Against the Gods

Chapter 2113 - Nameless Tower

The two profound arks were noisy and shaking the surrounding sea of clouds they were passing through. The two Divine Regent’s forcefield and voice were even more imposing. However, every single person felt like they were in an extraordinarily quiet place right now. Why? Because their eyes, heart and soul were irresistibly drawn toward the young woman next to Hua Fuchen, the Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter.

Once upon a time, she was the moon in the sky and the snow between clouds, gorgeous yet distant. Still, she gave off the impression that one might be able to reach her one day.

But today, she had become the moon in one’s dreams and the snow beyond the sky.

Having shed the final vestiges of her childish innocence, Hua Caili’s magnificence could no longer be covered up. Every glimpse of skin, every line of her countenance was so beautiful, so flawless, that it should have been a luxury beyond mortal reach even within a fantastical dream.

Every flicker of her gaze, every turn of her eyes seemed to draw from the surrounding light, dimming a thousand stars and causing even the bright moon to hide itself in shyness.

Having officially entered her twenties and reforged her determination and her sword art, she was beginning to look divinely aloof, proud, and untouchable like Hua Qingying. As such, when Yun Che and Hua Caili’s eyes finally met, they both felt a degree of unreality in regards to their past.

“...” Meng Jianxi was lost in Hua Caili’s beauty for a long time before he finally jolted back to reality and hurriedly lowered his gaze. He sighed a bit raspily, “As expected... of the Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter. She was already astounding back in the day, and now... now she’s even more...”

As intelligent as he was, he could not conjure a single adjective that Heaven Breaker Divine Daughter deserved despite trying for a long time.

It was at this moment Hua Caili stepped forward and bowed to Meng Kongchan. “Caili greets the Dreamless Divine Regent. It’s been too long.”

“Ai ai, don’t call me Divine Regent! It’s far too estranged a term.” Meng Kongchan’s eyes were curled to the point where all one could see were thin, long slits. “For now... call me uncle.”

In the past, Meng Kongchan always viewed Hua Caili with unbridled admiration and astonishment, but today it was very different. From Hua Fuchen’s perspective, the look on Meng Kongchan’s face was that of a loving father, and that deeply annoyed him.

“Of course, Uncle Meng.”

Hua Caili obeyed without hesitation and took another small step forward. She held out what looked like a small and delicate jade inkstone and said, “I heard that you enjoy calligraphy and often practice to refine the heart and cultivate the soul. It so happens that I have a River Green Jade that is said to be the ‘Gentleman of Inkstones’, so I fashioned it into an inkstone as a gift for you. I hope you will like it, Uncle Meng.”

“Caili sculpted this with her Glazed Cloud Sword, you know~~” Hua Fuchen muttered through gritted teeth... This old fart does not deserve any of this!

“Ah... I... Your sincerity moves me, Caili, truly!”

Meng Kongchan happily accepted the gift. The Dreamless Divine Regent should look dignified at all times, but right now he was practically grinning from ear to ear.

“Such a flawless and gentle River Green Jade is already one of a kind. For it to be sculpted by Caili’s own hands? It is no exaggeration to say that it is a priceless treasure.”

Meng Kongchan racked his brain for compliments as he put away the River Green Jade and searched around his body for a bit. When he discovered that he did not have a suitable or worthy gift to return the favor, he had no choice but to bear his embarrassment and said, “Look at me! I was so anxious that I forgot to prepare a meeting gift for you! This is my mistake, Caili. When this Pure Land Meet is over, uncle will prepare a big gift for you.”

Meeting gift?

The Divine Regent was clearly speaking and acting abnormally?

Meng Jianxi felt his eyebrows twitching violently as a ludicrous thought entered his mind. Then, his rationality snuffed it out almost as quickly as it appeared.

Hua Caili nodded slightly with a blossoming smile. “As long as you like it. Besides, you have already given me the best gift in the entire world, Uncle Meng.”

“Cough cough cough cough!” Hua Fuchen coughed as if he accidentally choked on a gust of wind and said with a straight face, “There’s something we need to talk about, Dreamless Divine Regent. Yun Che, you come as well.”

