"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Two voices—one belonging to the elder woman, the other the elder man—rang out with immediate, synchronized, and profound reverence.
Yun Che merely looked upon the figures kneeling before him and offered a single, measured nod of acknowledgment.
Although this was the first time Yun Che had laid eyes upon the elder man, his identity was already absolute in the Emperor's knowledge. Meng Jianxi, had long ago informed him of this precise figure: The catalyst of the entire calamity at the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom—no, the very reason that Divine Kingdom had been tragically redefined. That man was none other than Shenwu Xueyan!
"I will give you until the first glimmer of dawn breaks," a voice of exquisite, absolute frigidity cut through the air. It was the ethereal figure of Xia Qingyue who first spoke.
"Regardless of whether your profound research achieves a fruitful conclusion, I will not permit you to continue for a single breath past the set time limit," she continued, her icy gaze resting upon the domineering, golden-hued brilliance of Qianye Ying'er.
Qianye Ying'er gave a curt, arrogant nod to acknowledge the supreme decree. With a sweep of her divine robes, she led the way into a reinforced Seclusion Chamber, the two older, powerful figures following closely behind her.
Soon after, a muffled, soul-stirring groan of raw agony and pain echoed faintly from the chamber. At that moment, Xia Qingyue and Yun Che simultaneously departed the palace in a blinding flash. With a handful of supreme, spatial teleports, the familiar luminous expanse of the Pure Land vanished, replaced by the suffocating, primal darkness of the Endless Fog Sea.
In the ultimate, crushing depths of the Endless Fog Sea, their figures sat as still as divine statues. The surrounding Abyssal Profound Energy began to rumble and converge violently, a titanic, invisible vortex opening around them as they ruthlessly absorbed the boundless power.
No words were exchanged. When their profound cultivation session reached its absolute limit, both of them performed a subtle, respectful bow toward the deeper, most silent core of the Endless Fog Sea, before instantly disappearing back into the illumination of the Pure Land.
Ten thousand, even fifty thousand, massive Profound Ships were moored in silent, impeccable lines before the sacred entrance of the Pure Land. Profound Arks designated for the mightiest of Divine Sovereigns and True Gods sat at the vanguard, while the colossal ships ferrying lower-realm cultivators and the vast common populace were meticulously arranged in the rear, a rigid, unbreakable hierarchy established even in this moment of exodus.
Yet, beneath the staggering difference in rank and profound power, one emotion burned with absolute, unified brilliance in every single eye: unyielding hope. A dream, millions of years in the making, to finally step into the Eternal Pure Land of the Primal Chaos—a world unmarred by the poisonous Abyssal Dust, where children would not fear the oppressive, corrosive Abyssal Dust, and where every existence, from the lowest mortal to the highest God, could find a fleeting moment of true peace.
"MOVE!" Yet, in the midst of this profound, dream-like serenity, a thunderous roar of overbearing arrogance ripped from the lower-tier ranks of the moored Profound Ships.
"You are nothing but a meager, low ranking Abyssal Knight! How dare an insect like you try to dictate orders to this Lord!" The voice was dripping with vile disdain. BOOM! A sound like a heavenly thunderclap erupted. The knight, clad in his heavy-duty gray battle armor, was sent flying backward like a discarded rag doll, a crimson mist of blood exploding from his mouth!
"YOU!" The Abyssal Knight, after spitting several mouthfuls of dark, coagulating blood, finally halted his propelled slide. His colleagues instantly rushed to his side as he raised a trembling arm, pointing a finger of furious outrage at his attacker.
"What? Do you crave a more thorough lesson in subservience?" The man scoffed, his eyes dripping with disdain as he looked down upon the injured knight.
For millennia, this man had been in secluded cultivation, only recently shattering the boundaries of Level Three to ascend to Level Four of the Divine Limited Realm.
Once he exist his seclusion, the news of the mighty Abyssal Monarch and the Fog Monarch leading the people of the Abyss out of this forsaken place had felt like a double blessing from Heaven.
Yet, upon his swift arrival, this damnable low-ranking trash had dared to sour his mood!
