Chapter 2015: Angry Abyss

Ku Qian frowned slightly. He couldn't understand anything Long Jiang was muttering.

Ku Qian was nearing the end of his life, and his knowledge and experience far surpassed everyone present. Long Jiang had not only revealed herself to be an Ancestral Dragon, but the talent she displayed far exceeded any record he had ever encountered concerning Ancestral Dragons—it was vastly superior.

Killing Long Jiang, no matter how perfectly concealed, would have consequences far more complex than they imagined. Yet, with the opportunity for "Demigod" status before them, reason was abandoned. What he found even harder to comprehend was why someone with Long Jiang's astonishing talent, who would undoubtedly be revered among the Dragon race, would conceal her identity and come here alone—and all for a single Azurebone Orchid, which wasn't even a top-tier divine item for a race of their caliber.

Without another word, Ku Qian sighed inwardly one last time. His withered hand gathered a fatal ball of profound light and blasted it straight towards Long Jiang's head.

But before this destructive force could reach Long Jiang, a violently surging gust of wind had already slammed into him, shattering the power in his hand instantly.

"…!?" Ku Qian turned around in astonishment… In the spot where he had just stood, Yun Che's figure now stood. He instinctively began to speak but suddenly his expression changed.

In his eyes, Yun Che, at any given moment, even when facing an Abyssal Knight, exuded a certainty and disdain utterly incongruous with his age. It was as if nothing here was worthy of even the slightest emotional stir from him.

But now, the aura around him was so chaotic that even the surrounding space seemed subtly churned. Within this turmoil, there was a distinct malevolence… a malevolence that made his ancient soul tremble.

"Yun Che, what are you doing!" Xi Men Borong snarled, his voice and expression grim.

"Esteemed Nephew Yun?" Helian also frowned deeply.

This sudden scene caught everyone off guard, but it was far from an uncontrollable anomaly. The crowd's reaction was merely surprise, a slight wariness, and a naturally rising hostility.

"Brother Yun?" Mo Cangying quickly followed, "What… are you doing?"

Yun Che didn't respond to anyone. He was trying his best to calm his aura and emotions, but he couldn't soothe them in the slightest. Kneeling heavily in the blood-stained yellow sand, his trembling fingers clutched Long Jiang's broken left arm. His voice was hoarse and urgent: "Who are you? Who exactly are you… that phrase just now… where did you hear it from!"

"Wandering clouds and chaotic winds caress the clear mist, embraced by Xi, ten thousand flowers sleep..." This was a verse he had casually recited amidst a sea of flowers in the Samsara Forbidden Land, while holding Shen Xi, his soul stirred. Shen Xi often teased him with it afterward.

Such embarrassing fourteen characters, Yun Che naturally wouldn't speak to others. The only ones in the world who knew were him, Shen Xi, and He Ling.

If one were to count another, it was when he took Yun Wuxin back to the Samsara Realm after becoming emperor, and, facing the desolate landscape, he recited it with a sense of melancholy.

But this was the Abyss! The Abyss, completely isolated from that world!

Why would she know! Why would this Ancestral Dragon named Long Jiang…

Had she met Shen Xi?

Was Shen Xi not dead, but here instead…

Could it be…

She isn't dead…

She… she…

Yun Che bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain finally brought him a modicum of clarity, but the hand clutching Long Jiang's left arm still trembled uncontrollably.

His mental defenses now were far stronger than they had been years ago, and since entering the Abyss, he had been in a state of extreme cold sobriety every moment. Even suddenly learning news about Shen Xi wouldn't cause him to lose control to this extent.

An inexplicable sharp pain in his heart… a complete chaos in his soul… why was this happening…

Yun Che's voice, close to her ear, caused Long Jiang to slowly lift her head.

When her face fully came into Yun Che's view, his eyes instantly froze.

It wasn't because of the two terrifying black marks, but… her eyes.

Even though the light in her pupils had scattered, these eyes still reflected a thousand layers of dazzling light and held ten thousand layers of illusionary dreams.

"Shen… Xi…" he whispered, lost, just as he had when he first saw Shen Xi.

