Against the Gods (Web Novel)
chapter-1678

“The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor!?” Yan Tianxiao reacted loudly. He seemed to be intimidated by the words “Devil Emperor”.

Yun Che said, “Before the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left, she told me that there is a place at the center of the Northern Divine Region that is overflowing with dark energy, probably because it is the graveyard of many primordial devils. It is the best place to cultivate darkness profound energy in the current world.”

“Do you understand my meaning, Yama Emperor?”

Apparently, Yun Che wanted to cultivate in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

He even brought up the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor as a threat to make him comply.

Whether it was his true intention or not, he clearly desired to enter the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. It was also true that it was currently the best place to cultivate darkness profound energy in the entire Primal Chaos Dimension.

“This…” Yan Tianxiao looked hesitant. He suddenly turned toward his son before asking, “Jie’er, how is the barrier of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness right now?”

Picking up his meaning immediately, Yan Jie replied, “Royal father, the ancestors haven’t gone into secluded cultivation lately. They also gave me the order to enter the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and cultivate eight hours per day, so they haven’t closed off the area.”

Yan Tianxiao exhaled slightly. “I guess it is fate after all.”

“If this is the will of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, then this king can make an exception for Brother Yun. However… it is ultimately up to the ancestors to decide whether they’ll tolerate your presence or not.”

“Very well.” Yun Che nodded. His stiff expression finally relaxed a little into a satisfied smile. “Thank you for accommodating me, Yama Emperor.”

“Hehe, you’re welcome, Brother Yun.” Yan Tianxiao let out a chuckle before continuing, “Speaking of which, would you like to take a rest before…”

“No need.” Yun Che raised a hand. “We’ll go to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness right now.”

Yan Tianxiao stopped trying and nodded. “Very well. This king will lead you there myself just in case he needs to put in a good word for you.”

He waved a hand at Yan Jie and Yan Wu. “You may leave now.” Then, he personally guided Yun Che to the entrance of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

One of them looked urgent, and the other one looked hesitant. However, they both looked forward to the moment Yun Che got close to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

The Yama Emperor’s temperament was very different from the Burning Moon God Emperor’s. He was a tyrannical and decisive man who feared nothing and no one. He never even had to consider the consequences of his actions because he was secure in the knowledge that the Yama Realm couldn’t be defeated no matter what.

That was the case until Yun Che had arrived.

The moment he met Yun Che, he had forcefully changed his usual behavior and suppressed his mighty presence.

Yan Tianxiao wasn’t so stupid that he would act all high and mighty toward everyone.

Still, this was definitely the first time he had changed his behavior so drastically since he had become the strongest emperor of the Northern Divine Region.

Yun Che was also the first person in the history of Yama Realm to cow the Yama Emperor into obedience with his arrival alone.

The death of Fen Daojun, the collapse of the Burning Moon Realm, the Devil Emperor’s inheritance, the frightened Yan Wu, and Yun Che’s complete lack of fear despite visiting an enemy’s territory all by himself...

It was only natural that the Yama Emperor was afraid to act carelessly.

In reality, all Yan Tianxiao needed to do to take down Yun Che was to turn around and attack him. Yun Che would be lucky to escape with just some serious injuries.

Yun Che was currently deep inside the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness. Even if Yun Che had the Eternal Calamity of Darkness and Moon Splitting Cascade, he was surrounded by a sea of experts. One misstep, and he might lose his life just like that.

Due to his earlier preparations, the risk of the Yama Emperor attacking him without warning was reduced to a minimal level. Right this moment, the god emperor had neither the courage nor a reason to tempt fate.

He had to thank them for putting him through the Barrier of Eternal Darkness and the Weeping Yama Formation, although he would’ve found a chance to display his abilities even if they hadn’t tested him.

After all, he was the only one who truly understood the power of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness. Its power could grind anyone’s common sense about the power of darkness into powder, much less scare the living daylight out of the Yama Emperor.

The entrance to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness lay at the center of the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness.

A cold, dark wind brushed past the duo’s skin when they entered a huge, dark hall. The end of the hall was covered in dozens of darkness formations, and at the center of them was a black, bottomless pit where not even a ray of light could be seen.

Yun Che released his spiritual perception. The darkness energy flowing out of the open maw was so thick that it almost clung to the body. Occasionally, he could hear terrifying noises that sounded like the wails of devils or ghouls.

