Against the Gods

By comparison, Mu Xuanyin was the calmest of them all. No matter how many upper realm realm kings or king realm seniors thanked or flattered her, her emotions didn’t change too much.

Back when Yun Che had told her everything, the possibility of such a result had entered her mind if Yun Che could “pacify” the returned Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor.

But even after it came true, she still found herself unable to get used to it.

Everyone here possessed great power and status. Were they really as grateful as they appeared?

Maybe they were grateful. But their expression of it had definitely been excessive.

What they were really doing was showing their compliance to the laws of survival that had changed drastically since the devil emperor’s arrival.

This time the Southern Sea God Emperor was the one who walked over to meet her. He had a personal aura that caused the other Divine Masters to give way of their own accord. When he reached her, he bowed deeply and said, “The Snow Song Realm King is both beautiful and wise to raise a god child messiah like Yun Che. It is Southern Sea’s blessing of a lifetime to visit the Eastern Divine Region and meet with the Snow Song Realm King.”

His earlier frivolousness and arrogance were completely gone. It was impossible to doubt the sincerity behind his politeness, gracefulness, praise, and gratitude right now.

“You praise me too much, Southern Sea God Emperor,” said Mu Xuanyin.

“Not at all. These words could hardly express a ten thousandth of the respect Southern Sea has for the Snow Song Realm King.” The Southern Sea God Emperor immediately said, “If Southern Sea may ask, please visit the Southern Divine Region with God Child Yun one day. Southern Sea will personally act as your escort for the entire journey.”

“It is an honor. If a chance comes by, I shall do as you say,” said Mu Xuanyin evenly without any haughtiness or disdain.

So what if the Southern Sea God Emperor was the strongest god emperor of the Southern Divine Region? He was just like any other mortal before the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor.

The strong were powerful before the weak, but the role was reversed when they met someone stronger. In the end, they were just people.

Two Southern Divine Region god emperors later, Luo Shangchen of the Holy Eaves Realm finally found a chance to squeeze his way to the front. However, it was clear that his gaze was somewhat evasive, and his footsteps a little unsteady.

He had dragged Luo Changsheng with him as well.

Luo Shangchen was all smiles as he bowed before Mu Xuanyin. “A calamity would’ve fallen on our heads if it wasn’t for the Snow Song Realm King and God Child Yun. The Snow Song Realm King’s achievement and virtue deserves to be memorized for eons to come.”

“Thinking back to the past, it is only natural that this one’s son would lose to God Child Yun. God Child Yun is the successor of the Heretic God, and the disciple of the Snow Song Realm King after all. That being said, this one still thinks that it is still the blessing of a lifetime that his son was able to fight God Child Yun.”

Luo Changsheng also bowed and said, “Royal father is right. That battle against God Child Yun isn’t something this junior will be able to forget anytime soon.”

“Oh right!” Luo Shangsheng exclaimed as if he just recalled something before adopting a tone that was both fearful and humble, “This Luo just recalled that his younger sister offended the Snow Song Realm due to a personal grudge, although thankfully the Snow Song Realm King has already punished her for her wrongdoing. Guxie may not be close with the Holy Eaves Realm, but she is still my younger sister and Changsheng’s master, so I must bear some of the blame. This Luo promises to visit the Snow Song Realm in ten days to express his regret and apology. If in the future the Snow Song Realm King has need of the Holy Eaves Realm, just give them the word and it shall be done.”

“Alright,” Mu Xuanyin nodded, “this king will remember this.”

Meanwhile, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor wasn’t paying attention to the Divine Masters’ antics. He was recalling everything that had happened after Yun Che had shown up in the Eternal Heaven Realm, and when his emotions finally hit his limit he said with a sigh, “The ‘Forefather’ mentioned again and again that this calamity could only be thwarted by a miracle. Now I realize that this miracle has been with us all along.”

“Who could’ve expected the Heretic God to leave behind a seed of hope before his death? Not only that, Yun Che actually succeeded in cultivating this hope to perfection. I guess fate has never abandoned this world after all. The Heavenly Mystery Realm is right, Yun Che is the fate chosen ‘child of the heavens’.”

