Eastern Divine Region, Eternal Heaven God Realm, the bottom of the Eternal Heaven Tower.
It was dark here, with only a few points of black jade emitting dim light.
Not only the light, but everything here is isolated from the outside world, including sound and even breath.
Even though this was an important place among the important places in the Eternal Heaven God Realm, and no one was allowed to enter without the personal permission of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, there were still layers of barriers spread out.
In the center of the dim space, Zhou Qingchen sat there quietly. This was his two hundred and twenty-ninth day here.
He remembered it very clearly, because every day here was longer than the thousand years of his life.
In the past, he had spent years in seclusion in peace, but in just a few months, he felt that the passage of time was so terrifying.
Buzz.
With a sound, the door that had been closed for a long time was carefully and slowly pushed open, and the initial sound was immediately completely eliminated.
As the door opened, a ray of bright light shone in. It was not strong, but it made Zhou Qingchen subconsciously raise his hand and block it in front of him.
Imprisoned here, he should have longed for light, but the faint light made him feel blinded.
Because now he is a demon.
"Father." Zhou Qingchen stood up and saluted politely.
Zhou Xuzi slowed down his pace and walked over. In just a few months, he seemed to have aged a bit, but his face still had a gentle smile: "Qingchen, how are you doing recently?"
Zhou Qingchen said: "Father, in the past half month, there has been no sign of disturbance in the dark profound energy, and my heart has calmed down a lot."
"That's good." Zhou Xuzi nodded with a smile: "The situation is much better than expected, which also shows that the ancestors have been secretly protecting you. Therefore, you must firmly believe that the darkness in you will be purified one day."
This time, Zhou Qingchen did not respond as he did in the past, but suddenly said: "Father, I have been thinking quietly for a while, and some thoughts have sprouted in my mind... perhaps I shouldn't have them. I don't know whether I should ask you."
"Haha, if you have anything to say, just ask." Zhou Xuzi said. Zhou Qingchen's current situation was caused by him. Under the pain and deep guilt in his heart, his attitude towards Zhou Qingchen was much gentler than before.
“I want to ask…” Zhou Qingchen hesitated before he could finish his words. Facing his father’s gentle gaze, he finally asked, “Is the dark power really so unforgivable?”
"Oh?" Zhou Xuzi frowned slightly, but still remained gentle, and said with a smile: "Darkness is a symbol of negative power. When there is no dark power in the world, there will be no evil power. Especially for us who have inherited the power of God, eliminating the dark power in the world is a mission that does not need to be spoken, but is inherited from generation to generation."
"Why do you suddenly ask this question?"
Zhou Qingchen had heard these words countless times from Zhou Xuzi and many other people when he first started practicing the Mystical Dao. He had never questioned them, because it was a basic understanding like water and fire cannot coexist.
Facing his father's gaze, he expressed his truest doubts: "Demons who carry the dark power will have their humanity destroyed by the dark power, becoming ferocious, bloodthirsty and cruel, and will not hesitate to commit any crime for their own benefit... The dark power is a heresy in the world. As a profound practitioner in the God Realm, no matter if you encounter demons, demon beasts, or demon spirits, you must do your best to destroy them."
"So, after becoming a demon, I have always been afraid that I would become a monster whose humanity would gradually disappear and who would no longer have any conscience."
Zhou Xuzi: "..."
He raised his hands, and as his profound energy circulated, a layer of black air slowly rose from his palms. His ten fingers did not tremble, and his eyes and voice remained calm. "It has been more than seven months, and the frequency of the dark profound energy riots has become lower and lower. My body has completely adapted to its existence. Compared to the beginning, I am now a true demon."
“But…” He slowly closed his eyes: “Why, I don’t feel like I’ve turned into a beast like that? My rationality and my sense of guilt are still clear. Things that I didn’t want to do and couldn’t do before, I still don’t want to do and can’t do now.”
"The only negative change that I can clearly feel is that when the dark profound energy riots, my emotions also become irritable..."
He raised his hands a little higher, and the dark energy between his fingers became stronger. "Father, is the dark power not that scary? Our understanding of the dark power and the devil... could it be that it was wrong from the beginning?"
“That’s enough!”
An angry rebuke dispelled all the gentleness on Zhou Xuzi's face. As the most righteous God Emperor in the world, who took the eradication of darkness and evil as his life mission, he could not believe and could not accept such words coming from the mouth of his own son, the heir of Zhou Tian whom he personally chose.
