Chapter 2119: Breaking (Part 1)

The distorted and blurry image changed silently like ripples spreading across water, but it was still within the Temple of Life.

“Master, who is she? She’s so cute.”

She looked at the young girl sleeping peacefully within the crystal and uttered an amazed exclamation.

Yun Che’s soul suddenly trembled.

Although the images and sounds were severely distorted and blurry, Yun Che still instantly recognized that it was Shen Xi’s figure and Shen Xi’s voice.

However, this voice carried the vivacity of a young girl, unlike the faint, ethereal tone he was familiar with.

Li Sa said softly, “She will be my adopted daughter in the future, and she will also be a very good friend to you. I just haven't had time to give her a name yet.”

“As for a name…” Shen Xi thought for a moment and then said playfully, “Today, all the Wanhu flowers in the Sacred Garden are in full bloom; they’re truly beautiful, as if they’re welcoming her arrival. So, how about we call her Wanhu?”

Li Sa smiled faintly and nodded slightly. “Good.”

Her voice was always so gentle and graceful, and carried a hint of indulgence, but it lacked the majestic authority befitting a supreme deity.

A voice came from outside the temple: “Ling Zhen, the current Clan Chief of the Sword Spirit Divine Clan, has answered your summons to pay respects to Lady Li Sa.”

“Xi'er, please step aside for now.”

“Yes, Master,”

A tall man, whose noble righteousness was unmistakable even in the blurry memory fragments, walked in quickly and bowed deeply: “Your humble servant, Ling Zhen, greets Lady Li Sa. May I know why Lady Li Sa has summoned me?”

Li Sa did not answer immediately, but instead turned her gaze to the girl in the crystal.

Ling Zhen followed her gaze and immediately gasped in surprise: “The Eternal Pivot!?”

“Your humble servant remembers that the Eternal Pivot was given by Lord Xike to Lord Ni Xuan. It contains eternal power and serves as the keystone of the Elemental Divine Tower, ensuring the Elemental Divine Tower stands eternally. Why is it here? And the girl inside…”

He stopped speaking, not daring to say more.

Li Sa said, “There is no longer an Elemental Creation God in this world, nor is there an Elemental Divine Tower.”

Ling Zhen frowned and looked up, filled with endless astonishment.

“You need not ask further. This is fate; it cannot be changed.” Her voice carried a sorrow and helplessness rarely heard from a Creation God.

“I summoned you today because I wish to entrust this young girl to you.”

Ling Zhen respectfully replied, “Your humble servant will naturally obey Lady Li Sa’s command. However, why me?”

Li Sa calmly explained, “Her name is Wanhu. Her body and soul are both extremely special. I have reshaped her body and soul. However, one part of her soul is a sword soul. This sword soul had a half-missing part, yet it was still incredibly unique. I repaired it completely with my Holy Light power, but no matter what I do, I cannot make it truly integrate with her body.”

“Clan Chief Ling Zhen, in the past, your young daughter Si Yao died prematurely due to misfortune. To remember her eternally, you preserved her sword soul. I hope you can merge Si Yao’s sword soul with hers, using it as a guide, so that the new sword soul can integrate with her body. Once she awakens, she will be your daughter, Ling Zhen’s daughter.”

Ling Zhen’s eyes twitched violently. He suddenly knelt heavily and said with a trembling voice: “Lady Li Sa’s sacred command, I, Ling Zhen, would gladly accept even if it meant ten thousand deaths. But… but my young daughter Si Yao had a tragic fate. As her father, I owed her so much throughout her life, and every time I remember her, I am filled with unbearable pain. Her sword soul is her last memento left in this world.”

“Only this matter, only when it involves Si Yao, I beg Lady Li Sa to retract this sacred command…”

Li Sa spoke softly, “She is Ni Xuan’s daughter.”

Ling Zhen’s voice abruptly stopped. He turned his gaze and stared fixedly at the young girl in the Eternal Pivot. Suddenly, he shook his head vigorously and declared with utmost resolve: “The kindness of Lord Ni Xuan is something my Sword Spirit Divine Clan can never repay through ten thousand generations. From this day forward, she is my daughter, Ling Zhen’s daughter! She is the most esteemed little princess of my Sword Spirit Divine Clan.”

“I, Ling Zhen, swear on my life that I will grant her a life of peace and joy. Even if my entire clan perishes, I will ensure she suffers not the slightest sorrow or harm.”

Every word he spoke was firm and resounding, like a divine decree.

“Good.” Li Sa nodded gently. “With Clan Chief Ling Zhen’s words, Ni Xuan can certainly rest in peace.”

“However, do not let anyone, including herself, know of her true origins.”

“Lady Li Sa, please rest assured.” Ling Zhen’s voice still trembled: “I will not ask anything, and no one else will know either.”

The image dissolved into a vast expanse of white mist, and then completely dissipated.

“It seems these truly are the memory fragments you gave to Senior Evil God,” Yun Che said, his emotions complex. “Perhaps it was to inform him of his daughter’s whereabouts. And Senior Evil God carefully treasured them, keeping them until his very last wisp of soul… Perhaps this was his only solace in his final years.”

So, this is how Hong’er came to join the Sword Spirit Divine Clan.

And her sword soul was incredibly complex: she inherited a fractured sword soul from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, which then had its dark components stripped away… reshaped by Ni Xuan’s power… repaired by Li Sa’s Holy Light power… and ultimately even merged with the complete sword soul of the Sword Spirit Clan Chief’s daughter.

The holy power of the sword she transformed into came from Li Sa… This perfectly matched the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s gritted-teeth conjecture at the time.

