Yun Qing: Tears behind bars

Yun Huang abruptly raised his hand and clawed at the void!

Space was forcibly torn open, and he drew a battered corpse through the air, slamming it onto the hall's mirror-smooth floor.

Had Yun Qing been there, he would have discovered to his astonishment that the corpse was none other than Yun Chi, whose chest he had pierced with a single spear thrust, shredding even his spirit body!

"Putting waste to use. Count it as your good fortune."

Yun Huang's voice was cold and merciless. Holding two fingers together like a blade, he slashed through the air above Yun Chi's corpse!

An eerie scene unfolded. The essence of the "Spirit-Devouring Body," which should have dissipated completely, actually defied the laws and gathered anew! It was as though time had reversed!

"Since you cultivated the path of devouring spirits, devour your fill today."

Yun Huang's voice held not a trace of warmth. With a crook of his finger, he extracted the hazy gray phantom of that essence as it screamed. The Radiant Sun Divine Flame erupted with a roar, engulfing it, burning and refining it!

"Aaaah-!" The phantom essence let out silent, agonized howls. Its impurities, resentment, and even the lingering fragments of Yun Chi's divine soul sizzled in the supreme yang divine flame, swiftly vanishing.

In mere breaths, only a wisp of incomparably pure chaos energy remained.

On the floor, Yun Chi's corpse instantly shriveled and crumbled, becoming a cloud of ash that vanished without a trace.

Devouring a lesser spirit body of the same origin to nourish himself.

The method was brutal and direct, carrying undisguised displaced anger and a need to vent.

-He had none of Yun Qing's needless, pointless tenderness toward his own clansmen.

Without expression, Yun Huang pressed the chaos essence into his brow. Gray-gold light sank into him, and the restless Radiant Sun Divine Power coursing around him seemed to settle slightly. His expression eased a little.

Yet the blood-red hue deep within his golden eyes did not recede. Instead, the act of devouring added several shades of dark savagery.

He lifted his eyes toward the void, as though speaking to some unseen existence.

"Hmm? Peaceful? Loving?"

An utterly cold, mocking smile curved his lips. It was beautiful, yet enough to make one's hair stand on end.

"Heh."

"Next..."

His gaze slowly settled on the Immortal-Sealing Tower, which shut out everything and held a certain "liar" suppressed within.

"...it will be the Chaos Dao Embryo's turn."

His voice was as soft as a sigh, yet every word was steeped in cold.

The humming in the void abruptly ceased, no longer daring to make a sound.

Inside the Immortal-Sealing Tower.

Darkness. Absolute darkness.

It was not darkness born of an absence of light, but a darkness of nothingness in which even the very concept of "light" had been stripped away.

The instant Yun Qing was hurled into that darkness, countless bone-chilling runic chains shot out of the void, binding his limbs, neck, and waist tight!

The chains were densely covered in ancient runes of suppression and sealing. With every chain that tightened, the Immortal King Realm spiritual power within him grew more sluggish. The circulation of his Chaos Dao Embryo was almost forcibly halted, and even the vision of his Double Pupils was compressed until he could perceive only the tiny space immediately around him.

The Immortal-Suppressing Tower contained countless restrictions for suppression, spirit-locking, and soul-grinding. At present, only suppression had been activated.

"Cough...!" The chains winding around his neck forced a muffled grunt from Yun Qing. Fortunately, they did not keep tightening, so it was not too difficult to endure.

The tower was deathly still. There was only the faint, teeth-grating scrape of chains and the sound of breathing suppressed to the utmost.

Yun Qing was imprisoned in this absolute silence, unable to move.

Yun Huang did not appear, nor did he listen to a single word of explanation. Only fury and disappointment so palpable they seemed tangible filled every inch of the Immortal-Sealing Tower, making Yun Qing's heart sink further and further.

The Little Golden Crow was so furious his feathers had puffed up and he was breathing fire.

How was he supposed to soothe him now...?

Within the Yun Clan, undercurrents surged.

After handing the Twelfth Elder over to the Elders' Council for detention, the Second Elder, Yun Yuan, immediately rushed to the Perching Phoenix Hall to request an audience, only to be coldly turned away by the isolating grand formation Yun Huang had laid down.

