Chapter 1735: Falling Moon (III)

Under the moonlight, Xia Qingyue slowly rose. As she turned, revealing her figure and face, even the moonlight seemed to dim slightly.

Her purple robe slid off, revealing shoulders and collarbones like naturally sculpted jade. Her skin glowed even brighter than the moonlight.

Her snowy skin, briefly revealed, was then covered by a red robe. Her long hair cascaded down as she raised her delicate head, her beautiful eyes slowly scanning God Moon City. Bathed in moonlight, she appeared like a fabled moon goddess descended to the mortal realm, possessing a beauty and divine charm that no earthly brush or pigment could ever capture.

With a gentle lift of her jade hand, a faint purple glow appeared, transforming into the Violet Pylon Divine Sword, a weapon exclusively belonging to the Moon God Emperor and renowned throughout the world. Purple light shimmered along its blade, mirroring the profound depths of her eyes.

Her arm rose, but her gaze did not rest on the sword. Instead, she silently stared at her large red sleeve... After a long moment of contemplation, her figure slowly blurred and vanished. She reappeared outside God Moon City, heading in the direction from which Qianye Ying'er's aura emanated.

In the vast starfield, the Moon God Realm stood out distinctly.

The Star God Realm was eternally bathed in starlight, while the Moon God Realm was perpetually enveloped in moonlight. Compared to the dazzling brilliance of starlight, moonlight was gentle and mysterious, tranquil and hazy. It was as if every ray of moonlight concealed endless secrets, some profound and ancient, others poignant and beautiful.

"The Star Gods and Moon Gods, originating from the same lineage in ancient times, probably never imagined that their mortal descendants, inheriting their divine power, would become enemies."

Qianye Ying'er gazed at the Moon God Realm from afar. No one could deny that among the four regions of the God Realm, the Star God Realm was the most dazzling, and the Moon God Realm was the most enchanting.

In that regard, the destruction of the Star God Realm was truly a pity.

"Didn't you instigate their animosity?" Yun Che shot her a sideways glance.

"I merely added a few sparks," Qianye Ying'er said leisurely. "If they hadn't harbored enough old grievances and weren't foolish enough, how could they have fallen for it so easily?"

Yun Che: "..."

"Speaking of which..." Facing the Moon God Realm, Qianye Ying'er once again asked a question she had posed numerous times in the Northern Divine Region: "After you married Xia Qingyue, did you truly never touch her, not even once?"

"No!" Yun Che replied coldly.

"Sigh..." Qianye Ying'er let out an inexplicable sigh. "What a pity, truly. Such a beautiful body. I can barely bring myself to imagine her being trifled with by men."

"A woman like that, and you couldn't even lay a hand on her when you married her properly. How useless were you back then?"

Yun Che glared at her coldly. "Am I useless? Is there anyone in this world who knows better than you?!"

Qianye Ying'er: "..."

"Still, you're not wrong to scold me," Yun Che's voice deepened. "Back then, I never wanted to go against her will. I guarded against and questioned everyone, but I never guarded against or questioned her. Yet it was she... who made me the most naive and foolish person in this world. Heh, truly laughable."

"...I received some good news," Qianye Ying'er said suddenly. "Internal strife has erupted in the Sacred Universe Realm. Luo Changsheng has escaped, his whereabouts unknown. Luo Guxie has also left the Sacred Universe Realm, seemingly to search for Luo Changsheng."

"As for the Sacred Universe Sect, to seal off the news, they have strictly ordered the realm to be closed," Qianye Ying'er finished, her beautiful eyes shifting. "Interested in hearing about Luo Changsheng's background?"

"No interest!" Yun Che's gaze remained fixed on the Moon God Realm. The scene of Xia Qingyue destroying the Azure Cloud Continent in front of him was etched in his soul, vivid and piercing every single day, every single moment.

Back then, Luo Changsheng was an opponent Yun Che had barely defeated, pouring everything he had into the fight, almost sacrificing his life. Now, even though Luo Changsheng had experienced three thousand years in the Eternal Heaven Realm, he was no longer qualified to be compared with Yun Che.

"Don't underestimate anyone. Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant chess piece can play a very significant, even irreplaceable, role at a certain moment," Qianye Ying'er said with a half-smile. "Besides, he is Luo Changsheng."

As Qianye Ying'er's voice faded, her golden eyes suddenly flashed, and she slowly turned around.

A crimson figure, imbued with imperial majesty, emerged as if from a dream, slowly materializing before them.

The Moon God Realm, shrouded in moonlight, resembled a vast, radiant moon shining in the starfield. Xia Qingyue, standing at the center of this luminous orb, appeared in their sight. The moment she manifested, the entire Moon God Realm instantly became her backdrop, and even the moonlight seemed to shine solely upon her.

Yun Che's hands clenched abruptly, then slowly relaxed. As he raised his head, an uncontainable chill shot forth from his eyes.

The Xia Qingyue before him was still peerlessly elegant, so breathtakingly beautiful that one might forget all past grievances and fall forever into a trance at first sight.

She wore a crimson robe, just as she had on their wedding day years ago when he first saw her. Yet, this shade of red now seemed excruciatingly sharp and piercing... as if stained with the blood of all his dearest loved ones.

"Yun Che, Qianye Ying'er, it's been a long time."

Xia Qingyue spoke slowly. In contrast to the icy glare in Yun Che's eyes, which almost solidified into a tangible sharpness, her words and purple eyes were as calm as water, as ethereal as smoke.

"No, not at all," Yun Che's lips slowly curled into a grim smile, his voice filled with a wild frenzy that threatened to break free. "I see you every single day... in my nightmares!"

