If Jun Xilei was anyone else, the three Yama Ancestors would have taken turns putting a foot to her ass and launching her into orbit. Still, she was Jun Xilei, so they could only block her path with the utmost delicacy and care. Just because they were His Majesty's faithful slaves did not mean they were suckers for punishment.
"Little Sword Sovereign?"
Yan One was about to say something when Caizhi's voice came from behind his back. Yun Che's presence had entered his perception as well.
The three Yama Ancestors relaxed like a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders upon their arrival. They hurriedly let go of Jun Xilei as well.
When Jun Xilei saw Yun Che, the control she had barely been clinging to immediately fell apart. Staggering toward him and seizing his shirt with icy hands, she cried, "Flee, Yun Che! You need to flee now! The enemy is too great, and you are the only one who mustn't die no matter what!"
"... !?" Yun Che's confused expression immediately morphed into a deep frown.
Considering Yun Che's current strength and everything he had at his command, he could not even find a threat that was worthy of his attention, much less one that could take his life.
When Caizhi had sensed the sudden death of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning, he had decided to end their secluded cultivation early and find out what was going on. However, they were met with an utterly distraught Jun Xilei the second they stepped out of their chamber. Her panicked gaze, confused aura, and seemingly insane ramblings were all transforming his doubt into deep worry.
He placed both hands on Jun Xilei's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Then, he said slowly, "What happened? Take your time."
However, not even Yun Che's aura was enough to quell the chaos clawing at Jun Xilei's heart and soul completely. She answered in a disjointed, stammering voice, "The denizens… of the Abyss of Nothingness… killed the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning… and master, he… he…"
She started sobbing uncontrollably. Up until this point, her emotions were mostly dominated by shock and sheer terror. It was only now that the sadness rose up to her throat and turned her into a sobbing mess.
Despite her endless tears, she was still the Little Sword Sovereign. She strangled her sobs and bowed her head before Yun Che. "Look… at my memories…"
She opened up her soul to Yun Che completely. Part of the reason she did it was because she was saddened beyond the point of caring, but it was mostly because she trusted him from the bottom of her heart.
"How did you find out about the death of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning?" snapped Caizhi while taking a step forward. Before she could do anything though, Yun Che stopped her with a raised hand before tightening his grip on Jun Xilei's shoulder. Then, he gently slipped a wisp of soul energy into her defenseless soul.
Her memories for the past fifteen minutes flashed across Yun Che's consciousness. There was a moment of silence, and his aura suddenly withdrew unto itself like a soundless blackhole. His pupils shrank little by little, and his features warped into a dark expression no one had seen since the battle against the Western Divine Region.
"What's going on? Tell me!" Caizhi demanded. Yun Che's transformation was so drastic she felt like an invisible hand had grasped her heart.
Instead of answering, Yun Che touched her forehead with a finger and shared with her the memories he had gotten from Jun Xilei. An instant later, Caizhi's aura too withdrew unto itself with utter shock and disbelief.
The casual suppression of the Sword Sovereign duo, the easy murder of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning…
Unfamiliar people, unfamiliar sights, unfamiliar words and unfamiliar powers…
Yun Che and Caizhi were among the greatest powers in the universe right now. They were well aware of its absolute ceiling.
That was why they knew the powers they saw in Jun Xilei far, far exceeded the limits of the current world!
It was a terrifying power that should not exist in this world at all!
So shocked was Caizhi that her body was trembling slightly. It wasn't just the collapse of common sense that wracked her, but also the realization that Yun Che's rule had gone from absolutely unshakeable to potentially destroyed in a single day!
"H-how can this… how…" She murmured dazedly to herself. "Who are these people…"
"The Abyss…" Yun Che clenched his fists as he set his gaze where the God Realm of Absolute Beginning would be.
The sudden death of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning was shocking, but he never imagined that it was caused by never-before-seen powers he didn't know existed… until now.
Abyss…
Passage…
Abyssal Dust…
Abyssal Monarch…
Knights…
Pioneers of a new era…
True scales of the gods…
Each time the fragments of Jun Xilei's memories struck against his soul, he felt like cracks were spreading across the heavens.
"Flee… flee!"
