Chapter 1405: Magic Shadow Appears (Part 1)

Dusk settled, and Yun Che and Yun Wuxin’s fishing competition came to an end. The result: Yun Wuxin achieved a resounding victory.

More than a form of spiritual cultivation, this was truly a recreational activity for the father and daughter. Despite her rare victory, Yun Wuxin wasn't overjoyed. Instead, she walked up to her father, took his hand, and asked, "Daddy, are you unhappy today?"

"Huh? No, not at all," Yun Che replied with a beaming smile. "Why would I be unhappy?"

Yun Wuxin studied him seriously for a moment, then stated with certainty, "Daddy, you clearly have something on your mind. I bet... are you thinking about that place called the 'God Realm'?"

His own daughter's words had pierced him to the core. Yun Che's gaze faltered, and he instinctively started to deny it. But as his eyes met her pure, concerned gaze, the words on the tip of his tongue changed: "Yes, a little."

Ever since that fleeting sting in his heart, he had been unsettled, always sensing... that something profoundly bad had occurred somewhere.

"I knew it," Yun Wuxin said, her brow clearing as she smiled, having guessed her father's thoughts. "Master said Daddy is someone who easily develops attachments, so he must have left many worries behind during his years in the God Realm. For example..."

"For example?"

"For example..." Yun Wuxin's sparkling eyes danced as she counted on her fingers: "Jasmine... Caizhi... Shen Xi... and Master..."

With each name Yun Wuxin uttered, Yun Che's eyes widened a little more. When she even mentioned "Shen Xi" and "Master," Yun Che finally couldn't remain calm: "Wait... wait a minute... Where did you hear these names from!"

"Hehe," Yun Wuxin tilted her head, her sparkling eyes curving into crescents. "Mommy told me. Mommy said Daddy mentioned these names many, many times when he talked in his sleep... Oh! Master said them too!"

Yun Che pressed a hand to his forehead, speechless for a long time.

"But it's so strange," a long-standing puzzle appeared on Yun Wuxin's face. "After reaching the Divine Way in profound energy, you don't need to sleep. Yet you, Daddy, are so powerful, but you still seem to sleep frequently and always talk in your dreams."

"Cough... cough cough..." This was something Yun Che couldn't explain for the life of him, and he spoke with a touch of panic: "Well... sleeping is never a bad thing. Um... it's getting dark, let's head back."

"Is Daddy going back to sleep again?"

"Yes... oh, no, Daddy cultivates at night, just like you!"

"Oh..." Yun Wuxin was half-convinced.

Just as they were about to leave, Yun Che's transmission jade suddenly vibrated. Yun Che quickly picked it up, and Feng Xue'er's slightly urgent voice immediately came through: "Brother Yun, please come quickly, another serious profound beast disturbance has occurred."

During this period, the scope of profound beast disturbances had been steadily moving westward, neither particularly fast nor slow, and their frequency was increasing. However, after Yun Che recovered his power, he could use light profound energy to purify and quell the disturbances in an instant.

As a result, the frequency of profound beast disturbances appearing in the public's perception was already very low; when they did occur occasionally, peace would quickly be restored.

"Where is it this time?" Yun Che asked calmly, and Yun Wuxin beside him showed no surprise either.

"The entire region... it's the entire region!" Feng Xue'er's words made Yun Che frown slightly: "Places that had never experienced an outbreak, or been purified by Brother Yun, just now, all simultaneously experienced profound beast disturbances."

"It's not just the Tianxuan Continent; the Illusory Demon Realm is also affected! Everything happened without warning; now, beast calamities are rampant everywhere..."

"I understand. Don't worry, it will be fine soon."

A full-scale outbreak of profound beast disturbances across the entire region was undoubtedly an incredibly terrifying catastrophe for the Tianxuan Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm. Yet for Yun Che, it was merely a trivial matter. The Blue Pole Star had become too small for him; even if he significantly compressed his power, it would take him no time at all to purify both continents using his light profound energy.

