Against the Gods

Blue Wind Imperial Palace, Emperor’s Bedchamber.

Cang Wanhe was reclining on his bed, and his pale face was tinged with a rosy color. Dongfang Xiu, who was guarding him by his side, had a face full of expectation.

“Is the Burning Soul Flower really not required?” Cang Yue asked in a somewhat anxious tone.

“Hmm.” Yun Che nodded in agreement: “The Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite is linked with the lifeline of the host. If it is to be eliminated directly, the host is also likely to die along with its removal. In order to eliminate the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite without any effect on the host’s life, it is necessary to sever the lifeline link present between it and the host, and the only thing that can make this possible is the Burning Soul Flower that possesses the “Soul Detach” ability. However, the special ability I recently obtained can also make this possible.”

“I’ll be starting now… Your Majesty, please relax your body, and take slow breaths, bringing your heartbeat to a steady rate.”

Cang Wanhe complied with his words as he breathed a few times, and soon after breathing for a while, he felt calmed down. Yun Che, standing in front of his bed, extended his left hand toward Cang Wanhe. Along with a brilliant red flash, his Red Profound Handle appeared in the form of a spherical radiance, and floated over to Cang Wanhe’s chest.

“What is this?” Dongfang Xiu looked at the Profound Handle in astonishment. In the Profound Sky Continent, only those who lived in the Sacred Grounds knew about the existence of Profound Handle. Although Ling Kun casually mentioned some words about the Profound Handle to the ten large sects at the Heavenly Sword Villa that day, what he actually said was nothing more than its name, and no one really knew about how the Profound Handle looked like.

Yun Che didn’t reply to him. He closed his eyes, and quickly concentrated his mind. Dongfang Xiu also shut down his mouth, and didn’t ask anything again. He observed the bizarre thing that was occurring in front of his eyes with a slight frown on his face; it was something that completely transcended his knowledge.

After a little while, Yun Che opened his eyes: “Your Majesty, restrain every bit of profound power in your body. You’ll soon feel something invading your chest. When that happens, no matter what, don’t try to resist it.”

Cang Wanhe gave a little nod.

Yun Che let out a light breath. Even if he was sure about his success, this was, after all, the first time he was using the Profound Handle this way, and couldn’t help feeling nervous in his heart. So as to ensure that no mistake happens during the process, he immediately opened the first and second profound entrances… Right when he activated Burning Heart, a sudden change happened to the radiance before his eyes… The originally red-colored Profound Handle had surprisingly turned into orange color all of a sudden… and after maintaining the orange color for a second, it immediately became yellow.

The aura of the Profound Handle’s power had also increased by twice as much as before!

“This strange thing can actually change its color?!” Cang Yue cried out in surprise. However, Yun Che could only stare blankly at this sudden change.

What’s going on here!?

How can the color of the profound handle change to yellow?!

Grandfather said that after the awakening of Profound Handle, it wouldn’t change throughout one’s life! When my Profound Handle awakened, it was clearly the lowest ranked, Red Profound Handle… So how can it alter like this?!

Furthermore, not only did its color alter, its strength has also become as strong as a Yellow Profound Handle!

Wait a minute! Don’t tell me…

Yun Che suddenly thought of a possibility, and quickly closed his second profound entrance while maintaining the Evil Soul state.

Immediately, the Profound Handle changed from yellow to orange.

Yun Che closed his Evil Soul Gate as well, and maintained a state with all the profound entrances closed… which made the Profound Handle to at once change back to red again!

Yun Che reactivated Burning Heart, and the Profound Handle instantly changed from red to yellow.

Watching the strange phenomena of the radiant profound power’s continuous color change, Yun Che’s expression grew even grimmer. Dongfang Xiu and Cang Yue held their breaths and didn’t dare to make any sound, as they thought the phenomena reflected Yun Che’s progress in some way and opted to act with prudence.

Yun Che believed that Yun Canghai absolutely wouldn’t deceive him. As such, this kind of change in profound handles was definitely abnormal.

Perhaps it was due to my own special profound veins?

