Chapter 2164: The Innocent Heart of Yesteryear
Yun Che collapsed to the ground, his entire body covered in bloodstains like splashed ink, the crimson marks spreading across the gray abyss stones in a sight both shocking and grim.
Shen Wuyi stood before him, the cold light of her merciless sword pointing directly at his throat, the tip barely a hair's breadth from his skin. Anyone witnessing this scene would instantly conclude that Shen Wuyi had wounded Yun Che to this state and was about to take his life.
This image met Hua Caili's eyes, and every string of her soul instantly tightened to the breaking point. Her beautiful eyes shattered with boundless angry starlight, and the Liyun Sword in her hand shot forth, carrying a burst of Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent pushed to the extreme, aiming straight for Shen Wuyi's most lethal point.
It was the first time in her life that Hua Caili had unleashed a killing blow with such resolve, without hesitation, without reserve. The flying Liyun Sword in her extreme panic and fury brought a near-piercing howl.
The brilliant, almost dazzling sword light was like the breaking dawn, slicing the gray world in two, and in an instant approached behind Shen Wuyi... but Shen Wuyi seemed completely unaware, her body unmoving, neither her Luminous Mystic Realm nor her Glazed Ice appearing, and not even a trace of her profound energy being released.
Chi——
The sword pierced the heart, passing through the body, not even allowing blood foam to splash out.
Yun Che's pupils instantly contracted.
The Liyun Sword did not pierce an afterimage of Shen Wuyi, but her real body, which had released no defense whatsoever.
The moment the sword passed through her heart, the Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent exploded ruthlessly inside her, heavily wounding her internal organs and shattering countless meridians.
Yun Che had long sensed Hua Caili's approach. With Shen Wuyi's cultivation at the sixth level of the Divine Annihilation Realm, along with her perception that far exceeded common sense and was also not suppressed by the abyss dust, she would undoubtedly have detected her long ago.
But... why did she not dodge or defend?
With her body wounded and her vital energy surging in reverse, Shen Wuyi's face turned deathly pale, and a flood of blood she could not suppress spilled from between her lips. But her expression remained as icy and indifferent as before, showing neither pain nor surprise.
The Liyun Sword, having passed through her body, continued its momentum without diminishing. Just as it was about to touch Yun Che, it suddenly turned upward, drawing a gorgeous, rosy arc in the dim space, then flew back into the girl's jade-like fingers.
Hua Caili's figure had already appeared before Yun Che. Her sword intent and profound energy, simmering with fury, forced Shen Wuyi far away. She pointed her sword at Shen Wuyi, her voice hoarse with trembling: "Shen Wuyi, you... how dare you..."
The person she was shielding behind her could only barely see her side profile... her divine robes stained with dust, her long hair slightly disheveled, the corners of her eyes flushed a brilliant red from extreme rage. It was not the shy rouge color of ordinary times, but the cinnabar hue burned by the fires of anger.
Even the sword aura that originally carried endless spiritual charm seemed to be completely ignited by the fury, turning into fragmented sword marks swirling around her. Even the strands of hair hanging by her temples stood on end with the turmoil of her profound energy.
Even Hua Fuchen and Hua Qingying, who had watched Hua Caili grow up her entire life, had never seen her in such a terrifying state.
But even in such extreme rage, she did not lose her mind and attack recklessly. She held her sword with one hand, while the other hand was behind her, closely connected to Yun Che's aura. Even most of her profound energy was condensed on the palm behind her.
In her eyes reflected Shen Wuyi's figure, refracting a bone-chilling cold she had never experienced in her life. The jade sword in her hand hummed and trembled, its bright sword light almost dazzling. Though she knew she was no match for her opponent, she showed no sign of retreat, releasing a determination that would rather shatter jade than remain whole.
Shen Wuyi said nothing. She rose into the air and flew far away.
Just before her figure completely disappeared into the gray mist, she turned her eyes and gave Yun Che a deep, lingering look, meeting his gaze that had been following her all along, carrying too many emotions and thoughts.
For some reason, in that brief moment of eye contact, she understood the profound meaning hidden deep in his eyes.
