Chapter 1675: Guessing

Qianye Ying'er's eyes flickered for a long time before she finally reached out and took the Primeval World Pellet from Yun Che’s hand—quite possibly the very last one in existence, now or forevermore.

Back then, on their way to the Soul Stealing Realm, Qianye Ying'er had a good reason for asking Yun Che about his "trump card." After all, they were about to confront the most terrifying woman in the Northern Divine Region, along with the entire King Realm she commanded.

Yun Che's unwavering confidence from that time now had its explanation.

However, with this trump card gone, an immense sense of insecurity inevitably arose.

After all, aside from the Soul Stealing Realm, which was bound to them only by "cooperation," Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er truly had no one but each other.

Yun Che knew very well that he himself was an unpredictable person. Given Chi Wuyao's nature and methods, once a certain stage was reached, she would never tolerate anyone surpassing her, nor would she want anyone beyond her control to exist.

Previously, these concerns hadn't factored into his short-term plans.

But with his trump card gone, he could no longer completely disregard them.

"Alright," Qianye Ying'er nodded slowly, her delicate hand gently clenching the Primeval World Pellet. "If this allows me to return to my former cultivation realm, then nothing could be better. But speaking of which... are you not worried this time that I might surpass you too much and then escape your control?"

"I told you," Yun Che said with a frown, "your power... it's all mine."

"Hmph, the power is within *my* body, so what you say doesn't count," Qianye Ying'er countered, turning sideways, her brow slightly raised. "Your sudden confidence is utterly baffling."

Yun Che remained silent.

After years of day and night spent together, his understanding of Qianye Ying'er had long deepened in every aspect.

Her cruelty and malice had once made him hate her to the bone, vowing to kill her by the cruelest means imaginable.

But on the Dark Profound Ark, those silent, trembling tears, every single drop, had fallen into the deepest part of his soul...

A place he had believed long dead.

To truly understand a person was incredibly difficult.

Xia Qingyue, whom he once thought would never harm him; Zhou Xuzi, whom he once believed he would respect his entire life; Qianye Ying'er, whom he once thought he would hate forever...

Their images in his life had been completely overturned.

"Actually," Qianye Ying'er suddenly said, "I, on the contrary, don't think you need to be too wary of Chi Wuyao... Of course, this is just a subtle, baseless intuition, and you're unlikely to accept it."

"While cooperating with Chi Wuyao, we must also develop power that belongs only to us," Yun Che murmured, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"How will we develop it?" Qianye Ying'er asked. "In the Northern Divine Region, we have no foundation, nor do we even know many people."

"You will see," Yun Che replied quietly.

Qianye Ying'er was surprised but didn't press for details. Her red lips slightly pursed, she said, "Very well, I'll be waiting."

"Go to the Primordial Profound Ark... go now," Yun Che said. "Last time, refining took half a year. This time, with your current cultivation, it should be shortened to within a month. It will also be a good opportunity to calm your mind."

Qianye Ying'er turned her face away. "My mind is perfectly calm!"

Yun Che was speechless.

The Primordial Profound Ark appeared. Qianye Ying'er placed her palm on its surface but didn't immediately enter. Instead, with her back to Yun Che, she suddenly asked in a very soft voice, "Was what you said about 'the future' that day... true?"

"Heh..." Yun Che smiled faintly, closing his eyes. "I just suddenly felt that it would be a pity if such a perfect plaything like you died early without being enjoyed for a few more years."

Without turning around to glare, Qianye Ying'er's lips moved ever so slightly. Her figure then vanished in a faint red glow, entering the world within the Primordial Profound Ark.

In the quiet space, the barrier remained unlifted.

Yun Che remained seated, then suddenly called out softly, "He Ling."

At Yun Che's call, the slender figure of the Wood Spirit girl appeared before him, her beautiful eyes shimmering as she looked at him. "What are your orders, Master?"

"Next," Yun Che said, "I will go to the Yama Realm to do something important. After that, there's something I need to ask of you."

"Please tell me, Master."

The words "ask of you" made He Ling feel a touch of unease.

Yun Che raised his gaze, looking into He Ling's exquisite emerald eyes, and slowly said, "Cultivate with me."

"Eh?" He Ling froze, her beautiful eyes widening. She stumbled back a small step in a panic, stammering, "Ma... Master, what... what did you say?"

In this world, no beings were purer than Wood Spirits. Although He Ling's soul was filled with hatred, and her obsession with that hatred was no less than Yun Che's, her fundamental nature remained that of the sole descendant of the Wood Spirit Royal Family.

Yun Che was not at all surprised by He Ling's reaction. He said seriously, "I need your Wood Spirit aura to gain a deeper understanding of the Law of Nothingness."

"My... my aura... Nothingness... Law?" He Ling stammered, bewildered and flustered.

Yun Che nodded slightly, still looking into her eyes. "The Wood Spirit race was the first race created by the Life Creation God, Lisha. You possess the most primordial life force. And you, as the last royal Wood Spirit, should be able to help me gradually reach a deeper level of nothingness."

"And if I can go a step further..."

Yun Che raised his hand, revealing the Burning Moon Devil Jade in his palm—the Burning Moon Devil Source Carrier he had seized from the Burning Moon Realm.