A profound handle was derived from both the blood vessels and profound veins. It was extremely possible that he awakened the weakest, red profound handle because of his originally damaged profound veins, and he had just rebuilt new ones at the age of sixteen. There was no difference between his Evil God’s profound veins and normal profound veins under its normal state, but with every opened Gate, the power of his profound veins would be further boosted.

In the same ratio, there would be a leap in the power of Evil God’s profound veins with every opened Gate… He already knew that the power of the profound handle and profound veins were interrelated, so he wondered whether the mutation of his profound handle occurred due to the particularity of his profound veins, and also pondered over the possibility of the leap in his profound power being the factor... that was spurring on a qualitative change in the profound handle?

This was the only one explanation.

Not only could his profound handle be a manifestation of his power, it could also be a manifestation of his spirit. Moreover, he was able to freely switch between them any time he wished. This uniqueness of his profound handle that simply overturned the common sense, further increased the odds of him eliminating the malicious parasite present in Cang Wanhe’s body. Only, he never thought that even before starting to eliminate the malicious poison, he would come across such an accident... No, wrong! Rather than calling this an accident, it’d be better to call this a completely unexpected pleasant surprise. Although in the beginning, his feelings toward the profound handle wasn’t as intense as that of the people of his Yun Clan, but it was after all a powerful and unconventional ability. In the eyes of the people of Yun Clan, it was even more so a spiritual power. Every increase in the power of the profound handle would result in a substantial upgrade of their overall strength.

A Red Profound Handle could only display ten percent of one’s strength.

But a Yellow Profound Handle could display thirty percent of one’s strength.

As every opened Gate could trigger a qualitative change in the profound handle, then when he opens “Purgatory,” he should be able to change it into the Green Profound Handle, which can display forty percent of one’s strength!

In the future, when he would be able to open “Rumbling Heaven,” he could even change it into the Cyan Profound Handle, similar to what Yun Canghai possessed.

But, when he would be able to open “Hades,” he could even exceed Yun Canghai and have a Blue Profound Handle, which could display one’s sixty percent strength. Just how much of a frightful assistance would the Profound Handle would be then?!

Thinking about the possibilities, Yun Che’s heart felt a bit excited. He at once suppressed down all these unnecessary emotions, and concentrated his mind… Very soon, the Yellow Profound Handle that was floating above Cang Wanhe’s chest disappeared, and changed into an isolated special spiritual manifestation of Yun Che’s soul. Guided by Yun Che’s consciousness, this spiritual manifestation changed into a stream of light, and rushed inside Cang Wanhe’s body, entering through his chest. It continued running inside his heart channels, and proceeded to go even deeper, finally finding the existence of the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite. Then, it pierced through the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite’s body like a needle.

At this time, the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite was more than twice as big as before. It was plundering Cang Wanhe’s vitality, and the condition was already very, terribly serious. If Cang Wanhe wasn’t an emperor, having his body nourished with countless elixirs, it was basically impossible to persist up until now. Yun Che calmed down his heart, and firmly twined the profound handle, that was stuck inside the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite’s body, around the place where its life soul existed. After he forcibly removed it, the profound handle left the place in a flash, and released the parasite inside Cang Wanhe’s heart channels.

With a little “poof” sound, a bloody hole as big as half the size of a fist appeared on Cang Wanhe’s chest, and a huge parasite, which was fully deathly-white in color, flew out from it. The parasite fell down on the ground as Cang Wanhe cried out “Ah!” in fear. After violently struggling a few times, its body didn’t show any movement at all. Then, it rapidly turned into a pool of clear water, and disappeared without a trace.

Cang Wanhe abruptly sat up, as if he had awoken from a nightmare. The expression on his face looked incomparably painful, and his forehead was sweating profusely. Yun Che withdrew the profound handle, and used his profound power to quickly seal up Cang Wanhe’s chest wound.

“Father, are you alright?” Scared by his action, Cang Yue quickly rushed at Cang Wanhe, and supported him with her hands.