Hua Caili remained completely tense until Shen Wuyi's aura completely vanished from her perception. Only then did she awaken as if from a nightmare, and the trembling sword aura around her instantly dispersed.
Clang!
Her most treasured Liyun Sword fell weakly from her fingers. She spun around and knelt beside Yun Che, her voice trembling: "Brother Yun, you... are you okay... where are you hurt..."
The fury and killing intent from moments ago vanished without a trace, leaving only a fear that drained all color from her snow-like face. In just a few words, her eyes were already misting with layers of tears.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." A smile spread at the corner of Yun Che's lips, and at the same time, his Light Profound Force began to shine warmly, soothing his injuries and calming the girl's completely panicked soul.
Feeling that Yun Che's profound energy and life force were still relatively abundant, Hua Caili finally let out a long sigh of relief. She grabbed the corner of Yun Che's clothes, and in the overwhelming aftermath of fear, experienced a brief moment of weakness.
It was only then that she noticed the wounds on Yun Che's body were clearly from abyss ghosts or abyss beasts. The wounds still emitted the unique gray mist of abyss erosion, and were definitely not the injuries left by the Merciless Sword or the Divine Purification Seal.
But the scene of Shen Wuyi pointing her sword at Yun Che's throat, she had seen it clearly. If she had arrived even a moment later, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Shen Wuyi... why did she want to kill you?" Hua Caili asked in a low voice, carefully alerting her surroundings. In her heart, Shen Wuyi's figure was quietly branded with a mark of resentment.
Now that she had calmed down a little, a doubt arose in her heart... just now, why didn't she dodge?
And with her cultivation, even if she hadn't used that strange Mystic Ice, the Liyun Sword should not have been able to pierce her heart so easily...
Yun Che took her hand and said calmly, "I have no enmity with Shen Wuyi. The only reason she would do this is because of the Wuming Divine Venerable."
"Ah!?" Involving a divine venerable of their kingdom, Hua Caili instinctively tightened her grip: "How... why?"
"Heh..." Yun Che laughed softly: "The Wuming Divine Venerable acts according to her own whims, without following common sense. You must have heard of her past. I suspect that, having witnessed me bearing the double Wild Devouring Punishment alone at the top of Eden Cloud, she was stimulated and refused to accept that a man could go that far for a woman. Thus, she developed the intention to kill... cough, cough."
Hua Caili quickly reached out to lightly touch his chest, her eyes full of heartache, and then said indignantly: "She herself met the wrong person, hurt by that man named... I think his name was Shen Wuxueyan, and now she denies everyone! It's really despicable! No wonder even my father says she's an unreasonable lunatic."
"Brother Yun, let's leave here first. I'm afraid that... Shen Wuyi might come back again."
"Don't worry." Yun Che showed no concern at all. "When I encountered her, she had clearly been through a fierce battle. Her profound energy was extremely unstable, and with your sword piercing her heart, her injuries now are certainly much worse than mine. She can't even take care of herself, let alone have any strength left to come kill me again."
"And to go out looking like this... would really be too miserable."
"Oh... I see..." Hua Caili murmured, seeming to understand something. But with Yun Che in front of her, how could she spare the thought to think deeply? "Alright, focus on healing first. When we go out, we must immediately tell Father and Uncle Meng."
"Yes." Yun Che responded lightly. "But, after telling your father, you should also advise him not to get angry. The Wuming Divine Venerable's anger is only temporary, and it will soon dissipate. We should not confront a madwoman directly unless absolutely necessary... Besides, my injuries were all caused by abyss ghosts; Shen Wuyi never even had a chance to harm me."
Hua Caili thought for a moment, then finally agreed obediently: "I understand. Brother Yun, you are always so good. Even after almost being so brutally ambushed, you still think about my father."
Yun Che looked at her silently, then suddenly pulled her towards his chest.
"Ah..."
Hua Caili let out a soft sound. Worried about aggravating his injuries, she did not dare to struggle, and just nestled obediently into his arms, letting his bloodstains dye her pure white divine robes, the scent of blood mingling with his unique, clear aura around her nose.
"Caili," the girl heard his murmur by her ear, half serious, half teasing: "If one day, I did to you what Shen Wuxueyan did, would you become another Shen Wuyanyan?"
