Chapter 1356: Moon Goddess New Emperor

Yue Wuya died, becoming the first God Emperor in the history of the Moon God Realm to perish prematurely. No one knew, except for the two individuals by his side just before his death, that his final words were not about the future of the Moon God Realm or his unfulfilled aspirations as God Emperor. Instead, they were about the two people he loved and hated most in his life.

These two people were Xia Qingyue's birth mother and birth father.

The Moon God Realm was in chaos, and dirges rang out. The moonlight above God Moon City completely dimmed and faded, plunging it into unprecedented sorrow and despair.

Xia Qingyue's expression was dazed. Her steps were heavy and slow as, step by step, she made her way to the place where she had stayed the longest and found the most peace in the Moon God Realm.

Gently pushing open the hall door and passing through an invisible barrier, she entered an isolated world, separated from the outside. The mountains and waters here were elegant, birdsong like music, resembling a paradise beyond the mortal realm.

A woman in red with a delicate figure stood by the stream. Hearing Xia Qingyue's slowly approaching footsteps, she did not turn around and softly asked, "Has he... gone?"

Her voice was extremely faint, as if a wisp of breeze could carry it away.

Xia Qingyue stopped. "He has gone."

"Is that so?" the woman in red murmured softly, showing no obvious emotional fluctuation. Her voice was as calm as the stream at her feet: "He was the Moon God Emperor, yet he still couldn't escape the heavenly oracle's prophecy. Does 'heaven's will' truly exist in this world?"

"Mother..." Looking at her back, Xia Qingyue spoke in a very soft and gentle tone: "Where do you plan to go next? Would you like to come back with me to..."

Her voice trailed off, and the last few words remained unsaid.

The woman in red turned around. Her face was radiantly beautiful, unparalleled. Though etched with profound exhaustion and the marks of time for unknown reasons, its captivating beauty remained undeniable. Looking at Xia Qingyue, she softly asked, "Qingyue, you inherited his divine power, didn't you?"

Xia Qingyue nodded slightly.

"Then, where do you wish to go next?"

"Wherever Mother is, I will be," Xia Qingyue said without hesitation.

Yue Wugu smiled. She reached out her hand, gently caressing Xia Qingyue's cheek. Her softly curled fingers trembled slightly: "My good child, your words make me very happy. However, your life has just begun. Besides accompanying me, thinking through and walking your own future path well is more important."

Xia Qingyue nodded. "Mother, please rest assured, I will take good care of myself."

The trembling hand gently withdrew from Xia Qingyue's cheek. Yue Wugu looked at her daughter, her smile growing even gentler: "Though it was only for a few years, he treated you better than all his own children. Go... give him a proper send-off. I also wish to... be alone for a while."

"Alright." Xia Qingyue knew that beneath her mother's calm gaze lay a sorrow heavier than anyone else's.

Xia Qingyue turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out, Yue Wugu's voice suddenly came from behind: "Qingyue, remember, you must learn to live for yourself. Only when you are strong enough will you have the right and ability to fulfill others' needs, understand?"

Xia Qingyue turned back, glanced at her mother with slight surprise, then nodded in agreement: "Yes, Mother, Qingyue has remembered all your words."

Xia Qingyue left. In the silent world, Yue Wugu slowly raised her arm and cradled it over her heart.

"Qingyue, I hope you will no longer hesitate or feel lost from now on, and you will not always wish for both worlds... You must live for yourself... No matter what path you choose in the future, walk it well. Your mother will be in another world... watching over you always..."

Yue Wugu murmured softly. A smile as gentle as the morning breeze touched the corner of her lips: "Wuya, in this life, I have wronged you... Along the long path to the underworld... let Wugu... walk with you..."

Amidst the heavy tolling of God Moon City's bells, Xia Qingyue's mind was heavy and confused. Yue Wugu's somewhat strange words echoed in her mind... Suddenly, she felt as if struck by lightning, then ran back like a madwoman.

Pushing open the hall door... still by the stream, the red figure lay silently. The stream gurgled, birdsong was like music, but she had lost all signs of life.

Xia Qingyue's entire world turned into a silent void of white. In a daze, she walked closer, step by step, then knelt heavily beside Yue Wugu. Her tightly bitten lips bled thin lines, yet she fiercely suppressed any sound. Only her delicate body trembled incessantly.

In the pale world, an unknown amount of time passed. She finally slowly reached out and gently cradled Yue Wugu in her arms. As she lifted her mother's upper body, a round mirror slipped from her sleeve, making a faint sound as it hit the ground.