A mere Level One Divine Extinction Abyssal Knight tried to dictate orders to him?! Since he could not outright kill this 'bug,' he had simply swatted the knight away with a surge of profound power, venting his immense displeasure.
Indeed, the overwhelming surge of emotion and power could occasionally cause one to forget the absolute order now governing the Abyss.
The retribution was instantaneous. A crushing Late Stage of Divine Limited power radiated forth from a vanguard Profound Ship, and a powerful elder was poised to deliver the expected punishment. Yet, the elder's figure suddenly froze mid-motion, his entire body seized by an uncontrollable tremor. The surrounding crowd was utterly confused; the much-anticipated lesson was suddenly halted. They could only follow the elder's petrified gaze upward.
High in the sky, the figure of Yun Che materialized, having been standing there the entire time, unnoticed. He briefly shot a gaze of cold indifference toward the injured knight before turning his attention to the arrogant man. Yun Che lifted a single, indifferent finger. The man, a master of the Divine Limited Realm, did not even have the time to utter a single desperate scream before his body, Profound Veins and all, was instantly annihilated into a wisp of dark ash.
Yun Che's sudden, absolute appearance and the instantaneous annihilation of a Divine Limited Realm master carved a terrifying, soul-deep horror into every single heart. Countless cultivators felt their profound energy seize and their legs give way. Yet, no one dared to protest. That arrogant wretch had deserved utter oblivion; how could he possibly think he was worthy of disrupting the absolute, unquestionable order?!
Still staring at Yun Che, who hovered silently in the sky, they watched as the Emperor slowly lifted his hand. A silent, blinding surge of pure, Abyssal Dust Profound Light instantly radiated across the tens of thousands of Profound Ships. A breath of profound stillness was followed by an explosive realization:
"Ah... My... MY EROSION IS GONE!"
"I... I AM ENTIRELY FREE OF ABYSSAL DUST CORROSION?!"
"THIS... THIS IS A MIRACLE! AHHH! THANK YOU, LORD FOG MONARCH!"
"THANK YOU, EMPEROR YUN! THE EMPEROR IS MERCIFUL!"
Cries and sobs of boundless, desperate joy and gratitude erupted, forming a thunderous wave of sound that shook the void across the thousands of ships. But before the millions of inhabitants could fully recover from the dual shock of terror and divine mercy, Emperor Yun Che's figure had already vanished into the absolute void, leaving only his unparalleled decree in his wake.
-----
With a silent flicker of profound light, Yun Che and Xia Qingyue materialized back into the immense, reinforced Profound Seclusion Chamber. A supremely satisfied Qianye Ying'er, her golden eyes blazing with the pure, unadulterated delight of a successful ambition, was already waiting for them.
The moment they appeared, Xia Qingyue moved with a speed that defied her current status, rushing to instantly support one of the two elders—the very same esteemed elder who had tirelessly attended to her during her arduous years as the Eternal Night Divine Daughter.
"Grandma Youluan, are you... alright?" Xia Qingyue asked, a rare, profound tremor of worry visible in her voice.
"I am fine, your Majesty..." The elderly woman, Shenwu Youluan, provided a strained, reassuring glance to Xia Qingyue.
Actually, Shenwu Youluan was not injured at all, it was Xueyan who was bleeding profoundly, but Xia Qingyue didn't care about him.
"...."
"But Elder Xueyan... he will require a long period to recover." Shenwu Youluan said out, she looked at the elderly man beside her, who was completely soaked in dark blood and trembling uncontrollably, then cast a gaze of profound, disgusted pity toward the stunning, golden-haired figure of Qianye Ying'er.
To think... such a creature of supreme, flawless beauty... could also house such unimaginable, bone-deep cruelty in her heart...
"I'm... fi-fine... if anyone is... a-asking..." The elder, Xueyan, forced a shaky thumb-up, before his entire blood-soaked body slumped violently to the profound ground. The pain had been a torment that threatened to utterly shatter his soul, yet it had been worth the ultimate price: he was finally, permanently, free of the ghastly taint of the Eternal Night's Death Wishing Mark.
