Chapter 1380: Heavenly Book World

Profound Sky Continent, Flowing Cloud City.

Xiao Lie was a nostalgic person, still habitually residing at the Xiao Clan's compound in Flowing Cloud City. Yun Che would visit him periodically and stay for a few days.

This was his small courtyard, filled with countless memories of him and Xiao Lingxi. His past in the God Realm seemed distant, but the more than ten years of constant companionship with Xiao Lingxi felt like yesterday.

"Master says your profound veins are extremely peculiar, completely different from ordinary people's, and thus cannot be repaired by conventional methods. He has consulted many medical texts recently but without success. But there's no need to worry too much. Master often says there's no illness in the world that cannot be cured; it's just that a method hasn't been found yet."

Su Ling'er had attended to Yun Che after his medicinal bath. While helping him get dressed, she spoke gently.

Yun Che shook his head and chuckled. "Tell him," he said, "that I don't mind it, and he doesn't need to trouble himself so much anymore."

Su Ling'er smiled faintly. "Don't you know Master's temperament yet? He's obsessed with medicine. When he rarely encounters an insoluble problem, he only focuses more intently on it. You don't need to be so pessimistic. Master is such a brilliant person; perhaps... no, he will definitely find a method."

"Yes, you're right," Yun Che nodded, offering no explanation. He knew perfectly well that an existence like the Evil God's Profound Veins could not be awakened by conventional means.

After tying his sash, Su Ling'er's hands remained on his chest. She gently raised her head to look at him, so close. Su Ling'er's eyes grew hazy with emotion, and her delicate body leaned forward, softly resting against his chest.

"It's so good... to have you safely by my side." She closed her beautiful eyes and whispered, "During that time, I was truly scared."

Yun Che reached out and embraced her. He said apologetically, "I know you must have worried about me during the four years I was in the God Realm."

"You don't know," Su Ling'er shook her head in his arms. "The day you left, Sister Lingxi fainted, and afterwards, she would faint periodically—sometimes once a month, sometimes every few days."

"...What?" Yun Che frowned. "Lingxi... why did no one tell me?"

Su Ling'er gently rubbed his chest soothingly. She smiled faintly. "She was afraid you'd worry, so she wouldn't let us tell you. Since you returned, she hasn't fainted again, which is why I dare to mention it now."

Yun Che fell silent.

"She was clearly worrying too much about you. Moreover, every time she fainted, she would have a nightmare... and it was always the same nightmare. Each time she woke up, it was because of that same nightmare."

"What kind of nightmare?" Yun Che asked subconsciously.

"She said she dreamed of you in a world full of starlight, covered in blood, riddled with wounds... and finally turning to ashes in a mass of crimson flames," Su Ling'er said softly. With Yun Che safely before her, she could naturally speak of these images she once dared not even contemplate.

Yun Che suddenly froze.

"During that time, she was terrified. Although I always comforted her by saying dreams are ultimately false, I myself was also very scared."

...For a long time, she received no response from Yun Che. Had she looked up then, she would have seen Yun Che's eyes wide with shock. After a while, he snapped back to reality and said with a smile, "Of course, dreams are all fake. Don't worry, I promise to be well-behaved and honest from now on, and I won't let you worry again."

Starlight... covered in blood... riddled with wounds... crimson flames... turning to ashes... Coincidence... It must just be a coincidence!

"Where's Lingxi?" he asked almost subconsciously.

Su Ling'er straightened up from his chest. A mischievous glint flashed in her beautiful eyes. "I just asked her to join me in giving you a medicinal bath, but she ran off... Even before you went to the God Realm, Grandpa Xiao personally approved of your relationship, yet you still haven't sealed the deal with her by now. That's really not like you."

Yun Che's expression was slightly embarrassed. He said awkwardly, "Lingxi and I grew up together; we're too familiar with each other... so it's not easy to make a move."

"Hmph, you're so tender with her, but so mean to us," Su Ling'er pouted lightly. Her beautiful eyes flickered. "Could it be that you're... afraid of Grandpa Xiao's reprimand?"

Yun Che nodded in admission. "A little bit, yes."

Su Ling'er giggled. "Grandpa Xiao is busy doting on Yong'an every day; he has no time to mind you. He might even be hoping Sister Lingxi gives him a grandchild sooner."

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Do you want me to help you drug her?"

"No, no, no, no," Yun Che quickly waved his hands. "I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself."

After leaving the courtyard, Yun Che's brow furrowed slightly as he fell into thought.

Xiao Lingxi's dream... That nightmare had begun on the day he departed for the God Realm, four years ago. It was the same nightmare throughout those four years, accompanied by fainting spells whose cause even Su Ling'er couldn't discern. And the dreamscape Su Ling'er described in a few words... strikingly matched the location and state of his death... even his rebirth from the flames after death!

He vaguely sensed an unspeakable strangeness.

Yet, he was the person who understood Xiao Lingxi best in this world. He had been by her side since the day she was born, and they had grown up together. Her nature was simple and gentle, her profound aptitude was ordinary, and she had no pursuit in the profound way.

Among the women around him, she was relatively the most ordinary in terms of aptitude, cultivation, appearance, origin, and status.

What was irreplaceable between them was the deep, indelible bond of childhood sweethearts who had grown up together.

Other than coincidence, there could be no other explanation.

But if there had to be something unusual... Yun Che stopped walking at this moment. He suddenly thought of the mysterious black jade from the Moon Slaughter Devil Monarch.

