A black shadow flashed and Chi Wuyao appeared right in front of Hua Jin. A hand as white as jade porcelain stretched out from within the black smoke and gently rested against Hua Jin’s chest. A darkness profound formation instantly formed underneath it.

Immediately, a thin layer of black light covered Hua Jin’s entire body and the gloomy dark green light glowing in her eyes began to slowly recede. However, her eyes were still widened with unprecedented shock as she stared blankly into space. “Master, this is…”

“It’s the Sky Poison,” Chi Wuyao said. That hand which looked like it had been sculpted by the heavens slowly withdrew at this moment. The moment it receded into the black mist, the contrast between her pearly-white skin and the pitch-black smoke was blindingly intense. “The level of the Sky Poison Pearl’s devilish poison is too high, I am unable to destroy it. I was only able to forcefully suppress it. After this, we’ll have to wait for its ‘lifespan’ to run out on its own.”

“It was only a tiny amount of poison. You’re strong enough to control it, so there’s no need to panic. Two days from now, around this time, it should dissipate on its own.”

Back then, Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had laid a trap for Qianye Fantian using the Sky Poison Pearl’s poison and he had fallen for it completely. The main reason he had been completely taken in by their trick was because he had given in to the terror and despair of not being able to destroy or purge the Sky Poison. He had also been clueless of the fact that the poison released by the current Sky Poison Pearl could only “survive” for about forty hours.

But Chi Wuyao actually seemed to be perfectly aware of this fact.

“So now do you still think that he didn’t see through your disguise?” Chi Wuyao said in a calm and serene voice.

Hua Jin pressed a hand against her chest and her breathing only calmed after a long period of time had passed. Her eyes swiveled toward Chi Wuyao as she said in a deep voice, “Master, he claimed that the reason why he baited Master into making an appearance was so that he could cooperate with you. However, the moment he realized who I was, he actually did such a vicious thing to me in secret. He basically isn’t the least bit sincere in his desire to ‘cooperate’ with our Soul Stealing Realm.”

“No, he is only using this incident to give me a warning and to make a show of power,” Chi Wuyao said in an unhurried manner. “When we take into account that he killed Yan Sangeng as well, he is not only lighting a fuse, he is also declaring his position and forcing us to come to a decision.”

Hua Jin, “...??”

“The way he does things has completely changed,” Chi Wuyao drawled in a soft voice, a voice that sounded both sad and regretful. “The Yun Che from the past definitely would not have behaved in such a manner.”

“The Yun Che… from the past?” Shock and bewilderment appeared on Hua Jin’s face.

“Hua Jin, your words aren’t completely wrong,” Chi Wuyao replied in an unhurried manner. “No one can guarantee that Yun Che will be able to help us realize our long-held ambition. There is also no one who can foresee whether the future will take a turn for better or worse. However, given the current circumstances that the Northern Divine Region finds itself in, he is our only hope, the only person who can change anything.”

She did not emphasize the word “only”. However, it was deeply engraved into Hua Jin’s heart and mind, just like a devilish seal which could pierce one’s soul.

Hua Jin went quiet for a long period of time. After that, she no longer voiced any of her misgivings or tried to provide any words of counsel. Instead she sank to her knees and knelt behind Chi Wuyao. “We sisters will definitely devote our entire beings to help realize Master’ long-held wish.”

“Send a sound transmission to the ones who are abroad, Yu Wu, Qing Ying, and Chanyi, and ask them to return to the realm immediately,” Chi Wuyao ordered.

After she finished speaking, she raised her delicate head to look at the skies which were cast in eternal darkness. Her lips slowly curled up into a smile. “These skies that have been drenched in darkness for a million years are finally going to get interesting.”

    ————

Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er were traveling to where the Soul Stealing Realm was located right now.

The Northern Divine Region was nothing more than a “cage” that was slowly shrinking, so it was far weaker than the other three divine regions. Given their extreme speed, they would be able to reach the Soul Stealing Realm within a day even without using any dimensional profound formations.

“Why did you not tell me about Zhou Xuzi!?” Yun Che suddenly said.

Qianye Ying’er shot him a glance. “You avoided Chi Wuyao just to ask me this question?”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Yun Che repeated coldly.

“There was no need to,” Qianye Ying’er said. “Furthermore, even though you’ve already exercised great restraint, you’re still a little over-eager. You should be well aware of this.”

Yun Che’s brow wrinkled but he did not say anything.

“If we had hidden ourselves for one or two more years, we could have asserted ourselves even more in front of Chi Wuyao, but you chose not to. In the Imperial Heaven Tower, you did not discuss anything with me and chose to forcefully kill Yan Sangeng. This was to enrage the Yama Realm and force Chi Wuyao to swallow up the Burning Moon Realm and the Yama Realm sooner rather than later.”

“All of these actions prove my decision to hide this matter from you was correct.”

Yun Che still did not speak.

