Against the Gods

Yun Che called out to Qianye Ying’er and told her to cut open space itself after he exited Floating Cloud City. A moment later, he appeared beside the Azure Cloud Continent’s Cloud’s End Cliff almost instantly.

After leaving behind some quick instructions to Qianye Ying’er, Yun Che jumped off the cliff and disappeared into the darkness very quickly.

Qianye Ying’er frowned slightly as she stared at the abyss of darkness below her. She was surprised that her gaze was unable to penetrate its veil and perceive the presences below it.

She knew that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor was below the abyss, and she herself was curious about this place. Had her personality been intact she would’ve set out on an exploration, but since the slave mark imprint was in her, all she did was obey her orders and wait patiently for Yun Che to return.

Yun Che zipped down Cloud’s End Cliff as quickly as he could. The world of darkness was unusually quiet during this time. He immediately saw Jie Yuan the moment he arrived at the sea of Netherworld Udumbara Flowers.

Jie Yuan was sitting next to You’er and explaining something to her in a soft tone. You’er listened to her obediently and quietly until Yun Che appeared, and a familiar light entered her colorful eyes. She leaned toward Yun Che almost subconsciously, and she refused to look away from him.

Jie Yuan turned around and shot him a glance. She asked, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Not sensing any anger or dissatisfaction in Jie Yuan’s eyes, Yun Che let out a secret sigh of relief before answering in a hurry, “I entered a state of enlightenment half a month ago, and as a result I nearly missed the time of our meeting. That’s why I’d rushed over in a hurry. I hope I haven’t made you wait too long, Senior.”

As he said this, he moved his hand closer toward You’er to touch her cheeks. Although he couldn’t really touch her, he still successfully drew what looked like a small smile to You’er’s face. You’er moved even closer to him after that.

Noticing that You’er was far closer to Yun Che than she was to her, Jie Yuan turned away with complex emotions and said indifferently, “No, you’re right on time. It’s almost time for ‘that’ to happen.”

“That?”

“The return of my clansmen.”

Yun Che tensed up for a second.

“Relax,” said Jie Yuan while staring into the darkness ahead of her. No one except herself knew what she was thinking. “I have visited many places besides accompanying You’er during this period, so I suppose I have a basic understanding of the Primal Chaos now. That also means I’m ready to give you the ‘answer’ you seek.”

Yun Che held his breath and waited. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Jie Yuan’s next words would decide the future of the Primal Chaos.

“Right now, the only people who know about me are those so-called highest level existences in the God Realm. I suppose I should give them credit for not spreading news of my return as ordered. I also know that they view you as their one and only savior, and that they are placing all their hopes on you. You yourself care about this more than anyone else in the world.”

“You’re still the decider of everything, Senior,” Yun Che said. “Junior understands that no one has any right to demand any action from you, but as someone who lives in the Primal Chaos, it’s still my duty to try no matter how unworthy I am…”

“Hmph, save that pointless talk for someone else.” Jie Yuan snorted before continuing, “Promise me one thing, and I can guarantee that my clansmen will not wreak havoc in the Primal Chaos!”

Jie Yuan’s words caused Yun Che to blank out for two breaths straight. When he finally came back to the world, He looked up abruptly and asked, “Wh… what did you say, Senior!?”

“What’s wrong? Can’t believe your own ears?”

“...” She was right that Yun Che couldn’t believe his own ears at this moment. In fact, anyone in his place would’ve thought that they were experiencing an auditory hallucination as well.

The fact that Jie Yuan hadn’t become a scourge on the world after returning was the blessing of the heavens already. But the true danger was the return of almost a hundred hate-filled devil gods when even one of them could bring infinite calamity to the Primal Chaos.

Yun Che, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor, and everyone else who knew the truth wanted Jie Yuan to control the devil gods and protect the God Realm. They were willing to serve her as their master if she could do that. As for the rest of the world, they simply weren’t in a position to care at all.

Having the devil gods rule over them instead of destroying them all… was the absolute best result they could hope for. Anything else beyond that was just a pipe dream.

