“...”

Chi Wuyao’s words seemed to come from an incredibly distant and ephemeral dreamland.

As he stared down Chi Wuyao, who had chosen to step into the Yama Imperial District herself, Yun Che was absolutely confident that he could defeat her with the power of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. But he didn’t dare to relax in the slightest. Her cunning and intelligence were simply far too terrifying, and she possessed the soul of a Devil Emperor, something unique to her alone.

However... those soft and gentle words of hers still managed to penetrate his layers of defenses as they touched something in the depths of his soul.

Those words had clearly been as faint and gentle as wisps of cloud, but they had instantly caused huge tidal waves in his heart.

Ten years ago, the senior sister who had delivered the Amorous Frost Dew... to the Thirty-Sixth Ice Phoenix Palace...

That was the very first time in his life he had laid his eyes upon Mu Xuanyin. The very first time he had seen this woman who would change his life time and again, who would be carved into his very soul.

Every image of her, every word that she had said had been perfectly carved into the depths of his heart and soul. It was as if all of those things had been carved into the purest and most perfect crystal in the world. A crystal that was dripping blood.

How could he forget... He could never ever forget. He would not forget even if he died.

And he would never allow his memories of her to be profaned in any way!

His eyes trembled violently before they regained their clarity in the very next instant. Yun Che’s eyebrows sank precipitously and his eyes turned into cold swords. “So you really can... steal another person’s memories!”

When he had first met Mu Xuanyin all those years ago, it was the first time in his life that he had met a woman who would cause all of the blood in his body to rush to his head at first glance. He had practically made a stuttering fool of himself when he had spoken to her... He hadn’t made such a fool of himself even when he had seen Shen Xi’s true appearance later.

At that time, he had very nearly blurted out the four words “Big Breasted Senior Sister” in a daze. In the end, he had even tried to be a smart aleck and guessed that she was Mu Feixue.

Only Mu Bingyun and Mu Xiaolan had heard about what had happened that day, and even they did not know all the details. There was no way that anyone else knew a thing about it.

Chi Wuyao softly said, “I can steal the souls of any person in this universe. Only you... You possess the soul of the Primordial Azure Dragon and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s Eternal Calamity of Darkness. Given the current level of your soul, there is no one in existence who can forcefully steal your soul or memories.”

“You should understand this point better than anyone else. You should be more sure of it than anybody else.”

“...” Yun Che’s eyes violently trembled but he desperately clung to rationality in the depths of his heart. In fact, he had even stopped himself from asking her any questions.

However, he had not felt any ripples of soul energy come from Chi Wuyao. Neither had he felt his soul being invaded. Even then, he knew that this was definitely due to Chi Wuyao’s mysterious ability to steal souls.

It definitely had to be!

“You must be very curious as to why I would know about the events of that day.” Chi Wuyao continued to lean toward Yun Che, her voice as soft and fluffy as cotton. “Because the person who entered the Thirty-sixth Ice Phoenix Palace to pass you the Amorous Frost Dew... was me.”

“...”

“...”

“He...hehe!” His vision blurred yet again. But after that, Yun Che started laughing coldly. “Chi Wuyao, you really are terrible at telling jokes!”

“Furthermore...” His gaze and his voice were growing darker and colder by the second. He slowly curled his fingers as a cluster of dense and crackling black light appeared above his palm, “There are some things that I won’t allow anyone to profane, no matter who they are! Good job, you’ve succeeded marvelously in enraging me yet again.”

Bzz!

He raised an arm and black light blazed from his hand. Yan One and Yan Three also raised their old heads as they immediately unleashed their boundless dark power and locked onto Chi Wuyao.

Yan Tianxiao and the gathered Yama Devils who were keeping guard outside the hall sensed the change in energy. The Yama Devil power that had been coiled up in their bodies like a bent spring was begging for release. Once Yun Che gave the word, they would attack with all of their might.

As long as they eliminated the Devil Queen, the Soul Stealing Realm would be like a headless snake and swallowing them up would only be a matter of time.

One strong aura after the other locked onto Chi Wuyao’s body. At this moment, the ancient yin energy of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness started to violently churn like colossal waves in an actual ocean. With a single thought, Yun Che could send it pummeling toward Chi Wuyao.

historical

The mighty Devil Queen of the North had truly been checkmated for perhaps the first time in her life. It was also the first time she had been so alone while she fought her enemies. But not a single trace of panic or fear radiated from her body. Her aura still remained as calm and serene as ever.

