Chapter 1697: Peak Qianying

When Yun Che finally strode out of the imperial hall, nearly a dozen hours had flown by, but Yan Tianxiao and the gathered Yama Devils were still waiting for him outside.

The moment they saw Yun Che emerge from the hall, Yan One and Yan Three sped over to Yun Che's side as quick as lightning. Their only fear was that one of their descendants suddenly had a brain cramp and did something to offend Yun Che.

Yan Tianxiao stepped forward and asked, "Could it be there has been a change in my lord's plan to take over the Soul Stealing Realm?"

Yun Che did not even bother answering that question. Instead, he asked in a cold voice, "How are the preparations for the coronation ceremony going?"

Yan Tianxiao said, "We've already prepared all of the invitation cards and we can begin sending them to all the star realms starting from tomorrow. As for the ceremony proper..."

"There's no need for that any longer." Yun Che cut him off mid-sentence. "Change the location of the ceremony written in the invitation cards to the Soul Stealing Realm. We will decide on the date... later!"

"!?" Yan Tianxiao's head jerked up and shock appeared on the faces of all the Yama Devils behind him.

"This..." Yan Tianxiao swiftly rephrased the words he was about to say before speaking, "Did something unforeseen happen? Is the Devil Queen willing to lead the Soul Stealing Realm under your banner after you had a word with her? And you now have her support to be the lord of the Northern Region?"

He knew that there was no way that had happened. If Chi Wuyao was so easy to deal with, the Soul Stealing Realm would not be the power that it was today.

"Correct," Yun Che replied.

This answer utterly floored the Yama Emperor and the gathered Yama Devils. It had completely exceeded their expectations and imagination.

Yan Tianxiao froze for two whole breaths before his eyebrows sank dramatically. He said, "My lord, you are not well-acquainted with this woman Chi Wuyao. Her dreadfulness isn't something most people can even fathom. Her cunning and the methods she uses... especially when it comes to enthralling men, can be said to be unrivaled in this universe. Her ambition is even greater than her cunning and she definitely won't be content to serve under someone else. There's no way that she actually capitulated so easily."

"My lord must not become ensnared by her!"

Yun Che had already grabbed hold of the Yama Realm's Yama Ancestors, legacy and lifeline, so they had no choice but to submit. But no matter how hard Yan Tianxiao thought, he simply could not find a reason for Chi Wuyao to be content to support Yun Che as her ruler.

"Hmph, this isn't something you should concern yourself with," Yun Che said as he shot a pointed glance toward Yan Tianxiao.

Yan Tianxiao lowered his head again... He suddenly realized that other people also would not be able to understand how the Yama Realm, which had stood at the top for more than eight hundred thousand years, had submitted to Yun Che in the span of a day.

Had the Soul Stealing Realm also been forced to their knees by some power they had no hope of resisting?

If that was truly the case, then the man in front of him... was simply far too terrifying.

Once those thoughts occurred to him, Yan Tianxiao's heart was filled with dread and his already deep apprehension and fear of Yun Che grew even deeper.

"The Burning Moon Realm has come under the Devil Queen's complete control," Yun Che said calmly. "The Soul Stealing Realm has also decided to support me as the ruler of the Northern Region. In other words, the Soul Stealing Realm, Yama Realm, and Burning Moon Realm are all willing to serve under me. As for the rest of them... it won't be long now."

Yun Che's words shook the hearts of the Yama Emperor and the Yama Devils and their eyes started trembling.

Everything was happening too fast. It was so fast it nearly seemed like a dream.

Just a month ago, the Northern Divine Region was still being dominated by the three king realms.

But now that this short month had passed, the Burning Moon Realm had fallen, the Yama Realm had submitted, and the Soul Stealing Realm had bent the knee...

The three vast king realms, three exalted existences which ruled over the rest of the Northern Divine Region... In just a single short month, they had all bent the knee to a single person with scarcely even a single ripple. There had been no momentous struggle or long and drawn-out war. It had simply... happened.

How mystical, how terrifying.

The way they regarded Yun Che underwent a quiet but dramatic change. Now that they thought about it, these were unprecedented and world-shocking accomplishments, no one in the Northern Divine Region had ever achieved or even dreamed of achieving such things. Yet it had seemed all too easy for him.

He was only thirty-odd years old and he had only been in the Northern Divine Region for a few paltry years!

They felt as if tidal waves were crashing about in their hearts as their respect and fear toward Yun Che dramatically deepened. The already faint and weak desire to rebel against him was swiftly extinguished after this realization and not even a hint of it remained.

