Against the Gods

Chapter 603 – Waking up within the Sea of Flames

“Honor and justice?” Ling Yuefeng gave a self-mocking laugh, “Today, in the eyes of every citizen within Blue Wind Nation, our Heavenly Sword Villa does not even have a shred of honor and justice to speak of. Especially the Blue Wind Imperial Family… they already hate us to the bone and see us as their enemy… so what justice and honor do we have left to speak of?”

Your faithlessness hath earned mine contempt, your disregard hath aroused mine spite, this empress shall always remember this! If the Blue Wind doth see the dawn and its gentle breeze chances upon the Heavenly Sword, there will be no reconciliation, for only hate and enmity remains, forevermore!

This was the letter personally written by Empress Cang Yue after the Blue Wind Imperial Family had requested for help nine times and had their pleas ignored for nine times. It was a silk letter that had been thrown at the gates of the Heavenly Sword Mountain.

Princess Cang Yue had attended the two previous Blue Wind Ranking Tournaments, so she had personally visited Heavenly Sword Villa twice. The impression that she had given others was that she was as gentle as water, as soft as wind… But now, the words that she had personally written were filled with hate and determination.

It was clear that the emotion that she felt towards them after they had repeatedly ignored her nine times was no longer disappointment but instead loathing.

Heavenly Sword Villa Master Ling Yuefeng had weathered countless storms in his lifetime but when he had personally held that piece of silk, his face had turned red while his heart was filled with bitter agony…. Heavenly Sword Villa and the Blue Wind Imperial Family had a shared oath which was laid down by their ancestors. If either one were to meet with a great calamity, the other would give their all to help. Now that the Blue Wind Imperial Family was facing the crisis of being exterminated, between preserving the safety of the villa or preserving the honor of the villa, he had chosen to preserve the safety of the villa.

Because Heavenly Sword Villa had the backing of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, as long as they did not interfere with the current state of affairs, Divine Phoenix Empire definitely wouldn’t provoke them. But if Heavenly Sword Villa did interfere… even though they could cover the entire sky with one hand in Blue Wind Nation, how could they be worth anything in the face of the mighty Divine Phoenix Empire?

However, selfishness was selfishness. No matter what reason, this was a characteristic that could not be covered up.

So when Ling Tianni had mentioned “honor and justice”, Ling Yuefeng’s heart was filled with bitter agony.

“So, your decision… is to pretend you don’t know about it?” Ling Tianni said in a completely tranquil voice without looking at him.

“To be able to push Frozen Cloud Asgard into such dire straits, the other party must have unfathomable strength. Even if our Heavenly Sword Villa fully mobilized, it’s extremely likely that we are unable to help the situation. Also, we would incur great losses and draw the ire and hatred of the other party.” Ling Yuefeng closed his eyes and a figure that was more dreamy and ethereal than a fairy flashed through his mind, “It took one thousand years for Heavenly Sword Villa to reach this point. Now, as the Villa Master, I regard the safety of our sect as paramount to all else… Not helping the Blue Wind Imperial Family is already a violation of our ancestor’s instructions and our own honor. Since it has already come to this, what is one more violation? I believe that our ancestors in heaven would certainly approve of our actions. After all, the current Heavenly Sword Villa is no longer what it was in the beginning, a small faction that only had a few hundred disciples. As the Villa Master now, how can I, for the sake of others, risk the lives of the tens of thousands of people who live in our villa.”

“…Ah.” Ling Tianni did not nod or shake his head, and only let out a long and drawn-out sigh.

“I approve of my husband’s decision.”

The great doors of the ancestral hall were pushed open and Xuanyuan Yufeng leisurely strolled in. She made a small curtsy to Ling Tianni and said, “Father, Husband, I have just received a fifty thousand kilometer sound transmission from Elder Ling Kun warning us that if we receive any sound transmission from Frozen Cloud Asgard requesting for help… we must definitely disregard them.”

Ling Tianni inclined his head while Ling Yuefeng said with furrowed brows, “Could it be that elder Ling Kun knows which person is attacking Frozen Cloud Asgard?”

Xuanyuan Yufeng extended her right arm and she made a small and soft gesture with her hand. This simple gesture, caused Ling Yuefeng’s expression to abruptly change and even cause Ling Tianni’s body to stiffen up for an instant.

“What is going on?” Ling Yuefeng said in astonishment, “Frozen Cloud Asgard is situated in the extreme north of Blue WInd, and they have nearly no grudges or gratitude to any powers situated outside of Blue Wind and they have never even come into contact with these people before, so why would they suddenly… take action against Frozen Cloud Asgard?!”

