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

by Mars Gravity

  Feng Hengkong’s entire body stiffened, but he did not reply.

  “Royal father, Xue’er wishes to know as well.” Feng Xue’er softly said, “Because the royal father I know is definitely not a cruel and merciless person, so the decision that royal father made three years ago, there must… there must be an extremely special reason for it. Can you… tell Big Brother Yun and I about it? And perhaps after knowing the reason, Big Brother Yun might soften his stance towards my royal father… even if it’s just by a little bit.”

  Feng Hengkong’s hand slowly lowered. He had no ability to reject Feng Xue’er’s soft and gentle request, and he had also remembered that Yun Che clearly knew the truth of the Phoenix God’s passing…. He release a feeble sigh before he began to speak, “Four years ago, as our sect’s Spirit Earth Hall began to make preparations for the appearance of the Primordial Profound Ark, we had coincidentally discovered a very faint and weak reaction of a Purple Crystal mine to the extreme east of Blue Wind Nation. Never in our history had we ever recorded such a reaction to a Purple Crystal mine that was located so far away from us. So we secretly dispatched some of Spirit Earth Hall’s protectorates to go investigate this occurrence, and they discovered that a extremely huge and powerful Purple Crystal mine lies deep beneath the lands to the east of a small city that was known as Floating Cloud City… If we were able to extract and refine all the crystals in this mine, we would be able to obtain a whole fifty kilograms of Purple Veined….”

  “Divine Crystal!”

  “Ah!” Feng Xue’er let out a cry of surprise. Just the notion of having fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Heaven Crystal was enough shake the heavens… much less having fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal!

  Even the Four Great Sacred Grounds would regard fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal as incomparably huge resources.

  One must know that it required at least five hundred years for a Sacred Ground to accumulate fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal! So if the Divine Phoenix Sect were able to completely obtain all of these Purple Veined Divine Crystals, it would be equivalent to gaining five centuries worth of accumulation of a Sacred Ground!

  This kind of temptation was enough to entice the Divine Phoenix Sect… It was enough to even entice any power that existed within the Profound Sky Continent to go after it at all costs, even if they had to behave unscrupulously!

  “So that… was the case!!” Yun Che raised his head because Feng Hengkong’s words had cleared up nearly all the suspicions and doubt in his mind.

  “Big Brother Yun, did you figure out everything already?” Yun Che’s words caused Feng Xue’er to look at him with a puzzled expression.

  “I have more or less understood the gist of it.” Yun Che stood up; his brow furrowed as he stared at Feng Hengkong, “But I’ll let your royal father finish his story.”

  Feng Hengkong faintly squeezed his eyes shut before continuing his tale once more, “In the years after our Ancestral Phoenix God had passed away, the ones who were aware of this fact were seized with an intense sense of crisis. Because the moment this matter got out, Divine Phoenix Sect would definitely be suppressed by the Four Great Sacred Grounds… and there was even a possibility that we would be wiped out altogether. So while we fiercely protected the secret that the Phoenix God had already passed away, we were also desperately looking for a method to protect the sect in the event that the secret got exposed… or at the very least, a method to ensure Xue’er’s safety.”

  “And the discovery of this gigantic Purple Crystal mine caused great joy to spring up in the hearts of us and our royal father. If we could really obtain fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, we would be able to birth several supreme powerhouses within a short period of time, and from then on, we would have yet another layer of security.”

  “It was… just for this? All of it just for the sake of obtaining the Purple Crystal mine within Blue Wind Nation?” Feng Xue’er was mystified as she shook her head in confusion, “But what does this have to do with royal father’s order to invade Blue Wind Nation… and the terrible and cruel way in which it was conducted!?”

  “Of course it was for the sake of keeping everything absolutely confidential, so that the Four Sacred Grounds would not notice what they were really doing.” Yun Che said, but his eyes held a faint glimmer of mockery as well, “At all times, the Four Great Sacred Grounds always have people secretly observing the movements of Divine Phoenix Sect. The existence of this Purple Crystal mine was known only to the few core members of the sect, and it was natural that these very members would be at the heart of any spying on the Divine Phoenix Sect, so no matter how covert their actions were, there was still a huge risk that they would be discovered. The moment the existence of this Purple Crystal mine was exposed, it would no longer belong to Divine Phoenix Sect.”

