# Chapter 597: Heaven-Spanning Hatred
"I was also worried that you might have fallen victim to Ming Wang and Huai Wang's poisonous schemes." Yun Che said with an innocent face.
Xiao Yaohou said angrily, "Since you already knew it was Ming Wang… why did you still barge in! With your strength, not to mention Ming Wang, even in front of Huai Wang, you are no different from an ant… Do you have no regard for your own life at all!"
"…" If Yun Che were scolded like this normally, he would have lashed back several times over, but now he simply couldn't get angry. Every word from Xiao Yaohou was filled with hatred, but that hatred was not directed at him. Even in her rebuke, what he heard more was unwillingness and self-blame.
"You are going to die today because of me… After I die, what face do I have left to see the Demon King… Ugh!!" Xiao Yaohou's body shook violently, and another large mouthful of blood spewed from her mouth. Her already pale face turned even whiter. She clutched her chest, her body swaying slightly, as she was on the verge of collapse.
"Are you… alright?" Yun Che tentatively took a small step forward and asked worriedly.
"Her life pulse has been severed. She doesn't have much longer to live." Mo Li said indifferently.
"What!?" Yun Che was greatly shocked: "How is that possible! She only took one strike from Ming Wang… Although Ming Wang is powerful, Xiao Yaohou's profound strength is at the mid-stage Emperor Lord level. How could she…"
"Hmph, what do you think?" Mo Li snorted disdainfully: "At the Sovereign Xuan Realm, a single minor realm is a world of difference. And that Ming Wang surpasses Xiao Yaohou by an entire major realm! Moreover, Ming Wang's strike was ruthlessly decisive. That blow just now, even if it wasn't his full strength, was at least ninety percent! Adding to that, Xiao Yaohou hastily blocked in front of you, not only failing to defend with full strength but also taking it straight on her vital point… Let alone lingering on for a period of time, it wouldn't even be strange if she died on the spot!"
"…" Yun Che clenched his hands tightly, his heart and soul trembling uncontrollably.
Ming Wang's strength was actually so terrifying. Even the mighty Xiao Yaohou was heavily wounded by his single strike to such a degree… If even Xiao Yaohou was like this, then if Yun Che had taken that blow from Ming Wang instead, he would surely have died!
Huff… Yun Che's heart spasmed violently. Somewhere in the deepest part of his soul, something was fiercely touched, trembling violently without stopping… Why did you take that blow for me… Yes, you don't know that the thing I, Yun Che, cannot bear the most in this life is owing my life to a woman…
Because that was my promise to Ling'er when she died in my arms, and a silent oath I made to my own soul…
If Xiao Yaohou dies, and in the end I manage to escape, then another lifelong shackle will be added to my heart and soul… How would I face Ling'er then…
"What do you plan to do next? Wait for death?".
"… I have never known what it means to wait for death." Yun Che gritted his teeth: "My Great Dao Pagoda Art has already reached the fourth level… If we can escape from here, even if her life pulse is severed, as long as she can hold on for ten days, I have a sixty percent chance of saving her life!"
"Yun Che, let me ask you!" Xiao Yaohou suddenly spoke. Her voice was already very weak, but she still tried to maintain the dignity of Xiao Yaohou with a deep tone: "Back then, when the Demon King and the ten predecessors of the Yun family perished in the Tian Xuan Continent, was it also done by Ming Wang!"
"Yes." Yun Che nodded: "When Grandfather and the others traveled to Tian Xuan Continent, the time and the location pointed by the spatial passage were all clearly informed to the Tian Xuan Continent side by Ming Wang… As soon as they arrived in the Tian Xuan Continent, they directly fell into the pre-prepared Heavenly Might Soul-Suppressing Array… Otherwise, with the strength of my grandfather and the ten Yun family predecessors, how could they have been completely wiped out like that."
A profound hatred to the extreme emanated from Xiao Yaohou's body: "What else did Tian Wei Sword Domain tell you? What else has Ming Wang done!"
"This…" Yun Che sighed and said: "Regarding everything about Ming Wang, it was actually not learned from the Tian Wei Sword Domain."
