Chapter 1789: The Devil Emperor's Legacy

The Southern Sea Capital had been reduced to a pile of blasted rubble, not even a shred of its former glory or majesty remained.

Countless bodies stretched as far as the eye could see, and vast swathes of land were hidden under a garish mixture of blood and bone. The black profound energy that had yet to dissipate continued to devour everything around it, causing the fleeing Southern Sea profound practitioners to let out wails of despair and sorrow as they disappeared into the distance. The dark energy was like smoke that fogged up over the ruined capital, and there was no way to tell when it would disappear.

Perhaps, there were some who had predicted that the Southern Sea God Realm, the power that had firmly entrenched itself as the king of the Southern Divine Region, would fall one day. However, none of these people had ever dreamed that it would collapse in the span of a single day.

Even Yun Che himself hadn't expected this result.

As he stared at the endless smoke rising out of the ruins, Yun Che's eyes remained as cold and piercing as ever. Joy never crossed his face once and it barely even flickered in that cold heart of his.

After all, no matter how complete and terrible his revenge was, it would never allow him to regain what he had lost. It would never truly erase the resentment and hatred he bore towards his own utter impotence on that fateful day of reckoning.

Black light flashed in the air beside him as Qianye Ying'er returned to his side. Her attention was fully focused on the distant girl who cut an imperious figure as she stood on the head of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning, Caizhi.

"To think that the ancient dragon clan which had long divorced itself from the affairs of this world would not only make an appearance, but even drench their claws in the filthy act of murder on this very day. If you have any requests, you shouldn't hesitate to speak your mind. Given the help you have rendered to us today, our Devil Master definitely won't disappoint you."

The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning raised its head to look in Qianye Ying'er's direction before speaking in a voice that was filled with ancient power and majesty. "Everything we did today was done at the behest of our Master."

However, those words were not directed at Qianye Ying'er. A pair of stern and mighty dragon eyes settled on Yun Che as the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning continued. "Devil Master, you who have brought calamity to this world, our actions today were no more and no less than taking the side of the oppressor, lending our might to the wicked. As such, we have made our bed and will lie in it. However, we harbor a hope that you will treat the innocent with compassion, no matter what the future holds."

When the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning had said the words "taking the side of the oppressor, lending our might to the wicked", he had unequivocally expressed his true intentions and thoughts regarding his actions today. Both he and his clan had never wanted to leave the God Realm of Absolute Beginning or participate in this slaughter in the first place. However, their master's command had brooked no defiance.

All eyes fell on Caizhi at this moment. Even god emperors like Cang Shitian, the Xuanyuan God Emperor, and the Purple Micro God Emperor felt their hearts shudder violently. They simply couldn't imagine how the devilized Heavenly Wolf Star God had been able to get the mighty Dragons of Absolute Beginning to submit to her in such a manner!

Caizhi raised a hand and a red light flashed from the tip of the now-demonic Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword, causing the strange space to appear yet again.

Wind instantly started howling and the giant dragons obscured by the clouds started to move as the Dragons of Absolute Beginning began to fly back into that strange space. In the matter of seconds, and this included the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning himself, all of the Dragons of Absolute Beginning had disappeared from the area and even their lingering auras were swiftly being scattered into the wind.

The vast feeling of pressure vanished and everyone felt as if a huge mountain had been lifted off of their shoulders. As everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief, Qianye Ying'er stared at Caizhi and said in a low voice, "So this means that you had broken the Phantom Sea Four-Star Formation from the beginning and you had already dispatched someone to the other coordinate of the formation so that they could kill Nan Wansheng?"

Caizhi simply stared at her coldly while she sheathed the Heavenly Wolf Sword and turned around. She didn't even bother to utter a single word before she vanished into the distance.

"Caizhi!" Yun Che's eyes violently trembled and his body seemed to move instinctively as he shot off after Caizhi at his fastest possible speed.

Shitian, the Xuanyuan God Emperor, and the Purple Micro God Emperor quietly stood at their original location... For the first time in their lives, these three god emperors were actually being completely ignored by everyone around them. Different expressions played across their faces, but none of them had any intention to flee.

Without Yun Che's express command, the Three Yama Ancestors would not attack. However, their auras remained firmly locked onto the bodies of these three god emperors.

Caizhi didn't slow down when she sensed Yun Che's aura zooming in toward her. She actually chose to increase her speed instead, as she tried her very best to shake Yun Che off her tail.

"Caizhi!"

