Against the Gods

The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit said indifferently as Yun Che approached her, “The Profound God Convention was founded because of the crimson calamity. When the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm was opened, this noble one spent all of her divine power to cultivate the true geniuses of Eastern Divine Region to fruition. To that end, we even forbade our disciples from entering Three Millennia in Eternal Heaven!”

“We even spent much of our resources to build the great dimensional formation that led to the edge of the Primal Chaos.”

“My Eternal Heaven sacrificed themselves again and again not because they could profit from it, but because it would protect the world. Zhou Xuzi is a man who rarely breaks his promises, but he broke his promise to you and sent the Evil Infant away from the Primal Chaos! Why? Because he was trying to protect the peace and morals of the world! To that end, he would sacrifice even his own integrity and reputation!”

“You should already know this!”

“My Eternal Heaven has sworn to ‘protect’ from the day this king realm was founded. The heavenly law and the people of the Primal Chaos as our witness, we have never done anything or carried ourselves in any way that would leave us with a guilty conscience.”

“...” Yun Che froze in his footsteps.

His half-narrowed eyes were dark, and his hands were shaking slightly.

The memory of everyone praising Zhou Xuzi for ambushing Jasmine and knocking her out of the Primal Chaos replayed itself before his mind.

It was as if they had all suffered amnesia at that exact moment. It was as if there was a void where the memory of Jasmine destroying the crimson crack and saving all their lives should’ve existed. It was as if all they could recall was Zhou Xuzi’s “heroic and holy” undertaking to destroy the Evil Infant.

Even his broken promise to him was heralded as a great sacrifice to save the world.

He looked down at his hands, stared at the fingers that were shivering uncontrollably...

Heh… she truly was the pearl spirit of the Eternal Heaven Pearl! The person whom Qianye Ying’er believed to be the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor!

After all these years, she was the only one who had managed to rile him up completely in just a couple of sentences!

He clenched his hands and looked up again. All the anger on his expression and his eyes had faded away into an intimidating smile. He replied in an unexpectedly warm and gentle voice, “If your conscience is that clear, why haven’t you revealed the truth to the world after all these years? Why have you done everything in your power to hide it? Oh I know, it must be for the sake of the world peace and morals again. It would be incredibly shameful if the people learned that it was a devil person, a heretic of your kind who saved the world, am I right?”

Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit: “...”

“Heh.” He chuckled. “So, you believe you have the right to hoard all the glory and honor to yourself just because you put in some useless effort, while the people who actually saved you and the entire God Realm deserved to die, no, must die, all because they didn’t fit into your narrow view of ‘morality’!?”

Yun Che opened his palm, black light dancing at his fingertips. “Well, I’m here now, and it is my belief that the world will be better off if these ‘morals’ are scrubbed from the world.”

“Kill them all!”

Murderous intent filled the sky once more when he gave the order.

Just as the blood mist was about to return, the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit sighed and dispelled the dark, swelling emotions by force. “Forget it. You and I don’t share the same viewpoint or belief. There is no point arguing with you about this.”

Yun Che raised his arm and stopped the Yama Ancestor and Burning Moon profound practitioners again. “So?”

At the same time, He Ling suddenly spoke up inside his mind. “Master, I am sure now that she is definitely not the Eternal Heaven Pearl’s origin spirit!”

The corner of Yun Che’s eyebrows turned slightly. That was all the confirmation he needed.

The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit said, “You have your reasons to walk this path, but you have also enacted your vengeance upon this realm. Whatever injustices you have suffered, the debt should already have been repaid in full, am I right? In that case, then I believe that this is the right time for you to withdraw.”

“Hehehe.” Yun Che chuckled again and glanced toward the front. “This Devil Master ordered every man, every beast and every plant to be put to the death just a moment ago. Where should I put my face if I were to withdraw that order now?”

“Also… who do you think you are? How dare you order me around?”

“This is a deal, not an order,” The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit said indifferently. She was a mighty being, she would never use the word “beg” to anyone.

A “deal” was literally the lowest of the low she could go. It was also the only option she had considering the situation she was in.

“You have killed all the Guardians and elders guarding this realm. There are barely any Adjudicators and Divine Sovereigns left. As for the rest, they are barely of any meaning to you. If you and the devil people retreat now, this noble one will grant you one request.”

Clearly, the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit was trying to preserve whatever bloodline that was left in the Eternal Heaven God Realm, and the realm itself… it might be mostly ruins now, but it was still their ancestral realm. Nothing could replace one’s roots.

