Against the Gods (Web Novel)

“What’s wrong?”

As she stared at Yun Che, who had suddenly fallen into a quiet daze, Qianye Ying’er’s delicate brows knit together as she asked that question suspiciously.

“...” Yun Che’s eyes froze in place and he didn’t respond.

That was a woman’s voice, and it was the most faint and ephemeral voice he had ever heard in his life.

It had been more soft and cottony than a floating cloud, more mild than a gentle breeze. It sounded as if it had come from both a long distant era and the deepest depths of a dream.

However, that voice did not ring out again amidst the silence. He closed his eyes and focused, but he could not sense the existence of any soul or spirit… His mind seemed to be autonomously telling him that the voice that he had heard had just been a trick of the ears.

“Who are you?”

He asked inside his own soul… but he did not get a reply even after a long time had passed.

He stretched out his hand to touch the Primordial Seal of Life and Death once more, but no other voice rang out in the sea of his soul even after a long time had passed.

“Just what is going on?” Qianye Ying’er asked again as she stared at Yun Che’s strange state.

Yun Che moved his fingers away from the Primordial Seal of Life and Death as he replied calmly, “Nothing. As a Heavenly Profound Treasure, the Sky Poison Pearl reacted uniquely to it.”

Ni… Xuan...

That was the Heretic God’s name.

Had he been mistaken?

Qianye Ying’er gave him a sharp look, but she did not pursue the matter further. She started to speak in a slow and measured manner, “It was the Brahma Monarch God Emperor from three generations ago who discovered the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. He unwittingly stumbled across it in a historical ruin from the Era of the Gods that was near the southern border of the Eastern Divine Region. Just like you said, it was a dead seal. If its appearance had not perfectly fit the recorded description of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death, it would’ve been extremely difficult to identify it just from its aura alone. In fact, he wouldn’t even have believed that he had actually found the ancient Heavenly Profound Treasure ranked third among its companions.”

Yun Che listened in silence, his brows sinking with every word Qianye Ying’er said.

Just like the Sky Poison Pearl and the Eternal Heaven Pearl, the Primordial Seal of Life and Death’s origin spirit had already died.

According to the ancient legends, the original owner of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death was the Creation Goddess of Life Li Suo. After Li Suo died, the Primordial Seal of Life and Death fell into the hands of the devil race before it vanished without a trace… But when the Brahma Monarch God Realm discovered it, it was in the south of the Eastern Divine Region.

“But ‘eternal life’ is the one thing that can drive anyone mad,” Qianye Ying’er said with a mocking laugh. “The Brahma Monarch God Realm tried countless methods to activate the Primordial Seal of Life and Death’s ability to bestow eternal life. Many of the methods were exceedingly cruel and the amount of lives that were sacrificed would far exceed your imagination.”

Yun Che: “...”

“However, they finally managed to produce one successful ‘test subject’ in Qianye Wugu’s generation, and that was Uncle Gu.”

Qianye Wugu was Qianye Ying’er’s grandfather, yet she didn’t bat an eye when she addressed him by his full name.

Because she was no longer Qianye Ying’er, she was Yun Qianying!

This particular point had not changed because of Qianye Fantian’s death or the Brahma Soul Bell.

Yun Che shot a glance at the Primordial Seal of Life and Death before asking, “So how did they succeed?”

Only He Ling had the qualifications to become the spirit of any of the Heavenly Profound Treasures. Even someone like the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor, who possessed the Heart of Snow Glazed Glass and was the previous owner of the Eternal Heaven Pearl, just barely qualified to be the Eternal Heaven Pearl’s spirit. So it was naturally impossible for the Brahma Heaven God Realm to produce a true spirit for the Primordial Seal of Life and Death.

“Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark.”

Qinaye Ying’er’s voice dropped several octaves as she gave an answer which caused a look of amazement to appear on Yun Che’s face.

She glanced to the side as she continued, “The profound formation underneath us was created by a special formation plate that was one of the legacy items we inherited from the gods. Its name is the Brahma Emperor Skyraiser Formation and it is the highest level profound formation belonging to the Brahma Monarch God Realm. It is capable of forcefully activating the potential that lies within one’s profound veins, but that is also accompanied by an extremely high amount of risk. The only time the Primordial Seal of Life and Death was even able to produce a faint and weak response was inside of this formation.”

“However, only Uncle Gu’s lifespan had been extended when he stood beside the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. Other people, including Qianye Wugu, were unable to absorb the divine energy that came from the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. But after that they discovered that the Primordial Seal of Life and Death had an effect on Uncle Gu because of the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark that had been inflicted on him.”