Xuanyuan Yufeng solemnly declared, “Elder Ling Kun has advised that he does not know the motives behind this action but he can guarantee that it is that faction. Moreover, it was something personally ordered by their young master! If we truly take action and spoil their party… Hmph, I’m sure you’re all aware of the temperament of that particular young master. At that time, even if my father were to personally come forward, he would also not be able to protect Heavenly Sword Villa.”

Xuanyuan Yufeng softly ground her teeth, her voice quietened down a bit and the depths of her eyes rippled with elation and masked jealous hatred, “That Frozen Cloud Asgard is filled with sluts and witches, so where do they get off calling themselves a fairy palace… Hmph, it would be far better if this group of scourges were wiped off the face of this earth!”

“….” Ling Yuefeng did not utter a word. With a sweep of his sleeve, he gathered up all the fragments of the “Jewel of Icy Song” and said with a sigh, “Father, this matter, we shall treat it as if it had never happened before.”

Ling Tianni slowly extended his hand and within his palm was a purple-colored Sound Transmission Jade. Numerous sound transmission imprints could be seen on the surface of this Sound Transmission Jade… He did not need to look at it to know that it was also cries of help from Frozen Cloud Asgard.

And the only person in the Frozen Cloud Asgard who could make sound transmissions to him was their Grand Mistress, Feng Qianhui.

Crack!

The Sound Transmission Jade immediately shattered in Ling Tianni’s hand and was reduced to nothing but fragments. He did not turn around and following a surge of sword wind, his entire person vanished in front of Ling Yuefeng and Xuanyuan Yufeng, without leaving behind a single word or sound.

Extreme North of Blue Wind, Snow Region of Extreme Ice.

A huge ice-blue barrier covered the entire Frozen Cloud Asgard and twelve people were gathered outside that barrier. Amongst them, a green-clothed man surged all the profound energy within him and smashed a palm on the barrier.

Bang!!

Blood scattered in the air and the green-clothed man stretched open his trembling palm… The web between his thumb and his index finger had been greatly torn and his entire arm was both in pain and numbed. He fiercely sucked in a breath and said in an enraged and exasperated manner, “What the hell is going on?! A mere Frozen Cloud Asgard, how could they possess a protective barrier of this magnitude… This isn’t possible!”

“Pavilion Master, should we request for an elder to come as well?” asked a black-clothed man behind him.

“Shut your mouth!” The green-clothed man roared, “We personally made our way to this lowly place, so if we request for aid from an elder… then what shred of dignity will I have left in the future, huh?!”

“There is no need to be anxious.” The purple-clothed old man advised in a rather calm voice, “While this protective barrier may be extremely unusual, it also will not be able to last for too long, and before long, it should vanish as well. At that time, Frozen Cloud Asgard will be at our complete mercy.”

“Hmph!” The green-clothed man waved his hand and said with a cold smile, “I had originally thought this would be an extremely boring mission. But who would have thought that this Frozen Cloud Asgard actually did manage to give us a big surprise! It was said that this place had only three Thrones at most, but in the end… they actually had a whole nine Thrones and the Xia Qingyue that Young Master desires is actually already a half-step Overlord… She could actually cause one of my fingers to experience frostbite… and now, such a protective barrier has actually appeared as well….”

“I have now changed my mind! After this barrier has vanished, besides Xia Qingyue… All the other women must die!”

These twenty people were completely unaware that in the air three thousands kilometers above them, there were a pair of clear and cold eyes silently observing them… and the Frozen Cloud Asgard that had been enshrouded in the protective barrier.

This woman was as lithe and graceful as a fairy and her entire body was enshrouded in cloud and mist. It was impossible to make out her features clearly, and one could only vaguely see a pair of eyes that were as tranquil as an ancient spring.

“This day had still come in the end.” She gave a faint sigh. Her voice was cold but graceful, as if it contained no joy or sorrow.

“Master, are… you going to take action?” Beside her was a young girl with an exquisite figure, completely clad in blue. The young girl asked with caution and respect as she looked at her face.

The white-clothed woman faintly closed her eyes, “When I left all those years ago, I vowed to severe all ties with this place, and no matter what happened henceforth, I would count it as destiny and not interfere any further… perhaps that is already enough for it to persist for a millennium.”

The blue-clothed girl bit her lips and gathered up her courage to ask, “Then why did Master … choose not to care about the cost today… and make her way to this place? Master is so kind and soft-hearted, surely you are still worried about them, right?”

“Humans are not devoid of emotion. So even though I have made an oath to myself, how can I be free of worry?” The white-clothed woman said in an ethereal voice, “After all, it had started because of me… So witnessing its end will also completely sever all yearning and karma that I have with it.”

