Against the Gods

Chapter 687 – Xiao Family’s Joy

“Could it be that, your strength… comes from endowment?” Yun Che asked in a low voice. When he had first met Jasmine, she personally said that she was thirteen years old. However, at that time, he was not truly cognizant of just how strong Jasmine really was. And as he scaled greater and greater heights, he became even clearer on just how terrifying Jasmine’s strength actually was. Even now, when he was strong enough to go toe to toe with a low level Monarch, he was still unable to fathom the limits of Jasmine’s power.

To have such terrifying power at the tender age of thirteen… if one were to tell him that it was done through personal cultivation, he really would not be able to accept that.

“That’s right, my strength does indeed come from endowment.” Jasmine replied in a manner that was totally out of Yun Che’s expectations. This was because this was a topic that she had never allowed Yun Che to ask about before, but right now, she replied in a very straightforward fashion, “But even though such a method as Profound Strength Endowment does exist, it is far more difficult than what you imagine it to be. In addition to its difficulty, the conditions that need to be fulfilled in order for this method to work are exceedingly harsh. Even in my own world, the Profound Strength Endowment method might not even succeed once despite thousands of years passing. Furthermore, even the most perfect Profound Strength Endowment method in this boundless universe will cause at least half of the profound strength being transferred to be lost during the endowment! The reason why I was able to successfully receive the endowment was…”

After she had said those words, Jasmine’s voice came to an abrupt halt. Clearly, she had noticed that she had almost said something that she should not have as she was relating her story. After a brief moment of silence, she gave a cold snort and continued speaking, “And in the Profound Sky Continent, which is among the lowest planes of existence within the boundless universe, an extremely high-level profound technique such as Profound Strength Endowment will definitely not appear here. So what happened to Fen Juechen should not be Profound Strength Endowment.”

“Not Profound Strength Endowment?” Yun Che asked in a shocked voice. “Then what is it? The devil origin that he had absorbed, isn’t that just devil profound energy that someone else had cultivated? Based on its characteristics, this is essentially allowing Fen Juechen to absorb its power bit by bit as he inherits someone else’s strength!”

“When we had first encountered Fen Juechen again, his extreme increase in power and the devil profound energy aura that he was emitting caused me to believe that his body had been taken over by a devilish soul. But after that, I realized that he still retained complete control over his own body. So I tried to probe the devil origin within his body, and I discovered that the spiritual aura of the devil origin and the spiritual aura of Fen Juechen was actually flawlessly compatible!” Jasmine said in a voice that was thick with suspicion, “This is the part that leaves me at a loss.

“If a devilish soul that possessed a source of power tried to forcibly enter a person’s body, there should only be three results: The destruction of the body, possession by the spirit, or the owner of the body using an even stronger profound or mental strength to repel the spirit and cause it to dissipate. But within Fen Juechen’s body, the devilish soul that entered his body is perfectly compatible with his own soul. Not only is there no sign of mutual destruction or an attempt to wrest control away, it actually seems like two fractured halves of a soul being slowly melded back together again!”

“~！@#￥%……” If Jasmine had concluded that it was indeed Profound Strength Endowment, then even though it was inconceivable, Yun Che would still be able to understand the situation instantly. But Jasmine’s current explanation caused Yun Che’s mind to swim. He shook his head and once again began flying towards Floating Cloud City. “The more I learn about it, the more complicated it becomes, forget it… I think it’s best if I ask Fen Juechen himself three months later.”

“Weren’t you listening to what I was just telling you?” Jasmine asked in an icy voice, “The you right now is already not his opponent, and three months later, you will be even less capable of fighting of him. So you’re prepared to go and die?”

Yun Che curled his lips rather calmly. “I have the Primordial Profound Ark, so even if I can’t beat him, I can still run away! Moreover…” The faint smile on his lips slowly vanished as his brows faintly knitted themselves together. “Moreover, even if I don’t run, I won’t let him kill me so easily! Because I will not allow myself… to lose to someone I’ve already defeated before!”

