Against the Gods

Xia Qingyue’s declaration shocked Yun Che so much that he actually staggered within the profound formations. At the entrance, Lian Yue also shuddered as her eyes turned wide with shock.

Slave… slave imprint!?

She wants to plant a… slave imprint inside the Brahma Monarch Goddess!?

A slave imprint was without a doubt one of the cruelest mental imprints in the world. A person who was implanted with a slave imprint would obey any order given by the implanter. Even if the order was to kill themselves immediately, they wouldn’t be able to summon a shred of willpower to rebel against the order. They would execute it without any hesitation.

Even after the implanter was dead, the person with the slave mark would still sustain their master’s will and serve loyally unto their death!

In short, those who were implanted with slave imprints would become the implanter’s most loyal servants! Moreover, it was almost impossible to remove through external force!

The ruthlessness of slave imprints was why it was strictly forbidden even among the lower realms. Not even the emperor of a nation or the leader of a sect was allowed to implant a slave imprint in their lowliest servant.

Yun Che had heard of slave imprints a long time ago, but he had only witnessed it in action once in his whole life after the Little Demon Empress had reacquired her political power and threatened her enemies with utter annihilation and eternal infamy. She had implanted a slave imprint in every patriarch and duke who had rebelled against her, turning them all into her most loyal dogs! If anyone dared to say anything bad against her or disobey her, they would itch to tear this person apart with their bare teeth.

Naturally, a cruel mental imprint like this normally had an incredibly low chance of success. This was especially true after a person had achieved the divine way or reached Divine Soul Realm. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was almost, if not completely, impossible!

Even if the target divine way profound practitioner was close to death or unconscious, any bit of mental resistance would shrug off even a Divine Master’s attempt to implant a soul imprint.

Therefore, the only possibility for the implantation of a slave imprint to succeed was for the target to withdraw all thoughts of resistance, or even embrace it willingly.

As for the idea of implanting a slave imprint inside the Brahma Monarch Goddess...

It must be the most laughable and most ridiculous thing ever said in the entire Eastern Divine Region! And yet, it had come out of Xia Qingyue’s mouth in a tone that would tolerate no rebuke!

Qianye Ying’er was the daughter of Qianye Fantian, the future Brahma Heaven God Emperor, and the number one Lady Goddess in the entire world! Forget the sheer impossibility of implanting a slave imprint in her to make her serve a master as slave for three thousand years straight, no one had even considered such an audacious plan!

Yun Che was shocked. Lian Yue was shocked. But Qianye Ying’er… didn’t look nearly as shaken as she should’ve been. A smile that was both sorrowful and ridiculing at once sprung to her lips, “As I thought… that is all the likes of you can think of, Xia Qingyue!”

“Considering the evils you’ve done to me and Yun Che, and the fact this slave imprint comes with the price of saving your father and the eight Brahma Kings, this king believes you got off too easy, Brahma Monarch Goddess.” Xia Qingyue’s eyes was completely unreadable. “Can you afford to turn this down?”

Behind her mask, Qianye Ying’er narrowed her eyes bit by bit before she finally nodded. “Very well…”

Qianye Ying’er’s answer caused Yun Che’s eyes to widen to their fullest. He couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears at all… Outside the hall, Lian Yue had also turned around with shock and disbelief riddled across her face as well.

“I knew this would be the outcome. I’d already resigned myself to my fate since the moment I came here,” Qianye Ying’er said slowly and calmly. The only thing that betrayed her true emotions was her heavy breathing. “I agree… to become Yun Che’s temporary slave, but…the Eternal Heaven God Emperor must bear witness to all this!”

Yun Che was completely stunned when the line “I agree to become Yun Che’s temporary slave” came out of Qianye Ying’er’s mouth.

It was the most ridiculous and impossible thing to accomplish in the world… But Qianye Ying’er of all people had actually agreed to it!

And Xia Qingyue… was sure that she would agree to it from the beginning!?

    w……t……f？？？

It was obvious that Xia Qingyue’s study of Qianye Ying’er had far exceeded her elaboration to him earlier!

Besides Qianye Ying’er herself and her father, Xia Qingyue might be the third person to know her better than anyone else in the world… and the catalyst behind all this was bone deep hatred!

“As you wish.” Xia Qingyue looked towards the entrance and said, “Lian Yue, please bring the Eternal Heaven God Emperor over.”

“Yes.” Lian Yue went away quickly after receiving her orders.

Qianye Ying’er raised her eyebrows slightly before saying, “It takes twenty hours at least to make it to and from the Eternal Heaven God Realm, not to mention that the Eternal Heaven God Emperor is often busy! You better keep my father safe in the meantime, or else…”

“You seem to be overthinking things, Brahma Monarch Goddess,” Xia Qingyue interrupted indifferently. At the same time, Lian Yue returned with a powerful and familiar figure by her side.

Qianye Ying’er abruptly turned around and stared at the old man walking into the sacred hall slowly with a complicated expression on his face...

It was none other than the Eternal Heaven God Emperor himself!

Yun Che: (So he’s the “honored guest” Qingyue mentioned earlier… Qingyue must’ve predicted that Qianye Ying’er would request the Eternal Heaven God Emperor as witness! That was why she had invited him to the Moon God Realm beforehand!)

Xia Qingyue turned around and bowed slightly. “Apologies for the lack of reception, Eternal Heaven God Emperor. As you may have realized, this situation is somewhat special.”

“...” Qianye Ying’er looked up slowly while gritting her teeth. “I underestimated you, Xia Qingyue!”

“There is no better witness than the Eternal Heaven God Emperor in the entire world, which is why this king invited him to the Moon God Realm ahead of time. Now then, Brahma Monarch Goddess. Is there any other request you’d like to make?”

