Against the Gods

Li Suo let out a sigh. “You are becoming more and more like what the Devil Queen wished for you to be. Your first thought upon meeting anyone is to think how you can turn them into a tool.”

This was not praise. She was, in essence, the Creation God of Life who loved all life after all.

“Everyone must grow,” Yun Che said seemingly uncaringly but could not help but add a quiet whisper at the very end, “whether they like it or not.”

As if sensing Yun Che’s emotions, Li Suo changed the subject. “Dian Jiuzhi clearly intended to visit you. If he really was busy, he would have chosen a better time to pay you a visit, wouldn’t he?”

“It was just an excuse.” Yun Che smiled. “He came here today to probe me thinking that he could find out my temperament and background. However, it turned out that I was the one who held the reins of the conversation from the start until the end. Worst of all, I was able to inject a crack in his belief.”

“‘Jiuzhi’ was his Divine Son title and the creed he lived by as the Boundless Divine Son. Even the tiniest crack is enough to alarm him and have him take evasive maneuvers on instinct.”

Yun Che had returned to his bedroom at this point. He ordered, “Zhiyuan, I’m going to catch some rest now. Please wake me six hours after the conferral ceremony is over. Reject all meeting requests during this time no matter who they are.”

He then lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.

“How will you deal with Meng Jianxi?” Li Suo asked.

“Are you really asking that question?” The corners of Yun Che’s lips curled up slightly. “A man who has not encountered any difficulties his whole life does not deserve to be my opponent.”

Li Suo said slowly, “He is the Dreamweaver Divine Son. Hua Qingying herself warned you to be careful about him.”

Yun Che replied without a care, “That’s because I am a naive junior who just returned to his homeland in her eyes. Unfortunately for her, I’m not. My objective and opponent is the entire Abyss. I will be humiliated if I so much as afford Meng Jianxi a straight look.”

“… It’s still better to be safe than sorry.”

Yun Che closed his eyes and muttered, “I may act cautiously, but I must dream recklessly. Otherwise, how can I possibly destroy the entire Abyss?”

Li Suo stopped talking then. Yun Che’s breathing also became slow and regular as if he had truly fallen asleep.

…….

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Empress Palace was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Meng Xuanjue was seated at her bed in silence and wearing a darker expression than she had ever worn in her whole life. Everyone around her was so tense that they didn’t even dare to draw a deep breath.

Meng Jianze apologized to Meng Jianxi, “I was careless, Your Highness. I did not think that boy would… I am grounded for half a year for my misconduct, but I swear I will find a way to deal with him during this half a year.”

Meng Jianxi shook his head and said firmly, “It’s not your fault.”

He let out a small sigh. “From the beginning, he acted insolently, recklessly, and without a care for the consequences. I thought it was just because he was arrogant and foolish. But a perfect divine essence… hah.”

He chuckled self-derisively. “He could have acted ten times more insolent than this, and it would’ve been perfectly reasonable.”

“Mother,” Meng Jianxi bowed slightly in his mother’s direction. “Please get some rest and do not take today’s incident to heart. This child will be taking his leave.”

“Wait.”

Meng Xuanjue finally spoke up, and her voice was shockingly hoarse and raspy. It sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

“Have you forgotten what will happen to me if Meng Jianxi regains his memory, Jianxi?!”

“…?!” Meng Jianze immediately bowed his head and pretended to be an ostrich.

“This child did not forget, of course.” Meng Jianxi exhaled deeply and responded as if every word was weighed down by a mountain.

“Good.” Meng Xuanjue continued in an eerie voice, “He already died once. He could die a second—”

A silhouette cut through the air like lightning, and a hand clamped around Meng Xuanjue’s mouth and forced whatever she was going to say back down her throat. Their eyes met. One pair was filled with viciousness and violence, and the other pair stretched so wide the seams threatened to split open.

Meng Jianze shuddered. To say he was stuck between a rock and a hard place would be an understatement.

“Mother,” Meng Jianxi uttered through gritted teeth, “do you even understand what a perfect divine essence even means? You… forget it. You only need to remember this, Mother. I did not plan on admitting defeat, and I’m not about to start now. Even if he has a perfect divine essence, I still have a powerful clique. It is not impossible for me to come out ahead. However, that time is not now, do you understand?!”

