Against the Gods

The snowy winds suddenly stopped howling and one could even faintly hear the beat of a wildly-pounding heart in the vast still whiteness that seemed to stretch on forever.

“Of course I do.”

That calm and quiet reply caused Xia Yuanba’s heart to drop in his chest… because he knew that Yun Che was definitely listening.

“How can I not hate him?”

She didn’t turn around to look at Xia Yuanba. Instead, she kept staring into the distance as her voice turned even colder and gloomier than the boundless snow. “He wasn’t around when I was born. He wasn’t there as I was growing up. He didn’t even come… to my coming-of-age ceremony when I turned eighteen.”

“He told me that I was his whole world… He told me that he’d never let my mother and I get hurt or cry again… He told me that he’d be back before I even knew it… He told me that he wanted to watch me grow older, to make up for everything that he owed me…”

“But… he broke every promise he made… over and over again…”

“He’s the most unreliable father, the most ill-qualified father… the worst father in the world.”

Her voice was very soft and light, and although it sounded a little faint at times, one couldn’t hear any emotion in it.

In the skies high above them, far higher than where her senses could reach, Yun Che slowly closed his eyes. He had clenched his jaw so hard that a small rivulet of blood was slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Shui Meiyin stretched out a hand to wipe away the blood before she gently closed her palm.

“He clearly said that… he wouldn’t allow anyone to steal him away from me… But why… does he keep choosing to abandon me time after time, again and again…”

“I hate him, I hate him so much.”

After she softly muttered those words, she started to slowly walk away.

Xia Yuanba couldn’t see her expression right now and her voice had been so cold and calm that it had practically frozen his heart. He stretched out a hand to stop her but he simply couldn’t find the words to say.

At this time, Yun Wuxin suddenly stopped and turned around to look at him.

“Uncle Xia,” she said as she stared straight into Xia Yuanba’s eyes with those clear and innocent eyes of hers. “Have you already met him?”

This sent a jolt through Xia Yuanba, who was currently deeply emotional. He anxiously waved his hands and exclaimed, “No, no, no, no! Absolutely not! If not, I would’ve… definitely brought him home.”

Upon seeing Xia Yuanba’s reaction, a flowing light flashed through Yun Wuxin’s beautiful eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but she ended up stopping herself several times before she finally asked in a slow and measured voice, “You… really did see him, huh? You saw him… and he’s still around… right?”

Xia Yuanba had always been terrible at lying. He wasn’t even as good as your average human being, much less someone like Yun Che, who could spin a web of lies with an absolutely straight face.

It would’ve been better if he hadn’t tried to deny it, because this denial had so many holes in it that it was practically an admission in Yun Wuxin’s eyes.

“Er… this… I…”

Xia Yuanba panickedly retreated a few steps as Yun Wuxin continued to stare at him. He wanted to make another strong denial, but the moment he opened his mouth, all the air went out of him and his head sagged in defeat instead.

“Huuuu…” He let out a long sigh as a look of resignation crossed his face. After that, he made sure that he didn’t look towards where Yun Che was as he avoided Yun Wuxin’s gaze and replied, “Yes. In truth… I successfully managed to go to the God Realm, and I met your father under extremely fortuitous circumstances.”

Since everything he said was true this time, Xia Yuanba didn’t show any of the tells he gave away when he did try to lie.

Once he said those words, Xia Yuanba’s body instantly relaxed. He felt guilty toward Yun Che, but he felt a lot better now that he had gotten it all out.

Silence… A very long and drawn-out silence ensued after that. Xia Yuanba stared at Yun Wuxin with apprehensive eyes as she quietly stood in place. Her face was still as cold and calm as ever, and not a single ripple of emotion could be seen on her face.

Yun Wuxin finally spoke, “Then why didn’t he come back to me? Why did he ask you to hide the truth? Did he receive some sort of debilitating injury… that crippled him?”

“No, no, absolutely not. He’s extremely fine, not a single wound on him! I can guarantee that much at least.”

Since matters had already come to this, Xia Yuanba chose not to hide anything any longer. He solemnly said, “There are some very important tasks that he has to complete. Tasks so important… that even I can’t quite understand them.”