"… Then how did you find out?" Xiao Yaohou furrowed her brows.
"It was speculation… and then these speculations all became reality." Yun Che said with a sigh.
"Three months ago, when I first came to the Huan Yao Realm, based on what I saw and heard, along with the situation in Yao Huang City, the reasons and process of the Tian Xuan Continent's invasion, and Xiao Yaohuang's unconventional actions, combined with what Grandfather told me about how he fell into an ambush as soon as he entered the Tian Xuan Continent, I deduced that there must be someone in Yao Huang City colluding with the Tian Xuan Continent side, and ninety-nine percent of it was the Huai Wang Manor."
"After I told this to Father and Grandfather, Father mentioned that if this were true, then Huai Wang's ambition did not arise after the Former Demon Emperor was killed, but before that… then, Father brought up the name 'Ming Wang.' And with a little sorting, all the suspicious points pointed directly at him… In recent years, the Huan Yao Realm has been in constant turmoil, yet he completely vanished during this time, which in itself was a huge suspicious point. And as it turned out, that was indeed the case! Huai Wang's ambition and series of moves were nothing but a cover. The real conspiracy was millions of times more terrifying than what the people of Yao Huang City saw."
What the people of Yao Huang City saw was that the Demon Emperor's bloodline was severed by the Tian Xuan Continent. Xiao Yaohou was a woman and could not awaken the bloodline, and there was no successor. So Huai Wang's ambition grew, he gathered forces, and wanted to take her place. Although in essence it was rebellion, in the eyes of the world, it was definitely not "something that outrages both gods and men." To many experts, they would even agree with Huai Wang's actions — since the Demon Emperor's bloodline was already cut off, leaving only Xiao Yaohou, it was only a matter of time before another clan took the throne. Huai Wang had enough ambition and ability, and even more power. If he became emperor, it would be more acceptable than having a woman on the throne.
Moreover, after Xiao Yaohou abdicated, the only one qualified to control the Huan Yao Realm was the Huai Wang Manor… So from another perspective, Huai Wang's actions were merely too hasty.
Thus, more than half of the Guardian Clans and various prince manors that had been loyal to the Demon Emperor clan for ten thousand years sided with Huai Wang.
But the truth was that the Huai Wang Manor had colluded with external forces to murder the Demon Emperor, murder Xiao Yaohuang, and cut off the bloodline of the Demon Emperor clan that had unified the Huan Yao Realm and brought peace for ten thousand years! This was an act that extinguished humanity, harmed the world, and outraged both gods and men!
If the truth were known to the world, then even if those Guardian Clans and the Huai Wang Manor had ten thousand times the courage, they would not dare to side with the Huai Wang Manor.
And the Huai Wang Manor would become the target of public criticism, the enemy of all, with everyone hating them and wanting to destroy them.
But now, although both Xiao Yaohou and Yun Che knew this terrible truth, even if they escaped from the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley today, they had no way to make it public. Because Ming Wang's methods were extremely clever. His series of poisonous plots and vicious hands left no trace. The Demon Emperor died in the Tian Xuan Continent, Xiao Yaohuang died in the Tian Xuan Continent, the Demon King also died in the Tian Xuan Continent… Everything pointed to the Tian Xuan Continent, and none pointed to Ming Wang.
If they really made the truth public like this, the Huai Wang Manor would instead turn the tables on them.
Ming Wang was truly a terrifying figure to the extreme.
If it weren't for Yun Che meeting Yun Canghai by fate and divine arrangement, and learning that they had fallen into an ambush as soon as they entered the Tian Xuan Continent back then, then until now, they might not have known the whole truth… and they would still be ignoring the existence of this person named "Ming Wang."
Xiao Yaohou stared at Yun Che, a strange light flickering deep in her eyes: "Then how did you know that Ming Wang, who had always been behind the scenes, would appear here? Did you guess that too?"
"Mm, I guessed it." Yun Che nodded: "Under the situation where everything was going so well for you, you suddenly stopped the coronation ceremony after obtaining the Demon Emperor Seal. The most reasonable explanation I could think of was that you wanted to awaken the bloodline immediately after getting the seal. Then I thought you might have a way to forcefully open the seal of the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, and I worried that if the Huai Wang Manor also knew, they would definitely seize this excellent opportunity to kill you."
