Two days later, Yun Che and Xia Qingyue arrived at the Brahma Monarch God Realm at the agreed upon time.
This time, Qianye Fantian appeared to be even more courteous and polite than before. He even came out personally to welcome and escort them all the way to the Brahma Heaven Temple.
It was clear that his cautiousness stemmed from the fact that his greatest secret had been discovered.
“Qianye should’ve sent an ark to escort you both from the Moon God Realm. Qianye is both grateful and anxious that the Moon God Emperor is willing to make the journey herself,” Qianye Fantian said sincerely.
“You are too courteous, Brahma Heaven God Emperor,” Xia Qingyue said. “Yun Che is the key to saving the world right now. It is this king's duty to ensure his safety while he is a guest in the Moon God Realm.”
Despite the contrasting expressions on the two god emperor’s faces—one of them was smiling cordially, while the other the image of indifference and aloofness—neither of them were concerned with appearances… It was probably an unusual scene.
“Yun Che, it’s time you seek out the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, and any further delay would be unwise. You should begin immediately.”
Xia Qingyue said immediately and directly the moment they had entered the Brahma Heaven Temple.
“Alright.” Yun Che nodded in response before extending a hand to Qianye Fantian, “If I may, Brahma Heaven God Emperor.”
Just like the previous two treatments, Yun Che sat directly opposite of the Brahma Heaven God Emperor and released his light profound energy. The Evil Infant devilish energy inside the Brahma Heaven God Emperor’s body became slowly purified as a result.
Xia Qingyue also sat next to Yun Che just like before. She locked her aura firmly around Yun Che, clearly displaying distrust in the Brahma Monarch God Realm even though Qianye Fantian was right in front of her.
The temple grew silent as time passed silently and slowly. Yun Che focused his attention on circulating the light profound energy, Qianye Fantian quietly accepted the purification, and Xia Qingyue sat protectively by his side. None of them moved or said a word throughout the process.
An hour… two hours… four hours...
When six hours had passed by without incident, Xia Qingyue suddenly opened her eyes and slowly rose to her feet.
Her aura was still focused on Yun Che, but she had left his side to walk slowly across the wide foundation of the Brahma Heaven Temple. Her footsteps were soft, and her clothes made not a rustle.
After pacing for a little while in the Brahma Heaven Temple, she stopped in front of a simple and old portrait, and stared. The person inside the portrait was an old man dressed in the Brahma Gold Divine Robes. The robes represented the highest status attainable in the Brahma Monarch God Realm, accentuating the old man’s natural imposingness even further.
She stared quietly at the portrait and didn’t look away for a very long time.
“Hehe, you seem very interested in this king's ancestor, Moon God Emperor.”
Qianye Fantian’s amiable voice suddenly broke the silence of the temple.
Xia Qingyue’s gaze shifted slightly before she said, “I see. No wonder his portrait feels very imposing. Which generation does this god emperor belong to?”
“He is the god emperor from three generations ago,” Qianye Fantian said while chuckling. “You may remember him if you search through the core memories of the previous Moon God Emperors.”
Xia Qingyue pondered for a moment before saying in a meaningful tone, “This god emperor seems to have done a great service to the Brahma Monarch God Realm. He was a respectable man.”
She said this, because this Brahma Heaven God Emperor should be the one who found the Primordial Seal of Life and Death based on her time calculations!
“As a junior, I wouldn’t dare comment on the achievements of my forefathers. What exactly do you mean though, Moon God Emperor?” Qianye Fantian was still smiling.
“You think too much, Brahma Heaven God Emperor.” Xia Qingyue finally moved her gaze away from the portrait and said, “It was a thoughtless question. This king was simply drawn by the vigor of this portrait.”
“Brahma Heaven God Emperor,” Yun Che suddenly spoke up, “please don’t lose your concentration, or the devilish energy may go out of control.”
“Oh, excuse me. This is Qianye’s mistake,” Qianye Fantian immediately replied.
Xia Qingyue moved away from the portrait and paced down another direction in the temple. Qianye Fantian also fell silent and closed his eyes as if his mind had become concentrated once more.
Qianye Fantian looked like he was more focused on his treatment than ever before, but it was at this moment that Yun Che said in his mind, “Let’s begin, He Ling!”
