**Chapter 2047: Splendid Dream**
Hua Caili's clearly abnormal reaction made Yun Che glance at her sideways. He asked, puzzled, "Is there something wrong with this name?"
"No... no." Hua Caili shook her head somewhat vacantly. "I just suddenly felt that such a heavy sword... has such a strange name."
"It's not really that strange." Yun Che seemed not to have noticed anything unusual. He stroked the sword's blade, his gaze gradually becoming distant, as if lost in recollection: "My master never told me the original name of this sword. He named me Yun Che, and so he also gave this sword that would accompany me for life the surname 'Yun.'"
A faint vermilion light flowed over the sword's surface, like some kind of mysterious vermilion crystal. The four characters "Jie Tian" (Heaven-Defying) and "Zhu Mo" (Demon-Slaying) that were originally imprinted on it had been concealed by him ever since he entered the Abyss realm.
"Its sword light is strange, like colored glaze, so my master took the character 'Li' (glaze) and renamed it Yun Li Sword. At the same time, the name 'Yun Li' also embodied Master's hope that I would have 'aspirations as distant as drifting clouds, and a heart as clear as colored glaze.'"
"..." Li Suo was stunned in the depths of Yun Che's soul sea for a long time.
If she hadn't known it was the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword in Hong'er's form and the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor Sword in You'er's form, even she would have believed it.
"...I see." Hua Caili smiled a little distractedly: "Hearing Young Master Yun say it that way, I suddenly feel that this name really suits it."
Yun Che lifted his eyes and asked back naturally: "Sister Qu's sword is pure white all over, no less than heavenly divine jade. Its sword aura is gentle as water, yet its sword might chills the soul. I believe its name must be famous throughout the world."
"I... won't tell you for now."
Hua Caili turned around and fled forward deep into the mist sea as if escaping.
His sword is called Yun Li Sword...
My sword is called Li Yun Sword...
Yun Che...
Cai Li...
...
Her heart felt like thousands of fawns were colliding, and even her steps became uncontrollably disorderly.
"What do you mean by this?" Li Suo still couldn't help asking.
"Insinuation," Yun Che answered succinctly.
"Insinuation?" Li Suo didn't understand.
"Mm, it's very effective for young men and women who are new to the world," Yun Che only explained this much. "But it's definitely useless for you. Even if I explain in detail, I'm afraid you still wouldn't truly understand."
"..." Li Suo didn't press further, but said, "If you do this, aren't you afraid Hong'er and You'er will be angry with you?"
"Don't worry." Yun Che said nonchalantly: "As long as Hong'er gets to eat her fill, she'll do anything. You'er is the most obedient; she wouldn't even know how to get angry at me."
Li Suo sighed softly: "Your methods are truly endless. In this way, aren't you afraid of overdoing it? After all, once one flaw is exposed, everything becomes a flaw."
"..." Yun Che paused for a moment, then said: "You're not entirely wrong about that."
"I am indeed racking my brains, using every method I can think of intensively... There's no other way. The time left for me is far, far too short."
"But rest assured." After a soft sigh, Yun Che's expression regained its calm confidence: "If you carefully consider everything between her and me, it was actually all 'initiated' by her. So if anyone should be worried about exposing flaws, it's her. Moreover, these past days, she hasn't been able to have any suspicion of me; instead, she has been accumulating guilt over her 'various concealments' and 'deliberate approaches' toward me."
Li Suo: "..."
Looking at Hua Caili's back, he said softly: "Minor tricks are already more than enough. Next, we have the two most important steps."
"...I look forward to your success," Li Suo could only say.
Yun Che closed his eyes slightly: "You won't."
Li Suo: "??"
——
——
"Young Master Yun, do you know about the 'Eternal Pure Land'?"
"Mm, of course I've heard of it."
"I heard that it's a world without Abyss Dust. I heard that our ancestors, and even Lord Abyss Emperor, all came from that world."
"I heard... the most ordinary corner of that world is as pure as the Pure Land. Its sky is not gray, but a pure light blue, with white clouds unblemished by any flaw. It has waters that stretch for millions of miles, countless races, and exotic herbs and strange flowers of so many shapes and colors that it's unimaginable."
For the legendary "Eternal Pure Land," every Abyss profound practitioner has boundless longing, and Hua Caili was no exception.
But for ordinary practitioners, the "Eternal Pure Land" is more like a legend. However, for those from the Divine Kingdoms, they know it is a real world.
"These are not legends," Yun Che said calmly. "That world is indeed like that."
"Ah?" The girl glanced sideways and said playfully: "Could it be that Young Master Yun has been to the Eternal Pure Land?"
"Of course not," Yun Che smiled wryly. "It's just that my master very likely came from there."
"!!" Hua Qingying's gaze instantly focused.