However, his brows were tightly furrowed and remained so for a long time.

Half a year ago in the Azure Cloud Continent, facing its tragic state, he had wondered if what was happening there would become the future of the Tianxuan Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm.

That thought, surprisingly, had come true.

Yun Che's frown wasn't because it came so quickly, but because it came so suddenly!

Before, profound beast disturbances had appeared sporadically in the eastern regions, but now, at this very moment, they had suddenly erupted across the board without any warning.

"Let's go."

Taking Yun Wuxin's small hand, Yun Che was about to head towards Feng Xue'er when he suddenly paused, his steps faltering, and abruptly turned to look east.

In the eastern sky, a crimson star was emblazoned, visible day and night. Unbeknownst to them, it had even made the Tianxuan Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm accustomed to its presence, giving rise to various strange conjectures and legends.

At this moment, a dark cloud covered the east, but the crimson star was not obscured in the slightest. Its fiery red light pierced straight down, directly into the depths of Yun Che's pupils... appearing even more dazzling than ever before.

Yun Che's brows tightened little by little, becoming even more furrowed.

He observed this crimson star daily, and he was utterly certain that just an hour ago, its light had not been so intense. Clearly, at some point, a massive change had suddenly occurred.

The red light passed through his pupils, piercing his soul, and stirring up long-lasting ripples...

"He gave up continuing to live for six hundred thousand years with divine power under the 'Myriad Tribulations Extinction' and instead used all his divine power and life to condense that drop of the Evil God's undying blood. His aim was to leave behind his source of power. In his final moments, he worried about that day's arrival and, at the cost of his own life, bequeathed the sole hope to future generations. Perhaps only he truly deserves to be called the greatest deity."

"And if that day truly comes, you, bearing the Evil God's power, will be the only hope."

"I cannot tell you now, because you are too weak to bear that terrifying truth. What you need most right now is to grow; bearing this burden too early would severely impede your growth. For now, you only need to know two things: one, grow as quickly as possible, so your Evil God's power becomes strong enough; and two, cherish your life, you must live well. If you die, the last hope will be utterly extinguished."

"Your life is too short, your experience too shallow, and both your power and soul are far too weak. But if one day you feel that your power is strong enough, and your will and understanding can bear the weight of significant trials and responsibilities, then come find me, and I will tell you the whole truth..."

"...and I will bestow all my power upon you."

At the bottom of the Netherfrost Heavenly Lake, the Ice Phoenix girl's words echoed in his mind. He had not forgotten a single one of them.

At that time, he had only just entered the Divine Way and knew nothing of the God Realm.

As his power grew, his mindset continually changed, and his knowledge expanded... especially with the many anomalies that had occurred in the God Realm and the Blue Pole Star in recent years. Now, recalling those words, his feelings were entirely different.

The concepts of "hope" and "mission," which he had initially dismissed as mere illusions, were becoming increasingly clear in his world.

Had some anomaly also occurred in the God Realm now... would it affect the Snow Song Realm...

These anomalies were not gradually intensifying and spreading, but rather suddenly escalating without warning... If this continued, what would truly happen in the future... and what was the "terrifying truth" behind that crimson star...

"Daddy? Daddy... Daddy!"

It took several calls from Yun Wuxin for Yun Che to finally snap back to attention. He wrapped an arm around his daughter, pulling her close: "Let's go. We'll purify the entire Tianxuan Continent and Illusory Demon Realm together, and I'll show you how powerful Daddy is."

With a spatial shift, Yun Che quickly appeared above Divine Phoenix City. Without any visible action from him, light profound energy silently rained down, enveloping all the deranged profound beasts below...

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Divine Region, Snow Song Realm, Ice Phoenix Sacred Hall.

An icy silhouette flickered, revealing the ethereal figure of Mu Bingyun.

"What happened?" Mu Xuanyin asked.

"Half an hour ago, the eastern border of the Northern Ice Wind Empire suddenly experienced a large-scale beast tide. In just half an hour, it had affected nearly one-tenth of the empire's territory, and dozens of sects suffered greatly. I have already dispatched the Palace Masters of the Second and Third Palaces to personally lead disciples to suppress it."

