Chapter 1655: Eye for an Eye

"Qing...Qingchen!"The shock of this scene made the Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor's eyes split open, and he swayed unsteadily.

Yun Che's eyes blazed with demonic light, his black hair fluttered, and his aura surged like violently burning black flames.The hatred radiating from his eyes was like a demonic blade steeped in a pool of hellish blood, wishing to tear him apart, to utterly destroy him into the most contemptible blood foam imaginable, using the most agonizing and cruel methods.

The hand clamped around Zhou Qingchen's neck emanated a dark, shadowy aura, which had already corroded half of the skin and flesh on Zhou Qingchen's neck, turning it a shocking charred black.

Zhou Qingchen's body was rigid, his feet dangling above the ground. His eyes were wide and white, and his entire body trembled like a sieve from extreme pain, yet he couldn't utter a single sound.

"Yun Che, you..." Zhou Xuzi took a step forward, then froze rigidly in place, his mouth agape, his voice incredibly hoarse.

Chi Wuyao gracefully stepped beside Yun Che. The swirling black energy around her merged with Yun Che's aura, creating an invisible dark field that pressed down on Zhou Xuzi's chest, making it impossible for him to advance even an inch.

The confusion and terror in his heart and soul were like overwhelming tsunamis. But seeing Chi Wuyao standing beside Yun Che, he instantly understood what had transpired.

"You...you all..." His voice trembled, and his features twisted into an expression he himself couldn't have imagined.

Crack!!A crisp, ear-splitting sound of bone fracturing echoed. Yun Che's five fingers dug deep into Zhou Qingchen's throat bone. Zhou Qingchen's entire body stiffened abruptly, and a sound of agonizing friction emanated from deep within his windpipe, too painful to bear.

"Stop!" Zhou Xuzi's eyes seemed pierced by poisoned needles, and his words instantly transformed into a scream of extreme terror. He extended his arm but dared not move a single step: "No...don't kill him...don't kill him!"

It is often said that emperors are heartless. Yet, for Zhou Xuzi, Zhou Qingchen was truly more precious than life itself.

Qianye Ying'er had said that Zhou Qingchen was Zhou Xuzi's greatest, and perhaps only, weakness, and it was certainly no exaggeration.

He had concealed Zhou Qingchen from the world; for Zhou Qingchen, he had not hesitated to abandon his principles and beliefs, venturing into the Northern Region to seek out the Devil Queen; for Zhou Qingchen, he had even offered up a treasure from the Brahma Heaven God Realm second only to the Brahma Heaven Pearl.

Facing Zhou Qingchen, whose life was now in another's hands, a Divine Emperor was so terrified his liver and guts felt as if they would rupture.

Any observer would surely be moved by such paternal devotion.

However, in the eyes of Yun Che and Chi Wuyao, there was only mockery.

"The Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor's profound paternal love is truly moving, I'm almost brought to tears myself."

Chi Wuyao smiled faintly, glancing at Yun Che beside her... After all this effort, everything had finally gone as he wished.

Chi Wuyao's objective had been achieved the moment Zhou Xuzi arrived with Zhou Qingchen. Everything that followed – whether verbal attacks, spiritual pressure, feigned capitulation, or mental manipulation – had all been for this very moment.

The moment Yun Che personally seized Zhou Qingchen in front of Zhou Xuzi!

As for the Primeval God Marrow, it was a considerable bonus.

And Zhou Xuzi could never have dreamed that Chi Wuyao, with her myriad schemes, wasn't truly after the Primeval God Marrow in his hands, but Zhou Qingchen, with whom she seemingly had no connection whatsoever.

Zhou Xuzi clenched his teeth so hard they felt like shattering, blood seeping from between his fingers as he desperately tried to calm himself.

But no matter how hard he tried to calm himself, he couldn't comprehend why Yun Che would have "gotten together" with the Devil Queen.

