Chapter 2042: Potentially Leading the Heart of Li

After the young woman finished speaking, her heart, which should have subtly relaxed, suddenly began to beat faster, its thumping sounds almost filling her entire soul sea.

During her time in the world, she had become increasingly aware of her own appearance. She had rejected countless advances and perceived too many gazes filled with infatuation or covetousness.

Yet now, after entering the Mist Sea—and for the first time in her life—she had actively invited a man. This strange sense of nervousness was utterly unfamiliar and complex.

First experiences in life are always filled with novelty and apprehension, and they are always unforgettable.

As expected, the man in front of her stared at her in astonishment, remaining silent for a long time.

Hua Cairi, of course, remembered her previous encounters with Yun Che; each time, he would quickly turn and leave, appearing completely unwilling to interact with her.

The phrase, "Because we are not people of the same world," had left an even deeper impression on her.

Given Yun Che's past actions, she wouldn't have been surprised at all if he had directly refused. Just as she was about to say something more, Yun Che nodded slightly, "Alright, then I accept your kind offer."

"Oh?" Hua Cairi made no attempt to hide her surprise, then playfully remarked, "I thought you'd refuse. Before, every time you saw me, you'd immediately walk away, not even giving me a chance to thank you, as if I had something terrifying about me."

"How could that be?" Yun Che smiled and shook his head, "For someone like you, Lady Immortal, even a single chance encounter in life is a great honor. How could anyone possibly avoid you? It was just that before..."

His smile faded slightly, and he said with a meaningful gaze, "I've already explained the reason. We are, after all, people from two different worlds. I knew I shouldn't get close to you, which is why I chose to withdraw."

"Why do you feel that way?" she asked, thinking for a moment, very seriously.

"Some things cannot be hidden," Yun Che said in an exceptionally calm tone. "Lady Immortal, your noble birth is evident at a glance. When we first met in Helian Imperial City within the Lin Yuan Realm, your words and actions made it clear to me that your lineage is of a nobility I could not imagine, a level I could never hope to reach."

His tone seemed to grow even more subdued. "People from different worlds should not intertwine."

Above the gray firmament, Hua Qingying's green eyes, fixed on Yun Che, suddenly became hazy, and a sharp pang shot through her heart.

She knew Yun Che was speaking of a truth, cruel in its reality, yet one that too many people refused to acknowledge.

Such words should have come from someone who had endured immense vicissitudes or suffered countless wounds, gaining profound enlightenment. They should not have come from a person barely sixty years old, who ought to be naive and impetuous.

Just like Hua Cairi, at this moment, she might grasp the superficial meaning, but she absolutely could not comprehend the true essence of his words.

"But if that's truly the case, we're both in a world called the Abyss, so how are we not people of the same world?" Hua Cairi blinked, arguing with clear disagreement. "And why are you willing to accompany me now? I was fully prepared for you to refuse."

"Of course, I cannot refuse the request of my savior," Yun Che replied candidly. "Actually, I always thought that a person like Lady Immortal would surely have a powerful guardian discreetly protecting them during their travels. So, before... I felt that my intervention would be meddling."

Hua Cairi's eyes flickered. No wonder...

"But it seems now that Lady Immortal is truly training alone."

Yun Che's words were logical and well-founded; after all, if he hadn't made a perilous move at the last moment, Hua Cairi would undoubtedly have perished by Fan Qingzhou's sword.

"My aunt said that if one relies too much on others during training, it's hard to make breakthroughs, and it doesn't count as true training. So..."

Her butterfly-like long eyelashes fluttered at just the right moment. She was clearly terrible at lying, so if she didn't voice the rest of her thought, allowing Yun Che to infer it himself, then it wouldn't count as her lying.

"I see," Yun Che said, then asked, "Aunt?"

"Yes! My aunt is also my master, and she's the one who encouraged me to come out and train," Hua Cairi said, lightly shifting her steps to stand beside Yun Che. "So, from now on, we're companions, right?"

