Chapter 1918: 断魂

“Where will he… go?” Shui Meiyin asked, her eyes clouded with tears.

“Don’t worry too much. He’ll get through this. After all, he’s no longer the same person he once was…”

Her voice trailed off. Mu Xuanyin, who had just said “don’t worry,” finally lowered her gaze and whispered, “I’ll follow him from a distance. Tell the Devil Queen about this; she’ll know what to do.”

“Mhm,” Shui Meiyin softly responded. Watching Yun Che’s retreating figure disappear from sight, she murmured, “I can peer into others’ hearts, yet I’ve never been able to see clearly into Sister Qingyue’s. I can soothe others’ souls, but only Yun Che, I cannot help.”

“It’s all my fault… If only I could have done better…”

“It’s not your fault,” Mu Xuanyin shook her head. “In this world, nothing can be done without any flaws. The Eternal Shadow Stone in Wuxin’s hand… rather than an accident, it was more like a destined will of heaven.”

Mu Xuanyin understood Shui Meiyin’s feelings all too well. For deep within her own heart lay a secret she could never tell Yun Che.

The daughter he had never met, and had lost forever.

Yun Che’s chaotic aura drifted further and further away. Mu Xuanyin concealed her presence, her figure darting silently after him.

But she immediately stopped, turning her gaze to ask, “Meiyin, do you know the hidden location of the Moon Gods and Divine Envoys who vanished from the Moon God Realm?”

Shui Meiyin paused, then slowly nodded. “Sister Qingyue created a special space in a distant lower realm using the Universe Needle… She said that if, in the end, even her death couldn’t save the Moon God Realm, at least its core lineage would have one final retreat.”

“…As expected,” Mu Xuanyin sighed softly.

For the past few years, Chi Wuyao had mobilized forces from various realms but had never been able to find traces of the Moon Gods and Divine Envoys. This had become another perplexing matter for her.

So that was it…

Furthermore, Xia Qingyue was not originally from the Moon God Realm, and she had been the Moon God Emperor for less than ten years in total. Yet, she seemed to harbor a very special affection and… obsession… for the Moon God Realm.

In the vast starfield, countless stars twinkled, but not a single gleam of light reflected in Yun Che’s eyes.

His body drifted like a puppet, carried by the chaotic currents of the starfield, unaware of where he had wandered.

Once, in his eyes, it was Xia Qingyue who had destroyed the Blue Pole Star.

But, at its root, it was he himself who had truly brought disaster to the Blue Pole Star.

Xia Qingyue, however, had silently protected the Blue Pole Star for his sake.

She forced him to transform, guided him onto the right path, and saved his destiny, his homeland, his family, his soul, everything he held dear…

Had it not been for everything she did behind the scenes, even if he were still alive today, he would be nothing more than a lost soul, stripped of everything, barely surviving and wandering aimlessly in the desolate Northern Divine Region.

But…

Why…

Did you choose to leave silently…

I have grown into the person you wanted to see, standing at the height you wished for.

Yet, why can’t you see all of this with your own eyes?

Back then, to help me grow, to make me sever my attachments and hesitation, you couldn’t tell me everything.

But afterwards, what was the reason for your choice…?

What burden did you carry…? Whatever it was, why didn’t you let me bear it with you, face it with you…?

You paved the way for me, guiding me to achieve the best life, so why did you leave yourself with such an end?

“Yun Che of the Yun Clan, whose wife, Xia Qingyue, was unfilial to her in-laws, discordant with her clan, a patricide and fratricide, heartless and unjust, venomous as a viper… even ten thousand words could not enumerate her sins.”

“Resolved to cast her out, severing all ties forever! Henceforth, there shall be no more affection or grace, only hatred that endures for ten thousand generations!”

“Heh… heheh…” Yun Che laughed, a laugh filled with endless sorrow. From the twitching corners of his lips, drops of crimson blood scattered.

She saved his life.

Yet, what he left her with were only the most hateful gazes, the most vicious and resolute words… and the destruction of everything she cherished, by his own hands…

What pierced his soul even more was that he had not a single opportunity to rectify, to compensate… not even a chance to repay or atone.

Unconsciously, he arrived at an exceptionally quiet space.

This was the most desolate starfield in the vast Eastern Divine Region.

Just a few months prior, he had told Yun Wuxin in the calmest, most indifferent tone that this had once been the location of the Moon God Realm, which he had destroyed to the point where not a single trace of its existence remained.

Indeed, as far as the eye could see, in the boundless starfield, there truly was no trace of the former Moon God Realm.

Yun Che tremblingly reached out, grasping at the void before him…

This had once been the star realm under her command, the space where her figure had lingered for so long.

But his increasingly weak fingers, no matter how hard they tried, could not touch even the slightest trace of her aura.

His body drifted again. In a daze, and after an unknown period of time, he came to a stop in another empty starfield.

This was where he, Qianye Ying’er, and Xia Qingyue had their decisive battle years ago. All the stars, large and small, that had once existed in this space were completely annihilated.

“I pour out all my strength to unleash a Hundred-Breath Divine Domain.”

Back then, from the very start, Xia Qingyue directly burned her life essence, unleashing an incomparably powerful Purple Heavens Divine Domain that once forced him and Qianye Ying’er into a disadvantage.

Afterwards, almost all her power surged madly towards Qianye Ying’er.

From the very beginning, she had placed herself on the path of death… The last bit of power she burned, she used solely to kill Qianye Ying’er.

