Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Yun Che’s hands pushed himself off the ground as he began to slowly stand up. His pupils were contracted but when he stood up, he was still looking at the four petals of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower that were pulsing with hellish purple light.

“I want to get closer to it…” He muttered under his breath, his voice hoarse from the screaming, “But why do I always involuntarily… use my remaining strength to run away… Moreover, I’m actually afraid right now…”

“Could it be… that my so-called determination was this… weak!?”

Yun Che’s voice sounded fuzzy and indistinct. It was as if the Netherworld Udumbara Flower’s soul stealing ability was making him delirious. Jasmine immediately replied, “This has nothing to do with the strength of your will! In this world, there isn’t anyone who can endure the pain of their soul being rent from their bodies. There is also no one who isn’t afraid of this pain either!”

“No, it has something to do with it!” Yun Che had finally managed to stand up completely. He looked at the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, his arms trembling. Not only did his eyes contain a fear that could not be dispelled, there was also a growing violence being kindled there. After that he started moving once more and strode towards the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, “For the sake of reconstituting your body… That was the request that you made of me the very first day we met. Up to now, it has also been the only request that you have ever made!”

“Jasmine, meeting you allowed a cripple like me to gain a new life and I was also able to regain my dignity as well… Because of you, I can protect my grandfather and my little aunt from all harm and mistreatment… Because of you, I found out about my past and I was able to find my real parents… All of the power, status, dignity and fame that I possess today is due to you. If not for that chance meeting with you, I might have died a dog’s death by now… Even if I was still alive, I would possibly only be a wandering ghost that hovered on the edge of despair…”

“But in the end, I could not even help you realize… this sole wish of yours.”

Jasmine, “You…”

“Now, in front of my very eyes, I see what might be your last sliver of hope. So, no matter what… No matter what…!!”

“You… need to stop trying, even if it is you…”

“UWAAHHH!!”

Jasmine’s words had just left her mouth when they were completely engulfed by Yun Che’s roar. He rushed towards the Netherworld Udumbara Flower for the fourth time as flames and killing intent covered his body… His strongest aura was his killing aura! So he was using his most extreme killing aura to suppress the fear that he felt towards the pain caused by his soul being rent apart.

In the blink of an eye, Yun Che had once again entered that forty five meter radius. This spot seemed to be the border of a devil’s forbidden zone—No one would be allowed to take even one step inside!

Yun Che was once again assaulted by the indescribable pain of his soul being rent apart. His entire body was contorting and spasming but this time, he forced himself to stay upright. He gritted his teeth tightly as he took his first step into the devil’s forbidden zone…

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Yun Che’s shout was laced with both pain and determination. He fiercely guarded his soul and his will as he continued forward… one step… two steps… three steps…

Thud!!

By some kind of miracle, he kept charging forward while roaring in rage and wailing in pain. By the end, he had covered a full three meters and now he was within forty two meters of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower. He finally sank heavily to his knees and his face was twisted with such extreme pain that his features were all scrunched together. His ten fingers fiercely scrabbled against the ground as they curled and contorted into a shape that resembled withered animal claws…

Pain and terror filled his soul as he began to wish for death rather than survival. The all-consuming desire to run away, at all costs, engulfed his remaining will. His body began to jerk spasmodically as he desperately crawled and rolled away from the source of pain…

The pain started to lessen as his shredded soul finally became tranquil. Yun Che’s mental clarity returned to him as he lay on the ground and looked in the direction of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower… That purple light was once again more than sixty meters away.

“He… hehe… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA…” Yun Che’s fists fiercely smashed into the ground as he started laughing in a voice filled with pain and despondency, “To think that I actually ran away once again… To think that I am actually… this useless…”

“Yun Che!! How much longer do you want this foolishness to continue!?” Jasmine yelled at him in a furious voice, “If you’re thinking that the reason that you listed just now is a good reason for your desperate actions, then you can jolly well stop! I don’t need you to repay me for my actions! Everything that I have done is entirely for my own sake! I don’t need you to gamble your life just to get a mere Netherworld Udumbara Flower! Let’s not even talk about the fact that it’s impossible for you to succeed… Even if you do manage to obtain it, I won’t feel the least bit grateful. Rather, I’d only feel that your stupidity knows no bounds!!”

“Repay… your kindness?”

Yun Che used both arms to hoist himself off the ground. His body wobbled and his voice was weak and lacking energy, “How could it just be… to repay your kindness… Jasmine, to me… How could you simply… be a benefactor to me?”

Jasmine, “…”

He turned towards the Netherworld Udumbara Flower and spoke in a low voice, “In my life, I, Yun Che, have braved many storms and seas. I have experienced countless life and death struggles and innumerable calamities. Even an ancient devil that came from the Ancient Era one million years ago died under my blade!!”

“So how can I… be so miserably defeated by a mere Netherworld Udumbara Flower!!”

Jasmine shouted in shock, “Are you telling me that you’re about to try again!? Have you experienced so much pain that you’ve lost all of your grip on reality!?”

“No! On the contrary, I feel more clear-headed than ever right now!” Yun Che said with a low shout, “I am not even scared of a devil! I am not even scared of death! So how can a mere flower scare me so badly that I scamper off with my tail in between my legs time and time again!!”

ROOOOOAAAR!!!!

A majestic dragon roar shook the entire place as a pair of azure eyes suddenly blinked open in this pitch-black world. A boundless power engulfed this tiny space as it weighed down on everything.

Dragon Soul Domain!!

Jasmine, “…!!”