“Wuxin,” Xia Yuanba hurriedly continued, “I understand your father very well. The only reason he wouldn’t have returned after all these years is because there have been some unforeseen difficulties and obstacles tying him down. After all, the place called the God Realm is unimaginably vast, and there must be something that’s keeping him there.”

“However, he did promise that he would return very soon… That was something that he said himself. A promise he was very sincere about.”

Xia Yuanba had already racked his brains to craft this answer for Yun Wuxin, so the only thing he could do now was anxiously wait for her response.

“Is that so…” Yun Wuxin said in the softest of voices. After that, she simply turned around, her back facing Xia Yuanba once more.

“I got it. Since he didn’t want us to know about the chance meeting that two of you had, I won’t tell Mother or my masters.”

“Uncle Xia, you’ve been gone for several months, so Absolute Monarch Sanctuary has been worried to death about you. You should return as soon as possible and give them some peace of mind.”

She was already wandering into the boundless flying snow even as she said those words.

“Wuxin, are… you okay?” Xia Yuanba asked in a worried voice.

Unfortunately, he did not receive a reply. Yun Wuxin’s figure had already become indistinct and blurry as she disappeared into the neverending blizzard.

After Xia Yuanba shot a very apologetic look into the skies above him, he remained where he was standing for a while, a troubled look on his face. After that, he gave a short sigh before he turned around and flew toward the south.

After all, Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace forbade all males besides Yun Che from entering, and he was no exception.

The snowy winds were growing more and more frantic. This had become a common occurrence in the Snow Region of Extreme Ice since four years ago, when the entire Blue Pole Star had shuddered violently. Ever since then, this region had grown even colder than it had been before.

Yun Wuxin’s steps grew slower and slower, and before she even knew it, her path had deviated away from where Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace lay.

Thud!

She suddenly staggered as she fell to her knees in the icy snow.

She remained still for a very long time, her delicate shoulders gently trembling. However, this trembling began growing more and more intense...

A hoarse sob that she desperately tried to suppress rang out in the snowy winds.

“Da… Daddy…”

She cried out those words in a desolate and miserable voice as a single tear fell from the eyes she had shut tight. It transformed into the purest and most lustrous snow crystal in the universe as it silently fell into the eternal ice that shrouded this land.

“As long as you’re safe… As… long… as you’re safe…”

“As long... as you’re safe… I’ll wait for you… no… matter… how… long… it takes…”

“Daddy… I hate you… But… I also really… really… miss… you…”

Finally, she couldn’t hold back her sobbing any longer and tears fell from her eyes like water from a burst dam. She knelt in the snow as she clutched one hand to her chest and cried her heart out in the midst of that boundless land of ice and snow. The dim skies and howling winds hid her heart-rending cries from the world as the snow swirled around her.

Every teardrop, every pain-filled sob was filled with boundless longing, anger, sorrow, worry, and fear...

In the clouds high above her, Yun Che desperately clutched at his chest, his fingers sinking deep into his flesh.

“Let’s… go.”

Those two short words were said in such a tremulous voice that they were nearly unintelligible.

Every second he stayed in the Blue Pole Star increased the danger it was exposed to.

He definitely couldn’t let the nightmare of yesteryear come to pass again. He couldn’t allow anyone to detect its existence, no matter what… Even if there was an infinitesimally small chance of that happening in the first place.

He could not meet her, could not stay here, could not even go a little bit closer… until there were finally no threats in this world.

Shui Meiyin took out the World Piercer and gently swished it in the air.

Light and space bent around them as they returned to the Seven Star Realm. They also just so happened to appear in the place they had been before.

Because he had discovered Xia Yuanba, the energies that Yun Che had unleashed had left a clear mark on the landscape. As a result, no one who was tracking him would realize that the planes had been broken in this place.

Bang!

Yun Che fell to his knees heavily, his fingers still painfully digging into his flesh. His face was a mask of warped anguish and his entire body was shaking like a leaf in a storm. The harsh grating sound of teeth grinding on teeth could be heard from his mouth.

Shui Meiyin squatted down beside him and whispered, “Big Brother Yun Che, I’m the only one here. No one else will be able to approach us.”

Those short few words actually caused the Devil Master, the ruler of the Northern Divine Region, the monster who had stained two divine regions in blood, to completely collapse. His head smashed against the ground as he wailed loudly like a helpless child, his tears instantly staining the ground around him.

