To a king realm, the death of a god emperor was equivalent to losing its main pillar of support, its entire set of beliefs and convictions.
They had just gathered in the main hall to discuss important matters.
But in the space of two breaths, just two breaths, their main hall had been destroyed, their capital had been wrecked, their devil artifact had been turned to dust, and their god emperor had fallen…
Within Burning Moon’s capital, from the lowest Burning Moon Guard to the strongest Moon Eater, all of them were still stunned by this calamitous change. Even if their minds were ten times stronger, that would still be the case.
Countless living creatures in this gigantic Burning Moon Realm had been knocked to the ground by the divine might that had been unleashed just now. They dazedly stared into the distance and it was a long time before they could get to their feet.
Many gazes turned toward Yun Che with much difficulty. He was not moving at all. His eyes were closed and his aura had vanished completely. It was as if he had already died.
“Is… he… dead?” Fen Zhou mumbled in a deep voice.
Bang!
The spatial pocket that accompanied the Burning Moon God Emperor collapsed now that he had died. However, that strike, which contained the power of a True God, had destroyed most of the objects in that spatial pocket and only an incredibly flawless pitch-black magatama slowly tumbled to the ground. The moment it fell to the ground, a soft “ding” sound reverberated in the air.
It was the medium which contained the Burning Moon Realm’s devil origin power, the power inherited by the Moon Eaters—the Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade!
The devilish light emitted by the Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade pierced into everyone’s eyes and soul. All Moon Eaters present were violently shuddering but they tried their very best to stand up even though their bodies were convulsing and spasming. They all wanted to rush towards this core item which held the key to the Burning Moon’s fate and legacy.
But it was at this moment that Yun Che, whom they had thought was dead, slowly lifted an arm.
Shnk!
The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword, which had pierced through the Burning Moon God Emperor and turned his body to ash, suddenly soared through the air. Everyone stared at it as it shot through the air like a deep black scar and returned to Yun Che’s hand.
This exceedingly simple action caused those denizens of the Burning Moon Realm who had just gotten to their feet to collapse back to ground. The sight of that sword flying through the air had broken their nerve. Their eyes opened wide in a terror which they had never felt before as they stared at Yun Che’s distant, blood-soaked figure.
“Ah… ah…”
Terrified cries came from the depths of everyone’s throats and the ones who were weaker started to scramble backward in fear.
No mighty power was radiating from his body and even the aura of his life force had become extremely weak. However… regardless of it just lasting for two short breaths, he had displayed true divine might just a moment before. It had been so overwhelming that it had reduced their god emperor to cinders in a single strike.
As the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword flew back into his hand, the revolving sword energy carried something else along with it.
The Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade slowly fell into Yun Che’s hand, which also meant that the fate of the entire Burning Moon Realm had fallen into his hands.
A concentrated dot of black light glowed in the center of the Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade. The devil origin power that had been inherited by the Burning Moon God Emperor, Fen Daojun, had not been obliterated with him. In fact, it was already slowly returning to its receptacle.
Yun Che’s eyes opened and they were still the color of fresh blood. Everyone’s pupils violently shrank as they beheld a pair of devilish eyes that still seemed to belong to a primordial devil god.
As he closed his fingers, the Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade vanished. The eyes of everyone from the Burning Moon Realm bulged out when they saw it vanish before their very eyes.
At this time, the sky suddenly grew dark and a heavy oppressive might assaulted all of them.
Everyone involuntarily raised their head up to look at the sky. When the oppressive might approached them and the light dimmed, a gigantic black shadow appeared in the air above the Burning Moon Royal City.
Astonishingly enough, a gigantic profound warship that was several hundred kilometers long had appeared in the skies above them!
“The Soul… Sky… Warship…” Fen Daoqi mumbled. After that, he gave a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
The Soul Sky Warship… Once it had been the Clear Sky Warship, but it was currently the flagship of the Soul Stealing Realm!
Under Yun Che’s True God power, Burning Moon Royal City’s protective barriers, which had existed for hundreds of thousands of years, had all collapsed. This was why the flagship of the Soul Stealing Realm could appear in the heart of the Burning Moon Realm completely unimpeded.
