Chapter 1993: One Step to Evil God

Helian’s chest heaved violently, as if it would burst. Not even the words of Zhaolian Cheng and Ximen Qi had provoked such shame and fury in him.

“You did indeed save my face for a moment, and I will not kill you.”

Helian forcefully suppressed the chaotic surge of energy within him and offered a perfectly fitting reason.

“However, even if I don't kill you, do you think you can escape the pursuit of the Bailin Alliance? You have already dug your own grave, yet you still dare to speak so arrogantly in front of me.”

“You had best leave this place immediately! Do not imagine that I, Helian, will protect you. Not sending you to the Bailin Alliance is already an immense act of tolerance and grace from me!”

Yun Che clapped his hands and praised, “As expected of the Helian Monarch, your words truly never disappoint.”

“However, my safety is not something for the Helian Monarch to worry about. The Bailin Alliance and the Three Sects are surely not foolish. Someone who doesn't even regard them and can utterly defeat their so-called ‘geniuses’ at the same cultivation level—they wouldn't be so foolish as to rashly attack me before thoroughly investigating my background.”

Yun Che was a complete nobody in the Abyss. Even if the Bailin Alliance and the Three Sects exerted their full efforts, they would only find a blank slate regarding his origins.

This, without a doubt, would only make them more apprehensive.

A person whose origin they couldn't find the slightest trace of... that was something truly extraordinary.

“Furthermore, the Qilin God Convention is imminent, and after it, a ‘new nation and dynasty’ will be established. At such a time, why would they be willing to create new complications?”

“On the contrary,” Yun Che narrowed his eyes, “if they are smart enough, they will try to win me over with various methods while testing me.”

Helian’s mouth visibly twitched.

Just then, a great gust of wind swept outside the imperial hall, and a tall man quickly arrived with a contingent of imperial guards.

It was Helian Linglang, the Crown Prince of the Helian imperial family.

“Father! Lingzhu!” He flew to Helian and Helian Lingzhu's side, his face filled with alarm and concern. “Are you two alright? I heard someone forced their way in and offended you. I'm late.”

Yun Che let out a faint cold laugh... When Zhaolian Cheng and Ximen Qi brazenly intruded, this fellow didn't dare show his face. Now that they had fled in disarray, he chose to appear at just the right moment.

Truly, he was Helian's son!

That Helian’s kingdom was only now on the verge of collapse was practically a miracle.

“Imperial Brother, it's already over,” Helian Lingzhu said.

Her gaze, devoid of any reliance or comfort, showed that Helian Lingzhu held no expectations for her brother, the Crown Prince.

“That's good.” Helian Linglang breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly caught sight of Yun Che, assessed his profound energy, and then frowned deeply. “Who are you?”

Yun Che completely ignored him, saying indifferently, “Since the Helian Monarch is so unwelcoming, I can't very well shamelessly stay. The Grand Princess's kindness has been repaid, at least somewhat.”

He gave Helian Lingzhu a deep look. “We shall meet again.”

With that, he turned and slowly walked out of the hall.

“Yun... Che.” Helian Lingzhu took a step forward, her lips uttering not a shout, but a somewhat dazed whisper.

“Oh, by the way.” Yun Che suddenly stopped. “‘Helian’ signifies an unpolished jade. Given that the Helian Monarch bears this name, perhaps your ancestors intended it to serve as a warning to avoid the arrogance of a soaring dragon that comes to regret, or the decline that follows a full moon. However, this seems quite contrary to your way of ruling.”

“Perhaps ‘Funuo’ would be a better name. ‘Funuo’ means ‘a fleeting promise lasting through eternity.’ Perhaps this name could ensure your Helian lineage continues for another thousand years, hehe.”

With an indifferent smile, he lingered no more and quickly departed.

“You bastard!” Helian Linglang roared in fury on the spot. “Where did this lowly commoner come from, daring to disrespect my imperial father's name! Seize him...”

