Against the Gods

Hua Caili’s obviously unusual reaction caused Yun Che to look up in confusion. He asked, “Er… is there something wrong with its name?”

“N-no.” Hua Caili shook her head a little numbly. “I just thought that it is a… strange name for such a heavy sword.”

“It’s not really that strange.” Yun Che did not seem to notice anything amiss and caressed the blade slightly. His eyes gradually grew distant as if he was reminiscing about something, “My master never told me about the sword’s original name. He named me Yun Che, so the sword that has accompanied me my whole life also has my surname, Yun (Cloud).”

The blade of the sword continued to glow a mysterious vermillion that was beyond mysterious and profound. From the moment he entered the Abyss, he had made sure to conceal the words “Heaven Smiting” and “Devil Slayer” from its blade.

“You might have noticed, but its light is unusual and similar to glazed glass. So, my master took the word ‘Glaze’ from it and named it Cloud Glaze Sword. It is also because he wishes for me to be as ‘ambitious as the clouds, and be as pure as glazed glass’.”

“…” Inside Yun Che’s soul sesa, Li Suo was utterly speechless.

If she hadn’t known that the sword was the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword in Hong’er’s form, and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword in You’er’s form from the start, she would have believed his brazen lies herself.

“… I see.” Hua Caili smiled a little unnaturally for some reason. “Now that you’ve explained things, I suddenly feel like this name is a perfect fit with it.”

Yun Che looked up and said naturally, “The blade of your sword is as white as snow, and I doubt even a divine jade of the heavens could be purer than it. Not only that, its aura its as gentle as water, but its power chills one to the core. I am sure that it has a stunning name as well. Would you tell me its name, Sister Qu?”

Hua Caili turned around and practically escaped into the Endless Fog.

His sword is named Cloud Glaze Sword…

My sword is named Glazed Cloud Sword…

Yun Che…

Caili…

……

Her heart was beating like a million deerlings bumping into each other. Even her footsteps were disorderly and out of control.

“What is the meaning of this?” Li Suo couldn’t help but ask Yun Che.

“A suggestion,” Yun Che answered succinctly.

“Suggestion?” Li Suo did not understand.

“Yep. It is very useful against young girls and boys who have just set foot in this dirty, dirty world,” Yun Che explained. “It’s useless against you though. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can dissect the concept and explain it to you word by word, and you still wouldn’t understand it. Not truly.”

“…” Li Suo stopped pressing. Instead, she asked another question, “What if Hong’er and You’er gets annoyed with you?”

“Relax,” Yun Che scoffed, “Hong’er is fine with anything as long as you keep her fed. As for You’er, she’s such a good girl she doesn’t even know how to get angry with me.”

Li Suo sighed quietly and helplessly. “Your repertoire of tricks truly is astounding… Still, don’t you think you’re going overboard; doing too much? If one trick is exposed, then all of them will be.”

“…” Yun Che’s footsteps slowed a little. “You’re completely right.”

“I must admit that I am squeezing out every trick I know and using them as quickly as possible. I am well aware that this is a flawed approach… but what can I do? My time is too short. Too short.”

“Don’t worry,” Yun Che spoke confidently after a small sigh. “If you recall all of our interactions until this point, she is, from her perspective, the one who made the first move every time. In fact, I would argue that she’s the one who has more to worry about in terms of being exposed. After all, she’s the one who ‘approached me intentionally’ and ‘hid’ her true identity from me while I have seemingly treated her with perfect candidness and honesty this entire time. Forget doubting me, her guilt must be eating her alive from the inside all this time.”

Li Suo: “…”

He said softly as he stared at Hua Caili’s back, “I think I’ve used enough petty tricks.The next two steps will be the most important.”

“… I pray for your success.” Li Suo did not know what else to say.

Yun Che shut his eyes slightly. “No, you won’t.”

Li Suo: “??”

……

“Have you heard of the ‘Eternal Pure Land’, Young Master Yun?”

“Of course I have.”

“I heard that it is a world without abyssal dust. Apparently, our ancestors and Lord Abyssal Monarch himself came from that world.”

“I heard that even the most mundane corner of that world is as pure as the Pure Land. I heard that the sky is a pure light blue instead of gray, the clouds are perfectly white and unblemished, the waters may stretch for thousands and thousands of kilometers without end, the number of races are almost countless, and the shape and colors of the plants are truly innumerable…”

Every Abyss profound practitioner held infinite yearning for the legendary “Eternal Pure Land”. Hua Caili was no exception.

To an ordinary profound practitioner, the “Eternal Pure Land” was more of a myth to keep their embers of hope burning. But to a member of a Kingdom of God, they knew for certain that it was a real, existing world.

“It is not a myth,” Yun Che said evenly, “it is a real world.”

“Ah?” The young woman glanced at him and blurted, “Have you been to the Eternal Pure Land before, Young Master Yun?”

“Of course not,” Yun Che burst out chuckling. “My master though, I’m fairly sure he hails from that place.”

“!!” Hua Qingying’s eyes instantly focused like needles.

