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

by Mars Gravity

  “…What is that supposed to mean?” Yun Che asked.

  “It means that this darkness energy is clearly being constantly released from some place. Furthermore, despite the fact that it has been unable to spread due to being completely sealed in this place, it still remains so thin even after ten thousand years have passed… It is highly likely that some dreadful thing that is hidden in this place has been releasing this high level of darkness energy while some other thing has been steadily absorbing this darkness energy! If not, why would the darkness energy in this place still be so thin despite this place being sealed away for ten thousand years and why is the darkness energy still in an active state!?”

  “Otherwise, given the level of the darkness energy here, if it were to get dense enough, it is not something that Supreme Ocean Palace’s barrier could seal away!”

  Jasmine’s words sent a fierce jolt through Yun Che’s body. After that, he asked in a low voice, “Could it be… that it is the darkness-element Profound beast that has been hiding in here along?”

  “Compared to a mere Monarch level darkness profound beast, I am much more curious about what exactly could be releasing this level of darkness energy!” Jasmine said in a somber tone, “Since we are already sealed in this place, we might as well find out what kind of mysteries are hiding in this place!”

  “Just based on this bizarrely high level of darkness energy, the thing that is hidden in this place is far more dreadful and complex than what Supreme Ocean Palace thinks it is!”

  Jasmine’s words caused the whole atmosphere of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest to abruptly change for Yun Che.

  Something whose level surpasses Jasmine and something that Jasmine called “dreadful”… just what could it be!?

  But all of these things were secondary to him right now. What he needed to do first was to get accustomed to this environment. After that… he would use all of his strength to obtain that Netherworld Udumbara Flower that was almost within reach, no matter what the cost.

  Within the darkness, Yun Che sat down, calmed his mind and focused his heart. The Great Way of the Buddha circulated slowly at first, but after that, it began to circulate faster. All fifty four of his profound entrances began to gradually open up along with the pores on his body. A thread of extremely refined and pure energy of heaven and earth began to flow into his body like a cool stream, becoming part of his strength and his life force.

  A faint gold pagoda hazily appeared over Yun Che’s head as it began to slowly revolve in place.

  In this world that was filled with darkness energy, his life force and profound energy was being swiftly chipped away and even his soul was under assault. At the same time, the Great Way of the Buddha drew out the energy of heaven and earth that was far purer than normal from this darkness energy and it swiftly recovered both his vitality and his profound energy… Gradually, as the golden colored pagoda soundlessly spun, the rate of erosion and recovery easily balanced each other out.

  Yun Che opened his eyes… All of this was proceeding far more smoothly than he had expected.

  As such, he could now survive in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, a place that would cause all who knew of it to blanche just at the sound of its name, for a sufficiently long period of time.

  After Yun Che stood up, he raised an arm. With an explosive pop, violent Golden Crow flames sprang to life on his palm. The Golden Crow flames fought desperately to pierce the incomparably dense darkness and they managed to illuminate an area that was roughly ten paces around Yun Che.

  Yun Che began to move slowly towards the deepest parts of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest once more. Given what Jasmine had just said, if the darkness energy in this place was not being absorbed by something and was allowed to build up over time, then it could completely… and easily destroy the sealing barrier that Supreme Ocean Palace boasted was the strongest in the entire continent. But the barrier had lasted for a whole ten millennia, and nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened either…

  Could it be because the thing that was hiding in this place… was deliberately maintaining its sealed state!?

  As that thought flashed through his mind, Yun Che immediately trembled in fear.

  Within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, even Jasmine’s spirit perception was greatly restricted, much less Yun Che’s own spirit perception. As he walked towards the deepest parts of the nest, he could not sense anything else besides the boundless darkness. If not for Jasmine’s warning, he would not even have known about that “living creature” that was hiding within the darkness.

  The entrance of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was rather narrow and cramped but the further one went in, the more spacious it got. In the middle segment, the path had already broadened out to an unknown height and width. As Yun Che neared the deepest part of the devil nest, the area the Golden Crow flames could illuminate shrank drastically. And at this time, an extremely bewitching purple light once more appeared before Yun Che’s eyes.

  It was the otherworldly purple light of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower!

  Chapter 777: Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign (3)

  Yun Che raised the Golden Crow flames a little higher as he averted his gaze from where the Netherworld Udumbara Flower laid. He spoke in a low voice, “Jasmine, where is that monster currently located?”

  It was a while before Jasmine finally responded, “It is still right above the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, roughly one hundred meters above it. It hasn’t moved from its previous spot. If my spirit perception isn’t wrong, its gaze is currently locked right onto you!”

  “What about its profound strength? Can you confirm that it’s at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm?” Yun Che asked again.

  “…I don’t dare to use too much soul power right now, and my spirit perception is heavily restricted in this place, so I am unable to confirm anything. But at this distance, even if there is a difference between its real and currently measured strength, it shouldn’t be too big of a difference.”

