"Wu Ming Divine Sovereign, is this how cold and thin your Eternal Night Divine Kingdom's hospitality is?"

Divine Sovereigns Meng Kongchan and Hua Fuchen arrived together, a spectacle of world-shaking grandeur, yet they were blocked outside a chilling barrier. This treatment did not surprise either Divine Sovereign in the slightest, nor did they attempt to break the barrier. Instead, they stopped there, their expressions carrying a subtly meaningful nuance.

"Scram!"

Soul-piercing, sharp, hostile sound nearly drilled through their ears: "Your filthy, lowly male aura has already defiled this Sovereign's eyes and ears! Scram immediately!!"

"Heh!"

Meng Kongchan gave a cold laugh, calling out his name directly: "Shen Wuyanye, are you not going to give this Meng a satisfactory explanation?"

"Explanation?? Hahahaha!"

Laughter was as mournful as an owl's shriek, sending chills down one's spine: "Your Dream Weaving and Heaven Breaker colluded, ambushing my Eternal Night Divine Maiden in God Slumber Forbidden Zone, causing her to be severely injured and nearly perish! This Sovereign, considering we are in Pure Land, has temporarily refrained from attacking. What face do you have to demand a so-called explanation from this Sovereign!"

"Indeed, even becoming a Divine Sovereign can never erase filth, lowliness, and baseness in your blood and bones!"

Meng Kongchan was not angered in slightest, but instead smiled faintly: "Hehehehe, you and I both know what truth is."

Hua Fuchen also smiled faintly: "Brother Meng, it is just as I said. To be a Divine Sovereign of a Divine Kingdom, yet to openly reverse heavenly order in front of one another, truly worthy of being 'Wu Ming' Divine Sovereign."

He emphasized two words "Wu Ming" (No Light/Ignorant), his gentle words filled with sarcasm. "Blindness of eyes can still observe world with heart, but heart so blind that it deceives others and oneself—that is truly utmost sorrow, beyond salvation."

In an instant, temperature of surrounding space plummeted. Eternal Night Maidens and Abyss Knights nearby all felt a chill throughout their bodies. As Divine Sovereign most easily provoked, one who might go mad at any moment even without provocation, Shen Wuyanye's reaction was utterly unsurprising. Wu Ming Divine Sovereign's rage was enough to make entire Eternal Night Divine Kingdom tremble, but how could it intimidate two Divine Sovereigns?

Hua Fuchen's brow slightly furrowed, his voice also cooling several degrees: "Shen Wuyanye, you repeatedly question what 'face' we have, yet this Hua's and Brother Meng's faces are now clearly displayed beneath heavenly light of this Pure Land, without slightest concealment, for all spirits in heaven and earth to look up and behold!!"

"And you, Shen Wuyanye... heh!"

Hua Fuchen let out a faint, sarcastic laugh, and Meng Kongchan immediately took over his words: "A dignified Wu Ming Divine Sovereign, when meeting Abyss Emperor in this Pure Land, must cover her body with a palanquin and conceal hr face with a black curtain. Why? Does Wu Ming Divine Sovereign know that her face is so ugly that it is hated by gods and men, feared by ghosts, and abandoned by all spirits, so she must heavily conceal it, daring not to show it to anyone!?"

"Seeking... death!!" Boom—A terrifying gust of dark wind swept up. Instantly, heavenly light dimmed sharply, and surrounding space seemed to plunge into an icy hell. Such deliberate derogatory remarks could not anger any other Divine Sovereign; they would only invite ridicule from opponent—yet they struck directly at Wu Ming Divine Sovereign's vital point! The more one conceals, the more one cares!

Cold wind howled, killing intent filled sky, causing robes of Divine Sovereigns Meng Kongchan and Hua Fuchen to flutter.

"Your Excellency, quell your anger!!"

Shen Wumingque's voice urgently sounded: "This is Pure Land, you must not strike! If Your Excellency acts in anger, you will... fall right into opponent's trap!"

Cold domain and killing aura suddenly paused, but Hua Fuchen spoke lightly, adding fuel to fire: "Wu Ming Divine Sovereign truly worries too much. Those qualified to step into Pure Land are all of noble birth and exceptional cultivation. Even if they are horrified and trembling in soul by Wu Ming Divine Sovereign's ugliness, they would never speak it aloud or show it in their expression."

"Meng... Kong... Chan! Hua... Fu... Chen!" Shen Wuyanye's voice was already trembling to point of being almost inaudible. Upon hearing it, even Abyss Knights ten miles away felt their hearts and souls ache as if about to shatter.

