Against the Gods

Northern Divine Region, Soul Stealing Realm.

Yun Che impassively stood in the middle of the Soul Stealing Realm’s sacred region. He stretched out an arm, his palm facing a bewitchingly beautiful man who was seated on the ground with his eyes closed.

This was the Spirit Lord of the Soul Stealing Realm’s twenty-seven Soul Spirits, Sheng Shiyan.

A few dozen people were standing around him in silence. If anyone were to see who these people were, they would be completely flabbergasted.

Devil Queen Chi Wuyao, the Nine Witches, and the twenty-seven Soul Spirits!

All of the thirty-seven core members of the Soul Stealing Realm were gathered in this place, and that included the Devil Queen herself! Not a single one of them was absent.

The twenty-seven Soul Spirits were each in charge of their own star region and the Nine Witches were seldom in the realm. It was an exceedingly rare thing for all of them to gather in one place. In fact, it was an event that might not even happen once a millennium.

Yun Che withdrew his arm and after the black light had faded, the dark refinement of the last Soul Spirit had been perfectly completed.

Sheng Shiyan opened his eyes and started to circulate his profound energy. Even though he had long ago witnessed the rebirth of each and every Soul Spirit, all of his blood started to churn with excitement when he sensed the dream-like change that had occurred in his body.

He did not rise to his feet. Instead, he got on his knees and gave Yun Che a heavy bow. After that, he spoke with great emotion in his voice, “This Shiyan thanks Young Master Yun for this heavenly blessing… At first, this Shiyan had eyes but could not see and I rudely offended you. Young Master Yun may deal with me as he pleases, this Shiyan will never utter a single word of complaint.”

He had achieved perfect compatibility with the darkness profound energy in his body. This was a pinnacle of darkness that none of the previous god emperors of the Northern Divine Region had ever reached.

Even the two words “heavenly blessing” were not enough to describe such a gift.

This was a genuine divine miracle, yet Yun Che seemed to be able to perform it with no effort at all… In fact, he had even mass-produced this miracle!

When any of them even began to ponder this notion, they realized that the emotion they felt the most was not admiration or reverence… It was a fear so strong that it sent shudders through their bodies.

Today, no matter whether it was the Witches or the Soul Spirits, not a single one of them were puzzled by the Devil Queen’s attitude towards Yun Che any longer.

If the Burning Moon God Realm or the Yama Realm knew about this ability of Yun Che’s, they would come to the Soul Stealing Realm begging on their knees.

Yun Che made no reaction as he turned around.

To him, everything in the Soul Stealing Realm was nothing more than a tool. He would use them and they would use him. It was as simple as that and he felt absolutely nothing towards them. All the effort he was making today was for his own future benefit… In fact, he expected to get a payoff worth several times the effort he put in.

Now, every single one of the Nine Witches and twenty-seven Soul Spirits had undergone this refinement and had achieved their rebirth of darkness.

In other words, it was only now that all of them had become true devil people of darkness.

“The three thousand and six hundred Soul Attendants are up next,” Yun Che said in a bored voice. It was as if he was talking about a simple, every-day affair.

But those words were so shocking that every single one of the twenty-seven Soul Spirits nearly fell to their knees.

Even to the Soul Spirits of the Soul Stealing Realm who possessed the power of a Divine Master, obtaining this sort of blessing was something they could only dream of. But, to think… he actually even wanted to bestow this gift on all of the Soul Attendants!?

This was madness… This was madness, right?

What sort of monster was this man called Yun Che!? Was he the reincarnation of one of the primordial Devil Gods!?

Chi Wuyao said, “All of the Soul Attendants have already started to gather. You may begin tomorrow.”

“Master,” Qing Ying suddenly said, “There are three thousand and six hundred Soul Attendants after all. If all of them were to gather in one place, it’s possible that our actions will be quickly exposed.”

“Isn’t it better if we are exposed?” Chi Wuyao said with a faint smile on her face.

“Ah?” Qing Ying could not comprehend the Devil Queen’s words and a puzzled expression crossed her face.

“However,” Chi Wuyao continued as her tone changed once more, “before we settle that matter, it is indeed better to hide it for the time being. Just to prevent any needless complications.”

“Before we meet the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, all Soul Attendants are to be confined to the sacred region so you won’t need to worry about it.” She had said those words mainly for Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er’s benefit, but at the same time, she was also giving a warning to the twenty-seven Soul Spirits, the ones who commanded the Soul Attendants.

“Devil Queen, please do not worry,” Sheng Shiyan replied solemnly. “Without the Devil Queen’s command, if even half a word of this is breathed outside, I, Sheng Shiyan, will kill myself to atone for my crimes.”

