Chapter 1307: Mysterious God Xi

After an unknown period of unconsciousness, Yun Che slowly awoke. As his consciousness returned, his nostrils were filled with a rich, fragrant scent.

"Oh... you're awake."

A young girl's surprised cry reached his ears. Opening his eyes, he saw a stunning girl with emerald green eyes, as if she had stepped out of a painting, looking at him. She appeared to have just been crying; her green eyes were red and tear stains still streaked her cheeks.

Neither his body nor his soul felt any pain. His entire being showed no sign of weakness from prolonged torture and unconsciousness; instead, he felt unusually comfortable. A little dazed, he sat up. Everywhere he looked, there was a sea of flowers, birds and insects singing merrily, a gentle breeze, a clear sky, and a fairy before him. For several breaths, Yun Che felt as if he were in a dreamlike fairyland, unable to fully awaken.

"He... Ling..." Yun Che gazed steadily at the Wood Spirit girl before him.

He Ling, He Lin's sister.

Back then, He Lin had left their hiding place without permission, solely to find his sister. He had knelt before Yun Che, begging to become his disciple, all for the sake of finding his sister. He had given Yun Che the Wood Spirit Pearl, and as his life faded, with tears in his eyes, his only request had been to find his sister.

He had finally found her.

He hadn't forgotten. Before he fell unconscious, it was she who had knelt and pleaded with Shen Xi, thus allowing Shen Xi to permit him entry into the "Forbidden Land of Samsara." This was also why he could now escape the nightmare of the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark.

"Please... find my sister... for me..."

"I am the last Royal Wood Spirit of our clan, carrying our last hope... But I am so useless... I can't protect my sister, I can't protect our clansmen... I can't do anything... Even if I continue to live on, I'll only harm Big Brother Yun Che, who has been genuinely kind to me... Useless me... I can't find my sister, nor can I protect her... I can only... selfishly ask Big Brother Yun Che..."

"Don't say anymore... Don't worry, even if I have to scour the entire God Realm, I will find your sister! I will protect her... Whoever tries to harm her, I will kill them! Even if it costs me my life, I will absolutely not let her suffer any harm! I swear... I swear!!"

"Thank you, Big Brother Yun Che, this is... the only... thing I can repay you with..."

"When I was very young... my parents told me... my Wood Spirit Pearl is very special, it's a seed of miracles. I hope one day... it can truly... bring miraculous power to Big Brother Yun Che..."

Yun Che unconsciously clutched his chest. He Lin's tearful, life-filled words from back then had remained in his heart and soul, not a single word forgotten.

This time, it wasn't just He Ling who saved him, but also He Lin. If not for He Lin's Wood Spirit Pearl, even if Yun Che hadn't died, he would have wished for death.

"Mm-hmm..." The Wood Spirit girl nodded vigorously. She had thought her tears had run dry, but at Yun Che's soft call, her eyes instantly welled up with tears. "It's me, you..."

Looking at this man who was clearly a stranger, yet carried her most familiar aura, she choked up, unable to speak.

"Thank you... for saving me," Yun Che said as he sat upright, his words of gratitude feeling incredibly inadequate.

"My sister's name is He Ling... He Ling!"

"Then... what does she look like? Does she have any features that distinguish her from other Wood Spirits?"

"My sister is the most beautiful Wood Spirit, the prettiest sister in the world, more beautiful than all the flowers, more beautiful than the stars and moon in the sky!"

He had thought He Lin's words back then were simply his most instinctive, affectionate praise for his sister. But now, looking at the Wood Spirit girl so close to him, he realized He Lin hadn't lied at all.

Wood Spirits possess the pure power of nature, and both males and females are exceptionally beautiful; this seems to be a gift from nature itself. He Ling, as the last descendant of the Wood Spirit Royal Family, embodied this beauty to the extreme. Ten thousand vibrant flowers could not compare to even half her grace, and a single tear stain on her face seemed to cast a somber hue over the entire world.

The Wood Spirit girl shook her head. While Yun Che was unconscious, she had watched over him every day, but now that he was awake, she timidly avoided his gaze.

"How long... was I asleep?" Yun Che asked.

