Blank.
That was the first thought that flickered across Yun Che's mind.No color, no sound—just a suffocating emptiness.
His next thought was pain.
The instant their senses returned, Yun Che landed hard on something cold and unyielding. The jolt ran through his legs, echoing faintly in the silence. Beneath his palms, the surface felt like polished stone—smooth and frigid, untouched by dust or time.
Beside him, Jasmine's voice cut through the dark. "Where in the world are we?"
Yun Che groaned softly, straightening his back. "No idea," he muttered, eyes adjusting to the absence of light. "We got zapped straight into the pyramid. So… probably inside it."
The air was dense—heavy, almost alive—and the darkness pressed in from every side. Jasmine glanced around, her crimson eyes faintly glowing against the black void. "Is this another memory lane?"
He shook his head. "Too dark for that. Memory projections usually have residual energy or light. This… feels sealed."
For a moment, they stood in silence, the stillness almost suffocating. Then—
Click.
A single sound echoed in the void, sharp and deliberate.
Click. Click. Click…
One by one, veins of aquamarine light began to pulse across the floor, spreading like rivers beneath glass. The glow traveled along geometric lines—Isu markings—until the entire floor beneath them shimmered to life. The air brightened, shadows retreating as the chamber slowly revealed itself.
Both of them stopped breathing for a heartbeat.
They were standing inside a colossal hollow chamber, larger than any hall they'd seen above. Walls of ancient metalstone were etched with golden runes, glowing softly as if the pyramid itself were awakening from slumber.
In the heart of the chamber stood a towering pedestal, its surface elevated far above the ground. And on that pedestal rested a single sarcophagus—white, elegant, wrapped in glowing silver filigree.
"The Moon Empress…" Yun Che whispered.
But that wasn't what seized their attention.
Near the sarcophagus, a smaller dais shone with impossible brilliance. Floating above it—calm, radiant, and unmistakable—was a sphere of golden light inscribed with spinning Isu runes.
Jasmine's eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"
Yun Che's lips curled into a slow grin. "The Apple of Eden. We finally found it."
He'd seen its likeness before—recorded in the memories of the soul imprints—but never in person. To behold it now, humming softly beside the resting place of the Empress herself, sent a thrill through his veins.
Jasmine drifted closer on instinct, her ethereal form shimmering. But she quickly stopped, grimacing. "Tch. Still bound to you. I can't get further than ten meters."
He nodded absently, his gaze scanning the chamber. "As expected from the Moon Empress. A Monarch-level formation—maybe higher. The system's telling me this place suppresses all profound energy. No flight, no teleportation, no spirit force output. Basically…" he smirked, "…a no-fly zone."
Jasmine frowned, folding her arms. "So even Sovereigns can't get close. Clever woman."
"Very." He traced the markings with his eyes. "The only way up is by air, and that's disabled. No footholds. No climbable ledges. She didn't want anyone to reach the Apple unless they knew her secret."
Yun Che tilted his head, curiosity lighting his golden eyes. "Even in death, she's protecting it."
The chamber pulsed again, faintly—like the pyramid was listening.
Jasmine hovered beside him, expression thoughtful. "If this is the Moon Empress's tomb, then this must be her final seal. The last trial."
Yun Che chuckled under his breath. "And here I thought we were done."
His gaze fixed on the floating Apple, the artifact spinning lazily above its pedestal.Its light painted faint halos across the chamber, glimmering like divine sunlight beneath the earth.
Yun Che stood motionless, arms crossed in that unmistakable Mihawk fashion—chin lowered, gaze sharp, mind turning like clockwork."I expected she'd hide it somewhere across the continent," he murmured. "Never thought she'd bury it right under her own tomb."
Jasmine, floating beside him, circled the perimeter of the chamber like a curious spirit. "Where would you have expected it?"
He tilted his head, half-smirking. "Knowing the pattern? A wild goose chase. Five, maybe ten decoy ruins scattered across the empire. Classic tomb-maker psychology—make the seekers bleed time before they ever touch the real treasure."
Jasmine chuckled dryly. "You sound like you've done this before."
"I've played enough games to know how these things go," he replied. "But somehow… I think she wanted us here."
Before Jasmine could respond, a third voice—soft, echoing, ageless—rolled through the chamber like ripples through still water.
"It was meant to be that way. But then again… I expected you to find this place eventually."
Both of them froze.
The air itself shimmered as if struck by sunlight. Runes along the walls flared to life, casting the vast room in molten gold. A piercing brilliance erupted from the sarcophagus, forcing them both to shield their eyes.
When the glare finally subsided, a figure stood at the base of the pedestal—ethereal, poised, and utterly still.
Yun Che's eyes widened.
She was… beautiful, yes—but it was her presence that froze him. She wore attire unlike any of this world's fashion: a flowing white dress, simple yet regal, interwoven with luminous threads that glowed faintly with Isu inscriptions. Armor-like adornments framed her neck and waist, refined yet functional, shimmering like tempered silver.
A sleek circlet rested on her brow, holding her black hair in a long, deliberate ponytail. The design was unmistakably Isu—ancient, elegant, and utterly alien.
For a fleeting moment, he thought of someone else—a warrior queen he'd once glimpsed in fragmented Isu memories from his past life. The resemblance was uncanny enough to make him pause.
Jasmine floated closer, her eyes narrowing in cautious recognition. "Is that—"
"The Moon Empress," Yun Che finished quietly. "Or what's left of her."
The projection turned toward them. Her expression was serene—neither warm nor cold, but commanding in the way only true rulers could be.
Even as a spectral echo, her golden eyes seemed to see through them, dissecting their souls rather than their appearances.
"Welcome, my successor. I expected you to make it this far… from time after time…"
The figure's voice reverberated through the vast chamber—soft, regal, and echoing with ageless authority. The delivery was dramatic enough to make the air itself hum.
Yun Che crossed his arms, his expression flat. The tone. The pacing. The ethereal reverb.He'd heard this a hundred times before in ancient ruins, video games, and self-important AIs.
He exhaled through his nose. "All right, Moon Empress. Cut the chatter."
For a moment, silence.
Then—
"EHH!?"
The figure froze mid-gesture, her golden projection flickering slightly. Her eyes widened in genuine shock, breaking all composure. "You—you managed to see through me?! I was totally going for mysterious ancient guardian vibes!"
Jasmine blinked. "…What."
The once-grand figure huffed and crossed her arms, sounding more like an annoyed girl than an ancient ruler. "I was trying to disguise myself as one of Ares's comrades. I even rehearsed the whole echoing voice thing! Sigh… and I worked on this younger projection for centuries hoping it'd fool someone. That's just rude, interrupting a lady mid-monologue."
Her regal posture deflated entirely as the echoing aura faded. The projection shimmered—and in place of the divine Isu robe stood a young woman in a flowing ancient Chinese gown, far more casual and human-looking.
Yun Che and Jasmine both sweat-dropped in unison.
"…Is this really who I think it is?" Jasmine muttered, biting back a laugh.
Yun Che pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing an exasperated sigh. "Your clothing's a little much. Isu women didn't exactly walk around dressed for a costume drama. And for the record, that performance of yours—yeah, not convincing."
The girl puffed her cheeks slightly, floating closer. Up close, she looked barely twenty—bright eyes, smooth features, and a faint smirk that betrayed both confidence and mischief. Yet despite her youthful appearance, her aura didn't lie; it carried the weight of command, the same sovereign presence they'd felt from her older self in the memory visions.