  “So the real motive behind your war with the Blue Wind Nation was to cover your true intentions and divert the attention of the Four Great Sacred Grounds! In order to make this diversion as convincing and realistic as possible, you did not hesitate to slaughter innocents and raze cities. All to make it seem as if you were anxious to conquer Blue Wind Nation in the shortest amount of time possible, so that you could give the impression that you were venting your anger on Blue Wind Nation because of the loss of prestige that Divine Phoenix Sect had suffered at my hands during the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament!”

  “Yes.” Feng Hengkong said as he nodded with a dull expression on his face.

  “All for the sake of fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal? Heh…” Looking at Feng Hengkong’s expression, Yun Che gave a cold laugh, “Looking at you right now, it seems like you believe that you have done nothing wrong?”

  “To Blue Wind Nation, we should indeed suffer the wrath of the heaven! But we are the emperor of Divine Phoenix and also the sect master of Divine Phoenix Sect!” Feng Hengkong raised his head to stare directly at Yun Che, “These fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal may just be a huge resource to other people, but to our Divine Phoenix Nation who had lost its ancestral Phoenix God, it was our last sliver of hope! The results of what happened has indeed caused us great regret… but our decision was definitely not wrong!”

  “How naive! Did you really think that a meager fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal would be enough to protect your Divine Phoenix Sect once the Phoenix God’s passing was exposed to the world!?” Yun Che coldly asked.

  “…At the very least, It would have given us a bit more power to protect Xue’er! As long as we can protect Xue’er for one hundred years, even if our sect was completely obliterated, we would still have boundless hope for what would happen after!” Feng Hengkong yelled back in a low voice.

  “Royal father, please stop speaking already!” The moment Feng Xue’er saw Yun Che and Feng Hengkong begin to clash once more, she hurriedly threw herself in the middle of the two of them, “Royal father, no matter what the reason was, causing the death and suffering of so many innocent people is still a grave sin. Xue’er’s Phoenix Soul was awoken with help from Big Brother Yun, and I am already able to protect our Divine Phoenix Sect. Royal father does not need to continue to worry about Xue’er anymore. The only thing Xue’er wants is for royal father and I to make amends for the sins that we have committed, so that we can obtain the forgiveness of Blue Wind Nation and also the forgiveness of the spirit of Lord Phoenix God who rests in heaven.”

  “Xue’er…” Feng Hengkong looked at his daughter as his eyes gradually began to mist over.

  “Now that I think about it, you instructed Feng Xichen to personally come to Blue Wind Imperial City to deliver the invitation for the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament all those years ago. However, that was all a pretense. The real motive was to use his status as a Divine Phoenix Prince to pick a fight with me over the matter of my bloodline, and from there, to create a reason to start a conflict, correct?” Yun Che said with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes.” F
eng Hengkong did not even try to deny it.

  Yun Che continued to speak, “And once the war had lasted for more than two years and the Four Great Sacred Grounds slackened their watch over you, you began preparations to excavate the Purple Crystal mine. When you were extracting the Purple Crystals, even if it was deep below the ground, there would definitely be a large amount of noise. So the purpose of making that area a training ground and instructing the two hundred thousand troops stationed at Floating Cloud City to pound the earth everyday was to completely conceal what was really going on.”

  “…You are completely correct.” Feng Hengkong gave Yun Che a deep and profound look. He had only just revealed the existence of the Purple Crystal mine, yet Yun Che was able to piece together each and every piece of the puzzle flawlessly… that was just how terrifying his mind was.

  “So right now, how much have you accomplished in achieving your goal?” Yun Che asked coldly. Never in his life did he imagine that such a huge Purple Crystal mine would be hidden near Floating Cloud City where he had spent more than a decade living in. A Purple Crystal mine that caused the Divine Phoenix Sect to go after it despite the enormous cost; a Purple Crystal mine that even he himself wanted.