“As you command.” Yun Che obediently stepped forward. As soon as he arrived beside Meng Kongchan, Hua Fuchen waved his hand and surrounded them all in an isolation barrier.

It was perfectly normal for a discussion between Divine Regents to be shielded behind a barrier, right?

Hua Fuchen knew that Hua Caili had been putting a lid on her emotions from the second she saw Yun Che as a matter of course. However, her emotions were such that her so-called sword heart and clear soul might as well be non-existent. As time passed, and the chaos within her soul kept worsening, he seriously worried that his daughter would say fuck it and jump Yun Che in front of everyone.

As expected, the second the isolation barrier took form, Hua Caili’s perfect show of etiquette until this point instantly collapsed. She leaped toward Yun Che like a young swallow who had returned to her nest and wrapped her arms around his waist with all her might.

“Big Brother Yun, I... I miss you so much... Uu...”

She was sobbing even before she could finish what she was trying to say.

“Me too,” Yun Che replied softly as he wrapped his arms around her back.

Hua Fuchen turned away, his face as black as coal.

“Haha, young love is always so direct and passionate. How envious I am,” Meng Kongchan chuckled.

He walked up to Hua Fuchen. As he did so, the Brahma Sound Stones around his waist collided and emitted a soothing noise.

Hua Fuchen turned to look at Meng Kongchan, but before he could say anything, the Dreamless Divine Regent said with a straight face, “As expected of you, Brother Fuchen. You figured out immediately that these are the Brahma Sound Stones gifted to me by Yuan’er.”

Hua Fuchen: “??”

“Oh.” Hua Fuchen replied indifferently and cast the tri-colored Brahma Sound Stones on Meng Kongchan’s waist a perfunctory glance.

From the perspective of a Divine Regent, the toy was so ordinary it did not even deserve the word ordinary.

His reaction gave Meng Kongchan the excuse to spin around and say soulfully, “It is said that the Brahma Sound Stone is most beneficial for soul cultivators, and Yuan’er spent two whole years gathering them all for me. It was personally selected and fashioned by Yuan’er’s own hands too. Every time they collide, what I hear is the crisp sound of the Brahma sound, but what enters my soul is Yuan’er’s soundless concern. This is what they call the bond between a father and his son, you know?”

The Heart Painter Divine Regent’s eyebrows slowly knitted together.

Meng Kongchan was still ranting, “If you want one, I can ask Yuan’er to make a new one for you. You are his future father-in-law after all. However, gathering the right three colors probably going to be troublesome, and—”

Hua Fuchen finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and growled at Yun Che and Hua Caili, “How much longer are you going to stick together? We’re still here! This is unbecoming behavior for a prince and a princess!”

“Don’t wanna!” Hua Caili retorted and hugged Yun Che even tighter. She only wished she could rub herself into his chest.

“Brother Fuchen! How can you do this?” Meng Kongchan lifted a hand to stop Hua Fuchen. “It’s been many years since they last met. It’s perfectly normal for them to lose themselves in passion. Besides, isn’t it hypocritical for you to act like this when you and Qu Wanxing were way closer back then?”

Hua Fuchen’s lips twitched. He flung his sleeve and stopped talking.

“So, when are we going to confess to Old Dian?”

Meng Kongchan finally turned serious.

Hua Fuchen furrowed his brow slightly before answering, “After the Pure Land Meet is over.”

“I’m in agreement.” Meng Kongchan stood next to him and looked down on the barren wasteland below. “Assuming that nothing plagues us during this Pure Land Meet, then it is best we settle this decisively and immediately... say, do you really think Old Dian felt nothing from all the probings and hints we dropped for the past two years?”

Hua Fuchen replied, “Anyone else would have thought deeper into our words and be mentally prepared, but... Old Dian is Old Dian.”

“He is as upright as iron and as fiery as flames. He prefers to deal with things directly and scorns detours above all else. Besides, he may be subconsciously resisting the idea that the two of us would...”

He paused for a long time before saying the damning word, “... Betray his trust.”

“Betrayal, huh?” Meng Kongchan’s expression grew severe as well.

