Chapter 1647: Demon Empress's Strategy

“Yan Tu, Yan E, and Yan Huo of the Yama Devil Realm have come to pay their respects! We request an audience with the esteemed Devil Queen of Soul Stealing!”

A heavy, oppressive voice echoed at the border of the Soul Stealing Sacred Region. Though respectful in tone, it carried a deathly aura, as if from the deepest reaches of the Yellow Springs, instantly rendering the Soul Stealing Sacred Region quiet and somber.

Countless eyes abruptly turned towards the source of the voice, and expressions of shock appeared on everyone's faces.

For Yan Tu, Yan E, and Yan Huo were the names of three Yama Devils!

Yama Devils from the Yama Devil Realm had suddenly arrived... and there were three of them!

Above the Soul Luo Heaven, all the Devil Maidens frowned. Ye Li said in a deep voice, “Three Yama Devils at once? The last time we saw such a display was when Master became Emperor. What do they want?”

“Master,” Jie Xin stepped forward, her white sleeves and dark hair gently fluttering. “I will go.”

“No need,” Chi Wuyao said, showing not the slightest surprise at the arrival of the three Yama Devils. “Since the Yama Devil Realm has shown such ‘deference,’ I shall personally receive them.”

“They are not worthy of Master’s personal appearance,” Jie Ling stated.

Chi Wuyao had already raised her gaze. Without releasing any profound energy, her voice passed directly through the sound-insulating barrier jointly set up by Ye Li and Yao Die, echoing across the sky: “What do you want?”

Only these two faint words, soft and ethereal like mist in the ears, yet upon entering the soul, they felt like the sky itself collapsing. Throughout the entire Soul Stealing Sacred Region, all beings held their breath.

These two words also caused the quiet Yun Che’s gaze to sharply change, suddenly fixing on Chi Wuyao... It was several breaths later before he slowly averted his eyes.

The simultaneous arrival of the three Yama Devils was undoubtedly a grand display. Yet, despite such pomp, they hadn’t expected to truly meet the Devil Queen.

Upon suddenly hearing the Devil Queen’s voice, the three Yama Devils were visibly taken aback. After a period of silence, their voices finally came from afar: “May the Devil God bless you, Devil Queen. We are here on the Yama Emperor’s orders to apprehend Yun Che, the East Region villain who, under the guise of ‘Ling Yun,’ wantonly murdered Yama Ghost King yesterday!”

“We implore the Devil Queen to grant our request and allow us to escort Yun Che back to our realm.”

Though the three Yama Devils’ voices were firm and imposing, they still held a degree of caution and respect... For at this moment, they were addressing the Devil Queen Chi Wuyao!

“How did the Yama Devil Realm know Yun Che was here?” Chan Yi murmured softly.

“Perhaps... they exposed their whereabouts on the way?” Yu Wu whispered. “After all, the Yama Devil Realm has been searching for them with all their might since yesterday.”

“Even so... it seems too fast,” Lan Ting said even more quietly. After all, Yun Che had only just arrived in the Soul Stealing Realm, and the Yama Devil Realm arrived immediately after, with three Yama Devils no less. This clearly indicated their absolute certainty that Yun Che was here.

Although the three King Realms of the Northern Region are relatively close, travel between them still takes several hours. The arrival of the three Yama Devils at this moment seemed more like... they had headed straight here even before Yun Che set foot in the Soul Stealing Realm.

Chi Wuyao’s voice once again filled the air: “It’s not just your Yama Devil Realm that holds a grievance against Yun Che. Now that he is in my hands, how he is dealt with is for me to decide. What concern is it of yours, Yama Devils?”

The arrival of three Yama Devils at once was, on one hand, due to Yun Che’s exceedingly strange power, having slain Yan San Geng with a single sword, leading to concerns that a single Yama Devil might not be able to subdue him.

On the other hand, while it appeared to be extreme rage over the Yama Ghost King’s death, in reality... the Heretic God’s inheritance and the Heaven Smiting Pearl on Yun Che were an irresistible temptation for anyone!

A Yama Devil solemnly stated, “We have indeed heard that those two East Region villains injured a Devil Maiden and spoke irreverently of the Devil Queen. However, when it comes to grievances, it pales in comparison to the death of our realm’s Yama Ghost King. The Yama Emperor is exceedingly enraged by this and has strictly ordered us to bring Yun Che back for punishment. We earnestly ask the Devil Queen to grant our request. Our Yama Devil Realm will offer a great reward.”

