Against the Gods

Chapter 1405 - Dark Shadow of the Crimson Crack

The Blue Pole Star was situated to the far east of the God Realm. As a result, it was even closer to the Wall of Primal Chaos than the God Realm itself.

As a result, it had also seen that red star much earlier.

It had experienced those strange outbreaks of chaos and turmoil much earlier as well.

The first profound beast rampage started in the east of the Blue Wind Nation and it started spreading west after that. The speed at which it spread was very slow and at first  it had only affected the lowest level of profound beasts.

However, after this situation continued for more than two years, it suddenly and completely erupted… on that day.

Within the Profound Sky Continent, the Illusory Demon Realm, and the Azure Cloud Continent that had long been engulfed by calamity, all of the profound beasts, from the lowest to the mightiest, even the hidden profound beasts which might only appear once every thousand years, all of them went into a complete and utter frenzy.

However, the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm were undoubtedly fortunate that other than Feng Xue’er, Yun Che had directly produced eleven divine way profound practitioners using the Divine Water of Life. This was more than enough to quell any profound beast rampages in this world. What was even more important than all that was the existence of Yun Che himself. His light profound energy could swiftly quell the rage of the frenzied profound beasts, silently resolving any and all rampages.

However...

Even with the existence of Yun Che, from that day forward, everyone could clearly sense that… the world had already changed.

Even though the profound beast rampages that affected the entire continent were suppressed by Yun Che just as they sprang into existence, the malicious energy and earth-shaking bestial roars still cast a terrifying dark shadow over the entire continent.

It was also from that day forward that a strange wind suddenly started to blow in the Profound Sky Continent, the Illusory Demon Realm, and even the distant Azure Cloud Continent. At times, the wind would be gentle and easy, and at other times, it would be violent and frenzied. At times, it would be icy-cold, and at other times, it would be scorching hot. The wind blew in a chaotic direction that defied all logic and common sense. In one moment, it would be blowing toward the south-east, but in the very next breath, it would suddenly start blowing toward the north-west...

During the second day, a violent storm suddenly descended on the Profound Sky Continent and over the span of just a few short hours, the land was submerged under three feet of water… However, on the very next day, the earth suddenly became incomparably hot and the land, land that had still been flooded from the rain that had poured down the day before, suddenly began to wither and crack in an astonishing manner, as if the flames were going to spew out from the cracks in the ground.

On the fourth day, great waves that soared towards the heavens raged in the Profound Sky Northern Sea and the Illusory Demon Western Sea as countless sea creatures rushed toward the continent that they had never entered before. Furthermore, they were doing this while seized by an extremely frenzied aura...

“Big Brother Yun, a profound beast rampage occured in Divine Phoenix City. I just checked it out and it is very likely yet another outbreak that will engulf the entire territory!” 

Yun Che’s brows tightly knit together upon receiving Feng Xue’er’s sound transmission.

In the past, whenever he purified an area that had been beset by the profound beast rampages, the dense light profound energy would ensure that a profound beast rampage would not occur for at least another three months.

But at this moment, only a short fifteen days had passed since he last cleansed the entire territory of a profound beast rampage that had suddenly erupted.

He did not immediately take action. Instead, he lifted his head to stare at the eastern skies.

For the past few days, the color of the sky had been constantly fluctuating. At times it was azure blue, at times it was gloomily dark, at times it was a withered yellow, at times it was rosy red, and at times bolts of lightning would flash across it with no warning at all… The only thing that did not change was the red star that hung in the eastern skies.

No matter whether the sky was cloudy or clear, no matter whether it was overcast and rainy or if violent storms filled the sky, it still shone in the heavens, releasing a red light that was growing more and more terrifying.

Could it be that it was truly going to “erupt”?

What exactly was it? And why was it happening so fast… Didn’t they say that even if it was about to erupt it would only happen several hundred years later, or perhaps in an even more distant future?

“Daddy, did something bad happen again?” Yun Wuxin drew near to him as she asked in a worried voice. During the last few days, every single person and living being in this world could clearly see the changes that had been happening to it.

All of it had been oh so sudden and astonishing.

Yun Che turned sideways as a small and relaxed small appeared on his face, “Mn, a profound beast riot occurred again.”

“...That’s really strange,” Yun Wuxin said as she looked at the sky. “What exactly has been happening over the past few days? Master said that the weather had changed but I feel that it’s not quite the same. Furthermore, I’ve been feeling this strange sense of unease recently and Mom has also felt the same way. Even those adorable snow beasts in the Snow Region of Extreme Ice have started to act very strangely.”