She hovered inches from Yun Che's face, hands on her hips. "You're impossible! I finally get to meet someone interesting after centuries of waiting, and you ruin my dramatic entrance?"
Jasmine giggled openly now. "She waited all this time, and this was the introduction she went with?"
The young woman glared at her before turning back to Yun Che, pouting slightly. "And stop calling me 'Moon Empress!' Everyone calls me that! Even the historians above! It's so stiff. I have a name, you know!"
She jabbed a finger toward him with mock indignation."My name is Huan Xuyi. Xuyi. Don't forget it!"
Her tone carried all the imperious weight of a ruler… wrapped in the attitude of a spoiled prodigy.
Yun Che blinked once, deadpan. "…Right. Huan Xuyi. The dramatic Empress with a secret comedy streak."
"Hey!" she protested, crossing her arms again. "I'll have you know I was quite respected in my time!"
Yun Che tilted his head, amused. "Was that before or after you rehearsed the echoing speech?"
Xuyi's face turned bright red as she stomped her foot—though it made no sound in her spectral form. "Shut up!"
Yun Che chuckled quietly under his breath. For a being of myth and legend, she was nothing like he expected.
But then again, the more he looked at her—the subtle confidence behind her playfulness, the faint glimmer of sorrow behind her eyes—the more he realized something else:
This wasn't an illusion.It was her true self.
Both Yun Che and Jasmine froze.
The Moon Empress in front of them — this bubbly, expressive girl — was nothing like the regal, ethereal figure they'd seen in the memories.
Jasmine blinked twice. "Is… is this really happening?"
Yun Che rubbed his eyes. "Did I just see what I just saw?"
"Is this another illusion?" Jasmine muttered, scanning the chamber suspiciously.
He shook his head slowly. "If it is, it's the weirdest one yet."
The girl in front of them — young, radiant, her aura unmistakable — smiled mischievously, her expression far from the serene majesty they remembered.
And before either could process what they were seeing, she looked straight at Jasmine and spoke:
"Oh, there's no illusion this time. Little Flower. Maybe I should say 'Welcome,' instead. Silly me."
Both Yun Che and Jasmine stiffened.
Jasmine's eyes widened. She can see me? Impossible.
Her soul form was protected by the system itself — cloaked so completely that not even Ares's divine perception had pierced it.
"You… you can see me?" Jasmine demanded, disbelief coloring her voice.
Yun Che frowned, reaching inward. System, explanation.
===================
[Ding… System's concealment of Jasmine's presence was disabled upon entry into the chamber. Source of interference: the Apple of Eden. Jasmine's soul is now visible to all entities within range. System is attempting to resolve the issue.]
===================
"Great," Yun Che muttered. "The Apple decided to switch off any stealth mode."
Meanwhile, the girl floated closer to Jasmine with a warm smile that was almost… sisterly.
"Of course I can see you," she said brightly. "You're Jasmine, aren't you? I've heard plenty about you. It's not every day someone from the Realm of the Gods visits the Blue Pole Star."
Jasmine stiffened. "You know about the Realm of the Gods?"
Xuyi chuckled lightly, folding her hands behind her back.
"Of course I do. You don't spend a thousand years in isolation without picking up a few secrets."
Then her gaze slid toward Yun Che — sharp, curious, and oddly fond.
"And you must be Yun Che. No need for the disguise, you know."
"Although…" she tilted her head, a teasing smile curving her lips, "…that swordsman look is quite handsome. But I prefer seeing the real you."
Yun Che blinked. His supposedly foolproof Mihawk persona—completely dismantled in seconds.
"Guess there's no point pretending then," he sighed.
Golden particles of light shimmered as his transformation dissolved. Within moments, Dracule Mihawk faded, replaced by the familiar face of Yun Che.
If he expected her to react, he was mistaken. Xuyi didn't even flinch.
Instead, she grinned. "Ooooh, I was right. Much better. If I were still alive, I'd have stolen you from whoever you belong to."
Yun Che smirked. "Flattered. Though I'm not sure how I feel about a ghost flirting with me."
He reached out, took her hand, and—ever the provocateur—kissed it like a gentleman from his original world.
Xuyi blinked, clearly not expecting that boldness, but her composure returned instantly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Charming and confident," she murmured.
Before Yun Che could respond, his ear was suddenly yanked in a death grip.
"OW—OW—hey! Jasmine!"
The red-haired spirit hovered beside him, face flushed in fury.
"What do you mean, 'steal him from me'?!" she snapped.
"You can have this shameless beast if you want! And you—" she glared at Yun Che, "—how many women are you planning to charm before you're satisfied?!"
"Owowow! Korra, please!" he winced, grinning through the pain.
"I haven't sullied anyone yet! And you—" he shot her a cheeky look, "—should work on hiding that jealousy."
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Jasmine barked, pulling harder.
Xuyi burst into laughter—rich, genuine laughter that echoed through the chamber.
She held her stomach, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Ahahaha! Oh, you two are priceless! I haven't laughed like this in centuries!"
Jasmine huffed, cheeks burning red.
Yun Che finally pried his ear free, rubbing it ruefully while glaring at the laughing Empress.
He sighed. "Guess this is the legendary Moon Empress—feared by empires, bully of the afterlife."
Xuyi giggled, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Huan Xuyi," she corrected proudly. "Please, no more 'Moon Empress.' Makes me sound old. Just Xuyi is fine."
Yun Che arched a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"You are old."
Her eyes narrowed, playful but dangerous. "Careful, successor. I might still have a few tricks left in this tomb."
He chuckled. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Jasmine sighed, folding her arms, though a small, reluctant smile tugged at her lips.
As the laughter faded, the air shifted—softly, imperceptibly.
Yun Che blinked, studying her reaction. The strange mixture of sass and sincerity coming from the so-called Moon Empress was something he hadn't expected. "How do you even know me and Jasmine? I've never met you before. More importantly—how do you know her name?"
Xuyi puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms, mock-offended. "That's rude! You went through my memories, saw my beautiful body, and now you're telling me we've never met? How heartless."She sighed dramatically, tilting her head just enough for her black ponytail to sway. "I've been dead for over a thousand years, you know. Of course no one remembers me anymore… how tragic."
Yun Che deadpanned. "Yeah, tragic."
The flat tone made her squint suspiciously, clearly seeing through his sarcasm.
Then, just as fast, her mood flipped again. "Well, what's done is done! How do I know you?" Her lips curved into a grin. "Simple—the orb over there." She pointed toward the faintly glowing Apple of Eden atop its pedestal. "Through it, I can see everything—or, more precisely, I've been watching you two for quite some time. You and your fiery friend here are quite the troublemakers, aren't you?"
Yun Che froze. "You've been observing us? Wait—how?"
He remembered something from his old world. The Apple's real function wasn't just control—it was omniscient observation. Which meant…
"I'm not telling!" Xuyi sang, floating backward playfully. "You tell me your story, and I'll tell you mine. Fair trade, right?"
Jasmine sweat-dropped. "I expected the Moon Empress to be dignified—graceful, wise, maybe even a little mysterious. Not… this."
"I know," Yun Che whispered, purposely loud enough for Xuyi to hear. "The difference between the soul imprint and the real thing is kind of… shocking."
Veins popped on Xuyi's forehead as she glared at them, hands on hips. "This what?! I'm younger right now, so of course I act younger! Would you rather I talk like an old lady?"
Both Yun Che and Jasmine shared the same resigned sigh.
He decided to get to the point. "All right, all right. So, you said you've been watching us. But how? I never noticed any kind of surveillance, and my senses aren't exactly weak."