And her strange ability to devour swords and fuse the swords she consumed—could it be a heterodox power born from the amalgamation of various components from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, the Elemental Creation God, the Life Creation God, and the Sword Spirit Divine Clan?

“I’m a little curious,” Li Sa murmured, “what exactly was the secret that girl named Ni Jie wanted to tell me?”

Yun Che, however, had no interest in it. “The era of gods and devils has long ended,” he said. “Any secret from that era is no longer important.”

At this moment, he recalled a question the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had once asked him:

“Yun Che, tell me, should I merge their souls again?”

He had chosen to dissuade her, explaining that both Hong’er and You’er had already become individual beings. If they were merged, it would be akin to erasing their existence.

It was his words that made the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor decisively abandon that idea.

Thinking about it now, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor at that time had clearly determined at a glance that Hong’er and You’er could be re-merged, and that after their fusion, they would become the original Ni Jie.

This meant that Li Sa had agreed to Ni Jie’s request back then.

This was also why Hong’er, both in body and mind, had always remained a young girl, as if she would never grow up.

Back then, he had dissuaded the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor from merging Hong’er and You’er, so he naturally wouldn’t try to pursue that idea himself. Thus, this possibility, left open by Ni Jie’s request and Li Sa’s benevolence, did not deeply move him.

He even had a fleeting thought: Even if Hong’er, having undergone such strange transformations, could truly be re-merged with You’er, would the “restored” Ni Jie still be the same Ni Jie as before?

“Indeed, it’s not that important,” Li Sa agreed. “So, has this memory that Ni Xuan specifically left for you had a significant impact on you? For instance… has it changed your original state of mind, understanding, or… approach concerning ‘him’?”

Yun Che did not answer.

After a long silence, he seemed to murmur to himself: “The Punishing Heaven God Emperor mentioned two names… the Pangu Void-Breaking Mirror and the Nirvana Devil Reversing Orb.”

“He called them ‘Supreme Devil Artifacts,’ and described their power as a double lockdown of ‘space’ and ‘time.’ Even someone as powerful as the Punishing Heaven God Emperor could not break free.”

“The Devil Empress’s conjectures from back then have all come true. They are indeed the ‘Underworld Mirror’ and ‘Devil Orb’ that the Devil Empress spoke of.”

“The pierced Abyss passage, the Black Tide of Time, and the Cradle…”

Yun Che let out a long breath.

Li Sa asked, “Are you worried that both the Pangu Void-Breaking Mirror and the Nirvana Devil Reversing Orb are in ‘his’ hands?”

“It’s not worry,” Yun Che said, his voice slightly heavy. “It’s almost certain. Everything I know points to this.”

“Even so, there’s no need to worry too much,” Li Sa comforted him. “Although the Abyss’s power level is higher than the God Realm, it is still far from that of the God-Devil era. Therefore, the power of the Underworld Mirror and the Devil Orb certainly cannot fully recover to their ancient levels.”

“Furthermore, the Underworld Mirror and Devil Orb are ultimately devil artifacts, and ‘he’ is a god, destined to be unable to fully wield them. Based on what is currently known, ‘he’ needs to gather the power of all true gods in the Abyss every time he activates the Underworld Mirror, which should be due to this reason.”

Yun Che fell silent once more, the slow, steady beat of his heart echoing in his soul sea.

“It seems I need to adjust my strategy a bit.”

Within the Profound Formation of Tranquility, Yun Che slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he stepped out, he was met by Meng Kongchan, who had a knowing smile on his face. “Youngsters will be youngsters,” Meng Kongchan said. “You just couldn’t hold back, could you?”

Yun Che was momentarily startled, then understood.

He sensed Hua Caili’s aura, lingering not far away. She had clearly arrived earlier, but found it inconvenient to approach, and was waiting for him to meet her.

Yun Che smoothly asked, “Senior Divine Master, I wonder… if it’s convenient?”

“Convenient! Why wouldn’t it be convenient!” Meng Kongchan replied without hesitation. “Two perfect divine cores appearing in one era is an unprecedented dual miracle. It’s only natural for the two of you to interact.”

“However, if other divine kingdoms arrive, you still need to be mindful of appearances. You have a long future ahead of you; there’s no need to rush things now… especially with the Senluo Divine Kingdom.”

“I understand. Rest assured, Caili and I will certainly not do anything inappropriate before you have paved the way for us.”

Yun Che responded, then turned to Meng Jianxi and said, “God Child Xi, I’ll trouble you to keep an eye on the movements of other divine kingdoms. If any other divine kingdoms arrive, please inform me immediately via soul transmission.”

Stepping out of the courtyard, Yun Che immediately spotted Hua Caili’s figure. Even in this pure and beautiful sanctuary, like an illusory realm, her presence was still overwhelmingly captivating to the soul.

Hua Caili’s beautiful eyes sparkled, a smile bloomed on her face, and with a flash of magnificent sword light, she stood gracefully before Yun Che.

“Your Divine Father actually let you out?” Yun Che asked with a smile.

Neither of them moved closer, maintaining a restrained three-step distance.

“I had to make so many promises just to get out. And once any other divine kingdoms arrive, I have to go back.”

Hua Caili voiced her displeasure, but her eyes still curved in a smile. “Big Brother Yun, quickly come with me. I’ll take you to meet someone.”

“Uh… alright, where’s your aunt?”

“Auntie went to see the Grand Divine Official. There’s no danger in the Pure Land, so she won’t follow me.”

She led Yun Che, a smile on her face, her figure light and graceful as she flew towards a luminous white area in the north of the Pure Land.

At the same time, outside the Pure Land’s light barrier, a powerful roar echoed through the sky.

The main profound ark of the Senluo Divine Kingdom had already arrived.