Yun Che stretched out a hand to lightly pat her back before consoling her with a smile, “The weather really isn’t quite right. However, there’s no need to worry. Why don’t you remember how powerful your daddy and master are, there’s nothing that your master and I can’t solve… I’ll go and resolve this profound beast rampage first and I’ll return very quickly, there’s no need to worry.”

“Mn,” Yun Wuxin nodded her head, but the worry in her eyes still remained.

Even though she was only thirteen years old, her profound strength had already entered the divine way thanks to the Divine Water of Life. As a result, her spiritual senses had also undergone a tremendous change… So how could that strange feeling of unease have manifested due to a mere change in the weather? 

As he cut through space, Yun Che arrived in the air above Divine Phoenix Nation. This place was just like the Illusory Demon Realm; the entire surrounding area had become markedly different from before.

The entire vast Divine Phoenix City was filled with an aura of unease and this was especially true of the fire elementals that hovered in the air. These fire elementals were usually exceptionally dense but right now they had become exceptionally frenzied and clusters of flame would erupt in the air every now and then.

All around this area, the roars of profound beasts shook the world… and these roars were clearly accompanied by the sounds of a faraway volcano erupting.

“Master, what's going on?” He Ling’s puzzled and worried voice rang out from within the Sky Poison Pearl.

Yun Che surveyed his surroundings before saying in a low voice, “The balance between the elements… has been destroyed.”

“Ah? How… how could that be? What did it get destroyed by?”

“I don’t know,” Yun Che answered, and that was the most terrifying thing.

Not knowing the reason for the collapse of the elemental balance was far more terrifying than the actual collapse itself.

“Perhaps, the likeliest reason is that crack in the easternmost part of the Primal Chaos.” Yun Che stared at that red star before immediately withdrawing his gaze. 

If everything was truly happening because of the crimson crack, what sort of aura was it actually releasing that could even affect such a distant star region? 

It was already so dreadful before it had erupted. Then if it ever fully erupted one day… what sort of terrible calamity would it bring about?

A calamity that would engulf the entire universe...

Yun Che spread his arms out wide as his entire body shone with pure light profound energy. He said in a low voice, “The most likely thing that can cause the profound beasts to become so violent and agitated is darkness profound energy, an energy that can arouse and amplify negative emotions. Right now, the only thing that I can do is to cleanse these things away and do my best to protect the elemental balance of this planet, while hoping that this strange calamity will quickly resolve itself.”

After he said that, light profound energy scattered downwards… The light profound energy that was being radiated this time was far more dense than it had been at any other time. Given today’s situation, he could not help but raise the power of the light profound energy that he released… Even if that increased the risk of being noticed by the God Realm.

Yet he did not know that at this moment, the distant God Realm had also descended into great chaos.

Very quickly, after his figure had shifted through the air tens of times, the profound beast rampages in the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm were once again pacified. Finally, he made yet another trip to the Azure Cloud Continent and purified that place once again before also taking the opportunity to go see You’er.

The three continents had quieted a great deal, but the air was still shrouded in a layer of hazy black energy.

By the time he had returned to the Profound Sky Continent, it was already the next day. Just as he was going to return to Yun Wuxin’s side, he suddenly received a sound transmission from Cang Yue:

“A conflict suddenly broke out at the border between Navy Tide Nation and Black Fiend Nation. The scale of the conflict was very small, there were only about a few hundred people involved altogether, and even the regional lords were not alarmed. Yet for some odd reason, it alarmed both royal households.”

“What is even more ridiculous than this was that the ruler of Black Fiend Nation actually flew into a rage because of it and within an hour, he had simply declared war on Navy Tide Nation. The ruler of Navy Tide Nation has always been a gentle person who hates battle, yet he directly took up the gauntlet and he even gave an order to conscript more soldiers on the spot…” 

Yun Che, “...”

“This definitely isn’t normal,” Cang Yue said as her voice became heavy and solemn. As the ruler of Blue Wind Nation, she was well aware of the state of all the seven nations in the Profound Sky Continent. She was aware of how they interacted with one another and she was also aware of the temperament and conduct of each of their rulers. She had never once told Yun Che about this sort of small affair that happened between the seven nations, but this time… the situation was truly far too bizarre.

“...” Yun Che’s brows immediately sank all the way down. After that, he spoke in a warm voice, “No need to worry, these two nations won’t come to blows.”

