Chapter 2013: Fury Abyss
Ku Xian slightly frowned, completely unable to comprehend the words Long Jiang had murmured.
Ku Xian's lifespan was near its end, and his knowledge and experience far surpassed everyone present. Long Jiang not only revealed herself as an ancestral dragon, but the talent she displayed exceeded all records of ancestral dragons he had ever seen in his lifetime… and by a vast margin.
Killing Long Jiang, no matter how perfectly they concealed it, would have consequences far beyond what they imagined. But with the opportunity of "demigod" before them, where was the room for reason? In comparison, what he found even harder to understand was why Long Jiang, with such shocking talent—surely a figure surrounded by stars and moon in the Dragon God Clan—would conceal her identity and come here alone… just for a Lin Bone Spirit Orchid, which, for a being at that level of the Dragon Clan, was hardly a top-tier divine object.
Saying no more, Ku Xian let out a final silent sigh. His withered hand gathered a ball of lethal profound light and slammed it directly down toward Long Jiang's head.
But before that annihilating force could even approach Long Jiang, a violent and frenzied gale slammed him back, dispersing the power in his hand in an instant.
"…!?" Ku Xian turned in astonishment… The spot where he had stood was now occupied by Yun Che's figure. He was just about to speak when his expression suddenly changed.
The Yun Che in his eyes, no matter the time, even when facing the Abyss Knight, had always displayed a calm and disdain utterly at odds with his age. It was as if nothing here was worthy of even the slightest ripple in his emotions.
But at this moment, the aura around him was so chaotic that even the surrounding space was being subtly churned. Amidst that chaos, there was clearly a… sinister aura that made his aged soul tremble.
"Yun Che, what are you doing!" Ximen Bofu's voice was low and cold, his expression equally grim.
"Yun nephew?" Helian also frowned deeply.
This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, but it was far from an uncontrollable anomaly. Their reactions were merely surprise, along with slight wariness and a naturally rising hostility.
"Brother Yun?" Mo Cangying quickly followed over: "What… are you doing?"
Yun Che did not respond to anyone. He was desperately trying to calm his aura and emotions, but couldn't ease them even a little. Kneeling heavily in the blood-stained yellow sand, his trembling fingers gripped Long Jiang's broken left arm, and his voice came out in rapid, hoarse gasps: "Who are you? Who exactly are you… that sentence just now… where did you hear it from!"
*Strange clouds and wild wind brush the bright mist, embracing ten thousand flowers in slumber with Xi*… That year in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, he had held Shen Xi in his arms, his heart and soul rippling, and casually recited that verse amidst ten thousand flowers. Shen Xi often used it to tease him afterward.
Those fourteen shameful words—Yun Che naturally wouldn't tell anyone else. Only he, Shen Xi, and He Ling knew of them in the world.
If he had to count one more, it was when he became emperor and brought Yun Wuxin back to the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, reciting it in melancholy before the withered expanse.
But this was the Abyss! An Abyss completely cut off from that world!
How did she know it? How did this ancestral dragon named Long Jiang…
Had she seen Shen Xi?
Was Shen Xi not dead, but here…
Could it be…
She wasn't dead…
She… she…
Yun Che bit the tip of his tongue fiercely. The sharp pain allowed him to gain a bit of clarity, but his hand still trembled uncontrollably as it gripped Long Jiang's left arm.
His mental defenses were far beyond what they had been back then. Since entering the Abyss, he had been in an extremely cold and alert state every moment. Even learning news of Shen Xi so suddenly should not have caused him to lose control like this.
An inexplicable pain in his heart… complete chaos in his mind… why…
Yun Che's voice, so close to her ear, made Long Jiang slowly raise her head.
When her face fully appeared in Yun Che's sight, his eyes instantly froze.
Not because of those two terrifying black scars, but… her eyes.
Even though her pupils were already scattered, those eyes still refracted a thousand iridescent lights, deeply containing ten thousand layers of dreamlike illusion.
"Shen… Xi…" he murmured, as if lost in a trance, just like when he first saw Shen Xi.
Those eyes were the most beautiful starry lake he had ever seen in his life, the abyss he was willing to fall into forever… and those same eyes had once made Long Bai, that supreme being of the God Realm, sink into dreams for hundreds of thousands of years, unwilling to wake.
