Against the Gods

The Yama Realm, the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness.

“Royal father,” Yan Jie respectfully greeted the back of the Yama Emperor, Yan Tianxiao.

Yan Tianxiao turned around and asked, “Have we heard anything from our three ancestors?”

Yan Jie shook his head. “Nothing yet.”

“Has the sealing profound formation been attacked?” Yan Tianxiao asked.

Yan Jie replied, “This child has personally observed it for the past few days. The great formation sealing the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness has not been impacted by any form of energy.”

After he said those words, he stood up and continued, “However, this isn’t anything unexpected. Now that he has fallen into the clutches of our three venerable ancestors, he won’t even be able to struggle. Even if the barrier was opened wide, there’s no way he’d even have a chance to escape.”

Yan Tianxiao’s brow furrowed deeply and he looked like he had recalled something.

“Royal father, do you want this child to go in and take a look?” Yan Jie asked.

“No.” Yan Tianxiao raised a hand. “At the very least, there is one thing about Yun Che that is true and it’s the fact that he inherited the power of a Devil Emperor. Our three venerable ancestors have been trapped in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for the longest time and their greatest desire is to be able to reach the domain of darkness that lies beyond our limits. After they capture Yun Che, I am sure that they are using all of their methods to extract all of the secrets concerning the Devil Emperor’s inheritance from his body.”

“They might even be able to plunder it from his body.”

Even though he knew that this possibility was extremely faint, no one would pass up such an opportunity if they had the chance. In fact, they’d use every method at their disposal to try to extract it from him.

“Whether they succeed or fail in the end, the venerable ancestors will come out on their own volition once the matter is settled. If you didn’t sense any activity within the ‘tomb’, that means they’re currently pouring all of their effort into this matter. If you simply enter the ‘tomb’ without thinking and disturb them, there will be a heavy price to pay.”

Yan Jie shuddered as he hurriedly said, “Royal father is right. This child spoke rashly.”

“However…” Yan Tianxiao raised his head to look into the distance. “It has already been six days but the Soul Stealing Realm has shown no signs of movement. Do they believe that Yun Che has cowed all of us and is currently using the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness to cultivate? Hmph, how laughable.”

“Dispatch some men to keep a tight watch on the Soul Stealing Realm. They are to report back immediately if they detect any suspicious movements.”

“Yes.”

Yan Jie acknowledged his orders and left.

Yan Tianxiao lapsed into silent thought for a long period of time but he could not think of any scenario where Yun Che could have managed to turn the tables on them. In fact, he was even starting to suspect that Yun Che might just be another one of Chi Wuyao’s disposable pawns.

Given Chi Wuyao’s incomparably merciless and vicious methods, this was definitely something that she would do.

So Yan Tianxiao also assumed the same thing.

It was just that...

He would never have imagined the treatment the three ancient founders of the Yama Realm had been suffering for the last six days...

Rumble! Rumble! RUMBLE!!

Huge explosions thundered in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. However, these earth-shaking explosions of energy were completely engulfed by hoarse screams that were far too miserable.

Pure white light shone from Yun Che’s body and the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword weaved through the air without end. His tyrannical sword might was infused with light profound energy, which was both incomparably sacred and cruel in this situation, as it continuously battered the bodies of Three Yama Ancestors.

Heavenly Wolf Slash, Wild Fang, Heavenly Star Lamentation, Instantaneous Hell Calamity, Azure Wolf Claw, Bloodmoon Immortal Slaying Sword!

The first six forms of the Heavenly Wolf Hell God’s Tome continuously bombarded the Three Yama Ancestors.

As the current era’s most tyrannical and overwhelming heavy sword style, even the very first form of the Heavenly Wolf Hell God’s Tome, the Heavenly Wolf Slash, exhausted a huge amount of energy. Yun Che would normally feel exhausted after practicing it a few times during his normal cultivation.

However, he could wildly swing his sword to his heart’s content in this place. In the last six days, he had slowly strengthened his mastery over the Heavenly Wolf Hell God’s Tome.

And the Three Yama Ancestors had become mere punching bags to practice his sword skills on! Furthermore, they were punching bags who couldn’t even die! Even if they had been slashed in half by the frenzied sword might and light profound energy, they would swiftly regenerate once he withdrew his light.

This sort of indestructibility was the unique, heaven-defying ability that the Three Yama Ancestors had obtained in the past.

But it had now turned into their greatest nightmare due to Yun Che’s light profound energy.

They had used their own power and ghost claws to strike their own bodies and snap their own throats countless times by now. They had even tried to detonate their own meridians and life veins… They wanted to die. All of their thoughts and will were begging for death.

However, their lives and auras were linked to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. Their only escape was if they could leave and destroy the entire Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness or if they were completely erased from the face of this earth by Yun Che’s light profound energy.

