The Western Divine Region, the Dragon God Realm.
The Dragon God Realm used to have the Nine Dragon Gods, thirty-four Dragon Sovereigns, and three hundred and eight Master Dragons. They also had the supreme Dragon Monarch reigning over them and the secret protection of the five Venerable Withered Dragons.
This was a strength that everyone in the universe would think was unshakable.
However, not even a single Master Dragon survived today.
The million year supremacy of the Dragon God Realm had been toppled in a single day, and this toppling had been completely irrevocable. Once Yun Che had given that merciless command to exterminate the entire Dragon God line, they did not even have a chance to catch their breath, much less revive their fortunes one day.
A king realm with no Divine Masters was like an old tiger whose fangs and claws had been pulled and whose bones had been broken. Even if their reputation still remained, they were already nothing more than harmless jackals.
When the Blue Dragon Realm and Qilin Realm returned with his order of “obey or die”, the Emperor Chi Realm, Hui Dragon Realm, and Myriad Manifestations God Realm could not even muster up the will to rebel. The cold and hard truth was that they simply had no choice in the matter.
Matters were even simpler when it came to the Dragon God Realm. The Qilin Realm simply swept in and took over the core of the Dragon God Realm, the most sacred and exalted location in the God Realm, the Dragon God Domain itself.
The entire Western Divine Region was still shaking from the aftermath of all of these actions.
If it had been Yun Che or Chi Wuyao who had led this incursion, the rest of the star realms in the Western Divine Region could have banded together to fight a common foe, briefly forming some resistance.
However, the ones who had come to do the Devil Master’s bidding had been the Qilin Realm and the Blue Dragon Realm, the two king realms with the best reputation in the Western Divine Region… This not only dealt a huge blow to their psyche, it also made it far easier for them to accept their defeat and subsequent submission to Yun Che’s rule.
Meanwhile, even as the Western Region was reeling in shock, Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er had arrived at the Forbidden Land of Samsara.
A huge barrier lay in front of them and the Dragon God aura that emanated from it was strong enough to make everyone in a five thousand kilometer radius feel as if an entire mountain range was pressing down on their backs. One could well imagine just how much power Long Bai had lavished on this barrier.
Yun Che’s eyes stared at the barrier fixedly… Even though he had already accepted the worst possible outcome, his heart was still beating like a drum in his chest.
“Can you open it?” Qianye Ying’er asked as she pursed her lips, her words pulling him out of his reverie.
Yun Che took a step forward, Phoenix flames igniting on his left hand and Golden Crow flames igniting on his right. Both divine flames merged together in the darkness, instantly becoming those peerlessly dreadful Devil Flames of Eternal Calamity. He directly hurled those flames at the Dragon God barrier.
Chiii, chiiiii, chiiiiii…
As the soul-tearing sounds of the barrier being consumed rang in the air, Yun Che slowly sank his hands into it. After that, his brow dipped in exertion as his flaming arms pulled the barrier apart.
Crack!
A long crack was torn through the Dragon God barrier. The Devil Flames of Eternal Calamity continued to gnaw away the edges of the crack, preventing it from repairing itself.
Yun Che’s brow suddenly furrowed even more at this moment.
Qianye Ying’er’s figure slipped through the crack as quick as lightning. However, when she turned back, she saw that Yun Che was still standing outside the barrier. He looked as if he was pondering something as he held the crack open.
“What’s wrong?” Qianye Ying’er asked.
Yun Che stepped through the crack before suddenly saying, “I can still sense Long Bai’s dragon soul inside this barrier.”
After Long Bai had died, the dragon soul he had suffused into the barrier started to swiftly dissipate. However, enough of it remained that Yun Che could clearly sense it.
“That’s normal.” Qianye Ying’er wasn’t the least bit surprised by Yun Che’s words. “He was covering up such a huge secret, so it would be strange if Long Bai had not infused his soul into this barrier.”
Yun Che’s eyebrows still remained knitted together. After a short and pregnant pause, he asked, “Qianying, are there any methods that will allow someone to slip into this kind of soul-infused barrier undetected?”
Qianye Ying’er stared at him as she lapsed into deep thought. After that, she replied, “From what I know, there are three possible methods.”
“The first is to use the Eternal Heaven God Realm’s Great Void Cauldron. As the strongest spatial artifact of this era, slipping through a soul-infused barrier shouldn’t pose a problem to it, no matter how many layers there are. The second is a special spatial profound technique from the Purple Micro Realm called the ‘Prime Purple Micro’.”
“However, I cannot guarantee that the Great Void Cauldron can slip through a soul-infused barrier of this level undetected. As for the ‘Prime Purple Micro’ technique, it’s a skill that no one in the Purple Micro Realm has been able to cultivate for two hundred thousand years.”