He finally let go and turned away from his mother. Before he left, he cast down one last warning, “Do not put me in a difficult position, Mother!”

He left without looking back after that.

Meng Jianze hurriedly took two steps backward and said, “A million peace to you, Empress. Jianze will take his leave right now.”

“Jianze,” but Meng Xuanjue called out to him and stopped him in his tracks. Her eyes looked a little unfocused, and the darkness in her voice lessened a little. “To think Jianxi is cowed… you are his closest and most trusted older brother, Jianze. You are the only one who can help him now.”

“I…” Meng Jianze felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He asked cautiously, “And how… can I help His Highness Divine Son, exactly?”

Meng Xuanjue sent her servants away so they would be alone. Then, she slowly rose to her feet and began a slow walk. “From the start, Jianxi believed that Meng Jianyuan was only temporarily untouchable because he had just returned, and the divine regent was at his most sensitive right now. In reality, Meng Jianyuan has nothing besides the divine regent’s love right now.”

“Considering the ambition and cunning he displayed today, he is going to become far scarier and more untouchable in the future. If we wait, Jianxi’s situation… will only become more hopeless than it already is.”

Meng Jianze wanted to agree with her logic, but he didn’t dare to interrupt her.

“Since Jianxi has been cowed into submission, you are the only one who can tell him that Meng Jianyuan is not actually as scary as he appears to be. He still has many flaws and dirty sides that we can exploit to our advantage.”

“Me?” Meng Jianze looked completely confused.

“I want your help with something.” Meng Xuanjue moved closer to him, and her subdued voice became darker as a result. “Don’t worry, this endeavor is completely risk free be it for you or anyone else. I’m not telling you to kill Meng Jianyuan, I am…”

She narrowed her eyes slightly, and her voice grew softer. “The most fragile thing in this world, the one thing that cannot stand any temptation at all, is human nature. All you need to do is to enlarge his greed and tempt him into succumbing to his nature so he may leave a permanent, irreparable stain on his honor… since this has nothing to do with schemes, entrapment, or framing, it carries no risk to you whatsoever. Understand?”

Meng Jianze nodded his head.

Meng Xuanjue raised her hand, and a silvery white light filled the entire palace. It was as if moonlight had suddenly filled the room, and its divinity was beautiful and all-encompassing.

Meng Jianze exclaimed in shock when he saw this, “The Divine Jade of Revelation!”

Meng Xuanjue explained, “This was the ultimate abyssal crystal bestowed to Jianxi when he became the Divine Son over a century ago. All profound practitioners below level five Divine Extinction Realm will not encounter a bottleneck if they have this. There is only one in the entire Dreamweaver Kingdom of God.”

“Jianxi has left it with me for the day he enters the fifth level of the Divine Extinction Realm in one go.”

“Now, it has gained another use.”

As she spoke, Meng Xuanjue deposited the priceless abyssal crystal into his hands.

“You know what to do.” Meng Xuanjue instructed carefully. “Remember, the abyssal crystal must enter his hands.”

“Jianze… understands.” Meng Jianze’s voice was shaking, but he did not refuse the task. After putting away the Divine Jade of Revelation, he asked carefully, “One thing, Your Majesty… Meng Jianyuan is anything but a simple-minded person. He will probably see through our intent easily. Besides, he has a perfect divine essence and Father’s lopsided love. He can simply request whatever resources he needs… I just don’t see why he would need to risk himself like this.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t have considered what you’re saying?” Meng Xuanjue sneered. “Meng Jianyuan has been wandering outside for over a hundred years. Everything he saw up until this point is inferior objects. The divine jade will be far more attractive to him than anyone else.”

“Besides, he must be feeling like the height of his world right now. He might think that it’s only a matter of time before the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God falls into his grasp. Given enough recklessness and greed, he, more than anyone else, has the highest chance of succumbing to greed.”

“When a person is driven by fierce excitement and greed, their rationality is usually shoved to the back of their mind. Anything they did while under the effects of excitement and greed is reasonable. By the time he realizes his mistake, it will already be too late.”

