Chapter 1748: Collapse of the Heart (Part 2)

The three projected images were not long, far from the complete memories of those who experienced them, evidently having omitted many unnecessary scenes. Nevertheless, they presented a sufficiently complete truth to the world: from the Devil Emperor's hateful return to her ultimate decision to depart.

Countless star realms and profound practitioners in the Eastern Divine Region felt as though they had just awakened from a vast, illusory dream. They had never imagined that such a terrifying truth lay hidden behind the Crimson Disaster: the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, a figure from ancient legends, was not only still alive but had also appeared in their current era. With a mere thought or gesture, she could destroy the heavens and bury the world. Divine Masters and Divine Emperors were but dust and ants before her.

Yet, during the few months she spent in the world, no calamity befell the God Realm; her very presence went unnoticed. All of this was because of Yun Che. And it was also because of Yun Che that she chose to depart.

It dawned on them that for those brief months, the entire Eastern Divine Region and the entire God Realm had been teetering on the precipice of a purgatorial abyss. It was Yun Che who rescued them, the entire God Realm, and all living beings from the edge of that purgatory. Otherwise, had the Devil Emperor's hatred fully manifested, had the Devil God truly returned, the Eastern Divine Region, given their profound resentment towards the descendants of the gods, might have long vanished. Even if survivors remained, they would be condemned to an eternal hell of fear and servitude.

In the projections, they witnessed numerous Divine Emperors from the Eastern, Western, and Southern Divine Regions, along with King Realm powerhouses and Upper Realm Kings whose reputations resonated across the world. Yet, not a single one of these individuals had disclosed the truth to the world.

Before the Devil Emperor's departure, their silence could be attributed to her command, a measure to prevent panic across the realms. That was understandable. But what about after the Devil Emperor had left and the calamity was entirely averted? Why was the "truth" they had been told that it was these very Divine Emperors and Divine Masters—who had trembled, knelt, and begged before the Devil Emperor, desperately clinging to Yun Che as their last hope—who had collectively sealed the Crimson Rift?! And that they had even taken the opportunity to expel the Evil Infant from the Primal Chaos?

The ludicrous part was that the first projection clearly depicted the process and outcome of the Divine Masters' combined assault on the Crimson Rift. Their immense Divine Master power, even with such an exaggerated alliance, was utterly useless against the Crimson Rift, like ants trying to shake a tree! How could *they* possibly have been the ones who ultimately sealed the Crimson Rift?!

Yet there was not a single word about Yun Che's role as a savior! Moreover, no one had ever heard the title "Divine Son of Salvation." Every one of them vividly recalled that on the very day the Crimson Rift vanished, what clearly followed was a pursuit order issued by all the King Realms against Yun Che! And especially the Eternal Heaven Divine Emperor, who in the projection had repeatedly bowed to Yun Che and reverently addressed him as the "Divine Son of Salvation," had then publicly announced an irresistible bounty, instigating the entire realm, within the Eastern Divine Region and even the lower realms, to encircle and annihilate Yun Che. What followed was known to all: to force Yun Che out, countless profound arks from King Realms and Upper Star Realms flooded into the lower realms, nearing the planet where Yun Che was born. Subsequently, that planet was reduced to ashes, and Yun Che, saved by the desperate efforts of the Snow Song Realm King, escaped into the Northern Divine Region.

No matter how they tried to describe the turmoil in their hearts, they felt their very souls and perceptions churned and overturned by a chilling realization. They felt like a pathetic, ignorant, and foolish mass of crawling insects, arbitrarily deceived, manipulated, and played with by those they had once revered.

The projections had not yet concluded; the fourth one rapidly unfolded. This time, the scene was one that no one had ever witnessed before.

The image showed the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor standing tall and proud amidst a pervasive gloom. Swirling dark mists were faintly discernible around her. Both profound practitioners from the Eastern Divine Region and devil people from the Northern Divine Region recognized at a glance that this was unmistakably the dark space of the Northern Divine Region.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor gazed into the dark distance, her face etched with desolation. She spoke slowly: "Back then, I sincerely met with Mo E of the God Race, only to be ambushed by his despicable scheme. Yet, contemporary records speak only of his praise... Ha, how utterly ludicrous."

"If not for Yun Che... if not for my unwillingness to let the name of Ni Xuan, the Heretic God, be stained because of me, I truly yearned... to forever eradicate Mo E, Xi Ke, and all inheritors of the God Race's power and will from this world!" She slowly raised a hand, pointing into the endless darkness: "Look at these descendants of darkness. They are eternally confined like livestock in a dark cage. Should they dare to step even one foot outside, they are immediately hunted down by all inheritors of the God Race's will."

"If tyranny is a sin, if slaughter is a sin, if oppression is a sin... then who truly bears the guilt? Yet, those who commit these sins, evils, and acts of violence still claim to uphold the names of so-called righteousness and the Heavenly Way!"

"Those foolish beings, blinded by ignorance, seem to have never truly considered where the 'evil' of devils truly lies. Does the harm devils have caused them amount to even one-thousandth... or one ten-thousandth of the harm they have inflicted upon devil people?"

"If 'devil' signifies evil, then who... is the true 'devil'!"

She was speaking to herself, questioning, and every word resonated deep within the hearts and pierced the souls of the Eastern Divine Region's profound practitioners. Where *was* the evil of devils? What kind of calamities had they truly inflicted? Confronted by this "question," they suddenly found themselves bewildered.

These days, the Eastern Divine Region was indeed suffering an incomparably terrifying devil calamity. However, in the history of the God Realm, such a devil calamity had never occurred, nor was there any record of it. Yet, from birth, they had been indoctrinated with the belief that devils were heretical outcasts, utterly negative, sinful, and brutal dark beings. To slay a devil was to vanquish evil, and killing devils on sight was an absolute duty for any profound practitioner. This was considered fundamental knowledge, as self-evident as the existence of sexes or the incompatibility of water and fire. No one would dare to question it, for questioning was deemed a ridiculous form of ignorance, even a sin.

