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

by Mars Gravity

  Yun Che’s eyes were entranced, and he was simply unable to hold back the intense throbbing within his body. His hands were seemingly raised up uncontrollably, and they were placed on Xue’er’s exposed collarbone…

  Without the least bit of obstruction, his hands and her skin made contact, causing Feng Xue’er’s beautiful eyes to instantly widen. Like a startled rabbit, she leapt out of Yun Che’s embrace, panting while the light in her eyes were in disarray…

  “I… I’m going to return the snow robe to… to Junior Master Hanyue…”

  Feng Xue’er’s face and ears were crimson red. She tidied up her snow robe, which was pulled apart without her knowing in a fluster, as she ran off in a fleeing manner…

  “Haah…” Yun Che was a bit dejected as he flopped onto the ice bed.

  “You actually have yet to succeed. Aren’t you afraid of losing terribly under Fen Juechen’s hands!?” Jasmine coldly said. “There isn’t the slightest bit of rejection towards you in Feng Xue’er’s heart and soul. If you’re a little bit more forceful, you should have long obtained her phoenix vital yin.”

  “I obviously can’t do that!” Yun Che shook his head, muttering, “Matters like this must come gradually. Xue’er treats me with a pure heart. If I were to do it your way, I might frighten or even hurt her. Furthermore, obtaining her phoenix vital yin in order to exchange blows with Fen Juechen would make me feel as though I’m hurting and using Xue’er for my own benefits. I can’t do that… This is a matter of principles.”

  “Principles?” Jasmine snorted and coldly smiled. “When it comes to matters concerning women, you actually have the nerve to talk about principles… Hmph. As expected, your face is even thicker than a city wall.”

  “Heheh. Jasmine is still the one who is most familiar with the mere few good points that I possess.” Yun Che revealed a cheap smile.

  “…But looking at you, you don’t seem to be worried about the battle with Fen Juechen.”

  “I guess you can say that. After all, that guy, Fen Juechen, has a very big weakness in his personality,” Yun Che calmly said as he closed his eyes.

  “A weakness in his personality? You’re referring to…”

  “Ji Qianrou of Supreme Ocean Palace requests to see Frozen Cloud Asgard Master Yun Che!”

  At this moment, a light voice, which carried a hint of softness and gentleness in it, sounded from outside. Yun Che instantly stood up from the ice bed. “Ji Qianrou?”

  Why would he come here?

  …Could it be that the person who would come to invite him to the Devil Sword Conference, whom Zi Ji had spoken of before, was referring to Ji Qianrou?

  From outside the door, Murong Qianxue’s voice reverberated, “Asgard Master, there’s a strange person outside the the asgard gate wanting to see you, claiming that he comes from Supreme Ocean Palace.”

  Yun Che stood up and walked out of the Ice Pavilion. Seeing Murong Qianxue and Mu Lanyi were currently standing there with heavy expressions, he hurriedly said, “Senior Masters, there’s no need to worry, and there’s no need to be vigilant either. He is one of my acquaintances, and the reason he’s here should be to send me something. Once I pick it up, I will return quickly. Tell Xue’er and the rest to not worry as well.”

  After saying that, Yun Che flew in the air and headed towards the asgard gate.

  “Someone from Supreme Ocean Palace… Asgard Master, please be careful,” Murong Qianxue and Mu Lanyi said in unison. Although Yun Che had already said there wasn’t a need to worry… that person was still someone from the Sacred Grounds.

  The moment he left Frozen Cloud Asgard, Yun Che saw that figure in front of the asgard gate. Dressed in an extraordinary white robe, his sleeves fluttered amidst the cold winds. He had masculine good looks, and his eyes were like the autumn waters, bearing a charm that was out of this world… This was a man who possessed beauty that could be described as beautiful to the point where even women would be envious of him.

  Jade-faced Demon Monarch—Ji Qianrou.

  Yun Che moved forward and gently cupped his fists. “Junior Yun Che greets Senior Ji. It’s been three years since we last met, and as expected, Senior Ji’s demeanor has grown more than before.”