“So…” Meng Jianze asked, “What if he doesn’t fall prey to his desires?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Meng Xuanjue replied. “I have many other ways to tempt him. One of them has to garner his interest eventually, and we only need to succeed one time. If it comes to it, we can even consider sacrificing Jianxi’s consort.”

Meng Jianze’s heart chilled. He could only say yes.

……

After Meng Zhiyuan awakened him from his nap, Yun Che leisurely made his way to the kitchen. When he left, he was holding a jade box in his hand. He gave his attendants several instructions before leaving the Divine Son Palace.

Behind him, Shangguan Helu was staring at his back adoringly. She looked like she was admiring a god of her dreams.

Yun Che made it all the way to Meng Kongchan’s Dreamless Pavilion without encountering any difficulty whatsoever.

“You came, Yuan’er?” Meng Kongchan’s voice entered his ears before he even met the Divine Regent.

Yun Che hastened his footsteps and stopped in front of Meng Kongchan. Then, he saluted respectfully and said, “Junior Yun Che has come… to beg for your forgiveness, Divine Regent.”

“Oh really? What for?” Meng Kongchan watched him with a teasing smile on his face.

Yun Che put on a look of regret. “You went so far as to gather the core powers of the Kingdom of God to conduct this Divine Son conferral ceremony, and I hesitated until the very last day only to rebuff you. I must have let you down, Divine Regent.”

“Oh you.” Meng Kongchan chuckled. “You’re a cunning one, aren’t you? You say this, but you knew I would never be angry with you about it. By the way, is the reason you hid your perfect divine essence for so long to give me a wonderful surprise?”

“Er, I guess.” Yun Che took two steps forward and placed a jade box in Meng Kongchan’s hands. “Senior, I… feel apologetic toward you, but I’m not sure how to make up for it. So, I made a bowl of soup. I dare not dream that it will resolve your annoyance, but I do hope that it will alleviate some of my regrets.”

“Soup? You?” Meng Kongchan couldn’t help but be surprised by this. While shooting Yun Che a strange look, he opened the jade box and was immediately caught off guard by the delicious aroma that came from it. Before he knew it, he had given it a tentative sip.

His eyes froze, and it wasn’t until a long time before he looked at Yun Che in astonishment. “Did you… really make this yourself?”

“Yes,” Yun Che replied. “Master is the one who taught me how to cook. Master often said that hunger is one of the six base desires of a person and no weaker in any other desire. It’s just that this way has declined for a long time since fewer and fewer people are willing to devote their energy and time to cooking.”

Meng Kongchan picked up the jade box and enjoyed another sip. He actually closed his eyes and lost himself in the taste for a good few breaths before murmuring, “I have cultivated the soul for tens of thousands of years, and I thought my soul to be as impervious and firm as a stone. To think that a small bowl of soup could make me feel like my soul is about to rise to the heavens!”

He opened his eyes and cast Yun Che a long look. “Yuan’er, you are just a neverending bundle of pleasant surprises, aren’t you?”

Yun Che hurriedly said, “I’ll cook often for you if you like it, Divine Regent.”

Meng Kongchan gave him a warm smile before lifting the box with both hands and slowly drinking the soup. By the time he set the box down, not a single drop was left behind.

A moment later, he said smilingly, “I’m starting to understand why you managed to woo Caili, boy. Though, if you really want to make me happy above anything else, you simply need to call me ‘Father.’”

Yun Che opened his mouth but eventually bowed his head. “When I first recognized this world, I already had no parents. However, that is precisely why my desire for parental love far exceeds that of a normal person. To me, the word ‘parent’ holds a connotation so sacred that… if I address you as ‘Father’ as anyone else but Meng Jianyuan, I think it would be blasphemous toward the word and unfair toward you, senior.”

Meng Kongchan waved him off but did not look disappointed.”It’s fine. You’re right. You haven’t recalled your past yet. If you force yourself to obey me, I… probably wouldn’t be too happy either.”

He walked up to Yun Che and gently grabbed his arm. “I’ll patiently await the day you regain your memories, Yuan’er. I will wait for the day you return to me, whole.”

As soon as he finished, his eyes suddenly flashed silver, and Yun Che found his left arm being lifted into the air.

