Chapter 1905: Journey (7)

A small profound ark, shimmering with a dreamlike glow, was rapidly carrying Yun Che and Yun Wuxin westward.

To better adapt to the aura of the God Realm, Yun Che and Yun Wuxin had spent the past few months traveling through the void by their own bodies. However, this journey involved crossing star regions, so he "borrowed" a profound ark from Cang Shuhe; otherwise, it would have taken an incredibly long time to reach the Western God Realm.

"Father, what exactly did Aunt Shuhe secretly give you when she saw us off?" Yun Wuxin asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just a cookbook she wrote herself." After saying that, Yun Che casually complained, "She could have just directly transferred it to me with a soul imprint, but she chose this troublesome method instead."

Yun Wuxin slightly pursed her lips. "I don't believe you don't understand even such a simple female mind."

"Sigh," Yun Che sighed softly. "My daughter has grown up; sometimes, it really makes me a bit melancholic."

Yun Wuxin extended her pale hand towards him. "No matter what, I want to see it."

"Go on, take a look." Yun Che didn't hesitate much. With a push of his palm, a scroll made of a peculiar material, emitting a faint blue glow, floated into Yun Wuxin's palm.

Carefully opening it, Yun Wuxin's beautiful eyes brightened considerably in an instant. A gasp of irrepressible admiration escaped her lips. "It's so beautiful! Just looking at the handwriting alone is a delightful pleasure."

More than just the handwriting... Although Yun Che seemed not to care much about this cookbook, he knew very well in his heart that every dish recorded within was the culmination of Cang Shuhe's essence, refined over ten thousand years.

Countless attempts, countless adjustments, countless hours of dedicated effort... and none of these dishes had ever been presented to the world.

Especially in the past month, Yun Che's culinary skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, and he increasingly understood the preciousness of this cookbook. It was simply comparable to the divine miracles of the medical path.

"Aunt Shuhe is beautiful, she's a Divine Emperor, and she's excellent in every way beyond imagination. She's simply unrealistically perfect."

Such exclamations about Cang Shuhe had been made countless times already.

Her gaze reluctantly moved away from Cang Shuhe's handwriting, and she looked at Yun Che, saying, "Father, I'm increasingly feeling that all the best women in this world have been taken by you."

"What else?" Yun Che tilted his head back and said proudly, "Don't you know what kind of person your father is?"

"However, you absolutely must not mention these compliments about Aunt Shuhe in front of Aunt Qianying."

"Huh? Why?" As soon as she asked, Yun Wuxin understood. She winked at her father. "Oh... I certainly know that!"

"Don't let her know about this cookbook either." Yun Che reached up and rubbed his forehead, his tone tinged with helplessness. "Otherwise, she'll definitely demand to see it, and then she might do something strange."

"Got it, got it."

Yun Che never deliberately concealed his whereabouts. When they arrived in the Western God Realm, the Qilin Emperor was already waiting there. Upon seeing Yun Che, he quickly led a group of Qilin to greet him.

"Qi Tianli respectfully welcomes the arrival of Emperor Yun, and respectfully welcomes the Little Princess." Qi Tianli bowed first. When his gaze fell upon Yun Wuxin, he firmly imprinted her appearance and aura in his mind.

"I knew you'd pull something like this."

Yun Che walked past him but did not dismiss him immediately. Instead, he said indifferently, "Tianli, tell me about the current situation in the Western Region. Just the important points."

"Yes!"

Qi Tianli followed behind Yun Che, bowing slightly. He spoke as concisely as possible: "The Sinful Dragon Realm has been fully brought under the Empress's personal control, and all the pardoned young Dragon Gods have been 'appropriately' resettled..."

"All elements of unrest in the Chilong and Myriad Forms have been completely cleared, and the Huilong Realm is now entirely within the control of the Azure Dragon... no, the Azure Concubine." He secretly wiped away a sudden bead of cold sweat that covered his forehead. The Qilin Emperor continued, "The Order Maintenance Department, led by Commander Qing Ruo, has expanded its reach to eighty percent of the Upper Star Realms and sixty percent of the Middle Star Realms..."

