Chapter 1598: Conclusion

The Azure Cloud Clan was thick with the stench of blood, but even more pervasive was a gloomy aura of death. The Ardent Dragon Lord, Nine Star Heavenly Venerate, and Divine Void Daoist all perished here, sealing the Azure Cloud Clan's inevitable doom.

The only thing they could think about now was how to escape. However, the "Accursed Clan" mark was branded upon them by the Burning Moon Royal Realm, and fleeing before the final judgment would only compound their crimes. Vast as the Northern Divine Region was, where could they possibly go, and who would dare shelter them?

Dragon blood stained the ground beneath his feet. Yun Che walked a long distance before suddenly stopping.

"A father who has lost his daughter must be even... even stronger."

Such a hollow remark, spoken by Yun Shang, brought him to the brink of emotional collapse.

He exhaled slowly. He turned his gaze to Qianye Ying'er, who had remained silent, and said coldly, "You're not mocking me?"

Qianye Ying'er's eyes were fixed on the distance. Hearing Yun Che's words, she gave a faint smile. "That little girl's father died, while mine is still alive," she said. "Her profound strength is completely crippled, while I can decide her fate with a flick of my finger. Yet, I find myself somewhat envious of her."

"Heh," her smile turned somewhat desolate. "The Brahma Monarch Goddess who once viewed all beings as mere ants is actually envious of a crippled little girl... How ridiculous!"

Yun Che glanced at her and walked forward.

This was the location of the Azure Cloud Clan's ancestral temple, but it had already been reduced to ruins.

If it were the Yun Che of old, he would have felt reverence for this ancestral land. But now, only indifference remained. He stood at the center of the temple ruins and stomped his right foot.

*Rumble!*

The ground collapsed, shattering the barrier beneath it. Yun Che descended into a hidden, self-contained minor realm, where he faced a group of terrified Cloud Clan members.

Clan Master Yun Ting, along with several elders who had sustained relatively minor injuries, were clearly gathered here to discuss important matters.

"Yun Che, you..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qianye Ying'er's figure lightly descended, standing by Yun Che's side. The voice instantly cut off, and almost everyone recoiled a step.

Yun Che's expression was grim. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone out, except for Clan Master Yun!"

Given the brutality Yun Che had displayed today, coupled with what had happened in the ancestral temple earlier, they wouldn't have been surprised if Yun Che had simply slaughtered them on the spot. But all he said was "get out."

Perhaps the only reason was the remark Yun Shang made after waking up... that plea for mercy that made them want to die of shame.

Yun Ting's face was an unnatural ashen white, whether from physical or emotional wounds, he didn't know. His expression flickered greatly, then he waved his hand, "You may leave."

After a brief silence, the elders silently withdrew. If Yun Che truly intended to do something to Yun Ting, their presence wouldn't make a difference.

Qianye Ying'er flicked her finger, creating a sound-isolation barrier. She could more or less guess what Yun Che wanted to say or do, but she clearly had no intention of stopping him.

"Revered Yun... cough, cough, cough, cough..." No sooner had he spoken than Yun Ting was seized by a fit of painful, rapid coughing, each cough bringing forth brown blood foam.

He took several deep breaths before continuing, "I wonder what... instructions you have."

"Do you know why you're still alive?" Yun Che asked.

Yun Ting lowered his head and softly whispered with shame and helplessness, "Shang'er..."

"She doesn't know that after she was severely wounded, you intended to cruelly strip her of her violet Azure Profound energy using the Blood Transference Taboo Art." Yun Che's voice suddenly turned several degrees colder, each word piercing the soul. "You'd better... never let her know!"

Yun Ting's lips twitched. After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh and said, "You are... the venerable one who bestowed that gift upon Shang'er?"

Having witnessed Yun Che's terrifying strength and his extraordinary care for Yun Shang, he couldn't help but realize that the venerable one who brought about all of Yun Shang's strange changes was actually Yun Che.

