Chapter 2157: "Lord of the Abyss"
The voice beside his ear was as calm as smoke, as faint as mist. But when it fell upon Yun Che's ears, every word was like an ice pick piercing his heart, sending a chill through his entire body, making all the blood in his veins seem to stagnate.
What is he saying...
What the hell is he saying!?
Even when he first faced the supreme existence of the Abyss, he had behaved with such calm and ease. But at this moment, he was almost exhausting all his willpower just to barely suppress the trembling that crept up from the depths of his skin.
But his fingertips curled up uncontrollably.
"What is he saying?"
This was Li Suo's voice, uttering the same exclamation that resonated deep within Yun Che's soul.
"Mist... Emperor?"
"But, 'Mist Emperor' is clearly just a false existence that you fabricated. So, is he lying, or..."
"Could there really be a Mist Emperor within the Mist Sea?"
Yun Che could not respond. That bone-chilling coldness continued to surge within his body... from his spine to his limbs, then to the depths of his soul, almost freezing his entire sea of consciousness, rendering him nearly incapable of thought for several instants.
He did not hide his shock, because any living being hearing such a truth would surely have their cognition shattered and be utterly horrified... Although, what truly shocked him was not the truth itself, but the words "Mist Emperor."
Mo Su turned his body, but did not look at Yun Che's shocked expression. He gently waved his hand, and the space before them twisted and shifted, causing the "Paradise of the Other Shore" to vanish from sight.
Yet all living beings within that "Paradise of the Other Shore" were completely unaware, still moving forward and exploring according to their predetermined fate and laws... forever existing within what they believed to be "reality."
Yun Che finally found his voice, speaking with deep melancholy: "When a matter exists in cognition from the very beginning, it becomes an inherent, taken-for-granted understanding. Thus, no one wonders why Abyss Dust spontaneously gathers in the Mist Sea, or why Abyss Beasts and Abyss Ghosts never leave the Mist Sea."
"Indeed." Mo Su looked at the emptiness ahead and spoke calmly: "And no one ever wonders why living beings walk upright on the ground rather than hanging upside down in the air; nor does anyone wonder why eyes can see heaven and earth, and ears can hear distant sounds."
Yun Che was once again reminded of the words Chi Wuyue had said before... The most terrifying thing is not the unknown, but being trapped in the inherent known.
And coincidentally, his greatest weapon in orchestrating the Abyss was precisely the use of the "inherent cognition" of Abyss beings.
But without any awareness, even he himself had been long trapped in the invisible cage of inherent cognition.
When he used the identity of "Mist Emperor" to create the "rumors" that shook the faith of the Abyss Emperor, he exploited the superficial mysteries of the Abyss. But at that time, he also instinctively believed that the gathering of Abyss Dust in the Mist Sea and the habitation of Abyss Beasts in the Mist Sea were inherent laws of Abyss Dust and Abyss Beasts—just like water flowing into the ocean and fish being forced to live in water.
He had never thought... or rather, dared not think that it was truly the control of some power.
Yun Che raised his eyes to look at Mo Su, his expression showing just the right amount of shock and curiosity: "The entire Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom believes that the 'Mist Emperor' is merely a fabricated figure created by someone to stir up trouble and confuse the masses, a deliberate deception. After all, he only appears occasionally and no one has ever seen his true form."
"Unexpectedly... he really does exist..."
He had never considered it, never thought of it.
He would rather believe that the Abyss Emperor, like himself, was weaving lies.
Because the existence of "Mist Emperor" itself... or rather, it should have been a lie, a lie he himself had crafted.
But he had countless reasons to deceive Mo Su, while Mo Su had no reason to deceive him.
Because the prerequisite for deception is ulterior motives... what could Mo Su possibly want from him?
He struggled to maintain a reasonable fluctuation in his surface emotions, but the turmoil in his heart was like a wind-swept giant wave, never truly ceasing.
If there really existed a "Mist Emperor" in the world, and if this Mist Emperor was powerful enough to gather all the Abyss Dust in the world and also bestow laws upon all Abyss Beasts and Abyss Ghosts, then his power...
No... I must first calm my mind and deal with the situation at hand. I must not think about the "Mist Emperor" and everything behind him for now. I cannot think about it!
Mo Su turned his gaze to Yun Che and read his hesitancy: "You want to know about the 'Mist Emperor'?"
Yun Che nodded, his tone carrying a natural curiosity: "Of course. I think anyone in the world who hears such a truth would surely want to know what kind of existence that Mist Emperor is, and why he has never appeared before."
