Against the Gods

Inside of the Primordial Profound Ark, a vast wasteland.

After proceeding onward for yet another two hours more, the world before them was still a stretch of wasteland. If one could only use one word to express Yun Che’s feelings, it would be...

Bored!!

In addition, there was not the least bit of excitement, nervousness, or mysterious feeling in exploring a different world. As far as the eye could see, it was all wasteland, there were barely any larger than usual rocks. One or two profound beasts would scuttle about, but they were all beaten to a pulp by one of Xia Yuanba’s punches, he simply did not need to do anything… During his last adventure inside the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, there was a sky filled with flying snow, there was danger, there were great encounters… In comparison, this place was simply dull to the extreme. There was not much to see, no encounters, and no risks at all.

Fortunately, the delightful Feng Xue’er was by his side.

“Jasmine, did you sense anything?” Yun Che asked casually.

“...This is an independent world’s wasteland.” Jasmine said indifferently: “The first place you guys landed in was basically this world’s only green area. All other places are wastelands, and the deeper you go, the more desolate it becomes.”

“What does this mean?” Yun Che asked.

“It means that this world is dying!” Jasmine answered: “Even though this world still has profound beasts, you should also realize that not only are the profound beasts here few in number, they all have hard outer armor. They’re all profound beasts that are extremely resistant to extremely poor environments! After a few more millennia, these extremely durable profound beasts will also gradually go extinct. By that time, this world will completely become a dead world.”

“...Why would this world die?”

“This is an independent world, not a natural world born from the large universe. Since it is a self-made independent world, its existence relies on the support of certain forces. Once the power that supports this world disappears, this world will also slowly and naturally become desolate and die.

Yun Che: “...”

“Big brother Yun, I heard yesterday that you’re Blue Wind’s Prince Consort. Your wife is also a princess… so Big brother Yun’s wife must be really pretty, right?” Feng Xue’er tilted her head to look at Yun Che as she asked with curiosity.

Before Yun Che could answer, Xia Yuanba had already moved closer and said replied seriously: “Senior Sister Xueruo is indeed beautiful, but she’s not as beautiful as my big sister… oh, oh, and, my big sister is Brother-in-law’s big wife. Even though Senior Sister Xueruo is a princess, she’s only a little wife.”

As the younger brother of Xia Qingyue, Xia Yuanba had an small instinctive hostility toward Yun Che’s latter wife, Cang Yue, but due to Cang Yue’s noble identity as a princess and her sweet-tempered disposition, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis for his elder sister. So when Feng Xue’er mentioned Yun Che’s wife, and even directly mentioned Princess Cang Yue, he quickly stepped in and upheld his sister’s first wife position.

“...” If not for the fact that he couldn’t beat Xia Yuanba, Yun Che really wanted to kick him flying.

“Ah?” As expected, Feng Xue’er’s cherry lips gaped open in amazement: “Big brother Yun, you actually have… two wives?”

“Cough cough… this… this… you also know that your big brother Yun has great charm. Some things cannot be opposed with one’s will.” Yun Che explained incoherently.

But he never expected for Feng Xue’er to nod, and answer seriously: “Mn, right. Big brother Yun is so nice, so there must be many girls who like him. Big brother Yun having two wives at the age of nineteen… doesn’t seem to be much! Royal father has more than four hundred sixty wives, way more than Big brother Yun, you know!”

M… more… than four hundred sixty?!

Yun Che sucked in a breath of cold air… as expected, being an emperor was so comfortable that it made one envy!

Wait… More than four hundred sixty wives, yet only had fourteen sons and one daughter?

Doesn’t seem too special!!

After thinking about the latter, Yun Che’s mind immediately calmed. He nodded, and said earnestly: “Mn! I will learn from Xue’er’s royal father and work hard in that aspect… Xue’er, I have a few questions to ask you. If you can answer them, answer them, if you don’t feel comfortable answering them, you don’t have to.”

“Mn, Big brother Yun, go ahead.” Feng Xue’er replied cheerfully.

Yun Che arranged his thoughts, and asked: “Xue’er, before you turned sixteen, was most of your time spent beside your sect’s ‘Phoenix God’?”

The two words “Phoenix God” caused a slight pause to appear in Feng Xue’er’s footsteps. After a moment of silence, she nodded lightly: “Yes, Lord Phoenix God suddenly appeared on the day I was born and brought me to its side, all the way until I turned eight, which was when I first saw my royal father. Then, most of my time was still spent by Lord Phoenix God’s side, until the year I turned thirteen…”

Feng Xue’er’s voice cracked, then didn’t continue any futher.

Yun Che was able to guess that the “Lord Phoenix God” had died in the year Feng Xue’er turned thirteen, which was three years ago. Of course, he wasn’t going to as Feng Xue’er to confirm this fact, because even in Divine Phoenix Sect, there was probably not many in the sect who knew that the phoenix spirit was already dead. It was an humongous secret that could not be spread out. He pondered, then asked: “Then had your Lord Phoenix God ever talked to you about… another phoenix god?”

Feng Xue’er lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes silently looked at Yun Che for a while, then… she lightly nodded.

