Against the Gods

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Chi Wuyao slow-clapped the Eternal Heaven God Emperor. “As expected, my children couldn’t hide themselves from you.”

Chi Wuyao wasn’t surprised that Zhou Xuzi would notice Jie Xin and Jie Ling. They were only a few steps away, and they weren’t trying to conceal themselves.

But she was a little surprised by how quickly he had discovered them. After Jie Xin and Jie Ling’s compatibility with darkness profound energy was improved, their power had become much greater than before. For starters, they were now much better at concealing themselves, not to mention that they were currently in an environment of darkness.

“If this queen didn’t care to conceal her tracks and prevent others from stealing a share of her pie, she would’ve moved half of the Soul Stealing Realm over before meeting you. After all, you are the holiest person of the three Divine Regions, and this queen is the wicked monarch of devil people. It took all the energy in me just to keep myself calm and not suffer a heart attack.”

Zhou Xuzi didn’t look bothered by Chi Wuyao’s taunts at all. His expression looked as stiff as it was imposing. “You know I wouldn’t be able to share this with you alone if the Burning Moon God Emperor or the Yama Emperor shows up, so why must you wag your tongue like this? Is one moment of pleasure really that important to you?”

He was speaking to Chi Wuyao, but his gaze kept being attracted to the young man beside Chi Wuyao’s feet like a magnet. Yun Che hadn’t stopped struggling since the beginning of the meeting, and every time the young man looked up and met his eyes… he looked like he couldn’t wait to split into a million blades of blood and cut his body into a million pieces.

“Alright.” Chi Wuyao withdrew her smile as if she accepted the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s admonishment. A pressure belonging to god emperors alone dyed her words as she asked, “This queen has brought the person you’re looking for. Have you brought mine?”

Zhou Xuzi extended an arm solemn and opened his palm. A purple light immediately appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The purple light wasn’t particularly strong or blinding, but it was purer than even the most brilliant stars. Its glow even penetrated the thick darkness around it and dyed the distant space in faint purple.

Mixed within the purple light was a great, ancient aura that seemed capable of accommodating the entire world in itself.

It was primordial energy!

Had Qianye Ying’er been here, she would’ve been shocked.

It was because Zhou Xuzi had brought an Untamed Divine Marrow with him!

According to the records of the Eastern Divine Region, the Untamed Divine Marrow was a sacred object that had gone extinct a long time ago.

She was already pretty shocked when she discovered that the Northern Divine Region had an Untamed Divine Marrow.

It took a lot to shock the Brahma Monarch Goddess. Naturally, no one in the entire Eastern Divine Region, in all three divine regions knew that the Eternal Heaven God Realm was hiding such a thing.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t that surprising. Of course the Eternal Heaven God Realm would do their utmost to keep this a secret from everyone.

Transfixed by the purple light, Chi Wuyao didn’t look away from the Untamed Divine Marrow for quite some time. Her greed and excitement were palpable even through the black fog that was covering her face.

“So beautiful. Even the prettiest darkness seems dull before its light.” Chi Wuyao sighed with emotion. She was still staring at the Untamed Divine Marrow as if her gaze had melted into the sacred object. She didn’t want to be separated from it for even a moment.

Suddenly, the purple light winked out of existence. The Untamed Divine Marrow had somehow vanished from Zhou Xuzi’s hands.

There was nothing more tempting than a bait so close one could almost feel its breath on their skin, and Zhou Xuzi knew this better than anyone. Ten months ago, when he sent Tai Yin and Zhu Liu to slip into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning—affording them even the Great Void Cauldron to maximize their chance of success—it was to steal the Divine Fruit of Absolute Beginning from the Dragons of Absolute Beginning and fuse it with the Untamed Divine Marrow he hid from the entire world. He was hoping to recreate the mythical Untamed World Pellet again.

There was truly nothing he wouldn’t spend on Zhou Qingchen.

But not only did Tai Yin and Zhu Liu fail to retrieve the Divine Fruit of Absolute Beginning, they had lost their lives and the Great Void Cauldron as well. According to Honorable Qu Hui, both items had likely fallen into Yun Che’s hands, meaning that the Untamed Divine Marrow had mostly lost its worth.

But not today. Today, it was the best bargaining chip he had to save Zhou Qingchen.

