Chapter 1933: Ancestor Returns

“Did you... understand?”

The voice of the Ancestral God's Will resonated again in Yun Che's soul sea, yet it seemed to come from an eon away.

For a long time, there was no response. Yun Che's soul sea was utterly silent, as if dead.

“As the Instrument of Fate, Xia Qingyue would eventually perceive her true ‘essence’. And you, though you will gradually become more attuned to ‘nihility’ after cultivating the Heavenly Book of Eternal Night, can never truly transcend the Ancestral Nihility. Therefore, the occasional dreams are the limit of what you can glimpse.”

“These dreams would only be regarded as dreams by you, never as reality.”

In other words, had the Ancestral God's Will not revealed all this to Yun Che, even if he could control the laws of nihility to some extent, he would never have been able to discern the complete "truth" on his own.

“When everything was accomplished back then, I never imagined that one day I would personally tell you all of this.”

“Even a destiny interfered with to such an extent remains so unpredictable.”

The soul sea remained in prolonged silence.

If all this had merely happened to someone else, or existed as a legend from the distant past, it would still take a long time to process and comprehend.

But for it to have happened to him... it was undoubtedly an unreality a thousand times more profound than any dream.

Xia Qingyue... she was actually created...

Created for him...

The day they married was the first time he met her... Perhaps, it was even the first day she was born into the world.

She had never felt any attachment to Xia Hongyi, nor could Xia Hongyi feel sorrow at the news of her death. Their father-daughter bond was merely an implanted perception, their memories of the past were just corrected causality; they had never truly spent a single day together, so how could any filial affection develop?

Facing Xia Qingyue, whom he had never met, Yue Wuya would pause for her... It turned out that this was a powerful resonance and pulsation of bloodline, his unreserved kindness towards her was not because of her "Glazed Heart," but stemmed from an instinct etched into his very blood.

Jie Yuan, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, who had endured such a tragic fate, even said that Xia Qingyue was the person with the most sorrowful destiny she had ever seen... Her fate was more than just sorrowful.

She ultimately made that choice, refusing and unable to state her reasons until death... Even for him, she wove an enormous lie, ensuring that in his heart, she would forever remain an utterly despicable villain.

Before the graves of Yue Wuya and Yue Wugou, she wept, murmuring that she had harmed them, and harmed Yuanba...

The day she chose to end her life, she wore a striking red gown. For she was born in red... and departed in red.

So, at the age of sixteen, he had truly died...

On his body, any power, any bloodline, could coexist seamlessly. Even the opposing forces of light and darkness could be wielded simultaneously, astonishing the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor... It turned out that this was the sacred body originally belonging only to the Ancestral God!

The Evil God's profound veins, the Phoenix, the Desolate God, the Sky Wolf, the Golden Crow, the Ice Phoenix... even Hong'er, You'er, right up to the Life God's Miracle and the Eternal Calamity of Darkness...

Four of the Seven Great Profound Heavenly Treasures were on him, and the Profound Sky Cauldron was also by his side.

His life had seen countless twists and turns, and each time a challenge was overcome, it was accompanied by immense progress or even metamorphosis.

Even when they were on the Profound Sky Continent, Jasmine had said more than once that she had never believed in the concept of fortune, but in the years she spent with Yun Che, she felt he was definitely a person blessed with "great fortune."

Starting at the age of sixteen, he became the first truly supreme emperor in the history of the God Realm in just twenty years.

Looking back at his life, before sixteen he was unremarkable, but in the mere two decades since, he had encountered one opportunity after another that others would not dare dream of in a thousand lifetimes.

So, there truly was such a thing as fortune in this world.

And all of it was being propelled by an invisible force of destiny.

But the cost of this destiny...

The price for him to stand at his current height...

“There is something else that makes me feel even more emotional. In fact, it's stranger than all the experiences you've told me about over the years.”

On the night he returned to the Azure Cloud Continent after becoming Emperor, his father Yun Qinghong looked at the starry sky and let out a sigh of wistfulness: “You... are you truly my son?”

