Against the Gods

Yun Che and Yun Wuxin were currently flying to the west on a small profound ship that left behind a trail of dreamlike halos.

In order for Yun Wuxin to adapt to the atmosphere of the God Realm as soon as possible, Yun Che had been carrying her across space by his own power. However, they were traveling to the Western Divine Region this time, so he “borrowed” a profound ark from Cang Shuhe for the trip. It would’ve taken ages to make it there otherwise.

“What was the item Auntie Shuhe snuck into your shirt when she bade us goodbye, Father?” Yun Wuxin asked curiously.

“It’s nothing really. It’s just a cookbook she personally wrote.” Yun Che complained after a pause, “She could’ve just transmitted the knowledge to me via soul imprint. It would’ve been so much less troublesome.”

Yun Wuxin pursed her lips. “I refuse to believe that you don’t understand something this simple.”

“Sigh.” Yun Che exhaled quietly. “Sometimes it really saddens me that my daughter is grown up.”

Yun Wuxin simply stretched out her hand to Yun Che and said, “Like I care. Now show me!”

“Fine, fine.” Yun Che pushed his palm forward, and a book made of strange materials and glowing a light bluish color floated onto Yun Wuxin’s palm.

Yun Wuxin carefully opened the book. It only took an instant for her eyes to turn all sparkly, and her lips to let slip heartfelt praise, “So pretty! Even her handwriting is a sight to behold.”

The handwriting was just the beginning. Yun Che might feign indifference, but he knew full well that every dish recorded in this book was the culmination of ten thousand years of experimentation, adjustment and study. That these recipes never saw the light of day until now could only be described as a travesty.

Yun Che’s culinary skills had been improving by leaps and bounds for the past month, and the better he became, the more he came to realize just how precious the cookbook was. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was the Divine Miracle of Life of the culinary arts.

“Auntie Shuhe is pretty, a god emperor, and impossibly skilled in so many things. She’s so perfect it’s almost unrealistic.”

This wasn’t the first time Yun Wuxin had praised Cang Shuhe, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Yun Wuxin reluctantly removed her gaze from Cang Shuhe’s writing before looking at Yun Che, “Father, I’m feeling more and more that you’ve monopolized the best women in the entire world.”

“But of course!” Yun Che held his head high. “Who do you think your dad is?”

“Oh right, do NOT praise your Auntie Shuhe in front of your Auntie Qianye, okay?”

“Eh? Why’s that?” Yun Wuxin’s mind clicked the second the question escaped her lips, so she gave her father a wink and answered, “Ohhhhh… understood!”

“Do not let her know about this cookbook either.” Yun Che covered his forehead and said a little helplessly, “Otherwise, she’ll hound us until we show her the cookbook, and who knows what will happen afterward?”

“I got it already.”

Yun Che hadn’t tried to conceal their tracks, so he wasn’t surprised to find the Qilin Emperor and an entourage of Qilins waiting for them. They rushed to welcome him the moment they saw him.

“Qi Tianli welcomes Emperor Yun and the little princess,” said Qi Tianli before leading the salute. Then, he looked at Yun Wuxin and engraved her appearance and aura into his memory.

“I knew you would do this.”

Yun Che walked past the Qilin Emperor but didn’t chase him away immediately. Instead, he said, “Tell me about the current happenings in the Western Divine Region, but only the important ones.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Qi Tianli remained bending even as he trailed after Yun Che’s footsteps. He began reporting in the most succinct way possible, “The Empress has personally taken control of the Sinned Dragon Realm. The Dragon God younglings have all been ‘settled’ properly…”

“The elements of unrest in the Chi Dragon Realm and Myriad Manifestation Realm have all been purged. The Hui Dragon Realm has also completely fallen under the Blue Dra… Consort Blue’s control.” The Qilin Emperor had to wipe away a forehead of cold sweat after that near mistake before continuing, “The enforcer bureau under Qing Ruo’s command has expanded its influence to eighty percent of the upper star realms, sixty percent of the middle star realms…”

Long Bai was dead, so Qi Tianli was now the god emperor with the greatest seniority in the Western Divine Region. His understanding of his divine region exceeded absolutely everyone else in the entire universe, and his work was even more comprehensive and rigorous.

