Chapter 1980: Hidden Soul, Falling into the Abyss

Upon entering the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, the world turned an ash-grey. There hadn't been enough time to erase the traces of the battle with Mo Beichen. In particular, the Abyssal Void, scorched by Huo Poyun's ultimate Golden Crow Flame, was strikingly embedded in this ash-grey world. From a distance, it looked as if the entire God Realm of Absolute Beginning had been eternally pierced through.

Sacrificing oneself for the Azure Sea's eternal cessation. The Golden Crow's jade shattering, the Nine Heavens' raven's demise. How could I possibly let this sacrifice be in vain!

"Yun Che!" a soft, urgent cry came from behind, making Yun Che stop abruptly.

Soon, a graceful dark figure and a beautiful blue one arrived side-by-side. It was Shui Meiyin and Cang Shuhua, who had not appeared during the farewell.

Chi Wuyao smiled faintly. "It seems they finally succeeded at the very last moment," she said, causing Yun Che's eyes to flash with surprise. He looked at the two women: "Meiyin, Shuhua." Shui Meiyin was breathing lightly, clearly having arrived not by using the spatial divine power of the Heaven Punishing Spike, but by pursuing him at her fastest speed.

When she reached Yun Che, she held out both hands. In her delicate white palms lay two flickering red lights, interplaying with each other. Though faint, they emitted the unique scarlet divine light of the Heaven Punishing Spike.

"What are these?" Yun Che looked up.

"These are a spatial array core and a spatial divine stone, engraved with the power of the Heaven Punishing Spike," Shui Meiyin said, her eyes brimming, trying to hide the anxiety and reluctance in her heart. "Plant the spatial array core in one location, and you can use this spatial divine stone to activate a dimensional profound formation, teleporting to the core's location."

"However, once the spatial array core is planted, it cannot be moved. There also wasn't enough time to imprint too much power into the spatial divine stone, but I believe you will have many ways to replenish its spatial power on the other side."

"Also," Shui Meiyin continued hurriedly, "there's a limit to the distance you can teleport from the spatial divine stone to the spatial array core. Once you exceed that distance, you won't be able to connect to the dimensional channel and complete the teleportation. The spatial laws of the Abyss are undoubtedly far superior to those of the current world, so you'll have to test and determine its teleportation limit there yourself."

Yun Che reached out and, with the gentlest motion, took the spatial array core and spatial divine stone into his hand.

Having experienced the tribulation with Mo Beichen, Yun Che deeply understood that the Heaven Punishing Spike's power was almost depleted. Forcibly engraving this spatial array core and spatial divine stone with a depleted Heaven Punishing Spike would undoubtedly require immense effort and cost.

And the truth was... countless divine power crystals had been consumed, and the Heaven Punishing Spike had completely fallen silent. Even Shui Meiyin, its master, had no idea when it would awaken.

Cang Shuhua stepped forward and placed a water-blue ring into his hand.

"This spatial ring contains a special Azure Sea space," she explained. "Unless it collapses, you won't need to worry about anything inside withering or decaying." Gently closing Yun Che's fingers around the ring, Cang Shuhua withdrew her jade-like hand, her beautiful eyes like rippling star lakes. "My husband will surely return safely, so Shuhua has no need to worry. If you encounter any difficult situations, perhaps recalling my words from that day might offer some small help."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten." Bidding farewell to Shui Meiyin and Cang Shuhua, Yun Che and Chi Wuyao traveled through the space of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, gradually approaching the Abyssal Void.

In the pale world, a land etched with countless sword marks appeared. At the intersection of these marks, a single tombstone stood in solitary silence.

Before the tombstone, a woman in white with extraordinary divine grace knelt in vigil. From afar, she appeared like a beautiful, faded ancient painting.

Yun Che's gaze lingered on her, but he did not disturb her, passing by silently. Not until his figure vanished into the pale sky did Jun Xilei slowly raise her head, gazing into the distance.

The silent sword marks seemed to listen to her soft, misty, dream-like whisper: "I will stay here with Master, until... the day you return."