Earlier, when Nine Star Heavenly Venerate cried out "Half-step Divine Master," they were utterly aghast. But afterward, formidable figures like the Ardent Dragon Lord and Divine Void Venerate were easily crushed by him. Such power was far beyond mere Half-step Divine Master!

"Yes."

"Someone of your stature, why would you be so kind to Shang'er?" Yun Ting asked.

The Yun Che he saw was not only immensely powerful but also possessed a terrifying disposition. His ruthless disregard for even the Thousand Desolations Divine Sect and the brutality that resulted in dragon blood and corpses littering the ground left him deeply shaken, despite his extensive experience. Why would such a person be extraordinarily kind only to Yun Shang? He couldn't fathom the reason.

Yun Che raised his arm, and to Yun Ting's astonished gaze, an orange radiance flashed.

"!!" Yun Ting was thunderstruck. He cried out involuntarily, "Azure Profound Divine Power!"

"You!" He suddenly looked up, staring at Yun Che with an incredulous expression, "You... you... you are from my Azure Cloud Clan!"

"I am not," Yun Che replied coldly, his eyes as chilling as ever. "My ancestors long ago separated from the Azure Cloud Clan."

Yun Ting's mouth fell open, and his features trembled. After intense agitation and surprise, an endless complexity settled in, and his gaze towards Yun Che underwent a drastic change.

After a long moment, he lowered his arm, his old eyes hazy, and his voice as faint as a dream, "So, you are his descendant."

"Is he... still alive?"

"He's dead," Yun Che said. "Among the Illusory Demon Cloud Clan, I am the only one left alive."

Yun Ting froze again. Then, as if lost in thought, he murmured, "Dead... Illusory Demon Cloud Clan... dead... heh... heh heh..."

He began to laugh, a profoundly sorrowful laugh.

Despite hating him to the bone, upon hearing of his death, what welled up first was not gratification, but sorrow.

"It's for the best, for the best..." he murmured. "Dead, there is no more pain or worry; dead, there is no need for choices or struggles; dead, all grievances are settled... and true liberation is found."

His soliloquy carried a deep desolation, and even a strong desire for death.

A death wish preceding despair.

"You want to die that badly?" Yun Che glanced at him and suddenly sneered, "Then I'll just make sure you don't!"

His figure suddenly flickered, instantly appearing behind Yun Ting. He slammed his palm straight into Yun Ting's back, instantly releasing and withdrawing the power of the Life God's Miracle.

Yun Ting let out a startled cry, stumbled forward violently, and spat out a mouthful of black blood. He clutched his chest... Then, he suddenly looked up and turned around, staring blankly at Yun Che, his face filled with disbelief.

"The curse mark left in your body by the Burning Moon Divine Realm has been lifted," Yun Che said, his hands clasped behind his back. "With your own profound foundation and the Azure Cloud Clan's resources, it won't be long before you recover to your former state."

The curse mark in Yun Ting's body suppressed his profound energy to the Divine Sovereign Realm, preventing him from returning to the Divine Master Realm. Although this curse mark was powerful, it was far less overbearing than the Brahma Soul Death-seeking Mark. Furthermore, it was a dark curse mark most effectively countered by light profound energy. With the Life God's Miracle, which transcended all other levels of power, Yun Che easily lifted it.

With his cultivation restored, his dwindling lifespan would also be significantly extended. Sensing his current physical state, Yun Ting was overcome with immense excitement.

He had thought Yun Che came to punish them, but instead...

He took a step forward, about to bow deeply, but saw Yun Che turn his back, saying, "You don't need to thank me. I saved you only because you're still somewhat useful!"

Yun Ting's body stiffened. Yun Che's cold words couldn't extinguish the excitement in his heart; he was so overwhelmed he didn't know how to speak for a moment.

"I saved Yun Shang because her profound art and Azure Profound Divine Power caught my attention," Yun Che said in a deep voice, his back still to him. "I kept her by my side because I wanted to observe the current state of your clan through her... But later, I saw the shadow of my deceased daughter in her."

Yun Ting fell silent.

