Chapter 1696: An Evanescent Blue Glimmer

She had brought a mighty force with her, but the battle had ended before it had even begun.

The Azure Snow Ice Kirin departed into the depths of its territory with its mighty beast horde behind its back. It showed effusive gratitude when Mu Bingyun had given her nod of approval. The Azure Snow Ice Kirin was actually so happy that it was moved to tears and it practically broke its head open as it kowtowed repeatedly to Mu Bingyun.

Once it had retreated a certain distance, the Azure Snow Ice Kirin suddenly picked up speed as it practically scrambled to get as far away from Mu Bingyun as it could. It was as if it was afraid that she would change her mind. It no longer had a single shred of might and dignity befitting its status as a lord of the profound beasts. The only thing left in its mind was that deep terror which could cause its will to collapse again and again, a fear so terrible that it would ensure that the Azure Snow Ice Kirin would never even think of rebelling ever again.

"To think that this mission actually ended with no blades crossed and no blood spilled," Mu Tanzhi said happily. Just like everyone else, the pressure in his heart had completely vanished into the wind.

Mu Bingyun stared into the distance and muttered to herself, "Who exactly..."

She asked the Azure Snow Ice Kirin to tell her who exactly pushed it into this corner, but the extreme fear on the Azure Snow Ice Kirin's face was plain for all to see as it frantically denied there was such a person.

When a Divine Sovereign profound beast displayed such fear, it was very likely that it had come into contact with the imperious might of a Divine Master.

Furthermore, it seemed like this person had been extremely vicious toward the Azure Snow Ice Kirin as it was clearly frightened out of its wits.

"There are two possibilities," Mu Tanzhi said. "The first is the Moon God Realm."

Mu Bingyun's icy eyes instantly grew even more glacial. She said in a cold voice, "It won't be them. When the Moon God Emperor publicly announced that she owed a debt of gratitude to the Snow Song Realm and warned everyone not to attack or offend us, it was merely to show that she wasn't an ungrateful person... Heh, if she truly did send someone to help us with this matter, she'd already be clamoring to announce it to the entire Eastern Divine Region."

"Then it has to be the Flame God Realm." Mu Tanzhi spied Mu Bingyun's expression with a single glance as he let out a soft sigh.

Everyone in the Flame God Realm and Snow Song Realm had known since long ago that the Flame God Realm King Huo Poyun was infatuated with Mu Feixue. In reality, as long as Mu Feixue said a single word, the Flame God Realm King could easily suppress the overlord of both regions even if they revolted at the same time.

However, favors were things that still had to be returned. Moreover, everyone was keenly aware... of just how the Flame God Realm King hoped that these favors would be returned.

As a result, neither answer was one that Mu Bingyun wanted to hear.

"Let's return to the sect."

She barked out that command before she took to the skies and flew back in the direction she had come from.

This large profound beast revolt had been resolved far better than she could ever have hoped for, but Mu Bingyun's heart was still restless.

After the profound beast army had retreated into their nests, the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect disciples departed as well.

This region of boundless snow had fallen into silence once more.

In the distant skies above, in a space where no one had bothered looking, a faint, icy blue light suddenly flashed through the sky. It was like the twinkling of a falling star and it vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving no traces behind.

————

Chi Wuyao left.

With the Yama Emperor walking ahead of her and the Yama Devils trailing behind her, they politely escorted Chi Wuyao out of the Yama Imperial District and dazedly watched her fly into the distance.

Inside the imperial hall, Yun Che was a motionless and silent statue. He closed his eyes as he quietly contemplated what had just happened.

Just a little while ago, he had connected his aura to the dark yin energy of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness as Yan One and Yan Three had used their energy fields to restrict Chi Wuyao's movement. The Yama Emperor and his Yama Devils had all been lying in wait outside the hall... As he pointed a single finger toward Chi Wuyao, he had arrogantly asked her how she was going to escape from this situation now.

This had undoubtedly been a "duel" between Yun Che and Chi Wuyao, but Chi Wuyao had not only successfully turned the tables on him, he'd even... been completely defeated.

In fact, his heart and mind had practically collapsed in front of this "master" that he had suddenly regained.

