Chapter 1291: Immortal Palace Cloud and Moon

At this thought, Yun Che’s heart grew heavy. He said softly, “Qingyue, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me…”

“This isn’t your fault,” Xia Qingyue gently shook her head. “This was my choice.”

“But why didn’t you tell me all this? You just needed to send a sound transmission to me then, perhaps… perhaps…”

Yun Che didn’t finish his thought about what that “perhaps” might be.

“Perhaps you would have accepted it then?” Xia Qingyue asked.

“At least I would have known you weren’t truly marrying the Moon God Emperor.” Yun Che looked up and closed his eyes, his mind a turmoil.

“You would know, but would everyone else?” Xia Qingyue softly uttered words almost identical to her mother’s: “From then on, the world would know me as the Moon God Realm’s Divine Empress, even if it were just a title. Even if the Star God Emperor hadn’t publicly exposed our marriage, even if this matter was never revealed, could you… truly accept it?”

Yun Che had no answer.

Xia Qingyue gently shook her head. “You are an incredibly proud person; I’ve known that since the day I married you. Today, you brutally beat his two sons in front of my foster father. Wasn’t that to show me the anger and hatred in your heart?”

“Qingyue… I…”

“You don’t need to feel guilty, nor do you owe me anything. If you weren’t here, ‘Divine Empress’ would simply be a title for me, one that could fulfill my foster father’s expectations and my own aspirations. But you are still here, and I am your wife…”

On one side were her foster father and mother; on the other, Yun Che, who had suddenly reappeared…

Everything could have proceeded smoothly, but just as Moon Ashen’s memory suddenly returned years ago, fate played a joke on her, whether benevolent or malicious. It brought Yun Che, whom she thought she had lost forever, back before her eyes.

She chose Yun Che… without thinking, because at that moment, her mind was in utter chaos, unable to process anything.

Even now, she didn’t know why she chose Yun Che.

With everyone from the Eastern Divine Region present, the wedding could no longer be reversed or halted. After asking the Moon God Emperor for the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace, she had originally intended to leave on her own, escaping the title of “Divine Empress,” and then return to explain and atone once the Moon God Emperor’s anger subsided.

But with the marriage certificate publicly revealed by the Star God Emperor, and Yun Che also publicly admitting it, she had no choice but to leave with Yun Che. Otherwise, the Moon God Emperor, in his uncontrolled fury, would surely kill Yun Che—no matter who he was.

Yun Che’s heart was violently shaken… He had just silently asked himself: Xia Qingyue wasn’t truly marrying anyone; a completely false title and identity he truly wouldn’t be unable to accept. But on the other side were his foster father’s dignity and most crucial expectations, as well as his birth mother’s dying wish…

Yet she chose him… abandoning her foster father, who had shown her great kindness, abandoning her birth mother, and abandoning the Moon God Realm.

Her Moon Garment was stained with the heart-blood she had spat out, a sight more piercing and painful than before.

They were husband and wife, had been since they were sixteen…

But looking back on these years, what had he ever done for her?

He had one confidante after another, even marrying Cang Yue and the Little Demon Empress later… When had he ever asked his true wife, or even considered her feelings?

He had always thought Xia Qingyue was only devoted to the profound way, deliberately distancing herself from him, and disregarding their marital bond.

Only today did he realize that the one who had truly been indifferent… was himself.

A suffocating feeling gripped his chest. Yun Che stepped forward and gently embraced her from behind.

Xia Qingyue trembled slightly… but did not pull away.

Her body was still cold, and the heart-gnawing torment of abandoning her foster father and birth mother still left her in agony. But feeling Yun Che’s real presence, her heart slowly, bit by bit, began to find peace. She closed her eyes and spoke in a voice like one from a dream: “All these years, I always thought I was living in an illusory dream, until… I saw you again…”

The tragic change in her sect; in the blink of an eye, she had arrived in a completely unfamiliar world.

Utterly alone, every person, every object, every wisp of air, every speck of dust around her was alien… She knew no one; no one accompanied her or helped her… Everything in the Profound Sky Continent seemed to have become a memory to which she could never return.

That faint sentence revealed endless solitude and sorrow. Even though she had found her mother here, she was still accompanied only by loneliness.

It wasn’t until Yun Che’s appearance that she felt herself awaken from the “dream.” She even felt that she was still “alive.”

“Qingyue, from now on… I’ll be with you,” Yun Che murmured, holding her tighter. “For what happened this time, I’ll go back with you and apologize to the Moon God Emperor and your mother.”

“No,” Xia Qingyue shook her head. “I told you, this isn’t your fault. I will apologize to them myself.”

“Since you still acknowledge me as your husband,” Yun Che said with a slight smile, “then of course, we should atone together as husband and wife.”

Xia Qingyue still shook her head. “My foster father might forgive me, and he might no longer take his anger out on you, but… he can never forgive you. Your presence would only provoke his fury.”

Xia Qingyue’s words made Yun Che pause, and then fall silent.

Xia Qingyue was Moon Ashen’s daughter, his adopted daughter; even a grave mistake, the Moon God Emperor might forgive. But what was Yun Che to the Moon God Emperor?

As the “culprit” behind everything, it was already merciful that the entire Eastern Divine Region wasn’t hunting him down. What reason was there to forgive him?

