Chapter 1083: Tragedy

For Yun Che, Blackya City was an absolutely perilous place. While in the city, he always concealed his aura, used disguises, and proceeded with extreme caution.

But now, he no longer cared if the Black Feather Merchant Guild discovered his whereabouts. His profound energy surged throughout his body with desperate intensity, and he unleashed his Phantom Lightnings to their absolute limit. He soared through the sky above Blackya City like a streak of light, an earsplitting shriek accompanying him wherever he went.

Before he had sent Heling back to the Wood Spirit Secret Realm, he had meticulously checked him for any tracking marks.

But... why was there something like the Soul Chasing Incense?

It must be fake... How could such a thing exist? Impossible!

Blackya City rapidly receded beneath him. All the while, his teeth were clenched so tightly they felt as if they would shatter.

He had stayed in the Wood Spirit Secret Realm for an hour and a half, and three to four more hours had passed since he left. If everything was real, then after so much time...

Please don't let it be real!

Yun Che burst out of Blackya City like a clap of thunder, moving several times faster than when he had previously escorted Heling away. He then sprinted wildly to the southeast, heading directly into the dense forest without a single moment's pause.

Even after entering the dense forest, Yun Che's speed remained undiminished. It was as if a mighty hurricane had suddenly swept through the woods, sending plants and trees flying. Ancient trees, thousands of years old, snapped at their roots.

Following his perfectly clear memory, Yun Che finally saw the rows of ancient trees near the entrance to the Wood Spirit Secret Realm. He plunged down, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Before him, all the ancient trees supporting the Wood Spirit Illusion Array had been shattered. Dark green wooden vines, as if ravaged by fierce winds and massive waves, lay broken into countless pieces, scattered chaotically across the ground.

The world ahead was utterly silent, a silence that was bone-chilling.

Yun Che's heart abruptly constricted and stopped beating. His eyes stared blankly, and his body grew cold. He stood there dazed for a long moment, then his stiff legs slowly moved forward. The sound of his feet treading on the broken vines was like a saw continually tearing at his soul.

Stepping over the fractured vines that covered the ground, Yun Che stopped. His body trembled, and his face instantly turned deathly pale, as if all the blood had drained from his body in an instant.

The once vibrant green and neat flowers and plants were now a mess. All the ancient trees had fallen, and the wooden houses were reduced to rubble. Everywhere, apart from traces of a chaotic struggle, there was only pale green blood and utter silence.

One by one, the Wood Spirits lay silently on the ruined ground, stained with their own blood. The Wood Spirit closest to Yun Che's feet had its eyes wide open, but the vibrant green light had faded, replaced only by terror, despair... and a hatred that had not dissipated even in death.

"Ah... ah..."

Yun Che's lips trembled. His rapidly dilated pupils almost covered all the whites of his eyes. His feet felt nailed to the ground, utterly unable to move, and his vision blurred in waves, followed by a dizzying sensation.

After a long time, he raised his hands and clutched his head, his fingers trembling like those of an old person nearing the end of their life.

Dead...All dead...It's me...I killed them... It was me...

"Gasp... exhale..."

It took more than a dozen heavy breaths for his mind and eyes to finally clear.

He slowly stepped forward, his vision still somewhat blurred, but every Wood Spirit's body, every drop of green blood, was imprinted with excruciating clarity upon his mind... turning into an incredibly cold blade that pierced every corner of his soul.

Occasionally, he saw crimson human blood, which looked particularly jarring and defiling in this devastated and ruined world.

Hoo...

Taking another deep breath, Yun Che's expression finally softened, and his gaze grew calm. He walked slowly forward, carefully stepping through this destroyed small world.

*Thump!*

A shattered old tree suddenly toppled over, revealing the lifeless body of a Wood Spirit behind it... She was old and small, her wrinkled face eternally serene.

"Elder Qingye..." Yun Che murmured softly. He tilted his head back and slowly closed his eyes. She was the Wood Spirit Heling respected most, the one with the highest seniority and prestige in this small world. Just a few hours ago, he had received the Wood Spirit Divine Dew, a gift from her own hands.

"I'm sorry, I brought this disaster upon you," Yun Che whispered. "Please rest in peace."

Facing the already unfolding tragedy, all he could offer was this pale apology.

Although his heart had quieted, an overwhelmingly oppressive feeling still choked his chest. Yun Che flew up, releasing his spiritual sense, trying—or rather, desperately hoping—to find a surviving Wood Spirit... even just one.

In front of the toppled wooden house, he saw the body of a strong, middle-aged Wood Spirit. Though lifeless, his hand was still tightly gripping a broken spear, and his body and the spear were stained with a mixture of green and crimson blood.

