Chapter 867: Destiny is Nothing

Chapter 867: Fate, My Ass

The arrow was already on the string, and Zhao Changhe’s heart skipped a beat at that smile, but it had already been loosed.

That arrow, honed for so long and gathering all his strength, which had once slain gods and demons without fail, pierced straight through the body of the Heavenly Dao. The golden light shot into the distant darkness, achieving nothing at all.

Meanwhile, the pincer attack by the Ye sisters turned into a mutual palm strike, each retreating with a muffled grunt.

The Heavenly Dao had become ethereal, dispersing into the surroundings.

The sun, moon, and stars seemed to mock: “Your layout within this realm is indeed impressive, far exceeding my expectations… but didn’t Ye Wuming tell you that this realm is merely my artifact, a self-evolving world born from it? The Heavenly Dao that should have arisen was meant to be you sisters—especially you, Ye Jiuyou—not me? Yet you ought to call me master. By my will, I stripped you of your right to be the Heavenly Dao, split you in two, and took control of this world myself.”

Ye Jiuyou said coldly, “So what?”

“Any upheaval within the realm is merely my means to disrupt your control over the world. Whether splitting you in two, spawning the Four Symbols, planting the Spirit Race’s body, embedding the Sword Emperor as a hidden pawn, manipulating negative wills like Papiya, or inciting the darkening of the Buddha and the Daoist Venerable… all of it was only to steer the world away from its destined course. Your uprooting of these one by one merely restores the world to its original state, expelling my influence—not weakening me myself.”

Zhao Changhe glanced at Ye Wuming. She floated with eyes closed, saying nothing.

It seemed he had guessed wrong earlier… Killing those primordial gods and such, he had thought it would weaken the Heavenly Dao, but it only weakened its hold over the world.

It appeared that Ye Wuming’s introduction of Earth’s history to confuse the epochs was also for this purpose. Once the concept of the human epoch had deviated from the Heavenly Dao’s design, its influence and control naturally grew weaker.

When its control over the world was completely uprooted, was Ye Wuming planning to take control herself? Was her goal so lowly?

The Heavenly Dao laughed. “And as the master of this world for two full epochs, everything born within was shaped by my will… The so-called soul-destroying effect of the Dragon Soul Bow was something I defined. You can use it to destroy the souls of gods and demons, but how could it work on me? Zhao Changhe, you’ve cultivated all this way, yet you still rely on things I created—don’t you find yourself ridiculous?”

Zhao Changhe was silent.

By that logic, even the Dragon Sparrow and the Galaxy might be ineffective against it, since they were also built from materials defined by it. Had Ye Wuming left the Galaxy unfinished back then because she realized it would be meaningless?

No… the Dragon Sparrow and the Galaxy were effective—because they had spirits. In essence, the Ye sisters were also spirits of the world, able to transcend definitions and affect the Heavenly Dao. So too could the Dragon Sparrow and the Galaxy, provided they reached that level of power. Unfortunately, the Dragon Soul Bow had no spirit, so its ineffectiveness was only natural.

He had habitually used the Dragon Soul Bow to destroy powerful souls, wasting the best opportunity for a pincer attack.

As he pondered, the Heavenly Dao continued, “As for you two sisters… you both naturally have the capital to cause me trouble. But unfortunately, once you were split in two, you clashed with each other. When you’re both present, the conflict of your attributes only makes you collide with each other… It’s less effective than taking turns in a one-on-one fight. Ha… hahaha…”

It laughed uncontrollably, clearly amused by the current situation, savoring the pleasure of manipulating everyone’s emotions and fates.

Ye Jiuyou’s face darkened. Did this mean she had to be the one to flee?

Or… she glanced at Ye Wuming again. Was she supposed to merge with that wretched thing? Who would want that? Besides, no one knew how to merge, and even if they did, whose would the result be?

It was an unsolvable problem.

And even if she could bring herself to do it, could she take the Heavenly Dao’s words as absolute truth? If she left only one person behind, they’d be picked off one by one—that would be truly ridiculous.

