Against the Gods

A personality weakness?

Did she seriously mean that someone as unrelentingly ruthless and sinister as Qianye Ying’er had a personality weakness?

“You mean to say that… Qianye Fantian is very important to Qianye Ying’er?” asked Yun Che.

While it was perfectly normal for a father to have a special and irreplaceable place in their daughter’s heart… this was Qianye Ying’er they were talking about! Yun Che could hardly believe his own words when he uttered them.

“Correction: he is extremely important to Qianye Ying’er!” replied Xia Qingyue.

Yun Che, “...”

“You should’ve heard that Qianye Ying’er is the child of Qianye Fantian’s first wife, also the God Empress of the Brahma Monarch God Realm. However, the truth is Qianye Ying’er is just the child of a normal concubine. The God Empress’ child is really the Brahma Monarch Crown Prince.”

Yun Che, “??” (Brahma Monarch Crown Prince? Why do I feel like I’ve never heard of this title?)

“From a very young age, Qianye Ying’er had already displayed a shocking amount of talent and an even greater thirst for the profound way. Her ambition came from two things: the environment she was raised in, and her mother.”

“Qianye Fantian has two thousand concubines, and the laws of survival employed by the Brahma Monarch God Realm are merciless and cruel. You can imagine just how hard it is for a normal concubine to live in that environment. The young Qianye Ying’er and her mother were dependent on one another, and she cultivated, fought for resources and opportunities, and grew increasingly cunning and ruthless to improve her mother’s status and authority. Since her talent for the profound way was already astounding in the first place… her growth speed naturally alarmed the Brahma Monarch God Realm and Qianye Fantian.”

“At the time, Qianye Ying’er wasn’t as selfish and unscrupulous as she is now. In fact, half… no, more than half the time, she acted the way she did only because it would benefit her mother.”

“Qianye Fantian started paying more and more attention to Qianye Ying’er, and her mother naturally rose because of it. But Qianye Ying’er didn’t grow stagnant just because she had won his full attention. On the contrary, she continued to exploit the increasing amount of resources and opportunities she was given to the full, and grew even faster than before… Some time later, Qianye Fantian even sent out a secret order to the entire Brahma Monarch God Realm to warn everyone that they were not to discuss or leak Qianye Ying’er’s presence to the world.”

Xia Qingyue shifted her gaze slightly and asked, “Do you know what this secret order means?”

“It’s both a form of protection… and a special form of expectation,” replied Yun Che.

“That’s right. Everyone noticed that something was up once the order was sent out, and obviously the ones who were most unsettled by it were the Brahma Monarch Crown Prince and the Brahma Monarch God Empress! At the time, there were already rumors saying that the Brahma Heaven God Emperor was planning to raise Qianye Ying’er with all he had, and that she was the obvious choice to succeed his throne. What this means is that the Brahma Monarch Crown Prince and the Brahma Monarch God Empress may be abolished in the near future, since Qianye Ying’er’s mother is probably going to be made the empress.”

“Then, just four days after the secret order was sent out… Qianye Ying’er’s mother was killed.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Qianye Ying’er herself had suffered an ambush, but she was a late stage Divine Sovereign, and she was paranoid enough to carry the protective profound artifact Qianye Fantian had personally gifted her, so she managed to escape unharmed… but she had failed to protect her own mother. Or should I say she had been too young to realize just how low a person could stoop, and how cruel the laws of survival really were.”

“To think that they would be attacked in the Brahma Monarch God Realm,” said Yun Che while shaking his head, “they really are all crazy.”

“Although no sure proof or evidence could be found, everyone knows that the only people who might attempt to assassinate Qianye Ying’er and her mother despite the tremendous risks were the God Empress and the Crown Prince.”

“It was said that Qianye Ying’er was so miserable she almost committed suicide… As a victim of Qianye Ying’er’s ruthlessness and frightful methods, I’m sure you must find it unimaginable that she would almost fall apart for another person. But that was a different Qianye Ying’er from the past. In fact, it was that incident which made her into the monster she is today.”