He wanted to say that the love between a man and a woman was never a controllable thing, and that it definitely wasn’t something that could be bound by mere words. On top of that, Hua Caili had never thought of Dian Jiuzhi that way... but really, if he were to put himself in Dian Rahu’s shoes, and if Dian Jiuzhi had been Meng Jianyuan, could he really, wholeheartedly, accept this outcome?

No, he couldn’t.

As if that wasn’t enough, Hua Fuchen was the one who requested the engagement between Hua Caili and Dian Jiuzhi... Naturally, the mental burden he was facing was far greater than Meng Kongchan’s.

“When the time comes, I will head to Boundless alone.” Hua Fuchen said with a calmness that meant that he had thought this through over and over again. “I will tell him the truth directly.”

Meng Kongchan said, “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” Hua Fuchen rejected him. “If we head there together, Old Dian will only feel worse. Don’t worry. I have already thought things through. Best case scenario, Old Dian and I will head to the Pure and together and request the Abyssal Monarch to cancel our engagement. Worst case scenario... I am prepared for that as well. In any case, it is not your turn until mine is done and over with.”

Meng Kongchan thought for a moment and nodded. Then, he let out a heavy sigh. “No matter what happens, it doesn’t change the fact that we have let down Old Dian.”

They both knew that, when the ugly truth was finally unveiled in full, their relationship would never be the same again.

“How many soul stars do you have left, Caili? Have you used them all already?”

“To be honest, I did not use a single star.”

“Huh? Does that mean... you don’t really miss me?”

“Of course not. Although I’ve been stuck inside the sword formation for the past three years, I see you every time I swing my sword. When I close my eyes, all that appears in my heart are your many expressions. Therefore, I feel that you’re with me even without your soul stars.”

“Moreover, every single star contains a bit of your soul. They may be insignificant, but I am still unwilling to let them disappear.”

The two Divine Regents felt their scalps turning unbearably numb at the same time.

Their toes desired nothing more than to dig a hole in the floor.

“That cloth on your arm... is that the belt I left behind for you?”

“Yep! It’s the first... gift you gave me. Of course I’m going to treasure it.”

“But... you deserve better than such a shabby belt...”

“Hmph! Says the guy who left behind the message that says, ‘Our meeting is already the best possible outcome. Why should our fond memories become a permanent scar?’... This is why I’m going to wear it forever! I’ll forever remind you about the crime you committed against me! Hmph!”

“I already promised you a couple hundred times that I won’t leave you... fine, I’ll swear it again, my dear Caili...”

Both Divine Regents inhaled and exhaled at the exact same time.

After the unrehearsed but perfectly identical reaction, they exchanged a glance with each other and nodded.

“Dreamless Divine Regent, I guess this is where we leave off our discussion,” Hua Fuchen said loudly, his voice penetrating the barrier so that everyone outside could hear his words.

Meng Kongchan responded just as loudly, “A meeting with you is always enlightening, Heart Painter Divine Regent. I look forward to the Heaven Breaker’s illuminating radiance during the Pure Land Meet.”

At the same time, the power of two Divine Regents forcefully separated Yun Che and Hua Caili from each other. The barrier disintegrated, and they both returned to their ships with their children proverbially tucked under their elbows without a care for their longing and misery.

“Father is terrible.”

Hua Caili’s resentment did not end even after she had returned to her aunt’s side. Her eyes kept straying to the departing Dreamweaver Divine Ship as she spoke.

Hua Qingying whispered, “Life is long. There is no need to indulge in a moment’s happiness when the resistance stopping your union is slowly but surely weakening. What’s most important is that your heart only has him, and his heart only has you. This alone puts the two of you far ahead of the fickle ones, the false ones, the betrayers, the indifferent ones, and those who love but could never obtain it.”

“When all of the obstacles are gone, and your love is sealed by marriage, you may stick to him for tens of thousands of years like glue, and no one will try to stop you.”

The word “marriage” was too much for Hua Caili right now. As soon as the word floated out of Hua Qingying’s mouth, it sat inside her heart and refused to fade.

Hua Caili sat beside Hua Qingying with her hands cupping her cheeks, seemingly thinking about something. Over time, her cheeks grew rosier, and a small smile spread across her face.