Hua Caili's waist turned around sharply, and an intense curiosity seemed ready to overflow from her beautiful eyes.
Yun Che continued: "My master often told me about that world. At first, I was ignorant and didn't pay much attention or believe it. Later, he began to transmit many images into my soul sea, and only then did I know that such a world truly exists."
"Ah..." Hua Caili uttered a gasp from her unconsciously parted lips. Then, with a thousand excitements and ten thousand wonders, she said: "Are they really... images of the 'Eternal Pure Land'? Then... then have you seen the heavens and earth, the sights, the white clouds, the pure snow, and all kinds of flowers, plants, and spirit beasts there?"
"Hahaha." Yun Che laughed: "At that time, I was just like you, constantly begging Master to show me all kinds of things I wanted to see, and Master always indulged me. It wasn't until Master passed away and I entered the world myself that I gradually understood how astonishing the scenes Master left me truly were."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, sweeping through the void.
An icy light flashed, and immediately snowflakes filled the sky.
There is no snow in the Abyss. Even profound practitioners who cultivate water-based profound arts are only skilled at spreading water and condensing ice, because they cannot imagine the form of snow. Even if they try to simulate it according to records, it's just scattering a patch of fine crushed ice.
Thus, this scene, so ordinary in Yun Che's world, is an extravagant sight that the vast majority of Abyss beings will never experience in their lifetimes.
"Wow~~"
The girl exclaimed, her eyes sparkling like stars. She raised both hands to catch the snow, watching the snowflakes dance on her fingertips, then turning into the soul-piercing chill in her palms.
She had seen snow before. The spirit immortal divine officials, most skilled in elemental profound arts, had conjured snowfall before her eyes more than once. Every time, she would exclaim in excitement.
But this snowfall seemed to enter her heart through her eyes with such joy, even surpassing the surprise of her first encounter.
The same snowfall, different people.
Yun Che smiled, then gently pressed his palm downward.
A patch of white appeared beneath his feet, then spread rapidly, covering the gray-black earth, burying the strange rocks and black trees, extending to the limits of sight, deep into the mist sea—how far, no one knew.
Before Hua Caili's eyes, in her entire world, a pure white snowfield unfolded, belonging only to her.
Her gasp stopped. The girl stood there in a daze, as if she couldn't believe her eyes, couldn't believe such a world was real.
"This is a snowfield found in many places in that world," Yun Che said softly. "They can stretch for a thousand miles, even tens of thousands of miles. Some places have been covered by white snow for eons, never melting. Beneath the snow is still snow, becoming an eternal color of that world."
His gaze became a little hazy, then forcefully cleared again.
He missed the Yin Xue Realm. He missed the Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
But as long as he was in the Abyss, longing was a luxury, even a sin not to be touched.
"It's like a dream..." she murmured, her beautiful eyes fixed on the snow, unblinking. Such a monotonous color, yet somehow it made her eyes mist over with tears.
Everyone in the entire Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom knew she loved pure white things.
Her outer robe, her favorite Colorful Cloud Branch, her most cherished Li Yun Sword...
Yun Che stood beside her. He pointed at her palm, whiter and more lustrous than snow. Instantly, the snowflakes gathered, and a small snow mink was sculpted in her palm.
"This is a snow mink. It always blends in with the ice and snow," Yun Che introduced with a smile. "Master said that although it is a mortal beast with no power, because of its appearance, even the most evil-hearted people often cannot bear to hunt it."
"So cute!" Hua Caili carefully held it, her beautiful eyes as if stars were melting: "Is this a real beast..."
She gently touched it, then hesitated, almost unwilling to touch it: "Such an adorable little spirit beast, even if it were a fierce beast, I think no one would be willing to hurt it."
Yun Che pointed his finger. A spark flashed, and a flame butterfly appeared in his palm, then flew to land on Hua Caili's fingertip.
"This is a butterfly. Master said that in that world, there are hundreds of thousands of species of butterflies. From many types as small as a finger that are mortal butterflies, to many kinds that can transform into human form as demon butterflies."
"This is an Ice Feather Spirit Flower. It grows in extreme cold regions but releases spiritual energy that can warm the soul."
It was also the flower that moved his heart with Mu Xuanyin.
"This is a Netherworld Brahma Flower. I can only barely simulate its form; I cannot fully reveal its true appearance. Master said it is the most demonic flower in that world, capable of making people fall into a nether dream forever... yet it can also create the most remarkable miracles."
"It's called the Oceanic Rage Shark. Don't be fooled by its small size in my palm; it's actually a giant beast of the ocean in that world, a thousand miles in size..."
"This is the Prayer Spirit Sacred Flower, which can only grow by bathing in light profound force..."
"These are the Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix..."
...
Yun Che unsparingly showed Hua Caili the wonders of another world that "he had obtained from his master." Each and every time, each and every kind, caused different tremors of starlight in the girl's eyes.
