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

by Mars Gravity

  “In the past few years, this old one was nearly prepared to give up my search entirely and I was going to nurture a disciple from infancy, so that I could cleanse his thoughts and spirit and prepare him to inherit this old one’s legacy. But I was also afraid that I would waste decades of effort and nurturing, because the innate nature of a person is hard to determine.”

  Yun Che, “…”

  “Until… this old one met you, Miss Ling’er,” Yun Gu said emotionally as he looked at Su Ling’er.

  “Ah? Me?” Su Ling’er said. Yun Gu’s words had stunned her briefly.

  “Miss Ling’er, this old one has known countless people in his life. But this old one has only ever seen one person whose eyes and heart are as clean and spotless as yours. I wonder…” After Yun Gu had reached this point, a nervous expression actually appeared on his face, “I wonder if you have any interest in the way of medicine?”

  Once Yun Gu had said this much, how could Yun Che not realize his intent. He shouted in an extremely shocked and elated tone, “Ling’er, hurry… Hurry up and pay respects to your master!”

  With a “thud,” Ling’er landed heavily on her knees. “Junior Su Ling’er… requests that Senior accept Ling’er as his disciple. Henceforth, Ling’er will devote her entire soul to following Master and the study of medicine. I will also be very obedient to Master’s words…”

  Yun Gu’s appearance was even more emotional than Su Ling’er herself. The rims of eyes grew faintly damp as he said, “Miss Ling’er, you… Are you truly willing to learn the way of medicine from this old one?”

  Su Ling’er replied sincerely, “To be able to get Senior Medical Saint to be my master is Ling’er’s fortune and it has also been Ling’er’s desire all this while. It’s just that Ling’er is stupid, so from now on… I request that Master gives me much instruction.”

  Yun Che pressed a hand to his chest, an incredibly joyous smile spreading across his face. Only he knew that the words Ling’er had just said, “it has also been Ling’er’s desire all this while,” was definitely not some empty pledge. All those years ago, she had wanted to be like Yun Che and learn the way of medicine from Yun Gu. Yun Gu had also been exceedingly pleased with her but it was just that he could only pass on his legacy to one disciple in his lifetime. The exceptionally moderate and gentle Yun Gu was only extremely steadfast when it came to this one thing. In everything else, he was willing to compromise. Because of that, even though Su Ling’er had accompanied Yun Gu and Yun Che for many years, in the end, she had never become his disciple.

  But who would have thought that her desires would be fulfilled at this time?

  “Good, very good, this is too good to be true,” Yun Gu said. He nodded his head repeatedly as his emotions almost overwhelmed him. Because to Yun Gu, this was truly the greatest wish of his life. He slowly walked towards Su Ling’er. After that, he removed the bronze ring on his finger and personally slipped it onto Su Ling’er’s left thumb, “Su Ling’er, from now on, you are my, Yun Gu’s, only personal disciple; the one who will inherit my legacy. Your master belongs to no sect or clan and he has no power or authority, so I cannot give you any kind of glory or power. The only thing I can give you are the truths that I have comprehended from the way of medicine and the heart of one who pursues the way of medicine.”

  The ring that had been on Yun Che’s thumb all those years ago was now on her own. It was a marvellous twist of fate and it was as if they had truly come full circle. Su Ling’er gave a deep bow. “Disciple Su Ling’er greets Master…”

  Yun Che, who was a bystander to these events, was so excited that a toothy grin had been permanently pasted on his face. Even though he was no longer worthy to become Yun Gu’s disciple, Ling’er had become his disciple and his master’s long-held wish had finally come to fruition… it was simply a conclusion that allowed him to have the best of both worlds.

  No, in fact, it left him even more satisfied than that.

  “Caiyi, you can be saved… you truly can be saved!” Yun Che grabbed the Little Demon Empress’ hand as he emotionally yelled into her ears.

  “Just… who exactly is this person?” The Little Demon Empress asked with knitted brows. She had never seen Yun Che behave in such a respectful and reverential manner to anybody in the past but in front of Yun Gu, he was completely reverent and respectful and he practically jumped at every word that proceeded from Yun Gu’s mouth.

  He was far more well-behaved in front Yun Gu than he was in front her!!!!

  This was definitely not simply someone that he had brought from the outside. If there was not sufficient cause and their relationship was not deep enough, given Yun Che’s arrogance which seeped into his very bones, how could it be possible for him to be so obedient in front of another?

  “He…” Yun Che thought about it for a moment before he spoke with much emotion in his voice, “My medical skills and all the knowledge I have regarding medicine and poisons were learned from him. The debt that I owe him is higher than the heavens, it’s just that he himself does not remember any of that anymore.”

  “…!?” A deep astonishment flashed through the Little Demon Empress’ beautiful eyes.

  “It is very hard to explain all of these things right now. I will slowly explain all of it to the rest of you in the future,” Yun Che said with a faint smile. “All of you think that my medical skills are really great but they pale in comparison to his medical skills. Since he has personally said that there is a way to save you… then there definitely is a way to save you!!”

  Even though even the Golden Crow Spirit and Jasmine had said that it was impossible to save the Little Demon Empress, this was merely what they knew from their knowledge of the profound way.

