# Chapter 1972: White Shadow
Western Divine Region, Qinglong Realm.
Yun Che's figure transitioned from void to solid, as if stepping out from empty space, directly appearing before the Azure Dragon Emperor's bedchamber.
The vast royal city was filled with countless guards, yet not a single one detected him.
"Young... Yun Emperor!"
Qing Ruo had been personally standing guard outside these past days. She started in sudden alarm, then hastily restrained her aura, preparing to kneel.
A surge of energy held her in place. Yun Che shook his head lightly: "Withdraw. I'll go see her."
"Yes!" Qing Ruo quickly acknowledged and swiftly retreated. Looking back, her eyes brimmed with excitement.
This was the first time Yun Emperor had taken the initiative to step foot here.
The Azure Dragon Emperor's bedchamber was extremely simple and cold, much like Mu Xuanyin's Ice Phoenix Holy Hall.
After entering the bedchamber, Yun Che no longer deliberately concealed his aura, enough for the Azure Dragon Emperor to detect him instantly.
But in response to his arrival, the Azure Dragon Emperor's aura remained as calm as still water, without a trace of shock or ripple.
Rounding a screen, a pool exuding a strange aura came into view.
The pool had a faint azure tint. Without celestial light shining upon it, it still rippled with glimmering blue radiance.
A tall and slender woman sat quietly within the pool. Her blue-black hair brushed the water, her snow-white skin exuded elegance, and her extraordinarily beautiful face carried a chilling coldness, like a Luo River goddess descending into the world.
Her jade-like legs were especially striking—not only astonishingly long and gracefully slender, but even submerged in the pool, they still emanated an immaculate, jade-like luster.
This was the first time Yun Che had looked at her so intently. Setting aside her identity as the Azure Dragon Emperor, this Azure Dragon woman, who seemed unwilling to blend with the mortal world, made him stare momentarily in a daze.
"Entering a woman's bedchamber without permission," the Azure Dragon Emperor in the pool slowly opened her eyes. "Is Yun Emperor truly as the rumors claim—an extremely dissolute and lascivious man?!"
The Azure Dragon Emperor was clearly in the midst of healing, wearing very little—only a small undergarment.
Given her status as Azure Dragon Emperor, this was the first time in her life she had appeared in such a state, so naturally, she was angered.
Yun Che's gaze refocused, and he cursed inwardly: Such rumors even spread in the Divine Realm!? Outrageous! Why hasn't Cang Shitian done anything about it!
He stepped forward, speaking in an unyielding sovereign's tone: "You are my imperial consort. There should be no barriers between us."
"..." The Azure Dragon Emperor showed no change in expression, as if she found this "empty title" beneath a response.
She slowly moved her arms, which had been gathering her aura, away from her chest, about to retrieve her azure robe to cover herself. But before her eyes, a figure flickered, and her jade arm was gently grasped by a warm hand.
Yun Che stood directly in the pool, his fingers sliding along the snow-white skin of her arm down to her slender wrist: "Don't move. Let me examine your injuries."
His profound energy surged into the Azure Dragon Emperor's body without any room for refusal.
Helpless to resist, the Azure Dragon Emperor could only close her eyes again.
Yun Che's expression gradually turned serious, and soon his brow slowly furrowed.
Though the Azure Dragon's body was not comparable to the Dragon God's, it was still far superior to ordinary beings. But that was, after all, a fatal blow from Mo Beichen. Strong as the Azure Dragon Emperor was, even if she saved her life, it would take a long time to fully recover.
Yet now, less than half a month later, the Azure Dragon Emperor's injuries and vitality had already recovered by more than thirty percent.
Back then, his fading consciousness had clearly felt that the Azure Dragon Emperor had sealed all of Mo Beichen's power within herself, with all five viscera shattered.
His aura roamed through the Azure Dragon Emperor's body, seeking the "light aura" Chi Wuyue had mentioned.
But obviously, it was too late. He couldn't find even a trace.
Withdrawing his spiritual perception, he asked directly: "What exactly is that light aura that saved you?"
"...That really wasn't from you." The Azure Dragon Emperor's gaze was indifferent, her voice betraying no disappointment or melancholy.
Yun Che said: "You were close to me at the time. You know my state best. How could I possibly have had the strength to release a light profound force that powerful?"
The Azure Dragon Emperor's words were already indirectly answering Yun Che's question. He frowned deeply: "You truly know nothing at all? Not even a single impression?"
The Azure Dragon Emperor's azure eyes were as serene as water, utterly without ripples: "In this era, the only one with light profound force besides you is Shen Xi. And I have never had close contact with Shen Xi in my life. Even if I had, it's impossible for me to have been infused with her light profound force for so long without realizing it."
"Not her." Yun Che murmured softly: "Given your 'certain death' injury at the time and your current rate of recovery, even if she had exerted her full strength, it would have been nearly impossible to save you, let alone allow you to recover so quickly."
"I couldn't do it either."
The higher the level of power that inflicts an injury, the slower the recovery, due to the lingering force. Even someone with Yun Che's recovery ability fell into a coma for half a month after being severely wounded by Mo Beichen the first time.
But the Azure Dragon Emperor...
What exactly happened?
Who did it!
"Are you certain it was light profound force, and not some deep-seated self-healing ability of your Azure Dragon clan?" Yun Che asked.
The Azure Dragon Emperor's gaze lifted slightly: "The Demon Empress bears witness."
Yun Che pondered for a long time, then said: "If that's the case, then that light profound force must have appeared on you after I lost consciousness. Otherwise, I couldn't have failed to notice it."
"When I lost consciousness, your life aura had almost completely dissipated, but it shouldn't have caused your deeper consciousness to fall asleep so quickly. Perhaps even a sliver of surface consciousness remained."
