Against the Gods

Due to their unique “Falling Dream” and “Dreamweaving” abilities, the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God’s intelligence capabilities far surpassed those of its peers. Even the Sinking Dream Valley was one of their primary sources of intel. The moment a person placed themselves under the influence of Sinking Dream, any Dreamweaver profound practitioner was free to plunder their life’s memories like a box with no locks.

As the heart of the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God’s intelligence network, the Xuanji Hall was guarded by nine different barriers. Each one stood like a heavenly curtain, emanating a subtle yet immense soul pressure. The number of guards watching the place was even greater.

Meng Jianxi led Yun Che all the way to the most secretive place of the Xuanji Hall, the inner hall. They encountered no obstacles along the way. “Before today, only four people were allowed entrance into the inner hall: Father, grandfather, my maternal uncle, and me. Now, there are five.”

Yun Che gave his surroundings a cursory scan before asking directly, “I wish to obtain every piece of information relating to the Eternal Night Kingdom of God in the past thirty years.”

Meng Jianxi was his liaison, so he did not need to give him any special instructions. The four words “every piece of information” were enough.

“Got it.” Meng Jianxi neither asked nor wondered why Yun Che needed this information. He aimed at his side and made a grabbing motion. A small, concealed space immediately manifested into existence, and a tremendous amount of jade slips, carved stones, cloth and silk, and paper scrolls floated out in a neat and orderly manner.

Right after that, a silver profound formation lit up in front of the duo. Thousands of Profound Imagery Stones and soul profound crystals were floating in it and emanating strong or weak soul presences. They all contained secrets that most people weren’t privy to.

Meng Jianxi dropped his arm and checked if he had gotten everything. It was only then that he said, “Due to their unique circumstances, information regarding the Eternal Night Kingdom of God is exceptionally scarce. What we have on them is significantly less than what we have on the other Kingdoms of God. Still, it’s going to take a long time to go through everything.”

“Also, I must warn you that even the memories inscribed in the soul, profound crystals, aren’t necessarily real. It’s because everything can be faked, including what you can see with your own eyes. That said, I’m confident you can identify what’s genuine and what’s not, Brother Yuan.”

“Mm. No need to keep me company.”

After Meng Jianxi left, Yun Che sat on the floor and extended his divine perception. The pieces of information began flooding into his soul sea at an astonishing rate. He did not care if it was big or small, true or false. He went through even fabricated rumors with a fine-tooth comb.

It was as Meng Jianxi said. Planting spies in the Eternal Night Kingdom of God was a significantly formidable task. Every major event that had taken place in the past thirty years was already known to everyone.

Shenwu Qing, the former Eternal Night Divine Daughter, was punished and imprisoned by the Lightless Divine Regent for committing a grave crime. The Eternal Night Kingdom of God devoted all of its effort to finding a new Godbearer after that. The search lasted until about twenty years ago, when they announced Shenwu Yi as their new Eternal Night Divine Daughter.

Yun Che’s posture did not change even though several days had passed. Although he wasn’t exactly hunting for a needle in the ocean, it still wasn’t a project that could be finished in a short time.

This situation lasted until the text inscribed into a profound crystal reflected into his soul.

“... length of a meter or so, shape like that of a coiling dragon, color like ink, seven orifices embedded into its body...”

Yun Che’s focus sharpened, and he reached out with his hand. As soon as the profound crystal entered his palm, the information it contained flowed into his soul sea again, this time with perfect clarity. “... We can now confirm that Eternal Night is searching for certain mutated abyssal crystals. Although they are obfuscating their efforts, the number of people involved and the range of their activities exceed everything else Shenwu Yanye has put her mind into during her reign.”

“In the past year alone, we discovered over six hundred places with their traces. They spanned across the Kingdoms of God, the Lands of the Living, and even the frontiers. From this, we can deduce that the objects the Eternal Night Kingdom of God is searching for are of the utmost importance to them.”

“Unfortunately, we are unable to figure out the reason behind the search.”

“Based on all the intelligence we have collected, Eternal Night is searching for five kinds of mutated abyssal crystals. Three of them, the Glazed Radiance Heart Tempering Jade, the Sea Soul Stone, and the Obsidian Evil Removing Crystal, are occasionally found in the Endless Fog. All of them are scarce mutated crystals. The remaining two possess no formal names, only descriptions of their forms.”

