# Chapter 2185: The Soundless Death Knell
Stepping out of the barrier, Yun Che's expression was eerily calm, showing neither joy nor anger.
Seeing him come out so quickly, Long Qianxin was not particularly surprised. He said with a chuckle, "Does the Abyss Divine Son have interest in other places? Or would you like to return with me to the Ancestral Dragon Temple for now? The Dragon Lord has personally arranged a feast and awaits to share it with the Abyss Divine Son."
"No need."
Yun Che did not look at him, instead gazing into the distant sky: "Please inform the Dragon Lord that I suddenly recalled there are important matters unresolved. I shall take my leave for now; no need to see me off."
The words fell, and before Long Qianxin could react, he had already shot into the air, vanishing into the distance in an instant. His speed was extremely fast, without a trace of hesitation.
"Ah? This... Abyss Divine Son!?"
Long Qianxin stood there stunned, not even having time to ask questions or voice words of retention. He could only stretch out his arm, watching helplessly as Yun Che and Meng Zhaoyang disappeared into the distant sky, completely at a loss as to what had happened.
Chi——
Profound energy tore through the air, producing a piercing screech.
Yun Che's speed grew faster and faster, and before long, he had already pierced through the Ancestral Dragon barrier.
Boundless dust and mist swept in, blurring his vision. Yun Che's speed still did not diminish in the slightest, but the direction he was heading was not the way back to the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom.
He seemed to have chosen a direction at random, rushing through the air as if venting his frustration. Behind him, Meng Zhaoyang followed from afar. Though bewildered in his heart, he maintained his boundaries and did not approach to inquire.
No one knew how much time had passed. Yun Che's body suddenly shook violently, then he plummeted straight down from mid-air.
Rumble!
A low mountain was broken in half at its waist, rubble flying everywhere. Amidst the churning dust, Yun Che knelt on one knee, his five fingers clenched tightly against his chest as he dry-heaved in agony.
Sharp fragments of rock cut through his skin and clothes, leaving trails of bloody marks, but he was completely oblivious. His back trembled violently, his long hair scattered loosely, his jaw clenched tightly. His throat convulsed over and over again, and his internal organs felt as though they were twisted together, producing one hoarse retch after another.
"Your Highness!"
Meng Zhaoyang no longer cared about the instruction to "only protect from afar." He instantly teleported to Yun Che's side, his palm carrying a gentle profound light as it rested on Yun Che's back. His eyes were filled with shock, confusion, and worry.
His body trembling uncontrollably, Yun Che barely lifted his head and let out a hoarse voice: "I... I'm fine... guh... ughh!!"
His back suddenly curled up under Meng Zhaoyang's palm, his retching heart-wrenching and unceasing, yet nothing came out.
Only his five fingers dug straight into the flesh of his chest, drops of blood dripping from his knotted fingers, yet he could not feel the slightest pain.
Meng Zhaoyang's brow furrowed deeply. He flipped his palm, releasing a profound light several times stronger, and a gentle, deep silver light appeared in his eyes.
Under his vast, ocean-like soul power, Yun Che's state finally began to ease. The trembling of his body gradually ceased, and then, as if completely drained of strength, he slowly collapsed to sit limply on the ground like soulless mud.
Meng Zhaoyang withdrew the silver light from his eyes, his expression complex and difficult to read.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Yun Che's head hung low, his expression unclear. His voice was still rough, but much clearer now.
"It's probably because the Dragon Might of the Ancestral Dragon Temple was too heavy. I was forcing myself to endure it and suffered a backlash."
He offered a somewhat plausible excuse.
The fierce mountain wind howled past, exceptionally cold, yet it was nothing compared to the frozen hell within his soul.
"May I trouble the Hall Master Zhaoyang to create a barrier for me? I need to focus my breath for a while... that will be enough."
Though filled with countless doubts, Meng Zhaoyang could only nod: "Very well, Your Highness. There is no need to force yourself. Command me at any time."
He rose and flew away, and a silver barrier identical to the previous one descended, temporarily isolating Yun Che from the world around him.
In the space of deathly silence, Yun Che sat limply on the ground for a long time, motionless.
The stray strands of hair in front of his forehead stuck messily to his sweat-dampened temples. Every vein in his neck pulsed and spasmed. In his eyes, hidden beneath the disheveled hair, a bloody mist of tears was faintly visible.
The phantom of Li Suo appeared silently, slowly kneeling before him. But she did not speak, simply watching him quietly, accompanying him, sensing the excruciating pain that filled every chord of his soul.
Time passed with difficulty amidst the extreme melancholy.
Finally, Yun Che moved. He slowly raised his blood-stained right hand...
And then viciously slapped it across his own face.
Slap!
The sound of a cheekbone shattering was harsh and ear-splitting, the fingerprint on his face as red as blood.
Li Suo raised her hand, her slender fingers shimmering with pure white light, but they could only pass through his body, unable to truly touch him: "Yun... Che..."
Yun Che raised his hand again, his five fingers gripping his face fiercely, tightening bit by bit, tightening further, until his knuckles cracked and the joints turned deathly white.
"I... should have noticed... should have noticed..."
He muttered, each word filled with pain and hoarseness.
"Heh... hehe... Cloud Emperor, hope of salvation... what a fool I am... a waste... a waste! Heh... hahahaha..."
His hoarse laughter was especially tragic, like a poisonous ice blade repeatedly stabbing into his throat.
"This is not your fault," Li Suo said softly, her dreamlike voice even gentler than usual: "Your shoulders already carry too much. Your heart and soul have long been taut to the breaking point... No matter how strong you are, you have your limits. It's fine to grieve, but do not punish or blame yourself anymore.
"Moreover, that was her choice."
