Against the Gods

Mu Xuanyin’s words left Yun Che with guilt, but even more relief.

He abruptly caught her hands and smiled at her. “Women sure share a strange relationship with each other. I thought you would never be able to forgive her, but not only do you not hate her, you… even seem to appreciate her.”

“I have experienced true death before. It clears the mind from distractions and shows you what is unimportant and what isn’t,” she whispered before trying to pull her hand free, but Yun Che responded by tightening his grip.

“You no longer hold a grudge against the Ice Phoenix Spirit either, right?” Yun Che asked while looking at the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake. Now that the divine spirit was gone, nearly half of its cold energy had dissipated in just a couple of years.

Mu Xuanyin shook her head. “There will be no Divine Ice Phoenix Sect or a new lease of life for me without her. The favor she did for me is something I won’t be able to repay in ten thousand lifetimes, so how can I possibly hold a grudge against her?”

Yun Che slowly closed his eyes and sighed. “I am the same. All the blood debts in my book have been cleared, but some favors can never be repaid. That being said, I did think of a way to repay the ice phoenix. Let’s produce as many children with the ice phoenix bloodline as possible and transform the Snow Song Realm into a true king realm a little sooner, shall we?”

Mu Xuanyin: “...”

………...

While Yun Che stopped over at the Snow Song Realm, the profound practitioners who caught wind of his arrival hurriedly flew over from the surrounding star realms to meet him. So far though, no one had been allowed to enter.

The Eastern, Western and Southern Divine Regions were also undergoing a steady but irreversible transformation as well. The title “Devil Master” sat in everyone’s heart like a pitch black boulder.

All the king realms of the entire universe had already submitted to the Devil Master. The upper star realms were capitulating one after another as well.

Thanks to the Devil Queen’s clever ploy, the devilish pressure that should’ve lightened due to the great cost it took to defeat Western Divine Region grew heavier instead. Before they knew it, any hope to overturn the darkness at all was lost completely.

The meager resistance the rebels were just beginning to muster was also overwhelmed in the blink of an eye.

Two months later, at the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm.

Cang Shuhe’s life vein had almost been fully restored thanks to the light profound formation left behind by Yun Che. Her vitality was also growing at a rate that far exceeded common sense.

So abnormal was the rate of her recovery that Cang Shitian and her loyal servant, Rui Yi, were stunned by it almost every day. Cang Shuhe herself was unperturbed.

However, having a healthy body and the Deep Sea royal bloodline were far from enough to become the Deep Sea God Emperor. For starters, she had to possess the Deep Sea divine power.

It was why Yun Che had set foot in the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm today.

He entered her room. Last time, it was filled with cold energy, but that was no longer the case.

Cang Shuhe knelt on the ground and waited as Yun Che touched her glabella with a finger. Floating above the back of his hand was the divine artifact of the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm, the Deep Sea Divine Pearl.

Blue light flowed out of the divine artifact like water and streamed down Yun Che’s finger into Cang Shuhe.

For a long time, Cang Shitian and Rui Yi held their breath as they watched the process from afar. Cang Shitian in particular was stunned beyond words.

As the Deep Sea God Emperor and the long-time owner of the Deep Sea Divine Pearl, there was no one in the current world who knew the divine artifact better than him. However, not even in the ancient memories he had inherited from his ancestors was he able to find a single explanation as to why Yun Che was able to manipulate the Deep Sea Divine Pearl’s power by force.

The divine artifact was one hundred percent inheritance from an ancient True God. Since ancient times, only those who were chosen by the Deep Sea Divine Pearl would be granted a portion of its power. Until Yun Che, no one and nothing could interfere with it.

It was the same for the divine artifacts of the other king realms.

Right now, Cang Shitian’s eyes were colored by disbelief and a mix of complex emotions. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that this was the extent of Yun Che’s terrifying secrets.

Even with what he currently knew about Yun Che, he could say without hesitation that Long Bai, Zhou Xuzi, and the other god emperors and realm kings’ decision to make an enemy—a devil—out of this absolute monster of a human being was foolish in the extreme.

The Eternal Calamity of Darkness allowed Yun Che to “graft” a power of darkness to a certain person. It was how Tian Guhu was able to gain the Yama Devil divine power despite not having a drop of Yama Devil bloodline in his veins.

However, the consequence was that the receiver’s lifespan was greatly reduced.