The Devil Queen was utterly vicious and cunning, and held extreme hatred for the three Divine Regions. Yun Che was a devil born in the Eastern Divine Region, harbored many secrets, and Zhou Xuzi had even received concrete information that Yun Che had offended the Soul Stealing Realm and the Yama Devil Realm!

Yun Che could only have been her prey, so how could such an impossible situation have arisen?!

He also couldn't understand how Yun Che, whose power had clearly been completely sealed and his soul thoroughly hijacked, could instantly recover and erupt with power...

Given Zhou Qingchen's safety was at stake, he had been meticulously careful; if everything had been a pretense, it would have been impossible for it to escape his perception.

But all of this was now irrelevant. The Primeval God Marrow had been handed over, Zhou Qingchen's darkness had not been removed, and now even his life was clutched in Yun Che's hand.

"Devil Queen, what...what is the meaning of this! I have already handed over the Primeval God Marrow, yet you...you're going back on your word! Do you have any dignity as the Devil Queen?!"

Zhou Xuzi's tone was somewhat composed, but his gaze constantly flickered, fearing that Yun Che might suddenly strike a fatal blow and end Zhou Qingchen's life right then and there.

"Oh? Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Chi Wuyao's voice was slow and deliberate: "I first handed over Yun Che. After you, Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, handed over the Primeval God Marrow, I immediately, according to our agreement, ordered Yun Che to remove the darkness from Zhou Qingchen."

"I handed over the person, and I issued the command. Everything proceeded entirely as you wished, without the slightest deviation or bias. Yet, Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, you're turning your back on it and slandering me for going back on my word? Is this the usual conduct of your Eastern Region Divine Emperors?!"

The first half of Chi Wuyao's statement was filled with a subtle grievance, while the latter half hinted at slight anger, as if she had suffered immense injustice and slander.

"You!!" Zhou Xuzi, who had only been calm for less than three breaths, trembled all over again.

"Everything we agreed upon, I have fully and completely accomplished. As for what Yun Che chooses to do, that is his business; what does it have to do with me? His hands and feet are not attached to my body."

The Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor's vision blurred, and this time, not only his body, but even his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys trembled.

He, the Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, whose prestige filled the world, whose name shone like a scorching sun, and who was respected by myriad realms, had never suffered such humiliation!

Yet, he couldn't act out in the slightest. Because Zhou Qingchen's life was in the opponent's hands.

"Good...good, what a Devil Queen of the Northern Region!" Zhou Xuzi slowly nodded: "This old man...concedes defeat!"

"The Primeval God Marrow is yours. I will now take Qingchen back to the Eastern Divine Region, and from now on...I will never set foot in the Northern Region again."

Things had come to this. Retrieving the Primeval God Marrow was a fool's dream. And given Yun Che's hatred for him, it was highly likely he would kill Zhou Qingchen to vent his rage.

Zhou Xuzi's purpose in venturing into the Northern Divine Region this time was certainly not solely to remove the darkness from Zhou Qingchen.

His other objective was to kill Yun Che.

In his original plan, the moment Yun Che finished removing the darkness from Zhou Qingchen, Zhou Xuzi's power would instantly erupt, unleashing its full force upon Yun Che... At such close range, Yun Che would surely have no chance of survival.

The prophesied "Devil God Scourging the World" haunted Zhou Xuzi's mind like a nightmare day and night. Yun Che was a monumental hidden danger, had killed Brahma Heaven's two great protectors, Taiyin and Zhuliu, and had even caused his son to become a devil.

How could he possibly let such a perfect opportunity slip away?!

While killing Yun Che, he would instantly throw the now-freed-from-darkness Zhou Qingchen to Taiyu, who was waiting in the distance, and then fully engage the Devil Queen and the two demonic women beside her.

Once Venerable Taiyu had taken Zhou Qingchen beyond the Northern Region border, they would be safe, and Zhou Xuzi could also withdraw completely.

After successfully killing the devil Yun Che, even if his foray into the Northern Region were exposed, it would no longer matter.

