Chapter 1984: Erosion
Time flowed silently, until a cautious figure appeared in Yun Che's line of sight.
It was a young boy who looked to be just over ten years old, his face thin, his skin lacking the smoothness of youth and bearing a bit of roughness and dullness.
He saw Yun Che lying there, covered in wounds. His neck shrank back, but he didn't immediately leave. His gaze quickly swept around, and after hesitating for a while, he mustered up the courage to ask: "This big brother... senior, do you know where Senior Sister Lingzhu is? I heard she's back."
Yun Che turned his gaze and said gently: "She did return, but she's not here. She should have gone to see the 'master' she mentioned."
Disappointment immediately appeared on the boy's face, but he still said politely: "I understand. Thank you, senior, for telling me."
From his cautious demeanor, he had clearly snuck out. With his hopes dashed, he turned back dejectedly, but Yun Che called out to him: "But she should be back soon. If you really want to see her, you might as well wait here for a while."
The boy's eyes instantly lit up, and he nodded vigorously: "Alright! As long as I can see Senior Sister Lingzhu, I'd wait as long as it takes."
Then he lowered his head and added in a very small voice: "...if I'm not discovered."
Having taken leave of Ku Xian, Helian Lingzhu, who should have immediately returned to the court with Mo Cangying, ultimately decided to say goodbye to Yun Che before leaving, on the grounds that royal etiquette could not be neglected.
Mo Cangying could only reluctantly agree.
As they approached, they heard him conversing with a young boy.
"...In our Linyuan Realm, ninety-nine percent of people primarily cultivate earth-based profound force, with most supplementing it with wind-based profound force. I myself am main earth, auxiliary wind. I can now stir up a large storm of wind and sand."
"My master says that our Linyuan Realm attracts and gathers all profound practitioners who cultivate earth-based profound force, because this place has the densest and most active earth-based power in the Abyss. But people outside rarely cultivate earth-based profound force, and... Master also says they look down on it, thinking that cultivating such a defense-specialized power is the act of a coward... That's not true!"
The boy's voice carried unwillingness: "There are many remarkable people who cultivate earth-based profound force! Right here, we even produced an Abyss Knight!"
When mentioning the words "Abyss Knight," the worship and admiration in the boy's eyes burned like blazing fire: "I heard that he was chosen by the Abyss Emperor to become a pioneer in seeking the 'Eternal Pure Land'."
"His name is Mo Beichen, ranked 779th among the Abyss Knights, with the title 'Dust-Sealing Guardian.' He's from our Linyuan Realm!"
Every word from the boy carried a pride that seemed ready to overflow.
Yun Che's smile remained on his face, but his pupils constricted for an instant.
Mo Beichen...
What a coincidence!
This terrifying figure who caused Qianye Ying'er to lose her grandfather and great-grandfather, who made him lose the Three Yan Ancestors and He Ling, who truly pushed the entire God Realm into a desperate situation... how could he forget even a fraction of it!
"Senior," the boy's gaze shifted, and his voice lowered as well: "Do you think a place like 'Eternal Pure Land' really exists?"
"I heard that it's a place where Yuan Chen doesn't exist. There, green grass grows everywhere, there are trees that can grow very tall, and there's something called 'flowers' that can bloom in many colors."
"I heard the sky there is blue. Children don't need to be 'protected' from birth. Even if they don't work hard to cultivate, they won't be eroded, and they won't be abandoned for lack of talent. All children can grow up freely."
"Can such a place really exist?"
What he described were scenes that were utterly ordinary in Yun Che's understanding. So ordinary that in his world, no one would ever care about or mention them.
But in the boy's eyes and words, he was describing a world that should only exist in fantasy and dreams—a world so beautiful that he, and all Abyssal beings, dared not believe it.
"Of course it exists," Yun Che answered with certainty.
Outside the hall, Helian Lingzhu also stopped in her tracks.
A strange light flashed in the boy's eyes, but it immediately died out. Clearly, he didn't believe it: "Have you personally seen the 'Eternal Pure Land'?"
Yun Che smiled and said: "It's not about whether I've seen it. You need to believe it exists."
"Believe?" The boy, who had grown up under "protection" and never truly ventured into the world, looked bewildered.
"Because the word 'believe' is a remarkable power." Yun Che's expression was gentle and earnest: "If you need a miracle, then only by believing in it can it possibly appear."
"If you long for the 'Eternal Pure Land,' then only by firmly believing in its existence and working towards it might it one day truly appear in your life."
"And even if, in the end, you still cannot find the 'Eternal Pure Land,' then this beautiful obsession that accompanies you through life and the efforts you made for it—are they not, in themselves, a piece of 'Eternal Pure Land' forever carved into your soul?"
The boy's pupils seemed to sparkle with starlight, and this time they did not fade for a long time.
Even Helian Lingzhu outside the hall was momentarily stunned.
Until Mo Cangying stepped forward and pushed open the hall door.
The boy turned around and saw Helian Lingzhu in one glance. He let out a cry of ecstatic surprise: "Senior Sister Lingzhu!"
He rushed forward with excitement, but Mo Cangying grabbed him. Frowning deeply, he said: "Qichuan! Did you sneak out again? Don't you know that with your current cultivation, leaving the protective barrier of the underground palace is extremely dangerous!"
The boy was in awe of Mo Cangying: "I... I just really wanted to see Senior Sister Lingzhu."
"Hmph!" Mo Cangying's face was stern: "Then you should train hard! When you reach the Divine Soul Realm, you can leave the underground palace for half an hour every three days! With your current cultivation, you don't even qualify to leave the underground palace. Acting willfully for your own desires only disappoints everyone!"