Xia Qingyue's gaze was dazed. She reached out and picked up the round mirror. It was made of very ordinary metal, so common that it was rare to find in the Divine Realm, and it looked rather old. Almost instinctively, she gently slid the mirror open.

Inside, an ethereal image was engraved... Within the image, there were three people.

A spirited young man, a girl only four years old, and a boy of three, who already had a "robust" build.

Looking at this ethereal image, Xia Qingyue's hands began to tremble, trembling more and more violently. From her lips came a dream-like whisper: "So... you never forgot... So... we weren't abandoned..."

Her shoulders uncontrollably twitched. Her eyes were tightly shut. Her right hand clutched the round mirror tightly, while her left hand... in her daze, grasped a warm paper scroll.

It was the marriage contract... which she had "destroyed" in front of Yun Che.

A round mirror, a marriage contract... Xia Qingyue's tears finally burst forth, a floodgate broken. She hugged her mother tightly and sobbed loudly in this world where no outsiders would disturb her, weeping until the heavens seemed to collapse and her heart was utterly shattered...

Holding Yue Wugu's lifeless body, Xia Qingyue walked upon the grounds of God Moon City. Her beautiful eyes were dim and vacant. She didn't know where she was going, nor where she was taking her mother.

Countless images intersected chaotically in her mind.

All these years in the Divine Realm had felt like a dream.

Yue Wuya, her foster father, was the first person in the Divine Realm to give her warmth and kindness.

Yue Wugu, her birth mother... the long-lost familial affection and her heart's devotion to the profound way.

Yun Che, her husband, and the one who awakened her from this "dream."

These were the three most important people to her in the Divine Realm.

Yet, in just a few days, all had left her. In the vast Divine Realm, only coldness and loneliness remained. There was no one left to rely on, accompany, or confide in.

My father's tears made me yearn from childhood to find my mother and reunite them... But in the end, I forgave the one who "took" my mother and couldn't bear to separate Mother from him again.

My sect had shown me profound kindness, rebuilding me. During the sect's great calamity, only I escaped. I gained the power to protect my sect... yet I could not return.

My foster father's kindness to me was as vast as a mountain. I could not repay even a fraction of it. Instead, I ruined his wishes and his reputation. Now, there will be no more opportunities...

Mother, finding you was a blessing from heaven for your daughter. Though I never complained about you, a grievance always lingered in my heart... I once thought that after the complete abandonment back then, and twenty years of total separation, you might have truly chosen to forsake and forget us... But it turns out, you never forgot us... On the contrary, you endured torments beyond anyone's imagination... Now, I can only watch helplessly as you leave forever.

Yun Che... why didn't you wait for me...

A Glazed Heart, an Exquisite Body... a myth unprecedented through the ages... But why is it that nothing goes as I wish? Everything I try, I fail to achieve...

Heavenly Dao's blessing?

Ha... merely a deceiving joke...

Be it the lower realms or the Divine Realm, the only things that can truly control one's own destiny and the destiny of others are... supreme power and strength.

I clearly possessed unparalleled talent and opportunities. Why did I realize this so late...?

The images in her mind became increasingly chaotic, turning into a blur... Finally, a golden shadow flashed past.

Qianye Ying'er!

*Shatter*...

The blurry world shattered, and all images vanished without a trace. Xia Qingyue's steps remained slow but gradually became silent. The haziness in her beautiful eyes slowly faded, bit by bit, transforming into a cold, sharp glint.

With each step, the cold glint in her eyes deepened a fraction, until it was a chilling, seemingly endless depth.

"Hmm? Xia Qingyue?"

A voice came from ahead. It was a man in purple robes, whose attire and moon emblem indicated his noble status.

The Thirty-seventh Imperial Son of the Moon God, Yue Yan.

Upon seeing Xia Qingyue, a deep covetousness and obsession flashed in Yue Yan's eyes. This look appeared in the eyes of most imperial sons and grandsons whenever they looked at Xia Qingyue, but this time, it was particularly fierce and unbridled... because the Moon God Emperor was dead, and no one could protect her anymore.

Without the Moon God Emperor's protection, whether her status as "God Emperor's foster daughter" would still be recognized was unknown. And with her cultivation at the Spirit Profound Realm, in the Moon God Realm... countless people could manipulate her at will.

Xia Qingyue showed no reaction, walking silently forward.

"Heh!" Yue Yan shed his previous polite demeanor, showing no trace of sorrow for the deceased Moon God Emperor. He chuckled softly and approached Xia Qingyue with a smirk. Upon seeing the woman in her arms, his eyes narrowed, and he blurted out, "Yue Wugu? How could she... Oh! That vile woman who shamed our Moon God Realm is finally dead!"