Hua Caili spun around and faced him directly. Her astonishment and curiosity were such that they nearly spilled out of her eye sockets.

Yun Che continued, “My master used to tell me all about that world. Of course, I did not truly care or believe him at the time. I was young and foolish. It wasn’t until he started sending me images into my soul sea that I truly believed that such a world existed.”

“Ah…” Hua Caili subconsciously let out a cry of astonishment. She then asked with unbridled excitement and amazement, “Is it… is it truly the ‘Eternal Pure Land’? Does that mean you’ve seen that world’s white clouds, pure snow, flowers, spirit beasts…”

“Hahaha…” Yun Che laughed. “My reaction was more or less the same as yours. I would not stop begging my master to show me all kinds of things, and he would do everything in his power to satisfy me. It wasn’t until he passed away, and I truly entered the world that I realized just how stunning the scenes my master left behind for me truly were.”

He waved his hand, and an icy light flashed. Snow immediately began falling all around them.

There was no snow in the Abyss. Even a profound practitioner who cultivated water profound energy could only create water and ice. That was because they could not imagine the form of snow. Even if they looked at the records and tried to imitate them, all they could create was a hail of ice.

In Yun Che’s world, snow was basically as common as it could get. But for most living beings in the Abyss, it was an unparalleled luxury they could never dream of having.

“Wah~~”

The young woman cried out in amazement, eyes glittering like the stars. She held up her hands and watched as snowflakes danced between her fingers and transmitted icy coldness into her palm.

This wasn’t the first time she saw snow. High Priest Ling Xian, the one with the highest mastery of elements, had conjured snow multiple times just for her, and every time, Hua Caili would cheer in excitement.

Despite this, the particular snowfall seemed to delight her more than when she saw snow for the first time.

The snow was the same, but the conjurer was different.

Yun Che smiled and lowered his palm. A sheen of white spread out from his feet and swiftly engulfed the grayish black ground, the strange stones and black wood, the absolute further line their eyes could see, and further beyond.

In Hua Caili’s eyes, in her world, a snow white region that belonged to her and her alone had bloomed inside her heart.

Her cries of amazement came to a pause, and for a time, she just stood in a daze. She could not seem to believe her eyes or the world around her.

“In that world, a snowy region like this may exist in many places,” Yun Che said quietly. “It can be a thousand kilometers wide. It can also stretch for thousands and thousands of kilometers. Some places are forever covered in white snow no matter how much time has passed. They are that world’s eternal color.”

His eyes grew a little misty then, but he cleared it immediately and forcefully.

He missed the Snow Song Realm. He missed the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace.

As long as the Abyss still existed, his yearning was a luxury he could not afford; a sin he should not invoke.

“It’s like a dream…” she murmured, eyes staring unblinkingly at the white snow around her. It was such a monotonous color, but it was enough to turn her eyes misty.

Everyone in the Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God knew that Hua Caili adored pure white things. Her garb, her favorite Rainbow Cloud Branch, her beloved Glazed Cloud Sword…

Yun Che stood beside her and pointed at her smooth, milky palm. The snow gathered, and a tiny snow ferret appeared.

“This is a snow ferret. It hides itself by becoming one with the ice and snow,” Yun Che introduced with a smile on his face. “According to my master, the snow ferret is a powerless, mundane beast. However, its appearance is such that even the vilest villain usually could not bring themselves to hunt it.”

“It’s so cute!” Hua Caili carefully held it between her palms, the stars in her eyes seemingly melting from how cute the snow ferret was. “Is this a real beast?”

She touched it gingerly as if afraid that she would damage it. “It’s such a cute spirit beast. No, I doubt that people would hurt it even if it’s a malicious beast.”

Yun Che pointed again, and fire flashed. This time, a Fire Butterfly appeared in his palm and flew over to Hua Caili’s finger.

“This is a butterfly. According to my master, there exist over a hundred thousand types of butterflies in that world ranging from mundane ones that could fit on your finger, to demonic butterflies that can transform into humans.”

“This is an Ice Feather Spirit Flower. It grows in the coldest of places, but gives off spiritual qi that could nourish the soul.”

It was also Mu Xuanyin’s favorite flower.

“This is the Netherworld Udumbara Flower. Apologies, but I can barely recreate its shape, much less its true form. According to my master, it is one of the most demonic flowers in the world, capable of drawing one into an eternal dream… but it also creates the greatest miracle.”

“This is the Blue Sea Fierce Shark. I know it looks tiny in my palm, but it is really a titan in that world. Apparently, it is over hundreds of kilometers long…”

“This is the Holy Flower of Prayer, a flower that can only grow in light profound energy…”

“These are the Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix…”

……

Yun Che did not hesitate to show off the miraculous wonders he “obtained from his master” to Hua Caili again and again, and each time, the starry light in the young woman’s eyes would tremble greatly.

Even Hua Qingying could not stop herself from being astonished again and again.

“Is there anything else you would like to see, Sister Qu?” Yun Che asked while looking at her with warm, gentle eyes. It was as if he was telling her that he would fulfill anything she asked him.

