Against the Gods

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Yun Che neither looked anxious nor afraid, despite facing the Brahma Heaven God Emperor’s question and everyone’s gazes. Puzzled, he frowned a little before asking, “Your Highness, that lightning tribulation… it’s not a secret really. To tell the truth, I have no idea what is going on here.”

“Oh? You don’t know?” the Brahma Heaven God Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yun Che nodded. “When I was fighting against Luo Changsheng just now, I was grievously injured and barely conscious. I have no idea why I would suddenly achieve a breakthrough and trigger a lightning tribulation. To tell you the truth, my consciousness was already blurry by the time the lightning tribulation descended on me, and I have no idea what was going on at the time. When I finally awoke, I discovered that my wounds were healed, my profound energy and mental strength had been restored, and my cultivation level hadd ascended all the way to the middle stage of the Divine Spirit Realm. After that, the lightning tribulation went away completely… Even now, I have no idea what happened after I passed out. I was just about to check with all of you too.”

Yun Che asked in a surprised tone while frowning deeply, “I’ve never undergone a lightning tribulation before. I’ve only heard a little about it while I was under my master’s tutelage, but that lightning tribulation just now was largely different from what has been described to me by my master. I am young and inexperienced, so I’m not surprised by my lack of understanding of the matter. But… one of you has to know what’s going on, right? My seniors?”

Yun Che casually threw the question right back into the god emperor’s laps.

Everything he said just now could be summed up in one line: if even you god emperors have no idea what’s going on here, then how would a junior like me know anything about it?

Yun Che’s words made the experts of the Eastern Divine Region frown. Some of them looked doubtful, but the majority wore thoughtful looks on their faces.

Yun Che wasn’t even thirty years old yet, so he definitely was as inexperienced as he claimed to be. Moreover, everyone here had borne witness to how he was crushed and driven to the brink of death by Luo Changsheng just now. If he really was hiding a great secret that could resist even the likes of heavenly tribulation lightning, then why had he failed to protect himself against Luo Changsheng’s Divine King powers?

This was the first nine stage lightning tribulation to ever happen in the history of the God Realm, so of course Yun Che couldn’t have experienced this before. Therefore, Yun Che’s insistence that he knew nothing was… perfectly reasonable, especially now that they had time to think things through. Forget Yun Che, not even the god emperors could figure out how he stayed unharmed under the nine stage lightning tribulation, got healed to peak health, and even ascended all the way to the middle stage of the Divine Spirit Realm...

“Do you… really have no idea at all?” the Brahma Heaven God Emperor stared straight into Yun Che’s eyes while asking in a calm tone. The ghost of a smile flitted across his face.

A god emperor’s stare was something a realm king would’ve found difficult to endure, much less a profound practitioner as young as Yun Che was. It was obvious that Yun Che was feeling the pressure judging from the fearful expression on his face, but he didn’t hesitate in the slightest when he said, “Yes, senior. I am young and foolish, I have no idea what happened even now. It’d be great if any of you can enlighten me.”

Mu Xuanyin once warned him strictly not to ascend to the Divine Spirit Realm by himself. It was because she was certain that the lightning tribulation he attracted would be an extraordinary one.

He had never imagined that he would achieve a breakthrough all of a sudden while he was fighting against Luo Changsheng. He definitely hadn’t thought that he would attract an unprecedented nine stage lightning tribulation during his ascension...

Back at the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, when the Golden Crow’s Soul had gifted him the Evil God’s Lightning Seed, it had told him that not even a heavenly tribulation lightning could harm his body. It was a fact. Not only did the nine stage lightning tribulation fail to do him harm, it even elevated both his cultivation and his Great Way of the Buddha. Unfortunately, this outcome also came with a huge side effect...

And that was a level of shock that no one was immune to.

So after he mulled over his options again and again while he was struck by lightning, he decided that his best way out was to insist that he had absolutely no idea what was going on here.

“...” Qianye Ying’er’s lips curled slightly as she let out a soft hmph, but she chose not to say anything.

Suddenly, an old, excited voice rang, “Why Yun Che is unhurt despite being struck by tribulation lightning… I believe I may know the reason!”

The old voice instantly attracted everyone’s attention… it was none other than the head of the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders himself, Moyu!

The Heavenly Mystery Three Elders rarely said anything because they spoke in the language of the heavens. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their words carried weight beyond imagination. If the same line had come out of another person’s mouth, the god emperors might have chosen to ignore it completely. But since it was the word of Moyu, no one dared to underestimate or treat it carelessly.

“Are you sure!?” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor exclaimed.

“...” Yun Che frowned slightly as his heart skipped a beat.

The Heavenly Mystery Realm was just an upper star realm, but its status was equal to that of a king realm. This showed just how important it was in the Eastern Divine Region. Yun Che had heard some stories about the Heavenly Mystery Realm, and they almost sounded like myths to him...

