Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 914: An Unavoidable Confrontation

Ye Jiuyou had likely never experienced what it was like to “descend into a secret realm.” Throughout history, every so-called secret realm she had ever been in belonged to someone else.

It was only after reaching beyond the boundaries of the Heavenly Tome’s world that she came to realize that the vast universe itself could serve as her secret realm.

Though Ye Wuming could no longer suppress her in cultivation, even Ye Jiuyou had to admit that Ye Wuming was still the strongest of them all. This was not because of sheer power but because she had started earlier and seen more than anyone else. The black holes that now left Ye Jiuyou breathless with awe, along with everything else here, were likely things Ye Wuming had already explored. And even if she had not fully traversed them, she would have at least sensed them from afar.

That was why Ye Wuming had the authority and insight to begin laying down countermeasures against the Other Shore long before she ever reached it herself.

If the Heavenly Tome’s world could be viewed as a single planet, then in the face of such cosmic black holes, the entire world might as well be no more than a speck of dust fated for annihilation. However, the complete Heavenly Tome’s world was far more than just one planet. After all, it housed stars and the three realms. Its power may fall short, but it would not be instantly crushed.

Zhao Changhe and Ye Jiuyou now stood on equal footing with the Heavenly Tome itself. Husband and wife, joined hand in hand and backed by the world’s support, had finally earned the right to glimpse the very heart of the void. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Hand in hand, they carefully stepped into the core, lending strength to one another as they faced the force of annihilation. There was no conversation, only silence. Their heads lifted as they beheld the devouring abyss.

For Ye Jiuyou, the insights came flooding in. Her gaze never once focused on the world around her. Zhao Changhe could not fathom what she was comprehending. His own takeaway was simpler. He focused on the force of the pull.

No law or principle could match this most primal of contests. The slightest misstep and one would be reduced to nothing, and it was not even in a figurative sense; they would simply be erased.

Cultivators from the Heavenly Tome’s world always preferred this kind of brute-force clash. Zhao Changhe, most of all. Sure, he had studied countless paths—the five elements, yin and yang, and the like—but he rarely used them. The only things he made regular use of were the Rejuvenation Art, as well as temporal and spatial techniques. Otherwise, his answer to all things was simple. He would draw his saber and strike.

The Ye sisters had long since gravitated toward a mage or spellcaster’s path. Zhao Changhe, in contrast, had fully embraced the path of a berserker or barbarian.

He stood in place for a long while, then suddenly extended his hand outward.

Space folded. From some incomprehensible distance, a small planet was dragged into the black hole’s domain. Husband and wife watched with wide eyes as the planet was crushed and devoured, not a speck left behind. It was an unspeakable display of raw violence. It was silent yet profoundly beautiful. The sight left both of them stunned, and their eyes gleamed with exhilaration.

Back inside the Heavenly Tome’s world, the women watched through Zhao Changhe’s senses. Countless insights surged into their hearts. Some even entered spontaneous meditation.

Suddenly, Zhao Changhe drew his saber and slashed into the distance.

There was no flash nor any trace of force. There was only the silent annihilation of a star, disintegrated to dust.

Dragon Bird let out a triumphant screech, feeling more satisfied than even when she severed past and future.

Ling Ruoyu tugged at Ye Wuming’s sleeve. “I wanna go play too...”

That looks way more fun than studying here in the Night Palace’s astronomical observatory.

“You can’t go alone.” Ye Wuming hesitated, then added, “If you really want to... then hide inside River of Stars. I’ll take you. Just like how Dragon Bird is now.”

Ling Ruoyu pouted a little. Is hiding inside River of Stars even any different from hiding inside the Heavenly Tome?

Well... I guess it might be a little more immersive.

Obediently, she nestled into the sword. Ye Wuming took it and stepped out into the void, appearing at Zhao Changhe’s side a moment later.

Zhao Changhe had not anticipated anyone emerging from the Heavenly Tome and, on high alert, instinctively slashed sideways at the intrusion.

Ye Wuming raised River of Stars to parry, but his force knocked her slightly adrift, drifting toward the black hole. Realizing it was her, Zhao Changhe quickly reached out with his left hand and pulled her into his embrace.

The sensation was so familiar that Ye Wuming, for a moment, did not resist at all. She simply let herself fall against his chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Ye Wuming: “...”

