Against the Gods

A great amount of shocking rumors had gradually appeared in the Darkya Realm as of late and the news only spread wider and fiercer with each passing day.

“I heard that another couple thousand Soul Sect disciples have perished at Ling Yun’s hands yesterday. It’s only been slightly more than half a month but Soul Sect has already lost at least fifty to sixty thousand disciples already! Even better, Soul Sect wasn’t able to harm even a hair on Ling Yun’s head despite setting out to search for him en masse every day. I even heard that they have no idea what Ling Yun looks like to this day.”

“Tch! What nonsense! Ling Yun has killed at least tens of thousands of Soul Sect disciples, okay! Just yesterday alone they’d lost more than fifty thousand disciples; now that’s what you call plains of corpses and rivers of blood… My mother’s brother’s eldest son is a Soul Sect disciple and I had heard this directly from his mouth. Right now the name “Ling Yun” alone is enough to cause a Soul Sect disciple to shake in their boots.”

“Say, who do you think Ling Yun is? It’s almost like Soul Sect has provoked a living king of hell.”

“Hey guys, listen to this latest news! Soul Sect has just put down a ban today, meaning that all disciples are forbidden from heading out and are required to stay inside the sect. It’s is totally real! I can’t believe that the almighty Soul Sect is actually so scared that they withdrew into themselves like an actual tortoise, this is just too good! Nice! Wahahahahaha!”

“Ssh! Keep your voice down. What if there’s someone from Soul Sect nearby?”

“They’re so scared they’re hiding in their nests, so what the f*ck is there to be afraid of!?”

To a Darkya Realm profound practitioner, “too good” did not even begin to describe how pleasurable it was to hear that the infamous, despot Soul Sect in the Darkya Realm had so many of their disciples slaughtered that they panicked and had no choice but to lay down a ban. At first, they only dared to discuss these incidents in secret. But as the discussion grew more heated and the news of Soul Sect’s ban spread, the general atmosphere of the entire Darkya Realm rose to a strange, ardent level in merely a few days… It was almost as if they were celebrating the coming of a new year.

Moreover, Ling Yun’s name became so well-known that even the old and the young knew about it.

Black Soul Divine Sect.

Bang!!

A stone table was crushed into bits as Lei Qianfeng yelled with an expression as dark as the bottom of a pot, “Who is the one who spread this news? This is unacceptable!”

“It must be Ling Yun who did this.”

“No.” But Lei Tiangang shook his head. “It’s absolutely impossible for Ling Yun to move beyond five hundred kilometers from this place, not to mention that there’s no way he could’ve spread the rumors to this state in such a short time alone. He may have an accomplice and this accomplice is a denizen of the Darkya Realm too!!”

“More accurately speaking… this news all seem to have spread from Darkya City, so it is extremely likely that his accomplice is one of the powers in this place. They must be pretty big too!”

“Your words make sense, Chief Hall Master! But I really can’t imagine which sect or power is bold enough to commit such an offense!”

“Save that useless crap for some other time!” Lei Qianfeng said angrily, “Those filthy commoners will naturally shut their mouths once we catch Ling Yun! If he really does have an accomplice in the Darkya Realm, then we will make sure that they meet with a tragic end!”

“You have half a month’s time left!” The glint in Lei Qianfeng’s eyes was shockingly ruthless, “I don’t care what methods you use but you absolutely must find him before half a month is over! I will crush every bone in his body with my own hands and make him wish he was dead!”

Soul Sect’s great elder Lei Qiandu said, “Judging from Ling Yun’s methods for the past few days, the disciples he chose to attack are all beneath Divine Tribulation Realm. The fact that he never dares to attack a Divine Tribulation Realm expert means that his profound strength probably isn’t high. Moreover, he never kills more than two hundred people in one go but he never leaves behind any trace that may reveal him either. All these clues point towards him having low cultivation but a high level of stealth ability. Perhaps he may actually be able to hide his aura entirely. What is most shocking however is his mental strength…”

“I’ve been flipping through some historical records as of late and I found many records about people killing others invisibly through mental strength. However, most of these methods are not only very difficult to cultivate and incredibly risky but are all true god inheritances from a middle star realm or upper star realm. For example, the Zen Awakening Realm has the No-mind Purification of Murder Mantra that can wipe out everyone’s consciousness in a few breaths’ time, the Flame God Realm has a special domain that can merge fire and soul energy to create an large scale attack that burn their enemies’ souls to nothingness and the Ice Soul Absolute Domain of Western Divine Region’s Blue Dragon Realm is even…”

“I don’t want to hear such useless things!” Lei Qianfeng cut him off roughly. “Even if Ling Yun doesn’t hail from the Pure Moon Realm, there is still absolutely no way he comes from a middle star realm or upper star realm. He wouldn’t need to act so sneakily otherwise. The only thing I want to know is how much longer will it take for you lot to capture him!”

