Chapter 734 – Who Holds the World’s Chessboard? The Underworld Bed Outshines a Wedding Night - Part 3

Li Yuan watched quietly, unmoved.

If what this thing said was true, then its status was far beyond any ordinary ghost. It wasn’t just some echo of the Four Symbols.

No, it

was

the Four Symbols.

And those deep, abyssal eyes, eyes that had seen star systems collapse, stared deeper and deeper into him.

Then, suddenly, the creature erupted.

A burst of shrill, feral screeches tore through the air, sharp, fast, and violent. A wail of cosmic madness.

“You think

you’re

the only one who found the Life Star Art? I found it too. But I couldn’t use it. Not even close. Have you ever seen the true Gods and Buddhas of the Heavens? I thought they were just ants, pathetic and worthless. But they weren’t. Not at all. Have you heard of

great vows

?

“A bunch of lunatics, that’s what they are! Reckless maniacs who didn’t care about themselves, didn’t care how hard cultivation was, always shouting some noble pledge to offer their lives to Heaven and Earth. You think that made them noble? That it meant they were great? No! It was a lie!

All of it

was a lie!

“The Chaos Clan, do you know what they are? The most mysterious race in all the Six Paths. They have two forms. In transcendence, they become spirits of mountains and rivers. In the mortal world, they are born as Heaven’s chosen. They are the most loyal agents of the Heavenly Dao!

“When I descended into the world, Heaven’s chosen were everywhere, more common than fish in a river! I couldn’t kill them all. There were too many! Too many!!”

Each sentence hit like a tidal wave, crashing into Li Yuan’s soul.

But this creature, an amalgamation of the Four Symbols, wasn’t finished. It pressed on, its voice rising, faster, more manic.

“You think they showed up for no reason? Even I didn’t understand back then, but now I do. They were the vanguard, the pioneers paving the way for the return of a Heavenly Dao that should no longer exist!

“This,

all of this

, is the Dao’s grand scheme! I was trapped inside it! And

you

think you’re not?! I can’t see where you came from, but I

can

see you’re caught in the web, just like me!

“Who is the Dao? Who is the one about to

become

the Dao?! Who has already fused with the Northern Dipper, Southern Dipper, Polaris, and Valley Obscura? Who is coming to devour

me

to gather the starlight of the heavens into one body?!

“Coincidence? You think this is all just coincidence?! Can coincidence really bring someone every possible advantage in this world?!

“The children of Chaos wield destiny like it’s their birthright! So if

she

is the Dao, why

shouldn’t

she have that power too?!”

The Four Symbols shrieked with fury. Then its gaze snapped sideways, all those twisted, chilling eyes turned as one to lock onto Yan Yu.

Then with a vicious snarl, it turned back to Li Yuan and roared, “You and I, join forces! Kill this woman! That’s the only way to save me and your last chance! If she succeeds today, you’re

finished.

She devours

me

today. She’ll devour

you

tomorrow!”

Each word, real or false, believable or not, tangled together into an overwhelming net, a psychological siege aimed straight at Li Yuan’s heart.

The Four Symbols wanted to turn the tables right now.

And even if it couldn’t, it wanted to plant a seed of doubt deep in Li Yuan’s mind.

But after a brief silence, Li Yuan only smiled, calm and unshaken.

“So what if she is the Heavenly Dao? Doesn’t that mean...I could be part of the Chaos Clan? Maybe I was born into this world

just for her

?”

Yan Yu blinked, startled. She turned her head slightly to look at him, caught off guard by his words.

The Four Symbols, meanwhile, lost it entirely.

“You’re

not

part of the Chaos Clan! You think I can’t tell? I

know

you’re not! You’re not! You’re NOT!!!”

Li Yuan simply asked, “Then what am I?”

The Four Symbols snarled, “I can’t see your origin...but you’re not one of Heaven’s chosen. You’re not part of the Six Paths at all.”

“You’re wrong. I

am

of the Chaos Path. My existence is for her, only her. I was born to protect her, to nurture her, to walk beside her as she descends into the world,” Li Yuan replied calmly. He turned to look at Yan Yu. “Yan Yu, do it. I’ll...”

He looked as if he were about to leave. He was worried that the Four Symbols’ venomous words might’ve left a sliver of doubt buried in Yan Yu’s heart. And if he stayed, if she hesitated, even slightly, it would mean that sliver had taken root.

But Yan Yu seemed to sense his thoughts. She said softly, “I don’t fully understand it either...but I know this much. He’s not telling the whole truth.”

Li Yuan smiled. “Even if it is, it doesn’t matter. You may not understand, but I do. Everything I’ve become...I couldn’t have done it without you. Maybe, just maybe, I came into this world

just

to protect you.”

His heart had never been one of a god’s. He could never be that cold, that detached.

Within the body of a mighty deity, behind the soul of a terrifying saint, beat the heart of an ordinary man.

The azure robed Underworld Empress and the radiant Lord of Light from the mortal world now stood face to face before the Jade Pool.

