Chapter 1710 - Raising the Curtain of War
“We’ve finally broken through.”
Qianye Ying’er appeared at Yun Che’s side. She looked him up and down once before saying, “You used the primordial yin energy in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness to increase your cultivation by two levels. According to this speed and the seemingly non-existent ‘bottleneck’ of your Heretic God Profound Veins, you’ll be able to break through the limits of the Divine Sovereign Realm and become a Divine Master in about four or five years.”
“That’s enough.” Yun Che turned around. “Let’s return to the Soul Stealing Realm.”
When they reached the Soul Stealing Realm, Witch Chanyi and Witch Yu Wu came out to welcome them back. “Your Magnificence.”
After undergoing Yun Che’s “Dark Growth” for one entire year, the Witches, Moon Eaters, and Yama Devils had achieved an even greater compatibility with their devil god powers. Yu Wu and Chanyi’s cultivation had also grown by leaps and bounds and they had reached the ninth level of the Divine Master Realm.
If not for Yun Che’s “Dark Growth”, they would have needed at least a thousand years to reach that level of cultivation.
“Where is your master?” Yun Che asked.
“Your Magnificence, Master has not been in the Sacred Region during this period of time. However, Master has already received word of the Devil Master’s breakthrough, so she should be returning soon.”
Just as Chanyi had finished speaking, a cottony and seductive voice rang in his ears. “Oh my Lord Devil Master, are you truly so eager for action?”
Anyone would know that these words were referring to Yun Che’s eagerness for “revenge”, but when Chi Wuyao said them, it sounded like she was trying to flirt with him. Color instantly bloomed in Yu Wu and Chanyi’s cheeks as they lowered their delicate heads.
Chi Wuyao had appeared as bewitchingly seductive as always. But this time… she seemed a little spent too.
After Yun Che had been crowned Devil Master, he had spent most of his time cultivating or bestowing the blessing of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness on the elites of the Northern Divine Region. He had also used “Dark Growth” on the individuals who formed the core of his army’s strength. Chi Wuyao had been left to run the entire Northern Divine Region by herself.
“I’ve reached the tenth level of the Divine Sovereign Realm.” Yun Che’s face was impassive, but a layer of dull black energy swirled around him agitatedly. “We can begin!”
Yun Che had ultimate mastery over darkness profound energy, so it was very rare to see his darkness energy go even slightly out of control.
He had truly… grown tired of waiting.
The demons in his heart had never stopped tormenting him during these last few years he had spent in the Northern Divine Region. They tore at him from the inside in a frenzy, as if they were constantly trying to rip free from the prison of his body.
“Alright.” Chi Wuyao did not try to dissuade him like Qianye Ying’er had. She merely gave a slow nod of her head. “The stage has already been set. The only thing left to do is to pull back this dark curtain.”
“However, before we begin in earnest, we need to account for all the variables again.” Chi Wuyao turned her beautiful eyes towards him. “Yun Che, are you still set on having that place be our first 【stage】?”
“Yes!”
Yun Che raised an arm and a grayish-white cauldron immediately appeared in front of him.
This was the Great Void Cauldron Yun Che had plundered from Honorable Tai Yin’s body after he had killed him in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.
As an artifact the Eternal Heaven God Realm inherited from the gods, the Great Void Cauldron was not only the strongest spatial profound artifact in the Eternal Heaven God Realm. It was the strongest spatial profound artifact in the entire Eastern Divine Region.
The gigantic dimensional formation that had connected the Eternal Heaven God Realm to the borders of the Primal Chaos, the one that had been built because of the Crimson Calamity, had been built using the Great Void Cauldron as its core.
However, one had to possess the Eternal Heaven divine power in order to activate the core power of the Great Void Cauldron. If an outsider got their hands on the cauldron, they might be able to force it open, but it would be nothing more than a useless “dead” artifact.
Chi Wuyao stretched out a hand and moved the Great Void Cauldron to her side. She stored it away and said in a cottony voice, “Speaking of which, a piece of interesting news has come out of the Eternal Heaven God Realm recently.”
“What news?” Qianye Ying’er asked.
“The Eternal Heaven God Realm is about to elect a new crown prince in about a month. It’s happening so quickly that even I find it quite odd,” Chi Wuyao said languidly.
After Yun Che had improved their compatibility with darkness energy, the profound practitioners of the Northern Divine Region could completely control and withdraw their darkness aura even when they left the confines of their dark environment. They no longer needed to worry about losing control and having their identities exposed.