Beside him, the Dragon Monarch smiled indifferently and said, “It seems that our foresight was right all along.”

“Hehe.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor stroked his beard with a smile when he recalled the memory of Dragon Monarch wanting to adopt Yun Che, and Qianye Fantian and himself wanting to take Yun Che in as their direct disciple. “This old one finally understands why Yun Che rejected everyone’s invitations back then. As the inheritor of the Heretic God’s power and the successor to the only Creation God inheritance in the entire world, it was probably because he had already been planning to save the world back then. What a commendable spirit.”

(Yun Che: ……?)

In the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s opinion, there was no such thing as excessive praise if they were used on Yun Che.

“Now that I think about, we need to give many thanks to the Dragon God Realm for what has happened today,” said the Eternal Heaven God Emperor.

“Oh?” The Dragon Monarch turned to look at him.

“I might not be aware of what Qianye did to Yun Che back then, but it resulted in Yun Che being left behind in the Dragon God Realm and prevented him from returning to the Eastern Divine Region.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor frowned a little at the thought. “Thank goodness the Dragon Queen decided to offer him shelter.”

Dragon Monarch, “...”

"The Dragon Queen is an extraordinary woman who transcends the mortal coil. Her foresight is as bright as the stars even though she stays aloof from the world. If she hadn’t given Yun Che shelter and taught him the light profound energy, things may have ended up in a completely different way. Unfortunately, there aren’t many people who knows of her merits, and I highly doubt that the Dragon Queen would care about such things.”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor let out another deep sigh. “Do bring to the Dragon Queen my gratitude when she has finished her secluded cultivation.”

“...Hehe.” responded the Dragon Monarch noncommittally with a smile.

His pessimism having turned into optimism, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor shot a look in the direction Jie Yuan had left before turning around and saying, “It is Yun Che’s blessing to receive such favor from the Dragon Queen. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, their relationship should greatly benefit the Dragon God Realm…”

Suddenly, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor raised an eyebrow and asked, “Dragon Monarch, are you… hurt?”

He asked this because a trail of blood was actually leaking from the corner of the Dragon Monarch’s lips.

The Dragon Monarch wiped away the blood leaking out from between his teeth before smiling, “My energy and blood went a little haywire when the devil emperor unleashed her aura just now. It is nothing to be concerned about.”

“Mn.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor didn’t think much into his unusual reaction.

“We cannot announce the devil emperor’s appearance to the world, but there are still people we must inform and preparations we need to make as quickly as possible, so this dragon will be taking his leave. Sorry for burdening you with the responsibilities of the Eastern Divine Region again, Eternal Heaven.”

Then, the Dragon Monarch added in a seemingly careless manner, “Oh right. Shen Xi told me that her secluded cultivation this time is extremely important. It could be as short as several hundred years, or as long as several thousand years. So I’m afraid that I will have to give her your gratitude at a later time.”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor replied, “Now you’re making this old one anxious with your graciousness, Dragon Monarch.”

Then, he turned around and mustered authority into his voice. “Everyone, a great panic will spread throughout the entire world if the news of the devil emperor’s return is made known. Therefore, please do your best to keep this a secret until the last possible moment. Also, this is an instruction from the devil emperor herself, so for your own sake… please don’t break the taboo and draw her ire.”

Everyone responded with agreement to his announcement.

Just as the Brahma Heaven God Emperor had mentioned earlier, the Primal Chaos was no longer the same as before.

From here on, they were no longer the rulemakers of the world… it was in the hands of an absolute ruler no one could overthrow now.

In a different space altogether.

Technically speaking, the universe was still the same as ever, but the aura that permeated inside this particular space was completely different from before. It was dark, oppressive, and distortive in a way that even light had a shade of darkness in it.

However, this particular space that Jie Yan and Yun Che were in was unusually empty. There were almost no stars in the background, and the space they were in was dark and desolate.

Yun Che’s heart skipped a beat after he swept a glance at his surroundings… This atmosphere, this aura. Were they in the Northern Divine Region right now?!

“As I thought, the planet… is gone.”

