Chapter 2159: The Formless Dark Abyss
“Hm? Wuming Divine Venerable… wants to kill me?”
Yun Che’s face showed surprise—four parts shock, six parts bewilderment.
But after just a moment’s thought, he already had a rough idea of the reason. Instead of showing any fear, he even curled a faint smile: “Thank you for the reminder, Big Brother. I’ll be careful.”
Faced with a Divine Venerable’s killing intent while still at the Divine Lord level, he remained completely unruffled. Mo Su narrowed his eyes slightly: “You are not afraid?”
“What use is fear? What use is its absence?”
Yun Che’s demeanor displayed a calmness utterly at odds with his cultivation level, and he spoke with unrestrained arrogance: “Shen Wuyanye is, in the end, nothing more than a pitiful woman who lost her heart to love. In my eyes, she is no different in essence from the soulless Deep Abyss Ghosts roaming the Mist Sea.”
“I’ve ventured in and out of the Mist Sea countless times alone amidst innumerable Abyss Ghosts. What reason do I have to fear a woman gone mad from heartbreak?”
Mo Su shook his head with a smile: “In all my years as the Abyss Emperor, I have watched the rise and fall of generation after generation of Divine Venerables, yet never have I heard anyone speak of a Divine Venerable of a Divine Kingdom in such terms.”
“That is because the world before had no one like me.”
That single sentence, carefree yet, released an untamed wildness.
The Abyss Emperor’s smile grew even brighter, carrying a hint of delight: “Seeing you like this, it seems you don’t need me to intervene in this matter.”
Yun Che did not answer directly, but instead asked seriously: “May I ask Brother Mo Su, would the Big Brother Ni Xuan you know have chosen to cower under another’s protection when faced with a threat, acting cautiously and warily?”
Mo Su did not need to think, and answered directly: “He absolutely would not.”
“Then you should already know my answer.”
Mo Su gazed at Yun Che once more, then let out the same exclamation again: “You are truly too similar to Big Brother Ni Xuan.”
Dugu Zhuyuan bowed his head deeply, desperately suppressing the turbulent shock in his eyes.
He had never heard the Abyss Emperor speak so much, nor had he ever seen such a smile on his face.
“The Wuming Divine Venerable abhors men—everyone knows that. But she still treats you with respect, Brother. That shows that although she has lost her mind, she hasn’t completely lost her wits. That being the case, as the Wuming Divine Venerable, no matter how much she wants to, she would never personally make a move against me.”
“And given my identity and status, to kill me, she would not only have to get past the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, but also seek the right time and place to leave as few traces as possible…”
At this point, Yun Che’s eyes suddenly narrowed for an instant.
He thought of one place…
The God-Sleep Forbidden Domain!
His expression unchanged, he continued: “And by the time the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom finally finds this so-called right time and place, the sudden killing intent born from momentary stimulation might have already faded away.”
Mo Su nodded slightly: “That is true. Though you are young, your judgment of people far surpasses your peers. However, in this world between heaven and earth, endless variables exist in every single breath. The human heart changes in a thousand twists in every moment. Even standing at the highest point, one cannot truly see the full picture or fully understand the human heart. Are you not afraid of accidents? Not worried about that one-in-ten-thousand chance?”
Yun Che just smiled, without any worry or fear: “If I had to be on guard and anxious every moment, cautious and careful every second, life would be far too un-free. Even if disaster strikes me tomorrow, for whatever reason, that is my fate. Brother only needs to burn a stick of incense for me and grieve a little. Don’t let sorrow dwell in your heart, don’t seek revenge for me. Let me go without attachments, freely and easily—that’s what I wish.”
The Abyss Emperor stared fixedly at Yun Che. He knew that Yun Che was trying, in his own way, to console him.
Back then, when he and Ni Xuan traveled the mortal world together, Ni Xuan had once spoken similar words. Even the expressions on their faces when they said them were so alike.
He had endlessly envied Ni Xuan’s carefree and unrestrained nature back then, and he still did now.
But… he couldn’t. He didn’t deserve to.
“I understand.” He looked at “Ni Xuan” and smiled with a nod: “I had originally decided to have Dugu Zhuyuan accompany you and protect you on all sides. But now I realize that would be a shackle on you instead. I was indeed not thoughtful enough.”
Dugu Zhuyuan: “…?”
Yun Che didn’t hold back at all, immediately saying: “No, no, no—absolutely not! That is not just a shackle, it’s like putting a bright and glaring yoke around my neck!”
Dugu Zhuyuan: “…??”
