Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Supreme Ocean Palace. Under the cover of night.

“What did you say? Yun Che has returned?” This report caused the Sovereign of the Seas, Qu Fengyi, to react with incredulous shock.

She had sensed that there was something weird going on with the barrier around the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest so she swiftly sent men to go investigate. But she never thought that she would receive such an amazingly shocking piece of news.

“Yun Che came back with Absolute Monarch Sanctuary’s Xia Yuanba and the Divine Phoenix Sect’s Princess Snow. Right now, he is at Venerable Cloud Palace. Even though no one came out to greet him, many people observed his return. So this news will definitely spread quickly.”

A green-robed elder of Supreme Ocean Palace reported all of this to the Sovereign of the Seas in a respectful tone.

“...” The Sovereign of the Seas, Qu Fengyu, pondered silently for a brief moment before speaking in a low voice, “This sovereign personally held an audience with Yun Che a few days ago. Given his strength, there is no way he could survive in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest for three days and it is even less possible that he would be able to escape... But given the current state of affairs, it seems that the tales of his master Old Man Duotian were true after all.”

“My Lord Sovereign, since this affair involves the forbidden ground of our Supreme Ocean Palace, should I immediately summon him to see you?”

“No!” The Sovereign of the Sea, Qu Fengyu, directly rejected that proposal before continuing in a bland voice, “Even though this sovereign is extremely curious as to exactly what method he used to escape from the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, the Devil Sword Conference is at hand, and we can brook no further disturbances or incidents. We will discuss this matter again once the Devil Sword Conference has ended.”

At the same time, in another corner of Supreme Ocean Palace.

“Father, this son has something to report... Yun Che has returned! Right now he is at Venerable Cloud Palace, this son saw it with his own two eyes!”

“Oh?” Xuanyuan Wentian, who had been meditating, opened his eyes as he briefly slanted his face to the side. No shock crossed his face and he only gave a mild laugh as he replied, “Then that is truly the best news I’ve heard in awhile.I was regretting the fact that we would miss a grand spectacle at the Devil Sword Conference tomorrow. But now that things are the way they are, this regret can be forgotten.”

“Father, aren’t you at all curious as to how he escaped from the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest?” Xuanyuan Wendao asked with a mystified expression on his face, “From the moment he entered the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest up till now, it has been more than eighty hours, so how exactly did he escape from there alive!? Moreover, that barrier is something that even Father is not able to do anything about but he could actually...”

“There is no need.” Xuanyuan Wentian said in a grave tone, “In ten hours, the Devil Sword Conference will convene. I have been waiting and preparing for this day for the past one thousand years! Now that the time is finally at hand, we cannot make any errors! A momentous event draws near!”

“Yes, it is this son who has reacted impulsively and recklessly.” Xuanyuan Wendao hurriedly bowed his head before cautiously continuing, “Then do we need to send anyone to keep an eye on Yun Che?”

“There’s no need!” Xuanyuan Wentian’s brows sunk by a fraction, his eyes were as calm as still water but one could see a dreadful cold light glinting in its depths, “On the contrary, don’t give him even the smallest reason to feel suspicious at all. Let him feel safe and secure when he participates in the Devil Sword Conference tomorrow. Because if we’re missing Yun Che for the Devil Sword Conference... Hmph, then it will end up being less interesting by far!”

“Yes!” Xuanyuan Wendao gave his speedy assent before a cold laugh bubbled from his throat, “That Yun Che definitely wouldn’t even dream that Father had long ago uncovered most of his secrets! Once the Devil Sword is unsealed, the Mirror of Samsara will sooner or later become part of Father’s prized possessions.”

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“When did this happen? Did anything happen to the others? Do we know who did this?”

Yun Che sent a sound transmission with extreme urgency and the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul quickly rang with a reply.

Three days ago... It had already been three days!?

Yun Che, who had originally calmed his mind so that he could begin his recovery, could no longer sit still. In a flash, his heart had become so anxious that it grew numb... Xiao Yun had disappeared three days ago and it was during this period that he had been trapped within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest!

“Jasmine, we...”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yun Che suddenly realized it... Jasmine had already begun reconstituting her body, so she definitely could not be disturbed! He was not even able to discuss anything with her right now.

Furthermore, he could not go anywhere that was outside a ten kilometer radius around Jasmine… so that meant that he definitely could not return to Floating Cloud City either!

