Against the Gods

Yun Che was slumped on the ground and covered in so much blood that it looked like someone had spilled ink all over a piece of paper. The crimson stains spreading across the gray abyssal stones were spine-chilling enough, but Shenwu Yi was also standing in front of him and pointing the Heartless Sword at him, the sword tip mere millimeters away from his throat. Anyone witnessing this would have thought that Shenwu Yi had grievously injured Yun Che and was currently in the middle of taking his life.

The moment Hua Caili saw this, every string in her soul pulled taut to the point of snapping, and her beautiful eyes shattered into countless lights of fury. The next moment, the Glass Cloud Sword exploded with the maximum amount of Heaven Breaker Sword Intent and shot straight toward Shenwu Yi’s most vulnerable spot.

This was the first time in her life that Hua Caili had unleashed a killing blow with such total resolve, without any hesitation or reservation whatsoever. Such was her terror and fury that the flying Glass Cloud Sword emitted a shrill, almost piercing vibration.

The blindingly fierce sword beam cleaved the gloomy world in two like the first light of dawn, reaching Shenwu Yi’s back in just an instant... but Shenwu Yi did not move, did not summon the Profound Exquisite World or the Glazed Glass Ice, did not even emit a wisp of profound energy as if she didn’t sense the attack at all.

Shred—

The sword pierced through her heart and shot out of her chest. Such was its speed that the blood hadn’t spilled out yet. Yun Che’s pupils contracted instantly.

It wasn’t an afterimage that the Glass Cloud Sword had pierced. It was her completely defenseless body. Not only that, during the instant the sword was passing through her body, the Heaven Breaker Sword Intent had erupted mercilessly and grievously injured her internal organs. Her meridians, especially, shattered into countless pieces.

In fact, Yun Che sensed Hua Caili’s approach a long time ago. This should be true for Shenwu Yi as well, as she was an extraordinary, level-six Divine Extinction Realm practitioner whose spiritual perception was not suppressed by abyssal dust. So... why didn’t she choose to evade or block the attack?

Her body was pierced, her internal organs suffered immense damage, and her energies and blood were flowing in reverse. Shenwu Yi’s complexion instantly turned deathly white, and an enormous amount of blood spilled out of her lips uncontrollably. However, her expression remained as cold and indifferent as ever. Forget pain, he couldn’t spot even a speck of surprise on her face.

The Glass Cloud Sword did not slow down even after it emerged from Shenwu Yi’s body. Just before it would make contact with Yun Che, it curved upward and traced a gorgeous red arc across the grayish space. Then, it flew back to the young woman’s jade-like fingers.

At the same time, Hua Caili appeared in front of Yun Che and pushed Shenwu Yi far, far away with sword intent and profound energy that were brimming with fury. She pointed her sword straight at Shenwu Yi while saying in a hoarse, trembling voice, “Shenwu Yi... you... you dare...”

Yun Che could barely catch her side profile because she was shielding Yun Che. Her divine robes were stained with dust, and her long hair slightly disheveled. The corners of her eyes blazed with vivid crimson—not the delicate blush of her usual timidity, but the fiery hue of burning anger. The sword energy, once imbued with boundless inspiration, seemed consumed entirely by the inferno of fury and transformed into a fragmented, swirling cyclone of sword scars that surrounded her whole person. Even the strands of hair that usually hung beside her temples were standing on end, whipping wildly in the turbulent currents of her profound energy.

Not even Hua Fuchen and Hua Qingying, both adults who watched Hua Caili grow up in their whole lives, had seen such a terrifying look from her before.

Despite her all-consuming rage, Hua Caili did not lose control and tried to finish the job. She was wielding her sword with one hand and resting the other behind her back, forming a firm connection with Yun Che. In fact, most of her profound energy was concentrated around that hand.

Her eyes reflected Shenwu Yi’s silhouette with an unprecedented chill. The jade sword in her hand was vibrating audibly and shining so brightly it was almost dazzling, even though she knew she was no match for Shenwu Yi; her aura overflowed with the ruthless resolve to fight until the last drop of her blood.

Shenwu Yi did not say anything. She simply soared into the air and vanished into the distance. Before her silhouette completely disappeared behind the gray fog, Shenwu Yi turned and fixed Yun Che with a deep, lingering look. Their eyes met. His gaze had been following her every move while brimming with emotion and longing this whole time. Strangely, the moment their eyes met, she understood the profound meaning hidden in his gaze.

