Against the Gods

Yun Che flailed about as he steadied himself and gave a forced smile, “Senior Shen Xi, it turns out that you also know how… to crack a joke.”

“Master…” He Ling was also stunned by those words, bewilderment plain on her face.

“He Ling,” Shen Xi gazed off into the distance, “You can leave first. I have some things that I need to speak to Yun Che about. After a while, no matter what happens in this place, you are not to draw near, understood?”

Yun Che, “...?”

“Understood,” He Ling got to her feet as she beat a quick retreat and left in a daze.

Shen Xi turned around and returned to that small and mysterious bamboo hut. It was only after her body had crossed into the hut that her indistinct and dream-like voice rang out in the air, “Follow me inside.”

This bamboo hut was the only structure in the entire Forbidden Land of Samsara. Yun Che had been here for nearly two months, but he had never been allowed to enter before. In fact, he had never even come anywhere near this place.

Moreover, it was not only him. Even He Ling, who had been here for three years, had never taken a step inside.

So it was with astonishment in his heart that Yun Che lightly stepped into the interior of the bamboo hut.

He had originally thought that even though this bamboo house looked very small on the outside, there would definitely be some vast independent world fixed on the inside, just like how Jasmine’s Star God Palace was. But, to his shock, it was actually a bamboo hut that could not be any more ordinary, and there was no space that was opened within its interior.

It was designed and decorated in an extremely basic fashion and there was only a jade-green bamboo bed that was laid in the center of the hut—other than this, there was nothing else inside.

As he stood behind Shen Xi, Yun Che’s heart grew restless… This definitely was not the simple bamboo hut that it looked to be. It was Shen Xi’s abode, a place where even He Ling was forbidden from entering.

Whereas he was a person who she had made an exception for, someone who owed her a debt of gratitude for her act of removing the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark. So why would she invite him into this place?

“Do you think that I am cracking a joke?” she asked as she turned around.

Actually, for Yun Che, he would actually prefer to face Shen Xi’s back. The white glow enshrouded her body, and no matter whether it was her front or her back, he only ever saw an absolutely celestial beauty. But in the former case, even though he was unable to see Shen Xi’s eyes, there was a subconscious feeling that manifested in his heart, a feeling that caused him to not dare to look at her directly for fear of profaning her.

Even when he had faced Mu Xuanyin at that time, this feeling had not been as intense as it was right now.

“This junior does not dare to question Senior Shen Xi’s words, it’s just that…” Yun Che unconsciously averted his eyes, but after thinking about for a good long while, he finally came up with something he thought was tactful, “It’s just that this junior’s ability is too meager, so I’m afraid that I will not be able to shoulder such great expectations as the ones that Senior has for me.”

I… will be able to shake up the Brahma Monarch God Realm?

If it was not Shen Xi who was in front of him but some other person, Yun Che would have long ago shot back with a “You’re not even joking anymore, you’re just spouting complete and utter bullshit at this point”.

“Sigh,” Yun Che’s answer caused Shen Xi to let out an empathic sigh. That sigh was very soft, but Yun Che could faintly hear the disappointment in it.

“Do you know why I let Ling’er cool her heels for one month and I was only willing to tell her this today?” She asked.

Yun Che shook his head.

“That one month was not for Ling’er,” She looked at Yun Che and within that misty white light, no one could see the look in her eyes change, “It was for you.”

“...Me?”

“After one month’s worth of time, the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark on your body has been completely separated from your soul, blood, body, and muscles. From today onwards, as long as my power continues to flow into your body, it will not flare up anymore and it will start to fade away bit by bit. It is just that the process of getting rid of it is rather long,” Shen Xi said.

During this period of time, the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark hadn’t flared up much at all, and every time it did flare up, the pain would clearly be less than the last time. Upon hearing Shen Xi’s words, his heart and mind grew even more relaxed and he spoke with a deep gratitude, “Senior Shen Xi, this Yun Che will never forget what you have done for me. It’s just that… what does this have to do with He Ling?”

“If He Ling had not thrown herself to the ground and wept while begging for you to stay that day, I would not have made an exception and allowed you to stay. So if that’s the case, then the one who actually saved your life was He Ling, correct?” Shen Xi said.