“Master, this disciple is extremely curious. All those years ago, you had clearly recovered your profound strength and memories, so why did you still leave behind Frozen Cloud Asgard before departing?” The blue-clothed girl asked in an inquisitive tone.

“….At that time, my profound strength was completely crippled and my memories were lost. It was a member of Eternal Night Royal Family that rescued me from the claws of a profound beast. Not long after, the Eternal Night Royal Family were destroyed by a bunch of villains and scoundrels. After I had recovered my memories and profound strength, even though my heart was filled with hatred, I did not like killing nor did I belong to this world. So leaving behind Frozen Cloud Asgard could be considered as my small repayment for this world…”

After saying that, the white-clothed woman’s voice cut off abruptly. The blue-clothed girl was shocked for a while before she tried to sound out the situation, “Did Lord Realm King discover that we have left the Snow Song Realm?”

“Mn.” The white-clothed woman swept her eyes downward for the last time before turning around and leaving it all behind. “We should return. Don’t tell elder sister that we came here. She had always borne a bit of a grudge towards me for leaving the Divine End Frozen Art in such a place.”

“Yes, Master.” The blue-clothed girl immediately nodded, “If Lord Realm King asks, I’ll just say that we went to Cold Star Realm to play… Uuu, Master, are we really going to leave just like this? You clearly only need to lift one finger and all of these bad guys would completely disappear.”

The white-clothed woman raised her head slightly but in the end, she lightly shook it, “This is their fate. Even if I were to help them resolve the current calamity, what follows will only be a bigger one. Whether they live or die, depends entirely on their own fortune… Right now, Star God Realm and Moon God Realm are engaged in a long and fierce struggle, Brahma Emperor Realm is acting strangely, and Flame God Realm is looking at our Snow Song Realm with ravenous and greedy eyes… A great chaos is descending upon us, and even though I have the heart, I cannot cause any more trouble.”

“Let us return then.”

“Oh.” The blue-clothed girl voiced her obedience and followed behind the white-clothed lady. Illusory clouds waft past their bodies, as though it was a scene from paradise.

“Master, yesterday I heard rumors that Star God Realm’s Princess Jasmine is still alive… it seems like some Universe Devouring Beast saw her in between dimension cracks… Do you think it’s really true? The Star God Realm King’s ‘ritual’ is only lacking Princess Jasmine, if Princess Jasmine is truly still alive, then the Star God Realm King will be able to….”

“…Don’t believe whatever rumors and empty words you hear. Moreover, whatever happens on Star God Realm is not something that we should be concerned with.” The white-clothed lady said in a clear and cold voice.

“Oh, understood. Then Master, where does the teleportation formation that you left behind in Frozen Cloud Asgard lead to?” The blue-clothed girl asked once more.

“….” The white-clothed woman’s paused for a moment before softly replying, “Perhaps this teleportation formation will be used soon… As for the destination of transmission, that would depend on her fate… I too am unable decide that.”

Illusory Demon Realm, Sea of Death.

The warm currents that rushed into Yun Che’s body were boundless and infinite; they seemed to surge up more and more majestically as time went by. They swam through the entirety of Yun Che’s body before finally settling in his profound veins…. A whole hundred cycles later, Yun Che practically did not feel the existence of the sea of fire around him. It was as if his entire body had morphed into that of a pure fire spirit, and he had completely become immersed in this world of fire.

After these hundred cycles, the profound energy in his profound veins had thickened by three times! This increase in profound strength did not have any unstable elements and during the entire process, he did not even have to put in any effort, he only had to concentrate on guiding the flame energy which rushed into his body.

Right now, if he was willing, he could achieve a breakthrough and step directly into the Emperor Profound Realm at anytime.

This kind of cultivation method was entirely dream-like even to Yun Che.

After these hundred cycles, Yun Che regained his consciousness. He felt that only six to eight hours had passed since he had fallen into the Sea of Death… and by this time, Duke Ming and Duke Huai should have already confirmed his and the Little Demon Empress’ death, so they should have left the shores of the Sea of Death by now. Thus, it was time for him and the Little Demon Empress to leave this place.

When he had regained his consciousness, Jasmine’s voice rang out at the same time, “Hmph, so you’ve finally decided to wake up. And here I was, thinking that you never wanted to wake up from your daze.”

“Uh… How many hours has it been since then? Are Duke Ming and Duke Huai’s auras still in the vicinity?” Yun Che asked in his mind.

“How many hours?” Jasmine gave a cold laugh, “You have already been in this Sea of Death for an entire month.”

“…”

“What?!” Yun Che’s eyes flared open and he immediately exploded with a shout, “ONE MONTH?!!”