Chapter 1677: Reality or Illusion

The devilish light shining from the devil skeletons instantly stopped surging from their bodies and even their sinister wailing came to an abrupt stop.

"!?" Yan Wu's black eyes widened and the words she was about to say were firmly caught in her throat.

A scene that was even more terrifying than the last soon followed.

Yun Che very casually swept both of his arms in the direction of the eleven devil skeletons. Immediately, eleven clusters of black devilish light went completely still before they grew exceptionally dim.

They had not completely disappeared, but instead, the clusters of light shrank back into the devil skeletons. They still continued to flicker dimly but they had become exceptionally calm and peaceful.

As the strongest Yama Devil, Yan Wu had seen an innumerable number of darkness profound arts in her life. Furthermore, her innate talent and her mastery over darkness profound energy had already reached the peak of perfection and very few people in this universe could call themselves her equal...

But this was the first time in her life she had ever seen darkness profound energy behave in such a docile and weak manner.

No. In fact... this was the first time she had known that darkness profound energy could be this meek and docile!

The eleven peacefully flickering clusters of devilish light illuminated Yun Che's body. They did not radiate any malice or pressure. Instead, they actually showed a degree of submission... and even fear amidst this inexplicable calm.

The power within these devil skeletons had come from the Yama Emperor and his Ten Yama Devils!

"Your lanterns aren't bad."

After Yun Che made that sardonic little comment, he started to move once more, walking straight toward the imperial palace.

"..." Yan Wu remained rooted to the spot. She stood there for a very long time before her eyes finally shuddered and she swiftly ran after Yun Che.

When she passed through the Weeping Yama Formation, she suddenly slowed down and thrust out a palm toward the devil skeleton that contained her Yama Devil power.

After that, her expression violently changed.

Because the devil skeleton that her palm was pointed toward, the devil skeleton that she had just injected power into half a month earlier... did not respond to her at all!

Her head violently turned toward Yun Che as her eyes involuntarily shuddered. Her heart had been thrown into utter chaos and she felt as if countless hurricanes were raging about inside of it.

So the rumors... were true?

Power that had reached the domain of the True Gods...

Why did such a power exist in this universe? Why did such a person...

Was the Northern Divine Region... really going to be utterly flipped upside down?

Yun Che's figure blurred as he arrived at the front of the imperial palace. After that, he strode in with a swagger.

This was the Yama Imperial District, the heart of the strongest king realm in the Northern Region. The Yama Emperor stood to the fore with his Yama Devils flanking him. The Yama Ghosts were merely guards amongst the countless elite fighters lurking within its halls.

Yet he had come here by himself. He had entered this palace with no one by his side.

This was something that the Yama Realm had never seen before.

After all, even a god emperor would come surrounded by strong individuals when they paid a visit to the capital of another king realm.

However, this was not the first time Yun Che had strode into a king realm alone.

In fact, he had charged into the Star God Realm all by himself for Jasmine's sake all those years ago. At that time, he had gone in with the expectation of dying.

Things were different this time. He did not feel any fear and apprehension as he strode to meet the Yama Emperor and his heart did not even ripple when he sensed his vast and boundless dark aura.

The atmosphere in the vast imperial palace was deathly still and there was only one other person in the hall besides Yan Tianxiao... It was Yama Crown Prince Yan Jie, who had already accomplished his "mission".

When Yun Che stepped into the hall, Yan Jie's gaze locked onto him.

Yan Tianxiao slowly turned around as he soundlessly unleashed the imperious might of the strongest god emperor in the Northern Divine Region... However, Yun Che did not falter as he continued to walk forward. His eyes were cold and calm, not a single ripple could be seen in them. The aura of a Divine Sovereign, an aura that could only be described as "pathetically weak" in front of the Yama Emperor, radiated from Yun Che's body. Yet it seemed to resemble an ancient and unfathomably deep pool of water in the face of his imperial might. It had not rippled in the slightest.

Yan Tianxiao gave a small frown. He had finally come face to face with this legend from the Eastern Divine Region, but their meeting was vastly different from how he had imagined it would go.

As the corner of his mouth twitched, he spoke in a calm voice. "You're Yun Che?"

"You killed my Yama Ghost King, yet you still dare to barge into my Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness all by yourself. This king truly has no choice but to admire your..."

However, his eyebrows suddenly jumped before he had finished his sentence.