  Ji Qianrou’s pair of delicate eyes were like peach blossoms, though they seem to carry a hint of bitterness. “If we’re talking about demeanor, when compared to Little Cheche, I’m quite far behind~”

  After hearing Ji Qianrou’s voice again after three years, Yun Che’s hair still stood on end as goosebumps spread all over his body. The moment Ji Qianrou’s voice fell, he reached out his right hand, and with a light twist of his scallion-like jade finger, a faint blue petal came out of nowhere. Following the gentle wave of his finger, it lightly floated towards Yun Che.

  The faint blue petal looked no different from a regular petal. It slowly approached Yun Che, as though it was being blown by a gentle breeze. The cold winds here were wild and rampant, yet they did not influence the flight path of the petal. Rather… the cold winds that approached it seemed to have been absorbed into a large invisible swirl, disappearing without a trace.

  As the petal approached, Yun Che’s face was still filled with smiles. Directly reaching out his fingers, he casually caught the petal between two of his fingers, and then held it within his hand. When he opened his palm again, the petal had already disappeared without a trace… There wasn’t a single sound throughout the entire process, nor was there even the least bit of movement of profound energy.

  “Thank you for your gift, Senior Ji,” Yun Che said with a smile.

  “Haah.” Ji Qianrou once again let out a light, bitter sigh. “As expected, Little Cheche is the same as the rumors say. It’s only been three years since we last met, yet you have already thrown me far behind. In the future, I’m afraid I can’t even enter Little Cheche’s eyes.”

  “~！@#￥%…” Yun Che maintained his smile with all his might, however, his tone was especially sincere. “This junior has never dared to forget Senior Ji’s saving grace at the Primordial Profound Ark three years ago. If there’s anything I can repay Senior Ji with, this junior will definitely spare no efforts to do so.”

  The light in Ji Qianrou’s eyes swirled, flickering with a touch of surprise. Then, he gave a delicate smile. “Back then, what I did at the Primordial Profound Ark was merely playing a game with Little Hanhan, and at the same time, returning a favor of yours. It isn’t as exaggerated as you make it out to be, so there’s no need to bring up matters of repaying me. Returning things like favors back and forth is just too annoying. This time, I’m here especially under the orders of our Supreme Ocean Palace Great Elder to pass something to Little Cheche.”

  Chapter 740: The Scent of a Plot

  “Is this perhaps concerning the Devil Sword Conference?” Yun Che asked straightforwardly.

  “Ah, as expected, you do know why I’ve come.” Ji Qianrou stepped forward, and with a flip of his right hand, a hexagonal token made of precious jade, which was illuminated with a fantastical blue glow, was tossed towards Yun Che., “This is the Devil Sword Conference’s invitation card. One hundred days from now, you can use it to enter our Supreme Ocean Palace and participate in the Devil Sword Conference.”

  Yun Che extended a hand and grabbed the blue-colored precious jade token in his hand. A refreshing and cleansing aura abruptly erupted out from his palm, and his gaze swept across the words that were engraved on the precious jade before putting it away. “I thank Senior Ji for personally making a trip here, this junior will definitely visit Supreme Ocean Palace one hundred days from now. Besides this… can I ask Senior Ji to clear some confusion I have about the Devil Sword Conference? What exactly is the purpose of this meeting? And just what does ‘Devil Sword’ refer to?”

  “Oh?” Ji Qianrou looked at Yun Che with an astonished expression as he gently raised a flawless white jade finger. “Ah, it looks like Little Cheche didn’t know about this. The Devil Sword Conference has already been announced in th
e upper echelons of the Profound Sky Continent’s profound world for a good long while, yet Little Cheche does not even know what the Devil Sword is referring to; it looks like Little Cheche isn’t too interested in this Devil Sword Conference in the first place.”

  “I won’t hide it from Senior Ji, this junior is indeed not very interested in this Devil Sword Conference,” Yun Che said without the slightest bit of hesitation. “However, I can use this Devil Sword Conference to visit Supreme Ocean Palace that I’ve been fascinated with for the longest time.”

