Chapter 1265: Unsolvable Crisis

“Jasmine…”

Yun Che tightly hugged the crying girl in his arms. He and Jasmine had spent so many years together, sharing a body and having their souls intertwined, feeling each other's presence every single moment. Yet, they had never embraced each other so tightly until now.

Yun Che lifted his head, closed his eyes, feeling immense warmth and satisfaction in his heart. It was the feeling of a lost, incomplete life and soul finally becoming whole again. Feeling the tears spreading on his chest, everything he had experienced and sacrificed over the past three years felt incredibly worthwhile.

Caizhi's lips parted, and she stared blankly at the two figures embracing tightly…

She had just been so furious, yet upon seeing him, her emotions and tears simultaneously burst forth.

Caizhi considered herself the person who understood her sister best in the world, but she had never known that her sister could cry so utterly heartbrokenly…

"Sis… sis…" she murmured softly, covering her lips with a small hand. For some reason, her vision gradually blurred.

She turned and quietly left, flying far away. Jasmine's loud sobbing still echoed in her ears. While a slight sadness lingered in her heart, she was also profoundly happy.

"Sister, this is wonderful," Caizhi murmured. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, quickened her pace, and then left the Star God Palace.

She wanted to know what had happened during the time she was "reflecting." Yun Che was first in the Conferred God Battle, and the Star God Emperor himself had brought him back to the Star God Realm. Did this mean that the "chasm" between him and her sister now had a chance to be bridged…?

"Why did you come looking for me?"

Jasmine's face still bore tear stains, and her star-like eyes were noticeably red. She looked at Yun Che and asked a very foolish question.

Yun Che thought for a moment before replying, "The Golden Crow spirit in the Illusory Demon Realm told me that if I couldn't see you within five years, I would never be able to see you again in this life, so…"

"...If the Golden Crow spirit hadn't said that, would you not have come?" Jasmine said softly. "When I saw you on the Conferred God Stage that day, I was terrified and shaken, but not particularly surprised. Because deep down, I knew you would come one day; I just didn't expect it to be so soon, or that you would appear in the Eternal Heaven God Realm."

"As for what the Golden Crow spirit said, it was merely an excuse you used to convince yourself back then."

Jasmine was undoubtedly the person who understood Yun Che best. As for the Golden Crow spirit… she understood why it had said that.

Spirits could communicate through soul sound. Although that Golden Crow spirit resided in the Illusory Demon Realm, it could learn many things about the God Realm through the Golden Crow spirits in the Flame God Realm. That rumor, combined with the Golden Crow spirit's unique ancient memories, was enough for it to surmise things unknown to ordinary people.

"Mm." Yun Che didn't deny it at all. Even without the Golden Crow spirit's words, after meeting Mu Bingyun, he would definitely have chosen to follow her to the God Realm.

"But what exactly did the Golden Crow spirit's words mean? Why did it say that if I couldn't see you within five years, I would never be able to see you again?"

When he asked this, Yun Che's voice was filled with urgency and nervousness.

Jasmine let out a faint hum. "To become a complete Star God, after inheriting the power, one must also enter a special secret realm for a trial. When I met you, I had only recently inherited my divine power and hadn't yet undergone the trial. Upon returning to the Star God Realm, it was natural for me to complete this 'ritual.' This trial is not only difficult but also very time-consuming, possibly taking hundreds, even thousands of years. This duration is short for the God Realm, but extremely long for the lower realms—long enough to forget anything. That's likely why it said what it did."

Jasmine spoke with extreme calmness, unwilling to reveal the slightest flaw.

"...So that's how it is." Yun Che's eyebrows twitched, unsure if he believed her.

"Earlier, when I ordered you to leave, you said you had found the Heretic God's Dark Seed and completely eliminated the devilish ailment in your body... Is that true?" Jasmine changed the subject.

"Of course!" Yun Che opened his palm, and a ball of dark profound energy rose within it before instantly vanishing. He was demonstrating to Jasmine that his control over dark profound energy was as effortless as controlling fire and ice.

Jasmine's brow furrowed tightly, and she said sternly, "Back in the Profound Sky Continent, I told you that dark profound energy is an anomaly intolerable to heaven and earth. You personally witnessed the fate of that devil named 'Only Hatred' and how everyone treated him. You absolutely must not expose your dark profound energy in front of anyone! Otherwise, in this Divine Realm, anyone can kill you!"

"I know," Yun Che nodded. "Don't worry, with the Heretic God's power, it will never be exposed unless I wish it to be."