Back then, the black jade, which had been unresponsive to any method or infused power from either him or Jasmine, had produced a strange reaction when Xiao Lingxi approached it, displaying rows of incredibly peculiar characters in the air.

Yun Che did not recognize these characters at all, but Xiao Lingxi recognized all of them... Even stranger, she herself had no idea why she recognized these characters—she had never seen them before, yet she just knew them.

She called those characters the "Heavenly Tome of the World Defying" and translated them for him, character by character... The characters seemed like scriptures, yet also like profound arts. They abruptly cut off at the end, clearly incomplete.

He had explained to Xiao Lingxi at the time that the black jade likely possessed powerful spiritual energy that resonated with her aura, causing it to react to her and establish a soul connection, thus enabling her to recognize the characters... However, these words were merely to comfort Xiao Lingxi, to ease her panic in the face of the unknown, and also to explain it to himself... It was merely a forced explanation that even he didn't believe.

But other than that, he couldn't think of any other reason.

As he silently thought, the scripture that Xiao Lingxi had translated for him, which he had also committed to memory, unconsciously resurfaced in his mind:

"At the dawn of primordial chaos, at the beginning of the void, heaven and earth were without order, light and darkness without interval. The world's source power, bound by the Heavenly Way..."

Yun Che's steps abruptly halted at this moment. The scripture of the "Heavenly Tome of the World Defying" that had appeared in his mind, at a moment Yun Che was completely unaware of, seemed to transform into ancient bells, striking his heart and shaking his soul...

"A barren era, a hundred generations vast, ten thousand ages of purgatory, stars as the cosmos, fallen heavens floating, a thousand peaks all defied, ten thousand splendors all empty illusions..."

Every character was like a Heavenly Bell reverberating through the world, trembling his soul world, and unfolding a vastness from a distant era...

"One thought for saint, one thought for devil, ten thousand thoughts for emptiness. Wrath is sin, jealousy is sin, lust is sin, greed is sin, sloth is sin... where all spirits cease, where all things return..."

Yun Che's eyes widened. The world in his vision faded, disappeared, and turned into a blank expanse, then transformed into endless darkness...

Only the characters of the Heavenly Tome, each like an ancient bell, reverberated in his world.

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Xiao Lingxi, dressed in emerald green, walked in with light steps. Seeing Yun Che, she curved her brows. "Little Che, why are you alone? Where's Ling'er?"

However, she received no answer from Yun Che. Yun Che faced her directly, only a few steps away, yet he showed no reaction to her presence or words. His eyes stared blankly ahead, unfocused and lifeless.

"Huh?" Xiao Lingxi let out a soft exclamation, thinking Yun Che was teasing her. She took a small hop forward and lightly poked him. "Little Che... Ah!"

With her light poke, Yun Che still showed no reaction. Instead, he stiffly toppled backward like a wooden stake.

She gasped in alarm, quickly stepped forward to support Yun Che. "Little Che? What's wrong? Little Che!"

She called out repeatedly, but Yun Che remained in a daze, showing no reaction. His eyes were always dull and vacant, as if he had lost his soul.

Xiao Lingxi became flustered. Just then, Feng Xian'er descended like a flash of lightning from the sky. She helped Xiao Lingxi support him. "Young Master... Young Master, what's wrong!?"

"Ling'er... quickly go get Ling'er!" Xiao Lingxi urged.

The Xiao Clan's compound wasn't very large to begin with, and Su Ling'er was also very close by. Amidst Xiao Lingxi's alarmed cries, before Feng Xian'er could call out, she had already rushed over.

After stabilizing Yun Che, Su Ling'er placed her finger on Yun Che's chest. Her profound energy quickly coursed through his entire body, but she found no abnormalities. After a brief moment of thought, she suddenly pulled out a sound transmission jade and transmitted a message to Feng Xue'er: "Sister Xue'er, quickly come to the Xiao Clan's compound, Big Brother Yun Che is not doing well."

In just a few breaths, Feng Xue'er's figure appeared in the Xiao Clan's compound. With a flash of crimson light, she was already before Yun Che.

After carefully observing Yun Che's condition for a moment, Feng Xue'er's pink lips parted slightly, revealing her confusion. She glanced at Su Ling'er, and both saw expressions of disbelief on each other's faces.

"How is Little Che? What's going on?" Xiao Lingxi said anxiously, her eyes already faintly glistening with tears.

"Big Brother Yun... he seems to have entered a state of enlightenment," Feng Xue'er said with some hesitation.

"Huh?" Xiao Lingxi was taken aback.

"Enlightenment?" Feng Xian'er showed an equally incredulous expression. "But Young Master has no profound energy left, not even profound veins... how could he enter enlightenment?"

"It certainly defies common sense," Su Ling'er's slender brows furrowed. "However, his mental state is indeed that of the most common state of enlightenment in the profound way..."

After speaking, she gave Xiao Lingxi a comforting look. "Although it's a bit strange, both his physical and spiritual states are completely normal and unharmed, so there's no need to worry. He'll be fine once he wakes up."

Enlightenment, a state of comprehension in the profound way, is often something that can be encountered but not sought. But without profound energy, or even profound veins, one is naturally not on the profound path, so how could there be talk of enlightenment?

Yet, at this moment, Yun Che was indeed in a state of enlightenment... and it was an incredibly bizarre state of enlightenment.