Chapter 1518: Reverse Abyss Stone

In the Eastern Chaos Realm, the vast space stretched boundlessly. The Wall of Primordial Chaos was close at hand, and the crimson crystal embedded in it was exceptionally conspicuous.

They had been waiting for a long time. Given their noble standing in the God Realm, no one was worthy of making them wait so long, yet at this moment, not a single person showed any sign of impatience.

"Divine Son Yun Che," Zhou Qingchen said, approaching Yun Che with a sigh, "I heard my father mention that after this matter, you'll be returning to the lower realm and won't frequently set foot in the God Realm. If that's truly the case, it would be a great pity. I, Qingchen, was still hoping to forge a deeper friendship with you."

"I am, after all, from the lower realm," Yun Che replied, half-jokingly. "That is where my roots are, my home, and where many of my concerns lie. And also... I must personally 'oversee' and protect the Evil Infant."

Zhou Qingchen, however, did not take it as a joke. Instead, a deeper respect appeared on his face. "In the past, I, Qingchen, once felt that my father's commendation of Divine Son Yun Che was excessive," he said. "Only now do I realize that even if his praise were ten times greater, it would not be an exaggeration. Perhaps, tens of thousands of years from now, at the end of my life, to have personally witnessed the existence of Divine Son Yun Che will be the greatest fortune of my life."

Yun Che felt his scalp prickle. He could only say, "How can I, Yun Che, possibly deserve such praise? Your Royal Highness truly overpraises me."

"Hahahah," Zhou Qingchen laughed heartily, but did not retract his words. "This 'Your Royal Highness' is what truly makes me, Qingchen, feel uneasy. If Divine Son Yun Che doesn't mind, just call me 'Qingchen'."

"Alright, Brother Qingchen," Yun Che said with a smile, not standing on ceremony. "Since that's the case, Brother Qingchen, please don't call me Divine Son anymore. Before a true Divine Son like you, Brother Qingchen, hearing it truly makes me blush with shame."

"Haha, alright," Zhou Qingchen laughed. "Brother Yun, if you ever have time to return to the God Realm in the future, please give me, Qingchen, the opportunity to host you and seek your guidance."

"I definitely will," Yun Che nodded.

The two conversed very happily, which indeed drew considerable envy from many young Divine Sons.

Yun Che and Zhou Qingchen had no prior interactions, yet they found themselves quite congenial upon their first meeting. The reason was simple: in Yun Che's eyes, Zhou Qingchen bore many resemblances to the Heaven Punishing God Emperor. Moreover, despite being a Divine Son, his demeanor was humble and gentle, his aura and gaze were pure, and he exuded righteousness, all of which made Yun Che develop a strong liking for him.

And in Zhou Qingchen's eyes, Yun Che was the person his father most highly esteemed. He possessed the most dazzling halo in the current era, having saved everyone in the current world and achieved feats that would be recorded for eternity, yet he was neither arrogant nor impetuous. Furthermore, he had an endless future.

More crucially, he possessed a "Sacred Heart"!

In his father's words, those with a Sacred Heart would be connected to all spirits, their hearts filled with compassion for all beings. They would be absolutely free of jealousy or malice, the only type of person in the world with whom one could wholeheartedly forge friendships and entrust matters, without needing to be on guard.

And there were only two such people in the current era: the Dragon Queen of the Western Region, and Yun Che of the Eastern Region!

"Brother Qingchen," Yun Che said, "you seem to have someone you fancy. If I'm not mistaken, it should be Qianye Ying'er, right?"

Zhou Qingchen's expression stiffened. He subconsciously moved to deny it, but the words died on his lips, turning instead into a bitter smile. He said, "With the beauty of a Divine Goddess, among all men fortunate enough to have seen her in person, who could truly keep their heart pure and mind free of thoughts?"

"Given your status, you should know what kind of person she is, and why I implanted a slave seal on her," Yun Che said very bluntly. "She is not worth your distraction."

Zhou Qingchen shook his head. "Whether it's worth it or not depends on oneself," he said.

He smiled slightly and said, "To tell you the truth, my father has told me more than once to never entertain any thoughts related to her. But... such things are the most unreasonable in the world, and the hardest to be controlled by reason. I am still far from mature enough."

