Against the Gods - Volume 06 - Lordship in Illusory Demon

by Mars Gravity

  And this place was not some random ramshackle slum. It was filled with a countless number of strong individuals who stood at the peak of power. Even if you randomly picked one of them, that person was a member of the Yun Clan who could send shockwaves through the entire Illusory Demon Realm. In normal circumstances, the aura of a Sky Profound Realm practitioner could not even be hidden from a Emperor Profound Realm practitioner, so it was needless to say that an Overlord could do so as well. Everywhere else, Overlords were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, but in Demon Imperial City, they practically littered the streets. And especially in the Yun Family, they were a dime a dozen. Yet Yun Che had circled the entire Yun Family holdings and not a single person had discovered his presence.

  Yun Che had been on the run countless of times and his ability to conceal his presence was already extremely strong. Now with the aid of Hidden Flowing Lightning, the results had exceeded even his own expectations. Because even if Yun Qinghong wanted to tour around the Yun Family holdings without being detected and without arousing any attention, it was practically impossible.

  “If I had learned this Hidden Flowing Lightning when I was in the Azure Cloud Continent, I would not have to endure the misery of having to constantly be on the run!” Yun Che vented within his mind. After that, he directly exited the Yun Family holdings and entered Demon Imperial City, which was shrouded in night.

  Even though Yun Che had been in the Demon Imperial City for two months, he spent practically all of this time helping Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou make a full recovery, so he had never actually properly visited Demon Imperial City.

  Even within the pitch-black of night, it was naturally hard to affect the vision of a strong profound practitioner. As Yun Che travelled north, he did not move at too fast of a pace, so he could maintain the greatest degree of concealment. On the journey, he felt the presences of many strong individuals, but not one of these strong individuals had discovered him. And after he had run his eyes over the Demon Imperial City which was submerged in the curtain of night, Yun Che finally could not resist testing out the power of Extreme Mirage Lightning. He fiercely exhaled, not caring that this would very likely cause others to perceive him. His body instantly seemed to have morphed into a bolt of lightning and he flew forward at great speed. In the blink of an eye, he had completely disappeared into the night.

  If you were to consider instantaneous movement speed, Extreme Mirage Lightning naturally could not compete with Star God’s Broken Shadow, but not many profound movement skills could compare with it anyways. However, in terms of continuous movement speed, Star God’s Broken Shadow was also definitively outclassed by Extreme Mirage Lightning. As he flew, it was really as if he had become the image of lightning itself. Before he could even react, he had already moved over three hundred and fifty meters.

  And in comparison to the speed that Hua Minghai had displayed to him while running away, his current speed had actually surpassed the standard that had been set back then.

  After all, Yun Che’s current profound energy was far richer than Hua Minghai’s profound energy at that time.

  Yun Che could not help but think… Hua Minghai had relied on the two skills Extreme Mirage Lightning and Hidden Flowing Lightning to become known as the number one thief in the Profound Sky, so now the current him… had he not surpassed Hua Minghai to become the new number one thief… Hmm?! No that’s not right, I am definitely not some thief!

  Even though Yun Che had been cultivating Extreme Mirage Lightning for more than a month, because he did not want to attract any attention while he was in the Yun Family before this, he did not dare act indiscriminately, so even if he had performed the skill, it was only within the confines of the practice room. Now that he wantonly displayed its full capability, he unexpectedly needed a good long while to get used to the extreme speed that was produced. But under this extreme speed, it was as though he had become a gale of wind. The feeling that he had left the entire world eating his dust was incomparably refreshing, so Yun Che unwittingly stirred his profound energy and kept increasing the speed at which he was moving.

  Whoosh!!!

  Under the blanket of darkness, an old man who was walking along the streets of Demon Imperial City suddenly heard the sound of a violently rushing wind echo in the skies above. He raised his head, but that sound had already trailed off into the distance; he did not even see hide nor hair of the person who had just passed by.