"I told all this to Father and Grandfather, but they weren't worried. Because even if all this came true, once you entered the Jinwu Ancestral Ground, even if Ming Wang himself made a move, he couldn't do anything to you… Later, I couldn't let go of my guesses and worries, so I came to the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley myself to confirm. At the entrance, I didn't see the seal, but I saw the Hui Ran of the Huai Wang Manor, and I knew all my worries had come true!"
"I confirmed from Hui Ran that both Huai Wang and the Ming Wang my father mentioned had already entered the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley. I also learned from Hui Ran that even if you reached the Jinwu Ancestral Ground, you were destined not to awaken the bloodline… Today's actions were merely giving the Huai Wang Manor an opportunity to kill you. So I couldn't wait for Father and the others to arrive, and I came in alone."
Yun Che told a small lie, because he couldn't say that he learned about Xiao Yaohou's inability to awaken the bloodline from Mo Li.
"Your father was murdered by Ming Wang. I didn't know that before. As for Xiao Yaohuang falling victim to Ming Wang's poison, I only thought of that after entering the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley." Yun Che said seriously: "The fact that you had a way to forcefully enter the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley was not known to my father or grandfather, which means it's a secret of the Demon Emperor clan. Yet Ming Wang knew it clearly. Even you didn't know that a woman couldn't withstand the blood of the Jinwu Ancestor, but Ming Wang clearly knew that too."
"Among the secrets of your Demon Emperor clan, the only ones in this world who know more than you are the Former Demon Emperor and Xiao Yaohuang. So the only possibility I could think of was that a hundred years ago, Xiao Yaohuang fell victim to Ming Wang's poison, and when he was on his last breath and his consciousness was fading, Ming Wang conducted a Soul Search on him, plundering all his memories… And Ming Wang's earlier words undoubtedly confirmed this fact."
Xiao Yaohou's heart shook violently again.
Today, Ming Wang was clearly fully aware of her actions in coming to the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley and her returning without success. He even knew clearly that the Demon Emperor Seal could activate a "Blood Escape" in times of crisis…
Such a life-saving trump card was an absolute secret that no race could let others know…
But Ming Wang knew it clearly.
Yun Che's words… Xiao Yaohuang had fallen victim to Ming Wang's poison back then and was subjected to a Soul Search… This guess, which almost made her heart ache and hate to the point of suffocation, was simply the only explanation and possibility!
And once a person undergoes a Soul Search, they are directly turned into a shell without a heart and soul… becoming a pitiful living dead…
"Ugh…" A strand of nearly black blood slowly seeped from the corner of Xiao Yaohou's mouth. It was not reverse blood from her internal injuries, but the heart's blood born from pain and extreme rage… Over the years, she had been constantly vigilant and wary of the Huai Wang Manor, but the intense hatred in her heart had always been directed at the Tian Xuan Continent. She had even once sworn that within her lifetime, when the time was right, even if she died, she would drench the Tian Xuan Continent in blood to avenge an irreconcilable enmity.
Only today did she realize that all these years, she had been hating the wrong person completely.
Her father was the Demon Emperor of his generation, commanding the Huan Yao Realm with the world bowing down. The one who truly killed him was not the Tian Xuan Continent, but the scheme of the person he trusted most! Her younger brother, also her husband, did not die a tragic death saving his father, but also fell victim to a poisonous scheme… and died so miserably…
Over the years, everything she saw was an illusion, and everything the entire Huan Yao Realm believed was also an illusion. Everyone, including her, Xiao Yaohou, had been toyed with in Ming Wang's palm. Even the Four Sacred Grounds of the Tian Xuan Continent were ultimately nothing but tools used by Ming Wang.
"Ming… Wang…" Xiao Yaohou's heart and soul were filled with hatred. Her hands desperately clutched the gray robe on her chest. Her tightly clenched fingers trembled, turning deathly white without blood: "Ming… Wang… Ming… Wang… Even as a ghost… I will… not… let… you… go…"