Qianye Ying’er trailed behind Yun Che as they ventured toward the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

Qianye Ying’er had stopped speaking, as if she was focused on digesting the news that Yun Che’s soul fragment had imparted to her.

“How come you didn’t ask me about what happened with the Soul Stealing Realm?” Yun Che suddenly asked her.

Qianye Ying’er raised her head and answered Yun Che’s question with another question, “Why do I need to ask about that?”

When he saw the look on Qianye Ying’er’s face, Yun Che’s brow creased. “So you’re saying that you don’t think… To put it in other words, you are convinced that Chi Wuyao didn’t backstab us during the affair in the Burning Moon Realm?”

“Of course.” Qianye Ying’er gave a short and direct answer.

Yun Che lapsed into a short period of silence before speaking, “Why do you think that she didn’t? And why are you so sure of your answer? Everything that happened that day, including the uncannily timely appearance of the Soul Sky Wars.h.i.+p, screams that she was behind it all.”

He had obliterated Fen Daojun in the Burning Moon Realm that day. Chi Wuyao had appeared with the Soul Sky Wars.h.i.+p after that and he had coldly mocked her before fainting dead away… By the time he woke up again, the enormous amounts of rage and alarm in his heart had prompted him to immediately usher Qianye Ying’er into the Primordial Profound Ark so that she could refine the second Untamed World Pellet. He had then immediately headed out to the Yama Realm.

Naturally, he was unaware of what had happened between Chi Wuyao and Qianye Ying’er when he had been unconscious.

“I have my own way of judging things,” Qianye Ying’er said.

“...Since you had some basis for your judgement call, then why didn’t you tell me?” Yun Che’s voice grew stiff.

“I didn’t have any solid basis or evidence. This was a judgement I made based on my instincts and Chi Wuyao’s body language.”

When Chi Wuyao had grabbed her as she fainted in the Burning Moon Realm, her trembling aura and the shock that she felt the instant she caught her were not things that could be faked.

This was on top of the words that Chi Wuyao had said to her later on, words which had deeply unsettled her heart...

“Furthermore, if Chi Wuyao couldn’t even dispel all of your doubts and get you to obediently listen to her, then her t.i.tle as Devil Queen would have been in vain,” Qianye Ying’er said unhurriedly. At the same time, she was eagerly looking forward to Yun Che’s reaction.

“...” Yun Che did not know how to respond to that.

“As expected,” Qianye Ying’er said as her jade lips curved up into a small smile, “without me around, you weren’t even able to fend off her simplest attacks. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even be aware of her eating you alive until it was over.”

“Heh.” Yun Che chuckled mockingly. “You’re so great, aren’t you? But you know, I can still toy with you however I please.”

She used to glare at Yun Che with icy eyes when he used to bully her with his mocking words but she did not look the least bit infuriated this time. Instead, her eyebrows arched as her golden eyes narrowed slightly. She replied in a sweet and cottony voice, “Are you sure that you can still fiddle with me as you please?”

Yun Che’s dark eyes narrowed as well. “Yun Qianying, you’re becoming increasingly disobedient. It can’t be that you think that you can escape from the palm of my hands now that you’ve become a level ten Divine Master once more, can it?”

“I do indeed have the power and qualifications to be a little disobedient. You gave me the power but I always had the qualifications.” Qianye Ying’er gave a smile that was not a smile as she moved forward to walk next to Yun Che. She stared into the distance as she continued, “When I first came to the Northern Divine Region, revenge was my only reason for living. I didn’t even hesitate to become your slave in order to accomplish this goal.”

“But people really do change. To the current me, even though revenge is still important, it isn’t as important as it was before.” Qianye Ying’er smiled sweetly at Yun Che before she continued, “So, when a tool isn’t completely reliant on its master, there are times when it will run away.”

“Heh, now that your wings have hardened, your words have gotten a lot bolder,” Yun Che replied in a cold voice.

Qianye Ying’er turned her jade face toward him, ripples appearing in her clear and bright eyes. “Are you beginning to regret that you didn’t plant that slave imprint in me when you had the chance?”

“No, not at all.” Yun Che’s eyebrows sank as a wicked smile played across his lips. “It’s far more interesting to toy with a G.o.ddess who will struggle and resist, isn’t it!?”

He could sense that Qianye Ying’er had subtly changed.

This change had not been brought about by the strength she gained after refining the second Untamed World Pellet. Rather… it was a change that had occurred after that incident in the Burning Moon Realm.

He was unable to forget the scene of her body curling up in a corner of that dark profound wars.h.i.+p as tears soundlessly streamed down her face.

However, it was not only Qianye Ying’er who had changed. Even his heart had undergone a bizarre change that day… It made him suddenly feel like he might want to continue living even after he had completed his vengeance.

