Chapter 1439: Star God's Roulette

Every drop of water in the Profound Cold Sky Lake was extremely yin and cold, never freezing through the ages, and also absolutely pristine. Countless ice spirits danced above the lake. Among them, he inadvertently caught sight of an unusual glow.

Was it light refracted by ice? The water of the Profound Cold Sky Lake would never freeze, no matter how cold it got. How could there be an icy gleam?

Yun Che immediately turned his body, his figure flickering as he arrived near the icy gleam. He saw at a glance that a rather large piece of profound ice was surprisingly floating just beneath the surface of the lake. The light refracted by the ice was very similar to that from the water's surface; it would be difficult to spot its presence without careful observation. This profound ice clearly contained an extremely potent chill, so much so that it hadn't been assimilated by the Profound Cold Sky Lake itself.

Furthermore, this profound ice was not transparent; strange mist seemed to gather within it. But as Yun Che's gaze penetrated, he vaguely saw a blurry...

...human figure!?

What in the world was this...?

This profound ice absolutely should not have been here. As the most sacred place in the Snow Song Realm, Mu Xuanyin would never allow any foreign object to defile even a trace of the air, let alone the Sky Lake's water. Yet, this peculiar profound ice could only have been placed here by Mu Xuanyin.

Reason prevailed, and Yun Che hesitated repeatedly, ultimately not daring to act rashly. But just as he was about to leave, his brow suddenly twitched. This was...

...a life aura!?

His gaze snapped back, fixing intensely on the blurry shadow at the center of the profound ice... It wasn't just a life aura; it was distinctly a human life aura! There was truly a person inside! And a living one at that!

Yun Che's expression changed several times in an instant. Driven by immense curiosity, he finally waved his arm, throwing the profound ice from the lake water and landing it on the shore. With a flicker of his figure, Yun Che appeared before the profound ice. He placed his palm down, and as blue light pulsed, the profound ice instantly began to melt layer by layer... Gradually, the previously extremely blurry shadow revealed its outline, then quickly became clear.

It was indeed a person. And when the ice completely melted, revealing the full figure before him, Yun Che's eyes widened sharply, and he even stumbled back several steps... For a moment, he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

The figure toppled onto the ground. Not only was he alive, but he surprisingly retained consciousness, curled up there, trembling uncontrollably, and emitting painful, shivering gasps... And Yun Che recognized the person's body and face at a single glance!

Xing Juekong!!

The Star God Emperor, one of the Four God Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, and the father of Jasmine and Cai Zhi!

Yun Che stood there in shock, only recovering after several breaths. The man before him, whose beard and hair were no longer pitch black, were now completely white, and his skin was a ghastly bluish-pale. His aura had also completely changed; there was no trace of a God Emperor's imposing might, nor even a hint of profound energy.

A person without profound energy would instantly perish in the frigid cold of the Profound Cold Sky Lake. Yet, he had an extraordinarily dense accumulation of spiritual energy within his body, clinging tightly to his life force. This spiritual energy was clearly external, forcefully sustaining him in this cruel cold for a long time... Combined with his body, which had been tempered by a God Emperor's power for a long time, he truly couldn't even die if he wanted to.

No one who saw him would believe that he was the Star God Emperor, one of the Four Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region. But Yun Che's gaze was fixed, his teeth clenched... No matter what changes he had undergone, even if he had turned to ashes, Yun Che would never mistake him!

"Xing... Jue... Kong!" Yun Che was shocked inwardly, but the words that escaped his lips were uttered through gritted teeth.

Xing Juekong, shivering, turned his head. Seeing Yun Che, his entire body suddenly stiffened, his pupils contracted, and he uttered a fearful, weak sound: "Yun... Yun Che!?" But immediately, the fear in his eyes surprisingly transformed into excitement... a particularly sorrowful and twisted excitement. His body, wracked by the icy torment, desperately tried to lunge towards Yun Che: "Ghost... you're a ghost... You've come to claim my life... You've come to take me away..."

Yun Che: "..."