She slowly turned around to look toward Yun Che... and in the instant she turned around, the air around her underwent a sudden but subtle change.

Her aura did not get any stronger. On the contrary, it started to grow weaker and it did not contain any sharpness or attacking intent. Instead it released a cold and rather stifling... dignity that would not pressure a Divine Master in any way.

Even so, it was in that exact instant that Yun Che, whose lips were hooked into a cold smile and whose eyes blazed with killing intent, suddenly shuddered. His cold and bleak eyes widened soundlessly.

“Che’er.” Chi Wuyao gave a sad sigh. “Is this how you speak to your master now?”

Buzzzz————

It was as if all the stars in the sky had exploded in his eyes.

His rage, killing intent, and malice... Even his rationality had all been destroyed in a single instant. The only thing he felt right now was the violent shuddering of his own soul. His world had started to spin.

Yan One and Yan Three flew into a great rage. Yan Three could not suppress his anger as he launched his body forward. A ghost claw that was several thousand meters long appeared on his right arm and it was aimed straight for Chi Wuyao’s throat. “How audacious of you, Devil Queen! How dare you speak to Master in such a manner!? Die!”

“Get back!!”

A furious roar exploded in Yan Three’s ears... He had clearly only yelled two words, yet his voice was clearly trembling.

Yan Three tried to withdraw his power in a flustered panic while he was still in flight. Due to his chaotically fluctuating energy, it looked like someone had smacked him out of the air with a rod and he tumbled to the ground in an extremely sorry state.

He immediately flipped to his feet as he dragged himself back to his original position behind Yun Che in a crestfallen manner, unable to hide the confusion and fear on his ancient face.

“Get out...” Yun Che said in a low voice, “All of you get lost now.”

“Yes... yes, yes.” Yan One and Yan Three both noticed Yun Che’s sudden bizarre state, but they did not dare ask him a single question about it. Instead, they hurriedly withdrew.

The vast and spacious imperial hall was soon occupied by only two people, Yun Che and Chi Wuyao.

The black light in Yun Che’s hand had fizzled out at some point in time. He stared fixedly at Chi Wuyao, who was still wreathed in black smoke. He gritted his teeth fiercely as he strove to maintain his composure with all his might... However, his face was still trembling and his pupils were still contracting. He could not stop his body from reacting this way, no matter how hard he tried.

“Who are you...” He could hear how mightily his voice was trembling right now. “Who exactly are you!?”

Her aura, the way she was standing, her voice, her tone, her eyes...

That sigh, the way she had said “Che’er”...

All of his senses and his entire soul were screaming at him with incredible intensity. Telling him that the figure which only appeared in his most wonderful or melancholic dreams... was standing before him once more.

“At times, believing is indeed a very hard thing to do,” Chi Wuyao said slowly. As those words entered Yun Che’s ears, they seemed to come from a fantastical dreamscape. “Then let your master help you see a little clearer.”

She suddenly laughed in a very soft, gentle and bewitching manner. Even under that black mist, he could still see Chi Wuyao’s devilish body shift forward. “You were unwilling to do it with Feixue, could it be that... you want Master to be your dual cultivation partner?”

BOOOOM————

A countless number of bright lights exploded in his brain. His body violently swayed and he almost fell to the ground.

Those incredibly provocative and titillating words, that devilish voice that could melt bone... Yun Che would never forget them. When Mu Xuanyin had whispered those words to him all those years ago, he had felt as if a boundless fire was scorching his body. Despite him using the Dragon God’s soul to suppress those emotions, he had still very nearly pounced on the master that he had so clearly respected without a single care in the world.

She had said the exact same words, in exactly the same alluring and seductive tone, with the exact same voice.

In fact, even though his mind was dazed and his soul was shuddering, his body still started to smolder with the fires of desire.

“You... You...”

Yun Che bit down on the tip of his tongue violently. The intense pain and the taste of blood assaulted him, but it still could not suppress the trembling of both his body and soul. He fiercely shook his head as he said with much difficulty, “No... You’re not... Who exactly are you... You...”

Ever since Yun Che had set foot into the Northern Divine Region, this was the first time that he, who had killed all of his compassion and hesitation, had ever been thrown into such disarray.