The two stared at each other in mutual disbelief for a beat before Ye Wuming swiftly raised her sword to Zhao Changhe’s neck. “Let go!”

Zhao Changhe rolled his eyes but continued holding her without the slightest intention of letting go.

Oh, you’re pointing a sword at me now? Sure. Let’s see if you really have the guts to cut me down.

Not to mention, even if you wanted to, River of Stars would rebel before you could land the blow.

Ye Wuming was fuming, anxious, and exasperated. She shot a quick glance at Ye Jiuyou, who was still seated cross-legged in meditation, then struggled hard. “Let go of me!”

Sure enough, the sword did not budge. Its spirit did not move either. Ling Ruoyu had her arms crossed as she sat quietly inside the sword, feigning ignorance and pondering the mysteries of the black hole on her own.

Zhao Changhe refused to release her. “Don’t move. All your strength should be focused on resisting the black hole. One wrong twitch and we could both get sucked in. Dying here would be a real joke.”

Ye Wuming actually let out a laugh, furious to the point of amusement. “Oh, now you remember this is dangerous? So you really think it’s appropriate to get handsy in a place like this?”

“I’m not being handsy. I just wanted to hold you. I’m not groping you. What exactly am I taking advantage of?”

“Get lost.”

“Motion denied.” Zhao Changhe grinned. “Since you’re already here, mind telling me what you think?”

Ye Wuming replied dryly, “What’s there to tell you about? That slash of annihilation you pulled off earlier was sharp enough, wasn’t it?”

Zhao Changhe was clearly just trying to make conversation. “I meant, what’s your take on Sovereign Withered Wood?”

“What else could it be? A partnership is inevitable. The only question is whether he’ll betray us after the alliance, but that’s impossible to predict right now.”

Zhao Changhe said, “You didn’t want to involve outsiders before because they were too unpredictable. But now that three forbidden zones have produced three Other Shores, and our own little family has just as many, what’s there to be afraid of? If we can resolve the Luo Chuan situation, sweeping through this segmentum afterward doesn’t sound so far-fetched.”

Ye Wuming gave a cold laugh. “And you’re sure those forbidden zones each only have one Other Shore? How much do you actually know about their power structure?”

Zhao Changhe said with a smirk, “You’re refuting that, but not refuting the part about our little family?”

Even Ling Ruoyu, nestled inside River of Stars, was giggling to herself. Mom really can’t outtalk Dad. It’s almost like someone at the Other Shore competing with someone at the Profound Gate.

Ye Wuming’s neck stiffened as she said, “Because their internal composition is a matter of strategic concern. The rest of your nonsense isn’t even worth answering.”

“Oh really?”

“Obviously!”

Zhao Changhe beamed and said, “Alright, alright... But you clearly know how their forces are structured, so why not tell me?”

Ye Wuming: “...”

She did know. She had scouted this segmentum countless times over the years. She had found cave abodes that others could not even sense, so of course she knew what was out there.

However, she did not want to be pressed against him, chest to chest, waist in hand, while calmly discussing the forbidden zones. She turned her head away in stubborn silence, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

When did things between us start becoming like this? Why do we always end up in such intimate proximity? Are we even supposed to be this close?

Zhao Changhe leaned in by her ear. “Why so quiet all of a sudden?”

His breath brushed her skin, sending a tingling shiver down her spine. Ye Wuming could no longer hold it in. “Let go and I’ll talk. Otherwise, we die here together.”

Zhao Changhe did not push his luck, and he actually let her go.

It was always important to offer people a dignified exit...

Ye Wuming exhaled a long breath and replied with an expressionless face, “Setting aside those remnants of the demonic path on Luo Chuan’s side, there are indeed only three who are at the Other Shore across the three great forbidden zones. That’s how it’s supposed to be. The Other Shore Realm represents the Heavenly Dao of a world. There’s only one per world. It’s not something just anyone can reach. What we already have is quite a lot.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled. “And yet our world has three.”

Ye Wuming replied coolly, “Theoretically, our world should have only one. You are an outsider and don’t even count. As for Jiuyou and me, we were originally one and the same—separated like this, we shouldn’t both have reached the Other Shore at all. It’s... a bit of a special case.”