“You and I are indeed biological father and son, connected by blood. This is undeniable and unchangeable, no matter how circumstances shift. It's just...”

“Although I have never set foot in the world called the ‘God Realm,’ the people there can apparently reduce the entire Azure Cloud Continent to dust with a wave of their hand... Undeniably, that is an existence utterly beyond my comprehension, a plane I could never hope to reach in my entire life.”

“And you, in just over a decade since you first departed for that place, have become an emperor who holds everything in his palm. This makes me wonder... could I, Yun Qinghong, truly have sired such a son?”

“A person's fate, vision, and limits are often determined by their bloodline and origin; this is a cruel and undeniable fact. Yet, Che'er, the height you currently stand at is something your father, and the entire Yun clan, could not reach even if we strained our utmost to look up. Frankly, in these past two days, my heart has felt more wistfulness than pride.”

His father's sentiment back then was not mistaken in the slightest.

Given his background and aptitude, even without the congenital profound vein defect, and even if his life had been smooth until its end, the peak he could have reached would at most be on par with Yun Qinghong.

He was not the "chosen one" he thought himself to be, but a chosen one in a different sense.

Because the Ancestral God had reincarnated beside him.

His identity as Emperor Yun, his tumultuous and brilliant life... behind it lay the sacrifice of the Ancestral God and Xia Qingyue's incredibly tragic life...

That could hardly even be called a life.

“Why...” Yun Che's voice was hoarse and indistinct, like a groan painfully forced from the deepest part of his soul: “You are... the Ancestral God, the King of the World... in your eyes, I am but humble grass...”

“Why... would you sacrifice six hundred reincarnations... for me, a flawed mortal...?”

The Ancestral God's Will spoke calmly: “If the Ancestral God reincarnated beside you had been from any of the previous nine hundred ninety-nine lives, none of this would have happened.”

“As the Ancestral God, to sacrifice and harm my sacred body, to offer six hundred reincarnations, and to personally forge a cruel chain of fate to save a mere mortal... is beyond absurd.”

“However, in the thousandth reincarnation, to achieve completeness, the Ancestral God's Will had to fall into slumber. This incarnation of the Ancestral God was Xiao Lingxi, and the new will that emerged was her own core will. When I awakened from slumber, the Ancestral God's Will, unable to complete its fusion, instead became an external will.”

“No matter how weak a core will is, it still overrides an unfused Ancestral God's Will. Therefore, I could not resist her obsession.”

“The Ancestral God created all this. But what determined it all was a... fifteen-year-old girl, heartbroken and despairing over the departure of her beloved.”

Yun Che fell silent.

“This was a colossal surprise I never anticipated. Perhaps I, who had overseen the world for countless eons, still underestimated the power that human emotions could generate.”

Life was like a dream, the world an illusion.

What had happened to him was a reality that even dreams could not weave.

Recalling Xiao Lingxi before and after his sixteenth year, her personality and her gaze showed no difference whatsoever.

“Does she... remember any of what happened back then?” Yun Che asked softly.

“No,” the Ancestral God's Will replied. “She resisted and refused to merge with the Ancestral God's Will. This incarnation of her (me) wished only to be the purest Xiao Lingxi, to accompany you with the purest identity and emotions, until the end of this life.”

“Therefore, during the reversal of time that brought you back to life, her memories also reverted to before anything had happened... This was also her obsession, one that I similarly could not resist.”

“As for me, I should have returned to slumber, awaiting the next reincarnation. But I was curious to see what kind of ultimate conclusion you and the ‘Instrument of Fate’ would reach under the chain of destiny I personally forged.”

She did not explicitly state that under the influence of Xiao Lingxi's core will, the Ancestral God's Will had also developed an uncontrollable concern for Yun Che's fate.

“So, I chose not to continue slumbering but to roam between heaven and earth, observing your and Xia Qingyue's lives... However, this also caused her soul to occasionally be influenced by the Ancestral God's Will, giving rise to numerous ‘illusions’ and ‘dreams’.”