A cold wind stirred, making Xia Qingyue's long hair and crimson sleeves billow. Bathed in the moonlight from the Moon God Realm, she presented a picture of tragic beauty. She looked at Yun Che, her beautiful eyes devoid of emotion, holding only an unyielding indifference. "Does the Northern Region Devil Master, who can extinguish countless lives in a snap of his fingers and plunge the vast Eastern Divine Region into ruin, also suffer from nightmares?"

"Heh, heh," Yun Che laughed, his mirth utterly sinister. "What are my petty methods compared to the Moon God Emperor who destroyed her own homeland for the throne of a God Emperor!?"

"When it comes to cruelty, when it comes to ruthlessness, in this world... who can compare to you, Moon God Emperor!!"

As Yun Che's voice grew increasingly sinister, his teeth ground together, almost shattering.

"Alas," Xia Qingyue sighed softly. "Compared to the position of Moon God Emperor, a mere Azure Cloud Continent is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the ocean. What is there that cannot be cast aside? Yun Che, you are now the Northern Region Devil Master, yet you still don't understand such a simple truth?"

"Understand? Of course, I understand." Yun Che raised his hand, every finger trembling. Finally facing Xia Qingyue, the faces of his family, parents, loved ones, daughter, sect... those soul-engraved images and the scene of the Azure Cloud Continent's demise intertwined cruelly in his mind, making him feel as if he were reliving the nightmare of losing everything.

"What is a homeland? What are loved ones?" He muttered in a voice filled with profound gloom and mockery. "They are weaknesses! Weaknesses that must be abandoned... preferably erased by one's own hand!"

"And me? What am I? A tool, of course!" His smile gradually twisted. "When I was favored by the Devil Emperor and revered by the world as the 'God Child of Salvation,' how meticulously you cared for me, even sending the Brahma Monarch Goddess to me as a slave!"

Qianye Ying'er: "..."

"But when I became a devil, an eternal stain on your Moon God Emperor's reputation, you abandoned me without hesitation... and even had to personally eliminate me!"

"Tsk!" Yun Che shook his head, scoffing faintly. "The same age, born in Flowing Cloud City, from the same Azure Cloud Continent... Compared to you, Moon God Emperor, how childish and foolish I was, like a pathetic, ignorant larva, overlooked beneath your feet, toyed with in your palm, yet still naively regarding you as the most intimate and trusted person in the God Realm, someone to whom I could give everything. Heh... Hahahaha, how laughable, how utterly laughable!"

Xia Qingyue's lips parted slightly, and she spoke calmly: "It's just a pity that back then, I still harbored a sliver of pity for you. I didn't choose to execute you immediately but granted you a few final moments to speak... And it was those mere few breaths that allowed you to survive and become the menace you are today."

She raised her delicate head slightly, her crimson robe fluttering. The purple light in her eyes instantly reflected immense imperial majesty. "This was my mistake back then, and it shall be corrected by my own hand!"

"Heh, you alone?" Qianye Ying'er narrowed her eyes, scoffing faintly. "Moon God Emperor, you actually dared to come alone. I may not be what I once was, but do you think... Yun Che is still the Yun Che of old?!"

"Killing you is enough!" Her cold eyes hardened with power, purple light swirled, and as her crimson sleeve moved, a streak of purple light was held between her jade fingers. The purple gleam at the sword's tip was just a pinpoint, yet it felt as though it simultaneously pricked the throats of both Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er.

Qianye Ying'er, however, did not move. Her golden eyes met Xia Qingyue's purple ones. Though both pairs of eyes held infinite grace and ethereal beauty, they clashed with the profound chill and murderous intent of the Nine Nether Hells. "Moon God Emperor, before we exchange blows, wouldn't you like to see the special greeting gift Yun Che has prepared just for you?"

Xia Qingyue: "...?"

"Xia Qingyue." Yun Che's eyes shifted, his gaze falling upon the Moon God Realm behind her, which was bathed in silvery moonlight. For the first time, he addressed her not as Moon God Emperor, but as Xia Qingyue.

"This Devil Master's return to the Eastern Divine Region did not even warrant a move from the Eternal Heaven Grand Ancestor. But you, this Devil Master must personally grant you death!"

"Before you die, this Devil Master will bestow upon you a grand gift. You must watch the following scene carefully; do not miss a single frame, or it would be a great pity."

"..." Xia Qingyue's moon-like brows furrowed slightly. The voice she heard was strikingly familiar.

These were the very words she had spoken to Yun Che years ago, before the Azure Cloud Continent... Not a single word was different; even the tone and expression were identical.

One could imagine how deeply that day's scene was etched into his soul.

She watched Yun Che's fingers slowly clench, and a deep sense of unease abruptly rose in her heart. "You..."

His fingers shifted slightly, producing a crisp "snap."

A colossal roar, like the heavens overturning and ten thousand mountains crumbling. The surrounding space shattered layer by layer, and the entire starfield trembled violently.

Xia Qingyue spun around abruptly. In her purple-ringed eyes, the Moon God Realm appeared, hazy and dreamlike in the moonlight... along with a soaring black light that mercilessly pierced through it.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!

A chaotic series of explosions, like world-destroying profound thunder, erupted. The Moon God Realm shattered into two halves under the black light, then disintegrated and perished in the wildly expanding darkness. In an instant, it transformed into countless silvery fragments and moon dust, unfurling a destruction light curtain so dazzlingly beautiful it defied description.

Yet, this exquisitely beautiful spectacle was fleeting. The scattered fragments and moon dust rapidly lost all their moonlight, devoured by the rampant darkness... until they were gradually consumed and annihilated in the darkness, returning to its void.