His home, his family and friends, his clan, his wives and lovers, his daughter...

They were actually still alive.

He had never actually lost them...

There was no greater blessing and joyous surprise in the universe than this for Yun Che.

However, this great joy was also accompanied by a huge sorrow.

A father and daughter lay separated by two worlds as both of them knelt in the ground and bitterly wept. They wailed their hearts out as they clutched their chests, and even the heavens and the earth seemed to mourn with them.

Within the world of the Sky Poison Pearl, He Ling held both hands to her lips as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“Wu… This is wonderful… This is simply wonderful… Wuuuu…” She barely gasped as tears poured down her cheeks.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Hong’er was also wailing loudly, her tears scattering everywhere.

Meanwhile, You’er was staring at them with a vacant look on her face. She didn’t know what to do right now.

…………..

“So the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor gifted the World Piercer to you quite soon after she arrived, huh?”

Yun Che’s weeping lasted for more than an hour before his sobs gradually died down.

Even now, his eyes were still red and swollen. Even though it seriously hurt his proud and dignified image as the Devil Master, he wasn’t willing to use profound energy to fix it.

Besides, the only person who could see him right now was Shui Meiyin and she would always think that he was the most handsome person in the world, no matter what happened.

He rested a hand lightly against his chest as he spoke… His heart no longer felt cold and dead. It was slowly throbbing with a warm heat.

“Yes, she gave it to me quite soon after she had arrived,” Shui Meiyin nodded her head as she gently traced the surface of the World Piercer with a slender, jade-like finger.

If anyone saw the ordinary black needle in her hand, an object that radiated no aura whatsoever, they would never think that this was the artifact ranked sixth among the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the World Piercer.

“No wonder you told me that the Moon God Emperor wouldn’t be able to lock you up if you didn’t wish for it,” Yun Che said with a dry chuckle.

Shui Meiyin replied, “I didn’t want to endanger the Glazed Light Realm any further or expose the fact that I held the World Piercer, so I obediently allowed myself to be locked up in that place. I would only ever use the World Pierce to sneak out a few times when I was absolutely sure that I wouldn’t be caught.”

“Big Brother Yun Che, in truth, Senior Devil Emperor wanted to leave the World Piercer to you,” Shui Meiyin suddenly said.

Yun Che didn’t look the least bit surprised when he heard those words.

When he had finally calmed down and taken another look at the World Piercer in Shui Meiyin’s hands, the first emotion that actually flooded his heart was shock. Why hadn’t the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor simply give it to him if she wasn’t going to take it outside of the Primal Chaos!?

After all, both her daughters were bonded to him directly!

The Void Illusion Stone was publicly acknowledged as the most powerful spatial artifact in the universe. It was so powerful that it could instantly teleport someone without leaving a single trace behind… The only flaw was that even the user did not know where he was going to be sent to.

Back at the Wall of Primal Chaos, Yun Che had used a Void Illusion Stone the enslaved Qianye Ying’er had thrown to him to escape from certain doom.

Back when the Blue Pole Star had been “destroyed”, Yun Che had escaped together with Mu Xuanyin’s body using a Void Illusion Stone as well.

In the annals of the God Realm, the Void Illusion Stone’s power came from the World Piercer. There were very few of them left in the universe, and since there was no way to reproduce them in the time the World Piercer was exiled from the Primal Chaos together with the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, the already-small supply dwindled with every use.

However, the World Piercer could not only do what the Void Illusion Stone did, it could also allow its user to set the coordinates to where they wanted to be teleported to! And it could be used an unlimited amount of times!

This treasure was absolutely ridiculous in its ability to allow its user to escape, so he simply couldn’t understand why the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor hadn’t left it to him.

What’s more, during the Era of Gods, the World Piercer was the Heavenly Profound Treasure that had belonged to the Heretic God! Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Jie Yuan was only in possession of it because he had given it to her as a betrothal gift. However, that was also why the Sky Poison Pearl had ended up in Yun Che’s hand as Jie Yuan had given it to the Heretic God as her betrothal gift.

He stared intently at Shui Meiyin as he waited for her to continue. Even though he was beyond puzzled by her decision, he knew very well that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor must have had a very special reason for doing what she did.