Because there was now something else he needed to do other than take revenge… something that he was actually willing to do as well.

Against his humiliating sarcasm, Qianye Ying’er slightly pursed her lips. Instead of making a retort, she made a sudden announcement, “When you were unconscious, I made a decision on your behalf.”

Yun Che, “?”

“If you become emperor in the future, you will take Chi Wuyao as your empress.” Qianye Ying’er said in an incredibly smooth manner.

Yun Che was stunned by those words. But after that, he scoffed and said, “Those decisions aren’t up to you.”

“Don’t you want to hear the reason first?” Qianye Ying’er replied. She continued without even waiting for Yun Che to say yes, “If you aim to become the true emperor of the north in the short span of time, the grand coronation ceremony is only the first step you must take. As for how to marshal, arrange, and control the power of the Northern Divine Region in the shortest amount of time possible… Chi Wuyao is much more suited to this task than you, than anybody else in fact.”

“Whether it be her understanding of the Northern Divine Region, her ability to manipulate others, or the devilish might she has acc.u.mulated in the Northern Divine Region, she far surpa.s.ses you in all of these aspects.”

“The next thing you need to do is to swiftly increase your own cultivation while bestowing the dark blessing of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness on as many dark profound pract.i.tioners as you possibly can. After you’ve been made emperor, you’ll need to swiftly unite the hearts of the Northern Divine Region and pool its strength together. You’ll also need to balance how the region will function under a single ruler now that the three king realms have all submitted to you…”

“Since the time limit you set for your revenge against the three divine regions is so short, you can only focus on two things. Increasing your own strength and using the Eternal Calamity of Darkness to increase the strength of our forces. The most suitable person to deal with everything else is precisely Chi Wuyao!”

“If she’s your empress, then everything will be made far more simple and direct.”

“In the long run,” Qianye Ying’er continued without giving Yun Che a chance to interject, “if you really fulfill your wish to trample the three divine regions in the future, if you have become someone who has surpa.s.sed the Dragon Monarch as the new ruler of the G.o.d Realm and Primal Chaos, you would still need someone able to a.s.sist you, because you… are utterly incapable of managing or settling a G.o.d Realm which would have been thrown into complete chaos.”

Yun Che: “...”

“Chi Wuyao, however, is definitely capable of it.” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes grew focused. “This is something that she’s always aspired towards. She will definitely perform far better than you can even imagine and the only thing you’ll need to do is to reap the rewards of someone else’s effort.”

Yun Che stared at Qianye Ying’er for a good long while. He finally spoke in a low voice, “You… seem to have engaged in quite a few deep conversations with her.”

“Was I not allowed to do so?” Qianye Ying’er didn’t deny his words. Her delicate eyebrows suddenly slanted as she said, “Oh, so what did happen between you and her during the time I was holed up in the Primordial Profound Ark?”

An unnatural light flashed in Yun Che’s eyes. “Why do you ask that question?”

The strange glimmer that flashed through his eyes confirmed Qianye Ying’er’s a.s.sessment of the situation. She spoke in a slow and enunciated manner, “Because the way you talk about her now is very different from before.”

Yun Che avoided Qianye Ying’er’s gaze. He looked toward the entrance of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and said in a cold voice, “I don’t need some empress. This so-called coronation is only to make things even more convenient.”

“You will need one,” Qianye Ying’er said in a calm voice. “What’s more, it’s only a t.i.tle that will make ‘things even more convenient’. If even I can accept it, then what do you have to…”

Qianye Ying’er’s lips froze the moment those words came out of her mouth and the look in her eyes grew disordered.

Yun Che turned toward her as expected and gave a cold and dull chuckle. “Even you can accept it? Hah, it sounds as if you’re sacrificing even more than me. As a tool, it can’t be that you’ve mistaken your own position by accident, right?”

Qianye Ying’er ignored him and said in an even harder voice, “You need to listen to me regarding this matter!”

“Ridiculous,” Yun Che retorted with a cold snort.

“There’s still enough time.” Qianye Ying’er’s voice grew gentler and her eyes turned languid. “I have my ways to make you listen to me.”

Yan One and Yan Three were eavesdropping on their conversation as they trailed behind them. Their bodies trembled… as they were worried that they might be silenced forever.

“I know a secret concerning Chi Wuyao. You might be very interested in it.” Qianye Ying’er’s lips curved up into a small smile and her gaze was furtive and mysterious.

Yun Che said, “Speak.”

“She still has her vital yin.”

Yun Che: “...”

“I know it sounds really absurd, but… Hmmm?” When she noticed that Yun Che was not the least bit surprised by her revelation, her beautiful eyes flashed. “You already knew about it?”

“How did you find out about it?” Yun Che asked.

