Chapter 1796: No Sound No Shadow

“Devil Master, are you planning to stay in the Southern Divine Region?” Yan Tianxiao asked.

“The Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm will probably be a good place,” Yun Che said calmly.

Yan Tianxiao frowned. “Cang Shitian…” he began.

“No need to be wary. From today onwards, stepping into Deep Sea is like stepping into the Devil Realm,” Yun Che stated. “It’s Cang Shitian who should be treading carefully.”

“What about the Devil Queen?”

“How to handle the Eastern Divine Region is for her to decide,” Yun Che’s eyes flickered slightly. He never doubted Chi Wuyao’s intelligence-gathering abilities. Even without a direct message, she would soon know in detail what happened in the Southern Divine Region and accurately infer his next intentions.

Suddenly, Yun Che’s gaze darkened, and he sharply turned his head, looking towards the sky in the northwest.

At that very moment, a speck of cold light shot through the air from at least a thousand miles away, bringing with it the sound of tearing space that couldn’t keep up. The thousand-mile space seemed to be completely severed. As the cold light approached, its speed remained terrifyingly fast. What was most frightening was that despite launching such an astonishingly fast attack, the person’s aura was extremely faint when they made their move. Even with Yun Che’s spiritual perception, he only barely caught a faint wisp. And that wisp completely vanished moments later.

Before the piercing cold light even arrived, Qianye Ying’er’s figure swiftly darted out. But suddenly, a terrifying pressure surged forth. Caizhi had instantly appeared in front of Qianye Ying’er, and the might of the Heavenly Wolf pressed down, forcibly halting her.

“Hmm?” Qianye Ying’er twisted her slender waist, gracefully retreating. She didn’t try to charge forward again, instead looking at Caizhi with a gaze full of curiosity and inquiry.

Yun Che was also slightly taken aback. He then reached out and directly drew the approaching cold light into his hand. Within his spiritual perception, he could no longer find the fleeting faint aura.

Regarding the ability to conceal one’s aura, Yun Che, with his "Fleeting Lightning and Vanishing Moon" and "Severed Moon Shadow" techniques, considered himself unparalleled. Back then, with his Divine King realm cultivation, he had managed to evade the full pursuit of the three Divine Regions and enter the Northern Divine Region. Yet, the person a thousand miles away, despite unleashing such power, emitted only an extremely faint aura for a single moment, then completely vanished without a trace in a very short time. It was so faint and fleeting that it was almost impossible to detect; if not for the cold light they had thrown, Yun Che probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all… even if he had, he might have simply ignored it. Such an ability to conceal oneself was almost on par with his own! To his current knowledge, besides himself, perhaps only Huajin, after undergoing the Dark Eternal Calamity tempering, could achieve such a degree of concealment.

“Caizhi, who is he?” Yun Che asked, looking at Caizhi, who had blocked Qianye Ying’er.

“Not an enemy,” Caizhi replied. She retracted her aura, turning her slender body and naturally avoiding Yun Che’s gaze. “Don’t ask.”

These words eased Yun Che’s mind. If someone with such an astonishing ability to conceal themselves were an enemy, it would certainly be a huge problem.

“Alright, I won’t ask,” Yun Che’s tone softened. “It seems like this is another surprise Caizhi has brought me.” The most likely possibility he could think of was another powerful outsider from the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, similar to the Primordial Dragon Emperor. Hadn’t the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left Caizhi—no, left him—more than just the Primordial Dragon Race in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning?

Caizhi said nothing.

Yun Che opened his palm, looking at the cluster of white light he had drawn into his hand. The white light emitted a murky Southern Sea aura, clearly a suppressing aura from Southern Sea divine power, which had been almost completely destroyed, leaving only a thin layer. Yun Che exhaled slightly, directly extinguishing the white light.