Hua Caili remained tense even after Shenwu Yi was gone. It wasn’t until the woman’s presence had disappeared entirely from her senses that she finally snapped out of her trance, like awakening from a nightmare. The trembling sword qi around her crumbled instantly.

Thang!

The Glass Cloud Sword she cherished the most fell through her fingers and hit the ground with a clang. She abruptly turned around and dropped to her knees in front of Yun Che. She asked in a trembling voice, “Big Brother Yun, are... are you okay... where are you hurt?”

The brimming fury and killing intent from earlier disappeared completely, leaving behind only terror that stole all the blood from her already snow white complexion. The one line was enough to make her eyes mist with moisture.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

The corners of Yun Che’s lips curled into a small smile. It was at this moment that his light profound energy glowed warmly, both stabilizing his wounds and soothing the young woman’s panicking heart. Sensing Yun Che’s somewhat plentiful profound energy and life aura, Hua Caili finally let out a long, long sigh of relief. She clutched the hem of Yun Che’s shirt and looked overcome by a temporary wave of exhaustion in the aftermath of the terrifying ordeal.

It was only now that Hua Caili noticed that an abyssal ghost or abyssal beast clearly inflicted Yun Che’s injuries. In fact, his wounds were still seeping with the grayish fog unique to abyssal corruption. They definitely weren’t inflicted by the Heartless Sword or the Purify God Seal.

That said, she saw it as clear as day that Shenwu Yi was pointing her sword at Yun Che’s throat. She could not bear to think of the consequences if she arrived even a bit later.

“Shenwu Yi... why did she try to kill you?” Hua Caili asked softly, eyes on their surroundings. At the same time, she branded Shenwu Yi with a mark of hatred inside her heart.

Now that she had calmed down a little, she found herself asking questions that she hadn’t noticed earlier: Why didn’t she dodge my attack earlier? With her cultivation, the Glass Cloud Sword should not have pierced her heart so easily, even if she didn’t use that strange, profound ice of hers...

Yun Che grabbed her hand and said evenly, “Shenwu Yi and I share no grievances. If I have to guess why she’s doing this, I could only think of the Lightless Divine Regent.”

“Ah!?”

Hua Caili subconsciously tightened her grip at the mention of the Divine Regent. “No way... why did she command this?”

“Heh...”

Yun Che let out a light chuckle. “The Lightless Divine Regent does not speak or act based on ordinary logic. You must have heard of her past. I suspect that my enduring double the punishment of devouring rage must have triggered her somehow. She is unwilling to admit that any man would go to such lengths for a woman, and so feels compelled to wipe out the anomaly that proves her wrong... cough. Cough.”

Hua Caili hurriedly touched his chest lightly. Eyes filled with hurt, she said angrily, “Yes, she was unfortunate enough to meet the wrong man... I think he was called Shenwu Xueyan? And receive unrecoverable scars from him, but how does it make sense to reject everyone else over one man’s sin? How utterly despicable! No wonder even Father called her an unreasonable madwoman.”

“Anyway, let’s leave and talk later, Big Brother Yun. It’s a small chance, but I don’t want to risk Shenwu Yi turning back and attempting another assassination.”

“No worries.”

Yun Che looked completely unworried. “She had clearly fought a great fight when I first ran into her. I could tell from how erratic her profound energy was. Later, you pierced her heart. Her injuries must be a lot worse than mine. She can hardly take care of herself, much less spare the energy to kill me again.”

“Besides, leaving like this... would be too ugly.”

“I... see...”

Hua Caili whispered a look of realization on her face.

She might have found holes in Yun Che’s reply if she really thought about it, but of course, she put it out of her mind and prioritized his well-being. “Okay. Focus on recuperating for now. When we’re out, we will inform Father and Uncle Meng about this immediately.”

“Mm.” Yun Che gave an affirmative reply. “But please persuade your Father not to get angry after you inform him about this. The Lightless Divine Regent’s anger is impulsive, and I believe that it will fade very soon. Unless absolutely necessary, there is no reason to clash head-on against a madwoman... not to mention that all of my injuries really came from the abyssal ghosts, and Shenwu Yi never really got the time to kill me or injure me.”

Hua Caili mulled over this for a moment but ultimately agreed to his request. “Fine. You’re such a good person, Big Brother Yun. Despite encountering such a horrible ambush, you are still worried about Father and Uncle Meng.”

Yun Che watched her silently for a moment before pulling her onto his chest.