“Er…” Lei Tiangang said carefully, “Sect Master, I’ve already rearranged the sixty-four halls into two hundred teams. Every team will be guarded by at least two Divine Tribulation Realm experts. When it is night, they will lay in ambush in some of the places Ling Yun is most likely to appear. They’ll probably... be able to produce some results.”

Lei Tiangang obviously sounded unsure when he said the final two lines. He hastily added, “Still, the best way is still finding Ling Yun’s family or some sensitive information so we can force him out into the open. Pure Moon Realm isn’t the Darkya Realm after all, and Pure Moon Realm is several times bigger than Darkya Realm. The people we sent out are working day and night to track down any information regarding Ling Yun. They may not have found anything yet but I am sure that they will bring us good news in another few days. Please be at ease, Sect Master.”

“That had better be the case.” Lei Qianfeng’s every word was filled with a shocking amount of killing intent. “Otherwise, if the Divine Martial Realm were to lay down their punishment and put me through a difficult time, then the rest of you will suffer alongside me!”

Black Soul Mountain Range.

Lei Kuangfeng and Lei Qinglie were the two great vice hall masters of the Thirty-sixth Hall of Soul Sect. Last night, they led a hundred or so elite disciples of the Thirty-sixth Hall to Black Soul Mountain beneath the cover of the night and thick fog under Lei Tiangang’s orders. Then, they spread out, hid themselves within clumps of dried underbrush and hid their auras as much as they could. They were also given the strict order that no sounds were to be made.

They waited for an entire night in darkness and silence.

Although their “ambush” was more like praying that Ling Yun would somehow pass by their area, the fact was that they had failed to catch even a glimpse of his shadow despite being played for half a month straight, made them unable to think of a better idea than this one.

As the day grew brighter and the gray fog started to fade away, they—as expected—had missed their quarry yet again. However, Lei Kuangfeng and Lei Qinglie continued to crouch at their original spots until the sun was fully up and the gray fog had faded away completely before they finally sent a sound transmission to each other and jump up from the grass.

“Assemble, return!” Lei Kuangfeng let out a roar.

However, the only thing that answered him was terrifying silence. He could sense every disciple’s aura but not a single person had answered his call.

Lei Kuangfeng and Lei Qinglie’s expressions changed abruptly. Lei Kuangfeng hastily jumped into the air and pushed his palm downwards towards the ground. The underbrush within a radius of several kilometers was lifted to the air… and beside them the bodies of every disciple they brought with them as well.

Thump thump thump thump...

The Soul Sect disciples fell down like dumplings. Their eyes were round, utterly glassy and looking pretty much like the dead. However, their auras were for some reason perfectly intact.

Lei Fengkuang and Lei Qinglie fell into a daze at the same time. Although Lei Kuangfeng had had a similar experience beforehand, he still couldn’t help but feel chilled all over. Meanwhile, this sight stunned Lei Qinglie more than anything else in his life. He wouldn’t be as shocked as today even if the number of deaths were to be multiplied another ten times over.

“...There can’t actually be a… a... ghost, can there?” He was the vice hall master of a Hall in Soul Sect and Lei Qinglie actually found his voice shaking.

It was at this moment a faint blood aura flew over from the front. When Lei Kuangfeng detected it, he strode over quickly and turned over a disciple’s body. On the disciple’s back, he saw a few lines of tiny, blood-written words:

“Return and tell Lei Qianfeng that he has three days’ time to destroy his own cultivation and all four of his limbs! Otherwise, I will make sure that he wallows in regret for the rest of his life!”

“—Ling Yun.”

“It… it really is Ling Yun!” Lei Qinglie still hasn’t recovered from the great shock.

But Lei Kuangfeng’s face darkened. “The blood hasn’t completely dried yet, so he probably hasn’t attacked long ago. This means that he hasn’t gotten too far yet! Let us search for him quickly!”

The two vice hall masters immediately rose to the air, spread out their spiritual perception and looked everywhere… Everyone in Soul Sect was certain that “Ling Yun” must have an incredibly powerful aura concealment ability. Moreover, they believed that he was cunning and cautious. They thought that he wouldn’t act unless he was absolutely certain of his own safety. Once he succeeded in his assassinations, he would immediately escape into the distance… but not even in their dreams would they believe that Yun Che could not only hide his presence perfectly but also turn invisible as well.

