Chapter 1740: Falling Moon (8)

The God Realm of Absolute Beginning is vast and boundless, and the senses of all living beings are greatly suppressed here. However, the surging aura of the Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace, even at its maximum speed, meant Yun Che never lost track of it for an instant after entering the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

Countless profound beasts were startled, and the tranquil, pale world was swept by thunderous storms. The Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace flew in a straight line, without any deviation... as if it had a clear destination.

Time flowed silently during the relentless pursuit. Yun Che no longer knew how long he had been chasing, but the longer it lasted, the more resolute his pursuit became. Unconsciously, he had ventured deep into parts of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning he had never set foot in before.

"Hm?" Qianye Ying'er suddenly spoke. She was far more familiar with the God Realm of Absolute Beginning than Yun Che. "This direction... could she be heading to..."

"What?" Yun Che frowned.

"You'll know soon," Qianye Ying'er replied.

The world ahead suddenly became desolate and empty. Mountains, ancient trees, oceans, ferocious beasts... all had vanished, leaving behind only a boundless expanse of white mist, seemingly endless. The world suddenly became so quiet and desolate that one's soul felt involuntarily empty.

Within the white expanse, the Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace drastically slowed down, then came to a complete halt in the air. A red figure drifted downwards. As she came to a standstill, she became the sole splash of color and adornment in the endless gray-white world.

Yun Che also slowed his pace. He looked ahead, feeling an unprecedented sense of "emptiness," and suddenly realized something. He murmured, "Could this be..."

"The Abyssal Void," Qianye Ying'er answered, voicing the name that had appeared in his mind.

The Abyssal Void. The first time he heard these four words was from Qianye Ying'er when she had been enslaved. It was an abyss millions of miles wide, shrouded in an eternal gray mist spanning millions of miles. It was the abyss of legend and record, capable of reducing everything to nothingness. Many people and many records hypothesized it to be the center of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

The Abyssal Void was bottomless and endless, veiled by an eternal gray mist. Beneath the mist, a bottomless darkness was faintly visible. All records concerning the Abyssal Void were exceedingly clear and certain about one thing: everything in the world, once it fell into the Abyssal Void, would be utterly "reduced to nothing." This applied to living beings, dead spirits, soul spirits, profound artifacts, mountains, oceans... even auras, spiritual senses, sounds, and light. Not to mention common beings of the present age, even true gods and true devils from ancient times would turn into nothingness without a trace if they fell in... From antiquity to the present, there had been no exceptions.

"In ancient times, many people tried to explore the secrets of the Abyssal Void using various methods. However, even mighty Divine Sovereigns and Divine Masters would have their bodies, souls, power, and auras instantly reduced to nothingness upon entering. Eventually, no one dared to explore it, and gradually, no one even dared to approach the Abyssal Void anymore."

These were the words Qianye Ying'er had used to describe it to Yun Che back then. And this was Yun Che's first time truly seeing the legendary Abyssal Void... the most bizarre, dangerous, and utterly empty existence in the world.

In the world outside, living beings had strict hierarchies of status. But before the Abyssal Void, an ant and a Divine Emperor were indistinguishable.

Xia Qingyue's body floated down to the edge of the Abyssal Void. Beneath her blood-stained skirt lay the eternally drifting gray-white mist. Just one step back, and she would fall into the abyss, forever returning to nothingness.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

After a prolonged escape, her condition had not improved; instead, she had grown even weaker. Her body trembled slightly, and each painful cough brought forth flecks of scarlet blood. It was clear how severely the forced destruction of her Purple Pylon Divine Domain had wounded her vital energy.

Yun Che slowly stepped forward... Qianye Ying'er remained still, saying nothing further. She had once seen Yun Che's feelings for Xia Qingyue, and in recent years, she had also witnessed his hatred for her. Now, Xia Qingyue had nowhere left to run, and clearly had no intention of escaping anymore. Whatever the outcome today, Yun Che himself should be the one to end this... unless he truly wanted her to intervene.

Ten zhang away, Yun Che stopped. His cold eyes met Xia Qingyue's visibly unfocused gaze. Her aura was so weak it was on the verge of extinguishing. There was no wind in this world; otherwise, a mere wisp of air might have been enough to knock her to the ground.

At sixteen, in Floating Cloud City, beneath a red tent, a few gentle words from her had carved her image deep into Yun Che's heart and soul... When everyone else regarded him with cold disdain and mockery, the person most entitled to look down on him had given him the most unforgettable warmth. During those years in the Azure Cloud Continent, he had subconsciously always pursued Xia Qingyue's figure. At that time, neither of them could have imagined they would stand on such a plane and at such a height just twenty years later, much less facing each other like this.

Her vision was hazy, yet Yun Che's reflection in her eyes was remarkably clear. Looking at the motionless Yun Che, Xia Qingyue softly said, "Your earlier hesitation almost made you miss the best chance to kill me. What are you hesitating about now?"

Yun Che said in a deep voice, "If you wanted to live, you could have fled to the Brahma Monarch God Realm, or even the Dragon God Realm. Why did you choose this place?"

Xia Qingyue smiled with utter calmness. Despite her weak aura, she still radiated proud imperial might. "As the Moon God Emperor, I led the Moon God Realm to its demise. I have no face to continue living, and I disdain... to rely on others for my existence."

"Is that so?" Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly. "Before this ends, answer my last question."

"You wish me to answer... that I personally destroyed the Blue Pole Star back then to prevent it from falling into the hands of other realms and facing a more tragic fate. Would that make it easier for your heart to accept?" she said softly.

