Against the Gods

“Xiao Yun, you need to calm down first!”

Yun Che shoved Xiao Yun’s shoulder but he did not respond.

Yun Che’s eyebrows twitched as he fiercely raised his energy and gave a loud roar, “Xiao Yun! Seventh Sister! Stop crying and calm down first… The child isn’t dead, he still has life in him! But if you don’t calm down now, he really will die!”

Yun Che’s loud roar caused all the weeping to instantly stop. Number Seven Under Heaven was completely dumbstruck while Xiao Yun had vigorously leapt off the floor. He hugged the ice-cold baby as he spoke through trembling lips, “Big Brother… what did you say? Is what you’re saying… really true?”

All eyes focused on Yun Che as Mu Yurou agitatedly strode forward and asked in an excited voice, “Che’er, is what you’re saying… really true? But that child is already… already…”

His body was icy-cold and lifeless… He was only an infant, so how was it possible that he was still alive?

“He does indeed still have some life left in him,” Yun Che said in a solemn voice. “It’s just that his life is currently ensnared by a tendril of devilish energy. This is also the reason why his entire body is icy-cold.”

“Devil… Devilish energy? What is going on here?” Yun Qinghong asked in an astonished voice.

“The only person under the heavens that could release such devil energy is Xuanyuan Wentian. Seventh Sister, you need to to recall something for me. During the time when all of you fought off Xuanyuan Wentian, were you ever directly harmed by his profound energy?” Yun Che asked.

“She wasn’t, she definitely wasn’t!” Xiao Yun said as he gasped for breath, “I always stood in front of Seventh Sister. Even though Xuanyuan Wentian’s profound energy had breached the barrier a few times it had not spread to where Seventh Sister and I was standing at.”

“...Hand the child over to me,” Yun Che said as he extended an arm towards Xiao Yun.

“Big Brother…” Xiao Yun said between choked sobs as he handed over the ice-cold baby to Yun Che, “He… Is it truly still possible to save him…”

Yun Che did not reply. Instead, he closed his eyes and slowly infused his profound energy into the body of the baby amidst the deathly silence… In an instant, he opened his eyes and said, “This tendril of devilish energy has already merged with his life vein, so it indeed should not have been something that infiltrated the body only recently. This was something that happened at least two to three months ago.”

Two or three months ago…” Xiao Yun mumbled under his breath before he suddenly leaped up, “Yes… It was three months ago… Seventh Sister and I had been trapped by Xuanyuan Wentian’s dark energy. Could it be… could it be that…”

Three months ago, they had been ensnared by Xuanyuan Wentian’s Darkness Prison at the Snow Region of Extreme Ice. In the end, they had only been saved because Fen Juechen’s spirit had suddenly awakened.

“That is extremely likely!” Yun Che said with a grave nod of his head, “Even though Seventh Sister dispelled the devilish energy in her body on that day an extremely small amount must have entered the body of her baby. This small amount would be extremely hard for the mother to detect and even if she did manage to detect it, it would be extremely hard to get rid of it as well.”

The reason why Yun Che’s profound veins had been crippled was because when he had been struck by the cold poison of Sun Moon Divine Hall while he was still in his mother’s womb. So the situation of the baby in his arms was quite similar to his own all those years ago.

It was just that he had been stricken by poison all those years ago but this child had been stricken by devil energy——Even though it was a very faint and weak tendril of devilish energy, it was still ten million times more dreadful than just poison.

“Che’er.” Yun Qinghong asked in a hopeful voice as he fought to keep cool, “Is there truly a way for this child to be saved?”

“...” Yun Che’s lips moved but no sound came from his mouth.

“Big Brother Yun!!” Number Seven Under Heaven struggled to kneel down on top of the bed as she cried out in a tearful voice, “I beg you, please save my baby… You are the greatest genius doctor in the entire world… So you definitely have a way to…”

“Little Che…” Xiao Lingxi said, looking at him through her tear-filled eyes as she supported Xiao Lie.

“Young Patriarch Yun, as long as you can save this child, I will do anything for you. I won’t blink or flinch even if you ask me to be your ox or horse!” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven said with great emotion in his voice.

Yun Che shook his head, “All of you needn’t behave in this manner. This child is the son of Xiao Yun and Seventh Sister. He is the grandson of my parents and the great grandson of my Grandfather. So he is like half a son to me. As long as the faintest ray of hope still exists, I will definitely do all that I can to save him.”

After saying that, he hugged the child and grabbed Feng Xue’er’s hand, “Xue’er come with me. If we are to save this child, I will definitely need to borrow your power.”