Even though he hadn’t actually done anything…

“Twenty-four hours will be enough for my foster father to calm his anger.” Xia Qingyue’s voice softened slightly, and in her heart, she sighed a sigh Yun Che could not hear. “After twenty-four hours, I will send you to the Heaven Smiting Divine Realm, and then I will return to the Moon God Realm to apologize to my foster father… You don’t need to worry about me; my foster father treats me as his own, and he won’t be too harsh on me.”

“You should cultivate peacefully in the Heaven Smiting Divine Realm… That truly is a once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity.”

Although she hadn’t paid much attention to the Profound God Convention, she knew about the thousand chosen children entering the Heaven Smiting Divine Pearl.

Just as Yun Che was about to reply, the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace suddenly shook violently, and even its bright light flickered for a moment.

Yun Che frowned, quickly releasing Xia Qingyue. “What’s going on?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw, on the vast light screen directly ahead, within the boundless cosmic space, a dazzling golden figure hurtling towards them.

The Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace was incredibly fast, yet this golden figure was steadily closing the distance between them and the Immortal Palace.

The tremor just now was clearly his profound energy attack!

“It’s ‘Golden Moon God’ Yue Wuji,” Xia Qingyue said, looking at the screen, her beautiful face showing no panic. “Among the Twelve Moon Gods, he is the fastest besides my foster father.”

“But he won’t catch us.”

As she spoke softly, Xia Qingyue’s fair hand turned, and with a flash of moonlight, the already incredibly fast Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace subtly accelerated even further.

Instantly, the distance stopped closing, and in a moment, it gradually began to widen slightly.

Sensing this, the golden figure seemed to grow agitated. A sky-shrouding golden profound aura suddenly blasted out, directly enveloping the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace.

The Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace was, after all, one of the top-tier profound warships in the entire God Realm. Even against the power of a Moon God, it possessed strong defensive capabilities. Under the golden profound light, the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace vibrated intensely, and its flight path was momentarily altered. But in just a few breaths, it regained its balance, and its speed was almost completely unaffected.

Due to the recoil, the golden figure was once again pulled further away.

“I hope he doesn’t chase us for too long.”

No sooner had Xia Qingyue’s soft murmur ended than she saw the golden figure suddenly stop… In just an instant, it completely vanished from sight.

Xia Qingyue paused in slight surprise, her chest rising and falling. Lost in thought, she murmured, “Has foster father’s anger already subsided?”

In her hand, a profound aura flickered again, and the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace slightly reduced its speed. Extreme speed significantly increased energy consumption; the Golden Moon God suddenly stopping his pursuit could only mean an order from the Moon God Emperor. This implied that the “crisis” might have been resolved earlier than expected, and thus, extreme speed was no longer necessary to conserve enough energy for at least twenty-four hours of flight.

The tense atmosphere, which had lasted less than ten breaths, completely dissipated. The two looked into each other’s eyes, momentarily speechless.

Yun Che was the first “old acquaintance” Xia Qingyue had met in the God Realm, and Xia Qingyue was likewise the first “old acquaintance” Yun Che had met in the God Realm.

They had been married for twelve years, yet they were often separated, seeming both together and apart. Every meeting was fleeting, and every separation lasted months or even years. There had even been separations by life and death.

If not for that wedding ceremony and the marriage certificate, perhaps there would have been no proof that they were husband and wife.

Yet, strangely, they always found their way into each other’s lives. At Heavenly Sword Villa, their battle was ultimately as husband and wife; she remained in the Frozen Cloud Asgard, and Yun Che became the first male disciple in its history; she was sent to the God Realm, and after their “separation by life and death,” they reunited in this vast world.

It was as if they had always been bound together by invisible, intricate threads.

“How did you survive in the Primordial Profound Ark back then?” Xia Qingyue was the first to speak. “And why did you come to the God Realm?”

“At that time, I also thought I was certainly going to die…”

The events on the Primordial Profound Ark were somewhat distant for Yun Che now, but his memories were perfectly clear. He began to tell Xia Qingyue everything that had happened then. He told Xia Qingyue about Jasmine’s existence, how he had landed in the Illusory Demon Realm with the Primordial Profound Ark, found his birth parents, and met the Little Demon Empress… He then returned to the Profound Sky Continent to save the Frozen Cloud Asgard from disaster…

From his own journey to the Frozen Cloud Asgard, to Xia Yuanba’s growth, to the calamity of Xuanyuan Wentian, to the changes in the Profound Sky Continent’s power structure… all the way until he followed Mu Bingyun to the God Realm and became a disciple of the Ice Phoenix God Sect.

For the first time, he opened his heart to Xia Qingyue like this. Perhaps it was because her “choice” had profoundly moved him.

“I never expected Ancestor Bingyun to still be alive. And that the Frozen Cloud Asgard has such a connection with the Snow Song Realm.” Xia Qingyue sighed with emotion.

In her first year in the God Realm, Xia Qingyue learned from the Moon God Emperor that the Ice Phoenix Divine Art she cultivated was clearly the Snow Song Realm’s Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome.

But she naturally couldn’t have imagined how miraculous this connection was.

“If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll take you to meet Palace Master Bingyun.” Thinking of Mu Bingyun, Yun Che’s heart unconsciously warmed. “At first, I thought Palace Master Bingyun was utterly cold and emotionless. Later, I discovered she isn’t ruthless at all; on the contrary, she’s the purest and gentlest person I’ve met. This time, she must be worried about me again.”

Unbeknownst to them, the Moon-Evasion Immortal Palace had already flown out of the Eastern Divine Region, entering the vast, boundless unknown space.