Yun Che's heart tightened. He instantly opened "Hell Monarch", causing his speed to increase explosively.

Even though Caizhi had reached astonishing heights over the last few years, her speed still couldn't compare to Yun Che's when he was going all out. A beam of black light shot past her as she felt Yun Che's hand close around her own. After that, Yun Che whirled around and swiftly drew that small and exquisite body into his embrace.

"...Let me go!" Her body had been crushed into Yun Che's body in a gentle but unbreakable embrace, but Caizhi's black eyes were still cold and distant. She fiercely struggled to break free, but she simply wasn't strong enough.

"I'm not letting go!" Yun Che declared as he gently closed his eyes. Her long, flowing hair lightly brushed against his chin as he very carefully adjusted the strength of his grip on her arms. This time, he definitely wouldn't let go of her.

Caizhi's eyebrows pinched together as black light suddenly flashed through her eyes. The Heavenly Wolf power within her body erupted outwards without any warning.

RUMBLEEE——

The Heavenly Wolf's power had always been unmatched and overwhelming and Caizhi herself had ascended to an unfathomable height of power, so this dreadful power could even cause the skies themselves to collapse. As the space around them shattered, Yun Che's chest was pushed in violently as the grinding of bones slowly shifting out of place echoed from his arms... However, he still refused to relinquish his firm grip around her slender waist. He wouldn't loosen his embrace for even a second.

"You!" Panic finally flashed through those starry eyes and the power that had just surged out of Caizhi quickly dissipated.

Intense pain blossomed all over Yun Che's body, and he felt as if his arms had been torn in two, but a faint smile appeared on his face. When he spoke again, it was in a voice that contained the soft gentleness that he had lost a long time ago. "Caizhi, no matter what you do, I'm not letting go of you this time."

"Let me go." She repeated those words again, but she no longer dared to exert the same force that she had just a moment ago. She clenched her exquisite jaw as her eyes regained their cold resolution. "Yun Che, you had to climb out of that devilish abyss to get to where you are now, so you know better than anyone else what it took to climb out of that abyss. If you don't want to fall into that abyss again, you'd better..."

"Because you're the Heavenly Cursed Lone Star?" Yun Che replied with a faint smile.

"..." Caizhi made a small gasp before she replied in a low voice, "Mother, Aunt, Big Sister... and even you. Everyone who's ever been near and dear to me has met with terrible ends. Since you are well aware of this... Let me go!"

"Why should I let you go?" Yun Che said with a faint smile. "I'm currently the most malevolent harbinger of ill omen in the universe. If you truly are the Heavenly Cursed Lone Star, then you are definitely the star that belongs to me and me alone."

Caizhi, "..."

"Never ever forget. You're my wife, which also means that you're the only family I have left in this world. We bowed to both the heavens and the earth, paid our respects to our ancestors and exchanged betrothal items with Jasmine as our witness... So you can forget about ever running away from the fact that we are husband and wife."

"Also, do you really want to run away from me?" Yun Che gently tightened his embrace as he planted a soft kiss on her neck. The girl in his arms trembled as he continued, "If you really wanted to sever all ties with me, then why would you have come all the way to the Southern Divine Region for my sake? You even arrived earlier than I did."

"Don't be... so presumptuous." The hot breath scalding her snowy neck made her entire body go limp and numb. The will to resist him started to fade and her reluctance to be parted from him threw her heart into complete panic. She gritted her jade teeth once more before she spat out in a forceful voice, "Yun Che, I will do everything in my power to help you complete your vengeance, because your vengeance is also mine! However, I already told you all those years ago in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. I won't stay by your side, so you can forget about..."

"Oh!" A seductive voice intruded on their moment at a most inopportune time as Qianye Ying'er leisurely waltzed in their direstion. Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "If it's really because me, I can simply make myself scarce whenever you're around. I'll stay as far away as I possibly can."

Caizhi's eyes started to turn cold as her struggle suddenly turned fierce, but she was still unable to escape Yun Che's embrace.

"Qianye..." Caizhi's voice was extremely cold. "I have only stayed my hand on account of your usefulness to him so far, so you had better not... even think to provoke me again!"

"The dreadful Heavenly Wolf who even has the Dragons of Absolute Beginning at her beck and call. Someone like you would naturally be able to take my life with a casual flip of the hand." Qianye Ying'er slowly drew near to Caizhi as she stared unflinchingly into the Heavenly Wolf's eyes. "However, to think that such a terrifying person would actually believe in silly superstitions like the Heavenly Cursed Lone Star. Ah, just as I had expected, you're still no more than a coddled child trapped in your own delusions of the world."

