Chapter 1321: Fate

Yun Che’s chest rose and fell. He frowned and asked, "First, tell me, who exactly are you? Why have you been acting this way towards me... what is your purpose?"

He found that Shen Xi was becoming increasingly enigmatic. Before her, he felt completely exposed. His secrets, his thoughts, even things he hadn't realized himself—she could always pierce through them with a single word. Yet, her willingness to reveal her true face to him only made Yun Che feel that the mist surrounding her grew denser.

"Master, were... were your words just now true?" He Ling's face changed color. She felt as though she had heard the most unbelievable words of her life.

Shen Xi, always so serene and gentle, slowly said, "You know my name, 'Shen Xi,' and you must have also heard of the 'Dragon Queen.' But it seems you don't realize that in the eyes of the world, 'Dragon Queen Shen Xi' is the complete title."

"..." Yun Che's face and eyes simultaneously underwent a dramatic change. "You... are... the Dragon Queen!?"

Having heard from He Ling that the Dragon Monarch visited the Samsara Forbidden Land every one or two months, and that he was deeply infatuated with Shen Xi—a fact seemingly known to all—the thought "Shen Xi is the Dragon Queen" briefly flashed through his mind. However, he immediately dismissed it the next instant.

Now, hearing Shen Xi utter the words herself, he was utterly shocked and still couldn't believe it. He abruptly looked up. "No! Impossible! You clearly... still possess your primordial yin. How could you be the Dragon Queen?"

The Dragon Queen and the Divine Maiden were two women in the legends of the God Realm, said to embody the world's most exquisite beauty. Given Shen Xi's appearance and ethereal charm, if she were the Dragon Queen, she would undoubtedly live up to the name, without any exaggeration.

If not for yesterday, he would have believed it. But after the day and night that had just passed... how could he believe that Shen Xi was the Dragon Queen?! Who in the God Realm didn't know that the Dragon Queen was from the Dragon God race and was the wife of the Dragon Monarch, the foremost being in the Primal Chaos?!

Seeing Yun Che's clearly distorted expression, He Ling timidly said, "Master, she... she... she really is the Dragon Queen."

Yun Che: "..."

"You needn't find it strange, nor feel that you've done anything wrong," Shen Xi said softly. "'Dragon Queen' is indeed how the world refers to me, but it is merely a title. It does not mean I am descended from the Dragon Clan, much less am I the Dragon Monarch's wife."

"The 'Dragon Queen' that the world believes in has never truly existed."

"..." Yun Che froze for several seconds. Remembering He Ling's words about Shen Xi being confined to this place for some reason and unable to leave, vague suspicions formed in his mind. But thinking of what had transpired between them, his scalp still tingled. "What exactly is your relationship with the Dragon Monarch? If... you're not... then why are you called the 'Dragon Queen'?"

Shen Xi did not conceal anything. She calmly explained, "By granting me the name 'Dragon Queen,' I have been able to remain safely in this place for all these years. This is his repayment to me, and it was also my wish. As for the Dragon Monarch, in my eyes, he has always been... a junior."

"A... junior?" This answer stunned both Yun Che and He Ling.

"Thirty-five millennia ago, when I first met him, he was even younger than you, probably around twenty years old," Shen Xi recounted slowly. "At that time, he had been harmed by his own kin and abandoned in a desolate land, his body crippled, unable to see or speak, awaiting death in despair."

"I took pity on him then and rescued him, using profound light energy to heal his eyes, speech, and profound veins."

She glanced at Yun Che and said, "Dragons are the venerated beings among all spirits, and the Dragon God race has always been the strongest and most sacred lineage in the God Realm. In the eyes of the world, they are proud and possess immense dignity, never stooping to base or ugly deeds. What people don't know is that the struggles within the Dragon Clan might be even darker than those among your human race; you simply don't see them."

Shen Xi's words profoundly overturned Yun Che's understanding of the Dragon Clan. He had never imagined that the Dragon Monarch, who now dominated the world unchallenged, had such a tragic past... to have his entire body crippled, his eyes and tongue ruined—the mere thought sent shivers down one's spine.

"After experiencing despair, his temperament changed drastically. He, who was originally without ambition, developed immense ambition fueled by resentment, showing no mercy to his own kin... step by step, he eventually became the Dragon Monarch."

"So, without you, there would be no Dragon Monarch as he is today," Yun Che murmured to himself.

Shen Xi gently shook her head. "From the moment I rescued him, I noticed the unusual way he looked at me, and I have seen such gazes far too many times in my life. I initially thought everything would gradually fade with time. However, after hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of years, he remained as he was at first. On the day he finally became the Dragon Monarch, he told me that he had striven with all his might to become the supreme leader of the Dragon Clan, simply to be worthy of me... Even though he knew it was utterly impossible between us, he never let go."

She sighed softly. "I saved him back then, but it seems I also harmed him."

She had always treated the Dragon Monarch's feelings with indifference, never caring for over three hundred millennia... But with Yun Che's appearance, she found herself compelled to care.