Chi Wuyao smiled faintly. “Since the Yama Emperor values this so highly, let him come for the person himself. I will await him at any time. As for a few of you, it seems you are not yet qualified.”

There was a brief silence from the Yama Devils. When their voices returned, they carried a hint of chill: “The Yama Emperor has decreed that no matter what, we must—”

“What I have to say, I have said it all.” Her gentle words cut off the Yama Devil’s voice. But then, the voice filling the air abruptly changed: “Perhaps, you wish to hear it a second time?”

It was a chilling cold that pierced the soul.

The Chi Wuyao that Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er faced had a voice like a demon or devil, almost capable of melting one’s bones. But at this moment, her suddenly icy tone, those incredibly brief nine words, felt as if one had suddenly arrived at the border of an icy purgatory and death itself. Every nerve, every fiber of the soul, trembled and convulsed ceaselessly.

The entire Soul Stealing Sacred Region fell completely silent. After a long period of quiet, the Yama Devils’ voice finally came: “We will convey the Devil Queen’s words truthfully to the Yama Emperor. We take our leave.”

With those words, the auras of the three Yama Devils swiftly receded. They dared not step foot into the Soul Stealing Sacred Region without permission.

As the Yama Devils departed, the Devil Queen’s chilling aura also vanished without a trace. Qing Ying spoke, “Strange, why did the Yama Devil Realm know Yun Che was here, and why did they arrive so quickly?”

In the eyes of the Devil Maidens, Yun Che possessing the power of a Devil Emperor was an immense secret, known only to the Devil Queen and themselves. Their “cooperation,” at least in the early stages, should have been top secret.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Soul Stealing Realm, any related information should have been concealed and suppressed with all effort.

“Hmph,” a cold laugh emerged, and Qianye Ying’er said chillingly, “You’ll have to ask your master about that!”

Qing Ying glared angrily. “Yun Qianying, what do you mean!”

Qianye Ying’er ignored Qing Ying, her cold eyes fixed on Chi Wuyao. “Chi Wuyao, only you and the Seventh Devil Maiden knew of our arrival here.”

“We are entirely unfamiliar with the Northern Region. We didn’t travel fast on the way to conceal our auras, yet you arrived even later than us.”

“And what’s even stranger...” Qianye Ying’er’s lips curled in mockery, her beautiful eyes cold. “Eight of the nine Devil Maidens are here, even you, the Devil Queen, are present, yet only the Seventh Devil Maiden is missing. Let me guess, where has she gone?”

“Silence!” Qianye Ying’er’s words undoubtedly provoked the Devil Maidens’ wrath. “Dare to slander Master again, and don’t blame us for being impolite!”

“Oh dear,” Chi Wuyao sighed playfully, saying with a giggle, “As expected, I couldn’t hide it from you. The reason Hua Jin isn’t here is because I sent her to a few places... The first was the Yama Devil Realm.”

“Now, both the Yama Devils and Burning Moon know you are here. Before long, half of the Northern Divine Region should know.”

The Devil Maidens froze. Ye Li said, “Master, this... what is this about?”

“The reason,” Yun Che countered indifferently, showing no sign of haste or anger.

“Reasons? There are many,” Chi Wuyao replied unhurriedly, completely ignoring Qianye Ying’er’s piercing gaze. “Let’s talk about the most immediate and simplest one.”

“I want people to know you are in my hands. It’s that simple. And this scope is not limited to the Northern Divine Region. If we continue to fan the flames, it won’t be long before the Eastern Divine Region should also receive the news.”

“Especially...” Her dark eyes seemed to flicker slightly. “The Eternal Heaven God Realm.”

“Chi Wuyao!” Qianye Ying’er was furious. Her figure flashed, and she closed in on Chi Wuyao, their gazes clashing directly from half a foot away. “What exactly... do you want to do!”

At this moment, she suddenly questioned what she had been insisting on since entering the Northern Divine Region—guiding and urging Yun Che to cooperate with the Devil Queen Chi Wuyao.