"So... did you notice anything unusual?"
As he asked, Yun Che didn't expect an affirmative answer. Because if there had been, the Demon Empress would have known already.
But the Azure Dragon Emperor did not shake her head.
After a brief silence, she slowly said: "Although I survived the previous ordeal, my sea of consciousness was chaotic and adrift under the severe injuries. These past few days, as my consciousness gradually cleared, I recalled that at the moment of my death, my consciousness seemed to brush against a faint white shadow."
"White shadow!?" Yun Che's heart shook violently.
"It seemed to be a woman." The Azure Dragon Emperor's eyes flickered with an unusual blue light, as if she struggled to find the right words to describe that fleeting image: "That white shadow was clearly very close, but the feeling it gave me was immensely distant—so distant that... I could never hope to reach it."
She had only experienced this sense of nearness yet unattainable distance once before in her life.
That was back when, before the scarlet crack, she faced the returning Jie Tian Mo Di.
However, she did not mention this matter. Because she knew well how much Yun Che revered the Calamity Demon Empress. If she brought it up... comparing an illusory shadow to the Calamity Demon Empress would undoubtedly be an affront to her.
"Did you see the face of that white shadow?" Yun Che asked in a deep voice. "Or perhaps sense the characteristics of her aura?"
"No." The Azure Dragon Emperor answered very decisively: "I even think it's more likely an illusion before my consciousness collapsed."
"..." Yun Che thought briefly but did not press further. Instead, he changed the subject: "Forget it. Just focus on recovering. Don't dwell on it anymore."
The fatal wound from that day had now completely healed. Naturally, Yun Che had nothing to worry about. He withdrew his hand from the Azure Dragon Emperor's body and turned around.
"Farewell, Yun Emperor." The Azure Dragon Emperor closed her eyes without rising.
Yun Che did not leave immediately. He asked calmly: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
The Azure Dragon Emperor's aura was peaceful, and even the azure pool beneath her showed not the slightest ripple: "Thank you, Yun Emperor, for forgiving Qi Tianli. With merits offsetting faults, you and I are now even, owing nothing to each other. I only hope that Yun Emperor will honor his promise like a mountain and be as broad as the sea, never again mentioning Qi Tianli's crime or pursuing punishment."
Yun Che didn't show displeasure at the obviously distant words. Instead, he smiled: "Your concern is unnecessary. Since I have forgiven him, I have completely set aside the matter. I will never seek to settle the score later. As for merits offsetting faults, that's completely wrong."
"His old life does not deserve to be compared with mine, nor does it deserve to be compared with yours."
The Azure Dragon Emperor: "..."
Yun Che continued: "That day, everyone was crushed under the half-god pressure of Mo Beichen. Facing his fatal strike, even a God Emperor's instinct would be to flee far away."
"But you acted to save me, not only transcending the instinct under half-god pressure, but also without any thought—you reacted instantly. There was absolutely no way... it was for the purpose of using this merit to redeem Qi Tianli's crime."
The Azure Dragon Emperor parted her lips to speak, but Yun Che didn't give her the chance: "I'm about to head to the Abyss. The road ahead is unknown. Once I return safely, I will tell you those words."
Her azure eyes snapped open wide, her words about to leave her mouth turning into a choked voice: "You're going to the Abyss!?"
"If I don't enter the Abyss, this world will fall into the eternal abyss." Yun Che smiled: "Don't worry. I will come back. This life of mine was saved by you at the cost of your own. If I were to die recklessly again, wouldn't that hurt your feelings too much?"
"Before I return, I hope you will face a certain fact."
Yun Che took a step, his voice fading with his figure: "On the day I was crowned emperor, your title of 'Azure Consort' was proclaimed throughout the world. No one can call it an empty title."
"Since we are husband and wife, this so-called 'owing nothing to each other' is not for you to decide alone."
"..." The bedchamber fell silent, long without sound.
But that clear pool rippled with countless scattered waves.
---
Above the Imperial Cloud City.
With the calamity of the Abyss and Yun Emperor severely wounded, the Northern Divine Region naturally could not rest easy. But during this time, Chi Wuyue hadn't managed any external affairs at all. Instead, she secluded herself in her hall, recovering her injured demon soul and desperately searching for the source of the demon soul's agitation.
That mysterious artifact used by the Abyss Emperor to pierce through the Abyss passage—what exactly was it...
She had a vague feeling that the answer to this question was crucial.
If it could be destroyed, wouldn't that mean the beings of the Abyss could never again enter the present world?
At that moment, the hall door pushed open, and Yun Che walked in, his expression as calm as drifting clouds.
Chi Wuyue lifted her gaze from her contemplation, a hint of surprise showing: "So fast?"
Yun Che walked over and sat before her, saying: "Attachment and reluctance indeed erode resolve. The more I wish to reduce my attachments before leaving, the harder it becomes on my heart."
"So, it's time to go."
Attachment, debts, unfulfilled promises, unfinished wishes, countless words... all waiting for his return.
So he must... he must come back alive.
His injuries had also basically fully recovered during this time.
"Alright." Chi Wuyue nodded slightly. She could empathize with Yun Che's state of mind. This decision was also the resolve befitting a maturing emperor.
"My demon soul has also recovered about seventy or eighty percent." Chi Wuyue looked into Yun Che's eyes: "In these past days, I have also reorganized and clarified the memories and cognitions from Mo Beichen. Now, I will tell you in detail the basic structure of the Abyss and its core figures."
"You must engrave them deep within your soul."
Yun Che said nothing, giving an almost imperceptible nod, his bright eyes containing a cold, dark void.