Not only did Moon Splitting Cascade originate from the ancient Ice Phoenix, it was a divine way profound technique that was at a higher level than even the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon. It was a technique that only Mu Xuanyin was able to cultivate to great perfection, much less be known to a profound practitioner of a lower star realm.

At a distance, an invisible Yun Che cast a few glances at the two figures flying around in the sky like headless flies and let out a sneer. He steadily made his way towards west. The two great vice hall master of Soul Sect had looked at and scanned his current location with their spiritual perception multiple times already but they had never realized that he was there.

After retreating to a safe distance, Yun Che increased his profound strength slightly and sped up. His figure appeared as a result.

“The first step is almost done. It’s almost time to give Soul Sect their second great ‘gift’.” Yun Che put his hand to his heart and said softly, “He Lin... I will make them pay ten thousand times the blood debt they owed to the Wood Spirit Race!”

Just as he appeared and was about to speed away from the area, he suddenly detected a faint but familiar aura from the front.

This aura… could it be?

He moved swiftly forwards before casting a gaze down at a thicket beneath him. He immediately saw a petite figure dressed in an eye catching, rainbow-colored long dress hopping her way towards him.

It was none other than Little Jasmine!

Why was she here!?

It could’ve been a coincidence but just as Yun Che’s gaze settled completely on her, Little Jasmine also happened to look up and notice him. Her eyes immediately lit up.

Shit—Yun Che’s heart jumped as he rushed towards her immediately. It was too late, however. An extremely melodious shout rang through the valley.

“I’m over here, brother-in-law!”

Lei Kuangfeng and Lei Qinglie might be very far away from this place but their spiritual perceptions were fully extended right now. Little Jasmine’s voice was as crisp as clashing crystals, so they probably would’ve caught her voice even if they weren’t on high alert.

Yun Che swooped down from the sky like an eagle, caught Little Jasmine and covered her lips firmly with his right hand. Instantly locking her aura with Hidden Flowing Lightning, he flew away from the area swiftly while sticking close to the ground surface. He carried her soundlessly into a crack between two giant mountain rocks.

“Stay silent!” Yun Che said through gritted teeth while sealing off her movements with his profound energy to stop her from struggling. He continued to lock her aura with Hidden Flowing Lightning and covered up her nose and mouth with his palm because he was worried.

“...” Little Jasmine couldn’t move, much less utter a bit of noise. The only thing she could do was to stare at Yun Che with those innocent eyes of hers.

As expected, Lei Kuangfeng and Lei Qinglie soon arrived like two tornados as they landed accurately on the spot Yun Che and Little Jasmine were at earlier.

“It sounded like a girl’s voice. Why did she suddenly disappear?”

“That girl was obviously shouting for someone… she has to be nearby. Let’s find her immediately!”

Yun Che felt like he was encased in ice. He didn’t dare to move even a muscle.

With Hidden Flowing Lightning and Moon Splitting Cascade, he was absolutely certain that he wouldn’t be discovered even if the duo were to get within thirty meters of him. However, that only applied to him alone! Hidden Flowing Lightning might work on another person but Moon Splitting Cascade absolutely couldn’t! He didn’t dare to say that Hidden Flowing Lightning alone was enough to hide him—or rather, Little Jasmine—from discovery when faced with two opponents who were of a far greater cultivation realm than he was.

But his luck seemed to be holding up. Lei Kuangfeng went south and Lei Qingfeng went west. They both gradually strayed away from where they were.

Yun Che let out a secret sigh of relief before casting a glance at the round-eyed, pitiful looking Little Jasmine. He said in a soft voice, “Those two people are hunting after me. If they find us we’re both dead, do you understand!? So don’t talk or even breath loudly. If you understand then blink your eyes once.”

“...” Little Jasmine blinked strongly a couple of times in a row.

It was only then Yun Che slowly moved his hands away while maintaining Hidden Flowing Lightning. He was ready to take Little Jasmine quietly away from this place.

As expected, Little Jasmine didn’t say anything. She simply cast a aggrieved look at him, rubbed her little nose that looked like it was hurt because of Yun Che’s rough handling and...

“Hachoo!!”

An extremely loud sneeze caused every hair on Yun Che’s body to stand on their end.

“I ~！@#￥%...” Without a second thought, Yun Che grabbed Little Jasmine, detonated his profound energy and flew towards the distance.

At the same time, two powerful auras locked firmly onto his figure like Soul Binding Thunder Ropes.