He saw Yan Wu, who was hurriedly catching up to Yun Che, arrive behind him.

Yan Wu's innate talent in handling darkness profound energy was immense. She had been acknowledged by the Yama Devil power at the age of eleven, so she normally displayed a natural arrogance around other people. Her arrogance had soared when she shook the entire Northern Divine Region by becoming a level ten Divine Master. Very few people were her equal.

Even when she was dealing with her own elder brother, Yama Crown Prince Yan Jie, she still looked down on him... both physically and in her attitude toward him.

Thus, given Yan Wu's arrogance and her temper, there was no way that she would actually trail behind Yun Che... when she was supposed to be leading him toward the imperial palace.

But what truly shook his heart was the look in her eyes.

Her eyes were actually trembling lightly and he could see a frightened shock in the depths of her eyes... A shock that she obviously could not conceal.

The one person who understood Yan Wu the best in this world was undoubtedly Yan Tianxiao.

Yet this was the first time Yan Tianxiao had ever seen such a look in her eyes.

"...boldness!"

He forcefully changed the word from "nerve" to "boldness" mid-sentence. A warm and genial smile instantly spread out on his cold and imperious face and his heavy god emperor might turned exceptionally calm and gentle.

"Hahahaha." He let out a great laugh as his previous arrogance disappeared. He strode forward and took the initiative to welcome Yun Che, "When Brother Yun made his name in the Eastern Divine Region all those years ago, this king had already heard of you. When I found out later that Brother Yun had come to the Northern Divine Region with the Heaven Smiting Devil God's inheritance, this king wanted to meet you right away. It seems like my wish has finally come true."

Yan Jie's jaw very nearly dropped to the ground in that moment.

Just a few breaths ago, the Yama Emperor had sternly warned him not to show any fear or apprehension in front of Yun Che, whether the rumors were true or not. He had said that the dignity of their Yama Realm could not be infringed upon in any way.

When Yun Che had stepped into the hall, the Yama Emperor had greeted him with his imperial power and dignity... but he had suddenly done a complete one-eighty. He was now greeting him warmly and he had even called him "brother".

Bewilderment filled Yan Jie's heart until he noticed the haunted look in Yan Wu's eyes. His heart immediately gave a violent shudder.

Yan Tianxiao was greeting him in an incredibly warm and friendly manner. In fact, he was no less welcoming and approachable than Fen Daojun. Yun Che simply chuckled dryly as he saw this. He said, "Since the Yama Emperor knows that Yama Ghost King Yan Sangeng died at my hands, aren't you going to call me to account first?"

"Hahahaha!" The Yama Emperor let out another great laugh. He had not only not shown any signs of anger, he looked as if he was truly excited to see Yun Che. "It is true that my Yama Realm will not allow our dignity to be trampled upon, but that does not mean we cannot distinguish right from wrong!"

"When he was in the Imperial Heaven Realm, it was Yan Sangeng who did not recognize Brother Yun and offended him first. As a result, Brother Yun chose to discipline him, and it was entirely reasonable for you to do so! If our Yama Realm really tried to take you to task, it would simply show how narrow-minded our number one king realm in the Northern Divine Region is!"

Yun Che, "..."

"What's more, Brother Yun inherited the power of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. Your existence is undoubtedly a great gift bestowed upon us by her. You can also say that it is an honor for Yan Sangeng to fall at Brother Yun's hands."

Yan Tianxiao said this with an utterly sincere expression on his face. He looked so sincere that Yun Che could not tell if he was bluffing or not.

As he was speaking, he sent a soul sound transmission to Yan Wu. "Wu'er, what happened just now?"

He instantly received Yan Wu's reply. "Royal father is truly brilliant. You definitely mustn't clash with him... This man is much too frightening."

Yan Wu's sound transmission clearly conveyed the tremors that were coming from the depths of her soul.

If this had been Yan Jie, he would not have been so convinced. However... the person who had gone to meet Yun Che, the person who had returned with a heart full of shock and fear, had been Yan Wu!

"Tell me, what exactly happened just now?" he asked in a deep voice.

"It is very likely that the rumors that he killed Fen Daojun and subsequently subdued the whole Burning Moon Realm without a single fight are true. Yun Che... He... used a single finger to break the Barrier of Eternal Darkness, and silenced the Weeping Yama Formation with a single wave of his hands."

"WHAAT!?"

Yan Tianxiao had actually let out that startled cry in front of Yun Che.

