The world was silent.
Fang Moye slowly stood up and walked to Jiang Huai. She lowered her head slightly, looking down at Jiang Huai, and after a quick glance, she shifted her gaze to Ning Yuzhu beside him.
Jiang Huai suddenly realized that they had been separated from the myriad worlds around them, as if enveloped by an Eternal Night. He could no longer see everyone in the hall, only the four of them, enveloped within Fang Moye’s domain.
“Senior Disciple Sister,” Ning Yuzhu called respectfully.
But Fang Moye gently shook her head and replied calmly, “I am no longer her disciple, and you don’t need to call me Senior Disciple Sister anymore.”
Ning Yuzhu bit her lip lightly, appearing a little disappointed. However, after a moment, Fang Moye softly replied, “You can call me Sister.”
The disappointment in Ning Yuzhu’s eyes melted away. She looked up, a faint smile gracing her lips. Fang Moye reached out and gently rubbed her head. In an instant, she shifted her gaze back to Jiang Huai.
“Is this the husband your Master chose for you?”
As soon as she said this, Jiang Huai froze, and Ning Yuzhu froze.
In that instant, all of Jiang Huai’s speculations were Settled.
Ning Yuzhu, however, became flustered and hastily replied, “That’s not something that can be said…”
“In this Eternal Night, her eyes cannot reach here.”
“Senior Disciple Sister, have you broken through to Divine Emperor?” Ning Yuzhu widened her eyes. She still preferred the title “Senior Disciple Sister,” and Fang Moye didn’t insist on correcting her, instead replying softly, “Half-step Divine Emperor.”
The two stared at each other, while Jiang Huai sat there blankly, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Ning Yuzhu spoke hastily, “Master told me a hundred years ago that the engagement with him was already void.”
Fang Moye paused slightly, her voice still gentle, “Is that so?”
“Yuzhu would never lie to Senior Disciple Sister,” Ning Yuzhu replied, looking up and biting her lip, a hint of stubbornness in her tone.
“That’s true,” Fang Moye nodded lightly. After a moment, she finally shifted her gaze to Jiang Huai and slowly spoke, “You, are you the one she chose?”
Jiang Huai slowly looked up. “What does ‘the one who was chosen’ mean?”
“I don’t know,” Fang Moye shook her head. “Perhaps she chose an heir for herself, or perhaps she chose a husband for herself. I’m not sure, that’s why I’m asking you.”
“I don’t know anything,” Jiang Huai shook his head.
From Jiang Huai’s breathing, heartbeat, and Soul’s reactions, Fang Moye knew he was not lying. Thus, a faint confusion tinged her eyes, but she did not press further. She simply said softly, “Perhaps when we see her again, all the truth will be known.”
“Sister… what are you here for this time?” Ning Yuzhu asked softly.
Fang Moye turned to look at her and replied softly, “The Heavenly Punishment of disaster is about to descend upon the Corrupted Domain.”
A hint of shock flickered in Ning Yuzhu’s eyes. She slowly said, “Is that rumor true?”
“She truly foresaw everything. Corruption and destruction are almost of the same origin. Corruption descended years ago, and now destruction follows. My power is not enough to protect the entire Corrupted Domain, so I’ve come to find her and ask for her help.”
“Master is currently fighting the Void Dark Night and cannot attend to these matters…”
“She has a treasure,” Fang Moye replied softly. “It is precisely because of that treasure that her Cultivation level could reach Divine Emperor, making her the unprecedented foremost person in the three realms and one domain. That treasure governs all rules. If I obtain that treasure, I can break through to Divine Emperor and completely seal the Spatial Rift that has not yet been fully opened, thus saving the entire Corrupted Domain from peril.”
“That treasure is not with Master,” Ning Yuzhu shook her head.
“I know,” Fang Moye instantly shifted her gaze to Jiang Huai. “I can feel it, that treasure is on you.”
Jiang Huai looked up in astonishment. He couldn’t explain what treasure he had on him. If he had to name his greatest reliance, he suddenly understood. Perhaps she was referring to the Malicious System he had alternately loved and hated.