“…” Jasmine could not be bothered to respond anymore. She silently floated in the space within the Sky Poison Pearl as she guided the world’s richest purifying energy to purify the last bit of the devilish poison that still clung to her soul. After a few moments, she suddenly and faintly opened her eyes and murmured to herself in a soft voice, “Could it be some kind of forbidden reincarnation technique?”

After he had arrived back at the Xiao household, he found that Xiao Lie’s courtyard was still filled with the sound of joy and laughter. In the short span of a few hours, Xiao Lie seemed to have become a completely different person. The joy of having found something that was thought to be lost over twenty years ago caused his old eyes to be filled with tears of joy.

“Xiao Che!” Just as Yun Che landed on the ground, Xiao Lingxi ran over to welcome him back and tightly hugged his right arm as if she was afraid that he would fly away once more the moment she let him go. But she immediately remembered that Xiao Lie and Xiao Yun were still around, so she hurriedly loosened her grip as a charming blush stained her tiny cheeks… she was as intimate as she was before, but what was different now was her mentality towards him.

“Che’er, you’ve returned.” Looking at the Yun Che whom he had raised from a tiny infant return, Xiao Lie gave a satisfied and grateful smile.

“Big Brother, what’s the situation over there? Did you manage to figure out what exactly they were doing?” Xiao Yun asked. In comparison to before, there was now some anxiety that could be seen on his face. That was because before this, while Floating Cloud City did indeed have something to do with him, it was still a remote and alien existence to him. But now, having come back to the place where he was born and having met those who were related to him by blood, he had begun to develop a sense of belonging towards Floating Cloud City.

Yun Che shook his head. “The Divine Phoenix Army is indeed undertaking some kind of secret mission, but they have protected this secret far too well, and even when I used the Profound Handle Soul Search, I still could not find out anything.”

“Even the Profound Handle Soul Search didn’t work?” Number Seven Under Heaven said in a shocked voice. In Demon Imperial City, there was no one who did not know of the tyrannical power of the Profound Handle Soul Search. Even if the Profound Handle Soul Search did not work, that would mean that the matter at hand was highly unusual.

“Yes.” Yun Che nodded his head gravely, “So this matter is far more serious than what we had initially anticipated. But no matter what, we still need to get to the bottom of this.”

As Yun Che spoke, the gaze which he directed towards Number Seven Under Heaven grew strange. The change in his eyes caused her to look down at herself suspiciously and ask, “Big Brother Yun, is there anything… wrong with my body? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hold out your hand,” Yun Che said in a serious tone.

“Ah? Oh.” Yun Che’s expression caused Number Seven Under Heaven to tense up and she anxiously thrust her right hand forward. Xiao Yun, who was by her side, was even more anxious than her. “Big Brother, Seventh Sister… is anything the matter with her?”

Yun Che did not reply, instead he pressed a finger down on Number Seven Under Heaven’s arm and let it rest there for three breaths. After that, he withdrew his finger and slowly exhaled before speaking slowly, “Xiao Yun, Seventh Sister, the both of you need to prepare your hearts… for what I am about to say.”

Yun Che’s expression, tone, and the way he had exhaled caused Xiao Yun and Number Seven Under Heaven to hold their breaths. Their hearts seized up in their chests, and they did not dare breathe. But after that, Xiao Yun finally managed to stutter out a reply, “Seventh Sister’s body, could it be… that there is some problem that has happened to it?”

They were sufficiently clear that Yun Che’s medical skills… were definitely not something to be laughed at.

“Yes, and it is very serious indeed.” Yun Che extended two fingers and pointed at the two of people whose hearts were about to stop out of fear. “Seventh Sister… is pregnant, which also means that the two of you are about to become parents!”

“…Ah!” Xiao Yun and Number Seven Under Heaven stood there with blank expressions on their faces before crying out in alarm at the same time.