“Husband, when I think of the profound beast rampages that have been happening again and again over the past few years, could it be that… like those profound beasts, they have also been affected by some kind of negative influence?” Cang Yue said in a worried voice.

After she had entered the divine way due to the Divine Water of Life, Cang Yue’s senses were naturally far from what they used to be, and she could easily sense if there was anything unusual in these sort of occurrences.

“It’s very likely.” Yun Che did not deny what she said and he immediately began consoling her after, “However, you don’t need to worry. I can easily cleanse the profound beast rampages, so I can also naturally clear up their heads as well.”

After he put down the sound transmission jade, Yun Che turned around and rushed straight towards the border between Navy Tide Nation and Black Fiend Nation.

In just a few short days, all of his previous worries had become a reality.

Upon arriving at the Navy Tide Nation’s imperial city, just as he had expected, the entire city was a sea of chaos. Whether it was the profound practitioners or normal citizens, malicious energy of varying degrees radiated from their bodies.

Besides the lunatics, both profound practitioners and common folk would loathe conflict and war.

It was absolutely absurd and ridiculous that a tiny border conflict would incite wrathful declarations of war from both royal houses. It was even worse than a squabble between children. However, as far as Yun Che could observe, countless enraged roars rang throughout the entire Navy Tide Imperial City. They were wrathfully denouncing Black Fiend Nation and declaring their intention to go to war. Entire crowds of people were caught up in this feeling of fervor… and this even included the vast majority of the women and children.

It seemed as if Black Fiend Nation had become an irreconcilable hated enemy of Navy Tide Nation in the span of a single night. 

Yun Che had experienced countless upheavals in his two lives but the scene playing out in front of him still caused his heart to go cold.

He waved a hand and a layer of light profound energy, that was invisible to other people, soundlessly swept down and engulfed the entire Navy Tide Imperial City before swiftly covering more than half of Navy Tide Nation’s territory. After that, his figure blurred and he arrived directly in the air above Black Fiend Nation.

It was also the same for Black Fiend Nation and the situation that greeted Yun Che was practically the same as the one in Navy Tide Nation.

The same light profound energy scattered down from above to envelop Black Fiend Nation’s territory… Immediately, the malicious energy that filled the city was swept away as if by a howling gale, and faces that had been warped by malevolence and rage froze before slowly becoming bewildered and even fearful. 

They could not bring themselves to believe the words, thoughts, and actions that they had just expressed… It was practically as if their bodies had been possessed by demons.

Sweat matted the entire body of the ruler of Black Fiend Nation. It was as if he just suffered from a serious illness. He suddenly stood up and roared, “Quickly! Let’s immediately prepare to send a diplomatic entreaty to Navy Tide…”

Before he could even finish speaking, a messenger hurriedly came over and shouted, “A report! The Navy Tide royal household has sent an urgent sound transmission and they are requesting reconciliation!”

“...” The ruler of Black Fiend Nation immediately felt as if a heavy burden had rolled off his back as he heavily sat back down on his imperial throne. Yet he remained in a panicked and flustered state for a very long time, and it was as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

“Why is it like this…” He Ling, who was born in the God Realm, also felt shock and fear blossom in her heart upon seeing those scenes play out in front of her.

Yun Che did not say a word and his face was as cold as ice.

“Could it be that the God Realm is also…” He Ling’s voice faintly trembled as she said those words. If the God Realm had also become like this, it would be unimaginably terrifying.

“The level of the auras in the God Realm are much higher than the level of the auras in the lower realm. The living beings there are also far stronger than the living being in the lower realm, so things shouldn’t have reached the level they have here,” Yun Che said. After a short pause, he added, “At least, it won’t be like that for now.”

What kind of aura could soundlessly and invisibly affect the elemental balance of such a large portion of a star region? What sort of aura could affect the state of the very souls of countless living beings?

Within the understanding of Yun Che, He Ling… and even all of the powerhouses of the God Realm, such a power definitely should not exist in this current universe.

The Primal Chaos Dimension was always in flux, and was constantly balancing itself.

In a universe that no longer had any gods, the aura in the Primal Chaos had continuously been becoming more thin and turbid, and the aura within current Primal Chaos Realm was naturally far from being comparable to the aura it possessed during the ancient Era of Gods. In fact, it was the difference between the level of a god and the level of a mortal.

However, a complete and perfect equilibrium had been formed a long time ago.

But, if a power that was on the level of something that existed in the Ancient Era were to suddenly appear in the present Primal Chaos Realm...