“Are you referring to the thing that’s always chattering in my ear, giving me Missions, and then rewarding me?” Jiang Huai asked her softly.
“I don’t know what that treasure is, only that it controls all the world’s rules, and she sent it to you. Now… I need to take it, to borrow it. I will return it to you immediately after borrowing it.”
“I cannot take it out and give it to you, Senior, but if you have a way, please proceed. I have no objections,” Jiang Huai agreed softly without refusing.
Seeing his prompt agreement, Fang Moye was slightly taken aback. She raised her hand gently, her fair knuckles pressing against his chest. Jiang Huai looked down, sensing instantly that countless streams of Spiritual Qi were coursing through his body, as if trying to pull something out of him. He offered no resistance, quietly waiting.
However, after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Fang Moye withdrew her hand.
She looked at Ning Yuzhu’s confused expression and said softly, “I cannot take it.”
Ning Yuzhu was puzzled.
“This treasure is linked to his life. If I forcibly take it, he will die as well,” Fang Moye’s voice held a hint of disappointment. “Perhaps we need to find another Method.”
Upon realizing she couldn’t directly take it, Fang Moye instantly abandoned the idea of forceful retrieval. If she could take this item, she might be able to break through to Divine Emperor and save the Corrupted Domain from crisis. But the Divine Emperor would not hesitate to abandon the Void Dark Night and slaughter the entire three realms and one domain until there were no living beings left.
She had spent the longest time with the Divine Emperor and knew her temperament best, so this thought was simply misguided and she dismissed it immediately.
Besides, she had never agreed with the notion of “killing one to benefit the world.”
“Perhaps I need to find another way to extract it.” Fang Moye looked at Jiang Huai and suddenly said, “Are you willing to cultivate with me for a period of time? After some time, when the Divine Emperor emerges from seclusion, I will personally return you to her.”
“I need time to figure out how to extract the divine item from you, and I need you to stay by my side. However, I cannot leave the Corrupted Domain for too long, as I need to continuously suppress that Spatial Rift. Therefore… for the sake of the myriad living beings of the Corrupted Domain, I hope you will accompany me.”
Fang Moye’s tone was polite and courteous.
Although she was unsure of Jiang Huai’s exact relationship with her, she knew very well how important he was to her. She was willing to endure the most terrifying suffering of a cultivator’s soul-splitting, just to travel to another world and bring him back. She had always known her personality was selfish, but when it came to matters concerning him, she seemed to be entirely different, ready to go through fire and water without hesitation.
“Please, Senior, let me think for a moment,” Jiang Huai replied just as politely and courteously.
He sat there quietly, his eyes gradually becoming lost. The countless threads of past karma now converged in his mind, all pointing towards a single possible outcome.
“In this Eternal Night, does Master not perceive what is happening here?” Jiang Huai suddenly asked.
“Yes,” Fang Moye nodded.
Jiang Huai suddenly turned to look at Jiang Zhi. “Now… can you finally tell me all those secrets?”
Jiang Zhi looked into Jiang Huai’s eyes. She suddenly noticed that Jiang Huai’s eyes were filled with pleading. Normally, he seemed roguish but was actually exceptionally proud. She rarely saw Jiang Huai display such an expression.
She finally spoke slowly.
“Two thousand years ago, in the lower realm, when I was sixteen, I happened to meet my Master…”
Jiang Zhi’s story was not long.
She patiently and meticulously recounted everything that had happened over the past two thousand years to Jiang Huai. She told him about her encounter with her Master, how her Master meticulously taught her to become the best in the world, about her fate as a Bride Dressed in Blood spiritual body, and about all the Missions her Master had given her.
“So, the Heavenly Punishment of the Monster Clan was something she prepared long ago?”
Although Jiang Zhi harbored great resentment towards Jiang Ning, at this moment, she inexplicably chose to speak a few good words for Jiang Ning. “She personally said that if she hadn’t reshaped the Heavenly Way back then, the entire Qingmu Realm would have fallen into complete chaos. She didn’t have time to completely correct everything and create a perfect Heavenly Way, so she could only infuse the Source of the Heavenly Way into your body, waiting for you to resolve everything.”