“The hatred you have for your enemies and for yourself are like devils which devour your body, and every breath that passes leaves you in unimaginable pain. I understand this all too well.” Qianye Ying’er stared straight ahead. “Furthermore, Zhou Xuzi is the person you hate the most… Oh, and maybe also Xia Qingyue? I was afraid that if I told you, you’d try to hasten our meeting with Chi Wuyao even more.”

“Just because of this?” Yun Che’s expression remained unchanged even after Qianye Ying’er had given her explanation.

“Yes.”

“Why is Zhou Qingchen so important to Zhou Xuzi?” Yun Che asked.

Qianye Ying’er gave a dry chuckle and said, “Zhou Xuzi’s eldest son is already nearly twenty thousand years old. However, Zhou Qingchen, the Eternal Heaven Crown Prince, is closer to me in age. Don’t you find this strange?”

“There’s nothing really strange about it,” Yun Che said. “After all, your father also chose you to be his successor, right?”

“I have no father.” Qianye Ying’er gave a cold snort before she continued in a voice filled with disdain, “Can that useless Eternal Heaven Crown Prince even be mentioned in the same sentence as me? The reason why that old dog Qianye Fantian elected me to be his successor was because I possessed an aptitude that outstripped all of his other descendants, a talent that exceeded all of my peers. But as for Zhou Qingchen… You’ve met him a few times. Did you ever feel like his cultivation, aptitude, prestige, or temperament was befitting of his status as the ‘Eternal Heaven Crown Prince’?”

Qianye Ying’er and Zhou Qinghcen were close in age. However, even though Qianye Ying’er’s Brahma God divine powers had been crippled, she still possessed the cultivation of a mid-stage Divine Master.

Yet Zhou Qingchen was only a mid-stage Divine Sovereign.

Even though both were the successors of god emperors, the difference in their cultivation of the profound way was like heaven and earth.

If an oddity like Qianye Ying’er was tossed aside, given his age, Zhou Qingchen’s cultivation as a mid-stage Divine Sovereign was enough to lord over the rest of the world. However, he was the Eternal Heaven’s Crown Prince, someone who was bestowed with the best resources and environment in the universe so a large amount of his cultivation had indubitably come from those things.

The fact that two of the great Eternal Heaven Guardians had delved into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning to harvest the Divine Fruit of Absolute Beginning was undeniable evidence of the advantages that he possessed.

In fact, after considering the resources spent on him, resources that could only be found in a king realm, the way the Eternal Heaven God Realm treated Zhou Qinchen far exceeded the treatment of any ordinary crown prince. So even though his cultivation was eye-catching, it could not measure up to the lofty standards required of the Eternal Heaven God Realm’s successor… In fact, one could find many people who shine far brighter than him among the “heaven chosen children” who had spent three thousand years in the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm.

Whether it was in terms of prestige or temperament, Zhou Qingchen did not even belong into the same stratosphere as Qianye Ying’er.

As a result of this, Zhou Qingchen had always felt inferior and ashamed of himself every time he met Qianye Ying’er, someone he was supposed to be on equal footing with. It was to the point where he did not even dare take a single step towards her, even though his love and admiration for her had long turned into obsession.

Yun Che pondered Qianye Ying’er’s words briefly before replying, “Continue.”

“It’s said that Zhou Xuzi’s proper wife was not of noble birth. If my memory serves me right, she came from a lowly middle star realm,” Qianye Ying’er explained in a bored voice. “That star realm was similar to the Snow Song Realm as the profound practitioners within it mainly cultivated ice profound energy.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Although she came from such a lowly background, Zhou Xuzi chose her to be his proper wife. Everyone could see how deep and thick their love for each other was.” Qianye Ying’er let out a soft and disdainful snort after she said those words. “I heard that the reason why Zhou Xuzi valued this woman so much was because she once did something for Zhou Xuzi…”

“Get to the point.” Yun Che’s cold voice interrupted her. Every time he heard the two words “Zhou Xuzi”, all of the veins in his body would spasm uncontrollably. How could he be willing to listen to any of his past affairs?

“Simply put… that woman could not bear Zhou Xuzi a single child even though they were married for many years. Once they consulted doctors, they found out that this was because she had cultivated ice profound energy and her body had long been wounded by this cold energy. Furthermore, these injuries had been present in her body for many years, and they had practically rendered her infertile.”

“Heh.” Yun Che gave a cold laugh, he could more or less guess what happened next.

“Zhou Xuzi and that woman tried countless methods to restore her fertility, but even after many years had passed, when Zhou Xuzi’s descendants had become as numerous as the stars in the sky and his eldest son was nearly twenty thousand years old, she still could not bear him a child. Yet Zhou Xuzi had never chosen a crown prince. This probably filled this woman with both emotion and guilt. She finally steeled herself and made a decision to try the only method left to her. She crippled her own profound veins without letting Zhou Xuzi know and got rid of all of her cultivation and the cold energy within her body. After that, her body was finally restored and she became fertile again.”

Yun Che was well aware that it was very easy for women who cultivated ice profound energy to harm their wombs. He could easily fix this problem with his abilities, but for other people, even people at the level of the king realms, this seemed to be an unresolvable problem.