“The first one states: Length of almost a full inch, shape like that of withered vines, aura like scorching fire or tangled thunder from time to time, and core throbbing like that of a mortal’s heart. A mutated crystal created in the heart of a human-transformed abyssal ghost. A million abyssal ghosts may not produce one such crystal.”

“The second one states: length of a meter or so, shape like a coiling dragon, color like ink, seven orifices embedded into its body, and unspent draconic aura tangled within the orifices. A mutated crystal formed from the draconic marrow of an abyssified dragon. Ten thousand abyssal dragons may not produce one such crystal.”

Yun Che’s gaze stilled, and he fell into deep thought for a short moment. Then, he continued reading the following text:

“The Glazed Radiance Heart Tempering Jade may have been found. The abyssal crystal has been removed from the search list.”

“The Sea Soul Stone may have been found...”

The soul aura from the subsequent text was very clear. It had clearly been inscribed in recent years. “The Obsidian Evil Removing Crystal may have already been found. Eternal Night has stopped looking for it.”

“The soul auras of two Night Patrol Officers performing a risky search have been found at the Pacified Calamity Realm of the frontiers. Upon performing a vague recollection of their discussion from ten breaths ago, it is discovered that they were discussing two items. One of them is called the ‘Abyssal Heart Vine’, and the other the ‘Coiling Dragon Seven Profound Crystal’. However, neither abyssal crystal has ever appeared in any record, making their mentions exceedingly strange and baffling.”

Yun Che closed his eyes, and the world fell into a long, dead silence. Ten breaths... a hundred breaths...

Suddenly, a voice rose from within his soul sea.

“Xueyan... look! I already used the ‘Secret Tome’ to restore my appearance, voice, and vision...”

Yun Che’s eyes abruptly snapped open, and a deep, dark gleam shone from within.

Bang!

The profound crystal in his hand abruptly shattered and scattered into fine powder. With this, the intelligence was permanently removed from the Xuanji Hall.

The dream Shenwu Yanye had plunged into at the gates of the Pure Land wasn’t something Meng Kongchan had woven from her. It was the reflection of her desire after it was magnified countless times over. In other words, she wanted Shenwu Xueyan to forgive her, wanted everything to revert to before the point of no return, wanted to regain her appearance and voice, and wanted... the “Secret Tome” she spoke of.

“I see.”

An unconscious smile of realization spread across Yun Che’s face as he whispered. As expected of you, Qingyue... Of course, you would use your unique advantage to the utmost.

Looking at the time mentioned in this intel, you began weaving your fate and others from the moment you became the Eternal Night Divine Daughter... half-truths and half-lies, each move carefully calculated and thought out, you have drawn everyone into your game board before they knew it.

Yun Che stopped sifting through the intel and rose to his feet. Then, he slowly walked out of the Xuanji Hall.

He was certain that the mutated abyssal crystals the Eternal Night Kingdom of God was searching for were not limited to just five types. Some of them were relatively easy to obtain. It was a necessary hoax.

The Glazed Radiance Heart Tempering Jade, Sea Soul Stone, and the Obsidian Evil Removing Crystal... these mutated abyssal crystals were much, much harder to find, but they definitely existed. Just the same, it was a hoax.

As for the “Abyssal Heart Vine” and the “Coiling Dragon Seven Profound Crystal”... the reason there was no record of them at all in the Abyss was simple. They had never existed.

No, that wasn’t quite right. He should say that they only “existed” in Shenwu Yi’s hands.

She was “entrusting” the Coiling Dragon Seven Profound Crystal to him, and this could only mean... that she was bringing her plans forward. That was why she could not be the one to obtain the Coiling Dragon Seven Profound Crystal.

The reason she was taking such a risk was...

Yun Che lifted his chin up a little and let out a huge sigh. The light in his eyes was bright and dazzling.

“You seem... very happy?” Li Suo asked softly.

“I am.”

The corners of Yun Che’s mouth curled into an unbridled, sincere smile. “Finally... I’m no longer fighting alone.”

......

Back at the Divine Son Palace, before Meng Zhiyuan—who had been waiting for him for quite some time—could even approach him, Yun Che had already plunged headfirst into his cultivation space. “Zhiyuan,” he commanded, “inform Shouyuan and the others that I will be focusing on refining the Vermillion Bird divine blood bestowed by High Priest Ling Xian for the foreseeable future. No one is to disturb me until I emerge of my own accord.”