“I am your master,” Chi Wuyao said, “but I’m not Mu Xuanyin.”

Yun Che’s gaze grew focused.

“Your master had two personalities,” Chi Wuyao said in a calm voice. It clearly did not carry any soul power but each word pierced through Yun Che’s soul.

“The first was the Snow Song Realm King who had sealed her emotions in ice, Mu Xuanyin. Someone whose beauty was fairer than snow and whose icy might reigned over the world.”

“Why don’t you guess... who the other personality was?”

Yun Che was frozen in place and he did not make a single sound for a very long time.

Mu Xuanyin had two personalities. This was something Yun Che had been keenly aware of when he had first taken Mu Xuanyin as his master.

Normally, her gaze and body radiated a transcendent icy might which seemed like it could freeze the universe. Everyone in the Snow Song Realm and Divine Ice Phoenix Sect held boundless reverence for her. Even Yun Che behaved himself in front of her and when those icy eyes started to grow even colder, it would shut him straight up.

But at times, she would become as alluring and enticing as a temptress. Every inch of that icy body which no one would normally dare to profane suddenly started radiating a bewitching seductiveness which could instantly mesmerize a man and obliterate all of the rational thoughts in his mind.

This was especially true when it came to her eyes and her voice. She only needed a single look or word to hook a person’s soul right out of their body and her “victim” would be willing to sink into that fantasy forever.

Yun Che had been with so many women, but not a single one of them were as bewitching as she was.

Two extremely different and completely contrasting personalities dwelled in that body. One was incredibly cold and the other was incredibly seductive, yet they existed in the same person’s body. This had previously caused him to feel a deep sense of astonishment and bewilderment. Even the Ice Phoenix divine being who dwelt at the bottom of the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake responded with puzzlement when he had mentioned it to her.

However, Yun Che, who was very well-versed in medicine, also knew that humans could form a second personality due to an overly-traumatic event. Although it was quite unfathomable given Mu Xuanyin’s cultivation and icy soul, it was not entirely impossible according to his medical knowledge.

Moreover, he could not find any other reason for it.

Later on, Yun Che gradually began to discover that Mu Xuanyin’s incredibly bewitching personality would only appear in front of him and Mu Bingyun. It had never once appeared in front of the Ice Phoenix sect members or outsiders.

In the end, all of these things had become a distant dream that was lost to him forever.

But, right now, right before his very eyes, he saw that hazy seductive figure once more. He heard that voice that he thought had disappeared from his life forever...

And he realized a truth that threw his soul into complete disarray.

“Do you know why ‘she’, the Snow Song Realm King, would deign to visit the Ice Phoenix Palaces and personally deliver the ‘Amorous Frost Dew’ to you all those years ago? That was because Mu Xuanyin did so under my will, not her own.”

“Do you know why she managed to find out about your Heretic God legacy so easily? Do you really think it’s just as she said all those years ago? That you had been exposed by the ‘Star God’s Broken Shadow’ you had performed?”

“No, it was because my Nirvana Devil Soul told me about the Heretic God aura radiating from your body the very first moment you stepped into the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. And the reason I personally delivered that Amorous Frost Dew to you was to confirm the fact.”

“...” Yun Che’s face had gone slack and it was as if he had lost his soul.

“After we had taken you in as our personal disciple, we instructed Mu Feixue and any Ice Phoenix disciple whose talent and appearance were exceptional to be your dual cultivation partner. Given Mu Xuanyin’s personality, how could she have come up with such a licentious idea? The one who suggested that method was also me...”

Yun Che: “...”

“The master that you knew, you interacted with, you loved had two personalities. She was always two different people.”

“Half of it was Mu Xuanyin, and half of it was me.”

“Both she and I guided your growth, witnessed your transformation. We indulged you in everything, protected you from everything... We also, at some point in time, allowed your figure to be carved into our very souls.”

“...” Explosions were still echoing in Yun Che’s mind and his world alternated between pure white and a chaotic frenzy of colors. He kept opening his mouth over and over again, but he could not make any sounds, no matter how hard he tried.

Chi Wuyao slowly closed her eyes, her voice turning as light and airy as the wispy clouds in the heavens above. “Do you still think that I would backstab you? That I would hurt you...”