“Mn, He Ling is the same as Senior, the both of you are benefactors that I will owe a debt of gratitude to for the rest of my life,” Yun Che said as he nodded sincerely.

“So helping her take revenge, that would be the best way you could repay her,” Shen Xi softly said those words, words that definitely should not have come out of her mouth by the reckoning of the rest of world, “The Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark was laid upon you by Qianye Ying’er. I believe that you will never be able to forget for the rest of your life just how much pain and suffering it has caused you. So now that you have formed this knot of resentment against her, you have also formed an unresolved enmity with the Brahma Monarch God Realm. So helping her take revenge is also helping yourself take revenge.”

Yun Che did indeed hate Qianye Ying’er in the extreme. She was the most dreadful and fearsome woman he had met in his life and she was the only person who could truly make him helplessly wish for death if they crossed paths.

However, the gap between him and Qianye Ying’er was simply far too great. Moreover, it was not just her he had to contend with, she was backed by the Brahma Monarch God Realm as well! The strongest king realm in the Eastern Divine Region, a gigantic power in the God Realm that no one had ever dared to anger!

Shake up the Brahma Monarch God Realm? Take revenge against the Brahma Monarch God Realm?

This was something that the other three king realms did not dare, nor were they even able, to do in the first place, much less him alone?

“I really do want to take revenge, and if I could, there is nothing more I’d like to do than to first defile Qianye Ying’er… cough, cough cough cough, I meant that there is nothing more than I would want to do than to grind her bones into dust. But…” Yun Che shook his head, “I’m only a small-time character who was born in the lower realms. I have no backing, I don’t have any influence, and my own power is… Compared to Qianye Ying’er herself, I don’t even amount to a tiny ant, much less the Brahma Monarch God Realm that is as vast as the heavens themselves.”

“So, I am completely unable to understand Senior’s words.”

If one wanted to look at it strictly, it was not that he did not have any influence or organization backing him up. Because he did belong to a sect in the God Realm. But comparing the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect to the Brahma Monarch God Realm was like comparing the light of a firefly to the light of the sun at high noon. Furthermore, he definitely would not drag the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect into this mess.

Yun Che had finished speaking, but Shen Xi did not respond for a very long time. Within that dreamy white light, Yun Che could faintly sense that Shen Xi seemed to be quietly looking at him.

This bizarre silence continued for a long time before Shen Xi suddenly asked, “If I could fulfill one wish of yours right now, what would be the first thing that you’d think of?”

“...” After he thought about it for a little bit, Yun Che said, “I would want to return to the world where I was born.”

The white light faintly pulsed and following that came another sigh. This time that sigh was even more drawn-out and the disappointment that accompanied it was even more palpable.

“Why is it that the first thing you thought of was not to possess a power that would cause the entire universe to bow their heads, a power that no one could defy? As such, you would be able to realize any wish that you wanted to realize, you would be able to obtain anything you wanted to obtain, you would be able to go anywhere you wanted to go, and no matter what you did, you would not need to worry at all.”

“...” Yun Che was stunned by those words for a moment before he shook his head and said, “This is indeed a fantasy that any person would have… but in the end, that’s merely a fantasy. The one thing I want the most right now is to return to the world where I was born. Before I went to the God Realm, I swore that I would quickly return. If not, they will think that something has happened to me over here, causing them an untold amount of hurt and worry.”

It was less than two years from now to the latest date he said he would return… Instead he was trapped in this place and not only was he unable to return, he did not even dare to send any news of himself back either.

“To those other people, that is indeed a fantasy that will never ever be realized. But… do you really think that for you who holds the divine power of a Creation God, this is really just a fantasy?” she asked soft and gentle voice.

Yun Che was taken aback by those words and his expression also changed slightly.

Shen Xi continued in a soft voice, “I know all of the secrets that you possess. This includes your Evil God legacy, your Sky Poison Pearl, your Dragon God’s soul, and your Devil Slayer Sword.”

“...!!” Yun Che’s pupils faintly contracted as his entire body violently shuddered. All of the most important secrets of Yun Che’s body had been said one after the other by Shen Xi. It felt as if all the clothes had been stripped off his body and he was standing stark naked in front of Shen Xi as all of his secrets were visible for her to see.

