Chapter 294: What Is That in Your Hand!
Yun Che rested for a long while before finally recovering. He sat up from the ground, patted his chest, and looked immensely satisfied. Defeating the Xuan Gang that had retained sixty percent of its strength was undoubtedly another major breakthrough.
“Hahahaha...” the demon man looked at him and suddenly burst into manic laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Yun Che asked.
“I’m laughing because I’m doing the most contradictory and ridiculous thing in the world.” The demon man laughed loudly. “Here I am, lingering on in agony for a hundred years, unwilling to die, yet I’m guiding a junior so that he can kill me sooner. If someone else were doing this, I’d believe he was a madman. Yet here I am, that very madman, and I don’t even feel regret. Watching you break through day after day, I actually feel comforted... Hahahaha! Have I really gone mad?”
“No, you’re not mad. Of course you’re not mad.” Yun Che smiled. “I understand why you’re doing this. Because you are no villain, and neither am I. Neither of us are the despicable scoundrels we both despise. We sympathize with each other... and most importantly, I am someone worthy of your trust.”
Yun Che’s final words made Yun Canghai’s loud laughter stop abruptly.
Yun Che said calmly, “Although I respect you more and more and feel increasingly grateful, the day I have the power to kill you, I will do so without hesitation. Because that will give me freedom, and it will give you release... At the same time, I will do everything in my power to accomplish what you wish to entrust to me!”
Yun Canghai shuddered all over, and his gaze at Yun Che began to tremble slightly. He nodded slowly, and with a voice tinged with tremor, said, “Good! Good! This is what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve been longing for—your words! I believe that if you are willing to say these words, you will surely fulfill them! Good... Good!!”
Yun Che said firmly, “Although we have never performed the rites of master and disciple, over this time you have become half my master. Even if only to fulfill a disciple’s filial duty, I will certainly complete your entrustment.”
“Haha... Hahaha...” Yun Canghai started laughing again, his laughter filled with excitement and relief. “Heaven... has finally shown me some mercy by sending you to my side. I have been suppressed here for a hundred years, long suffering a fate worse than death. With the suppression of the Xing Tian Sword, the seal of the Tian Wei Soul Suppression Array, and the fact that this is the Tian Xuan Continent, I had long resigned myself to the fact that there could never be a day of escape. Living like this, I have become nothing but a worry and burden to my people. The Tian Wei Sword Domain keeps me alive only to use my life as a bargaining chip at the right time... But I still carry an important item, one that is crucial to the Huan Yao Realm. That is why I cannot die... no matter what, I cannot die. Now, I have finally found someone to entrust it to... and at last, I can go and accompany the Lord Demon Emperor.”
Yun Canghai spoke, and his eyes were already glistening with tears.
“An item extremely important to the Huan Yao Realm? Are you planning to have me deliver it to the Huan Yao Realm?” Yun Che asked in surprise. He swept his gaze over the demon man’s entire body, and a wave of astonishment washed over him... The demon man was only wearing tattered thin clothes; there was no place where anything could be stored. Even if he was strong enough to create his own spatial pocket, the contents would surely have been forcibly taken by the people of the Tian Wei Sword Domain. How could such an important item still be on his person? But from his words, that item was still with him. Then where could he have hidden it?
“Not yet!” The demon man shook his head. “You are still too weak right now. Only on the day your power is sufficient to kill me as I am now will I give it to you! So if you want to kill me and gain freedom, do not slack off! Although your progress is very fast, you are still too weak. You don’t have the ability to go to the Huan Yao Realm at all.”
“I understand.” Yun Che nodded, then picked up a large piece of dragon meat, cut it into two pieces, and began to grill it in his hands. “Speaking of that, senior, how exactly did you fall into the hands of the Tian Wei Sword Domain? From what I’ve heard, you seem to have been... ambushed?”