“Very good,” Chi Wuyao said. “From tomorrow onward, send a hundred people here every day. We will complete the rebirth of all of the Soul Attendants within a month.”

“Dispatching people is a small matter, but I’m sure that all of you are aware of the meaning that lies behind this action… This matter concerns far more than the fate of our Soul Stealing Realm!”

Chi Wuyao’s tone was not heavy at all, but it sent a violent shudder through the hearts of all the Soul Spirits.

Even after they had left, torrents of emotion were still crashing about in their hearts like tidal waves.

After all of the twenty-seven Soul Spirits had received their orders and left, Ye Li stepped forward and said, “Master, we sisters and the rest of the Soul Spirits have achieved perfect compatibility with the darkness. Only Master is left.”

Just as Ye Li had finished speaking, a cold and apathetic voice rang in the air. “She doesn’t need it.”

“...?” Ye Li was stunned by that revelation and the rest of the Witches were also taken aback.

Qianye Ying’er suddenly glanced to the side, her elegant eyebrows knitting together slightly.

A small smile crossed Chi Wuyao’s face, but she ignored their reactions and said, “Yun Che, the three years that you have set is too short a period of time for this queen’s beloved children. They won’t be able to grow much within this period of time.”

“However, this queen believes that you definitely have a way to swiftly quicken their growth, right?”

Her eyebrows arched wickedly as she shot Yun Che an exceedingly amorous and seductive glance.

“Of course there is.” The one who replied was not Yun Che, it was Qianye Ying’er. Her eyes narrowed wickedly as she said, “Do you want to hear it?”

All of the Witches turned their gazes towards Qianye Ying’er in anticipation. Because all of the things that they had thought were impossible had been realized by Yun Che, they now believed that he could make anything a reality.

After all, three years ago, Qianye Ying’er had merely been a half-crippled Divine Sovereign, but now, she could stand toe to toe with Fourth Witch Yao Die.

However, Chi Wuyao realized what “method” she was talking about nearly instantly. She laughed alluringly as her devilish voice grew cottony, “How about we forget it. That’s a ‘method’ that belongs solely to you. How can this queen’s children be so impolite as to share it with you?”

“Oh no, I actually welcome it very much.” Qianye Ying’er matched Chi Wuyao’s beautiful smile with one of her own. “It’d be best if all nine of them did it together, so I can take a good long look at the true beauty of the Soul Stealing Realm’s Nine Witches. It’ll definitely be a feast for the eyes.”

“???” The Nine Witches exchanged glances but all of them were completely mystified by this exchange of words. It was as if they had suddenly been pulled into a misty labyrinth.

Chi Wuyao’s beautiful eyes narrowed and she appeared both intrigued and a little shocked at Qianye Ying’er’s reaction. However, she seemed to realize something after that as her lips curved in a bewitching and seductive arc. “Oh, so that’s how it is. Amusing… How truly amusing. A Goddess whose wings have been clipped. How can she tolerate seeing other people parade around with their wings beautiful and unbroken?”

“What is Master talking about?” Yu Wu cautiously sent out a sound transmission.

“I don’t know.” Chanyi shook her head. “It’s probably… about the fact that Yun Qianying’s profound strength was crippled before. So Master must have been prodding at the dark shadow that this event left in her heart?”

“Ah?” Yu Wu grew even more confused.

“...” Qianye Ying’er’s heart suddenly tightened as she lightly clenched her white teeth. She did not say anything, but the gaze she directed at Chi Wuyao now carried a dangerous coldness.

“Tell all nine of them to follow me,” Yun Che suddenly said.

Chi Wuyao and Qianye Ying’er’s silent duel was forcefully interrupted by those words. Chi Wuyao turned toward Yun Che, her lips slightly parted. She twisted her face into an exaggerated look of shock and astonishment “It can’t be that you’re truly going to help all of them… raise… their… cultivation… are you?”

“If you take all nine of them at once, aren’t you afraid that you won’t… be able to last?”

Yun Che glared at her as he said, “I do have a method to help them grow quickly. But it isn’t here or now.”

“Oh?” Shock appeared in Chi Wuyao’s eyes as her gaze turned thoughtful.

“Aren’t you very interested in ‘Calamity and Misfortune’?” Yun Che started speaking slowly, every word of his was dark and heavy. “So for this very first time, we’ll let them be the medium for this darkness!”

This was not a question, it was a pronouncement.

The Calamity and Misfortune Formation, the darkness devil formation that was recorded in the middle part of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness. However, even to this day, Yun Che still had no confidence in being able to freely control it. As a result, he had never tried to use it on Qianye Ying’er as he could not guarantee her safety in the process.