Where exactly did the evil of the devil people lie? What unforgivable sins had they committed? What innumerable disasters had they wrought? They simply could not recall. This was because it was a universal perception and belief upheld by the King Realms and countless Upper Star Realms, requiring no justification.

In stark contrast, for a million years, generation after generation in the Northern Divine Region had been confined to a cage, perpetually shrinking under the relentless oppression and extermination by the other three Divine Regions. As the dark profound energy diminished and their "cage" gradually contracted, they were forced into endless struggles and internecine conflict to compete for the ever-dwindling realms and resources. Every year, countless devil people perished as a result. Facing such a plight in the Northern Divine Region, the world reacted with cold disdain and schadenfreude, believing it was their just deserts. They considered it a testament to the efforts and achievements of the King Realms across all regions.

Upon reflection, the number of devil people who had perished due to this oppression over the past million years was an unimaginably colossal figure. If killing is evil, if oppression is evil, then the wickedness inflicted by the three Divine Regions upon the Northern Divine Region would be irredeemable even across ten thousand generations.

"And I, the Emperor of the Devil Race, am to sacrifice myself and my last remaining kin for a group of contemptible mortals who treat later generations of devils in such a manner? Ha... how utterly ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous!" She let out a cold laugh, filled with profound desolation and bitter irony. Linking the "truth" they had previously been told with the truth they were witnessing today... yes, it was beyond ridiculous.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor slowly turned her gaze, meeting every pair of eyes directly, as if to pierce through their very pupils and souls. This gaze confirmed that she knew everything about her was being recorded by profound image stones, yet she made no attempt to stop it.

"In three days, I will depart. I have just visited the God Realm of Absolute Beginning and informed the Evil Infant to conceal herself by Yun Che's side in three days."

"Currently, those individuals call Yun Che the Divine Son of Salvation and have sworn to me that they will forever remember his saving grace. Hmph, but I know the depravity of human nature too well. Especially for these powerful figures, how could they tolerate someone possessing a greater reputation than themselves, or a future that will inevitably eclipse their own?"

"I fear that after my departure, they will suddenly turn against him, not only concealing his world-saving merits from the public but instead persecuting him. What talk of gratitude, righteousness, or goodwill! To them, status, benefits, and reputation are paramount! For these, they are capable of any vile or despicable act."

"I hope this is all just pessimistic delusion."

"I hope that the Evil Infant's existence will deter them from revealing their most depraved side. This is, at the very least, a reason I can depart with some peace of mind."

"But..." The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's gaze shifted strangely, and her voice softened: "If everything truly descends into the worst possible outcome, even... a more pessimistic and dire result than I anticipate, you will surely protect and save him, won't you?"

No voice answered her, and at that moment, the projection completely ceased.

The Eastern Divine Region plunged into a dreadful silence. Everyone felt as though they had abruptly awakened from a grand dream. Upon waking, their entire world seemed fundamentally altered, and cold sweat continuously drenched their bodies.

The Crimson Disaster had vanished because of Yun Che; it was he who saved the entire God Realm from an otherwise insurmountable calamity of destruction, one against which they possessed not even the slightest capacity for resistance. And it was decidedly *not* those Divine Emperors and Divine Masters! The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, the very empress of devils—who, in their perception, epitomized pure evil and were anathema to heaven and earth—had willingly separated herself and her kin from chaos forever, all for the sake of the present mortal beings. Yet, no word of Yun Che's world-saving deeds was disseminated throughout the world. He was hunted by those who knew the truth, his birth planet was obliterated, and he was driven by despair into the Northern Divine Region. Ultimately, those very individuals claimed all the glory for themselves. And they, the profound practitioners of the Eastern Divine Region, were like a group of circus clowns, kept in ignorance, still looking up at their "superiors" with fervent admiration, cheering and praising them, responding to their commands to hunt and denounce Yun Che—the very person who had saved all beings in the God Realm.

Irony?Anger?Sadness?Confusion?No...

When the impact on their minds was too intense, when their understanding was completely overturned, their consciousness became a blank slate. Within that void, their beliefs crumbled and collapsed.

The Yun Che from the Conferred God Battle, the Yun Che who faced the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor alone in the projection—how dazzling he was, the divine light in his eyes truly like stars. And the Yun Che after his return, how terrifying he was: mercilessly slaughtering Eternal Heaven, and bringing disaster to the myriad realms of the Eastern Divine Region without any room for mercy. At this moment, they suddenly understood with profound sorrow.

He had accomplished the greatest sacred deed in the world. Without exaggeration, every single person in the current era, especially those in the God Realm who inherited divine power, owed him their lives. Yet, he had immediately received the most despicable and cruel "repayment" in the world. And they, all of whom he had saved, had become accomplices in driving him into the abyss.

The faces and gazes of the Eastern Divine Region's profound practitioners were etched with deep stupefaction. They would have preferred to believe this was a dream, too absurd to be true. Their beliefs were crumbling, their understanding collapsing, and the images of those they had once revered and worshipped were utterly overturned.

Meanwhile, for the dark profound practitioners of the Northern Divine Region, the killing intent and malevolence on their bodies dissipated. Their emotions were also in turmoil; faces that had been endlessly fierce a moment ago were now streaming with unstoppable tears.

The Devil Emperor sacrificed herself for the sake of all living beings.The Devil Master saved the world single-handedly.The current peace in the God Realm existed entirely because of devils!

And the words of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor caused the grief that had accumulated in their hearts for countless years and generations to burst forth like a broken dam.