Against the Gods

The Yama Ancestors’ berating shouts resounded throughout the Yama Imperial Districtt. No one else’s voice could be heard besides theirs.

Everyone was shell-shocked and disbelieving. They didn’t dare utter a word or even make a sound for fear of incurring their ancestors’ wrath.

Yan Tianxiao’s mind turned blank again. His wholehearted persuasion had only earned him a terrible scolding.

His remark about Yun Che didn’t even count as criticism, and the three ancestors were so angry that they actually threatened to kill him!

Ashen-faced, he slowly clenched his fists together.

The three Yama Ancestors had changed so much that it was almost as if they were implanted with slave imprints. But Yan Tianxiao immediately wiped that possibility from his mind without considering it at all.

It was because they were the unrivaled and almighty Yama Ancestors. There was no way they would allow anyone to implant a slave imprint in them… he would sooner believe that the Northern Divine Region would collapse the next second.

Yan Tianxiao wasn’t being naive. It was something no one would believe unless they saw it with their own eyes.

Moreover, he could never imagine the kind of heaven and hell Yun Che had “generously” shown the Three Yama Ancestors while the young man was down in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

There were two sides to human nature. Even the kindest person had a devil inside them.

As it turned out, the devil inside Yun Che was worse than any villain he had ever encountered in his life.

So far, no one had said a word in defense of their god emperor, the strongest God Emperor of the Northern Divine Region even though he had just suffered a humiliating scolding. It was because the ones who scolded him were the Three Yama Ancestors themselves!

The higher one was in the totem pole of Yama Realm, the more they came to know about the Three Yama Ancestors.

Was the Yama Realm impenetrable? It was.

But that was assuming that the Three Yama Ancestors didn’t turn against them.

Yan Tianxiao was without a doubt the strongest and most feared god emperor of the Northern Divine Region. However, he was less than a great-grandson before the Three Yama Ancestors, to put it metaphorically.

These old devils had submerged themselves in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for hundreds of thousands of years. Their cultivation had reached the absolute pinnacle they could attain a long time ago.

Even more importantly, the devil origin artifact of the Yama Devils and the lifeline of the Yama Realm, the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron was in their possession. They had never given it to anyone.

Therefore, the Three Yama Ancestors absolutely had the power to change the fate of Yama Realm if they wanted to!

Countless trembling gazes fell on Yan Tianxiao’s back.

The Yama Devils and the Yama Ghosts possessed great power and status in the Northern Divine Region, but none of them had any right to speak to the Yama Ancestors.

Yan Tianxiao continued to clench his fists tighter and tighter. Soon, blood was flowing between his fingers and his teeth.

When he finally looked up to face his ancestors once more, the shock on his face was slowly replaced by ruthless determination. “If I might be so bold, why… have you come to such a decision, ancestors?”

He needed a reason, a reason he could understand if just a little.

Yan One said seriously, “The three of us were trapped in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for eight hundred thousand years. It gave us immortality, but it also robbed us of our freedom. It was our master who returned our freedom to us and allowed us to see daylight once more. It is a favor we won’t be able to return in a hundred lifetimes!”

Yan Two said solemnly, “Our master is the bearer of the Heretic God’s divine power and the inheritor of the Devil Emperor’s legacy. He was able to win us over even though he’s only a level eight Divine Sovereign. There is no one in the entire world who can be compared to him, and no greater fortune than to become his servant!”

Yan Three said passionately, “The Yama Realm is prosperous, but we have undoubtedly stagnated for the past hundred thousand years or so. We are the strongest king realm of the Northern Divine Region, but in reality we are nothing but prisoners in a cage. However, our master aims to break through this cage and take the God Realm for himself! The day our master unites the three king realms is the day he breaks us out of our cage and reverses the fate of the Northern Divine Region! What greater honor there is than serving a great cause that will be sung for millions of lifetimes to come?”

The three Yama Ancestors’ impassioned speech shook the heavens.

Every Yama Devil who heard it was completely dumbstruck.

Yan Tianxiao exhaled slowly. He had asked for a reason, and his ancestors gave him three. Their tone was even righteous, passionate, and unnaturally pious.

However, none of those reasons qualified as a reason to give away the realm they owned for eight hundred thousand years to an outsider for free, even if the scale was magnified a hundred times over.

What a farce. What a joke.

Yan Tianxiao didn’t obey his ancestors’ order. Slowly, he rose to his full height.

Clang!

The Yama Devil Spear appeared before Yan Tianxiao. His body was shining with dark energy, and his hair was dancing lightly to his own power. The face of the strongest god emperor of the Northern Divine Region was etched in deep pain and sorrow.

He never thought that he would have to fight against the founders of the Yama Realm, the ancestors he paid his respects to every day until now.