This was only their first day of cooperation. The beginning had clearly been incredibly smooth, yet Chi Wuyao’s thoughts and actions were completely beyond her expectations, and certainly beyond her and Yun Che’s control.

Facing Qianye Ying’er’s close, pressing gaze, Chi Wuyao, however, smiled charmingly, even leaning forward slightly, as if admiring Qianye Ying’er’s excessively perfect half-face. “Speaking of which, this matter was actually inspired by you.”

Qianye Ying’er did not retreat. Every word was ice-cold: “You had better explain yourself clearly!”

Chi Wuyao said, “Since it’s a cooperation, I will naturally explain everything clearly to you. After all, you are the true protagonists; I am merely a small facilitator.”

“What a joke!” Qianye Ying’er said coldly. “Regarding this matter alone, you acted entirely on your own, without consulting our opinions in the slightest. Informing the Yama Devils of our whereabouts even smacks of plotting against us. With such actions, do you still have the face to speak of ‘cooperation’? And you expect us to obediently cooperate with you?”

Chi Wuyao said with a smile, “Then wait until I finish speaking. Whether or not you cooperate, isn’t that still up to you?”

“Speak,” Yun Che uttered a single word.

“Then you must listen carefully, especially you,” she said, her lips lightly pursed as she faced Qianye Ying’er.

Qianye Ying’er’s brow twitched slightly.

“Yun Qianying, what you said earlier – that grand gift to repay the ‘Wilderness Divine Marrow’ – was a brilliant ‘opportunity.’ By using Zhou Xuzi’s proposed deal to me to thoroughly enrage him, driving him to madness, causing him to lose control and actively launch a full-scale assault on the Northern Region, thereby creating momentum.”

“It sounded incredibly wonderful, stirring my interest deeply. But after a little thought, I found that this ‘grand gift’ seemed to have two rather significant flaws.”

“What flaws!?” Qianye Ying’er asked.

“Firstly,” Chi Wuyao spoke unhurriedly, “the timing you envisioned was to anger Eternal Heaven after merging the three King Realms and preparing sufficient power, drawing him to attack, thereby leveraging the situation for a counterattack, placing yourselves in a position of moral and strategic high ground, and in doing so, cause the Western and Southern Divine Regions to initially stand by and watch.”

“But... for my Soul Stealing Realm to swallow Burning Moon and Yama Devil, I must rely on Yun Che’s power. And any conflict with a King Realm, even if kept to the smallest scale, would undoubtedly shake the entire Northern Divine Region and naturally be easily discovered by the King Realms of the Eastern Divine Region. In that case, Eternal Heaven would know that I am cooperating with Yun Che, not capturing him. How then would he bring his son to fall into such a trap?”

“Hmph,” Qianye Ying’er scoffed, “As the Devil Queen of Soul Stealing, do you not even possess the ability to suppress such information?”

“Suppress?” Chi Wuyao retorted with a sneer. “A conflict between King Realms? There’s probably nothing bigger in this world. How could it be suppressed?”

“Furthermore, with your past identity as a Brahma Monarch Goddess, tell me, for something of this scale, no matter how much it’s suppressed, would the Eastern Divine Region’s intelligence capabilities truly be so weak as to remain completely unaware?”

Qianye Ying’er remained silent.

“Secondly,” Chi Wuyao continued, “even if we grant that everything goes as you wish, and after preparing everything, you successfully enrage Eternal Heaven, what makes you so certain... that he would definitely use Eternal Heaven’s power to launch a full-scale assault on the Northern Region in his extreme rage?”

Qianye Ying’er said in a deep voice, “Based on his guilt towards his deceased wife, on his valuing Zhou Qingchen’s life above all else, on his apprehension and panic after witnessing Yun Che’s growth... Is that not enough!”

“Whether it’s enough or not, how would I know?” Chi Wuyao said. “But I at least know one thing: a person sometimes cannot even control their own thoughts. To speculate on the thoughts of others and make them a wager... often only leads to a joke!”

Her gaze swept over them. “Aren’t you two precisely such jokes?”

“You!” Qianye Ying’er’s golden hair flared, and her eyes flashed with black light... but she did not truly erupt for a long time.

One of them once respected Zhou Xuzi the most, and the other Qianye Fantian the most, yet they had fallen to this place.

What was wrong with calling them “such jokes”?