"..." Yun Che remained silent for a very long time. Although Shen Xi's explanation was brief, it was enough for Yun Che to roughly understand the situation. Given Shen Xi's grace, the number of her admirers back then would surely not have been fewer than the current Divine Maiden's. By bestowing upon her the title of Dragon Queen and designating this place as forbidden, no one in the world could disturb her tranquility. This was a form of repayment from the Dragon Monarch to Shen Xi... but it also undeniably contained the Dragon Monarch's personal desires and longings.

Though the Dragon Monarch's life experience was tens of thousands of times greater than his own, Yun Che could understand the Dragon Monarch's persistence towards Shen Xi... To be rescued by Shen Xi at the most desperate and helpless point in his life, coupled with her dreamlike grace, the sight he beheld when his vision returned must have been deeply imprinted on his soul, impossible to forget for all eternity.

He was the Dragon Monarch, yet he was also a mortal being. Because of Shen Xi, for over three hundred millennia, he had truly never been involved with any other woman... at least, it was rumored that he had only one "Dragon Queen" throughout his life. Such singular devotion and persistence were rare in the world.

And Shen Xi, facing the Dragon Monarch's infatuation of over three hundred millennia, had never once given any response, even after he became the venerated Dragon Monarch, the supreme being of the Primal Chaos... Her intact primordial yin was proof of everything.

Waves churned in Yun Che's heart, utterly unable to calm down. Shen Xi was the Dragon Queen, one of the two legendary "Dragon Queen and Divine Maiden"! Although "Dragon Queen" was merely a nominal title that allowed her to live in peace for so many years, only she and the Dragon Monarch should know this. Yet, in the eyes of the world, she was the Dragon Monarch's wife... and he had actually *taken* the "Dragon Queen" while half-conscious and half-lost!

What power and status did the Dragon Monarch possess? His infatuation with Shen Xi was extreme, yet he dared not harbor any extravagant hopes for hundreds of thousands of years, nor even a hint of blasphemy. Perhaps, in his eyes, Shen Xi was a perfect, flawless dream... If he were to discover that this "dream" had been defiled by a junior insignificant in his presence... his reaction would be simply unimaginable.

At the same time, he found it increasingly incomprehensible why Shen Xi, who remained indifferent even to a figure like the Dragon Monarch, would treat *him* this way. Her words, her gaze, her actions—in anyone's eyes, they were simply unbelievable and incomprehensible... Could it be that everything since he entered the Samsara Forbidden Land had actually been a dream, none of it real?

Watching Yun Che's fluctuating expression, Shen Xi smiled faintly, "Are you afraid?"

Yun Che: "..."

"If you are afraid, afraid to face the Dragon Monarch, then..." Shen Xi's gaze drifted from Yun Che's body, looking indifferently into the distance. "You may consider yesterday's events as never having happened. I can guarantee that no one else will ever know about this. And I will never speak of what was said today again."

Yun Che took several deep breaths, his chest gradually calming. "You are the Dragon Queen, but not the Dragon Queen that the world believes you to be. That means I have never done anything to offend the Dragon Monarch!"

Shen Xi softly said, "I, Shen Xi, belong to no one but myself. What I did to you, and what you did to me, concerns only you and me. Of course, you have done nothing to offend him."

"Then why should I be afraid? Why should I not dare!?" Yun Che's tone was somewhat stiff, but resolute.

"..." Shen Xi turned her gaze back, nodding slightly. "You finally haven't disappointed me."

"But you must tell me the reason... why you are like this towards me?" Yun Che stared directly at her, unsure if he couldn't tear his gaze away or if he was trying to discern something from her starry eyes.

Shen Xi shook her head. "I cannot tell you. I have my own reasons, but please believe that I will never harm you."

"Why can't you tell me?" Yun Che pressed.

"Because, as you are now, you are too insignificant," Shen Xi stated bluntly. "The higher your level, the broader your perspective. The stronger your power, the more choices you will have. With your current strength and level, if I were to tell you everything, it might resolve your confusion, but it would also harm you."

She avoided Yun Che's direct gaze, her eyes becoming slightly misty. "I originally thought that there was nothing ahead of me. For all these years, all I could do was break free from these restraints and then search the vast world for a home that might never exist... until your appearance."

Yun Che: "Me?"

He Ling: "...Huh?"

"If you cannot dispel the confusion in your heart, then you only need to remember one thing," Shen Xi said softly. "Our destinies are intertwined."

She had not anticipated that this man, brought by Xia Qingyue across the Eastern and Western Divine Regions—a man she initially did not wish to keep, but allowed to stay due to He Ling's tearful pleas—was actually the very person she had believed she would never find. And he had appeared before her even before she had managed to break free from her restraints.

Those seemingly light words undoubtedly brought deeper confusion to Yun Che. He was utterly bewildered. "Aside from Shen Xi and the Dragon Queen, who... who exactly are you?"

He had only been here for two months. If not for being afflicted by the Soul-Slaying imprint and brought here by Xia Qingyue, he wouldn't even have known of Shen Xi's existence. The phrase "our destinies are intertwined"—he simply could not comprehend it.

"If one day you can surpass the height of the Dragon Monarch, then you will naturally know everything. You can achieve it, and you must achieve it. Only then will you no longer fear anyone's covetousness, no longer act with trepidation, and truly be able to face the Dragon Monarch without fear or regret."

"Bearing the power of a Creation God and..." Shen Xi's words paused slightly, then she continued, "This is a destiny you cannot escape."