heart echoed.
After a long time, Yun Che's lips finally parted slowly: "The thin chaos qi determines the upper limit of this world. Even if it were fifty thousand years, five hundred thousand years, there could be no qualitative change. Fifty years, five years—what difference does it make?"
His tone was calm, and by the end, his mind had also become peaceful.
It seemed he had to make a decision, and quickly.
Turning his gaze, Yun Che continued to ask, "What exactly is Yuan Huang's Space Mysterious Artifact?"
"I don't know." Chi Wuyue shook her head. "However, as this batch of pioneers, when Mo Beichen was sent into the Abyss passage, he seemed to catch a vague outline."
"It appeared to be a strangely shaped mirror."
A mirror...
As the words fell, Chi Wuyue's vision suddenly blurred, and a sharp pain stabbed through her soul sea. She let out a low groan and instinctively reached up to press her forehead.
"!?" Yun Che quickly reached out and grasped her jade wrist. "What's wrong?"
"...!" Chi Wuyue slowly lowered her arm. Her demonic eyes rippled faintly, and her lips murmured absently, "Mirror... mirror..."
Yun Che said softly, "...Did something come to mind?"
Chi Wuyue closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. "My Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul suddenly had an abnormal reaction—so violent."
"A Space Mysterious Artifact... a mirror..." she murmured. "There must be a related mark within the Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul... Hm!"
Chi Wuyue's face contorted in pain again.
The fragment of the Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul she bore was only a tiny wisp, and the ancient memories it carried were extremely fragmented and blurred.
For such a fragmented Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul to react so violently—this mirror-shaped Space Mysterious Artifact was clearly something of great importance in the memories of the Nirvana Wheel Demon Emperor.
She tried desperately to pursue it, but aside from the excruciating pain of her demon soul, she could not concretize anything in her memory.
"Alright, stop thinking about it." Yun Che said softly. "Your demon soul, wounded by Mo Beichen, has not fully recovered yet; you shouldn't agitate it."
"Alright." Chi Wuyue did not insist. "Let me first inform you of the general state of the Abyss world as it stands now."
"No need for now." Yun Che said. "Take some time to rest and recover fully. Once your demon soul is completely healed, you can tell me then."
"The more I know, the harder it will be for my heart to find peace." He looked out at the hall's exterior. "In the meantime, I have some things I must do... and I need to think clearly about every step I will take next."
...
The air was thin and cold, stirring a hint of unease and chaos.
Yun Che gazed at the land beneath his feet, unwilling to dwell on the turmoil it was currently engulfed in.
He extended his palm, staring blankly at the blood lines on it. During the days of stillness, his injuries had improved considerably, but his body was still covered in horrible scars.
Every time he thought his life could finally settle into peace and harmony, an even greater disaster would descend from the heavens.
Perhaps this was his destined life.
"Father..."
Yun Wuxin approached softly, her footsteps light, watching him with concern.
Yun Che did not turn around. His voice drifted out lightly: "Wuxin, I want to go out for a walk. Will you come with me?"
"Alright." Yun Wuxin nodded obediently. "Father, where do you want to go?"
"...!" After a long silence, Yun Che finally spoke: "To Shuhong's place."
Passing through a spatial profound formation, Yun Che and Yun Wuxin arrived at the Canglan Realm.
The Canglan Divine Pearl had been eternally annihilated, and the Ten Directions Canglan Realm, which had no future, was shrouded in a deeply somber atmosphere. As far as the eye could see, even the numerous Canglan guards seemed to have had their souls torn away, their eyes filled with profound emptiness.
Sensing his presence, Cang Shuhong quickly moved to his side, accompanied by her ever-present Ruiyi.
"Husband, your injuries have not yet healed. If you need anything, you only need to summon Shuhong; you need not come here in person."
Her beautiful eyes anxiously swept over Yun Che's body. Only when she confirmed that his aura was fairly stable did she finally relax.
"Shuhong Aunt, rest assured—my father's greatest strength is his recovery ability." Yun Wuxin smiled, trying to reassure her.
Although she was doing her best to hide it, Yun Che could see at a glance the deep grief and sorrow that filled Cang Shuhong's heart and soul.
"Shuhong," he said softly, "where is your elder brother buried?"
Her watery eyes froze. Then, Cang Shuhong gently shook her head. "When my brother was alive, he said more than once that being trapped in a single place after death would be unbearably boring. He would rather scatter into the vast seas, drifting freely with the waves across the world."
"So my brother was not entombed. His bones have already roamed freely through the Tai Chu world. What he left behind has also gone with the seas, as he wished while alive."
"...!" Yun Che's lips twitched slightly.
Cang Shuhong continued, "Before my brother scattered, he left a wisp of soul sound for me and all the Sea Gods, saying that in the end, he was an unforgivable sinner of the Canglan bloodline. Therefore, he had no face—and no need—to have a memorial tablet placed in Canglan."
Cang Shuhong tilted her head slightly, using all her strength to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. "Everything was done according to my brother's wishes."
A former Divine Emperor of Shitian, who left behind no bones, no tomb, no tablet.
How tragic, and yet how utterly free-spirited.
Yun Che was momentarily stunned, then he smiled. "That's just like him."
Cang Shuhong said, "If you wish to pay respects to my brother, husband... the mere thought is already a great fortune and grace for him."
"No," Yun Che sighed softly. "This world is fortunate to have had Cang Shitian. Without him, how could I have had the life to stand here?"
"...!" Cang Shuhong slowly closed her eyes. "To hear these words from you, husband... my brother dies without regret."
Yun Che shook his head. "He would never truly care about others' opinions. Likewise, he would never care about conventional rites of worship."
Cang Shuhong looked into Yun Che's eyes and said softly, "Husband, the look in your eyes right now tells Shuhong that you have made a very important decision."
"Yes." Yun Che met her gaze—her beautiful eyes that gathered all the tenderness of the world. "I have decided to go to a place... a place I must go."
"...?" Yun Wuxin looked up, her expression puzzled.
Cang Shuhong's lips parted slightly, letting out a voice like a dream: "The... Abyss?"
"Ah!?" Yun Wuxin gasped and instinctively grasped her father's sleeve.
"Yes." Yun Che nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "As expected of you—so clever that nothing in my heart or mind can escape your eyes."