Conquering the three king realms was equivalent to conquering the entire Northern Divine Region.

Since the three king realms had bent the knee, it was not even "a matter of time" for all the other star realms.

The Burning Moon Realm's fall had been accidental, his attempt to subdue the Yama Realm had gone exceptionally smoothly, and the capitulation of the Soul Stealing Realm... had been a dream-like occurrence.

Yun Che had initially set a timetable of three years when he had entered into an alliance with Chi Wuyao so it was clear that even he himself had not expected everything to move this quickly.

"We congratulate our lord! You will soon complete a great undertaking that has never been accomplished in the history of the Northern Divine Region!" Shock still reverberated in Yan Tianxiao's heart as he swiftly bowed his head. In fact, he had even started to greatly rejoice in the fact that he had chosen to bend his knee to the man in front of him, this man who seemed to transcend all of his knowledge. He even embraced his deferential and respectful behavior towards him.

If he had chosen to fight to the death, he would not even have had the chance to regret his decision.

"Hmph, what a bunch of disappointing and ignorant brats," Yan One suddenly snorted. "To think that all of you actually chose to defy your venerable ancestors' choice in the beginning. How preposterous."

Embarrassment appeared on Yan Tianxiao's face as he hurriedly said, "Ancestor is right. The wisdom of the three venerable ancestors shines like a torch in the darkness so it's natural that we, your descendants, pale in comparison to you."

"Let the Soul Stealing Realm take over the preparations for the coronation ceremony." Chi Wuyao's devilish figure floated up in Yun Che's mind unbidden. He felt his heart stir up restlessly and he quietly sucked in a few breaths to calm himself down. "From tomorrow onward, all of the Yama Devils and Yama Ghosts are to follow me into the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness."

Yan Tianxiao's heart leaped and he fought down the urge to express his ecstatic joy as he said, "Does my lord mean to..."

"Heh!" Yun Che glanced at Yan Wu and said, "As long as you show me sufficient loyalty, I won't treat you unfairly. I will soon complete the dark transformation of all the Yama Devils and Yama Ghosts, so I hope... you won't disappoint me in the future."

Yan Tianxiao was over the moon, and the gathered Yama Devils found it hard to contain their excitement... They had all clearly witnessed the miraculous changes in Yan Wu's body. Now that this blessing was going to finally descend upon them, they could scarcely contain their emotions.

"We sincerely obey our lord's commands!" Yan Tianxiao and the Yama Devils shouted as they bowed deeply.

————

Yun Che completed the transformation of the Yama Devils and the Yama Ghosts in the span of a single day. After that, he remained inside the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and silently absorbed the primordial yin energy found in this place.

Meanwhile, the steps he was going to take next were quietly forming in his head.

Ten days later, he suddenly opened his eyes and departed the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. His body blurred and he found himself in the imperial hall in the blink of an eye.

Yun Che made the shrunken-down Primordial Profound Ark appear with a single thought. A dull red light flashed from it and a golden-haired woman with the body of a goddess appeared in front of him, her hair floating in the air.

It was Qianye Ying'er, who had been inside the Primordial Profound Ark refining the second Untamed World Pellet.

Her appearance caused Yan One and Yan Three, who were right behind Yun Che, to frown as they started to secretly gather their energy.

Because what accompanied Qianye Ying'er's appearance was the aura of a level ten Divine Master!

Besides the three of them, the only level ten Divine Masters alive in the present Northern Divine Region were the Yama Emperor, Yan Wu, the Devil Queen, and the Soul Stealing Realm's twin Great Witches. This unfamiliar tenth level Divine Master had undoubtedly alarmed them.

While this was happening, Qianye Ying'er's eyes also darted toward them the instant she appeared as she stared at Yan One and Yan Three with knitted brows.

"Level ten Divine Master?" Yun Che's eyes swept over Qianye Ying'er's body. To his surprise, he had actually found her recent absence discomfiting. But his voice remained as cold and indifferent as ever. "You didn't disappoint me."

Qianye Ying'er eyes turned from Yan One and Yan Three to him. Her golden eyebrows knit together slightly, but her beautiful eyes were calm. "That's right. Level ten Divine Master. Though I still haven't reached my previous peak, it..."

She raised a hand and wiggled her delicate and slender fingers. "might just be enough to kill you."

"How dare you!" Yan Three immediately roared in rage. "You outrageous girl! You actually dare to..."

"Get out of here!" Yun Che shouted in a deep voice.