"Ten thousand years ago, for some reason, the Burning Moon Royal Realm learned what the 'sacred object' guarded by your Azure Cloud Clan was, and coerced you to hand it over." Yun Che was not asking, but stating. "Because of this, a great schism arose within the clan. You advocated for surrendering the sacred object to ensure the clan's safety and peace, while the Second Clan Master would rather die than let the 'sacred object' fall into others' hands."

"Ultimately, under the insurmountable division, the Second Clan Master took his followers and the 'sacred object' and left the Azure Cloud Clan. He also left the Northern Divine Region, never to be heard from again, and this caused your lineage to suffer immense calamity from then on."

"Was this... left behind by him?" Yun Ting's vision seemed to blur.

"No, half of it Yun Shang told me, and half I guessed," Yun Che said. "My ancestors left no records or traces concerning the Azure Cloud Clan. Aside from a distant bloodline connection, the Illusory Demon Cloud Clan has long had no ties to the Azure Cloud Clan."

"Is that so..." Yun Ting gave a desolate smile. "Regarding what happened back then, the Burning Moon Royal Realm was not something my clan could defy. I never believed I was wrong to surrender the sacred object for the clan's safety and peace. And guarding the sacred object was our ancestors' instruction, our clan's mission, so he was also not wrong."

"But he elegantly fled with the sacred object, yet pushed the Azure Cloud Clan from its peak into hell! He wanted to sever ties with the Azure Cloud Clan right then, but seemed to forget that it was the Azure Cloud Clan's sacred object, not the Illusory Demon Cloud Clan's, and certainly not his own sacred object... Cough... cough, cough..."

Overcome with rage and sorrow, Yun Ting's face and body convulsed in pain.

Yun Che said nothing, offering no rebuttal.

"Haa..." After a long while, Yun Ting's breathing finally calmed. He gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "Forget it, everything has already been set in stone. He is no longer in this world, so these words are meaningless, and they have nothing to do with you."

"However, with a descendant like you, he must be greatly comforted."

"That sacred object," Yun Che suddenly asked, "is it the Wheel of Myriad Tribulations?"

"......!?" Qianye Ying'er, who had been leaning against the wall, appearing drowsy, suddenly snapped her beautiful eyes open.

Yun Ting looked up, his pupils suddenly dilating.

Although his back was to Yun Ting, the instantaneous soul fluctuation behind him already gave him the answer.

"I don't want to know the true cause and specific events of what happened back then. I also don't care to investigate who was right or wrong. From now on, I have no connection to the Azure Cloud Clan, no favors, and no grievances."

"My purpose in seeing you this time is to tell you one thing." Yun Che turned around and looked at Yun Ting. "I will destroy the Thousand Desolations Divine Sect and temporarily end your misfortunes."

Yun Che's words struck Yun Ting like thunder.

"But remember this," Yun Che's voice grew low and chilling. "I am not doing this for your Azure Cloud Clan, nor am I atoning for my ancestors. It is for Yun Shang... for a single sentence she spoke."

He took a step, walking past the completely stunned Yun Ting. "I am not killing any of you because I don't want her heart to be tainted by any dust; I am saving your entire clan because I don't want her world to plunge into darkness... As for you, don't doubt my ability to do this. Instead, think carefully about how you will compensate her in the future!"

Even lifting the curse mark that sealed Yun Ting's cultivation was so she would have another Divine Master's power to protect her by her side.

Yun Ting didn't know how long he stood there dumbfounded. When he finally awoke as if from a dream and frantically turned around, Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er were no longer in sight or within his spiritual perception.

A dragon corpse several thousand feet long was kicked aside. Yun Che walked into the lightning zone, passed through it, and left the Azure Cloud Clan. He didn't know when he would enter this place again, or perhaps he would never return.

"Is the Wheel of Myriad Tribulations with you?" Qianye Ying'er asked abruptly.

Yun Che did not reply.

"Let me rephrase," Qianye Ying'er said, a slight arch to her brow. "When you were in the Dragon God Realm back then, did you sleep with the Dragon Queen!?"