“So, back then, when I resolved the Heavenly Punishment of the Monster Clan, I was borrowing the Heavenly Way Source from your body.”
“What about Jun Anshui?”
“The Dragon Clan was originally a race nurtured by the previous Heavenly Way. However, after she killed the original Heavenly Way, everything fell into disarray. That’s why Jun Anshui’s younger brother was stillborn, and she should have died too… but only you could save her.”
“What about you?” Jiang Huai gazed into her eyes.
“That’s why I hated you at first, yet I had to do things for you. That’s why I was unwilling to Dual Cultivate with you then, yet I often went mad. That’s why I’ve been moody for the past thousand years. But now, I am not angry, nor do I resent her, because I love you. Because I realized I love you, I have forgiven her.”
“Is there anything else I don’t know?”
“I don’t know much either,” Jiang Zhi shook her head. But after a moment, she bit her lip lightly. “She told me that she had only arranged some things. As for what outcome these things would ultimately lead to, it all depended on your choices. I don’t know how to describe it to you, but I can feel it, very clearly… She did this because…”
“Because… she loves me, right?” Jiang Huai asked slowly.
At this moment, Jiang Zhi noticed that Jiang Huai’s complexion had turned a little pale. She had almost never seen Jiang Huai appear so helpless and fragile. Almost instinctively, she grasped Jiang Huai’s hand. “But these aren’t bad things, are they? You don’t need to overthink it…”
Jiang Zhi’s hand was warm, and Jiang Huai did not pull away. He simply lowered his head in silence.
After a long while, he slowly spoke.
“Actually, a long, long time ago, I had already guessed some clues,” Jiang Huai said, not looking up, just staring at the ground. “I had already guessed some things. The Missions issued by the voice in my ear were always perfectly timed, and your appearance was so illogical, your kindness towards me was uncalled for. The Heavenly Punishment of the Monster Clan, the plight of the Dragon Clan, it all seemed like such a coincidence. As soon as I appeared, all troubles vanished, as if I had been placed in a Script, playing the role of a savior.”
“I guessed many things, but I refused to face them. I just wanted to escape, thinking that as long as what I saw, what I heard, what I believed was true, then everything would be true.”
“With this kind of thinking, I could be heartlessly happy for a very long time. Until the Tribulation of Inner Demon, I realized I could no longer escape. I had to come to the upper realm. I had to see her once. I had to have a good talk with her.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Jiang Huai slowly looked up, seeing Jiang Zhi’s worried expression, her eyes already misting over with unease. He smiled at her. “I’m fine. You know me, I’m the most carefree person.”
“I plan to go to the Corrupted Domain with her to study how to extract that divine item from me and help her break through to Divine Emperor, to resolve the crisis in the Corrupted Domain first.”
“I want to go too,” Jiang Zhi looked at him, her eyes glistening.
“I want to be alone and quiet for a while. Don’t worry, if she finds a solution, I’ll ask her to send me back as soon as possible,” Jiang Huai gently pinched Jiang Zhi’s face. “I really just want to be quiet, nothing else. Pinky promise.”
Jiang Zhi understood Jiang Huai, so she didn’t say anything more. She obediently extended her finger and linked it with his, as a promise.
After making the promise with Jiang Zhi, Jiang Huai shifted his gaze to Ning Yuzhu’s face. He suddenly leaned closer and, looking into Ning Yuzhu’s eyes, softly asked, “Senior Disciple Sister.”
Ning Yuzhu seemed a little at a loss. She could only stare blankly at Jiang Huai until he spoke softly, “I believe what Senior Disciple Sister said, and thank Senior Disciple Sister for taking care of me during this time. I want to leave with her for a while to quiet my mind. When I return from Senior Moye, I will properly serve Senior Disciple Sister and apologize.”
The uneasiness in Ning Yuzhu’s heart seemed to slowly melt away, and she replied softly, “It’s a deal.”
Jiang Huai extended his finger to her. “It’s a deal.”
