Against the Gods - Volume 10 - Snow Song Flame God

by Mars Gravity

  “Your clan… How many of you are left?”

  He Lin hesitated for a while and then replied “Those of my fellow clansmen that are with me… We’ve only got about a hundred of us left. While I’ve been captured, they’ll definitely have been very anxious and if they left that place to search for me, the consequences could be dire.”

  “He Lin, how old are you this year?”

  “I… I’m eleven.”

  “And you have an older sister?” Yun Che casually asked.

  “Mn,” he softly answered and his voice slowly trailed off. “Three years ago, during that terrible disaster, mother and father, in order to protect my sister and I… they… they… after that, me and my sister were separated. I haven’t seen her since but I believe that sister is definitely alive! I can sense it!”

  Yun Che didn’t probe further.

  Orphaned, his last living relative missing… He was but an eleven year old boy, yet he had experienced countless unimaginable cruel and difficult situations. It wasn’t his fault or was it the consequence of his actions; it was all because he was a wood spirit—a royal wood spirit.

  They were a race that inherited the purest powers of nature but instead of it being a blessing, it was the cruelest of curses.

  Once out of Darkya City, Yun Che didn’t stop. He carried on in the direction He Lin pointed. About half an hour later, he had flown into a stretch of jungle that seemingly had no end.

  “This home you speak of, is it within this forest?” Yun Che asked.

  “Yes!” He Lin now pointed to the south east. Being really close to home, he started getting a little more excited. “In that direction, I can already sense its aura… This is great!”

  They quickly shot through the jungle and finally came to a stop not long after.

  Up ahead, towering ancient trees stood tall, draped in countless big and dark greenish black vines. The vines barred their path, stretching innumerably beyond what the eye could see.

  As Yun Che looked on with hesitation, He Lin bounded forward with excitement. He made a gentle gesture with his hands and immediately the dense greenish black vines came to life, they quickly started bending and moving, opening up just enough to form a narrow passageway.

  “Big brother, quickly come here!”

  He Lin pulled at Yun Che’s arm, bouncing boisterously into the vine-covered passageway. Yun Che hesitated for a bit but eventually decided to follow behind him.

  The passageway continued for quite a long way. They walked for a period of time before finally reaching the exit. When they finally stepped out through the exit, just at that moment, a sense of danger suddenly reached them from the front. Dozens of greenish black vines suddenly struck down, like fangs of a really large demon.

  Yun Che cycled his profound energy but He Lin didn’t seem fazed at all and instead continued forward. He made a light pushing movement with his arms, a flash of green light appeared and the vines were suddenly frozen in place where upon they immediately started retracting.

  “Granny Qing Ye! Aunty Kui! Uncle Mu Han… I’m back! I’m back!!”

  The world before their eyes was a field with tens of thousands of plants. Green grass abounded while the leaves and vegetation contained an unbelievable amount of jade green nature energy. The air was so fresh it gave one a sense of peace and clarity. Just further up, strange flowers and plants abounded. Butterflies flew all around. This place was beautiful beyond compare. If anyone stepped into this place, they would probably think that they had stepped into an unreal immortal wonderland.

  The bright crisp voice of He Lin travelled throughout this little immortal-like world.

  “Lin… Lin’er! Lin’er!!”

  “Young patriarch… It’s young patriarch!”

  “Lin’er!!”

  The serene world suddenly transformed into a scene of excited shouts of happiness. One by one, jade green figures emerged from the ancient trees and millions of flowers. They crazedly rushed towards He Lin. One of them seemed older than the rest. He walked with a slight awkwardness and hugged He Lin with a tight embrace. Before he even spoke, his old tears started streaming down.

  “Lin’er… It’s really you? You really came back… We had imagined the worst, that you had been captured by the humans… This is great, you’re safe and sound, thank goodness...”

  The others huddled together and surrounded him, each of them had tears of excitement in their eyes.

  Everyone of them had hair the color of emerald, fluorite-like eyes, and pointed long ears. Their skin was flawless like jade. Without a doubt, they were the hidden wood spirit race, the fellow clan members of whom He Lin was talking about.