"Remember well what you said today! One day... this Sovereign will surely make you pay price... will surely make you regret every single word spoken today!!" Shen Wuyanye's fury reached such a peak that even Eternal Night Maidens close to her had never witnessed it. They all trembled like sieves, their faces white as paper. Several were already swaying, their bodies flickering like residual candles in wind. Her cruelty and terror in Eternal Night Divine Kingdom were evident.

"Your Excellency, quell your anger... quell your anger!" Shen Wumingque repeatedly pleaded in a hoarse voice.

At this moment, her figure stepped out of barrier, standing before Meng Kongchan and Hua Fuchen. She hastily bowed: "Two Divine Sovereigns, 'explanation' you seek has neither proof nor basis. Only one thing is certain: sword wound on my Eternal Night Divine Maiden was indeed created by Heaven-Folding Sword Intent." "This is upon Pure Land, not..."

"That is correct, neither proof nor basis."

Meng Kongchan interrupted her words. His faintly lowered silver gaze caused Shen Wumingque's spirit to instantly collapse, her entire body shuddering: "Otherwise, why would this Sovereign only move his lips and tongue."

Enduring gaze of Wumeng Divine Sovereign at such close proximity, Shen Wumingque felt as if every single one of her soul strings was clearly and completely exposed beneath his divine eyes. With just a thought, an instant, he could easily destroy them, like withered threads crumbling into dust. God Slumber Forbidden Zone was not under anyone's gaze, so Eternal Night Divine Maiden's attempt to kill Yun Che had only Yun Che's side of story, without any proof.

"Wu Ming Divine Sovereign, calm yourself."

Meng Kongchan's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing obliquely at barrier behind him, his eyes faintly flowing with a pale silver radiance: "This Meng's visit is not to demand accountability, but to return an item."

Whoosh! With a soft sound, a silver folding fan unfolded in Meng Kongchan's hand. On fan's surface, ink flew and scattered, every character unrestrained, and it contained a faint divine aura that even long years had failed to completely erase. Signature at end of fan's rib, written with extraordinary flair, was none other than... Shen Wuxueyan!

Though Shen Wuyanye could not see, her other four senses far surpassed those of ordinary people. In first instant, she captured aura that she could never forget... an aura that, even now, tormented her in eternal dark night.

"That is... that person's thing!" Her rage and killing intent suddenly collapsed, and cold suppression of space instantly turned into uncontrolled turbulence. "Where did you get such a filthy thing! That beast's belongings should have been completely erased from world by this Sovereign!" Looking at characters on folding fan, Shen Wumingque's eyes suddenly became dazed, as if her soul had fled.

Meng Kongchan said lightly: "Ten thousand years ago, on eve of this Meng inheriting Divine Sovereign position, Shen Wuxueyan specially came to 'bid farewell,' lamenting that there would be no more 'Brother Meng,' only title of Divine Sovereign. This fan, forged from Youpo Divine Jade, was gift Shen Wuxueyan gave me back then."

"This Meng was suddenly inspired and invited him to leave ink on fan. He asked what topic I wished for, and I told him to write whatever was most on his mind at time... these are characters on fan."

"Night Patrol Envoy," Meng Kongchan's gaze turned towards Shen Wumingque again: "Why don't you read out what is written on fan for your Wu Ming Divine Sovereign."

Shen Wumingque's lips parted, but she could not utter a single word. In her ear, Shen Wuyanye's hostile voice suddenly exploded: "Read!!"

Shen Wumingque's entire body trembled, nearly spitting blood. Her throat violently convulsed, and only then did she manage to utter the characters on fan with difficulty: "Gentle wind brushes jade shadow... bright moon reflects inch of heart."

Chaotic coldness, suppression, and killing intent suddenly froze. Entire world abruptly fell into an eerie silence. Gentle wind... bright moon... Xi Hua... Shen Wuxihua! A sudden wailing sound echoed in everyone's ears—it was disordered True God aura stirring space's tremor. "Haha... haha... hahahaha!"

Shen Wuyanye let out a maniacal laugh, every sound hoarse, every sound mournful: "Shen Wuxueyan! Several thousand years... it has been several thousand years! Such hypocrisy and filth left behind by you still remain in this world, and once again defile this Sovereign's ears... You deserve to be cut into ten thousand pieces! You deserve to die without a burial place!"

This folding fan, and characters upon it, Hua Fuchen was also seeing for first time. He slightly lowered his brow, his state of mind momentarily complex. Gentle wind brushes jade shadow, bright moon reflects inch of heart... every character was affection, every character was yearning. Name "Xi Hua" seemed even more deeply engraved in his heart. Shen Wuxueyan, Shen Wuxihua... was truth of that time truly just as rumored? And who exactly... betrayed whose true feelings?

"Damn it... damn it! Damn it!! Die!!!" Screams of rage, like a desperate she-wolf, like a heartless evil spirit, were spine-chilling.

