Chapter 88 Just a Pawn 07
Indeed, as Haoming said, the riots in the Southern Wilderness Void Abyss have become weaker with each passing year. The escaped Void Beasts are easily driven back into the depths of the Void Abyss. These beings, known as "Void Beasts," are similar to life forms from another dimension to this world. They cannot be killed and can only be sealed back to their original location.
The energy fluctuations from the seal spread deep into the Void Abyss. Within that pitch-black interior, a faintly glowing shadow suddenly looked up. "Master, is that you?! Yuan Que was wrong! Yuan Que was wrong! Wrong!! Please let me go back! I beg you!!"
The void swallowed everything, and the faint echo could not penetrate the darkness. The blurry shadow initially called out normally, but soon turned into a painful whimper, which then transformed into a horrific howl.
As its cultivation level diminished, the spiritual light surrounding the soul gradually became transparent, and countless nascent ethereal beasts of various shapes tore at the weak points of the protective spiritual light. The shadow, however, endured the pain of its soul being torn apart, still crying out for help, desperately grasping at this sliver of hope, until... the fluctuations it had sensed earlier completely disappeared.
He's gone.
Master has passed away.
The excruciating pain of having one's soul devoured made one wish for immediate annihilation, but the binding seal prevented even this self-destruction. Gradually, the howling grew weaker, for even the wisp of soul no longer had the strength to scream.
...
The senses of demons are different from those of humans. Haoming could hear some of the cries of those being swallowed by the Void Abyss even from outside. However, seeing Xuanwei emerge with no change in expression, he couldn't help but curl a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.
He couldn't believe that someone with Xuanwei's cultivation level could have heard nothing and noticed nothing, yet this person could remain completely undisturbed, not even raising an eyebrow.
He truly deserves to be called the Emperor of the Nine Heavens; his heart is probably colder and harder than a thousand-year-old stone.
As if thinking of something interesting, Haoming chuckled: "Your Majesty treated your former disciple so cruelly, aren't you afraid of retribution?"
Xuanwei glanced at him coldly, "He is no longer my disciple."
He glanced at the rift in Xuyuan without any emotional fluctuation, and calmly continued, "He committed a grave mistake in the past, and he deserves to pay for it."
Haoming's lips curled up again, his smile becoming even more enigmatic.
Xuanwei, however, did not wish to say more to him and flew away directly into the sky.
*
When the Emperor returned, the immortals of the Nine Heavens naturally came to welcome him. However, Xuanwei did not linger for a moment and went straight to the Ninth Realm.
The welcoming immortals were not surprised; the Emperor had not received outsiders for a long time. His palace in the Eighth Heaven was deserted, having not welcomed its master for a thousand years. If it weren't for the occasional turmoil in the Void Abyss of the Southern Wilderness, the Emperor probably wouldn't have even left the Ninth Heaven.
The lower-ranking immortals, unaware of the reason, could only discuss it in secret, while those higher immortals who truly knew the inside story of that year all adopted a secretive attitude and remained silent about the past.
The moment this emperor, who was the focus of all the immortals' attention, stepped into the ninth realm, his expression turned cold and stern. He sensed an unusual aura: someone had touched his Aque!
The space could not withstand the immense immortal power, and many spiderweb-like cracks appeared out of thin air around Xuanwei.
He lifted his foot forward, and with one step, he shattered the space and appeared in front of the house in the center. However, the scene before him left him completely stunned.
...Aque?
The emperor in the Nine Heavens needs no sleep, but Xuanwei wondered if he was dreaming. Otherwise, how could he witness such a scene, traversed for a thousand years, now one that he dared not even hope for?
The boy stood behind the sea of purple flowers. As if he had heard a noise, he turned around. His slightly surprised expression was so vivid, just as vivid as it had been back then.
Xuanwei stared blankly ahead, not daring to take another step forward. He wasn't sure if this was just a phantom he had imagined.
The light cast a golden halo around the boy, and the breeze lifted a corner of his clothes, making him seem as if he were about to ride the wind away at any moment.
'A-Que.'
Xuanwei opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was afraid that if he made the slightest noise, he would disturb something and cause the shadow in front of him to disappear completely.
The surrounding wind stopped at some point, and the overflowing immortal power, under the unconscious control of its master, sealed off the entire space, as if to permanently preserve the scene before them, along with the shadow within it.
*
Ren Yi originally thought that it would be very difficult to fool Xuan Wei, but when he actually tried, he found that it was not like that at all. Xuan Wei did not even bother to confirm the soul, and immediately identified him as "A Que". After Ren Yi subtly revealed that he had no memories of the past, he did not doubt him at all and immediately said, "It's okay, let's forget about the past."
Ren Yi: "..."
This Xuanwei, he's really gone pretty much insane.
Over the next few days, Ren Yi was taken by Xuan Wei to see the pure purple jade flower sea, casually tossing around top-grade immortal crystals, and freely using all sorts of super-grade immortal artifacts. Even the scenery of the ninth realm was immediately constructed by Xuan Wei with immortal power as soon as he said something, and Ren Yi did not have to move an inch, yet he saw all the magnificent scenery of Lingyuan Realm.
This is the same treatment King You of Zhou received when he played with the feudal lords by lighting the beacon fires.
Ren Yi could only sigh, "No wonder he's the protagonist's bottom."
