Against the Gods (Web Novel)

“So you’re saying, the first four stages of the [World Ode of the Phoenix] are located at the Divine Phoenix Empire’s trial grounds, and only the fifth and sixth stages are located here?”

Yun Che had simply wanted to acquire power through this trial from the Phoenix and never thought he would chance upon this sort of confidential information. With a might that shook the entire Profound Sky Continent, it was well-known to everyone in this world, that the reason for the Divine Phoenix Sect’s domination and power was their possession of Phoenix blood and had the power of the Phoenix within their body. However, no one knew that there was actually such a secret behind them.

“No! The first four stages of [World Ode of the Phoenix] are not located at the Divine Phoenix Empire’s trial grounds; they are actually in the hands of the Divine Phoenix Sect. The [World Ode of the Phoenix] became the Divine Phoenix Sect’s treasure after that rebellious Spirit of the Phoenix gave it to them, and assisted their domination of the Profound Sky Continent. The Divine Phoenix Empire’s trial grounds are preserved and used to grant pure Phoenix blood and the Divine Phoenix Pellet to the Divine Phoenix Sect’s disciples that have passed the trial, because passing the trials is the only way to receive the Phoenix blood and Divine Phoenix Pellet. The Phoenix set this rule originally, and even us Spirits of the Phoenix cannot change it. This rule also applies to the [World Ode of the Phoenix].”

“Then why was the Divine Phoenix Empire’s Spirit of the Phoenix capable of handing over the [World Ode of the Phoenix] to the Divine Phoenix Sect? Also, with only the fifth and sixth stages here, it is impossible to cultivate the [World Ode of the Phoenix] without the first four stages. You are the Phoenix’s spirit, so you should know the power inscriptions for the first four stages, right?” Yun Che asked.

“No, I do not know. Even though we are Spirits of the Phoenix, we do not possess the authority to read the [World Ode of the Phoenix] and more so, cannot give it away to others. The only authority we have, is to grant it to humans who who have passed the trial, and allow them to study the [World Ode of the Phoenix] for one month. However, in our vicious battle, my jade stone that recorded the [World Ode of the Phoenix] was destroyed and his was also fractured, which rendered the imprinted rules the Phoenix had previously set useless. Thus, he gained that chunk of broken jade stone, which was also the complete authority over the first four stages. The bottom half landed in my hands and I could also freely administer it. However, I will never go against the will of the Phoenix. As for the first four stages, I don’t have the slightest knowledge of them. So your wish to obtain the first four stages from here, is completely impossible.”

“So that’s how it is.” Yun Che’s heart was crestfallen. The inscriptions of the [World Ode of the Phoenix] had fractured, but at any rate, with the first four stages [World Ode of the Phoenix] in the hands of the Divine Phoenix Sect, even if one started training from the first stage without the slightest delay, one would eventually be stuck at the fourth stage. The fifth and sixth stages of the [World Ode of the Phoenix] that he currently possessed were two stages more powerful than that of the Divine Phoenix Sect. But at the moment, it was just as useful as not having it at all… Without knowledge of the first four stages, how would one even begin learning the fifth and sixth stages?

If a building didn’t have the first four stories, how could it have the fifth and sixth stories? Even if the building was suspended in the air, there would still be some support structure supporting the building.

“You can consume this Divine Phoenix Pellet immediately, and with your current profound strength, you should need three days worth of time to completely refine the pill. As for the [World Ode of the Phoenix], even though we only have a fragment, you can still try to comprehend it through the rules and regulations the Phoenix had left behind in the next month. Of course, if you feel like this a waste of time, you can leave right after refining the pill. But even though you cannot cultivate with this fragment of the [World Ode of the Phoenix], it is still one of the World Scorching Heavenly Books from the world-shaking Prehistoric Era. In this one month, you may read it and perhaps learn something from it. Everything is up to you.”

“Lastly, I’ll leave you with a warning. Once you leave, you can not bring up a single word of these trials to anyone. If you go to the Divine Phoenix Empire in the future, unless you have enough power, you must cover up any signs of your Phoenix Veins and mark. If any of the Phoenix bloodline discover the Phoenix blood in your body, you are bound to encounter a great calamity since you are not a disciple of the Divine Phoenix Sect… Remember this!”

The voice reverberated in Yun Che’s mind and the huge pair of golden pupils slowly faded away.

Holding onto the jade which contained the fragments of the [World Ode of the Phoenix], it was impossible for Yun Che to not be confused and hesitant. What kind of existence was the Divine Phoenix Sect? Just a casual branch sect had the power to match the Blue Wind Empire’s Four Major Sects, so their Main Sect’s strength was simply unimaginable to ordinary citizens. They were so formidable because of Phoenix blood, as well as the [World Ode of the Phoenix] that they had acquired from the Spirit of the Phoenix.

And the portion of the [World Ode of the Phoenix] in his hands exceeded that of the Divine Phoenix Sect’s by two stages. What kind of frightening concept was this?

But these were only fragments, and it was impossible to train without the foundation of the first four levels! To have such a treasure but not be able to utilize it, one could only imagine how frustrating this would be. Yun Che wished the Spirit of the Phoenix hadn’t revealed the existence of the fragments at all; then he would be content and not in this current state of hesitation.