There really was nothing more beautiful in this world than regaining something you had once thought was lost forever. The more pain and suffering caused by its loss, the more impactful its return.

Even though he had only regained a part of what he had lost...

Even though it had happened in a rather bizarre and unbelievable manner...

Yun Che quietly stood in place for a very long time and his face had regained its usual impassivity. But an even deeper feeling of blankness now engulfed his heart even after he had managed to calm down.

During those years, she had indeed been his master... This was one point that he did not suspect.

But his master's body had been Mu Xuanyin's own and his master's will had been dominated by Mu Xuanyin.

As for Chi Wuyao... She had a more important and complete identity and that was as the Devil Queen of the North.

"He Ling..." He asked somewhat absent-mindedly, "Can I truly... continue to treat her as Master?"

"I... I don't know," He Ling was even less equipped to answer a question that Yun Che himself had no answer to. Furthermore, He Ling had not been by Yun Che's side during the years he had spent with his master, so she had not witnessed the most important moments between them.

"Do you think the words that she said were true?" Yun Che asked, his eyes unfocused and distant. Now there was one other emotion swirling in his heart besides that blank feeling of vacancy, it was a deep anxiety and worry that he would lose something he had just regained.

"I won't allow anyone to harm you or let you down. Anyone who bullies you, hurts you, or betrays you, I will pay them back ten thousand fold, no matter who they are."

"Everything you desire, all of the best things in this universe... I will give them all to you to make it up to you, even if I have to take them by force."

When he recalled those words which had been whispered into his ear, no one else would be able to believe that they had come from Chi Wuyao's mouth.

It resembled the doting love a mother had for her child, but at the same time it also resembled the bottomless infatuation a woman had for the man she loved... and neither of these two emotions should have existed within Chi Wuyao.

Because she was the Devil Queen of the North whose devilish might reigned over the entire region, the emperor of the Soul Stealing Realm, the most terrifying woman in the universe!

"I don't know." He Ling shook her head yet again. But after that, she whispered softly, "But I have this feeling... that the words she told Master came straight from her heart."

"Furthermore, your master has always doted on Master like this, correct?" He Ling said softly.

Yun Che: "..."

That was right, Master had always doted on him like this.

When he had committed such a grave mistake the last time, he was only given a harsh rebuke when she caught him. After that, she even spent all of her time and effort on him and him alone. The other core disciples were only allowed to enter the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake for a single day, but he had been allowed to bathe in it for an entire year.

She had picked a fight with the Sword Sovereign because of him. She had cut off Luo Guxie's arm in a rage because of her sneak attack against him.

She would even face all of the god emperors of the three divine regions alone for his sake.

Those thoughts were entirely Mu Xuanyin's own.

But as for Chi Wuyao... Master's other face, could she really do what Master did?

"Moreover," He Ling continued gently, "even though she wasn't the dominant will within your master's body, Master mustn't ignore one thing. She experienced and felt everything that Mu Xuanyin did, so everything Master went through with Mu Xuanyin was also what she went through with Mu Xuanyin. Not an iota less."

"If Mu Xuanyin can love master so deeply, why can't Chi Wuyao do the same thing?"

"No, it's not the same." Yun Che shook his head when he heard He Ling's words, but his eyes were still fogged by doubt and confusion. "She climbed her way up the ladder step by step, and went from a mortal woman to the Devil Queen of the North by her own strength. Her experiences, cunning... and her Devil Emperor soul especially are not things Mu Xuanyin can come close to."

"Xuanyin's experience with me was her everything. As for Chi Wuyao... it was only a small part of her soul."

"So how can she be exactly like Xuanyin? Why would she truly have such deep emotions... for me, someone who she only knew through a detached part of her will."

Yun Che could not completely convince himself when it came to Chi Wuyao and no one else would be able to do so either. After all, if Chi Wuyao could become so easily "infatuated" with a man, how could she ever become the Soul Stealing Realm's Devil Queen, someone who stood above the rest of the Northern Region?

"I'm unable to answer Master's question," He Ling said softly. "Just like how I could never understand why Master Shen Xi was willing to give her body to Master."

"..." Yun Che was stunned by those words.