"So, you must come back."

***

The Abyssal Void. What was once known as the Annihilation Abyss, turning everything to nothingness, was now understood, after a long period of mutation, to be the sole passage connecting two worlds.

"Everything here will depend on you," Yun Che said, standing at the edge of the abyss, looking down at the empty world below, his eyes gradually clouding.

"Treat the Wood Spirit Realm with the utmost kindness, and tell the world the truth about He Ling's self-sacrifice to save it. This is the glory the Wood Spirit race deserves," Chi Wuyao whispered. "You can rest assured about everything here."

"Yes, I will definitely fulfill the three promises I made to you." Yun Che slowly lowered his gaze. "I'm leaving." He leaned forward, about to fall into the world below, which resembled a colossal devil god's maw.

Suddenly, a soul-stirring softness pressed against his back. Chi Wuyao embraced him from behind, her jade arms wrapping around his front, slowly tightening.

Yun Che stopped leaning forward and slowly exhaled. Neither of them spoke; words were unnecessary.

Chi Wuyao's jade arms moved upwards, her fingers slowly caressing his face, her fingertips touching each of his features one by one, as if she wanted to deeply engrave this last touch before their separation into her heart.

From his lips, to his nose, to the corners of his eyes, and then to his brows. Just then, Chi Wuyao, who had been as quiet as still water and as soft-breathing as cotton, suddenly released a dark light from her devilish eyes.

And in an instant, it became as deep and profound as an eternal, endless night abyss. Yun Che's half-closed eyes snapped open. "You!" But aside from his dilated pupils, his entire body remained motionless, and the sound from his mouth abruptly ceased.

Chi Wuyao's Nirvanic Devil Soul was slowly penetrating his Soul Sea. He instantly knew what Chi Wuyao was doing, and, terrified, he wanted to stop her but dared not. He didn't even dare to utter a sound, instead desperately suppressing the turbulent ripples that had just stirred in his Soul Sea.

Because in this state, any resistance from him would easily damage Chi Wuyao's soul origin. He could only choose to remain motionless, enduring in the most peaceful and submissive posture.

He felt the presence of the Nirvanic Devil Soul with extreme clarity; it was detaching from Chi Wuyao's soul bit by bit, entering his Soul Sea... one part, two parts... five parts... seven parts... Yun Che's lips trembled violently, but Chi Wuyao still didn't stop. The intense pain continuously distorted her face.

Not until only the last two parts of the Nirvanic Devil Soul remained in Chi Wuyao's soul did she finally stop. The dark glow in Chi Wuyao's eyes abruptly extinguished. Yun Che swiftly turned around, supporting Chi Wuyao, who had nearly collapsed... In the same instant he turned, the look of pain on Chi Wuyao's face was forcibly hidden by her, leaving only a deathly pale tranquility.

"Are you insane!" Yun Che roared. The Nirvanic Devil Soul was the most important thing in Chi Wuyao's life, her reliance for becoming the Devil Queen of the Northern Divine Region, and the core of her destiny.

Yet at this moment, she had forcibly stripped away a full eighty percent of her Nirvanic Devil Soul and transferred it to him.

After a long moment, Chi Wuyao finally straightened up from Yun Che's embrace. She smiled faintly, her enchanting face covered in a stark paleness that surpassed snow, tragically beautiful like an ice-bladed heart. "Here, we have Xuanyin, Qianying, Yan Wu, and the others. Even without me, they are more than capable of calming any turmoil."

"Besides, I still have two tenths of my Devil Soul remaining."

"And your safety, along with the great undertaking you must accomplish, outweighs everything!" The profound dark glow deep within her eyes was still there, but it had dimmed considerably.

Yun Che opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say anything about her taking the Devil Soul back. He knew that since Chi Wuyao had made this decision, there was absolutely no turning back.

Chi Wuyao slowly explained: "The Nirvanic Devil Soul only recognizes me as its vessel in this world, and it cannot achieve resonance with your soul. Therefore, you cannot actively control it."