Yun Che nodded very solemnly. "Very well. Lady Immortal, your life-saving kindness is such that even repaying it with my own life would not be excessive. Until you fully recover from your injuries, I will do my utmost to protect your safety."

Hua Qingying could hear the clear, rational detachment in his earnest words.

Given Hua Cairi's grace and lineage, anyone approaching her would inevitably harbor various ulterior motives.

Yet Yun Che, when faced with Hua Cairi's proactive approach, was...

This is what one becomes when endowed with profound light energy. Perhaps, just as records suggest, a soul of light cannot tolerate any worldly malice.

"Oh, by the way, I still don't know... Lady Immortal's immortal name?" His clear eyes showed a hint of expectation.

Hua Cairi lightly took a few steps forward, so his gaze could only fall upon her back. "My name is Qu Yixin."

Immediately after, she added a seemingly redundant explanation: "My aunt gave me this name."

With a dull thud, two abyssal beasts, still far from reaching them, were shattered in mid-air, silenced forever.

Yun Che cautiously scanned his surroundings again before slowly lowering his arm.

"So, your stay in the Lin Yuan Realm and your participation in the Lin God Assembly were all to repay the kindness of that imperial princess?" Hua Cairi asked, pressing him further.

Hua Cairi, walking beside him, pressed on with her questions, her extraordinarily vibrant spirits completely unaffected by the sudden appearance of the abyssal beasts.

"The sandstorm outside the Lin Yuan Realm was astonishing. I was severely injured at the time, and had it not been for Princess Helian's rescue, I don't know how long I would have been trapped in that sandstorm," Yun Che recounted casually. "As repayment, I temporarily joined the Helian Imperial Family to help them win the qualification to enter the Lin God Realm."

"I see. Back then, I actually thought you were the imperial princess's consort," Hua Cairi said, smiling.

Yun Che looked surprised and confused. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you were very close to each other. And between you two... well, it just gave off that impression. I think many people would have thought the same," she said, glancing at Yun Che's astonished expression, a playful glint in her eyes.

Since entering the Mist Sea, her mind had never been so relaxed; even her beautiful eyes seemed to sparkle with a myriad of stars.

Being alone in the Mist Sea required constant vigilance; even a moment's respite could lead to a sudden, perilous attack. Every single breath felt like being submerged in a suffocating and terrifying gray swamp.

But with a companion, one could be on guard while the other rested, reducing the pressure by more than half.

"How could that be?" Yun Che shook his head with a light laugh. "She is a revered imperial princess, while I am merely a rootless tumbleweed swept into the Lin Yuan Realm by a sandstorm. Had it not been for the kindness she showed, there would have been no possibility of any interaction between us."

"You always take kindness very seriously," Hua Cairi said, her steps much lighter than usual now that her heart was unburdened. "Then, after entering the Lin God Realm, did you personally see the legendary Lin God?"

Yun Che immediately shook his head, showing no trace of regret. "No. I had no interest in entering the Lin God Realm itself; I participated in the Lin God Assembly solely to repay Princess Helian's kindness. After entering the Lin God Realm with the Helian Imperial Family, I only stayed for a few short hours before leaving and then departing the Lin Yuan Realm."

"Ah?" Surprise spread across her half-jade-like face. "You just... left directly? Didn't the imperial princess try to keep you? They... especially she, should have been very reluctant to let you go."

Yun Che smiled and shook his head. "By helping the Helian Imperial Family gain the qualification to enter the Lin God Realm, I had fully repaid my debt of gratitude. Since our obligations were settled, I naturally had no reason to remain in the Lin Yuan Realm."

"As you thought, I also considered that she might try to keep me with great hospitality, and refusing her directly would surely hurt her feelings. My master once taught me that as a man, one may slay a woman's body, but never wound a woman's heart. So, I had no choice but to leave without saying goodbye."

"I see..." Hua Cairi tilted her head slightly, trying hard to understand Yun Che's words.

She had many questions she wanted to ask him, so many that for a moment, she didn't know where to begin.

Because there were truly too many things about him that she found deeply intriguing.

Especially... he was the person who had made even her aunt so curious.