“Silence!” Helian roared back, a thunderous voice that made Helian Linglang quickly lower his head, muttering for a long time without daring to speak.

Helian Lingzhu's gaze followed Yun Che's retreating figure until he completely disappeared from sight.

Finally, she bit her lip and flew after him.

Surprisingly, Helian did not stop her.

“Ugh... ugh!”

He clutched his chest, his body gradually weakening.

Within his heart veins, profound energy surged like countless sharp blades, slicing and tearing, pushing him to the brink of collapse. That he had managed to hold on until now was incredibly difficult.

Helian Linglang quickly helped him up.

“Funuo... Funuo...” He stared blankly ahead, mumbling, actually pondering the name Yun Che had casually dropped.

A fleeting promise, enduring through eternity...

A thousand years!

Unpolished jade... Could it really be that my name influenced the Helian destiny?

Mo Cangying's eyebrows twitched upwards; he couldn't bear to watch any longer and coldly stated, “Monarch, why not consider those two characters in reverse?”

Fu... Nuo...

Nuo Fu...

Coward!

Helian's eyes widened. The injury he had barely managed to suppress, hovering on the edge of collapse, was suddenly struck hard, bursting forth like a dam.

“Pfft!”

He vomited a torrent of blood, rolled his eyes, and instantly fell unconscious.

Yun Che flew above Helian Imperial City, his vision filled with shades of grey and yellow.

He still hadn't fully adapted to the presence of Abyssal Dust. However, the sticky discomfort was clearly fading with each passing hour.

And the invisible erosion from the Abyssal Dust... was almost imperceptible.

Qilin Abyss Realm, Qilin Divine Realm...

The place where the earth element of the Abyss was most active.

It was as if some guidance from the unknown.

By now, too many new thoughts had emerged in his mind.

When the Evil God threw the earth-element Evil God Seed into the Abyss back then, was it truly just to prevent the Evil God's profound veins from becoming complete and generating power beyond the realm's tolerance?

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, through her keen perception of dark elements, had detected anomalies in the Abyss.

As for the Evil God, he possessed an extremely strong affinity for water, fire, lightning, wind, earth, and darkness. Although not as extreme as the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's affinity for darkness, upon careful consideration, the possibility of him discovering the Abyss's anomalies seemed even greater than hers by several points.

If it were presupposed that he had already discovered the anomalies in the Abyss... Since Jie Yuan couldn't delve deep into the Abyss, neither could the Evil God. So, if he threw an Evil God Seed into the Abyss...

Could it have been for...

Yun Che didn't ponder further, because, regarding the timing, it should be about right.

He looked ahead, muttering:

“Three,”

“Two,”

“One.”

“Young Master Yun Che!”

Helian Lingzhu's somewhat urgent call came from behind.

Yun Che stopped. Helian Lingzhu had also caught up, a faint flush of anxiety on her face.

“Has the Grand Princess specifically come to see me off?” Yun Che turned his gaze, smiling at her.

Helian Lingzhu neither nodded nor shook her head. She looked at Yun Che, her eyes brimming with emotion. “Are you... really leaving?”

“Of course,” Yun Che replied. “I have severely offended your imperial father. If it were a slightly more resolute monarch, I would likely have been apprehended long ago. Naturally, I cannot remain.”

“Speaking of which, after how I treated your imperial father, does the Grand Princess not blame me?”

Helian Lingzhu shook her head without hesitation. “I know my imperial father best. Though the words you spoke to him were insulting, every single one was true. If only someone capable of reining him in had said these things to him earlier.”

A faint sadness gradually crept into her voice.

Yun Che's eyelids lowered slightly, his gaze showing a hint of pity. “Your recent solitary trip to the Misty Sea, were you worried about... the Qilin God Convention?”

“Yes,” Helian Lingzhu nodded slightly. “For profound practitioners cultivating earth-element profound arts, the Qilin Divine Realm is a sacred land for cultivation, breakthroughs, and opportunities. It is crucial for the growth of both the current generation and future generations.”