“Ah!”Hua Caili let out a soft cry of surprise, but she didn’t dare to struggle even a little because she was worried about his wounds. She obediently nestled against Yun Che and allowed his blood to stain her pure white robes, her nose filled with the faint stench of blood and his uniquely crisp, cool scent.

“Caili,” His half-serious, half-teasing murmurs entered the young woman’s ears. “If one day I hurt you like Shenwu Xueyan hurt Shenwu Yanye, do you think you would turn into another her?”

“Pff!”

Hua Caili burst out laughing, giggling so hard she shook a little. Resting her head against Yun Che’s chest and hearing his slightly erratic heartbeat, she carefully went through all the rumors regarding Shenwu Yanye before answering quietly, “In this world, only I know just how good Big Brother Yun is. So if one day you fell in love with another woman like Shenwu Yanye and even married her as your consort, that only means that I wasn’t good enough. At least, I wasn’t better than the woman you chose. Otherwise, you would not have set your gaze and heart on another.”

Yun Che: “......”

“There’s no way I would turn into a terrifying woman like Shenwu Yanye. If I did, you’d definitely lose interest in me completely. I will... change the bad parts about me and keep you busy all day and night so that you won’t have any time to bother another woman, hehe.”

Yun Che looked up and stared at the gloomy sky. He asked another question, “If I did something that’s a hundred times worse than Shenwu Xueyan’s deeds... will you hate me then?”

Hua Caili’s reply came way sooner and more direct than he anticipated.

“Of—course—not! I told you. As long as it’s you, I’ll forgive you no matter what you did.”

She lifted her head and suddenly squeezed Yun Che’s lips with her hands, giggling. “No one knows better than me how well you treat me. As for the bad stuff... the worst stuff you ever did to me is... is...”

Her voice grew softer and softer, her beautiful eyes shifted away in embarrassment, and her cheeks blushed a faint pink. “I know! You must have come up with more weird stuff in the past three years... and now that Father and aunt aren’t around, you wanna... how can you think of bullying me even when you’re injured so badly...”

“Er... I never said that. You’re the one who...”

“Don’t say it!!”

She put a bit more strength into her hand and squeezed Yun Che’s lips shut, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

Oh, how innocent she was back then, treating honesty as banter.

......

At the edge of the Pure Land, the Void Breaching Great Formation suddenly flashed gray. The next moment, a woman slowly stepped out while dragging a stunning trail of blood beneath her feet.

It had not even been forty-eight hours since they entered the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods[1]. Pan Buzhuo had appeared during the twelfth hour, screaming that there was only abyssal dust and danger in the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods and not a speck of divine relic or opportunities whatsoever. He even insulted the Eternal Night Divine Daughter in a veiled manner, calling her stupid and ignorant to waste a vast chance on nothing at all.

The second person to leave the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods was none other than the woman who caused its opening, Shenwu Yi. However, her injuries were so terrible that everyone who saw them could not help but gasp in horror.

“Wuyi!!” Shenwu Youluan had been standing guard this whole time. When she saw Shenwu Yi’s state, she hurriedly rushed forward and caught the severely injured and exhausted Shenwu Yi in her arms.

Sensing the familiar warmth and scent, Shenwu Yi finally allowed herself to relax and fall limply in her embrace. However, she stubbornly refused to fall unconscious and said weakly, “Aunt... take me... to Mother...”

“I will... Just focus on calming your heart and breathing, and stop talking.”

Shenwu Youluan’s voice trembled with distress. Still holding Shenwu Yi, she threw a new set of black robes around the woman... and covered up the wound at her solar plexus. She had recognized immediately that the Heaven Breaker Sword Intent inflicted the sword wound.

The Pure Land, the square courtyard where the Eternal Night Kingdom of God resided, within the isolation barrier created by the Lightless Divine Regent.

Shenwu Yi’s face was completely drained of color at this point. Her body was covered in the claw marks of abyssal ghosts, and some of them were near fatal. However, the most horrifying wound was undoubtedly the sword wound across her solar plexus. Even now, the terrible Heaven Breaker Sword Intent lingered within the wound. In her current state, Shenwu Yi was simply incapable of removing it by herself. She would have perished had she returned even just an hour later.

Shenwu Youluan dispelled the Heaven Breaker Sword Intent entrenched inside Shenwu Yi’s body very, very carefully. Although Shenwu Yi was injured so severely that she couldn’t even stand, it did not exempt her from Shenwu Yanye’s terrible wrath.