“On the same day, Qianye Fantian did something unimaginable as his fury spread through the entire Brahma Monarch God Realm… he personally sentenced the God Empress and Crown Prince to death!”

“What!?” Yun Che was shocked.

He had… put his God Empress and his own son to death… on the same day? His Crown Prince no less!

“That wasn’t all. He also declared their names to be removed from the Brahma Monarch God Realm’s ancestral records forever, and forbade anyone from mentioning their names ever again. After that, he conferred Qianye Ying’er’s mother the title of God Empress.”

“To think… that something like this happened in the past,” muttered Yun Che.

“Do you understand now?” asked Xia Qingyue.

Yun Che nodded slightly and said, “Her mother was the most important person in her life. Most of her effort was for the sake of her mother. When her mother was killed, her father used the cruelest and bloodiest method to take revenge for her, and gave her mother the highest glory and consolation. That is part of, if not all of why Qianye Ying’er’s love and dependency for her mother have been carried over to Qianye Fantian… not to mention an unforgettable sense of gratitude as well.”

“In short…” Xia Qingyue turned away as if she didn’t want Yun Che to see the iciness sparkling behind her pupils. “Qianye Fantian is now the only representation of affection and love she had left in her humanity. Moreover, that piece of her soul is the one thing that she couldn’t lose no matter what, precisely because she had grown indifferent towards everything else.”

“And that, is the only weakness of Qianye Ying’er!”

Yun Che, “...”

“On the one hand, her weakness is the strongest god emperor in the entire Eastern Divine Region. No one would even think to exploit this even if everyone in the world knew about it. On the other hand… a weakness is a weakness.”

Someone as strong as Qianye Fantian could be a weakness? Yun Che doubted that anyone except Xia Qingyue would even consider something this preposterous. They would only think of it as no more than a joke.

But Xia Qingyue was serious...

The secret of the Brahma Monarch God Realm… the weakness in Qianye Ying’er’s personality… the temperament of Qianye Fantian… the Evil Infant devilish energy… the fact that he could control the darkness profound energy… and finally the Sky Poison's power...

How in the world did she manage to put all of this together!?

“Qingyue,” Yun Che asked suddenly, “can you answer a question?”

Xia Qingyue, “?”

“Do I… count as your weakness?” He stared straight into her eyes.

“You were,” she answered without any hesitation or emotion. “Back then, I could’ve betrayed my foster father and Moon God Realm for you. I could’ve given up everything I had to beg Senior Shen Xi as well.”

“...What about now?”

Xia Qingyue turned around and faced him directly, her beautiful and serene eyes staring straight into his. “Right now, I have no weakness.”

Yun Che, “...”

“But you on the other hand, are riddled with them!”

Yun Che couldn’t say anything for a long time.

Xia Qingyue turned around and walked away slowly, “Take this time to cool your head and consider your next step carefully. Although I’m using you to take revenge against Qianye Ying’er, you will benefit greatly if our attempt succeeds. I am the Moon God Emperor, I wouldn’t borrow your time and effort without compensating you fairly.”

“Oh right,” she suddenly paused for a second and asked a strange question, “how many people have you killed in your whole life?”

“...A couple million give or take,” replied Yun Che.

“What about the past three years?” asked Xia Qingyue again.

Yun Che thought for a moment before answering, “Four.”

“I thought that the blood stench on you was surprisingly thin.” Xia Qingyue closed her eyes slightly before asking, “Why?”

“There is no special reason. I just didn’t feel like bloodying my hands too much during these past few years.” Yun Che smiled faintly before continuing, “I’m sure you must find this hilarious, but you’ll probably understand what I mean after you have your own children.”

“In fact, the amount of people I saved during the crimson calamity far exceeds the amount of people I’ve killed in the past. Maybe that’s why my mindset is tending more and more towards harmony as of late, especially when I was around my daughter.”