The young woman’s yearning seemed to touch Hua Qingying. As she stared at her niece’s increasingly unfocused eyes, the corner of her lips curled up just a little without her noticing.

Wanxing, I was deeply worried about their beginning... but thank goodness your daughter ultimately steered away from the tragedy and hardships you faced back then.

Perhaps the heavens are planning to bestow all the blessings they owed you to your daughter instead... She and Yun Che will be safe and sound. They will make up for you and brother’s loss ten thousand times over.

......

The Dreamweaver Divine Ship began to slow down.

The concentration of abyssal dust in the air began decreasing at an astonishing rate as well.

It wasn’t just abyssal dust either. Even the elements had become extraordinarily pure. Over time, since the first day he fell into the Abyss, Yun Che felt as if the air was refreshing.

Yun Che opened his eyes and gazed toward the horizon... it looked like the Pure Land was near.

Inside the Abyss, visibility was always poor due to the existence of abyssal dust. But now, Yun Che could see a gigantic black scar reaching out from the earth and pushing all the way through to the sky.

The sky was untainted by grayness or darkness. It was so pure that it was almost luxurious and illusory.

As the Dreamweaver Divine Ship got closer, the black scar rapidly grew in size. In his vision, it stretched from several kilometers to a dozen kilometers, then a dozen kilometers to several dozen kilometers... it was only then Yun Che finally realized what it was.

It was a gigantic tower that connected the sky and the earth.

“Divine Son Xi,” Yun Che asked with a frown, “Does the Pure Land... exist atop this tower?”

“Of course.” Meng Jianxi shot him a strange look. “You don’t know?”

Yun Che shrugged. “As far as I know, the Pure Land is suspended above the sky. So, I have always imagined it as a floating paradise. I did not think that it existed atop a tower.”

Meng Jianxi smiled. “You’ve never visited the Pure Land before, so it makes sense that you would have such a misconception. This tower has existed since the day the Abyssal Monarch created the world. It is said that the Abyssal Monarch built it with his own two hands. This is the tower that lifts the Pure Land into the tall sky so it may look down upon the entire Abyss.”

Yun Che asked a natural question, “No matter how big the Pure Land is, it should be easy to make the Pure Land float permanently in the sky considering their resources and the High Priests’ power. Why do they need this tower?”

Meng Jianxi asked, “Are you trying to ask what exists within this tower, Brother Yuan?”

Yun Che nodded.

“Hahaha.” Meng Jianxi laughed. “To be honest with you, I have asked Father that exact question many times. Unfortunately, his answer has never changed, ‘I don’t know, and there is no need to know.’ It is the Pure Land.”

“I understand.” Yun Che nodded smilingly and stopped asking.

Forget the God Realm, even the lower realm where he was born possessed the power to float a city. That was why he never expected the legendary Pure Land to exist on top of a tower when it could simply float eternally in the sky.

Something was clearly incongruous about this.

“This tower is called the Nameless Tower,” Meng Jianxi said while staring ahead. “It’s what it sounds like. This tower doesn’t have a name because the Abyssal Monarch has never named it. Since it was built by the Abyssal Monarch’s own hands, no one has the right to name it either. That is why it's called the ‘Nameless Tower.’”

As they got closer to the Pure Land, both the sky and the ambient air became increasingly pure. Gradually, the space in front of them began to exude a white light that should not belong in this world at all. A hint of bright gold was mixed within the white as well.

Finally, the Dreamweaver Divine Ship came to a stop.

Three men wearing silken robes stepped forward at the same time.

“Welcome, Dreamless Divine Regent. Welcome, honored guests from the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God. We have been waiting for you. Welcome to the Pure Land.”

The three men bowed, though they were neither obsequious nor supercilious even before a Divine Regent.

“Thank you for your service.” Meng Cangji nodded lightly before taking the lead. “This way please, supreme one.”

After they exited the Dreamweaver Divine Ship, they were met with a gigantic light barrier.

Behind the light barrier was the most venerated and lofty place of the entire Abyss, the place they called the Pure Land.