Against the Gods - Volume 07 - Heaven Smiting Shakes the World

by Mars Gravity

  “And naturally this is something that we must take responsibility for!” Feng Hengkong placed his palm against his chest, “The Phoenix Soul within Xue’er has already awakened, so the greatest wish in our life has already been fulfilled, there is nothing more that we could ask for! Today, as long as we can ensure the immediate safety and stability of our sect, you do not even need to talk about asking us to destroy our own profound art and kneel for a hundred years, because even if you asked us to end our own life right now, we would not even twitch an eyelid! Withdrawing the troops, stopping the war, paying compensation, ceding away territory… and even offering a sacrifice, we will not be remiss in making sure that all of it comes to pass!”

  “I only hope that you will do as you have said!!”

  Feng Hengkong gave a low yell as his palm ignited with Phoenix flames and he sent it exploding towards his own profound veins.

  “Sect Master!!” The entire Divine Phoenix Sect gave a huge cry of alarm as they frantically rushed towards Feng Hengkong, but how could they possibly arrive in time to stop him.

  “Royal father, don’t!!” Feng Xue’er gave a shrill cry of alarm as a scarlet flame flashed in her phoenix eyes.

  Instantly, Feng Hengkong’s Phoenix profound energy was completely sealed away, and even the concentrated profound energy that had been gathered in his palm had completely dissipated, and by the time his palm smacked against his chest, even the all the flames had died out… forget about him being able destroy his own profound veins, he was not even able to inflict a superficial injury on himself.

  “Sect Master!” All the gathered Divine Phoenix elders surged forth anxiously as they grabbed and restricted Feng Hengkong’s arms, “Sect Master, do not… you definitely must not do this!!”

  “Xue’er….” Feng Hengkong stared dazedly at Feng Xue’er, his nose faintly crinkled and his eyes grew slightly hazy. He knew that even though Feng Xue’er was furious at him, she was ultimately still truly concerned about his wellbeing.

  Feng Xue’er did not release the seal on Feng Hengkong’s strength. She turned towards Yun Che and pleaded with him with tears streaming from her eyes, “Big Brother Yun, even though my royal father has committed many grave and irreversible mistakes, Xue’er knows better than everyone that he is definitely not an evil person. If not, the Lord Phoenix God would not allow Grandfather to pass on the position of Sect Master to my royal father. As both the sect master of Divine Phoenix Sect and the emperor of Divine Phoenix Nation, my royal father had to bear a burden and a duty that normal people would be unable to even imagine, so at times, he would have no choice but to make some decisions, even if they were extreme or even cruel and merciless. But he is really not someone who is filled with evil, and Xue’er is even more willing to believe that when my royal father made that decision three years ago, he was more tormented and helpless than anyone else…. Because all of the sin, debts of blood, vilification and the souls of the departed would weigh down on him.”

  “Xue… Xue’er…” Feng Hengkong’s entire body trembled and the moment those words had escaped his lips, tears began to stream down his face… Before this, Xue’er had used her own body to shield Yun Che and for the sake of Yun Che, she had raised her voice and become angry at him. At that time, the pain he felt was akin to ten thousand arrows piercing his heart. But now, after hearing Xue’er’s words, even if he were die ten thousand times over, he would no longer have any regrets.

  “Big Brother Yun, Xue’er isn’t trying to explain away the sins of my royal father. It is only that no matter whether it is the Divine Phoenix Sect, Divine Phoenix Nation or Xue’er herself, all of us need my royal father. So I beg of you, Big Brother Yun, please let my royal father off and give him a chance to make amends for his actions towards Blue Wind Nation. Xue’er will replace her royal father and follow Big Brother Yun to Blue Wind Nation, and apologize and make amends towards Empress Cang Yue… and the entire Blue Wind Nation.”

  “Xue’er, you… what are you saying!” Feng Hengkong’s face was filled with shock and horror, “All of this is your royal father’s fault, it has nothing to do with you at all…”

  “No…” Feng Xue’er slowly shook her head. She raised her phoenix eyes as she softly continued, “I am royal father’s daughter, and as your daughter, I must definitely join royal father in apologizing and making amendments for his mistakes. Xue’er hopes that after we have expiated our sins that royal father remains safe and unharmed and I hope even more that royal father forever remembers what has happened today, so that he will from now onwards treat Blue Wind Nation kindly and treat all those who are innocent and good kindly as well. I also hope that no matter what what happens in the future, that royal father will never commit such a grave mistake again.”