On its surface, two wisps of mist floated in a dim black light—the powers of the strongest Moonbane Exterminator, Fen Daozang, and the Burning Moon Divine Emperor, Fen Daojun, gradually returning to it.

Yun Che's thoughts and desires clearly transmitted to He Ling's soul through their life connection. She bit her lip, lowered her head, and her emerald hair veiled her flushed cheeks. "I... I will obey Master's words," she said in a very soft voice.

"If you are unwilling, I will not force you," Yun Che said.

He Ling gently shook her head. "From the day I became the Heaven Poison Spirit, my life has held only two meanings: revenge, and serving Master. As long as it is something Master wishes for, I... I am willing."

Her lips were tightly bitten, and her intertwined fingers almost twisted her skirt sash apart.

She was nervous and apprehensive... but in truth, the one thing she lacked was resistance.

After all, though she was physically a blank slate, she had witnessed far too much over the years.

Yun Che nodded, then softened his voice. "He Ling, after we return to the Eastern Divine Region, not only will your hatred surely be avenged, but the fate of your people will also change... they will no longer need to hide in reclusive corners."

"Mhm," He Ling softly agreed, raising her beautiful eyes, but still timidly. "Master, why... why did you suddenly want to... want to..."

"Because Chi Wuyao is far more terrifying than I imagined."

Yun Che frowned, lowering his voice, as images of his trip to the Burning Moon Realm intertwined in his mind. "It's highly likely that she knew beforehand that Qianying had conceived."

"Ah?" He Ling gasped softly.

"Given Qianying's nature, she would absolutely never allow something like this to happen. But ever since entering the Soul Stealing Realm, she began exhibiting various unusual symptoms. Her deliberate lack of self-control, leading to her conception... must also have been influenced by Chi Wuyao."

Yun Che's brows furrowed tighter. "In the Burning Moon Realm, it was also she who made Qianying confront Fen Daojun."

"If all of this could still be considered coincidence and speculation, then the timely appearance of the Soul Sky Warship at the very end..."

Yun Che's hands slowly clenched, a dark, sinister aura gathering between his brows.

"Does Master mean... all of this was the Devil Queen's deliberate scheme?" He Ling's lips parted slightly. "But how would she know Master could kill that Burning Moon Divine Emperor?"

"No, she couldn't have known," Yun Che said slowly. "Her move was to incite my fury against the Burning Moon Realm. This way, she could both expose and nullify my trump card, and heavily damage Burning Moon. From her perspective, it was killing several birds with one stone."

"She probably couldn't have guessed I could kill Fen Daojun, but she would have believed that in my extreme rage, wielding my greatest trump card would surely heavily wound Burning Moon... The Soul Sky Warship appearing at that moment was merely to reap the benefits."

This woman's cunning and methods, especially her mastery over human hearts, sent shivers down Yun Che's spine. He now increasingly believed that Chi Wuyao's eyes, hidden within the black mist, could easily pierce through people's souls.

Qianye Ying'er's changes were likely due to Chi Wuyao's invisible interference. And Yun Che's own series of actions... were actually entirely within her plans!

Such a terrifying person, if an ally, would naturally be an incredibly powerful asset.

But at the same time, for such a person, once the mutual utilization ended, it would be impossible to tolerate a threat like himself. Not just her—all Divine Emperors in the world were like this.

Therefore, his preparations had to begin earlier.

"Could it be... could the Soul Sky Warship's deployment merely be out of fear that Master might encounter some accident in the Burning Moon Realm?" He Ling asked weakly.

"Heh," Yun Che chuckled faintly. "As the Soul Stealing Realm's main profound warship, even a slight movement would alarm the entire Northern Region. If it entered Burning Moon without reason, it would be equivalent to a full-scale declaration of war."

"Although the Devil Maidens' power completely suppressed the Moonbane Exterminators under the Dark Everlasting Tribulation, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. Once a fierce battle erupted, even if they won, their foundation would be damaged. It would also fully alert the Yama Realm, and if they were to intervene, things would become utterly uncontrollable."

"If it wasn't based on sufficient calculation and certainty, she absolutely wouldn't have deployed the Soul Sky Warship! For me?" Yun Che let out a cold laugh. "As the king of a realm, one must prioritize the realm's interests from a king's standpoint, let alone her, the Devil Queen! How could she possibly deploy the main profound warship at such a time, for a mere collaborator like me, who is destined to become a great threat to her in the future!"

His voice paused, his faint smile slowly fading. His gaze became distant, and he murmured, "No... there was one Realm King who would indeed do that for me. But she already..."

Yun Che abruptly shook his head, not daring to let his consciousness linger on those images, that figure. He continued, "Moreover, the only possibility for the Soul Sky Warship to appear at that moment is that she ordered its deployment even before I returned to Burning Moon... What I would do next was completely within her expectation, or rather, her plan."

Hearing Yun Che's words, He Ling's heartstrings tightened, and Chi Wuyao's image in her mind was suddenly tinged with "terror." She secretly glanced at Yun Che, whose brows were heavily furrowed, and asked, "Then... then when will Master... will..."

She bit her lips tightly, unable to voice the rest of her question.

"After I return from the Yama Realm."

Yun Che stood up, waved his arm, and changed into a new outer robe. "I'm going to the Yama Realm now," he declared. "This time, I won't give her any chance to react!"