The demon man squinted his eyes, and a light of extreme hatred flickered within them. He let out a cold laugh and said, “My understanding of your Tian Xuan Continent’s Four Sacred Grounds far exceeds yours. Huangji Sacred Domain, Supreme Sea Palace, Sun Moon Divine Palace, Tian Wei Sword Domain... As far as I know, these so-called Four Sacred Grounds have always proclaimed the mission of guarding the Tian Xuan Continent. Under this halo of an ostensibly noble mission, they are called ‘Sacred Grounds,’ and they gather the strongest experts of the entire Tian Xuan Continent. And the enemy on the opposite side of what they ‘guard’... is our Huan Yao Realm!”
“Hahahaha! What a joke! In terms of territory, the Huan Yao Realm surpasses the Tian Xuan Continent, and in terms of resources, the Huan Yao Realm far exceeds it! For tens of millions of years, although the Huan Yao Realm discovered the Tian Xuan Continent early on, it never harbored any ambition, nor did it have reason to develop any. On the contrary, it is that group of despicable scoundrels who, under the guise of ‘protecting the sacred grounds,’ have portrayed the Huan Yao Realm as a villain seeking to annex the Tian Xuan Continent, and then acted like robbers! For the sake of the Huan Yao Realm’s supreme treasure, they did not hesitate to invade the Huan Yao Realm. Later, the Demon Emperor disappeared. Although I am unwilling to admit it, it is very likely that he fell victim to their evil schemes. In order to search for the Demon Emperor, I went to the Tian Xuan Continent alone and inadvertently stepped into the Tian Wei Soul Suppression Array set up by the Tian Wei Sword Domain. I was severely wounded by Sword Lord Xuanyuan Wentian and ended up here... The enmity between the Huan Yao Realm and the Four Sacred Grounds is irreconcilable!”
Yun Che listened quietly and then spoke, “After all, I am a person of the Tian Xuan Continent. I cannot fully believe your words. Moreover, in the Tian Xuan Continent, the Four Sacred Grounds have always been mythical and sacred existences. Their strength is unbeatable, and their reputation cannot be tarnished. Even if you were to tell all of the Tian Xuan Continent these words, almost no one would believe you. After all, many people are deeply convinced that it is because of the protection of the Four Sacred Grounds that the Tian Xuan Continent is so stable, and there has never been any infamous rumor of the Four Sacred Grounds bullying the weak...”
At this point, Yun Che suddenly thought of those prestigious and well-regarded so-called righteous sects from the Cang Yun Continent, who had forced his master to death for the sake of the Heavenly Poison Pearl. He took a silent deep breath and continued, “But I do not entirely doubt your words either. After all, I do not understand the Huan Yao Realm where you come from, nor do I understand the Four Sacred Grounds. As for the true state of affairs, when the day comes that I am strong enough to come into contact with the Four Sacred Grounds and the Huan Yao Realm, I will see it with my own eyes.”
“Good! Well said!” Yun Canghai nodded approvingly. “What you said really doesn’t sound like the words of a young man not yet twenty years old. So, aren’t you afraid of being dragged into the conflict between the Four Sacred Grounds and the Huan Yao Realm because of me? That is a whirlpool so vast you cannot even imagine it.”
“Of course I am!” Yun Che said frankly. “At least for me right now, whether it’s the Four Sacred Grounds or the Huan Yao Realm, they are behemoths that I can only look up to from afar, the very top of the food chain in this world. But being afraid does not mean I will therefore break my promise. Since you have already decided to use your own life to grant me freedom, then no matter what, I will fulfill your entrustment. It might just take a little longer.”
“Hahahaha!” Yun Canghai laughed heartily. “This is the first time I’ve heard someone say the word ‘afraid’ with such resounding heroism. If you had said you were not afraid, I would have been more grateful, but also slightly disappointed. Because if you are not afraid, you will overestimate yourself and underestimate your enemies, and you might fall early. With these words of yours, I am even more reassured.”