“Rea… rea… rea… really?” Xiao Yun grabbed Number Seven Under Heaven with one hand and Yun Che with the other, and he was so excited that his face was flushed red.

“Oh… I… I…” Number Seven Under Heaven’s hand unconsciously strayed to her stomach. Her face was blushing, and she could not string together a coherent sentence as her shock and instinctive response of joy and fear rooted her to the spot.

“Of course, it’s true. I am a genius doctor after all, so do you think I’d get even something like this mixed up?” Yun Che asked as he looked towards them with bemused eyes. “Isn’t your efficiency a bit too high? I mean, just look at how long you’ve been married. You’ve actually made a baby! Could it be that before the both of you were even married…”

“No I didn’t, I definitely didn’t!” Xiao Yun said in a fluster.

“Good heavens!” Xiao Lingxi said in shock, “Father, did you hear that?! Little Seventh is pregnant! You’re going to be a great-grandfather!”

Yun Che’s voice was loud, so how could Xiao Lie not hear it. His arm was half-raised into the air, his entire body was faintly trembling, and he was so moved that he could barely speak. Yun Che quickly strode to his side and declared, “Grandfather, in a few months, you will ascend to the position of great-grandfather! Heh heh, look, Xiao Yun has not only come back safe and sound, he has also brought back such a wonderful daughter-in-law and even came back with children of his own.”

“Good… it’s truly good…” Xiao Lie said in a trembling voice as he dipped his head, tears of joy flashing in his eyes. At this time, a cool breeze blew, and Xiao Lie’s brows furrowed instantly as he exclaimed, “Yun’er, hurry up and bring Little Seventh back to her room. It’s cold out here and we don’t want to hurt the baby!”

“Haha!” Yun Che gave a great guffaw, “Grandfather, you don’t need to worry at all. Even though Seventh Sister is really young, her profound strength is already at the Tyrant Profound Realm. Even Heavenly Sword Villa’s Villa Master, Ling Yuefeng, would not be her match. Furthermore, the profound art that Seventh Sister cultivates is incomparably pure, so the baby in her stomach will be protected by an incredibly pure and powerful profound energy which means that even if you wanted something to go wrong, it would be tough.

“Ah, but Grandfather, look at yourself. I have only left for three years, but your health has deteriorated by this much. If you do not hurry up and treat yourself better, you might not even have the ability to carry your great-grandchild.”

“Hahahaha.” Xiao Lie gave a great laugh of his own and supported himself using the chair before slowly and resolutely standing up. “My old bones are still very tough, and it’ll be no problem for me to live a few more decades and see the little baby grow up and give birth to more little babies.”

“Father…” Looking at Xiao Lie’s aura and spirit grow much more vigorous than before caused heartfelt joy to well up in Xiao Lingxi’s heart. She believed that as long as he remained in this condition, Xiao Lie’s body would definitely recover in the shortest amount of time necessary.

The news of Number Seven Under Heaven’s pregnancy caused the family to be covered in a joy that practically boiled over. Once the rejoicing had finally died down a little, Yun Che finally found a chance to say something that he had been wanting to say, “Grandfather, Little Aunt, Xiao Yun, and Seventh Sister will stay in Floating Cloud City for a period of time, so you’ll have to take care of them. Even though I’ve only just returned… I need to go somewhere immediately after this, so I’ll have to leave the both of you for a while.”

“Where are you going to go?” Xiao Lingxi’s expression became anxious as she frantically grabbed Yun Che’s hand. “You’ve only just returned, but you want to leave again? Is it… is it to go and do something dangerous again?”

“I need to make a trip to the Divine Phoenix Empire, and I will be leaving before evening falls.” Yun Che held Xiao Lingxi’s hand and gave a light-hearted smile. “However, there will be no danger at all, and it won’t be long before I return. At that time, I’ll accompany my Little Aunt for as long as she wants me to.”