There was no one in the world who could resist the Untamed Divine Marrow. No one. Especially since it might be the last one in the entire Primal Chaos.

“You told me that Yun Che has the power to eliminate the dark energy inside my son,” Zhou Xuzi said. He would never have taken such a huge risk and come here otherwise. “I hope… you’re not playing a trick on me.”

“Eternal Heaven God Emperor, haven’t you had a personal taste of my Soul Stealing powers many years ago? Are you looking down on me?”

Chi Wuyao suddenly grabbed Yun Che’s head and sent a terrifying amount of black energy into his body. The latter’s struggles and screams ceased instantly.

Chi Wuyao lifted Yun Che into the air like a doll. He slowly straightened himself, but his arms were hanging limply on his sides. The black energy covering his head earlier was dissipating quickly, but his eyes were missing their pupils and usual light.

“Yun Che, tell me,” Chi Wuyao asked, “who deserves to die more than anyone else in this world?”

Yun Che answered stiffly and robotically, “Old… dog… Eternal… Heaven…”

Zhou Xuzi’s expression didn’t change, but he withdrew his fingers slightly.

“Are you the one who changed Zhou Qingchen into a devil person?” Chi Wuyao asked again.

“Yes,” Yun Che answered.

“Does that also mean you know how to remove it and return him to normal?”

“Yes.”

Yun Che’s answer was hoarse and robotic, but it was the answer Zhou Xuzi wanted to hear even in his dreams.

Surprisingly, Zhou Qingchen—the victim who should be more excited about this than anyone—barely reacted to the revelation at all, as if he hadn’t woken up from the Devil Queen’s bewitching words yet.

The last of his doubts gone, Zhou Xuzi relaxed as if a billion tons were removed from his shoulders. Every pore on his body was shivering with joy.

The Devil Queen’s aura covered every inch of Yun Che’s body, so he had no doubt that the young man was currently under the effects of her “Soul Stealing” technique, meaning that everything he said during the duration of the spell could only be the truth.

He and Qianye Fantian had fought Chi Wuyao together tens of thousands of years ago. “Scary” didn’t even begin to describe how terrible her power was.

Everyone knew that Yun Che had a powerful dragon soul, but he was still affected by Qianye Ying’er’s Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark until Shen Xi removed it.

Moreover, Qianye Fantian himself said that Chi Wuyao’s soul power was far greater than his, and it was strange in a way that was impossible to comprehend.

Not even the Clear Sky God Emperor was able to escape a “sudden death” tens of thousands of years ago. It was far too easy for this Devil Queen to control someone at Yun Che’s level.

“So? Is this clear enough for you?” Chi Wuyao asked.

Right now, Yun Che was definitely being controlled by Chi Wuyao’s power. It was not an act.

It would be impossible to fool someone at Zhou Xuzi’s level otherwise.

However… that didn’t mean that Chi Wuyao had all the power.

Ninety-nine percent of Yun Che’s soul was “stolen” by Chi Wuyao, but there was still one percent that belonged to him and him alone. In fact, one percent was all he needed to break the spell if he wished… because he had the Eternal Calamity of Darkness!

The Eternal Calamity of Darkness could control any body of darkness. Naturally, that included dark, devilish souls as well!

Since it was a power that exceeded even the recognition of True Gods, it was impossible for Zhou Xuzi to see through this.

The Untamed Divine Marrow appeared in Zhou Xuzi’s hand again, dyeing the darkness in mysterious purple once more. Zhou Xuzi said solemnly, “Order Yun Che to remove the darkness inhabiting my son’s body. I will give you the last Untamed Divine Marrow in the world once the process is complete!”

Chi Wuyao narrowed her eyes before giggling seductively. “Do you think I’m a naive three-year-old, Eternal Heaven God Emperor? Will you really give me the Untamed Divine Marrow if after your son is cured!?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor declared with unquestionable solemnity. “This old one is the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, and my word will be as solid as a mandate of heaven! With the heavens as my witness, I swear never to go back on my promise even if you are the Northern Region Devil Queen herself!”

It wasn’t a boastful claim. In the three Divine Regions, no one would question the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s ability to hold a promise.

But Chi Wuyao suddenly guffawed—not the giggle or chuckle she usually employed, but the uncontrollable laughter when someone heard a funny joke—loudly. “Your word is as solid as a mandate of heaven? Hahahaha! Eternal Heaven God Emperor, are you sure you’re still trustworthy?”