  The region around Floating Cloud City was vast and barren, and only a few of the lowest-grade profound beasts lived there. If someone had told him that a huge mineral deposit that could produce fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal was hidden in the area before, even he would never believe it.

  “One hundred percent.”

  “ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!?” Feng Hengkong’s words caused Yun Che’s brows to sink deeply.

  Chapter 727: Kneel of the Divine Maiden

  “Just about a month ago, we have finished mining all of the Purple Crystal mines, used hundreds of spatial rings to transport it secretly back to Phoenix City, and it is hidden within the forbidden grounds. Once everything is settled, we can start the refining process. The two hundred thousand army would still remain there and continue to behave the same way as before. This is to continue to confuse the Four Great Sacred Grounds, and to attract their attention,” Feng Hengkong said without evading anything. He had a feeling a long time ago that Yun Che’s eyes seem to be able to see through any lies.

  “Is that so? Then congratulations that this laboring ‘great plan’ of yours was successfully carried out!” Yun Che scoffed and said.

  “Hmph, since I dared to say it out loud, I am naturally prepared. Once our sect finish refining the Purple Veined Divine Crystals, we will gift five kilograms to the Blue Wind Imperial Family!” Feng Hengkong said coldly. To a small nation like Blue Wind, forget about five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, the past generations of emperors probably had not even seen a real Purple Veined Divine Crystal. Just Purple Veined Heaven Crystals would be considered as supreme sacred item.

  “Five kilograms? Hahahaha!” Yun Che laughed loudly, “These are suppose to belong to our Blue Wind Nation, and the Phoenix Sect Master actually returned as much as five kilograms, such generosity.”

  “You…” Feng Hengkong’s whole face showed anger, but just as he was about to return the favor, he saw Feng Xue’er’s eyes, and he swallowed the words that he was about to say. He held his breath, and said in a low voice, “Seven and a half kilograms… This is already my limit.”

  “No need, I don’t care for it. You can save it and enjoy it yourselves!”

  Yun Che clearly showed disdain on his face. He showed no sign of interest towards the “Purple Veined Divine Crystal” that Feng Hengkong was speaking of, and didn’t even seem to be joking at all. This instantly startled Feng Hengkong… Purple Veined Divine Crystals were the highest, most divine existence in Profound Sky Continent, and it was a sacred item that every profound practitioner desire in their dreams. When he told the truth, he was already prepared to be “extorted” by Yun Che, but he absolutely did not expect that there was actually someone who could resist the temptation of Purple Veined Divine Crystals with contempt.

  “But I want to advise Phoenix Sect Master something… You should be careful of another ‘Feng Feiyan’ appearing among the people who know about the Purple Crystal mine!” Yun Che said mockingly.

  “I wouldn’t be stupid enough to allow something like this to happen a second time, you don’t have to worry about it.” Feng Hengkong responded coldly. Obviously, he was extremely confident about this matter, because the people within the sect who knew about the Purple Crystal mine were all truly his “trusted subordinates”. Besides himself, Feng Ximing, and Feng Tianwei of the sect master bloodline, the memories of other people who knew of the existence of the Purple Crystal mine were all caged just like Feng Huwei. They could not use any method to tell, write, or transmit it, and if they were soul searched, those memories would disperse immediately.

  It was also precisely because of the lesson learned from Feng Feiyan that the Divine Phoenix Sect choose to use such extreme measure.

  “I also have something to remind you of,” Feng Hengkong continued speaking, “The reason that things went so smoothly at Floating Cloud City was all thanks to a weirdo called Fen Juechen. He attracted more than ninety percent of focus away from us! And it was said that the reason that he appeared in Floating Cloud City was to kill you! He must already know the news that you’re still alive by now. When the time comes, you’d better not die!”

  Yun Che, “…”

  “Ah? He wants to kill Big Brother Yun?” Feng Xue’er jumped, but she immediately smiled and comforted, “No problem, Big Brother Yun is so strong, he wouldn’t be in danger for sure. Xue’er will also work hard to protect Big Brother Yun.”

  “Xue’er, you… sigh,” Feng Hengkong’s eyebrows twitched, and felt gloomy.

