Against the Gods

Brahma Monarch God Realm, Goddess Hall.

A small and withered old man dressed in a gray robe bowed before Qianye Ying’er. He said with a hoarse voice that was difficult to understand, “Miss, what instructions do you have for this old servant?”

“Uncle Gu,” when Qianye Ying’er talked with Gu Zhu in the past, her back or side was always facing him. But she faced him directly today, “You’re my servant and also my teacher. Other than Royal Father, you’re the person who is closest to me and the only one I trust in this world.”

Qianye Ying’er’s words caused Gu Zhu’s aura to tremble slightly, “It looks like Miss has a great task for me today. Even if this old servant has to die ten thousand times, Miss just needs to say the word and this old servant will do it.”

Qianye Ying’er stretched out her hand and a brilliant golden light formed on her fingertips which was accompanied by a gentle ringing sound.

That extremely strange aura caused Gu Zhu to look up, “Brahma Soul Bell?”

“The God Emperor actually bestowed the Brahma Soul Bell to Miss… Haha, this is great, congratulations Miss on attaining your lifelong wish earlier than expected.” Gu Zhu’s peaceful voice contained faint joy and gladness.  

But what Qianye Ying’er did next caused Gu Zhu’s deep and hooded old eyes to bulge violently

Qianye Ying’er flicked a delicate finger and the Brahma Soul Bell instantly left her hand and flew towards Gu Zhu.

Gu Zhu’s withered body blurred. Not only did he not touch the Brahma Soul Bell, he even flashed to a spot thirty odd meters away in a single instant, allowing the core divine artifact of the Brahma Monarch God Realm to land on the ground. When it landed on the ground, it emitted a gentle ring that caused one’s heart to vibrate.

“Miss, you…” Gu Zhu was unbelievably shocked and utterly puzzled by Qianye Ying’er’s actions.

Qianye Ying’er did not take back the Brahma Soul Bell that had landed on the ground. Instead, she turned her gaze and calmly said, “Uncle Gu, I am now handing the Brahma Soul Bell to you. I will have to trouble you to return it to Royal Father in six hours… Remember, it must be after six hours. Within this time period, you must not let anyone know that it is with you.”

“This… you must not!” Gu Zhu shook his head and did not take a single step nearer, “The Brahma Soul Bell must only ever be in the hands of a Brahma Heaven God Emperor, how can you allow an outsider to touch it!” 

“I have my own reasons for doing this,” Qianye Ying’er said. “Uncle Gu, you don’t possess any Brahma divine power, so you will not be able to use the Brahma Soul Bell. Moreover, you have been at my side for so many years and are my most trusted person. Another more ironic reason is that the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark that Royal Father planted on you back then still exists inside your body. So you are the one person who will never be able to go against his wishes and thus, I have no worries whatsoever.” 

“Also, this is an order!”

The air solidified for a long while before Gu Zhu finally sighed. He stepped forward and stretched out a withered hand from under his gray robe. An invisible profound energy lifted up the Brahma Soul Bell before he stored it into the pocket of space he carried around with him… During the entire process, the Brahma Soul Bell had not come into contact with his body.

“Miss, may this old servant know the reason for this?” Gu Zhu asked. In the past, if Qianye Ying’er did not explain, he would have never asked.

“You will know soon enough.” Qianye Ying’er did not explain anything as she pushed her palms forward once again. “All of these Brahma Monarch secret texts and the profound tools that Royal Father bestowed on me back then, please safeguard them for now. Before I retrieve them from you again, you must not allow them to be damaged in the slightest.”

Gu Zhu accepted his orders without saying anything.

“This is the【Void Illusion Stone】that Royal Father bestowed on me back then, keep it with you for the time being as well.” 

However, Gu Zhu did not take the item this time as he said, “Miss, no matter what you are preparing to do, your safety comes first. With Miss’ abilities, you have nothing to fear in this world. But, if you don’t keep this Void Illusion Stone, this old servant will not be at ease.”

“...Alright.” Qianye Ying’er said after thinking about it for a moment. She stored the Void Illusion Stone away before taking out a grayish-white stone slab.

This slab was smooth in shape but it had no aura to speak of and could not even be counted as a low-grade spirit stone. It appeared to be a completely ordinary stone, holes of different sizes evenly dotted across its surface. 

She silently looked at it without saying a single word for a long time… The number one goddess in the Eastern Region was holding an ordinary piece of stone that did not radiate any spiritual strength in her hands, and this scene was unspeakably incongruous.

“Does Miss also want to leave this ‘remnant’ with this old servant?” Gu Zhu asked.