“Good, very good.” Yun Che’s eyes darkened in excitement. Without confirming the kind of request the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit could agree to, he said, “You truly are the divine spirit of the Eternal Heaven Pearl. The offer you make is far more irresistible than most.”

“These filthy lives may be precious to you, but they are nothing but disgusting trash I didn’t even want to step on because of the stain they’ll make. I would gladly trade them away for something that is worth even the tiniest bit of value!”

The denizens of the Eternal Heaven Realm gritted their teeth hard enough to break them.

It was their greatest honor to be born an Eternal Heaven Realm denizen. They had never been humiliated like this by anyone.

Raging emotions and humiliation aside, they didn’t dare to make a sound. They even felt a sense of release.

Before this, they were one step away from hell. Now, it looked like they could avoid death as long as they agreed to a deal with the devil.

The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit said, “If you retreat now, this noble one can grant you—”

“Anyway, here I go!” Yun Che cut off the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit mercilessly, his jarring voice overwhelming the latter’s magnificent voice. “My request is very simple…”

He extended a hand toward the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit and said, “I want half ownership of the Eternal Heaven Pearl!”

The shadow flickered visibly.

The profound practitioners of the Eastern Divine Region inside and outside the Eternal Heaven Realm turned slack-jawed at the request.

The whole world knew that the Eternal Heaven God Realm was founded because of the Eternal Heaven Pearl. It was the artifact that allowed it to become a famous king realm.

Before Yun Che’s appearance, it was also the only Heavenly Profound Treasure that was known to the whole world. Not only was it a critical element in the founding of the Eternal Heaven Realm and its history, it was the soul of the Eternal Heaven Realm and the pride of the entire Eastern Divine Region.

To give away half of its ownership… was to give away half of the Eternal Heaven Pearl.

It meant that Yun Che and the Eternal Heaven Realm would be using the Eternal Heaven Pearl as equals!

He might as well be splitting the core and soul of the Eternal Heaven Realm in half!

“Yun Che!” For the first time, the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit sounded angry. “The Eternal Heaven Realm can surrender anything except the—”

“Silence!” Yun Che cut her off again, an eerie and scornful smile dancing across his lips. “You may think that this is a deal, but do not mistake it as one. This is the final shred of pity and benevolence I have for your realm!”

“You do not have the right to bargain with me!”

“...” The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit’s shadow flickered like a candle in the wind.

“Of course, you are free to reject my request!” Yun Che’s smile grew even more eerie. “I’m sure I would enjoy a lifeless, bloody Eternal Heaven Realm more than a half-broken pearl anyway, hehehehe!”

Not giving even a moment for the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit to say her piece, he extended three fingers and continued. “Well, you are a divine spirit, so I’ll give you a bit of face. Three breaths.”

“You have three breaths to decide if the Eternal Heaven Realm will survive on its last legs, or die completely… this Devil Master grants you the right to make this great decision!”

One of his fingers had already bent downward even as he let out a dark laugh.

“...” The Eternal heaven Pearl Spirit had never been this shaken in her life.

When Yun Che proved himself in the Profound God Convention, she had paid him great attention and praise. She had deeply looked forward to his future.

When he didn’t enter the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm, she had lamented it as one of the biggest regrets of her life.

When he resolved the calamity of the devil emperor, she was gladdened on his behalf. When he became a devil person, she had lamented the loss of him.

She had seen and experienced too much in her life.

No one had ever been able to change this drastically in such a short time.

No one had ever been able to drive her into such a corner.

Yun Che bent his second finger, and a black, murderous aura started spreading from his person.

Sighing helplessly, the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit gave up and said, “Alright, this noble one agrees to your request!”

Words couldn’t describe how humiliating it was to surrender half of the Eternal Heaven Pearl to an outsider, but she had no choice but to accept it at this point.

At least Yun Che hadn’t forced her to surrender the Eternal Heaven Pearl to him completely… that would be completely unacceptable.

Besides, she was the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit. No foreign entity could compete against her when it came to one’s connection to the Eternal Heaven Pearl.

She was surrendering half its ownership away, yes, but she could take it back anytime she wanted if she felt that the time was right.

Yun Che bent his third finger before laughing loudly. “Hahahaha, you truly are the divine spirit of the Eternal Heaven Pearl. Unlike the idiots on the Eternal Heaven Realm, you are capable of making the wisest of decisions.”

Contrary to his laughter, grayish despair… and the joy of being released filled the face of every Eternal Heaven denizen.

Was this nightmare and disaster finally over…?

But the cost, the humiliation...

Given no choice, the shadow that was the Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit raised her arm before the eyes of the entire Eastern Divine Region.