After a long period of silence, the young woman suddenly looked to the side. "By the way, Young Master Yun, where are you from? And why are you traveling alone?"

"Origin?" Yun Che shook his head. "I have no origin."

"No... origin?" Hua Cairi couldn't understand. "How can a person have no origin? For instance, where is your home? Your parents, your relatives..."

Yun Che looked ahead. "In this world... I have no home, nor any parents or relatives."

His home, his parents, and his relatives were not in this Abyss World, but in another world.

He hadn't lied a single word.

But to Hua Cairi's ears, these were the most desolate words in the world, spoken in the calmest voice.

Hua Cairi's head instantly turned, stars seeming to shatter in her beautiful eyes, and her voice softened considerably. "Did... did something very significant happen?"

The man in her sight, however, shook his head once more, his tone as calm as before. "Since I came to this world, I have never had a home. As for parents and relatives, I have never even seen them, so how can I speak of an origin? The 'changes' you mentioned... they are changes for others, but for me, I've never even had the chance to experience such changes."

"Loss might bring pain, but at least there was something to possess. As for me... in this vast Abyss World, I have no origin, and no path back."

His voice was as calm as a gentle breeze, devoid of any emotion. Yet, to the young woman's ears, it caused her breathing to suddenly halt, and her soul felt as if it had been clutched by something heavy, experiencing an unbearable pang of pain.

Yun Che, however, suddenly turned his head, smiling into the young woman's tearful eyes. "Does that sound sad? Hahaha, actually, it's nothing to me at all. After all, it's been this way since I came to this world; I'm quite used to it."

Amidst his laughter, the stars in the young woman's eyes seemed to show even more cracks.

Yun Che, however, scoffed inwardly... Such heavy empathy. Could a disposition like this truly qualify her as a goddess of a Divine Kingdom?

Her path of training was far, far too long.

But for him, this was, of course, for the best.

At the same time, his doubts deepened... Based on the information he had gained in the Lin Yuan Realm and the fragmented memories he had extracted from the Dream Sea Continent, the name of the Divine Maiden Cairi of the Heaven-Folding Divine Kingdom had existed for at least several millennia.

In his understanding, those who had weathered millennia of change would remain unmoved even when facing mountains of corpses and seas of bones, let alone by the seemingly bleak past of an unrelated person.

Even if she had been perfectly protected and never entered the world before, she still had millennia of life experience. Could her understanding of human nature and the laws of survival truly be so shallow and naive?

"It's also possible that I might have possessed them once, who knows," he murmured casually.

The young woman's heart stirred, and she asked, "Are you saying... you've lost your past?"

Yun Che nodded. "When I awoke in this world, I faced endless darkness, and my master, who awakened me. My master told me I was about ten years old at the time, and my body and soul had suffered severe damage. Had I not met my master, I would have long since perished, body and soul."

"My damaged soul was also healed by my master using a miraculous method. To be able to reawaken was already considered a miracle by worldly standards. As for my past memories, they had all been completely destroyed and scattered, leaving no trace, and thus, I can naturally never access the past again."

His voice was calm and gentle, as if he were recounting an ordinary experience. There was no sadness, no melancholy, no resentment towards fate, not even a hint of longing for a lost past.

Hua Cairi stared at him, unconsciously stunned for a long time, before lowering her head and softly saying, "I've never met my mother. My birthday is actually the anniversary of her death."

Yun Che: "..."

"My father is very, very good to me, and my aunt, and... everyone is very good to me. But I still often think of the mother I never met, envying others who have a mother's love and scolding, and always regretting that my own life has an irreparable incompleteness."

She continued, "And during this training, I personally witnessed countless dark and tragic things I had never imagined before, especially... that one time I watched several newborn infants brutally abandoned and destroyed because of their insufficient innate qualifications, not even having the right to grow."

Misery made real before one's eyes was thousands of times more piercing than hearing it recounted. Yet, in this cruel world of the Abyss, most beings had long grown accustomed to it.

"It was also during this time that I gradually realized how incredibly fortunate my life already was."

