Chapter 1696: Xuan Wu Yin Yang

Yun Che's mind had never been so utterly chaotic. His Master's two personalities—did they not belong solely to Mu Xuanyin, but to two distinct individuals? Chi Wuyao, the Devil Queen of the Northern Region, was his Master's other personality... How could such a thing be possible? How could this be happening?

It was utterly absurd, dreamlike, and beyond belief. Yet, he found himself without even a shred of strength to doubt it. For every gentle word she spoke, every captivating gesture she made, struck a chord directly with the deepest figure and memories within his soul. Such a clear and complete soul connection could never be faked or imitated. Furthermore, it was a secret known only to him and his Master, one that would never be revealed to anyone else.

But this woman before him... she was unmistakably the Devil Queen of the Northern Divine Region! How could *she* have been the one who took him as a disciple in the Snow Song Realm... who personally brought him back when he erred and fled... who abandoned the entire sect before the Profound God Convention to personally instruct him in cultivation... who permitted no one to bully him... who, despite her stern and ruthless demeanor, repeatedly indulged his gravest mistakes... his Master, who would even forsake the Snow Song Realm and her own life to protect him...

Wait! It was as if a dark light had sharply pierced his very soul. A chill coursed through his body. He abruptly raised his head, desperately suppressing the turmoil within, and whispered, "Did you... seize her soul?"

However, Chi Wuyao gently shook her head. "Indeed, that was my intention back then. But for a certain reason, I ultimately abandoned that plan and chose 'assimilation' instead."

His turbulent gaze slowly settled. Yun Che spoke in a low voice, "So it's true... it's true... No, that's not right! When did you infiltrate the Snow Song Realm? What exactly did you do to her?"

Yun Che's reaction came as no surprise to Chi Wuyao. With a long, silent sigh, she slowly declared, "I will tell you everything, and I will allow you... to see me completely."

Black mist swirled around her as Chi Wuyao slowly approached Yun Che, her voice carrying a faint, ethereal demonic resonance. "Qianye Ying'er should have mentioned that ten thousand years ago, I lured Qianye Fantian and Zhou Xuzi to the border of the Northern Region and engaged them in a fierce battle."

"To the emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, including the Yama and Burning Moon Emperors, my actions at that time—shortly after I became the Devil Emperor—were perceived as a test of strength against the two most powerful Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, and a clear display of my ambition."

"In truth, only I knew the special purpose behind that battle: to draw them into the Northern Divine Region and, by leveraging the dark aura, quietly achieve a soul assimilation."

When Qianye Ying'er first spoke to Yun Che about the Devil Queen, she had recounted the events of ten thousand years ago. At that time, confronted by the two mightiest Divine Emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, along with their most formidable guardians and Brahma Gods, Chi Wuyao suffered a defeat and retreated into the Northern Region.

Qianye Fantian, Qianye Wubei, Zhou Xuzi, and Grand Elder Tai Yu—these four directly pursued her into the Northern Region, intending to capitalize on her defeat and eliminate her. Instead, she lured them into a trap, using ten thousand miles of demonic energy to assail their hearts and souls, leaving an indelible, lifelong trauma upon those two most powerful Divine Emperors.

As Chi Wuyao had stated, Qianye Ying'er, when speaking of it, had indeed described that battle as Chi Wuyao's test, which simultaneously exposed her vast ambition. This ambition to extend her influence beyond the Northern Divine Region was precisely Qianye Ying'er's primary motivation for strongly advocating Yun Che's cooperation with the Devil Queen.

However, the answer Chi Wuyao now personally revealed was entirely different.

"The Brahma Heaven Divine Emperor, the Eternal Heaven Divine Emperor, the Brahma Gods, the Guardians... they represent the very core of the Eastern Divine Region. What they could access encompassed the most vital powers and secrets of the Eastern Divine Region and indeed, all three divine regions."

"If I could secretly assimilate my Devil Emperor Divine Soul with one of them, I could then perceive the true state of the three divine regions, along with many of their most vital secrets, through their eyes."

