Chapter 914: Two Lifetimes of Transcendence
[In the previous chapter, "Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword" was mistakenly written as "Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword". It was purely a slip of the hand, and absolutely not any hint — definitely not!]
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Crash!!
Boom—
Countless towering waves surged across the boundless sea, several of the tallest shooting up ten thousand zhang into the air before smashing violently against the Supreme Sea Palace.
The power carried within these waves was astonishingly immense. The great sea palace, which had hovered above the sea for ten thousand years, was heavily knocked aside, shifting nearly a hundred zhang amidst violent tremors, drawing cries of alarm from within.
Then, the waves subsided, and the sea surface quickly returned to complete silence, without the slightest ripple. Even the previously unending water ripples and dull rumbles vanished entirely.
A long time passed, and still no further movements came.
Feng Xue'er kept her eyes fixed on the sea surface. The prolonged stillness stirred an increasingly heavy sense of tension and unease within her. She bit her lip repeatedly, and finally unable to wait any longer, she turned and glanced at the Sun Moon Divine Palace and Tian Wei Sword Domain, which had retreated far away. Suddenly, she stretched out her hand, and crimson Phoenix flames rained down from the sky, forming a vast barrier of fire that enveloped everyone within it.
"Xue'er, what are you doing?" Feng Hengkong, sensing what she intended, shouted in alarm.
"I'm going to find Brother Yun."
"No! It's too dangerous… Xue'er!!"
Feng Hengkong was too late to stop her; he only managed to take a hurried step forward as he watched Feng Xue'er resolutely leap off the sea palace and plunge straight into the sea below, which had suddenly become terrifyingly still.
Beneath the sea, as Xuanyuan Wentian's body turned to ashes, the last remnants of his demonic aura grew fainter and fainter until they vanished completely.
Yun Che could not deny that Xuanyuan Wentian was an extremely fearsome man—perhaps the most fearsome he had ever encountered in his life. The Tian Xuan Continent and the Huan Yao Realm had both fallen into his schemes; everything he possessed was obtained through his own machinations. If Yun Che had not unexpectedly obtained the dark Evil God Seed on the Cang Yun Continent, then apart from Feng Xue'er, whose Phoenix Divine Power would not fully awaken for several more years, no one in this world would have been able to oppose him. The Tian Xuan Continent and the Huan Yao Realm would have completely fallen under his shadow.
Yun Che remained at the bottom of the sea for a long time, finally recovering some of his vitality. He steadied his body, reached out, and grasped toward the depths of the darkness.
Instantly, a dark silhouette flew in from the distance and was absorbed into his hand.
The Eternal Night Demonic Sword!
The jet-black, lusterless blade no longer bore the demonic eyes. The demonic soul within the sword, even had it not been devoured by Xuanyuan Wentian, would have dissipated synchronously with his death.
Shiyue Mojun, though freed from the Evil God's seal, could no longer see the sun or moon, forced to remain hidden in the Slay Moon Demon Cave, unable to wreak havoc upon the world. Yet this sword, which came from him, had nearly brought about a catastrophic disaster upon the Tian Xuan Continent and the Huan Yao Realm. It had raised the Eternal Night Royal Clan and also destroyed them; it had exalted Xuanyuan Wentian and also destroyed him.
At the same time, it had forged the tragedy of two lifetimes for one person.
Hum…
The Eternal Night Demonic Sword in his hand suddenly trembled abnormally—though faint, Yun Che sensed it clearly. He narrowed his eyes and quickly released the sword, taking a few steps back.
A blurred image slowly manifested above the Eternal Night Demonic Sword.
Or rather, this image could no longer be described as merely "blurred." The entire shadow was like mist at the end of dawn, so thin that it would be imperceptible to ordinary eyes. Even with Yun Che's vision, he could only barely make out its full form.
"Fen… Jue… chen…" Yun Che murmured, staring at this extremely faint soul shadow, his emotions deeply conflicted.
"…" The faint soul shadow silently gazed at him, without a sound, without joy or sorrow.
Yun Che said, "Back in the Huan Yao Realm, I promised you that as long as I lived, one day I would kill Xuanyuan Wentian. Now, at last, I have not broken that promise."
"…Finally… I can die…" Fen Juechen whispered softly.
"…" Yun Che's lips moved, but for a long time, he could not speak.
Those six words carried no emotion at all, but Yun Che clearly understood the pain and desolation within them.
Death, for him, would be a blissful release. Yet this man, whose body and everything had been stolen by Xuanyuan Wentian, had clung desperately to "living," forcing his consciousness to persist, no matter the agony, no matter the hatred, even if every moment was spent in a living hell, he refused to let his final awareness fade.
Because he could not accept it.
Now, he had watched Xuanyuan Wentian die with his own eyes—the demon who had caused all his tragedies was dead. At last, he could die… and finally find release.
Death had always been such a luxury for him.