  “What, what a fast speed… Could it be that it is a Monarch from one of the big families?” The old man breathed excitedly.

  Not only was the speed displayed by Extreme Mirage Lightning shocking beyond compare, the expenditure of profound energy was also far less than what he had expected. Yun Che had unknowingly already travelled more than one hundred and fifty kilometers, and this entire process was done under the fastest speed he could travel. However, he did not feel the least bit tired, nor was he even short of breath.

  Yun Che had finally come to a stop, but just as he was about to return, he suddenly realized that what laid in front of him was actually the tall city gates of Demon Imperial City.

  According to the direction he had flown… This place was actually the northern gates of Demon Imperial City?

  After roughly estimating the current time, Yun Che had become somewhat flabbergasted. Just this little time and effort, and he was actually already at the outskirts of Demon Imperial City… The speed of Extreme Mirage Lightning was simply akin to that of galloping lightning; it was fast to the point of being incomprehensible. And his own profound energy level was only at the peak of the Sky Profound Realm. But to be able to rush from the Yun Family household all the way to the northern gates of the Demon Imperial City within such a short span of time, this feat was only achievable by someone who, at the very least, had to be at the peak of the Tyrant Profound Realm!

  When he had come to Demon Imperial City, he entered from the southern gates. And this place was at the other end of Demon Imperial City. Yun Che lapsed into thought, and then decided to abandon the notion of returning home. He decided to continue flying forward, and very soon, he flew out of the city limits, leaving Demon Imperial City.

  “Where are you going?” The moment Yun Che had activated Extreme Mirage Lightning to move as swiftly as lightning, Jasmine had been startled awake from her sleep.

  “Whoaa… Where is this place? It’s so black!” Hong’er had also been jostled awake. But Hong’er’s ability to sleep was far greater than Jasmine’s. Jasmine, in order to suppress the devilish poison within her body, had to sleep for around ten hours each day. But Hong’er had to sleep for at least twenty hours a day, and if she wasn’t woken up by her hunger, she could even sleep the entire day away.

  “Xiao Yun had mentioned before that Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley was directly north of Demon Imperial City, so if I keep travelling north from here, I might even be able to catch a glimpse of that place.” Yun Che replied.

  “You want to go to Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley? That place is known as the most important location in the entire Illusory Demon Realm, and even the Twelve Guardian Families are not normally allowed to enter. There will definitely be extremely strong guardians or restrictions lying in wait, so even if you can find it, what can you do?”

  “I am only curious as to what sort of place it is exactly. After Xiao Yun had described it as being so mystical, it being the reason that there is such a big gap between the young generation of the Yun Family and the rest of the Guardian Families, all because the Yun Family was barred from entering it for one hundred years… Ah, I am only speaking casually. I don’t really want to find out the location of that place, and even if I do find it, I will not try to enter…”

  “Because even if I want to enter, I want to enter that place with my head held up high! And go in together with Father, Mother and Xiao Yun!”

  As he was speaking, Yun Che had unexpectedly already traversed over fifty kilometers. The clouds in the night sky had already v
anished without him noticing and a bright, shining half-moon hung in the night sky, with the radiance of the moonlight dispelling a good part of the darkness. Underneath Yun Che was a plain of rolling green grass and he could hardly sense the presence of any people, demons or beasts. When he looked ahead, he only saw a vast, spacious emptiness.

  “Strange, this place isn’t too far from Demon Imperial City, it isn’t remote nor wild, yet there isn’t a single person or demon to be found? Yun Che said in a mystified voice. After that he came to a realization, “Could it be that because Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley was in this direction, no one is allowed to be in the vicinity?”

  After chewing on this for a while, it ended up seeming to be the most suitable explanation.

  “Master! Quick, look, that place is shiny! Is there something nice to eat there?!”