Still clinging to Yun Che with a death grip, Jun Xilei begged, "Flee to a place where no one can find you… these people are monsters… we cannot defeat them… you are the only one who must live, for you are our hope… our future…"
Her soul was half-shredded by panic, fear, and shock, but she wasn't so distraught that she missed the threat those monsters in human skin posed to their universe.
For a long time, Yun Che simply stared forward and said nothing at all. The three Yama Ancestors did not even dare to take a deep breath throughout the eerie and oppressive silence.
Finally, Yun Che gently pushed Jun Xilei to the side before summoning a sound transmission profound formation. Then, he ordered in a calm yet heavy voice,
"Meiyin, I want you to bring the Devil Queen, Xuanyin, Qianying, Cang Shitian, Qi Tianli, the Blue Dragon—"
He paused for a second before continuing, "I changed my mind. Bring only the Devil Queen to Emperor Yun City now. We cannot afford to waste the World Piercer's power."
The sound transmission ended there. Shui Meiyin never asked him what had happened or why. His grave tone and urgent command were all she needed to hear to understand the severity of the situation.
One breath… two breaths… three breaths…
There was a crimson flash, and Shui Meiyin and Chi Wuyao appeared right in front of him.
"What's going on?"
Chi Wuyao sensed something was amiss the instant she appeared in Emperor Yun City. The darkness on Yun Che and Caizhi's faces was something she had not seen since the warring days.
"Our short peace has come to an end."
Yun Che said forebodingly before sharing Jun Xilei's memories with Chi Wuyao and Shui Meiyin.
Emotion was a very curious thing. For example, when someone had suffered a shock that surpassed their bearable limits, the person would blank out as if their mind had temporarily shut down to protect themselves.
That was the case for Chi Wuyao right now. For the first time in her life, she was so still that her aura and soul were frozen like ice.
"Devil Queen," Yun Che started, "I would like to hear your opinion."
"..." It was only then that Chi Wuyao snapped back to reality. She slowly closed her eyes and fell silent for a long time.
Objectively speaking, the memory was short and not complicated at all. But its contents… this was the first time she, the owner of the Nirvana Devil Emperor's soul had to take so long to process her shock.
"Abyss… of… Nothingness…" Shui Meiyin whispered, "They really came out of the abyss… but how…? It's an abyss that turns everything into nothing… right?"
"Were the records mistaken all this time? Was there a whole world lying on the other side of the Abyss?"
"No, the records are correct," said Yun Che gravely. "A year ago, I spoke with the… Ancestral God's Will."
"... !?" Chi Wuyao's eyes opened in shock. Shui Meiyin, Jun Xilei, and Caizhi were staring at him like he had grown a second head as well.
It was no wonder they were acting like this. The Ancestral God was literally the highest existence in the universe after all.
Although he had sworn to bring this secret to the grave, the situation did not allow for that luxury anymore. "According to her, the Primal Chaos we live in is but one half of the true Primal Chaos. A long time ago, she separated the two primal elements of Primal Chaos—existence and extinction—in order to create a world full of life."
"The world we live in is called the World of Existence, and the Abyss the World of Extinction. In the records, the power that turns everything into nothing is really the primal power of Extinction, and the God Realm of Absolute Beginning is the bridge between the two worlds."
"The two worlds should have existed in a state of perpetual balance, but… during the final stages of the war between the gods and the devils, the lingering Will of the Ancestral God accidentally discovered that something was off with the Primal Chaos. The primordial energy of the universe, the spirit energy of the divine way, and the devilish aura of darkness… they were all flowing in the same direction."
"They were flowing… into the Abyss of Nothingness."
"It was at that moment she realized the laws she had bestowed upon the Abyss of Nothingness had become damaged and useless. The reason was two-fold. One, it had been too long since she renewed the laws on the Abyss of Nothingness. Two, the war between the gods and the devils had inflicted a flaw upon the laws, which drastically accelerated its deterioration… in the end, not even the Ancestral Will was able to see through the Abyss of Nothingness and into the other world."
Shui Meiyin said in a tiny voice, "So, you're saying that the Abyss of Nothingness became abnormal as soon as it broke free from the shackles of the Ancestral God's laws. Instead of a world where only destruction exists, it turned into a universe with its own unique sets of laws…?"
