Chapter 1921: Moon Memories (III)

At that time, for Xia Qingyue, it was one of the darkest moments of her life. Yun Che had been buried in the Primordial Profound Ark; the Azure Cloud Continent was being trampled by the Divine Phoenix Sect, on the verge of national annihilation; and her sect, the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, had been forced into utter despair, clinging to life while awaiting their demise.

Through the dimensional array left in the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace by their Great Ancestor Mu Bingyun, everyone in the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace gave her this sole glimmer of hope for survival.

However, the world she was teleported to was on a plane of existence far beyond her comprehension. The profound energy here was incredibly dense, and the people here were powerful beyond her wildest imagination, utterly impossible for her to resist.

At twenty years old, her cultivation in the early stages of the Tyrant Profound Realm was an unprecedented miracle in her homeland. However, in this world, the first two people she encountered pushed her into despair with just a flick of their fingers.

Standing before her were two profound practitioners in green robes. Their Divine Origin Realm cultivation, in the God Realm, was merely the starting point of the Divine Way. Yet for her, it was a wall of despair she had no hope of resisting in the slightest.

"Tsk, such beauty... even the legendary Dragon Queen Goddess might not compare." The man on the right had burning eyes, his fingers twitching in anticipation: "If we offer her to the Sect Master, he'll likely reward us with at least ten Jade Scale Pills!"

"Hmph! Shut your mouth! If anyone overhears such blasphemous words, we're dead!" The man on the left snapped, then his lips curled into a lecherous grin as he chuckled, "I've seen many beauties, but one of such supreme quality... even the Divine Emperor might lose his composure upon seeing her."

"In the past, she would have been the forbidden property of at least a Realm King; merely glancing at her would be a sin for us. But now we've stumbled upon her. Her cultivation is merely at the Mortal Path Tyrant Profound, and she clearly has no backing..." He turned his head and narrowed his eyes: "Are you truly willing to offer her to the Sect Master?"

"If I wasn't willing to give her up, then naturally I wouldn't."

The two exchanged a glance and smiled, their faces twisting into excited, yet utterly vile and sinister grins. Every one of their words fell clearly into Xia Qingyue's ears, and equally into Yun Che's soul sea. At that moment, his spiritual sense tightly coiled around the two men, firmly engraving every single detail of their appearance. He even hoped these two men were still alive in the world! Even if it meant debasing himself, he would personally make them endure every single cruel torture known to this world.

A blood-stained arm slowly lifted, the sword in his hand re-condensing with misty snow and icy brilliance.

"Oh? Still foolishly attempting to resist?" The profound practitioner in green robes on the right casually extended a finger, and flicked it lightly, as if teasing.

The icy brilliance shattered, and the snow sword broke. However, the broken sword in Xia Qingyue's hand, driven by that terrifying power, cut towards her own pristine neck! Simultaneously, all the profound energy around her surged back, resolutely rushing towards her own heart meridian, intent on self-destruction.

The sudden turn of events made the two green-robed profound practitioners blanch in shock. They had never imagined this snow-clad woman possessed such an unyielding spirit. They both let out a strange cry and lunged forward... but everything happened with the speed of lightning. Despite their Divine Origin power, they simply couldn't intervene in time.

Just then, a profoundly muffled, yet terrifying boom echoed from the distant sky. It was the sound of space being displaced. And the pressure that descended simultaneously was so immense it felt as if the entire world had frozen solid. The sword in Xia Qingyue's hand halted before her pristine neck, and the profound energy poised to destroy her heart meridian ceased its surge. It was an terrifying aura she couldn't describe with words; her body and aura were completely frozen in place. Even gathering all her strength, she couldn't move an inch.

The two green-robed profound practitioners were likewise rooted to the spot. They looked up, and saw a small profound ark, a hundred zhang long. At the front of the profound ark, a middle-aged man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing forward. He wore a long, light purple robe, yet remained as still as a rock amidst the strong winds stirred by the ark's flight. All the light between heaven and earth seemed to converge on him, gradually receding as he moved further away.

