Chapter 1797: Dragon Gods Assemble

Yun Che remained silent. He no longer glanced at Nan Qianqiu but instead quietly watched He Ling's face, sensing every subtle shift in her emotions and aura.

From birth, she had lived in flight. Orphaned at a young age, she was left homeless, and her last remaining kin and attachments also left her, without even a final farewell. The crushing pain upon hearing the devastating news; the despair when she learned the perpetrator was the Brahma Monarch God Realm; her willingness to sacrifice her own life and become a poison spirit for the hope of revenge; her madness and loss of control when she unleashed the Heaven Wounding Poison upon the Brahma Monarch God Realm; and then her utter desolation upon discovering that the Brahma Monarch was not, in fact, the true culprit.

For all these years, they had not been separated for a single moment. He Ling had been by his side through every rise and fall of Yun Che's destiny. Everything He Ling had experienced during these years, he had seen clearly and etched into his heart.

Finally, the moment had arrived for him to fulfill his promise to her.

He Ling stared blankly at the now utterly wretched Nan Qianqiu. Her aura was clearly in disarray, her chest rising and falling more and more violently. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to scream or curse, but for a long time, no sound escaped. Only tears streamed down her face, as desperate scenes from years ago resurfaced like a chaotic nightmare before her eyes.

At that moment, Yun Che suddenly frowned. He noticed an abnormal layer of dark, gray mist slowly gathering in He Ling's emerald eyes, just like before, when she had heard the devastating news of He Lin.

He Ling extended her hand, and with a faint shimmer of green light, a wisp of poison shot out, striking Nan Qianqiu directly between the eyebrows. At that time, an uncontrollable He Ling had unleashed the full power of the Heaven Wounding Poison Pearl upon the Brahma Monarch God Realm without reservation. Although the poison power she had recovered in the recent period was weak, it was still far beyond what Nan Qianqiu, in his current state, could withstand.

"Gah... Aaargh..." As the Heaven Wounding Poison entered his body, Nan Qianqiu instantly screamed in agony, as if being torn apart by a thousand snakes. Vaguely, he recalled Yun Che's inexplicable question about his hunt for Wood Spirits in the Eastern Divine Region. Could it be... just because of... mere Wood Spirits...?

He Ling's palm trembled, her jade fingers turning white. Under the continuous assault of the poison, Nan Qianqiu writhed and convulsed on the ground. His body, and the blood seeping from it, began to turn emerald green.

"Ugh... Ahhh..." This was the Heaven Wounding Poison that had pushed the vast Brahma Monarch God Realm to the brink of despair. Nan Qianqiu was undoubtedly thrust into the cruelest hell. "You... you all... Dragon God... surely... aaargh..."

Throughout the day, Nan Qianqiu had suffered extreme torment, both physically and mentally. As the Heaven Wounding Poison rapidly spread through his body, his screams and struggles grew faint. With his eyes also turning a horrifying dark green, his entire aura quickly dissipated.

Watching Nan Qianqiu on the verge of death by the Heaven Wounding Poison, He Ling's body swayed slightly. Suddenly, her fingers curled, stopping the poison's ravage and even rapidly purifying the toxic aura. Suddenly freed from the hellish torment of the Heaven Wounding Poison, Nan Qianqiu collapsed onto the ground, his entire body convulsing like a dying insect.

She had not suddenly felt pity. Instead, it was the hatred for her kin, the hatred for her clan, the hatred for the extinction of her bloodline. She was unwilling to let Nan Qianqiu die so easily, even though he had already tasted immense pain and despair. However, unlike Qianye Ying'er, she simply didn't know how to torture someone she deeply hated to the point where death would be a release. But as the endless hatred, accumulated over years, erupted from her chest, her soul surged, almost on the verge of shattering.

"You... you..." she murmured. The strange grey light in her emerald eyes suddenly converged at that moment. She violently reached out, her fingers trembling and contorting, grabbing straight for Nan Qianqiu's throat. It seemed that, under the surging hatred and her frantic state, she wanted to tear and shred him with her bare hands.

But her hand did not reach Nan Qianqiu. Yun Che gently held her cold wrist, stopping it mid-air. With his other hand, he swept it back, and the terrifying, peerless Eternal Calamity Devil Flame, born of scarlet flames and dark power, ignited upon Nan Qianqiu's body.

"Aaaah!" Nan Qianqiu, who had been on the verge of death, limp like a dead dog, instantly let out a shriek that threatened to pierce the heavens. In an instant, his entire being was completely engulfed by the crimson-black nightmare devil flames. But the agonizing scream lasted only a few short breaths before completely vanishing. The Eternal Calamity Devil Flame, capable of devouring all, burned fiercely, slowly consuming the shattered body of the Divine Master.

When the Eternal Calamity Devil Flame extinguished, Nan Qianqiu—the Young Master of Southern Sea who had just reached his long-coveted peak—had been incinerated into dark ashes, leaving only a wisp of rootless Southern Sea origin power silently dispersing.

Watching the person, upon whom she had poured all the resentment of her life, turn to dust before her eyes, He Ling felt no satisfaction, nor did she cry freely. Instead, she stood frozen. After a long moment, she slowly and stiffly turned her head, her eyes murky and dull as she looked at Yun Che. "Why... why did you kill him... why wouldn't you let me have my revenge with my own hands... why... why..."