Yun Che smiled, picked up the grilled dragon meat, and placed it in Yun Canghai’s hand. One standing and one sitting, they ate voraciously together. The deliciousness of the dragon meat became their only enjoyment in this gloomy space.
The two ate to their fill. Yun Che sat on the ground, closing his eyes to rest and recover his profound force. Next, he would attempt to challenge the Xuan Gang at seventy percent strength.
Yun Canghai also closed his eyes, muttering to himself continuously...
“A hundred years, and I haven’t heard any news of the Lord Demon Emperor... Could he really be dead...”
“If the Sun Moon Divine Palace’s Heavenly Lord Ye Meixie and the Tian Wei Sword Domain’s Sword Lord Xuanyuan Wentian joined forces, they indeed have the ability to kill the Lord Demon Emperor... No... impossible... I don’t believe it...”
“The Crown Prince should have already married... That person from the Tian Wei Sword Domain said the Crown Prince had succeeded the throne as the Little Demon Emperor... On the day of his succession, he impulsively attacked the Four Sacred Grounds... and died as well...”
“The Huan Yao Realm... the one dominating the situation is Xiao Yaohou...”
“Xiao Yaohou... Could it be... her? Perhaps it is her... The Crown Prince feared nothing, except he was afraid of her. When the Crown Prince became emperor, he made her his empress... Although she is a woman, she indeed has the ability to dominate... Sigh...”
Yun Che’s ears were full of Yun Canghai’s mutterings, but he didn’t react much, because Yun Canghai repeated these words many times every day. He had long grown tired of hearing them. Every moment here, Yun Canghai was worrying about the Huan Yao Realm. His loyalty to the Huan Yao Imperial Clan was as clear as day. Yun Che could also tell that he and the Demon Emperor were half ruler and subject, half brothers.
His profound force recovered quickly. Yun Che’s breath and state of mind became completely calm. He opened his eyes and looked ahead into the darkness. Figures he deeply missed surfaced in his mind one after another... Among those he cared about, he was not worried about Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan, because with their strength, no one in the Cang Feng Empire could harm them. But he could not help worrying about Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba... They must both think he is already dead. The imperial family is in turmoil, and he could not imagine how Cang Yue would handle herself and protect herself. And at this most critical moment, when she was most helpless and needed him most, he who had made promises to her could not be by her side.
Xia Yuanba would surely be deeply trapped in self-blame. He could only hope that he would step out of such self-blame and truly grow up.
And Grandfather and Little Aunt... There was only one month left until the three-year promise he had made back then.
He was trapped here, and within a month, he could not possibly have the ability to kill Yun Canghai. The promise he made when he left was destined to be unfulfilled.
Yun Canghai was pitiable—suppressed for a hundred years, despairing for a hundred years, suffering endless misery. But at least he had centuries of glory, a time when he and the Demon Emperor once looked down upon the Huan Yao Realm together. He had his own vast clan, his own family. Even if he could not see them for a hundred years, he could still remember those closest to him, and his family would still be concerned about him... But Yun Che, up until today, did not even know who his biological parents were.
“Sigh...” Yun Che sighed silently. Subconsciously, he reached his hand toward his neck, wanting to touch the only thing his biological parents had left him. As his fingers touched his skin, he remembered that after returning from the Cang Yun Continent, when he learned that it was most likely the Lunhui Jing, he had stored it inside the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
Yun Che took out the small pendant from the Heavenly Poison Pearl and placed it in his palm, looking at it silently... Fantasizing about what kind of people his biological parents could be, and whether they were still alive in this world.
Yun Canghai was also in a half-distracted state from his muttering. He unconsciously raised his head, and his gaze inadvertently fell on the copper-colored pendant in Yun Che’s hand... In an instant, it was as if he had been struck by a Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder. His entire body shook violently, and both eyes instantly widened to their fullest. From his mouth came a roar as fierce as a wild beast’s howl...
“What is that in your hand... What is that in your hand!!!!”
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