"..." That wasn't something Yun Che could answer. After all, not even the Ancestral Will herself knew what had happened to the Abyss of Nothingness. Her worry had been the energy of Extinction annihilating the World of Existence in one unstoppable, catastrophic reaction. It was why she had chosen to go through a thousand samsaras and reincarnate back to the living.
It was an existential threat that had been sitting in a corner of Yun Che's mind since he learned of it, but there was no way he could have predicted that it would appear so soon. Not only that, instead of an unstoppable tsunami of energy that returned everything into nothing, the Abyss had spat out 7 monsters in human skin instead!
"Now is not the time for a history lesson, intriguing as it may be. What matters is how we're going to deal with this crisis."
Chi Wuyao finally spoke up and drew everyone's attention. The black light in her eyes was the deepest it had ever been to date.
"Outsiders aren't inherently scary. What's scary is that they possess power no one in this universe can measure up to." She emphasized as if afraid that someone would underestimate their opponent, "To immobilize the Sword Sovereign with just their aura and slay the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning in just a few breaths… our enemies aren't nigh invincible, they are literally impossible to fight against as we are."
"As if that isn't bad enough, these outsiders hate our world with a passion."
Finally, she let out a heavy, oppressive sigh. "A world beyond a world. How absurd."
It was absurd. It was as illogical and sudden, like a dream, but unlike a dream it was very real and most deadly for the entire universe.
At the back, the three Yama Ancestors were exchanging incredulous looks with one another.
The slave imprint made them eternally loyal to Yun Che, but it did not damage their knowledge of the world. However, they never knew there existed another universe—and so close too!—despite having lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
"Hatred…" Yun Che recalled Jun Xilei's memory again. It was true that the leader of the group was dominated not just by excitement and joy, but also terrifying hatred. The way he butchered the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning was proof of that.
"Are they here to destroy the world then?" Shui Meiyin asked.
"No," Chi Wuyao shook her head. "You heard what they said. They wish to become the conquerors, not the destroyers. That is why kept the Sword Sovereigns alive despite having slain the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning. They were looking to vent, yes, but what they wanted even more was a 'guide' that would hasten their progress."
The Abyssal Monarch, she thought to herself. The words hammered against her consciousness and stifled her breath.
The seven invaders currently loose in their world were scary enough, but the thought that they were just the "pioneers" scared her even more.
She could tell how much those invaders respected and feared the Abyssal Monarch from their tone alone. Whoever this person was, she was certain that they were absolutely untouchable.
Shui Meiyin's eyes were uncannily dark and lightless. She said in a quiet voice, "It doesn't matter to us whether they're here to conquer or destroy. The rest of the world can choose to bend their knees, but the ruler will most certainly be…"
She looked at Yun Che and grabbed his sleeve tightly. "The Little Sword Sovereign is right, big brother Yun Che. We must hide for the time being. We believe there is nothing and no one you cannot overcome, but that time has not yet arrived. For now… we must hide."
Shui Meiyin was correct. Anyone could bow to the enemy and live, but there could only be one fate for a ruler—execution.
"Hide" was about the most tactful word Shui Meiyin could think of describing their solution.
"Flee… flee! You mustn't let your emotions affect your decision!" Jun Xilei cried out again. Her body was still trembling from sorrow and fear, but she was perfectly clear-headed. As the only person in the room who had experienced the seven invaders' pressure, she knew better than anyone that even Yun Che was utterly powerless before those people.
Chi Wuyao looked at Yun Che and said solemnly, "The decision is yours. I know I can't change your mind once you're set on something, but… this is a matter of life or death. Please consider carefully."
Unfortunately, Yun Che would not have the time to do so. Everyone's heart suddenly skipped a beat as a terrible, long groan resounded seemingly across the entire universe. Then, the very space around them began trembling as if in fear. It never stopped.
Yun Che, Chi Wuyao, Caizhi, Shui Meiyin, Jun Xilei, the three Yama Ancestors, and countless more God Realm experts turned toward the same direction at the same time. It was as if they were attracted by an irresistible force. There, the God Realm of Absolute Beginning lay.
"They… they're out…" Jun Xilei muttered a bit hysterically.
There was no doubt at this point. The God Realm itself was shaking in fear before the seven invaders. Chi Wuyao sighed. "It looks like we do not even have the time to hesitate anymore. Decide now, my emperor."
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