âYou knew that the poison wouldnât be enough to kill him, but it was enough to damage him severely... thatâs why you were still tempted to poison him that day, am I right?â
Something strongly tugged at Yun Cheâs heartstrings.
Qianye Fantian was an incredibly dangerous person. It was why Xia Qingyue had accompanied him when the god emperor had sent him an invitation at the Eternal Heaven Realm. After that, she left him before he got to say too much, and he hadnât put any real thought behind most of his words. If Xia Qingyue hadnât brought it up now, he wouldnât even remember what he had spoken back then.
But somehow, Xia Qingyue was able to deduce the fact that he possessed darkness profound energy, the Sky Poison Pearlâs current strength, and perhaps even more she didnât say from those careless words alone...
Was she really Xia Qingyue? It was almost as if her soul had been switched with someone else!
Yun Che couldnât help but be shocked, but what really annoyed him was how focused Xia Qingyue was in front of him.
Noticing that the man behind her had fallen silent and was even looking at her in a slightly different light, Xia Qingyue turned slightly towards him and asked, âWas I wrong?â
âNo, youâre correct.â Yun Che finally said, âThe Sky Poison Pearl hasnât recovered much power, but its poison is an incredibly high level existence. Qianye Fantian may be able to brute force it out of his body, but heâll never be able to truly neutralize it. Even if it wasnât enough to kill him, its power should last long enough to give him the time of his life.â
Xia Qingyue turned around and extended a hand toward Yun Che. She wasnât wearing any adornment, and every finger looked like they were from the first snow. âLet me try it!â
âOkay.â Yun Che didnât hesitate. The Sky Poison Pearl possessed both the ultimate poison and the ultimate purification ability, so he wasnât worried that Xia Qingyue would get hurt during the attempt.
He extended his right hand and touched Xia Qingyueâs palm with a finger. His own palm flashed blue for an instant before a wisp of sky poison was poured into Xia Qingyueâs hand.
The sky poison came active immediately after coming into contact with Xia Qingyue. It was only a wisp, but it immediately caused her entire hand to glow dark green.
A frown sprung to Xia Qingyueâs face as she quickly circulated her Purple Pylon profound energy. A purple light instantly surrounded her hand and suppressed the greenish glow.
However, suppression was all she could manage... despite her cultivation and the Purple Pylon divine power, she actually wasnât able to extinguish or neutralize the sky poison at all. It was completely locked down inside the veins of her palm, but like a solid block of ice it refused to fade no matter what she tried.
And this was just a wisp!
âIt is impossible to neutralize!â whispered Xia Qingyue.
âThe poison of the Sky Poison Pearl is âaliveâ,â said Yun Che. This âlivingâ poison had only started accumulating after He Ling had become the Poison Spirit. Before this, the poison of the Sky Poison Pearl was still fatal, but could easily be neutralized by any profound practitioner. âNot even a True God may necessarily be able to neutralize it if it enters their body, much less the living things of the current world!â
While speaking, Yun Che stretched out his left hand and used the purification ability of the Sky Poison Pearl. A flash later, the poison aura in Xia Qingyueâs hand had disappeared completely.
Yun Che was the only one in the entire world who could unleash or purify the poison of the Sky Poison Pearl. Unfortunately, the Sky Poison Pearlâs power was also accumulating much too slowly.
If he had a couple more years, if he had been able to wait like he told He Ling before, the Sky Poison Pearl wouldâve accumulated enough power to kill even an expert like Qianye Fantian. Unfortunately the heavens had other plans, and he was forced to return to the God Realm earlier than expected due to the crimson calamity. Right now, the Sky Poison Pearl simply did not have enough sky poison to kill Qianye Fantian.
âHow long is its âlifespanâ?â asked Xia Qingyue after withdrawing her profound energy.