“This, is the entrance to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.”

Yan Tianxiao’s expression was serious and devout as he introduced the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness to Yun Che.

It was the place that made Yama Realm an unbeatable realm in the history of the Northern Divine Region after all.

However, dozens of thoughts were spinning rapidly behind his solemn appearance.

Yan Tianxiao was tempted to ask Yun Che a couple of questions and test him on the way to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness, but he ultimately stopped himself because he was worried that he would slip up and alarm Yun Che.

He was clearly overthinking things.

“The yin energy of the remains of the ancient devils is truly extraordinary,” Yun Che muttered seemingly to himself as he stared at the bottomless abyss.

“But of course,” Yan Tianxiao said. “It wouldn’t have drawn the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s attention otherwise.”

They were about a hundred meters away from the gaping maw that was the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. However, Yan Tianxiao didn’t relax in the slightest.

There was no way Yun Che came all the way here without knowing about the three immortal Yama Ancestors. Anyone who was trapped inside the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness must face a trio of unkillable monsters who could regenerate their strength at a moment’s notice. Even if the victim was a person of unparalleled power, death was their only possible fate.

Even if this person possessed power that transcended even the highest power of the current world, there was no way they could outlast the three Yama Ancestors.

There was no way Yun Che and the Soul Stealing Realm wouldn’t know this.

Equally, he refused to believe that Yun Che had come all the way here without any preparation whatsoever.

Countless thoughts flashed across Yan Tianxiao’s mind, but he wiped everything away when he arrived at his final decision. All that was left behind his pupils was a hidden gleam of ruthlessness.

“Brother Yun.” Yan Tianxiao looked hesitant as he said, “this king has no qualms about you entering the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. However, the three ancestors…”

“Are you worried that the three ancestors will deny me, Yama Emperor?” Yun Che said without looking away from the entrance to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. It was almost as if he was too lazy to speak with Yan Tianxiao now that his destination was right in front of him. His pupils were gleaming with black excitement.

“You do not know this, Brother Yun,” Yan Tianxiao said as he let out a sigh, “but this is where the three venerable ancestors…”

Boom!!!

Yun Che was struck above the waist before the sorrowful-sounding word could even fade into the distance.

He truly deserved to be called the strongest god emperor of the Northern Divine Region. Not only did his attack come out of nowhere, he moved faster than any living being could possibly react.

Although the strike was swift and sudden, the strength behind it was still as great as the heavens. The instantaneous eruption of divine power shook even the blue sky above.

Pfff!

Yun Che vomited a mouthful of blood as he flew toward the black abyss like a meteor. He was traveling so quickly that it caused a shrill noise that sounded like air was being shredded.

Yan Tianxiao was caught off guard by the splatter of blood, but his hands didn’t slow in the slightest. The profound formations collapsed upon the entrance to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness in an instant and sealed it completely.

Rumble

The spinning profound formations merged into one before they were linked to the great protective formation that surrounded the Yama Imperial District itself. In the end, it became the most despair-inducing sealing formation the Northern Divine Region had ever known.

That was how Yun Che was sealed inside the “tomb” of his doom.

The eruption of his power and the sudden sealing of the profound formations startled everyone in the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness into action. The Yama Devils who had already heard of Yun Che’s arrival quickly rushed to their god emperor’s aid.

But all they saw was Yan Tianxiao standing alone at the center of the hall and the profound formation which was completely sealed. Yun Che was nowhere to be seen.

“Did you succeed, royal father?” Yan Jie asked urgently.

“Mn,” Yan Tianxiao replied indifferently.

“That’s good.” Yan Wu let out a huge sigh of relief, but she quickly noticed that her father was wearing an odd expression. She frowned and asked, “What else is wrong, royal father?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Yan Tianxiao shook his head before staring at the blood that was seeping into his palm. “I just realized that he played us for a fool, that’s all.”

“What?” The Yama Devils exclaimed in shock and tensed up instinctively.

“Hmph, settle down. This king is talking about something else.” Yan Tianxiao made a grabbing motion with his palm before turning toward Yan Wu. “Wu’er, what Yun Che showed you was probably the special abilities of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness.”

“Since it is the power of the Devil Emperor, it’s only natural that it exceeded your recognition.”

“However, his actual strength is… hmph!” Yan Tianxiao humphed loudly. “He is stronger than what you would expect from a Divine Sovereign, but he is of no threat to us at all. To think that he managed to fool even me!”