  Their numbers were as what He Lin had described, around a hundred of them.

  From their excited reactions, one could see that He Lin was an extremely important existence… He was the only male possessing the royal wood spirit bloodline. Although still young, he bore the burden of being the last hope of the wood spirit race.

  “I’m sorry Granny Qin Ye… I’m sorry everyone… I’ve made everyone worried this time.” Tears swirled in He Lin’s eye “I… I actually was captured by humans…”

  “Ah!?” He Lin’s words shocked all the wood spirits present.

  “But, I met a really good person, a super duper good and really really powerful big brother. It was him that saved me and even escorted me back here.”

  He Lin wiped away his tears and quickly ran to Yun Che’s side “He’s that big brother, if not for him… by now… I would have… would really have…”

  Countless gazes landed on Yun Che. The oldest wood spirit, the one He Lin called “Granny Qing Ye” slowly walked forward and suddenly bent down, kneeling before Yun Che.

  Yun Che’s eyelids jumped, he was about to speak when he suddenly saw the rest of the wood spirits kneeling as well.

  Yun Che, “....”

  “Young human… thank you. Thank you for saving our young patriarch,” Granny Qing Ye said in an old voice which carried a deep sense of sincere gratitude straight from her soul, though it carried a slight fear at the end. “Although we hate those of the evil human race, you saved our young patriarch. From now on, you’re the great benefactor of our wood spirit clan. Please except this bow from us.

  “Young patriarch met with danger but then met such an honorable person, it’s definitely the blessing and protection from the patriarch in the heavens,” a middle aged wood spirit shouted, who then proceeded to kowtow to Yun Che.

  “...” Yun Che’s mouth was slightly agape. After a few moments, he awkwardly replied, “It was nothing much… All of this is not necessary.”

  Chapter 1076: The Race Abandoned by Fate

  “No, we wood spirits always know to repay favors, let alone such a great favor as this one.”

  Granny Qing Ye was the oldest among everyone present, so her words held the greatest weight. She said sincerely, “Young man, if you need something, feel free to tell us. We will definitely try our best to repay you.”

  “No need.” Yun Che shook his head. “The reason why I saved him isn’t because I was feeling righteous. My original target was a Wood Spirit Orb.”

  “Wh-what?” Yun Che’s reply cased all the wood spirits to immediately raise their heads. Their expressions slightly changed.

  “The reason why I spared He Lin is because he is only a little boy. I couldn’t bear to. If it was another wood spirit, I would’ve definitely forcibly taken both their life and Wood Spirit Orb. Since that’s the case, there is no need for you to thank me.”

  After seeing the sudden change in the wood spirit crowd’s faces, he turned around to leave and quickly headed for the exit.

  “Wait,” shouted an old voice.

  Yun Che’s foodsteps paused, yet he didn’t turn around as he said indifferently. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about this place.”

  “No,” Granny Qing Ye’s walked to him with a half bent waist. “You saved Lin’er, so you are our entire clan’s benefactor. Ho
w could we possibly not believe you? You said that you needed a Wood Spirit Orb, right?”

  Yun Che was stunned. He turned around.

  Granny Qing Ye gently smiled, her cloudy eyes then looked at the middle aged wood spirit beside He Lin. “Qing Mu, let’s give Qiu Ling’s Wood Spirit Orb to our benefactor, shall we?”

  A complicated turmoil surfaced in the eyes of the middle aged wood spirit named Qing Mu but he didn’t hesitate or make things difficult as he nodded lightly, “Of course.”

  “Then that’s great.” Granny Qing Mu smiled. “Young man, we just so happen to have a Wood Spirit Orb within our clan. Qing Mu’s wife specifically left that one behind after sustaining grievous injuries in the past. Although many years have passed since then, since it was sealed in a nature profound formation, its spirit energy has not decreased at all, so it ought to help you out.”

  Purposely left behind by a wood spirit, one whose spirit energy had yet to dissipate at all… this meant that it was a perfect Wood Spirit Orb with completely intact spirit energy, one that humans simply would never be able to forcibly take!!