Although their gaze only caught his profile, the invisible might he exuded made them almost instinctively want to fall to their knees and prostrate themselves in worship. And on the profound ark, a fleeting profound light symbol shocked them so much their pupils nearly shattered. Because, it was the Divine Moon Totem of the Moon God Realm! They couldn't believe that one day they would personally encounter a Royal Realm from the distant heavens!

Amidst their horror, the man at the front of the profound ark suddenly cast a sidelong glance. A divine light shot down, almost shattering their souls. Immediately, this divine light briefly paused, and the profound ark abruptly halted in mid-air.

Within the frozen space, a purple figure slowly descended, alighting upon this land that was originally too lowly for him to even set foot on. Behind him, three more figures also descended, standing respectfully. However, their eyes all held the same surprise and doubt.

The hearts of the two green-robed profound practitioners were so terrified they ceased to beat, and their blood stopped flowing. Their remaining will compelled them to slowly bend their knees and kneel, trembling as they bowed: "We... we respectfully greet... Moon God... Venerable One." However, they could never have believed, even if their lives depended on it, that the man before them was none other than the Moon God Emperor... Yue Wuya.

The three Moon Guards behind him also couldn't comprehend why, with the dignity of the Moon God Emperor, he would halt and condescend to concern himself with such a trivial matter, something seen everywhere. They looked at Xia Qingyue, their eyes filled with astonishment... but they knew well that the Moon God Emperor held no particular fondness for women, especially after the incident years ago, when he had barely made contact with any woman.

However, as they looked longer, a realization simultaneously dawned upon them.

"Wait! This woman..."

"Her appearance, it seems to bear a slight resemblance..." One Moon Guard couldn't help but transmit a message telepathically.

"Silence!" The other two Moon Guards simultaneously shot him a warning glance.

As for the two green-robed profound practitioners, Yue Wuya didn't spare them a single glance. His gaze was fixed solely on Xia Qingyue. The broken sword in her hand had been sealed in mid-air by him, also cutting off her intent to self-destruct.

"What is your name?" he asked. His voice was calm, authoritative without anger. But no one knew that his soul was throbbing with an intensely abnormal tremor. Even the blood flowing through his veins held an inexplicable agitation.

Xia Qingyue looked at this figure who had descended from the heavens. His mere aura had terrified two villains to such an extent. Undoubtedly, he was someone of extremely high status in this world. His eyes held the majesty of a powerful figure, yet she could not detect any danger. Instead, she felt an inexplicable sense of trust... though she didn't know why.

"Xia Qingyue." It was the first time she had spoken her name in this strange new world.

A strange name, an aura of profound energy that had not yet entered the Divine Way. Yue Wuya frowned slightly, just about to ask something else, when his pupils suddenly constricted.

"Glazed Heart!"

Given Yue Wuya's standing, it was almost impossible for him to lose composure in any situation. Yet these three words escaped his lips in an astonished gasp, startling the three Moon Guards behind him, whose expressions instantly changed. However, Yue Wuya's next words had nothing to do with the Glazed Heart. Instead, he took a step forward, asking with clear agitation: "Are you, this year, twenty-two years old?!"

A flicker of bewilderment passed through Xia Qingyue's eyes.

"Answer me, yes or no!" Yue Wuya's voice deepened, and the divine light in his imperial eyes also carried a slight tremor.

"Yes," Xia Qingyue replied.

This answer made Yue Wuya's chest heave with an extreme tremor for a moment. After a brief silence, he suddenly spoke, his voice faint: "Destroy them."

The moment his words fell, the central Moon Guard acted immediately. Dazzling moonlight silently enveloped the two green-robed profound practitioners. They couldn't even utter a single scream before they were reduced to ash within the blossoming moonlight, and then completely vanished from existence as the moonlight dispersed.

Yue Wuya did not turn around: "You, commit suicide."

His indifferent voice, devoid of any emotion, startled all three Moon Guards. They then heavily knelt, and the Moon Guard on the right said frantically, "Divine Emperor, we have supreme loyalty to the Moon God Realm..." His words had not yet fallen when a dull explosion suddenly rang in his ears. The Moon Guard who had acted earlier had already self-destructed his life force, collapsing to the ground dead.

"In this world, the only ones who can truly keep secrets are the dead." Yue Wuya slowly closed his eyes: "As a Moon Guard of my Moon God Realm, do you not even understand such a basic principle of life?"