Xuyi smiled knowingly. "Hehe… about that. Come along with me—I'll explain as we go."She floated toward the edge of the glowing platform overlooking the colossal chamber.
Jasmine crossed her arms uneasily. "Saying 'come to my coffin' so casually is… unsettling."
"Relax," Xuyi replied cheerfully. "I might be dead, but I'm still a wandering soul with purpose."
Yun Che chuckled faintly. "No wonder you can see Jasmine."
He followed alongside her, watching her ghostly form glide effortlessly through the faint blue light. "You said you've known everything about us. Why me, though? Why choose me as your successor?"
That question made her pause midair. Her playful grin faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression. "I suppose it's time I told you."
She turned to face them, her voice softening. "From your conversation with Ares, I heard you mention the Apple of Eden by its true name. For a thousand years, I've simply called it the Orb. But you… you spoke its ancient name without hesitation. You even used the Isu tongue—one I barely understand anymore."
Her eyes lingered on Yun Che's for a moment, then lowered, almost in reverence. "You see, I didn't just 'observe' you. The Orb itself—what you call the Apple—showed me your world. Every moment you lived. Every battle. Every bond. It showed me your story the way I once saw my own."
She raised her hand, and the chamber responded with a low hum.
Click… Click… Click…
The marble floor beneath them came alive as glowing Isu patterns snaked across the ground, connecting their platform to the towering pedestal at the center. The bridge unfolded like a ribbon of light, bridging the void between them and her coffin.
Then, like a film projector sparking to life, glowing images began to swirl around them.
Yun Che's eyes widened as he recognized them—his memories. His wedding with Xia Qingyue. His first encounter with Jasmine. The Phoenix Trial. Every adventure, every wound, every kiss—even the ones he'd rather not remember—flickered like fragments of light all around them.
His stomach dropped. "You've been watching all of that…?"
Jasmine's jaw clenched. "She saw everything?"
Xuyi twirled a lock of her hair innocently. "Well, the Orb doesn't exactly have a 'privacy' setting."
Yun Che groaned. "Even the kissy parts?"
Her smirk turned devious. "Especially those."
He covered his face with his hand. "Great. I'm officially being stalked by a dead woman. Thank god I am not married or those moments will be played here."
Xuyi's laughter echoed through the chamber, bright and melodic—but when it faded, her tone shifted once again, like the turning of a page.
Floating closer, her golden eyes met his with quiet intensity.
"As much as I want to tease you further, it's time for truth. You already know what the Apple can do—but not why I sealed it."
The air grew heavy again, and even Jasmine's teasing grin faded into silence.
Yun Che nodded once. There was no need to spill everything — especially not the existence of the system. Xuyi studied him from head to toe like someone appraising a rare specimen and, to his mild embarrassment, seemed impressed.
"Still," she said, voice soft with something like awe, "meeting a soul reaper from another realm... even your strength and skill are remarkable."
He shrugged. "I'm still training to be a god myself." Then he glanced at Jasmine. "What about her? How do you know her story?"
Xuyi's gaze slid to Jasmine, and for a beat her expression grew solemn. "I saw you descend to this world three years ago—broken, poisoned. I saw the wound that should have taken you. I saw that someone pulled you into his head and kept you alive." She frowned. "I don't know who did that, but it was not ordinary."
Jasmine's face tightened at the reminder, but she said nothing. Yun Che pretended to whistle while the images spun around them — his life and theirs playing like a reel at Xuyi's command.
"You knew about that too?" Jasmine finally asked, voice careful.
Xuyi nodded. "Of course. The Apple shows much. It showed me the moments I wanted to study — and the moments I couldn't bear. But there are limits. There are windows it cannot open." She floated closer. "There were gaps. Times when you simply vanished from its sight — like when you sit very still and do not move, Yun Che. Even the Orb has blind spots."
Yun Che breathed easier. The system remained safe; whatever blocked the Apple's sight wasn't the system, and that meant his secret wasn't exposed. "So it has limits," he said. "Not omniscient after all."
Xuyi smiled, a tiny curve of satisfaction. "Exactly. That saved some things from prying eyes. But I learned enough."
Jasmine cut in, curiosity sharpened. "How did you learn about the Realm of the Gods? How did you even know to expect a divine visitor?"
Xuyi's face grew grave. "The old archives. Years of reading what remained when I first woke. Legends buried in myth, then records, then maps of what the Orb deigned to reveal. The Apple let me look forward — glimpses of futures I might not live to see." Her hand drifted toward the glowing orb. "I used it to watch what would happen after me."
She hesitated, then the light around her dimmed into a memory projection. Images poured out: the Apple bathing her in visions; flickers of the far future; Yun Che rising, Yueli being possessed, Ares's defeat. The montage hit hard — his wedding, his trials, the faces he'd hoped were private.
Yun Che stiffened. "You watched… all of that?"
Xuyi didn't look ashamed. "I needed to know. I saw the shape of things to come. I saw you — and I saw the one who would one day unmake the thing that bound me. But the moment the Apple showed me that future, I realized I could not wait a thousand years." Her voice thinned. "My life was ending. Even at my peak I had a limit — two thousand years, no more. I could not afford to wait until fate unfolded at its own pace."
"So you made a choice." Yun Che's voice was flat; he already guessed where this would go.
She nodded. "I tried to destroy it at first. I struck at the Orb with everything I had. I used every art, every weapon, every ritual I knew. The Apple would not die. It did not crack. It did not even scar." Her hands clenched in ghostly frustration. "It only showed me more — more of the future, more of what it would become."
"And then?" Jasmine prompted.
"Then I sealed it," Xuyi said simply. "If you cannot break the root, you lock it away and build a garden around it — a tomb that will last beyond empires. I constructed the formation, the no-fly sanctum, the vault: every precaution so no one could reach the Apple without passing my tests. I prepared traps, guardians, and a succession test. I bought time." She turned, voice softening with a regret that seemed almost human. "But the Apple… it is subtle. The moment I reached to touch it to bind it, it reached back. It showed me a sliver of that future: you. It told me the outcome I so desperately hoped for. The future it revealed was the one where Ares falls. The only one who could free me would come."
Yun Che and Jasmine listened in silence. The chamber felt colder now; the playful surface of Xuyi had been stripped away by the weight of purpose.
"I could not wait a thousand years," she repeated. "So I prepared this tomb so that the world might have a fighting chance — and so that if fate arrived early, the test would recognize it."
Jasmine's voice was low. "So you sealed it because you thought someone would come? And you'd rather lock it away than let it face the world?"
"Yes." Xuyi's eyes flickered with old pain. "Power without restraint becomes thirst. I watched what voracity did to those who grasped for godhood. Like Ares. I watched empires bent and people stepped on. I could not let the Orb teach that hunger to any more hands. I wanted to starve it of disciples."
Yun Che's mind hummed, connecting fragments of her story — prophecy, failure, the sealed Apple, the voice that once whispered in her past.
He narrowed his eyes. "You said before… in the second pedestal's memory lane — that there was a voice telling you to live. Was that Ares?"
The younger Xuyi froze. Her expression, usually light and teasing, hardened into something bitter. Her jaw clenched, and for a brief moment, her pupils flickered with faint gold — the same shade as Ares's."That old bastard," she spat. "Yes, that voice was him. Ares. The so-called War God of the Isu."