“Oh! Speaking of that…” Yun Che seemed to think of something extremely important, his tone shifting abruptly, his words urgent: “You need to remove the divine sense you have placed on me right now, this very instant! Not one shred of it is allowed to remain!”
From the moment he stepped into the Pure Land, he had been under the Abyss Emperor’s gaze—because of the Evil God’s Mysterious Vein on his body, or more precisely, the aura of Ni Xuan.
Even during the subsequent Divine Devouring Punishment, when Mo Su had stopped Hua Caili’s sword strike to prevent her from severely injuring herself, it was because he had already “spied” on their private relationship.
“Alright.” Mo Su agreed: “Rest assured. Since you call me big brother, I will naturally not spy on you anymore.”
“So you admit you were spying!”
Yun Che said this with no hidden resentment. He leaned in a little closer and said with full seriousness: “Brother, you are the Abyss Emperor—a word once spoken cannot be taken back. You must never secretly spy on me again at any time! What if Caili and I are in the middle of an intimate moment… even my woman is absolutely not to be peeped at by you, Brother!”
“…” Even Dugu Zhuyuan could vaguely see two black lines hanging on the Abyss Emperor’s forehead.
“How could I be that kind of person.”
The Abyss Emperor, who had not known what “debate” was for countless years, voiced this flat rebuttal with a hint of awkwardness.
After saying that, he himself felt that his bearing was lacking, not at all befitting a big brother’s demeanor. He shook his head with a smile: “Zhuyuan, escort Yun Che back.”
As they parted, Mo Su gave him one final warning: “Yun Che, remember, do not enter the Mist Sea. That is the only place I cannot control.”
“Of course. Since I already know of the existence of that ‘Mist Emperor,’ how would I dare set foot in it again?”
Yun Che followed Dugu Zhuyuan and left.
Mo Su watched him go, standing still for a long time.
Until Yun Che’s figure descended below the summit of Eden Cloud Summit, he raised his head slightly, a sigh melting into the breeze:
“Big Brother Ni Xuan… even though the world is torn apart, and the vicissitudes of time turn everything upside down, you still remember me, sending another you into my world.”
“In this life, to have met both you and Xiao Die, though endless sorrow and endless soul-pain remain, I am still incomparably fortunate.”
…………
Leaving Eden Cloud Summit, Yun Che still wore a relaxed and carefree expression, his eyes scanning the wonders of the Pure Land around him. But in truth, a heavy pressure had quietly faded from his heart, replaced by a gloom that lingered for a long time.
Dugu Zhuyuan silently guarded in front, his heart full of endless astonishment, but he maintained his knightly bearing and asked not a single word.
Li Suo asked: “Now that you are no longer facing the Abyss Emperor directly, why is your heart still so heavy? Are you afraid his divine sense is still following you?”
“No,” Yun Che said calmly: “Since he promised, he will definitely not spy on me anymore.”
He paused, then said with a grave tone: “Li Suo, do you still remember what the Lin Shen said before his dispersal in the Lin Shen’s Ancient Realm? He said: ‘The Abyss will surely collapse and be destroyed. His obsession is the most terrifying thing in this world; no one can go against it.’”
“Today, facing the Abyss Emperor in person, I finally understand that his terror far exceeds my expectations… and is even beyond what I could have ever imagined.”
“Ter… rifying?” Li Suo murmured, seeming somewhat confused: “But toward you, he only shows goodwill and trust. Moreover, from him, I perceive no evil intent.”
Yun Che did not refute Li Suo’s words; instead, he agreed: “Of course you cannot perceive his evil intent, because he is not an evil person.”
“But there is a kind of person who is far more terrifying than evil people… far more terrifying than them.”
Li Suo could not understand this: “How so?”
Yun Che said unhurriedly: “You think he has a special trust in me. But in reality, when it comes to me, he has no concept of ‘trust’ or ‘distrust.’ Think back carefully to my conversation with him—for every word I said, from start to finish, he never once asked to verify its truth or falsehood. Occasionally, he would probe a bit, but only to find the shadow of Ni Xuan in me.”
For a moment, Li Suo remained silent.
“That is to say, he only cares about the aura of Ni Xuan in me and my identity as Ni Xuan’s successor. As for whether the words I speak are true or false, he does not care in the slightest.”
“Only because—as he himself said—his life now has only one thing left, and cannot accommodate anything else. That is precisely the most terrifying thing about him.”
Yun Che’s voice slowed, every word striking the heart: “When evil people do evil, they still weigh the pros and cons and gains and losses. But this kind of utterly pure obsession has completely transcended the conventional understanding of good and evil, right and wrong. For any possibility, he will pay any price without hesitation. Any obstacle will be annihilated without a moment’s hesitation… Nothing can stop him, no path for retreat, no thought to disturb him, no emotion to move him.”