With Long Bai dead, Qi Tianli was the most senior Divine Emperor in the Western God Realm. His understanding of the Western God Realm surpassed that of anyone else alive, and his actions were exceedingly proper, thorough, and flawless.

After listening to Qi Tianli's concise and clear report without a word, Yun Che seemed to nod in satisfaction. "Very good. You may go."

"Your Majesty," Qi Tianli did not leave immediately; instead, he bowed and said, "You did not conceal your whereabouts along the way. This old man worries that some might disturb you out of admiration, and some audacious individuals might seize the opportunity to attempt an assassination."

"With Your Majesty's divine might, no one can naturally approach you, but I fear the Little Princess might be disturbed. If Your Majesty permits, please inform this old man of your destination, and I will immediately send people to clear the path in advance."

"No need," Yun Che's expression remained unchanged. "The purpose of this trip is for me to show my daughter the various aspects of the world. Those ridiculous assassination attempts have happened more than a dozen times already; she's grown tired of seeing them."

"Uh... then... may I ask when Your Majesty intends to visit the Azure Dragon Realm... for a short stay?" Qi Tianli asked tentatively.

He knew very well that before coming to the Western God Realm, Emperor Yun had stayed in the Ten Directions Azure Sea Realm for over a month!

Yun Che, however, said, "I was delayed for some time in the Southern Region, so I won't stay too long in the Western Region. I won't go to the Azure Dragon Realm; I imagine the Azure Dragon Emperor doesn't wish to see me."

"Ah, this..." The Qilin Emperor still wanted to try to persuade him.

"Wuxin, let's go."

Yun Che grabbed Yun Wuxin's wrist and instantly teleported far away, leaving the Qilin Emperor standing there, sighing faintly.

"She needs to be proactive, proactive," he muttered softly. "But for that child to be proactive... sigh."

"Father, where are we going now?"

Yun Che looked ahead. "...I want to go to the Dragon God Realm first."

Yun Wuxin was about to ask something else, but she sensed a faint hint of sadness in Yun Che's voice.

The former Dragon God Realm, Samsara Forbidden Land.

Before his last departure, Yun Che had infused a considerable amount of profound light energy here. Therefore, upon his return, the landscape was no longer desolate and withered.

Lush green grass, blossoming flowers, occasional birdsong and insect chirps... yet it was destined never to return to the paradisiacal wonderland of the past, which had surpassed even imagination.

"Shen Xi, I've come to see you."

Standing before the tombstone he had personally erected, Yun Che gazed silently for a long time.

After bowing a few times, Yun Wuxin quietly stood by her father's side.

"Back then, you used all sorts of words and methods to urge and guide my growth, telling me to surpass Long Bai, to surpass everyone in the world... Now I have achieved it, but you can't see it."

"Furthermore, I will never know the true reason why you treated me that way."

"Huu..." Yun Che let out a long breath. Then he gazed ahead, murmuring distractedly, "Strange clouds and wild winds brush clear mist; with Xi, embrace ten thousand sleeping flowers."

Such a scene had forever vanished from his life.

Yun Wuxin looked up. "Is that a poem Father wrote for Aunt Shen Xi back then?"

Yun Che murmured softly, "Yun refers to me, Xi refers to her. The 'clear mist' is the profound light that always gently enveloped this immortal realm because of her. It's just that I am still here... but she has already vanished like jade and smoke."

Yun Wuxin raised an eyebrow. She hesitated for a long while but still said, "I don't quite understand the feelings between Father and Aunt Shen Xi back then, but I feel that these two lines from Father... are a bit arrogant and frivolous. Wouldn't she have been angry if she heard them?"

"Hmm, you're absolutely right."

Yun Che completely agreed with Yun Wuxin's words, as if they had directly hit his heart. "She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, even surpassing Qianying and Wuyao. The shock I felt upon first seeing her back then is something I can never forget, and something that can never be replicated in my lifetime."

