Chapter 1982: Cloud Falling into the Abyss

Facing Shen Wuqing’s words, Shen Wuyi coldly retorted, “Mother God poured a millennium of effort into you, yet you still haven’t reached the God-Slaying Realm, earning the contempt of other nations! To betray Mother God’s expectations and disgrace her divine name—how can such a crime be forgiven? Furthermore... do you truly believe Mother God was unaware of your secret affair with that worthless one? It is already an act of divine grace that Mother God didn't annihilate your entire clan!”

Shen Wuqing’s soul trembled violently, taking a long time to slowly calm. She slowly raised her head, her dim eyes, hidden beneath tangled hair, fixed on Shen Wuyi’s gaze... one breath, two breaths, three... yet no flicker of emotion could be discerned. They were strikingly similar to the eyes she both hated and feared the most!

"She is a devil," she murmured. "Wounded by a man, she views all males as expendable; she is forever denied the light of day, and she despises all who are whole! Including me, and including you!!" Her voice suddenly turned shrill. "I was once her chosen divine maiden, the one closest to her. And merely because of your appearance, I met this fate! Haven't you ever considered that my current state is your future?"

Shen Wuyi flipped her delicate fingers, and the mystic light in the ruined hall immediately dimmed, making it impossible for Shen Wuqing, whose spiritual senses were almost destroyed, to clearly see her eyes. "I am different from you," she stated. "I have no memory, no past. My life was saved by Mother God, my power bestowed by her, my understanding shaped by her, and my destiny forged by her. Every single bit, every drop, is Mother God's divine grace. To her, I am pure and flawless, without any impurity! Therefore, Mother God will never need to worry about me harboring disloyalty, nor can I ever develop any dissenting thoughts towards her. Even if Mother God were to destroy everything I possess today, it would merely be the reclaiming of her divine grace. I would have no regrets or resentments, only sorrow for disappointing her and for being unable to repay even a fraction of her boundless kindness."

Shen Wuqing froze, remaining motionless for a long time. Her numb eyes in the dim light seemed to stare at a pathetic, pitiful puppet. Even though, at this moment, she herself was more pathetic and pitiful than anyone.

"And you, on the other hand, couldn't even truly embody the simplest concept of 'ruthlessness,' squandering the very name Mother God bestowed upon you." Her gaze remained unperturbed, and her words never betrayed any emotion belonging to a living being. Compared to Shen Wuqing, who bore the name "Ruthless," it was she who seemed truly severed from all human feelings. "Had it not been for the perpetual difficulty in finding other divine successors, you would have long ago lost the privilege to attend Mother God. This outcome today is precisely what you deserve!"

A chilling mystic light erupted from her fingertips, and an icy killing intent suddenly descended. Shen Wuqing’s body was crippled; the mere presence of the aura nearly crushed her internal organs. She lay curled and sprawled on the ground, her remaining life force rapidly draining away.

"Heh... heheh... hahahaha..." Her head pressed against the cold ground, and she began to laugh softly. There was no fear in her laughter, no lingering attachment, only desolation... and pity. Pity for Shen Wuyi.

"Shen Wuyi," she called her name one last time. "I served Shen Wuyan Ye for a millennium. I know far better than you what kind of madwoman and demon she truly is! Whether in heaven or hell, I will wait to see what fate ultimately befalls you... hahahaha..."

In the dimness, a pair of slender eyebrows tilted slightly downwards. Shen Wuyi's composure finally fractured; she seemed enraged, and the killing intent emanating from her surged. "To dare speak Mother God's name directly—your crime warrants a thousand deaths!"

The mystic light in her palm exploded, transforming into a merciless beam of destruction that instantly shattered Shen Wuqing's body and her last breath of life. As she withdrew her hand, Shen Wuqing's shattered remains were reduced to fine dust, merging into the grey mist that permeated the ruined hall by the time Shen Wuyi turned away.

The hall doors opened, and Shen Wuyi slowly walked past two bowing old women. The doors closed behind her.

"I had intended to leave her body intact and return it to her maternal clan. But since she dared utter such grave disrespect towards Mother God, she deserves nothing more than to be reduced to ash. Inform Shen Wuqing's maternal clan: Shen Wuqing, though possessing a divine form, was both incompetent and utterly foolish. She repaid none of Mother God's immense kindness, instead harboring disloyal thoughts. Her body and soul have now been destroyed and consigned to the Abyss Dust. Her clan is no longer worthy of divine grace. They are hereby ordered to vacate the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom within twelve hours, never to set foot here again for the rest of their lives. Any defiance will result in the annihilation of their entire clan!"

A divine maiden of the Divine Kingdom was an existence as distant and revered as the stars. No one could ever believe that a divine maiden's death could be so swift, so tragic, and so desolate. Unless, of course, it happened within the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom. Although it existed beneath the same daylight, this Divine Kingdom, standing proudly over the abyss, seemed forever shrouded in an impenetrable, eternal night, with no promise of dawn, even though its Divine Venerable bore the name "Despiser of Night."

Inside the tightly sealed ruined hall, a faint, almost inaudible wisp of a soul voice drifted:

"Brother Pan... I'm sorry... I... ultimately could not escape... And I will never again have the chance to respond to your gaze or your hopes... But I... have no regrets... At least... when I thought of your name... I truly felt alive... I'm sorry..."

The faint, mournful lament, piercing to the soul, swiftly dissipated.

***

This was an incomparably desolate and barren land. The sky was dim, the air hazy, and windswept sand swirled with loneliness, like an ancient, ceaseless wail of ghosts. To the inhabitants of the Four Divine Domains, such places were merely occasional desolate wastes. Yet, for this world, it was the ubiquitous norm.

This world was called the Abyss.

