191: Yunxi: For the Federation

The moment Yun Xi failed her Breakthrough, before Chen Jun arrived!

The Law power backlashed, causing her Physical Body to instantly faint, her Soul plummeting into an abyss... darkness... boundless darkness, mixed with the shrieks of Laws shattering and the excruciating pain of her Origin tearing apart.

Her consciousness floated in endless nothingness, like a flickering candle about to be extinguished in a storm.

Yun Xi could clearly feel that her ninety-thousand-year Lifespan was dimming and fading at an unprecedented speed.

'Did I fail...'

A faint thought flickered through her mind, carrying an unspeakable bitterness and... relief.

Attempting to reach Galaxy Level was, for an Acquired Sun Body, inherently a gamble of nine deaths and one life.

The moment the Breakthrough Opportunity erupted, she thought her Opportunity had arrived. She never expected that it wasn't an Opportunity at all; instead, the backlash was so fierce, so complete.

'Federation... Qinglan... children...'

Countless faces flashed through her fragmented consciousness, finally settling on a face that seemed casually lazy, yet whose eyes seemed to contain an entire sea of stars—Chen Jun.

The man she once regarded as a "special key" to perpetuate the flame of civilization had, unknowingly, become the true stabilizing force of the Federation, and also, deep within her heart... a complex and indescribable existence.

Had it not been for the arrangements he left behind, forcing theUnblock to be lifted, the Federation would probably have turned into cosmic dust when the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom descended.

'What a pity... in the end, I couldn't personally witness the day the Federation stepped into a Galaxy Level civilization... nor could I...'

Nor could she truly lay down the burden on her shoulders, and like him, leisurely gaze at the starry sky she had protected for a hundred thousand years.

Her consciousness grew increasingly blurry, as if it were about to completely merge into this cold darkness.

Just then... a touch of warmth.

Like a star suddenly brightening in the polar night, it pierced through layers of darkness and pain, precisely touching her glabella.

What was that?

Warm, gentle, yet carrying an indescribable, supreme aura that transcended everything.

Wherever it passed, the Law backlash power, which had been like a parasitic bone, frantically eroding her Origin, seemed to meet its nemesis, letting out a silent wail and instantly dissolving!

The violent and chaotic Star River power was gently smoothed out by an invisible large hand, becoming docile and orderly once more.

The excruciating pain receded like a tide. Although her Origin was still riddled with holes and her Soul still extremely weak, at least... the continuous, Soul-shattering pain had stopped.

She regained a faint sense of control over her body.

Who was it?

Was it Qinglan?

No, Qinglan had just entered Galaxy Level. Although she possessed an Innate Yao Body, it was absolutely impossible for her to resolve a Galaxy Level backlash so easily.

Did Mo Heng and the others find some Heaven-Defying wondrous item?

That's also impossible. Such Law injuries cannot be healed by ordinary items.

Then... an incredible thought surfaced in her mind.

Could it be him...? Her consciousness struggled with difficulty, trying to break free from the shackles of darkness.

She felt that the surroundings seemed to have quieted down. The anxious energy fluctuations disappeared, leaving only two familiar auras by her side.

One was Qinglan's, filled with worry and urgency.

The other... peaceful, profound, like an ancient sea of stars, carrying a power that brought peace to her Soul.

Indeed... it was him.

Chen Jun.

He came... A strange sense of calm settled in her heart, as if with his arrival, no matter how great the crisis, it would no longer be despair-inducing.

She struggled, little by little, to gather her scattered consciousness, trying to open her incredibly heavy eyelids... Light.

Faint light entered her eyes, and her blurry vision gradually focused.

The first thing she saw was her daughter Qinglan's beautiful face, etched with worry.

"Mother! You're awake!" Yun Qinglan's voice was filled with tearful joy as she tightly clasped her hand.

Yun Xi wanted to give her a comforting smile, but found she didn't even have the strength to twitch the corners of her mouth.

Her gaze moved with difficulty, past her daughter's shoulder, and landed on the figure standing by the lotus platform.

Still the seemingly ordinary clothes, still the seemingly lazy posture, but the eyes looking at her were no longer the usual playful or indifferent ones, but carried a kind of... deep, complex emotion she had never seen before—concern, helplessness, and perhaps even a hint of... reproach?

Yun Xi breathed a sigh of relief, then her heart tightened again.

Did he lift the seal?

She would rather perish herself than have Chen Jun end his "experience" prematurely to save her, interrupting the "sealed" state that might be related to a higher level of comprehension.

She deeply understood how important a Breakthrough to a major Realm was for a civilization in a Universe where personal power was concentrated.