“Once I return to slumber, her ‘illusions’ and ‘dreams’ will all vanish. She will never know she is the Ancestral God, nor will she remember the heartbreak from back then... Until the end of this life, she will remain the purest Xiao Lingxi.”

“You must never tell her any of this. Otherwise, with her overly tender heart, she would spend her entire life trapped in endless guilt.”

“Are you... leaving?” Yun Che detected the Ancestral God's Will's intention to depart.

“You have become the supreme emperor of this age, and the Instrument of Fate has chosen self-annihilation. As the Ancestral God, her (my) wish has been realized, and I have fully witnessed the entanglements of fate brought forth by the chain of destiny.”

“With the demise of the ‘Instrument of Fate,’ the chain of destiny between you two has also vanished. I no longer have a reason to remain here. After today, I will return to slumber to recover my diminished original power as soon as possible.”

The Ancestral God's Will sighed faintly: “Reincarnating six hundred times... I only hope the hidden danger of the abyss is merely my unnecessary worry.”

“Telling you the full truth is the last thing I do for her (me) before returning to slumber. You should understand my intention.”

Yun Che was speechless.

Six hundred reincarnations of the Ancestral God, and one tragic life of Xia Qingyue, had exchanged for his current life...

“As the Ancestral God within Xiao Lingxi, her feelings for you naturally developed and became deeply etched during the fifteen years she spent with you day and night.”

“As for Xia Qingyue, the Instrument of Fate, I never interfered with her emotions. After she discovered the essence of her existence too early, her choice was not to resist, but to comply... Her only defiance was her self-annihilation.”

“She fought against the fate imposed upon her, yet she was unwilling to fight against your destined fulfillment.”

“During your brief time together after your marriage, you had already left an imprint on her heart. In the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, she would occasionally recall the sight of you walking out of the Xiao Sect.”

“At the Heavenly Pool Secret Realm, when you left the hope of life to her... your image was firmly etched into her soul. For her, that fleeting moment was an eternal lifetime.”

“Her initial understanding was merely a promise, but from that day forward, she could never forget her identity as your wife.”

“Yun Che, you are the most fortunate person in this world. For your sake, Xiao Lingxi chose to remain Xiao Lingxi forever, and Xia Qingyue endured sorrow without regret... even to her death, she did not wish to leave you with wounds.”

“Therefore, you have no right to live poorly.”

“Do not let any of this become a burden of guilt or shackles on your soul. Your present is what Xiao Lingxi wished for, what Xia Qingyue wished for. Even if it's just to honor everything they did, you must not allow your life, now bathed in the brightest light, to sink into an unrecoverable darkness.”

“So, when your tears have run dry, release all sorrow and guilt. Face Xiao Lingxi, who will always await your return, with a gentle smile, and remember Xia Qingyue, whose destiny was once intertwined with yours, with a warm soul... For them, for everyone who loves you around you, you can do this, can't you?”

The soul sea began to tremor violently. The Ancestral God's Will's final words deeply touched every corner of his soul, causing all his emotions to frantically pulse and surge, utterly collapsing and breaking their dam...

“Then, Yun Che, farewell.”

The Ancestral God's Will's voice became exceptionally gentle, and increasingly distant:

“I hope that you, and I in this life, will find eternal peace from this moment on.”

The soul world dissipated. In the silent, desolate mountains, Yun Che's unrestrained, completely unleashed sobs echoed.

At this moment, the Ancestral God's Will, having settled her concerns, sealed herself off and returned to slumber.

In the instant before her existence completely vanished, a faint hint of doubt flickered within her will:

She recalled the sudden crack that appeared on the Wheel of Karma mirror after Xia Qingyue fell into the Nihility Abyss.

The chain of destiny between Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had been formed using the Wheel of Karma mirror as a medium.

With Xia Qingyue's demise, the chain of destiny naturally disappeared.

But the momentary crack that appeared on the Wheel of Karma mirror...

The chain of destiny did not seem to have vanished silently; rather, it was as if... it had been forcibly torn apart by an unknown external force, causing a backlash to the Wheel of Karma mirror and resulting in that momentary crack.

If that were the case...

What exactly had happened in the abyss...?