"Thirteen days," she answered softly. She secretly glanced at Yun Che, then immediately averted her beautiful eyes.

He wasn't He Lin, after all. This was the first time in her life she had been in such close contact with a human man.

"Thirteen days..." Yun Che murmured, sighing inwardly. Even though the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark was no longer on him, it was already too late to enter the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

Looking at the ring from Cai Zhi on his hand, he softly murmured in his heart, "Jasmine, it seems I'm destined to fail in fulfilling the promise I made to you... and Cai Zhi that day."

Qian... Ye... Ying...'er...

That name, and that golden figure, flashed in his mind. A surge of malevolence immediately arose in his soul, but as his gaze fell upon the Wood Spirit girl before him, he forcefully suppressed it.

That woman was too terrifying.

Her profound energy could shatter stars with a single finger. She was incredibly cunning, as venomous as a viper, yet exceptionally cautious. She had acted outside the Eastern Divine Region, avoiding all eyes and ears, and against someone who was completely helpless, she had still gone so far as to plant the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark.

Yun Che was never one to fear the powerful. Back then, even as only a Divine Soul Realm practitioner, he dared to confront the entire Black Soul Divine Sect alone, throwing a massive King Realm sect into utter chaos.

But Qianye Ying'er was simply too powerful. When facing her, Yun Che clearly felt like an ant crushed beneath a towering mountain. No matter what power, methods, or schemes he might deploy, he couldn't move her in the slightest.

Since she had already made her move, and even planted the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark, there was no reason for her to stop.

Now he was also forced to be unable to enter the Cosmic Pearl... Was he destined to live his entire life under her shadow?

Thinking of her terrifying nature, and the torment he endured under the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark, Yun Che's scalp tingled and his soul trembled. "Qianye Ying'er... I won't die that easily... If one day, you fall into my hands..."

"I'll defile you ten thousand times over and then slice you into a thousand pieces!!"

He directed the most venomous thoughts of his life towards Qianye Ying'er. Admittedly, given the immense gap between him and Qianye, he could only think about it.

"You... what's wrong? Is it starting to hurt again?" He Ling asked worriedly, seeing Yun Che's face suddenly contort slightly.

Yun Che snapped back to reality and quickly said, "No, no, I just thought of some things. Um... where is Senior Shen Xi? I haven't thanked her for saving my life yet."

He Ling's gaze turned to the bamboo house standing amidst the sea of flowers, and she said softly, "My Master is in seclusion. She cannot be disturbed while she's meditating. However, Master has been suppressing the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark for you every day recently, so her seclusion won't last long. You should be able to see her soon."

"Okay," Yun Che nodded in agreement, then asked, "What kind of person is Senior Shen Xi exactly? I had never heard of her before coming here."

Qianye Ying'er had said that only she herself could undo the Brahma Soul Death-wish Mark in the entire world. Given her level and power, there was no doubt about her claim.

Yet, Shen Xi could undo it.

And now, he truly felt no suffering from the Death-wish Mark.

Who exactly was she? To be able to suppress power at Qianye Ying'er's level?

No, wait! Qianye Ying'er had said that once afflicted with her Death-wish Mark, even a Divine Master would either beg for death or beg for mercy... Could it be that she was even more powerful than a Divine Master?

And the place she resided in was actually the Dragon God Realm's greatest forbidden land!?

He Ling thought for a moment and said, "My Master is a very powerful and great person. Three years ago, Master saved my life and, pitying my solitude, brought me here. But I don't know much else about Master, only that... she seems to be bound by something, forcing her to remain here. Although she can occasionally leave, she can't stay away for too long each time, otherwise, she will disappear."

"...Disappear?" These two words stunned Yun Che.

"Yes, Master said so," He Ling nodded gently. "Master meditates here every day to break free from this 'bondage.' And this time, because of me... Master will have to wait a long time again to break free."

She lowered her head, biting her lip tightly.

This "long time"... wasn't ten or a hundred years, but twenty thousand years.

"..." Yun Che paused, then quickly said, "No, it's not because of you, it's because of me."