The Primeval God Marrow was incredibly precious. But if he could use it to kill two birds with one stone, its value would be no less than refining it into a Primeval World Pill.

When Chi Wuyao handed over the soul-hijacked Yun Che to him and issued her command, he believed everything was within his grasp. However, in the blink of an eye, it all shattered.

It turned out that he was the one being manipulated and toyed with...and had been from the very beginning.

At this moment, safely leaving with Zhou Qingchen had surprisingly become the best possible outcome he could hope for.

How sorrowful and desolate.

"Take...him...back...to...the...Eastern...Divine...Region?" Yun Che finally spoke, each word accompanied by the sound of teeth grinding violently: "Zhou Tian old dog, what kind of pipe dream are you having?!"

"In my dreams...I wish I could drink your blood and annihilate your entire clan!"

Zhou Xuzi's fingertips felt a bone-deep chill. He maintained his composure with almost all his willpower, swiftly dispersing his aura to show he posed no threat, and said in the most peaceful tone possible: "Yun Che, I know you hate me to the bone, but all of this has nothing to do with Qingchen..."

"Then what sin did my daughter commit?! What crime did my family commit?!"

A roar like a desperate beast tore through the Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor's words.

Yun Che's five fingers sank deeper into Zhou Qingchen's neck, and crimson-black blood rapidly overflowed, staining half his body.

"Zhou Tian old dog, do you know...my daughter...almost met with disaster while still in the womb...I wasn't by her side when she was born...At eleven years old...I finally found her...I was already ashamed to be a father!"

With Zhou Qingchen clutched in his hand, Yun Che looked at Zhou Xuzi, every word filled with hatred and pain: "I hadn't even been able to make up for a fraction of it...yet she...to save me, her most unworthy...most useless father...sacrificed her most important...her irreplaceable talent!"

"..." Chi Wuyao turned her gaze away, slowly closing her eyes.

"Heh...heheh..." Yun Che was laughing, but his laughter was more obscure and soul-piercing than a ghost's wail: "She is my...debt of gratitude I can never repay in this lifetime...a treasure far more important than my own life! It was you...it was you!!"

His entire body began to tremble uncontrollably, and his aura was so chaotic it threatened to spiral out of control at any moment: "It's all because of you, my daughter...my family...my homeland...everything I had!!"

Crack!!The sound of fracturing bone was incredibly grating... It was the throat bone! If Yun Che's power continued to spiral out of control, Zhou Qingchen would undoubtedly die.

"Stop...stop! Stop!" Zhou Xuzi's shouts were filled with pleading: "It wasn't me who destroyed the Blue Pole Star and killed your daughter and family...it was the Moon God Emperor! Everything that happened afterward was definitely not my wish!"

"She must die too! All of you deserve to die!" Yun Che shrieked and roared, his eyes like blood abysses.

A wisp of soul-sound then emanated from Zhou Qingchen's body, entering everyone's soul sea: "A...father's...debt...a...son...must...repay..."

"Kill...me..."

Zhou Xuzi's eyes widened. He roared, "Qingchen, what foolishness are you speaking! Your father isn't dead yet! Even if it's a colossal debt, it's not for you to repay!"

"..." Blood and tears mingled on Zhou Qingchen's face, flowing down coldly.

"Yun Che, I beg you...I beg you to spare him." Zhou Xuzi's pleas were desperate. Even when facing the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor years ago, his entreaties had never been so humble: "All the blame lies with me; he knows nothing, he did nothing. On the contrary...he only held admiration and respect for you back then. You two...even knew and cherished each other."

He didn't utter foolish words like offering his own life for Zhou Qingchen's. He understood perfectly well that if he didn't die, he could still save Zhou Qingchen. If he truly killed himself, Zhou Qingchen would undoubtedly die.

If one cuts the grass, how could one not remove the roots?

"Alas." Chi Wuyao suddenly sighed softly and said, "Yun Che, that's enough. If we don't leave now, we'll be detected by the people from Burning Moon and Yama Devil. Give Zhou Qingchen back to him."