Cang Wanhe stared blankly as he watched the intimidating parasite coming out of his body and turning into a pool of clear water. His face exposed the color of being relieved from a burden. After taking a long breath, he said: “We… We’re all right. Yun Che… you have our thanks. Not only did you fulfill the greatest wish of our life, now you saved our life too. We’re… unable to return your favor.”

Yun Che previously mentioned that the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite would adhere to the host’s lifeline, and use it as its nutrition to grow. It shared the host’s lifeline, and regardless of who died among them, the other one would also die at once. But now, the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite had died out, and the way it died was also similar to what Yun Che had described before, turning into a pool of clear water. However, even if he was feeling an unbearable pain, he was still alive… which implied that Yun Che had been successful with his treatment!

Yun Che smiled faintly as he said: “Fortunately, I succeeded in eliminating the parasite. The whole process went more smoothly than I thought. In the end, it was nothing but a parasite with such a weak spiritual power that it collapsed at the first blow… Now, Your Majesty only needs a fortnight for a minor recovery, half a month more for a moderate recovery, and another fifteen days for a major recovery… So your body can completely recover within two months, and will be as healthy and full of energy as it was before you fell ill.”

“Re… really?” Cang Yue and Dongfang Xiu spoke in unison: “He can really recover completely?”

“Hahahaha! If that’s what Yun Che says, We’ll…… definitely believe it!” Although Cang Wanhe did his all to maintain an emperor’s majestic presence, his voice clearly trembled with excitement. To a person who had originally already given up hope, being bedridden for several years and on the verge of death, hearing Yun Che’s words would be undoubtedly no different from heavenly music.

“Mn!” Yun Che nodded, expressing his certainty: “The reason of His Majesty’s poor health is the great amount vitality that separated away from his body. But vitality is different from blood’s essence, and can be restored gradually. Furthermore, for a member of Imperial Family, the process of restoring vitality wouldn’t take too much time either. However, to be able to completely recover, he has to take good care of his health. With profound power constantly tempering his body, he wouldn’t face such an issue in his life again.”

“Wonderful… truly wonderful!”

Dongfang Xiu laughed in pleasant surprise. Cang Yue was even happier, to the point that she practically fainted. She held on to Yun Che’s arm for support, and the rim of her eyes flickered with tears: “Thank you, Junior Brother Yun. I… I…”

Feeling pleasantly surprised, together with countless other emotions, she really had no idea about what to say in this situation. Unexpectedly, Cang Wanhe began laughing at her behavior: “Yue’er, is there still need to thank him anymore? You’ve already given your entire heart to him. There’s no way one can find anything more precious than that to thank him. Hahahaha.”

“Father…” Although they were holding tightly on to each other in the presence of everyone and conveying their feelings of love to each other, Cang Wanhe openly speaking out about it still made her cheeks flush with shyness. However, her jade hand, which was grabbing Yun Che’s arm, didn’t show any signs of releasing it.

Yun Che’s face also showed a look of embarrassment at once, and he promptly said: “Um… Senior Sister, your father requires proper rest, so we should be leaving now. Palace Chief Dongfang, please take care of the wound on His Majesty’s chest as well as his personal safety. It’d be best to not let this Gu Qiuhong person get close to His Majesty again. It’s very difficult to see through his underhanded means for someone who hasn’t learned medicine.”

“Mn!” Dongfang nodded his head: “You don’t have to worry about it. I won’t let anyone plot against His Majesty again. As for Gu Qiuhong… humph! Though I can’t meddle with him, if I ever get an opportunity to pay him back for what he did, I’ll make sure that he dies a tragic death.”

Yun Che and Cang Yue took their leave, and walked away from the bedchamber. Then, they walked side by side and arrived at the Moon Embracing Palace.

All the red ribbons and red lights that were decorating the Moon Embracing Palace had been removed by this time, and not even a trace of them was left behind. Seeing this situation, Cang Yue also quietly let out a breath of relief. She was afraid Yun Che would feel uncomfortable looking at the ornamentation.

After they met again this time, they had finally got the chance to be alone. Cang Yue closed the Palace door, and tightly hugged Yun Che. She leaned against him as she closed her eyes, and didn’t want to let go of him anymore.

