Chapter 1311: Metamorphosis

Having received the answer she sought, Mu Xuanyin's long-burdened heart finally found some relief. She said nothing more, her gaze shifted from Xia Qingyue, and her figure slowly vanished into the air, leaving no trace.

Fifty years. Could he truly wait fifty years?

Xia Qingyue bowed slightly towards the spot where Mu Xuanyin had been, then turned and departed.

"Since Shen Xi broke precedent by keeping Yun Che, there's no reason she wouldn't keep you too, whether to guard a secret or because of your Glazed Heart." Mu Xuanyin's cool voice suddenly echoed from behind Xia Qingyue. "Why would you give up this opportunity that others could only dream of, only to return to a place where you've completely sinned?"

Xia Qingyue paused, her voice faint. "The Moon God Emperor saved my life and nurtured me with great kindness. He also saved and redeemed my mother. I haven't repaid him, but instead, I've severely damaged his reputation. If I were to leave now... how could I ever face the world again?"

Mu Xuanyin frowned slightly. "...Your mother?"

"Yue Wugou." In front of the woman who would dare infiltrate the Moon God Realm for Yun Che, Xia Qingyue revealed the secret so directly.

Mu Xuanyin's eyes flickered for a moment, yet she felt more a sense of relief than surprise—no wonder she possessed a Glazed Heart; she was born of a Peerless Divine Body.

"Furthermore, what would I gain by staying there?" Xia Qingyue sighed softly. "Come out with him fifty years from now, then continue to hide, flee, forever living in fear under your protection?"

Mu Xuanyin's brows furrowed deeply. "What do you mean by that?"

Xia Qingyue turned, her icy gaze meeting Mu Xuanyin's once more. "Qianye Ying'er already knows Yun Che's greatest secret. Because of this, she didn't hesitate to implant the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark on him. For these fifty years in the Samsara Forbidden Land, Qianye Ying'er cannot touch him. But what about after fifty years? Do you think Qianye Ying'er will stop?"

Mu Xuanyin said coldly, "No."

"You are his master, the one who cares for him most. So, do you dare to kill Qianye Ying'er and eliminate this threat for him forever?" Xia Qingyue asked.

Mu Xuanyin's icy eyes narrowed slightly. "I wouldn't dare, and I couldn't kill her either."

"Precisely, you wouldn't dare." Xia Qingyue shook her head gently. "My mother wasn't harmed by the Star God Realm; she was harmed by Qianye Ying'er. The Moon God Emperor dared to vent his hatred on the Star God Realm, but chose to tolerate this truth. It is known throughout the world that the Star God Emperor's son, Sirius Star God Xisu, died because of Qianye Ying'er, yet the Star God Emperor also chose to tolerate it."

"None of you dare. Even with your strength, not one of you dares to act against Qianye Ying'er. So... fifty years from now, Yun Che and I, targeted by Qianye Ying'er, will still only be able to hide, flee, and endure, forever living in her shadow, never knowing true peace... until one day we fall completely into her hands. And the past grudges and hatred will never be repaid by her."

Mu Xuanyin did not refute, nor could she.

"During those days with Yun Che, I experienced much helplessness. Helplessness when facing choices, helplessness when facing betrayal, helplessness when facing absolute power, helplessness when facing death, helplessness when facing humiliation, helplessness when facing the Death-Wishing Mark... It also reminded me of the helplessness I felt facing my sect's calamity years ago, and the helplessness of being unable to return home after all these years in the God Realm..."

"I have... come to loathe this feeling."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Mu Xuanyin asked.

Xia Qingyue tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and spoke slowly: "Years ago, the Moon God Emperor told me that I possess both a Glazed Heart and an Exquisite Body. This is an unprecedented 'miracle' in the history of the God Realm, something even the Primordial God of Eternal Heaven couldn't match. Yet, I lack... the most crucial thing that would truly match these abilities..."

"Ambition!"

Mu Xuanyin: "..."

She looked at Mu Xuanyin and suddenly asked, "Senior Mu. Compared to me, Yun Che, who possesses the inheritance of a Creation God's power, should be considered an even greater 'miracle' bestowed by heaven, and the Nine-Level Lightning Tribulation is the best proof. So, in your opinion, what does he lack the most?"

"Ambition," Mu Xuanyin answered without hesitation.

Any person of exceptional talent would desire fame, to establish their own sect, and to reign supreme in the world. Even at the level of a King Realm, they desperately pursue the elusive Divine Way.

Yun Che's aptitude was undeniably monstrous; he possessed the world's sole inheritance from a Creation God, yet he harbored no such ambition. His growth was incredibly rapid, but the purpose of his desperate cultivation, in the eyes of other profound practitioners, was simply laughable in its purity... No one would believe that if it weren't to see Jasmine, he would have no interest whatsoever in the title "Number One in Conferred God."

Even his arrival in the God Realm wasn't to pursue a higher level of divine profound truth, but solely to see Jasmine.

"Indeed..." Xia Qingyue sighed softly and nodded. "He is the most qualified and should be the most ambitious person, yet paradoxically, what he lacks most is ambition. What he cares about most has always been his family and his women. Ambition... he never had it before, and perhaps he never will."

"Since he won't have it, then I... must."

"What exactly are you doing by saying all this?" Mu Xuanyin's icy eyes narrowed further. The oppressive aura emanating from Xia Qingyue became clearer and clearer; it was no illusion.

Xia Qingyue's profound energy was only at the first level of the Divine Spirit Realm, yet it could exert such pressure on Mu Xuanyin, which was absolutely beyond common sense.

