Chapter 1925: Choice (2)
Chapter 1925 - Choice (2)
There was a small flash on her tear-stained palms, and the World Piercer appeared.
She slowly raised it as the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's parting words to her before she left the Primal Chaos rang inside her mind:
"You have witnessed my choice, Xia Qingyue. Let my World Piercer be the witness to your final choice."
She knelt there for an entire day and night.
When the howls of the wind quieted and took away the terrible chill covering her whole body, she rose back to her feet once more. The tears, the grief, the sorrow; everything had been buried back into her soul once more.
She spoke as she faced the World Piercer, "I have made my choice, senior."
"I have already let down my parents, my sect, Yuanba... I cannot let him down as well, especially since he and I were husband and wife. If nothing else, he will be the one person in this world that I can face with a clear conscience."
"However, I am obeying not the fate I've been subjected to, but my own wishes!"
The World Piercer vanished from her hands. She had just gone through the biggest collapse of her life, and yet her eyes now shone with unprecedented clarity and determination.
"When the 'ending' approaches, I will naturally defy fate in my own way! Before that though..."
The World Piercer vanished, and she turned her gaze toward the north. Her deep, purple pupils reflected the distant blue sky.
"I loathe this lamentable fate, but... I can't reject that sorrowful 'wish'."
"Yun Che, you are now in the Northern Divine Region, and you no longer have any weaknesses or attachments. All you have left is the hatred that will drive you to grow faster than ever before... until you return, I shall pave the path for you little by little."
"All I hope is that you will stand at the pinnacle of this world when you return. Take back everything that is yours, and be so strong that no one can ever hurt you or destroy you anymore..."
"If nothing else, it will make the end I am soon to meet... worth something."
............
The Moon God Realm looked like it had entered a period of hibernation after that, but it was really the complete opposite.
The Eternal Heaven Realm was doing everything in their power to search for Yun Che, and it looked like the Moon God Realm was doing the same thing. At the very least, the frequency of people going to and from the Moon God Realm had increased drastically. However, their task wasn't to find Yun Che, but to gather intel.
The secrets of the Moon God Realm weren't the only things Xia Qingyue had inherited from the core memories of the past Moon God Emperors. She also inherited all of the intel they had gathered on the other realms.
The fact the Moon God Realm knew about the Brahma Monarch Realm's hiding of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death showed just how powerful their intel gathering power really was.
Normally, these secrets were used to intimidate or control a target during a time of necessity, and only then. Yue Wuya himself barely used any of them during his time as the Moon God Emperor. However, Xia Qingyue utilized all of them to bury many hidden mines across the entire Eastern Divine Region.
............
After discovering that the Glazed Light Realm was the one who hid Yun Che, she had exposed the truth of her own accord, dealt a harsh punishment to Shui Qianheng, and took Shui Meiyin away.
At the bottom of the Moon Prison, she showed Shui Meiyin the world Piercer and explained everything. Then, she made Shui Meiyin promise her two things. One, she wanted her to become the World Piercer's new master by gradually building up affinity through her Divine Stainless Soul. Two, she wanted her to claim everything she had done for Yun Che as her own.
"Meiyin, death is my best choice and ending. My view on everything can change except this one thing."
"I want him to hate me forever. That way, he won't grieve over my death or suffer a hole in his soul... I'm sure you don't want to see that happen either, do you?"
"You don't need to be sad for me. If nothing else, I have you to remember everything I did, to keep him company, and to enjoy his truest, best self in my place."
After Yun Che killed the Eternal Heaven Guardians and turned Zhou Qingchen into a devil at the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, Xia Qingyue had visited the place to investigate the traces he left behind.
However, she didn't leave immediately after she was finished. Instead, she flew to the Abyss of Nothingness and stood at the edge for a very long time.
Right before she left, a small smile crossed her lips.
It was because she had found her best resting place.
............
