Chapter 2028: Deep Abyss Dragon

The colorless profound energy was completely unrecorded, whether by the Guardian Yun Clan of the Illusory Demon Realm or the Heavenly Profound Yun Clan of the Northern Divine Region. There had never even been baseless rumors or fabrications about it. In other words, this was Yun Che's unique and anomalous profound energy, unprecedented in history.

The aura emanating from this newly formed profound energy was clearly...

With a thought from Yun Che, the profound energy instantly materialized, taking the form of an identical copy of himself right before his eyes. Unlike before, this time it was truly identical—without the slightest difference in appearance or aura. This meant that this mutated colorless profound energy could fully replicate Yun Che's complete power.

Yun Che's gaze sharpened. Suddenly realizing something, he immediately activated his Emperor Yama Realm. When he activated the Emperor Yama Realm, his complexion and pupils remained unchanged. There was no longer any turbulent surge of profound energy; it simply became incredibly calm, powerful, and concentrated. Every part of his body felt no strain whatsoever. This meant he could now maintain the Emperor Yama Realm as a true constant state, as effortlessly as breathing.

To his great disappointment, although the profound energy clone's aura changed accordingly, the power it contained remained the same as before, unaffected by the Heretic God Arts. The idea of a "fair" two-on-one fight was mercilessly quashed. It seemed that to maximize the profound energy's combat power, he would still need to rely on the profound energy phantasm. In its current state, the derived phantasm would undoubtedly be even more powerful.

After a brief moment of disappointment, his eyes suddenly narrowed sharply. The most distinct aspect of the profound energy's mutation, as he perceived it, was a qualitative change in its connection to his bloodline and soul. Although he hadn't tested it, he could feel with extreme clarity that its range of independent movement must have greatly expanded.

"Demonic Aura," Li Sa murmured softly. "It's just that I can't recall which demon race it originated from. I imagine such a unique and powerful bloodline ability must belong to a demon race of mid-tier or higher."

Yun Che did not respond. He suddenly raised his hand, reaching towards the profound energy clone's forehead, and then abruptly crushed the Abyssal Core in his hand. The dense abyssal dust immediately dispersed like collapsing water, then slowly spread over the profound energy clone under the pull of Yun Che's power, covering every inch of its body, as if dragging it into an eternal night. Not only its form, but even its aura, was almost perfectly concealed within. Yun Che watched silently, a profound and terrifying glint flickering in his eyes.

After a long time, he finally lowered his arm, and the profound energy retracted. The unguided abyssal dust immediately dispersed naturally. Yun Che had already turned and quickly departed, disappearing into the vast grey mist in an instant.

Time flowed on.

Northern Divine Region, Soul Stealing Realm.

Another pile of old ancient texts and stone tablets was meticulously scanned by Chi Wuyao's devil soul. The result was still nothing.

With a tearing sound, the soundproof barrier Chi Wuyao had casually set up was unceremoniously ripped apart. Immediately, an ankle, as white as snow and jade, swaying with a light gold skirt, appeared in view. "Devil Queen, people are currently in a panic, and the world is in chaos. Yet, as the reigning Empress, you've been holed up here, poring over these so-called ancient fragmented records that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe. If you don't show yourself soon, people might start guessing you've jumped into the Abyss with Yun Che."

Chi Wuyao rose, smiling as she extended a slender, fair finger. "Just give me what I asked for."

Qianye Ying'er let out a soft hmph. A golden spatial ring was tossed casually into Chi Wuyao's hand.

"Next time, you can just send someone to deliver such things," Chi Wuyao said, her charming eyes glinting with a half-smile. She naturally knew why Qianye Ying'er had come in person.

"...It's been twenty days," Qianye Ying'er said, her golden eyes, which usually held infinite grace, now looking dazed and lost. Today marked the twentieth day since Yun Che fell into the Boundless Abyss. Due to the Abyss's time distortion, more than half a year had already passed for him there.

Twenty days, once so fleeting. But since Yun Che's departure, throughout these twenty days, her mind hadn't known a moment of peace. She had felt the urge to jump into the Boundless Abyss with him no less than a hundred times. Yet each time she took a step, reason would pull her back with an iron grip. Moreover, the Boundless Abyss was now personally guarded by Jie Xin and Jie Ling; no one could even approach it.

"Although I planted eighty percent of my Nirvana Devil Soul in his soul sea, I couldn't sense him even for a split second after he jumped into the Abyss," Chi Wuyao said slowly. "All you can get from me is disappointment."

"If you can't calm your mind, why not use the resources of the Brahma Heaven God Realm to expedite the reconstruction of the Moon God Realm?"

"...Why?" Qianye Ying'er frowned, her expression instantly becoming complicated.

