Chapter 2159: Sorrowful Fate

It had been two years since the kidnapping of Meng Jianyuan and Shen Wuyi.

In that time, the Fog Sea had become a battleground.

With the Abyssal Monarch and the Gods of the Divine Kingdoms sending countless forces to hunt down the Fog Monarch, the outer regions of the Fog Sea had been transformed.

—

The once untamed abyss was now filled with countless cultivators.

The weaker Abyssal Beasts and Abyssal Ghosts had long since been slaughtered, their remains either absorbed by the dust or scattered across the desolate land.

Massive camps had been erected throughout the outer region, forming makeshift Safe Zones for those who dared to enter the Fog Sea in search of clues.

The very presence of so many powerful beings had shifted the balance of the region, making the outer area far less dangerous than before.

But despite this—no one had yet found a trace of the Fog Monarch.

—

At this moment, a pale-faced figure emerged from the inner region of the Fog Sea, his breath unsteady, his aura slightly unstable.

The moment he stepped into the outer Safe Zone, countless gazes turned toward him in shock.

Because this man had actually come from the depths of the Inner Fog Sea!

—

He was Divine Son of the Star, Sha Xing.

Behind him stood several elders, each bearing the sigil of the Moon and Star Divine Kingdom, their expressions filled with a mix of concern and unease.

—

"Divine Son Xing, are you sure you're okay?"

One of the elders spoke, his voice heavy with worry.

His face was far too pale, his usually star-like eyes dim, as if something had shaken him to his very core.

"I'm fine."

His voice was steady, but there was no conviction behind it.

It wasn't that he was physically injured—far from it.

With several Divine Limited Realm elders accompanying him, his safety was all but guaranteed as long as they didn't truly venture into the true depths of the Endless Fog Sea.

But these past two years…

His mind had never been at peace.

—

After his Divine Regent and the other True Gods declared that the Knight Commander had likely been implanted with an Abyssal Core, effectively turning him into a walking corpse that had only been waiting for the right moment to erupt and become an Abyssal Ghost…

The Star Divine Son had paled in terror.

—

Because he, too, had encountered the Fog Monarch.

And he was afraid.

So damn afraid.

—

It had eaten away at him, a fear so deep that he could barely sleep.

And so, under the guise of leading a search for traces of the Fog Monarch, under the pretense of searching for the missing Dreamweaver Divine Son, Meng Jianyuan, he had gathered the elders of his Divine Kingdom…

And led them into the Endless Fog.

—

Yes, he was here to find the Fog Monarch.

But not to fight.

Not to capture.

—

He wanted to beg.

To kneel before the Monarch.

To plead for mercy.

Because he was sure of it.

There was an Abyssal Core inside him.

—

He still remembered that day—

The day the Fog Monarch invaded the Pure Land.

In that moment, he had felt it.

A cold sensation deep inside his soul, something lurking within him, something that had threatened to awaken.

And yet—

Nothing had happened.

It had remained dormant.

—

But the terror never left him.

Even after he had his Divine Regent personally scan his body and soul, after the True Gods themselves found nothing inside him…

Even then—

His mind could not rest.

Something was there.

Something was waiting.

And he was running out of time.

"....."

Just behind him, the Moon Divine Son could only shake his head.

He understood Sha Xing's feelings—

But there was nothing he could do.

-----------

At the very edge of the Primal Chaos, where the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and the True Devils had once departed, stood a gathering of the strongest cultivators in the world.

—

"Devil Queen, are you sure it's not just another echo of the past?"

Qianye Ying'er's golden eyes narrowed, scanning the empty void before them.

She had checked again and again—

But there was nothing.

—

After that day, when a mysterious sound shook the entire Primal Chaos, they had immediately rushed back here, hoping to find something.

But once again—there was nothing.

—

Unlike when the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and the True Devils had torn open the Primal Chaos' barrier from the outside, where visible cracks had formed in the void,

Right now, before her gaze—

There was nothing.

No cracks.

No traces.

Just endless emptiness.

—

"...."

Beside her, Chi Wuyao remained silent.

—

Then, in a quiet voice, she finally spoke.

"Maybe you're right..."

But unlike before—

Unlike the first time, when she had completely dismissed the possibility…

This time—

A chill crept into her soul.

No—

Not her soul.

The soul of the Devil Emperor that still remained within her.

A feeling she could not shake.

A feeling that whispered—

Something is wrong.

Beside Chi Wuyao and Qianye Ying'er, many other figures stood silently—each one a peak cultivator of this world, their presence commanding yet reverent.

They had all gathered here for one reason.

And for months, they had waited.

Ever since that day, when a sound unlike any other had shaken the entire Primal Chaos, they had remained, searching for answers that never came.

—

"Let's return…"

Chi Wuyao's voice was steady, but there was a trace of exhaustion beneath it.

The cost of maintaining a teleportation array to the very edge of the Primal Chaos was astronomical.

Even as the Empress of the God Realm, even with all the resources at their disposal, the sheer effort required to sustain this passage was too great.

They could not afford to keep it active forever.

One by one, their figures stepped into the formation, their time here coming to an end.