“Originally, Helian ruled supreme in the Qilin Abyss Realm. Who could enter the Qilin Divine Realm was decided by the Helian imperial family alone. At that time, whenever the Qilin Divine Realm was about to open, all major forces would desperately curry favor with the imperial family, hoping to allow their exceptionally talented descendants to enter.”

All that past glory had now turned to dust, distant and unattainable.

“Later, the three sects—Panxuan, Wanren, and Liesha—gradually rose, and Helian began to slowly lose absolute control over the Qilin Divine Realm. Thus, the Qilin God Convention came into being.”

“The purpose of the Qilin God Convention is to determine the ‘allocation’ of the Qilin Divine Realm among the four major forces. The ranking decides the number of people each force can send into the Qilin Divine Realm. And the ranking itself is determined by the competition among the younger generation, those under six hundred years of age.”

“In that case,” Yun Che said unreservedly, “I imagine the Helian imperial family has been at the bottom of the rankings for the past few eras.”

“Yes...” A greater desolation appeared on Helian Lingzhu's face. “And by my imperial father's generation, he seemed to have resigned himself to fate. He sought no advancement, only temporary peace, avoiding the three sect masters whenever possible... After the incident with Mo Beichen, his will became even more depressed. He swallowed the provocations from the three sects time and again. Even when his bottom line was crossed, he only dared to curse behind their backs, never confronting them directly.”

From controlling the entire realm to settling for a corner, how sorrowful and ironic it was.

Helian Lingzhu continued, “Over the years, the Bailin Alliance has gradually grown powerful. My master and I warned imperial father multiple times that if another major force rose, the Helian imperial family might lose its qualification to enter the Qilin Divine Realm. If that happened, the Helian imperial family would be completely... cut off from its future.”

“But imperial father said that the Bailin Alliance focuses on faith and has no ambition. He claimed that if they truly rose too quickly and became a threat, there would be no need for the imperial family to act; the Three Sects would suppress them. His reason was that the Three Sects could even less tolerate anyone threatening their control over the Qilin Divine Realm.”

“Imperial father is always like this, always seeking peace and stability, always handing the initiative over to others... And when a true opportunity arose, he ordered the cessation of protection for Mo Beichen's wife and daughter, using the excuse ‘exceptions must not be made to dishearten others.’”

Her eyes were misty with tears. She was unburdening herself; even in front of the most familiar and trusted Mo Cangying, she had always maintained her most resilient facade, never before feeling such an intense desire to confide.

“I heard rumors about the Bailin Alliance possibly participating in the Qilin God Convention a month ago, but imperial father didn't believe it. He still firmly believed that the Three Sects would absolutely not allow anyone to threaten their control over the Qilin Divine Realm. My Imperial Brother, the Crown Prince, always obeys imperial father's every word... Therefore, all I could do was seek a breakthrough within myself.”

“If a fifth force truly joins the Qilin God Convention... if I can achieve a breakthrough and become a Divine Master, the likelihood of the worst outcome would at least be reduced by a few points...”

“But,” she shook her head, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, “the reality is many times worse than even the worst outcome I imagined.”

“I can no longer... see a future.”

She was exhausted, utterly drained.

Yun Che raised a hand, a tiny flicker of crimson flame at his fingertip, which dissipated the tear stains on Helian Lingzhu's face and cast a warm glow upon her desolate heart.

“Perhaps the outcome isn't so bad,” Yun Che said with a smile. “At the very least, you don't need to give up on this Qilin God Convention as they wish you would.”

Helian Lingzhu was startled, then softly said, “But is there truly still hope? The Bailin Alliance isn't the rising power we expected; instead, they are powerful enough to make the Three Sects submit. Even the Abyssal Knights witnessing this Qilin God Convention are from the Bailin Alliance... How could there still be a place for us Helian in the Qilin Divine Realm?”

