Chapter 1861: Dragon God's Final Act

The battlefield gradually quieted down. The desperate screams and heart-rending sounds of tearing bodies faded, replaced only by heavy, labored breaths and chaotic roars of released fury.

The blood mist in the air was no longer dense; instead, it gradually began to dissipate in the foul, bloody air.

Yun Che turned, holding Cai Zhi. On the blood-soaked ground, this massacre, the grandest in the history of the God Realm, had finally concluded.

It had ended with astonishing speed.

All of the Dry Dragons, Dragon Gods, Dragon Monarchs, and Main Dragons of the Dragon God Realm were dead. Under the extreme fury of the Northern Region profound practitioners, over eighty percent of them were left without complete corpses.

Not a single Horned Dragon or Viper Dragon remained alive.

Surprisingly, the Myriad Manifestation Divine Masters lasted the longest, only to be crushed by the combined forces of the Northern Region, Qilin, and Azure Dragon factions. Not one survived.

The awe-inspiring dragon shadow high above also silently vanished, allowing the sky and earth to cease their trembling and finally breathe.

Anyone arriving at this moment, regardless of their race or cultivation level, would never believe that this mountain of bones and pool of blood was composed entirely of Divine Emperors and Divine Masters from the Western Region Royal Realms.

The single-day annihilation of the Southern Sea God Realm had shocked the entire world.

In a similarly short span of a single day, this battlefield—originally meant to be a dragon's dominion capable of crushing myriad realms—was transformed at Yun Che's mere command into a dragon slaughterhouse. This event was destined to shake the history of the God Realm for millions of years and reverberate through countless future generations.

Of all the Western Region dragons, only Long Bai's body was still writhing; the Azure Dragon Clan alone had been temporarily spared.

His death was to be decided by the Devil Master. Even the most enraged Northern Region profound practitioners would not lay a hand on him.

Another person was still alive.

A tattered body, scarcely recognizable as human, was kicked towards them.

Yun Che's gaze shifted. The person before him had a collapsed face, shattered limbs, exposed flesh, and stark, broken bones. Their appearance was utterly unrecognizable.

Yet, a faint, thread-like wisp of aura allowed him to instantly recognize that this pile of decaying flesh was none other than Zhou Xuzi.

Not only was his life force not extinguished, but he was also not unconscious. Even his half-open eye clearly retained sight. When kicked before Yun Che, his body trembled violently, and a muffled rasping sound emerged from his throat.

Yun Che lowered his gaze, watching him, his aura fluctuating slightly.

Even though Zhou Xuzi was beyond miserable, it still couldn't fully sate Yun Che's hatred.

Yan San, standing behind Yun Che, read the situation and quickly stepped forward, eagerly extending a withered hand. "Master," he offered, "this old servant shall protect you..."

"Get lost," Yun Che snapped.

Yan San recoiled as if struck by lightning.

Yan Yi cursed in a low voice, "Are you out of your senses?! How dare you touch the Master's woman!"

"Not even profound energy?" Yan San asked, a little aggrieved.

"No!" Yan Yi and Yan Er said in unison.

Yan San hung his head in shame.

Chi Wuyao slowly walked over, calmly stating, "This person should be executed by you or little Cai Zhi, which is why his life was spared."

"Oh, and all these injuries were inflicted by little Cai Zhi. His last six guardians also died by her hand. Even a cute little Heavenly Wolf can be terrifying when enraged... Devil Master, you should be careful in the future."

Yun Che glanced at Cai Zhi, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, and understood the depth of her profound hatred for Zhou Xuzi.

"Uh... mm... mm mm..."

Zhou Xuzi's eyes, wide with effort, stared fixedly at Yun Che. His throat convulsed desperately, producing extremely obscure rasping sounds.

"If good, the heavens shall forever be at peace; if malevolent, the devil god shall slaughter the world."

This was the twelve-character prophecy from the Three Elders of Heavenly Mystery that ultimately hardened his resolve.