  “Hehehehe…” Ji Qianrou let out a gentle laugh which was sweeter and more coquettish than a woman’s laugh. Yun Che felt his guts cramp up violently at this sight; if his self-control was not good enough, even his face would have distorted. Ji Qianrou said in a merry fashion, “Hmmm, even though this Devil Sword Conference is very prestigious and has gotten a lot of publicity, it really doesn’t interest me in the least. In fact, I’m far more interested in Little Cheche’s mysterious master. If Little Cheche’s master will condescend to visit Supreme Ocean Palace, it will definitely cause a huge commotion at the Devil Sword Conference.”

  Yun Che smiled but did not say anything.

  “Since Little Cheche asked me about the Devil Sword Conference, then I must definitely give you a proper answer. But speaking of this Devil Sword Conference… Little Cheche, have you ever heard of the Eternal Night Royal Family?” Ji Qianrou asked in a soft and supple voice as he narrowed peach blossom eyes that were even more charming than a girl’s.

  “The Eternal Night Royal Family?” Yun Che was taken aback for a moment, before his brows twitched as he asked, “Could it be that the ‘Devil Sword’ of this Devil Sword Conference refers to the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword?”

  Yun Che had heard the name of the Eternal Night Royal Family the very first day he had joined Frozen Cloud Asgard. It was Grand Asgard Mistress Feng Qianhui who had told him about it. And in Feng Qianhui’s own words, the Eternal Night Royal Family was originally a Sacred Ground, and it was one of the Five Great Sacred Grounds. Furthermore, it was the only Sacred Ground that was a family. However, one thousand years ago, it was destroyed through the joint efforts of the other four Sacred Grounds.

  After that, the other three Sacred Grounds gradually noticed that they had been used by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, but in order to maintain the reputation of the Sacred Grounds, they could only accept their mistake and continue to perpetuate the bad name of the Eternal Night Royal Family as they swiftly eliminated all traces left behind by the Eternal Night Royal Family. And now, there were extremely few people who even knew the name “Eternal Night Royal Family” besides the Four Great Sacred Grounds, extremely few people knew about the grievances and resentments which happened all those years ago.

  As for the only reason why Frozen Cloud Asgard was cognizant of those events, it was because the Frozen Cloud Ancestor, Mu Bingyun, had received the help of the Eternal Night Royal Family. And because she was unable to accept the Eternal Night Royal Family’s tragic fate, she sealed these memories as part of the legacy of Frozen Cloud Asgard.

  “Aiyah! Even though Little Cheche didn’t know about the Devil Sword Conference, he does indeed know about the Eternal Night Royal Family and the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Ah, but it’s to be expected, Little Cheche has such a powerful master, so how many things in this world would Little Cheche be unaware of?”

  Outside of the Four Great Sacred Grounds, there were very few people who knew the name “Eternal Night Royal Family”, and there were practically no outsiders who knew about the “Heavenly Sin Divine Sword”.

  Yun Che slightly shook his head. “This junior has only heard of it before, and I know very little about it. I was hoping that Senior Ji could enlighten me regarding a few of these details.”

  Ji Qianrou slightly narrowed his eyes before speaking in a casual and relaxed manner, “Regarding the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, even though very few people knew of its name even a millenia ago, it was a name that everyone who was from a Sacred Ground knew about. It is the only Monarch sword in the entire Profound Sky Continent; the lone monarch of all swords. No one knew of its origin, and the only thing that we knew is that it was a divine sword that the Eternal Night Royal Family had been guarding for generations. No one knew why it was being protected either; even within the Eternal Night Royal Family, there were a scant few people who knew the answers to these secrets.”

  “Other than that, from the moment the existence of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword had been exposed to the world, no one had ever seen it being used before. Perhaps it was too superior a weapon, so no one under this sky could wield it. And one thousand years ago, when the Eternal Night Royal Family was destroyed by the combined might of the Four Great Sacred Grounds for committing that grave, unforgivable sin, the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword disappeared without a trace, and not a single clue regarding it could be found for a whole thousand years. However, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region recently found a strange sword in some barren wasteland by pure chance, and they confirmed that it was the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that had been missing for a millenia.”