Otherwise, dying was nothing more than a beautiful fantasy for them.

But why would Yun Che truly want to kill them or give them an opportunity to leave?

In this purgatory of light, the only things that were left to them were boundless despair and endless torture.

Occasionally, Yun Che would transform this light into fire and he would continuously unleash Nine Suns Heaven’s Fury and World Illuminating Red Lotus, attacks that would normally take him a long time to launch, to burn them. But this scorching hellfire was a great reprieve for the Yama Ancestors.

This tragic and brutal torture was repeated over and over again for the past six days. Their bodies and souls had been consumed and restored countless times. Their torn throats had knit together before their screaming tore them open again...

Clang!

Yun Che withdrew his sword and all of the light profound energy that was radiating from his body vanished.

The Three Yama Ancestors crawled around in the darkness. As their bodies twitched and their souls shuddered, they began to restore themselves once more.

However, they no longer tried to escape, because it was useless… utterly useless.

That person was just like a devil… no, he was millions of times more terrifying and cruel than any devil. He was the true ruler of darkness! All of the dark yin energy in this place was under his control. There was nowhere the three of them could run.

“Kill me… I beg you, please kill me…”

At first, they cursed him furiously and roared their defiance at him. Even if they begged for death, they would still yell something like “Kill me if you have the guts!”

But now, they were reduced to begging him in the most pathetic manner possible.

Death… In this hell of light, they could think of nothing sweeter and more beautiful than the release of death.

If it was any other trio, this sort of torture would have driven them crazy a long time ago.

However, their bodies were not the only thing that was regenerating, their souls were as well. Even collapsing into a vegetitative state was nothing but a pipedream for them.

“Kill me… kill me… please, I’m begging you…”

These moans of pain came out of every Yama Ancestor’s mouth. Their despair and misery were so extreme that even the dark yin energy in this place seemed to lament with them.

“Death?”

Yun Che narrowed his eyes as he said unhurriedly, “You are all such useful old ghosts. I wouldn’t be able to find another trio like you into the entire God Realm. If I were to let you die, it would be much too wasteful.”

“You…” Yan Wanchi turned around but when Yun Che’s figure entered his eyes, every single part of his body quaked in fear. “You… Who exactly are…”

“It’s simple,” Yun Che said. “Either you accept the slave imprint or… we continue to play this game.”

“Huff… huff…” Yan Wanhun panted heavily. His entire body was trembling but there was still a trace of cruel decisiveness in his voice. “The three of us… conquered the Bone Sea… Established the Yama Realm… Stood above all of creation…”

“Even if we are consigned to eternal damnation… we will never… ever… become your dogs!”

They were the founding ancestors of the Yama Realm, the most exalted existences in the Northern Divine Region. If they were to allow someone to plant a slave imprint on them, all of the glory and honor they had won throughout their lives would turn into shame!

The entire Yama Realm would also be utterly disgraced by this event.

Even their powers would become someone else’s possessions and the very first thing they would be pointed toward would be their very own Yama Realm, the realm they had dedicated their entire lives to, along with their countless descendants.

Thus, even if they were pushed to the very brink, they would never be willing to surrender.

“Dog?” Yun Che laughed. “To the normal people of this world, it would indeed be shameful to become someone else’s dog. But you three old ghosts have spent hundreds of thousands of years holed up in the darkness. I can’t even tell if you are human anymore! How the hell are your lives even comparable to the life of a dog who is living freely outside?”

“If I went outside and grabbed a guard dog, it definitely would not want to swap places with you three. Isn’t your skin a bit too thick? That you’d even think that you could compare yourself to a dog in the first place. Are you lot even qualified to be compared to a dog?”

The heads of the Three Yama Ancestors hung low as they gasped for breath. They didn’t even bother responding to Yun Che. Before that purgatory of light, these sort of verbal insults no longer meant anything.

“Oh, that’s right.” Yun Che seemed to have suddenly recalled something. He continued in a languid voice, “I’ve been having too much fun toying with you three for the past few days, so it seems like I forgot to tell you one thing.”

He raised an arm… and this movement caused the bodies of the Three Yama Ancestors to convulse violently. However, there was no nightmarish white light shining from Yun Che’s hand this time. Instead, a cluster of dark profound light pulsed in his palm.

“The Eternal Calamity of Darkness that I inherited from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor has no equal when it comes to controlling the darkness. That naturally includes… helping you break apart the shackles of darkness that bind you to this Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.”

Yun Che’s words caused the Three Yama Ancestors to go stiff. They slowly turned their heads towards Yun Che as they gasped in unison, “What did… you just say?”

“Right now, you lot can’t even be considered human. You’re nothing more than pathetic puppets made of the darkness within this Bone Sea. But I can help transform you back into humans again.”