“The third is naturally the World Piercer that Shui Meiyin currently owns. As a Profound Heavenly Treasure and the undisputed strongest spatial divine artifact in the history of the Primal Chaos, an artifact that can even switch planetary objects across the universe, penetrating a mere soul-infused barrier like this one is nothing more than child’s play.”
When he had told Chi Wuyao the whole truth, Qianye Ying’er had been there as well.
Unfortunately, Qianye Ying’er’s reply had not dispelled the doubts and suspicions in Yun Che’s heart. He asked, “The Moon God Realm doesn’t have any similar secret spatial techniques, correct?”
Qianye Ying’er finally understood the source of Yun Che’s doubts. “So that’s what’s bothering you. I remember you telling me that it was Xia Qingyue who told you about Shen Xi’s death. So you are wondering why Xia Qingyue would be able to figure this out even though Long Bai had personally set up a soul-infused barrier around this area, right?”
Yun Che, “…”
“Hmph, there’s nothing strange about that,” Qianye Ying’er said with a cold snort. “Every king realm has their own deeply-hidden secrets and trump cards. It wouldn’t be strange if the Moon God Realm possessed some sort of secret spatial art or hidden spatial artifact that no one else knew about.”
“This is especially true for that woman Xia Qingyue. She possessed two extremely unique traits, the Heart of Snow Glazed Glass and the Nine Profound Exquisite Body. So it wouldn’t be surprising even if she performed feats which transcended all logic and common sense, much less snuck into Long Bai’s barrier without a trace… This is one point which she really does share with you.”
Yun Che shook his head to shake off any unnecessary thoughts. “Forget about it. It’s not important anymore. Let’s go.”
They soon reached the Forbidden Land of Samsara.
However, the light barrier that had been shielding the Forbidden Land of Samsara for several hundred thousand years had now grown as thin as mist. In fact, it looked so fragile that even a small storm could completely disperse it.
When Yun Che reached out to touch the barrier, his finger instantly shrank back the moment he made contact with it.
What lay behind this fading light barrier would undoubtedly destroy all of his hopes and fantasies in the cruelest manner possible.
After he steeled himself, Yun Che walked through the light barrier and stepped into the Forbidden Land of Samsara. It was so barren that it made his heart ache.
He no longer saw the birds or butterflies flitting through the air, no longer saw those rays of sacred light flash through the air, no longer saw the wondrous garden of herbs and flowers that used to fill the land… Everything was ruined, withered, and dead.
“Hoooo…” Yun Che closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.
Even though she was trying her best to stifle her voice, He Ling’s stricken sobs could be heard through the Sky Poison Pearl.
When he had first arrived in this place, he had felt as if he had been dropped into some fantastical and ephemeral dreamscape of wondrous beauty. Today, it felt as if he had been rudely roused from that dream… and the dreamscape had been completely and utterly shattered.
Qianye Ying’er opened her mouth to say something, but when she sensed Yun Che’s heavy heart, she simply couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
It was only after a long time had passed that Yun Che opened his eyes and slowly walked to the center of the Forbidden Land of Samsara… The place which had been a dream within a dream.
The bamboo hut had been reduced to a pile of withered bamboo.
The ground, which had once been filled with celestial herbs and spirit flowers, was now filled with grooves and cuts. It was clear that it had been hit by a huge force.
However, a very faint thread of spiritual energy emanated from the broken and withered verdure. Yun Che’s eyes bulged as he swiftly ran forward. Soon, an exceptionally charming-looking but weirdly-shaped bunch of flowers appeared in his vision.
As he carefully stepped through the bed of flowers, Yun Che’s eyes froze on a dried-up patch of blood on the ground… The faint thread of spirit energy was the light energy aura that was unique to Shen Xi.
He slowly bent down and carefully scooped up that bloodstained patch of dirt. After that, he poured it into a jade container.
Qianye Ying’er quietly followed behind him. Even though she had always used the fact that Shen Xi had come on to him first to insult and ridicule her. This had comforted her during the time Yun Che had used her as a sex slave while bringing a perverse sort of joy to her heart. However, the current mood and situation had also caused her to fall into a somber silence. She simply wasn’t able to throw any of her usual barbs at a time like this.
“Shen Xi,” Yun Che whispered. “You weren’t the Dragon Queen. Even if you are no longer in this world, I will never allow any future records concerning you to be stained with the title of ‘Dragon Queen’.”
“Even though I never found out whether you even had any feelings for me, or if you were simply using me to achieve some sort of arcane goal. Even though I never even figured out who you really were…”
“None of these things are important to me any longer. You are my woman… and that is the only thing I can be sure of, something that even you cannot deny.”