  “Big Brother Yun, Xue’er is willing to accompany you to Blue Wind right this day, so that I can meet Empress Cang Yue. And no matter what she says to me, Xue’er will not have any regrets or resentment… is that okay?” Feng Xue’er looked at Yun Che earnestly, her phoenix eyes misty and filled with pleading.

  “Xue’er, don’t say such foolish things!” Feng Hengkong was thrown into panic, he was completely panicked and even when he had been forced to the very brink of desperation by Yun Che, he had not reacted with such anxiousness, “Yun Che! Three years ago, it was us who ordered the invasion of Blue Wind, it was also us who gave the instructions for the Blue Wind Nation to be subjugated within the shortest amount of time, no matter what methods we used. And it was also us who ordered the assassination of Cang Wanhe! All of these things were orders that we had personally given! All of these were only the sins of us and us alone! Let us not even talk about your request that we cripple our profound art and atone for one hundred years, even if you wanted our life, we would give it to you right now! But all of this has nothing to do with Xue’er, nothing at all!”

  Feng Hengkong struggled to shrug off the arms of all the elders who had grabbed ahold of him as he roared with widened eyes, “We are willing to go with you to Blue Wind Nation right now, and once we are there, you can do whatever you want to us! Our sins can only be expiated by us and us alone! Yun Che, you should be more clear than anyone else that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with Xue’er… nothing at all!!”

  It could be said that the present Feng Hengkong was filled with shame and remorse. Before this, Feng Xue’er had been desperately protecting Yun Che… but at the same time, she was also rescuing the Divine Phoenix Sect as well. He could not imagine just how much today’s situation would have worsened if not for the timely appearance of Feng Xue’er.

  It was Feng Xue’er who had pulled the entire sect back from the brink of the abyss. And right now, it was again Feng Xue’er, for the sake of his safety, who was willing to replace him and travel to Blue Wind Nation, in order to atone for all of his sins….

  Even if there was really a medicine for regret in this world, it would still be unable to get rid of the regret that filled every nook and cranny of his soul.

  Yun Che shot Feng Hengkong a casual and disinterested glance; after that he took Feng Xue’er’s small hand and said with a faint smile, “Fine, then we will do as Xue’er wishes and you can replace your royal father to accompany me back to Blue Wind.”

  “Yun Che!!” Feng Hengkong let out a lion’s roar as his entire body fiercely trembled, “You… you dare! If you dare to take Xue’er away today, if you dare to harm a single hair on Xue’er’s head, we….”

  “Tch!” Yun Che coldly snorted, “Xue’er saved my life, and there is nothing more that I would want to do than to cherish her. If not for Xue’er, do you actually think that you would still be able to stand there and kick up a big fuss!? And do you think that your Divine Phoenix Sect would be let off with just these few deaths!?”

  “Also, in regards to harming Xue’er, Feng Hengkong, compared to you, I am truly inferior!” Yun Che said mockingly.

  “You…” Those words had caused Feng Hengkong’s face to become as white as a ghost.


  “As the emperor of a country, my Cang Yue is one million times more compassionate than you; she will not harm Xue’er, and I will not allow anyone else to harm her either. Besides, when it comes to representing the Divine Phoenix Empire, in many ways, Xue’er is even more suitable than you are!”

  “So you better treasure the status, freedom and life that Xue’er has guaranteed for you!! When Xue’er comes back, she will naturally tell you just what kind of amends my Cang Yue desires of you!”

  “Big Brother Yun, thank you. I know that I am being very selfish… but he is, after all, still my father, I…” Feng Xue’er lightly tugged the small hand that was being held within Yun Che’s own as her voice and eyes grew hazy. She was very clear just how much Yun Che had stepped back for her sake.

