Against the Gods

“What are you thinking about again?”

Yun Che’s soul sea churned incomparably violently, even with a hint of “fear”.

Yun Che stabilized his mind for a long time before he slowly said, “I have a nearly insane guess. So insane that it defies logic and common sense.”

Yet it hovered in the bottom of his heart and lingered there.

Li Suo answered, “Even so, it seems that there is a basis for this ‘insanity’ for it to make you shake so much.”

Yun Che calmed his mind and slightly organized his words, “Do you remember the phenomenon unique to the Abyss that the Demon Queen seized from Mo Beichen’s memories—the Black Tide of Time?”

The Demon Queen’s description of the Black Tide of Time at that time was clearly reflected at this moment:

……

“It was a different story for the Abyss, however. Maybe it was because it had broken free from the Ancestral God’s laws or something, but the cycle of time in the Abyss is hardly constant. Sometimes it flows faster than normal, and sometimes it is slower. It’s kind of like tidewater.”

“If a world’s wheel of time starts spiraling out of control, then it means… that every other law is beginning to fall apart as well.”

“Not only that, the phenomenon is growing worse and worse. In the beginning, the Black Tide of Time only happened once in a couple thousand years, and the time difference was so small that it didn’t pose too much concern. However, the period between each occurrence was growing shorter and shorter, and the order of magnitude kept growing as well.”

“Long story short, the last Black Tide of Time happened just a couple hundred years ago, and the order of magnitude was ten times worse than it was before.”

……

“I remember.” Li Suo replied. “I also remember that the current Abyss is in the high tide of the Black Tide of Time, and the flow of time is ten times that of the God Realm. The short fifty years left for you is five years in the God Realm.”

“Then, is there a chance…” Yun Che slowed his voice. “The existence of the Black Tide of Time is not due to being broken free from the Ancestral God’s laws like the Demon Queen guessed, but rather because someone used some method to destroy… no, it may have absorbed the power from the wheel of time, thus causing the gradual collapse of the Abyss’s laws of time.”

If there was someone in the Abyss with such power, it would most likely be the strongest Abyssal Monarch who most likely would’ve used the ancient devil race’s lost “Devil Pearl”.

As for the “Cradle”, it is a concept of time that should not exist according to Li Suo. If it really appeared, there would have to be a price for this extreme taboo.

To gradually destroy a world’s laws of time… one can only imagine the cost and severity of this taboo.

“Are you saying that the Abyssal Monarch used the Devil Pearl that might exist to create the Cradle at the cost of destroying this world’s laws of time?”

Li Suo thought for a moment, then quickly continued, “This is extremely unreasonable. The Abyss was created by the Abyssal Monarch and he has been the only monarch of the Abyss since the beginning of time. He should be the one who wants the Abyss to stabilize the most.”

“It is not possible, or reasonable for him to pay the price of destroying the world in order to save the Divine Daughter of a Kingdom.

“No, no.” Yun Che refuted, “Since the Heart Painter Divine Regent knows that the only thing that can save Hua Caili is the ‘Cradle’, this means that the ‘Cradle’ has actually existed a long time ago, or has always existed.”

“Saving Hua Caili was just a passing usage.”

“Even for a Creation God like you said, the idea of a timestop was a taboo that went against the heavens, so if it had always existed, it could’ve always been destroying the Abyss’s laws of time.”

Li Suo disagreed. “If your guess is right, then why did the Abyssal Monarch create a timestop ‘Cradle’ with such an absurd price?”

“…” Yun Che let out a deep exhale. “Good question.”

“Since you have no clue and you say that it’s insane, why would you still have this thought and tremble in your soul over it?”

“Because I thought of something else just now. “Yun Che spoke slowly, and the memory of a few months ago steadily became clearer. “In the Qilin God Realm, the Qilin God said a few words before he disappeared…”

……

“Your arrival was the best pleasant surprise I have received in a long time. It is because I can finally repay the Creation God of Elements for what he did and pass away in peace.”

“As for saving the Abyss… the Abyss is destined for destruction. No one can save it, not even you.”

“All you need to remember is that the Abyss is destined for destruction, and that his obsession is the most terrifying thing that no one can defy. The reason I have forced myself to live until now is because I wished to witness that day, however reluctant and helpless I feel.”

……

“His obsession is the most terrifying thing that no one can defy…”

Yun Che repeated this sentence over and over again, because this evaluation of the Abyssal Monarch was very different from all the other rumors that Yun Che had heard.

Whenever the people of the Abyss talked about the Abyssal Monarch, they would always have endless admiration for him. Especially when Hua Caili mentioned “Uncle Abyssal Monarch”; she would instantly show unadulterated respect and a sense of closeness.

The Qilin God was exiled to the Qilin God Realm and Abyssal Knights were dispatched to monitor him at regular intervals. Could it be that it wasn’t a clash of ideas but rather because it knew about one of the Abyssal Monarch’s forbidden secrets?

For example, the nature and cost of the ‘Cradle’…

Like Li Suo, Yun Che also felt that his own conjecture was indeed absurd.