After a long silence, Yan Yu finally muttered, “Idiot.”

Then she turned her gaze to the Four Symbols writhing in the pool, her expression turning cold and merciless.

She raised a hand and pushed.

From her palm, a mouth of pure darkness opened, vast and formless, clamping down over the creature entirely.

Waves of Yin energy burst from the pool. The Four Symbols was struggling violently.

In the Heavens, there were Eight Archon Stars.

The Northern Dipper, Southern Dipper, Polaris, and Valley Obscura devoured the Central Constellations.

But the Four Symbols devoured each other—merging into one abomination.

Now, the Path of the Starkin was long closed.

And with this devouring, Yan Yu swallowed the entire sky’s worth of stars into her being, fusing everything that had ever walked the Path of the Starkin.

Starkin were second rank Earth Souls.

So what would happen when she fused them all?

Meanwhile, the stars themselves belonged to the second rank Heaven Souls.

Yan Yu had become the Underworld itself, a world in her own right. Given enough time...wasn’t that, too, a kind of celestial body?

The Yin and Yang of the universe revolved endlessly. And now, it revolved within her.

Born of the Ancestral Lands, awakened in this very cycle of existence, what part of her

didn’t

fulfill the criteria?

And as for Li Yuan...he was precisely a second rank Human Soul.

He had long since transcended the world. And yet, one invisible thread still tethered him to it.

And that thread...who else could it be, if not Yan Yu?

Earth Soul, Heaven Soul, and Human Soul, all second rank.

What would happen when all three aligned?

No one knew. But everyone knew it was the road to the ultimate supreme state.

So when the Four Symbols tried to plant that seed of doubt...well, maybe it wasn’t all false after all.

Maybe that thorn went in deeper than anyone realized.

Li Yuan watched as Yan Yu devoured the Four Symbols, breaking its hold and freeing Sheng’er in the process, and his thoughts began to drift.

They drifted and drifted...to every day he had spent with her.

Back to Little Ink Village.

Back to the pretty village girl who wore a blue blouse with white flower patterns.

Back to the graceful woman ladling porridge to the poor.

Back to the mysterious figure in azure robes, seated on a sea of stars, smiling as she beckoned him near.

Until now, Li Yuan had only harbored the faintest suspicion.

But in this moment, he didn’t know why, or how, it simply felt certain that his arrival in this world...was because

she

had called him here.

He sat quietly by the lakeside, unmoved, listening as the Four Symbols let out its dying roars of unwilling surrender.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Time passed.

At last, Yan Yu had fully devoured the Four Symbols.

Sheng’er’s soul had been freed, and the red and blue flower girls gently escorted it deeper into the Jade Pool to recover.

The taboo level ghosts dispersed one by one, their duties fulfilled.

And once again, only the two of them remained.

Yan Yu walked to where Li Yuan sat.

He was still watching the lake, but when she approached, he lifted a hand and caught hers, pulling her down to sit beside him.

They sat shoulder to shoulder, gradually leaning into one another, watching the still waters in silence.

After a while, Yan Yu said softly, “What it said...made a lot of sense. Sometimes I wonder, what if I

was

the one who set this whole thing in motion, then wiped my own memories and ended up at your side?”

“And what exactly is so special about me? That Heaven itself would weave an entire destiny just to send me your way?” Li Yuan replied.

“Am I special? I was just a village girl from a nameless mountain village. I even thought about selling myself once. Who would’ve guessed I’d come this far?” Yan Yu smiled faintly.

But when she finished, there was no reply, no witty comeback, no moment of mutual musing.

So she turned her head slightly and saw the look on Li Yuan’s face. It was a soft, knowing smile.

“Yan Yu,” he asked, “your memory’s back, isn’t it?”

Yan Yu blinked, her beautiful eyes widening. “Ah, uh, no. Not yet. I mean, I—”

Before she could finish, he had already tackled her down.

She only had time to let out a muffled nasal grunt before his kiss silenced her completely.

But this time, she didn’t slap him or go for his throat.

Instead, her arms rose and circled gently around his neck, pulling him close. Around them, the Yin energy stirred, weaving a black veil that shut out the rest of the world.

Longing that had spanned time and space spilled forth in a desperate, quiet storm.

The ghostwood hairpin that had kept her hair neatly pinned gave way to the motion, falling loose as her hair scattered like waves across the air.

The heat between them could no longer be hidden.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Time passed.

And passed...

Yan Yu’s delicate body rested snugly against Li Yuan’s chest, just like it had, all those years ago, when everything was simpler and closer.

She looked up at him, her gaze tender and warm.

“Whatever the Four Symbols said...none of it will happen. Whether I’m the Heavenly Dao or not, it doesn’t matter. I

won’t

become what it feared.”

But Li Yuan froze.

Because in front of his eyes, a line of text had just appeared.

「

You spent a harmonious night with Yan Yu and gained 507 stat points.

」

Author’s Note

We’re not doing tragedy here, folks. Don’t let the Four Symbols get in your head.