But Jie Yuan was saying… that she could stop her clansmen from bringing any mayhem to the Primal Chaos!?

Although the words had come out of Jie Yuan’s own mouth… Yun Che simply couldn’t find it in himself to believe her until some time later.

“Senior, did you just say… that you would stop your clansmen from wreaking havoc in the Primal Chaos?” Yun Che repeated everything Jie Yuan just said word by word.

“Hmph, lying to the likes of you is beneath me,” Jie Yuan said coldly. “However, you must promise me one thing for me to do this! It’s something only you can and must do!”

“...Alright!” Yun Che adjusted his breathing before nodding slowly. “Please speak.”

“Listen well.” Jie Yuan finally turned around to stare at him with her black, abyssal eyes. “I want you to take good care of my daughters, Hong’er and You’er for the rest of your life. You are not allowed to hurt them or abandon them no matter what happens in the future!”

“...” Yun Che stood where he was, stunned beyond words.

Yun Che had avoided thinking about the future after the devil gods’ return, or speaking about this bleak future to anyone on the Blue Pole Star after hearing about them.

It was because their return wasn’t only probable, but inevitable. Moreover, even if they managed to land on the best case scenario, the future was still bleak and cruel.

No one in this world could imagine how terrifying almost a hundred hate-filled true devils were.

But right now, Jie Yuan promised personally that she would stop her clansmen from wreaking havoc in the Primal Chaos… was this even possible?

If it was, then the condition that came with it must be equally difficult.

It was why he felt his heart clenching when he heard that Jie Yuan wanted something from him… but what he heard made him doubt the functionality of his ears again.

Take care of Hong’er and You’er, don’t hurt them, and don’t abandon them.

Wait… that’s it?

“I don’t sense any sorrow in Hong’er’s eyes. There is only happiness and her need for you,” Jie Yuan said slowly while Yun Che was still in a daze. “That is why I believe that you’ve treated her well, and that you won’t abandon her no matter what. Not that it’s likely considering that your lives are connected to each other.”

Of course he wasn’t going to abandon Hong’er. Even if he were to pretend that they hadn’t known each other for years, Hong’er was still the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, the partner he relied on like his own life.

“As for You’er, she had been alone and trapped in darkness for countless years. She doesn’t even know what the outside world looks like. I want someone to bring her out of this world of darkness and stay by her side. I want to dispel her loneliness and make her as happy and carefree as Hong’er.”

“And the person I’ve chosen to be with her, is you.”

There were several reasons why You’er was unusually intimate with Yun Che: the Heretic God’s presence in him, Hong’er, or the fact that Yun Che was the first person to visit her and keep her company in her infinite loneliness… If there was one thing Jie Yuan was sure about, it was that You’er would be happiest if she stayed with Yun Che.

Yun Che listened carefully before asking, “Right now, You’er is just a broken devil soul. She would suffer great damage or even perish if she were to enter any place that isn’t covered in pure darkness… Are you planning to complete her soul and make her a new body, Senior?”

“No.” Jie Yuan shook her head before explaining, “You’er’s soul is very special. She may be the devil part of her original soul, but she is also the child between Ni Xuan and I, meaning that her soul is unlike any other in the entire world. Besides, would You’er still be You’er if I use another person’s soul to mend the hole in her soul? Would the new You’er still be my daughter after another soul is mixed into hers?”

“...” Yun Che couldn’t answer her. The taboo offspring between Ni Xuan and Jie Yuan—the Creation God of the Elements and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor—was without a doubt the most unusual and unique existence in the entire world.

The only true way to return Hong’er and You’er to normal was to combine their souls once more and recreate “Ni Jie”, but...

“At first, I wanted to combine their souls back into one and remake their body. This way, our child would truly return in full. But you convinced me to change my mind… Hong’er and You’er have already formed their own experience, memories, and consciousness. They are both my daughters. How can I wipe out their existences just to regain the ‘Ni Jie’ in my memories?”

Yun Che thought for a moment before asking, “You must’ve thought of another way, am I right?”

“Don’t you realize yet? The answer lies in you,” said Jie Yuan.

Yun Che, “??”

