Against the Gods

“Old Gui, you…”

Yan Wangui’s resolute declaration caused Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun’s eyes to widen in shock and fear.

However, neither of them were trying too hard to stop him.

All three of them were suffering from the same fate and torture. If Yan Wangui’s convictions were shaken, so were theirs.

So when Yan Wangui volunteered to be implanted with the slave imprint… they too wanted to see if Yun Che could actually fulfill what he promised.

“Very good.”

Yun Che looked down on Yan Wangui approvingly before covering the latter’s head with his palm.

Yan Wangui started shaking more and more violently, but he didn’t try anything stupid and discarded his soul defenses one by one until he was completely defenseless.

He was clenching his teeth so strongly that they were breaking one after another.

Yun Che concentrated and created a slave imprint that passed right into Yan Wangui’s soul.

Yan Wangui shivered like a leaf, and Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun instinctively held their breaths. But Yan Wangui allowed the slave imprint to enter the deepest part of his soul without any resistance.

From this point onward, the slave imprint would always be a part of him unless Yun Che removed it himself, or his soul was destroyed completely.

Yan Wangui was the first generation of his people to inherit the Yama bloodline. Today, he became the first of the Yama Devils to be implanted with the slave imprint.

Yun Che slowly removed his palm from Yan Wangui’s head.

Thump!

The stiffness in the old devil’s movement vanishing suddenly, he groveled on the ground and said, “Your old servant Yan Wangui greets you, master.”

His fury, reluctance and hatred vanished like they were never there. The only emotion that remained in his mind was absolute devotion and reverence.

From the moment he was implanted with the slave imprint, the only thing he cared for in his life was to serve Yun Che loyally. He would never even think to disobey his master’s words, much less act directly against his will.

He was now Yun Che’s loyal dog in every sense of the word.

For a long time, Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun couldn’t say anything. They watched Yan Wangui grovel on the ground like he was born to it and wallowed in an indescribable sense of sorrow and misery.

Not even in their wildest dreams did they imagine that they, the Yama Ancestors, would be turned into another person’s slave one day.

Ignoring the saddened duo, Yun Che summoned black energy to his palm as he released his grip on Yan Wangui’s head. Then, he grabbed Yan Wangui strongly on the shoulder.

Buzz!

Yan Wangui would never resist against his master’s power, so it took only an instant for the dark profound light to spread throughout his body and devour him.

“Aah… uahhhhh!”

Yan Wangui’s intermittent screams extinguished any expectation Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun had and filled them with shock and outrage.

“Wh… what are you doing!?”

“You really are…”

Bang!!

But before they could finish speaking, the dark light suddenly exploded and sent Yan Wangui flying. The Yama Ancestor landed at their feet.

Yan Wangui hurriedly climbed back to his feet, but he froze when he rose to full height. Staring at his hands and shaking slightly, the old devil looked like he was absorbed in an impossible dream.

Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun also froze in mid-step and stared at their enslaved companion with bulging eyes. It took them a long time before they finally convinced themselves that their eyes and their spiritual perceptions weren’t fooling them.

Yan Wangui’s life aura and soul aura had changed completely. They were powerful, murky, and completely distinct. More importantly, his connection to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness was fully severed. Previously, they would be dead and powerless if the flow of yin energy was cut, not that they ever found a way to stop it from entering their bodies against their will before Yun Che arrived. However, not only was Yan Wangui alive, his power, soul and life force were impossibly powerful and stable.

“Ah… ah… ahhh…”

A strange groan escaped Yan Wangui’s throat as he stared at his own hands.

When he finally came back to himself, he dropped to his knees again and kowtowed to Yun Che even harder than before. “Thank you for the favor, master! Thank you! Thank you!”

His head hit the ground again and again. His old, wrinkled face was actually covered in tears.

A slave imprint made the subject perfectly loyal and obedient to their master, but didn’t alter their memories or interfere with their desires.