This was the first time he had decided to use it, and this time, he would test it using the bodies of the Nine Witches.

The Heretic God Arts boosted the body of its user, allowing its user to instantly break through his limits without any restraint, allowing him to display unfathomable power.

Whereas the Eternal Calamity of Darkness was mainly focused on controlling other people… and this included all forms of darkness.

As powers on the same level, in a world without True Gods, they were well and truly heaven-defying powers in their own domains.

From Qianye Ying’er’s response, it was clear that even she did not know about the existence of “Calamity and Misfortune”. This made it obvious that Yun Che had never used it on her before. Given Chi Wuyao’s cunning and intelligence, how could she not realize that Yun Che was planning to use the Nine Witches… the nine most important people at her side, to conduct an experiment.

However, she did not refuse. Instead, a strange black light flashed in her eyes. Other than Yun Che, she was the only other person in the world who truly understood what the words “Calamity and Misfortune” meant.

The miraculous power that had perfected the Witches’ compatibility with the darkness was only one of the basic powers of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness.

However, Calamity and Misfortune was one of its intermediate powers, so one could well imagine just how powerful it was.

“Fine,” Chi Wuyao said in a cheery voice. “Since you’ve shown such interest, how can this queen bear to reject you?”

She turned towards her Nine Witches and said, “From today onward, Yun Che’s words are the same as this queen’s words. All of you must obey him as you would me.”

When she said those words, everyone, including Yun Che, was so shocked that they froze in place.

Even though she had just uttered that short and simple line, she had undoubtedly handed the control of the entire Soul Stealing Realm over to Yun Che.

Understanding a person was an extremely difficult thing to do, and trusting a person was something even harder than that. Both Yun Che, whose life had been ruined by the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, and Qianye Ying’er, who had been abandoned by the Brahma Heaven God Emperor, were keenly aware of this point.

As for the unfathomable and enigmatic Chi Wuyao, she was always on her guard when it came to dealing with other people.

She was the last person they would expect to make a decision that was so bold that it nearly seemed crazy.

“Oh? Do you have any questions?” Chi Wuyao asked with a faint smile on her face.

“No, we will obey Master’s command.” Jie Xin and Jie Ling were the first to speak.

“But… what exactly is this Calamity and Misfortune?” Ye Li asked, her expression grave and serious.

“You’ll find out very soon,” Chi Wuyao said with a mysterious smile on her face. “The day you can freely control that power is also the day… that we will be able to set foot in the Burning Moon Realm and the Yama Realm.”

Chi Wuyao’s words instantly dispelled all of the doubts and strange thoughts in the Witches’ hearts, leaving behind only a resolute determination.

————

Time flowed swiftly and a hundred days passed in the blink of an eye.

No one was aware of how the negotiations between Chi Wuyao and Zhou Xuzi went, but in the end, the date that was set was the date that Chi Wuyao had initially chosen, the day that was “a hundred days later”.

Her prediction had been so accurate that it sent chills down their spines.

Once it passed an hour after midnight, Yun Che, who had been taking a short rest, opened his eyes. Wild black light shook in his eyes and it took him several breaths to make it slowly disappear.

Today was the day that Chi Wuyao and Zhou Xuzi were going to make their deal.

If Yun Wuxin was still alive, today would have been her eighteenth birthday.

“Let’s go,” Qianye Ying’er, who was standing by his side, said.

Yun Che rose to his feet and slowly strode forward. A dim dark energy curled around his feet with every step he took.

He pushed the hall doors open and found Chi Wuyao standing there. She had already been there for some time. As she saw the two people emerging, she turned her bewitching body around. “Let’s go. This queen has been waiting for the upcoming spectacle for far too long. I wonder just how much that Zhou Xuzi has grown over the last ten thousand years.”

A dark profound ark that was over three hundred meters long and wide descended to the ground. Great Witch Jie Xin and Jie Ling, and Seventh Witch Hua Jin were already waiting for them in the profound ark. It seemed like they were also accompanying them on this trip.

The profound ark took off and flew toward the south. It was an extremely long journey from here to the borders of the Northern Divine Region, but the profound ark was flying at a moderate speed. After all, the one who was truly anxious was Zhou Xuzi.

Yun Che stood at the stern of the profound ark as he coldly surveyed the vast and boundless world of darkness before him. He had not uttered a single word during their journey, and his hands were knotted into tight fists that had not been relaxed even once.

Eternal Heaven God Emperor Zhou Xuzi...

The person who had destroyed everything that he had, the person who had plunged him into this cruel and pain-filled nightmare… After three years, he was finally going to see him again.

It was clearly too early, it was clearly not the best opportunity they could take, but he could no longer hold himself back, could no longer control his own emotions!