Against the Gods

Chapter 2185 - Soundless Death Knell

UNedited chapter - Rubble

When he stepped out of the barrier, Yun Che’s expression had become utterly serene, betraying not a trace of emotion.

Long Qianxin wasn’t at all surprised to see him emerge so quickly. He smiled and said, “Is there anything else that interests you, Divine Son Yuan? Or perhaps you’d like to accompany back to the Ancestral Dragon Divine Hall? The Dragon Lord has personally arranged a grand banquet and is eagerly awaiting your presence.”

“No need.”

Yun Che did not look at him, instead gazing into the distant sky. “Please inform the Dragon Lord that I have suddenly recalled an urgent matter that remains unresolved. I must take my leave for now; there is no need to see me off.”

As soon as he finished speaking, before Long Qianxin could react, Yun Che had already shot into the air. There was no hesitation. He moved at an incredible speed and vanished in an instant.

“Ah? Di... Divine Son Yuan!?”

Long Qianxin stood frozen in place, too slow even to utter a word of inquiry or farewell. He could only stretch out his arm, watching helplessly as Yun Che and Meng Chaoyang vanished into the distant sky. He had no idea what had just happened.

Whoosh—

Profound energy tore through the air, producing a piercing screech.

Yun Che’s speed grew ever faster. Before long, he had passed through the Ancestral Dragon barrier.

A thick cloud of dust swept toward him, blurring his vision. His speed did not waver in the slightest, yet he wasn’t headed in the direction of the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God. It seemed as though he had simply chosen a random direction, streaking through the air as if he was venting his frustration.

Meng Chaoyang followed far behind him. Though puzzled, he maintained his distance and did not approach to ask questions.

It was unclear how much time had passed when Yun Che’s body suddenly lurched violently, and he plummeted from the sky.

Boom!

A low mountain was split in two, sending boulders flying in all directions. Amidst the swirling dust and sand, Yun Che knelt on one knee, his fingers clenched tightly against his chest as he retched in agony.

Sharp shards of rock sliced through his skin and counter garments, carving deep, bloody gashes. He remained oblivious, though. His back convulsed violently, his long hair hung loose, his jaw was clenched tight, his throat churned wave after wave of agony, and his internal organs felt as if they were being twisted together, triggering one fit of dry, gagging retching after another.

“Your Highness!”

At this point, Meng Chaoyang could no longer heed the instruction to “offer distant protection”. He instantly teleported to Yun Che’s side and placed a hand radiating a gentle, profound light on the young man’s back, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, and concern.

His body still trembling uncontrollably, Yun Che forced himself to look up and said in a hoarse voice, “I... I’m fine... ggk... blarghhhhh!”

His back arched violently beneath Meng Chaoyang’s palm. The retching was heart-wrenching and wouldn’t stop for a long time, yet nothing came up.

His five fingers were dug deep into the flesh of his chest. Droplets of blood trickled down from his contorted knuckles, yet he could not feel a shred of pain.

Meng Chaoyang’s brows furrowed deeply. He flipped his palm and released a profound light several times more intense than before. His eyes were also glowing with a serene and profound silver radiance.

Under the vast, ocean-like expanse of his soul power, Yun Che’s condition finally began to ease. Bit by bit, the trembling weakened until, as if completely drained of strength, he slumped to the ground like soulless mud, sitting.

Meng Chaoyang withdrew the silver glow from his eyes, his expression complex and inscrutable.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Yun Che kept his head bowed, and his expression hidden from view. His voice remained hoarse, though it was now much clearer than before.

“It was probably because the draconic of the Ancestral Dragon Divine Hall was too overwhelming. I forced myself to endure it, and it backfired on me.”

He offered what was, at best, a flimsy excuse.

The biting mountain wind howled past his body. It was bitterly cold, yet not even a fraction as frigid as the icy prison within his soul.

“I would be grateful if you could grant me a barrier, Lord Chaoyang. I need to rest for a while... just a while, and I’ll be fine.”

Though Meng Chaoyang harbored countless doubts, he could only nod and say, “Very well, Your Highness. Please do not push yourself, and do not hesitate to ask me for anything.”