Chi Wuyao smiled, a hazy mist appearing in her devil eyes. "Because the most perfect outcome I can imagine from his journey into the Abyss is for him to return with Xia Qingyue."

Qianye Ying'er turned her snowy neck, preventing Chi Wuyao from seeing her gaze. "If Xia Qingyue is truly alive, and if they really return together... what good would rebuilding ten thousand Moon God Realms do? Can it compensate for her hatred of seeing me torn to shreds?"

Chi Wuyao did not answer, nor could she.

"It's not important," Qianye Ying'er turned back. "You said five years. If he doesn't return after five years..."

"I'll jump down with you," Chi Wuyao interjected without hesitation.

Five years in the God Realm equates to fifty years in the Abyss, the time when the next Abyssal通道 opens. If Yun Che doesn't return before then... only the worst outcome remains.

"But rest assured, he must be doing very well right now. Although it's only been half a year, he might have already reached a height beyond our imagination," Chi Wuyao said, smiling as she comforted Qianye Ying'er, and also herself. "After all, he's *this Queen's* man! How could he possibly perish in a mere Abyss?"

"No, he's *my* man first," Qianye Ying'er snorted softly. "Though you are the Queen, I came first!"

This rather childish double entendre made Chi Wuyao chuckle for a moment.

"Speaking of which, have you found any clues about what you're looking for?" Qianye Ying'er asked. Chi Wuyao's words had offered her some comfort, and the turmoil in her soul seemed to have calmed slightly.

Chi Wuyao shook her head. "No. In truth, even if I found any trace, I couldn't inform him. It's just that a persistent obsession drives me."

Qianye Ying'er rested her jade arms on her ample chest and said blandly, "Why are you so convinced that the Abyssal Emperor of the Abyss is a devil from the ancient demon race?"

"Because of the Underworld Mirror and the Devil Pearl," Chi Wuyao replied concisely and directly.

Qianye Ying'er raised an eyebrow and said casually, "I, on the other hand, think the Abyssal Emperor is more likely someone from the ancient God Race, and perhaps connected to the Brahma Heaven God Race."

"Oh?" Chi Wuyao became interested. "Your basis?" "Do you remember someone named Nan Zhaoming?" Qianye Ying'er's voice slowed. "At that time, before you arrived, Mu Xuanyin and I briefly clashed with him, completely unable to defeat him. But later, Qianye Wugu intervened to allow Mu Xuanyin and me to escape. At that moment, facing Qianye Wugu's golden Brahma Light, Nan Zhaoming's reaction... it was as if he was stunned in place, retreating with a single strike from Qianye Wugu without any resistance."

"…!" Chi Wuyao suddenly looked up.

"The situation was too urgent back then, and I had no time to ponder it deeply. But recently, I inadvertently recalled that scene. Nan Zhaoming's reaction was clearly one of extreme fear, not just ordinary fear," Qianye Ying'er continued. "Nan Zhaoming and Nan Zhaoguang call themselves 'quasi-knights,' barely considered subordinates of the Abyssal Emperor, right? For such people to be terrified to the point of nearly losing their souls in an instant... it makes me wonder if the Abyssal Emperor's profound light is similar to the Brahma Heaven Profound Light?"

Chi Wuyao's eyes narrowed tightly. "Why did you never tell me about this?!"

Qianye Ying'er gave her a side-eye. "The subsequent pursuit left no time for even a breath. When would I have had the leisure to tell you any of this?"

"..." Chi Wuyao was silent for a long time. Then, she suddenly remembered Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu's observation before they sacrificed their lives to save Yun Che: that their opponent had seemed quite wary of their golden Brahma Light, and that this new person might react similarly. At that time, Yun Che's throat was clutched by Mo Beichen's hand. Her entire mind and soul were consumed with how to rescue Yun Che, leaving no room for detailed thought. What followed was a relentless escape. Recalling it now, she was startled to realize she seemed to have overlooked something important.

"Brahma... Emperor..." Chi Wuyao frowned deeply, falling into profound thought as she murmured. But how could a Brahma Emperor control the Underworld Mirror? Could her conjecture about the Underworld Mirror be wrong?

"Hmm? Looks like I've successfully confused your thoughts; my trip wasn't in vain after all." Qianye Ying'er turned. "Take your time thinking. If, by any chance... if your devil soul senses any movement regarding him, you must inform me immediately."

"Qianying."

Just as Qianye Ying'er was about to leave, Chi Wuyao suddenly called out to her, then asked somewhat bewilderedly, "The Brahma Heaven God Race, the Star Gods, the Moon Gods... in ancient times, they were all divine races under the Heavenly Punishing God Emperor."