"Quick... quick, take me away... Let me die quickly... Kill me... Kill me quickly!" His trembling voice eventually turned into an impatient shriek. The nearly ecstatic light in his eyes suggested that death, to him, was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"..." Yun Che's gaze shifted from astonishment to gloom, then from gloom to even greater astonishment. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes... no, even if one had, perhaps no one would dare believe that a God Emperor, who once stood at the pinnacle of the current era and commanded a vast King Realm, would fall to such a state.

His profound energy was crippled, his mind deranged, and he was unable to find death... Who possessed the ability and courage to cripple a God Emperor's profound energy? Although Yun Che wasn't familiar with the history of all the King Realms, he could still assert that Xing Juekong was absolutely the first God Emperor to be reduced to such a state. And the person who crippled him must also be the first to ever cripple a God Emperor...

Yet, seeing a God Emperor in such a miserable state, Yun Che, after his initial shock, felt not a shred of pity, only a profound sense of satisfaction.

Taking a deep breath, Yun Che looked down and spoke coldly, "Old thief Xing, you've gotten your comeuppance today. It seems heaven occasionally opens its eyes. I am indeed Yun Che. But unfortunately... I'm no ghost."

"Uh..." Xing Juekong's mind was clearly somewhat muddled. It took him several breaths to process Yun Che's words before he suddenly looked up, his wide eyes, still trembling, fixed on Yun Che. "Not... a ghost? No... no... You clearly died... turned to ashes... your body vanished without a trace..."

"Hmph!" Xing Juekong's trembling words made Yun Che's gaze suddenly turn sinister. He abruptly took a step forward and stomped on Xing Juekong's palm. With a crisp crack, Xing Juekong's entire right hand, from his finger bones to his wrist, shattered, causing him to let out a sudden, miserable shriek. Yun Che's foot remained pressed down as he coldly stared at Xing Juekong's painfully contorted face. "Do you know now whether I'm a ghost?"

"You... ugh..." Xing Juekong's entire body trembled, yet he still couldn't believe the person before him was Yun Che. To others, Yun Che's return alive would simply mean the rumors were mistaken, as none of them had actually witnessed his death. But Xing Juekong had personally seen Yun Che turn to ashes, leaving nothing behind.

"Heh, no need to be so surprised," Yun Che sneered. "If a beast like you, worse than a pig or dog, can live this long, why couldn't I live until now? But then again, you living like this... it's quite fitting."

"You... you..." Xing Juekong's eyes continuously bulged, as if he simply couldn't comprehend why someone who had turned to ashes before him was still alive. Suddenly, a flicker of light re-emerged in his bewildered eyes, and he painfully stretched out his other hand, grasping Yun Che's foot. "Kill... kill me... I caused your death... You must want to kill me... Kill... quickly kill me... quickly kill me to get revenge!"

Yun Che kicked out, sending him flying far away, and said in a deep voice, "No, it's absolutely perfect for you to live like this. It suits you perfectly. Given what you've done, letting you die quickly and painlessly would be an insult to the heavens! Here, you have no prestige, no ambition, but you have enough time to regret, to atone, to live... a life worse than death!!"

Even with Xing Juekong's profound misery, Yun Che's words still carried an irrepressible, seething hatred. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll be like my master and let you live a good life—the longer, the better! This is the fate you deserve!!" With a low growl, Yun Che raised his palm, and as blue light flashed, he was about to seal Xing Juekong back into the profound ice.

"Wait... wait!!" Xing Juekong suddenly struggled to turn over, emitting an even hoarser roar than before: "The Star God Disk... please take the Star God Disk... please... please!"

"Hm?" Yun Che's palm froze, and his gaze turned cold again. "The Star God Disk? What is that? Do you actually think... I'd comply with your wishes? Go back into the ice obediently!"

"Cai Zhi... it's for Cai Zhi!" Xing Juekong's sudden frantic shout made Yun Che's palm freeze at the very last moment.