Her aura was a chaotic mess, and her eyes were hollow, as if she had suddenly lost her soul. This was the first time she had expressed negative emotions towards Yun Che, and it was a volatile, chaotic resentment, fluctuating wildly. Her delicate wrist, which he held, was icy cold. Yun Che didn't speak. Instead, he gently pulled the distraught He Ling into his embrace, holding her tightly.

"He Ling, listen to me," Yun Che said, pressing his palm against her back, his voice as gentle as possible as he soothed her tumultuous emotions. "Without your sacrifice and persistence, we wouldn't have found the culprit, nor would we have been able to execute him before us right now. You have avenged your parents, He Lin, and your entire clan. In the other world, they are surely watching clearly."

"And the reason I had to act was because his filthy body and blood were not worthy of defiling your fingers, and I absolutely would not allow them to stain your soul."

He Ling's lips parted slightly. The trembling of her body eased, and the grey mist in her eyes seemed to dissipate somewhat.

Yun Che closed his eyes, his voice gradually becoming a little ethereal. "He Ling, you can be persistent for the sake of hatred, but you must never, ever allow hatred to push you into an abyss from which there is no return. Never... like me." Let the sin be his alone. After all, the blood and sin on his hands could never be washed away, not for all eternity, not for all generations.

"From the day you became the Heaven Wounding Poison Spirit, our lives merged into one. Now, I have become the most wicked devil in this world. But even the purest devil will always long for light. And you are that purest essence of purity and light in my life. I will not allow it to be polluted or taken away."

He Ling froze, her body's trembling ceased.

"He Ling, will you be... the last sanctuary in the life of a devil like me?"

Even as he allowed himself to fall into the darkest abyss, he never forgot He Lin's dying wish and tears. He could be eternally mired in darkness, but no matter what, he had to protect He Ling's true nature.

The world fell silent, the air no longer restless. The dark ashes of Nan Qianqiu silently dispersed, leaving not a trace behind.

"Mm," He Ling softly nodded against Yun Che's chest, her gentle voice carrying a familiar timidness. In her slightly closed eyes, the grey mist had unknowingly completely vanished, leaving only an emerald purity so profound that even a gentle breeze dared not approach it.

So, in addition to revenge, her remaining life could be so important to him...

Yun Che cupped He Ling's face, looking at her emerald eyes veiled with tears, and smiled. "He Ling, you are the pride of the Wood Spirit race. Everything you've done, your family and clan have seen. Now, they must surely be proud of you and resting in peace."

"As for me, although I've finally fulfilled my promise to you, I no longer want to let you go. Even if you start to despise me and want to be as far away from me as possible, I still won't let go."

He Ling murmured, "I won't leave you. No matter what you become, no matter where you go... never."

Her soft words, nonetheless, easily made a promise for the rest of her life. His heart gently touched, Yun Che gazed into the Wood Spirit girl's emerald eyes and made his second promise to her: "Besides revenge, we have many more important things to do. In the future, once I become the ruler of this world, I will make the Wood Spirit race the most revered race on this earth. Anyone who dares to harm a Wood Spirit will suffer the cruelest torture!"

"This world owes the Wood Spirit race too much; no amount of compensation is too great. Besides..." Yun Che's lips curved into a smile as his fingers gently stroked He Ling's cheek. "Our future children will also be Wood Spirits, and the most noble royal Wood Spirits at that. If anyone dares to lay a finger on them, watch me annihilate their entire clan."

A blush instantly spread across He Ling's cheeks, and she hastily lowered her head. "I... Master... you're talking nonsense..."

Her heart was flustered, and her words were jumbled. Yet, the resentment and malevolence that had almost torn her soul apart had vanished, she knew not where. In a daze, the words "revenge," once deeply etched, had become blurry. All that lingered in her heart was Yun Che's presence. Compared to a heart of revenge that would drag her into an abyss, she realized there were more important things in this world, more important people, and more beautiful aspirations, things truly worth dedicating her life to companionship and devotion.

Even if...

***

**Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm.**

In the Dragon God Sacred Hall, the Azure Dragon God, Pure Heart Dragon God, White Rainbow Dragon God, Jade Dragon God, Azure Abyss Dragon God, Purple Lapis Dragon God, and Azure Sky Dragon God—all nine Dragon Gods, except the Scarlet Extinction Dragon God who had gone to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning and the deceased Ash Dragon God—were gathered, the atmosphere terrifyingly solemn.

The Ash Dragon God's violent death in the Southern Sea God Realm had shocked and angered them. But the subsequent news that arrived one after another began to evoke an increasingly profound horror. Horror—what a foreign word for beings like the Dragon Gods.

"In just one day, the Southern Sea collapsed." The Azure Dragon God had repeated this sentence more than a dozen times, yet he still dared not, and refused to, believe it. The Sea God and Sea King annihilated, Nan Wan and Nan Gui dead, the two Emperors of the Brahma Monarch God Realm mysteriously returned to the world and sided with the Northern Region, and the Primeval Dragon Clan, who had never interacted with the God Realms, appeared to assist the Northern Divine Region. News that left even the Dragon God Clan utterly appalled arrived one after another, in an unbroken chain.

Even when the Northern Divine Region broke through the Eastern Divine Region in just a few months, it was still not considered a threat in the eyes of the Dragon God Realm. But overnight, everything had turned upside down. It was as if everything that had previously far exceeded their expectations was merely an illusion meant to lull them into complacency.

Besides the seven Dragon Gods, there was also a special guest in the hall: Zhou Xuzi. In just a few months, Zhou Xuzi seemed to have aged significantly, yet he had also become much calmer. A subtle, completely different light shone from his old eyes.

Heaven Defying Evil God