Against the Gods

After his consciousness had returned, everything that had happened in the Star God Realm swiftly rushed back into his head as things grew more and more clear. Jasmine, Caizhi, Hong’er… The very last moments of his life solidified in this instant and after that, everything had faded to black.

After a person had died, they still retained their consciousness after all...

But where exactly is this place? And where is Jasmine? Would she be by my side? In this afterlife, will I still see those who were once my friends or enemies...

Yet the aching pain and heaviness that his body felt was so clear; these sensations were so clear that it felt as if he were still alive.

Finally, after the light once more pierced into his vision, those eyes of his, which had remained closed for a very long time, slowly opened with much difficulty.

The wooden ceiling that greeted him was short and old-fashioned, but it was not stained by a single mote of dust. He turned his head as he struggled to see what was around him… It was a very small wooden hut that was simple and tidy, but for some odd reason, it filled him with a sense of familiarity that was not too distant.

The footsteps of the young girl who had left not too long ago once again hurriedly drew near at this moment. Very quickly, the figure of a girl appeared in the wooden door that had been opened. This girl looked to be about twenty years of age. She wore red clothes and her features were lovely. The phoenix mark between her brows faintly shone, lending her an aura of sacredness. She arrived at the foot of the bed and upon seeing Yun Che’s opened eyes, her eyes misted over in excited elation, “Big Brother Benefactor, you’ve finally woken up… This is simply too great… Wuuuuuuu… It’s simply too great…”

The young girl’s voice was filled with emotion and tears actually stained her cheeks after that.

“...” Yun Che stared at her dazedly and gradually the image of a lovely and tender girl appeared in his mind, merging together with the girl standing in front of him. After that, a name spilled out from his lips, “Xian…’er?”

The young girl was stunned by what he said. She was overjoyed that he still remembered her and she nodded her head with extreme vigor, “Yes, that’s me. I am Xian’er, I am Xian’er… Sniff… sniff, sniff…”

Bang!

The wooden door was once more pushed open with much force. Several human figures hurriedly strode through it as they quickly arrived at the foot of the bed he was lying on. Upon seeing that he had awoken, looks of extreme emotion and excitement appeared on every single one of their faces.

“Yun Che,” The middle-aged man who stood at the head of everyone called his name, “You’ve finally awoken. Hooooo… It’s great that nothing went wrong, it’s great that nothing went wrong.”

“Senior… Feng?” Yun Che said in a rough and harsh-sounding voice. The girl had already grown up and her appearance had changed greatly from the time he had met her all those years ago. But the middle-aged man in front of him did not look the slightest bit different so his brain immediately recalled his name.

Feng Baichuan!

The clan leader of the Phoenix Clan that resided in the heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range!

“Big Brother Benefactor, you’ve finally woken up,” A tall and straight-backed young man with a martial bearing who was standing besides Feng Baichuan spoke up excitedly, his eyes also faintly glimmering with tears.

“Zu…’er?” Yun Che’s once again whispered in a soft and dazed voice, his mind completely lost in a haze.

His mind had gone back to thirteen years ago.

He had been sixteen that year and that was also the first year he had met Jasmine, when they still had a mutual disdain and dislike for each other.

During that year, he and Cang Yue, who had changed her name to Lan Xueruo at that time, were being pursued by Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect and they tumbled into the heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range from high above. They had a chance encounter with the Phoenix Clan that had been forced to hide in this land after their bloodline had been cursed. They saved Feng Zu’er and Feng Xian’er and after that, he had passed the trial of the Phoenix and proceeded to obtain the Phoenix blood legacy along with the fifth and sixth stages of the World Ode of the Phoenix.

After that, he used the Phoenix divine powers that he had obtained to rescue the Phoenix Clan that had fallen into a crisis and he even dispelled the curse that afflicted their bloodline as well.

Feng Zu’er and Feng Xian’er had only been eight years old at that time.

Five years ago, before he left for the God Realm, he previously wanted to bring Feng Xue’er to visit the Phoenix Clan, but they had discovered that the Phoenix Clan had been enclosed within a powerful protective barrier. He then secretly rescued the siblings Feng Zu’er and Feng Xian’er when they had met with danger after leaving the barrier. He had also left them the World Ode of the Phoenix with all six stages and a case of Overlord Pellets.