“There are so many…” She replied happily. In fact, she was experiencing choice paralysis because there were so many things she wanted to see.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “Do you know what a meteor shower is, Young Master Yun?”

“Meteor shower?” That caught Yun Che a little off guard.

The young woman looked up at the snow white sky and said, “I once asked a… very powerful uncle what is the most beautiful scenery in the world.”

“Uncle thought for a very, very long time before he finally told me that the world named Eternal Pure Land wasn’t a patch of grayish decay like the Abyss. It was, in fact, an unbelievably massive world filled with countless planets and star realms.”

“As time progresses, one or many planets may collapse or explode due to the deterioration of spatial laws, impacts, or disasters both natural or manmade. The resulting phenomenon from that destruction is called a meteor shower.”

“Uncle told me that that is the most beautiful disaster in the world. Anyone who saw it would remember it for the rest of their lives.”

“…” Yun Che’s breathing paused for a very brief moment.

He knew better than anyone just how beautiful the destruction of a planet was… and how cruel.

Yun Che thought for a moment before pulling the young woman’s wrist. “Take a seat.”

The young woman was astonished, but she obeyed his whims.

The gray sky brightened all of a sudden.

It was a distant star shining with infinite brilliance. It was so dazzling that it actually tore the Endless Fog’s darkness asunder and showered them in brilliant starlight that did not belong to this world.

It wasn’t difficult for Yun Che to mimic this “meteor”. It was shaped like a frozen star, and it was infused with the holy light of light profound energy.

The star fell, dragging a long tail of light behind it. It looked like it was cutting the sky of the Endless Fog in half.

The tail of light cut through the girl’s eyes and soul and left behind what might be an eternal imprint, but before she could even cry out in astonishment, the star abruptly exploded… and its fragments scattered across the sky.

All over the place, abyssal beasts were howling their ungodly howls, and countless profound practitioners looked up and stared at the destruction starlight that was more fantastical than even the wildest dream in utter shock.

Hua Caili was looking up and imprinting every wisp of light into her eyes as well.

She was sitting in the middle of the Endless Fog right now. The roars of the abyssal beasts were everywhere. And yet… they all seemed so insignificant at this moment. It was because the light that was filling her world was warm and beautiful beyond even her wildest imagination. She did not even think they existed until she saw it.

Is this how a star is destroyed…?

Even the most gorgeous scenery was just that, scenery.

As if coerced by some sort of unseen whisper inside her heart, she actually pulled her gaze away from this luxurious, impossibly beautiful scene of destruction… and looked at the face of the man who did it all; the one whose face seemed to be flowing under the starlight.

She fell.

At that moment, she understood without a doubt in her heart even though she was still so innocent about everything…

… that it was beautiful not because of the scenery, but because of him.

Yun Che noticed her staring and turned to meet her gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Instead of looking away, she continued to stare at his face and murmur seemingly to herself, “Your beauty should exist only in painting. Here and now, I cannot help but drown in it.”[1]

“Huh?” Yun Che looked confused.

The young woman’s lips abruptly spread into a smile. She finally looked away and said softly, “It’s a quote I learned from my master, the one who taught me how to read and write. It is only now that I understand what it truly meant.”

“…” Yun Che opened his mouth, but he did not say anything.

At that moment, he vaguely sensed that hidden beneath the young woman’s gentle and innocent appearance… was a heart far more passionate than he had initially imagined.

Yun Che’s presence felt exceptionally hot yet attractive to Hua Caili for some reason, and she… she did not wish to resist it. Before she knew it, her head was leaning against his warm shoulder.

She closed her eyes, and it felt as if the entire world was warm and silent. This was the first time in her life that she wanted to drown… forever.

It was only now she knew that this… was the greatest beauty the world had to offer.

No need to think about anything, no need to do anything. Just being by his side…

For a moment, it was as if time was standing still. Only the fading starlight above said otherwise.

High in the sky, Hua Qingying was frowning deeply and seriously considering whether she should speak with Hua Caili. Again and again she mustered the power, but for whatever reason, her hesitation stopped her at the last moment. This kept going even when the final starlight in the sky was gone.

Then, something unexpected happened. She saw Yun Che raising his hands and slowly—but firmly—pushing Hua Caili away from him.

Hua Caili abruptly jolted awake and looked up at Yun Che. For whatever reason, his action and the look in his eyes right now caused her heart to skip a beat.

His eyes looked as clear and rational as the first time they met. So rational… that it was devoid of any feelings.

“Sister Qu,” he began, still wearing a smile on his face, “it’s been over a month since we started journeying together. Your wounds have completely healed as well. It is time we parted ways.”

It felt like someone had smashed apart her most beautiful dream with the coldest rain. The light in her eyes shook violently as she blurted, “W-why…”

Yun Che stared at her as he said slowly and calmly, “Your surname isn’t Qu, and Qu Yixin isn’t your name. Am I right?”

1. 公子只应见画，此中我独知津 ☜