"You're looking to DIE!" Caizhi's killing intent erupted out of her body.

However, Qianye Ying'er simply turned around and continued in a languid voice, "Little Heavenly Wolf, you can't even bring yourself to coexist with your enemies for even a moment, so where would you find the bravery to actually take your revenge on me? Furthermore..."

Her tone subtly changed. "When Yun Che traveled to the Southern Sea God Realm this time, he forbade Chi Wuyao from accompanying him and he didn't even inform me about his decision. I tailed him secretly and you've already seen why I chose to do so."

Caizhi's killing intent instantly stilled.

"Chi Wuyao will always make sure that her plans are cemented in stone before she makes a move. He does not." Qianye Ying'er continued speaking, but no one knew whether she was addressing Caizhi or Yun Che. "He definitely wasn't sure about whether the Heretic God's power would truly be able to reflect the beam of divine power that the Titanic Sea God Cannon shot at him. If that gambit had failed, even the presence of those three old Yama Devils wouldn't have prevented him from dying a thousand times over."

"Furthermore, even if his gambit did work, given the Southern Sea's hidden aces, the presence of the other three god emperors of the Southern Divine Region, and the emergence of the long-hidden Nan Guizhong, there was no guarantee that he would have obtain the victory that he had today."

"Every part of his plan during this trip to the Southern Sea God Realm was a complete gamble." Qianye Ying'er's back was faced towards Yun Che the entire time, and it was as if she didn't want to let him see the expression on her face. "Back when he was still in the Northern Divine Region, his heart was filled with hatred, but what was buried underneath all of that hatred was the desire to die... In fact, every action he took screamed his intention to end his own life after finishing this vengeance of his."

"His desire for death eventually went away, but as you can see today, when he faces the people that he truly hates to his very core, he will not hesitate to gamble his life for the sake of victory."

"That's enough," Yun Che said. "There's no such thing as a perfect and flawless plan in the first place. When you're facing off against a titan like the Southern Sea God Realm, being rocked on your heels due to a surprise or two is far better than allowing both parties to fully prepare themselves. I naturally already calculated the odds in my head before I even committed myself to this gambit."

"Who said that you could speak?" Qianye Ying'er swiveled around to shoot a fierce glare at Yun Che. After that, she turned back toward Caizhi and continued, "Little Heavenly Wolf, you've already seen that neither Chi Wuyao nor I can restrain this man in this slightest. But if you choose to remain by his side, he might very well choose to behave himself a bit better. After all..."

Qianye Ying'er paused before she turned around to throw those words into Yun Che's face. "The two of you bowed to both the heavens and the earth, paid respects to your ancestors and exchanged betrothal items with Jasmine as your witness... as lawfully wedded husband and wife!"

After that, a small melancholy sigh seemed to escape her lips before she brushed past him and sped off in the distance.

"Caizhi, don't take her words to heart," Yun Che immediately said. "I actually really value my life now, but there was no way that I could come up with a risk-free scheme when going up against an opponent like the Southern Sea God Realm. I admit that I took a few gambles, but I was very confident that my plans would work out."

"..." After a long stretch of silence, Caizhi stretched out her hand and gently pressed it against Yun Che's chest. This time, she finally escaped from Yun Che's embrace.

"Alright, I'll stay," she said in a soft voice. Yun Che wondered whether it had been his words or Qianye's which had convinced her. "I'll also tolerate Qianye's existence for now."

She suddenly raised her delicate head to look at him, as those eyes which were as black as the boundless darkness in the night sky stared deep into his own. "Vengeance is your everything, but that's the same for me. In order to achieve our shared goals, I'll accept anything."

Yun Che gently shook his head. "Vengeance is something I must see done, but it is not everything to me. Because I still have you."

"Hmph!" The only thing that passionate declaration elicited was a cold snort from Caizhi. "I'm no longer the Caizhi you once knew. I'm now the Heavenly Wolf whose surpassing hatred has led her to the dark side. You should have saved these words for my sister when you still had the chance to say them!"

"..." Yun Che paused for a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice was even gentler than before. "It is precisely because I have experienced the pain and regret of losing so many things that I... will definitely not lose you too."

As he said those words, his grip around Caizhi's tiny hand had tightened once more. It was so firm and strong that it seemed to convey his fear that she would suddenly turn and flee once more.

The stars that filled Caizhi's wondrous eyes trembled for just that brief instant.