The Ninth Realm originally had no distinction between day and night, but Ren Yi mentioned it casually during his conversation, and so it immediately became like the mortal world, with day and night.
It was nighttime, a rare time for Ren Yi to rest alone.
Even Ren Yi found it a bit overwhelming to act in front of the main character around the clock with such high intensity and no time limit.
Although this was a hard-won rest time for Ren Yi, he could only close his eyes and rest, and dared not do anything that was out of character.
He was certain that Xuanwei's divine sense was definitely paying attention to this side. If the other party really discovered the abnormality, he would suffer the same tragic fate as the last sacrifice of the Heaven-Mending Path.
Ren Yi didn't want to do anything unnecessary, but another demon who loved watching the drama had a different idea.
He had barely closed his eyes when he felt a burning sensation on his arm. It was the demonic mark left by Haoming. This demonic mark could communicate with the soul across the barrier of the Nine Heavens, which was equivalent to a remote telephone in the cultivation world, but an encrypted and hidden version.
Ren Yi originally didn't want to pay attention. He had just finished acting in front of Xuan Wei and was finally getting a break. He really didn't want to take on the next scene so soon. But Hao Ming, whether he was fearless or certain that Xuan Wei wasn't around, was making the demon seal burn hotter and hotter, as if it would just burn if he ignored it.
Left with no other option, Ren Yi released his consciousness and asked in a somewhat abrupt tone, "[What is it?]"
He's playing Yuan Que right now, and if he's too good-natured, it might arouse suspicion.
However, Ren Yi felt that Hao Ming had a bit of a masochistic tendency. Every time Ren Yi teased him, Hao Ming seemed to be in a very good mood. This time was no exception. After being scolded by Ren Yi, Hao Ming not only didn't get angry, but instead lowered himself and said a bunch of sweet words, making it impossible for anyone to get angry. At least Ren Yi was speechless.
Finally, after calming the person down, Haoming suddenly changed the subject, "[You haven't asked him yet, have you?]"
Although it was a question, it was phrased with certainty, as if it was certain that Ren Yi had not confirmed with Xuan Wei why he had been taken to the Ninth Heaven.
Ren Yi, of course, didn't ask.
How could he possibly speak of something that would obviously cause problems in the relationship between the main characters?! He wanted to obtain the Immortal Soul, and naturally, the closer their relationship was, the better Xuanwei treated him. What good would it do him to strain their relationship? Did he think the current mission wasn't difficult enough?
Of course, this reason couldn't be given to Haoming, but Yuan Que wasn't a reasonable person, and Ren Yi had already prepared how to deal with Haoming's questions.
He immediately snorted coldly, "[I have eyes, I can see for myself, you don't need to meddle.]"
These words clearly expressed suspicion about Haoming's intentions, but the latter didn't seem angry. He merely raised his voice slightly, as if in doubt, "[Oh? Is that so?]"
[certainly. ]
A subtle chuckle seemed to come from the other end, followed by a guiding question: "[Aren't you curious? Why is he so nice to you?]"
If it were someone else, they might have been led astray by Haoming's question, but Ren Yi is playing "Yuan Que" right now, so this question is really easy to answer.
Without pausing for a moment, Ren Yi retorted confidently, "[Shouldn't he treat me well?]"
This rhetorical question is full of self-righteousness, the confidence of a young prince who has been pampered and raised by the entire Nine Heavens.
Upon hearing his answer, Haoming suddenly burst into laughter for some reason.
Ren Yi: ? ? ?
What kind of reaction is this? What's going on? Is there something wrong with his acting? Even if Yuan Que himself were here, he would definitely give this response!!
Ren Yi: [What are you laughing at?!]
Haoming: [No, it's nothing.]
He just hadn't expected that A-Que was originally like this.
Thinking of Xun Que's quiet and reserved demeanor when they first met, Hao Ming's heart sank slightly, but his voice remained cheerful. He slowed his pace, emphasizing each word, "[He really should treat you well.]"
The two communicated through their souls. Ren Yi couldn't see Hao Ming's current expression, but he still noticed the incongruity in his tone. However, no matter how much Ren Yi thought about it, he couldn't think there was anything wrong with his response just now. Fearing that continuing would lead to some bigger mistakes, Ren Yi made up a few excuses and then casually made up an excuse to cut off the connection.
Fortunately, unlike the previous time when the demon seal kept burning hot, Haoming did not force it this time and ended the soul connection very decisively.
*
On the high seat of the Demon Emperor's Palace, the Demon Lord remained silent for a while with a gloomy expression. After a short while, the coldness slowly dissipated: It's alright, he has plenty of patience. The better the relationship between those two now, the more tragic it will be when the truth of what happened back then is revealed.
Recalling the news that Xun Que had jumped off the Execution Platform, a chill returned to Hao Ming's eyes, but a dazzling smile spread across his face—
He wanted to see what Xuanwei planned to choose.
Will he reveal the whole truth of the past, or will he cover it up with lies to maintain the status quo? If it's the former, can Xuanwei really bring himself to say it? If it's the latter... hahaha, that would be perfect.
Ah Que, he despises deception the most.
This can be seen from his resolute decision back then.
Although this time is different from the past, if Aque really had no doubts about Xuanwei, why would he leave behind this demon seal?
Haoming was also curious about how long that precarious "trust" could last.
He'll be watching.
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