There was a large bloody hole in his back... To fight to the death, he had not self-destructed his Wood Spirit Orb beforehand. Without a doubt, his Wood Spirit Orb had been forcibly taken after his death.

"Elder Qingmu."

Yun Che's lips moved slightly, and his hands clenched in a tremble.

Around him lay numerous bodies of adult Wood Spirits, each bearing marks of a bloody battle. Their eyes were all wide open, filled with terror, despair, and hatred... none rested in peace.

Yun Che flew silently over the scene. In the back of the small world, he saw countless young Wood Spirits. Some were huddled together, some lay forever in the embrace of elders... and the smallest one, its tender body impaled by a long, pitch-black blade.

His breathing became increasingly ragged. Yun Che struggled to avert his gaze... He saw the large flower garden, the place where he had lingered the longest before.

All the flowers were withered and fallen; not a single butterfly fluttered among them.

At the end of the garden, two young girls were tightly embracing each other. There were no wounds on their bodies, but they were devoid of life.

They had died by self-destructing their spirit orbs.

Yun Che landed and stared blankly at them: "Feiyan... Qinghe..."

Outside the garden, a young Wood Spirit boy lay silently. The wounds covering his body revealed the brutal and tragic battle he had endured to protect the two girls behind him.

"Qing... Zhu..."

The suffocating feeling that had seemed to subside suddenly pressed down on his heart and soul again, intensely... more intensely than ever before.

"...I really wish that one day, I could truly see the outside world...""I always thought humans were terrifying. I never imagined there could be someone as powerful and likable as Brother Yun Che.""This is a charm I made myself. It will keep you safe...""Brother Yun Che... will you often come back... to visit us...?"

Qingzhu... Feiyan... Qinghe...

He clutched his head with one hand and covered his chest with the other, slowly squatting down. His heart felt as if thousands of poisoned needles had pierced it, and his entire body trembled in unbearable pain.

Just a few hours ago, they had looked at him with such pure, earnest, and hopeful eyes, listening intently to his every word, afraid to miss even a single one. He could clearly feel the deep yearning stirring within their souls.

Fate had already been too cruel to them. Things that their peers took for granted were unattainable luxuries for them. They had just reached the most beautiful years of their lives, yet now...

"I... I... harmed... you all...""It... was me..."

His heart was spasming, his teeth chattering. His fingers, clenched on his head, had dug into his flesh, yet he felt no pain.

This was the second time in his life he had felt this way.

The first time was years ago, on the Azure Cloud Continent, when he lost his master and Ling'er. There was no one left for him to care about in the world, and no one to care about him. Driven by hatred and madness, he used the Sky Poison Pearl to poison and kill every living being in an entire city...

After a twisted pleasure, endless suppression and guilt left him in agony, almost driving him to collapse into madness...

That time, he had destroyed millions of lives... most of whom were innocent and bore him no grudge.

This time, a hundred Wood Spirits, also not killed by his own hand... yet the pain that flooded his soul was as intense as it had been back then.

Why did this happen...?What did these innocent Wood Spirits do wrong?!Just because they were too kind, too weak?!No... it's because of me... If it weren't for me, this bringer of disaster... how could they have suffered such a catastrophe!It's all because of me!!

If I hadn't insisted on finding the Wood Spirit Pearl, if I hadn't presumptuously brought Heling back out of some misguided kindness, then...

Wait... Heling?!

Like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, Yun Che suddenly looked up, then abruptly stood. Where was Heling? Heling wasn't among these Wood Spirit corpses. Where had Heling gone?

Yun Che shot into the air, rapidly releasing his spiritual sense. It covered the entire Wood Spirit Secret Realm, sweeping over every inch of land, every plant, and every Wood Spirit's body.

But he found no trace of Heling.

His mind quickly cleared and sharpened. His spiritual sense immediately spread out to its maximum extent... Without Heling's body, he might still be alive... No, he *must* still be alive.

Those people knew Heling was a Royal Wood Spirit, so they would surely prefer to capture him alive. And Heling himself deeply valued his Royal Wood Spirit identity; even if he faced a hopeless situation, he would never be resigned to death... Right! He must still be alive!

The most likely possibility was that he had been captured alive.

The bloodstains on the ground hadn't dried yet; they couldn't have gone too far.

Yun Che soared higher, closed his eyes, and desperately concentrated his spirit... He had to find him, he *must* find him!

To the east, a trail of footprints stretching into the distance appeared in his spiritual perception. His eyes snapped open, his profound energy instantly erupted, and he shot eastward like a bolt of lightning.