  Yun Che shook his head and said with a faint smile, “For me, you were even able to make that evil oath that you would ‘purge your own Phoenix blood and Phoenix soul”. So in comparison, what I have done can’t even begin to measure up up that.”

  “…Mn!” Feng Xue’er nodded her head vigorously as a celestial smile appeared on her face.

  “No! We definitely must not let Xue’er accompany Yun Che to Blue Wind…. Royal father, you need to hurry up and stop it!” Feng Ximing said anxiously, “This is Xue’er we are talking about!!”

  Feng Hengkong did not respond to Feng Ximing. His eyes were in a daze for a while before he suddenly shouted, “Yun Che, you can bring Xue’er with you to Blue Wind… however, we must follow you! Otherwise, even if we were to die here today, we will never allow you to bring Xue’er away!”

  “Royal father…” Feng Xue’er panicked, just as she was about to speak, she heard Yun Che’s exceptionally calm reply, “Sure! Or should I say even better! After all, what my Cang Yue wanted to see the most is you personally come to atone for your sins!”

  “Big Brother Yun…” Feng Xue’er hands tightened.

  “You don’t have to worry.” Yun Che gently replied.

  “Just a few simple words settled the nerves and anxiety that Feng Xue’er was feeling previously as she replied with a simple “mn”.

  Yun Che did not refuse because he knew clearly what Feng Hengkong was afraid of. He was not worried about Feng Xue’er’s safety… After all, Feng Xue’er’s current strength had already obviously surpassed that of Feng Tianwei. Within Blue Wind Nation, there was no existence that could possibly post a threat to her. However, Feng Xue’er had never left the boundaries of Divine Phoenix City before and Yun Che was also a highly “dangerous” person. Even if it wasn’t Feng Hengkong, any ordinary father would not possibly feel safe to allow his daughter who had never left home before to follow a man to a foreign place alone.

  Therefore, no matter what, Feng Hengkong had to tag along to “protect” her. Even if it meant that he himself had to remain within Blue Wind Nation’s territories.

  Chapter 726: The True Reason

  Black Moon Merchant Guild, Seventh Floor.

  “Master, it was indeed the Divine Phoenix Ark that had just left Phoenix City. After much investigation, we have confirmed that there are only three people onboard the Divine Phoenix Ark… Yun Che, Feng Hengkong and Princess Snow, Feng Xue’er. They are traveling in the direction of the Blue Wind Nation. If they are truly headed towards Blue Wind Nation, then they will arrive at Blue Wind Imperial City before tomorrow evening.”

  “…Can we find out what exactly happened just now?” Zi Ji asked with sunken brows.

  “Feng Tianwei is still here, so we do not dare to go closer, but we should be able to acquire all the information before tomorrow.”

  Zi Ji let out a long and deep sigh before he continued, “The events that took place this day truly had many twists and turns.”

  It could be said that every development that took place over the course of this entire affair was completely out of his expectations. For Zi Ji, who had an extremely good insight and could normally grasp any situation, this was a rather heavy blow.

  “Master, this subordinate also has one more thing to report. A century ago, we sent eleven people to infiltrate the Illusory Demon Realm. We had already lost eight of them, but the last three soul imprints just vanished… not more than fifteen minutes ago. It is very likely that their identities have been exposed, and after that, their souls were searched before they were executed.”

  “…” Zi Ji lapsed into a heavy silence.

  “Master, you actually don’t need to be too concerned over this matter. One hundred years ago, the people we sent to infiltrate the Illusory Demon Realm only brought along seven sound transmission stones with them. One year ago, the news that they transmitted back to us just so happened to be the seventh time they have done so as well. This also means that all seven of the sound transmission stones have been used. So even if they managed to survive, they would be unable to send any more messages back to us. Although they have already lost their lives, at least they have already fulfilled their mission.”

  The “sound transmission stone” he was talking about was naturally not the normal sound transmission stones that were commonly used. Instead, it was a special kind of sound transmission stones which could transmit messages over five hundred thousand kilometers; it could be used to send messages from the Illusory Demon Realm back to the Profound Sky Continent. In the entire Profound Sky Continent, only the Four Sacred Grounds who had enormous and incomparable resources possessed these sound transmission stones, and even then, there were still an extremely small amount of them in existence.