The Heaven Punishing Realm was massacred, the Moon God Realm annihilated, the Southern Sea slaughtered, and the very foundations of the Western Region Royal Realms were nearly annihilated in a single day...

Today's Yun Che had grown to such a terrifying extent... if he wished, he could slaughter all beings across all myriad realms.

All of this had transpired in merely a few short years.

And all of this originated from the single palm strike with which he cast the Evil Infant Jasmine out of the Primal Chaos.

Before that palm strike, Yun Che had just completed his salvation of the world, and Jasmine had used all her strength to seal the crimson crack. He had also publicly promised never to disturb Yun Che and the Evil Infant Jasmine, who had already committed to leaving the God Realm and living in seclusion in the lower realms.

If not for that palm strike, would the rapidly growing Yun Che have instead become the world's most powerful guardian, capable of quelling all disasters, fulfilling that very prophecy: "If good, the heavens shall forever be at peace"...

No... no...

I was not wrong... I was not wrong...

Everything I did was for the peace and stability of this world. That palm strike of mine was to sacrifice my own reputation to eliminate the greatest hidden danger of the age.

Not for selfish reasons, but for the sake of the world...

How could I possibly be wrong?!

And Yun Che, burdened by darkness, ruthlessly massacring one star realm after another and plunging the entire God Realm into immense disaster—his true nature was that of a devil...

I merely accelerated the awakening of his true nature!

I was not wrong!

As his thoughts drifted chaotically, Yun Che, who had been coldly watching him, finally made a move.

What surprised almost everyone was that the aura emanating from Yun Che was not a deadly dark one, but rather sacred white profound light energy.

Profound light energy overflowed from Yun Che's feet, wrapping around Zhou Xuzi's body, quickly stabilizing and repairing his life source. Then, turning, Yun Che swept him up with a gust of cold air and flung him to Yan San.

"Sever all his meridians," Yun Che whispered, his voice incredibly cruel. "But don't let him die."

The profound light energy would keep him alive, while severing all his meridians would trap him in a living hell, unable to die.

Without another glance at Zhou Xuzi, Yun Che slowly walked towards Long Bai. Perhaps sensing Yun Che's aura even in her sleep, Cai Zhi's breathing gradually steadied in his arms, and her originally pale face regained a faint, delicate pinkish hue.

Long Bai was still struggling. He seemed to want to die, yet also unwilling to die just like that. With his heavy breathing, what spewed from his mouth was no longer dragon blood, but fragmented, charred pieces of his internal organs.

Yun Che's foot descended.

*Bang!!*

A thunderous bang made everyone's hearts seize. Long Bai's internal organs were utterly pulverized into dust. Not even a miracle of life could save him now.

"Your era has ended," Yun Che stated coldly, looking down from where he stood on Long Bai's tattered ribcage. "Considering that back then, you could barely be said to have shown this Devil Master a shred of kindness, I shall grant you the chance for one last word before you die."

The divine light in Long Bai's pupils rapidly faded. His spiritual sense, also rapidly dissipating, could no longer perceive the existence of his body.

However, despite his clearly dissipating pupils, the image of Yun Che reflected within them remained incredibly clear.

Long Bai's lips twisted. Suddenly, he let out a horrifying, twisted laugh. Endless pain and despair, in this sudden sinister grin, quickly condensed into an intensely distorted pleasure.

"...!?" Chi Wuyao's devil soul was stirred. She sharply turned her head, her brows deeply furrowed.

"Yun... Che..." Long Bai rasped, using all his remaining strength and will to make his voice as clear as possible. "Do you think... you really... won...?"

"Heh... heh heh..." The sound, like a laugh mixed with painful, twisted pleasure, sent a shiver through everyone's hearts. "Actually... Shen Xi... she..."

*Oh no...* A sudden unease rose in Chi Wuyao's heart.

At that moment, a blue light, like a world-severing meteor, instantly cut a dazzling, unceasing ice gleam through the space between heaven and earth.