"But because I personally split and transferred it, it will obediently hide within your soul... until the moment it is triggered."

"What happens when it's triggered?" Yun Che asked.

"It will be like a devil god awakened from a deep slumber," Chi Wuyao described.

"But it can only be triggered once. That might be the Nirvanic Devil Emperor's... final rage." Yun Che's heart violently trembled.

Chi Wuyao's words implied that once the Nirvanic Devil Soul in his soul was triggered, it would dissipate forever.

The soul counterattack unleashed at the cost of eighty percent of the Nirvanic Devil Soul disappearing forever... Even Chi Wuyao herself didn't know what kind of power it would unleash.

"...Alright." Yun Che nodded solemnly. "I will do my best not to fall into such a desperate situation, and then I will bring it back to you completely intact."

Chi Wuyao smiled and shook her head. Though she said nothing, her expression and gaze conveyed that his safety was a thousand times more important than her Devil Soul.

"It's time to go." She reached out and placed her hand on Yun Che's shoulder. "The sooner you go, the sooner you can return."

"The man I chose would never end here." Her jade-like finger pressed forward, gently pushing Yun Che, who was standing at the edge of the abyss, downwards.

Chi Wuyao vanished from Yun Che's sight, and with her, all color faded, his entire being plummeting straight down into the world below.

In just an instant, his figure was swallowed by the ash-grey mist. Even his aura completely disappeared.

The moment Yun Che's aura completely vanished, Chi Wuyao's heart suddenly felt hollow. Her body, which she had been forcing to stand, knelt weakly to the ground. It was a long time before her devilish eyes slowly regained their focus.

Whether it was they or Yun Qinghong and his wife... everyone had acted with an air of calm indifference, but in reality, everyone's heart was suspended over an abyss of dread.

In this world, he was the supreme Cloud Emperor, but in that other world, a slight misstep could lead to eternal damnation.

Even the mere act of falling into the abyss was fraught with unpredictable dangers. After standing silently for several hours, Chi Wuyao finally rose and walked away, alone.

At the exit of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, all nine Devil Maidens were waiting. They understood Chi Wuyao best and knew full well that after Yun Che's departure, the heavy burden of this world would fall entirely upon her.

Chi Wuyao's expression remained unchanged, showing no trace of her severely damaged Devil Soul. She looked ahead, speaking directly without any unnecessary words: "Chanyi, transmit my order to Yan Wu and Fen Daoqi. Tell them to dispatch people to guard the Abyssal Void. Before the Cloud Emperor returns, no one, no living being, is to be allowed to approach!"

"Remember, this matter concerns the Cloud Emperor's safety. There must be no oversight, at any time or in any area!"

The Abyssal World was completely unaware of the changes and developments in the current era of this world. And the Abyss's ignorance of Yun Che was his greatest advantage. Even if the possibility was extremely low that someone at the Divine Master Realm might fall into the Abyssal Void during this time and miraculously arrive alive in the Abyssal World... Chi Wuyao still had to guard against it to the extreme. The guards must also be from the Northern Divine Region.

"Yes!" Nanhuang Chanyi solemnly responded.

"Remember, do not disturb the Little Sword Sovereign," her voice softened. "On the contrary, she will be the most devoted guardian."

"Qingying, Lanyan, Yuwu." Chi Wuyao turned her gaze. "Starting today, you are to temporarily set aside your current tasks, return to the Northern Divine Region, and spare no effort in collecting records left from ancient times across all star realms. This includes ancient texts, engravings, devil patterns... regardless of type, authenticity, or significance!"

Qingying, Lanyan, and Yuwu were simultaneously astonished. Being called out all at once, they had expected it to be an extremely important matter. But it was just to collect ancient relics containing records?

Though puzzled, the three Devil Maidens did not ask further questions and quickly departed to carry out their orders.

With no Cloud Emperor in this world, only the Devil Queen remained to command the shifting tides across all realms.

After the shifting tides, would it be an eternal abyss, or...?