After that, he had chosen not to disturb them and quietly left together with Feng Xue’er.

…………

But to think that he actually saw them once again in the “afterlife”.

Had they also died?

Or was he...

He slowly raised his arm, but after he had raised it halfway, he found that he had no more strength after that. As it fell against his side, Yun Che could clearly feel the sensation of his arm touching his own body. He looked at the Feng Baichuan, who looked exactly as refined and mild as he did in his memories, and the two siblings, Feng Zu’er and Feng Xian’er before he spoke as if he was mumbling in his sleep, “Could it be… that I am still alive?”

“Heheh,” Feng Baichuan gave a small chuckle. He had not found Yun Che’s reaction the least bit strange, “Of course you’re still alive, because someone who has died won’t be able to ask such a question.”

“...” Yun Che’s mouth dropped open slightly and his originally clear awareness sank into an even deeper haze at this moment.

Everything that had happened in the Star God Realm once again reverberated in his mind. He had forcefully used Other Shore Asura with the resolve to die and a countless amount of fresh blood had violently sprayed in the air as people died one after the other. But in the end, his life ran out and his spirit burned… until it was completely burned to ashes.

With the last thread of consciousness he possessed, he could sense his body being torn apart before becoming fragments which filled the sky...

So how could he… still be alive!?

Furthermore, this place… where exactly was it...

“Where… is this place?” The thoughts in his mind had unconsciously spilled from his lips.

“This place is our home,” Feng Xian’er wiped away her tears before speaking in a soft but happy voice, “It is the place where we met Big Brother Benefactor and Sister Xueruo all those years ago. It was… It was Lord Phoenix God who sent you here. You’ve already been unconscious for so many days, but you’ve finally… woken up.”

“...” Yun Che’s eyes were still stunned and hazy.

This place is… where the Phoenix Clan is?

I returned to the Profound Sky Continent?

The Phoenix God… sent me here?

What’s going on? What exactly is going on here?

Could it be that I… truly did not die?

But...

If I didn’t die, could it be that everything that had happened in the Star God Realm… everything that had happened in the God Realm was merely a dream?

Upon seeing Yun Che’s expression be filled with a bewilderment that bordered on delusion, Feng Baichuan spoke up, “Yun Che, your heart must definitely be filled with countless questions and suspicions. However, at this moment, you have just woken up and your body is still very weak. Do not dwell too much on things for now. First take some time to rest and recuperate and once you have sufficiently recovered, you will be able to see Lord Phoenix God. Lord Phoenix God will definitely be able to dispel all of your doubts.”

“...” Yun Che did not react to those words.

“Zu’er, quickly go and inform your mother and the rest of the clansmen that Yun Che has woken up to ease their worries. Xian’er, stay behind and take care of Yun Che.”

“Yes!”

Feng Zu’er hurriedly replied before he rushed off to tell everyone else. Feng Xian’er stayed behind, gracefully standing beside the bed as she quietly looked at Yun Che who was still lost in his thoughts. As she stood there, her hands unconsciously grasped the corner of her clothes, some nervousness mixed in with her happiness.

Yun Che did not speak for a very long time. During this long period of time, he finally managed to regain some composure and he slowly closed his eyes after that.

The Phoenix Clan elder was right. Even though he did not know why he was still alive… the current him found it difficult to lift even an arm, so at the very least, he needed to allow his body to recover to the point where he could move about normally.

He closed his eyes and quieted his heart before he silently started to circulate the Great Way of the Buddha.

As his thoughts moved and circulated, the profound formula started to circulate as well… but in the next instant, he opened his eyes yet again.

As the Great Way of the Buddha circulated, the spiritual energy of the heavens and the earth… actually did not respond at all!

He hurriedly focused his heart yet again as he started to circulate it once more. One breath passed after the other, until Yun Che’s emotions started to become frazzled, but the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that was everywhere still did not respond in the slightest and not a single thread of it surged towards his body.

What was going on?