Those eyes were the most beautiful star-lake Yun Che had ever seen in his life, an abyss he was willing to fall into eternally… and it was those eyes that had once kept a Divine Realm supreme like Long Bai immersed in an illusionary dream for hundreds of thousands of years, unwilling to awaken.

And Long Jiang, standing before him, possessed eyes so remarkably similar.

She…

She is…

"Heh…" Facing Yun Che's instantly drained eyes, Long Jiang laughed, her blood-stained smile filled with deep mockery and sorrow: "Yun Che… I'm surprised… you still remember my mother's name…"

The blood throughout Yun Che's body seemed to freeze for an instant, then surged to his head the next: "Your… mother…"

"Shen Xi… is your… mo… ther…?" The short phrase was spoken with such difficulty amidst his completely uncontrolled thoughts.

Shen Xi…

Mo… ther…

She… Long Jiang… a mere half-cycle of sixty years old…

Time Black Tide…

Nine years ago…

His thoughts were so chaotic, yet they overlapped perfectly… In an instant, Yun Che felt as if struck by ten thousand bolts of lightning.

He lunged forward, his voice breaking into a roar: "Then your father… who is your father! Could it be… could it be…"

Long Jiang still smiled, cold and mocking: "I have no father… that person isn't worthy… of being my father!"

Though he was close enough to touch her, those eyes so strikingly similar to Shen Xi's held a piercing rejection and distance: "Even the name 'Yun Xi' my mother gave me… I long ago abandoned!"

Yun Che's pupils suddenly dilated.

Yun… Xi…?

In a daze, two bamboo slips buried deep in the Samsara Forbidden Land appeared before his eyes.

One was engraved with "Xi," the other with "Yun."

No…

It wasn't "Xi Yun" as he had thought.

But…

Yun Xi!

Amidst a dizzying whirl, his greatest past confusion… the reason why Long Bai, who had silently guarded Shen Xi for hundreds of thousands of years, had lost control in a rage and suddenly attacked her… powerfully pierced through Yun Che's soul sea.

When he had decisively left the Samsara Forbidden Land for the Star God Realm back then, Shen Xi… was already pregnant…

She had named her… Yun Xi.

Similar eyes…

A strangely familiar soul…

A sharp pain, as if his heart had been pierced…

Completely disordered rationality…

So…

She is Shen Xi's daughter!

She is Shen Xi's and… my daughter!

She is my daughter!

Even without anything else, just those eyes were undeniable proof.

His entire body's blood surged in turmoil, and his mind was like a turbid sea wildly churned… He bit down hard on his tongue again, drawing a mouthful of metallic-tasting blood.

As his thoughts slowly cleared, his gaze fell upon the bloodstains at the corners of her lips, her blood-soaked outer robe, the blood holes piercing her body, and the yellow sand beneath her, constantly spreading with blood…

His heart twisted in agony as if torn by a thousand blades, and the hand gripping her broken left arm hastily released its grip.

Saying nothing more, Yun Che closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath… When his eyes opened again, they were like a dark abyss.

Under the varied gazes of the crowd, he slowly extended his left arm, cradling Long Jiang with one arm and holding her close to his chest. The profound energy silently released from him gently and slowly enveloped her body.

The feeling of their bloodline connection was so clear, just as it was when he held Yun Wuxin.

So, I have another daughter…

I never even knew I had another daughter…

Shen Xi back then… what kind of situation must she have been in… what kind of despair…

Long Jiang didn't struggle or resist, but there was no warmth in her scattered dragon eyes.

"Yun Che, what are you doing?" Xi Men Borong narrowed his eyes.

His answer came in the form of a crimson sword gleam.

The Heaven Smiting Sword emerged, its weighty presence annihilating the wind and sand, and pressing down upon everyone present.

"Get lost," he said, his left arm tightening around Long Jiang, his right hand gripping the sword. His cold voice betrayed no emotion: "Whoever blocks me, dies."

These few words made everyone's expressions change, followed by a sinister laughter.

"Hahahahaha, this is truly interesting," Zai Kexie wasn't angered; instead, he laughed with amusement. "Lord Helian, it seems your 'esteemed nephew Yun' wishes to give us a pleasant surprise."

Everyone knew that after the incident at Zhailian City, Zai Kexie absolutely yearned to tear Yun Che into ten thousand pieces with his own hands.