She lifted a hand, conjuring an image in the air — the vision of her standing atop a moonlit mountain, robes whipping in the wind. "Ever since I touched the Apple, his soul latched onto mine like a parasite. He couldn't control me outright — not at first. My body was too weak, my soul too human. But he guided me… twisted me… shaped me into the perfect vessel."
The projection flickered, showing the younger Empress training beneath a full moon, her body wreathed in silver light.
Yun Che frowned. "According to the legends, you cultivated using the Moon's energy — the only one who ever succeeded in doing so. That's how you gained the title Moon Empress."
Xuyi gave a hollow laugh. "Legends always make it sound noble, don't they? 'She drew power from the Moon itself.' Hah. What they don't say is who taught me to do it — or what it cost."
Jasmine, floating nearby, crossed her arms. "Even in the Realm of the Gods, no one has succeeded in drawing that kind of energy without being devoured by it. How did you survive?"
Her tone was calm, but there was genuine curiosity — and maybe a hint of unease.
Xuyi turned, her smile fading into something almost mournful. "Ares made sure I did. He told me mortals were fragile, so he gave me a method — a way to absorb the radiation from the Moon safely. He called it by his language: Blutz Wave."
Both Yun Che and Jasmine exchanged glances at the unfamiliar term.
"He taught you that?" Yun Che asked.
Xuyi nodded slowly. "He said it was something the Isu had studied for eons — the pulse of celestial radiation. When I began… it was agony. My body was too frail to withstand the energy flow. So Ares used the Apple to… help. He transferred every scrap of profound knowledge from the first cultivators I killed — yes, the men who hurt me that night — directly into my mind."
The image shifted again: the younger Xuyi screaming in a cave, her hands covered in blood, the Apple glowing beside her. Jasmine's face darkened; even Yun Che clenched his fists.
"He made you kill them," Jasmine whispered.
"He told me it was justice," Xuyi replied quietly. "That their knowledge would make me stronger. That I could ascend and one day rule the heavens."
She laughed bitterly. "And like a fool, I believed him."
The vision dissolved into a swirl of moonlight around her fingers as she continued.
"The Blutz Wave — or as you call it, Moon Energy — carries immense Yin force. It's beautiful, cold, pure… and fatal. A normal cultivator would be torn apart in seconds. So Ares crafted a converter — a core transformation array inside my profound veins. It changed my meridians, made them mirror the flow of the Moon. He called it—" she smiled faintly, "—the Mirror of the Moon Technique. His naming sense was atrocious."
Jasmine tilted her head. "So that's its true name."
"Hnn." Xuyi nodded. "The technique allows a woman's profound core to convert raw lunar radiation into Profound Force. But every conversion took its toll — months, years off my life. Yet the sensation…"
She touched her lips, smiling faintly, like recalling a forbidden pleasure. "It was intoxicating. Drawing in that much Yin energy felt like tasting divine nectar. Cool, addictive, endless."
Yun Che exhaled softly. "A cultivation method born from science and sin."
"Exactly," Xuyi said, her tone darkening. "It made me powerful — unstoppable, even. But with every breakthrough, Ares's hold grew stronger. The more I cultivated, the more I became his reflection."
The air seemed to thrum with the faint echo of moonlight as she looked up, her eyes momentarily distant.
"That's how the world saw me — serene, radiant, untouchable. The Moon Empress who ruled from on high. But what they didn't know was that every full moon… I fought a voice whispering to me, telling me to surrender. To let him in."
Her gaze fell back on Yun Che, heavy with irony.
Jasmine, still reeling from the enormity of the story, tilted her head slightly. "So," she asked, "how long did it take for you to jump from the Elementary Profound Realm all the way to Sovereign?"
Xuyi paused, tapping her chin in thought. "Hmm… let's see." Her tone was casual, as though recalling a long-forgotten recipe. "The full moon lasts five days each month — that's when the lunar energy is at its strongest. During those nights, the flow of the Blutz Wave peaks. So, if I absorbed it properly, and counted the lesser phases as well… I'd say…" She blinked innocently. "About five smaller realms a month."
For a second, neither Yun Che nor Jasmine moved. Then Yun Che's jaw nearly dropped."Wait—hold on. Are you saying that in two years—just two—you climbed from the Elementary Profound Realm to the Sovereign Profound Realm?!"
Xuyi clasped her hands behind her back, smiling like a proud child who'd just aced a test. "Kind of," she said with faux modesty. "I'm pretty strong. Am I not?"
Both of them stared.
Even Jasmine, who'd seen miracles beyond the mortal world, couldn't form words. Yun Che's mind went blank, numbers refusing to add up. Two years. That wasn't cultivation—that was cheating against the heavens themselves.
In under two years, she thought. From an ordinary mortal to Sovereign…
For comparison, it had taken him years of trials, battles, and near-death encounters just to claw his way upward — and this woman had shattered every limit of mortal cultivation as if the laws of growth didn't apply to her.
Even for prodigies among the Divine, fifty years would barely touch the threshold of the Sovereign Realm. A hundred years for a mortal with vast resources — maybe. But Xuyi? She had broken the ladder entirely.
Jasmine finally spoke, disbelief lacing her tone. "If the Divine Realm had known such a method existed, they'd have scoured the stars to find you. That technique could rewrite the foundation of cultivation itself. But…" Her crimson eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you ascend? You clearly had enough power to breach the Divine Realm long before your death. Why stay here?"
It was a fair question — one that had gnawed at both of them the moment they realized what kind of monster Xuyi truly was.
The young Empress rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, her tone softening. "Ah, I knew you'd ask that. You're not easy to fool, Jasmine." She floated a little closer, and her voice turned quieter — sadder. "You're right. I could've ascended. I could've left this world long ago. But I didn't… because I couldn't."
Jasmine blinked. "Couldn't?"
"I didn't want him to find it," Xuyi said simply. "If I reached the Realm of the Gods, Ares would have learned of it through me. And if he had taken my body then—" her expression darkened—"imagine what kind of power he would have unleashed. A fragment of the Isu in the Divine Realm? He would've turned those people up there into slaves."
Her words fell heavy in the chamber.
"So I made a choice," she continued. "I sealed myself in this world. I built barriers within my soul — soul suppression techniques to lock him away. Every time I felt his consciousness rising, I buried it deeper. For centuries, I kept him from surfacing. But that meant my own cultivation stagnated. I trapped myself here to trap him with me."
Her gaze drifted upward, as if watching a memory through the ceiling. "For two thousand years, I walked this continent. When greed rose, I crushed it. When Ares tried to surface, I fought him back. I ruled… I protected… and when I could, I built sanctuaries for those who couldn't cultivate. My Empire was meant to be a haven — a place untouched by power struggles."
The projection changed again — showing Xuyi in royal garb, presiding over her empire: children laughing, cultivators bowing, moonlight bathing her palace in peace. Her smile in the vision was serene, but her eyes — tired, lonely.
"I used my strength to protect them, not dominate them," she said softly. "Because I knew what I carried inside me could destroy everything I built."
Jasmine lowered her head slightly, the sharpness in her voice gone. "So that's why the world remembers you as a ruler of compassion. But not… the truth."
Yun Che folded his arms, gaze hard but not unkind. "And after all that, you still couldn't destroy him."
"No," Xuyi admitted. "But I learned to bury him. Until the very end."
She turned back to them with a faint, bittersweet smile. "Ares wanted me to ascend and open the heavens for him. Instead, I died sealing him away under my Empire. You see, that's the irony — my cultivation was born of sin, but my life ended trying to atone for it."