  Yun Che was excited. “Are… you really going to give it to me?”

  “Hoho,” Qing Mu chuckled. “I would naturally not let any evil person take my deceased wife’s Wood Spirit Orb even if it meant my death. However, if it can repay the great benefactor who saved our young patriarch, I am sure even Qiu Ling in the heavens above would gladly consent.”

  “It’s just that, in order to keep evil people from taking it, my seal is extremely tight. I will need at least two to four hours to undo its seal. I would need benefactor to wait here a while during this time.”

  Yun Che spent a huge sum yet he did not forcibly take He Lin’s Wood Spirit Orb in the very end… But here, he was about to gifted a perfect Wood Spirit Orb.

  Even though it was still incomparable to He Lin’s Royal Wood Spirit Orb, a Wood Spirit Orb with completely intact spirit energy still far surpassed the seventy percent intact spirit energy Wood Spirit Orb Yun Che needed.

  The last of the melancholy in Yun Che’s heart was swept away as profound joy and gratitude bubbled from his heart. “If it’s like that… then thank you very much. I do indeed have an important reason to urgently need a Wood Spirit Orb.”

  “No need to say thanks. Your great favor can never be surpassed no matter how we repay you,” Granny Qing Ye said. “Qing Mu, go on now. Once you’ve gotten it, you can directly hand it to our benefactor.”

  Qing Mu complied and then flew away.

  “That’s great! I didn’t want to part with big brother yet!” cheered He Lin. He excitedly came before Yun Che and tugged at his sleeve. “Big brother, is it okay if I show you our home? Even though it’s small, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

  He Lin dragged him, formally inviting him into the little world that belonged to the wood spirits.

  With green trees as houses, and flowers and grass for seats, this was an inconceivably pure world. Not even the slightest filth could be smelled from the air in this place.

  Due to the avarice of humans, a race that originally received the protection of nature ended up in a more tragic and fallen state than any other race. They should have a deeply entrenched hatred for humans, yet when He Lin pulled him before wood spirits, one after the other and happily introduced him, they all expressed deep gratitude and heartfelt welcome. Perhaps they may have shown a bit of caution at first but he never felt the slightest bit of hatred from the very start.

  Wood spirits possessed the world’s purest of powers and the purest of hearts. As Yun Che sensed this in its entirety, his heart intensely thobbed.

  Even in the face of an enemy who was a hundred times more powerful than himself, his gaze would never cower. However, the clear purity in every one of these wood spirits’ emerald eyes made him not dare to look them straight in the eyes...

  This kind of race ought to receive the utmost protection of nature, why do they have to bear such a cruel, unfair fate...

  Because of humanity’s evil and greed...

  And because they were weak.

  The entire body of those belonging to the dragon race were also treasures but how could this world possibly dare to bully the clan of True Dragons in the Dragon God Realm?

  “Big Sister Qing He!”

  He Lin dragged Yun Che all the way to the ends of this little world. There was a huge garden that stretched far and wide, with all kinds of blossoming flowers flourishing in an explosion of colors. A colorfully dressed girl was at the center of the garden, gathering morning dew from the petals. Her graceful, lithe figure resembled a colorful, elegantly dancing butterfly within the myriad flowers. It was pleasing to the eye and intoxicating to the soul.

  Amidst He Lin’s high pitched shout, the girl within the garden turned, her soft gaze following shortly after. He Lin introduced Yun Che with rosy cheeks. “This is Big Sister Qing He. Oh, her father is Uncle Qing Mu. Big Sister Qing, this is the big brother who saved me. Even though he’s a big brother, he’s super duper powerful, you know.”

  The colorfully dressed girl looked to only be around fifteen or sixteen. Her bright face contained a young girl’s charming immaturity and a wood spirit’s beautiful purity. She gently bowed at Yun Che. “Thank you for saving our young patriarch, big brother.”

  Once she said those words, she didn’t dare to look Yun Che in the eyes a second time. She lowered her head as a slight flush spread across her cheeks.