Beneath the ice gleam, Mu Xuanyin's figure slowly materialized, along with Long Bai's cleanly severed head. The ugly, sinister grin was frozen on Long Bai's blood-stained head. His lips twitched several more times, but no sound escaped.

*So... cold...*

His final awareness was of a world of emptiness, devoid of light, filled only with coldness and despair.

Just as over three hundred thousand years ago, when he was dismembered, blinded, and abandoned in the wilderness, left to a hopeless death in a dark abyss.

Back then, that desperate abyss had suddenly lit up with an incredibly warm light. Within that light, he saw the immortal figure that made him fall into an endless dream, captivating him for his entire life...

Shen Xi...

Shen... Xi...

Only this time, even as the darkness faded away, that dream-like light never descended again.

Between heaven and earth, there was no longer any trace of the Dragon Monarch.

His unclosed dragon eyes lost all color. Although they faced the sky, this world he had ruled for hundreds of thousands of years could no longer reflect even a sliver of light within them.

This was a desolate end he had never imagined during his reign.

Yun Che looked up, staring in astonishment at Mu Xuanyin's figure.

Long Bai was someone he had to kill himself, yet at the last moment, the kill was snatched right from under his nose.

If it were anyone else, he would surely have been furious...

But, that was Mu Xuanyin.

"Mas—" In his slight daze, he unconsciously blurted out a syllable, then quickly stopped himself and corrected, "Xuanyin, you..."

"I was killed by him back then," Mu Xuanyin stated, sheathing her Snow Princess Sword. "This grudge, I had to avenge myself."

Chi Wuyao let out a long sigh of relief, casting a grateful glance at Mu Xuanyin.

Yun Che's methods were increasingly akin to those of an emperor, but his youth meant his life experience was destined to be somewhat shallow.

When facing someone certain to die, they should not be given any opportunity to speak, unless there was a vital secret to extract. Because when a person knows they are about to die, and the other party is someone they intensely hate, what they say is likely the cruelest words they can possibly conjure.

For instance, Long Bai could have fabricated that he had raped Shen Xi before her death... With no one to contradict him, it could leave a soul-piercing wound in Yun Che's heart that might never heal.

That almost terrifying sense of twisted gratification on Long Bai's face indicated that whatever he was about to say would surely inflict great trauma upon Yun Che... And Chi Wuyao vaguely felt that it might not even be a spontaneously fabricated lie.

"Uh, right," Yun Che nodded quickly. The bloody battle was over, and facing Mu Xuanyin—lost and now regained, standing so close—he began to feel a little flustered. "Of course, it's... best... that you execute him."

Behind them, Yan Yi, Yan Er, and Yan San's hair stood abruptly on end.

The spiritual perception level of these three old monsters was incredibly high. At this moment, they clearly sensed a feeling of awkwardness emanating from Yun Che.

The Devil Master, who had killed even the Dragon Monarch Dry Dragon as if he were a dog, actually seemed... afraid of this woman!?

They all firmly memorized Mu Xuanyin's aura and every single one of her characteristics. Her status in their minds instantly surpassed that of all previous "ancestors."

Their gazes towards her instantly took on a deep sense of humility and obsequiousness... even though they were only facing her back.

"Mmm..."

A soft whimper emerged from Cai Zhi's lips in his arms. Yun Che immediately lowered his head, softly calling, "Cai Zhi... Cai Zhi?"

At this moment, Chi Wuyao's figure flickered lightly, arriving at the side of Long Bai's head. A wisp of Nirvana divine soul was silently and tracelessly unleashed, sweeping towards the rapidly dissipating fragments of Long Bai's soul.

It retracted an instant later. A small portion of Long Bai's thoughts from half an hour before his death were successfully read... Chi Wuyao's expression subtly shifted, then instantly returned to normal.

Mu Xuanyin glanced at her, her icy eyes subtly flickered, but she did not ask.

Cai Zhi did not wake up; she merely shifted her position in Yun Che's gentle embrace, falling into a deep sleep once more.