"Why did you go to the bottom of the Absolute Cloud Cliff? And how did you find this Dark Seed?" Jasmine's star-like eyes turned to him. "To make you willing to defy the oath I forced you to swear... it must have been for some woman!"

"Uh..." Yun Che gave an awkward chuckle. "Yes... it was because of Ling'er."

"Hmph, I knew it," Jasmine scoffed.

"As for that Dark Seed, it was given to me by a very strange little girl in that dark abyss."

"...A little girl?" Jasmine abruptly turned her head, surprised. "How could anyone exist in a place like that?"

"It is indeed hard to believe," Yun Che said slowly. "Her hair was a very unique silver, and her eyes had four colors. Even stranger, I had never seen her before, yet she seemed very... close to me? That Dark Seed, she gave it to me on her own initiative. Oh, and she didn't have a physical body; she was a pure soul body. The place where she resided had a sea of Netherworld Udumbara flowers, and she also seemed to never leave that flower sea."

Jasmine frowned. "That terrifying dark environment causes irreversible damage to souls. Back then, I dared not appear as a pure soul body in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest; it's also impossible there. Yet she, as a soul body, can exist there and even relies on the Netherworld flower sea... and she possesses the Heretic God's Dark Seed in her hand..."

Jasmine fell into deep thought…

Unless… it was a devil soul!

A pure devil soul!

Could that girl be a devil… existing since ancient times?

And the Heretic God, who possessed the Dark Seed…

"Hehehe... Do you... truly believe... the Heretic God... is a god...?"

The Moon Slaughter Devil Monarch's last words before his demise suddenly echoed in Jasmine's mind, causing her brow to suddenly furrow.

"Oh, right, the Udumbara flower you destroyed that day was given to me by her," Yun Che said, a hint of mischievousness appearing on his face.

Jasmine turned her face away and lightly snorted, "You clearly know I didn't destroy it."

"Haha..." Yun Che laughed. "That's why I told you, I didn't believe a single word you said that day, or what you said when you left all those years ago. We were soul-bound for so many years; how could I not know if you were speaking the truth or lying?"

"..." Jasmine's breathing became slightly ragged, then she said softly, "You carry many secrets that absolutely cannot be discovered by others, yet you chose to appear in the place in the Eastern Divine Region most likely to expose them. Therefore, that day, I could only do my best to drive you away; every extra moment you stayed brought an additional degree of danger. I never expected the result to be completely the opposite."

"I know," Yun Che nodded. "Actually, that day, if I could just see you, I would have abandoned the battle and left the Eternal Heaven God Realm without you saying a word. Or, if you had sent a voice transmission telling me to wait in a more suitable place, I wouldn't have hesitated at all. But... what you said that day was too absolute. Even though I didn't believe it, I was still very afraid—afraid that if I didn't go all out to become first in the Conferred God Battle, I truly would never see you again."

Jasmine turned her gaze, preventing Yun Che from seeing the sorrow that flickered deep in her eyes. She said softly, "After you saw me, would you really have left and never returned to the God Realm...? You wouldn't."

"..." Yun Che's chest rose and fell. "This time, will you still drive me away?"

Jasmine shook her head. "The situation is completely different now. The last thing you should do is go back."

"You are far too dazzling now. Before you, the two most dazzling individuals of this generation in the Eastern Divine Region were Luo Changsheng of the Sacred Universe Realm and Shui Meiyin of the Glazed Light Realm. What made them dazzling was that one possessed a unique innate body, and the other had an immaculate divine soul. Behind them were the powerful Sacred Universe Realm and Glazed Light Realm, respectively."

"As for you, your radiance now far surpasses theirs, but you lack the power to protect yourself and the influence to safeguard you. You are like a masterless pearl, bound to attract countless covetous eyes and struggles for possession. The most terrifying point is that you possess too many things that even the King Realms cannot comprehend. While 'Son of the Heavenly Way' barely explains your various anomalies, the 'True God Prophecy' can cause the King Realms to take actions far more insane than you can imagine because of you..."

"You simply cannot comprehend what the words 'True God' mean to the King Realms."

Yun Che: "..."

"Now, everyone wants to know where you truly came from, and what kind of secrets that place holds to have given birth to you, a 'Son of the Heavenly Way.' If they discover you originated from the 'Blue Pole Star,' then countless eyes will turn to that planet. Traces of Phoenix, Golden Crow, and Dragon God inheritances having existed there will all be discovered. This will make them even more certain that this tiny planet must harbor a massive secret... For the Blue Pole Star, for its people... especially those connected to you, the consequences would undoubtedly be utter ruin!"

All of this... because of me, Jasmine murmured inwardly.