"Pfft!"
Hua Caili burst out laughing, her body shaking with laughter. She pressed her head lightly against Yun Che's chest, listening to his slightly irregular heartbeat, and after thinking seriously about the things Shen Wuxueyan was rumored to have done, she said softly:
"In this whole world, only I know how good Brother Yun is. So, if one day, you, like Shen Wuxueyan, came to like another woman and even married her as your divine son's consort, it would only mean that I had not done well enough, at least not as well as that woman. That would be the only reason your gaze and thoughts shifted to someone else."
Yun Che: "..."
"I would never become as terrifying as Shen Wuyanyan. If I did, Brother Yun would definitely stop liking me completely. I would... I would correct my faults, and then pester you every day, so that you would have no time left to pay attention to anyone else, hehe."
Yun Che looked up at the dim sky above, and then said, "And if I did something a hundred times worse than what Shen Wuxueyan did, would you hate me then?"
Hua Caili's response came far faster and more directly than Yun Che had anticipated.
"Of... course... not! I told you, no matter what, as long as it's you, Brother Yun, I will always forgive you."
She lifted her head, suddenly reached out, and lightly pinched both sides of Yun Che's lips, smiling: "I know better than anyone how good Brother Yun is to me; as for the bad things you could do to me... the worst thing you could do to me is... is..."
Her voice gradually faded, her beautiful eyes shyly looked away, and a faint rosy glow appeared on her cheeks: "I know! It must be that in these three years, you've come up with some more strange and weird things... and now that Father and Aunty are not around... even though you're so badly injured, you still think about bullying me..."
"Uh... clearly it was you who..."
"Don't say it!" She applied a little pressure with her fingers, pulling Yun Che's lips into a flat shape, stopping his words.
In times past, the youthful heart knew nothing,
And took the sincere heart as words of jest.
...
At the edge of the Pure Land, the Void-Breaking Grand Formation suddenly emitted a gray light. A woman's figure slowly stepped out, leaving behind a trail of shocking bloodstains.
At this time, less than twenty-four hours had passed since they had entered the God Sleep Forbidden Domain.
Pan Buzhuo had withdrawn at the sixth hour, shouting that there were only abyss dust and dangers inside, with no opportunities like divine relics at all, and even secretly mocked the Eternal Night Divine Maiden for being foolish and ignorant, wasting a great chance.
And this second person to withdraw was none other than Shen Wuyi, the one who had caused the opening of the God Sleep Forbidden Domain.
However, the severity of her injuries made everyone who saw her draw in a cold breath.
"Wuyi!"
Shen Wuyouluan, who had been waiting there all along, cried out in surprise and quickly moved to receive her, shielding the obviously heavily wounded and weak Shen Wuyi in her arms.
The familiar warmth approaching, Shen Wuyi, who had been holding on for a long time, finally relaxed her heartstrings and fell limply onto Shen Wuyouluan. But she stubbornly refused to let herself sink into unconsciousness, and said in a weak voice: "Aunt... take me... to see the Mother Goddess..."
"Alright... quickly calm your heart and focus your breath. Don't speak anymore."
Shen Wuyouluan's voice trembled with heartache. She held Shen Wuyi in her arms and draped a new black robe over her... also concealing the wound on her chest.
She recognized at a glance that it was a sword wound left by the Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent.
In the Pure Land, within the square pavilion of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom, inside the isolation barrier forged by the Wuming Divine Venerable.
Shen Wuyi's face was completely bloodless. Her body was covered in claw marks from abyss ghosts, several of which were life-threatening. But most shocking was the sword wound on her heart. The terrible Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent still lingered, and in her current state, she had no way to expel it. If it had been even half an hour later, she would certainly have died.
Shen Wuyouluan carefully and meticulously dispelled the Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent from her body. The Shen Wuyi in her arms could no longer stand, but still had to face the terrible wrath of Shen Wuyanyan.
"You mean to say that not only did you fail to kill Yun Che, but you were also detected by the Heaven-Breaking Divine Maiden, and were wounded to such a miserable state by her?"
