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“Back then, Long Bai had suddenly returned to the Western Divine Region before launching a surprise attack against the Deep Sea Realm with the World Dragon City. However, we were fully prepared when you showed up.” Chi Wuyao said slowly, “Can you guess why that was the case?”

“...” Qi Tianli could not and would not answer the question. It was one of those questions that entered his mind every now and then, but he dared not ask for fear of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

“It was because Zhou Xuzi’s eyes… belong to me.”

Chi Wuyao’s voice grew increasingly slow and quiet. It was to the point where Qi Tianli could not tell if it came from above him or within his soul. “Just the same, the reason he was able to escape the Eastern Divine Region and seek refuge in the Dragon God Realm wasn’t because he was lucky, but because I let him live.”

“I had left a thread of my devilish soul in his. From that point onward, everything he saw, heard, and even thought were known to me.”

“Of course, to this day, he still doesn\'t know about it.”

The Devil Queen’s voice trapped his soul and refused to fade. It was at this moment a terrible, devilish cry that seemed to originate from the Era of Gods broke out inside his soul sea and caused him to shiver like a leaf.

The Devil Queen was clearly doing something to him, but he neither had the courage nor the time to resist. The next thing he knew, his world had sunk into infinite darkness…

He did not know how much time had passed. It could be a few milliseconds, or it could be a couple of years. Regardless, Qi Tianli was almost surprised to see that he was still alive when he regained his vision.

He was still kneeling on the floor of Emperor Yun City, and Chi Wuyao was still staring down at him from above.

The Devil Queen’s voice rang beside his ears once more. “From now on, you are my second Zhou Xuzi.”

“I will know everything you see, hear, and think without fail.”

“If one day you act or even think beyond your station once more, this queen will notice it immediately. When that happens…” Chi Wuyao said in a calm but soul-piercing voice, “Not even ten Blue Dragon Emperors will be enough to keep your race alive!”

Although slave imprints were one of the worst things a living being could be subjected to, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the enslaved in the sense that their identity would be replaced by an obedient drone’s. Not only would they be perfectly loyal, they couldn\'t feel sadness, anger, shame or any other negative emotions toward their condition at all. Quite the contrary, they viewed serving their master as the highest honor of their lives, even if it really was a life that was worse than death.

On the other hand, Chi Wuyao’s Soul Stealing inflicted a different kind of torture. The person whose soul was “stolen” would never be able to escape her shadow. Privacy as a concept no longer existed. If the Devil Queen so wished, she could spy on every second of their life.

To someone like Qi Tianli, this was a far worse punishment than being implanted with the slave imprint.

It was the bed he made though. He had no choice but to lie in it. No matter how inconsolable he felt, he had no choice but to kowtow and thank the Devil Queen for her “mercy”.

Chi Wuyao turned away from the Qilin and said, “I will publicly announce that you are Soul Stolen so that the monkeys will not be tempted to emulate your path. Now, return to your Qilin Realm as soon as you can. You best not show your despicable face to Emperor Yun until much later, or this queen cannot say if he will change his mind.”

Head still pressed against his chest, Qi Tianli rose to his feet. He nearly stumbled and dropped back to his knees.

“Thank you, Devil Queen… this old one shall return right away.”

He took a few steps backward before acting to turn away. Suddenly, he paused in his footsteps and, after a long bout of hesitation, mustered the courage to speak up, “Can… can this old one say something, Devil Queen?”

“Speak,” Chi Wuyao responded without bothering to turn back to face him.

Qi Tianli sucked in a deep breath before starting, “Mo Beichen had spoken of the Abyssal Monarch several times while this old one was in his presence. The man he speaks of is a gentle and benevolent ruler who loathes conflict and abuse. The Abyss was a world of infinite horror and death until the Abyssal Monarch took the helm and slowly guided them toward stability.”

“Perhaps. So?” Chi Wuyao narrowed her eyes.

“It would have been beneath Mo Beichen to lie to the people of Primal Chaos, so this old one has no reason to believe that he was lying. If the Abyssal Monarch really is a gentle and benevolent ruler, and the reason he invaded this world is merely to preserve the people of the Abyss, then perhaps their emergence may not be the calamity we think.”