Upon her ascension as the new Divine Regent, Shenwu Yanye had ruthlessly planted the Eternal Night's Death Wishing Mark into the profound veins of every single one of her subordinates. Her paranoia was absolute, borne from the bitter betrayal of her own unrequited love for Shenwu Xueyan. Carried by the crushing, absolute power of a True God's Divine Law, this deadly curse inflicted a relentless, agonizing pain that permeated only the flesh and bone.
As the True God was the absolute, sovereign being of the Divine Kingdom, no power in the Abyss could negate this ultimate decree, condemning the afflicted to an eternity of torment through their physical body.
Even after Shenwu Yanye met her end, the curses did not perish. The sovereign God Source of the Eternal Night Divine Regent persisted in the Abyss's cycle, and thus, the terrifying curse continued its agonizing, inescapable tyranny.
When Xia Qingyue talks the matter to Yun Che, the ever-present Qianye Ying'er was instantly consumed by a dark, sinister interest.
The Eternal Night's Death Wishing Mark was frighteningly similar in concept to her own dreaded Brahma Soul Death Wishing Mark. If she could find a way to somehow merge the two—a composite curse that delivered an absolute, terrifying agony that simultaneously ravaged the soul (from her own Mark) and shredded the flesh and bone (from the Eternal Night's Mark)—just how exquisitely, profoundly delightful would that ultimate instrument of eternal torment become?
Naturally, it took a prolonged period of the Goddess resorting to uncharacteristic begging—a sight of sheer, arrogant beauty pleading—before both Yun Che and Xia Qingyue finally conceded. Though a technique of such unimaginable cruelty was dark and forbidden, if it were to be ruthlessly deployed against their countless, deserving enemies, who in the entire Primal Chaos would dare to utter a single complaint? Furthermore, Xia Qingyue had only allocated a mere few hours for the entire procedure after bringing the two elders to the Chamber. And thus, the present.
As the exhausted Shenwu Xueyan gasped for what seemed like his very last breath on the cold floor, a gentle yet overwhelmingly vibrant Light Profound Energy instantly enveloped both elders. The healing was absolute and instantaneous, their profound injuries vanishing entirely as they were restored to perfect health.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Both elders offered Yun Che a deep, profound bow of overwhelming gratitude. Xia Qingyue immediately moved to accompany Shenwu Youluan, the two having untold conversations to catch up on.
As for Shenwu Xueyan? He was utterly ignored; after all, his purpose as a mere test subject for the glorious Emperor's consort had been fulfilled.
"..."
As the immense, artificial sun of the Pure Land reached its blazing high noon, the entire populace of the upper echelon of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom was gathered within one of the ancient, colossal citadels.
There, Emperor Yun Che deployed his sovereign Light Profound Energy, beginning the absolute purification of all those afflicted by the Eternal Night's Death Wishing Mark.
"Just as anticipated," Yun Che murmured to himself, inwardly offering a brief, supreme acknowledgment to the Goddess of Life, Li Suo, for her vital assistance.
The truth was evident: any form of Death Wishing Mark, be it the insidious Brahma Soul or the agonizing Eternal Night variation, could be utterly nullified by the boundless purity of Light Profound Energy. Due to the absolute, combined purity of his and Li Suo's Divine Power, the entire, monumental task took Yun Che only a few breaths of time.
"It... it's truly gone..."
"The curse... it's completely nullified!"
"THANK YOU, YOUR MERCIFUL MAJESTY!"
"THANK YOU, EMPEROR YUN!"
A cataclysmic wave of shouts, cries, and sobs of gratitude erupted, one after another, from the depths of the Eternal Night populace's hearts and souls. The debilitating curse that had tormented their every breath for thousands of years had vanished into nothingness. On this day, they were all, finally, completely free from their deadly shackles.
At the side of the hall, Shenwu Xueyan, who had just witnessed the scene of universal, effortless deliverance, felt his entire universe violently collapse.
PUKE!