“Even though that woman no longer possessed any profound strength, the resources of the Eternal Heaven Realm still managed to forcefully prolong her lifespan by another thousand years. However, it was unfortunate that the injuries she had sustained from the cold energy were too great, and she immediately died after she gave birth to Zhou Qingchen with great difficulty.”

“This was probably the one moment in his life that Zhou Xuzi felt the most powerless. To him, Zhou Qingchen is far more than just the sole child left to him by his proper wife.”

“Just because of this?” Yun Che seemed to be smiling coldly.

“Isn’t it enough?” Qianye Ying’er retorted.

“...It is enough.” Yun Che’s eyes grew focused, “It’s more than enough… Very good.”

Qianye Ying’er’s eyes darted toward Yun Che. She saw that his hands were clenched in a death grip and there seemed to be a trickle of blood seeping out from between his fingers.

“However, are you sure that old dog Eternal Heaven will launch an attack on the Northern Divine Region after he’s been enraged?” Yun Che suddenly asked.

“Probably,” Qianye Ying’er replied. “Every old monster will have their own weaknesses, no matter how long they’ve lived. In fact, the reason why I know so much about Zhou Qingchen is because Qianye Fantian instructed me to perceive and find weaknesses in everyone from a young and tender age!”

“This included Zhou Xuzi, Yue Wuya, the Dragon Monarch… It included all of the people who could be used as tools or could become a threat in the future.”

Qianye Ying’er was saying that these were the laws of survival that Qianye Fantian had instilled in her from a young age. Unfortunately, she had never been able to perceive any weakness in Qianye Fantian.

“Zhou Qingchen is Zhou Xuzi’s greatest weakness. Once he has been utterly enraged… You can try to drag him down to your level, to drown him in your rage and thirst for vengeance. At that time, anything he does will be within the bounds of reason.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Other than that, he will not only have to endure his hatred for you. He will also personally witness your terrifying growth and hatred. His panic will lead to him feeling an extreme sense of danger from you. Once both things are combined together, it will cause him to try to kill you within the shortest possible amount of time, no matter the cost or consequence. He won’t brook any hesitation and he will try to completely seal off all of your escape routes.”

“How confident are you that all of these predictions will come to pass?” Yun Che asked.

“Fifty percent,” Qianye Ying’er replied. However, she’d naturally had to give a “hundred percent guarantee” in front of Chi Wuyao just now and say it with supreme confidence and nerve.

“Even if he doesn’t take the bait, we can think of something else.” Qianye Ying’er gave a dry chuckle. “As long as we have the will, we will come up with a way. In fact, there won’t be any shortage of ideas but this is the method that I think has the highest chance of succeeding at present. I really hope that you won’t ruin this golden opportunity because of a moment of over-eagerness before all of our preparations are complete.”

“At the very least, we must first make sure that only one king realm… is left in this Northern Divine Region!”

“Furthermore,” Qianye Ying’er said as her lips curved into a faint smile, a smile that was incredibly sinister, “aren’t you hoping to drag the whole thing out, so that their final moment of despair will be all the more excruciating, all the more frenzied?

Yun Che sank into a period of deep silence. He did not say anything and it seemed like he had acknowledged Qianye Ying’er’s words.

“I am, however, extremely curious about one thing,” Qianye Ying’er suddenly said. “What was the deal with that little kid?”

She did not think that the current Yun Che still had much kindness left in him.

“She was a Witch,” Yun Che said.

“...” Qianye Ying’er’s brows twitched, but after that she let out a soft snort. “I see.”

“Seventh Witch Hua Jin, whose skill in the arts of disguise and concealment is said to be at the level of the gods. She truly does live up to her name.” She immediately thought of a name. “To think that she could fool my eyes even though she was only ten steps away from me. This is something that even the Heavenly Slaughter Star God cannot accomplish.”

“Other than the Witches, we cannot afford to underestimate that Chi Wuyao either.” Qianye Ying’er’s delicate eyebrows knitted together, her eyes cold and  hard. “This is the first time I’ve ever felt a person’s gaze drill into my very soul.”

“Furthermore, we seem to have entered into this alliance a little too easily.” She glanced at Yun Che. “Do you think it has something to do with the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor?”

“I won’t put my complete trust in anyone,” Yun Che said in a frosty voice.

“Including me?”

“Correct.” 

This one word response was said without a shred of hesitation.

“...Very good.” Qianye Ying’er slowly nodded her head in seeming admiration. After that, she looked into the distance and said something whimsical in a very soft voice. “Even I am starting to find it hard to believe in myself… Heh, how ridiculous.”

“...?” Yun Che shot her a glance

After they had crossed many pitch-black star regions, the star region which the Soul Stealing Realm belonged to appeared within their view.

It was a dark world just like all the others. However, its existence seemed to be akin to that of a devil god that towered over the clouds and cast all of the world around it in a supreme devilish might.

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