The moment he unleashed the Dragon Soul Domain, all of the fear that remained in Yun Che’s heart and eyes completely vanished. He looked at the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, a calm and resolute smile playing across his face, “This time, I will no longer allow myself to be afraid or run away… Because I no longer have a way out!!”

After he unleashed the Dragon Soul Domain, all of his soul energy would be exhausted in an extremely short period of time. So if he retreated again, it would take a very long time before he could recover all of his soul energy… By that time, the Netherworld Udumbara Flower would have already withered away.

So he really did not have a way out after this anymore!

“You can’t!” Jasmine shouted in her loudest voice, “Even if you use the Dragon Soul, you still won’t be able to get anywhere near the Netherworld Udumbara Flower! Moreover, the Dragon Soul Domain will quickly deplete your spirit energy. After that, your soul energy will be extremely weak and it will result in your soul being swiftly devoured by the Netherworld Udumbara Flower! You won’t even have a chance to resist or retreat!!”

“I can do it…” Yun Che gasped through gritted teeth, “Because this is for you… that is why I will definitely succeed!”

“…” Jasmine’s heart was heavily smashed by some unfamiliar object.

ROOOOOAAAR!!!!

As the dragon cry resounded in the air, Yun Che gathered all the profound energy in his body as he rushed towards the Netherworld Udumbara Flower yet again… But this would be his final attempt!

Because he would no longer have a chance to try again!!

Yun Che’s soul power grew explosively under the influence of the Dragon Soul Domain. As he drew nearer, the Netherworld Udumbara Flower began to sway quicker and the ghastly wail it released started to sound rather abnormal.

Yun Che gobbled up the distance as he fiercely pressed towards the forty five meter mark. His entire body tensed up but the soul-rending power that assaulted him was casually batted aside by the Dragon God’s soul power. The pain and his loss of willpower was not even half as much as it was before.

His power and his will were still being swiftly worn away by the Netherworld Udumbara Flower’s soul-stealing power. Yun Che began to slow down as his steps became wobbly but he gritted his teeth fiercely as he desperately surged forward… While the Dragon Soul Domain was suppressing that dark and hellish power, he managed to bull his way to within thirty meters of the flower!!

Yun Che was suddenly assaulted by pain which far surpassed the threshold of what he could endure. It was so intense that every hair on his body was shaking and his knees hit the ground violently with a thud. However, his eyes still retained a startling and dreadful clarity…

To be able to retain some semblance of clarity in this sort of situation could only be described as “dreadful”.

“Even if… my soul… is completely ripped apart… I will no longer retreat, not even half a step!”

“UWAHHH!!”

His trembling, powerless arms swayed as he began to crawl towards that hellish purple light. The pain of his soul being torn apart caused him to begin to feel as if his arms and even his entire body did not exist. It was only by squeezing out the last bits of his willpower and determination that he was able to push his body forward… As he advanced, the terrifying feeling of his soul being torn apart and flayed from his body continuously increased.

But he… definitely could not retreat!

Within the Sky Poison Pearl, Hong’er was in deep slumber. The vicious battle with Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign seemed to have left her exhausted. So during the past two days when Yun Che had been recovering from his injuries, she had been sound asleep. Jasmine stood by Hong’er’s bedside, a stupefied look spreading across her face as she witnessed Yun Che’s desperate struggle in stunned amazement. He was slowly crawling within that hellish purple light and he had inched from the thirty meter mark to the twenty seven meter mark. Enormous pain caused his face to twist and warp in such a sinister way that it resembled an evil spirit.

Furthermore, the Dragon God image behind his back was slowly but surely fading away as well…

Suddenly, the Dragon God image flashed and then started fading away at a startlingly fast pace. It seemed like it was about to collapse at any time.

Jasmine’s delicate brows jumped as she cried out involuntarily, “Yun Che, don’t carry on any longer, hurry up and get back! Your Dragon Soul Domain has almost reached its limit… You can still escape before it completely dissipates! If not, this is where you will meet your end!!”

“…” Yun Che did not reply and he did not retreat. His arms trembled as he clawed forward, leaving behind bloody fingerprints in his wake. He had gritted his teeth so hard that blood was flowing from his gums and streamed from the corners of his mouth. But he barely noticed all of this as he slowly crawled through this purgatory that a normal person would never be able to imagine. He inched forward bit by bit, crawling even deeper into hell.

“…Yun Che! Listen up!” Jasmine’s spirit body was also shaking, and she was shaking nearly as fiercely as Yun Che was, “If I am unable to gain a new body, then I can only exist by continuing to stay attached to your lifeline! If you live, I live! If you die, I die! Now I have already escaped the clutches of that devilish poison, so I can use my powers with no hesitation! As long as I don’t die, I will have to ensure that you continue to live as well! Given my power, even if all the people on the Profound Sky Continent ganged up together, they still wouldn’t be able to kill you! You can also rely on my power to do anything that you are unable to do!!”

“If I can never reconstitute my body, then I will have no choice but to rely on you to continue existing! No choice but to continue protecting you forever!”

“But if I do get a new body, then you will be throwing away an extremely strong protective charm! Right… once I get a new body, I will definitely kill you right away! Because you not only know too much of my secrets and you are also the type of person that I detest the most!”

“You are literally paying an enormous price to do the most stupid thing conceivable in this world! There is still time for you to stop and change your mind… Get away from here immediately!!”

Jasmine yelled in her loudest voice, clenching her tiny hands so hard that the joints of her fingers had long since turned white.

Clap!

Yun Che’s hand grabbed onto a black rock that protruded slightly from the ground as he pulled himself forward an inch. His mouth was trembling as he spoke in a hoarse and weak voice, “You… will… not…”

This Chapter's Teaser