That's more than treason!
Zhou Xuzi, who rarely got angry, raised his eyebrows and was about to slap Zhou Qingchen... But when his eyes met the black energy in Zhou Qingchen's hand, his eyes trembled and he suppressed his surging anger. He stretched out his hand and instantly eliminated the dark aura released by Zhou Qingchen.
“Qingchen, how can you say such a thing?” Zhou Xuzi forced himself to remain calm, but his voice trembled slightly: “Darkness is a heresy that cannot be allowed to exist in the world. This is the common sense of the world! This is the teaching of our ancestors! This is the will of heaven!”
Facing Zhou Xuzi's rebuke, Zhou Qingchen, who was usually respectful and obedient, suddenly took a step back, and his tone became several degrees heavier than before: "If darkness is really an evil that cannot be tolerated by the world, then why... would the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor sacrifice himself and his entire clan for the safety of the world!"
"Why would the Heavenly Killing Star God who controls the Evil Infant's Wheel of Myriad Tribulations risk being surrounded and attacked to seal off the Wall of Chaos?"
“Why would Yun Che, who possesses the power of darkness, face the Heaven-Smiting Demon Emperor alone in order to save the world…”
"shut up!"
Bang!
He swung his long sleeves and slapped Zhou Qingchen hard, sending him flying. Zhou Xuzi's hair and beard stood on end, his whole body trembling: "Qingchen, you... do you know what you are saying! You are already crazy! You have begun to be eaten away by the dark power of reason and nature! Wake up!"
"Cough... cough cough." Zhou Qingchen supported himself against the wall and slowly stood up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingers, lowered his head, and slowly said, "People who are not in their right mind will only be crazy and talk nonsense. What I just said is what my father and I have seen and experienced personally..."
"Don't stop talking!!"
Bang!
Zhou Xuzi's whole body was filled with blood, and the black jade under his feet shattered into pieces, with powder flying everywhere.
Zhou Qingchen's long hair was disheveled, and he was panting heavily. Slowly, he knelt on the ground, his head hanging down: "My son's words were offensive... Father, please forgive me."
For Zhou Qingchen, these two hundred darkest days turned out to be the period of his most sober mind.
Only when you experience darkness yourself can you truly understand darkness.
Perhaps, this was the cruelest part of Yun Che’s first revenge on Zhou Tian.
Not only did it destroy the body of this heir of Zhoutian, it also destroyed the beliefs that he had always believed in and upheld.
Drops of blood slowly fell from the corners of Zhou Qingchen's lips, and every drop pierced Zhou Xuzi's heart and soul. All his anger was replaced by pain. He sighed, walked slowly forward, pointed his finger, and a mysterious light flashed, fading the red marks on Zhou Qingchen's face.
"Qingchen," he said slowly, "Don't worry, I have found a way to make you recover. No matter what, no matter what the cost, I will do it."
"This is a father's promise to his most important son."
"My son... believes in father." Zhou Qingchen responded softly, but his head remained buried under his hair and he did not raise it.
Zhou Xuzi turned around and left, his steps were silent but heavy.
After walking out of the layers of barriers, Zhou Xuzi did not leave the Eternal Heaven Tower, but went to the bottom floor, which was also the most secretive place in the Eternal Heaven God Realm.
That is where the Eternal Sky Pearl is.
However, his footsteps were sometimes heavy and sometimes erratic.
"The teachings of our ancestors... Zhou Tian's aspirations... what I have pursued all my life... what I have fought for half my life... how could it be wrong? How could it be wrong..." He muttered to himself, over and over again.
During this period, he repeatedly came to the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit, hoping that it could recall some ancient memories and find a way to save Zhou Qingchen. But every time he got the answer, "If Yun Che can force it, it is possible to remove it... and it is the only possibility."
Just as he was about to step into the forbidden area where the Eternal Sky Pearl was, someone suddenly spoke in his mind and soul.
The message made him stop in his tracks, his whole body shook violently, he suddenly turned around and flew away at an extremely fast speed.
After leaving the Eternal Heaven Tower, Venerable Taiyu was already waiting for him in the main hall. Zhou Xuzi dropped in front of him and said in a strong voice: "Taiyu, are you telling the truth!?"
"Absolutely true." Venerable Taiyu nodded slowly. With his noble status, he would not say the four words "absolutely true" unless he was 100% sure, even if he was only 99%.