A silver radiance flowed down Meng Kongchan’s body and into Yun Che’s. Yun Che’s heart shook. He could clearly feel Meng Kongchan splitting out a portion of his soul.

“Senior divine regent, you…”

Meng Kongchan did not respond, however. It wasn’t long before the silver life fully transferred to Yun Che’s left hand and wrapped around his little finger. It then transformed into a small and delicate silver soul ring.

The light faded, and the soul ring disappeared into thin air, leaving no traces behind.

Meng Kongchan exhaled gently. “Remember. If you ever encounter danger, just break the ring, and I will rush to your side no matter where I am.”

Yun Che clenched his left hand tightly with shaky eyes. “Splitting your soul like this will hurt your soul origin! You’re the Dreamless Divine Regent. How could you…”

This soul ring was similar to a soul imprint that could only be sensed after death, but also very different in other ways. The former cost a hundred times more soul origin than the latter after all.

Meng Kongchan slapped him on the arm to silence him before saying solemnly, “I would be reluctant to do this for anyone else, yes, but you? I will give you anything, Yuan’er. You have my word that what happened to you back then will never happen again.”

“…” Yun Che pushed down his gratitude and nodded slightly. “Okay… I will cultivate hard in the next period and make sure that my cultivation will be worthy of your gift and Caili’s devotion. I will do my best to… become whole again.”

After he left the Dreamless Pavilion, Yun Che did not leave the Divine Son Palace immediately. Instead, he chose a random direction and enjoyed a relaxing walk.

He had not truly observed this nation of soul cultivation since entering the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God. Now was as good a time as any.

As expected, he elicited cries of surprise wherever he went. He rarely responded to any of them. His gaze was always distant, his mind was memorizing the layout, and his ears were listening to every piece of useful gossip or information.

He did not know how far he walked when suddenly, his gaze was drawn toward a certain direction. It was because he sensed a hint of darkness.

There was only one Kingdom of God in the Abyss that cultivated dark profound energy, and that was the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God.

As he moved closer to the source of the aura, a man in black outfit entered his vision.

His long hair was disheveled covering his face. Despite giving off the powerful aura of a Divine Extinction Realm, his footsteps were as heavy as lead. His feet moved forward so stiffly one could mistake them for prosthetics.

He paid zero attention to the surrounding gazes or voices.

As his hair waved, Yun Che accidentally met his eyes between the gaps. His heart and soul immediately twitched once.

The unexpected reaction immediately alarmed Li Suo. “What did you discover?”

“It’s nothing.” Yun Che deftly looked away as he replied, “I just recalled my old self, that’s all.”

Li Suo: “Your old… self?’”

Yun Che’s voice grew a little heavier. “That man’s eyes looked extremely similar to the stray dog I was when I first escaped to the Northern Divine Region: despair as dark as the abyss of death, an utter absence of light and desire toward life.”

“But unlike him, the thirst for vengeance still burns within me. The me at that time would pay any price to obtain the power to claim vengeance. Life, dignity, I could have given up everything without the tiniest bit of hesitation.”

“But him… he most likely wasn’t as lucky as I was. Without any hope to reverse his situation or claim vengeance, all he has left is grayish despair.”

He was already far away by the time he finished explaining to Li Suo. After all, he wasn’t too willing to be reminded of those painful, dark days.

Then, he heard the guard disciples discussing among themselves:

“Hey, isn’t that… the former Divine Son of the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God, Pan Buwang? What on earth happened to him?”

“Ai, he lost his title, and he was rejected and oppressed by his own Kingdom. First, his Mother was removed from her throne. Then, she apparently passed away because of illness. I even heard that the Pray Eternal Divine Regent has completely abandoned him. Who could possibly accept such a downfall? Besides, I heard that he and the previous Divine Daughter of the Eternal Night Kingdom of God, Shenwu Qing were lovers, but she—”

“Shh! Best not to talk about the Eternal Night Kingdom of God at all. Anyway, it looks like Pan Buwang is headed to… the Sinking Dream Valley? It couldn’t be. Is he really…”

Yun Che stopped in his tracks, and a strange glint flashed in his eyes.