“You’re saying that, not only did you fail to kill Yun Che, but you were discovered by the Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter and injured to this extent?”

Every shrill, wrathful word that spilled out of Shenwu Yanye’s wrath caused all the surrounding women of Eternal Night to bow their heads deeply. They were so scared that they didn’t even dare to face her voice.

“Mother...”

Her voice was barely a whisper, and yet she summoned every ounce of willpower to stay conscious, “The Forbidden Zone... is teeming with abyssal ghosts... Wuyi fought for a long time... when I accidentally encountered Yun Che... I was already gravely wounded and exhausted...”

“When I attacked... my injuries... my head was murky... the abyssal dust binds my soul... failed to notice the Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter in time... cough... cough cough...”

“Wuyi! Wuyi... enough! You don’t have to speak any longer!”

Shenwu Youluan hurriedly pressed a hand to her solar plexus, fingers clenched so tightly they were white from the exertion. She faced toward the pitch black palanquin and begged, “Supreme one, if Wuyi wasn’t already severely injured, there is no way the Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter could have hurt her, considering her cultivation and her Profound Exquisite Worlds. Even if Wuyi was gravely mistaken, at least... at least let her rest before receiving her punishment. She truly can’t endure your wrath in her current state, supreme one.”

Shenwu Youluan’s begging earned not an ounce of pity from Shenwu Yanye, however. The response that erupted from the palanquin was so cold it could rip the soul apart. “Who was the one who went against my orders and asked to enter the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods against my will? Rebellious, foolish, trash! And now you dare to try to justify yourself with excuses?!”

It was at this moment that Shenwu Yi slowly raised her hand. Her movement was unbelievably weak, but her pale fingers spread open to reveal a strange, grayish abyssal crystal. It rested silently in her palm, its weak yet strange aura covering it.

“I... fulfilled... my... duty...” As the voice faded away, Shenwu Yi finally could not cling to consciousness any longer and fainted. The abyssal crystal in her hand also fell together with her hand.

Shenwu Youluan subconsciously caught the abyssal crystal and stared at it for a short while. Then, she burst out in shock, “Is this... the Abyssal Heart Vine?!?”

“Supreme one! It’s the Abyssal Heart Vine! The Abyssal Heart Vine!!” The cold fury emanating from the palanquin abruptly froze, followed by a somewhat chaotic outburst of profound energy.

Shenwu Mingque hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed the abyssal crystal in Shenwu Youluan’s hand. She too let out an equally agitated and surprised cry, “Nearly a full inch long and resembling withered vines. Its breath is sometimes like scorching fire or coiling thunder, and its core trembles like the heart of a mortal... it matches the description of the ‘Abyssal Heart Vine’ in the records exactly!”

“Supreme one, it’s the Abyssal Heart Vine! Wuyi truly found the Abyssal Heart Vine!”

Whoosh!!!

A cold wind blew, and the Abyssal Heart Vine in Shenwu Mingque’s hand was swept into the palanquin... The shockwaves streaming from the palanquin only grew stronger after that.

Shenwu Youluan collapsed to her knees and beseeched in a voice full of sorrow, “Supreme one, throughout the years, countless people have ventured into the Endless Fog and spared no effort to search for the Abyssal Heart Vine. However, no one was able to find even a trace of it.”

“The reason Wuyi went so far as to use the Abyssal Monarch’s favor to enter the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods is to grasp at straws and pray for a miracle... the fact that her wish is actually answered proves that she has been hunting abyssal ghosts relentlessly from the moment she entered the Forbidden Zone of Slumbering Gods. She must have fought without regard for her injuries, fearing that she might miss that sliver of hope if she wasted even a single breath of time.”

“I dare not imagine how many abyssal ghosts she must have hunted to sustain such severe injuries. Even when she was gravely wounded, she did not forget your command to kill Yun Che when she encountered him. That is why... that is why she...”

“I implore the supreme one to spare Wuyi from further punishment, if only because her heart is so pure that it moved even the heavens to bestow the Abyssal Heart Vine!”

The air froze briefly. Then, Shewu Yanye snapped in a hoarser-than-usual voice, “What are you still waiting for? Take Wuyi away for healing immediately!”

“Yes!” Shenwu Youluan obeyed as if receiving a divine command and scooped up Shenwu Yi in a hurry. Then, she swiftly but carefully withdrew from the scene.

1. Oh god I have this strong suspicion that Mars mixed up his 时 and 时辰. Please let it not be the case... ☜