Jie Yan’s voice rang low and lonely beside his ears.

Yun Che turned to look at her before asking tentatively, “Where is this place, senior?”

Jie Yan didn’t answer Yun Che’s question. She closed her eyes and fell silent for a very long time before she finally spoke up again, “How did you come by his power?”

Yun Che thought for a moment before answering, “The first person who obtained the Heretic God’s ‘Indestructible Blood’ wasn’t me, actually. It was my… first master of the profound way. She came by this inheritance by accident in the Southern Divine Region, and she ran into me after she contracted a deadly poison. That was why she had decided to use the Indestructible Blood on me.”

“The Southern Divine Region?” Jie Yan raised her eyebrows slightly. “What about the Sky Poison Pearl? Where did you get it? And why is its poison spirit completely different from before?”

Although the Sky Poison Pearl had fused with Yun Che, Jie Yan was still able to see everything in a glance.

It was because she was the Sky Poison Pearl’s first master! Her connection to the Sky Poison Pearl was primal unlike any other.

“The Sky Poison Pearl is…” This was a very difficult topic to explain, and after choosing his words carefully all Yun Che was able to come up with was a subpar explanation. “My master of the medical way found it by accident in the world I was born in. I swallowed it by accident later on, and it became fused with my body ever since. As for its poison spirit, it was probably forcibly kidnapped by the Evil Infant's Wheel of Myriad Tribulations. It perished after the Myriad Tribulations was unleashed, and it just got a new poison spirit three years ago.”

“Swallowed? Fused?” Jie Yan shot Yun Che a glance. Although she was sure that Yun Che wouldn’t dare lie to her face, for some reason his explanation made no sense to her!

She stretched out her hand and said coldly, “Show me your memories!”

“...Yes.” Yun Che couldn’t disobey her, so he obediently closed his eyes and waited.

Jie Yan grabbed Yun Che’s skull and summoned a flash of black energy. However, a dragon roar suddenly resounded inside her heart and soul, causing her palm to tremble a little and her brows to wrinkle deeply.

Slowly, she withdrew her palm and looked at Yun Che in a new light. “You’re just a young mortal, but you have his power and four divine souls in you? The heavens favor you a little too much, I think!”

Yun Che, “Uh…”

“Never mind.” Jie Yan withdrew her glance and said, “Your soul is now a world of its own, and it is protected by the Dragon God Divine Soul. I’d rather not risk damaging your soul by reading your memories by force!”

Jie Yan’s words caused a deep shudder in Yun Che’s mind.

She… actually gave up on reading his memories just because she didn’t wish to harm a “mere mortal’s” divine soul.

So far, this Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor… had proven herself to be completely different from the hate-filled devil gods in his imagination.

“It is your destiny to obtain his power,” Jie Yan said slowly, “and it is your fortune to obtain the Sky Poison Pearl. Now that he has passed away, and the Sky Poison Pearl has found a new master, there is simply no need for me to probe too deeply.”

Her words sounded incredibly lost and mournful in this dark world.

She had finally returned… but both the people she loved and the people she hated were already gone.

Yun Che wasn’t Jie Yuan. He couldn’t understand how it felt to be her right now.

At this point, the devil emperor no longer scared Yun Che. In fact, his earlier worries might’ve been completely unnecessary. That was why he decided to take the lead for once and asked, “Senior, why have you brought me here?”

Jie Yan replied a little distractedly, “There was once a planet in this space. It was a planet we had created… together.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Although he was a Creation God, his ‘creation’ skill was the lousiest out of all four Creation Gods. He even had to borrow my hand to finish the first planet he ever created… the planet we created together.”

“It was also on this planet we became married and had our daughter.”

“Unfortunately… there’s simply no way that planet could’ve survived that terrible war…”

Jie Yuan clenched her hands into fists. Her hatred, her fury, her hope, her desires—everything was gone in this completely strange and unfamiliar world before her. The only thing that was left in her was emptiness and a sense of loss...

The people she loved, the people she hated, the people she knew… and even the memories of the past had all returned to dust.

Why did I even want to return here? Why did I fight so hard to live all those years…