The light in Qianye Ying’er’s eyes fluctuated for a while, but in the end, she did not leave it with Gu Zhu. Instead, she slowly put the stone slab away. At this moment, her expression suddenly changed subtly as her tone became exceptionally icy, “Uncle Gu, get ready, I need you to ‘imprison’ a portion of my memory.”

“This… no matter what reasons you have, you must not do it!” Gu Zhu shook his head slowly, “If anything goes wrong at all during this process, Miss’s soul may be severely damaged and that portion of your memories might even disappear completely.”

“I have already made up my mind. There is no need to say anything else.” Qianye Ying’er was not only cruel towards others, she was also cruel towards herself. “Listen carefully to the words that I’m about to say and remember them well. You must not miss out or forget a single word that I’m about to say!”

………

Moon God Realm, the god emperor’s bedchambers.

Yun Che had been silently thinking this entire time. He simply had too many things to think about recently. After an indeterminate amount of time had passed, the bedchamber doors finally swung open and Xia Qingyue silently strode in and stood in front of Yun Che. Instantly, it was as if a bright moon had risen inside this cold and desolate bedchamber as every corner of the room started to glow brightly.

Yun Che opened his eyes and stretched his body. He muttered in a dissatisfied voice, “What have you been doing all this time! Even though I am no longer your husband, I’m still an honored guest! How can you just throw me here and disregard me!?”

Xia Qingyue cast a sideways glance at him and said, “Don’t you have Yao Yue to accompany you? With a beauty like Yao Yue by your side, you actually feel bored? And it seems like… you did not make a move on her? This does not seem to fit your nature at all.”

“Hahaha…” Yun Che laughed while gritting his teeth. “She's a Moon God! What kind of move can I even make on her!?”

“You don’t dare because she is a Moon God?” Xia Qingyue smiled half-heartedly. “Is there really any woman that you don’t dare to touch in this universe?”

Xia Qingyue had flippantly said that to irritate him but Yun Che could not help but feel guilty when he heard that. He curled his lips. “You’re the Moon God Emperor now, what’s more, Little Sister Yao Yue is still present. Don’t say things that will ruin the prestige of a god emperor!”

Yao Yue, “???”

“Also, what have you been up to? Is there news from the Brahma Monarch God Realm? I sure hope that our efforts were not in vain,” Yun Che said.

“We have just received an important guest,” Xia Qingyue replied nonchalantly.

“An important guest?” Given Xia Qingyue’s status, there were very few people in this universe that she would use the two words “important guest” to describe.

“You will find out soon enough.” Xia Qingyue turned to the side and said, “As for the Brahma Monarch God Realm, our plan is proceeding smoothly, and the results are even better than our best case scenario. It looks like I… and even you have underestimated the frightening strength of the Sky Poison Pearl’s poison.” 

“I see…” Yun Che calculated how much time had passed since the poison had first flared up and frowned slightly. “One will only be able to ‘survive’ for about forty hours when poisoned with the Sky Poison Pearl, and right now, almost thirty-two hours have passed.”

“There’s no need to worry. After all, panic, fear, hesitation, breaking down, coming to a decision… and even rushing here from the Brahma Monarch God Realm, all of these things require time,” Xia Qingyue said as her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. “But it’s about time.”

“It seems like you have a lot of confidence.” Yun Che looked at her. “If we succeed, how are you going to take your revenge on Qianye now that you have this chance?” 

“You will know when the time comes.” Xia Qingyue showed an indifferent expression. In fact, not a single expression of happiness could be seen even though victory had already been secured. “This time, I totally relied on your power. The potency of the Sky Poison Pearl’s poison, the interference of the Evil Infant’s devilish energy, the backing of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. All of these things came from you. Therefore, when we have ‘succeeded’, I will also give you enough benefits from this.” 

“Don’t be so quick to reject me,” Xia Qingyue interjected as she unhurriedly said, “I’m certain that you will be very pleased with it!” 

Yun Che thought about it for a while before leisurely replying, “Forget it, I’ll leave it up to you. You have suddenly become so rigid and tough that I would not be able to refuse it even if I didn’t want it anyways. Compared to that, I would rather you tell me something else.”

“Oh?”

“Where… is she?” Yun Che’s expression darkened, his tone becoming soft and distant. “Others would not be able to know. But you… should at least know a little right?”

“...” Xia Qingyue knew who he was asking about. Before he had even asked, Xia Qingyue could see far too many colors she had never seen before in his eyes. Even his words carried a slight tremble that maybe even he himself did not sense.