“Venerable ancestors,” Yan Tianxiao said slowly and solemnly, “As your descendant, it is only right that we obey your orders. However, this realm we protect is the culmination of the pride, honor and lifeblood of every Yama Devil who has ever existed for the past hundreds of thousands of years!”

“Therefore… we will not surrender it to anyone even if you are the ones who gave us the order!”

Yan Tianxiao shook his head and tried one last time to change the three ancestors’ minds. “Ancestors, you are the ones who created the Yama Realm. You are the ones who oversaw its growth from nothing to everything. So please, wake up! You cannot allow this to happen! You cannot allow Yun Che’s temptation to overcome your minds!”

He knew that the Three Yama Ancestors had been searching for the absolute pinnacle of darkness for hundreds of thousands of years, and the power Yun Che inherited from the Devil Emperor was clearly higher than that. That had to be why they were willing to serve Yun Che and even go so far as to offer up their own realm.

Frankly it wasn’t nearly a good enough reason to explain his ancestor’s sudden and drastic change in behavior, but he could think of no other possibility.

Yan Tianxiao’s action and words clearly demonstrated his stance and decision.

Beside him, Yan Jie and Yan Wu also rose to their feet after a very brief moment of hesitation.

The rest of the Yama Devils—the Yama Devils, Yama Ghosts, Yama soldiers, everyone—also rose to their feet. The entire Yama Imperial District shook like it was assaulted by tens of thousands of storms at once due to the sheer amount of profound energy that was being gathered in one place.

Yan Tianxiao was their god emperor, so it was only natural that they supported his decision. Besides that, they weren’t willing to surrender Yama Realm to an outsider either… even if the order came from the Three Yama Ancestors themselves.

However, they also knew how terrifying the Three Yama Ancestors really were. It was said that any one of them was stronger than the Yama Emperor.

Moreover, they were currently at the heart of Yama Realm, the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness. If they chose to duke it out here, it would result in a pyrrhic victory at best.

As an ally, the Three Yama Ancestors were the last resort, the trump card of trump cards. As an enemy, they were the worst nightmare anyone could have, one they never imagined they would have to face.

The eyes of the Three Yama Ancestors turned cold in an instant.

“Does this mean you’re all going to disobey our will?” Yan One asked.

Yan Tianxiao turned calm now that his mind was made up. “I am the emperor of the Yama Devils, and I swore an oath to protect my people to the death! We will fight even if our enemy is our own ancestors. But ancestors… are you ready to destroy the Yama Devils you created yourselves?”

“Very good!” All three ancestors seethed with fury. Yan Two looked around and said, “Rebel to your heart’s content! It only makes it easier for us to remove you all at once!”

“Ancestor.” Yan Wu’s eyes looked as cold as a frigid hell. “All those who wish to bring harm to the Yama Devils are our sworn enemies… even if they are our own ancestors!”

“That’s right!” Yan Jie stood next to Yan Wu before declaring ruthlessly, “If the three ancestors will not change their minds, then we will rebel to defend our honor!”

“Hahahaha.” It was at this moment Yun Che let out a low chuckle before saying slowly, “Yan Tianxiao, why don’t you take a look at this before you resist?”

He extended his arm and summoned a pitch black cauldron to his palm.

In that moment, the Yama Devils felt like someone had swung a hammer at their eyeballs.

“The Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron!”

Everyone screamed out in shock.

It was the devil origin artifact of the Yama Devils, the very lifeline of their inheritance and power!

Yan Tianxiao almost stumbled on his feet.

In the end, the worst case scenario had happened… no, this was much, much worse than even the worst case scenario he had envisioned in his mind and then shoved way into the farthest back part of it.

In his imagination, the Three Yama Ancestors were the ones who should be threatening them with the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron.

But in reality, Yun Che was the one doing the threatening! Defying all logic, his three ancestors had actually given an outsider the lifeline of their inheritance and power!

For a moment, Yan Tianxiao actually felt like the world was turning upside down.

Why!? Just why!?

“Royal father, wh… what…” Yan Jie asked in a clearly panicked voice.

As the Yama Devil Crown Prince, his knowledge of the secrets of their devil origin artifact dwarfed most people.

The Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron wasn’t just the carrier of the Yama Devil origin power. Unlike the Burning Moon Realm and the Soul Stealing Realm’s devil origin artifacts, it had the tyrannical ability to withdraw all Yama Devil’s power by force!

In that sense, it was similar to the Brahma God Realm’s Brahma Soul Bell.

Back at the edge of Primal Chaos, the Brahma Heaven God Emperor had used the Brahma Soul Bell to withdraw Qianye Ying’er’s power by force… although she was also freed from her slave imprint as a result.

“I’m sure you recognize this, Yama Emperor,” Yun Che declared in an aloof manner while grabbing the cauldron with one hand. “Not only is this cauldron the lifeblood of Yama Realm’s inheritance, it seems like… it has the power to withdraw any Yama Devil’s power by force. Are absolutely you sure you want to resist?”