Yun Che listened to the entire report without uttering a single word. When it was over, he nodded and said, “Very well. You may leave.”

However, Qi Tianli didn’t leave immediately. He bowed to Yun Che and said, “Your Majesty, you have not concealed your tracks on your way over. This old one is afraid that someone may harass you out of admiration or worse, attempt an assassination out of sheer foolishness.”

“Of course, no one can threaten Your Majesty, but the little princess may be disturbed by it. If Your Majesty doesn’t mind, this old one can arrange someone to clear the path for you immediately.”

“It’s fine.” Yun Che’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. “The entire purpose of this trip is to show my daughter the many faces of the world. She has already witnessed those hilarious assassinations you speak a dozen of times, and frankly, I think she’s grown bored of them.”

“I see… so er… if I may be so rude, will you be… staying… in the Blue Dragon Realm?” Qi Tianli asked carefully.

He knew full well that Emperor Yun had stayed in the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm for an entire month and more before coming to the Western Divine Region!

However, Yun Che said, “I was delayed at the Southern Divine Region, so I’ll be cutting my trip in the Western Divine Region short. In fact, I won’t be visiting the Blue Dragon Realm. The Blue Dragon Emperor probably doesn’t want to see me anyway.”

“But…” The Qilin Emperor tried to give it one more go, but it was too late.

“Let’s go, Wuxin.”

Yun Che grabbed Yun Wuxin’s wrist and left the Qilin Emperor far behind. A while later, the old qilin let out a long sigh.

“She has to take the initiative, but...” he muttered, “that girl has never been good at taking initiatives… sigh.”

“Where are we headed to now, father?”

Yun Che stared at the space in front of him. “... I think I would like to visit the Dragon God Realm first.”

Yun Wuxin was going to ask another question, but she picked up a hint of grief in his voice and wisely kept silent.

The former Dragon God Realm, Forbidden Land of Samsara.

The last time Yun Che was here, he had showered the place with light profound energy. Therefore, the heavenly garden had regained its vitality.

The grass was swaying, the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing, and the insects were chirping… but they would never return to that fairyland that was even more dreamlike than a dream.

“I’ve come to visit, Shen Xi.”

Yun Che stood in front of the gravestone he personally erected and stared at it for a very long time.

Yun Wuxin paid her respects before keeping her father company in silence.

“Back then, you said all kinds of things and used all sorts of methods to promote my growth. You wanted me to surpass Long Bai and everything else in this world… I’ve succeeded, but you are no longer here to see it.”

“Worse still, I will never know why you treated me so well.”

“Whew…” Yun Che exhaled long and deep before reciting, 

“He

A strange cloud

Meets a bright smoke and saw the light

She

The first light of dawn

Chases away the wind of chaos and nurtures the strange cloud

Together

They slumber atop a bed of flowers as one.”

It was a scene that would forever remain a memory.

Yun Wuxin looked up. “Is that a poem you made for Auntie Shen Xi back then?”

Yun Che nodded. “The strange cloud is me, the first light of dawn is her, and the bright smoke is the light profound energy that existed in this garden because of her. I am still here… but she is gone forever.”

Yun Wuxin hesitated for a moment, but in the end she decided to ask her question anyway, “I’ve never met Auntie Shen Xi before, so I can only imagine your relationship with her in my head. But uh… I think she would be angry if she knew of your poem? It’s… pretty frivolous, isn’t it?”

“You are right.”

Yun Che completely agreed with her daughter’s deduction. “She was the prettiest woman I have ever met in my life. She is even prettier than Qianying and Wuyao. I will never forget how stunned I was when I met her for the first time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would never happen again.”

Yun Wuxin’s mouth parted in surprise. She couldn’t imagine how pretty she must be to be prettier than even Yun Qianying and Chi Wuyao.