Therefore, Yan Wangui knew exactly how big of a transformation he had undergone.

“From now on, your name is Yan Three,” Yun Che said indifferently.

A loyal dog was expected to discard their original name in exchange for the one granted by their master, but he supposed he could allow Yan Wangui to keep his surname; the first gift a master grants to his dog.

Yan Three kowtowed again in gratitude, “Thank you for granting your old servant a name, master! From now on, this old servant is Yan Three!”

“Very good.” Yun Che nodded approvingly.

Meanwhile, Yan Wanchi and and Yan Wanhun were still in a daze. The shock of Yan Wangui’s drastic transformation from almighty ancestor to loyal dog didn’t even come close to the shock they felt when they noticed the change in their companion’s aura.

“Old Gui, are you truly… truly…” Even now, Yan Wanchi couldn’t find it in himself to believe his own senses.

Yan Three turned toward him and blurted excitedly, “That’s right! Master is telling the truth! I’m now a completely independent entity, and I don’t need to live in this rotten abyss to stay alive anymore!”

“What are you two waiting for? Let master implant the slave imprint in your already so we may serve our master together! Not only will you be reborn, you will have the honor of serving our master! There’s no reason to hesitate!”

He sounded impossibly excited and eager. It was as if he couldn’t wait to drag Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun to Yun Che himself.

After he was implanted with the slave imprint, there was nothing else that made him happier than serving Yun Che.

Before Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun could muster a reply, Yun Che suddenly grinned and summoned his light profound energy again.

The terrible torture began once more, and both Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun screamed like their souls were pierced by a thousand blades; like pigs in a slaughterhouse. They writhed and rolled all over the ground like worms.

Yan Three himself was tensing up like a loaded spring and opening his mouth to scream, but he immediately stopped himself and raised a hand to stop the light from reaching his eyes. He looked completely and utterly dumbfounded.

The light shining against his body still made him feel extremely uncomfortable, but compared to the torture he was subjected to a moment ago, it was like he was standing in paradise.

His body still felt like fire was scorching against it, but he wasn’t nearly as vulnerable as he was before. The moment he circulated a small amount of darkness profound energy, the uncomfortable feeling disappeared as if it was never there.

Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun writhed in pain as light profound energy burned away at their life and soul. But even through the hellish haze of pain, they could see that Yan Three was completely untouched and unharmed by the light. Their screams turned distorted, and their struggles became a touch more conscious than before. A blind person could’ve seen the desire and the distress in their eyes.

“So? What is your choice?” The devilish whisper that exited Yun Che’s lips didn’t fit the sacred light surrounding his body at all.

“PLEASE!!” Yan Wanhun shouted on top of his lungs right after Yun Che was done. “PLEASE… GIVE ME… GIVE ME THE SLAVE IMPRINT! AAAAH!”

Yan Wanhun’s collapse also became the last straw that broke Yan Wanchi’s back.

Once a person’s faith was destroyed, their pride and honor were but trivial obstacles that could be blown away like dust. Yan Wanchi actually started crawling toward Yun Che’s feet as he shouted madly, “Give me… the slave imprint… mercy… MERCYAAHHHH!!”

Yun Che folded his palm, and the light winked out like a light bulb.

It was impossible to tell if the grayish white complexion of Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun’s faces was the color of despair or relief.

Yun Che slowly made toward them as they stared at him with trembling eyes. They felt like he was stepping on their souls every time he took a step.

Finally, he stopped in front of the duo and grabbed both their heads with his left and right hands.

“Relax.” Yun Che smiled gently at them. “Resist all you want if you feel like changing your mind. I’m not going to stop you, and I don’t have the ability to forcefully implant a slave imprint in another person’s soul anyway. I still have plenty of wonderful tricks up my sleeves, and it would be a shame to end it here before I got to show you all of them, am I right?”

Both Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun started trembling uncontrollably. They couldn’t raise their voices no matter how they tried.

