Against the Gods

He Ling knelt on her knees and kowtowed before Shen Xi deeply, “Master… Please... share your guidance with me.”

“He Ling,” Shen Xi sighed softly, “Three years ago you were as alone as a flying duckweed, but hatred had never touched you. So why is it that you’re suddenly filled with hatred?”

“That’s because…” He Lin replied wretchedly, “I still had hope and delusions back then. But now… everyone who told me not to hate, to not give up on hope… are dead. Now… hate is the only thing I have left.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Will you take revenge, knowing that your worst enemy is the Brahma Monarch God Realm?” Shen Xi asked.

He Ling slowly got up to her feet and stared at Shen Xi with eyes filled with hope and darkness, “Master… Is there really someone who can help me?”

Bathed in divine light, Shen Xi nodded slightly, “The Brahma Monarch God Realm is the strongest king realm there is in the Eastern Divine Region. The depth of its roots and the immensity of its strength span far beyond your imagination, and no one has ever dared to provoke its wrath for the past millions of years.”

“But there is one person who has the potential to unsettle the Brahma Monarch God Realm, and it so happens that he also has an undying grudge towards them that can only be resolved with death. If you will not change your mind, then it is my advice that you seek out his aid. Also, his chances of unsettling the Brahma Monarch God Realm will be much higher if you lend him your ‘strength’.”

Yun Che, “...??” (Who is she talking about? Unsettle the Brahma Monarch God Realm? Does a person like this really exists in this world?)

He Ling couldn’t understand what Shen Xi meant by “His chances of unsettling the Brahma Monarch God Realm will be much higher if you lend him your ‘strength”. If the same line had come out of anyone else’s mouth, literally no one would’ve believed it in the slightest…

He Ling kowtowed once more, “Please, tell me Master… How do I find him?”

Shen Xi didn’t answer her directly. In a quiet voice she said, “You should know that you’ll pay a terrible price for this.”

“I know.” He Ling didn’t hesitate at all. She knew very well that “price” was hardly an adequate word to describe what it would take to take revenge against the Brahma Monarch God Realm. “If I can take revenge, my Wood Spirit Orb, my pride, my life… I can give up anything and everything…”

He Ling’s assessment of herself was perfectly accurate. After losing all of her hope, belief, and even the future, she had nothing left but a well of hatred that grew like wild grass.

“You have fallen into the abyss, and you have also lost sight of yourself. Therefore, I won’t tell you his identity right now.” Shen Xi walked forwards and pulled He Ling up to her feet gently. “You have one month. I want you to calm yourself down as best you can and consider what you really want to do in the future when your mind is at its clearest.”

“If a month from now, your thirst for vengeance hasn’t vanished, then I will tell you the identity of your helper. I will even bring him to you personally.”

Yun Che, “...!?”

She was Shen Xi. Her word was her bond.

“Yes.” He Ling didn’t ask any further. Finally, tears started welling inside her pupils, “He Ling must have disappointed you, Master. He Ling will never forget about your great kindness… no matter what happens in the future.”

Shen Xi shook her head slightly, “You have not disappointed me. I am the one who promised to find your younger brother back then… I’m the one who has disappointed you.”

He Ling shook her head firmly. Her tears finally slid off the corner of her eyes.

Shen Xi extended a hand and wiped away the tears on He Lin’s cheeks softly, “You haven’t slept for a very long time, He Ling. You should go sleep now. Only with a clear mind will you know where your true desire lies.”

“Yes. He Ling will obey the Mistress.”

When Yun Che had tried to console He Ling, he had failed to provoke anything but empty, mechanical replies from He Ling. But Shen Xi, with her inexplicable and even ill-advised words, had somehow recalled He Ling’s soul back into her body, and brought tears to her eyes.

He Ling went away after that. It was true that she hadn’t had any sleep for a very, very long time.

“Senior Shen Xi.” Yun Che immediately voiced his doubts after He Ling’s departure, “The promise you gave He Ling… Do you truly wish for her to claim vengeance, or… do you have something else in mind?”

“What do you think?” She threw the question back at him.

Yun Che didn’t hesitate in his answer, “I can’t see any reason why you would encourage her to take revenge, Senior Shen Xi. Therefore, I believe you’ve probably predicted that she would give up her desire for revenge a month later. She is, after all, a wood spirit.”

“No.” Shen Xi said, “She will not give up on her desire for revenge. On the contrary, her fixation will become stronger than ever before—precisely because she is a wood spirit.”

“But why?” Yun Che did not understand.

Shen Xi looked at Yun Che before explaining, “If we are to compare a person’s heart to a piece of land, then yours will look like a land of green leaves, lush flowers, wilted grass, ancient trees, thistles and thorns, and poisonous vines.”

“If someone were to plant a seed of darkness in this ‘land’, it will only be normalized by its surroundings after it grew. The possibility that it will change the landscape drastically is little.”