—

But just before Chi Wuyao, Qianye Ying'er, Shui Meiyin, and several others could step inside—

Their entire beings froze.

—

A feeling of absolute death surged into their souls.

—

A moment later—

Their profound auras erupted in full force!

—

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!"

—

The explosion that followed tore through space itself, sending shockwaves far beyond the edge of the universe.

The force was so unimaginably vast that even the distant star realms—

Far, far away from the Primal Chaos' edge—

Were violently thrown off their orbits.

—

"UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

—

Screams of pain echoed as blood splattered across the void!

The strongest practitioners of this world—beings who had stood at the pinnacle of all existence—

Were sent flying like leaves in a storm.

—

And then—

For the briefest of moments, their eyes widened in pure horror.

Because this time—

It wasn't just a sound.

—

It was a force.

A power beyond comprehension.

Something that should not exist within their understanding of the world.

—

From the Primal Chaos Wall, at the very edge of existence, a tiny crack formed—

No larger than a grain of sand—

And yet—

Every fiber of their being screamed that it was something far, far more terrifying than its size implied.

—

But before they could even comprehend it—

Before they could react—

The crack instantly mended itself.

It was as if it had never been there at all.

—

Yet—the power that had leaked from that momentary fracture—

Had already been enough to send them all flying.

—

Their bodies were flung across the vast void, their blood trailing behind them, staining the endless abyss of space.

Something trying to come in from beyond.

And it had just touched their world!

--------------

"Hmph! I knew those beasts were set up by you!"

Long Xi's angry voice rang out as her figure shot through the skies, flying far away within the sealed world of the Primordial Profound Ark.

Her silver hair fluttered behind her, her aura still carrying a trace of frustration as she put distance between herself and Yun Che.

—

Yun Che watched her retreating figure with a soft sigh.

Even after all this time, she still remained cold toward him.

And yet—

With each passing day, with each new interaction, he could feel it.

The gap between them was closing.

A day would come—soon—when they would no longer be estranged.

A day when they would finally be a family.

—

Over time, Yun Che had come to understand the real reason why Long Xi was so desperate to leave.

She was searching for a Primordial Flame Crystal—something of immense value for what she intended to do.

But he had promised her—

With his power, his methods, and his resources, he could find her the crystal she needs faster than whatever she could obtain by wandering the Abyss alone.

And finally, after all her stubborn refusals—

She had relented.

And almost obediently remained within this world.

—

"Hahaha! You're very smart, as expected of my daughter!"

Yun Che chuckled as he watched her fly away, amusement dancing in his eyes.

With a contented sigh, he lifted a cup of hot tea to his lips, taking a slow sip.

And then—

—

"Bang!"

—

The tea cup shattered in his hand, fragments of porcelain scattering across the table.

—

Xia Qingyue's voice rang out, gentle yet concerned.

"What's wrong?"

—

Yun Che didn't answer immediately.

He stared at his palm, where the remnants of the broken tea cup lay, his fingers trembling slightly.

It wasn't the shards that unsettled him.

It was the sudden tightness in his chest.

A strange, almost oppressive sensation—

As if something was pressing down on his very soul.

His control over his profound energy had slipped—

Just for an instant.

—

"Nothing… it's just…"

His voice trailed off, his brows furrowing.

"..."

Xia Qingyue silently knelt down beside Yun Che, her movements gentle and deliberate.

Without a word, she picked up the shattered pieces of the tea cup, setting them aside before she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a quiet embrace.

—

"Yun Xi's life… her entire life… has truly been a sorrowful fate."

Yun Che's voice was low, yet every word carried a weight that could not be ignored.

Even as he spoke, his divine senses reached out, following the distant figure of his daughter.

—

"Shen Xi… her mother… is the daughter of the Primordial Azure Dragon God.

The very Ancestor of the Dragon Race itself."

—

A being of such unparalleled lineage, Shen Xi was meant to be untouchable, a divine existence beyond the reach of ordinary creatures.

By that right—

Yun Xi should have been treated as a priceless treasure of the Dragon Clan.

Yet—

Her fate… was nothing but sorrow."

—

As Yun Che spoke, he recounted her experiences from his perspective, the memories flashing through his mind like a cruel tide.

What she had gone through—how she had survived—

He knew it must have been millions of times harder for her than what he had imagined.

And in the end—

He hadn't even been there.

—

"I wasn't even there for almost her entire life…"

His voice wavered, his hands clenching into fists as pain flickered in his misty eyes.

—

Xia Qingyue listened quietly, not interrupting him.

She simply let him speak, let him release the emotions that had long been buried inside.

And then, softly—

She finally spoke.

—

"Even if you weren't there in her earlier years…"

Her voice was like flowing water, calm yet filled with warmth.

"But as cultivators, our lifespans are long… very, very long."

"Why don't you use that time to make up for it then?"

—

As she spoke, she gently held onto Yun Che's face, tilting it slightly so that their eyes met.

A quiet moment passed between them.

In her gaze—there was understanding, patience… and something deeper.

A warmth that he hadn't expected.

"Yes..."

Yun Che's voice was soft, filled with an unspoken warmth.