He rose and flew away. At the same time, a silver barrier identical to the one before descended on top of Yun Che, temporarily isolating him from the world around him.

In the deathly silent space, Yun Che remained slumped on the ground for a long time, utterly motionless.

Strands of hair were clinging in disarray to his sweat-dampened brow. Every vein in his neck were pulsing and spasming. Hidden behind his tangled hair, a blood-red mist was clearly pooling inside his eyes.

Li Suo’s ethereal form appeared silently and slowly knelt in front of Yun Che. She did not speak, though. She simply watched him in silence, keeping him company and sensing the excruciating pain that permeated every fiber of his being.

Time dragged on with agonizing slowness in the oppressive gloom.

Finally, Yun Che stirred. He slowly raised his blood-stained right hand...

... and then slapped himself viciously across the face.

SLAP!

The piercing sound of shattering cheekbones echoed through the air. The fingerprints left on his face were as crimson as blood.

Li Suo instinctively raised her hand to touch him, yet her slender fingers, glowing with a faint white light, passed right through him. “Yun... Che....”

Yun Che raised his hand once more, all five fingers clenching around his face with increasing tightness until his knuckles snapped and turned deathly pale.

“I should have realized... should have realized....” he murmured, each word laced with agony, each one hoarse.

“Heh... hehehe... What ‘Emperor Yun’... What ‘hope of saving the world’... I’m such a fool... a worthless piece of trash... a worthless piece of trash! Hehe... hahahaha....”

The hoarse laughter was exceptionally heart-wrenching, like a poison-coated ice blade repeatedly stabbing and twisting in his throat.

“It’s not your fault,” Li Suo said softly, her voice—already as ephemeral as a dream—even more gentle than usual. “You’ve already shouldered too much; your heart and soul have long been stretched to the breaking point... No matter how powerful you are, there’s a limit. Let the pain pass, and do not punish or blame yourself any longer.”

“Besides, it was her own choice.”

“Choice...” A bitter laugh escaped his throat. “Was that so-called ‘Five Spirit Treasures’ also a choice....”

“......” Li Suo sighed softly.

After all, it was nothing but a complete and utter lie.

Long Wangchu’s rapid growth had come from Yun Xi, who sacrificed her own blood essence time and again, year after year.

The wound was permanent and irreversible. It was no exaggeration to say that she was severing her own lifeline, cut by cut.

To keep her by his side forever, to ensure she would endlessly sacrifice her blood essence to that good-for-nothing who was the future of the Ancestral Dragon lineage, Long Zhiming had concocted a vile lie and offered her a hope that was distant and faint, yet seemed within reach if she was willing to sacrifice everything....

What Five Spirit Treasures, what spirit essence of heaven and earth, what Great Ancient Dragon Formation... They were all absurd, laughable, vile, and filthy lies!

“I... don’t quite understand something,” Li Suo said softly. “Back in the Qilin God Realm, she not only saw through your true identity early on, but also seized the opportunity to use your power to obtain the Qilin Bone Spirit Orchid. Moreover, she had exposed the true purpose of your appearance in this world in a single remark.

“Her intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary people, so how... how could she have been deceived by such a lie? Was it the Ancestral Dragon lineage’s impossibly long history and the Dragon Lord’s formidable prestige that led her to—”

Suddenly, her voice faltered as she realized something.

“So that’s it...” Her voice grew even softer. “You once said that a drowning person will grasp at any floating duckweed that suddenly appears, no matter the cost.

“She didn’t believe the Dragon Lord. On the contrary, she likely understood better than anyone that it was most likely a colossal lie. But... she wouldn’t allow herself to reject it, wouldn’t allow herself to extinguish with her own hands the last glimmer of hope this world had to offer.”

Blood trickled from the gaps between Yun Che’s tightly clenched teeth.

“Why didn’t you expose the lie for Yun Xi’s sake? And why did you hide the Primal Flame Crystal you’d worked so hard to find?”

Yun Che shook his head in agony as he murmured, “I couldn’t expose it...