“…” Li Suo seemed to understand, but then she became bewildered by such pure obsession: “I still cannot comprehend why he would be obsessed with one person to such a degree. As the emperor of a world, why does he not choose to have concubines and consorts like you, with nine demon maidservants…”
“Ahem, ahem, ahem!” Yun Che forcefully interrupted her words, saying with the utmost seriousness: “Our situations are vastly different; how can you compare them!”
“How are they different?” Li Suo pressed: “Because Pan Xiaodie used her own body to save his life?”
“It goes far beyond that.” Yun Che said: “What Pan Xiaodie did back then—though it came from extreme love and panic, placing everything after Mo Su’s safety—there is no doubt that she caused the demon race to lose two great demonic artifacts. She is unquestionably an unforgivable sinner in the eyes of the demons.”
“Every demon has the right to hate her, to curse her. Her maternal clan and her relatives would surely be shamed because of her. If the news got out, even outsiders would mock and despise her.”
“Clearly, Pan Xiaodie was an overly emotional person. Her feelings for Mo Su completely transcended ‘reason’ and ‘rightness.’”
“At the same time, Mo Su’s father—the Heaven-Slaying God Emperor Mo E—for the sake of ‘reason’ and ‘rightness,’ could be ruthless enough to use the Ancestral Sword to execute his own biological son.”
“The contrast between these two sides, the impact of these two forces… gave birth to the Mo Su whose obsession is now as deep as the endless abyss.”
Li Suo pondered for a long time, once again filling her understanding of human nature, and then sighed softly: “So the terror of extreme obsession can surpass that of extreme evil intent. What state is Pan Xiaodie in now?”
“Cannot ask, dare not ask.” Yun Che said with emotion: “But I can guess that a hint of vitality remains, yet to be completely swallowed by her death-wish. And where she is now… without a doubt, it is the ‘Cradle’ that Caili mentioned.”
Li Suo asked again: “Still, I am puzzled. Is his obsession really as pure and terrifying as you say? He is not incapable of attending to other matters. Otherwise, how could the Pure Land and the six great Divine Kingdoms exist today?”
Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly: “You have hit the nail on the head.”
Li Suo: “…?”
“From what I can see now, Mo Su seems to believe that the only way to awaken Pan Xiaodie is in the ‘Eternal Pure Land.’ What that method actually is, he doesn’t care at all. Because no matter what… no matter what, he must never be allowed to set foot in the God Realm.”
“To go to the ‘Eternal Pure Land,’ he needs the spatial power of the Panming Void-Breaking Mirror. To activate that mirror, he must gather the combined strength of the six great Divine Kingdoms—including the Abyss Crystals accumulated over generations and the divine power of the seven True Gods. That is why he maintains the existence of the six Divine Kingdoms.”
“With Mo Su’s power at the level of a Creation God, within such a limited timeframe, it would be a fool’s dream for me to surpass him in strength. So, the path I must take remains the same as before…”
A dangerous and firm light flickered in his eyes:
“Seize the Divine Sources of each Divine Kingdom!”
And he had long decided on his first target, and it was drawing closer by the day.
“What about the… Abyss Lord?” Li Suo reminded: “Since Mo Su would not lie, then He truly exists. Could He become a huge variable?”
Yun Che said calmly: “When I have the spare capacity, I must be wary of and plan for all possible variables. But when I do not… I must forget about them and focus on the present.”
“Since the Abyss Lord said He would sleep for five million years, then let Him continue sleeping properly and quietly.”
“…” Li Suo wanted to speak but stopped.
When she first entered the Abyss, she had told Yun Che that this world gave her an inexplicable sense of unease.
At first, she thought it was because Yun Che’s power in this world was too weak, and since her life soul was linked to his, she would naturally feel uneasy.
But as Yun Che gradually grew stronger, and the people he faced became more powerful, this sense of unease persisted, yet it never changed in any way.
It did not intensify even when they entered the Pure Land and faced the strongest being of this world—the Abyss Emperor.
And after learning of the existence of the Abyss Lord, the fragments of cognition that had been quietly stirred told her that perhaps this unease was because there was something in heaven and earth…
An existence on a level above her own.
However, she did not share this thought with Yun Che. As he said, facing this entire world of the Abyss alone, he truly had no extra energy to deal with other overly large variables. Telling him would only add more weight to an already heavy burden.
May this notion be nothing but an error, and may the Abyss Lord continue to sleep soundly and not awaken.
If only someone could help him, walk beside him in this world, and share the fate of their homeland… that would be wonderful.