Yun Che wasn’t trying to keep the fact that he received the Vermillion Bird origin blood from High Priest Ling Xian a secret. On the contrary, he seemed to be spreading the news on purpose.

He opened a dimensional profound formation with the spatial divine stone. A red flash later, he was back at the Endless Fog.

“You seem rushed.”

Li Suo seemed surprised by this. “The divine power contained within the nine drops of Vermillion Bird origin blood is tremendous. If you refine them completely, it should propel your cultivation to the eighth level of Divine Master or higher, even if the base of your power is Ni Xuan’s profound veins.”

“So...”

She repeated a question that she never received an answer to: “What is the reason you’ve been suppressing your cultivation all this time?”

But Yun Che replied, “It’s not yet time. I am going to refine the Vermillion Bird divine blood, but only enough to ignite the Vermillion Bird Flame. This level of refinement would fit in with the common sense of the world perfectly.”

He still did not explain why he was forcefully suppressing his cultivation.

“Right now, though, I should focus on completing the most important task.”

He flipped his palm around, and over a hundred pure abyssal crystals and a dozen or so mutated abyssal crystals appeared in front of him. They glimmered bright and dangerous in the dark, gloomy Endless Fog.

His gaze shifted from one abyssal crystal after another while he whispered, “If it were her, how would she go about creating a ‘unique’ abyssal crystal that never existed, one that is perfectly inscrutable?”

A long time later, he cracked a smile and said, “I am no match for her in terms of ingenuity, but my mastery of abyssal dust should be better than hers. In that case... I shall simply craft whatever I want based on the characteristics.”

He made a grabbing motion, and seven abyssal crystals he had harvested from draconic abyssal beasts floated into the air. When he clenched his fingers, they immediately exploded into showers of fragments. Chaotic, diffused, abyssal dust and a faint draconic aura could be sensed about them.

Next, he grabbed a Divine Jade of Revelation. His profound energy swelled dramatically, and there was a loud boom. The mutated abyssal crystal, even the Kingdoms of God considered divine, shattered just like that. It broke down into increasingly finer fragments amid the collision of energies. The terrible energy unleashed by the Divine Jade of Revelation formed a violent vortex of power around Yun Che thereafter.

Yun Che did not leave the rampaging vortex of power. Instead, he stared at it for a long, long time... until suddenly, he clenched his fingers once more, and currents of abyssal dust flooded in from everywhere. They mixed into the vortex like tide water, blending the fragments of the draconic crystals and the Divine Jade of Revelation until they coalesced into a coherent shape.

When the vortex of power finally settled, the fragments had formed a strange abyssal crystal of mixed, bizarre aura under the guidance of the abyssal dust. Thunder bloomed from Yun Che’s finger, and seven different holes appeared on its surface. After that, abyssal dust gathered once more and wrapped around the newborn abyssal crystal to eliminate all traces that shouldn’t exist.

Several hours later, the abyssal dust slowly faded, and a massive abyssal crystal two-thirds of a meter long[1]. It was covered in the pitch-black color of abyssal erosion, and its surface was engraved with the image of a bearded cooling dragon. A faint draconic aura rested within the seven orifices, mysterious and deep.

Rumble rumble rumble—

Space shuddered, and earth churned. Behind Yun Che, the Abyssal Qilin God, who had been slumbering for heavens-know-how-long slowly opened its eyes and opened its massive, terrifying maw. Then, Yun Che grabbed the newborn abyssal crystal and tossed it into his mouth.

The Abyssal Qilin God swallowed the crystal, shut its maw and eyes, and returned to silence once more.

“Seven draconic abyssal crystals hail from four different types of dragons, the unique aura of the Divine Jade of Revelation, the concealment and interference of abyssal dust, and a month or two stay in the Qilin God’s belly...”

Yun Che smiled with lowered brows. “I guarantee that its aura will be mysterious and bizarre like nothing the world has ever seen.”

The ruse would come undone if someone were to crush it to smithereens... but the person who would be receiving this unprecedented, practically miraculous gift would be the last person to inflict even the slightest scratch on it.

“What... are you doing?” Li Suo had been observing Yun Che’s strange behavior all this time. Now that he was done, she finally allowed her curiosity to take over.

“Bait,” Yun Che replied succinctly.