Yun Che's halted movement made Xing Juekong even more agitated. He extended a trembling hand, pointing to his chest. "The Star God Disk... it's right here... Take it... give it to Cai Zhi... Quick... quick..."

Yun Che frowned deeply... He didn't know what the Star God Disk was, nor did he have any interest in it. He certainly didn't want to comply with any wishes from the Star God Realm. But he harbored deep concern and guilt towards Cai Zhi. Not only because she was Jasmine's younger sister, but also because... years ago in the Star God Realm, witnessed by Jasmine and before her mother's memorial tablet, he and Cai Zhi had fully completed the ceremony. Although there was a strong sense of unreality and etherealness, in that regard, Cai Zhi was indeed considered his wife. He had also made a promise to Jasmine to accompany and protect Cai Zhi in the future, yet...

If it truly was something very important to Cai Zhi...

Dropping his hand, Yun Che took a step forward and pointed a finger at Xing Juekong's chest. Indeed, he found a small, independent space within his chest cavity. Given the power of a God Emperor, for him to hide this object within a space in his own body, it was clear how incredibly important it must be. This space had been created by Xing Juekong's God Emperor power, making it originally impossible for Yun Che to break into with his own strength. However, Xing Juekong's profound energy had long since dissipated, and coupled with the erosive chill of the area, the space had become precarious due to a prolonged lack of sustained power. Yun Che grasped it, and with almost no effort, his profound energy easily penetrated it.

Within this space, there was only one item. Yun Che grabbed it out, and in his hand now rested a star-shining disc. The disc was less than a foot long and almost weightless in his hand. Surrounding it were twelve iridescent glows of different colors, four of which were exceptionally rich, like burning candle flames. Yun Che gazed at the disc in his hand, his eyes unconsciously narrowing... Although those four exceptionally dense starlights were but tiny specks, neither his sight nor his perception could penetrate them. It was as if a boundless, massive world lay hidden within these seemingly tiny points of starlight.

"What is this? And what does it have to do with Cai Zhi?" Yun Che asked in a deep voice.

Staring at the disc in Yun Che's hand, the Star God Emperor's gaze flickered between confusion and haziness, his expression alternating between relaxed and pained. "The Star God Disk... the most important ancient divine artifact of my Star God Realm... With it, the Star God divine power will never be extinguished... and the Star God Realm... will never be overthrown..."

Every word Xing Juekong uttered trembled. Yun Che's grip suddenly tightened at that moment. He suddenly understood what this was... This was... astonishingly, the vessel for the Star God Realm's Twelve Star God origin powers! The twelve starlights on it symbolized the divine power of the Twelve Star Gods. And the four exceptionally dense glows were the result of Star Gods falling and their powers returning to the disc! These four starlights corresponded to the deceased Heaven Origin, Heavenly Might, and Heavenly Poison Star Gods, as well as the crippled Heavenly Chief Star God!

The most crucial factor in the Star God Realm's power was the existence of its Twelve Star Gods! When a Star God fell or reached the end of their lifespan, their corresponding divine power would not dissipate. Instead, its origin power would return to this vessel, find the next suitable successor, and thus be inherited again, quickly forming a new, powerful Star God. In upper star realms, cultivating a God Master required immense effort and often depended on destiny. Yet, in the Star God Realm, powerful Twelve Star Gods would always exist... and the same was true for other King Realms. This was why they consistently stood as King Realms at the pinnacle of the Primal Chaos!

When Yun Che first entered the Divine Realm and heard Mu Bingyun and Mu Xuanyin discuss the King Realms, he learned about the existence of "inheritances" and "vessels." Yet, he never imagined this vessel would be so small. No, what truly moved him even more was that the very foundation of the Star God Realm's inheritance, the core of its power, was now gripped in his own hand! Holding it meant gripping the Star God Realm's lifeline, its future... and its very survival!

The Star God Disc... the Star God Realm's most vital possession, something that even in death must not be touched by outsiders, had been actively handed over to Yun Che by Xing Juekong. Because he had no other choice.