Yun Che sucked in a deep breath as he strove to swiftly compose himself.

What had happened!? Why did Xiao Yun suddenly disappear!?

If he was alive, he was missing. If he was dead, they had not found the body. Yet they had not heard any strange or abnormal sounds before he had disappeared and they were not able to find any traces of a battle. Given the strength of Xiao Yun and Number One Under Heaven, to be able to kidnap Xiao Yun while rendering him powerless to resist and escaping the notice of Number One Under Heaven, the person who performed the deed was definitely at the level of a Monarch!!

Within the Profound Sky Continent, besides the Four Sacred Grounds, the only other power that had Monarchs in their ranks was the Divine Phoenix Sect… and one Fen Juechen. Given Fen Juechen’s character and temperament, he definitely would not do such a thing. The Divine Phoenix Sect also did not have any reason to do such a thing. So that only left the Four Sacred Grounds!

However, why would any one of the Four Sacred Grounds make a move against Xiao Yun?

Could it be that Sun Moon Divine Hall had used some means to discover that I had manufactured this “Old Man Duotian”, so they decided to carry out their vengeance and kidnapped Xiao Yun to threaten me?

No, that cannot be right! If that was truly the case, given Sun Moon Divine Hall’s strength, they would be able to strike against me easily if they had seen through my deception. They would not need to make this kind of move. Even if they really wanted to capture someone to use against me, Grandfather or Little Aunt would have been far more suitable targets. No matter what, it should not have been Xiao Yun.

Right… why was it Xiao Yun in the first place!?

Yun Che’s brows sank even further. The more composure he regained, the more he realized how bad the current situation was.

Could it be that Xiao Yun’s identity… was exposed?

No… there was no reason for that to happen! Among Xiao Yun, Number One Under Heaven and Number Seven Under Heaven, Number One Under Heaven and Number Seven Under Heaven still possessed the physical characteristics of the elven race. Even though their disguise had been perfect, there was still a chance that they would be exposed. Compared to the both of them, there should have been no way anyone could tell Xiao Yun had come from the Illusory Demon Realm!

Just because he was a completely new face did not mean that someone would be able to tell that he was from the Illusory Demon Realm!

Besides, Xiao Yun was a naturally cautious person, so he had not even used the slightest bit of profound energy while he had been residing in Floating Cloud City.

Furthermore, during the many visits he had paid to Floating Cloud City over the past few months, he had not detected anyone spying on them or taking notice of them... He just occasionally sensed Fen Juechen’s aura every now and then.

“Could it be...” The most dreadful and terrible possibility appeared in Yun Che’s mind, “There are people from the Four Sacred Grounds that are still within the Illusory Demon Realm...”

Yun Che’s chest rose and fell heavily as he sucked in a deep breath. After that he raised his right hand and summoned out the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul.

“Senior Master Murong, find a way to inform Little Aunt and the rest that Xiao Yun should be safe and sound, I have already managed to roughly guess his current location. Tomorrow, I will be bringing him home, so put their minds at ease for me. Also...” Yun Che paused for a moment, his voice growing heavier after that, “Make sure that my Grandfather, Little Aunt and Seventh Sister are all congregated within my Grandfather’s courtyard after noon tomorrow. Until I appear, make sure that they don’t even take a step outside those premises.”

Blue light flashed as his words were transmitted to Frozen Cloud Asgard which was fifty thousand kilometers away. Yun Che glanced at the isolation barrier that surrounded Jasmine as he muttered to himself in an extremely gloomy voice, “Why did it just have to be at this particular time. Haah...”

“It looks like I will have no choice but to participate in the Devil Sword Conference tomorrow after all!”

“But I have been far too negligent this time around. I actually overlooked the fact that if the Four Sacred Grounds had the power to invade Demon Imperial City, then they would naturally be capable of silently infiltrating the Illusory Demon Realm as well... Besides, they still have a spy in Duke Ming!”

“Right now, I can only hope that the matter regarding the Primordial Profound Ark has not been exposed. Or else...”

The curtain of night gradually retreated as the sky started to grow bright once more.

The Supreme Ocean Palace which had lain silent for an entire night was still exceptionally tranquil. But there was an abnormally strong profound energy that was surging in the air above it, it was almost as if it was portending that some major event was about to occur.