“The future generations will forever remember that you were… Emperor Yun’s Concubine Xi.” Yun Che’s voice had started to tremble. “Unless you appear before me and reject what I have said, I will take it… that you have agreed to this as well.”
As he finished whispering those words, Yun Che closed the jade container. No one knew if he was simply talking to himself or making a vow.
Hmph… Qianye Ying’er gave a cold snort in her heart. He hadn’t even properly ascended to the throne yet, but yet another name had been added to his harem!
At this time, Yun Che suddenly sensed something. He swivelled around to look at the pile of withered bamboo that had fallen on the ground… He could faintly sense a very thin aura of light profound energy emanating from that place.
His body suddenly spun around as he instantly appeared beside the pile of withered bamboo.
Now that he was so near this pile of ancient bamboo, Yun Che knew that he had not been mistaken. However, this light profound energy aura was simply far too weak. If he did not possess light profound energy himself, there was no way he would have detected it.
Furthermore, this light profound energy was not originating from that pile of withered bamboo. It was coming from something buried beneath it.
“Oh? What did you find?” Qianye Ying’er asked.
Yun Che did not say anything. He merely spread his hand and carefully reached into the ground with a thread of power.
Bang!
A muffled explosion rang out in the air as a neat hole that was about thirty meters deep appeared. Yun Che made a grabbing action with his hand and something shot up from the ground and into it as dust swirled in the air. It was a simple bamboo tile.
A very elegant “Xi” had been carved on the surface of the tile.[1]
He immediately recognized this as Shen Xi’s handwriting. As his finger traced the character, he sensed a faint thread of light energy emanating from it.
“Xi?” Qianye Ying’er whispered.
However, this light energy aura was not the only one of its kind. Yun Che’s left hand sank down and another hole was drilled in the ground. After that, an identical bamboo tile flew into his left hand.
This time, the character carved on the tile was “Yun” and it was just as elegant and beautiful as the other one. Light radiated from it as well and one could almost sense the warm emotions flooding through her heart when she carved those words.
“Yun… Xi Yun… Yun Xi… Xi Yun… Wishing for Yun.” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes narrowed before she let out a soft laugh. “I had always believed that Shen Xi had simply used you as a toy, but it seems like she really did feel something for you. This “Wishing for Yun” was truly carved with anxious longing and fulsome affection. Heh.”[2]
“You’re not allowed to insult her,” Yun Che said as he slowly closed his hands over the bamboo tiles.
Wishing for Yun…
To think that she had actually held such feelings towards him after he left this place…
Was that fantastical year really not just her using him…
“Hmph, I’m praising her here,” Qianye Ying’er retorted in a much softer voice.
“Let’s go.”
Yun Che did not continue to linger in the place. Before too long, he left the Forbidden Land of Samsara together with Qianye Ying’er and stood in front of the crack he had created in Long Bai’s barrier.
He did not forcefully tear down the barrier that Long Bai had built as this was the place where Shen Xi had once dwelled. Even if she did not live here anymore, he still did not wish for any outsiders to disturb the place.
The moment he exited the barrier, Yun Che received a sound transmission from Hua Jin.
“Reporting to the Devil Master. Master said that she discovered some ‘interesting findings’ when she was sorting through the legacy of the Dragon Gods. She requests that you pay a visit to the Dragon God Domain when you find the time to do so.”
“What happened?” Qianye Ying’er asked.
Yun Che grabbed her arm and said, “Let’s go to the Dragon God Domain.”
“The Dragon God Realm managed to accumulate resources for a million years as the ruler of this universe, so they had better not disappoint me.”
1. This Xi is 希, which is the given name for Yun Che’s daughter with Shen Xi, Yun Xi. But this word also means to hope/wish for something, which will soon lead to a spectacular misunderstanding.
2. Qianye Ying’er is misunderstanding what Shen Xi wrote. Shen Xi wrote “Yun Xi”, the Chinese characters for cloud and hope. Yun is also Yun Che’s surname and Xi is also not an uncommon word to be used in a girl’s name.
Neither Qianye Ying’er or Yun Che are aware of Yun Xi, the daughter of Shen Xi and Yun Che. So Qianye Ying’er mistakenly believes that she carved the words “Xi Yun” into the bamboo tiles, which can be interpreted as “hoping/wishing for the clouds” AKA “hoping/wishing for Yun Che”. Hence, Qianye Ying’er interpreted this as Shen Xi longing for Yun Che and immediately made a snide remark about it. But in actual fact, Shen Xi was fondly thinking of her daughter when she wrote these words.