“Yun Che, Qianye Ying’er is now your slave. You can command her, use her, vent your hatred on her, humiliate her, trample on her… do whatever you wish with her. But there’s one thing you must remember!”

“She is the one I must kill! My scheme to make her your slave isn’t because I don’t want to kill her, but because I can’t kill her for now! Whatever happens between you two is none of my concern. But… you must never develop any feelings for her! And absolutely no children! Understand?!”

“One more thing, you’d best bear in mind… A thousand years from now, Qianye must die by my hand!”

That day, in that battle, Qianye Ying’er was forced into the Purple Moon Prison by Xia Qingyue. Then, the Purple Heavens Divine Sword pierced directly into her back… It was a strike powerful enough to severely wound, even kill her.

But he used his own body to shield Qianye Ying’er, leaving a bloody hole in his waist. His subsequent counterattack severely injured Xia Qingyue, scattering crimson blood drops across the sky…

The destructive moonlight of the Moon God Realm illuminated Xia Qingyue’s pale face. Her jade arm, gripping the Purple Heavens Divine Sword, bore the bloody marks he had inflicted. She seemed to feel no pain, only a faint, dream-like murmur:

“Yun Che, do you still remember the oath you made to me that year?”

The Moon God Realm she most wanted to protect…

Qianye Ying’er, whom she most wanted to kill…

Every corner of his soul felt as if it were being cruelly ripped and gnawed at.

“Ugh… Ah… Ugh…”

Blood trickled from between his teeth, his pupils dilated and contracted, and inhuman whimpers of pain continuously escaped his throat.

The power that had repeatedly wounded Xia Qingyue back then… every strike, every sword, now became the most excruciating torture in the world, tearing at Yun Che’s heart and soul, making him wish for death.

In silent agony, he lifted his head. Through his blurred vision, he seemed to see Xia Qingyue’s figure as she left, trailing blood that day… The blood stained her red robes, an image of boundless desolation and tragic beauty.

He stepped forward, following and trying to touch the path where her figure had once swept by.

Until he left the Eastern Divine Region, all the way to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

***

The Abyss of Nothingness, shrouded in vast white mist.

He stood at the edge of the abyss, gazing at the boundless chasm that reduced all to nothingness.

This was the place she had chosen for her end.

He and Xia Qingyue grew up together in Flowing Cloud City.

But in his memory, the earliest clear image of her was her figure in a grand red wedding dress.

Before he was sixteen… everything about her from his childhood and youth had become so hazy.

In his memory, her final image was also in a grand red dress.

One scene, stunningly divine; the other, heartbreakingly tragic.

“…Yun Che, remember this: you ultimately did not die by your own hand!”

Yun Che fell to his knees, utterly powerless. Even the dimness receded from his eyes, leaving only a lifeless, soulless pallor.

You thought there might be a slight chance I would know all of this someday… so, with your last strength, you broke free from me and ended your own life.

Until the very last moment, you were still thinking of me…

I…

“Yun… Che?”

From the blurry world, a woman’s voice seemed to reach him, tinged with surprise and doubt.

Jun Xilei stood not far from him, her beautiful eyes, veiled with sword light, stared blankly at Yun Che, who was kneeling and trembling uncontrollably. For a long time, she couldn’t believe her eyes or her senses.

But he showed no reaction to her presence or voice.

His hand remained tightly clutched over his chest, his fingers twisted and straining… as if he wanted to tear his own heart out with them.

“Are you… alright?” Jun Xilei tentatively took two steps closer. When she felt his aura, she stopped abruptly, as if startled.

He clearly wasn't injured, yet his aura was chaotic and completely disordered. And his face… it was an alarming, deathly pale, like wax paper, utterly devoid of color.

Jun Xilei stood there, aghast.

The Yun Emperor, who now looked down upon all beings in the four divine regions, how could he possibly be…

Just then, a flush of crimson rapidly surged across Yun Che’s pale face.

*Pfft—*

A long stream of blood spurted wildly from Yun Che’s mouth, spraying into the deep, endless Abyss of Nothingness before him.

His pupils lost all color, and his kneeling body weakly toppled forward.

“Yun Che!!”

With a cry of alarm, Jun Xilei cast aside all other thoughts, darted forward, and embraced Yun Che’s collapsing body.

In her haste, Yun Che’s face buried heavily into her chest… Jun Xilei’s body stiffened abruptly, and her mind went blank for a moment. Just as she instinctively tried to push him away, she realized the man in her arms was completely motionless.

A little flustered, she moved Yun Che from her chest to her lap… He had fallen unconscious. Yet, even in his unconscious state, his teeth were clenched tightly, and his features were contorted in continuous agony.

The streaks of blood at the corners of his mouth were even more shocking.

Behind her, an aged aura slowly drew near.

“Master,” Jun Xilei asked, bewildered, “What… what’s wrong with him?”

Jun Wuming sighed softly. “Such extreme pain breaks the soul, and such profound injury burns the heart. He must have suffered immense mental trauma.”

“Mental… trauma?” Jun Xilei looked down at the man in her arms, an unfamiliar pain rising within her.

“Given his current stature and all he has experienced in life, only he himself could push himself to such a state,” Jun Wuming’s voice was hoarse. “It seems something has happened in his life that he cannot forgive himself for.”

Cannot… forgive himself?

Unconsciously, she reached out and touched his face, wanting to smooth away the continuous waves of pain etched there.

She couldn’t understand…

His power, his status, were already so supreme. What else could cause him such agony, make him unable to forgive himself…?