It was the day of Yun Wuxin's eighteenth birthday, and the day Yun Che and Chi Wuyao met with Zhou Xuzi and Zhou Qingchen.
A great distance away, Xia Qingyue watched as Yun Che brutally murdering Zhou Qingchen right before Zhou Xuzi's eyes. His savage grin and his hateful roars were expressions she had never seen on Yun Che before.
In the end, Zhou Xuzi departed in hate, and Yun Che in blood and unconsciousness. Right after that, Chi Wuyao's consciousness brushed against her.
Without hesitation, she teleported back to the Moon God Realm with the World Piercer and whispered to herself, "It looks like the legendary Devil Queen of the Northern Divine Region's infamy is well deserved. I should not need to worry overly much with her around."
............
Time moved forward again. The entire Northern Divine Region was shaking on the day Yun Che was crowned the Devil Master, leader of the devil race and a power above even their king realms.
Xia Qingyue had teleported there to witness the scene with her own eyes. The dark barrier of the Soul Stealing Sacred Region couldn't stop the spatial divine power of the World Piercer as a matter of course.
From a great distance away, she took in the pitch black robes engraved with dark red devilish patterns, the long, dark hair that danced demonically with the wind, the devilish light of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's Eternal Calamity of Darkness, and the pair of black abysses capable of instantly devouring one's soul on his face.
The three king realms bowed their heads, and the dark profound practitioners worshipped him as their god... he had become the unparalleled king of the Northern Divine Region in just three years.
"This is what you should've been, Yun Che."
Her smile was faint yet beautiful. "The massive risk undertaken to witness this moment was worth it after all."
She couldn't stay for too long because the dark profound energy in the environment was continuously eroding her own. Finally, she turned away and said, "I look forward to the day of your return."
Without this recollection, Yun Che would never have known that she had purposely teleported to the Northern Divine Region to witness the moment he became the Devil Master of the Northern Divine Region.
............
"Master, our spies in the Western Divine Region have reported confirmation regarding the suspicions you have of the Dragon God Realm," Lian Yue reported her findings to Xia Qingyue.
"Give me the specifics."
"There has been an undertaking to search for 'light profound energy' over the past few years. Officially, the Dragon God Realm is looking for someone with an affinity for light profound energy so that the Dragon Queen may raise them as a successor. The real reason for the undertaking is unknown, however. It has been several years since the undertaking began."
A short silence later, Xia Qingyue instructed, "Tell the spies investigating this matter to cease operation and shift their focus to the Dragon Gods' movements instead."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After Lian Yue left, Xia Qingyue whispered to herself, "It looks like Shen Xi may very well be still alive... and Long Bai doesn't know where she went."
There was only one spot of destruction in the Forbidden Land of Samsara.
No matter how powerful Long Bai was, it was impossible for him to have killed Shen Xi in one hit.
Her spies' reports greatly supported the theory that Shen Xi was still alive as well.
............
Time passed again, and they approached the fourth year since Yun Che entered the Northern Divine Region... it was also around this time the curtains of war were drawn.
Many overt or covert efforts to build momentum for the war were made before the fateful day. While the Eternal Heaven Realm was announcing the crowning of a new crown prince, a dark cloud of fury had gathered atop the sky of the Northern Divine Region. They accused the Eternal Heaven Realm of destroying the star realms of the Northern Divine Region with the Void Cauldron.
"It's all moving so fast," Xia Qingyue whispered while staring at the dark clouds to the north.
The day was coming far, far sooner than she had predicted.
"You have experienced true hell itself. Neither you nor the Devil Queen will allow you to fail. I shall believe that this is not a step made in haste and thoughtlessness [1], and pave the first step of your path for you."
............
In the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.
Xia Qingyue dripped a drop of Shen Xi's blood onto a patch of grayish land.
Not far away, the Azure Dragon God was moving in this direction.
The blood slowly faded into the ground, but the weak light profound energy remained.
She teleported to another space with the World Piercer and repeated the motion.