  “Good…” Yun Che murmured quietly before sucking in a quick breath. His face grew cold as he raised his head and looked at the spot that was roughly one hundred meters above the Netherworld Udumbara Flower. After that, he spoke in an immeasurably calm voice, “I apologize for disturbing your peace and quiet, Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign!”

  “Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign?” Jasmine said in a voice filled with suspicion, “Are you trying to test it?”

  “Not completely.” Yun Che replied seriously, “I just have this feeling that it… should be the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign that Zi Ji was talking about! Zi Ji said that it had died more than six thousand years ago. For the last six thousand odd years, the disciples of Supreme Ocean Palace who entered the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest have not found any traces of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. However, when the four of us first entered this place, it was clearly alive but it did not make a move from beginning to end… So it is extremely likely that its death was always an facade!

  “Because it did not need die in the first place! As long as it remained hidden here, even if the Four Sacred Masters themselves entered this place, they would still not be able to detect its existence!”

  Two pinpricks of deep gray light suddenly sprang to life in the boundless darkness that was hanging over Yun Che’s head.

  Those were a pair of immeasurably dreadful eyes! Yun Che felt his body and soul fiercely tremble the instant those eyes opened.

  “Foolish human! Was the reason you disregarded your own life to remain in this place to beg this king to personally send you on your way!?”

  It was not the least bit bewildered that Yun Che had discovered its existence and its hoarse and raspy voice was filled with a violence and arrogance that caused one’s heart to palpitate.

  “…So that is to say that you are indeed the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign that lived here ten thousand years ago?” Yun Che asked as his heart leaped in his chest.

  Even though Jasmine h
ad already told him that there was a dreadful monster hiding in this place, upon seeing it himself, his heart was seized by shock and horror. Because its existence was something that even Supreme Ocean Palace, who had been guarding the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, was not aware of!

  “Hahahaha!” That dreadful voice erupted in laughter, “This king has only stated his name once to you humans but who would have thought that you would still remember this king’s name after ten thousand years have passed. Even though this king has not seen the light of day for ten thousand years, making a single appearance was enough to plunge you pitiful creatures into an eternal abyss of terror, hahahahaha…”

  The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign’s voice was extremely unpleasant and Yun Che could barely make out what it was saying. Furthermore, every single word that was uttered from its mouth caused his body to cramp up and its laugh was extremely hard to bear. But the words it uttered had completely admitted to the fact that… it was truly the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign that Supreme Ocean Palace thought was long dead!

  That also meant that… it had survived for the past ten thousand years till now!

  The strongest Monarchs would have died several times over in the space of ten thousand years, yet it still remained despite a whole ten thousand years having passed!

  This lifespan was completely inconsistent with logic and common sense!

  And it was far stronger than the Tyrant Profound beast that it was rumored to be!

  “To think that it really was this guy!” Yun Che said to Jasmine in a low voice, “It has not passed away despite ten thousand years having gone by, it is definitely some kind of abnormal monster!”

  Jasmine, “…”

  Yun Che sucked in a quick breath as he regained his composure. He raised his head once more and spoke in a calm voice, “Even though you have never shown yourself in the Profound Sky Continent, the name of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign has never once been forgotten. As for me, I am merely what you termed a pitiful human being. I have no grudge or vendetta against you, so I definitely do not want to become your enemy. I am here only for the sake of one thing, once I obtain it, I will leave this place immediately. I will definitely not speak a single word regarding your presence… I just spoke out because I wanted to apologize for disturbing your peace and quiet.”

  It was very clear that Yun Che had no desire to enter into a deadly struggle with a horrifying creature that could survive in this environment of darkness for at least the past ten thousand years. If it did not obstruct his attempt to obtain the Netherworld Udumbara Flower and they both remained amicable to each other… That would naturally be the best result that could be reached.

  However, Yun Che’s hopes were dashed just as those words left his mouth.

  “You foolish, pathetic and insignificant lower lifeform!!” The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign thundered, that ear-piercing and soul-scalding voice filled with fury, contempt and disdain. That pair of eyes which seemed like two dark grey abysses suddenly dropped down from the air, “Not only do you have designs on this king’s Netherworld Udumbara Flower, you’re actually still dreaming that this king will let you live!”

  Bang!!

  With a huge explosion, an enormous gray figure landed heavily in front of Yun Che.

  A baleful aura that seemed to come from hell itself assaulted Yun Che, forcing him to stumble back five steps as he reflexively clenched his fists. From its voice, Yun Che could tell that it was no more than thirty meters away from him but the only thing he could see in the darkness were those grayish-white eyes. Other than that, he was not even able to make out a hazy silhouette.

  It knew that Yun Che wanted the Netherworld Udumbara Flower… Oh yeah! It had already heard the conversation that he had with Zi Ji earlier!!

