Chapter 1533: Black Dragon Soul

With a crash, the ice encasing Yun Che completely shattered at that instant. The Dragon Monarch's power was terrifyingly immense; even as residual force, it completely shattered the protection Mu Xuanyin had bestowed upon Yun Che with her last reserves of strength.

Blood erupted from Yun Che's entire body. In that instant, he felt as though his body was being ripped into countless fragments, yet the searing pain coursing through him undeniably affirmed his continued existence. Though the ice aura faded and the ice layer was fragmented, it had stubbornly protected his life.

Crimson stained her snow-white robes, and her dream-like ice-blue hair rapidly lost its icy shimmer, gradually turning black. In the cold void, she was like a broken-winged ice butterfly, plummeting into an abyss of eternal darkness.

“Master—!” Yun Che cried out, a sound choked with blood, and lunged forward like a madman. Despite his severe injuries, his Heretic God Realm instantly surged to ‘Yama Emperor,’ his speed surpassing his lifelong limit.

Following the Dragon Monarch, the Southern Sea God Emperor, Shitian God Emperor, the Four Guardians, and the Three Brahma Kings arrived one after another. Zhou Xuzi and Qianye Fantian also turned back at this moment. Having experienced the terrifying moment when Yun Che almost escaped, none of them dared to hesitate even slightly. Facing Mu Xuanyin, who was clearly on the verge of death from the Dragon Monarch's palm strike, they attacked together, intending to completely bury both her and Yun Che, leaving them no room or possibility of survival.

The simultaneous attack of four God Emperors and seven High-Rank Divine Masters was an incredibly terrifying force, capable of directly annihilating a small star realm. The Divine Masters in the rear all showed expressions of shock, and promptly unleashed their profound energy to protect themselves. Before such power, Mu Xuanyin, whose profound light was extinguished, and Yun Che, rushing towards her, appeared as insignificant as dust.

“Ugh… Aaaah!” The roar was incredibly hoarse and filled with agony, like a desperate beast. At the moment they attacked, Yun Che finally touched Mu Xuanyin’s body, his other hand brushing against a cold blue light...

The Snow Princess Sword, Mu Xuanyin’s beloved sword she never parted with.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding Mu Xuanyin tightly as if embracing his entire world—though this world was cold to the core. The Snow Princess Sword in his hand suddenly pointed forward, and his life energy surged forth wildly, drawing a colossal ice-blue arc of light. This arc of light unleashed Yun Che’s most ultimate technique…

Moon Smiting Star Extinction!

In that instant, the space before them—that vast expanse covered by the powers of the God Emperors and Divine Masters—had its laws completely reversed. Immediately, the full-powered attacks of the four God Emperors and seven Divine Masters, like beams of light hitting a mirrored barrier, suddenly bounced back and violently struck themselves. The profound light that had spread out instantly engulfed all the space behind them.

This sudden, utterly counter-intuitive scene could not have been predicted or defended against by anyone. Amidst an earth-shattering explosion, the four God Emperors and seven Divine Masters who had just attacked, including the Dragon Monarch, were instantly blasted away. Especially the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, who had just been injured by Mu Xuanyin’s sword, gushed out a stream of blood several meters long and flew sideways, tumbling.

In the rear, the other God Emperors and High-Rank Realm Kings, who had been observing, were instantly completely engulfed by the calamitous force. The world-destroying profound light silenced all cries, whether of terror or misery. As Realm Kings of Upper Star Realms, their strength was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of the current era. However, this was the combined power of four God Emperors and seven Divine Masters; even they could barely withstand it. It was unknown how many were severely injured in that instant.

The roar in his ears drowned out all other sounds in the world, yet not a single bit of it penetrated Yun Che’s world. He held Mu Xuanyin’s body… Clearly, her ice aura had completely dissipated, and even her ice hair had lost its dreamlike ice-blue hue, but why was the temperature emanating from her still so chillingly cold?

“Ma…ster…” His voice trembled violently, but not as much as his body. Her skin, nestled in his arms, was as lustrous as jade, her face still exquisitely flawless, yet utterly devoid of any aura of majesty, so tragically beautiful it tore the soul and shattered the heart.

Mu Xuanyin’s eyelids fluttered gently, like butterfly wings in a fading breeze. But her eyes no longer held their formidable icy glow, only a dull, unfocused haze. Her hand, even whiter than snow, slowly lifted, reaching towards Yun Che’s cheek… Streaks of dazzling blood pearls dripped from her hand, staining the Profound Sky Orb between her fingers, which had already turned blood-red.

“L…ive…” Her voice was faint, like mist in a dream, these three short words exhausting the last of the icy light in her eyes. The fingers that had just brushed Yun Che’s cheek weakly fell… along with the blood-stained Profound Sky Orb. She wanted to see Yun Che’s face clearly, wanted to tell him that in the next life, she didn’t wish to be his master again… But fate wouldn’t even grant her this last dying wish.

His teeth shattered one by one in his mouth, but Yun Che felt no pain. He leaned down, tightly embracing Mu Xuanyin’s now lifeless body, his heart and soul torn and shredded a thousand, ten thousand times by the cruelest, most vicious blade in the world… His eyes lost all color, leaving only a terrifying darkness, but tears poured from his eyes like a broken dam, unable to stop.