"I know all of this," Yun Che said.

"You knew all this, yet you still did it!" Jasmine could barely suppress her agitation, her voice rising several decibels. But then, her eyes grew desolate, and she murmured as if to herself, "You're always like this... always have been..."

"Yun Che, you absolutely refuse to abandon anything you care about... And this is your greatest character flaw." Jasmine closed her eyes. "You would slaughter the Burning Heaven Clan for Ling Xi, confront Prince Huai for the Yun family, and risk your life to pick a broken Udumbara flower for me... How could you possibly be willing to abandon everything you have on the Blue Pole Star?"

"But how are you to go back now...?"

"I... actually already have a plan," Yun Che said with some hesitation.

Jasmine immediately turned her gaze sideways. "What plan?"

Yun Che extended his hand, taking out the Vanishing Moon Stone from the Sky Poison Pearl. "With this."

"Vanishing Moon Stone? The one Caizhi gave you?"

"Uh... I only found out today that this was left for me specifically by little... Caizhi." Yun Che was still somewhat flustered by the fact that "Little Jasmine" was truly Jasmine's younger sister. "The Vanishing Moon Stone allows for instantaneous teleportation across any space, leaving not the slightest trace that can be followed."

"So?"

Yun Che continued, "In a month, I will enter the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm within the Eternal Heaven Pearl, along with the other 'Heavenly Chosen Children.' Since it's an inner divine realm of the Eternal Heaven Pearl, it naturally won't be spied upon by anyone, and once inside, one obviously can't leave on their own. So, my plan is to leave the illusion of my death inside after entering the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm, then use the Vanishing Moon Stone to escape the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm and return to the Blue Pole Star."

Jasmine: "..."

"This way, with the illusion of my death in the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm, and my never emerging from it again, people in the God Realm won't suspect that I've perished."

Yun Che finished speaking, then said with a slight hint of nervousness, "It should... succeed, right?"

"You're too naive!" Jasmine shook her head. "The preliminary rounds of the Profound God Convention were projected within the Eternal Heaven Pearl; it sets the rules and determines the results. You can imagine how incredibly sentient it is! Even if you could truly fool everyone else's eyes, you absolutely could not fool the Eternal Heaven Pearl! Although the Eternal Heaven Pearl is currently masterless, it has always willingly served the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Are you truly so confident it won't inform the Eternal Heaven God Realm about this?"

"...The Eternal Heaven Pearl is a heaven-defying supreme treasure after all. Something on its level wouldn't stoop to filing such trivial reports, would it?" Yun Che said, feeling a little guilty.

"Alright, even if that's the case." Jasmine's slender brows furrowed deeply. "After you return to the Blue Pole Star, will you truly never come looking for me again? Will you truly abandon everything you have in the God Realm forever?"

"..." Yun Che's mouth slightly opened, and his hands suddenly clenched tightly. Of course, he had considered this. However, the sudden nine-stage lightning tribulation that made him famous throughout the world also forced him into a "dead end" he had never imagined. This was the only method he could conceive.

"Furthermore, after you return to the Blue Pole Star, will you truly be at ease? Xia Qingyue and Xia Yuanba's mother was clearly from the God Realm. Why did she choose to leave after awakening her memories and power, and never return?"

"In your years in the God Realm, you must have heard that when it comes to concealing one's aura, no one in the world surpasses me. Yet, that year, due to a momentary lapse, I was still detected by You'er."

"Your profound strength has now entered the Divine Way, making you exceptionally conspicuous in the lower realms. After the Conferred God Battle, even the top experts of the Eastern Divine Region have firmly memorized your aura. Unless you cripple your own profound strength, if a 'what if' scenario occurs, it will lead to the most terrifying consequences. Even if it doesn't happen, you will constantly live in fear and trepidation. Are you truly willing to live like that?"

Every word Jasmine spoke was not an exaggeration but the most direct and cruel truth.

After Yun Che's nine-stage tribulation astonished the world, Jasmine had thought extensively about his future. She understood what Yun Che was about to face far better than he did himself.

What happened to the Blue Pole Star was of no concern to her; even if the entire planet was annihilated, she wouldn't frown in the slightest. But she knew what it meant to Yun Che.

"Jasmine, are you... trying to tell me something?" Yun Che asked.

Jasmine looked at him, her words heavy. "If you want to protect yourself and protect the Blue Pole Star, then the one and only thing you must do is become powerful enough! Powerful enough to make all beings in the God Realm respect you, be wary of you, and fear you; powerful enough that only you can control the destinies of others, and no one can control yours... Just as you did in the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm!"