“Uncle Gu was the only Divine Master test subject that Qianye Wugu could acquire. In order to prevent him from escaping or rebelling, Qianye Wugu planted the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark on Uncle Gu using the Brahma Soul Bell. This coincidentally allowed Uncle Gu to absorb the divine energy of eternal life. This was most likely due to two reasons. The first reason was that the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark formed some strange link with the divine energy of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. The second was that it would spread through all of the person’s veins and arteries and cover the entire body. Heh, it really is quite ironic.”

“So that is to say that Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu could only survive until now… because they were also marked with the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark?” Yun Che asked.

“Of course.” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes flashed with a dark light. “That’s the reason why I said that the two words ‘eternal life’ are the two words most able to drive people insane. The Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Marks planted on Qianye Wugu, Qianye Bingzhu, and Uncle Gu are masterless marks, they were all created and inflicted by the Brahma Soul Bell itself.”

“In other words, now that I control the Brahma Soul Bell, I also hold the lives of all three of them in my hands. Your previous concerns were entirely unnecessary.”

Yun Che’s lips twitched as he said, “But it looks like Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu aren’t too enamoured of eternal life anymore.”

Qianye Ying’er gave a cold chuckle. “This sort of ‘eternal life’, one which comes with incredible restrictions, actually becomes a sort of drawn-out torture instead. If not for their devotion to protecting the Brahma Monarch God Realm, they might already have chosen to pass on a long time ago.”

Yun Che did not comment… Every living creature was instinctively afraid of death.

Just like the Three Yama Ancestors who were willing to live like wild ghosts in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for more than eight hundred thousand years rather than choose death.

Qianye Ying’er stepped forward and suddenly stretched out a hand to grab the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. After that, she simply tossed it to Yun Che.

“Take it.”

Her voice was utterly calm as she uttered those two words, it was as she was merely passing him an ordinary piece of unpolished jade.

Yun Che caught it, his gaze growing hooded. “Are you sure? This is the Brahma Monarch God Realm’s greatest secret, its most precious treasure.”

Qianye Ying’er replied, “You were able to easily wrest control of the Eternal Heaven Pearl from the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor, so you may just be able to revive the Primordial Seal of Life and Death as well.”

“The undying Devil Master of darkness who will cloak this world in everlasting night… If that is your desire, you’ll definitely be able to do it.”

Yun Che gave Qianye Ying’er a deep look, but he did not say anything more. Instead, he calmly put away the Primordial Seal of Life and Death.

Right now, four of the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures were in his possession… However, the Primordial Seal of Life and Death was in a dead state, the Eternal Heaven Pearl’s power had mostly been drained by opening the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm for a full three thousand years, and even the Sky Poison pearl had just exhausted all of the Heaven Wounding Thought Severing Poison it had been accumulating over the last few years.

As for the Mirror of Samsara… it had always been quiet and inactive.

When they left the pocket of space that lay beneath the ground, they saw all the Brahma Kings and Brahma Monarch Elders kneeling before them in neat rows. Even the remaining Brahma Monarch Divine Envoys were struggling to crawl toward them, their eyes filled with pleading as they looked at Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er.

As Qianye Ying’er stared at the ruined Brahma Monarch Capital, it seemed to her as if a lifetime had passed since she last saw it. Her chest rose and fell slightly before she started to speak, “There is no reason for me to reject the gift that Qianye Fantian gave to me for free before his death. I’ll be staying here for a while and make them into a most useful tool in the shortest amount of time possible.”

When Qianye Ying’er said those words, her voice was completely emotionless.

Did she truly only view this place as a tool or did she still have some lingering affection for the place of her birth? Perhaps even she herself did not have the answer.

“Alright,” Yun Che replied. After that, he suddenly said, “While you’re at it, help me investigate something.”

“Hmmm?” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes flicked to the side.

Yun Che continued, “During the period that you were enslaved to me, I asked you this question before. Did the Brahma Monarch God Realm ever make a move against the Wood Spirit Royal Family? I also asked you for the identity of the person who caused the Wood Spirit Patriarch and his wife to commit suicide by blowing up their own Wood Spirit Orbs.”

“So this is what you want me to investigate?” A surprised look appeared on Qianye Ying’er’s face.

She remembered that she had told him that the person responsible definitely did not hold a very high rank in the Brahma Monarch God Realm, because if someone like that had been involved, there was no way anyone would have even been able to escape.