Yun Che pulled Feng Xue’er into the courtyard as the rest of them anxiously followed behind. Once he stood in the middle of the courtyard, Yun Che spoke in a solemn voice, “This tendril of devilish energy has been in his body for a long time. If it was any other child, that child would have died a long time ago. But thankfully Seventh Sister possesses a constitution that far surpasses that of a normal person, so even though it looks like he has passed on, there is still a trace of life left in his life vein. If I am able to dispel the devilish energy and resuscitate his life vein… then there is a possibility that we can save him.”

But this was only a possibility.

Whether it was Xiao Yun, Number Seven Under Heaven or the rest of them, everyone here had a clear understanding of just how difficult it would be to dispel devil energy that had infiltrated one’s body… Furthermore, because he was still a baby, he would definitely not be able to endure anything but the gentlest of profound energies. The moment the the profound energy used grew too strong or the moment the slightest deviation occurred during this process… Even the slightest error would be fatal to the already extremely frail baby.

Even though Yun Qinghong and Greatest Ambition Under Heaven were both Monarchs, they knew that they would definitely not be able to perform such a procedure.

“If it was just poison or another type of profound energy, I would be very confident. But devil energy is different…” Yun Che said as he sucked in a quick breath, “Right now, it is hibernating within this child’s body. But the moment it is touched by an external energy, it will thrash about like a startled venomous snake. Therefore, the risk that comes with trying to expel it is extremely high… So the only option we have left is to cleanse it away!”

Feng Xue’er immediately reacted to those words, “By using the Phoenix flames?”

“Right!” Yun Che said as he nodded his head, “Xue’er, your Phoenix flames are many times purer than my own. If we use your Phoenix flames, it will increase the chances of our success.”

As he spoke, Yun Che had already sat down on the ground. He placed the baby in his lap, “Father, could I trouble you to help me erect a light and sound isolating barrier?”

“Alright!” Yun Qinghong said as he stepped forward, his hand flashing with lightning. He was very clear that the procedure Yun Che had just detailed would be something that required the utmost precision and carefulness. So Yun Che definitely could not be distracted by anything during this procedure

“I’ll help as well,” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven said as he hurriedly stepped forward.

A isolation barrier that was more than three meters in width was quickly erected by the combined powers of the two Monarchs.

“Big Brother, I will leave… everything to you,” Xiao Yun said in a trembling voice, extending his hand as if he was grasping at the very last straws of hope.

Ding!

With a gentle ring, the isolation barrier had been completely erected. Everyone’s hearts were firmly stuck in their throats… But at least the atmosphere was no longer as sorrowful or gloomy as it had been before, because now a faint ray of hope had appeared.

“Xiao Ying, my son, your spirit in heaven definitely needs to protect this child,” Xiao Lie muttered as he raised his head to the heavens, tears coursing from his old eyes.

The world inside the barrier was filled with a white profound light. Feng Xue’er sat by Yun Che’s side as she spoke in an apprehensive but sincere voice, “Big Brother Yun, what should I do?”

“Xue’er, I will need a drop of your blood,” Yun Che said softly.

“Mn!” Feng Xue’er did not hesitate to extend a finger. A drop of blood appeared on the tip of that finger before dropping onto the tip of Yun Che’s finger under Yun Che’s careful guidance.

“Phew…” Yun Che’s chest rose and fell. His forehead was already matted in sweat before he had even begun the procedure. Because the outcome of this endeavor concerned the life and death of a newborn baby… Furthermore, this also concerned the future happiness of Xiao Yun and his wife and Grandfather’s lifelong wish.

He was not confident of his chances of success… But no matter what, he needed to be the one to shoulder this immense burden.

“Child, you have a kind and gentle father, a grandfather whose righteousness touches the sky and you have a compassionate great grandfather. You are the continuation of their lives… So, you need to be strong and you definitely mustn’t be beaten by a lousy tendril of devilish energy!”

As he muttered to himself, his finger swiftly descended as he pressed that droplet of Feng Xue’er’s blood against the baby’s chest. After a few moments, the droplet of blood had slowly sunk into his tiny body like quicksilver sinking into the ground.

Under the guidance of Yun Che’s profound energy, the droplet of blood slowly spread throughout the baby’s entire body.

The Sky Poison Pearl and the Phoenix flames both possessed extremely strong purifying abilities but there were differences between the two types of purification. The Sky Poison Pearl could cleanse poison, impurities and foreign matter but the Phoenix flames cleansed negative energy.

If one were to compare the strength of their purifying power, the Sky Poison Pearl was far stronger than Phoenix flames that were not one hundred percent pure… It was just that it was unable to cleanse away devilish energy.

The Phoenix flames were a divine power. The destructive power of these flames were so dreadful that even the tiniest cluster of flames would be something far beyond what a newborn baby would be able to endure. So, when Yun Che ignited that purifying flame in the places where the devilish energy lingered, he had to carefully use the energy generated by the Great Way of the Buddha to isolate it.