Yun Che: "..."

Xia Qingyue gave a fleeting smile, seemingly indifferent, yet tinged with mockery. "You are already the Devil Master of the Northern Region, yet why do you still refuse to let go of that last shred of innocence?"

"As the Moon God Emperor, destroying the Blue Pole Star was merely a simple choice made after a straightforward assessment at the time. Executing you personally... was also the same. Emotional hesitation and wavering are the greatest weaknesses and flaws a ruler can possess. Do you still not understand this, even now?"

"A very good answer, I am extremely satisfied." There was no warmth in Yun Che's gaze or voice. "Considering we were once husband and wife, and you saved my life multiple times, I can grant you a quick end."

"Farewell, Moon... God... Emperor!"

He raised his palm, and flames ignited between his fingers. At that moment, Xia Qingyue, whose aura was clearly weak and fading, suddenly shone with purple light. In an instant, she forcibly broke free from Yun Che's profound energy suppression and leaped backward into the pale abyss.

Yun Che's brows furrowed. His body shot forward, directly pursuing the falling Xia Qingyue, intending to incinerate her in mid-air. A startled cry sounded behind him, and simultaneously, a golden light shot forth, wrapping around his waist. Just moments before he unleashed his flames, it forcibly pulled him back.

"Don't go near it!" Qianye Ying'er's voice trembled for a moment. Although she knew Yun Che wouldn't actually fall, but merely intended to pursue and personally incinerate Xia Qingyue, the sudden surge of fear in that instant still made her soul tremble violently.

Into the boundless pale abyss, which swallowed even true gods into nothingness, a solitary red figure descended. Her voice pierced through layers of white mist, echoing in this empty world:

"Yun Che, remember this. Failing to kill you and Qianye is the greatest regret of my life. And I... in the end... did not die by your hand..."

Her final words were still as ruthless and heartless as ever. Slowly, she closed her eyes. Life was ebbing, senses were dissipating, and even the world was gradually fading away.

My mission...The meaning of my creation...Finally...Only...There was, after all...A slight regret...And that faint trace...Of an attachment that shouldn't exist...

The red figure vanished into the Abyssal Void. Xia Qingyue's aura disappeared, utterly vanishing from between heaven and earth, from the Primal Chaos.

Yun Che stood at the edge of the Abyssal Void, coldly gazing at the boundless white mist... Xia Qingyue had been severely wounded by him and forced into the Abyssal Void, but ultimately, she hadn't been killed by his own hand in the strict sense, which he considered a minor regret.

"Just as I thought," Qianye Ying'er said. "From the moment she landed here, I knew she would choose this method to end herself, preserving her dignity as the Moon God Emperor to the greatest extent possible."

"I'm just a little curious," Qianye Ying'er murmured, lowering her gaze. "The Moon God Emperor's imperial robes are always purple, yet today she wore a strange red dress with no divine patterns. Can you think of a reason?"

"I don't know," Yun Che replied casually, then turned around directly. "Let's go."

Thump!

As he took a single step, his heart suddenly thumped with immense force, as if struck by a ten-thousand-ton hammer, freezing him in place.

"What's wrong?" Qianye Ying'er instantly noticed his abnormality.

"Nothing," Yun Che replied, but his hand involuntarily pressed against his chest. What was happening? Why was there suddenly such a strange sense of emptiness? As if a part of his life... had been forcibly gouged out. His fingers clenched tightly against his chest. After a long while, that strange, sudden feeling slowly dissipated.

Qianye Ying'er didn't immediately follow Yun Che. Instead, she suddenly turned back and cast a deep glance at the Abyssal Void. All the scenes she had witnessed and experienced since seeing Xia Qingyue replayed in her mind. As her golden brows furrowed, she felt a subtle, inexplicable sensation: Xia Qingyue... seemed to have been seeking death? Even before the Moon God Realm was detonated by the Eternal Night Devil Crystal, there seemed to be a faint will to die in her purple eyes.

However, this thought, which clearly defied logic and had no discernible reason, was quickly dismissed by her. Her gaze shifted to the Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace in the air. With the complete disappearance of Xia Qingyue's aura, the Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace became ownerless. She lightly tapped her finger, and with a flash of profound light, the Moon-Stealing Immortal Palace was drawn into her personal space. Although it was originally Xia Qingyue's possession, it would be a pity to leave it here, given it was the fastest profound ark in the Eastern Divine Region.

In front of her, Yun Che, with his back turned, slowly extended his hand. Between his open fingers was something he hadn't taken out for a long time... the Samsara Mirror. On the simple, lusterless mirror body, there were actually cracks. Cracks? What was going on? The Samsara Mirror had been stored in the Sky Poison Pearl for several years without being moved, so why were there cracks? It was a Heavenly Profound Treasure! It should be indestructible even by the power of a true god, so how could cracks suddenly appear...

However, as his pupils contracted, these cracks actually healed slowly at a visible rate... A few breaths later, they completely vanished, restoring the mirror to its pristine state. It was as if the cracks moments ago had merely been an illusion caused by his blurred vision.

"..." Yun Che frowned deeply, remaining silent for a long time without a clue. He then put the mirror away directly, no longer dwelling on it. When he looked up, his eyes suddenly blazed with black light.

Zhou Xuzi, the primary culprit, and Xia Qingyue, who had cruelly attacked him... the two people he hated most. One had his stronghold destroyed by Yun Che, and the other had been forced into the Abyssal Void, vanishing forever.

What remained was much simpler!