âForty hours or so, give or take,â Yun Che said, âQianye Fantian may not be able to neutralize it, but heâll definitely be able to last beyond the forty hour mark considering his profound energy and divine body. Right now, there just isnât enough sky poison to induce the âdesperate straitsâ or âcrisis of deathâ you wanted.â
âForty hours...â Xia Qingyue pondered for a moment. âItâs shorter than I predicted, but it should still be enough.â
Yun Che, â...?â
âThe sky poison wonât be enough to kill him, but the fact that it cannot be neutralized by the power of a god emperor and the fame of the Sky Poison Pearl should still be enough to give Qianye Fantian quite the scare. No one knows that the sky poison can only exist for forty hours except you and I. As his defense and power grow weaker and weaker, so will he begin to fear for his own life... once that happens, his fear and the possibility that he might die would only torment him more and more with the passage of time!â
âHm?â Yun Che shot her a glance before saying, âI wonât ask why we even want to poison Qianye Fantian for now, but even if we...â
âForty hours of terror may not be enough to destroy Qianye Fantianâs willpower, I know. The chances of success should be lower than thirty percent.â Xia Qingyue interrupted Yun Che before he could finish his sentence. She clearly knew what he was trying to say. âHowever, donât forget that his body was already implanted with something that will magnify his fear a thousand times over, the Evil Infant devilish energy!â
But Yun Che frowned slightly in puzzlement. âYou want me to whip the devilish energy inside him into a frenzy after I poison him...? That canât be right! Not only will it be a meaningless move, it will expose the fact that I can control darkness profound energy.â
âWhat happens when the sky poison of the Sky Poison Pearl and the power of the Evil Infantâs Wheel of Myriad Tribulations are combined?â
The creases in Yun Cheâs brow deepened. âThey will become the Myriad Tribulations!â
âCorrect!â Xia Qingyueâs eyes looked as deep as a bottomless, cold lake right now. âThere is no one in the entire God Realm who hasnât heard of âMyriad Tribulationsâ. After all, it was this poison that ended the Era of Gods and altered the entire Primal Chaos drastically! This is a name that would terrify even True Gods and True Devils, much less a mere mortal!â
âWait, wait!â Yun Che said with an odd look on his face, âYouâre not asking me to combine the sky poison and the Evil Infant devilish energy in Qianye Fantianâs body together, are you?â
âCan you do it?â asked Xia Qingyue.
âOf course I canât!â
âI donât think you can either.â
â......â
âWhat I want isnât for you to combine them.â Xia Qingyue stared at Yun Che as her words grew slower and heavier. âIs it possible to just mix them together?â
The fact that the Evil Infantâs Wheel of Myriad Tribulations and the Sky Poison Pearl were the devil raceâs Heavenly Profound Treasures a long time ago proved that both the essence of their power were on the negative side. Therefore, Xia Qingyue had reason to believe that their energies wouldnât reject one another.
â...â Yun Che thought for a moment before answering, âI wouldnât be able to give you an answer if I had never come into contact with the Evil Infantâs devilish energy in the past. But having treated it multiple times already, I can tell you that this devilish energy is unusually compatible with me despite being deadly enough to torture a god emperor. Even when I was purifying it with the light profound energy, it didnât struggle nearly as much as I thought it should.â
âMaybe itâs because my darkness profound energy is special. Or maybe...â Yun Che exhaled slightly before continuing, âItâs because itâs âherâ power, and so her aura is imbued in them.â
Xia Qingyue, â...â
âThatâs why Iâm confident that I can slip the sky poison power into the Evil Infantâs devilish energy perfectly.â
He had performed a purification once for the Eternal Heaven God Emperor and twice for the Brahma Heaven God Emperor. Three contacts were enough for him to confirm this.
âExcellent!â Xia Qingyue nodded as her gaze grew a tad darker. After testing the sky poison personally and hearing Yun Cheâs confirmation, the chance of success she kept in her mind had climbed a little higher. âIn that case, please slip all the sky poison into the Evil Infantâs devilish energy when you treat him the day after tomorrow... Make sure it erupts after we have left the Brahma Monarch God Realm, and he will be thrown into the nightmare that is âMyriad Tribulationsâ!â
âIsnât it a bit naive to think that Qianye Fantian will believe that he was poisoned with Myriad Tribulations just by mixing the sky poison and the Evil Infant devilish energy together?â Yun Che raised his chin a bit as he spoke, âForget that heâs the Brahma Heaven God Emperor, anyone who isnât an idiot would be able to figure this out easily, wouldnât they?â
âYou are right, of course.â But Xia Qingyue nodded in agreement. âHe wonât believe it, and he doesnât need to. After all, the poison that destroyed the gods and devils and ended an entire era will still be the first thing that enters his mind when the poison activates! The shadow left behind by Myriad Tribulations is so big that anyone who encounteres any blend of the sky poison and the Evil Infant will automatically recall that name like they were cursed by a devil.