And then—

He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss against Xia Qingyue's lips.

—

The kiss was brief, fleeting—

But even after they parted, the lingering sensation remained.

The sweet fragrance of his lips still lingered on hers.

—

Xia Qingyue gazed at him, her purple eyes deep as the boundless cosmos.

In them, she saw the infinite starlight of his soul.

But beneath that brilliance—

She also saw his exhaustion.

—

"You must be tired... Just rest for now."

Her voice was soft, soothing.

She reached out, sending a gentle stream of warm profound energy into Yun Che's body.

He did not resist.

Instead, he allowed her energy to wash over him, lulling him into the comforting embrace of sleep.

—

Soon, his consciousness sank deeper… and deeper…

Until he fell into a deep, deep slumber.

—

Xia Qingyue sat quietly beside him, her gaze lingering on his peaceful face.

She had watched over him many times before, but tonight—

She felt something different.

—

For the past three years, they had lived together as husband and wife.

And yet, in all that time, Yun Che had never demanded anything from her.

He had never forced her to share a bed with him, nor had he pressured her into acting as his wife in the way the world expected.

—

Instead, he had spent most of his time cultivating, hunting for resources, and spending time with his daughter.

Aside from those pursuits, their days had been—

Peaceful.

A kind of quiet existence that neither of them had truly expected.

—

And in these years, Yun Che had pushed his cultivation to unimaginable heights.

He had already reached the peak of Level Nine Divine Master Realm—

A single step away from the Ultimate Divine Master Realm.

Divine Master Level Ten.

—

But this great progress had come with a price.

Every last one of the Abyssal Crystals he had gathered had been used up to fuel his ascension.

Still—

Xia Qingyue was not worried.

Because Yun Che was not worried.

—

With his unique ability to see into the bodies of Abyssal Beasts, Yun Che could detect which ones contained Divine Crystals.

To him, resources were limitless.

He never feared running out.

—

And yet—

Despite all his efforts, despite all his achievements—

He still hadn't found another Primordial Flame Crystal.

Yun Che often ventured to the outer edge of the Fog Sea, searching for information.

With his invisibility arts and the divine stone that concealed his aura, power, and soul, no one was able to recognize him.

Each time he returned, he would share everything he learned with Xia Qingyue.

—

"Drip…"

A single tear slid down Xia Qingyue's cheek, unnoticed—

Until the moment it fell.

Her breath caught.

She quickly wiped it away, as if it had never been there.

But no matter how much she wiped away the tears on her face—

She could not erase the ache in her heart.

—

"Just… why are you… only showing me the happy moments, Yun Che…?"

She murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

—

Her gaze drifted to the distant sky, to where Yun Xi had flown away.

Yun Che's words from earlier echoed in her mind—

"Sorrowful fate…"

And suddenly—

A tremor ran through her soul.

—

"Ugh…!"

A violent shaking surged within her, something inside her breaking free.

And then—

A voice, one that did not belong to her, rang through her very being.

—

"Xia Qingyue…

This ruler has never seen such a sorrowful fate before in my entire life…

Even this ruler, who has experienced the calamity of being banished beyond the Primal Chaos, feels grief for you!"

—

The moment those words echoed—

The blurry images inside her mind shattered.

And then—

One by one—

They returned.

—

Her life—as Xia Qingyue of Floating Cloud City.

Her journeys across the Blue Pole Star.

The death of her father.

The death of her mother.

The destruction of the Moon God Realm.

Everything.

Everything she had buried deep within her soul—

Everything that had been sealed away—

It all came crashing back.

"I..."

Xia Qingyue's hands turned cold.

She remembered now.

She remembered everything.

—

The warmth that had once lingered in her eyes slowly faded away, as if it had never existed at all.

Her expression became calm, eerily so, as she quietly placed Yun Che down, letting him continue his rest.

And then—

Without a word—

She walked away.

—

The moment she put enough distance between them, her pace quickened.

And once she was certain that her power would not disturb Yun Che's sleep—

She vanished.

Her speed tore through the air, faster than ever before, as she rushed toward the world's exit.

—

Because of the bond between her and Yun Che, the barrier did not stop her.

It let her pass through effortlessly, as if she was meant to leave.

And soon—

She stepped into the outside world.

—

The Abyss Dust stirred, thick and suffocating, the corrosive energy eroding everything it touched.

The roars of Abyssal Beasts echoed in the air, their instincts flaring at the presence of life.

Yet—

The moment they tried to sense it again—

That life was gone.

—

A mass of Abyss Dust, no bigger than a small room, silently moved away from the Primordial Profound Ark's location.

It was unnatural.

Its presence was wrong.

It was as if it was moving with purpose, yet remained undetectable.

—

"Why… why… why…"

Her voice shook.

Her body trembled beneath the shroud of Abyss Dust.

—

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

One by one, tears fell from her face, vanishing into the gray abyss.

She did not stop them.

She couldn't stop them.

—

"Yun Che…"

Her voice cracked, barely above a whisper.

"Why… are you here…?"

—

And then—

She was gone.

Her figure vanished into the vast Endless Fog Sea, swallowed by the eternal abyss.