She raised her eyes, looking at him again with comforting gaze. Just as she was about to speak, Yun Che shot her a sideways glance. "You're not trying to comfort me, are you? I've never considered myself tragic. On the contrary, I've always believed I am the luckiest person in this world."

"To be resurrected from death goes without saying. And to meet my master in this life is a grace that others could not even dream of for countless lifetimes."

At the mention of "master," his body almost instinctively straightened, his head tilted slightly, and his eyes, which never betrayed emotion even in perilous situations, filled with profound reverence.

"Your master must be a remarkable and extraordinary person," Hua Cairi said, lowering her voice, cautiously yet with a hint of probing, "His fame must be very great, mustn't it?"

Hua Qingying's attention instantly focused on Yun Che, scrutinizing every subtle change in his expression.

To defeat a Divine Extinction Realm expert with a Divine Master Realm cultivation, to possess five elemental energies, and the profound light energy that only exists in records... she was utterly curious as to who Yun Che's master could possibly be.

With her vast knowledge, there was no one she could recall who matched such a description.

Yun Che, however, shook his head, saying slowly and solemnly, "Sister Qu, you saved my life, and I shouldn't hide anything from you. However... my master's kindness to me is as vast as the heavens, but his demands are very few. One of them is that I must never reveal his identity to anyone outside."

Hua Cairi paused, then quickly said, "My apologies, I overstepped with my words."

Yun Che showed a hint of shame on his face, then hesitated before saying, "My master is actually not a person of this current age. In fact... he is not even a person, but an unscattered remnant soul. Other than me, he has no connection with anything in this world. Therefore, his reputation does not exist in this era either."

"My rescue was an accident, brought about by a thread of his good will... This is all I can tell you, Sister Qu, please forgive me."

His voice carried a hint of apology, leaving Hua Cairi feeling both a little warm and slightly apprehensive. She shook her head. "Of course, one must carefully follow a master's teachings. So, your master now..."

Yun Che smiled faintly. "After my master gave me everything, he has already dissipated into the heavens and earth. I have since entered the world alone, and unknowingly, many years have passed."

Above the firmament, Hua Qingying's brows furrowed, and a low murmur escaped her lips: "Ancient remnant soul?"

In the ancient Abyss, countless gods and devils once fell. As the abyssal dust gradually thinned and habitable lands appeared, some gods and devils barely managed to survive, while many more left behind remnant souls in different forms when they perished.

In ancient times, remnant souls from antiquity were often discovered, but they became increasingly rare as millennia passed. By the present day, one might not appear even in hundreds of thousands of years.

If Yun Che's "master" was an ancient remnant soul that had never appeared in the world, then the strange—one might even say impossible—abilities he possessed would finally have a sole explanation.

At the easternmost point of the world, the Wall of Primordial Chaos.

Chi Wu, Qianye Ying'er, and Shui Meiyin stood before the Wall of Primordial Chaos, their expressions all grave.

The directional guidance from various star realms, and the planetary fragments around them destroyed by the terrifying sound wave, all pointed to one conclusion: the source of that terrifying sound was not a particular planet or star realm, but the Wall of Primordial Chaos itself!

Shui Meiyin extended her hand, and the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear, now devoid of its crimson divine glow, touched the Wall of Primordial Chaos, which was flowing with the power of law. After a moment, she whispered, "It's intact. However, even if the Wall of Primordial Chaos were damaged, it would repair itself instantaneously. We cannot say what it was like before."

"This location..." Qianye Ying'er slowly exhaled. "It's almost the exact same spot where the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor broke through the wall and returned to the world back then."

"Could it be, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, and those Devil Gods under her command..."

"That's not possible," Chi Wu interjected, cutting Qianye Ying'er off before she could finish. "The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and her Devil Gods were able to exist in the outer chaos for so many years by relying on the space created by the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear in the outer chaos. Breaking through the Wall of Primordial Chaos was also accomplished through the power of the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear."

"When the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor departed, she left the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear in this world. Without the support of the Heaven Punishing Divine Power, that protective space in the outer chaos would have inevitably collapsed quickly. After so many years, there should be no possibility of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and her Devil Gods having survived."

