Against the Gods - Volume 08 - Cloud's End Mirage

by Mars Gravity

  “Other than that, it should probably take me twenty four years to figure out how to release you from the scourge of the devil origin orb.”

  After she said all of this, Jasmine had unconsciously turned away from Yun Che, so that he would not see the deeply complex emotions that twinkled in the depths of her starry eyes.

  Even though her back was facing Yun Che, she could still clearly feel those agitated emotions that he was unable to control.

  “Good! Twenty four years worth of time… I definitely won’t let you down,” Yun Che said vigorously nodding his head. Even though he was extremely good at concealing his feelings, at this moment, Yun Che could not stop his joy from seeping into his every word and action.

  After Jasmine had successfully reconstituted her body, the thing he was most afraid of was her departure. In the past, she had mentioned more than once that the moment she had gotten rid of the devilish poison and reconstituted her body was the moment she would leave. She had also said that she would leave for good and that he would never see her again.

  Because she was someone who completely did not belong to this world.

  But now, Jasmine had personally told him that she would be with him for at least another twenty four years!

  In the face of this joyous occasion, even the devil origin orb, which was nestled in his body and could rob him of his life at any moment, seemed completely insignificant.

  “Well, I hope that’s the case,” Jasmine said as she assumed the air of an aged expert and conducted herself with the confident attitude of a master, “Return with Xiao Yun to Floating Cloud City first. From today till the moment you celebrate your engagement ceremony… hmph, with Feng Xue’er, focus on recovering your health and profound strength completely! I will not allow you to slack off for even half a day!”

  “I’ll immediately go call Xue’er and Yuanba.” Yun Che said excitedly as he rushed outside.

  As the sound of the door slamming shut rang out behind her, Jasmine turned around and looked at the door which blocked Yun Che’s departing figure from her gaze. The frosty haughtiness in her eyes slowly faded and what replaced it was a blurry mistiness…

  “Just what am I…”

  Yun Che brought along Xia Yuanba, Feng Xue’er and the still unconscious Xiao Yun with him as he used the Primordial Profound Ark to travel from Supreme Ocean Palace back to Floating Cloud City.

  Ever since Xiao Yun had disappeared, the atmosphere within the entire Xiao Family had been one of fright and anxiety. Number Seven Under Heaven would spend the days weeping away. She was not able to sleep or rest under these conditions and she was nearing the point of collapse. She brought along Number One Under Heaven with her as they embarked on a wild goose chase without rest or respite. But after they had received the news from Frozen Cloud Asgard, they had all gathered within Xiao Lie’s small courtyard after noontime. They waited patiently there as they hovered between anxiety and hope.

  Once Yun Che appeared, Xiao Lingxi, Number Seven Under Heaven and Number One Under Heaven rushed towards him. Once Number Seven Under Heaven saw Xiao Yun, whom Yun Che had been dragging along with him, she let out a great cry of joy as she staggered into his arms. After that, she started wailing uncontrollably and she did not speak for a good long while.

  “Little Che, is Xiao Yun…” Xiao Lingxi asked in an extremely anxious and tense voice.

  “Don’t worry, he’s alright.” Yun Che said with a faint smile.

  “Seventh Sister, I’m handing Xiao Yun back to you right now. For the next few days, his mind will be very exhausted and he will need to sleep for fourteen to sixteen hours every day. Other than that, he hasn’t even lost a single hair on his head and after eight to ten days, he will be good as new. So you can stop worrying now,” Yun Che said with a relaxed expression on his face.

  If a “genius doctor” like Yun Che said that there would be no problem, then there definitely would not be a problem. Number Seven Under Heaven wept and smiled with joy and emotion as she tried her best to wipe the tears from her face, “Big Brother Yun, thank you. We are once again…”

  “Xiao Yun and I are brothers. Saving him is only natural, so what is there to thank me for?” Yun Che said with a grin, “Now, why don’t you hurry up and carry your dearest Brother Yun back to your room… Oh, right, don’t forget to tell Grandfather as well, he is definitely worried sick.”