A huge information gap started to form between the Northern Divine Region and the other divine regions because of this… However, this was something that three divine regions had not noticed and by the time they did, it would be far too late.
“Is it Zhou Qingfeng?” Qianye Ying’er immediately named the person she thought was the most likely candidate. After that, she let out a contemptuous laugh. “Hmph, just another piece of trash.”
There was no one from the Eternal Heaven God Realm in her generation who had been worthy of her notice.
“Who it is isn’t important.” Chi Wuyao gave a soft laugh. “Once I obtained that piece of news, I immediately took advantage of the situation and helped the Eternal Heaven God Realm spread the news. But I did end up running Hua Jin ragged. If my Lord Devil Master has the leisure, don’t forget to water her a little.”
“...This really is a pretty good opportunity,” Yun Che replied in a cold voice.
“Oh?” Chi Wuyao suddenly turned her beautiful eyes toward him. A smile bloomed on her face, causing her bewitching seductiveness to pervade the air. “So my Lord Devil Master isn’t opposed to rewarding Hua Jin with your nectar? Then I’ll ask Hua Jin to go and receive her reward a little later?”
“If you only reward one person, aren’t you afraid that the other eight Witches will start feeling neglected?” Qianye Ying’er retorted with a soft snort. Her eyebrows curved into crescents as a small smile played across her lips. “Why don’t you just deliver all nine Witches to him to avoid any favoritism! He’ll certainly be more than happy to help them!”
“Before we enter the ‘stage’, I will bestow Dark Growth on all of them one more time.” Yun Che said those words curtly before he turned around and left.
Chi Wuyao gave a soft sigh, but her lips curled up into a seductive smile after that. “Ah, how unromantic.”
Qianye Ying’er coldly replied, “Now that we’ve finally reached this point, his mind is definitely fixed on what happened back then.”
“This is also why I stopped trying to dissuade him.” Chi Wuyao’s alluring smile slowly disappeared as she said those words. A gloomy cold light soundlessly started to glimmer in her eyes. “Over the past year, I’ve been observing the changes in the Northern Divine Region while analyzing the battle scenarios we might find ourselves in.”
“Even though the strength of the Northern Divine Region’s elites cannot compare to any one of the three divine regions, we… can indeed raise the curtain of war.”
“Because the ultimate deciding factor isn’t the combined strength of both sides. It is… Yun Che!”
Though the strength of the Northern Divine Region’s upper echelons had undergone a veritable transformation over the past year, they were still far weaker than the experts of any other divine region. This was something that could not be denied. However, Qianye Ying’er was not surprised about Chi Wuyao’s statement. Her golden orbs also turned cold as she asked, “So what do the other regions think of Yun Che’s coronation as the Devil Master of the Northern Divine Region?”
“A puppet,” Chi Wuyao replied, “and a rather pathetic one at that.”
“Just as expected.” Qianye Ying’er let out a dry chuckle. She had no choice but to admit one thing. If she hadn’t been by Yun Che’s side these past few years, if she was still someone who belonged to the Eastern Divine Region, she would definitely share the same opinion as them.
After all, how could a junior, who had no choice but to pathetically flee to the Northern Divine Region when he was being hunted by all the divine regions, actually become the ‘Devil Master’ of the Northern Divine Region?
Was it because he possessed the Heretic God’s legacy? No matter how “pathetic and destitute” the Northern Divine Region was, this was still far too ridiculous.
Even if everyone in the three divine regions had known about the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s return, even if they had known that Yun Che had inherited her legacy, it would still be a joke to them. In fact, it might further solidify his status as a “puppet” in their minds.
The Eternal Heaven God Emperor was aware of just how frightening Yun Che’s strength had become. Even so, although his outrageous transformation was astounding, it was not something that would arouse any alarm. After all, the Northern Divine Region was still the Northern Divine Region in the end. Even if one more god emperor appeared, it would be no cause for concern. Even if several more god emperors popped up, they would still only be a bunch of devils trapped in a cage.
The reason why they were scared of Yun Che was because of what he would become in the future.
However, they had never dreamed that Yun Che would cause the Northern Divine Region itself to undergo such a massive transformation over the last few years. They had also never dreamed that the “future” would come so quickly.
“The easiest enemies to silence with a single cut of the sword are those who are careless and unaware,” Chi Wuyao said languidly. After that, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Who would have thought that the pathetic state of the Northern Divine Region, a state which has existed since its inception, would actually become its greatest advantage.”