"But I think, since you once 'made mutual promises,' it must involve secrets that cannot be known to outsiders. So, I think it's better not to ask. My master also said that in life, the less you know, the easier it is to live."
Mo Su's lips curled up slightly, his faint smile filled with warmth, and within that warmth, there seemed to be a few strands of faint, indescribable... indulgence?
He recalled the time when Big Brother Ni Xuan always looked at him with a smile, patiently answering all kinds of strange, childish, or amusing questions.
"I have never truly seen the Mist Emperor."
Mo Su's words came slowly, making Yun Che start in surprise.
Mo Su turned his gaze back, looking ahead and speaking slowly: "The Mist Emperor I saw was no different from how He appears now—concealed within thick Abyss Dust that neither sight nor perception could penetrate, presenting a distorted form, emitting obscure and difficult-to-understand sounds, and... even to my cognition, possessing a strange aura that was utterly foreign."
Yun Che: "..."
Mo Su continued: "I was once the son of the Creation God, able to bask easily in the divine radiance of the various Creation Gods, and even more easily touch the divine breath of the God Clan's many gods. Yet the aura exuded by the Mist Emperor gave me an unprecedented sense of ethereality and illusion, and even an absurd feeling of... surpassing the Creation Gods."
Yun Che's heart felt as if something had violently clenched it, and a terrible suffocation instantly swept through his entire body.
"But there cannot possibly be an existence beyond the Creation Gods. Whether it was the ethereal, the illusory, or the absurd feeling, they all pointed to one possibility... The Mist Emperor is not a true existence, with no real body, but rather the Abyss Will that self-derived from the endless Abyss Dust of this Abyss World through a long evolution."
Having said this, he paused briefly, then continued: "At least for me, I cannot think of a second possibility."
"I see... That's it." Yun Che slowly nodded, expressing agreement: "A will derived from endless Abyss Dust. No wonder it can gather all the Abyss Dust in the world and also bestow laws upon the soulless Abyss Beasts."
"Gathering Abyss Dust into the Mist Sea allows the world to have spaces where life can survive for long periods; confining Abyss Beasts and Abyss Ghosts to the Mist Sea allows the living beings in the habitable lands to live in peace. In that case, this 'Mist Emperor' is an extremely benevolent will?"
"..." Faced with this seemingly "obvious" question, Mo Su remained silent for a long time.
Yun Che frowned and asked in surprise: "Did I say something wrong?"
Mo Su shook his head slightly: "I simply cannot answer that question. Because in my world, the lines between good and evil have long since blurred."
"..." Yun Che also fell silent.
Because his own understanding of the boundary between good and evil had long ceased to be as clear as it was in his youth.
"Has your master ever told you about the lost demonic artifacts?" Mo Su suddenly asked.
Mo Su's voluntary mention undoubtedly took Yun Che by great surprise. He recited directly: "The Pan Ming Void Mirror and the Nie Mo Inverse Wheel Pearl."
"But, my master also said that the 'loss' of these two demonic artifacts was not made public back then. The only reason my master knew was because your father god told him."
Mo Su did not pay attention to his latter remarks and said calmly: "Back then, Xiao Die took a heavy blow for me and fell together with me into the Abyss of Nothingness. At that time, the Abyss Dust was far more terrifying than it is now. And at that time, my bones were all broken, Xiao Die was... shattered beyond recognition, and both the Pan Ming Void Mirror and the Nie Mo Inverse Wheel Pearl were on the verge of collapse."
Yun Che suppressed his breathing and listened quietly.
The fragments of Ni Xuan's memories told him that what sent Mo Su and Pan Xiao Die crashing into the Abyss back then was the Heaven-Destroying Sword of the Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword... Had it not been for the obstruction of the two demonic artifacts, Mo Su and Pan Xiao Die would have perished on the spot.
But the price was that the two demonic artifacts were on the verge of collapse.
Although the Pan Ming Void Mirror and the Nie Mo Inverse Wheel Pearl were not among the seven Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasures, they were still the closest artifacts in the realm to them. Yet they were nearly shattered together by just a single sword strike from the Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword.
The sword might of the Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword was truly terrifying beyond compare.
"Relying on the space demon realm barely supported by the Pan Ming Void Mirror, Xiao Die and I were able to survive temporarily. But the cracked Pan Ming Void Mirror could not last long in the end, and Xiao Die also fell into a deathly slumber. Between heaven and earth, there was only despair."
A world of only death, a lover without life, a shattered barrier, a solitary self... How utterly despairing it was.
"Deathly... slumber?" Yun Che murmured unconsciously.