Although it had only been six days since they met Yun Che, their fear of him had reached a point no ordinary person could possibly imagine.

If there existed true devils in this world, then the man before them had to be one of them.

Yun Che concentrated for a bit and created a slave imprint in each hand. Then, he implanted them into Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun’s souls.

Although the two Yama Ancestors could feel the slave imprint being created and injected into their souls clearly… neither of them tried to struggle in the slightest.

When the slave imprints were fully implanted, a bit of joy and excitement finally lit Yun Che’s eyes.

Starting this second, the most mysterious and terrifying beings in the Northern Divine Region, the three founders of the Yama Realm themselves were his loyal dogs!

They were a power that truly belonged to him and him alone!

From the moment Chi Wuyao told him about the three Yama Ancestors, the plan was already starting to take form inside his head.

Now, in just a few days’ time, he had successfully carried out the plan without a hitch… a plan that only he could even think of executing.

Three ancient god emperor beings… words couldn’t even begin to describe how great a power he currently held in his grasp!

Next, Yun Che circulated the Eternal Calamity of Darkness and did the same thing he did to Yan Wangui earlier. He corrected their connection with the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

Just as he stated earlier, after the three Yama Ancestors were freed from the laws of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and became independent entities again, they could live for another ten thousand years at most.

But this was more than enough time for Yun Che to carry out his plans.

“Thank you for the favor, master!” Just like Yan Wangui, Yan Wanchi and Yan Wanhun were crying with joy after they were freed from the shackles of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

From now on, you are Yan One,” Yun Che said to Yan Wanchi before moving onto Yan Wanhun. “And you are Yan Two. Do you understand?”

“Thank you for granting us names, master.” Both Yama Ancestors thanked Yun Che and kowtowed to him.

“Now…” Yun Che extended his hand to them. “Give me the Yama Devils’ devil origin artifact.”

Yun Che had no idea what the Yama Realm’s devil origin artifact was. He had never heard any information about it from anyone either.

But even if he thought with his toes, he could still figure out that it had to be with the Three Yama Ancestors.

The Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness and the Three Yama Ancestors formed the core of power and inheritance of the Yama Realm. They were also the best people to protect the devil origin artifact. Naturally, it had to be in their possession.

Besides that, trapped as they were in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness, the Three Yama Ancestors were still alive and well. There was no way they would give up such a precious treasure to their descendants.

Unfortunately for them, they lived long enough to encounter Yun Che.

“Yes, master.”

Unsurprisingly, Yan Wanchi walked up to him and held up a black, square-shaped cauldron about two feet long with both hands reverently.

Yun Che grabbed it with one hand and examined it with half-narrowed eyes.

After obtaining the Burning Moon Exquisite Devil Jade at the Burning Moon Realm, the lifeline of Yama Realm had fallen into his hands as well.

Everything was quiet in the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness.

It had been ten days since the day Yun Che had visited the Yama Imperial District.

Yan Tianxiao had heard nothing from the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness so far, and he thought nothing of it. However, the Soul Stealing Realm’s complete silence did make him worry a little.

There was the saying a devil is behind every unusual occurrence, not to mention that Chi Wuyao was much scarier than the average devil.

Logically speaking, the Soul Stealing Realm should’ve made a move by now, but they hadn’t. In the end, it was he who lost his patience first and decided to take action.

“Royal father, are you leaving on a trip?”

When Yan Jie came over to make his daily report, his father was just about to pass through the barrier of the Devil Palace of Eternal Darkness.

Yan Tianxiao said seriously, “It’s been a long time since we saw the Soul Stealing Realm. It’s time.”

“Jie’er, you will come with me.”

“Yes, royal father.”

Both father and son were about to step out of the barrier when a deafening explosion suddenly erupted behind them.

When they turned around to see what was happening… they saw a column of black light flying out from the maw that was the entrance to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

At the same time, a storm of darkness destroyed all thirty-six sealing barriers over the entrance.