“Junior Brother Yun, I’m truly glad… that I didn’t lose you.” Cang Yue softly murmured.

“I’m also truly glad… that I didn’t lose you.” Yun Che replied back in a gentle voice.

“Pfft…” Cang Yue suddenly gave a light laugh, and said with fake displeasure: “I think you should be saying ‘you all’ instead of ‘you’, right? You bad man, you’re always trying to show off, which not only caused you nearly lose your life sixteen months ago, but also revealed your romantic history… hmph!”

While speaking, the tip of Cang Yue’s nose and lips slightly raised at the same time, though she wasn’t the slightest bit angry. After losing Yun Che and then regaining him, she was already infinitely thankful to the heavens. here was no way she would be willing to part with him again, so how could she blame him or argue over his relationships?

“Err? Romantic… history?” Yun Che stared blankly: “What are you…”

“I know that you and Xia Qingyue are an officially married couple. But I never thought that you actually… actually with Chu Yuechan… hmph-hmph! You practically made all the men of the world into your public enemy!”

“…!?” Yun Che suddenly widened his eyes, and asked with a stammer: “This, this, this… I and Little Fairy… Ah no, I mean about Chu Yuechan… that thing… how can it…?”

“After she heard the news of your death, she ran off to the Sword Management Terrace and wanted to destroy the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, as if she had lost her mind… Then, she vomited blood over there and lost her consciousness. She is truly deep in love with you, which surprisingly doesn’t make me jealous in the least. It’s just that no one expected that happening with the owner of an icy face, icy soul and icy heart like her. She is already the object of the infatuation of countless top-notch youths and outstanding talents, but no one thought that the icy and beautiful fairy would fall in love with you… hehe! This only goes to show that my Junior Brother Yun is great and very outstanding. I’m convinced that as long as Junior Brother Yun wishes, there’s no woman in this world that you can’t conquer.”

While telling this whole thing, Cang Yue’s face was filled with pride.

Yun Che’s mouth gaped slightly as he was dumbfounded for a while. The display of her resolute feelings toward him time and again, and the experience both of them went through together back then in the Heavenly Sword Villa, was something impossible for her to tell anyone else, and he didn’t intend to tell anyone else either. He originally thought that unless Chu Yuechan wavered from her decision and made some move, their relationship would remain an everlasting secret. He never thought that it would end up being known by everyone under the heaven.

Yun Che’s scalp felt a burst of numbness… He could well imagine how much transcendent individuals like Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Juetian must hate him to the bone! The icy and beautiful fairy they could only fantasize about, was actually captured by someone from the younger generation!

“This… this matter… cough… that… what about Yuanba? Oh right, where is he now? Is he all right?” Yun Che originally wanted to change the subject, but when he mentioned Xia Yuanba, his heart immediately tensed up. He was afraid that Yuanba might be in depression since that day.

“Yuanba… I don’t know.” Cang Yue shook her head: “After you were suppressed by the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, I passed out. Afterwards, I saw a very long nightmare. The next day when… when I came to, I heard Palace Chief Qin saying that he had left the place alone, and didn’t let anyone obstruct or follow him. No one knows where he went. Since that time, I sent our people many time to go look for him. But we never found any clue to his whereabouts. It was as if he had all of a sudden disappeared from the Blue Wind Empire.”

“However, I certainly believe that Yuanba is doing all right. Because before leaving, he said to Palace Chief Qin that he had got his life in exchange for yours, so no matter what happens, he wouldn’t let himself die easily.” Talking about Xia Yuanba, Cang Yue’s face also showed concern.

“Yuanba…” Yun Che lightly spoke out the name in remembrance. After being absent-minded for a little while, he faintly said: “That’s fine too. Yuanba, I hope that by the time I find you, you would’ve genuinely grown up, and can take charge of your responsibilities… I believe that was also the reason behind your insistence to leave by yourself.”

“By the way!” Cang Yue raised her body from Yun Che’s chest, and asked: “Junior Brother Yun, did you go to see Chu Yuechan… and your child before coming back to the Imperial City? Is your child a boy or a girl?”