That special case being a certain star pillar acting as an intermediary for the two sisters. Of course, Ye Wuming was not going to say that aloud. Saying it out loud would sound as if she had already been defiled, which, to be clear, she had not, at least not yet.

Even without that final step, the fact that it worked at all was already absurd. Ye Wuming crossed her legs tightly, her thoughts scattering into chaos.

Afraid Zhao Changhe might latch onto that thread and start climbing, she quickly changed the subject. “How did you know that world we visited earlier was the one they were looking for?”

“Simple. I could sense that it was a small world and its overall order of existence was slightly beneath that of the Heavenly Tome’s world. If it even had a Heavenly Dao, it would probably be weaker than the two of you. The sensation it gave me was fundamentally different from being within a major segmentum of the main universe. And everything inside that world matched perfectly with Sovereign Withered Wood’s description. That makes it almost certainly a subordinate world within this segmentum. So when he mentioned a missing Other Shore cave abode, that one fit the bill.”

Ye Wuming nodded in acknowledgment but did not comment further. This annoying man has always been frighteningly good at deduction.

Zhao Changhe gave credit where it was due. “Honestly though, even Sovereign Withered Wood, the local overlord, couldn’t find it. How did you manage to do so?”

“Being part of the Heavenly Tome’s world, I have a stronger resonance with worlds of the same kind,” Ye Wuming explained. “But more importantly, I’ve always focused on traversing realms and exploring the myriad realms, not just drifting through the cosmos. That cave abode is one of the closest to ours. Sovereign Withered Wood’s subordinates were searching from within the universe while we approached it from a different direction... It just so happened that it was more in our favor.”

Zhao Changhe gave a thoughtful nod.

Ye Wuming added, “That world may not be of much use to us directly, but you never know. It might serve a purpose someday. Are you sure you’re just handing it over like that?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “We were ambushed back then, and the cave abode’s location was basically exposed. Anyone could follow the trail and find it. It’s not something we could keep hidden anymore.”

Ye Wuming inclined her head slightly. “Since it’s under your name, the decision is yours.”

River of Stars and Dragon Bird gently tapped against one another—sword and saber resting side by side, like old friends propping up their cheeks in idle thought.

They really did make a perfect match. And if you added the dialect of Zhao Family Village into the equation, they would outmatch anyone. If only the two had started cooperating and talking like this from the beginning, maybe they would already be a couple by now. Things did not have to turn out so complicated.

Ling Ruoyu hoped her parents would reconcile so that they could live as one big happy family. As for Dragon Bird, who knew what she wanted?

While the discussion continued, Ye Jiuyou, who had been silently meditating this entire time, suddenly opened her eyes. Her voice transmitted directly into their spiritual seas, “This abyss of annihilation connects to the source of all birth. In the deepest point here lies another realm of chaos... If I’m not mistaken, Luo Chuan is very likely there. And he may already have recovered...”

Zhao Changhe turned sharply, a chill creeping down his spine.

If Luo Chuan was hiding in that deepest abyss, crimson eyes glinting with malice in the dark, watching everything from the shadows, ready to strike at any moment... Just the thought was bone-chilling.

Thank heavens he had stayed alert to protect Jiuyou instead of entering meditation himself. If he had assumed there were no enemies lurking here and entered meditation too, a sneak attack would have spelled the end.

There were far too many strange phenomena in the cosmos. Was it truly a coincidence that Sovereign Withered Wood had led them to this black hole because it suited Jiuyou’s cultivation? Or had he known all along that this place was connected to Luo Chuan?

Zhao Changhe masked his thoughts and asked calmly, “So, what did you gain from your insight?”

Ye Jiuyou smiled faintly. “Quite a bit.”

Zhao Changhe took her hand and grinned. “We’ve been resisting the black hole this whole time. Any longer and I might actually burn out. Shall we head back?”

Ye Jiuyou’s eyes glimmered. “Back to Sovereign Withered Wood?”

Zhao Changhe smirked. “It’s too awkward to get affectionate there. Let’s go back to the Heavenly Tome for now. We can visit him tomorrow.”

Ye Jiuyou leaned in to kiss his cheek, her voice soft and playful as she said, “I’ve been wanting that since last night...”

Zhao Changhe pulled her into his arms. “How about you share a little of that insight through dual cultivation?”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting.” Ye Wuming, who had just been engaging in proper strategic discussion a moment ago, could not stand the sudden shift into shameless flirting. Sword in hand, she stormed off and dove back into the tome with a huff.