Xia Qingyue stopped. Her head slowly turned, her slightly purple gaze fixed steadily on Yue Yan.

In that instant, Yue Yan's expression froze. In his vision, those beautiful eyes looking at him were incredibly dark. His body and soul seemed to be mercilessly swallowed by this darkness, rapidly losing all vibrancy. An incredibly terrifying coldness spread throughout his body... It was a bone-chilling cold, a soul-piercing cold.

*Crack*...

A layer of ice crystals formed on the surface of his body. Yue Yan's eyes lost their color, his mouth wide open. His body slumped against the wall, slowly collapsing. A chilling dread wildly proliferated in his heart.

*Crack*...

"You..." Beyond the cold, he could no longer feel his own existence. His pupils nearly vanished as they intensely constricted. He tried to speak, but couldn't even utter a plea for mercy.

*Crack... crack...*

Thicker and thicker layers of ice solidified on his body, freezing both his body and soul into an abyss of terror...

Xia Qingyue withdrew her gaze. The moment she turned away, the ice crystals shattered, then vanished silently. Yue Yan's body slumped to the ground. His face was bruised purple, his hands clasped over his shoulders. His whole body trembled, his pupils still devoid of color, swaying with a shadow and fear that perhaps could never be fully erased in his lifetime.

Beneath him, a foul, fishy odor slowly spread...

Another person appeared before Xia Qingyue: the Golden Moon God, Yue Wuji. He had been drawn there by Xia Qingyue's aura.

Yue Wuji arrived hastily. Seeing Yue Wugu in Xia Qingyue's arms, his expression changed: "The Empress... she... she..."

He knew best the century-long affection between Yue Wuya and Yue Wugu. Even after so many years, he still addressed Yue Wugu as Empress, because he understood perfectly that no matter what happened, Yue Wugu was the only Empress in Yue Wuya's life.

"Wuji," Xia Qingyue said calmly. "Give me the Moon Emperor Glazed Glass and the Violet Sovereign Divine Sword."

Xia Qingyue's address made Yue Wuji momentarily stunned. She called him "Wuji" instead of her usual "Uncle Wuji."

Her tone was even more chilling and commanding, brooking no refusal.

Yue Wuji stood dazed for a moment. He wanted to say something, but then saw Xia Qingyue suddenly extend her hand... Instantly, a ray of colorful light and a ray of purple light emanated from his body, flying into Xia Qingyue's hands.

The Moon Emperor Glazed Glass and the Violet Sovereign Divine Sword!

This scene made Yue Wuji turn pale with shock. The words he was about to utter were forcefully sealed in his throat.

That the Violet Sovereign Divine Sword could be forcibly summoned by her did not surprise him much, because it was, after all, the life-bound artifact of the Violet Sovereign Moon God.

But, the Moon Emperor Glazed Glass... as the core source of the Twelve Moon Gods' power, the Moon Emperor Glazed Glass could indeed be forcibly summoned away. However, the condition was that one must be the strongest Moon God!

The Moon Emperor Glazed Glass should only belong to the strongest Moon God. And only the strongest Moon God was qualified to wield the Moon Emperor Glazed Glass as Emperor.

But... but Xia Qingyue had only just received the Violet Sovereign divine power inheritance today!

How could she instantly become the strongest Moon God!?

Yet, the scene before him was vividly playing out.

Is the legendary Nine Profound Exquisite Body truly so miraculous? Is this why... the Moon God Emperor was so eager to pass on the Violet Sovereign divine power to her?

Purple light illuminated the sky as the Violet Sovereign Divine Sword released a dazzling purple glow in Xia Qingyue's hand... Yue Wuji could discern at a glance that the purple moonlight was clearly more intense than when it was in Yue Wuya's hands.

The Moon Emperor Glazed Glass and the Violet Sovereign Divine Sword simultaneously vanished from Xia Qingyue's hands. She turned around and slowly walked away, holding Yue Wugu: "Wuji, I am going to bury my mother. Please personally handle my foster father's funeral arrangements."

"Yes..." Yue Wuji replied somewhat dazedly.

Xia Qingyue slowly walked away until she disappeared from sight. It was then that Yue Wuji suddenly noticed his waist was bent forward in a significant arc, a posture he hadn't noticed himself... It seemed to be an instinct originating from his body and will.

"Farewell... New Moon God Emperor." Staring straight ahead, these words almost involuntarily escaped his lips.