  Hong’er’s excited and coquettish voice rang out. Yun Che looked down, and below him was indeed something that sparkled brilliantly. He said with a helpless expression on his face, “That is a small lake, it’s not something shiny! And it’s definitely not something delicious for you to eat!”

  The surface of the lake reflected the moonlight, and under the curtain of night, it shone with an exceptional brilliance… For Hong’er, there were only two types of food, one was swords and the other was precious stones which shone with all kinds of light. And after Hong’er understood just what kind of food she liked to eat, by her definition, anything that was shiny, was definitely something nice to eat!

  “Small lake? Oh….” Hong’er’s voice fell and her previous excitement completely died down.

  “Yun Che, go down there and take a look.” Jasmine said suddenly.

  Chapter 533: The Strange Bewitching Maiden

  Yun Che’s body stopped, “What did you discover?”

  “That little lake, there seems to be a very special aura emanating from it.” Jasmine said slowly, “And it is similar to an aura that I am familiar with… In fact, it seems to slightly resemble… the aura of the Golden Crow!”

  Golden Crow?

  “You have come in contact with the aura of the Golden Crow before?” Yun Che asked reflexively.

  “That isn’t important right now. Even though it is very faint, it is extremely unusual for a lake to be able to exude an aura which is similar to that of the Golden Crow. Go down and confirm it.”

  The power of the Golden Crow belonged to the element of fire, but a lake would naturally be filled with water, so it did sound extremely unusual. After Yun Che confirmed that there was no one else in the surrounding area, he complied with Jasmine’s words. He drifted down and landed on the side of the lake.

  This was a very small lake. In fact, it was not much bigger than a pond, and with just a glance, you could see its limit. However, the water in the lake was exceptionally clear; even under the hazy moonlight, one could still see directly to the bottom of the lake.

  The area that was seventy meters beyond the lake was covered in a thick swathe of uneven and wild foliage, but the plants that grew there were not a healthy green, instead, they seemed to be dry and withered. Within that circle of seventy meters surrounding the lake, an area which should have been most suitable for plants to grow, there was not even a single blade of grass which grew there; it was just flat ground.

  The night wind drifted up from the lake’s surface, and this night wind, which should have carried along with it the cool and refreshing feeling of lake water, instead caused Yun Che to experience a distinct feeling of dry heat, which was extremely bizarre. His heart skipped a beat and he crouched down, dipping his hand into the lake… The water was not cool, it was instead, practically at body temperature.

  Demon Imperial City was already located to the north of the Illusory Demon Realm so it should’ve been a cold region. Right now, it was night time, so the lake water should be cool to the point of being icy cold. It definitely should not even be anywhere near this warm.

  “Within the waters of the lake lies an aura which is definitely similar to the aura given off by the Golden Crow’s flames. However, I cannot confirm that it is actually the Golden Crow’s flame energy.” Jasmine said evenly.

  Yun Che muttered under his breath, stood up, and said in an uncertain tone, “Could it be because this place is in such a state because it is close to Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley?”

  “No!” Jasmine retorted, “Take a look at your surroundings. Only the small area which is near the lake is devoid of any sort of plant life. It’s as if everything around the lake had been burned up completely. Yet once it gets further away from the lake, you can see that a thick undergrowth has sprung up all around this area. If it was really due to Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, then it should’ve happened to this entire region. If I am not wrong, there is someone who is releasing the Golden Crow’s flame energy into the lake, and from the looks of it, it wasn’t too long ago that this happened; only two or three days ago at most.”

  “Releasing flame energy into the lake water? Why?” Yun Che asked in a mystified tone.

  “Perhaps it wasn’t done on purpose, but it was the Golden Crow’s flame energy within the person’s body that was left behind after the person had been submerged in the lake for some time. But it is far more likely that someone cannot completely control the Golden Crow’s flame energy within his body, so that person relied on the lake’s water to help calm it down. This alternative is the far more likely one, because the flames of the Golden Crow are incomparably fierce and explosive; if you do not cultivate the 《Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World》 and you just rely on profound energy alone to try to control the Golden Crow’s flame energy like a normal profound flame, that would basically be impossible! Also, the purer your Golden Crow bloodline is, the more true that statement becomes!”