The Great Way of the Buddha was the Rage God’s divine art which did not rely on profound energy. When the Great Way of the Buddha advanced in stages, one’s body would become more and more intimate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Even if one did not circulate it deliberately, their body would be absorbing and harmonizing with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at every instant. The level of spirit energy that could be absorbed by a person was dependant on the stage of the Great Way of the Buddha that person had attained. The higher the stage, the higher the level of spirit energy that could be absorbed.

Normally, even if Yun Che had completely exhausted his profound energy and was so heavily wounded that he was on the verge of death, as long as a single breath remained in his body, it would start to automatically recover due to the Great Way of the Buddha. Furthermore, once he regained consciousness and started to deliberately circulate it, he would recover at such a fast pace that ordinary people would not be able to fathom it.

But at this moment, even though he kept circulating the Great Way of the Buddha again and again, the only thing he received was a deathly stillness.

Could it be that my wounds are too severe… He softly muttered in his heart. But in the past, no matter how severe his wounds had been, this sort of thing had never happened before.

The divine art was still ringing in his ears but it was as if his body had completely lost all connection to and intimacy with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

When this thought flashed through his mind, he had immediately smothered firmly. He tried to manipulate some profound energy… but he could not even sense the existence of his profound veins.

Am I truly… too badly wounded...

As these thoughts floated in his mind, he closed his eyes once again and attempted to inspect the state of his body. But his concentration only continued for a few instants before his eyes sprang open yet again, his gaze cloudy and turbid.

Being able to internally inspect one’s own body was the most basic spiritual sensing ability of a profound practitioner, even someone who had just entered the profound way and was in the Elementary Profound Realm could do it. Even when he had been the “Xiao Che” whose profound veins had been crippled, who could only remain in the first stage of the Elementary Profound Realm, he was still able to do it.

But when he had tried to inspect his body internally just now, he realized that his spiritual senses were actually unable to penetrate his own body.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that he basically no longer had the “spiritual senses” that belonged to the profound way!

No… it shouldn’t be like this! Even if I am so wounded that I only have a thread of energy and life left, it still shouldn’t be this way!

There’s definitely a problem somewhere! Could it be that I have overtaxed my profound strength too greatly?

That’s right! There was some Sacred Spiritual Nectar that Shen Xi had given him inside the Sky Poison Pearl! That should allow me to instantly recover!

He used much effort to raise his left hand, but he immediately discovered that his own thoughts were actually unable to enter the Sky Poison Pearl!

In fact, he was completely unable to sense the existence of the Sky Poison Pearl.

“...” Yun Che’s eyes shook as his heart was thrown into complete and utter chaos. After that, he started to yell panickedly, “Hong’er… Hong’er!”

“Ah!?” His sudden shouts gave Feng Xian’er a great fright and she hurriedly moved forward, “Big Brother Benefactor, you… what are you saying?”

It was as if Yun Che had not heart her voice. His body was struggling but he basically could not even sit up straight. His voice was becoming more and more panicked and flustered, “He Ling… Hong’er… He Ling…”

No matter how much he called those names, he did not get a single response.

“Big Brother Benefactor, you… what’s wrong with you? Don’t frighten me,” Yun Che’s extremely bizarre reaction had left Feng Xian’er both panicked and flustered. She did not know what to do.

But it was good that Yun Che suddenly calmed down at this precise moment. He no longer shouted or struggled. Instead he dazedly stared at the ceiling and went completely still for a very long time.

“Big Brother Benefactor, you need to take a good rest. Don’t think about anything right now. You will get better, you’ll definitely will,” Feng Xian’er softly consoled him.

“Xian’er,” Yun Che said gloomily, “Can you help me with just one thing?”

“Ah?”

“Bring me to see the Phoenix God,” Yun Che said slowly, he could hear just how weak and hoarse his voice sounded.

“Right now? You can’t!” Feng Xian’er shook her head, “You’re still far too weak, you can’t move around willy nilly.”

“Bring me there, I need to see it right now.” His gaze shifted to the side as he looked at the flustered Phoenix girl with lifeless eyes, “Xian’er, please help me… okay?”

Whether it was his gaze or his words, both caused Feng Xian’er to become completely powerless to reject him.