Xia Qingyue shifted her feet and went away without a word.

    …………

After leaving her bedroom, Xia Qingyue let out a quiet sigh before calling out, “Lian Yue.”

A girl dressed in blue-colored moon robes appeared in front of her and knelt.

“Please head to the Eternal Heaven God Realm yourself and invite the Eternal Heaven God Emperor over to the Moon God Realm in three days. Remember to tell him that Yun Che is here, that way he won’t turn you down.”

“Understood,” Lian Yue vanished into moonlight after the reply.

“I hope this will work,” Xia Qingyue muttered to herself. “He wouldn’t suffer any consequences even if it doesn’t work in the end. But…”

She looked up and stared at the white moon. It hung majestically and proudly in the sky, but no one knew where it came from, and where it would end up in the end.

    …………

Southern Divine Region, at a dangerous place no one dared to approach.

This place was called the Forgotten Lands of the Heretic God. According to the records, the ancient Heretic God lived here in seclusion after abandoning his original title. This was also where Jasmine had obtained the Heretic God’s Indestructible Blood.

However, this place was a complete wasteland right now. No special aura could be detected here, but there were groups of terrifying profound beasts everywhere.

Jia Yan was floating quietly in the sky.

She had been floated there for a whole day and night without moving an inch. All she did was watch.

She was hoping to find something with her mind, but there was only desolation and emptiness in this place. There wasn’t even a trace or mark of his existence.

This land had been scoured a million times over after the people had learned that this was the Forgotten Lands of the Heretic God, and that the Heavenly Slaughter Star God had found his inheritance here. Naturally, nothing was left behind in this place.

Finally, she withdrew her gaze and spiritual perception, but instead of returning to You’er she chose a random direction and took off.

She was trying to find a trace of him in the nearby star realms.

She passed through a wasteland, a forest, and countless rivers before a human city abruptly entered her eyes. However, this city was currently under siege by a sudden calamity.

“Why would the profound beasts of Silent Forest suddenly… Uaaah!”

“Could it be the same profound beast riots as the ones in the Eastern Divine Region!?”

“Run… Run!!”

The sudden attack had caused the defenseless humans to succumb to panic. Their resistance seemed entirely useless before the waves of profound beasts… Terror, bloodcurdling screams, and despair spread throughout the entire city like wildfire.

“Run, Xin’er, Run!!”

A pair of parents were running away with their ten year old daughter while repelling the profound beasts that wouldn’t stop attacking them. They were slowly but surely running out of strength.

Boom!

The parents managed to block the profound beasts’ attacks, but some of the shockwaves still managed to get through their defense. As a result, their daughter was swept into the air and fell toward a giant profound beast in the distance.

The parents’ despairing roars and the girl’s screams resounded through the air.

Suddenly, a black flash appeared between the girl and the profound beast. The profound beast behind her instantly dissolved into a puff of black dust, and the power acting on the girl was perfectly dispelled. The girl herself was perfectly unharmed besides her shock.

Jie Yuan tossed the girl back to her parents and was about to leave.

The parents didn’t express any gratitude towards Jie Yuan after catching their daughter, however. There was only infinite shock and fear as they retreated while shivering. “Devil… a devil person! It’s a devil!!”

Jie Yuan, “...”

“Daddy, she’s the one who saved me! She’s the one who saved me!” The girl’s shock hadn’t completely faded yet, but her voice was incredibly clear.

“No! She’s a devil person!” The girl retreated while putting her daughter behind her, her eyes flashing with fear… and hatred. “She is the scariest, dirtiest, and most sinful devil person mother told you about many times before!”

“Quickly! Get to the mayor and tell him that a devil person has shown up besides the profound beasts!”

“These rioting profound beasts could possibly be… No! They’re definitely related to these devil people! Quickly! Tell the mayor and the great realm king right now! We cannot allow these devil people to leave alive!”

“...” Jie Yuan closed her eyes and vanished from view. All that was left was a disaster that seemed like it would never end.