Chi Wuyao’s figure was slowly descending from the Soul Sky Warship.
Black light glinted in her eyes and the devil emperor soul power that came from the primordial Nirvana Devil Emperor also soundlessly descended upon the entire Burning Moon Royal City.
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the countless hearts that had collapsed due to Yun Che’s actions.
Following behind her were two figures, Jie Xin and Jie Ling, her two strongest Witches.
“Ah… ah… This… What exactly… is…”
Fen Zhou’s eyeballs bulged so much that they nearly burst out of their sockets… Their god emperor had died, their capital had been destroyed, and the Soul Stealing Realm’s flagship had appeared in the skies above them. Even the word “despair” could not fully describe their current circumstances.
Even for a nightmare, this was still far too cruel.
Under this overwhelming pressure, the ravaged Burning Moon Royal City turned so quiet that it was frightening. No one was able to make a single sound for the longest time.
“…” Yun Che slowly turned toward Chi Wuyao, who had made a sudden appearance, and her Great Witch, who clearly had not made the trip together with them. After that, he rasped out in a deep and hoarse voice, “As expected… you…”
His eyes were dyed the color of congealed blood and nobody could tell if his words were praise, mockery, or a warning.
“…” Chi Wuyao did not reply as she surveyed her surroundings from up above.
At this time, a black figure swiftly descended from the Soul Sky Warship, golden light trailing behind her. She immediately grabbed Yun Che’s arm when she reached his side.
Once he sensed Qianye Ying’er’s aura, Yun Che’s eyes finally closed. A boundless amount of exhaustion assaulted him and he finally surrendered his body to gravity as he slowly toppled backwards.
His blood swiftly stained Qianye Ying’er’s skirts. She carried Yun Che aloft and said in a low voice, “Chi Wuyao, you better not… waste any of his effort!”
Chi Wuyao replied, “If I can’t produce impeccable results from such a perfect opportunity, wouldn’t I be completely betraying your initial ‘choice’ and ‘expectations’?”
Qianye Ying’er did not bother saying anything else. She simply soared into the sky with Yun Che in her arms, and returned to the Soul Sky Warship.
There were a shocking number of strong auras aboard the gigantic Soul Sky Warship. Other than Yu Wu and Chanyi, who had accompanied them on the journey here, Ye Li and Yao Die were also aboard. At least six of the Nine Witches were present!
Most of the twenty-seven Soul Spirits and three thousand and six hundred Soul Attendants had come as well.
“How is Young Master Yun doing?”
All the Witches who were present anxiously rushed toward the battered and bloodied Yun Che.
“You don’t need to bother with him.” Qianye Ying’er very casually dumped Yun Che on the ground. “His body is very hardy. He’ll recover from these kinds of injuries in two days at most, and you won’t be able to find a single scratch on him afterwards.
“You… don’t… need… to… bother… with me.” Yun Che whispered. His eyes remained shut and his voice was incredibly weak.
Chanyi said, “I’ll take care of this place. The rest of you go and help Master.”
“There’s no need. You may also go,” Qianye Ying’er said in a cold voice.
Chanyi was slightly stunned by that response. But after that, she inclined her head and said, “Alright.”
Ye Li, Yao Die, Yu Wu, and Chanyi left the warship and descended toward the Burning Moon Royal City. Four more heavy oppressive mights were pressing down on the city that was already teetering on the edge of collapse.
More than seventy percent of Yun Che’s muscles, bones, and meridians were ruptured or broken… He had also completely destroyed four Star God origin powers in order to forcefully endure “God Ash” for two breaths. In fact, his current state was already the best case scenario for him.
Qianye Ying’er bent her delicate neck and quietly stared at Yun Che’s horribly wounded body. It was a long time before she finally said, “Was this the trump card that you were prepared to use on Long Bai? The one that you told me about before?”
“…” Yun Che did not say anything. She did not know whether it was because he felt like there was no need to answer the question or if he simply did not have the strength to answer her.
Qianye Ying’er hands balled into fists and her voice was cold as she said, “Did you ever think of… what the consequences would be if you could not endure such power!?”
