Chapter 1637: Goddess Demon Queen

The title "Devil Queen of the Northern Region" was infamous even among the powerhouses of the Eastern, Western, and Southern Divine Regions, yet her true name was known to very few. Within the Northern Divine Region, no one dared utter her name, even in private.

Chi Wuyao!

Neither Yun Che nor Qianye Ying'er had ever met her or had any contact. But when she appeared from the black mist—no, the instant her voice resonated—both Yun Che and Qianye, or indeed anyone from the Northern Divine Region, would instantly be certain it was the Devil Queen of the Northern Region descending.

One step, two steps, three steps... Yun Che's gaze fixed on the slowly approaching figure of the woman.

There was no discernible aura of might, not even a hint of oppressive presence. At her level of cultivation, even an invisible aura had dissipated; she simply existed, and the world would naturally bend to her as its core and master. Humility and submission would override will and conviction, rapidly blossoming in the deepest parts of the soul, unstoppable. If Qianye Ying'er hadn't possessed the Devil Emperor's blood, even with her restored Divine Master Realm Level Eight power, she would undoubtedly have been significantly affected.

"To dare utter my name, you truly have astonishing courage," her voice came again. In an instant, her voice made Yun Che's forcibly stilled blood churn once more. The voice of the Northern Divine Region's most terrifying woman, which should have carried soul-shattering pressure, instead sounded like a young wife's mournful sigh from her boudoir, or a maiden's soft, winding whisper close to the ear. Yun Che's hands clenched slightly. As he turned his gaze, his eyes remained dark. "You may also address me by my name."

"Oh?" The black-clad woman stopped just three steps from Yun Che, seemingly surprised by his and Qianye Ying'er's reactions. Then, she chuckled lightly, "Yun Che. I heard your name many years ago. What a handsome child you are."

Yun Che: "...?"

"As for you, Qianye Ying'er," beneath the black mist, a pair of dark grey eyes slowly and freely roamed over Qianye Ying'er's entire body. Her already enchanting voice became soft and lingering. "Truly worthy of being the Brahma Monarch Goddess, coveted by all men in this world. Such beauty and figure make even me quite envious." Under Chi Wuyao's gaze, Qianye Ying'er felt as though she were being stripped naked and intimately caressed, a sensation terrifyingly clear. She was clearly wearing a mask, yet under that gaze, it seemed to vanish.

"My name is Yun Qianying," Qianye Ying'er's voice was cold and authoritative, her gaze unflinching. "Chi Wuyao, we finally meet. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

Chi Wuyao let out a soft "Oh?" then took another light step forward, murmuring as if with a grievance, "You stole my Profound God Marrow, bullied my Devil Maidens, and repeatedly showed me disrespect. Do you truly wish for me to kill you?"

Just two steps away, a distance no one would dare imagine. Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er could feel her soft, warm breath. She gave off no sense of danger, not even a trace of pressure or aggression. And her enchanting, illusory devil voice was enough to instantly shatter a man's entire will... However, Qianye Ying'er could never forget that Chi Wuyao, standing before her, was the woman who had cast a dark shadow over the two strongest Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region years ago, and whom Qianye Fantian considered the most terrifying person in the world.

Her light step almost made Qianye Ying'er recoil, but she firmly suppressed the impulse in the next instant, saying, "With your power, Chi Wuyao, killing us is certainly no difficult feat. But for you to appear here so urgently, we both know why. Why waste time with all this useless talk?"

Chi Wuyao smiled enigmatically, then suddenly extended her arm, lightly hooking a finger at Yun Che. With a soft click, without any prior warning or profound energy fluctuations, the spatial ring Yun Che wore instantly appeared on Chi Wuyao's finger.

Yun Che showed no reaction.

Chi Wuyao glanced at it indifferently and opened her palm. The spatial ring instantly shattered, its collapsing internal space forming a small spatial vortex. In Chi Wuyao's palm appeared a faint but exceptionally pure starlight. Simultaneously, an incredibly pure and rich aura rapidly spread out, purifying everything in the surrounding space. The aura of the Profound God Marrow!

It was a very small piece of Profound God Marrow, only about half the size of a pinky fingernail. Chi Wuyao's enchanting eyes narrowed. "To use such a petty trick to lure me here, you are truly naughty."