“Sigh.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor sighed quietly. “Moon God Emperor, is this why you’ve invited me over?”

“That’s right.” Xia Qingyue nodded. She could hear the disappointment and reproach in his tone, but she didn’t appear flustered by them in the slightest. “You’ve heard all our conversation through the sound transmission profound formation. The slave imprint is something both this king and the Lady Goddess have agreed upon. This king would be infinitely grateful if you would bear witness to this implantation ceremony later.”

Qianye Ying’er, “...”

“Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!” said the Eternal Heaven God Emperor while shaking his head, his amiable voice sounding slightly angry. Although both he and Xia Qingyue were god emperors, he absolutely had the seniority to scold her like a junior. “Moon God Emperor, this old one doesn’t know the full truth behind your grudge with the Lady Goddess, but I wasn’t completely blind to it either. Still, your revenge should never result in a taboo like the ‘slave imprint’!”

“This cruel imprint is forbidden even to the likes of mere mortals, much less to god emperors and lady goddesses!”

It was only natural for the Eternal Heaven God Emperor to react the way he did. Slave imprints were so cruel that it was considered utterly inhumane and unacceptable to the world, so of course the Eternal Heaven God Emperor couldn’t allow this to happen!

But Xia Qingyue showed no fear despite his reprimand. Instead, she asked in a cool tone, “In that case, which one do you think is worse, a slave imprint or the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark, Eternal Heaven God Emperor? Which one do you think is more unacceptable and unforgivable?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor was just about to give an answer when he suddenly frowned as if just realizing something. “What do you mean by that, Moon God Emperor?”

Xia Qingyue said slowly, “A few years ago, Yun Che was forced to escape to the Dragon God Realm and missed the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm as a result. You’re probably aware that this has something to do with the Brahma Monarch God Realm, but did you know... that it was because Yun Che had been implanted with the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark by Qianye Ying’er’s own hands!?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s mind went blank for a second. Then, he came back to himself and shouted, “What did you say!?”

Qianye Ying’er looked away and coldly snorted in response.

“Yun Che took refuge in the Dragon God Realm not because he was forced to escape to that area. It was because the only person in the whole world who can remove the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark besides the implanter herself is Dragon Goddess Shen Xi,” Xia Qingyue said with cold eyes. At this point, Xia Qingyue’s presence actually threatened to overwhelm the stunned Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s. “You should know just how terrible and cruel the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark is, Eternal Heaven God Emperor!”

“After all, the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark is known to the God Realm as the cruelest soul imprint of them all, not a slave imprint!”

Terribly shaken, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor abruptly turned towards Qianye Ying’er. “You… you really implanted a Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark in Yun Che before!?”

Qianye Ying’er didn’t give him any response.

“Disgraceful!!” The most mild-tempered god emperor in the world could no longer suppress his fury as red color crawled onto his face. “How… how could you do this!?”

“Back then, Qianye Ying’er had already figured out that Yun Che possess the inheritance of the Heretic God. That was why she had driven Yun Che and this king to a dead end and tried to force Yun Che into revealing all of his secrets. To force him into giving her the Heretic God’s inheritance, she implanted the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark inside of him…”

“Forget that this imprint drops its victim into a bottomless purgatory and makes them wish they were dead… you should understand what the power of the Heretic God truly mean, Eternal Heaven God Emperor. If someone hadn’t shown up and saved us back then, if the Dragon Queen Shen Xi hadn’t granted Yun Che her favor and removed the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark inside him, Yun Che would’ve succumbed to the torture already. What do you think would’ve happened when the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor came back? Even now, the fate of our lives and the God Realm are still unknown!”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s expression changed again.

“Yun Che is the indisputable savior of the world, but Qianye Ying’er had implanted a soul imprint in him that was far worse than a slave imprint for her own greed, nearly causing the annihilation of the world as a result! Tell me, is this king wrong to return the favor with a slave imprint!?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor couldn’t say anything against that. Even his initial anger and repulsion towards the slave imprint had been turned back against Qianye Ying’er tens of times stronger than before!

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor couldn’t tolerate the slave imprint. Naturally the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark was even more out of the question.

Even worse than that was the fact that Qianye Ying’er had implanted it inside of Yun Che… the world savior he had entrusted all of his hopes to!

Xia Qingyue was right. If Shen Xi hadn’t removed the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark from Yun Che, he would’ve succumbed to its torture and died already… thus wiping out the only hope to save the world!

Cold sweat immediately covered the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s body when he thought of that possibility.

Even if Qianye Ying’er hadn’t held her silence, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor still wouldn’t have doubted Xia Qingyue’s words. After all, even he knew that Qianye Ying’er would stoop to that level if she knew that Yun Che possessed the Heretic God’s inheritance!

“Moreover…” Xia Qingyue continued, “Not only is making Qianye Ying’er Yun Che’s temporary slave the rightful price she should pay for her crimes, it is also a kind of protection for Yun Che. This removes one of the people most likely to do him harm, and turns her into one of his staunchest protectors. Surely you’re aware just how powerful this enemy of Yun Che is.”

“The Primal Chaos is in danger right now, and the only one who can stop the devil gods from ravaging the world is Yun Che. Even if there were no devil gods, you can imagine how the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor would react if an accident or a murderous plot were to befall him. Therefore, his safety is equivalent to the safety of the entire world. If Qianye Ying’er can act as his bodyguard—a protector who was implanted with a slave imprint—I dare say that she’d perform her job better than even we god emperors.”

“Don’t you think so as well, Eternal Heaven God Emperor?”

“...” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor fell silent for a long time, but his gaze was different from before. At first, he had found the idea of a slave imprint extremely repulsive and disgusting. But now, as his gaze swam back and forth between Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er… he found himself growing more and more tempted by the idea!