Meng Kongchan tossed folding fan onto ground: "After today, my Dream Weaving and Eternal Night have only enmity, no grace. This item, it is only right to return it."

He coldly stared at intensely trembling black palanquin behind barrier, then turned and walked away side-by-side with Hua Fuchen, leaving with cold indifference. Even after they had gone far, Shen Wuyanye's hysterical cries still echoed in air.

"How was it?" Hua Fuchen asked.

"Hmph!" Meng Kongchan sneered: "Much easier than I expected. After all, she is essentially a madwoman, her soul flaws so great that... I even felt disdain to act for a few moments."

"But..." His eyes suddenly turned cold, his soul might awe-inspiring: "Dare to touch my Yuan'er, no matter who it is, they must pay a price they will regret for rest of their lives!"

Hua Fuchen suddenly said: "Back then, after Shen Wuxueyan's incident, you sighed for a long time, and after that, you always avoided discussing anything related to him. Your friendship with Shen Xueyan was not shallow, so I assume that events of that year were not entirely as rumored?"

Meng Kongchan shook his head: "Grudges and favors, rights and wrongs, when they fall upon oneself, they are a tangled mess. How can one easily clarify karma of others? I can only say... from what I know, saw, and felt, Shen Wuxueyan was not heartless towards Shen Wuxihua back then, in fact, quite opposite..."

His voice paused, and he continued: "However, as a Divine Son, his bones were engraved with an overly heavy male pride. Facing Shen Wuxihua, who surpassed him in every aspect, his deeply rooted nature led to his words and actions being extremely inconsistent, even frequently making foolish moves for sake of so-called Divine Son dignity. The bitter fruit he ultimately brewed, was it not also self-inflicted?"

Hua Fuchen nodded, no longer pressing question.

————

"Brother Yun, we've arrived!" Passing through layers of Pure Land Divine Guards stationed here, what appeared before their eyes was a rather large, magnificent hall. Ten Thousand Dao Divine Pavilion! At hall's entrance, a tall man stood proudly. He had dark green long hair, his face was stern like an ice sculpture, his eyes held a hidden coldness, and he carried a seven-foot sword sheath on his back. Without revealing blade, it released a chilling coldness that made all spirits retreat.

"Uncle Changying!" Hua Caili's call confirmed his identity to Yun Che. One of four Pure Land Divine Attendants, close attendant of Wen Dao Divine Official—Changying!

A cold, spiritless gaze swept lightly over Yun Che and Hua Caili. Divine Attendant Changying slightly nodded: "Master has given instructions, enter." Hua Caili took Yun Che's hand, leading him directly into hall, whispering at same time: "Uncle Changying doesn't like to talk much, but he's not mean. Just ignore him."

Summoned by Abyss Emperor, and with Six Smiles and Ling Xian Divine Officials interceding for him, name "Yun Che" now resounded like thunder across Pure Land. But as Yun Che and Hua Caili passed by Changying, he remained completely unblinking, and even his aura did not linger on Yun Che.

Such cold indifference suggested he was a person who adhered strictly to rules... Yun Che noted his appearance, aura, and his assessment of him.

"Grandpa Wandao, we're here!" Following Hua Caili's clear call, Yun Che's steps also entered hall... In an instant, it was as if world had changed, heaven and earth inverted. A dense aura, seemingly spanning ten thousand ages, surged towards him like a tide, instantly enveloping his entire body. This aura was so profound and intense that Yun Che's senses went blank for several moments. That extreme ancient solemnity, vastness, and deep composure, seemed to have billions of stars quietly flowing in depths of hall, as if coming from Age of Gods that should have long passed.

Ten Thousand Dao Divine Pavilion, treasure trove carrying three million years of Pure Land's history and foundation. In first moment of Yun Che's arrival, his original expectations were completely overturned. Aura filling this place was absolutely incomparable to mere density of a Divine Kingdom's single divine power; it was as if it carried endless vastness of entire Abyss's history, every trace of aura narrating Pure Land's supreme foundation.

————

【In ancient times, previous text mentioned ultimate flame of Vermillion Bird Spirit Solace Melody, which was then named "Thousand Feathers Extinguishing Nether Melody." However, due to its extreme antiquity and fact that Vermillion Bird Flame would not appear in early stages, it was completely forgotten -_-||】

【Thus, I could only forcefully activate the Nirvana Devil Time Wheel Bead, using dark, sinful hand of karma to change "Thousand Feathers Extinguishing Nether Melody" in previous text to current "Ashes and Calamity Mercy Song." Let's just pretend nothing happened ε=(´ο｀*)))】

【Deep thanks to all little friends for reminding me!】