“Did… Qingyue tell you these things?” Yun Che’s heart tensed up as he involuntarily asked that question. But once he spoke those words, he quickly overruled it… Even though Qingyue had found out about his Evil God divine power from the mouth of Qianye Ying’er, she did not know about the existence of the Sky Poison Pearl, the Dragon God’s soul or the Devil Slayer Sword.

The only one who truly knew about his possession of the Dragon God’s soul or the Devil Slayer sword was Jasmine, even Mu Xuanyin was unaware of this.

Why did she know with such detail? Could it be that her heart and soul could truly see through everything.

“You don’t need to be shocked and you have even less reason to be anxious,” Shen Xi said in a soft voice, “I won’t covet anything that you possess and I definitely won’t harm you.”

“This junior owes Senior Shen Xi a great debt of gratitude for saving my life, so naturally… you won’t harm this junior,” Yun Che said, but his heart was shaking intensely, and it was hard for him to calm down.

“There is no need to doubt the strength of the Brahma Monarch God Realm, nor will anyone dare to do so in the first place. It can be said that it is the strongest star realm controlled by the human race. Furthermore, its strength isn’t something that has existed for a short period of time. Ever since the day it became a king realm, it has been the strongest star realm in the Eastern Divine Region and to this very day, not a single star realm has been able to shake it from its position. Even the Eternal Heaven Ancestor who possessed the Heart of Glazed Glass in those years, the Eternal Heaven Realm that she led has not been able to surpass the Brahma Monarch God Realm in any era.”

“The so-called concept of how every flow has its ebb has never happened to do the Brahma Monarch God Realm.”

“Do you know why the Brahma Monarch God Realm is so strong, and how it has always maintained such strength?”

Yun Che shook his head, he had been a no more than a rookie for his entire three year stint in the God Realm, so the understanding he had of the Brahma Monarch God Realm could be said to be extremely limited.

“Because every single person in the Brahma Monarch God Realm, from the least powerful profound practitioners to the Brahma Monarch Realm King, all of them are possessed of an incomparably strong ambition! An ambition towards the profound way, an ambition towards status, an ambition towards power and influence. Furthermore, this is also the conviction and belief that have motivated each and every generation of the Brahma Monarch God Realm.”

“Ambi...tion?” Yun Che’s eyebrows twitched. He had heard Mu Xuanyin say this before, that every person in the Brahma Monarch God Realm were completely and utterly enthralled and obsessed with the profound way. The entire God Realm had heard of this phrase and it was also a fact, that phrase was: There are definitely no useless people from the Brahma Monarch God Realm.

“Whether it comes to looks, the profound way, influence and status, Qianye Ying’er could be said to be standing at the pinnacle of humanity, or even the pinnacle of all the existences within this universe. But despite reaching such heights, she has never once stopped striving. In fact, she has started trying to break through these limits with all of her strength. In order to achieve this, she has spared no effort, used whatever and whoever she could use and she has been willing to brave any and all risks… During these years, she has also been the person who has entered the God Realm of Absolute Beginning the most.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Why did she make a move against you? And why did she not hesitate to inflict you with the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark?” Shen Xi continued, “It was because you possess something that she craved, something that can fulfill all her ambitions.”

“The divine power of a Creation God, the Heavenly Profound Treasure the Sky Poison Pearl, the true soul of the Primordial Dragon God… All of these things are things that people on the level of Qianye Ying’er long for even in their dreams, but might not ever get even after trying to obtain them their entire lives. Yet all of these things are concentrated in your body, andt you can actually tell me that these words to you are merely a fantasy?”

Shen Xi’s words stirred Yun Che’s soul, but they had not moved it too intensely. His chest rose and fell, and his eyes rippled, but his voice remained calm, “Senior Shen Xi, I understand everything that you are saying, and I am also well aware of what possessing all of these things means. But… in the end, I am not Qianye Ying’er, nor do I want to be the same kind of person as her.”

“Furthermore, the things that I possess have indeed given me a new lease on life and allowed me to gain much, but at the same time, they also brought to me untold calamities… just like right now. So, there were many times that I wished that I were more normal, so I would not have to scamper around and hide like a defeated dog, finding it hard to even see the light of day.”