This was its puppet show, pulling the strings of everyone’s helpless fate, leaving no choice but to be helpless.

Watching the stars around them laughing wildly, Ye Jiuyou clenched her delicate hands until her knuckles cracked. Changhe had already planned with such painstaking effort. Following him had made it so easy to achieve the initial goal—sweeping through the six directions within the realm, breaking through to face the final battle against the Heavenly Dao and Ye Wuming… She had indeed trusted him completely.

Yet in the end, she still felt so powerless. It wasn’t Changhe’s problem—it was hers.

“Enough.” Ye Wuming, who had been silent all along, finally spoke her first words since seeing Zhao Changhe and Ye Jiuyou: “In my game with it, you were only meant to clear the internal mess. The reason I didn’t communicate much was that I trusted Zhao’s ability to handle his part without my interference. And you’ve done excellently, even exceeding expectations. I never thought you’d actually dare to court Jiuyou.”

Zhao Changhe’s tone was sarcastic: “Should I thank you for your trust?”

Ye Wuming ignored that and said calmly, “In any case, with your current strength, forcing your way into this fight only gets in the way. Now that you’ve seen enough and satisfied your curiosity, go back to where you belong… The rest has nothing to do with you.”

Ye Jiuyou sneered, “Who do you think you are to drive us away? What gives you the—”

Before she could finish, Ye Wuming opened her eyes.

Those eyes were barren and lifeless, but different from Ye Jiuyou’s earlier state. Even when Ye Jiuyou was at her most desolate, you could still see she was alive, with a unique spark in her gaze. But “lifeless eyes” here wasn’t a metaphor—it was literal. A pair of truly dead eyes, lacking any “spirit.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart pounded violently.

With Ye Wuming’s eyes open, his body was no longer under his control. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Ye Jiuyou, dragging her back toward the realm.

Ye Jiuyou: “?”

Ye Wuming seized the opportunity to snatch the page of the Book of Time from Ye Jiuyou’s personal space, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth: “Good. Your conquest of her has saved me some trouble. If you’ve got the guts, hit him.”

Ye Jiuyou fumed: “You—”

“Take him and go in peace, my… sister.” Ye Wuming chuckled softly. Her eyes were dead, but her lips curved with a seductive smile that sent chills down the spine.

It was the first time Ye Jiuyou had heard her call her “sister”—usually it was the other way around. It felt… rather satisfying. But she couldn’t savor it now, trapped in Zhao Changhe’s tight embrace, unable to do anything. She really couldn’t bring herself to hit him. In that moment of hesitation, the book was taken, and she was dragged back into the realm.

The landing point within the realm was peculiar—a place no one had ever found before.

It was also where Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao had once come to steal the lotus pedestal… the Night Palace, the dwelling of the Heavenly Emperor among the three realms.

Now the Night Palace was desolate and silent, eerily tranquil, almost like Ye Jiuyou’s own dark abyss. But Ye Jiuyou had no mind to care about this ruined palace. She felt like the White Snake being dragged off by Fahai, watching helplessly as Ye Wuming’s aura outside surged wildly, in an instant reaching a level Ye Jiuyou had struggled for so long to attain.

That layer beyond the third tier of the Imperial Realm—the Heavenly Dao level! With Ye Wuming’s Book of Time complete, she had achieved it!

Yes… Ye Wuming had merged with the Book of Time, but it had never been complete before. Even missing one page might seem trivial, but the difference between completeness and incompleteness was vast. Now Ye Wuming was the full, peak Ye Wuming in both body and soul!

Had Zhao Changhe’s pincer attack on the Heavenly Dao with Ye Jiuyou been something Ye Wuming knew would fail all along? Was she waiting for the sister and brother-in-law to deliver the Book of Time to her?

After all, she had long had a way to control Zhao Changhe…

In Ye Jiuyou’s fury, Ye Wuming smiled: “Now that the realm is purged, only you and I remain. If I couldn’t kill you before, now I’m your equal. Your puppet strings are long broken—what makes you think you’re still in charge?”