Yun Wuxin's lips parted in surprise... Surpassing Yun Qianying and Chi Wuyao, she couldn't imagine what kind of breathtaking beauty that would be.

No wonder the former Dragon Emperor had been infatuated with her for hundreds of thousands of years.

"At that time, I learned her identity: she was the 'Dragon Empress' of the legendary 'Dragon Empress Divine Maiden.' And I further learned that the 'Dragon Empress' had never truly existed; it was merely a deluded fantasy of Long Bai, who couldn't obtain her, deceiving both the world and himself."

"Yet, such a Shen Xi fell for me, and she was the one who took the initiative."

"At that time, I had deep doubts in my heart and a wariness of Long Bai... But more than that, there was a sense of pride and triumph." Yun Che shook his head self-mockingly. "Later, relying on her gentleness, I became increasingly unrestrained in front of her. These two lines of poetry were indeed a frivolous display. However, she wasn't angry then; instead, she rarely showed a smile."

That faint smile, blooming slightly at the time, was also deeply imprinted in his heart and soul.

Although only ten years had passed since then, reflecting on it now, his past self seemed like a naive and complacent child.

"Wuxin, if you had met her, you would completely believe that a fairy-like woman truly exists in this world. It's just that... even the most perfect life will always have many helplessness and irremediable regrets."

Yun Wuxin's eyes were filled with yearning.

Although the Western God Realm was the largest divine region in the God Realm, Yun Che did not let Yun Wuxin stay there for too long.

Three months later, they had already left the Western God Realm and headed east. But instead of going directly to the Eastern God Realm, they entered the Primordial God Realm as they passed through the core of the God Realm.

The desolate, gray land and the ancient aura undoubtedly unfolded another completely different world in Yun Wuxin's sight and perception.

Yun Che led Yun Wuxin deeper into the Primordial God Realm, telling her about its history and races.

The Primordial God Realm contained countless ancient ferocious beasts; even Divine Masters did not dare to venture deep easily. Among those alive, only Yun Che was capable of freely traversing it with Yun Wuxin, who had only just entered the divine path.

No one had ever reached the end of the Primordial God Realm. However, it had a place known as its core.

After visiting the Primordial Dragon Clan, Yun Che then took Yun Wuxin and headed towards the "core" region mentioned in records.

"The Abyss of Nothingness is rumored to be the center of the Primordial God Realm. Essentially, it's an extremely vast void that can reduce anything falling into it to nothingness, whether living beings, inanimate objects, or even power, space, sound, or light. Therefore, once you reach it, you can only observe from a distance; under no circumstances should you approach it."

Although he was by her side and Yun Wuxin couldn't possibly get close, Yun Che still emphasized the warning.

As he spoke, the image of a red figure falling into the abyss flashed through his mind... He shook his head slightly, and it took him a while to barely dispel it.

"Even someone as powerful as Father can't get close?" Yun Wuxin asked.

"Of course," Yun Che said. "According to records, in the distant Age of Gods, when a True God perished, the power emanating from their deceased body would cause calamities comparable to natural disasters. Therefore, to punish deities who committed unforgivable sins, they were often cast into the Abyss of Nothingness, directly turning into void, without pain or future troubles."

"If even ancient True Gods could be completely annihilated, what about me?"

"That's terrifying!?" Yun Wuxin was deeply surprised. Then she suddenly thought of a question: "What kind of power maintains this Abyss of Nothingness? If even gods are easily annihilated... wouldn't that be a power far beyond the divine plane?"

During her travels with her father, her understanding of "planes" had also become clearer and more thorough.

Yun Che shook his head with a smile. "This is also a question that even ancient True Gods couldn't answer. The Abyss of Nothingness was left behind by the Ancestral God during creation. The only one who truly knows its mysteries is the eternally fallen Ancestral God."

At this moment, Yun Che's figure suddenly paused, and his gaze towards the front held a hint of strangeness.

"Father, what's wrong?" Yun Wuxin stopped and asked.

"To think I'd meet an old acquaintance in this place." Yun Che smiled faintly. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to a venerable old senior, and... a young senior with not-so-good temper."