  Yun Che, “…”

  Three years ago, Feng Qianhui had told him that the Frozen Cloud Ancestor had confirmed that the Eternal Night Royal Family had been deliberately and maliciously framed of their crimes by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. And the entire purpose of that was to get their hands on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Moreover, that same Heavenly Sin Divine Sword just so happened to disappear after the destruction of the Eternal Night Royal Family. It was extremely likely that it actually fell into the hands of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region all along.

  However, when it came to a matter regarding a Sacred Ground, it would definitely be concealed heavily by the Four Sacred Grounds… With Mighty Heavenly Sword Region exerting the most effort in this regard, it was actually quite remarkable that the Frozen Cloud Ancestor would be able to know about what had happened in such exquisite detail… When Yun Che thought about it, it completely mystified him.

  “And this Devil Sword Conference is being held because Mighty Heavenly Sword Region is not willing to monopolize the only Monarch-grade weapon in the Profound Sky Continent, so they suggested that all the heroes of the realm gather at Supreme Ocean Palace so that we could explore the secrets of the divine sword together.”

  “Ah… so that is how it is.” Yun Che gave a slight nod of his head before replying with a bland smile, “This junior has long ago heard that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region cultivated the sword as their path, and their obsession with swords exceeded their regard for life, so they would spend their entire lives pursuing an ever-stronger sword and pushing the boundaries of the way of the sword. So I would have never thought that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, the ones who found the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword by chance, would actually not monopolize the strongest sword in the world. Instead, they announced it to the whole world, to the point where they even invited all of the heroes of the realm to share in their spoils. And to express their sincerity, they actually specially arranged for the location to be at Supreme Ocean Palace instead of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. It is truly the sacred land of swords, and this boundless and selfless generosity and fair-thinking simply leaves this junior in complete awe.”

  How would Ji Qianrou fail to see that Yun Che was clearly calling into question that intentions of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, and that his words even contained a concealed mockery. His eyes narrowed once more as he let out a laugh, “Little Cheche, you shouldn’t betray the amazing goodwill of our friends from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, so I’m definitely expecting to see you there. And if Little Cheche truly holds no interest in the Devil Sword Conference, let this one, who also holds no interest in it, bring you on a tour to see all the amazing sights along the ocean.”

  “Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Ji,” Yun Che said as he smiled. He was indeed rather curious about the Devil Sword Conference, but he did not really hold much interest in it. Especially af
ter Ji Qianrou told him about the details regarding the conference; the moment he heard those words, he smelled a rat, so he had a feeling that nothing good would come from participating in this event.

  Moreover, the real reason for his visit to Supreme Ocean Palace was to obtain the Netherworld Udumbara Flower!

  As for the Devil Sword Conference… he had not even decided whether he would make an appearance there at all. After all, the less he associated with the Sacred Grounds, the better. Even though Ye Xinghan still hated him to the bones, because of the existence of the “Master” that he had fabricated out of thin air, and the fact that one elder and many other protectorates had died at Frozen Cloud Asgard, Sun Moon Divine Hall would not dare to make a move against him… However, the more he interacted with the Sacred Grounds, the easier it was for chinks to appear in his armor.

  Once it was discovered that the so-called “Master” did not exist, then there would be a calamitous result awaiting him.

  Furthermore… the last few words that Zi Ji had said before he had left the Black Moon Merchant Guild caused him to become extremely vigilant.

  “Senior Ji, this junior has a question. Just what kind of powers would have the qualification to participate in the Devil Sword Conference?” Yun Che asked.

  “Every power that has a profound practitioner at the Tyrant Profound Realm has received an invitation,” Ji Qianrou casually said, “And most of these powers would come from the Divine Phoenix Nation, because the other six countries had very few of them.”

  “So that is to say that the Divine Phoenix Sect will also be participating,” Yun Che muttered rather softly.

  “Hehehe, naturally, they are as well,” Ji Qianrou replied as he let out a feminine laugh, “Right now, the entire world knows that the Divine Phoenix Sect has delivered Princess Snow into Little Cheche’s hands in order to appease his wrath. So if Little Cheche wants to bring Princess Snow along with him when the times comes, that would simply be delightful. And just based on the invitation that you have received from this one, you can bring along ninety-nine other people as well.”