  “Mn!” Number Seven Under Seven replied loudly before she picked up Xiao Yun and scampered off.

  “Brother Yun, just what exactly transpired?” Number One Under Heaven spoke in a low and grave voice as he strode to Yun Che’s side. The anxiety and pressure that had been building up in him for the last few days had left him with a bellyful of rage and ire.

  “It was all due to my negligence.” Yun Che said with a low sigh, “I had thought that I had left no gaps but I never would have thought…I grossly underestimated the Four Sacred Grounds.

  “It was them after all!” Number One Under Heaven exclaimed as he gritted his teeth tightly in rage.

  “But you don’t need to worry, everything has been settled now. Even if you continue to stay, there won’t be any danger. After Xiao Yun has woken up, I’ll tell all of you exactly what happened.”

  chinachu Notice

  :

  I know I stated that I was going to China with mommychu to visit grannychu and was hoping to return sometime June or so, but mommychu struck again, pushing our flight to June 1st. My trip to China is also now extended from June to the middle of July. Due to this trip, the planned double daily month releases for MEN will now be even more delayed. They WILL still come out after my trip though! Any regular chapters for every one of our series will still be coming out when I’m there (MEN 7, ATG 7, SR *TBD by Patreon*). I will try my best to get them out according to schedule, but if any chapters are missed due to chinachu problems, all of them will be made up when I get home.

  I know some people do not read the chapter posts in their haste to read the chapter so I’ll be leaving this message at the bottom of each chapter as a reminder!

  Chapter 817: A Startling and Terrifying Discovery

  Xiao Yun woke up the night they returned to Floating Cloud City. Furthermore, his mental state seemed to be relatively fine, so Xiao Lie and Number Seven Under Heaven’s worries were relieved.

  Yun Che recounted the travails behind Xiao Yun’s kidnapping and all of the events that had transpired in Supreme Ocean Palace. He included most of the details including Jasmine, his status in the Illusory Demon Realm, the fact that Number One Under Heaven’s identity had long been exposed to Supreme Ocean Palace and also how that wily old fox, Feng Hengkong, conveniently seized the opportunity to announce his engagement to Feng Xue’er in front of everybody and invite them to the engagement ceremony.

  But he did not bring up the fact that he already knew who killed Xiao Ying all those years ago.

  The curtain of night deepened and Xiao Lingxi dragged Yun Che out of the courtyard by herself. She meekly lowered her head and spoke in a rather apprehensive voice, “Little Che, there is one thing that I’ve been hiding from you all this while. Actually… actually, Fen Juechen has been staying here… for the past two months.”

  “Huh?” Yun Che said in astonishment.

  “Two months ago, a few people discovered him when they were out of the city. At that time, his wounds were extremely heavy and he seemed to be barely clinging to life, so… so I got Big Brother Under Heaven to bring him into the Xiao household and I also instructed them not to tell you,” Xiao Lingxi grew anxious as she continued speaking, “Little Che, I didn’t mean to hide it from you but it’s just that both of you… Whenever you and Fen Juechen meet, there will always be a big clash. You are my Little Che but he is the person who saved my life. I don’t want a single thing to happen to either of you, so… so…”

  “Ah, so that’s how it was.” Yun Che said as he faintly nodded his head before blurting out, “No wonder I kept detecting faint traces of Fen Juechen’s aur
a every time I visited over the last two months.”

  “For the past two months, he… he has always been here, recuperating from his wounds. Every time he knew you would be back, he would go hide himself and he would only return once you had left. After he had recovered from his injuries, just like you, he said that he would be going to Supreme Ocean Palace to participate in that ‘Devil Sword Conference’. It’s just that he left much earlier than you did.” Xiao Lingxi said as she looked at Yun Che in anxiety and fear. However, she discovered that Yun Che did not look the least bit angry, “Little Che, I’ve been hiding this from you all this while, but you’re not going to blame me?”