To Yun Che’s complete and utter disappointment, Xia Qingyue gently shook her head.

“She is the Evil Infant. Even more than that, she is the Evil Infant that the Heavenly Slaughter Star God turned into,” Xia Qingyue said. “The Heavenly Slaughter Star God’s ability to run and hide is second to none in this world. Now, that she has the Evil Infant’s power, no one in this world will be able to find her if she does not want to be found.”

Yun Che let out a light sigh.

“The only thing we can be certain about is her location… The God Realm of Absolute Beginning!” 

Xia Qingyue’s crescent brows furrowed unintentionally after mentioning that place. It was where she and Yun Che were forced into a dead end by Qianye Ying’er back then. If the Heavenly Slaughter Star God and Heavenly Wolf Star God had not dropped from the sky that day, Yun Che and she would not be alive today. “That is the only place where there have been any traces of her. Even though there was a period of time where we suspected those traces found in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning had been deliberately made by her to create a facade. But everything that has been found in regards to the Evil Infant still points to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.”

“At the same time, it’s also truly the place that is most suited to her.”

“God Realm of Absolute Beginning?” Yun Che softly muttered to himself. After that, he said, “So that also means she has not made a single appearance during all these years?”

“Correct,” Xia Qingyue said. “Given her display of terrifying strength back then, the God Realm would have been in utter chaos if she wanted to terrorize it. My foster father, who faced off against the Evil Infant back then, told me before passing away that even the Dragon Monarch would not be the Evil Infant’s match. It would require the strength of an entire region to exterminate her. Moreover, given her terrifying strength, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it would require the power of all three divine regions combined.”

“But what is truly surprising is that she has not made a single appearance after what happened that year. Could it be because the power of the Evil Infant is recovering too slowly, or… could it be for other reasons?”

“God Realm of Absolute Beginning… God Realm of Absolute Beginning…” Yun Che continuously muttered to himself, it was as if he had not listened to what Xia Qingyue had said, and his gaze gradually started to harden. “Alright… after I leave this place, I will make a trip to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning!”

“How naive!” Xia Qingyue said coldly, “Going there is equivalent to seeking death given your current strength. Moreover, the God Realm of Absolute Beginning is enormous, beyond what you can even imagine. Rumor has it that the world of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning is even bigger than the entire Primal Chaos and it can even be seen as another Primal Chaos!”

“In such an enormous world, how will you be able to find her when even the three Divine Regions were left at a complete loss?”

“I can do it!” Contrary to Xia Qingyue’s expectations, not only Yun Che was not disappointed, his gaze had become even more resolute as he said, “Others won’t be able to find her, but...I will definitely be able to!”

Xia Qingyue glanced at him thoughtfully before softly speaking, “From the looks of it, there is something delicate about your relationship with her that others can’t understand. If you are truly able to find her, then it would be a great thing for you. Compared to the protective talisman that I found for you, she… would be the most reliable safety net for you in this entire universe.” 

“After all, though you can depend on the Devil Emperor, you cannot control her. But she would do anything for your sake!”

“Also, with the return of the Devil Emperor and the impending return of the devil gods, how is this not a great turning point for her, someone who is not tolerated by all of creation.” 

Xia Qingyue’s tone was especially calm. Not a single change in her mood or emotions could be sensed as she discussed this matter with an incomparable apathy.

Yun Che looked at her, furrowed his brows and suddenly asked, “You...don’t hate her?”

“Hate her?” Xia Qingyue asked. “Why shouId I hate her?”

“After all, she killed Yue Wuya… your foster father who you owe a great debt of gratitude to,” Yun Che said with complicated emotions.

Xia Qingyue’s bright pupils shone like stars and replied unenthusiastically, “Back then, Foster Father mistakenly thought that my mother was killed by the Star God Realm. In his anger, he drove Jasmine’s birth mother to her death and drove her to become the Heavenly Slaughter Star God. It’s only right and proper for her to seek revenge for her mother’s death! So it’s only right for my foster father to die at her hands. Now that the hatred and revenge between both sides have been settled, on what basis should I hate her?” 

“...” Yun Che stood there and did not speak for a long while.

“Do you think that I’m being overly rational?” she asked suddenly.

“No…” Yun Che shook his head, “You are being so rational that it is… a little frightening.”

Xia Qingyue coldly smiled at Yun Che’s evaluation of her, “I’ll say it once more. The current me is not only Xia Qingyue, but also the Moon God Emperor!”

At this moment, moonlight flashed in front of Xia Qingyue and a young maiden in blue bowed deeply, “Master, the Brahma Monarch Goddess seeks an audience!”