"Alas, I ultimately underestimated the power of the Brahma Monarch God Realm and the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Even after drawing them into the Northern Region's border, I still failed to find a sufficient opportunity. Several forceful attempts all proved futile. Thus, I had to settle for a lesser option and seized someone who had unexpectedly stumbled into the battle."

Yun Che's brows twitched violently.

"I read her memories and learned her name and origin—she was Mu Xuanyin, the newly appointed Realm King of the Snow Song Realm."

Yun Che's gaze trembled once more, but he forced himself to remain silent, concentrating on every word he heard.

"The Snow Song Realm, being the star realm closest to the Northern Divine Region within the Eastern Divine Region, frequently encounters dark profound practitioners—or 'devils' as they are known in the Eastern Divine Region—who have desperately fled the Northern Region. As leaders of the Snow Song Realm, many from the Realm King lineage, including ancestors and other beloved kin, had perished at the hands of Northern Region profound practitioners... Consequently, she harbored an extremely profound hatred for the Northern Divine Region."

"..." Yun Che slowly clenched his fists. He knew very well that Mu Xuanyin harbored an extreme hatred for devils, as both her father and Mu Bingyun's father had perished at their hands. Exterminating devils with full power upon encounter was the most crucial rule, indeed, a core tenet, of the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect. Yet, towards him, a 'devil' bearing dark profound energy whom everyone else wished dead, she had...

"Due to its close proximity to the Snow Song Realm, she detected that fierce battle. Driven by her profound hatred for devils, she joined the fray without hesitation, intent on slaying me."

"After seizing her, I originally intended to hijack her soul, transforming her entirely into my puppet. While her status wouldn't grant access to the true core, she was, after all, the Realm King of a mid-level star realm with Divine Master cultivation; she could certainly serve as an excellent informant and pawn."

"However, just as I was about to execute the soul seizure, I suddenly detected an extremely high-level divine soul hidden deep within her own soul."

"Moreover, that divine soul was not merely a simple integration with Mu Xuanyin's original soul; it was clearly connected to distinct, independent wills. Had I not possessed the Devil Emperor's soul myself, I wouldn't have been able to perceive its existence."

"..." Yun Che knew immediately that it was the divine soul of the Ice Phoenix God. So, ten thousand years ago, while bestowing power upon Mu Xuanyin, the Ice Phoenix God had already attached its own will to her, observing the outside world through her eyes. Later, because of Yun Che, it had even quietly interfered with her will.

Yet, the Ice Phoenix God itself remained unaware that the fragment of its divine soul left within Mu Xuanyin had, at that very moment, saved her.

"At that time, that independent fragment of divine soul will was in a dormant state. Had I forcibly seized her soul, it would undoubtedly awaken, potentially provoking an unpredictable counterattack. Therefore, I ultimately chose soul assimilation... attaching one-tenth of my Devil Emperor's soul onto Mu Xuanyin's."

"..." Yun Che's body swayed imperceptibly. The Ice Phoenix God had never once mentioned the existence of a Devil Emperor's soul; in fact, it had even expressed confusion to him regarding Mu Xuanyin's split personality... This wasn't a deception on its part, but rather, for ten thousand years, the Ice Phoenix God had genuinely never detected Chi Wuyao's presence. This was because the Nirvanic Devil Soul that Chi Wuyao possessed was the only Devil Emperor's soul in existence, elevating it an entire major level above the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul. Thus, Chi Wuyao was aware of the Ice Phoenix God's divine soul, but the Ice Phoenix God remained entirely ignorant of Chi Wuyao's presence. As for Mu Xuanyin... she was completely oblivious to both.

Back then, upon discovering that the Ice Phoenix God had interfered with Mu Xuanyin's will, he had unleashed an uncontrollable fury towards the deity he had always revered and felt profoundly grateful to... deeming it too cruel for Mu Xuanyin. He had never imagined that, beyond the Ice Phoenix God, her will had, for ten millennia, ceased to be purely her own.

The subsequent events, Yun Che could already surmise without Chi Wuyao needing to elaborate. She simply allowed Mu Xuanyin to leave naturally. Afterward, the awakened Mu Xuanyin returned to the Snow Song Realm, completely oblivious that another soul—an unimaginably terrifying fragment of a Devil Emperor's soul that she could never detect—was now assimilated with her own.