Recalling the distant past, Mo Su's voice was so calm: "At the moment when I held Xiao Die tight and was about to end my life, I saw the twisted gray mist and heard the first sound from this world."
"He called himself the Lord of the Abyss, claiming he could repair my broken demonic artifacts and allow me to exist peacefully in this world for a long time."
"The price was to fulfill his desire."
"The deadline was within five million years."
Yun Che's heart stirred violently once more. He could not suppress the overly strong palpitation and asked aloud: "What desire did he speak of?"
"..." Mo Su remained silent for a long time.
This involved the mutual promise between Mo Su and the "Mist Emperor," and Yun Che had thought it would surely be something unspeakable. He was about to change the subject when he heard Mo Su speak slowly: "It involves a promise, involves Xiao Die. I cannot speak deeply. But I can tell you that the place he desires is the same as mine."
He paused briefly, and from his divine-light-covered lips slowly released four words:
"Eternal Pure Land."
Boom————
Something seemed to explode loudly in Yun Che's mind.
The cold that had been coursing through his body vanished, replaced by a feeling of emptiness as if his body had suddenly disappeared.
Since entering the Abyss, using his "special" ability to control Abyss Dust, exploiting various cognitive biases, and seizing every opportunity and stroke of luck that he keenly captured and maximized, he had completed the initial layout of the Abyss's chaos in just a few short years, secretly tying the threads of fate of several divine kingdoms to his fingers.
The age-old peace and balance of the six divine kingdoms meant that their greatest concern was always inheritance, not survival or external calamities... With various factors overlapping, even though Yun Che had been cautious and vigilant every step of the way in the Abyss these years, never allowing himself a moment's rest, he could be said to have been overall extremely smooth and successful.
Even when he set foot on the Pure Land, he was still clearly taking each step as planned, without any major deviations.
But today, in this short half an hour, his heart and soul had suffered several unprecedented, massive impacts.
Amid the buzzing of his sea of consciousness, he heard Mo Su's voice still slowly entering his ears:
"At that time, I responded blankly—like a drowning man instinctively grasping at a suddenly appearing straw. Then, He fulfilled every word He had said. The terrifying Abyss Dust quickly receded, eventually concentrating at the center of the world, forming the 'Mist Sea.'"
"Thus, a world that had only destruction soon saw 'living lands' appear one after another. After that, the beings that fell alive from the Abyss of Nothingness had a place to exist. And I, following the way of being an emperor learned from many worlds, called myself the World Creator, and styled myself the Abyss Emperor... until this moment."
The Abyss Emperor of that time and the Abyss Emperor of now, though the same person, were utterly different.
So many years of vicissitudes and loneliness were enough to completely change a person's nature and mutate one's soul.
"So..." Yun Che heard his own voice: "The Mist Emperor back then really repaired the Pan Ming Void Mirror and the Nie Mo Inverse Wheel Pearl?"
Those were... demonic artifacts nearing the level of Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasures!
Mo Su said: "Yes. Not only did He repair them, He also modified them."
"Modi... fied!?" Yun Che exclaimed in shock.
But this time, the Abyss Emperor did not respond, calmly shifting the topic: "Everything He did also came at a price. And that price was five million years of slumber."
"He said that the power He had lost would require five million years of slumber to recover. During those five million years, He would have no consciousness, and this world would be left for me to dominate arbitrarily. But if, when He woke up after five million years, I had not fulfilled my promise, He would take back everything He had given and inflict the harshest punishment upon me."
"But... I never expected that He would awaken after only three million years."
Yun Che stared fixedly at the Abyss Emperor... Suddenly, the heavy pressure on his heart and the turmoil in his sea of consciousness receded like a tide.
Five million years of slumber...
And from the "creation of the world" of the Abyss World, it had only been a total of three million years.
That is to say, that "Mist Emperor" should still be asleep for another two million years before awakening!
Damn... That scared me to death...
Yun Che cursed fiercely in his heart several times, his mind surging with a feeling of relief akin to surviving a disaster.
According to Li Suo, the time law of the Abyss World was already in a state of dangerous collapse. When that happened, the entire Abyss World would collapse along with it, and there might even be a possibility of it rolling back and devouring the world of the living.
Let alone two million years, the Abyss World would likely collapse completely within two thousand years. By then, that "Mist Emperor" would directly dissipate in his sleep. Not to mention posing a threat to the present, he probably wouldn't even have the chance to wake up.
So, even if a "Mist Emperor" really existed in this world, he was an emperor sleeping to death, an existence doomed never to see the day of awakening.
Thus, he was still the only... Mist Emperor of this world!
The path he needed to walk was still the same trajectory.
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