"Do you know the details?" Zhou Xuzi asked.
Venerable Tai Yu shook his head: "It is difficult to know the details. Yun Che has indeed fallen into the hands of the Soul-Snatching Demon Queen, and the Yama Demon Realm has also asked the Demon Queen for someone because of this."
"Yama Realm?" Zhou Xuzi frowned slightly.
“Yes.” Venerable Taiyu said: “Although Yun Che has dark profound power, to the Northern Divine Region, he is a person from the Eastern Divine Region after all. They have an eternal hatred for the Eastern Divine Region. After they recognize Yun Che, they will naturally regard him as an outsider heretic.”
“In addition, given the Heretic God’s inheritance and the Sky Poison Pearl on him, it is possible that the Northern Divine Region’s King Realm level will have heard of it. Therefore, if Yun Che’s identity is exposed in the Northern Divine Region, it will definitely not be easy.”
"He appeared in the Absolute Beginning Divine Realm before, which probably meant that his identity was exposed. He was forced to flee to the Absolute Beginning Divine Realm to escape the pursuit. After hurting Qingchen and exposing his whereabouts, he was forced to flee back to the Northern Divine Territory."
“Before he fell into the hands of the Demon Queen, he seemed to have deeply offended her. As for Yan Mo, he killed a very important person. From this point of view, although Yun Che’s strength has changed strangely, he is also surrounded by enemies in the Northern Divine Region.”
Such a result was not surprising at all, whether it was because of Yun Che's identity or the secrets surrounding him.
Zhou Xuzi thought for a while and said, "What time is it?"
“It should be a month ago.” Venerable Tai Yu said, and then frowned: “The Demon Queen clearly agreed to this matter at the beginning, but after she succeeded, she did not make any move for a whole month. Maybe, after she captured Yun Che, she had no intention of using him for a ‘trade’. After all, how could she let go of the secrets of Yun Che!”
“No,” Zhou Xuzi shook his head slowly: “Secrets are just secrets after all, invisible and intangible. But my bargaining chip is something she can’t refuse. Besides, all I proposed was to force Yun Che to remove the darkness from Zhou Qingchen and promise not to kill him or bring him back to the Eastern Divine Region… She has no reason to refuse.”
"She was certain that I would get the news sooner or later and wait for me to contact her."
Venerable Taiyu sighed softly. He knew that even if he fell into a completely passive situation, Zhou Xuzi would definitely submit.
"The Demon Queen is cunning and greedy. The more anxious I am, the more she will ask for an exorbitant price... But Qingchen can't wait. His mind has begun to be eroded by darkness. One more day means one more variable. If it's too late, there may be a possibility that it is completely irreversible. Sigh." Zhou Xuzi's face was full of fatigue: "But fortunately, she really took Yun Che."
Venerable Taiyu looked at Zhou Xuzi and said, "But it seems that the master is not too worried about this transaction."
Zhou Xuzi looked ahead and said slowly, "There's no way she can refuse that bargaining chip. No one... can refuse it."
Venerable Taiyu frowned deeply and asked, "My Lord, what exactly are the chips you are using?"
As soon as he said this, he suddenly thought of something, his face changed suddenly, and he said in surprise: "Could it be... Could it be..."
Zhou Xuzi closed his eyes and said nothing.
The shocked expression was fixed on the face of the Venerable Taiyu, and it took a long time for him to relax. He sighed and said, "My Lord, you have devoted half your life to Eternal Heaven and the world, so you should live for yourself once."
Zhou Xuzi said slowly: "After this incident, I am no longer the Emperor of Zhou Tian. Qingchen should pay for this himself."
"Taiyu...thank you for what you said just now." He said sincerely. Although it was just a few words from Venerable Taiyu, it was a great comfort to him.
Venerable Tai Yu smiled and shook his head: "Between brothers, why do we need to say these words? However, the Demon Queen is not only extremely cunning, but her soul power is also strange and terrifying. I have experienced this before. You must be careful."
"Don't worry." Zhou Xuzi said, "If I wasn't careful enough, I wouldn't have set foot on the border of the Northern Territory. Before that, how to conceal my whereabouts is the most important thing... Taiyu, I'm counting on you."
"Don't worry, my lord."
Putting away the soundproof barrier, Taiyu set out to leave. In his memory, this was the first time that Zhou Xuzi had truly acted selfishly since he was crowned emperor.
Perhaps, only Zhou Qingchen could make him do this.
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