Yun Che nodded slightly. "You are right," he said.

Zhou Qingchen's smile was no longer stiff, and a touch of gratitude appeared in his eyes. "Thank you, Brother Yun, for your frankness. It has brought much clarity to my heart," he said.

Yun Che smiled, but sighed inwardly. For the next thousand years, Qianye would have to diligently serve by his side. And after those thousand years, Xia Qingyue would surely kill Qianye! He hoped Zhou Qingchen would give up this idea.

At this moment, the space suddenly solidified. Everyone's chests felt as if they were crushed by a mountain, and they all held their breath.

In front of the Wall of Primordial Chaos, a shadowy figure appeared silently. An invisible pressure enveloped this space, and even the entire Primordial Chaos.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor!

Jie Yuan was too powerful, so terrifyingly powerful that the current chaotic order could not withstand her presence. Therefore, every time she appeared, it was accompanied by quite terrifying phenomena.

All elements fell silent, all distant stars ceased their movements. Everyone felt as though they were suppressed within a dark cage, losing every shred of arrogance and defiance, left only with a sense of insignificance, as if their souls could be torn apart and their lives stripped away at any moment.

"We respectfully welcome the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor."

All the God Emperors and God Masters respectfully bowed down. The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor was about to depart, and now she had appeared as promised. They should have felt relieved and secretly joyful, but the pressure, which crushed the limits of anyone's will, still left them trembling in fear.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor stood with her back to the crowd, gazing at the crimson passage on the Wall of Primordial Chaos. She did not glance at anyone and spoke with cold indifference: "Yun Che, come here."

"Yes," Yun Che stepped forward as instructed.

All eyes fell upon Yun Che, but no one dared to speak.

As Yun Che approached, Jie Yuan waved her arm, and instantly, a pitch-black barrier formed, isolating everyone.

Inside the pitch-black barrier, Yun Che stood face-to-face with the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. Jie Yuan's expression was eternally cold and calm, while Yun Che's expression and gaze were both quite complex.

Abandoning her kin, destroying the passage, and returning to the Outer Chaos—for the current world of primordial chaos, this was indeed the best outcome. It was also the only way to truly eliminate the disaster. Otherwise, if the Devil Gods returned, disaster would surely descend, and if Jie Yuan remained, the order would collapse layer by layer, causing immense suffering.

But...

To put it nicely, it was returning to the Outer Chaos. In reality, however, it meant Jie Yuan burying herself and all her remaining kin into an abyss of despair and death, with no hope of ever recovering.

He dared not imagine how Jie Yuan, having "returned" to the Outer Chaos, would face those Devil Gods whose souls had long been twisted.

"Senior," Yun Che spoke, his voice somewhat strained. "Perhaps you could try to abolish some of your profound energy. That way, if you stay, it might not lead to the collapse of order."

He knew what a terrible idea this was, but he could think of nothing else.

Jie Yuan showed no emotion, no anger, not even a flicker of expression, as if she hadn't heard at all. She raised her arm and flicked her finger lightly, sending a tiny black light flying towards Yun Che. "This item is useless to me now; take it," she said.

Yun Che subconsciously reached out and took it.

It was a black jade stone, only the size of a thumb, smooth and lusterless, with no warmth and no discernible aura.

Yun Che slightly infused profound energy into it. Instantly, his senses detected eight different auras simultaneously: Aqua, Flame, Gale, Lightning, Earth, Darkness—six elemental auras—and two special soul auras.

"This is..." Yun Che immediately thought that this must be something from the Heretic God.

"This stone is called 'Niyuan'," the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor said. "It was created from the powers of myself and Ni Xuan, primarily using his power. Worn on your person, it can distort others' perceptions of you, preventing them from discerning your profound energy and aura."

"Back then, when Ni Xuan and I were together, I would always wear it."

Niyuan—this name was clearly formed by taking one character from "Ni Xuan" and "Jie Yuan" respectively.

Indeed, if this "Niyuan Stone" had not existed, the union of the Elemental Creation God and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor would have been detected long ago, and it would have been impossible for them to have a descendant.

Putting it away, Yun Che said solemnly, "Thank you for this gift, Senior. I will make good use of it."