Before this moment, it had been difficult for him to act. But now… Yun Che was clearly delivering himself into his hands!

Yun Che's background and origins no longer mattered. Long Jiang, with her background, had already been targeted for death… With their retreat completely cut off, killing Long Jiang was one kill, and killing two was the same!

Plus, he could take revenge and vent his anger!

"Esteemed Nephew Yun, what are you doing…?" Helian was clearly dumbfounded. "What were you saying about her father just now? Could it be… you have ties to the Ancestral Dragon lineage, and you know her father?"

He absolutely did not want to lose Yun Che, his strong backing. He had already imagined the scene of Helian Lingzhu marrying into the Divine Kingdom countless times.

But if he truly had some deep connection with Long Jiang, and was trying to take her away…

Yun Che didn't reply. He slowly stepped towards them, the crimson greatsword in his hand releasing an increasingly heavy sword might with every breath.

"Hahahaha, how very interesting." Wan Wei let out a loud laugh. "No matter his origin, he's still a young man, still thinking he can act fearlessly as he does outside. Failing to see the situation… will lead to an early demise."

"Yun Che!" Helian's voice also darkened, like a final warning.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

His footsteps on the quicksand sounded like striking bedrock, directly shaking their hearts.

"Brother Yun! Put her down… Brother Yun!!" Watching Yun Che get closer and closer to Helian and the others, Mo Cangying urgently shouted. "He's willing to die to save her? Heh… Lord Helian," Xi Men Borong said grimly, "you should know the consequences if Long Jiang leaves alive. And this Yun Che clearly has some special connection with her… If Long Jiang dies and Yun Che lives, what do you think he'll do after leaving the Qilin Divine Realm?"

"Right now, we should be glad he suddenly acted foolishly. If he had kept his intentions hidden… the consequences would have been unimaginable!" Zai Kexie's gaze turned to Helian, his voice suddenly deepening: "Lord Helian, his stance is perfectly clear. Surely you don't still intend to protect him?"

"..." Helian's features twitched, and he finally spoke: "Ku Qian, apprehend him!"

He shouted "apprehend," not "kill," clearly still harboring some illusions.

Ku Qian acknowledged the order, raising his wide sleeve… but just as he was about to strike, his body suddenly stiffened.

He was closest to Yun Che and keenly felt his aura at that moment… and those eyes that had become incredibly terrifying.

The Yun Che in his sight had become utterly unfamiliar; he was clearly a completely different person from before!

The darkness and ruthlessness contained within that gaze… it was as if he had bathed in the blood sea of the Nine Netherworlds and trodden over a mountain of ten thousand corpses!

He had never in his entire life endured such a terrifying aura and gaze.

While Ku Qian was momentarily dazed, Mo Cangying had already rushed over: "Wait! Master, don't act! Brother Yun has absolutely no connection with her; otherwise, he would have intervened from the beginning, not waited until now."

He had quickly moved between Yun Che and Ku Qian: "There must be some hidden reason here. Let me try to find out the truth first, then everyone can decide how to proceed."

Without waiting for a response, Mo Cangying directly faced Yun Che, his expression extremely solemn: "Brother Yun, you are smarter than anyone. You should know you can't save her… It's still not too late to put her down now."

Yun Che's footsteps felt like violent stomps on Mo Cangying's heart, and those black eyes, like an endless abyss, made his heart suddenly pound.

Mo Cangying gritted his teeth, then suddenly shot up, condensing destructive rock-light in his hand, reaching directly for Long Jiang.

Ku Qian was horrified: "Don't go near him!!"

Boom—

Mo Cangying's figure froze in mid-air. The destructive rock-light in his hand had not even touched Long Jiang before it completely dispersed.

His expression was blank, and his rapidly fading pupils slowly lowered, staring in disbelief at the crimson greatsword that had pierced through his body.

"I said… whoever blocks me… dies…" Yun Che's voice was deep and hoarse. His dark eyes held none of the familiar warmth and gentleness that Mo Cangying knew, but instead looked down with indifference, as if at a lowly ant: "Are you… deaf…?"

Bang!!

The mighty sword power ruthlessly erupted, instantly shattering Mo Cangying's body into scattered fragments of bone and flesh that flew everywhere.