He also solved the compatibility issue with the Laws of Nothingness, but his grasp of the law was so shallow that his control over the Deep Sea divine power was much weaker compared to his control over a dark power.

As a result, the host receiving the divine power must possess the corresponding Deep Sea bloodline, and their lifespan would be reduced even more.

The process didn’t take too long. Just two hours later, the Deep Sea Divine Pearl let out a metallic ring before losing its blue light completely. After removing his finger from Cang Shuhe’s glabella and hiding a sigh, Yun Che turned away and removed all expression from his face once more.

Cang Shitian shivered once before rushing toward his sister. He asked, “H-how did it go, Your Magnificence?”

Cang Shuhe slowly opened her eyes. Deep blue radiance shone from them.

Cang Shitian’s eyes widened. Immediately after the display, he sensed the Deep Sea divine aura emanating from her body! 

“Miss…” Rui Yi cried softly. She was both happy and sad for her mistress. She knew exactly what Cang Shuhe had paid to gain this power.

Cang Shuhe slowly bowed her head slightly before murmuring, “Shuhe promises to spend the rest of her life repaying this favor, Your Magnificence.”

“Unnecessary. I got what I wanted, and so did you,” Yun Che replied while glancing at Cang Shuhe from the corner of his eyes.

Technically speaking, there was another downside to forcing an ancient divine power into a person. The process inflicted massive pain unto its receiver until it was done. It was bad enough that even the strong-willed Tian Guhu had scrunched up his face, shivered like a leaf, and sweated like a waterfall.

However, Cang Shuhe’s features hadn’t twitched in the slightest. She had looked so peaceful that he could’ve been fooled into thinking that she was soaking in a cool breeze, not suffering from a terrible pain comparable to one’s limbs being torn away from their body.

Frankly… her willpower was so strong that it was scary.

“I should’ve expected this,” Cang Shitian said while doing his best to suppress his excitement. “Only Your Magnificence could’ve pulled off such a miracle! Although Shuhe has lived in seclusion for a long time, she never stopped observing the realms and learning from ancient text. I cannot even count the number of scriptures she has read. She will definitely be a great Deep Sea God Emperor! I promise you that her ability to rule the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm and influence the entire Southern Divine Region will not disappoint you, Your Magnificence!”

“Is that so?” Yun Che replied indifferently. “You should prepare the succession ceremony now, Cang Shitian. The sooner it is finished, the better.”

After that, he looked Cang Shuhe in the eyes and said, “You understand that all I ask is a vase, right? Therefore, all you need to do is to act like one, especially since your life—” 

“My lifespan is much greater than it used to be. It may even rival my brother’s now,” interrupted Cang Shuhe all of a sudden. “But no matter how long my life is, I will never forget that it is only thanks to Your Magnificence that I have been granted a new lease on life. Again, I will strive to fulfill my promise until the end of my life.”

Yun Che: “...”

Cang Shitian hurriedly supported his sister’s words, “There is no one left in the world who will not bow to your might, and my sister is a woman who values gratitude and loyalty deeply, Your Magnificence. I, Cang Shitian, promise on my life, that Shuhe will never even think of betraying you, Your Magnificence. Otherwise, I will deal with her myself.”

Cang Shitian declared without any hesitation. He was one of the people who had peered into the terror that was Yun Che and still couldn’t find the depths of his power. Therefore, he also knew better than anyone that staying loyal to Yun Che was the wisest, if not the only choice to make at this time. Only the hopelessly idiotic would consider another option.

Yun Che shot Cang Shuhe a long look before turning away.

“Long live His Magnificence!” Cang Shitian hurriedly said and followed after him while maintaining a stance of absolute humility.

“Miss!” Rui Yi rushed to Cang Shuhe’s side the moment Yun Che and Cang Shitian left the room. It was only when she offered her support that she realized that her mistress was drenched like she had just emerged from a pool. One could only imagine how much pain she had been under, and how much willpower it had taken to bear it without a word.

Cang Shuhe slowly raised her hands as she sensed the Deep Sea divine power coursing through her body. “Now I am now capable of succeeding my brother’s title… truly, reality is like a dream that is stranger than a dream.”

“Miss, can you tell me…” Rui Yi’s voice shivered as she whispered, “How much lifespan do you have left?”