“What… do you mean?” Yan Wu asked.

Yan Tianxiao showed his palm to his subjects. It was covered in Yun Che’s blood. “This king had to act swiftly just now, so I managed to gather only twenty percent of my strength at most. this king was hoping to catch him off guard with the surprise attack before knocking him into the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness using the profound formations and my full power.”

“This strike alone was all it took to knock him down into the pit and injure him seriously… what a joke!”

When Yan Tianxiao recalled how wary and friendly he had acted toward Yun Che, he clenched his fists so tightly that his joints were popping. It was the greatest humiliation he had to suffer since he became a god emperor.

While the Yama Devils were frowning deeply, Yan Jie said, “So everything he did earlier was…”

“Hmph. He came alone and acted arrogantly and rudely. It was all to heighten our sense of danger,” Yan Tianxiao said coldly. “No wonder he came so quickly. He was trying to hit us while we were still intimidated by what he did to the Burning Moon Realm!”

“The power he used to kill Fen Daojun isn’t his normal strength. In fact, it might’ve been a once-in-a-lifetime power. We were this close to falling for his and the Devil Queen’s trick!”

If he hadn’t acted decisively and ruthlessly, who knew how long he would’ve been led by the nose by Yun Che.

Yan Wu stared at the blood in Yan Tianxiao’s hand intently. She started recalling the time Yun Che had broken the Barrier of Eternal Darkness and the Weeping Yama Formation.

What he did was still impressive and terrifying, but now that she thought about it, there were barely any fluctuations in his profound energy at all. It was closer to a special power that transcended her recognition than brute strength.

“I see now,” Yan Wu muttered to herself in anger and humiliation. “His courage is commendable though.”

“He was planning to do something big, and his opponent was us, the Yama Devils. A lesser man wouldn’t be able to attempt what he did.” There was admiration in Yan Tianxiao’s voice as well.

“We could’ve spared our venerable ancestors the trouble of killing him, but the outcome is the same in the end.” Yan Tianxiao’s eyes flashed darkly. “There is no place to run in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness, and who knows… the three ancestors might be able to force out the secret of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness from him.”

“If they could strip the Devil Emperor’s inheritance from him, then even better!”

Yun Che’s descent into darkness was long and swift, but the impact he was waiting for didn’t come.

Wind infused with yin energy roared past his ears. The deeper he fell, the more violent the yin energy became.

Grudge, hatred, death, killing intent… all kinds of negative emotions were blasting against his face with a repulsive stench. Any person in his situation would believe that they were falling toward the mythical purgatory.

“Cough… cough cough!”

Yun Che’s cough was soft, but blood spilled out of his mouth every time he coughed.

Although the breakthrough in the Great Way of the Buddha had transformed his body entirely, what hit him was the power of a god emperor. Not even he could endure it without pitting all the power he possessed against it.

Another level eight Divine Sovereign would’ve been crushed to bits already.

Normally, Yun Che would’ve recovered from this level of injury in no time. But since he was falling into the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and soaking in an insane amount of darkness profound energy, his recovery speed was several times faster than before.

Even now, he was recovering at an exponential rate.

Fifteen minutes… thirty minutes...

Yun Che didn’t accelerate toward the ground. He simply allowed himself to free fall through the air for forty five minutes straight before his feet finally slammed the bottom of the abyss.

The particular area he landed in wasn’t completely covered in darkness. Countless devil bones were gleaming with phosphorescence. But instead of chasing away the terror, the tiny light only made the world of darkness even scarier and more oppressive than it already was.

The devil bones came in all shapes and sizes. Some of them were several thousand meters long. Some of them were relatively intact. Plenty more had turned into broken fragments of darkness.

The darkness profound energy here was so thick that it was practically solid. Yun Che almost felt like he was floating in the middle of a water current. Darkness profound energy roared into every corner of his body like miniature tempests without any intent from him at all.

Three breaths after his feet landed on solid ground, the injury Yan Tianxiao gave him… had healed completely.

Tap!

“Heh… hehe… hehehehe…

Suddenly, the sound of tumbling bones and a twisted laugh came from somewhere in the darkness. It made the black graveyard even scarier than before.

Yun Che slowly turned toward the direction where the sinister laughter had come from. But the expression on his face was not of fear, but a cruel sneer.