Instantly, a rich, pure golden light radiated outwards. It wasn’t dazzling or intense, yet it seemed to possess a strange magical power, passing directly through Yun Che’s palm, through everyone’s bodies, and illuminating an immeasurably distant space. This was a golden orb, unevenly adorned with numerous divine patterns of various shapes. All these patterns emitted similar golden light, except for one that remained dim and dormant.

“Southern… Sea… Divine… Pearl!” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes gleamed, and she murmured.

Yun Che was already extremely familiar with the aura of the God-Extinguishing power. The moment the golden light was released, Yun Che was certain that what had flown into his hand from a thousand miles away was a God-Extinguishing artifact carrying the core lifeline of the Southern Sea. The Southern Sea Divine Pearl! Engraved upon it were twenty-two divine patterns in total: sixteen Sea Gods, four Sea Kings, plus Nan Wansheng and Nan Guizhong, which perfectly matched the count. As expected of the number one Divine Region in the Southern Sea, this number far surpassed the Star Gods, Burning Moon, and Yama Devils. The only dim divine pattern belonged to the only surviving Sea God of the Southern Sea: Nan Qianqiu, held in Yan Yi’s hand.

“Congratulations, Devil Master! It seems it won’t be long before the entire Southern Divine Region falls under your feet. Destroying the Western Divine Region and the Devil Master’s arrival in the Heavens of the God Realm is also within reach!” Yan Tianxiao’s words were by no means mere flattery; every word carried an uncontrollable tremor of excitement. The Yama Devils and Yama Ghosts behind him also bowed down, kneeling, and did not rise for a long time.

Even Yun Che himself hadn't expected it. The million-year shame of the Northern Divine Region was engraved like an eternal, indelible brand on the bodies and souls of all devils. Yet, in just a few short years since Yun Che’s arrival, the Northern Divine Region’s fate was being miraculously reversed. His declaration on the day he became Emperor was also approaching reality with dreamlike strides. Yan Tianxiao, once the foremost Emperor of the Northern Region, knelt willingly. Yun Che’s status in his mind had long surpassed that of the ancient Devil Gods who were once the faith of the Northern Region.

Yun Che closed his palm, and the Southern Sea Divine Pearl vanished silently. The lifeline of the Southern Sea was now completely in his grasp; as long as Yun Che did not wish it, it would never rise again.

“Killing Nan Wansheng in three breaths, and possessing such astonishing concealment ability,” Qianye Ying’er murmured, looking at Caizhi. “Little Heavenly Wolf, is he from this present world, or some ancient exotic race you brought out from the God Realm of Absolute Beginning?” No one could remain unmoved by such an existence. Caizhi showed no reaction, not even bothering to give a faint snort. Shifting her gaze, Qianye Ying’er didn’t press further. Compared to the person’s identity, she was more concerned about why Caizhi was so determined to keep it a secret.

“Yun Che,” Caizhi suddenly spoke, asking directly, “Tell me, what are your chances of victory against the Dragon God Realm?”

“I have never underestimated or belittled the Dragon God Realm.” Yun Che didn’t want to deceive Caizhi, and when speaking to her, his rigid expression unconsciously softened significantly. In front of everyone, he said calmly, “Now, with you and the Primordial Dragon Race, the Northern Divine Region’s power is even stronger, but even all of it combined would essentially be unable to overpower the Dragon God Realm. Add in the other five realms of the Western Divine Region, and the chances of victory are even slimmer.”

“But unfortunately…” Yun Che’s tone shifted, and his eyes darkened slightly. “I am still alive.”

In other words… given the Dragon God Realm’s power, the combined strength gathered by the Northern Divine Region would be almost incapable of destroying it. But he could! Everyone’s hearts trembled. Yet, facing such seemingly arrogant words that no one would believe, the eyes of the Yama Devils suddenly flashed with fervent black light.

“Is it just because of your special Dragon Soul?” Caizhi asked, her milky-white face serious.