  Even though the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was close by, he still could not see it. However, Yun Che did feel a dreadful pressure envelop him as it sought to crush both his body and soul. This pressure was entirely different from any other kind of pressure that Yun Che had endured in his life. Icy, violent rancor, arrogance and unreal bloodlust… Yun Che felt a thick wave of negative emotions envelop every corner of this dark world. All of a sudden, he was struck by the dreadful feeling that he was sealed in some kind of hellish volcano and that he was about to face the cruelest punishments imaginable.

  “The root of this king’s very life and soul had been left in tatters so I had no choice but to seal myself in this place, not daring to see the light of day for ten thousand years! The darkness energy in this place has helped this king slowly recover my vitality and strength and this Netherworld Udumbara Flower will be able to restore this king’s soul origin! This is something the heavens have blessed this king with. It is the most precious thing to this king in my life! In this disgraceful place, the day on which this flower blooms every twenty four years is the day this king looks forward to the most! To think that a foolish and insignificant inferior lifeform such as yourself would dare to have designs on the object that this king treasures the most!”

  When an immeasurably strong existence faced a “pitiful creature,” it normally would not even be moved to anything resembling anger. But it was very clear that Yun Che had touched this creature’s reverse scale, something that he definitely should not have done!

  The baleful aura which it had suddenly released caused Yun Che’s heart to race but after that, he quickly regained his composure. His eyes turned exceptionally cold as he said, “It looks like… there isn’t much room for discussion after all.”

  Not only was he unable to attain his desired outcome but the situation had deteriorated in the worst possible manner… To think that this Netherworld Udumbara Flower was actually the “reverse scale” of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign!

  This also meant that if he wanted to obtain the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, he would have to kill the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign first!

  He had to kill a monster that had lived for more than ten thousand years! A monster that was surrounded by boundless mysteries!

  “It was rumored that your strength was around the initial stages of the Tyrant Profound Realm ten thousand years ago. Now a whole ten thousand years have passed, yet you are only at the middle stages of the Sovereign Profound Realm…” Since it had devolved into a life-or-death struggle between them, Yun Che naturally dispensed with all formalities and courtesies. Instead he gave it a cold smile as he continued, “Even the most ordinary human being could outstrip this pitiful rate of growth! It looks the monster who keeps calling us inferior lifeforms… is nothing much after all!”

  “Hahahahaha!” The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was not provoked by Yun Che’s words. Instead, a wild laugh erupted from his throat, “Foolish and pathetic creature, how could you even deign to understand the true might of this king! This king’s current isolation is only because the very roots of my life and soul have been wounded! As long as this Netherworld Udumbara Flower is not destroyed, this king’s vitality and his soul origin will have completely recovered after three thousand more years! When that time comes, this king’s body and soul will swiftly recover and this king’s strength will grow by leaps and bounds! And at that time, everything in this world will have to bow at this king’s feet!”

  Jasmine, “…”

  “Tch.” Yun Che snorted disdainfully, his expression filled with contempt, “I have met quite a few strong people in my life and there’s a whole bunch of people who are stronger than you. But when it comes to being boastful and arrogant, I don’t think I’ve met a single person who has beaten you yet. Oh… could it be that you’ve been crazy from the start? That sounds about right, in this environment of absolute darkness, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to be driven to suicide within a month or two, much less lose their minds. Speaking of that, I have to say that I am suddenly filled with admiration for you. Not only did you not commit suicide despite being holed up in this place for ten thousand years, you’re actually doing just fine.”

&
nbsp; “Heh…” A dangerous chuckle coldly rang out in the darkness as the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign snickered, “This king has been able to endure for the past one million years, so what is a mere ten thousand years to me!”

  Yun Che’s brows fiercely jumped…

  One million years!?

  “How ridiculous! To think that this king would deign to waste his breath on a foolish and pathetic lower life form such as yourself!”

  Boom!!

  An icy-cold energy wave exploded outwards as the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign’s eyes turned from grayish-white to jet black. Around its body, dense black-colored mist gathered. In an instant, all of the darkness energy within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest began to stir violently as an evil wind that seemed to come from hell itself mercilessly swept through and began to erode every part of the place.

  Yun Che felt a pressure on his chest but after that he leaped backwards with all his strength, instantly retreating three hundred meters away. The darkness energy that the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign had explosively released made him feel as if he had instantly dropped into the pits of hell.

  Wooosh!!

  Yun Che’s left hand blazed with Phoenix flames while his right hand was engulfed by the Golden Crow flames. His entire body was being baptized by fire and his brows were fiercely knitted together. While he had been alarmed and shocked by the darkness energy radiating from the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, for some odd reason, he could not help but feel a familiarity from it that should not have existed…

  Familiarity?

  “Ignorant lower life form, given your pitiful strength, approaching the Netherworld Udumbara Flower would only end in your death. This king does not even need to personally execute you. But at the same time, it would also stain this king’s Netherworld Udumbara Flower with the dirty and inferior soul lower given off by you humans! So this king has no choice but to personally consign you to the dust within this darkness!”