“That’s right,” Yun Che replied with a somber expression on his face. “This is something very important to me. Of course, it’s also possible that he’s already dead. But if he didn’t die… you definitely need to bring him to me alive.”

“Around when did this happen?” Qianye Ying’er hummed for a few moments before she asked that question.

“Fifteen years ago.”

“Okay,” Qianye Ying’er replied. “It won’t take more than three days.”

Yun Che nodded as he prepared to take to the skies.

“Wait a moment.” Qianye Ying’er suddenly thought of something. She stared at Yun Che with sharp and focused eyes. “Are you sure that someone from the Brahma Monarch God Realm did it?”

This question caused Yun Che to crinkle his forehead.

He Ling and He Lin’s parents were forced to their deaths by people from the Brahma Monarch God Realm. This was something a Wood Spirit elder named Qing Mu, who had also given him a Wood Spirit Orb, had told him when he had found their secret refuge in the Darkya Realm.

“... Later, after countless untold hardships, the patriarch and his wife finally managed to get close to one of the king realms and had high hopes. However, little did they know, a disaster would soon suddenly descend upon them... During the calamity, the patriarch, his wife and thousands of our clansmen fell. Their desperate fight to the death allowed the young patriarch and the princess to escape…”

“I… received the Patriarch’s soul sound transmission when he died—there were only four words.”

“Brahma… Monarch… God… Realm.”

When he recalled the words that Qing Mu had told him all those years ago, Yun Che gave a slow shake of his head. “The Wood Spirit Patriarch uttered the four words Brahma Monarch God Realm in the last sound transmission he sent before his death. He wouldn’t be wrong.”

“The Wood Spirit Patriarch that died, what was his cultivation?”: Qianye Ying’er asked.

“He Ling, what was your royal father’s cultivation?”

“The middle stage of the Divine Spirit Realm.” Yun Che conveyed He Ling’s answer to Qianye Ying’er.

“The Divine Spirit Realm?” Qianye Ying’er said as she gave a deep frown.

“What’s wrong?” Yun Che asked.

Qianye Ying’er shook her head, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. She replied, “I’m probably overthinking this. To think that such an idiot would still exist in this grand Brahma Monarch God Realm, someone who would actually expose their identity to a mere Divine Spirit profound practitioner. In fact, I’m actually far more interested than you in finding out who this idiot is. They are practically the disgrace of the Brahma Monarch God Realm.”

Qianye Ying’er’s words clearly contained a deep implication.

At this time, something violently plucked at the strands of Yun Che’s heart.

He suddenly realized something he had never thought of before...

This answer, the “Brahma Monarch God Realm”, had been something that Qing Mu had told him all those years ago and Qing Mu had been told this by the Wood Spirit Patriarch via sound transmission right before his death.

But… did that mean that the Wood Spirit Patriarch’s sound transmission had to be true?

As Yun Che grew to understand the Brahma Monarch God Realm over the years, he discovered that one important reason for its enduring preeminence was the huge amount of belief its denizens had in it and the high sense of pride that they had.

If they were to do such a wicked thing as hunting down and killing Wood Spirits, something which would leave a dark smear on their honor, they would definitely strike a fatal blow and leave no traces behind. If not, they would be heavily punished if their wicked deeds were discovered as it would bring disrepute to the Brahma Monarch God Realm.

However, many wood spirits had been able to flee, and the Wood Spirit Patriarch had even discovered the identities of the perpetrators before his death.

A wood spirit would never tell a lie with wicked intent, so he had never once suspected Qing Mu’s words. He had not ever questioned those words once over all of these years… However, the doubt on Qianye Ying’er’s face instantly infected him.

Furthermore, according to Qing Mu’s words, the Wood Spirit Patriarch had not seemed to have ever come into contact with any of the king realms before calamity struck their race. So how had he managed to figure out that the culprits were people from the Brahma Monarch God Realm?

“Return to the Eternal Heaven God Realm first, I’ll give you an answer in three days.”

A strange light rippled in Qianye Ying’er’s eyes… to have immediately oust the Brahma Monarch God Realm and the words “fifteen years ago” made her vaguely recall something.

As Yun Che took the skies, a purifying light started to cascade down on the lands below him. He had abided by Qianye Ying’er’s decision, cleansing Qianye Wugu, Qianye Bingzhu, and the rest of the capital from the Heaven Wounding Thought Severing Poison. After that, he started to make his way back to the Eternal Heaven God Realm.

He was about to become the main character of a huge show.