And the Long Jiang before him actually had such similar eyes.
She…
She was…
"Heh…" Facing Yun Che's instantly stricken eyes, Long Jiang laughed. The bloodstained smile carried deep ridicule and desolate coldness: "Yun Che… it's impressive that you… still remember my mother's name…"
The blood in Yun Che's body seemed to freeze in an instant, then surged to his head in the next: "You… mother…"
"Shen Xi… is your… moth…er…?" That short sentence came out with such difficulty through his completely out-of-control thoughts.
Shen Xi…
Moth…er…
She… Long Jiang… a woman of half a jiazi in age…
Time black tide…
Nine years ago…
His thoughts were so chaotic, yet they overlapped completely… In an instant, Yun Che felt as if struck by ten thousand thunders.
He lurched forward, his voice breaking into a roar: "Then your father… who is your father! Could it be… could it be…"
Long Jiang's smile remained cold and mocking: "I have no father… that person is not worthy… to be my father!"
Even though she was right in front of him, those eyes so similar to Shen Xi's carried a bone-piercing rejection and distance: "Even the name 'Yun Xi' that my mother gave me back then… I have long since abandoned!"
Yun Che's pupils abruptly dilated.
Yun… Xi…?
In a daze, the two bamboo plaques buried deep in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land appeared before his eyes.
One was engraved with "Xi," the other with "Yun."
No…
That wasn't the "Xi Yun" he had thought.
It was…
Yun Xi!
A dizzying swirl of heaven and earth, and the greatest doubt of the past—the reason why Long Bai, who had silently guarded Shen Xi for hundreds of thousands of years, lost control in fury and suddenly struck to kill her—pierced heavily through Yun Che's sea of consciousness.
Back then, when he left the Reincarnation Forbidden Land and resolutely headed for the Star God Realm, Shen Xi… was already pregnant…
The name she gave… was Yun Xi.
Those similar eyes…
That strangely familiar soul…
The heart-piercing pain…
Completely disordered reason…
So…
She was Shen Xi's daughter!
She was Shen Xi and… my daughter!
She is my daughter!
Even if there was nothing else, just those eyes were proof beyond doubt.
The blood in his body churned chaotically, and his emotions were like a raging muddy sea… He bit the tip of his tongue again, until it bled, filling his mouth with the taste of blood.
His vision slowly cleared with his thoughts. The bloodstains at the corners of her lips, her blood-drenched outer robe, the bloody holes piercing her body, and the yellow sand beneath her that kept absorbing blood…
The pain in his heart was like ten thousand blades cutting and twisting. His hand, gripping her broken left arm, quickly and hastily withdrew its force.
Without saying anything more, Yun Che closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath… When he opened them again, they were like a boundless dark abyss.
Amidst the varied gazes of the crowd, he slowly extended his left arm, lifted Long Jiang into a single-arm hold, and pressed her tightly against his chest. The profound energy he silently released gently and softly enveloped her.
The feeling of blood connection was so clear, just like when he held Yun Wuxin in his arms.
So… I have another daughter…
I never knew… I had another daughter…
What kind of situation… what kind of despair… must Shen Xi have faced back then…
Long Jiang did not struggle or resist, but those scattered dragon eyes held not a trace of warmth.
"Yun Che, what do you think you're doing?" Ximen Bofu narrowed his eyes.
The answer was a flash of vermilion sword light.
The Heaven-Defying Sword emerged, its heavy sword might swallowing the wind and sand, pressing down on everyone's bodies.
"Get out of my way." He held Long Jiang with his left hand and raised the sword with his right. His cold voice carried not a trace of emotion: "Whoever blocks me—dies."
Those few words made everyone's expressions change, followed by a burst of grim laughter.
"Hehehehe, this is getting very interesting." Zhai Kexie was not at all angered; instead, his smile was quite amused: "Helian Nation Lord, it seems your 'Yun nephew' wants to give us a pleasant surprise."
Everyone knew that after the Zhai Liancheng incident, Zhai Kexie wished he could tear Yun Che apart with his own hands.