  “Why would I blame you?” Yun Che asked, “You are my Little Aunt… and who knows better than me what kind of person my Xiao Lingxi is? If you had met a heavily injured Fen Juechen and didn’t do what you did, I would actually feel that it was weird. From our youth till now, you’ve hidden very few things from me but every time you did it, it was definitely for my sake. This time is no exception.”

  “Hee…” The anxiety in Xiao Lingxi’s heart completely melted away and a smile bloomed on her face, “When he was recovering from his injuries here, I was the one who took care of him. We even became sworn siblings and I recognized him as my big brother. He even promised not to try to kill you anymore… Actually, Big Brother Fen really isn’t a bad person, he is simply… too lonely.”

  “…” Yun Che stood there in stunned amazement for a while, before he slowly nodded his head, “No wonder Fen Juechen did not express any murderous intent towards me when I met him in Supreme Ocean Palace.”

  “He is indeed a very lonely person. That is also the reason for why his hatred has always been so incredibly bone-piercing and pure. Especially when it comes to me. You could even say that he hates me to the very core of his being. To be able to resolve a grudge of this magnitude… Lingxi, I dare say that you are the only person in this world that could accomplish such a thing. For him to meet such a person who truly cares for him like you is not only a huge boon and a source of warmth, it is also his salvation.”

  Yun Che’s voice gradually lowered as he remembered his past self. His past self was indeed quite similar to Fen Juechen but the only difference was that… Fen Juechen’s hatred-filled heart had quietly melted away. Xiao Lingxi had saved him and he had also saved himself.

  However, in Yun Che’s case…

  “Wait a second…” Yun Che said with a start as he suddenly recalled something. His eyes widened into saucers as he exclaimed, “You and he… the both of you became sworn siblings!?”

  “That’s right.” Yun Che’s reaction had given Xiao Lingxi a fright as she anxiously replied, “Little Che, you… don’t approve?”

  “That’s not the important part.” Yun Che said with a scrunched up expression, “No, this can’t continue! From now on, I will be determined not to call you Little Aunt anymore and I will only call you Lingxi from now on. If not… if not won’t I be his junior then!? That is intolerable.”

  “Pfffttt…” Xiao Lingxi pursed her lips as she giggled, “That’s fine right. Look, I am also Xiao Yun’s and Number Seven Under Heaven’s Little Aunt right? But I still call Number One Under Heaven Big Brother Under Heaven…”

  “…” Yun Che smacked his forehead. He was at a complete loss for words.

  “Actually, actually I prefer for you to call me Lingxi.” Xiao Lingxi said as she dipped her dainty head. Under the curtain of night, Yun Che could still see her snowy cheeks stained with that incredibly adorable and pretty red blush, “But in front of Father, you still need to call me Little Aunt. Or else… or else…”

  Xiao Lingxi did not know how to continue after that.

  “Actually, there is something I hid from you as well.” Yun Che suddenly blurted out.

  “Ah?”

  Yun Che spoke in a somber tone, “I actually already know the identity of the person who killed Uncle Xiao Ying.”

  “Ah!?” Xiao Lingxi exclaimed as her head jerked up and she asked in an urgent voice, “Who was it!?”

  “The power that supports that person is an extremely huge and given my present strength, I am still unable to face them. If I tell Grandfather right now, it will definitely cause him no end of worries, making him anxious and restless. So I didn’t tell him. However, once I have sufficient power, I will definitely capture him alive and bring him here, leaving him for Grandfather to deal with… This grudge is something that has been plaguing him for years. It is the greatest frustration in his heart. He will only be able to resolve it if he personally deals with it.”

  Xiao Lingxi gave a gentle nod of her head, “Yes, it would be better to not tell Father about this right now.”

  “Other than that, there is also one other reason.” Yun Che said as he gave a faint smile. After that, he put on a mysterious expression as he spoke in an extremely soft voice, “Grandfather watched the both of us grow up, so if I suddenly mentioned that I wanted to marry you, it’s very possible that he’d beat me to death. But if we wait for him to vent his frustrations and resolve all of his regrets, he may not be so angry anymore…”

  “Ah…” Xiao Lingxi’s breath was caught in her throat but after that she spoke in a testy fashion, “You have Xia Qingyue, you have your empress wife, you have one Little Demon Empress in the Illusory Demon Realm, and soon… soon, you and Princess Snow are going to… Any single one of them is at least a few thousand times better than me. H-how would you even find the time to care about me. Hmph!”