  Earlier when Feng Xue’er just appeared, Jasmine had told Yun Che right away that Feng Xue’er’s profound strength now had already reached the eighth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, even surpassing Feng Tianwei. If Feng Xue’er really protected him by his side, it would basically be impossible for Fen Juechen to kill him.

  The commotion that Yun Che had caused in Divine Phoenix Nation these days had been all over Blue Wind Imperial City already. Yesterday, when Yun Che sent a sound transmission saying that he would return in the evening today with Feng Hengkong and Princess Snow, Cang Yue was so excited that she didn’t sleep all night. She had been waiting in the Monarch Great Hall since after noon today.

  Even though she trust Yun Che indefinitely, she was still worried the whole time during the days of which Yun Che was in Divine Phoenix Nation.

  Her greatest desire was for Yun Che to return safely. Compared to that, the results didn’t seem to be that important.

  The sky darkened, and dusk had fallen. A large profound ark appeared above Blue Wind Imperial City like a scarlet-red flame, and it caused an uproar in the city. The Divine Phoenix Ark stopped right above the Imperial Palace and landed slowly. Because it was too large, it didn’t land on the ground and instead it floated in midair as the profound aura surrounding it raised fierce currents of hot wind.

  “That is the… Divine Phoenix Ark?” Qin Wushang, who had rushed here with Cang Yue, said with his face full of surprise when he saw the enormous object releasing a pressuring heat aura. Blue Wind Nation already had extremely few profound arks, and this was the first time in his life that he saw a profound ark with such momentum.

  “That’s right.” Dongfang Xiu nodded slowly, “Back then when I accompanied the previous emperor to the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament, I was lucky to have seen it once.”

  “Your majesty said Yun Che, Feng Hengkong, and the legendary Princess Snow are arriving on the Divine Phoenix Ark, and there is not a fourth person… Is that true?” Qin Wushang said in a low voice and his expression showed doubt. The news that came from Divine Phoenix these days said that Yun Che made a huge ruckus in Phoenix City, destroyed the Phoenix God Sculpture, and killed several princes. It was no question that he had antagonized the Divine Phoenix Sect to the point of
being absolutely irreconcilable, and only death could put an end to this… Yet yesterday, he suddenly sent a sound transmission like this to Cang Yue.

  Even though the message was sent by Yun Che himself and was told by Cang Yue herself, almost no one believed that Feng Hengkong would bring only Princess Snow to follow Yun Che here. He was the emperor of Divine Phoenix, the Phoenix Sect Master, an existence that was the noblest and unparalleled of the Profound Sky’s Seven Nations. Even if he was to head to the weakest Blue Wind that was shrouded by disaster, he shouldn’t be this alone.

  “Master told me what the Divine Phoenix Ark looked like, it can’t be wrong! Brother-in-law!” Xia Yuanba’s face was full of excitement. He was about to rush over watching the Divine Phoenix Ark that was stopping.

  Number One Under Heaven grabbed him, “Don’t go near yet, lest something unexpected happens.”

  “That’s right… Yuanba, it is said that Feng Hengkong’s profound strength is at the peak of Tyrant Profound Realm. If something unexpected happened, only you can protect her majesty,” Qin Wushang reminded in a low voice.

  “I understand,” Xia Yuanba nodded. He kept a ten step distance from Cang Yue and stopped acting rashly.

  When the door of the Divine Phoenix Ark opened, Yun Che was the first one to walk out before slowly landing. Seeing that Yun Che was safe and sound, Cang Yue’s bright eyes flickered with infinite joy. She couldn’t care for the occasion or even her own identity as she moved towards him with her Phoenix robe fluttering, “Husband, you’re back.”

  “Mn.” Yun Che held onto Cang Yue’s hand, and then turned over and said, “The ‘esteemed guest’ that I mentioned in the sound transmission is also here already.”

  Under the ark’s door which had yet to be closed, a silhouette of a man in scarlet clothes appeared. Feng Hengkong came out of the ark’s door, but he didn’t land immediately, instead he looked around and smelled the smoke in the air.