"Since all of you do not dare, cannot, and will not kill Qianye Ying'er, then I am the only one who can." Xia Qingyue spoke very softly and slowly, as if stating something utterly commonplace: "Heaven granted me a Glazed Heart and an Exquisite Body. I shall follow heaven's will and do what a 'miracle person' ought to do. Even if it means an all-out struggle, even if it means resorting to any means necessary, I will not allow him and me to live solely under her shadow!"

"...You want to kill... Qianye?" Mu Xuanyin said coldly, "On what grounds?"

"It's not 'on what grounds,' but 'there is no other choice.'"

"You're thinking too simply," Mu Xuanyin said, giving her a deep look. "Qianye Ying'er is formidable not just because of herself. Behind her is the Brahma Monarch God Realm, and she has countless admirers in the Eastern, Western, and Southern Divine Regions. With just a word from her, countless powerful individuals would be willing to go mad or even die for her."

"I know," Xia Qingyue said softly. "Therefore... if I fail, or if I die, then fifty years from now, I will trouble Senior Mu to retrieve him from the Samsara Forbidden Land and persuade him to remain in the Dragon God Realm."

"Oh, and also," Xia Qingyue continued, "He and I have severed our emotional ties; we are no longer husband and wife, nor do we have any relationship whatsoever. Everything I do from now on, whether right or wrong, good or bad, righteous or evil, alive or dead, will have nothing to do with him. I also promise Senior Mu that my future 'ruthless means' will absolutely not involve Senior Mu or the Snow Song Realm."

"If, in the future, I am fortunate enough to create a suitable opportunity, I will trouble Senior Mu to send him back to the world he wishes to return to. He has never truly belonged here. As for me... I can never go back."

Bowing deeply to Mu Xuanyin, Xia Qingyue turned and departed, her slow steps gradually carrying her out of sight.

Her footsteps were heavy, as if burdened by ten thousand jin of shackles, and as if she were resolutely walking towards an endless abyss.

Mu Xuanyin stood still, her icy brows tightly furrowed, a turbulent storm raging in her heart.

During the Moon God Realm's wedding ceremony, Mu Xuanyin had concealed herself high above and had seen Xia Qingyue from afar. At that time, Xia Qingyue's eyes appeared cold and spiritless, seemingly filled with endless confusion... even emptiness, as if she were immersed in a dream from which she had not awakened.

But the Xia Qingyue of today was like a completely different person from the one she had seen that day.

Under continuous intense shocks, it is indeed possible for a person's state of mind to change or even transform in a short period... but if Xia Qingyue had undergone a transformation, it was truly too drastic.

Moreover, that subtle spiritual pressure was definitely not something a mere "transformation" could produce.

"Is she serious?" Mu Xuanyin murmured. She was surprised by her own reaction... because Xia Qingyue's words, spoken by a woman whose profound energy was only at the Divine Spirit Realm and who was less than thirty years old, should have been utterly absurd and laughable.

This was the Moon God Realm, an extremely dangerous place, and Mu Xuanyin could not linger. Her figure and aura once again vanished into the air, leaving no trace of her presence.

Leaving the Moon God Realm and standing in the vast void, Mu Xuanyin reappeared, silently gazing to the west. After a long time, she softly sighed, "Che'er, the consequences of today... do you regret ever coming to the God Realm?"

Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm, Samsara Forbidden Land.

Yun Che sat upright on the ground, his eyes closed, golden patterns flickering across his body. Shen Xi stood quietly before him, still shrouded in white light, her immortal figure hazy. As her jade finger pointed, a streak of white light slowly floated over Yun Che's body until it completely entered him.

As the white light merged, the golden patterns on his body also vanished.

Yun Che rose. Just as he was about to instinctively perform a junior's bow, he immediately realized she disliked formalities and straightened up again, expressing his gratitude: "Thank you, Senior Shen Xi."

"No need." With those two soft, faint words, Shen Xi turned away.

She spent almost all her time in quiet meditation each day; Yun Che only saw her during the brief moments she suppressed the Death-Wishing Mark for him. This time, however, she did not leave immediately but said softly, "Your heart has been restless, which isn't conducive to removing your Death-Wishing Mark."

"Yes... This junior will try his best to adjust," Yun Che replied, sighing deeply inwardly.

Fifty years... Fifty years!

How could I possibly be at ease?!

There were less than two years left until the latest date Yun Che had promised the Little Demon Empress and the others he would return!

Moreover, being targeted by Qianye Ying'er, with her terrifying nature, as long as she was alive, even if he left here fifty years later, it would still be impossible for him to return.

This place could be said to be the purest, safest, and most tranquil in the entire God Realm, yet whenever Yun Che thought of these things, he simply couldn't calm his mind.

These past days, Shen Xi had continuously sensed Yun Che's restless state of mind. She suddenly said, "If you wish to remove your Death-Wishing Mark more quickly, there is a method."

Yun Che was startled. "What method?"

"This method can only be implemented once the Death-Wishing Mark has been suppressed to a certain extent; now is not the time," Shen Xi said softly. "When the time is right, I will tell you."

This was undoubtedly excellent news for Yun Che. He quickly said, "That would be wonderful! Thank you, Senior Shen Xi."

"...Go comfort Ling'er. The blow she suffered was too great, and only you can 'save' her."

Shen Xi stepped forward, her immortal figure slowly fading away like a faint mist.

Her words made Yun Che pause... Save?

Why did she say "save"?