Despite having no physical or spiritual injuries remaining, he vomited a massive mouthful of bitter bile onto the pure ground, his face twitching uncontrollably as his eyes glazed over. He had endured agonizing, soul-shattering torment as a test subject only moments ago.
"Then... what... was ...all of ...that... for?" he murmured, his voice a broken, hollow echo, before his body finally slumped, unconscious from the overwhelming, catastrophic shock.
Observing the utterly defeated, unconscious Shenwu Xueyan on the cold floor, Yun Che's lip curled into a light, chilling smile. "Consider our little grievance settled," he murmured, his voice possessing the finality of a supreme decree, amidst the shouts of gratitude from the populace of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom.
The liberated people were stunned for only a brief moment before they slowly bowed their heads and nodded in perfect understanding.
"You all should proceed to where she is right now," Yun Che's voice echoed in the immense hall.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
To them, this was the Emperor's divine method of repayment; what he had done for them—the complete removal of an eternal curse—was a grace that outweighed any grievance a thousandfold.
With that knowledge, the elders left the citadel, all heading toward one singular, sacred direction: the hallowed place where their new Divine Regent would be officially birthed into power!
As the last of the people departed, Yun Che cast one final, disdainful glance at the broken, unconscious Xueyan.
"Our grievance is truly settled," he murmured with absolute finality, before he, too, vanished, leaving the utterly defeated elder alone on the cold, pure ground.
Who could have possibly known that Xueyan's prolonged, shattering torment today had been entirely engineered by Emperor Yun Che from the very beginning?
While Qianye Ying'er was genuinely consumed by the dark potential of the Death Wishing Mark, Yun Che had only been profoundly displeased that this damnable wretch had cruelly scorned someone who loved him with the fervor of her whole being.
If this imbecile had simply accepted his fortune and taken a few more women, this entire, stupid tragedy would never have unfolded in the first place! This Emperor just profoundlydislikesyou for that!
Still, even after his vengeance was executed and the people saved, one final, supreme action remained for Yun Che before he could truly depart the Abyss with his entire populace.
As one cycle of day and night passed once more, a silent, unrefutable command—an Emperor's Decree—reverberated instantly within the soul-sea of every single Gods and Divine Limited Realm masters in the Pure Land, ordering them to instantly gather in one designated, ancient, and vast hall.
On the solemn morning of the sixth day—the penultimate day before the grand departure from their forsaken realm—the ultimate profound practitioners and the Gods of the Abyss gathered. Regardless of their allegiance to the Abyssal Monarch Mo Su or Emperor Yun Che, all were present in the designated ancient hall.
The low-level order outside had been swiftly and cleanly restored, handled by the remaining Pure Land Guards and Abyssal Knights beneath the Divine Limited Realm. Inside the vast, echoing hall, following a brief, reverent exchange of greetings, Yun Che did not waste a single, precious breath, immediately moving to the central matter at hand.
A Memory Crystal in Yun Che's hand shattered. The resulting scene—a short, horrifying spectacle—caused every single one of the assembled High Priests] to violently leap to their feet in paralyzing terror; even the serene Mo Su and the newly resurrected Pan Xiaodie were no exception.
The vision displayed close to a hundred terrifying, demon like beings violently clawing their way out of a collapsing spatial tunnel, while a single, monumental figure stood against them, single-handedly shoving the entire horde back.
The scene ended with that lone figure sealing the tunnel, but the brief glimpse was sufficient. The sheer, unnatural horror reflected in the eyes of the High Priests and the Abyssal Monarch instantly alerted the others to the unspeakable nature of this unknown, primordial terror.
Amidst the sudden, profound confusion and paralyzing murmurs, a soft, ethereal voice carried a chilling, inescapable weight.
"To think... Lord Heaven Smithing Devil Emperor... is still alive..."
Pan Xiaodie murmured, a primordial terror etched onto her exquisite face. Her voice was delicate, yet to every exalted being in the hall, it struck their souls like a deafening, catastrophic peal of thunder, instantly plunging their hearts into the absolute, frigid cold of death.