She deliberately avoided mentioning one person... Jasmine, who had been cast into the outer chaos by Zhou Xuzi. Her existence was far too fragile compared to the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and the Devil Gods; she would have been directly annihilated almost the instant she was cast into the outer chaos.

"Even if they had truly survived, without the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor herself would have no way of breaking through the Wall of Primordial Chaos."

Chi Wu's words were all facts within their understanding. Qianye Ying'er and Shui Meiyin could not raise any objections.

When the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear behind, it sealed the fate of her and the Devil Gods to be utterly annihilated in the outer chaos very soon.

"It seems you already have an answer in mind?" Qianye Ying'er said.

Chi Wu nodded slightly. "I tried to search through the Nirvana Devil Emperor's knowledge. Similar situations appeared multiple times in ancient times, on average once every six million years. The cause was either the impact of outer chaotic matter or dimensional shockwaves triggered when spatial vortexes in the outer chaos touched the Wall of Primordial Chaos."

Qianye Ying'er pondered briefly. "That sounds like a reasonably acceptable explanation."

"There seem to be no other possibilities. It can't be that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor possesses another Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear."

Chi Wu turned her gaze away from the Wall of Primordial Chaos. "Currently, all beings in the God Realm are gripped by the terror brought by the Abyss. To calm them to this extent has been incredibly difficult, and no further chaos can be allowed."

She extended a finger, and a rather massive dark sound transmission profound array unfolded before her.

"This sound wave was caused by the impact of outer chaotic matter against the Wall of Primordial Chaos. It has now completely subsided, with no lingering repercussions. Jin, quickly relay this explanation to all realms to reassure the populace."

The sound transmission profound array retracted, and Chi Wu resolutely turned away. "The Wall of Primordial Chaos exists outside of fundamental laws; even with ten thousand times more effort, one could not gain the slightest insight into it. Since we have found the only possible cause, there is no need to expend more energy on it."

Qianye Ying'er and Shui Meiyin said nothing more. The three women departed, each with her own thoughts.

Chi Wu was never one to make hasty decisions. She had found the most probable and suitable explanation for the immediate situation, yet a hidden current continued to surge deep within her soul, lingering for a long time.

With the fragmented memories of the Nirvana Devil Emperor integrated into her, Chi Wu's understanding far surpassed that of any living being in the current age.

Even powerful figures like the ancient Creation Gods and Devil Emperors could absolutely not break through the Wall of Primordial Chaos.

According to the Nirvana Devil Emperor's knowledge, the only entities capable of breaking open the Wall of Primordial Chaos were the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword, the Sky Poison Pearl, and the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear with its extreme spatial divine power!

The Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword had left no trace since ancient times, and the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear, in Shui Meiyin's hands, was already depleted of divine power.

And the Sky Poison Pearl...

Chi Wu's breath suddenly hitched.

But immediately, that fleeting thought was completely erased.

The Sky Poison Pearl had been cast into the outer chaos along with Jasmine, the Heaven Murdering Star God. At that time, the Sky Poison Pearl had already completely deteriorated with the changes in chaos. Although Jasmine, transformed into a 'Devil Infant,' could slay Divine Emperors, she was far inferior to Mo Beichen, who possessed semi-divine might.

In other words, the power of the Sky Poison Pearl in this era was even far less than that of a demigod. Compared to the Devil Gods of the outer chaos, it was as insignificant as dust.

Such a Sky Poison Pearl could not have survived in the outer chaos, let alone release power capable of shaking the Wall of Primordial Chaos.

Chi Wu secretly exhaled, trying her best to suppress all other thoughts.

With the Calamity of the Abyss looming overhead, and Yun Che alone in a perilous situation... this world, fraught with misfortune, absolutely could not afford any more disasters.

On the other side, Shui Meiyin clasped the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear tightly in her hands, an inexplicable tremor running through her soul sea.

Just now, when it touched the Wall of Primordial Chaos, the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Spear... trembled?

Was it an illusion...?