The Second Elder was beside himself with anxiety. His relationship with Yun Qing had long since become far more than that of a guardian assigned by the Lineage. They had spent over a decade together in the Primordial Chaos Ancient Cave, and he had watched that child grow from a babbling toddler into a young man standing proud as a green pine. He was truly both teacher and father to him, their bond as close as flesh and blood.

Otherwise, he would never have tossed such precious Sumeru Puppet Transformations to Yun Qing for protection as though they were common cabbages. Even the direct descendants of the Second Elder's own branch had never received such care from him.

How could he stand by and watch Yun Qing meet his ruin here?

"Young Lord! Qing Kid may have concealed things, but he is by no means wicked at heart. He has never harbored disloyalty toward you or the Yun Clan! I beg you to see the truth and let him explain!" the Second Elder pleaded loudly outside the hall, his voice filled with unprecedented urgency.

There was no response from within. Only the terrifying pressure enveloping the entire Perching Phoenix Hall lingered, revealing the mood of the master inside.

Unable to secure an audience, the Second Elder turned in desperation to seek out the First Elder, Yun Che.

"Eldest! Say something! Qing Kid has been locked in the Immortal-Sealing Tower! Is that any place for a person to stay? The Young Lord is in a towering rage. What if he really does something to Qing Kid..." The Second Elder paced in frantic circles inside Yun Che's meditation chamber, even his goatee bristling.

Yun Che sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes half closed and his face still as an ancient well. He slowly moved a string of prayer beads through his fingers, his voice low and steady. "Little Yuan, calm yourself."

"How can I calm myself?! That's the Immortal-Sealing Tower! A deathtrap used to suppress mighty enemies from across the heavens and grind ancient demons into oblivion! How long did that Immortal Venerable who angered the Immortal Emperor last in there? In just three days, his Dao Foundation shattered and his divine soul was utterly destroyed! Qing Kid is only an Immortal King. How long can he last?!" The Second Elder's eyes had reddened, and the sight of the First Elder's eternally impassive face only stoked his anger.

Yun Che raised his eyes. A faint gleam passed through their depths, as though he were divining something. Only after a long while did he slowly say, "Though the Young Lord was furious, he did not kill and refine him on the spot. He merely locked him in the Immortal-Sealing Tower... There is still room to turn this around."

"Turn it around? How? I've turned myself around in circles, and he still won't see anyone!" the Second Elder said anxiously.

Yun Che fell silent for a moment before saying softly, "Don't forget the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite."

The soul the Will of Heaven had painstakingly selected, going so far as to draw it across worlds, should... be exceptionally compatible with the Young Lord. The two of them were far from ordinary. Things might not reach the worst possible outcome. At the very least, Qing Kid's life should not be in danger.

His words were cryptic. Could there be some unseen karmic connection between the soul chosen by the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite and this unusual Reincarnated Immortal Emperor?

Yun Yuan stepped forward, grabbed the First Elder's beard, and yanked him off balance, instantly stripping away every trace of his immortal dignity.

"You sanctimonious old fraud, giving me riddles again!" Still, this was hardly the time to pursue the matter. The Second Elder remained doubtful, but seeing how composed the First Elder was, his anxious heart barely settled a little.

"Let's hope so... No, I have to think of another way. At the very least, I must get the Young Lord to hear Qing Kid out!" Before he had finished speaking, he rushed out again like a gust of wind.

Only the First Elder remained, shedding tears on the spot as several strands of his fine beard slowly drifted to the floor.

"Yun Yuan!!"

Meanwhile, the Twelfth Elder's branch was immersed in a secret ecstasy at having survived disaster.

So long as Yun Qing died and the Twelfth Elder remained alive, his status as an elder and the connections he had cultivated within the Lineage over many years might well allow him to hold on until the next Cloud Summit Tournament and lead his branch back to glory!

They even began secretly contacting senior members of the Lineage who likewise coveted the Chaos Dao Embryo, seeking to nail Yun Qing's fate shut for good!