When refining the Primeval Profound God Pill, Yun Che had specifically instructed He Ling to leave a very small piece of Profound God Marrow. The Profound God Marrow bore a special soul imprint left by the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. It could be blocked by a dust-free barrier, but clearly not by a spatial container; otherwise, the Burning Moon Divine Emperor, fearing the Devil Queen, wouldn't have been so cautious. At the level of the Sky Poison Pearl, placing the Profound God Marrow inside it should have perfectly isolated everything, preventing the Devil Queen from tracking the soul imprint. However, Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er couldn't be entirely certain of this. Given their strength and circumstances at the time, they absolutely lacked the qualifications to face the Devil Queen as equals. Even a remote possibility couldn't be disregarded, so they immediately chose to leave the Northern Divine Region and flee into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

Now, Yun Che had cleverly exploited this very point, specifically leaving a small piece of Profound God Marrow in an ordinary spatial ring. It wouldn't expose its aura but also wouldn't block the soul imprint. His purpose was to draw Chi Wuyao, the Devil Queen, to pinpoint their location as soon as possible and appear before them. After the Devil Queen sensed it, given her status, she certainly wouldn't come personally. As it concerned the Profound God Marrow, she wouldn't send ordinary people; the most likely choice would be a Devil Maiden. Defeating a Devil Maiden would then signal to the Devil Queen that their equal cooperation could begin. A timely Heavenly Sovereign Convention and the unexpected appearance of the Fourth Devil Maiden, Yao Die, greatly simplified this process.

"But you still took the bait." Yun Che's gaze pierced through the swirling black mist; what he vaguely discerned were indeed a pair of dark gray eyes.

Them actively seeking Chi Wuyao, and Chi Wuyao proactively appearing to find them, were two entirely different concepts.

"Oh dear," Chi Wuyao playfully chided. "You, child, really say such unlikable things."

She gently curled her finger, toying with the small piece of Profound God Marrow. "Where's the rest of the Profound God Marrow?"

"Used," Yun Che replied.

Chi Wuyao's five fingers closed simultaneously. "You brazenly stole my Profound God Marrow and yet you're so self-righteous about it. Are you truly so confident... that I won't kill you?" Her words still sounded like a playful chide or a laugh, betraying no anger. However, the surrounding space, the dark aura, and even all elements, completely stagnated at that instant.

"You are welcome to try." Yun Che's expression and voice were nothing but rigid and icy. And standing before him was the Devil Queen of the Northern Region, a being feared by every creature in the Northern Divine Region!

A hand reached out, pushing Yun Che aside. Qianye Ying'er stepped directly in front of Chi Wuyao and said, "Leave negotiations to me. Especially with you, Chi Wuyao, I've been interested for a very long time."

"Negotiations?" Chi Wuyao pressed her lips into a shallow smile, her alluring voice like a dream. "I, however, am much more interested in coitus."

"Cooperate with us." Qianye Ying'er looked directly at Chi Wuyao, ignoring her enchanting devil voice. "Those two words first came from you, through Nanhuang Chanyi, back then. I believe that is also the purpose of your appearance before us today."

"That was back then," Chi Wuyao said leisurely. "Although you didn't exactly refuse back then, you bullied my Devil Maidens, stole my Profound God Marrow, and now you treat me with such disrespect. Any one of these is an unforgivable capital offense."

Qianye Ying'er stated, "Back in the Realm of the Gods of Emptiness, we helped Nanhuang Chanyi a great deal. Taking a bit of reward and some leverage for self-preservation was perfectly reasonable. As for the Profound God Marrow, we obtained it from the Thousand Desolations Divine Sect, which seems to have an unusual connection with the Burning Moon Realm. Even tracing it back to its roots, it would at most be considered taken from the Burning Moon Realm, not from your Soul Stealing Realm. If you wish to pursue it, you should go to the Burning Moon Realm. As for disrespecting you..." Qianye Ying'er gave an indifferent smile. "Chi Wuyao, although you are the renowned Devil Queen, you haven't earned the right for us to bow our heads in fear and submission. And I imagine you wouldn't respect, much less want, such collaborators anyway."

"Hehehehehe..." Qianye Ying'er's words made Chi Wuyao chuckle playfully and unrestrainedly. "I've met many people with big mouths. But for two stray dogs who fled the Eastern Divine Region to still speak with such terrifying audacity, it truly opens my eyes."

"Heh," Qianye Ying'er also scoffed coldly, her voice deep as an abyss. "Stray dogs bite too, and they bite harder and more fiercely."

Chi Wuyao's laughter gradually ceased, her eyes narrowing into two thin slits. "Truly worthy of being the Brahma Monarch Goddess. Your words are much more pleasant to hear than those of this annoying child."

"Chi Wuyao." Qianye Ying'er's eyes also narrowed, silently resisting the soul tremors caused by Chi Wuyao's devil voice. "What you want is perhaps to escape the cage of the Northern Divine Region, or to change the destiny of the entire Northern Divine Region. What Yun Che and I want is to make those three Divine Regions... fall into eternal abyss! Our objectives differ, but we share the same enemies. This means our cooperation is about merging our strengths, and ultimately there will be no disputes over profit distribution. Why wouldn't we?"