Before this moment, he had found it hard to make a move. But now… Yun Che was practically handing himself over!
The background and origin of Yun Che no longer mattered. Even someone of Long Jiang's background had been killed without hesitation… since the path of retreat had been completely cut off, killing one Long Jiang or killing two was the same!
And he could take revenge to vent his anger while he was at it!
"Yun nephew, what are you…" Helian was obviously stunned: "You just said something about her father? Could it be… that you have some connection with the ancestral dragon lineage, and you know her father?"
Of course, he absolutely didn't want to lose this big shot that was Yun Che. He had imagined the scene of Helian Lingzhu marrying into the Divine Kingdom countless times.
But if Yun Che truly had a deep connection with Long Jiang and was trying to take her away…
Yun Che did not answer. He slowly stepped toward them, the vermilion giant sword in his hand releasing an ever-increasing weight of sword might with every breath.
"Hahahaha, very interesting." Wan Wei laughed heartily: "No matter his background, in the end, he's still a young man. He thinks he can act with impunity like he did outside. Can't see the situation clearly… that's how you die young."
"Yun Che!" Helian's voice also turned dark, like a final warning.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
His footsteps on the shifting sand produced sounds like boulders crashing, each one shaking the heart.
"Brother Yun! Put her down… Brother Yun!!" Watching helplessly as Yun Che got closer and closer to Helian and the others, Mo Cangying shouted urgently.
"He's willing to die to save her? Heh… Helian Nation Lord." Ximen Bofu said in a sinister tone: "You should know the consequences if Long Jiang leaves alive. And this Yun Che clearly has some special relationship with her… If Long Jiang dies and Yun Che lives, guess what he will do after leaving the Lin Divine Realm?"
"Now we should be glad he suddenly lost his mind. If he had hidden it and not acted… the consequences would be unimaginable!" Zhai Kexie turned his gaze to Helian, his voice suddenly deep and low: "Helian Nation Lord, his attitude is already crystal clear. You're not still thinking of protecting him, are you?"
"…" Helian's features twitched a few times, and finally he spoke: "Ku Xian, take him down!"
He said "take down," not "kill," clearly still harboring illusions.
Ku Xian acknowledged the order, raising his wide sleeve… But just as he was about to make his move, his body suddenly froze.
He was closest to Yun Che and could truly feel the aura at this moment… and those eyes that had become terrifying.
The Yun Che in his sight had become utterly alien. He was clearly a completely different person from before!
The darkness and ruthlessness in that look… as if he had bathed in the blood sea of the Nine Nether, and walked over a mountain of ten thousand corpses!
In all his life, he had never experienced such terrifying aura and gaze.
While Ku Xian was briefly stunned, Mo Cangying had already rushed over: "Wait! Master, don't strike! Brother Yun has no relationship with her, otherwise he could have blocked us from the start, not waited until now."
He quickly moved between Yun Che and Ku Xian: "There must be some hidden reason here. Let me first try to find out the truth, then you all can decide and act."
Before anyone could respond, Mo Cangying was already facing Yun Che directly, his expression extremely grave: "Brother Yun, you are smarter than anyone. You should know you can't save her… Put her down now and it's not too late."
Bang!
Yun Che's step landed like a heavy stomp on Mo Cangying's heart, and those pitch-black eyes like an endless abyss caused his heart to jump in an instant.
Mo Cangying gritted his teeth, then suddenly burst into motion, gathering annihilating rock light in his hand as he reached straight for Long Jiang.
Ku Xian was horrified: "Don't get near him!!"
Boom—
Mo Cangying's figure froze in midair. The annihilating rock light in his hand had not even touched Long Jiang before it completely dissipated.
His expression was dazed. His rapidly dimming pupils slowly lowered, staring in disbelief at the vermilion giant sword that had run through his body.
"I said… whoever blocks me… will die…" Yun Che's voice was low and hoarse. His pitch-black eyes held not a trace of the warmth and gentleness Mo Cangying was familiar with, but were as indifferent as if looking down upon a contemptible ant: "Are you… deaf!"
Bang!!
The overwhelming sword might erupted mercilessly, instantly destroying Mo Cangying's body into a rain of scattered bone fragments and dismembered limbs.