"However, Master's words made me recall something from the past. I previously asked Master Shen Xi this question," He Ling said as she started recounting the past. "At that time I asked Master Shen Xi this. No matter whether it is his cultivation or status, the Dragon Monarch is the strongest person in the universe. He has such an exalted position and he is so infatuated with you, so why hasn't Master's heart ever been moved by him even a little? Could it be that love didn't exist in Master's world?"

"Master Shen Xi gave me this reply. It wasn't that there was no such thing as love in her world. On the contrary, even the most emotionless woman would never be able to fully extinguish the embers of desire when it came to a beautiful thing like love. However, women were often more willing to be subdued by men who were stronger than them. The more powerful a woman and the loftier her position, the more likely this would apply to them."

"If there ever came a day where a man who was worthy of her infatuation appeared in her life, she might even choose... to proposition that person herself."

"..." Yun Che was slightly stunned by those words. He was surprised that Shen Xi had given such an answer.

"At that time, I couldn't understand the answer that Master Shen Xi had given me. But..." He Ling paused as her voice grew even softer, "I think I understand now."

"There are many powerful people in this world, but Master is the only person who is truly qualified to be with Master Shen Xi. You are the only one who can meet her standard in this universe," He Ling said. "It's the same thing with Yun Qianying. She used to view every man with contempt, even people who were as strong as the Southern Sea God Emperor and as infatuated as the Heavenly Wolf Xisu were nothing more than tools in her eyes."

"Yet she's changed so much after just a few short years at Master's side."

"No, Chi Wuyao is different. She's a different breed from either of them." Yun Che shook his head in disagreement when he heard He Ling's words. "Chi Wuyao is not only good at using men, she is also a master at manipulating their emotions. She's experienced far too many men over her long life and even the Clear Sky God Emperor fell at her hands."

"How could someone like her fall so easily in love with someone else? How could someone like her fall so completely in love with someone else?"

Even though Chi Wuyao had the Devil Emperor soul from the very beginning, she had been alone and she had no power backing her. Thus, even as her strength grew, she used men to climb the ladder of power. When she conquered them, she also slowly gained control of their power and wealth. She used that method to slowly grow more and more powerful as she went from a middle star realm to an upper star realm to a king realm.

When she finally conquered the Clear Sky God Emperor, she had used some truly shocking methods to capture the entire Clear Sky God Realm. After that, she slowly transformed the Clear Sky God Realm into the Soul Stealing Realm, a star realm that was loyal to her alone, before she ascended the throne.

There was not a single woman in the history of the God Realm who could compare with her.

Even the most infamous woman in the God Realm, the Brahma Monarch Goddess Qianye Ying'er, had built her reputation off the back of the Brahma Monarch God Realm.

He Ling lapsed into a long silence before she suddenly said, "Master, just now... just now, when Chi Wuyao hugged you, I discovered something that was very strange."

Yun Che, "?"

"Chi Wuyao... is... a virgin."

Those words threw Yun Che for a loop. He blurted out, "That's not possible!"

Chi Wuyao had relied on her bewitching allure to scale the heights of power. She had ensnared one man after the other in order to finally become the Devil Queen of the North. This was something everyone in the Northern Divine Region knew.

In fact, Qianye Ying'er had been well-aware of this fact even before she had taken a single step into the Northern Divine Region.

"Though it is at odds with what we know, that is what I sensed." He Ling's voice was very soft and gentle, but it brooked no argument.

The wood spirit race had been created by the Creation Goddess of Life Li Suo; they were as pure a race as you could find in this universe. They were extremely sensitive to wickedness and extremely close to all pure things.

The purest thing within a woman's body was her vital yin, so He Ling would be able to sense its presence clearly if she was in close contact with a virgin woman.

"..." Yun Che froze in place and he did not utter a single sound for a very long time.

"Perhaps the real Chi Wuyao isn't anything like the rumors say she is. After all, rumors are only rumors and they are often unreliable."

"Furthermore, just like Master always says, truly understanding someone is a very hard thing to do. But does Master truly... understand her?"

Yun Che closed his eyes. He lapsed into a long silence which no one dared to disturb as the cogs in his mind spun furiously.