The Heavenly Dao reformed into a human shape, gazing at Ye Wuming’s now formidable aura. It was silent for a moment, as if it hadn’t expected her to have laid such deep groundwork, stretching back years to this very day.

After a long pause, it spoke with a hint of admiration and regret: “If Ye Jiuyou had reached your level, I might actually fear her. But you’re different. You were born from her, and that birth was a result of my splitting and granting. That means her life wasn’t my creation, but half of yours is—much like the Dragon Soul Bow. Killing me would be very difficult for you. Even if you self-destruct your body, you’d only end up in another mutual destruction.”

“Last epoch, I wasn’t decisive enough. I blew up my body but kept my soul.” Ye Wuming chuckled softly. “Of course, back then there were too many things left unsettled, so I couldn’t cut off my own retreat. If you had been reborn through the Spirit Race’s earth while I blew myself to nothing, wouldn’t that have been foolish? Fortunately, the epoch reset, and everything went as I planned. Today, the realm is cleansed, and we can end this…”

The Heavenly Dao found it amusing: “If you blow yourself up, I’ll die? Do you think I’m just standing here playing house with you?”

“But I have help. Look.”

Far away in the Night Palace, Zhao Changhe, with a constipated expression, drew the Dragon Soul Bow again. The arrow nocked was no longer a Dragon Soul golden arrow, but… the Galaxy Sword.

“When I forged the Galaxy back then, it was never for my own use… Within the Galaxy, a self-contained firmament—a cage. Having Zhao Changhe inherit Lie’s will and later shift to mine was because I realized he was the most suitable person to forge the Galaxy, for this day.”

“Swoosh!” The Galaxy Sword flew, needing no trajectory. It tore through the void, creating a small new world outside the realm, trapping the Heavenly Dao and Ye Wuming together within it.

The Heavenly Dao, which had been laughing all along, finally stopped smiling. It tried to flee, but found the Galaxy endless—no matter how far it went, it was still within arm’s reach.

Though with its power, it could break free in moments, a moment was all that was needed.

Ye Wuming spread her hands, her short hair fluttering, and closed her eyes again: “You should have left long ago… but you were too busy savoring the pleasure of manipulating mortals, smugly recounting your achievements. Now everything is in place, and it’s too late for you… Back then, when you were wounded, I self-destructed my body and destroyed yours. Now, by annihilating my own soul, I can naturally annihilate yours as well.”

The Heavenly Dao suddenly pulled out a massive axe and struck the Galaxy with all its might.

In Ye Wuming’s lifeless eyes, a glimmer of divine light appeared: “Heaven’s will should be nameless. From now on, I will transform into the vast azure, a passive will replacing the sentient heavens. Changhe is already the Night Emperor, acting as the Heavenly Emperor—that is my compensation for using you. Jiuyou returns to the Netherworld, Piaomiao governs the human path—they will all listen to you. Henceforth, the three realms unite, delivered into your hands.”

“Is that so?” From the Night Palace came Zhao Changhe’s voice: “You’ve planned well, very touching… But I don’t agree.”

Ye Wuming was startled, looking down into the realm. How could Zhao Changhe still speak on his own?

Then she saw a pair of eyes slowly materialize behind Zhao Changhe’s head—lively, seductive, bright as stars.

Ye Wuming’s heart leaped: “You… how did you manage that?”

She knew Zhao Changhe had likely long been aware of the eyes behind him and had prepared for it, but she had never seen him do anything about it. How had he expelled them? And if he could expel them, had his earlier loss of control been an act? Just to see what she, Ye Wuming, was planning?

“Borrowed for three years—time to give them back!”

With two swift sounds, the phantom eyes returned to Ye Wuming’s body. Her dead, barren eyes finally gained life, pupils like autumn waters.