Wisps of Sky Poison immediately coursed through his profound energy and slipped into Qianye Fantian’s body, entering the well of Evil Infant devilish energy inside Qianye Fantian directly.
Since they were both negative energies, the Evil Infant devilish energy didn’t reject the Sky Poison’s entry at all.
Although Yun Che was quite confident that he would succeed, and Qianye Fantian’s attention was firmly drawn away by Xia Qingyue, he still worked carefully and without haste to minimize the chances of detection. He never transferred more than a couple of threads into Qianye Fantian each time, and the entire process was slow and steady.
It was as if time had come to a complete stop. The hour felt agonizingly long, but Yun Che was finally able to pour every bit of the Sky Poison He Ling had “cultivated” into Qianye Fantian’s body and conceal it behind the Evil Infant devilish energy.
He didn’t leave behind a single drop.
His work complete, Yun Che opened his eyes and dropped his hand a little lethargically from Qianye Fantian’s solar plexus. He then let out a long breath and wiped away the sweat on his forehead.
“Thank you for your trouble, God Child Yun,” said Qianye Fantian gratefully after opening his eyes.
“There is no need for such courtesy, Brahma Heaven God Emperor,” Yun Che said as if he was jesting while smiling. “This junior was able to earn a great favor from the Brahma Heaven God Emperor without expending too much energy, so it seems like this junior is the one who has benefited more from this exchange.”
Qianye Fantian laughed loudly in response. “Don’t worry, God Child Yun. Qianye won’t forget about this for as long as he lives. If you have any needs, God Child Yun, Qianye shall do his utmost.”
Xia Qingyue returned to Yun Che’s side and examined him from head to toe. She then said, “We’ll stop today since you’ve run out of energy. Brahma Heaven God Emperor, Yun Che must focus on persuading the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor next, and this is the most important thing in the entire God Realm. Therefore, he won’t be able to purify the devilish energy inside you for a very long time to come. If it becomes active again, you must find another way yourself.”
“Hehe, that isn’t a problem,” Qianye Fantian said while chuckling. “Nearly forty percent of the devilish energy has been purified. Qianye should be able to endure another attack without a problem, and purify the rest on his own. Qianye wouldn’t dare trouble God Child Yun any longer.”
“Purify on your own?” Qianye Fantian’s statement caused Xia Qingyue to look at him and say, “Your profound strength may reach the heavens, Brahma Heaven God Emperor, but the Evil Infant devilish energy is an incredibly high level existence. It would take a couple, if not ten years before you can purify it all.”
“This king doesn’t doubt that you can endure the pain of the devilish energy, Brahma Heaven God Emperor. However, you seemed to have missed another deadly threat.”
“Oh?” Qianye Fantian’s eyes flashed once as he asked, “Please enlighten me, Moon God Emperor.”
“If this king’s guess is correct, the Southern Sea God Emperor must’ve visited you personally some time ago. Is that right?” asked Xia Qingyue.
“Hehe, that is true. The Moon God Emperor truly is remarkably intelligent.” Qianye Fantian nodded, but a tiny wrinkle appeared on his brow.
“You praise me too much, Brahma Heaven God Emperor. Anyone who knows the Southern Sea God Emperor even a little could figure this out.” Xia Qingyue narrowed her eyes slightly before continuing, “The relationship between your realm and his has always been rather… tentative, but the Brahma Monarch God Realm has just recently lost three Brahma Gods. He wouldn’t be the Southern Sea God Emperor if he doesn’t use this opportunity to throw stones while you’re down, especially considering his obsessive infatuation with the Lady Goddess!”
“Worry not, Moon God Emperor.” Qianye Fantian continued to smile without looking perturbed. “The Brahma Monarch God Realm doesn’t fear the Southern Sea God Emperor even after the loss of three Brahma Gods!”
“But what if they lose you as well?” Xia Qingyue said coldly.
The smile on the Brahma Heaven God Emperor’s face immediately faded. “What do you mean, Moon God Emperor?”
