The border of the Northern Divine Region.

This place was the closest region of darkness in the Northern Divine Region to the Eastern Divine Region. Because it was so close to the Eastern Divine Region, the aura of darkness in this place was exceptionally thin. There were no devil people within a full five hundred kilometers of this area and even devil beasts were an exceedingly rare sight.

On the other side of the border, the closest star region to the Northern Divine Region was the star region where the Snow Song Realm lay.

Zhou Xuzi was standing outside the border of the Northern Divine Region and peered into the land of darkness that was just within reach. Zhou Qingchen was standing beside him and he wore a bleak and gloomy expression on his face.

The hope of his salvation seemed to be at hand, but he did not seem too excited or nervous about the whole thing.

Of course, in the eyes of Zhou Xuzi and Honorable Tai Yu, this was undoubtedly due to the influence of darkness on Zhou Qingchen’s mind.

Ten millennia ago, Zhou Xuzi and Qianye Fantian had taken Chi Wuyao’s bait and chased her into this land of darkness. It created such a huge commotion that it accidently drew in Snow Song Realm King Mu Xuanyin, who had just entered the Divine Master Realm.

At that time, he had stepped into darkness to chase after the Devil Queen, so even if the world knew, he had nothing to hide.

But today...

“My lord, let us act,” Honorable Tai Yu said. “I will stay behind and guard this area. I won’t let anyone draw near to this place or detect anything. If anything happens on the other side, I will immediately rush over. You don’t need to worry.”

Zhou Xuzi and Tai Yu; one was the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, and the other was the leader of the Eternal Heaven Guardians. The two most important people in the Eternal Heaven God Realm were preparing to conduct the most taboo of transactions and they were painstakingly hiding it from the rest of the world.

Tai Yu took a deep look at Zhou Qingchen before he gave a soft sigh and sent him a sound transmission. “Qingchen, your father betrayed his principles for the sake of his beliefs once before by betraying his promise to Yun Che. The guilt and the pain he felt from doing such a thing nearly destroyed him. But today, he is even willing to cast aside his beliefs for a short while, just to save you.”

“If you do get saved, you must definitely become the greatest and most magnanimous Eternal Heaven God Emperor in the future. That is the only way you will be able to live up to your father’s sacrifice and painstaking effort to save you.”

Zhou Qingchen lifted his head and shut his eyes, his body gently trembling.

In Tai Yu’s eyes, Zhou Qingchen was having a hard time controlling his emotions because he had been moved by his father’s sacrifice. However, he was unaware that the thoughts reverberating in Zhou Qingchen’s heart were the exact opposite of what he believed them to be.

If everything had been wrong from the start...

If their beliefs and convictions had been distorted in the first place...

Who was the true savior of the world... Who was the one who had truly done a wicked thing... Who had truly created this entire mess... Who was the one who truly could not be forgiven...

Why did you let me see the darkness so clearly...

Why couldn’t you have allowed me to continue to be blinded by the light, allowed me to remain ignorant and delusional...

Yun Che, you’ve succeeded in taking your revenge.

You did not kill me, but you made me... so deeply regret the way I have lived, made me so deeply regret that I am... actually the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s son.

To think that the halo of light I used to look up to, and the glory that I used to take pride in, were actually things that were completely mired and twisted up in a million years of sin and filth.

How ridiculous... How ridiculous all of this is!

“Qingchen let us be off.” When he looked at Zhou Qingchen, the dark haze that covered Zhou Xuzi’s face disappeared. He gave him a warm and gentle smile as he said, “Don’t worry, if I didn’t have enough confidence, your father would not bring you to this place. Once this day has passed, everything will be over.”

“Mn.” Zhou Qingchen nodded his head. After that, he followed after Zhou Xuzi and walked toward the land of darkness in front of him.

————

The darkness profound ark finally came to a halt.

Yun Che was the first to get off the profound ark, but he did not take any independent action. Instead, he quietly stood where he had landed as he stared straight into the darkness in front of him. He remained motionless for a long period of time.

Given the deliberately slow speed that Chi Wuyao had been traveling at, Zhou Xuzi had definitely arrived long ago. He was somewhere in front of them, just outside of the range of his spiritual perception.

“Hua Jin,” Chi Wuyao called.

Hua Jin gave a gentle nod of her head. Her willowy body whirled lightly in the air as she silently disappeared into the darkness without leaving behind a single trace.

“Jie Xin, Jie Ling. You only have one mission. Everything else that happens is none of your concern. Do you understand?”

Chi Wuyao very rarely repeated her orders, but this time she had repeated herself to emphasize her point.