This implied that from that day forward... from the very beginning, the Master he had known, respected, spent time with, and adored—the one who had unknowingly carved a path into the deepest recesses of his heart, only to vanish permanently from his life—was not purely Mu Xuanyin, the Snow Song Realm King. She was, in fact, a composite of Mu Xuanyin and Chi Wuyao.

Two personalities... the personalities of two distinct individuals. But...

"Answer me one question," Yun Che finally managed to say, his voice strained. "To what extent could you interfere with her will?"

"Very shallow," Chi Wuyao replied. "As superficial as you perceive it to be. Even a Devil Emperor's soul, when assimilated, is still merely assimilated. I could not independently control her body or alter her decisions. My sole advantage was never having to worry about being detected by her."

Yun Che was speechless.

"I could see what she saw, hear what she heard, listen to her thoughts, and perceive her feelings. My presence was even regarded by her as a second personality, an emanation from her own inner self. It evolved from initial rejection to gradual acceptance, and eventually, she even came to enjoy it, actively allowing my will to take precedence... reveling in that sensation of complete, unrestrained liberation."

"But regardless, I was ultimately merely an assimilation. On non-essential matters, she would defer to the decisions of my 'personality'. However, for anything she firmly believed in, no matter how my 'personality' attempted to interfere, it was truly impossible to stop her."

"Though your Master was not purely Mu Xuanyin, it was ultimately her body, and her will, her personality, always remained dominant."

Chi Wuyao closed her eyes, her already soft voice dropping a notch. "Over the past ten thousand years, I observed many things through Mu Xuanyin, which made me fully realize that attempting to alter the Northern Divine Region's fate with my own power was nothing but a fool's dream."

"Just as I was preparing to withdraw my devil soul from her, you appeared. The Evil God's aura emanating from you captured my complete attention the very moment you set foot in the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect."

"Consequently, at my behest, she (I) met you, she (I) accepted you as a disciple, she (I) grew curious about your Evil God divine power and Dragon God divine soul. Afterward, that curiosity deepened further and further... plunging into an increasingly dangerous abyss without either of us realizing it."

Yun Che remained silent.

"During that period, I detected an interference of will originating from the Ice Phoenix God's divine soul; it was an imperative to 'be good to you'. She did not perceive it, and I neither intervened nor could I have."

"However, this interference from the Ice Phoenix God's divine soul was, in truth, entirely superfluous."

"Especially... after the Divine Burial Fire Prison, I sensed a profound shift in her state of mind. During the time you fled and she couldn't locate you, her soul experienced its most chaotic and unsettled period in ten thousand years, and I fully understood the reason for her turmoil."

Her enchanting, closed eyes gently opened, reflecting a gaze as hazy and luminous as crystals embedded with stars. As she narrated Mu Xuanyin's past with Yun Che, behind every 'she' lay a hidden 'I'.

At the time, she had inwardly scoffed at Mu Xuanyin, the Snow Song Realm King, who, despite cultivating the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Code to seal her emotions, gradually succumbed to a troublesome young man—her own direct disciple, no less.

Yet, soul assimilation, at its core, is a subtle grafting and fusion of souls, sharing both knowledge and sensations. While she found Mu Xuanyin amusing, she remained entirely oblivious that even as her will influenced Mu Xuanyin, she was, in turn, being reciprocally influenced.

Moreover, everything Mu Xuanyin experienced concerning Yun Che was also what *she* and Yun Che experienced. Mu Xuanyin was quietly succumbing, and so too was she quietly falling... even though her true body and original soul resided in the distant Northern Divine Region.

Especially atop the Divine Burial Fire Prison, within the Primordial Profound Ark...

When Yun Che defiled Mu Xuanyin, Mu Xuanyin's will was unconscious. Although Chi Wuyao, assimilated with Mu Xuanyin's soul, could not independently control her body to make her awaken or resist, her portion of the Devil Soul's will remained entirely conscious throughout.

On that occasion, Mu Xuanyin's body was defiled while she lay unconscious, but Chi Wuyao's soul was defiled for the entire duration.