  But when it came to the way of medicine, it was Yun Gu who was the absolute authority. As someone who could truly snatch fate away from the heavens, if he said it was possible, then it was definitely possible!

  Yun Gu and Su Ling’er had finished a simple ceremony recognizing them as master and disciple. When Yun Che had come of age all those years ago, Yun Gu had also held an extremely simple ceremony to confirm his official apprenticeship. Yun Gu turned around and faintly smiled as he said, “Little Demon Empress, even though this old one knows how to cure your illness, now that it involves the energy of your lifeline, it can only be treated by a woman because she also possesses yin energy. Within half a year, this old one will first instruct Ling’er on the principles behind energy. After that, we can attempt to rid you of this illness. Even though Ling’er is a novice in the way of medicine, given her pure and unblemished heart, she will definitely be able to do this in half a year’s time.”

  The Little Demon Empress bowed deeply to Yun Gu as she nodded her head and said, “I’ll be in your care then.”

  Su Ling’er, who stood at Yun Gu’s side, winked at Yun Che as she smiled merrily.

  A person who followed the way of medicine was required to be extremely cautious. As a result, Yun Gu was a person who never spoke in absolutes. If he was confident enough to make such a statement, that meant that he definitely had adequate confidence that he could deal with this issue and it was definitely not equivalent to what he described as an “attempt.”

  However, Yun Che did not sense any feelings of joy from the Little Demon Empress. Naturally, Yun Che also knew the reason behind this… Because of Xuanyuan Wentian who could appear at any moment, the Little Demon Empress had become resolved to perish together with Demon Imperial City so she had long resigned herself to not living past the next six months.

  Yun Che had also not yet told her that she first needed to vent out all of her profound energy before she could resolve her hopeless situation… While she was facing a great enemy, she definitely would not allow that to happen.

  It seems like the only way he could get the Little Demon Empress to accept her treatment in peace was to first get rid of the great danger that was Xuanyuan Wentian.

  After that, even if the Little Demon Empress lost al
l of her profound strength, as long as he was around, as long as the Yun Family was around and as long as all those Guardian Families and great Duke Palaces who were either loyal to her or were compelled to even greater obedience because of the slave imprint were around, she would still be the Little Demon Empress who reigned supreme over the Illusory Demon Realm.

  Furthermore, given her Golden Crow bloodline and the knowledge she had regarding the laws and principles of profound energy, she would grow immensely once she started recultivating her profound strength.

  When Yun Che, the Little Demon Empress and the rest of them exited the hall, Yun Qinghong quickly walked over by himself and asked in a soft but anxious voice, “So what was the conclusion?”

  Yun Che did not reply. Instead, he flashed a faint but serene smile at his father.

  Wild joy appeared on Yun Qinghong’s face as he deeply bowed towards Yun Gu before saying, “Senior Medical Saint, if you are able to save the Little Demon Empress, you will be the great benefactor of our entire Illusory Demon Realm.”

  “Patriarch Yun’s words are too heavy, this old one is merely doing something that a doctor ought to do… Furthermore, I don’t have complete confidence that I can accomplish this task, so we will still have to rely on the kindness of the heavens.”

  Yun Gu’s words and behaviour was the same as always; he was still as calm and tranquil as still water. He was not the least bit ruffled even though his patient was the Little Demon Empress. Admiration blossomed in Yun Qinghong’s heart as he said, “Senior Medical Saint has come to the Illusory Demon Realm for the first time so you ought not have any place to stay yet. Would staying in the household of our Yun Family suit you?”

  Yun Gu thought about it briefly before he accepted the offer, “Since that is the case, then I will have to trouble you.”

  “The courtyard has been prepared. Che’er, bring Senior Medical Saint to his abode so that he can rest.”

  “Alright.”

  Yun Gu had made consecutive jumps across space to travel from the Azure Cloud Continent to the Illusory Demon Realm, so he was indeed rather tired. While they were walking towards the courtyard Yun Che finally could not resist the urge to ask, “Senior, just what method are you going to use the treat the Little Demon Empress? This junior truly cannot think of anything, nor can I understand what you just said.”

  “Hohohoho,” Yun Gu gave a small chuckle. It was clear that he was in a rather good mood after taking Su Ling’er as a disciple, so he generously explained, “Because it involves both the profound veins and the lifeline, the process of treating her will be extremely long and arduous but there is only one principle behind this. The energy circulation of her profound veins and life vein are completely abnormal, so it naturally violates the laws which govern energy mechanisms within the human body. So if you use a normal person’s energy mechanism to gradually guide and regulate that abnormal energy mechanism and correct those abnormal principles of energy mechanism, as time passes, everything will fix itself.”

  “This…” Yun Che, who had always believed that he had a deep knowledge of the principles behind medicine, was completely baffled by this explanation, “Using another person’s energy mechanism to regulate and correct? This… how are you going to go about doing this? Could it be that you will be using a medical principle that was expounded upon in that medical manual?”