No wonder the Dragon Monarch became obsessed with her for hundreds of thousands of years.

“During that time, I learned that she was the ‘Dragon Queen’ of the ‘Dragon Queen and Goddess’, and that it was a false title Long Bai had applied for the entire world and himself because he couldn’t obtain her.”

“And yet, not only did that supposedly unattainable Shen Xi fall for me, she was the one who took the initiative.”

“I was incredibly puzzled back then. Of course, I was worried what Long Bai would do when he found out, but… I am even prouder and pleased with myself.” Yun Che shook his head self-derisively. “Over time, I grew less and less restrained because of her gentle nature, and I crafted this poem with every intention of showing off to her and teasing her. She didn’t get angry with me, however. She gave me one of her rare smiles instead.”

That slightly dimpled smile was forever engraved on his heart as well.

It had only been a decade since that day, but he really had acted like a bratty child back then.

“If only you were able to meet her, Wuxin. You would have believed that fairies truly exist in this world. Unfortunately… even the most perfect life is filled with helplessness and irreversible regrets.”

Yun Wuxin’s eyes were full of yearning by the time he was done speaking.

The Western Divine Region was the biggest divine region in the entire God Realm, but Yun Che didn’t linger in it for too long.

Three months later, he and Yun Wuxin had already left the Western Divine Region to travel east—but not because he wanted to travel to the Eastern Divine Region. Not yet. As per earlier planning, he dropped by the God Realm of Absolute Beginning first. 

The God Realm of Absolute Beginning was a gray world where ancient auras abounded. It had without a doubt opened up a whole new chapter of worlds in Yun Wuxin’s heart.

Yun Che told her about its history and its races as they ventured deeper into the place.

There existed countless deadly ancient beasts in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, and not even Divine Masters would brave it without considerable preparation. Yun Che was basically the only person in the entire universe who possessed the might to escort a new divine way profound practitioner like Yun Wuxin through it.

No one had ever found the edge of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. However, it did have a spot that was considered to be the heart of the world.

After they were done visiting the Dragons of Absolute Beginning, Yun Che took Yun Wuxin to that place.

“Legend says that the Abyss of Nothingness is the center of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. In its essence, it is an incredibly huge hole that returns everything that falls into it back to nothingness. It doesn’t matter if it’s living or dead. Even power, space, sound and light itself will be nullified into nothing there. Therefore, you may watch it from afar, but you must not get close to it no matter what.”

Of course he wouldn’t let her even if she did, but a good warning was worth repeating again and again.

As he said this though, the image of a red figure falling into that same abyss flashed across his mind… it took him a head shake and a bit of time before he barely managed to dispel it.

“Not even you can approach it, father?” Yun Wuxin asked.

“Of course,” Yun Che answered. “According to the records, when a True God dies, the energy leaking out of their body is powerful enough to trigger a supernatural calamity. That is why those sinful gods who committed unforgivable crimes were normally tossed into the Abyss of Nothingness and turned into nothing. The criminals wouldn’t feel any pain, and their energy wouldn’t harm the world. It was a win-win for everyone.”

“If the Abyss of Nothingness can utterly annihilate even an ancient True God, why can’t it annihilate me?”

“It’s that scary!?” Yun Wuxin exclaimed in shock before another question sprang to her mind, “What is the power that’s sustaining this Abyss of Nothingness then? If it can annihilate even a god with ease… then it has to be a power that far surpasses the level of a god, right?”

Her understanding of “power levels” had also become more defined thanks to this journey.

Yun Che shook her head smilingly. “This is a question even an ancient True God will not be able to answer for you. The Abyss of Nothingness was left behind by the Ancestral God herself when she created the world, so she is the only one who will know its true secret. Unfortunately, the Ancestral God died a long time ago.”

Suddenly, Yun Che paused in his tracks.

“What’s wrong, father?” Yun Wuxin paused as well to ask.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet two acquaintances here.” Yun Che smiled. “Come, I’ll introduce you to a senior of great virtue and… a not so good-tempered little senior.”