  “…Before this, they had been safe and sound for all this while, but it was only recently that they were rooted out one after the other. It looks like something huge must have happened in the Illusory Demon Realm.” Zi Ji said gently, “However, rather than their exposure and survival, what I am even more concerned about is the last piece of news that they had sent back one year ago.”

  “One year ago?”

  “That report detailed the current status of the Twelve Guardian Families which resided within Demon Imperial City, and when it came to the Yun Family, it was mentioned that the crippled Yun Qinghong had adopted a foster son called ‘Yun Che’…”

  Zi Ji’s words stopped here. The blue-clothed man beside Zi Ji immediately furrowed his brows as he responded with a voice filled with doubt and suspicion, “Could it be that Master believes that this foster child has something to do with Yun Che? It should only be a coincidence that their names sound similar. After all…”

  “At that time, I hadn’t even paid any notice to this fact, but now….”

  Zi Ji did not continue speaking. In his mind appeared an image that he had seen within the Profound Imagery Stone; one of two wings spread wide open at daybreak… and also the turbulent green-colored storm that had gathered beneath those wings.

  And also… the Yun Che who had managed to return alive.

  “Master, could it be that….”

  Zi Ji faintly shook his head and refused to make any further comment. But after that, his tone changed as he spoke in a rather gloomy manner, “A century ago, when we were attacking Demon Imperial City, we were not the only ones who took advantage of the chaos to send in an infiltration squad… Mighty Heavenly Sword Region did so as well. I wonder if they have also finished using all of their sound transmission stones…”

  Divine Phoenix Ark; it was the highest-grade profound ark possessed by the Divine Phoenix Sect, and it was a national symbol of the Divine Phoenix Empire. Its appearance definitely meant that the emperor himself had come.

  As the curtain of night began to fall across the sky, the Divine Phoenix Ark had already neared the borders of Divine Phoenix. As it flew past, there was not a single citizen of Divine Phoenix Nation who did not kneel from afar.

  The huge Divine Phoenix Ark currently housed only three people. Yun Che, Feng Xue’er and Feng Hengkong whose expression had undergone several changes.

  “Royal father said that given the speed of the Divine Phoenix Ark, by this time tomorrow, we shoul
d have already reached Blue Wind Imperial City.” Feng Xue’er sat by Yun Che’s side and her body was in very close proximity to his. When she spoke, her face had a rosy color, and it was clear that she was very excited. After all, this was the very first time she had left the Divine Phoenix Nation ever since she was born; she had been dreaming of this day ever since she was a child.

  Feng Hengkong’s face uncontrollably twitched as he observed how Feng Xue’er not only lacked the slightest inhibitions towards Yun Che, but she even seemed to naturally draw close to him as she looked at him with a gaze filled with intimacy. However, the only thing Feng Hengkong could do was to silently let out a melancholic sigh… In the few hours they had inside the Divine Phoenix Ark, he had already given the exact same sigh countless of times.

  He had naturally protected Feng Xue’er as much as he possibly could; even her own blood brothers were not able to come within three steps of her, much less outsiders. If a disciple within the sect managed to see Feng Xue’er even once, it could be counted as great fortune.

  But just like this…

  Feng Hengkong extended a hand to grab the top of his head, and his fingers tightened up in such a way that it seemed as if he simply wanted to seize all the hair on his head… He would rather have Yun Che bring about a disaster that would smash the Divine Phoenix Sect to the ground than to see him bring disaster to Feng Xue’er.

  “Were you the one who killed Feng Chihuo as well?” Feng Hengkong, who had been grabbing his head, abruptly asked Yun Che a question.

  “Yes.” Yun Che did not even hesitate in delivering his succinct reply.

  “Haah!” Feng Hengkong did not continue after that; now that things had come to this point, nothing more was left to be said. Right now, he could only hope that Feng Xue’er’s feelings towards Yun Che had not grown to the point where he wouldn’t dare think to.

  “I also have a question to ask you.” Yun Che’s eyes locked onto Feng Hengkong’s, “The real reason behind the invasion of Blue Wind Nation… what exactly is it!?”