These words came from the bottom of Yun Che’s heart. Even though he had became truly unrivaled in the Profound Sky Continent, in the end, it had been an accomplishment that he had not sought, it had definitely never figured into his initial thoughts. He gave a self-mocking laugh, “The words that this junior is saying has surely caused Senior much disappointment.”

Shen Xi gave a small shake of her head, “Yun Che, you are indeed someone who stands out from the masses. You clearly have the strongest aptitude and talent in the mortal world, yet you just so happen to lack the ambition that you should rightly have.”

The words that Shen Xi said were actually nearly exactly the same as the words that Xia Qingyue had said to Mu Xuanyin.

“Every year, there are countless profound practitioners who ‘ascend’ to the God Realm. Perhaps they wanted to see a wider world, or perhaps they are chasing an even higher profound way. But the moment they find their footing in the God Realm, and find themselves in a plane that was higher than any other plane that they had been on, and they reach an even higher vantage point, they don’t hesitate to abandon everything that they had before… Even if it is their parents and friends, their spouses and children. They would not only be able to rid themselves of all distractions, but get rid of anything that might tie them down or hold them back.”

“However, you have never once thought of abandoning anything. On the contrary, this still remains the greatest concern within your heart. This is your greatest weakness and flaw… and perhaps, also your greatest merit. Furthermore, this is something that probably won’t change for your entire life, correct?”

These words caused Yun Che to nod his head with no hesitation, “To abandon everything I had in the past to pursue an even higher level and profound way… This is something that I won’t ever be able to do in this life or even the next.”

“That is fine as well,” Shen Xi said with a light nod of her head. “One’s mental state is not something that can be changed so easily, and true ambition can never be birthed from the advice of other people.”

“As for the matter of helping He Ling take revenge on the Brahma Monarch God Realm… we won’t discuss this for now.”

“...” Yun Che did not know how to respond in that moment. Shen Xi had brought him to this place and had said some extremely strange things to him and up to now, he still had not divined her true motive.

At this moment, Shen Xi suddenly did something that he did not expect at all.

She stretched out a soft arm, that was even more beautiful than the moons and the stars, and lightly tapped a finger against her chest.

Under Yun Che’s completely dumbfound gaze, the white light that had always been shrouding Shen Xi’s celestial figure… soundlessly and slowly disappeared.

Shen Xi had not revealed her true features to others for an untold number of years and until this day, Yun Che had thought that he would never ever see her true appearance. But all of a sudden, it was completely and utterly revealed to him right before his very eyes.

It felt as if his soul had been fiercely smashed by something, as if there was a loud explosion that engulfed everything in that instant. He stood there, completely and utterly dazed. He did not say anything nor did his expression change, and even his eyes were completely fixed in place… It was as if time had suddenly stopped.

There were no other decorations, and there was no luster of jewels or pearls, and she was wearing nothing more than a simple and ordinary pure-white long robe. Her long hair reached her waist, it had not been combed or tied up in any way, it merely splayed out over her shoulders and across her back, releasing a soft and gently luster.

It was as if everything that surrounded him had completely vanished as Yun Che’s mind had gone completely blank. The only thing that was left was that celestial countenance that was even more illusory than a dream. There was no other light, and there was nothing he could think of saying either… It was as if all of the beautiful colors and words, and even the most beautiful illusions were mere pale shadows in front of that celestial mien.

Her eyes seemed to hold an entire limpid blue lake, yet at the same time, they seemed to be bottomless holes which would swallow up anything or anyone. But these were abysses that anyone would step into gladly, even if they had to stay there forever.

Yun Che had never so strongly believed that he was dreaming as much as he believed it this day. Because he was unable to believe that there actually existed such an absolutely beautiful celestial countenance in this entire universe.

“I am pretty?” she softly asked. A celestial voice that was even more soft and gentle than a cool breeze or a floating cloud rang out in the air, causing Yun Che to even more intensely believe that he was in an illusory dream.

“Pre… tty…” he said in a dazed voice. No matter whether it was his soul or his eyes, they had been completely captivated by her. It was as if he had been sucked into a fantastical illusion that he was unable to leave, an illusion that he was willing to stay within forever.

“Then…” Shen Xi slowly walked towards him, stopping merely half a step away. She was within arm’s reach and her indescribably beautiful lips let out an alluring and dream-like celestial voice, “Then don’t you want to push me down, tear off all my clothes and do with me as you please?”