Jie Yuan continued, “You told me that Hong’er’s soul was complete probably because the patriarch of the Sword Spirit God Clan had given up his own soul to remake her soul, then remade her body after her soul was complete. To tell you the truth, I knew that was impossible the moment I heard it.”

Yun Che, “Huh?”

“Our daughter possess the most unique soul in the entire world. It’s impossible for her soul to fuse with anyone else’s soul, not even if the soul is that of a Creation God or a Devil Emperor. Moreover, Ni Xuan would never allow another person to mix their soul into our daughter’s soul. He’s even less tolerant than me in that regard.”

“Therefore… Ni Xuan must’ve created a sword soul himself to complete Hong’er’s soul!”

The Heretic God… had created a sword soul himself?

“Neither Hong’er nor You’er’s soul can combine with any person’s soul, so the only choice left was to use an artifact soul. Hong’er’s sword soul contained the core of Ni Xuan’s soul aura, so it could only be him who forged the sword soul. After the process was complete, Hong’er became a half-sword, half-human with the soul of a person and a sword.”

“The ‘light energy’ inside her sword soul must’ve been added to keep Hong’er safe within the Sword Spirit God Clan after the fact. It was probably inserted by the hands of the Sword Spirit God Clan’s patriarch, or that woman Li Suo.”

“He personally engraved the name ‘Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword’ into Hong’er’s sword soul. ‘Devil Slayer’ was engraved to secure her identity in the Sword Spirit God Clan, whereas ‘Heaven Smiting’...” Jie Yuan closed her eyes as her voice trembled for just an instant. “He put it there probably because there were some things he just couldn’t let go of.”

The Heaven Smiting Devil Clan was a clan that could transform into swords. Hong’er’s mother was the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, so naturally her soul was uniquely compatible with swords as well. It was why the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword Hong’er transformed into possessed the light attribute of the Devil Slayer Sword and the devilish might of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor at the same time.

As for Hong’er’s ability to consume swords, it was something not even Jie Yuan understood.

Yun Che’s heart trembled violently at the revelation.

When the Ice Phoenix divine being had talked to him, she had speculated that Hong’er’s soul was completed by the Sword Spirit God Patriarch. That was why she was able to transform into the divine Devil Slayer Sword. She had sounded quite certain of her theory even though it was just speculation at the time… She was wrong, however. The Heretic God had been the one who completed her soul himself.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s explanation did sound like it was closer to the truth. Ni Xuan was the proud Heretic God, and Hong’er was his and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s child. There was no way he would’ve allowed his daughter’s soul to become mixed with another person’s… She wouldn’t be completely his daughter even if she was made whole that way.

If Jie Yuan hadn’t returned, no one would have ever known who it was that had completed Hong’er’s soul… After all, the Heretic God never found a chance to meet Hong’er again after that, and so he had no way of letting the world or Hong’er herself know that she was his daughter.

After Hong’er’s soul was complete, she eventually became another person’s daughter… Everyone in the world thought that Hong’er was the daughter of the Sword Spirit God Patriarch.

As the father of a daughter himself, he couldn’t imagine how helpless, bitter, or sad the Heretic God felt when he left.

“Are you… going to make a sword soul for You’er just like Hong’er?” Yun Che was finally starting to understand Jie Yuan’s intentions.

“No.” But Jie Yuan shook her head again before explaining, “Did you think that it’d be easy to make a complete soul for Hong’er and You’er? Ni Xuan needed at least thousands of Celestial Spirit Divine Swords at the minimum before he could start creating Hong’er’s divine soul. He must’ve paid a huge price during the fusion process as well.”

“Even in the old Primal Chaos, it was probably a feat that couldn’t be replicated a second time, or he would’ve created a sword soul for You’er too. Today, you couldn’t find even a single sword that’s at the divine level, so it’s impossible to make a sword soul for You’er.”

Yun Che only half understood Jie Yuan’s explanation, but it was only natural. How could he hope to understand something at the level of the Creation Gods?

“My plan is for You’er… to share Hong’er’s sword soul!” Jie Yuan declared.