“If I may be so bold… there is no one who can match Emperor Yun in this world, but the Abyss is a different story. If one Mo Beichen is enough to drive us to the brink of defeat, then this old one cannot see any hope of Emperor Yun beating back the Abyss even if he becomes ten times stronger than he is now.”

“That is why this old one still believes that the best way to maintain world peace and preserve the lives of all who live is to join them, not reject them by force.”

“Hah!” Chi Wuyao let out a disdainful chuckle while looking up toward the distance. A cold, devilish light glimmered behind her pupils as she said, “I have never placed the initiative of my fate in another’s hands, and I am not about to start now!”

“Furthermore, you have made a major error in your calculations.”

The light spread out and encased her eyes in ice. “You underestimate His Majesty far too much! He is the inheritor of the Heretic God and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor! You think that you have seen his limits already? You believe that the Abyss is worthy to be his better!?”

“Get out of my sight!”

She threw her palm backward, and a gust of black wind struck Qi Tianli before he could do anything. He let out a cry of surprise as he was knocked right out of Emperor Yun City.

Chi Wuyao withdrew her palm and remained where she was. She was silent for a very, very long time.

She had not, in fact, stolen Qi Tianli’s soul.

In essence, Soul Stealing required her to extract a thread of her Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul and secretly attach it to her victim’s soul.

Considering the situation they were facing, it would be a complete waste of power to attach a thread of her soul to an absolute coward.

The effect was the same anyway. Qi Tianli would never stop wondering if she was monitoring him until the day he drew his last.

She really meant what she said at the end, however.

Thanks to the ancient knowledge afforded to her by the Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul, she knew better than anyone how powerful the inheritances Yun Che bore were.

It was true that the Abyss was powerful enough to overcome everything the God Realm, no, the entire Primal Chaos could bring to bear.

Everything, except Yun Che.

Her beloved possessed unlimited potential… but only if he was determined enough to push himself beyond his limits.

............

“Father!”

The door was thrown inward, and Yun Wuxin rushed into the room. She was accompanied by a calm-looking Qianye Ying’er.

“...” Curled up on his bed, Yun Che slowly looked up before calling her name distractedly. “Wuxin.”

Seeing that her father really had woken up from his coma, Yun Wuxin hurriedly wiped away her tears before cupping Yun Che’s hand carefully. “Father, how… how are you feeling?”

Yun Che shot her a gentle smile. “Sorry to make you worry, I’m fine. Once I can begin circulating my profound energy, it should take just a few days for me to recover.”

“...” Qianye Ying’er frowned. She shot Yun Wuxin a glance, hesitation clearly etched on her face.

Yun Che was obviously very out of sorts right now. Yun Wuxin might not have noticed because she was too emotional, but not her.

“Mm!” Yun Wuxin nodded strongly. “Everything is fine as long as you’re fine, father. I… I’ll go inform mom, master and everyone else right now.”

Yun Che neither nodded nor shook his head. Still staring somewhat blankly forward, he raised an arm and said, “Wuxin, Qianying, can you lift me to my feet? I would like to take a walk.”

“What? Right now?” Yun Wuxin looked at him worriedly. “But you just woke up from such serious injuries…”

“Here you go.” Qianye Ying’er showed no such qualms, however. She grabbed Yun Che’s arm and pulled him to his feet in one smooth motion. “Relax. Your father is not as fragile as you think. He’s fine from the moment he wakes up from his coma.”

That was what she said, but Qianye Ying’er could feel his bones sliding unnaturally beneath her palms as she pulled him to his feet. However, the man continued to stare blankly at thin air as if he could not feel the pain at all.

Yun Che slowly walked out of the bedroom while supported by Qianye Ying’er and Yun Wuxin.

A chilly breeze blasted against his face as he stared at Emperor Yun City, the supreme city that belonged to him and him alone.

Nothing had changed, and yet it felt like everything had changed.

The last time he was here felt like a lifetime ago.

I never knew that supreme power could become completely worthless in a single moment until it did.