The remaining two Moon Guards trembled, but said nothing more. If the Divine Emperor commanded their deaths, how could they refuse? Foolish resistance would not only lead to a more miserable demise, but also bring calamity upon their clans. Releasing the last of their life's moon energy, they too self-destructed their heart meridians and died.

Three Moon Guards, three powerful Divine Sovereigns capable of ruling as kings in the Middle God Realm, were thus annihilated by a single word.

Everything that unfolded before her eyes was beyond the comprehension of Xia Qingyue at that time. She slowly stood up, condensing a wisp of barely functioning profound energy at her fingertip: "Who... are you?"

"About forty percent resemblance... age is correct... turbid profound energy, clearly just arrived from a lower realm." He did not answer Xia Qingyue. Instead, he murmured distractedly: "If the Glazed Heart were to reappear in the world, it could only possibly be... born of her..." His expression was unreadable, a mix of excitement and pain.

"Answer me one last question," he asked again: "Did your mother leave you when you were four years old?"

Xia Qingyue's eyes trembled violently.

"Never mind, no need to answer." Yue Wuya, however, turned away at that moment, whether fearing the answer he desired or the one he didn't. "Follow me to a place, to see someone."

"Rest assured, I will not harm you. If I wished to harm you, even if you had ten thousand lives, you wouldn't escape the flick of my finger."

"Conversely, if you refuse, with your current cultivation and your Glazed Heart, you are bound to encounter death at every turn in this world."

At this point, the scene blurred, reverting to its original grayish hue.

She had met Yue Wuya on her very first day in the God Realm... Xia Qingyue had told him about this event before. Now, witnessing the scene from that year firsthand, still caused Yun Che's heart to ache for a long time. With cultivation that had not yet entered the Divine Way, yet standing within the God Realm, her beauty would undoubtedly become a grave calamity. It was tantamount to being sent from one desperate situation into an even more terrifying abyss. Yet, incredibly fortunate, almost miraculously so, she encountered Yue Wuya, and was brought by him to the Moon God Realm.

But...

Within the fleeting memory, Yue Wuya's initial reaction upon seeing Xia Qingyue caused a deep doubt to stir within him. Although Yun Che had never met Yue Wugou, he had learned from Mu Xuanyin that Xia Qingyue and Yue Wugou's appearances were, at best, only thirty to forty percent similar, certainly not enough for someone to immediately associate them as mother and daughter at first glance. Why did he, with just a fleeting glance, and with the dignity of a Divine Emperor, suddenly descend before Xia Qingyue? Age, Glazed Heart, from a lower realm...

From Yun Che's perception, Yue Wuya didn't seem to deduce that she might be Yue Wugou's daughter through these observations. Instead, it was more as if he had already suspected she might be Yue Wugou's daughter from the very beginning, and the subsequent observations merely served as confirmation and reverse deduction.

At this moment, the grayish hue dispersed again, and another new world unfolded within Yun Che's soul sea.

This was an exquisitely beautiful small world, where lush green grass provided shade, flowers bloomed in vibrant clusters, and water flowed gently. The bright, soft moonlight cast a mysterious, ethereal glow over everything. This was the Divine Moon City of the Moon God Realm, an independent small world, unknown to outsiders and impenetrable to unauthorized entry.

Xia Qingyue stood beneath a tall emerald tree. Before her were two figures seated opposite each other. One was the Moon God Emperor, Yue Wuya, the other... a pale-faced woman dressed in red. Yue Wuya's outstretched finger rested on the red-clad woman's chest, where her heart meridian lay. His eyes closed, his concentration absolute. After an unknown amount of time, a hint of pain faintly flickered across his face. He opened his eyes, his body trembling. Despite forcibly suppressing himself, a mouthful of blood still spurted from his lips, staining a large area of the ground red.

"Wuya!" The red-clad woman hurriedly raised her hand, her weak voice tinged with deep panic.

Yue Wuya, however, used his other hand to support her, and said with a smile, "It's nothing, nothing. Merely a bit of vital blood; it does me no harm at all."

The vital blood of a Divine Emperor... Under heaven, who would dare to describe such a thing as 'mere'?