  “That’s right,” Yun Gu said as he gave a faint nod of his head. “The Little Demon Empress is a woman and her energy is yin energy, so she requires the yin energy of another female to regulate and correct her energy mechanism. The medical manual that this old one has been trying to comprehend for most of his life has talked about one principle in particular. That principle states that yin energy follows yin energy while yang energy follows yang energy. This allowed this old one to view a whole new vast and broad horizon.”

  “…” Yun Che still had a baffled look on his face.

  “This old one will first teach Ling’er about the principles behind energy circulation. Once she has comprehended and mastered this principle and the related skills that she needs to know, she and the Little Demon Empress will touch their secret gardens together, this will connect their yin energies together as well. From there on, we will separate the forcibly fused life vein and profound veins of the Little Demon Empress. If we continue this for a few months and no major accidents occur, we should be able to see outstanding results. However, the success and the length of this treatment will depend entirely on Ling’er’s innate talent and her powers of comprehension.”

  “……”

  “~！@#￥%……！！！”

  It was as if someone had struck the back of Yun Che’s head with a heavy stick and he even felt his vision grow rather dim.

  He had been completely mystified by the rest of Yun Gu’s words but he definitely understood the meaning of the words “touch their secret gardens together!!”

  Touch their secret gardens together…

  Ling’er and… the Little Demon Empress!?

  Damn, this…

  That scene… is simply…

  Moreover, given the Little Demon Empress’ temperament, she definitely would not be able to accept it! She would rather die than undergo that kind of treatment. Besides himself, she had not allowed anyone else to even touch her fingers and that included other women.

  …Hmmm? Wait a minute, if we are talking about her behavior when she is in bed, the Little Demon Empress was actually especially obedient during those times and she was practically even more docile and meek than Yue’er.

  If he could ensure that the Little Demon Empress and Ling’er established a good relationship… Perhaps, it would still be a possibility.

  It looked like he needed to work hard to establish a good relationship between the Little Demon Empress and Ling’er during the time Ling’er was comprehending and mastering the medical principles behind energy circulation…

  Ah, it looks like even though he did not not to be directly involved, his task was still extremely arduous!

  As Yun Che slowly sank into silence beside him, Yun Gu thought that he had descended into deep and profound thought. But little did he know that Yun Che’s mind was actually filled with thousands of wild, depraved thoughts.

  ________________

  Author’s Note:

  【I am going to emphasize this one last time, the mysterious black jade left behind by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign is not the Primordial Seal of Life and Death! It definitely isn’t! If any of you ask again, please kill yourselves.】

  Chapter 899: Dark Clouds in Profound Sky

  Following after Yun Che’s arrival, the Yun household was several times more lively than before and the atmosphere of the entire Demon Imperial City had undergone a large change as well.

  Due to Yun Qinghong’s trust towards Yun Che, he sent a sound transmission to the various great families and duke palaces, instructing them to temporarily stop their preparations for war. However, the shadow which Xuanyuan Wentian brought to Demon Imperial City was too heavy and the tense and grayish atmosphere enveloping Demon Imperial City did not weaken because of this.

  Without even needing to think, on the other side, the Profound Sky Continent was definitely enveloped within Xuanyuan Wentian’s shadow as well. Xia Yuanba who was seen by Xuanyuan Wentian as a potential threat that had to be eliminated, the Blue Wind Empire which Cang Yue was concerned about, and the Divine Phoenix Sect which Xue’er was concerned about, all of their situations were unknown.

  On the third day he returned, Su Hengshan finally woke up and Su Ling’er began to wholeheartedly accompany Yun Gu in the studies of the way of medicine. On the fourth day, Yun Che had decided to head to the Profound Sky Continent alone.

  If he were to delay eliminating Xuanyuan Wentian, who could predict what kind of terrifying thing he would do next.

  “Yun Che, are you truly confident of defeating Xuanyuan Wentian now?” the Little Demon Empress worriedly asked.

  In t
he past few days, Yun Che had given everyone a brief description of his experiences in the Azure Cloud Continent. Although Yun Che’s profound strength had risen explosively, the combined strength of him, the Little Demon Empress, and Feng Xue’er could not even defeat Xuanyuan the last time they faced him. Presently, merely a short single month had passed. Could the present Yun Che truly step directly across the previous immense difference in strength?

  “Though I am not hundred percent confident and am unable to predict just how much improvement Xuanyuan Wentian has made in this one month, at the very least, I can probe him. Even if I end up defeated, I can still safely escape.”

  Though Yun Che put it this way, his eyes were clearly exuding prideful confidence.

  “Big Brother Yun, let me accompany you. I have been worried about how royal father and the rest are doing,” Feng Xue’er gently said.

  “Don’t worry,” Yun Che consoled. “Last time, Xuanyuan Wentian was injured heavily, so he wouldn’t be able to heal completely without half a month or so. Furthermore, after the previous time, he will definitely become more impatient in unleashing the power within his devil blood, so he wouldn’t have the thoughts and time to care about other matters.”

  “If you insist on going, then bring Xue’er along as well,” the Little Demon Empress said with a cold look. “Adding Xue’er’s strength, your chances will increase as well. With someone by your side, you will at least know how to cherish your own life!”