The three stood in silence for a moment — only the faint hum of the Apple breaking the stillness. Then Yun Che exhaled quietly.
"…You're not what I expected, Empress. But I think I understand why fate chose you."
Her eyes softened. "And why fate chose you."
Xuyi's tone softened, almost nostalgic, as her gaze drifted across the glowing lines etched into the chamber walls.
"Two thousand years," she murmured. "Two thousand years of ruling, guiding, pretending to live in peace. But there was never a night I didn't fear that Ares would claw his way back to the surface—that he'd break my suppression and use my body to rule this world with the Apple."
Her eyes darkened. "So, before my life ended, I used the Apple's knowledge to build this vault—a prison for both him and it. A place where no mortal hand could reach."
Yun Che frowned. "All the way down here, though? How deep is this place, exactly?"
Xuyi smiled, as though waiting for that question. "Hmm… if I recall correctly—about one hundred thousand kilometers away from the Profound Sky Continent, and roughly twenty-five hundred kilometers below sea level. Beneath an island no one's ever charted."
Yun Che's jaw dropped. "Wait—what?! We're that far away‽"
"Yes," she said matter-of-factly. "The only link between this vault and the continent is the profound-formation network I created. That's how you arrived here."
Yun Che rubbed his temples, exhaling sharply. "That's… absurd. You buried yourself halfway across the world just to lock this thing away."
Xuyi crossed her arms, chin tilted up with playful defiance. "If it weren't for you, perhaps I wouldn't have bothered setting up the formation at all."
"Me?" he blinked.
"Of course. You're my successor—the only one destined to control the Apple without it controlling you."She drifted closer, the faint light from her spectral form reflecting in Yun Che's eyes. "I designed the vault so only one attuned to my soul imprints could enter. The others who came with you were merely anchors—decoys to hide the key's true bearer. The moment you touched the first imprint, I knew."
Her smile turned sly. "And I saw what you did with that poor girl—Chu Yueli, was it? You let Ares empower her body just to bait him."
Yun Che scratched his cheek, feigning innocence. "It wasn't entirely part of the plan, but… it worked."
"Hmph." She gave him a look that was equal parts amusement and admonition. "Ares was clever, but not half as clever as he believed. I learned his ambitions the moment he 'gifted' me the cultivation and control methods for the Apple. He wanted a vessel, not a student. I let him believe his manipulation worked—long enough to turn that same power against him."
As they walked along the glowing bridge toward the center pedestal, Xuyi raised a hand. The air shimmered, replaying fragments of her life: a younger version of herself, regal yet burdened, wielding moonlight against armies; the devastation left in her wake each time the Apple seized her will.
Her voice was distant. "There were times the Apple's influence overwhelmed me. Whole regions fell to ruin before I regained control. It took me centuries to master it, and by then the title Moon Empress had spread across the world. But I wanted to ensure the next age would have hope—something purer than me."
The vision shifted. A modest palace. A young woman kneeling before her—bright-eyed, mortal, unremarkable except for the determination in her gaze.
"I found her in a farming village," Xuyi said softly. "A girl with no cultivation, no clan, no name to protect her. She was gentle, curious… and brave enough to defy me when everyone else bowed."
The image showed Xuyi handing the girl a scroll, then resting a hand on her head with almost maternal fondness.
"Her name was Cang Xue," Xuyi continued, her voice tinted with pride. "My first and only disciple. I gave her a fraction of my knowledge—not the Apple's curse, only what would allow her people to grow strong and survive. When my end came, she became Empress in my stead. From her line, the royal blood of the Blue Wind Empire was born."
Jasmine's eyes widened slightly. "Cang Yue's ancestor…"
Xuyi smiled faintly. "Yes. A spark of peace in a world I could no longer protect. I may have built this vault to bury the Apple, but she was the legacy I left above ground."
The bridge beneath them pulsed once, carrying them closer to the central pedestal where the Apple's radiance grew brighter with each step. The light played over Xuyi's youthful features, half-Empress, half-ghost, her voice lowering to a whisper that almost echoed like prayer.
"I sealed myself, my sin, and my teacher beneath the sea so the world could breathe freely again.But now that you stand here, Yun Che… perhaps the world is ready for the Apple to awaken once more."
Yun Che stood still for a moment, eyes fixed on the memory unfolding before him.The woman before Xuyi — Cang Xue — was like a mirror of someone he already knew. The resemblance was uncanny. Her gentle eyes, the quiet dignity in the way she stood, even the calm grace in her movements… it was as though Cang Yue herself had stepped out of a different time.
His chest tightened. So that's where her spirit came from… her light.
Xuyi's voice carried softly across the vision.
"She was the finest soul I ever met. Gentle yet unyielding. Even when I tried to keep her distant, she chose to stand beside me. I gave her only what she needed — strength enough to protect her people, not the curse that came with the Apple. I wanted her to live as a ruler, not as a weapon."
The image shimmered again. Cang Xue now stood beside a man — tall, broad-shouldered, his smile warm and unpretentious. He bowed his head respectfully toward Xuyi, then turned to help his wife to her feet. There was no power struggle, no ambition in his eyes — only love.
"She found him after the wars," Xuyi continued, her smile tinged with longing. "A cultivator from the north. He saw her not as an Empress, but as a woman. Their love built the foundation of the Empire I once dreamed of protecting. A peaceful reign without fear, without blood."
The scene shifted once more, showing Cang Xue cradling a newborn under the pale light of the moon. Xuyi, spectral and fading, stood nearby with tears in her eyes — watching but not touching, as though afraid her curse might taint the moment.
"I watched her grow old," Xuyi whispered. "Watched her children thrive. That family became the first royal bloodline of Blue Wind. I gave her my blessing… then my time ended."
Yun Che exhaled softly, his hands tightening at his sides.In that vision of quiet peace — of love, family, and legacy — he saw everything he'd never had. For a fleeting instant, envy flickered through him… followed by respect.
"She gave her everything to protect what you built," he said quietly. "And you gave her freedom instead of power."
Xuyi smiled faintly. "Power without peace is hollow. I wanted her to inherit the world, not the weight of its sins."
Her gaze shifted toward him, the faint moonlight in her eyes carrying both warmth and curiosity. "I can see why you recognized her so quickly. That girl you care for — Cang Yue — she carries more than blood. She carries her ancestor's soul. The same courage, the same grace. More importantly-"
"Her bloodline."
Yun Che's lips curved into a bittersweet smile. "Yeah… I see it now."
============
The memory shimmered and shifted, drawing Yun Che and Jasmine into the final chapter of Xuyi's life.
They stood once more before this very pedestal — now mirrored in spectral light. The older version of Xuyi and her disciple, Cang Xue, appeared as luminous silhouettes. Together, they placed the Apple—the Orb—atop the pedestal where it still rested.
Even though her appearance was still that of a woman in her prime, Yun Che could sense it — the faint tremor in her aura, the heaviness in her steps. This was an Empress whose strength was waning, her body kept alive by sheer will.
Xuyi's voice echoed, calm but filled with weariness.
"The Orb has been in my possession for many years now, Xue'er. I… no longer have the heart to place you under these burdens."
Her disciple, older now—her beauty matured, her eyes unwavering—bowed her head deeply.
"I understand, Mother. My cultivation is only at the peak of the Sky Profound Realm. I am not strong enough to protect it as you have. But I will guard its secret until the end of my life."
Xuyi smiled faintly, pride softening the sorrow in her eyes.
"You must remember—this secret must never leave my bloodline. Not even your husband or your children must know of it. Hide it far from greedy hands. Until the one who bears the soul's key arrives… no one must disturb it."