Still, the Devil Pearl, the Cradle, the Black Tide of Time, and the Qilin God’s words… were all linked together in that instant. They branded themselves into the depths of his heart and lingered on despite his constant rejection of them with reason.

It seemed as if there was some kind of power or some kind of “hint” that was leading him to believe in this inexplicably terrifying speculation.

He pondered… If this speculation is really close to the truth, then if it were me, what reason would I have to unhesitantly create a “Cradle” that can achieve a time stop at the cost of the collapse of an entire world…

After a long time of uncertainty, he forced all of those thoughts away. “Forget it, this kind of additional stress isn’t something I should be distracted by at the moment.”

“Besides, if the Black Tide of Time can erupt as soon as possible and cause the Abyss’s wheel of time to completely collapse within these fifty years… it would save me a lot of trouble.”

“Then you will also eternally disappear with the collapse of the Abyss.”

“That’s fine.” Yun che smiled inexplicably, “That’ll wash away my sins.”

“…” Li Suo sensed that his words were not just a casual playful remark.

“You are sure to be disappointed.” Li Suo said slowly, “After all, this is also the great world created by the Ancestral God. Even if the most basic laws of time are gradually broken, it will not completely collapse so easily. And before it collapses, various ‘world calamities’ will appear first. The Abyss has clearly not yet reached such a state.”

“However, judging by the intensity of the fluctuations of the wheel of time nowadays, the arrival of calamities is near. Perhaps it will be ten thousand years, or only a thousand years. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they came right now.”

This was why the Abyssal Monarch was so eager to open the abyssal passage to the God Realm these recent years.

Yun Che fiercely frowned and asked, “If the world calamities triggered by the Black Tide of Time were to descend, how long would it take for the Abyss to completely collapse?”

Li Suo thought for a long time before softly whispering, “Within a hundred years.”

Yun Che was startled. “So soon!”

The “World of Extinction” and the “World of Existence” were created at the same time. They have existed for such a long time that there was no way to trace them back. The arrival of the Abyssal Monarch caused the “World of Extinction” to become the world of the Abyss, and it had been millions of years since then.

It was not a small planet or star realm. When such an enormous world began to collapse, it would only take a hundred years for it to collapse completely.

Li Suo’s following words instantly caused his soul to tighten.

“What I’m more worried about is that if this world collapses, the dimensional storms and collapse of order could possibly affect another world.”

A small world with hundreds of millions of living beings was but a speck of dust in the vast world but the dimensional storm generated when it collapsed was incomparably terrifying.

And if such an enormous world collapsed…

“Or maybe it’s just me worrying over nothing.”

Yun Che only had a speculation for the Black Tide of Time that even he himself thought was “insane”. However, its existence had been a reality for a long time.

If the calamities and collapse were destined to come, would his world stay out of it?

……………

“Big brother Yun, big brother Yun?”

Hua Caili waved her fair fingers in front of his face. Yun Che’s eyes quickly focused and he reached out to hold the young woman’s soft jadelike hand.

“You seemed to be in a daze just now. “Hua Caili tilted her mouth and deliberately said without suppressing her voice, “It’s not because you were actually scared by my aunt, right?”

Of course, she couldn’t possibly have imagined what kind of shocking waves she manifested when she casually mentioned the “Cradle” after recounting her past.

“How can that be?” Yun Che hurried and, almost terrified, defended, “I have heard about Senior Sword Fairy since I was young, and being able to meet her is already a blessing of three lifetimes. If it weren’t for Senior Sword Fairy’s rescue I would have perished in the claws of that abyssal beast. I have nothing but gratitude and respect for Senior Sword Fairy.

Hua Caili finally couldn’t hold back a giggle.

She pursed her lips and said smilingly, “Alright, stop with your praise. My aunt is naturally cold in nature so even if you praise her for six more hours she wouldn’t bother to pay attention to you.”

“I’m speaking from the bottom of my heart.” Yun Che said seriously.

“Sure, sure, sure.” Hua Caili rubbed her cheek against Yun Che, showing her aunt how infatuated she was with him. “I’ll tell you a secret. My aunt’s actually not what all the rumors say she’s like.”

“Huh?” Yun Che didn’t seem like he was very comfortable with this conversation.

Hua Caili explained, “Aunt is known by many as the Heartless Sword Fairy and she herself said that she cultivates the Heartless Way of the Sword but I know more than anyone else that she’s actually the most gentle and affectionate person in the world. Her reputation of being heartless is due to the fact that earlier in life, she was only obsessed with the sword and indifferent to everything else, which is why she seems so heartless and uncaring to others.”

“But I always knew how well she treated me. She is my aunt and my master. She was always by my side whenever I came out of the Pure Land’s ‘Cradle’ and almost never left my side.”

“Your aunt treats you really, really well.” Yun Che exclaimed with her, but the hair on his head became slightly numb.

Hua Qingying had always been by her side, openly or secretly. In that case… in the future, would she also…

If someone was stared at by such a terrifying woman, the pressure would not just double.

“I also know that my aunt always thinks that if she wasn’t as obsessed with swords back then and voluntarily received the inheritance of the Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God, my mother wouldn’t have had an accident. She has always been blaming herself for it all these years.”