Yun Che was extremely familiar with the composition of the human body. So he very clearly knew where the human body was weak, where it could be fatally wounded, in which parts the devilish energy would most likely hide and which parts could not be touched by profound energy… Swiftly, he confirmed that all of the lingering devilish energy in the infant’s body originated from one corner. So he started at that point and used the Phoenix flames to purify the devilish energy bit by bit.

A tendril of Phoenix blood came into contact with the devilish energy as a faint and tiny Phoenix flame instantly used that devilish energy as its medium and started burning weakly.

This procedure was exceedingly slow and difficult, so it would definitely take a lot of time. Even if he did not make a single mistake, it was still possible for this extremely frail baby to die at any moment.

Yun Che had thought of infusing the infant with the essence of nature in order to strengthen his life force… But he was deeply afraid that it would instantly cause the devil energy in his body to go berserk, which would cause instant death, so he could only hope that this child’s remaining life force would be strong enough to endure this current procedure.

This procedure used very little of Yun Che’s profound energy but it was an extremely mentally-taxing task. He had not yet fully recovered from his previous injuries and his heart and soul had been acutely wounded by Jasmine’s revelation. But in front of this tiny life that only he could save, his heart and soul swiftly became a sea of tranquility.

Feng Xue’er silently gazed at him. She had initially been fraught with nervousness and tension but her gaze gradually grew entranced. At this moment, that expression of single-minded concentration was deeply engraved into her heart and memories forever.

——————————

Outside the barrier, everyone’s heart was on edge as they held their breath and waited in an extreme state of anxiety. Before long, the Little Demon Empress had also arrived after receiving news of the current situation and she waited along with them.

Two hours passed.

Four hours passed.

Six hours passed...

The sky began to gradually grow darker and even though the wait grew more tortuous with every passing breath, no one had left at any point of time. Number Seven Under Heaven had struggled out of bed and she stared at the isolation barrier with unblinking eyes as Xiao Yun supported her.

Ding...

The soft ring that emanated from the barrier fiercely jarred everyone’s nerves.

Bang!

A crack spread across the surface of the barrier. Following that, the entire barrier completely shattered from within and dissolved into scattered fragments of profound light… However, before the fragments of profound light had completely disappeared, the high-pitched wail of an infant rang in their ears.

Yun Che strode out from within the profound light. There was a faint smile on his face as he hugged the loudly bawling infant in his arms. The cries of the child rang out bright and clear as day, they were completely devoid of any weakness. Furthermore, one could see four tiny and seemingly mischievous limbs moving in a lively manner within Yun Che’s embrace.

“...” All of the people present were stunned in place, it was as if they had heard a voice that had come from the very heavens themselves.

Xiao Yun’s mouth gaped open as he extended both of his trembling arms. But his feet felt like they had been nailed to the floor and his vision had gone completely blurry… It was as if he had been abruptly thrust into an illusory dreamscape.

“Xiao Yun, Seventh Sister…” Yun Che said as a gentle and happy smile appeared on his exhausted face, “I got lucky.”

Number Seven Under Heaven was roused from her stupor. She swiftly moved forward, her trembling hands carefully picking up the child in Yun Che’s arms. She looked at her child, who was bawling loudly, as his limbs flailed about and before she could even speak, her tears had already started to pour down like a dam that had been burst. She tightly hugged her son, who had been snatched back from the very jaws of death and she could not think about anything else as she started sobbing loudly.

“Seventh Sister…” Xiao Yun stood by Number Seven Under Heaven’s side. As he looked at his wife and child, his entire being was suddenly suffused by something that was warm and fuzzy, leaving him with a contentment that he was unable to describe. He turned around and looked at Yun Che, his voice trembling, “Big Brother…”

“If you want to thank me, there is no need,” Yun Che said with a smile. “We’re brothers after all. Your son is my son. So you could say that I saved my own son. It was a natural thing to do.”

“Mn…” Xiao Yun bit his lips as he strove not to cry. After that, he nodded his head with extreme vigor as he said, “Mn!!”

“Hahahahahaha…” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven turned around and let out a booming laugh. The gloom that had been in his heart and the heavy pressure and burden that had been caused by Xuanyuan Wentian had completely melted away in this moment as his heart was filled with boundless contentment and joy.

Mu Yurou was so elated that she shed tears of joy. Yun Qinghong wore a faint smile, tears gleaming in his eyes as he looked at his two sons who stood side by side. Once again, he was struck by a profound feeling that the heavens had truly not been unkind to him.

Cang Yue’s beautiful eyes were fixated on Yun Che and her lips slowly curved into an extremely lovely smile. She sensed that the smile currently on Yun Che’s face was not the same forced smile that it had been previously. She could tell that most of the gloom and darkness that clouded Yun Che’s heart had been lifted.

It could be said that he had redeemed his soul the same time he had saved this child’s life.