“Not only will you retain all of your power, you will also have control over your life force and souls once more. In fact, you’ll even be able to live for up to ten thousand more years once you leave this place!”

Yan Wangui twisted his body around as he spoke in a tremulous voice, “Is… is… what you’re saying… true?”

Their life force and souls would become independent of this place and they’d be able to live up to ten thousand years after leaving!?

What an outlandish and beautiful dream!

“But the price is to become my dog.” Yun Che’s calm words were incredibly cold as they heavily smashed against the Three Yama Ancestors’ souls.

“Don’t… don’t fall for his trick!” Yan Wanchi shouted in a hoarse voice. “We’ve already been stuck in this place for more than eight hundred thousand years. That sort of thing… doesn’t exist! It’s impossible! He’s only playing with us… tempting us to take his bait.”

“Heh, how ridiculous,” Yun Che scoffed at Yan Wanchi. “If I didn’t have the ability to bring you out of this place, what use would I have for three crippled dogs who are chained to this place? To use as my punching bags?”

“Is it very humiliating to be someone’s dog? That really depends on who your master is, right?” Yun Che chuckled coldly. The cluster of dark energy fizzled out as he closed his fingers. “You should have already heard this news. The Burning Moon Realm, a king realm which stood on equal footing with the Yama Realm for hundreds of thousands of years, has already fallen into my hands. And now, I have come to claim this Yama Realm.”

“I believe that none of you will doubt my ability to easily accomplish this any longer.”

The bodies of the Three Yama Ancestors’ convulsed yet again.

“Once I unite the dark forces within the Northern Region, I will point my sword at the other three divine regions and release the darkness from its cage. It will flood every corner of the three divine regions and allow darkness to become the new master of the God Realm!”

“I will not only be the ruler of the darkness. In the future, I will be the master of everything under heaven!”

“...” The Three Yama Ancestors were now staring at Yun Che fixedly. They were hanging on his every word as he made those outrageously outlandish statements, as he displayed an ambition that they had never had in all of their long lives.

“You will be my loyal dogs who will help the Yama Realm, help the entire Northern Divine Region, realize this dark design. You will be the loyal dogs of the future ruler of the world!”

Yun Che’s voice was low and deep and he spoke in a slow and unhurried manner. A deep dark light shone in his eyes as he said those words, a darkness that even the Three Yama Ancestors could not see through.

Whether it was the fact that he could help them escape this place or the grand tapestry of darkness he had woven for them, to the Three Yama Ancestors who had been trapped in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for the longest time, every word that had come from Yun Che’s mouth had undoubtedly impacted them greatly.

Yun Che definitely had not forgotten to tell them about this first.

Once a slave imprint was planted on a person’s body, they would become the loyal dogs of the one who planted the mark on them for the rest of their lives. For existences like the Yama Ancestors, they would not be able to accept this, no matter what the circumstances were.

But...

After they had been brutalized in this tragic manner again and again, after they had been through this hellish torture where they could not even die, he had suddenly chosen to dangle a gift they had not even dared to dream of in front of them. He had even laid out his majestic plan to them. A plan that would fire up the hearts and souls of any dark profound practitioner...

In such a case, even the most stalwart of wills and most steadfast of convictions would easily crumble to dust.

As the gazes of Three Yama Ancestors’ fiercely wavered, Yun Che slowly raised a hand and said, “You can either choose to continue to be bedbugs stuck in this abyss or you can choose to be the loyal dogs of the future ruler of the Primal Chaos!”

“Right now, I’ll give you another chance to make this choice.”

“Of course, you still have the right to refuse. I really haven’t had my fill of playing yet, so I have all the time in the world to accompany you.”

His words were like an emperor’s heavenly edict, but they also resembled the mocking words of a demon.

“Ooh!”

Yan Wangui started to move. He struggled to his feet and slowly walked towards Yun Che on trembling legs. After that, he stopped in front of Yun Che… and sank to his knees limply.

“Old ghost, you… what are you doing!?” Yan Wanchi roared as his eyes bulged out furiously.

“He’s right…” Yan Wangui spoke with much difficulty. Every word he uttered seemed to be accompanied by the shattering of a tooth. “Compared to holing up in this place for the rest of our days as something neither living nor dead, I’d rather be a dog that can frolic under the light of the sun!”

“Furthermore… he has the power to leave us, three old ghosts who thought we were invincible, begging for death… He is the successor of a Devil Emperor… He has the ambition to dye this world in darkness… Being his dog doesn’t sound so bad after all.”

“As for whether it is true or false… I will be the one to test it!”

Crack!!

He had shattered yet another one of his teeth and black blood spilled out of his mouth. He stared at Yun Che furiously as he said the most difficult words he had ever uttered in his most merciless and resolute voice, “Plant… your seal!”