This time though, she took out the bamboo piece she had retrieved from the Forbidden Land of Samsara, picked up a rock, and engraved the character "Xi" lightly on the ground. She made sure that her handwriting looked as close to the real thing as possible.
After the deed was done, she teleported to yet another space.
She teleported fifteen times across the God Realm of Absolute Beginning and dripped a total of sixteen drops of blood on the ground. She had measured the distance just so that Long Bai would take some time to search for the next drop of blood, but not so long that he would give up and abandon his search.
On the final site, she engraved a short message stating that she would return in a couple of months.
It didn't take a smart person to figure out that this whole setup was a distraction of sorts, but Xia Qingyue was certain that Long Bai would fall for it anyway. Considering his twisted obsession with Shen Xi, he could be 99% certain that this was a distraction, and he still wouldn't let go of that 1% possibility.
That was all she and Yun Che needed.
After confirming that the Azure Dragon God had discovered the first wisp of light profound energy and left in a hurry with her own eyes, Xia Qingyue finally disappeared from the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.
............
The Southern Divine Region, at one of Nan Wansheng's palaces to the west of the Southern Sea God Realm.
Xia Qingyue watched as a girl even she almost couldn't detect deposited a soul crystal into the clothes of one of Nan Wansheng's personal maids.
The soul crystal contained a message that basically claimed that the Brahma Monarch Realm was hiding the Primordial Seal of Life and Death.
"Heh heh heh, to think that they actually want to use me to block a spear heading their way... However, I will definitely let them use me."
"After all, who can resist the allure of 'eternal life'.... Hahahahahaha!"
The hidden girl left amidst the mad cackle.
Xia Qingyue herself had departed the place.
"Is she the rumored Seventh Witch, Hua Jin? She too deserves her infamy," Xia Qingyue whispered to herself. "I guess I don't need to do anything here."
"Her ability to conceal her presence is practically unparalleled in this world, but she's still a dark profound practitioner. Normally, she would be leaking dark profound energy quite obviously... is this the power of the 'Eternal Calamity of Darkness' Senior Devil Emperor spoke of? It looks like the core powers of the Northern Divine Region have all undergone a massive change thanks to him."
"The Eastern Divine Region will never see this coming."
"And this method... can only come from Qianye." A complicated look flashed across her features before she disappeared once more.
On cue, she began detonating the hidden mines she had buried long ago.
"Show this blood-drenched sword to the Bright Heart Realm King, and he will know that the murderer of his youngest son is the Outstanding Sun Realm King."
"Give this soul crystal to Luo Changsheng, and that to Luo Shangchen. Do not leave any trace behind."
"The shame of the Divine Martial Realm King Wu Sanzun is engraved in this. Use it to make him close his realm for three months. Remind him that we will destroy his reputation if anyone so much as takes a step out of the Divine Martial Realm during this time."
"Take these seven Poison Ivy of Absolute Beginning and scatter them across the seven seas of the Nine Brilliance Realm. The ensuing turmoil should keep them busy for a time."
............
The darkness' very first step of their invasion was to trample the Eastern Divine Region.
It had been an unbelievably smooth step because the greatest threat, the upper star realms had been unnaturally silent. Not all of them were motionless, but it was definitely enough to swing the tides of war in the devil people's favor.
When they had massacred the Eternal Heaven Realm, not a single one of the neighboring upper star realms had come to their rescue either.
Yes, it was the result of Chi Wuyao and Yun Qianying's many efforts.
However, neither of them knew that there was a third, invisible force working with them all this time. It was the main reason why their invasion had progressed impossibly smoothly, and their losses had been kept to a nigh impossible minimum.
Even the biggest and most unpredictable element of them all, Long Bai, had been lured away to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.
The absence of their leader was the main reason why the Dragon God Realm, no, the entire Western Divine Region had chosen to do nothing even when both the Eastern Divine Region and the Southern Divine Region had fallen.
1. (T/N: er, ackchyually)