"Don't forget! If you don't reach the Divine Tribulation Realm before a quarter of a Jiazi passes, you will be abandoned! At that time, not even your 'Senior Sister Lingzhu' can save you!"
Yun Che's heart stirred with emotion.
Fifteen years old and reaching the Divine Tribulation Realm—in any star realm of the God Realm, that would be a talent that shakes the entire region.
But here in the Abyss, it barely touched the threshold of not being abandoned.
There was no compassion or tolerance for the young here.
From the moment anyone was born, they faced the cruelest laws of survival.
—Except for those chosen children of the divine kingdoms.
Yun Che suddenly thought of the memories Chi Wuyue had extracted from Mo Beichen. His two daughters had been "abandoned," dying from the erosion of Yuan Chen.
Therefore, he should feel nothing but hatred for this place.
"Alright," Helian Lingzhu walked over and reached out to shield the boy being scolded: "Qichuan is still just a child after all. There's no need to say such harsh words to him."
Mo Cangying said: "Indulgence is what harms him. Trash has no right to survive. Laziness and willfulness are asking for death! This is the law they should remember from birth!"
"I... I know," the boy said, not with resentment but with shame: "I just missed Senior Sister Lingzhu too much. She's like my late sister, the only family I have left in this world... I just wanted to see her for a moment... like... like my sister is still alive..."
"I promise I won't be willful any other time. I will do my utmost to cultivate."
"And..." He tried to hold back the mist of tears in his eyes, his voice taking on a hint of strength: "Just now, I think I found a direction to strive for."
Helian Lingzhu glanced secretly at Yun Che, then smiled and said: "That's for the best. Qichuan, you will definitely become a remarkable person in the future. Being eroded by Yuan Chen at a young age can damage one's talent. Go back quickly. When I return to the Heavenly Mansion next time, I'll come see you on my own."
With that, she gently patted his shoulder.
But that light, effortless pat caused the boy's arm to suddenly contract, and a sharp hiss escaped his lips.
Helian Lingzhu was stunned. Mo Cangying's brows tightened, and he suddenly stepped forward, grabbing the boy's right arm and shattering the outer clothing on it.
The boy let out a rather pitiful cry of pain, his features contorted in agony.
When she saw the boy's right arm, Helian Lingzhu's expression changed abruptly, and Mo Cangying's entire face darkened instantly.
The skin on the boy's right arm was noticeably dull, and several half-foot-long black marks were clearly visible.
"Qichuan, you..." Helian Lingzhu's voice trembled slightly. She tried to reach out several times but didn't dare to touch the arm covered in black marks.
Yun Che's gaze fixed on it... So this is the erosion of Yuan Chen?
"When did this happen?" Mo Cangying asked in a cold voice.
"I... I..." The boy's face turned deathly pale, not from pain, but from the terror of being discovered: "I'll be fine... I'll definitely be fine..."
His words were even paler than his face. Mo Cangying slowly exhaled and said in a deep voice: "With erosion this severe on the right arm, the only option is amputation!"
"Ah! No!" Helian Lingzhu quickly stepped forward: "He's far from being able to regrow an arm. Without his right arm, he might... be abandoned very soon."
"There's no other choice," Mo Cangying shook his head. "Right now it's just his right arm. If we don't amputate, it will spread throughout his body, leaving him with only death."
"Master can purge the erosion," Helian Lingzhu said urgently. "I'll go beg Master right now..."
"If you go, Master will certainly not refuse," Mo Cangying said, looking at her with a calm but solemn expression. "But do you really want to set this precedent?"
Helian Lingzhu's steps froze on the spot, unable to move any further.
Mo Cangying said slowly: "Not to mention the entire Linyuan Realm, even within the Helian Heavenly Mansion alone, countless people are eroded by Yuan Chen every day."
"The erosion of Yuan Chen is silent and cannot be guarded against. As the eldest princess of the imperial dynasty, if you set this precedent for your own heart, then every time a young one is eroded in the future, will Master have to come and purge it?"
"His lifespan is truly almost gone."
"..." Helian Lingzhu closed her eyes slowly, having no words to refute.
"Senior Sister Lingzhu," the boy reached out and gently tugged at the corner of her robe. "Your kindness, I will remember in my heart for a lifetime. But this is my own lack of worth. I cannot make things difficult for you, and I certainly cannot let the Mansion Master suffer loss because of me."
He lifted his face, tears in his eyes but a smile on his lips: "Senior Brother Mo is just as they say—he looks very stern, but he is actually a very, very good person. I was always afraid of being directly abandoned if discovered, so that's why... Senior Brother Mo amputating my arm is actually saving me."
"It's good that you see it that way," Mo Cangying nodded slightly, his gaze firm. "Losing an arm does not mean losing your life or your future. If you can reach the Divine Tribulation Realm with one arm before a quarter of a Jiazi passes, not only will you not be abandoned, you will be held up as an example by the Helian Heavenly Mansion."
"I... will achieve it," the boy's voice still carried a slight tremor.
For a grown man, losing an arm would be an unbearable blow, let alone for a boy with an immature mind.
Losing an arm brings not only physical trauma but an even heavier psychological wound. Under the cruel survival laws of the Abyss, losing an arm at such a young age—no matter how beautifully one consoles him—could only lead to endless pessimism in the future.
His throat moved, and he tried to make his voice less choked: "I trouble Senior Brother Mo to amputate my right arm."
"Very well!" Mo Cangying nodded.
The boy closed his eyes tightly. Helian Lingzhu also sighed softly, slowly turning around and closing her eyes.
"Wait a moment," Yun Che's voice rang out at this inappropriate time. "Let me take a look."