It couldn’t be… Did they really know something?

Moyu slowly nodded in response. The excitement on his face was so intense that it shocked even the god emperors themselves. In fact, Moyu wasn’t the only one who was looking excited. Mozhi and Mowen had the same expression as well.

The Heavenly Mystery Three Elders had spied on heavenly mysteries for their whole lives, and it was to the point where life and death didn’t weigh heavily on them. As a result, the secular world normally wouldn’t stir even a ripple in their hearts. Right now though, they looked so excited that it was almost as if they had witnessed a True God.

The Heavenly Mystery Three Elders stared at Yun Che with shaky eyes. Slowly, Moyu began. “This boy… may very well be… a child of the heavens!”

“Yun Che, “...?”

“What?!” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s face turned stiff.

“Child… Child of the heavens?” They were such shocking words that left every profound practitioner flabbergasted.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why would a child of the heavens be hurt by heavenly powers!?” Moyu continued, “The dark clouds that covered the world, the nine stage lightning tribulation; it was nothing like we have ever seen before! It was the heaven itself declaring the birth of a child of the heavens!”

Everything he said sounded absolutely ridiculous, but since he was one of the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders, it gave his words a completely different meaning.

“Hahahaha!” Cang Shitian looked up and laughed loudly, “What utter nonsense. I’ve lived for tens of thousands of years, and I’ve never heard of a so-called ‘child of the heavens’. I can’t believe that someone like you would spout such hilarious nonsense.”

The Eastern Divine Region might respect the Heavenly Mystery Realm deeply, but that didn’t mean the Southern Divine Region was the same.

“I’ve never heard of this ‘child of the heavens’ either,” Dragon Monarch said indifferently. “However, I’m also aware that the Heavenly Mystery Realm has never told lies. If you are willing, can you tell us what a ‘child of the heavens’ is? And why are you so sure that Yun Che is a ‘child of the heavens’?”

But Moyu shook his head, “We don’t know what a ‘child of the heavens’ truly is.”

“Heh,” Cang Shitian curled his lips disdainfully, “Don’t tell me you’re making a fool out of us then?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor raised his hand to stop him before speaking seriously, “Please continue, Master Moyu.”

Moyu closed his eyes for a short while before exhaling deeply. Then, he began, “The words ‘child of the heavens’ has been a prophecy from our ancestor dating many years ago. It is also… the last heaven mystery my Great Ancestor, Haotian, deciphered before his passing.”

“What? Great Ancestor Haotian!?” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor clearly trembled when he heard this. The other god emperors looked moved as well.

“Great Ancestor Haotian? Who’s that?” Huo Poyun asked in a quiet voice.

“He is the great ancestor who founded the Heavenly Mystery Sect, and the first extraordinary talent who had the ability to decipher heavenly mysteries in the God Realm.” Huo Rulie explained in a low tone, “Many years ago, he was great friends with the Eternal Heaven’s Great Ancestor. The very first prediction he made was that Eternal Heaven would become a king realm one day.”

“Ah!” Huo Poyun exclaimed softly.

A look of great respect appeared on the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s face when Great Ancestor Haotian was mentioned. Even his voice had grown a little gentler, “What is the meaning of the ‘child of the heavens’ mentioned by Great Ancestor Haotian in his final prophecy? Why are you all so certain that this ‘child of the heavens’ is none other than Yun Che?”

“The Great Ancestor prophesied that a ‘child of the heavens’ would be born in the Eastern Divine Region one day. He said that the ‘child of the heavens’ would be reborn from a nine stage lightning tribulation, and that he would ultimately… become…” Moyu’s chest heaved up and down as he spoke his last few words in absolute reverence, “a… True… God.”

Eternal Heaven God Emperor, “...”

Qianye Ying’er, “...”

Yun Che, “......”

……………………

The words “True God” resounded in everyone’s ears like a thunderbolt that shook the very world. The world turned dead silent in an instant.

Everyone’s faces had changed in this moment. It was as if they had been pushed into a fog of illusions. No one was more shocked than the god emperors, however. The Brahma Heaven God Emperor, Eternal Heaven God Emperor, Star God Emperor, and Moon God Emperor were frozen as if they had been struck by heavenly lightning—their bodies, their features, their eyes; everything had become frozen at once—even the Dragon Monarch had turned around suddenly, and God Emperor Shitian had jumped to his feet with wide eyes, his sleepy, sloppy posture completely gone in an instant.

There was nothing more impactful than the words “True God” to a profound practitioner, especially for a profound practitioner who had already reached the pinnacle of man.

The realms between the Elementary Profound Realm and the Sovereign Profound Realm were known as the Nine Realms of the Mortal Way. It was the profound way cultivated by all mortals.