  “Ah? Young patriarch, so you’ve brought Big Brother Benefactor here, no wonder I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

  The sound of a girl’s voice, which resembled clear spring water, came from behind them as a girl around the same age as Qing He gently fluttered over. Behind her followed a handsome, tall and slender young wood spirit who looked to be around seventeen years old.

  “Big Sister Fei Yan, Big Brother Qing Zhu!” He Lin shouted their names in a clear voice.

  When the two arrived, they stared at Yun Che for a long while. The young wood spirit named Qing Zhu then deeply bowed toward Yun Che. “Big Brother Benefactor, you saved our young patriarch and… I don’t even know how we can repay you.”

  “Thank you, Big Brother Benefactor.” The wood spirit girl named Fei Yan graciously bowed. Her clear, beautiful eyes then continued to curiously size Yun Che up. “There really are good people within humans too.”

  “Of course,” He Lin said with some pompousness. “When father and mother were still alive, they used to tell me that all the time. I knew that big brother was a really good person at first glance.”

  “Hmph! Young patriarch, you still have the gall to say that!?” Fei Yan raised a hand and heavily knocked He Lin on the forehead, fuming. “Do you know that you almost scared all of us to death!? Granny Qing Ye cried so many times. You… If you dare to do something like this again, I’m going to ignore you from then on.”

  He Lin covered his hurt forehead and didn’t dare to retort. He weakly answered quite pitifully, “Big Sister Fei Yan, I know that I was wrong. I won’t dare to do it again. I only… I only wanted to go out to see the outside world. I never expected to be that unlucky… Uuu, I really won’t do it again.”

  “Fei Yan, don’t speak to young patriarch like that. He will definitely be obedient from now on,” Qing He protectively said in a gentle voice. When she was speaking, she sneakily glanced at Yun Che before hurriedly lowering her head again.

  “Hmph, in any case, I’ll be firmly looking after young patriarch from now on!” Fei Yan said while puffing her cheeks.

  At this point, Qing Zhu couldn’t hold back his curiosity as he asked somewhat eagerly. “Young patriarch, what happened after you snuck out? And how is the outside world? Is it really as magical as what Granny Qing Ye and Uncle Qing Mu said it was? Tell us!”

  “T-this…” He Lin said anxiously. “I got caught by someone not too long after I snuck out. A-after that, I was always scared, so I didn’t have time to think about anything else. Ah! Right!”

&n
bsp; He Ling’s eyes suddenly flashed as he turned to Yun Che. “Big brother, how about you tell us about the outside world? Is that okay?”

  He Lin’s words instantly brought them to their senses. Qin He, Fei Yan and Qing Zhu all immediately stared at Yun Che… who was the first human that came to their little world from the outside world. “Big Brother Benefactor, you must know a lot about the outside world. We really, really, really want to hear about it.”

  Four pairs of emerald eyes flashed with the same anticipation and longing. These gazes made Yun Che’s soul suddenly clench, as though it had been pricked with a needle. They had always lived a life on the run and spent it amidst terror and caution. They were only safe in their little world. To them, every place in the outside world could be said to be an abyss of death.

  The more they yearned and longed for it, the crueler their fate would be.

  Yun Che breathed in deeply and then said gently, “Actually, my home isn’t in the God Realm. It is in a faraway place, in a distance lower realm… The first place I came to when I arrived in the God Realm was a white world of endless snow. The earth, seas and rivers were all covered in ice and snow that would never melt. Even the sky was so white that it seemed as though it was covered in a layer of snow… The halls in that place would be many tens of kilometers long, the biggest being a few hundred kilometers…”

  Without mentioning specific names, Yun Che began to talk about the world he was born from, talk about the Snow Song Realm’s white colored world and its mystical Heavenly Netherfrost Lake, talk about the Flame God Realm’s boundless flaming purgatory… He even talked about the two frightening, cunning, ancient horned dragons in the sea of fire...

  The quartet of young wood spirits listened as though they were in a trance and at times, cried out in surprise.

  They only listened and then imagined it in their heads. They were fundamentally unable to truly know what it would look like, what kind of spectacle it would be. But even so, to them, who were eternally “caged” within their little world, this brought them unprecedented excitement.