He had watched the Blue Pole Star be annihilated into ash, losing all his family… He hadn’t shed a single tear then; it was a tearless despair, a nightmare too cruel, a darkness so profound it felt unreal. But Mu Xuanyin’s life had vanished in his arms… making it a luxury to even consider it a false nightmare.

“Ah… ah… ugh… ugh…” His low cries were filled with endless pain and sorrow, like a wild dog with every bone broken. The last time his tears flowed uncontrollably like a broken dam was when he had reunited with Chu Yuechan and Yun Wuxin… That day, he had for the first time felt incredibly devout gratitude towards heaven, immensely grateful for the beauty of this world, where all evil and hardship seemed so insignificant. This time, his tears told him how cold and heartless this world was, how tragic and cruel fate could be…

The blood-stained Profound Sky Orb fell into his palm and was tightly clutched by him… It was the only ray of hope, and he had wanted to leave it with Mu Xuanyin, but Mu Xuanyin had so stubbornly returned it to him.

“L…ive…” Her final words, her last wish.

In the distant space, the profound light dissipated, and the God Emperors and Divine Masters were all in disarray, some even momentarily stunned. Despite their lifelong knowledge and experience, they were utterly unable to comprehend what had just happened.

At this moment, Xia Qingyue rapidly transmitted a message to Yue Wuji: “Control him!”

Whoosh! While everyone else was startled and disoriented, Yue Wuji suddenly shot forth as a golden streak of light, his figure tearing through space and heading directly for Yun Che.

Yun Che kept his head down, holding Mu Xuanyin motionless, like a hollow shell devoid of all soul… Just as Yue Wuji approached, he suddenly saw Yun Che slowly lift his head, his gaze meeting his.

“!?” Those were incredibly dark and hollow eyes. In the instant their gazes met, Yue Wuji felt as if he was staring into a bottomless abyss capable of devouring everything; every nerve and every wisp of his soul uncontrollably tensed, and even his body paused.

The next instant, a blue light suddenly burst open above Yun Che. A desperate dragon roar echoed through every space, every corner of every soul.

Yue Wuji’s vision went black, and his body flipped dozens of times in the air before he abruptly stopped… In his sight, he saw the shadow of a colossal dragon roaring skyward. Its body was sky-blue, but its dragon eyes emanated a profound black light and an incredibly terrifying, oppressive dragon might. Under this dragon might, Yue Wuji—the Moon God Realm’s foremost Moon God, second only to the Moon God Emperor herself—distinctly felt a chilling fear spread throughout his body, making him hesitant to take another step forward for a moment.

“…” The Dragon Monarch stood still, looking at the distant dragon spirit image with dark dragon eyes, his pupils silently constricting. The two points of dark light in the dragon’s eyes seemed to encompass every corner of the world. It swept over everyone’s faces, bodies, auras, and souls, imprinting all their characteristics deep within its soul… Never to be erased.

With a slight sound, the Profound Sky Orb, which Caizhi had ‘traded’ for from Wu Guike and casually given to Yun Che, shattered in his hand, releasing invisible spatial divine power and carrying Yun Che and Mu Xuanyin away.

Facing the suddenly empty space, everyone finally woke as if from a dream.

“Damn it!!” Boom!! Explosions of air sounded chaotically as figures rapidly dashed towards Yun Che’s previous location, but they could no longer find even a trace of him, nor any spatial fluctuations.

Crack, crack, crack! Qianye Fantian clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and muttering, “He actually escaped again… That damnable Snow Song Realm King!”

All thirteen God Emperors were present, and Yun Che had appeared, yet he had escaped once more! This was simply an immense joke! No one would believe it if told. Not only had Yun Che escaped, but the Blue Pole Star was also destroyed! Coming specifically for this, they had gained nothing but a wasted trip!

“Cough… cough, cough…” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor clutched his chest, clearly not lightly wounded. He sighed deeply and said, “Both times were due to a Profound Sky Orb. Such spatial divine objects are truly baffling… But there cannot be a third one.” Recalling Yun Che’s dark eyes before his escape, and the dark dragon eyes that had made even him feel a momentary palpitation… His chest heaved violently as he spoke in a deep voice: “Issue new orders. We must kill him at all costs… With his current strength, he won’t last much longer.”

“Heh, a devil only half a cycle old actually made a woman with the power of a God Emperor willingly die for him… What a joke!” the Southern Sea God Emperor muttered.

“Hmph! All of us combined couldn’t stop a mere devil. That is the true joke! It’s the biggest joke in the history of the God Realm! I’d be ashamed if word got out!” Xia Qingyue said coldly. She turned around and said coldly, “Wuji, return to the realm.”

“Oh, right,” she suddenly turned back, her stern, cold voice reaching everyone’s ears. “The Snow Song Realm King died protecting a devil; she fully deserved her fate. However, this incident does not implicate the small Snow Song Realm. The Snow Song Realm once showed this King kindness, so anyone who dares to harm the Snow Song Realm using this as an excuse, don’t blame this King for being merciless!”

Every word was as authoritative as heaven, beyond question. Given the ruthless determination she had displayed today, who would dare to provoke her wrath?

With that, she coldly departed… also taking with her the Moon Dwelling Divine Palace, which she had forcibly retrieved from Yun Che.