“This is something I should be asking you.” Qianye Ying’er whirled around as she craned her exquisite neck forward. Her eyes bored into Yun Che’s own like drills. “No wonder… Could it be that you’ve already slept with her?”

Thunk!

Yan Three’s head collided with the back of Yan One’s skull.

“No,” Qianye Ying’er immediately corrected herself. “Since I wasn’t around, you took the opportunity to sleep with Chi Wuyao.”

“~！@#￥%...” The corner of Yun Che’s mouth twitched.

At this time, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

Yan Two and Tian Guhu.

Compared to when they had just managed to force the inheritance into his body, Tian Guhu’s Yama Devil aura was far more stable now. This was largely due to his stay in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and Yan Two’s a.s.sistance in helping him merge with his power. The black profound light that belonged to the Yama Devils was also glimmering in his eyes.

He was the first person in the history of the Northern Divine Region to have successfully inherited the Yama Devil power without having the required bloodline. However, according to Yun Che’s own words, even though he had inherited the power of a Yama Devil, he was not one of them. He was not bound the same way the other Yama Devils were and he had no need to swear loyalty to the Yama Realm either.

When Tian Guhu saw Yun Che, his body came to a halt and he immediately fell to his knees. “Tian Guhu greets my lord.”

“It looks like your merging with the Yama Devil power has been going quite well,” Yun Che said with a nod of satisfaction. Tian Guhu’s darkness profound energy had stabilized at around the eighth level of the Divine Master Realm. Even though he did not have enough time to boost his compatibility with the Yama Devil power and reach the ninth level before they attacked the three divine regions, it was still a world of difference from when he had just been a level seven Divine Sovereign.

“I thank my lord and Senior Yan for helping me succeed,” Tian Guhu said as he inclined his head.

Yun Che noticed that Tian Guhu no longer looked as confused and dazed as he did when he first arrived here. The Tian Guhu who had emerged from the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness looked as sharp and hardy as a good sword.

“Tian Guhu, answer this question of mine,” Yun Che said. “How did you come to those convictions?”

He was actually rather curious about that.

He had been born with such a high status and his halo of brilliance was blinding, yet he had chosen to call himself “Guhu” and the conviction to change the Northern Divine Region’s circ.u.mstances burned in his very bones.

“Because of hatred,” Tian Guhu replied. He raised his head to look at Yun Che as his voice turned grave. “The woman that I loved the most died in the ceaseless squabbles over power and territory that has plagued the Northern Divine Region since its inception. And these things will never change... unless we can escape the fate of being locked up in this cage.”

“So that’s how it is.” Yun Che laughed. “No wonder I thought I sensed something familiar about you when we first met.”

Tian Guhu’s eye bulged at those words.

“Return to the Imperial Heaven Realm,” Yun Che said. “It won’t be long now. The day that you thirst for is right in front of you, so you definitely mustn’t waste the influence that you’ve painstakingly garnered over the years.”

Tian Guhu sucked in a deep breath before saying in a solemn voice, “Guhu understands.”

Tian Guhu left but Yan Two remained where he was.

“A forced inheritance. Did the Eternal Calamity of Darkness have such an ability?” Qianye Ying’er said as she shot a glance at the departing Tian Guhu.

“It was not entirely the work of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness,” Yun Che replied.

“But what I really want to know is what the side effects of this forced inheritance are?” Qianye Ying’er asked as she looked to the side. If there were no negative side effects, Yun Che would definitely have used it on her first rather than “waste” it on someone else.

“You will lose seventy percent of your lifespan,” Yun Che calmly replied. “Furthermore, after he dies, the origin power will dissipate, never to return.”

“Oh?” Shock and astonishment colored Qianye Ying’er’s face. “He actually didn’t object?”

“This was also the reason I chose him,” Yun Che said in a deep voice. “I am well aware of how frightful obsession can be. Not only would he not have any objections, it would even increase his obsession. After all, since he has already paid such a heavy price to obtain this power, it will only increase his desire to exert in the fulfillment of his ‘dreams and desires’!”

“...” Qianye Ying’er quietly glanced at Yun Che and her eyes misted over. “I think it’d be better for you to preserve the two Burning Moon Realm devil origin powers that you have with you. As long as you control it and follow its rules of inheritance, you will possess a power that will never die out. It’s simply far too wasteful to force an inheritance on someone and have it dissipate forever after that.”

Yun Che agreed, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to find a second Tian Guhu in this Northern Divine Region either.”

“Let’s go!”

He grabbed Qianye Ying’er’s hand and flew straight into the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

Just as the Three Yama Ancestors were about to follow, a shout sent them reeling backwards. “The three of you are to keep watch outside and seal it with the barrier! No one is allowed to enter!”