He's afraid of losing me. But is it because of the duty that my sister entrusted him with, or is it... because he truly views me as his wife...

"Let's go."

Yun Che started to float into the air together with her as he flew back in the direction they had come from. There were still far too many things for him to resolve back at the Southern Sea's ruined capital.

"Aren't you going to ask me about the Dragons of Absolute Beginning?" Caizhi asked.

A small smile appeared on Yun Che's face before he replied, "I recognize that power. It's the power that belongs to the World Piercer. Just as I had guessed, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor really did seek you out back then. It also seems that she spent quite a bit of time with you as well."

When the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword had released that red light from its tip, an incredibly wondrous and strange space had opened up and all of the Dragons of Absolute Beginning, who had dwelled in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning since time immemorial, had flown out of it. That glaring red light and the strange space which defied all laws of space in the current universe had clearly originated from the World Piercer.

Furthermore, Caizhi's explosive growth in power and her rapid acclimatization to her devil powers could really only be explained by one thing. The aid of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor herself.

"That's right." Caizhi stared into the distance and it seemed as if she had forgotten that she was trying to shake her hand free off Yun Che's. "After the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor returned to the universe, one of the first things she did was to come visit me in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. My power had started to change in a strange and bizarre manner ever since your death and Big Sister's devilization, and it was far too easy for a Devil Emperor like her to sense the strange transformation that had overcome me."

"However, she merely came to take a look at me the first time she visited. She didn't even interact with me, until... she suddenly appeared in front of me again one day. She told me that she had decided to leave the universe again to return to the void beyond the Primal Chaos."

"..." Yun Che didn't say anything as he listened intently to her tale. He was probably on the Blue Pole Star when this had happened.

"She told me that she believed what you had said, and she was even more willing to believe and respect the Heretic God's choice and wishes. However... she simply couldn't bring herself to trust human nature."

"So, she decided that she would leave behind several hidden pieces to protect you before she left. These 'pieces' would save you from whatever inescapable doom that befell you. I am one of those pieces."

The look in Caizhi's eyes grew even more solemn. All of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's worries had come to pass... In fact, they had happened the very moment she left the Primal Chaos.

"She engraved a devilish seal on the entire clan of the Dragons of Absolute Beginning while also inserting a special devil origin into my body. If the day she was worried about truly came to pass, I would release that devil origin. This devil origin would cause my Heavenly Wolf powers to devilize and merge together with my new darkness profound energy at a faster rate. This would also grant me full control over the Dragons of Absolute Beginning."

"After that, she engraved a bit of the World Piercer's spatial energy and power into my sword, which allowed me to easily bring around the Dragons of Absolute Beginning wherever I went."

Caizhi summoned her devilized Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword, and allowed Yun Che to see the faintly flashing red light on the wolf's head that was carved on the tip of her blade.

The World Piercer didn't have much of its power left, so the power that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor engraved into the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword was exceptionally faint and weak. However, it also seemed like it would last for a very long time.

"Just as I had suspected... It was her again," Yun Che mumbled, disappointment and frustration echoing endlessly in his heart.

He very clearly remembered the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor telling him in her stern and imperious manner that she would not get rid of any of his enemies or obstacles before she left the Primal Chaos. She had also told him that he would have to fend for himself after this. She had said that this was the only way he could truly live up to the Heretic God's legacy. The only way he could honor the power and dignity that he had inherited.

She had seemingly lived up to her word. She hadn't gotten rid of any of the dangers to his life, but she had left behind many hidden aces to save his life...

Perhaps, there were even more than he could imagine.

She was just like an old lady whose severe and cold demeanor hid far too many worries and all of her care.

"Are all women really this duplicitous? Always saying things they don't mean?" Yun Che unconsciously muttered to himself. As he mumbled those words, Xia Qingyue's figure flashed into his brain for some odd reason.

However, he instantly wiped that image from his mind.

Because that figure, that name, no longer had the right to appear in his memories.

"Duplicitous?" Caizhi glanced at him in puzzlement. She sheathed the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword and said, "She was clearly one of the dreaded Devil Emperors but she was far from being as dreadful and heartless as her appearance and reputation would suggest. On the contrary... it looks like the Heretic God and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's feelings for each other ran deep and true. If not, there was no way she would give you such special treatment just because you inherited his powers."

"Yeah." Yun Che nodded his head. However, he knew that the people that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had truly wanted to protect, the true objects of her affection, were Hong'er and You'er.