Yun Che sat on the floor and took the Divine Phoenix Pellet out of the jade bottle. The Divine Phoenix Pellet’s entire color was as red as blood and scorching hot. One could clearly feel the immense power contained within the pill. Yun Che adjusted his breathing, placed the pill at the entrance of his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, crimson flames rose out of Yun Che’s body, and shot up to a height no less than three meters as it wrapped around his entire body. At the same time, all the pores in his body expanded by a substantial amount; blood frantically rushed around his body at three times the usual speed, and the profound energy in his veins violently swept across his body like stormy water.

The process of refining the pellet should have been very difficult and painful, but due to the cheat in his body, Yun Che actually felt an indescribably comfortable sensation. He merely used not even twenty breaths of time to restore the balance between his blood, meridians, and profound veins. All the while, his expression was completely calm as he enjoyed the minute changes in his body and the slowly thickening profound energy.

The flames surrounding his entire body did not subside at all as it continued to calmly burn throughout the process. The purpose of the flames was to physically remold the body of the pill taker, increasing their fire resistance, and their affinity with the fire element. But in Yun Che’s case, the fire was unnecessary.

The Phoenix spirit had said that not only would the Divine Phoenix Pellet improve one’s control over fire, it would also greatly enhance one’s profound power. The Phoenix spirit definitely spoke the truth, as Yun Che could clearly feel an increase in his profound strength… This kind of growth was very slow, and was completely unlike the Evil God’s Fire Seed violent expansion. Rather, the promotion was especially solidly stable.

An hour later, Yun Che opened his eyes. Over one percent of the Divine Phoenix Pellet had been refined in his body. His profound strength had originally been situated at the bottleneck of the Nascent Profound Realm’s first level. In order to stabilize the explosive surge of profound energy from the Evil God’s Fire Seed, he had been suppressing his profound power’s breakthrough. However, under the effect of the Divine Phoenix Pellet, in only an hour, he had completely broken through the bottleneck now, and safely entered the second level of the Nascent Profound Realm.

While still seated, Yun Che picked up the jade with the [World Ode of the Phoenix] inscribed on it. He placed his palm on the top of the jade as feelings of worry and regret filled his heart. Right as he was about to take his hand off the jade and focus on refining the Divine Phoenix Pellet, the silhouette of a person suddenly flashed in his mind, and he thought back to the time when that person gently said those words to him...

“Master, the arts of healing that you taught me, are they all from this [Heavenly Medicine Manual]?”

“Heh heh, that’s right. This is a particularly odd book. Once, I was gathering medicinal materials and got lost while deep in the mountains. I fell off a small cliff after being chased by a wild beast, and found this [Heavenly Medicine Manual] on a withered skeleton. Only, I discovered upon finding this book that the [Heavenly Medicine Manual] had a total of three sections, and I had only found the third section. I also discovered that this [Heavenly Medicine Manual] was not just a common medical book; its medical knowledge was suppose to be one of a whole, and it was fundamentally impossible to comprehend the third section without the first two sections.”

“Later, Master found the first two sections, right?”

“No! Even though I spent a considerable amount of time searching, I did not find the previous sections. But Master was not content leaving it at that, so I stopped searching and tried to decipher the third section of [Heavenly Medicine Manual] by force. Combined with my entire lifetime’s worth of reading, knowledge, and experience, I pieced it together bit by bit, and in ten years’ time, I wrote out the two sections myself… However, the two sections that Master wrote are definitely not the same as the original sections, but through my own comprehension and writing, compared to simply reading another’s book, perhaps what I had gained was much greater.”

“Wow! Master, you really are too powerful.”

“Hahahaha, Master is just stubborn and never admits defeat. If others could comprehend it, why wouldn’t I be able to comprehend it… Not to mention that I also had the third section as a reference. Che’er, in terms of perception, you surpass me completely. As long as you have Master’s ideas and determination, you will definitely be able to accomplish it as well, perhaps even better than Master.”

……………………

As if encouraged to study by the morning bell and evening drums, Yun Che’s eyes suddenly widened as his heart heavily quaked.

Every stage of the [World Ode of the Phoenix] was exactly a step by step progression and all arts of the world were like this without exception. Without a complete understanding of the first stage, it was impossible to grasp the second stage, and without a complete understanding of the second stage it would be impossible to grasp the third stage... This was common sense that everyone knew!

But, was it really completely impossible?

Master could. Through his own understanding of the arts of healing, his talent, and the third section of [Heavenly Medicine Manual], he thoroughly understood the entire [Heavenly Medicine Manual]. I have the Evil God’s Fire Seed and an unparalleled affinity to fire, so there is no absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be able to comprehend the the fifth and sixth stages of the [World Ode of the Phoenix], break through the basic context of the first four stages, and then forcefully cultivate the fifth stage?!

Thinking to here, Yun Che closed his eyes and suddenly emptied his heart. The only thing his mind focused on was the mental imprint that came from the jade….

And began from the fifth stage of the [World Ode of the Phoenix]...

The fifth stage... Other than raising Phoenix fire power, it also contained a Phoenix Fire Technique： Empyrean Dance of the Phoenix Wing.