That day, outside the Forbidden Land of Samsara, he had heard Shen Xi's faint voice clearly. He remembered Shen Xi saying that saving him would undo twenty thousand years of her efforts...

In other words, by saving him, her release from "bondage" would be delayed by twenty thousand years.

He raised a hand and scratched his scalp. This was yet another enormous kindness he couldn't repay.

In his life, he always encountered various misfortunes, but also always met one benefactor after another. He didn't know whether to resent it or be grateful.

No wonder Xia Qingyue's desperate pleas had been met with such firm refusal. Twenty thousand years was an incredibly long time even for beings at the Divine Master level. After all, the lifespan limit for human Divine Masters was only fifty thousand years.

The fact that she ultimately agreed to save him was truly incredible.

He Ling still shook her head. She slowly raised her gaze, and after consistently avoiding Yun Che's eyes, she now looked at him steadily. In a very soft voice, she asked, "Can you... tell me about Lin'er? How... how did he... die...?"

As she spoke these words, he saw a deep shade of pain in He Ling's crystal-clear emerald eyes.

From He Lin's deep concern for her, Yun Che had known early on that the siblings shared an exceptionally close bond. He Lin's death was not only the blow of losing her last kin but also the severing of the Wood Spirit Royal lineage.

"Okay," Yun Che nodded. Even if it was cruel, he had to tell He Ling.

"I met He Lin in a lower star realm called the Black Soul Realm," Yun Che began. "At that time, I was determined to obtain a Wood Spirit Pearl..."

He then recounted in full detail how he had entered the Black Soul Realm in pursuit of a Wood Spirit Pearl, "bought" He Lin, ultimately couldn't bring himself to kill him, and instead sent him back to his hiding place... only for it to tragically lead to the slaughter of all the Wood Spirits there. He described everything that had happened with utmost detail, especially every word, every plea, and every tear from He Lin, relaying it all to He Ling.

All the way until He Lin offered up his Royal Wood Spirit Pearl, then dissolved into tears in Yun Che's arms.

He Ling listened quietly, without interrupting. As she heard the familiar names and learned that they had all died, her pale hands pressed tightly against her lips, tears streamed down uncontrollably, and her whole body trembled violently, as if caught in a bitter arctic wind.

"Dead... they're all... dead..." she sobbed, every word laden with tears.

"..." Yun Che dared not look into her eyes. "It was I who harmed them, I who brought disaster upon that place. I incinerated the corpse of the culprit, Lei Qianfeng, where they rest, but..."

Yun Che's voice suddenly stopped, because, within his sight, a single, crystalline green tear dropped onto the ground beside his feet.

He sharply looked up, startled to see two emerald green streaks of liquid on He Ling's snowy face.

That was the color of Wood Spirit blood!

Even more frightening was that her originally emerald green eyes had become shrouded in a heavy layer of gloom.

Yun Che's heart jolted; he rushed forward to grasp He Ling's shoulders. "He Ling... He Ling! You..."

"Grandma Qingye... Uncle Qingmu... Feiyu... Zhuyin... Qingzhu... They're all dead... all... dead..."

She murmured each name softly, her emerald blood piercing her heart. Her pupils lost focus, replaced only by pain, despair, and an increasingly heavy gloom—a gloom that should never appear on a Wood Spirit.

"He Ling!" Yun Che shook her frail shoulders hard, speaking urgently. "Listen to me, they are gone, and you are the last descendant and hope of the Wood Spirit Royal Family, so you must be stronger... I have He Lin's Wood Spirit Pearl, so I'm already half a Wood Spirit. From now on, I will search for and protect other Wood Spirits with you. Don't..."

A hand weakly pushed him away at that moment. He Ling turned and stumbled away, leaving a long trail of emerald blood behind her...

"He Ling!"

Yun Che quickly stood up, wanting to follow, but from behind him, a soft sigh sounded.

"Sigh... let her go."

Yun Che froze, then turned around.

She was bathed in a pure, sacred white light. Her face was obscured, revealing only her graceful figure, like that of a fairy or a phantom.

Although she was clearly close by, she seemed to stand on an impossibly high cloud.

Shen Xi.