  After she gave a very loud sniff to express her dissatisfaction, Xiao Lingxi turned around and ran off so Yun Che would not see the look in her beautiful eyes.

  Yun Che faintly smiled as he looked at Xiao Lingxi’s back until it vanished from his sight. He raised his head and looked towards the starry night sky above Floating Cloud City as he muttered to himself in a soft voice, “Time has really flown by. It’s already been seven years now…”

  At this moment, he was very calm. Because as long as he was being protected by Jasmine’s great power, he did not need to worry about anything, be afraid of anything or scheme about anything. There was nothing that was able to threaten him or the people around him anymore. Even the Four Sacred Grounds would have to bow their heads trembling in fear in front of him.

  Now that he thought back on the last seven years, he realized that most of the debts he accumulated were emotional ones.

  Little Fairy, I will definitely find you this time around…

  Ling’er, I will come to the Azure Cloud Continent to find you soon and bring you along with me so that I can pay you back in this life for all the things that I owed you in our previous lives.

  Caiyi… I know that you are definitely pining for me in the Illusory Demon Realm. Once Xue’er and I finish our engagement ceremony, I will bring Xue’er, Yue’er and Lingxi with me and return to you.

  And Qingyue… just where did you disappear to…

  …………

  After that, he would grow stronger under Jasmine’s guidance till the point where he could personally kill Xuanyuan Wentian and contend against the Four Great Sacred Grounds… Even though it would be pure fantasy for anyone else to grow strong enough to contend with the ten thousand year old powers that were the Four Great Sacred Grounds within the span of a short twenty four years, Yun Che was convinced that with his physique, bloodlines, profound veins and profound arts, which all far exceeded that of a normal human being, along with Jasmine’s personal guidance, those twenty four years would be more than enough.

  In fact, he might even be able to reach that goal in ten years!

  Once that happened, he would become a truly unrivalled existence in the Profound Sky Continent and once he had resolved all his grudges and fulfilled all his desires, there would be no one with the ability to threaten him anymore. Whether it was the Profound Sky Continent, the Illusory Demon Realm, or the Azure Cloud Continent he was about to visit, he would be free to do whatever he wanted and he would not need to fear anyt
hing or anyone. Furthermore, all of the people that were important to him would be safe under his protection until the end of their days…

  The reason why he had so desperately pursued strength in the beginning was to achieve this end after all…

  However, only seven short years had passed and this goal which seemed like it would take a lifetime of hard work to accomplish was now something that was nearly within his grasp—one could even say that it had practically been achieved.

  “Jasmine, with you around, I can’t possibly face any more dangers in this life any longer, so there shouldn’t be any great upheavals anymore,” Yun Che muttered in an inexplicably melancholic voice.

  “What? Did you love how it was in the past? Where you might only be left with half your life at any given second?” The air rang with Jasmine’s sour and grumpy voice.

  “Of course not, it’s just that… it simply doesn’t feel real to me right now. What am I supposed to do from now on? Continue to be the Asgard Master of Frozen Cloud Asgard, or return to the Illusory Demon Realm to be some Demon Lord, or…” Yun Che was at a loss before he suddenly changed the subject, “Jasmine, are you really not prepared to let Grandfather and the rest meet you? They are especially curious to know how you look like.”

  “Hmph!” Jasmine gave a cold sniff before ignoring him completely.

  Yun Che, “…”

  ——————————

  Yun Che stayed in Floating Cloud City for three days and he then stayed in Blue Wind Imperial City for another three days. After that he returned to the Snow Region of Extreme Ice so he could speed up his recovery. Furthermore, Xia Yuanba and Feng Xue’er had departed to return to Absolute Monarch Sanctuary and the Divine Phoenix Sect respectively.