She could barely accept it if the cost was within the twenty to thirty percent range, but Qianye Ying’er had stated that receiving the Deep Sea divine power by force was going to reduce her mistress’ lifespan so much… that she would’ve lived longer had she not received the treatment from the start.

Cang Shuhe smiled gently at her worried servant and revealed the truth. “I do hope I’ll be able to live another 600 years.”

“...” For a long time, Rui Yi couldn’t say anything at all.

“Don’t feel sad for me, Rui Yi. Most people would think of this as a curse, but I truly think of this as a gift.” Cang Shuhe raised her head high before continuing, “The title ‘God Emperor’ is nothing more than a title to the Devil Master and countless others, but to me… it is like being reborn to life.”

“To be able to overlook the world for even one day is better than drifting without purpose for tens of thousands of years. It looks like I won’t be wasting these six hundred years of life after all. At the very least, I will ensure that the name ‘Cang Shuhe’ is remembered forever in the annals of history!”

The feeble blue light in Shuhe’s pupils had turned into cold, soul-piercing stars before Rui Yi realized it. The reborn princess said softly, “It is time… I pulled in that hidden net that was left behind for my brother back then.”

………...

Western Divine Region, Blue Dragon Realm.

Hua Jin had been waiting outside the Blue Dragon Emperor’s bedroom for some time. When Chi Wuyao finally stepped out of the room, she slowly revealed herself.

“Still nothing?” Chi Wuyao asked after glancing once at Hua Jin’s expression.

“Master,” Hua Jin bowed her head before continuing, “we gathered several times the manpower compared to last month and were able to complete most of our tasks. The Southern Sea remnants have been wiped out, the adults with the Dragon God bloodline have been taken care of, and the younglings have been partially crippled. However… we still weren’t able to find any sign of the Moon Gods.”

“That is strange.” Chi Wuyao frowned slightly.

The explosion that had destroyed the Moon God Realm was powerful, but not nearly powerful enough to wipe out all the Moon Gods at the same time. However, not a trace or breath of the Moon Gods had been detected since.

“Hua Jin believes that there are two possibilities. Either they have escaped to some faraway lower realms, or the realization that there is no longer any way for them to overturn their fate coupled with the threat of capture and humiliation, drove them to destroy their own divine power.”

Chi Wuyao sank into deep thought. The Moon Gods escaping to the lower realms was easily the likelier possibility between the two. However, she also knew that the Moon Gods would never choose such an option unless they were completely desperate, as in a life-or-death situation with no hope of escape desperate.

The most logical reaction for the Moon Gods was to rage and retaliate against Yun Che after the destruction of the Moon God Realm. Instead, they had vanished without a trace on the very same day.

They couldn’t have escaped to the lower realms from the start, could they!?

“...” Chi Wuyao couldn’t think of an answer despite puzzling over it for a long time.

“Should we widen our web and keep searching, Master?” Hua Jin asked.

Yun Che’s grand coronation ceremony was right around the corner. The Southern Sea remnants had been wiped out, the profound practitioners with the Dragon God bloodline had been dealt with, and the rebels were annihilated so quickly that they never even got the chance to grow.

It was almost ironic, but the mysteriously vanished Moon Gods was now their biggest unseen threat.

A short pause later, Chi Wuyao replied, “It’s fine. In fact, you may set aside this matter for now. You will follow me to the Southern Divine Region so we may prepare the grand coronation ceremony in full force.”

“Yes, Master!” Hua Jin answered before adding, “I have another matter to report, Master. We have discovered Luo Guxie’s hiding place. She is hiding somewhere to the south of the Eastern Divine Region.”

“Oh?” Chi Wuyao smiled a bit. “Don’t harm her, and withdraw all our spies. Most importantly, don’t stop her from ‘slipping’ into the grand coronation ceremony when it happens.”

“You’re saying…?”

“I was wondering how we were going to spill some blood during the ceremony for… showmanship purposes.” Chi Wuyao’s eyes shone black and menacing. “Since the perfect tool has presented herself, it would only be right to put her to good use.”

………...

Since the destruction of Dragon God Realm, former overlord of the Primal Chaos, half a year passed by in the blink of an eye.

Even before the appointed date, countless auras had taken off from the star realms of every divine region and headed toward a certain place in the Southern Divine Region.

Finally, the day of Yun Che’s grand coronation, the legendary ceremony that would decide the new overlord of the God Realm and the fates of countless future generations, began.