“You’ll know when the time comes,” Yun Che said with a light smile. “If I didn’t have enough confidence to convince myself, why would I have left the Northern Divine Region? So, don’t worry too much about me.”

“Hmph,” Caizhi’s nostrils visibly flared slightly, and a very low sound escaped her lips. “Sister said a long time ago that your kind of words are the least trustworthy.”

“Uh…” Yun Che unconsciously reached up and rubbed the tip of his nose.

“What will you do next?” Qianye Ying’er asked.

“Wait,” Yun Che replied with a single word. He believed that Chi Wuyao would make the best judgment and choice after receiving the news.

“Then… what about this person?” Qianye Ying’er glanced sideways with the corner of her beautiful eyes at Nan Qianqiu in Yan Yi’s hand. “Need help? I’m much better at torturing people than you are.” Sensing something, Nan Qianqiu’s lifeless body twitched slightly.

The softness on Yun Che’s face vanished instantly. He gently squeezed Caizhi’s small hand and said, “Wait for me.” A chilling wind whistled. Yun Che reached out, pulling Nan Qianqiu into his grasp. His five fingers clamped tightly around the back of Nan Qianqiu’s neck, and he flew far away with him, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.

The Southern Sea Royal City was completely reduced to ruins amidst the black mist. Even from high above, no trace of its former might and prosperity could be found.

After flying a considerable distance, Yun Che abruptly descended. With a flick of his five fingers, he brutally smashed Nan Qianqiu onto the ground. Nan Qianqiu’s Sea God power hadn’t dissipated, but all his meridians had been severed by Yan Yi’s power, and his profound veins were severely damaged. His protective energy was extremely weak. With this fall, Nan Qianqiu’s Divine Master body was ripped open, his skin torn and flesh split, and an unknown number of bones were broken.

Without the direct suppressive force on his body, Nan Qianqiu finally regained some ability to move. He tremblingly tried to get up from the ground, but his knees buckled immediately, sending him crashing down hard. After several convulsions, he could no longer stand. Nan Qianqiu slowly turned his head, his blood-streaked eyes looking up at the grim-faced Yun Che. Facing this true devil who had trampled the Southern Sea underfoot and terrified a multitude of God Emperors, he was enduring an ultimate fear, as if standing on the brink of an abyss.

“Yun… Che…” he stammered, “Your… your end… will definitely be a thousand… ten thousand times more miserable than mine! The Dragon God Realm… will not let you go…” Under the soul-crushing fear and despair, he did not beg for mercy. At this point, even though he greatly feared death and his consciousness was hazy, he clearly knew that Yun Che, this devil, would never let him go. Begging would only bring further humiliation. However, he still couldn’t understand why Yun Che treated him so specially. Before today, he had no prior interactions or grievances with Yun Che, and the one he hated most was clearly his father. In his current state, he had no energy left to ponder.

Yun Che stepped down. Nan Qianqiu let out a horrific scream as his spine snapped. His body contorted backward into the shape of a shrimp from the immense pain, and the ground beneath him cracked, quickly stained with blood.

Cold sweat poured over his entire body like torrential rain. Beneath the oozing blood, his skin was as pale as a long-stiffened corpse. Every muscle in Nan Qianqiu’s body twitched in agony, and the groans from his mouth were so hoarse they sounded inhuman. Trapped in a purgatory of pain, half a step away from the abyss of death, Nan Qianqiu unexpectedly found the greatest resolve of his life. Instead of pleading for a quick death, he gritted his teeth and looked back, determined to use his last vestiges of strength to hurl the most vicious curses and threats at Yun Che.

But as he raised his head, he saw a verdant green maiden’s figure appear beside Yun Che, he knew not when. Her face was as beautiful as a celestial being descended to the mortal world, and her eyes were so pure that one dared not defile them. Yet, in the gaze she cast upon him, there trembled an extreme depth of pain and hatred.

Wood… Spirit? Even with his spiritual perception scattered, he could still sense the pure aura unique to a Wood Spirit.