"Well said, very well said." Chi Wuyao seemed to be praising, but the next moment, her tone subtly shifted. "Yun Qianying, you and I have always existed in two different worlds and have never met. Yet you appear to know me so well, which truly makes me very curious."

"Know you? Heh, what a joke." Qianye Ying'er's gaze was cold and desolate. "The hardest, most impossible, and most ridiculous thing in this world is to truly know a person. I don't claim to understand you, but there is one thing I am absolutely certain of."

"Oh?" Chi Wuyao seemed to blink.

"You possess immense ambition, whether for yourself or for the Northern Divine Region. Your ancient probing from ten thousand years ago already proved everything," Qianye Ying'er slowly stated. "It's just that the current state of the Northern Divine Region and the strength of the three Divine Regions forced you into dormancy for these ten millennia, but your ambition would never diminish in the slightest."

Chi Wuyao raised a hand, lightly tapping her chin. "Where does your confidence come from?"

"Hmph, the woman that old dog Qianye Fantian mentioned most in my presence was you. His descriptions of you also subtly influenced my disposition," Qianye Ying'er uttered words that would leave anyone dumbfounded. "Like me, you are an extremist, pursuing what others dare not pursue. And for this goal, you would stop at nothing and sacrifice everything. We are the ones who can help you achieve... and indeed, the only ones who can make all this a reality for you."

"Your rapid arrival here simply means you feared the Yama Devil Realm and Burning Moon Realm finding us before you did. If that's the case, why bother feigning reserve?"

As the two women "negotiated" beside him, Yun Che indeed remained silent. He glanced to the west, his lips twitching ever so slightly... a hint of a sneer.

"Under my command, I have nine Devil Maidens, twenty-seven Devil Spirits, thirty-six hundred Soul Servants, and billions of dark spirits I can command. With a mere flick of my finger, I could turn the Northern Divine Region upside down. What, then, can you offer me? Is it merely because you defeated Yao Die?"

"Just the two of us, in this vast world, certainly cannot create any great stir. But..." Qianye Ying'er's voice slowed, each word resounding with astonishing clarity, "With us, if you, Chi Wuyao, wish to annex the other two King Realms... it will be as easy as turning your hand!"

"Annexing the two King Realms" and "as easy as turning your hand"—these were phrases that, in anyone's understanding, should never appear in the same context within a realm. They would only provoke snorts, ridicule, and uproarious laughter. But Chi Wuyao neither scoffed nor laughed. Her reply was two words that briefly stunned Qianye Ying'er: "Very well."

It was as if she had been waiting for precisely such a statement—a statement that anyone else would find utterly preposterous.

"If those are your terms, then they are indeed sufficient," she said softly and slowly. But immediately, her tone subtly shifted again. "Since you desire 'cooperation' as equals, shouldn't you settle your debts first? How can there be equality with outstanding debts?"

"Debts?" Qianye Ying'er's gaze sharpened.

"The... Profound... God... Marrow," Chi Wuyao spoke softly, as if lamenting. "Brahma Monarch Goddess, surely you aren't so naive as to think I'd turn around and demand it from the Burning Moon Divine Emperor just because you said so?"

Qianye Ying'er: "..."

"When I met Chanyi back then, your cultivation was merely at the Divine Sovereign Realm. In just two short years, you've reached the late stage of the Divine Master Realm. It seems my Profound God Marrow was used on you. Truly worthy of being the Primeval Profound God Pill refined by the Sky Poison Pearl; this good fortune even makes me envious. And when a woman gets jealous..." Chi Wuyao's lips gently pursed, "it can be quite terrifying, you know."

Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er frowned simultaneously. The Primeval Profound God Pill required not only the Profound God Marrow but also the Primordial God Fruit. The latter was extremely rare, yet Chi Wuyao's words indicated she was completely certain they had obtained the Primeval Profound God Pill. Furthermore, it wasn't surprising that she knew Yun Che possessed the Sky Poison Pearl, but how could she know of the Sky Poison Pearl's refining ability!?

"Very well," Qianye Ying'er said coldly. "The Profound God Marrow has already transformed into the Primeval Profound God Pill and cannot be retrieved. If cordiality is ruined over something irreversible, it would be too great a loss. Therefore, consider this Profound God Marrow a generous gift from you, Chi Wuyao, as a token of your sincerity for our cooperation. And we, naturally, should give you a return gift of equivalent value. As for this return gift... I assume you have already received it."

Yun Che: "...?" He was momentarily stunned.

"Oh?" Chi Wuyao quietly awaited her words.

"What's wrong?" Qianye Ying'er gave a cryptic smile. "Has Zhou Xuzi not sent you a sound transmission yet?"