There was a white flash, and a pale white pearl dropped from the sky.

It was none other than the fourth Heavenly Profound Treasure, the Eternal Heaven Pearl!

Like most people, this was the first time Yun Che had seen its true form.

Similar to the Sky Poison Pearl, it was only as big as a fist. White mist could be seen circulating inside the glowing pearl.

It was hard to believe that such a small object could contain the infinite space with its own unique law of time, the “Eternal Heaven Divine Realm”.

“This is the Eternal Heaven Pearl.” The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit didn’t bother to beat around the bush. “You are the master of the Sky Poison Pearl. I am sure you are aware that its consciousness space is extremely unusual. I can surrender half its space to you, but do not blame me if you fail to occupy it.”

“That is not your concern.”

Yun Che grinned and walked up to the Eternal Heaven Pearl. He then put a hand on its surface.

He couldn’t feel any sense of rejection. The mysterious power that permeated the Eternal Heaven Pearl was also extremely weak. It was because it had used “Three Millennia in Eternal Heaven”, just like the Sky Poison Pearl having exhausted its energy.

Considering the current aura of the Primal Chaos, it would take ages for it to restore its strength… and it would never return to the form it possessed during the Era of Gods.

Or at least, that was the case had the Eternal Heaven Pearl remained in the hands of this so-called “Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit”.

In his hands, its fate would be very different.

A shallow, eerie gleam flashed behind Yun Che’s pupils before he ordered, “Move aside!”

Despite having made up her mind, the shadow still shivered visibly when it was time to transfer the Heavenly Profound Treasure’s ownership. Her voice sank lower as she declared, “Yun Che, you must leave the Eternal Heaven Realm with the devil people once your will has occupied half of the Eternal Heaven Pearl. You and your devils must not step into the Eternal Heaven Realm for the next ten millennia to come either!”

“Do not forget that your oath is witnessed by everyone in the world right now!”

She didn’t demand Yun Che to abandon his desire to kill Zhou Xuzi and the other Guardians. She knew just how much he hated the god emperor. To ask that might backfire on her instead.

Besides, she had already prepared a refuge for Zhou Xuzi and time for the Eternal Heaven Realm to recover in. It was why she demanded Yun Che and his devil people not to take a step into Eternal Heaven Realm for ten millennia.

It was also the reason why she hadn’t turned off the giant projection formation when she manifested herself. It was so that Yun Che couldn’t renege on his promise without publicizing himself as an oathbreaker.

“Sure.” Yun Che agreed immediately before grinning tauntingly at her. “What’s wrong? Oh, you’re afraid that I would break my promise? Hahahaha!”

He laughed wantonly before sweeping a scornful glance across the tattered land around him. “I am the Devil Master who commands the Northern Divine Region! Every word I speak represents the supreme will of darkness!”

“Do you really think I would break my sacred oath for you and your filthy kind? Do you think that my promises are as worthless as those of that Eternal Heaven Old Dog of yours!?”

The Eternal Heaven Pearl Spirit stopped talking and raised her arms. White light surrounded her as she withdrew her soul from the consciousness space of the Eternal Heaven Pearl.

As promised, she had surrendered half of the pearl’s consciousness space.

“Hehe… hehehehe…”

Outside Eternal Heaven God Realm, Zhou Xuzi chuckled miserably as he closed his eyes in pain.

Since the foundation of the king realm that was the Eternal Heaven God Realm, every generation of his family had enjoyed unparalleled glory and respect.

But today, his own “ancestor” had to clean up his mess and throw all her pride away just to buy them a shred of hope and relief.

How sorrowful it was.

He would never have the face to return to the Eternal Heaven Realm and meet his Great Ancestor again.

After probing the changes occurring inside the Eternal Heaven Pearl’s consciousness space for a moment, Yun Che suddenly withdrew his consciousness and muttered, “He Ling!”

He Ling’s consciousness immediately slipped into the Eternal Heaven Pearl. It took her only an instant to occupy half its space… with perfect compatibility.

Back then, Shen Xi had declared confidently that He Ling was the only being in the whole world who could become the Poison Spirit of the Sky Poison Pearl.

It was the same for the Eternal Heaven Pearl and the rest of the Heavenly Profound Treasures!

Yun Che opened his eyes and removed his palm from the Eternal Heaven Pearl slowly. The corner of his lips slowly curling into a sinister smile, he shouted a most cruel and heartless order:

“Kill them all!”

_____________

Author’s Note:

I checked the backend for a bit and holy shit, there are over 400 pages of donations just this month! It scared me so much that I dared not stop updating at all… Earthlings are so scary!