"(ㄒoㄒ)~~..." Yan Three's neck abruptly stiffened and he instantly swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He then beat a panicked retreat together with Yan One.

"Old Gui! Has your head been kicked in by a donkey!?" Yan One blurted out in irritation once they had left the hall. "Do you think just any person can speak to Master in such a way!?"

"I... I... I just couldn't tolerate seeing anyone disrespect our master," Yan Three said in an aggrieved voice.

"That's why I always say that you use your ass to think, you never learn from your mistakes!" Yan One said. "If a man is disrespectful to Master, you go out and trash him silly. If it's a woman... you need to ask Master first before you do anything! Do you get it!?"

Yan Three thought about it for a moment before a look of enlightenment finally dawned on his face. He smacked his own forehead, "Ah, I see, I see!"

"Those two..." Qianye Ying'er surveyed her surroundings. The clearly abnormal aura of darkness in this place caused her brow to deeply crease. After that, she swiftly recalled something. "Could this be the Yama Realm?"

"That's right." As Yun Che answered Qianye Ying'er's question, a soul fragment formed above the tip of his finger. He tapped in between her eyes.

Qianye Ying'er had been concentrating on observing the area around her, so Yun Che's not-so-gentle tap caused her head to tilt backwards. She glared at Yun Che before closing her golden eyes. When she finally opened them again, an astounded look appeared in her eyes. "The Yama Ancestors, the Yama Realm, the Devil Crystal of Eternal Darkness, Tian Guhu, the Soul Stealing Realm, and a... grand coronation ceremony?"

Yun Che had not included what had happened with Chi Wuyao in the memories that he had shown Qianye Ying'er. After all, even he was still trying to process what had happened. His mind descended into a daze every time he thought about it.

"I only haven't been around for one short month, but you've actually accomplished so many things." Qianye Ying'er's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at him. "I've actually never been aware that you had such impressive time management skills."

Yun Che: "..."

"What I really didn't expect was that you could torture the Three Yama Ancestors without even flinching for six straight days." Qianye Ying'er's eyes grew slightly hooded and complex emotions sprang forth in her heart. "As beings of pure darkness, having one's life and soul consumed by light is no less painful than being afflicted with the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark."

"It looks like those people that you hate will definitely regret even being born in the future."

"Heh, I think so too." Yun Che let out a low icy chuckle. He had only said a few words, but they contained a boundless sinister darkness.

"..." Qianye Ying'er's eyes faintly trembled.

When they had first teamed up together in the Northern Divine Region, she had practically clamored for Yun Che to become cold and cruel, to become someone who would do anything for the sake of revenge.

But now that she heard what Yun Che had just said, she did not feel a sense of satisfaction at seeing his "growth". Instead, she actually... felt a bit uncomfortable.

"As it turns out, you didn't rush me to refine the second Untamed World Pellet because you urgently needed power. Your real goal was to come to the Yama Realm by yourself," she said with a cold snort. "Why? Did you think I'd get in your way?"

Yun Che replied, "Without you around, my trip to the Yama Realm went swimmingly well."

"..." Qianye Ying'er suddenly giggled as a mysterious smile crossed her face. "Speaking of which, I discovered something by coincidence when I was in the Primordial Profound Ark."

"...?" Yun Che's brow faintly creased.

If it was something Qianye Ying'er brought up deliberately, it couldn't be any ordinary thing.

The Primordial Profound Ark used to be owned by the Sword Spirit God Clan, the clan which Hong'er resided in during the Primordial Era. Could it be something that they had left behind?

Qianye Ying'er stretched a hand toward Yun Che as she slowly uncurled her fingers... then, her fingers darted forward and flicked Yun Che's nose with no small amount of force.

"~!@#￥%..." Yun Che staggered backwards, his hand covering his nose. "You!"

"You poked me in the forehead just now, so now we're even." Qianye Ying'er said as she folded her jade arms underneath her soft and ample bosom. She turned her face to the side and refused to look at him.

Yun Che angrily flung out the hand that was covering his nose as he said in a deep voice, "Yun Qianying! Don't forget that you..."

"That I am your tool, right? I've never dared to forget that." Qianye Ying'er's cherry lips parted as she answered him in a languid and indolent voice, "However, you just tossed another Untamed World Pellet into this tool of yours, so now it's even more useful and valuable than it used to be."

"So you had better treat it with care. Otherwise, it'd be such a pity if you accidently broke it because you threw an unneeded fit."

Yun Che's face furiously twitched... because he suddenly did not quite know how to respond to her.

"Enter the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness with me!"

He shouted angrily before striding out of the hall.