“Do you remember what she said back then...? She said that saving her mother was the only reason she still lived in this world.

“If the lie was exposed, what would shatter wouldn’t just be an illusory bubble—it might be... her will to live as well.”

The will to die... was a cruel nightmare that even Mo Su, the Abyssal Monarch, could do nothing about.

Waves of chaotic, strange sounds escaped from between Yun Che’s teeth, yet they could not truly vent the endless pain and guilt within his soul.... Li Suo gently raised her hand, touched the corner of his eye with a slender finger, and left it there for a long time.

As a child, she had witnessed her mother’s disappearance....

What remained was bitterness, pain, and loneliness....

Wherever she looked, there was only desolation....

Wherever she went, there was only envy....

To protect herself, she destroyed her own face....

To buy peace, she sold her own blood....

Lies....

Self-deception....

Struggle....

......

This had been her life thus far.

The life of the daughter of Yun Che and Shen Xi.

......

......

“Li... Suo....”

He suddenly called out her name softly.

“I’m here,” she replied just as quietly.

“I... can’t wait any longer.”

His voice was weak and trembling. Though a self-proclaimed devil god who had vowed to bring ruin to this world, at this moment, he seemed like a lost, helpless child.

“I want to... take Xi’er home sooner.”

“I....”

She had already suffered too much; he could not bear for her to suffer even a day longer....

Li Suo looked at him and nodded gently. “All right. Then let us begin sooner, finish this sooner, and take her home sooner.

“Even if the path isn’t paved with the heaviest of stones, it can still be smooth.”

Yun Che’s hand slowly dropped from his face. When he looked up again, his eyes were crimson like those of a desperate, ravenous wolf.

He looked ahead, his gaze shifting from hazy to clear, and his pupils slowly losing focus. In the end, it settled on deepening darkness and murkiness.

On breath... ten breaths... a hundred breaths....

No one knew what he was thinking.

When he stood up, he turned his body... but not toward the path back to the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God, but the dragon’s domain.

Li Suo’s ethereal form appeared before his eyes, blocking his path. “You must not act impulsively.”

Yun Che murmured, “The dragon race of the Western Divine Region had harmed Shen Xi, and now the dragon race of the Abyss had inflicted such pain upon me and Shen Xi’s daughter.

“These... dragons....”

The hatred ran deep to his very bones, gnawing at his heart and corroding his very marrow.

“I understand your hatred and your guilt,” Li Suo soothed him in the gentlest of tones. “But Long Zhiming is, still, an Ancestral Dragon who has lived for a million years. Even if your follower, Meng Chaoyang, is willing to give it his all, he still wouldn’t stand a chance against him—much less the rest of the dragons under his command.

“Now is not the time... for your own sake, and your daughter’s.”

Yun Che’s gaze did not waver; he continued to stare intently in the direction of the dragon race.

“Relax... no matter how much I hate them, I won’t act on it now, and I certainly won’t put Xi’er in danger.

“Killing them, driving them to extinction... as if such mild measures could possibly vent the hatred in my heart! As if they deserve such mercy!!!”

His voice was brimming with hatred, every word stained with blood.

“I will make them wish they were dead... I will make them regret... suffer... wail... despair... yet never find release!

“I will squeeze every last drop of life from their vile bones!! Every shred of their flesh and blood!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOM————

The earth split apart, and the space wailed. Even the abyssal dust, every wisp of it, seemed to be trembling in fear.

......

Meng Chaoyang turned his gaze as Yun Che slowly stepped out of the barrier.

He appeared to be completely back to normal, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“My cultivation is ultimately insufficient. I’ve caused you much worry, Lord Chaoyang.”

As he spoke, Yun Che soared into the air, “The Dragon Lord’s hospitality is truly profound. To depart without a word would be rude and would tarnish the reputation of my Dreamweaver Kingdom of God. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to visit them again and atone for my mistake.”

With that, he unleashed his profound qi and headed back toward the Ancestral Dragon Mountain Range.

No one could have known that his state of mind between his first and second visit to the dragon race would be completely different.