The calamitous power known as "Abyss Dust" permeated every corner of this world, eternally gnawing at all living and undead beings alike. It was as omnipresent as the air all living creatures constantly breathed in another world. A blade of verdant grass, a flower not necessarily vibrant, were miraculous sights in this world that ordinary beings could scarcely hope to witness in a lifetime. They existed only within the Divine Kingdoms, where true gods resided, and in that supreme realm known as the "Pure Land." For them, what was most commonplace was decay, premature demise, death, and desiccated bones... along with the ever-present Abyss Dust, Abyss Beasts, and Abyss Ghosts.

*Whoosh—*

The howling wind was as terrifying as an Abyss Beast's roar, and sand instantly blotted out the sky, obscuring the sun. This was a vast desert, prone to terrifying sandstorms at any moment. As it bordered the "Mist Sea," Abyss Beasts far more formidable than any sandstorm occasionally emerged, making it a place rarely inhabited by humans.

However, as the sand temporarily settled, two figures swiftly streaked across the sky. The two figures consisted of a man and a woman. The man was tall, with a chiseled, resolute face and sharp eyes. Half of his body was stained with blood; his left arm was bent at his side, and his shoulder and left ribs bore horrifying wounds. Upon closer inspection, faint grey mist could clearly be seen seeping from these injuries. The man's jaw was clenched, but his face betrayed no hint of pain. A steady stream of yellow mystic light flowed from his body, continuously suppressing his injuries.

The woman beside him wore a long, goose-yellow robe. Her figure was remarkably petite and delicate, her face radiant, and her eyes filled with urgent concern, yet this did not diminish her commanding heroic spirit. Her long hair was tightly bound behind her, covered by a pale golden cloak. Interwoven mystic patterns adorned the cloak, from which flowed a rich yellow mystic light. It was clearly a protective mystic garment, imbued with high-level earth mystic power and possessing formidable defensive capabilities.

"We'll reach the royal city in three more hours," the woman said, her gaze constantly flitting between the path ahead and the man's injuries. "Ninth Senior Brother, you *must* hold on."

"Don't worry, Junior Sister Lingzhu," the man replied. His injuries were indeed horrific, yet his gaze was as resolute as a heavy sword. "These wounds are all external; they only look daunting but are actually insignificant."

"But..." The worry in the woman's eyes did not lessen. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her voice. "I'm concerned it might affect the upcoming..."

"It won't," the man stated with rock-solid conviction before she could finish. Changing the subject, he added, "Though it was perilous this time, I'm relieved you are safe and sound. Otherwise, even dying a thousand times over wouldn't allow me to face the Sovereign and our sect."

The woman shook her head, gently taking the man's right arm. "Senior Brother, you needn't worry about me so much. I sincerely wish you would always prioritize your own safety. Not just for my sake, but for our Helian Imperial Dynasty and for our sect, your well-being far outweighs mine. In the future, please never again disregard your life as you did this time. Don't forget, you are Mo Cangying, the future and hope of the Helian Imperial Dynasty!"

"There is nothing in this world more important than your safety," Mo Cangying stated softly, his tone unequivocal.

Without a single unexpected word in response, Helian Lingzhu said nothing more. Her gaze shifted, gently surveying the sand-swept path ahead. "Although we faced danger, we did make some gains. However, these gains are still far from sufficient... Huh?"

Both their gazes fixed simultaneously. Beneath the constantly shifting and scattering sand curtain, a human figure faintly emerged. Both instantly became alert, focusing their spiritual senses. The figure quickly sharpened in their vision. It was a man in ragged clothes, his body covered in blood. Mo Cangying's injuries were already horrifying enough, but compared to this man's, they barely qualified as "minor."

Blood stained his entire body, and fissures seemed to crisscross almost every part of his frame. Everywhere one looked, exposed flesh, glimmering bone... every inch, every feature was horrifyingly stark. They had seen countless injured individuals, yet never anyone wounded to such an extent. Yet, he was still walking. The wind howled around him, his figure swaying precariously. Each step seemed to draw upon the very last of his life force, yet he moved forward with incredible tenacity, refusing to collapse.

"How could this person be so severely injured?" Helian Lingzhu gasped in astonishment.

"Don't concern yourself with him. Let's go," Mo Cangying said, directly averting his gaze. In the world of the Abyss, compassion for outsiders was the cheapest and most foolish sentiment. It was the most fundamental rule of survival, ingrained in everyone from childhood.

Helian Lingzhu also withdrew her gaze without hesitation. Simultaneously, both sensed his extremely faint mystic power aura. A peak Divine Monarch Realm, tenth level. A peak Divine Monarch, stalled at the threshold of a breakthrough. What a pity...

They had flown a considerable distance when, perhaps out of curiosity, Helian Lingzhu quietly glanced back at the wounded, stumbling man in the sandstorm. The man happened to lift his head slightly at that very moment... Helian Lingzhu's gaze instantly met his eyes. In that instant, her soul felt as if it had been fiercely tugged. For she seemed to gaze into a fathomless, black starlake. Congealed blood and fissures marred his face, which should have appeared as horrifying as a vengeful ghost. Yet, his chiseled features and those eyes, which seemed to draw her soul... Right before her eyes, the man's lips parted slightly, as if attempting to speak. But then, his eyes slowly closed. After taking one incredibly arduous final step, his body slowly pitched forward, collapsing heavily to the ground, utterly still. His figure rapidly blurred and vanished into the distant sandstorm.

Her body, as if her very soul had been violently tugged, abruptly halted. "He..." Helian Lingzhu murmured, clearly disoriented, then sharply turned around. "No, we have to save him!"

Mo Cangying was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, Helian Lingzhu had already flown back, swiftly descending towards the severely injured man's location.