Cang Xue's brows furrowed, her curiosity breaking through the reverence.
"But… what secret, Mother?"
Xuyi's answer came not in words, but in a soft gesture — her hand resting gently on her disciple's head, fingers threading through her silvering hair. Her voice trembled with something unspoken.
"Go, my daughter. Go and live your life in peace. You've earned it. As for me… my journey ends here."
Cang Xue's composure shattered. She dropped to her knees, clutching Xuyi's robes with trembling hands.
"No! For years I've stood by you—through wars, through darkness. You gave me everything! You took me, an ordinary girl, and raised me to the heavens! Please… don't leave me alone."
Xuyi smiled through the pain, guiding her to her feet. Her touch lingered, almost motherly.
"Stand, Xue'er. You owe me nothing. You've given me what I never had… peace. But I must do this. This tomb isn't just my resting place—it's his prison. If I leave, Ares will rise again. And the world will suffer."
Before Cang Xue could respond, Xuyi pressed her palm against the stone floor. Glowing runes bloomed around her disciple's feet, expanding into a luminous barrier.
Cang Xue gasped, pounding against the forming wall of light. "Mother—what are you doing?! Stop this!"
Tears glimmered in Xuyi's eyes, but her voice was steady.
"Xue'er… this vault will be both my tomb and his cage. I cannot allow you to stay. You still have a life waiting beyond these walls—a family, a child yet unborn. That is your path. Not mine."
Cang Xue's fists struck the barrier again and again, the sound dull and desperate."Please… Mother… don't do this! Don't leave me!"
But Xuyi only smiled through her tears. "Live well, my daughter."
She placed her hand over her heart, her other palm against the barrier.
"You carry the light I no longer can. Let my sin end here."
With a final push, she activated the formation. Light engulfed her disciple, lifting her away in a torrent of energy. The last thing Xuyi saw before the vault sealed shut was Cang Xue's tear-streaked face — reaching out for her, calling her name.
As silence fell, Xuyi sank slowly to her knees before the Apple. Her hair, once radiant black, turned silvery in the light. Her voice trembled—not with fear, but resolve.
"Ares… this ends with me. You will never use this world again."
The vision flickered again, carrying Yun Che and Jasmine to the outside of the pyramid — to the grand arena where it had all ended one thousand years ago.
There she was: Huan Xuyi, the Moon Empress, standing at the arena's heart. Her expression was calm, but her body trembled; the glow in her eyes had dimmed to the dull light of resignation. The silver winds of her profound energy drifted loosely around her, as if the very air itself mourned her decision.
Without hesitation, she drew her hand across her chest and severed her own life veins — not to kill herself outright, but to tear her soul free from the flesh.
The shock of it rippled through the air. Her aura flickered violently, splitting apart in ribbons of light.
A voice, furious and venomous, erupted beside her.
"Huan Xuyi! Have you finally turned ungrateful?"
Ares's soul appeared before her, his eyes blazing with radiant gold. He looked younger, more vigorous than the withered remnant Yun Che had fought — but the arrogance, the madness, were the same.
"I gave you power, the power to crush your enemies! I raised you from nothing—and this is how you repay me? You dare seal me within that mortal shell?!"
Xuyi staggered but held her ground. Her breath came shallow, her face pale, yet her voice carried the iron calm of a ruler.
"You call it a gift, but it was a chain. I never asked to be your weapon. You made me slaughter the innocent… burn entire sects just to feed your ambition. The blood on my hands belongs to you."
Ares snarled, his form flickering with radiant fury.
"Ungrateful wretch! I destroyed your enemies! I made you a goddess among worms! You think you can stop me now?"
He lunged toward her — a blur of gold and hate.
But Xuyi raised a trembling hand, pressing her palm onto the third pedestal of the arena. A deep hum shook the chamber, and a surge of ancient power answered her call.
"Their blood will stain me forever," she said softly, tears glimmering in her eyes. "But I will not let you leave this place. I cannot destroy you…"She looked toward the pyramid as light enveloped her."…but he will."
The formation activated, and in an instant, Xuyi's body was consumed by radiant light. She vanished, pulled into the heart of the pyramid — leaving Ares screaming in impotent rage.
"NOOOO!!!"
Ares's roar shattered the air. He struck at the pedestal, unleashed blast after blast of radiant force, but the grand arena's structure remained unbroken. The tomb had been designed to withstand his fury — a prison of divine precision built by the very hand he once commanded.
He clawed at the air like a beast, golden flames spilling from his form, but it was useless. The sealing formation held. The more he struggled, the more his energy was absorbed by the walls, until finally he collapsed to his knees, howling his defeat.
"You think this will hold me forever?! You cannot—"
But his voice was cut off, swallowed by silence.
The scene stilled. The light dimmed.
Yun Che and Jasmine turned toward the arena's edge, where Xuyi's body—pale and trembling—had reappeared. Her soul was gone, leaving her mortal form weakened beyond recovery. Every step she took was agony, but she still smiled—a small, weary smile of triumph.
Yun Che's heart tightened as he watched her drag herself forward, leaving a trail of faint blood on the cold floor.
Jasmine whispered under her breath, "…She did it."
Xuyi's hand brushed the base of her sarcophagus — a construct far ahead of its time, its design laced with glowing Isu markings that pulsed gently as if responding to her touch. She lowered herself into it, wincing as the pain of her severed life veins overtook her body.
Her breath grew shallow. Her pulse slowed. But her smile never faded.
"Forgive me, Xue'er…" she whispered faintly. "The peace you build will not know my sins. Let the world forget my name… and remember only the light I left behind."
The sarcophagus closed around her with a soft hiss, sealing her within the glowing tomb.The light of the Apple shimmered once above her chest — a single pulse — and then dimmed to eternal stillness.
The memory dissolved.
Yun Che and Jasmine stood in silence, the lingering echo of her final breath fading around them.
Neither spoke for a long while.
Jasmine was the first to break the silence. Her voice was quiet, almost reverent."…She sealed herself alive, knowing she'd die alone."
Yun Che's hands clenched at his sides. "She didn't die in despair. She died free."
He looked toward the Apple resting in its cradle, the faint reflection of Xuyi's sacrifice glowing in its surface. "And she left us everything she couldn't destroy."
Jasmine turned to him, her expression unreadable. "So what will you do, Yun Che? Claim her legacy—or her curse?"
Yun Che exhaled slowly, his eyes hardening. "I'll do what she couldn't. I'll master it—and use it to make sure no one else ever suffers her fate."
The Apple pulsed once, faintly—like it was listening.
==================
When the last memory faded, all the holograms vanished like drifting dust. Only three remained within the glowing chamber — Yun Che, Jasmine, and the soul of Huan Xuyi.
The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint hum of the Apple's light. Xuyi's eyes turned toward the sarcophagus at the center of the room, her expression softening. Inside, her body lay perfectly preserved — serene, untouched by time, as though she had simply fallen asleep yesterday. The faint blue luminescence from the sarcophagus cast her features in an otherworldly calm.
Yun Che stepped closer, his gaze lingering on her still form. "It's like she never decayed at all," he murmured. Then, with a frown, "But… how are you still here?"
Xuyi smiled gently — the smile of someone long resigned to her fate.
"When I died, my soul was pulled from my body, but I couldn't ascend. This pyramid was built to imprison Ares's soul — but it also trapped mine. The walls themselves are made from the same Isu alloy that prevents any spirit from leaving."