"Beast tide?" Mu Xuanyin turned around, her icy brows slightly furrowed. "What caused it?"

Mu Bingyun shook her head: "It's unknown. We only know that all the profound beasts from the Ice Wind Mountain Range swarmed out, their aura extremely violent, but there was no prior warning."

Mu Xuanyin remained silent.

"But there's no need to worry; with both Palace Masters personally there, it will be suppressed quickly."

Mu Bingyun finished speaking, only to find Mu Xuanyin's expression unusually grave. Her gaze, in particular, was chillingly abnormal.

At that moment, the Ice Phoenix Inscription Jade on her person flashed with a cold light. She lightly touched it, and then her eyes suddenly shifted.

"Sister, something isn't right," Mu Bingyun's voice was much more cautious than before. "Just now, almost simultaneously, a beast tide also erupted along the northeastern border of the Flame God Realm."

Mu Xuanyin didn't speak, recalling what she had witnessed during her time on the Blue Pole Star.

"Send out the order," Mu Xuanyin suddenly commanded chillingly, "From today onwards, the entire sect, all members, prepare for battle!"

"...What?" Mu Bingyun was startled.

"Furthermore, immediately notify all elders. Within three days... no, today, reinforce the barrier of Mist Despair Valley tenfold!"

Mu Xuanyin's series of commands left Mu Bingyun utterly perplexed: "Sister, what exactly is going on? Do you know something?"

Mu Xuanyin's icy gaze grew colder: "I only know that our Eastern Divine Region... is about to descend into utter chaos."

Mu Bingyun was speechless.

"Are there any reports from the outside world regarding the Northern Divine Region?" Mu Xuanyin suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

Mu Bingyun thought for a moment before replying, "There's a very strange rumor that the 'territory' of the Northern Divine Region has not shrunk this year; instead, it has slightly expanded... but the veracity of this rumor cannot be confirmed."

Mu Xuanyin fell silent once more. After a full fifteen minutes, she finally closed her eyes and murmured, "Go and relay the order. All elders, palace masters, hall masters, and disciples currently in secluded cultivation are also to be ordered to cease their seclusion."

"I understand." Mu Bingyun nodded, but instead of leaving immediately, she suddenly asked, "Sister, could it be that these sudden beast tides are related to the Northern Divine Region?"

"No, they don't have that much capability," Mu Xuanyin said coldly. "A strange dark aura is currently enveloping the entire Eastern Divine Region, and in the future, it might even spread to the Southern and Western Divine Regions. For us, the Three Divine Regions, this will be a catastrophe whose development and outcome are unpredictable. But for the Northern Divine Region... they utterly despise the Three Divine Regions, so this could very well be their chance to escape their 'cage,' and they are bound to act!"

"Our Snow Song Realm is almost the closest place in the Eastern Divine Region to the Northern Divine Region; we must be extremely cautious!"

The Northern Divine Region is one of the four Divine Regions of the God Realm, but it is also called the "Demon Realm," and at the same time, it is a true cage.

It is a "cage" where countless demon people, demon beasts, and demon spirits live, because if they ever leave the Northern Divine Region and are discovered by people from the other three Divine Regions, they will undoubtedly be hunted down and killed with full force.

Moreover, due to the gradual thinning of chaotic yin energy and the yearly dissipation of ancient dark demonic energy, the "territory" of the Northern Divine Region had been progressively shrinking. They desperately wished to escape and find a larger world and living space, but they simply could not. The Northern Divine Region, already the weakest among the four Divine Regions, faced the absolute intolerance of the other three, leaving them with no means of resistance, only perpetual retreat.

But this year, the demonic energy enveloping the Northern Divine Region had not diminished, nor had its territory shrunk; instead, it had subtly expanded by a fraction!

This was absolutely the first time this had happened to the Northern Divine Region in a million years, hinting at an incomprehensible strangeness.