“I’m sure you know better than anyone what kind of person the Southern Sea God Emperor is, Brahma Heaven God Emperor. One might even say that there was no one in the world who can stoop as low as him. To him, the death of the three Brahma Gods is the opportunity of a lifetime, and he may actually try to poison you if you refuse to give in to his wishes! With you and the three Brahma Gods gone, it would be all too simple for him to acquire the Lady Goddess for himself, don’t you think?”
“Hmph! Ridiculous!” Qianye Fantian finally showed a bit of anger. “You think that the likes of him can poison me?”
“Strength wise, the Brahma Heaven God Emperor fears no one, of course. However… the Southern Sea God Realm possesses a kind of poison called the Absolute God Slaying Poison. It is a devilish poison of the old days, and it is currently the deadliest poison in the entire world. Back then, it even nearly killed the Heavenly Slaughter Star God. You simply must be careful, Brahma Heaven God Emperor,” Xia Qingyue warned indifferently.
Qianye Fantian narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Xia Qingyue. “Moon God Emperor, do you really believe that I’d be afraid of Southern Sea’s devilish poison?”
Xia Qingyue stared right back without any fear as she replied softly, “Of course you would have nothing to fear from such poison—in the past that is. But… you are tainted by the Evil Infant devilish energy right now. Are you seriously telling me that you aren’t afraid at all?”
“What do you mean?” Qianye Fantian asked with a frown. He didn’t understand what Xia Qingyue was saying.
“Millions of years ago, the poison that had ended the gods and the devils, ‘Myriad Tribulations’ was a fusion between the Evil Infant's Wheel of Myriad Tribulations’ devilish energy and poison from the Sky Poison Pearl. However, the essence of Myriad Tribulations was that of poison, not devilish energy… what this means, is that any deadly poison that comes into contact with the Evil Infant devilish energy may experience an unexpected, terrible mutation.”
“...” Qianye Fantian’s expression looked the same as ever, but his gaze had frozen for just a second when he heard this.
“If you came into contact with the Absolute God Slaying Poison while you are still tainted by the Evil Infant devilish energy, the consequences would probably be unimaginable. This is a treacherous, deadly poison that comes with heavy consequences. Normally, no one would even think to use it. But since this is the Southern Sea God Emperor we’re talking about, it becomes not a matter of willingness, but courage. There is no reason to believe that the Southern Sea God Emperor hasn’t considered what you have already considered, Brahma Heaven God Emperor.”
Suddenly, she stopped herself before shooting Qianye Fantian a glance. “Oh? It looks like this king's worries are unfounded. The Brahma Heaven God Emperor has nothing to fear from this poison. In that case, let us leave, Yun Che.”
“You must be busy, Brahma Heaven God Emperor. You don’t need to send us off. Goodbye.”
In Yun Che’s opinion, the way Xia Qingyue had planted the seeds of doubt in Qianye Fantian’s mind was borderline scary.
In fact, calling them the seeds of doubt might be understating things… he should say that she had planted a shadow in Qianye Fantian’s heart.
Would something happen when a poison and the Evil Infant devilish energy were mixed together? No one knew. No one had even seen it before.
One thing was certain though, there was nothing more terrifying than the unknown.
The Absolute God Slaying Poison was the poison that had afflicted Jasmine.
In other words, Southern Sea God Emperor Nan Wansheng was the man who had nearly killed Jasmine back then! Yun Che knew very little about the Southern Sea God Emperor, but even just Xia Qingyue’s words today were enough to make him realize how insidious and “un-god-emperor-like” that man really was.
Hell, he might actually be a perfect match for Qianye Ying’er!
After Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had gone far enough, Qianye Fantian’s eyes slowly turned gloomy and puzzled.
The space next to him distorted for a little, and Qianye Ying’er appeared soon after.
“What is going on?” Qianye Fantian spent a long time thinking… there was something deeply wrong about this whole thing.
“They didn’t come for the Primordial Seal of Life and Death.” Qianye Ying’er’s eyebrows sank as she said in a low tone, “Also, I have a feeling that she knows that I’m here, but she pretended not to notice… this means that she wasn’t here for me either.”
That was all the insight both Qianye Fantian and Qianye Ying’er had managed to glean. They just couldn’t figure out the reason behind Xia Qingyue and Yun Che’s visits.
Making him owe a huge favor couldn’t possibly be all they were looking for, right??