“But to me she has done no wrong. Father also told me that the former divine regent preferred for him to inherit the divine origin, and that she wouldn’t have necessarily gotten what she wanted even if she did take the initiative. It’s just that it’s been more than ten thousand years since then and my aunt is still like that. Moreover, aside from me, she was always unwilling to spare any emotions to others, hence causing the world to feel that she has become even more heartless.”

“I really wish she wouldn’t continue feeling guilty and free herself out of her own shackles. I want her to pursue her favorite things, whether it be the sword or a person.”

“…” Hua Qingying knew that those words were meant for her to hear.

Anyone could forgive her, but she could not forgive herself.

“Oh, so aunt… Uh, Senior Sword Fairy appeared heartless because she was too affectionate. Yun Che let out a deep sigh. His eyebrows suddenly twitched as he asked in confusion, “You said the former divine regent? Was that not your grandfather or great uncle?”

Hua Caili’s gaze suddenly grew complicated, “In terms of bloodline the former divine regent is the father of my father and aunt. He is my grandfather, but my father and aunt have never allowed me to call him ‘grandfather’ and instead told me to refer to him as the former divine regent.”

Yun Che was surprised but had a rough guess in his heart.

The calamity of death Hua Caili encountered at birth…

If this was true, then it would truly be a scary thought.

“It seems like something special must’ve happened back then.” Yun Che said. “Since your father and aunt refused to tell you, that means they’re also thinking about you. They’ll definitely tell you everything once you’ve grown up.”

Hua Caili however, didn’t care and rubbed her entire body against Yun Che. “It doesn’t matter anymore. After being with big brother Yun, every moment feels happy and satisfying. I don’t care about what happened in the past anymore.”

“Father always taught me that the relationship between a man and woman was as gentle as water, that I should always be respectful toward the Boundless Divine Son. I knew he was lying to me.”

Your father wasn’t lying to you, he just wanted you to live a peaceful life… Yun Che said in his heart.

He then hugged the young woman and slightly straightened his upper body. “Let’s forget about all that for now. Your internal injuries have just been disturbed. I’ll heal you early today.”

“Okay.” She said obediently, but still clung to Yun Che’s body and refused to come down. “Big brother Yun, I barely have any strength now because my internal injuries have just flared up. Heal me like this, please?”

Yun Che helplessly smiled and cupped his hands on her slender waist. “Alright, alright, I knew it’ll be like this again.”

“Hehe, big brother Yun is the best to me.” The young woman closed her beautiful eyes with the purest smile and laid against Yun Che’s chest like a stunningly beautiful exiled fairy who was no longer willing to return after falling into the mortal world.

“…” Hua Qingying frowned deeply.

Hua Caili possessed an unprecedented talent in the way of the proud and the way of the sword. If she indulged in the love between a man and woman, it would inevitably cause immeasurable harm to her cultivation and future.

She had to speak out to warn her no matter what.

Yun Che raised his hand. Light profound energy shone between his fingers before gently covering Hua Caili’s body.

Hua Qingying sent a sound transmission, “Caili, do you know that you are…”

The moment she spoke out, her face changed slightly, and a disbelieving glint appeared in her eyes.

Yun Che’s actions also came to a violent halt at this time.

Profound energy vortexes suddenly appeared around Hua Caili, causing her hair to flutter without wind.

In a matter of moments, these profound energy vortexes had increased by several times, and surged wildly with every instant.

Hua Caili opened her eyes. She straightened and raised her hand, sensing the violently trembling profound veins and profound energy that was gradually spiraling out of control. She muttered in astonishment, “Huh? Am I about to…”

“Back off!”

A not very gentle profound energy brushed against Yun Che, instantly repelling him several meters away.

Hua Qingying’s figure was like the descent of a fairy. Her fingers lightly moved and created a massive sword formation barrier while another stream of profound energy was extraordinarily carefully easing the increasingly violent and imbalanced aura around Hua Caili’s body.

“Caili, retrieve your senses and fully concentrate on meditation. You’re about to make a great realm breakthrough!”

“With me at your side, be sure to keep your mind free of distractions!”

Her cool voice caused Hua Caili’s mind to quickly return to extreme clarity as she quickly focused, dismissing external thoughts to perceive and guide the transformation of her own aura.

Hua Qingying’s heart was far from as calm as her expression and voice showed.

She was still in slight disbelief.

Her highest expectation for Hua Caili in this trial was that she could find an opportunity for a breakthrough, and it would already be a huge gain even if it was just a small wisp of enlightenment.

There was a common knowledge in the Abyss that everyone knew: the most difficult thing to cross in the realm of the profound way was the gap between the half-step Divine Extinction Realm and the Divine Extinction Realm.

The existence of this special concept of “half-step Divine Extinction Realm” was to comfort those numerous profound practitioners who have never been able to cross the chasm, giving them the comfort of being half a foot in the Divine Extinction Realm, but it was actually a world of difference.

She never expected that Hua Caili would directly make a great realm breakthrough.

If she completed the breakthrough this time, she would step into the Half-God Realm!

A nineteen year old Half God…

This has never happened even in the earliest days of the Abyss.