Two pairs of beautiful eyes unconsciously flitted in Yun Che’s direction. But after that, they gravely nodded their heads before flying off in two different directions and disappeared into the darkness as well.

The darkness profound ark was not stored away, but instead left hovering where it was.

Qianye Ying’er was just about to get off the profound ark, when Chi Wuyao suddenly appeared in front of her and blocked her way.

“Yun Qianying, you should stay here.”

“...The reason?” Qianye Ying’er asked icily instead of exploding in rage.

Chi Wuyao replied, “It isn’t convenient for you to participate in this event, because your very presence will very likely reveal a flaw in our plan. Allowing you to follow us here is the very furthest I can go.”

“Me? A flaw?” Qianye Ying’er looked like she had just heard a huge joke as her gaze instantly grew cold and dark. “Chi Wuyao, let me warn you one last time. Don’t try to taunt or provoke me again. Because it will be too late once I lose my patience. Even kneeling before me will be useless!”

Chi Wuyao did not seem the least bit angry. She started to slowly move forward as she looked into Qianye Ying’er’s frigid eyes, her towering bosom very nearly brushing against Qianye Ying’er’s own. “Of course, the one who used to be the Brahma Monarch Goddess will not cause us any worry. Because once she has locked onto a target, she will use all of her cunning and every method available to her to obtain it. She won’t allow anything to distract her from it, especially such a thing as emotion.”

“But is the current Yun Qianying still the Brahma Monarch Goddess she was in the past?”

“...” Chi Wuyao’s fragrant breath gently brushed against Qianye Ying’er’s lips and face. However, Qianye Ying’er did not back down this time. Her eyes grew even colder as she said, “What sort of joke are you trying to tell right now!?”

“Of course you don’t understand. Because if you truly did understand, you wouldn’t have become like this.” Chi Wuyao gave a dry chuckle. “After all, you are the Brahma Monarch Goddess in every other aspect. But in ‘a certain aspect’, you are a little chick who can’t even compare to an ordinary woman.”

Qianye Ying’er said, “You...”

“I hope that you’ll think through these two things properly,” Chi Wuyao continued. “The first thing is something that you’ve mentioned time and again. That vengeance was the reason you were willing to stain yourself with darkness and it was everything to you.”

“Perhaps it really was that way at first. But, if you think back carefully, is the thing that has occupied your heart and mind the most during this period of time still ‘vengeance’?”

“...” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes suddenly froze.

“The second thing is this. As long as it concerns a certain subject, you will speak without any thought or prudence, and you will lose your cool and all sense of propriety. This is also why this queen is forbidding you from following us. Because Yun Che regards this matter with far too much importance and desire. If it isn’t perfect, or if it’s ruined somehow... it would be such a pity.”

Qianye Ying’er stood rooted in place. She was not able to utter a single retort. Her golden eyes looked like shattered stars beneath her mask as they shook wildly.

Chi Wuyao turned around and said, “Of course, if you insist on going, this queen won’t be able to stop you either.”

Her steps were light and graceful as she slowly walked away from Qianye Ying’er.

Qianye Ying’er did not chase after them. She did not take a single step forward, not even after Chi Wuyao and Yun Che’s figures had disappeared into the distant darkness.

She was the only figure left in this empty and vacant world of darkness.

This was the first time Yun Che had completely disappeared from all of her senses since they had met in the Northern Region.

And her soul suddenly felt empty.

————

Zhou Xuzi had waited a whole six hours.

However, he had not grown anxious or tried to venture any deeper into the darkness. The Northern Divine Region had been pressed into a small and pathetic cage by the other three divine regions, so now that Chi Wuyao had finally gotten this opportunity that she could only dream of, as the Devil Queen of the Northern Region, how could she let such an opportunity to vent her anger go to waste?

Finally, Zhou Xuzi started to move again as he raised his head and stretched out an arm. The boundless power of a god emperor surged up out of it and engulfed Zhou Qingchen, forming a barrier around him that could repel ten thousand mountains.

He withdrew his arm after the barrier had been formed, but a thread of energy tethered the two of them together

If it was anyone other than... him, they would not be able to think of reason for why Chi Wuyao would suddenly try to kill Zhou Qingchen. After all, to Chi Wuyao, this bargaining chip should be a trillion times more valuable than killing his son to show off her strength and vent some anger.

Unless she had gone mad.

However, he would not be caught unprepared.

Chi Wuyao sauntered toward him from inside a dense black fog. After she arrived, the already sinister and gloomy land of darkness grew even more oppressive.

Zhou Xuzi felt as if the dusky sky was being pressed down and the atmosphere turned so stifling that he could barely feel his heart beat in his chest.