It was a power that had obliterated the Burning Moon God Emperor, a power that had destroyed the most important barriers protecting the core of the Burning Moon Realm, a power that caused nearly a third of the Northern Divine Region to shake… It was undoubtedly a power that was not meant to exist in this current era, a power that very likely belonged in the domain of those ancient True Gods.
When it came to this kind of power, if he had made the slightest error or miscalculation, it would have ended with him being reduced to ash.
Yun Che’s lips slowly parted before he whispered in a very soft voice, “We’ll… have… one.. again…”
Qianye Ying’er’s eyebrows violently twitched. She turned around and clenched her teeth lightly as she said. “Yes, perhaps you can reach this level of power. However… you only have one life, do you understand!?”
“We’ll… have… one.. again…”
In the face of Qianye Ying’er’s simmering rage, he repeated the soft words he had whispered at the beginning. “We’ll… have… one… again… in the future…”
“…?” Qianye Ying’er was stunned by those words. She looked like she had been struck by a bolt from the blue and her ice-cold eyes suddenly started to tremble violently.
Her lips trembled as they gently parted, but no sound came from them. An alien emotion that she had never felt before, an emotion that was hard to describe, welled up from the bottom of her heart. It was warm numbness that swiftly spread through her entire body.
Her feet started to move as she ran away quickly, but her footsteps were flustered and chaotic.
The moment her body turned past a corner, Qianye Ying’er fell heavily against a wall. She reached out and pressed a hand against her lips as her body shuddered, but crystalline tears streamed through the gaps between her fingers and fell soundlessly.
But this time, she neither tried nor wanted to control them.
——————
Every inch of Burning Moon’s capital was under a stifling amount of pressure.
Chi Wuyao’s gaze swept across the crowd below her, her eyes flickering with a gloomy, black light. Her eyes exuded the soul power of a primordial devil emperor. Whenever her gaze touched someone, even if that person was a Moon Eater, their heart and soul would start shuddering for a long period of time.
“All of you have two choices.”
Her words were aimed specifically at the eleven remaining Moon Eaters. They were the last core of strength that remained in the Burning Moon Realm, so whoever could win them over would win over the Burning Moon Realm itself.
“The first choice.” She was speaking in an incredibly slow and languid voice and it rang out clearly across the entire Burning Moon Realm. “You can choose to follow this queen and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s successor, Yun Che, and swear your eternal loyalty to us.”
“The second choice,” Chi Wuyao said with an incredibly cold laugh, “is to die with dignity!”
“Heh!” A cold laugh rang out just after Chi Wuyao finished speaking. The first person to respond… was Second Moon Eater Fen Zhou, who was struggling to stand. He used all of his will to summon up the haughtiest expression he could make. “The Moon Eaters… will only ever fall in battle! We will never choose life over dignity!”
“Very good.” Chi Wuyao cast an indifferent glance towards him. After that, she turned toward Fen Daoqi and asked, “But what does the Burning Moon Imperial Advisor think of this queen’s proposition?”
Fen Daoqi slowly rose to his feet. His eyes were focused as he raised his head to look at Chi Wuyao. “I have two questions and I hope the Devil Queen can answer them honestly.”
“Speak.” Chi Wuyao did not refuse him.
“My first question.” Fen Daoqi breathed in a few times to regulate his aura before continuing, “If we choose to serve you… Will we also be able to obtain the blessing of Yun Che’s Eternal Calamity of Darkness, just like your Witches?”
“Of course,” Chi Wuyao replied.
“Daoqi! You…” Fen Zhou’s eyes swiveled toward Fen Daoqi, filled with rage and disbelief.
“The second question!” Fen Daoqi ignored Fen Zhou’s furious gaze. He asked, “Where does the Devil Queen’s ambition point toward?”
Chi Wuyao narrowed her bewitching eyes as she spoke in a languid voice, “This queen does not wish to be trapped in this tiny, dark prison for the rest of her life! Could it be that… you desire this?”
Bang!!
Fen Daoqi fell to his knees with a heavy thud. He bent his head and said, “Burning Moon’s Seventh Moon Eater Fen Daoqi is willing to follow the Devil Queen and God Emperor Yun until the day I die. I will serve you with unbending loyalty!”