Even Hua Qingying fell into constant amazement.
"Sister Qu, is there anything else you particularly want to see?" His gaze was as warm as a gentle breeze, as if telling the girl that whatever she asked for, he would grant her.
"So many, so many," she replied joyfully. But because there were so many, she didn't know how to choose for a moment.
Then, her starry eyes suddenly brightened: "Young Master Yun, do you know about meteor showers?"
"Meteor showers?" This answer surprised Yun Che.
The girl looked up at the sky illuminated by the snow: "I once asked a... very powerful uncle, 'What is the most beautiful sight in the world?'"
"The uncle thought for a long time. He told me that the world called the Eternal Pure Land is not like the Abyss, a land of gray desolation, but has countless planets and star realms."
"As time evolves, either due to the collapse of spatial laws, or because of collisions, or due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, one or more planets will occasionally fall and be destroyed, forming a phenomenon called a meteor shower."
"The uncle said that is the most magnificent catastrophe in the world. Anyone who sees it will remember it for life."
"..." Yun Che's breathing halted for a very brief moment.
He knew better than anyone the splendor of a planet's annihilation, and also better than anyone its cruelty.
Yun Che thought for a moment, then pulled the girl's jade wrist: "Sit down."
The girl was surprised, but obediently sat down as instructed.
Just then, the gray sky suddenly brightened.
It was a distant star, releasing infinitely brilliant light, tearing through the gray of the mist sea, casting down a dazzling starlight that did not belong to this world.
It was not difficult for Yun Che to simulate this "meteor." Its form was an ice star, carrying the sacred light of light profound force.
The star fell, dragging a long trail of light, as if tearing through the sky of the entire mist sea.
The light trail swept across the girl's pupils and soul. Before she could even utter a cry of surprise, the distant star suddenly exploded... scattering countless lights in all directions, weaving countless intersecting trails of light.
Abyssal beasts howled everywhere. Countless profound practitioners stopped and looked up, their eyes wide, staring blankly at the faraway destructive starlight, more unreal than a delusive dream.
Hua Caili raised her head, staring in a daze, her eyes reflecting every trace of the stars.
The dangerous mist sea around her, the ceaseless howls of abyssal beasts... all became insignificant. Because what filled her world at this moment was such warmth and beauty, never felt before, never imagined.
Was it because of this annihilating meteor shower...
No matter how splendid, it is only scenery.
As if unconsciously following the guidance of her heart, she moved her gaze away from this extravagant scene of annihilation and looked at Yun Che beside her, at his face illuminated by the starlight.
She suddenly became entranced.
At this moment, she, who was so naive about everything, understood with crystal clarity...
It was not because of the scenery, but because of the person.
Sensing her gaze, Yun Che lowered his eyes to meet hers: "Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"
Without looking away, she still stared at his face in a daze, murmuring as if in a dream: "Such a gentleman should only be seen in paintings; here I alone know the ford."
"Huh?" Yun Che was stunned.
The girl's lips curved into a faint smile. She lowered her gaze and said softly: "This was a phrase taught to me by my teacher who taught me to read. Only today do I understand that the 'gentleman' in it is Young Master Yun."
"..." Yun Che opened his mouth but said nothing.
At this moment, he vaguely sensed that beneath the girl's tender and gentle exterior... her heart might be far more passionate than he had imagined.
The warmth of the man beside her was especially warm, with a strange attraction. She did not resist this attraction, slowly drawing closer. Unconsciously, her head touched his warm shoulder...
She closed her eyes, and the whole world seemed to become warm and quiet, making her, for the first time in her life, want so strongly to sink into it.
So this was what the most beautiful part of the world was like.
Thinking of nothing, doing nothing, just needing him by her side.
Time seemed to stand still, only the starlight in the sky gradually fading.
Hua Qingying's crescent brows were tightly knit. She had already wanted to send a voice transmission to Hua Caili several times... Just as the final trace of starlight vanished and she hesitated once more, she saw Yun Che raise his hand and gently but firmly push the girl leaning on his shoulder away.
Hua Caili was startled awake from her immersion. She lifted her eyes to look at Yun Che... His action of pushing her away, and the look in his eyes at this moment, made her heart suddenly tighten. She stared blankly, unable to speak.
His eyes were as clear as before, but also as rational as at the beginning... rational to the point of indifference.
"Sister Qu," he spoke, still smiling: "We have traveled together for over a month, and your injuries have healed. So now, it is time for us to part ways."
Like a beautiful dream suddenly shattered by an icy cold rain, the girl's gaze trembled violently, and she blurted out: "Why..."
Yun Che looked at her, his voice calm and slow: "Actually, your surname is not Qu. And Qu Yixin is not your real name, is it?"