Her translucent hand drifted toward the sarcophagus. "So here I remained. A thousand years — my body below, my soul above, and that cursed Apple beside me. I used its energy to observe the world outside. It kept me from losing my mind. Though… there were times I talked to my own corpse just to feel less lonely."
Jasmine's tone softened despite herself. "A thousand years alone… with your body as company. That's… cruel."
Xuyi gave a short, humorless laugh.
"Cruel? Maybe. But I've had time to get creative. Turns out when you're a soul, you can look however you want — so I made myself younger. What do you think, Yun Che? I'm prettier than her, right?"
She teased, pointing directly at Jasmine with a mischievous grin.
"Oi… what's your problem?" Jasmine hissed, tick marks forming on her temple, though she caught the faint glint of pain in Xuyi's eyes beneath the joke. She sighed. "Hmph. Fine. You got your wish. Ares is sealed… and you're still here."
Xuyi puffed her cheeks playfully. "A bad wish, if you ask me. I'm sealed right alongside him. Even talking to my own corpse gets boring after a few centuries."
Yun Che crossed his arms, his tone even. "Still… you did it. You maintained peace for a thousand years."
Her faint smile faded. "If only it were that simple."
She waved her hand, and the air rippled — shimmering like water as a new projection unfolded before them.
The image wasn't ancient or symbolic this time. It was vivid, almost real — the world after her death.
"Two years after I died," Xuyi said quietly, "the remnants of my enemies came for the Blue Wind Empire. They thought my disciple inherited the Orb. Word had spread — whispers of an artifact capable of controlling the mind, bending the world to its will. Those old fools couldn't resist."
The hologram shifted. They saw Cang Xue, now older and regal, embracing her husband and child under the moonlight. Her eyes were red from crying, but her resolve was unbroken. Her husband's trembling hands clutched hers as their child slept between them.
Xuyi's voice faltered for a moment.
"It broke my heart to see her say goodbye. She never understood the burden I left behind… and yet she bore it with pride. To protect her family, she left the Empire in her husband's care and lured those wolves away herself."
The image shifted again. Cang Xue was flying through the skies, her robes torn, blood staining her shoulder. Behind her — dozens of Monarch-level cultivators gave chase, their auras raging like storms. Her profound energy flickered, a fragile candle against a tempest.
"She wasn't strong enough to fight them," Xuyi whispered. "Peak Sky Profound Realm — no match for Monarchs. They hounded her across mountains and seas, demanding the Apple. They were there the day I slaughtered their sects with it. They wanted revenge… and greed."
Then, the moment came.
Cang Xue stopped running. There was no fear in her eyes — only calm resignation. She pulled a round, gleaming object from her sleeve. To the cultivators, it looked identical to the Apple.
Yun Che's eyes widened. "That's—!"
Xuyi smiled faintly, finishing his thought.
"A decoy. I made it long ago, in case Ares ever tried to trick me. I never told anyone about it. But she… found it. Somehow."
The vision sharpened again, showing a sky bathed in silver moonlight. The winds howled with cutting ferocity as Cang Xue soared through the heavens, her breath ragged, her profound energy flickering like a dying flame. The higher she flew, the thinner the air became — but she didn't stop.
Behind her, the sky tore open with the blinding auras of countless Monarchs in pursuit — old monsters wrapped in greed and pride. Their eyes gleamed with hunger, not for blood… but for power.
Each time she faltered, their jeers echoed closer.
"Cang Xue!" one of them roared. "Give us the Heavenly Orb, and we'll grant you a swift death!"
Cang Xue stopped midair, her robe fluttering in the freezing winds. The faint glow of the decoy orb pulsed weakly in her grasp, its golden light reflecting in her tear-filled eyes.
Her voice, though trembling, carried defiance.
"Heavenly Orb? You old fools don't even understand what it is. Reckless hands will only bring ruin. The Orb will destroy you before you even master it."
The Monarchs sneered.
"Destroy us? We've already learned its secret!" another barked, his aura flaring crimson. "The Orb cannot control those stronger than the user. You think we came unprepared, little Empress? Now—together!"
The air shook as dozens of Monarchs surged toward her, streaks of power piercing the night sky.
Yun Che and Jasmine watched from the illusion's edge, frozen in silence. The image felt too real — Cang Xue's desperate flight, her eyes, her trembling form. It was Cang Yue's face — the same serenity, the same quiet courage.
Beside them, Xuyi's expression remained unreadable. She'd seen this countless times over the centuries. Each replay carved the wound deeper, yet she no longer wept. Her gaze was calm, like the surface of a still ocean hiding storms beneath.
Cang Xue turned back one last time, facing the endless sea of golden lights chasing her. Her lips curved into a bittersweet smile — a reflection of her master's calm defiance.
"What my master created, what she protected, will not fall into your hands," she said softly, tears glimmering on her cheeks. "Her secret… and her resting place… will be buried with me."
The Monarchs only laughed, their combined energies lighting up the heavens. "Arrogant girl! You think you can threaten us?"
But Cang Xue wasn't listening anymore. She held the decoy close to her chest, whispering to the wind — words carried only to those she loved.
"Husband… please forgive this foolish wife. When I knelt before my master, I swore to protect her secret — to carry it even beyond death."
"Take care of our children. Tell them… that I loved them, every day."
"Master… your secret is safe with me. Always will be."
"May the heavens forgive what I am about to do."
Her profound energy surged — wild, unrestrained, burning her meridians from within. A blinding light erupted from her core, pouring into the decoy orb. The Monarchs realized too late what she was doing.
"She's—! Stop her!!"
Too late.
The decoy orb pulsed once—then shattered.
Cang Xue's hand tightened on the device. She pressed the hidden trigger.
BOOM.
The decoy detonated in a cataclysm of blue-white light. The blast immediately consumed the elders nearest to her; stone, wind, and flesh were hurled outward. The core of the explosion contracted into a single, blistering point of cobalt fire that ripped outward again in concentric waves, swallowing anything that tried to flee.
From below, people looked up and for a single breath the sky went blindingly bright—then the light grew, and grew, and the heavens themselves seemed to split. It was as if the world had been torn open and a newborn universe had screamed into being: a heavenly phenomenon of impossible violence. Winds the size of hurricanes descended, smashing everything in their path. Mountains shuddered, forests were uprooted, and whole cities felt the pressure like a hand squeezing the world.
The primary blast compressed once more, then detonated again—this time with twice the force. Because it detonated high in the upper atmosphere, the worst of the raw fire was spared from the surface, but the shockwave and atmospheric terror it produced were absolute. Debris rained for miles; entire settlements were flattened by secondary storms; countless lives were lost under falling rock and collapsing spires. For weeks afterward survivors would tell of the light that turned night into day.
History remembered that instant as the Heavenly Explosion—one of the most catastrophic events to hit the Blue Wind Empire.
Yun Che watched the replay, his mouth falling open. The scale was inconceivable. He'd seen some of the most devastating weapons in histories and games and legends, but this—this made even bijūdama feel petty. Even ages of nuclear fire in his old world would seem like child's play beside that display.
"No…no way," he muttered, the single syllable more prayer than denial. "An explosion like that… could it—?"
Xuyi cut him off softly, watching him process the truth. "Ares taught me how," she said. "He gave me the method—how to build a weapon from knowledge gleaned from the Orb. He called it something in his tongue: Anti-Matter."
The word landed like a rock. Yun Che's head snapped up. "Antimatter?" His voice rose until it was barely contained fury and disbelief. "You mean—an antimatter bomb?!"