"Even they left behind divine power inheritances. So why did the Heavenly Punishing God Emperor not leave any inheritance behind?" Qianye Ying'er turned back, looking at her in confusion. "Among the Creation Gods and Devil Emperors who left inheritances, weren't there only the Heretic God and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor... oh, your Nirvana Devil Soul barely counts as one. No other inheritances were left, so what's so strange?"

"It's different." Chi Wuyao slowly shook her head. "Among the Four Creation Gods and Four Devil Emperors, the Life Creation God died from the sneak attack of the three Devil Emperors. The three Devil Emperors and the Order Creation God died from the Calamity of Mass Extinction; they didn't have time to leave any inheritances. The Nirvana Devil Soul I carry, strictly speaking, isn't an inheritance at all, but merely a wisp of soul essence that the Nirvana Devil Emperor barely managed to separate before his death, untainted by the poison."

"The Heretic God was once the master of the Sky Poison Pearl, thus possessing a unique resistance to the Calamity of Mass Extinction. That's why he perished many years after being afflicted by it, naturally having ample time to leave an inheritance before his demise."

"The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor returned to the world, bestowed her devil blood upon you and Yun Che, and also left behind the Eternal Night of Nihility."

"All of this proves that the power and bloodlines of Creation Gods and Devil Emperors can be inherited. The three Devil Emperors and two Creation Gods died suddenly, without the opportunity to leave anything behind. But the Heavenly Punishing God Emperor, Mo E... he was the only one who died of old age!"

"He had the most ample time among all Creation Gods and Devil Emperors to leave an inheritance."

"Yet in all ancient records, there's no information about an inheritor of his divine power. To this day, no trace of his divine inheritance has been found in later generations." Qianye Ying'er's mind was preoccupied with Yun Che's situation in the Abyss, and she clearly didn't care about this as much as Chi Wuyao. She casually remarked, "Perhaps he just didn't want to? After all, the Heavenly Punishing God Emperor was renowned as the most upright and solitary Creation God. Maybe he felt no one was worthy of inheriting the divine power of the First Creation God, so he simply let his divine power pass away with him forever."

These casual, seemingly thoughtless, and even counter-intuitive words made Chi Wuyao suddenly lift her head sharply, her devil eyes contracting slightly.

Chi Wuyao's unusual reaction made Qianye Ying'er frown. "What did you think of?"

Chi Wuyao didn't speak... Qianye Ying'er followed her visibly dazed gaze.

It was a fragmented stone tablet, covered in ancient dark markings, which Chi Wuyao had placed alone inside a small barrier. The stone tablet, made of an unknown material, had endured an incredibly long time yet hadn't turned to dust. The characters on it were all blurred, but it was clear they had been intentionally erased by force. Only three characters in the center seemed to have been intentionally spared from the full force, faintly discernible: one indistinct character, 'Owl,' and 'Butterfly.'

These brief characters, having traveled through countless years with the stone tablet, still faintly emanated a heartbreaking sorrow that seemed to pierce the soul.

The vast mist sea seemed boundless. Unbeknownst to him, Yun Che had been in the mist sea for half a year. He occasionally paused, occasionally moved forward, heading deeper into the mist sea. As the abyssal dust grew denser, the Abyssal Beasts appearing in the surrounding world became increasingly powerful. At this point, even a demigod would need to proceed with extreme caution, yet he moved unhurriedly, his gaze even more profound than the misty abyss itself.

At that moment, a terrifying low growl echoed from the right. It sounded like a dragon's roar, but far more hoarse and sinister, like that of a desperate devil dragon chained in a purgatorial blood pool, enduring myriad tortures. Soon, a complete dragon silhouette appeared in Yun Che's spiritual perception. The life aura he released stimulated the creature's destructive instinct. Beneath the abyssal dragon's roar, a power that was clearly at the Divine Extinction Realm surged. This was a Horned Dragon.

He was all too familiar with this dragon's silhouette. Back in the Flame God Realm, it was a Horned Dragon that had forced him to defile Mu Xuanyin. This destructive aura and oppressive feeling were likely at Divine Extinction Realm Level Two, posing a considerable threat to Yun Che. Yet, facing the approaching dragon silhouette, he showed no signs of alarm, his slowly advancing footsteps not even wavering. Just as the abyssal dragon's might was about to envelop him, the dragon silhouette suddenly froze... then slowly collapsed, and finally, as all its destructive aura receded, it assumed a quiet, prostrate position to Yun Che's right.

Yun Che finally made a move. He raised his arm, flicked a finger, and a wisp of profound light shot towards the abyssal Horned Dragon, embedding itself without resistance into its Abyssal Core. Thus, in this vast mist sea, the abyssal dust could carry his consciousness, allowing him to easily perceive the location of this abyssal Horned Dragon. An Abyssal Beast at the initial stage of the Divine Extinction Realm, it was currently the limit of what he could control. Since he encountered it, he naturally couldn't let it go.