Zhou Xuzi was startled, as if in a dream.

Chi Wuyao turned her gaze, giving a sarcastic smile. "If Yun Che truly wanted to kill your son, he would have been reduced to nothing but scraps long ago; you wouldn't even have had a chance to kneel."

"Although he wields dark profound energy, you, Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, should know his true nature better than anyone! Killing an unrelated person would only create unnecessary karma, sully his character, and dirty his hands!"

Zhou Xuzi froze in place, then tears welled slightly in his eyes, and he began to tremble all over again... But this time, it wasn't from fear or anger, but from endless excitement, like encountering a dazzling light in the depths of an abyss.

Yes, he had once seen Yun Che's true nature so clearly.

He was the young man whom Zhou Xuzi had once most admired, valued, and felt most grateful toward.

Before he fell into darkness, he had possessed the most sacred and unblemished light.

Even if he had fallen into the Northern Region, even if he hated Zhou Xuzi to the extreme, how could he truly massacre innocent people indiscriminately?

Whether it was Yun Che's bloodthirsty gaze, his completely devilized aura, or the prophecy of the Devil God Scourging the World... Zhou Xuzi forcefully dismissed all of these. In his mind, only the Yun Che whom he himself had crowned "Divine Son of Salvation" before the great upheaval remained!

He believed... all the thoughts he could muster were convincing him that Yun Che would definitely not truly kill Zhou Qingchen.

He absolutely wouldn't! He absolutely wouldn't!

"Yes...yes." Zhou Xuzi nodded repeatedly, his hair and beard trembling, his eyes overflowing with all the pleading he could muster: "I, Zhou Xuzi, have committed a grave error...an unforgivable sin...but Qingchen is innocent. I am the one you hate, and I am the one who erred. You won't kill him...As long as you let him go, any demand...any demand, I will agree to it."

Chi Wuyao said to Yun Che: "With your current progress, one day you will be able to personally kill Zhou Xuzi and truly get your revenge. Killing an unrelated Zhou Qingchen would not only dirty your hands but also lower your standing. Let's go. If we don't leave now, it will truly be too late."

Yun Che's body remained still, the bloody light in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest: "Zhou Tian old dog, kneel...kowtow three times, and I'll let him go!"

With no true gods left in the world, who could possibly be qualified to make the Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor kneel and kowtow?

Looking at the violently churning dark profound energy on Yun Che's body, which could erupt at the slightest provocation, Zhou Xuzi's lips parted and closed several times, then he uttered the most powerless words of his life: "Your word...is absolute."

"Heh." Yun Che sneered: "Throughout my life, I, Yun Che, have most hated those who betray trust. Do you think...I would go back on my word like an old dog such as yourself?!"

Zhou Xuzi's knees buckled weakly, forcing him to the ground. His head, once proud before the world and bowed only to the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, heavily struck the dark earth.

Chi Wuyao turned her gaze, and in the depths of her pupils, a mocking and cruel black glint flickered.

Drip...drip...drip...Blood and tears slowly dripped from Zhou Qingchen's body, mournfully coinciding with the sound of Zhou Xuzi's head hitting the ground.

For the third time, Zhou Xuzi's head struck the ground.

He looked up, his gaze somewhat unfocused, at Zhou Qingchen in Yun Che's hand... He had forgotten to straighten his knees.

"Good...very good."

Yun Che smiled slightly, and the hand gripping Zhou Qingchen's neck slowly loosened.

Pfft!!Reflected in Zhou Xuzi's maximally dilated pupils was not the sight of Zhou Qingchen's body falling from Yun Che's hand, but a bloody arm...piercing through his chest.

Bang—The bloody hand released a black glow, instantly shattering Zhou Qingchen's body into scattered limbs and flesh.

Beneath the sudden downpour of blood, was Yun Che's horrifyingly cruel sneer, like a demon from purgatory.