Taking a deep breath, Yun Che said calmly, "Other than Xuanyuan Wentian, the person you hate the most should be me. Yet you saved me three times. Outside Shenhuang City, you blocked Xuanyuan Wentian for me and Xue'er. In the Ice Extreme Snow Domain, you drove him away. In the Huan Yao Realm, it was because of you that we escaped disaster…"
"It wasn't for you," Fen Juechen's voice finally carried a hint of emotion. "It was for Lingxi. She said that if you died, she would die."
"…Is there anything you want me to tell her?" Yun Che's chest heaved heavily.
"Thank her for me," Fen Juechen's voice grew very soft. "She made me feel that this world isn't so cruel. She made me feel that I was still… a living person…"
"I understand." Yun Che nodded slightly. He knew full well the cruel meaning behind Fen Juechen's words.
"I recall that you should have some belongings left in Liu Yun City. I'll bury them there… after all, Liu Yun City is still your last home."
"Home…" Fen Juechen murmured softly.
Yun Che hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Do you have any… unfinished wishes? Perhaps I can help fulfill them."
Given Fen Juechen's pride, Yun Che expected these words might provoke his self-esteem. But unexpectedly, Fen Juechen looked into his eyes and said, with extreme seriousness and slowness, "Marry Lingxi within a month!"
"…" Yun Che was stunned.
"She cries because of you. She laughs because of you. She daydreams because of you. Everything she says is always about you. She saved me for your sake. And you… you only return to Liu Yun City three times a month. You have one woman after another by your side, yet you never…"
Fen Juechen's words seemed tinged with a trace of anger, but then gradually calmed. "Only you. No one else is worthy of her."
Yun Che stood dumbfounded for a long time, then smiled faintly. "Is this… your recognition of me?"
Fen Juechen: "…"
"Your words are completely unnecessary," Yun Che said with a gentle smile. "When she was my Little Aunt, she was my Little Aunt alone. When I learned she wasn't my Little Aunt, I was even more determined never to let her belong to anyone else. And now…" Yun Che tilted his head slightly, his gaze growing especially warm. "The promise between her and me can finally be fulfilled."
"…" Fen Juechen silently watched him for a moment, then slowly turned around. His faint soul shadow began to waver slightly.
Yun Che stepped forward. "Fen Juechen, you…"
"I no longer… hate you…"
Those seven soft words were also the last words of Fen Juechen's life. His soul shadow, like a wisp of smoke brushed by a breeze, slowly dissipated at that moment.
"…" Something struck Yun Che's heart like a heavy blow. He froze, a complex tangle of emotions—heavy? bitter? relieved?—an indescribable feeling surged chaotically within his chest. He moved his lips and, almost from the depths of his soul, spoke his final words to Fen Juechen…
"Thank you… I'm… sorry…"
The seawater rippled slightly. At that very moment, Fen Juechen's soul shadow vanished completely, leaving not a trace behind.
His body, his soul, his hatred, sorrow, attachments, and everything he was—gone forever from heaven and earth.
Perhaps, at the end of his life, he had heard the word "sorry" spoken by Yun Che.
Something seemed lodged in Yun Che's heart, refusing to dissolve for a very long time.
Fen Juechen, like him, had experienced two lifetimes. But their paths and fates were as different as heaven and earth. Yun Che's lives were two extraordinary legends; Fen Juechen's were two cruel tragedies. Both his families, both sets of loved ones, had been utterly annihilated… one destroyed by Xuanyuan Wentian's sinister schemes, the other by his own uncontrollable rage.
Later, he found the remnant soul of Ye Mufeng and recovered his memories of his past life. He thought he had finally found his last kin, only to discover that Ye Mufeng, his soul twisted by hatred, offered him not fatherly love but a command for revenge.
Back then, the Ye couple had spared no expense to use the Eternal Night forbidden art to allow Fen Juechen's reincarnation, in order to preserve the bloodline of the Eternal Night Royal Clan and let their son continue living. But when father and son reunited, Ye Mufeng forced him to become a tool for revenge, ruthlessly extinguishing his last hope for familial affection.
He fell into the abyss of hatred, driving himself to become a demon, enduring hellish pain day and night for power… yet from beginning to end, he had been toyed with in Xuanyuan Wentian's palm. All the power he had painstakingly gained became a wedding gift for Xuanyuan Wentian, and even his own flesh and blood were stripped away.
No one could understand or imagine what kind of cruelty and despair that must have been.
Perhaps fate's last shred of mercy for him was meeting Xiao Lingxi.
"May your next life be carefree and without worry," Yun Che murmured, a little lost. But then his gaze dimmed.
Because he suddenly realized that Fen Juechen, like Xuanyuan Wentian, had perished in both body and soul. Even if he had not undergone the reincarnation forbidden art, he was already doomed to never reincarnate again. He was gone forever, completely and utterly.
Yun Che picked up the Eternal Night Demonic Sword and placed it into the Primordial Mystic Ark. After all, it could be considered a relic of Fen Juechen.
Moreover, it was a true ancient demonic sword. Though it no longer carried a demonic soul or a powerful aura, perhaps it still hid some extraordinary secret.
;.;