Jasmine frowned, unfamiliar with the term. "Antimatter… what is that? Is that from your world too?"
"No," Yun Che said, fighting for calm as the old memories and science clicked into place. "In my world, advanced technology—knowledge like this—was seeded by that Apple, too. Antimatter was first developed as clean energy, but the same process was weaponized. The Apple can hand anyone the schematic for something that reverses mass into pure annihilation. The knowledge inside is the true danger."
Jasmine's eyes went wide. "Knowledge as a weapon?"
He nodded grimly. "You can't understand the physics without years of study, but what matters is simple: a single antimatter detonation releases energy orders of magnitude beyond conventional weapons. Two well-placed antimatter charges could level a whole continent. One of these blasts—the Heavenly Explosion—was enough to reshape empires."
She swallowed. The chamber seemed suddenly colder. The Apple no longer felt like a mythical artifact—it felt like a detonator for apocalypse.
Xuyi nodded slowly, her spectral form flickering faintly in the pyramid's blue glow. She'd heard the disbelief and fury in Yun Che's tone when he described the antimatter's nature—proof that he truly came from another world.
"A weapon capable of erasing empires," she murmured. "If it detonated in the heart of the Blue Wind Empire, not even dust would remain. That's when I realized Ares never meant to save the realm. He meant to destroy it once I was gone. So I erased every blueprint, every trace of his formulas, and sealed the one bomb I'd made inside a canister shaped like the Apple itself."
Yun Che's expression hardened. "Antimatter needs extreme cold to stabilize. A simple thermal imbalance would trigger annihilation. With cultivation, maintaining that cold wouldn't be difficult—limitless profound energy would be perfect containment."
Xuyi gave a small, weary nod.
"Exactly. I forged a containment sphere of divine ice and fed it my energy to keep it frozen indefinitely. One simple trigger—one touch—would set it off. The activation was identical to the Apple's. When Ares told me what it would do, I hid it beneath the Imperial Palace. I never dreamed Xue'er would find it. That girl's curiosity was always stronger than her fear."
A faint, rueful smile crossed her lips, quickly fading into silence.
Jasmine folded her arms, her crimson eyes narrowing. "I thought the Apple's powers were limited to illusions, control, and ancient light. To think it also carried this kind of knowledge…"
Yun Che's reply was low, grim.
"It's far worse. The Apple isn't just a weapon—it's a library of creation. It doesn't hand you the means; it whispers the principles. The rest you build with your own hands. That's why it terrifies me more than any sword or army."
The words hung in the cold air, heavy with truth.
Xuyi lowered her gaze, the edges of her spirit shimmering like dissolving light. "I know. Every time I recall what she did… it still tears at me. Xue'er destroyed herself to protect the secret I created. I cursed myself for ever crafting that weapon."
Yun Che shook his head, his voice steady.
"Don't. If you hadn't made it, she and her family would have been slaughtered. She bought their future with her life—and yours with her courage. She didn't die in vain. She died saving both your secret and her bloodline."
For a long moment, Xuyi said nothing. Then a single tear of light slid down her cheek, falling to the marble before evaporating.
"Her secret lived. Her bloodline lived. And though the world branded her a failure… her descendants endured. One of them was born again as her mirror, carrying the same eyes, the same will. She found you, Yun Che. I saw her in the Apple's vision—standing beside you. Training under you. Becoming what Xue'er once dreamed to be."
She gestured toward the fading hologram, where the memory of Cang Yue stood smiling beside Retsu in the courtyard of the New Moon Palace.
"The Heavens, it seems, kept its promise. The disciple's soul returned to the one man who could guide her beyond my reach. You taught her what even I could not. In her… my legacy continues."
Yun Che placed his hand on the sarcophagus, his eyes soft with quiet pride.
"Her destiny won't end here. She'll surpass her ancestor… and you, as the Moon Empress. She's my Cang Yue—the Blue Moon Princess. The heir to your light. The one reason I came here in the first place."
For a moment, none of them spoke. The Apple of Eden pulsed faintly beside the coffin, as if resonating with their words—its golden glow shifting to a deep, tranquil silver, like moonlight in still water.
Xuyi smiled faintly, her translucent figure drifting toward the pedestal. The Apple of Eden glowed beside her, its golden light shimmering across the chamber walls.
"Everyone believed the rumor," she began softly, "that I carved the cultivation method into scripture and took it with me to the grave. That foolish rumor kept greed alive for generations. But the truth is… there were no scriptures. None at all."
She turned, her smile touched by melancholy.
"Cang Xue died before she could pass the Mirror of the Moon to anyone. So the technique vanished with me… until now."
Raising her hand, she summoned a single glowing white feather. It shimmered with faint lunar light, delicate as silk yet radiant enough to cast her shadow against the walls. Etched at its base was a sigil — a crescent moon with flowing lines curling into its base, the Crest of the Moon Empress.
"This," Xuyi said gently, "holds everything I ever knew about the Mirror of the Moon — my memories, my experiences, every fragment of understanding. Even ancient arts beyond the understanding of this continent. But I've stripped it clean of Ares, the Apple, and the darkness that came with them. I will not allow another Cang Xue to bear that curse. This time, the knowledge will serve life, not suffering."
She pressed the feather to her lips before releasing it. "I've left her a message as well."
Yun Che caught the feather as it floated toward him, feeling the subtle pulse of divine energy within. "A message?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
Xuyi giggled, sticking out her tongue in a playful flash of her old self.
"Bleeeh… That's a woman's secret."
Yun Che exhaled, half a sigh and half a laugh. Some secrets are better left alone. He let the feather drift above his palm — and the familiar tone of the system echoed in his mind:
==================
[Ding… Discovered: Sacred Feather of the Moon Empress.]
[Ding… Contains the memories of Huan Xuyi regarding the Mirror of the Moon Technique. This is a one-time use item.]
[Designated recipient: Cang Yue. Cannot be copied, altered, or destroyed.]
===================
He smiled faintly. "Don't worry. The Apple's existence will die here. I'll make sure of that."
Xuyi's expression softened with gratitude, her aura dimming slightly — as though the very act of passing the feather had cost her strength.
"Then I can finally rest." She hesitated, then added with sudden seriousness, "I do have one last selfish wish, though."
Yun Che nodded without hesitation. "As long as it's within my power."
Her gaze turned toward the Apple, its glow washing her in gold and blue light. "You know why I chose to appear like this, don't you?"
Yun Che chuckled quietly. "Jasmine calls me an idiot sometimes, but I'm not that dense. You said yourself you were a troublemaker in your youth. After a thousand years of solitude, anyone would crave one last laugh before the end."
She laughed softly, the sound tinged with both joy and sorrow. "You ruined my little prank, though. But seeing you and Jasmine together made me realize I didn't need to pretend anymore."
Her laughter faded into silence. Her eyes — bright, unyielding, proud — turned to him one last time.
"Once you've taken the Apple, my work will be finished. All I ask… is that you grant me peace. Send me to the afterlife."
The chamber grew still. The Apple's light pulsed once, as if in agreement.
Yun Che's hand tightened around Yoru's hilt. He nodded solemnly.
"You've been trapped here long enough, Moon Empress. I'll make sure your soul finally reaches the light and send my regards to Cang Xue once you meet her again. She'll be waiting for you in the afterlife."
A faint smile curved her lips. "Thank you, successor… no, thank you, Yun Che."
For the first time, she spoke his name with warmth. The light from the Apple grew brighter, cascading over them like a sunrise under the earth.