“Are we really going to begin?” Qianye Ying’er suddenly asked.
“Of course.” Chi Wuyao stared into the distance. “How could I dare to go back on the promise I made to our Lord Devil Master.”
“Furthermore, I’ve always had this feeling,” Chi Wuyao continued, “that our Lord Devil Master is still hiding some things from us.”
Qianye Ying’er: “...”
“Of course, being able to hide things from even you and I is something which can be called admirable growth when it comes to him. In fact, he might even spring an unexpected but pleasant surprise on us when the time comes.” A faint smile reappeared on Chi Wuyao’s face. “He is so anxious for revenge… But on the other hand, he is painfully aware, more so than anyone else, of how he fell into such a state. In that case, if he wasn’t feeling confident enough, would he really be prepared to take this step forward?”
“Hmph, you really have a lot of confidence in him,” Qianye Ying’er said.
“Ai.” Chi Wuyao sighed gloomily. “In the end, he’s still my man. What else can I do but believe in him? Even if he’s just being willful, I can only let him do what he wants.”
After she finished speaking, her beautiful eyes darted toward Qianye Ying’er as she laughed softly. “This was exactly how Mu Xuanyin used to spoil him back then.”
“...” Qianye Ying’er suddenly thrust out an arm. “Hand the Great Void Cauldron to me.”
“Oh?” Astonishment bloomed on Chi Wuyao’s face, but she wavered the moment she noticed the look in Qianye Ying’er’s eyes. “Are you thinking…”
“The amount of blood and sin covering me has long been enough to drag me down to the eighteenth layer of hell,” Qianye Ying’er said in a cold voice. “So you should naturally leave such things to an sinner like me.”
“I have the Ni Yuan Stone, so I can alter my aura… It will be the safest for me to do it.” Her gaze turned dark and sinister. “Because I understand Eternal Heaven far more than you, far more than anyone in the Northern Region.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Chi Wuyao gave a small nod of her head and said, “Okay.”
The Great Void Cauldron appeared and she pushed it to Qianye Ying’er.
She tapped the air with her finger and a cluster of soul light flew toward Qianye Ying’er. “These are the three most suitable star realms, when are you going to make your move?”
“Right now!”
Her voice lingered in Chi Wuyao’s ears but Qianye Ying’er had already soared into the sky. She did not head in the direction that Yun Che had or call out to him. Instead, she flew toward the south of the Northern Divine Region at her fastest possible speed.
With a very soft sigh, Chi Wuyao whispered, “Hua Jin, go.”
Another figure took to the air as Hua Jin chased after Qianye Ying’er.
A vast and gloomy dark star region.
Qianye Ying’er came to a stop in this place. A rather large star realm of the Northern Divine Region lay in front of her. This was a lower star realm that was close to the border of the Northern Divine Region. Because of its proximity to the border, the aura of darkness in this place was rather thin, but this star realm still possessed a fearsome reputation in this dark star region.
Qianye Ying’er lifted a hand and the Great Void Cauldron appeared. The grayish-white body of the cauldron expanded as she injected power into it. It swiftly swelled up until it was several kilometers in length.
At the same time, an incredibly heavy might enveloped all of the living creatures in this star realm. They unwittingly raised their heads to the skies as they trembled and gasped due to this unknown terror which gripped their hearts and souls.
Even though she was not able to use the spatial divine power of the Great Void Cauldron, as a primordial divine artifact, it was an exceedingly excellent vessel for power, an item that was practically indestructible in the current era.
Once she had injected enough power into the cauldron, Qianye Ying’er gave it a gentle push. The Great Void Cauldron instantly transformed into a pale white meteor. It hurtled downwards, mercilessly smashing into the surface of the star realm.
Boom——————
Destructive divine light and cacophonous explosions filled the air. Star realms were not as fragile as planets were, but the power of a Divine Master was no less than a world-ending disaster to a lower star realm.
The instant the power of the Great Void Cauldron erupted, countless cracks instantly appeared across the surface of the fragile star realm. In the very next instant, the entire star realm shattered, burying countless living creatures along with it.
Wails of misery, an aura of despair, the taste of fresh blood… Qianye Ying’er impassively gazed upon the destruction, her expression unchanging.
Just like the Brahma Monarch Goddess of old, who viewed all life as nothing more than blades of grass.