  “Hm, so that’s it…” Yun Che slowly nodded his head. The Illusory Demon Royal Family all possessed of some measure of the Golden Crow bloodline and the bloodline of the Demon Emperors possessed the purest strain of this Golden Crow bloodline. Could it be that someone from the Illusory Demon Royal Family had bathed in this lake?

  But there didn’t seem to be any value in investigating any further. If he wanted to witness the Golden Crow’s flame energy, he could simply do so by entering Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley. That place was somewhere he definitely could not miss out on!

  However, this place was a blanketed in a sea of stillness and there was no one around to disturb him, so Yun Che felt that it was a good place to practice his sword skills.

  “The night is still young. Since I have travelled so far, I might as well put myself through the paces and practice my sword skills!” Yun Che extended his arm, “Hong’er, you’re not allowed to sleep, prepare to…”

  “Wait!!” Jasmine suddenly shouted, “Hide your presence and conceal yourself immediately, someone’s coming… and this person is an extremely powerful individual!”

  To be able to be described as ‘extremely powerful’ by Jasmine, this was definitely no laughing matter. The person who was coming was at the very least someone he definitely had no way to deal with. And if it happened to be an enemy or a villain, he could not even call for help in this remote place which was so far from the Demon Imperial City. Yun Che swiftly used Hidden Flowing Lightning to conceal his presence, and after that, he soundlessly submerged himself into the wild undergrowth behind him.

  The foliage was not very tall, but it was extremely dense, so it could cover up Yun Che’s entire body. Not long after he hid, a vague figure appeared in the sky directly within his field of vision. After that, in just a fraction of a second, the figure seemed to slip through the night sky like flowing light, closing approaching until it was only one hundred meters away from Yun Che…

  So fast! Yun Che exclaimed in his heart. At the same time, he quickly ducked his head to prevent the other party from noticing his gaze… Once your spiritual perception had achieved a certain degree of acuteness, even if you did not use your eyes, you would defi
nitely notice it if you were being watched… and Yun Che had this kind of ability. The other person’s astounding speed was a manifestation of an incomparably strong strength… This person’s strength might not even lose to his father, Yun Qinghong.

  Right after Yun Che had even made his gaze inconspicuous, he suddenly realized that the other person’s speed had noticeably slowed. After that, the other party came to a stop not far from where he was, still hovering in midair.

  Yun Che suddenly froze… Could it be that I have been discovered? Shit! How could this Hidden Flowing Lightning suddenly become useless at the most critical juncture?! Or maybe… the other person’s profound energy is simply too strong, so even after I used Hidden Flowing Lightning, I am still unable to escape his spiritual perception?

  But after a short while, Yun Che breathed a silent sigh of relief. Because even though the other person had come to a stop, he did not notice any gaze being directed towards himself. A profound energy aura was released from this person’s body and it swept across the surrounding area. It also swept across Yun Che’s position but it continued without any interruptions, so this was proof that Yun Che still had not been detected yet… But once that profound energy aura had swept through his body, it caused his entire body to violently stiffen while the organs in his body tightened up suddenly. A bone-piercing chill filled him entirely, even seeping into his blood.

  This person… What a terrifying aura!

  Yun Che was completely convinced that the strength of this profound energy aura was not inferior to Yun Qinghong’s in any way!

  The strength of this profound energy aura was actually secondary to the fact that it also clearly carried with it an exceedingly heavy feeling of suppression! The strength of this suppression made Yun Che feel like all the blood in his body was going to congeal.

  And if Yun Che was affected to this extent, then if it was someone else, it was possible that under this oppressive feeling, that person would directly kneel on the ground while trembling all over.