"Hmm?" Yun Che shot him a glance. "Is something the matter, Yama Emperor?"

"No, it's nothing," the Yama Emperor replied with a faint smile as he swiftly regained his composure. "I just received a sound transmission from one of my children and I was informed that he had injured himself during cultivation due to a moment of carelessness. This king grew so anxious that I shouted in front of Brother Yun and embarrassed myself."

Yan Jie very nearly jumped out of his shoes when Yan Tianxiao let out that yell. He stared at his royal father as shock and bewilderment filled his heart.

As the crown prince of the Yama Realm, he had never once seen the Yama Emperor lose his composure. In fact... he could scarcely believe that the Yama Emperor had actually been put in such a spot.

"So that's what happened," Yun Che said with narrowed eyes, his voice loose and languid. "To think that the Yama Emperor, the ruler of a king realm, would actually get so anxious over one of his children. How touching. Since that is the case, the Yama Emperor should hurry over to tend to the child. I wouldn't want to be responsible if something were to happen to the child."

"Hoho, there's no need. It's only a small matter." The Yama Emperor's smile did not waver for a single instant, but his heart and soul were shaking so violently that he did not notice the mockery in Yun Che's words.

Yan Wu's lively voice suddenly rang out in his soul.

"Royal father, this child witnessed everything that he did. There is nothing false about him. The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's inheritance very likely far exceeds our imaginations."

"We must find a way to lure him into the 'tomb'. The only people who can kill him are our three immortal and indestructible ancestors!"

"If we do not, our Yama Realm will truly follow in the Burning Moon Realm's path!"

Yan Tianxiao's fingers slowly curled up. Although his face was calm, he was unable to conceal the violent trembling of his eyes, no matter how hard he tried.

He had broken the Barrier of Eternal Darkness with a single finger, destroyed the Weeping Yama Formation with a single strike of his palm... This was beyond the ability of any power that he recognized.

In fact, if Yan Wu had not personally vouched for it, he would not be able to believe that these things were true.

"Ahem. Why did Brother Yun choose to pay us a visit today?" The Yama Emperor's smile remained fixed on his face as he stretched out a hand and gestured to Yun Che to sit.

Yun Che did not move a single inch. Instead, he replied, "The journey from the Soul Stealing Realm to the Yama Realm is long indeed. If it wasn't anything important, I wouldn't have bothered coming all the way here."

He was face to face with the strongest god emperor in the Northern Divine Region, and one could say that he was facing off against the entire Yama Realm, yet he was behaving in an extremely standoffish, arrogant, and rude manner.

However, no matter how badly he behaved, he could not stir up the other party's wrath or killing intent. Instead, the Yama Emperor was growing more and more apprehensive.

The Yama Emperor had previously tried to covertly probe Yun Che and exert pressure on him, yet he did not dare try a single thing with him right now. His attitude had turned so friendly that even he could scarcely believe it.

"That's natural." Yun Che's words caused his heart to tighten up. However, he did not flinch as he asked, "Could Brother Yun please tell us what he needs. If we can help Lord Devil Emperor's successor in any way, our Yama Realm has no reason to reject you."

Yan Jie, who was standing on the sidelines, had kept to himself the entire time. He had not made a single move or said a single word. Because the current Yan Tianxiao was behaving in such a kind and amicable manner that he barely recognized him... In fact, he was actually a little afraid of him.

Yan Wu had also remained silent this entire time, but her eyes still had not stopped shaking.

To Yun Che, this was something that he could easily accomplish with the Eternal Calamity of Darkness. But what he had just done had undeniably overturned her entire world.

"Since the Yama Emperor is being so welcoming, I'll cut to the chase," Yun Che said in a calm and unhurried manner. "I want to take a look at your Yama Realm's Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness."

When he said those words, the heads of Yan Tianxiao, Yan Wu, and Yan Jie all jerked in unison.

Yan Tianxiao had been furiously thinking of a way to lure Yun Che into the "tomb" of certain death. Before he could come up with an idea, Yun Che had actually suggested it himself?

"This..." A pained expression appeared on Yan Tianxiao's face as he said, "Given your friendship with the Devil Queen, I am sure that Brother Yun knows that only the people of the Yama Realm can enter the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. Furthermore, the three venerable ancestors of our Yama Realm live in that place, so this king is afraid that..."

"This is the will of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor," Yun Che said in a bleak and cold voice.