The realms between the Divine Origin Realm and the Divine Master Realm were known as the Seven Realms of the Divine Way. It was the profound way of humans who had broken through their limits and ascended into godhood… But truthfully, it was ultimately just the divine way of mortals. Although it was a way beyond mortal limitations, and a way that tried its very best to get as close to godhood as possible, it ultimately failed to extend into the realm of the gods.

True Gods were beings that had completely escaped the confines of mortality. They were a dead race and a power who once possessed infinite power during the ancient times.

The age of True Gods had ended a long time ago. It was common knowledge or even the complete truth to humans, beasts, demons, and spirits; all of the races in which it was no longer possible to become true gods because the aura of Primal Chaos was growing murkier and murkier. These days, the words “True God” were just a distant myth.

However, the profound practitioners who stood at the top of the profound way couldn’t help but dream about that transient “Way of the True Gods”, even though they believed that a True God would never appear among them. To that end, they were willing to sacrifice everything.

After all, if the myth was actually realized once more, they would live as long as the heavens and control the very world itself. They would have power beyond all others.

Unfortunately, the myth was just a myth. Every king realm had been searching for a way, but no one had been able to truly realize it.

To think that they would hear these words again from the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders, from the Great Ancestor himself!

To think that it was about becoming a True God!

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor took a few steps forward before he finally spoke, “Is this… truly… the prophecy of Great Ancestor Haotian?”

The only ones in the world who had the right to pursue that transient way were those from king realms. Normally, they would’ve ridiculed anyone who spoke of becoming True Gods if they didn’t hail from a king realm.

But the Heavenly Mystery Realm was different from others. The Heavenly Mystery Three Elders had never spouted a single lie or nonsense… not to mention that this was a prophecy from Great Ancestor Haotian, founder of the Heavenly Mystery Sect himself.

“Hmph, what a joke.” Cang Shitian looked disdainful, “Just now it was ‘child of the heavens’, and now it’s ‘True Gods’? Is this really the ‘heavenly mysteries’ the Eastern Divine Region regard so highly? The Era of Gods has long since perished, and it is neither possible for a mortal to become a god, nor is it possible for a True God to be born into this world. This is something even a three year old knows.”

“I have once sought for the divine way myself, but I have failed to find anything despite countless centuries of searching. How dare you mere divine kings make such a bold claim, how dare you speak of becoming True Gods… I’ve never heard such a ridiculous joke in my life. Hahahahaha!”

Cang Shitian might be laughing loudly with scorn, but there was clear passion dancing behind his pupils.

He might not believe that it was real—in fact, no one present truly believed that it was real—but if there was even a sliver of possibility… it was more than enough to drive them mad.

Moyu inhaled deeply before continuing, “It is true that I have no right to speak of the way of the true gods at all. The child of the heavens, the nine stage lightning tribulation, the birth of a True God… I dare not forget or doubt the great ancestor’s prophecy, but I must admit that I’ve never believed that it’d really happen. After all, if a six stage lightning tribulation is a dead myth already, then how can there be a nine stage lightning tribulation!?”

“But the impossible has just happened before our eyes!”

“The Great Ancestor’s prophecy has come true right in front of us!”

“If you still don’t believe our words…” Moyu suddenly furrowed his eyebrows seriously before extending both harms. There was a flash of profound light, and a giant white canon suddenly winked into view.

The canon was several meters long, and it was encased inside a gentle profound light. Although it was just a canon, an air of history and holiness surrounded it.

“The Heavenly Mystery God Canon!” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor exclaimed softly.

Moyu said slowly, “This is the Heavenly Mystery God Canon, and it is the supreme holy object of the our realm. It records all of the heavenly mysteries our ancestors have deciphered, and the prophecies they left behind throughout history. You’ve all read this Heavenly Mystery God Canon before, Your Highnesses. You’ve all asked the same question as well: why is the first page of the Heavenly Mystery God Canon blank?”

The Dragon Monarch, God Emperor Shitian, Eternal Heaven God Emperor, Brahma Heaven God Emperor, Star God Emperor, and Moon God Emperor all concentrated their gazes on the canon in an instant. Their heartstrings were wound up like a clock.

“The prophecy has manifested itself. It is time I unveil the answer to your question.”

Moyu waved his hand, and the first page of the Heavenly Mystery God Canon flipped open before everyone’s eyes.

As mentioned earlier, it was completely blank. Not a single pattern or mark could be seen on its surface.

The Heavenly Mystery Three Elders met each other’s eyes and nodded in unison. They stretched out their right arms, concentrated and summoned a profound light unique only to the Heavenly Mystery Realm around their palms.

Two lines of golden inscription appeared clearly under the profound light:

When the nine stage heavenly tribulation appears,

the True God will return.

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