“Back when I hadn’t even broken through to the Imperial Realm, I was secretly cultivating a method to reject foreign influences, as Old Xia suggested. He spent his whole life competing with you, and now he can finally rest with a smile?” Zhao Changhe slowly drew the bow again. On the string was no longer a Dragon Soul arrow, nor the Galaxy.

But a beam of blood-red light—something unknown.

“The Heavenly Dao wanted to arrange you, and you wanted to arrange us… Did you ask how I felt?” Zhao Changhe’s eyes turned fierce. “Dream on, you blind fool… Ruining your plans has been what Jiuyou and Piaomiao longed for. Dying won’t be that easy!”

Night Wuming cried out, “Zhao Changhe, have you lost your mind! Is this how you use your blood and qi? Even if you perish body and soul, with your current cultivation, you can’t even scratch It!”

“Is that so?” Zhao Changhe murmured, “Miaomiao.”

In Miaojiang, Miaomiao pursed her lips, reluctant yet unresisting as she channeled all her power into Zhao Changhe.

This had long been tested as an aid to the human path’s energy veins—Miaomiao could lend every ounce of her strength to Zhao Changhe, the spokesman for this world’s mountains and rivers.

But this strike of Zhao Changhe’s… it seemed he would die.

Miaomiao vaguely sensed what Zhao Changhe was thinking, her heart heavy with worry, yet at this moment she could only trust him unconditionally.

“Actually, if you could guarantee your soul would perish together with It, it would be an absolute success, and that wouldn’t be so bad… the problem is, I don’t believe It—It might be putting on an act for you.” Zhao Changhe spoke as he slowly gathered the faith of the Night Emperor, the power of the Four Symbols, the strength of the Eight Directions, the weight of the Netherworld, condensing all power into a single point, drawing the divine bow to its fullest: “Because Its words seem to guide you to extinguish your own soul… Of course, I might be oversensitive, but as long as there’s even a sliver of possibility, you cannot die. The fusion of you sisters might be the true solution; if you die, it’s gone.”

The Heavenly Dao halted its axe, gazing at Zhao Changhe with keen interest: “You’re clever, and your power is formidable… but do you think, without Night Wuming, you alone can stop me?”

Zhao Changhe smiled faintly: “I know my strength might be an illusion—you’ve long laid the trap so that when I think I can threaten you, I’ll find my foundation unstable and my life crumbling… but so what?”

The Heavenly Dao was finally moved: “You know?”

Zhao Changhe’s smile faded, and he said calmly, “Of course. You say everything I use is yours, useless against you… but there’s one thing that is definitely not yours—the flesh and blood I brought from my own world; my life was not given by you! When I already intend to use it, what the hell is your so-called fate?”

He looked down. Above Miaojiang, Lie’s formation disk lay shattered, floating in the void.

But the blood spirit engraved upon it endured forever.

“Senior, forgive me for not saying a word to see you off just now… Since I entered this world, I have carried your will to this day. Words are not enough; I must offer blood as sacrifice.”

“Blind fool, the Night Palace is yours to live in—wash yourself clean and wait for me to find you!”

“Twang!” The bowstring snapped, the arrow like a river of stars, spilling across the nine heavens.

Gods and Buddhas scattered, not by the blade.

On the Divine Land, in the Western Regions and Miaojiang, across the Eastern Sea and myriad nations, all raised their heads to the sky. All could hear that fierce oath, and all could see a river of blood, rushing forth never to return.

Heaven and earth shook, lightning flashed and thunder roared, rain, snow, and hail fell simultaneously from the firmament, yet all that met the eye was an endless sea of blood.

The whole world stood dumbfounded.

A wisp of remnant soul flickered, landing beside Night Jiuyou.

Night Jiuyou did not even glance at the outcome above the nine heavens; she snatched up the soul flame and vanished, heading straight for the Netherworld.

At the bottom of the Nine Nether Abyss, the lotus pond that could revive the dead and restore flesh to bones bloomed faintly with the light of life.

[End of Volume Nine]

Volume Ten: Drunk on the Milky Way