Yun Che possessed considerable disguise abilities, which he frequently used in the lower realm. However, in the God Realm, it was difficult to put them to use. The only time he did was when he disguised himself as "Blackheart Saint Hand" in the Black Soul Realm.

But that time had an extremely strict prerequisite: Lei Qianfeng and others had never seen or interacted with him at all. Otherwise, even the most perfect disguise would have been useless.

Because of aura!

After cultivating the Divine Way and reaching the Divine Spirit Realm, a profound practitioner's spiritual perception would become completely extraordinary, allowing them to directly determine identity based on profound energy aura. For those like Yun Che who possessed multiple profound energies, their life aura could also be discerned.

Therefore, when Yun Che needed to hide his presence in the God Realm, he did not rely on disguise, but rather on the Flowing Light Thunder Shadow and Broken Moon Caress Shadow techniques, which suppressed all his auras to the greatest extent.

As for this Niyuan Stone, with its ability to "distort others' perceptions," it meant that the aura perceived by others from the wearer would be completely different—regardless of profound energy attributes, intensity, or even life aura.

If combined with changing one's appearance...

Most crucially, this was personally used by Jie Yuan back then! This meant that even beings like true gods and true devils could be deceived!

Let alone the mortal spirits of this age!

"Hmph, I rather hope you never have to use it in your lifetime," Jie Yuan said coldly.

Yun Che said sincerely, "Even if I never use it, possessing the auras of Senior and the Heretic God makes it priceless to me and to the entire world."

Jie Yuan turned directly and said with extreme indifference, "It's time to go. Take care of yourself."

Yun Che suddenly looked up, his lips parting, but he had no idea what to say. In the end, he could only whisper, "Senior... aren't you going to say goodbye to Hong'er and You'er?"

"No need."

The three words were spoken without emotion or hesitation. She raised her palm, and a faint black light bloomed between her fingers. Just as she was about to withdraw the dark barrier, her movement and the black light between her fingers suddenly froze.

Her arm slowly lowered. She closed her eyes and said slowly, "Let me... look at them one more time."

"Alright," Yun Che nodded gently and called out with his mind.

From the sword imprint on his left arm, a crimson glow and a pitch-black radiance flashed simultaneously. Hong'er and You'er appeared at the same time, their flowing red hair and gently swaying silver hair forming two magnificent arcs of light in front of Yun Che.

Feeling them so close, Jie Yuan's aura froze. She then slowly turned around and looked at them... only to sharply turn back again and close her eyes.

She said 'one look'... and it truly was only one look.

"Alright, let them go back," Jie Yuan said, her voice still almost completely devoid of emotion.

"Yes," Yun Che agreed, a profound sense of suppression in his heart.

He could understand Jie Yuan's feelings, truly understand them.

She was the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, but how could she not also be a mother!

With a slight shift of his thoughts, crimson and dark light shimmered around Hong'er and You'er.

And at this very moment, You'er's lips moved slightly:

"Mo...ther..."

Sword light flashed, and Hong'er and You'er's figures vanished from the spot. That whisper-like, dreamlike call caused the most powerful devil body in the world to suddenly tremble violently, and the trembling grew more and more intense, unable to stop.

Yun Che did not speak. You'er's soft call had also entered the deepest part of his soul. He knew what those two difficult, blurry, and childlike words meant to Jie Yuan.

"Yun Che," Jie Yuan finally spoke, her voice trembling, not because she didn't want to control it, but because she couldn't. "Listen to me... your power is inherited from Ni Xuan, and your current status and halo come from me! My and Ni Xuan's daughters, they are your companions, and I allow you to wield them as your swords! Their father, with the remainder of his life, left behind the seeds to save the current Primordial Chaos. Their mother... though she brought disaster to this world, it was this world that owed her! Moreover, she did not hesitate to betray and abandon her kin, and destroy herself, to grant this world peace and stability! Therefore, my and Ni Xuan's Hong'er and You'er are entitled to all the kindness this world can offer! No one... no one has the right to harm them! If someday someone harms them, no matter who it is, you must never let that person go! Even if the entire world harms or betrays them, you must... slaughter this world!!"

A brief silence followed. Yun Che nodded gently. "Alright," he said.

Although he did not believe such a thing would happen, he knew that Jie Yuan had every right to say these words.