The surging and tossing profound energy completely roused Yun Che from his meditation. He slowly opened his eyes before inhaling a small breath of air.

Last night, he had only been thinking of the best method he could use to recover from some of his wounds. But things had turned out contrary to his wishes. First, Jasmine had left his body, then after that, he found out that Xiao Yun had disappeared. This matter was so serious that he could not completely focus for the rest of the night, so his wounds recovered far slower than they normally would.

Behind the screen that lay at the corner of the pavilion, Jasmine’s barrier was still completely still and silent. For the past seven years, he would always discuss things with Jasmine first whenever a major event had occurred. This was the first time Jasmine was not by his side so his heart was filled with an emptiness that far exceeded what he had been expecting... In fact, he was even feeling a bit bewildered and distracted at the moment.

He got up and opened the door, striding out of the pavilion. The first thing he saw was Feng Xue’er and Xia Yuanba who had kept watch all night.

“Big Brother Yun, have your injuries gotten better?” Feng Xue’er drifted close to him like a floating flower as she asked in a concerned voice.

“Mn, they’ve gotten much better.” Yun Che said as he surveyed his surroundings. He discovered that the entire palace was empty and devoid of people so he immediately asked, “Has your master and the rest of Absolute Monarch Sanctuary left for the Devil Sword Conference already?”

“Yes!” Xia Yuanba nodded his head as he replied, “Master and the rest departed from here about an hour ago. Master initially wanted to pay a visit to Brother-in-law and the other Spiritual Masters and elders also wanted to see Brother-in-law as well. But I told them that you had been seriously injured and you needed a quiet place to rest, so they did not press the issue.”

“One hour ago? The Devil Sword Conference shouldn’t start for a while, correct?” Yun Che asked as his brows twitched.

“It’ll be roughly an hour’s time before it begins... Brother-in-law, your expression is rather peculiar today. Has something happened?” Xia Yuanba blurted out after he observed Yun Che’s current expression.

“...Let’s be off then. We will go to the Devil Sword Conference as well.” Yun Che did not explain as he grasped Feng Xue’er’s hand and began walking outside.

After they had exited Venerable Cloud Palace, Yun Che was about to ask Xia Yuanba where the Devil Sword Sword Conference was being held when he saw Spiritual Master Ancient Blue standing in the courtyard. He was dressed all in white, holding a white horsetail whisk in his hand, a faint and serene smile on his face.

“Master, why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have already gone to the Sea God Arena?” Xia Yuanba asked in astonishment.

Spiritual Master Ancient Blue gave a faint laugh before his eyes turned to Yun Che, “I thought about it and decided it would be best to go with you. Little friend Yun, it looks like your injuries are indeed serious and your profound energy has greatly weakened as well. But it is good that your wounds have already stabilized and it will only require a period of quiet convalescence for you to fully recover. During this Devil Sword Conference, you should just play the role of an observer, there is no need for you to force yourself into action.”

Yun Che strode forward as he replied, “I thank Senior Ancient for his concern. Because I am currently injured, even though I am staying within Venerable Cloud Palace for a while, I have not yet been able to visit all the seniors from Absolute Monarch Sanctuary, so I’ll have to ask for your forgiveness in that regard.”

“It matters not.” Spiritual Master Ancient Blue laughed merrily as he shook his head. He did not probe into how and why Yun Che had sustained those wounds and how he had been able to escape from the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest alive. He raised his head slightly to look at the sky, “In about an hour’s time, the mysterious phenomenon of all thirteen stars aligning will appear in the blue dome of the heavens. This will also be the most critical period of time when it comes to the matter of unravelling the mysteries of the devil sword. Even though it is still rather early, all of the heroes of the Profound Sky Continent have already gathered at the Sea God Arena. We should start making a move as well.”

The sun burned brightly in the blue sky above and there was nothing unusual happening at all.

The floating Ocean Palace still remained deathly silent, and they did not see a single person as they made their way to the Sea God Arena. In front of them, an incredibly astonishing aura radiated from afar... That was definitely the Sea God Arena where all the peak powerhouses of the Profound Sky Continent were gathered. It was also the place where the Devil Sword Conference was being held. It was roughly six to seven kilometers away from their current location.

This distance somewhat comforted Yun Che.

This Chapter's Teaser