Gray light was reflected in Zhou Xuzi’s eye and the woman in front of him was bathed in a thin layer of black mist. However, neither his eyes or his spiritual perception could pierce that mist.

Even though her figure was hazy and her face was hidden, Zhou Xuzi had been convinced that she was the Northern Region’s Devil Queen from the very first moment she appeared.

Because he would never ever forget this darkness aura, not even to the day he died.

However, his gaze immediately swiveled to the figure following along behind Chi Wuyao. Upon seeing this person, his pupils contracted slightly.

Yun Che!!

Zhou Qingchen finally lifted his head up as well.

Yun Che’s figure slowly strode out of the black fog.

He was dressed in tattered black clothes and his hair was wild and disheveled. Blood covered his body, a body encased in a layer of black mist. This definitely was not his own power. It was clearly a darkness power that had originated from the Devil Queen.

His steps were plodding and heavy as he trudged through the black fog, but his body looked as hard as strong steel. His eyes were clearly a little blurry and unfocused but they still radiated a devilish malice.

The moment he saw Zhou Xuzi, Yun Che’s entire body went stiff. His eyes glowed with the blood-red light of hatred as he snarled, “Old... Dog... Eternal... Heaven!!!”

Every word contained a bone-piercing hatred, filled with broken teeth and blood. He staggered a single step forward before he charged toward Zhou Xuzi like a lunatic. He looked like an evil spirit whose soul had been pierced by thousands of blades.

Chi Wuyao lightly tapped the air, causing the black mist to bear down on Yun Che and violently press him against the ground. All of his limbs violently spasmed in the air, but he was unable to stand up. The only thing he could do was let out hoarse roars of pain.

His rage, his hatred, his wounds, his blood, and the look in his eyes. All of it was real.

His profound strength and soul power had indeed been completely suppressed and sealed away by Chi Wuyao... However, he could escape from this suppression at any time.

Chi Wuyao did not even spare Yun Che a single glance as she spoke in a languid and indolent manner, “Eternal Heaven God Emperor, it’s been ten thousand years. To think that you’ve grown so old. If this queen had known that this would happen, I would not have wasted so much effort all those years ago. In a few more years, I will have outlasted you.”

“Heh heh. Someone far better than this old one will take my place long before my life withers away so I’m afraid that the Devil Queen’s wishes will be hard to fulfil.”

Zhou Xuzi said those words with a faint smile on his face. His hair and beard fluttered slightly in the wind, giving him the air of a true immortal.

“Is this your youngest son?” Chi Wuyao’s gaze fell on Zhou Qingchen. She allowed it to linger on him as her voice suddenly became soft and cottony. “He’s truly such a handsome child. Since he shares such a destiny with my devil race, why don’t you let this queen keep him? I’ll let him be my ‘Eternal Heaven Child’ and the relations between both of our realms will be repaired. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”

Zhou Qingchen’s entire body went limp as his eyes instantly turned colorless. A trickle of drool dribbled down the corner of his lips.

Buzz!

Zhou Qingchen felt as if millions of bells had exploded in his head as his body swayed and his eyes regained their focus. However, his entire body was already matted in cold sweat... Zhou Xuzi pressed a palm against his chest, pushing Zhou Qingchen behind him. His voice grew deeper as he said, “Devil Queen, both you and I want something. If our deal falls through, this old one guarantees that you will never be given another chance like this!”

“Aiyah.” Chi Wuyao gave a soft cry of affected displeasure as she withdrew her soul power. She smiled cheerily and said, “This queen only decided to play a tiny joke after seeing how handsome this child was. As a god emperor, there’s no need for you to be so petty. However...”

She took a single step forward. “This queen never imagined that you’d come by yourself... Oh, but it’s no wonder, the distinguished successor to the throne of the Eternal Heaven has actually become a devil person. And you, the grand and distinguished Eternal Heaven God Emperor, actually came all the way to this dark land to beg this queen. If any of this ever got out, it would shock all of the holy men in the three divine regions so badly that their eyes would pop out. It would be such shocking news that the entire world would laugh until their jaws dropped off, so how could you possibly assemble a large task force for this? Hahahaha...”

He knew that the Devil Queen would definitely ridicule him, so Zhou Xuzi remained unmoved. He said, “Devil Queen, you really do think highly of this old one. You’ve even brought two other Witches along with you this time.”

“The two Great Witches who are said to be the most powerful of them all.” His old eyes briefly flickered. “It looks like the Devil Queen is not as calm as she seems when it comes to the object in this old one’s hands.”