The two shameless lovebirds could not care less about Ye Wuming’s retreat. They calmly withdrew from the black hole’s pull as if nothing had happened. The moment they cleared the range of the black hole, Zhao Changhe immediately leaped into action, eagerly producing the Heavenly Tome and folding space to tuck it away in a separate dimension. Then, hand-in-hand with Ye Jiuyou, he slipped right into the tome.

The Heavenly Tome hovered silently in the void.

From within the black hole, a pair of demonic eyes slowly emerged, locking onto the location where the Heavenly Tome had disappeared, their gaze twisted with malevolence.

All remnants of his presence had long since been purged from the inside of the Heavenly Tome’s world. The outer void was cut off by the great abyss, and with the three realms now completely sealed from his view, he could no longer observe anything within. Judging from the pair’s earlier conversation, they were probably inside right now, dual cultivating to share their insights from the black hole.

Never mind that Ye Wuming had just cursed them as disgusting. For all he knew, she might already be half-reluctantly taking part.

Luo Chuan had always suspected there was something between Ye Wuming and Zhao Changhe. The last time had already left him with that impression, as her face had practically been flushed with desire. And the way they had been whispering, with arms wrapped around waists just now? Who the hell would believe there was nothing going on?

If that trio is in there now, tangled up in lust... Wouldn’t this be the perfect chance to strike?

Whether it was the perfect chance or not, the fact that he could clearly see the Heavenly Tome’s location at all was already a rare opportunity. Last time, it had taken him thirty full years to track down where Ye Wuming had hidden the Heavenly Tome. Now here it was, brazenly floating in the open...

At this moment, Luo Chuan was like a starving pervert stumbling upon a naked maiden. His heart pounded so violently it was hard to resist the urge.

The timing was on his side.

And the location... it was subtle but just right. The Heavenly Tome hung right at the outer edge of the black hole’s influence. Just one push would be enough to send it into the gravitational field.

Once inside, Luo Chuan could work other means. This was his domain.

The location was on his side.

Strategically, Zhao Changhe was probably still negotiating with Sovereign Withered Wood. From what Luo Chuan had overheard, those discussions were not yet finalized, and they planned to discuss further the next day. If he launched an ambush now, Sovereign Withered Wood’s camp would not be able to intervene in time. Meanwhile, Luo Chuan had gathered a handful of demonic cultivators to support him.

The people were on his side.

His crimson eyes burned as they bore down on the Heavenly Tome, convinced that these insatiable, carnal degenerates were about to hand him the best chance he had had in millennia to seize the Heavenly Tome once and for all. If he missed this moment, he might never get another like it.

A great shadowy hand emerged silently in the void, creeping toward the Heavenly Tome, intending to swat it straight into the black hole.

But inside the Heavenly Tome, Zhao Changhe and Ye Jiuyou, who had entered clinging to each other, kissing and laughing, had, in fact, split apart the moment they entered the tome.

Meanwhile, Sovereign Withered Wood was on his immortal mountain, repairing the mountain-guarding array, when the projection of a woman appeared before him. It was a soul fragment that Ye Wuming had sent over from the Heavenly Tome.

“Who are you?” Sovereign Withered Wood’s heart jumped. Another Other Shore? And she looks almost identical to Fellow Daoist Zhao’s wife.

Ye Wuming spoke coolly, “Luo Chuan has been sighted. Changhe asked me to inform you. The time to strike is now.”

“...Forgive my suspicion, but what is your relationship to Fellow Daoist Zhao? Do you have any proof of your identity?”

“Oh? And what, exactly, counts as proof to someone like you?” Ye Wuming raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you see how much I resemble Jiuyou?”

“Appearance means little. It can be altered at will. Even if you were twin sisters, you might still be enemies. It proves nothing.”

Ye Wuming’s lips pressed into a thin line. She was silent for several seconds before finally releasing her aura. “Can’t you sense it? This... overwhelming presence of his aura on me?”

Sovereign Withered Wood’s expression twitched. “So you’re also one of Fellow Daoist Zhao’s wives?”

Ye Wuming looked like she was going to explode. Even as a mere soul fragment, her face flushed red as she struggled against her entire being just to get out a single word, “Yes.”