He looked into Helian Lingzhu's eyes. “Do you trust me?”

Facing his eyes, as clear as a mirror lake, Helian Lingzhu nodded without any hesitation. “Yes, of course, I trust you.”

“Then fully persuade your imperial father to participate in this Qilin God Convention. I have my own way of ensuring you gain the qualification to enter the Qilin Divine Realm.”

Yun Che's tone was gentle and calm. What seemed to Helian like a hopeless, impossible matter, sounded in Yun Che's words like a trivial task that could be done with ease.

Helian Lingzhu's lips parted, speechless for a moment.

“My doing this is both to repay your kindness and to serve my own selfish interests,” Yun Che said with complete candor. “I wish to enter and observe the Qilin Divine Realm.”

After all, the Qilin Divine Realm was established by the Abyssal Emperor, and Abyssal Knights would be present during its opening. Sneaking in carried extremely high risks, and forcing one's way in would be courting death.

Entering alongside others was undoubtedly the most logical, even almost the only option.

Without asking why Yun Che wished to enter the Qilin Divine Realm, or even how he would ensure the Helian imperial family won the qualification, she averted Yun Che's direct gaze, her voice suddenly softening. “You had no prior grievance with Ximen Qi, yet you so heavily humiliated and gravely injured him. Was it merely to... repay kindness?”

Despite being of royal blood, when facing the Three Sects, she had always had to swallow her anger and endure humiliation.

Including her imperial father, never... never had anyone protected her dignity or sought justice for her in such a manner.

“...Not entirely,” Yun Che replied.

Those three brief words sparked boundless conjecture.

A strange delight welled up in her heart, almost uncontrollably spilling onto her cheeks. She lifted her delicate head, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on Yun Che's nearby face. “Alright, I will do my best to persuade imperial father. If he doesn't listen, I'll go... seek an audience with the Grand Ancestor.”

“So, you're not... leaving for now, right?”

“Mm!” Yun Che nodded.

In truth, even if Helian Lingzhu failed to persuade him, Yun Che still had another path.

His earlier merciless verbal abuse of Helian wasn't for the sake of insult itself. After all, a spineless monarch, even with half-step Divine Master cultivation, wasn't worth him deliberately wasting his breath.

It was to enrage him.

And extreme anger inevitably attacks the heart.

His heart veins were entwined with the half-god power left by Mo Beichen, and what he feared most was becoming enraged.

Helian had already been provoked to cough blood by Zhaolian Cheng and Ximen Qi, and then came Yun Che's heart-piercing, soul-stabbing words... Yun Che could see that the injury to his heart veins had fully erupted, barely suppressed with all his might, nearing complete collapse and loss of control.

If he were to be dealt another blow...

That's why, before leaving, he specifically “gifted” him the two characters “Funuo.”

By the time he understood the true meaning of those two characters, he should have pretty much fainted from anger.

Yun Che had previously thoroughly examined the condition of his heart veins. Today's level of repeated, heart-consuming fury was almost enough to drive Helian to a desperate situation.

And when faced with a dead end, who would he think of?

He had previously refused in anger.

If he were to seek help again... well, that would be a different price.

Helian Lingzhu left. Before departing, she exchanged sound transmission imprints with Yun Che and also provided him a place to stay... an outer hall on the outskirts of the imperial city that she used for quiet cultivation.

In the distance, Mo Cangying's figure wavered. He took a step, seemingly wanting to say something to Yun Che. But immediately, his steps and figure quickly retreated and hid. A few breaths later, he quietly departed.

Yun Che turned around, the warmth and pity in his eyes instantly transforming into a profound, icy stillness.

This was his third day in the Abyss.

The first path he had envisioned before coming to the Abyss had been laid out so quickly.

The Qilin Divine Realm was very likely the crucial place for him to gain a complete Evil God Profound Vein and thus break through his current limits.

If all went smoothly.

Then he, Yun Che, would become a complete, true...

Evil God of the present world!