âNo oneânot even you, the master of the Sky Poison Pearlâknows how to combine the Evil Infantâs power and the sky poison power together to create âMyriad Tribulationsâ. No one in this era has even come into contact with it either. But it is without a doubt the most terrifying and famous name in the world, so when a blend between the Evil Infantâs devilish and the sky poison appears, no one except you, the master of the Sky Poison Pearl dare say with absolute certainty that a mutation like the âMyriad Tribulationsâ wouldnât happen again.
âAn unknown fear that exceeds the recognition of a god emperor, the shadow of Myriad Tribulations, and the sky poison that not even a god emperor can neutralize one bit... all these factors should be enough to push Qianye Fantian into collapse in forty hoursâ time!
âAnd just in case something unexpected happens, Iâll give Qianye Fantian enough hints when weâre there so that heâll definitely make the connection.â
â...â Yun Che stared blankly at Xia Qingyue as his scalp suddenly crawled with something unspeakable.
Xia Qingyue didnât seem to notice the change in his gaze, however. She continued, âQianye Fantian is a naturally suspicious person. Our visit already made him highly suspicious, but since not even you had any idea of our real objective, thereâs no way he couldâve deduced anything from your words or body language. He will believe that the purification is just an excuse, and he will set his full attention on that other âthingâ he cares about the most.â
âHeâll forcefully change the subject with me while you are purifying the devilish energy inside his body. I will also use my own ways to pull his attention away from you... Youâll have enough time to do whatever you want.â
âAfter that, just leave it to me to handle the rest.â
Yun Che put a hand to his forehead and ran through everything Xia Qingyue said in his head once. Then, he shook his head slightly and forced himself to calm down, asking, âYour goal is to make Qianye Fantian face the fear of the death, and... make him beg for mercy before me?â
âMn.â Xia Qingyue nodded. âA personâs desire to live is proportional to the extent of their life, power, and status. Therefore, one might say that Qianye Fantian is the person who fears death the most out of everyone in the Eastern Divine Region.â
âSo, the protective talisman you were speaking of was... Qianye Fantian? When he comes begging for me to purify his sky poison, we will demand a special request or some sort of information thatâs fatal for him, is that it?â
âYou are half-right.â Xia Qingyue paused for a second as her breathing suddenly grew heavier. âFor now, Qianye Fantian doesnât deserve that much attention from me. No, my goal is... Qianye Yingâer!
âQianye Yingâer must know this herself! That is why Qianye Yingâer is the one whoâll show up when the time is right, not Qianye Fantian. Naturally, she is also the one whoâll accept our âconditionâ.â
Xia Qingyueâs ability to control her own emotions was already unbelievable, but Yun Che still could feel a drop in the temperature when Qianye Yingâer was brought up.
Staring into Xia Qingyueâs pupils, Yun Che ran through the idea and shook his head. âI donât think youâll succeed. The Qianye Yingâer I saw was an extremely selfish madwoman whoâll do anything to achieve her own goals. Qianye Fantian may be the father who gave birth to her, but I donât think that sheâll sacrifice herself for him even if he begs her to save his life.â
Xia Qingyue closed her eyes slightly before replying, âTwo years ago, I wouldâve thought the same as you did. However... during my time as the Moon God Emperor, Iâve invested most of my energy into figuring out Qianye Yingâer.â
It was clear that that Xia Qingyueâs hatred of Qianye Yingâer was so deep that it could never be resolved.
âIt was during this period that I came to learn a weakness in her personality.â