Shen Wuyanyan's piercing words were filled with anger at every syllable, and all the Eternal Night Maidens around them deeply bowed their heads, as if they dared not even look directly at her voice.
"Reporting... Mother Goddess..." Her breath was already as faint as a silk thread, but she still exhausted her will to not fall into unconsciousness: "The Forbidden Domain... has countless abyss ghosts... Wuyi fought for a long time... when I encountered Yun Che... I was already severely wounded and exhausted..."
"At the moment of striking... due to the heavy injuries... my consciousness was chaotic... and the abyss dust bound my soul... I failed to detect the Heaven-Breaking Divine Maiden... cough... cough..."
"Wuyi! Wuyi... stop talking!" Shen Wuyouluan quickly pressed her hand against her heart, her fingers turning white from heartache. She faced the black palanquin and begged: "Your Excellency, if Wuyi had not been so severely wounded at the time, with her cultivation and her Luminous Mystic Realm, how could she have been wounded by the Heaven-Breaking Divine Maiden? Even if Wuyi has committed a thousand, ten thousand wrongs, at least... at least let her heal first. In her current state, she simply cannot bear Your Excellency's wrath."
Shen Wuyouluan's pleas could not win any mercy from Shen Wuyanyan. The voice from the palanquin was a chilling cold that nearly split souls: "Taking it upon herself to go to that so-called God Sleep Forbidden Domain, disobedient, foolish, useless! And she even tries to excuse herself!"
At this moment, Shen Wuyi slowly raised her hand, her movement infinitely weak. As her pale fingers opened, lying quietly in her palm was a strange gray abyss crystal, its surface glowing with a faint but peculiar aura.
"Mission... accomplished..."
As the soft words fell, her consciousness could no longer hold on, and she fainted in Shen Wuyouluan's arms. The crystal in her hand also slipped weakly away.
Shen Wuyouluan instinctively grabbed it, stared at it briefly, and then suddenly cried out in excitement: "This is... an Abyss Heart Vine!?"
"Your Excellency, it's an Abyss Heart Vine! It's an Abyss Heart Vine!!"
The cold anger emanating from the palanquin suddenly froze, replaced by a somewhat chaotic surge of profound energy.
Shen Wumingque rushed forward, took the crystal from Shen Wuyouluan's hand, and then cried out with equal excitement: "Nearly an inch long, shaped like a withered vine, its aura sometimes like burning fire, sometimes like entangled thunder, its core trembling like the heart of a mortal spirit—matching exactly... matching exactly the 'Abyss Heart Vine' recorded in the texts!"
"Your Excellency, it's an Abyss Heart Vine! Wuyi truly found an Abyss Heart Vine!"
Whoosh!!
A cold wind rose abruptly, and the Abyss Heart Vine in Shen Wumingque's hand was swept into the palanquin... Then, the aura around the palanquin trembled even more violently, lingering for a long time.
Shen Wuyouluan knelt heavily to the ground, her voice sorrowful: "Your Excellency, in order to search for the Abyss Heart Vine, who knows how many people, how many times, have entered and exited the Mist Sea, sparing no effort. But so many years have passed, and we have found nothing."
"Wuyi did not hesitate to use the Abyss Emperor's gracious permission to enter the God Sleep Forbidden Domain, all for this one glimmer of hope... That she could find this Abyss Heart Vine shows that as soon as she entered the Forbidden Domain, she began hunting abyss ghosts at all costs, likely disregarding even her own injuries, afraid only of wasting a single instant of hope."
"I cannot bear to imagine how many abyss ghosts she must have hunted to be wounded to this extent. And even when so grievously wounded, when she encountered Yun Che, she did not forget Your Excellency's orders. That is why... that is why..."
"I beg Your Excellency to consider Wuyi's sincere heart, a heart that even heaven was moved by, granting this Abyss Heart Vine, and not punish her further."
The atmosphere was briefly stagnant, and then came Shen Wuyanyan's voice, even hoarser than usual: "What are you still doing here! Take Wuyi down to heal at once!!"
"Yes!"
Shen Wuyouluan heard it as if it were heavenly music. She quickly picked up Shen Wuyi, and with hurried, careful steps, she withdrew.
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