“... And what is the reason you lied to Hua Caili, claiming that you had accidentally dropped the ‘Glass Cloud Sword’ in the Abyss of Death?”

“Hmm... also bait?”

“......”

Yun Che turned around and stared into the dark and gloomy Endless Fog. “I should meet my disciple now. It’s about time he returned anyway.”

Abyssal dust gathered and formed a fog so thick that it blotted out the sky. It engulfed him completely and transformed him into the self-proclaimed Fog Monarch. His abyssal dust transmitted his soul voice, and he didn’t have to wait long. Pan Buwang soon arrived at top speed and dropped to his knees long before he reached the Fog Monarch.

“Disciple Pan Buwang greets his master! Everything has gone as you predicted during my trip to the Pure Land. This disciple did not fail to live up to your expectations either. I have successfully astonished the masses and won renown for myself. I have stirred up the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God and even drew the attention of the Abyssal Monarch.”

“Very good.” From the abyssal fog, the Fog Monarch’s deep voice echoed with approval. “Now, remember every line; every word I’m about to say!”

“As you command!”

Pan Buwang bowed his head and listened carefully. After the journey to the Pure Land, his respect toward his master had grown by leaps and bounds, to put it mildly. Today, his master could say the most outlandish and impossible things, and he still would regard them as divine decree.

“The Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God will do nothing for a moment. Then, they will start looking for you. In the next three months, you must allow them to find you for a total of four times.”

“The first time, you must sadly but gently decline their request for you to return.”

“The second time, you must firmly refuse and vanish into the Endless Fog.”

The third and fourth time, you must deliberately let them catch a trace of your presence before fleeing with all your might. You must act like you cannot wait to avoid them.”

Pan Buwang listened quietly and engraved each and every word into his heart. To others, the Fog Monarch’s words sounded like a devil’s voice that rent the soul. But now, not only was he no longer afraid, he was beginning to feel a kinship with his master.

“If you pull this off correctly, three months later, Pan Yusheng would very likely come after you himself. If he does not appear three months later, then continue to evade them with all your might... the Abyssal Monarch’s attention, the darkness compatibility and the Original Abyss That Severs The Night you displayed, and the sliver of guilt he felt toward you would eventually drive him to bring you back to the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God at all costs.”

“You will set a condition for your return. You will demand that they rebuild your mother’s tomb... that is all. You won’t demand anything else.”

Return to the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God... Mother... Pan Buwang’s heart beat violently as he looked up and asked in a low tone, “What should I do after I return, master?”

The Fog Monarch answered in a deep voice, “No delusions, no desires.”

Pan Buwang frowned in thought for several moments before bowing deeply. “Please enlighten me, master.”

“You will obey all of Pan Yusheng’s arrangements. Banquets, clan meetings, training... You will do everything he says without hesitation or disobedience. If he wishes to draw your blood to check your compatibility with darkness, you will give it without hesitation. If he asks the ‘Original Abyss That Severs The Night’ from you, you will give it in its totality. In fact, you may surrender the ‘Original Abyss Pray Eternal Art’ I mutated for you as well. All of it.”

“Not only will you obey him, but you will also treat him with respect as well, and you will do it in your mother’s name!”

“......”

Pan Buwang was shocked and puzzled, but he never questioned the Fog Monarch. He listened to each and every word.

“Besides that, you are not to cultivate, socialize, or demand any object during this period. You will spend all of your time accompanying your mother, praying for her, and keeping vigil by her grave!”

“Do you remember!?”

Although a million doubts were racing in Pan Buwang, he still nodded heavily with eyes as determined as the abyss. “This disciple has engraved all of your instructions in my heart.”

“Very good.”

The abyssal fog moved and slowly carried the Fog Monarch’s silhouette away. As he blended into the Endless Fog, he added, “A voice will tell you what to do three years later. Now go!”

“Remember everything I told you today. Especially remember your hatred and why you are still alive!”

It wasn’t until the Fog Monarch’s existence had completely vanished from his vision and perception that Pan Buwang slowly climbed back to his feet. When he turned around, his eyes stared straight in the direction of the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God.

The respect he carried in his eyes when facing the Fog Monarch was gone. In its place, a bottomless, lightless abyss of hatred took over. It held enough darkness to consume everything.

1. The raw is “several Chinese feet, which is between one-third of a meter to three meters, so apologies if this confuses some people. ☜