Yun Che, “...”

“But He Ling’s heart began as a pure land with nothing but lush greens and flowers. If someone were to plant a seed of darkness in a land like this, and give it the opportunity to take root, then it would grow swiftly and devour all of the greens, the flowers, and even the land itself in no time at all.”

“Everything would become dyed in darkness, and nothing could stop or reverse its transformation.”

“If she was purely good at the beginning, then she will become purely evil in the end.”

“...” Yun Che looked shaken. He understood Shen Xi completely at this point. In fact, he had experienced the same thing himself. Since his life on Azure Cloud Continent, he already knew that the evil and hatred squeezed out of an formerly good person were usually worse than that of a born devil.

Given the right circumstances, the purity of one’s good could easily be the purity of one’s evil...

“So… you were actually serious when you said those words?”

“Yes. My encouragement for her to take revenge and the man I said could help her, they are all true.” Shen Xi’s voice was devoid of worry and perfectly calm as usual, “At the very least, she will have a ‘hope’ and a ‘goal’. They will keep her from spending an eternity in the abyss.”

“...” Yun Che was silent for a very long time. His heart was in great turmoil.

He had finally met He Lin’s sister, and he had barely completed He Lin’s final wish… But what came out of it was nothing either He Lin or him had wished to see. It shouldn’t have turned out like this.

Shen Xi turned away and was about to leave, but Yun Che shot her one final question, “Senior Shen Xi, can you tell me who is that person who can take revenge for He Lin? Can he really unsettle the Brahma Monarch God Realm? Is he a Realm King from a King Realm?”

“You will know the answer in a month’s time. In the meantime, you should accompany He Ling during this time and learn the spirit flora of this place. You have the Sky Poison Orb, so the knowledge will definitely be useful to you.”

Her melodious voice reached him, but Shen Xi herself had already vanished before him.

“Yes.” Yun Che replied and turned around, but an unexpected thought suddenly gave him pause.

How… did she know that I have the Sky Poison Pearl?

----------------

A month passed by in no particular hurry.

This might be the most peaceful period Yun Che had ever had since he came to the God Realm.

There were no dangers, no fights; no need to cultivate or tiptoe every step of the way. Every day, he would bathe in the purest air and spirit energy, and accept Shen Xi’s power to suppress the death-wishing mark. When he was free, he would study the spirit flora of this place from He Ling, who patiently explained to him everything he wanted to know.

Recently, He Ling seemed to have returned to her old self. Her eyes were clear, her smiles were infrequent but present, and she had never brought up the word “revenge” again since that day.

But the more He Ling acted normal, the more worried Yun Che only became… Every day, his realization that Shen Xi was correct only deepened more and more.

The Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark had triggered a couple of times during the month, and it was still as painful as ever, but now he could chat and laugh with He Ling amidst the flowers and not bat an eye… This pain was nothing compared to when the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark was fully active.

However, Yun Che never stopped doubting his future while he was still plagued with worries over He Ling. Do I really have to stay here for the next fifty years? Are Jasmine and Master still worrying over my wellbeing? Qingyue’s sudden departure and Shen Xi’s words to her… what do they all mean?

Also… father, mother, Yue’er, Chai Yi, Lingxi, Xue’er, Ling’er… I can’t go back until fifty years is up… I still can’t go back even after fifty years has passed… Am I not going to see you all ever again?

If he went back without regard for the consequences, he would only bring annihilation upon them all.

What in the world should I do…

It was early morning. A whole month had finally passed, and Yun Che had just gotten up from his bed with a stretch when he saw He Ling standing quietly in front of the jade green bamboo house. Countless drops of morning dew was clinging to her verdant colored hair.

I knew it…

Yun Che shook his head and walked next to He Ling. At the same time, the front door opened to reveal Shen Xi’s transient figure.

He Ling immediately collapsed to her knees and kowtowed, begging, “Master, He Ling has thought through everything for the past month… My mind is set. Please help me, Master.”

Yun Che stood beside He Ling with a very complicated look on his face.

Shen Xi didn’t lift He Ling to her feet. She said gently, “You should know that you will pay a terrible price for this. The price may very well be your life and soul.”

He Ling didn’t hesitate in the slightest. Her voice was so calm that not a trace of sadness could be found anywhere, “I’m willing to give up anything as long as I can take revenge. I will never regret my decision.”

Shen Xi nodded slightly, “In that case, I will not dissuade you further.”

“I grant you permission to leave anytime you wish. Now, about the person who can take revenge for you… He is none other than the man standing right next to you, Yun Che.”

Yun Che might not have uttered a word throughout the conversation, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t listening closely. He was, after all, very curious to know who the man was that could unsettle the Brahma Monarch God Realm.

That was why his knees had given out when he heard Shen Xi’s declaration. He had almost collapsed right on top of He Ling.