"Choice..." He smiled bitterly: "Was that so-called 'Five Spiritual Supreme Treasures' also a choice..."
"..." Li Suo let out a quiet sigh.
That was nothing but a complete and utter lie.
Long Wangchu's rapid growth was fueled by essence blood that Yun Xi had sacrificed again and again, year after year.
It was an irreversible, eternal wound, a blade repeatedly cutting away at her own lifeline.
In order to keep her for a long time, to have her continuously offer her essence blood to that useless brat who would decide the future of the Ancestral Dragon bloodline, Long Zhiming fabricated a despicable lie, giving her a distant and faint hope—one that, if she gave everything, might just seem attainable...
What Five Spiritual Supreme Treasures? What Heavenly Earth Spirit Essence? What Ancient Dragon Grand Formation? All were absurd, laughable, ugly, and filthy lies!
"I... don't quite understand," Li Suo said softly: "Back then in the Lin Divine Realm, she not only saw through your identity early on, but also used your strength to obtain the Qilin Bone Spiritual Orchid, and even saw through your purpose for appearing in this world with a single word."
"Her intelligence far surpasses ordinary people. How could she... be deceived by such a lie? Was it the Ancestral Dragon bloodline's long history and the Dragon Lord's considerable prestige that made her..."
Pausing mid-sentence, she suddenly thought of something.
"I see..." Her voice grew even softer: "You once said that a drowning person will desperately grasp at any fleeting reed that appears."
"She did not believe the Dragon Lord. On the contrary, she might have been more aware than anyone that it was most likely a huge lie. But... she could not allow herself to deny it. She could not allow herself to personally extinguish the last glimmer of hope that this world could offer."
Between Yun Che's tightly clenched teeth, trails of blood dripped down.
"Why did you not expose this lie for Yun Xi? And why did you conceal the Primordial Flame Crystal you had finally found?"
Yun Che shook his head in pain, murmuring: "Could not expose it..."
"Do you remember what she said back then? That saving her mother was the only reason she still existed in this world."
"If the lie shattered, it would not only destroy an illusory phantom... it might also extinguish her will to live."
The will to die... that was the cruel nightmare that even Abyss Emperor Mo Su could do nothing about.
Chaotic, dissonant sounds spilled from between Yun Che's teeth, yet they could not truly vent the endless pain and guilt within his soul... Li Suo gently raised her hand, her slender fingers reaching toward the corner of his eye, then lingering there for a long time.
As a child, she witnessed her mother's disappearance...
What remained was hatred, pain, and icy loneliness...
Everywhere she looked, there was decay...
Being coveted by others...
Disfiguring her own face...
Trading blood for safety...
Lies...
Self-deception...
Fighting for her life...
...
This was her life until now.
The life of his and Shen Xi's daughter.
...
...
"Li... Suo..."
He suddenly called out her name softly.
"I am here," she replied gently.
"I... can't wait any longer."
His voice trembled, weak. Though he was a Demon God sworn to bring calamity to the world, at this moment he was like a lost, helpless child.
"I want to take Xi'er home... sooner."
"I..."
The suffering she had endured was truly too great. Even one more day was more than he could bear...
Li Suo looked at him and nodded gently: "Very well. Then let it begin a little earlier, end a little earlier, and take her home a little earlier."
"Even if the path is not paved so thickly, it can still be smooth."
Yun Che's hand slowly lowered from his face. When he lifted his eyes, they were still a bloodshot red, like a desperate wolf.
He looked ahead, his gaze shifting from blurry to clear, then slowly losing focus, finally settling into a deep, murky darkness.
One breath... ten breaths... a hundred breaths...
This time, his silence lasted a very, very long time.
No one knew what he was pondering.
When he stood up, he turned his body... but it was not toward the road back to the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom. It was toward where the Dragon Clan was.
Li Suo's phantom moved in front of his line of sight, dissuading him: "Do not act rashly."
Yun Che muttered lowly: "The Dragon Clan of the Western Divine Region harmed Shen Xi, and the Dragon Clan of the Abyss has hurt me and Shen Xi's daughter in this way."
"Dragon... Clan..."
The hatred was etched into his bones, gouging his heart and corroding his marrow.
"I understand your hatred and your guilt," Li Suo soothed him in the gentlest possible voice: "But Long Zhiming is an Ancestral Dragon who has existed for a million years. Even with Meng Zhaoyang by your side, willing to give his all, he would not be a match for him. Not to mention the entire Dragon Clan under his command."
"Now is not the time... For yourself, for your daughter."
Yun Che's gaze did not waver, still staring fixedly in the direction of the Dragon Clan.
"Rest assured. No matter how much I hate them, I will not act out now. And I would never put Xi'er in danger."
"Death for them? Extinction of their clan? How could that vent the hatred in my heart! How could it be so cheap for them!!"
Every word was filled with hatred, every syllable stained with blood.
"I will make them wish they were dead... I will make them regret... suffer... wail... despair... yet never find release!"
"I will drain every last one of their despicable bones!! Every shred of their flesh and blood!!"
Boom————
The earth split apart, space wailed in grief, and even every wisp of abyss dust seemed to tremble faintly.
As Meng Zhaoyang turned his head, Yun Che walked slowly out of the barrier.
He appeared to have returned to normal, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"After all, my cultivation is still lacking. I have caused the Hall Master Zhaoyang to worry."
As he spoke, Yun Che had already soared into the air: "The Dragon Lord was so gracious. Leaving without a word was truly rude, and it would also harm the reputation of our Weaving Dream Kingdom. Upon reflection, I should re-enter the Dragon Clan to make amends for my failing."
With that, he released his profound energy and headed once more toward the Ancestral Dragon Mountain Range.
But no one would ever know that within a single day, approaching the Dragon Clan twice, the state of his heart had been utterly overturned.
...........