“Look behind me. Look at him, and tell me again how trustworthy you are.” Zhou Xuzi’s act of righteousness, composure, and pride shattered into a million pieces the moment he heard this. He couldn’t say a thing for a very long time.

Yun Che fell into Chi Wuyao’s hands. She would’ve figured out all of his secrets, and him breaking his promise to Yun Che had to be his deepest and most hateful memory of them all. There was no way Chi Wuyao would miss this.

His reputation as the most moral god emperor in the world, the praise that his promise was worth its weight in heaven… was nothing but a joke in front of Chi Wuyao.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Chi Wuyao sneered at him before continuing. “Yun Che saved all of you back then, and I’m not just talking about your lives. Without him, you would’ve lost even the roots beneath your feet.”

“But the moment he revealed his darkness profound energy, you immediately turned against him and pretended as if he had never saved your sorry hides. I bet you clamped down on the news of him saving the world tighter than your own fly, haven’t you? That’s not all. You are the one who encouraged the three divine regions into hunting him all over the world, and you are the reason not even a speck of his home planet was left!”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s face changed again and again… but he wasn’t surprised. Chi Wuyao had Yun Che’s soul, so it was only natural that she would know this much.

“Your son is also a bearer of darkness profound energy, but instead of killing him and cleansing the world of his filth like the devil-hating saint you are, you hid the truth like your life depends on it, ran all the way to the Northern Divine Region and brought the one and only Untamed Divine Marrow the Eastern Divine Region has to me to make a deal. Me, an emperor of devils… Aiya, aiya.”

“On one hand, we have a literal messiah who not only saved your lives, but the very fate of the God Realm itself. On the other, we have vermin who consumed countless resources and contributed nothing to the world. But this discrimination… Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? Maybe you’ve gotten them mixed up or something? You couldn’t have though, because one of them is your son… Your son! Hahahaha! Eternal Heaven God Emperor, to call you a shameless hypocrite would be too kind, and you want me to believe your so-called ‘word’?”

“The Eastern Divine Region must be a horrible place if they would worship a loathsome god emperor like you as their saint.”

Zhou Xuzi knew that Chi Wuyao was trying to drive him into a disadvantageous corner, but her words still pierced through his heart like needles. It took several mouthfuls of air before he finally calmed down a bit. “What do you want, Devil Queen?”

He didn’t want to bother with that. He didn’t even want to defend himself. All he wanted was to never hear a single word about that again.

“Oh, it’s very simple,” Chi Wuyao said. “This may be the Northern Divine Region, but this queen shan’t take advantage of you. We’ll both put the items into our respective barriers. Then, we’ll merge the barriers together. Finally, we’ll withdraw our energy at the same time and claim what we desire.”

This way, the barrier will hold even if one of us is scheming something and ‘accidentally’ withdraws their power later than expected. No one will get what they want unless we unlock the barrier together. It is a fair exchange, don’t you think?”

“No… no!” Zhou Xuzi rejected her suggestion immediately. “The Untamed Divine Marrow is an inanimate object, but not Yun Che! Once the Untamed Divine Marrow enters your possession, it is yours and yours alone. But if Yun Che enters my possession, he would still be affected by your spell!”

“You must be joking.” Chi Wuyao sneered faintly. “If I release my spell now, do you think Yun Che will save your son? He would rather die a million times first.”

“But if you didn’t give the order, my son wouldn’t be saved, and this old one would still lose the Untamed Divine Marrow. This is not fair,” Zhou Xuzi said. “You can distrust me, but there’s no reason for this old one to trust you either.”

“Then we can wait. I can do this all day.” Chi Wuyao wasn’t worried in the slightest. Turning around to face Yun Che, she curled her lips slightly and touched his face with her fingertips. Then, she started caressing him flirtatiously.

“Such a good boy,” she said in a melting, loving voice. “If I can extract his Heretic God origin power for myself, this queen wouldn’t mind losing even a million Untamed Divine Marrows.”

“In fact, this queen is quite worried that that old man over there would hurt you or even kill you once I gave you to him. It would be a most pitiful outcome, don’t you think?”

She exhaled quietly as her voice grew softer and slower. She then moved closer to Yun Che, parted her lips, revealed her pearly teeth and pink tongue… and licked him on the neck.

——————