"You... shouldn't have come..." She exhausted her strength, her voice hoarse and faint, almost inaudible, yet her eyes held clear dissuasion, "You cannot... break your vow... for me..."

Chen Jun looked at her, struggling even to speak yet still worrying about him, and felt both annoyed and heartbroken.

He took a step forward, gently pushed away Yun Qinglan who was about to say something, and sat on the edge of the lotus platform himself.

"You're in this state, and you're still worrying about these things?" His voice was very calm, showing no discernible emotion, yet it naturally conveyed a sense of reassuring strength.

He reached out his hand, without using any energy, and with just his fingertips, extremely gently brushed away the few strands of silver hair on her forehead that were stuck with sweat.

The action was incredibly natural, as if he had done it a thousand times.

Yun Xi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

For a hundred thousand years, no one had ever made such an intimate gesture towards her.

As a leader, she was high above, revered, and also lonely.

But Chen Jun's touch made her feel not the slightest aversion; instead, the warm sensation of a living person from his fingertips caused a slight ripple in her cold heart.

"Why were you in such a hurry?" Chen Jun looked at her and asked, his tone like a casual chat between old friends, yet it went straight to the core.

Yun Xi avoided his gaze, looking at the simulated, still somewhat chaotic starry sky at the top of the Secret Realm, her voice weak but with her usual rationality:

"The Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom... although temporarily pacified, the Universe is vast, and there are countless powerful enemies... The Federation needs... Galaxy Level power. Qinglan has just entered this Realm and needs time to stabilize... I... I cannot always... passively wait."

"So you gambled with your life?" Chen Jun's tone remained flat, but Yun Xi detected a hidden anger within it.

She was silent for a moment, then softly said, "This is... my responsibility."

"Responsibility?" Chen Jun suddenly chuckled, a laugh filled with an unidentifiable meaning:

"Yun Xi, you've protected the Federation for a hundred thousand years, isn't that enough? Must you sacrifice yourself completely to fulfill your responsibility?"

His words were like a needle, gently piercing the hard shell deep within Yun Xi's heart.

A hundred thousand years of heavy burdens, a hundred thousand years of loneliness, a hundred thousand years of sacrifice... On countless nights, she had looked up at the starry sky alone, contemplating the future of civilization, enduring pressures she could not share with anyone.

The fatigue and grievances she had deeply suppressed were, at this moment, almost on the verge of bursting forth.

Not enough?

She didn't know either.

She only knew that from the moment she became leader, her life no longer belonged to her.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions, and looked at Chen Jun again, her eyes regaining their usual clarity and firmness: "As long as there is a breath left, this ambition will not change."

Chen Jun looked at her stubborn appearance, knowing that further persuasion was useless.

He sighed and changed the topic: "The injuries are severe, the Origin is depleted, and the Dao injury affects the Foundation. Ordinary methods are powerless to reverse the situation."

His words were like a cold verdict, instantly making Yun Qinglan's face turn pale.

"Father! Even you...?" She was so anxious she was about to cry again.

Chen Jun waved his hand, signaling her to calm down. His gaze remained on Yun Xi's face, his eyes profound: "I said 'ordinary methods'."

Yun Xi's heart skipped a beat.

She looked at Chen Jun, at the calm in his eyes that seemed to control everything.

An absurd yet infinitely hopeful thought uncontrollably emerged.

Could it be... he still has a way?

Without lifting the seal?

"You... have a way?" She heard her own voice tremble with a hint of disbelief.

Chen Jun didn't answer directly, but slowly said, "My 'special Physique', you should be very clear about it."

Yun Xi nodded.

It was precisely because of this Physique that the four Sun Bodies were later born, that her daughter Qinglan was born, and that the Federation is in its current situation.

If not for Chen Jun, when her hundred thousand years of Lifespan ended, the Human Federation might have already been destroyed by the Tristan Empire!

"The sealing power is a necessary means to prevent 'ancient memories' from eroding the present true self and maintaining a mortal state of mind." Chen Jun's tone carried a hint of persuasion:

"But the root of this 'Physique' has not been completely sealed off. It's more like a... rule imprinted deep within the Origin of life."

His finger unconsciously tapped gently on the lotus platform, making regular soft sounds, as if tapping on Yun Xi's heart.

"Conceiving powerful offspring, the process itself is the deepest level of fusion and sublimation of the Origin of life. The feedback power brought by the Innate Aptitude is the most fundamental nourishment of the Universe, and its effect... is far beyond any external object or energy healing."

At this point, he paused, his gaze burning as he looked at Yun Xi, saying word by word:

"It can... reshape the Foundation and mend Dao injuries."