He Ling is gone…

Hong’er said she had disappeared on the very first day I fell unconscious. She never came back.

She never even got the chance to say goodbye.

“This is the best ending for me, master, so you mustn’t be sad no matter what, okay…”

It was an impossible request.

How could he possibly not be sad about her passing?

They were together in more ways than one. Their lives and souls were literally connected for many years.

Everything he saw, experienced and felt was shared by her, the one companion who never left him for even an instant.

In his subconscious, the possibility that He Ling might leave him one day did not even exist until it became a reality. He never knew how dependent on her he was until now.

Her departure was permanent and without warning. No matter how many times he roamed the inner space of the Sky Poison Pearl and the Eternal Heaven Pearl, he wasn’t able to find even a trace of her presence.

It was as if a pair of giant holes had suddenly appeared in his soul sea. The pain and emptiness he felt was indescribable.

“Father… father?”

Meanwhile, Yun Wuxin called out to him twice and even shook his arm a little, but Yun Che continued staring straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard her at all.

The young woman finally noticed that something was amiss, but Qianye Ying’er shook her head at her before she could decide what to do.

The number of times she had seen Yun Che acting like this could be counted on one hand. The man was clearly enduring some sort of terrible shock and pain right now.

A deep frown appeared on Qianye Ying’er’s features. Was the battle with Mo Beichen that big of a shock, or was he lamenting the passing of Cang Shitian and Huo Poyun?

… Surely not?

Yun Che’s thoughts continued to race more and more wildly.

Yan One, Yan Two, and Yan Three were all gone. He had no doubt that he lost a ton of intimidation power with their passing.

He would never feel their presence anymore. They would never appear no matter how much he called their names anymore. Their loyalty might have been a product of the slave imprint, but…

When he had subdued them at the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness, he certainly did not imagine that he would miss them or be saddened by their passing.

Cang Shitian’s death and the end of the Deep Sea lineage meant that the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm was just a king realm in name now. Their control over the Southern Divine Region must have plummeted like a rock. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Abyss loomed ever closer day after day. He could only imagine the kind of pressure Cang Shuhe was facing right now.

Speaking of the Abyss, there wasn’t a soul in the God Realm who hadn’t heard of their arrival. Chi Wuyao might have kept her report brief for his sake, but he could easily imagine how terrified and panicked the God Realm must be.

How could he blame them? He, the supreme emperor of this universe himself was currently gripped by helplessness and despair.

A single Mo Beichen was able to drive him to this pitiful state and take He Ling away from him forever.

What could he possibly do when the full might of the Abyss showed up?

Did he have the power to even speak of resistance?

Hah… Yun Che closed his eyes and laughed derisively at himself.

This time, the person that surfaced to his mind was the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor.

If he without God Ash was an ant before Mo Beichen, then the Abyssal Knight was a speck of dust before the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. He had full confidence that she could handle even the full force of the Abyss.

In hindsight, it was laughable how hard he had tried to persuade the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor to leave the Primal Chaos. He had succeeded, but all it got him was losing Jasmine to the betrayal of Zhou Xuzi, and now this…

If I could turn back time…

......

Suddenly, his muddled thoughts came to a stop.

It was because he felt as if he was on the verge of recalling something very, very important.

He expelled all random thoughts in his mind and concentrated all of his mind on recalling that feeling. Finally, he remembered something the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor herself had said to him a long time ago:

“The current Primal Chaos Realm is hiding an immense secret and an immense hidden malaise.”

“This is a memory fragment and I’ve put a seal on it. On the day that you perfectly fuse with my Devil Emperor origin blood and are able to perfectly control the Eternal Calamity of Darkness, you will naturally and easily be able to break its seal!” [1]

“Wuxin, Qianying!” Yun Che called out and opened his eyes at the same time.

It was such a drastic change from his previous tune that it caught Yun Wuxin completely off guard.

“Take me back to my bedroom and recast the barriers,” He declared solemnly.

His instinct was telling him that there was nothing more important than this right now.

“I need some time to meditate.”

1. ①: For those who forgot, please refer to Chapter 1536 - Eternal Calamity of Darkness ☜