“Lord Phoenix God is one of the two remnant spirits that the Divine Phoenix Beast left behind in the Profound Sky Continent a long long time ago, a guide to test those who are worthy of the Phoenix power and pass on its legacy. One of them is our Divine Phoenix Empire’s Lord Phoenix God. The other, is in Blue Wind Nation… Lord Phoenix God told me this a long time ago.” Feng Xue’er said slowly. She looked at Yun Che: “You asked me yesterday why I taught you the World Ode of the Phoenix even though I knew you were the other Phoenix God’s inheritor… In fact, I only half-answered it yesterday. The other half of the reason… was that it was Lord Phoenix God’s wish.”

“Phoenix God’s wish?” Yun Che’s brows twitched violently.

“Lord Phoenix God was originally a pure Phoenix Spirit, but due to it staying in Profound Sky Continent for a long time, its pure spirit was polluted by the mortal world’s filth, making it give birth to feelings it shouldn’t have, making it desire to be the only phoenix spirit in the Profound Sky Continent, and claim the entire Profound Sky Continent as its own. As it result, it broke away from its bindings and left the trial grounds for Blue Wind Nation in order to find the other phoenix spirit. After a fierce battle, it annihilated the other spirit, but it also suffered heavy injuries. Not only had its power weakened by several times, its lifespan of more than several ten thousand years had been reduced to a few thousand years. Even World Ode of the Phoenix had been damaged by the fierce battle, fragmented…”

“...” What Feng Xue’er had said and what Yun Che had heard from the phoenix spirit’s own mouth back then in the trial grounds was exactly the same. Only, the phoenix spirit didn’t actually die that year and its World Ode of the Phoenix had broken to the point where only the fifth and sixth stages remained.

“Then, as Lord Phoenix God’s lifespan gradually approached its end, it saw through many things, so its filth slowly diluted. In regards to that year, it felt evil and regretted destroying the other phoenix spirit. However, three years ago, when Lord Phoenix God was about to… Lord Phoenix God suddenly felt the existence of the other phoenix spirit and another Phoenix bloodline inheritor. It told me that if I ever met the other Phoenix successor, I should be peaceful and teach him the World Ode of the Phoenix… because Lord Phoenix God had lost the fifth and sixth stages of the World Ode of the Phoenix during the battle back then, and it had completely destroyed the other phoenix spirit’s World Ode of the Phoenix. Even if the successor obtained the Phoenix bloodline, he would never be able to cultivate Phoenix Profound Arts.”

Yun Che listened in earnest, baffled.

Even though Feng Xue’er was trying to cover it up as much as she could, most of her words all indicated that the phoenix spirit had already died. What surprised him was that the “Phoenix God”, which the phoenix spirit had warned him to be careful of, the one he was the most afraid of before coming to Divine Phoenix Sect, had already regretted and confessed its crime and betrayal. The world was truly full of unpredictable happenings.

“I never expected that Big brother Yun would actually be the other Lord Phoenix God’s inheritor, and even obtained its original power and soul… Oh, right. Big brother Yun, how does the other Lord Phoenix God look like? Is it… still well?” Feng Xue’er asked excitedly.

“Looks like…” Yun Che pondered, then said somewhat helplessly: “Actually, I never clearly saw what it looked like, every time I saw it, I only saw two dazzling gold eyes. Right now it’s somewhere in Blue Wind Nation. It had also told me about a few of the grievances between it and your Lord Phoenix God that year. Once I return back to Blue Wind, it seems that I have to talk to it about this. It ought to feel quite a bit relieved by it.”

“Mn!” Feng Xue’er nodded. Then, her expression became misty: “Actually, when Lord Phoenix God found out that the other phoenix spirit had not died, it really was happy. Like… its greatest worry had been unknotted. So when I found out that Big brother Yun was the other phoenix spirit’s successor, I was also very happy.”

Just as Yun Che was about to say something, an ear-piercing voice suddenly sounded from behind:

“Oh? Isn’t this my incomparably beautiful little sister Xue’er? Meeting you in such a vast mysterious world is truly this young master’s fortune.”

Yun Che, Feng Xue’er, and Xia Yuanba turned around at the same time. No less than three hundred meters away from them was a black attired Ye Xinghan who held onto his two seductive women. His face full of smiles did not cover up the slightest bit of his insolence and excessive lewdness as he casually walked their way.

“Ye Xinghan?” Yun Che muttered as his brows instantly furrowed. Ye Xinghan’s dangerous smile and expression immediately unsettled him greatly. He quietly uttered: “Yuanba, careful.”

“Oh…” Yun Che’s words made Xia Yuanba stiffen. He slightly nodded as every vein on his thick arms all bulged outwards.

Xia yuanba was a mid-stage Overlord, and Feng Xue’er was a half-step Monarch. Ye Xinghan’s was also a mid-stage Overlord, so if he wanted to fight, he was definitely not a match for both Xia Yuanba and Feng Xue’er… But it was exactly because of this that Yun Che was even more unsettled, because there was an expression of having something up his sleeve, which clearly indicated that his prey was in his hands… in Ye Xinghan’s eyes!

“Young Hall Master Ye.” Feng Xue’er greeted.

“Oh~~” Ye Xinghan’s long, thin eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at Feng Xue’er’s beautiful goddess-like figure, not seeing Yun Che or Xia Yuanba at all: “Little sister Xue’er, you’re being too formal, calling me Young Hall Master Ye is too dull and distant. I want little sister Xue’er to call me… Big brother Ye.”