Boom—!

These words, like a thunderclap in the Chaos, exploded in Yun Xi's mind!

She instantly understood Chen Jun's meaning!

His method was actually... actually... to heal her in that way?!

An unspeakable flush 'whooshed' to her cheeks. Even with her hundred-thousand-year cultivation of heart and mind, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of shyness and panic at this moment!

This... this was too absurd!

Last time, in Jingsi Hall, she was trying to Break through to Star Arm Level, to extend her Lifespan and protect the Federation. After rationally weighing all pros and cons, she finally convinced herself to view it as a cold, purely for the future of civilization, "strategic investment."

But that time, she was at least "whole," proactive, and for a clear and noble goal.

And this time?

She was severely injured, critically ill, and so weak that even lifting her hand was difficult.

In this situation, to be with him... what was this considered?

Taking advantage of her vulnerability?

Moreover, after the last time, her feelings for Chen Jun deep down were no longer pure.

That initial "transaction" had, in the aftermath, become mixed with more and more complex emotions, and even a hint of... flutter that she herself didn't want to delve into.

Now, to have her, in such a disheveled and passive state, engage in that kind of relationship with him again... A huge sense of shame enveloped her like a tide, making her wish she could flee this place immediately.

"No... no..." She instinctively refused, her voice weak but with unprecedented panic, an unnatural blush spreading across her pale face, "This... this is not... proper..."

"Proper?" Chen Jun raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness, "Yun Xi, your life is almost gone, what 'proper' are you talking about?"

He leaned closer, his warm breath brushing her ear, his voice low and full of temptation:

"Think about it, not just for healing. My Physique, you and I both know. Last time, you were just an Innate Moon Body, yet you conceived Qinglan, an Innate Yao Body."

His words, like the whisper of a demon, precisely struck the deepest part of her heart:

"And now, you are an Acquired Sun Body. Although severely injured, your life essence has not changed. If you combine again... what level of Aptitude will the offspring achieve?"

"Innate Venerable Body? Or even... beyond a Venerable Body?"

"And you, as the conceiver, what vast amount of feedback will you receive?"

"At that time, not only will your Dao injury be healed and your Origin replenished, but it's even possible... to directly reach Galaxy Level in one step."

"Galaxy Level, Yun Xi... ten million years of Lifespan, the power to truly stand at the pinnacle of this starry sky... Don't you want to see it with your own eyes?"

Every word was like a heavy hammer, fiercely striking Yun Xi's mental defenses.

Galaxy Level!

Ten million years of Lifespan!

This was the Realm she yearned for but couldn't attain, even with such a Law backlash!

It was also the cornerstone for the Federation to step onto a broader stage!

Last time, it was for civilization.

This time, is it also for civilization...?

Yun Xi's heart was in complete turmoil.

Reason told her that this was currently the only potentially effective method, the most beneficial choice for the Federation.

But emotionally, the immense shame, the increasingly uncontrollable flutter she felt when facing Chen Jun, made it impossible for her to easily nod.

She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently, indicating the fierce internal struggle.

Agreeing meant breaking her firmly held principles again, engaging in a relationship with him in a "passive" posture.

Not agreeing meant likely facing the depletion of her Origin, the worsening of her Dao injury, and ultimately, a tragic demise.

On one side was dignity and shame.

On the other side was life and the hope for civilization's future.

How to choose?

The Secret Realm fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint hum of Star power flowing and Yun Xi's hurried, unstable breathing.

Yun Qinglan stood aside, looking at her mother's struggling and painful appearance, and at her father's seemingly calm but determined eyes. She seemed to understand something, yet also understood nothing.

She only knew that her mother was saved.

She quietly retreated, leaving the space to the two of them.

Chen Jun didn't press her further, just quietly watched Yun Xi, waiting for her decision.

He knew that this decision was far more difficult for her than facing a thousand armies.

Time, as if frozen at this moment.

Who knows how long passed, perhaps just an instant, perhaps an eternity.

Yun Xi slowly, with extreme difficulty, reopened her eyes.

In those eyes, a blend of clarity andvicissitudes, all the struggle, all the shame, all the hesitation, finally transformed into a resigned, yet infinitely complex determination.

She avoided Chen Jun's gaze, turning towards the simulated, still somewhat broken starry sky at the top of the Secret Realm, as if looking at the path she had walked for a hundred thousand years, similarly filled with thorns and sacrifices.

Then, she used every ounce of her remaining strength to squeeze out four barely audible words from deep within her throat, words heavier than stars:

"This..."

"This... is..."

"...for the Federation..."