“Yun—Che!” Yan Tianxiao uttered through gritted teeth. He was finally starting to realize that he had fallen for Yun Che’s trap ten days ago… but that didn’t matter at this point. He said darkly, “While the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron can forcefully withdraw its inheritance, it’s not an instantaneous process. That is all the time I need to tear you into a million pieces!”

“Outrageous!” The angry outburst came from all three Yama Ancestors, but they shut up immediately when Yun Che raised his hand. He smiled and asked, “Is this your final decision? Will you go against your ancestors’ command no matter what?”

“No.” But Yan Tianxiao surprised everyone by closing his eyes and withdrawing his power helplessly. With a conflicted expression, he said, “The Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron is in your hands, and we are at the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness. If this king fights against his ancestors now, he may as well be destroying his realm’s own foundation with his own hands. This king doesn’t accept this, but his people come before his pride.”

“Wu’er, Jie’er.” While Yan Tianxiao was saying this, he sent a surprisingly calm sound transmission to his children. “I will do everything in my power to stop the three ancestors’ in their tracks three breaths from now. While they are caught off guard, kill Yun Che at any cost!”

“Even if you fail, you must wrestle the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron from his hands at the minimum!”

Yan Jie and Yan Wu quietly gathered their profound energy. They were ready to go whenever their father was ready.

“Answer my question.” Yan Tianxiao stared at Yun Che coldly. “If your answer doesn’t disappoint me, then this king may reconsider—”

Riip!

While everyone was paying attention to Yan Tianxiao’s speech, the speech that might very well decide the future of the Yama Devils, the man himself had cut through space and attacked the three Yama Ancestors.

Then, an explosion happened while everyone was still in shock.

Yan Tianxiao was the strongest god emperor of the Northern Divine Region, and he had taken everyone by surprise.

But before he could fully unleash his power, he was assaulted by three terrible powers.

The retaliation was exactly that, a retaliation. But for some reason, they reached Yan Tianxiao first and knocked him back like the hammers of heaven faster than he was able to gather his strength. Then, they pressed down on him like three unbeatable mountains...

Yan Tianxiao let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground.

He landed perfectly like he had magnets beneath his feet, but he couldn’t hide the unnatural whiteness that colored his complexion for an instant. Even worse, his heart was beating so loudly that it felt like a thousand lightning strikes right next to his ears.

“My lord!”

“Royal father!”

Yan Wu and Yan Jie were primed to go at any moment, but what had happened to their father chilled them to the bone.

Everyone else was deathly pale and quaking on the inside as well.

“Hmph!” Yan One’s remaining hair stood on their end as he said murderously, “You dare ambush our master right in front of us!? You leave us no choice but to cripple you, you traitorous brat!”

When the Yama Devils stared at the Three Yama Ancestors again, every pore on their bodies was trembling.

There was no Yama Devil who didn’t know about the Yama Ancestor’s strength. However, most of them had never witnessed it with their own eyes.

Just now, the Yama Ancestors had suppressed their god emperor—the strongest god emperor of the Northern Divine Region—in an instant, and that was after Yan Tianxiao had caught them by surprise.

Before today, the rumors that any one of the Three Yama Ancestors were stronger than the Yama Emperor were just a rumor… but now? No one was stupid enough to hold onto their optimism any longer.

“Yan Tianxiao.” Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly. “There has been no need for blood to be spilled, or your foundation to be uprooted today. You give me no choice but to teach you a grim lesson in reality!”

Yan Tianxiao retorted fearlessly. “This king may die by the hands of his own ancestors today, but he will drag you to his grave if it’s the last thing he does!”

“Oh?” Yun Che smiled and glanced at the people behind the Yama Emperor. “Do you all share the same thought?”

Boom!!

An explosion happened right after Yun Che was done talking.

It was Yan Jie unleashing all the power he had been accumulating… at his own sister’s back.

Yan Tianxiao turned around with bulging eyes… Yan Wu puked blood and crashed to the floor five kilometers away.

Yan Jie and Yan Wu were only two steps apart, and they were both gathering their strength after catching Yan Tianxiao’s earlier sound transmission. Since Yan Wu was completely focused on Yun Che, her back was left completely open to Yan Jie.

Cultivation wise, Yan Wu was far stronger than Yan Jie. But Yan Wu was completely defenseless, and they were only two steps away from each other… the attack was more than enough to wound her seriously.

No one was expecting this to happen. By the time they came back to their senses, Yan Jie was already in front of Yun Che and bowing deeply. “Yan Jie is willing to obey the three ancestors’ order and serve Emperor Yun loyally. Yan Jie will cross a thousand deaths to carry out his ancestors and Emperor Yun’s command!”