Against the Gods - Chapter 2041: Open Conspiracy

“Are the elements you possess something your master taught you as well, young master Yun?”

“But of course.”

“My aunt said that cultivating multiple elements is a taboo in cultivation. Not only would it slow down your cultivation speed, there is a high risk of losing control of one’s profound energy and damaging one’s profound veins. Those who managed them must possess an extraordinary physique and comprehension; a quality that not even one in a million profound practitioners possess.”

“My aunt is an extraordinary person, but even the greatest elemental practitioner she knew only cultivated three elements at once. To think that you cultivated five—no, six elements at the same time…”

She did not mention that the profound practitioner who cultivated three elements at once was one of the High Priests; a being who stood above countless others in the Abyss and answered only to the Abyssal Monarch.

It was why she was so curious about Yun Che. In terms of elements alone, he was somehow above even a High Priest and beyond the comprehension of the Abyss.

Yun Che replied evenly, “It is only after I left my master and properly joined the world that I realized just how extraordinary the boon I received from my master was.”

“Is your master—”

Hua Caili abruptly cut herself off and chided herself in a small voice, “That’s not something I should ask about.”

Yun Che smiled. It was a small, brief smile, but it stirred her heartstrings and stole her gaze for an instant.

She moved onto the next question. “Where did you go after bidding your master goodbye?”

“I went to a lot of places,” Yun Che continued to answer calmly, “but practically everywhere I visited shared more or less the same characteristics: defeated, drained men who were corrupted by abyssal dust; eyes that were full of pain, viciousness, and malice… I’m sure you’ve witnessed the same thing and eventually gotten used to it during your trials.”

Hua Caili bowed her head and said softly, “The outside world is certainly much scarier than what people told me and what my own imagination could conceive.”

It was a multifaceted fear to say the least. The Kingdom of God she resided in was a sacred land that the large majority of Abyss people dared not even dream about. Everything beyond that was a world of pain and malice unlike anything she could ever imagine.

“Considering how strong you are, you must have left behind quite the name in every place you’ve been to, haven’t you? Take the Qilin Abyss Realm for example. Not only did you defeat a group of Divine Masters as a Divine Sovereign, you even lifted the weakest Helian Empire above every other major sect in the Qilin Abyss Realm. I am sure that you will be remembered as a legend for a long, long time to come.”

Yun Che shook his head. “I didn’t realize it when I was still with my master, but I came to realize that I am very different from most profound practitioners. For starters, I am far, far stronger than anyone else at my cultivation level. Two, my mastery of the elements seems outright impossible in everyone’s eyes.”

“This difference garnered me a lot of astonishment and curiosity, but it also earned me a lot of unpredictable plots and dangers. That is why I started hiding myself from public perception as best I can. Every time I traveled to a new location, I would go by a different name. I never stayed in one place for too long either. Naturally, I did not leave behind any fame.”

Yun Che explained indifferently yet thoroughly, “In fact, my time at the Qilin Abyss Realm was easily my most brash and ostentatious. I owed the First Princess of Helian a huge favor, and I promised her that I would get the Helian Empire into the Qilin God Realm. As I was unable to keep a low profile as I had before, I decided that I might as well let loose.”

He made it sound oh-so-simple, but it did not take much effort to imagine just what kind of cruel hardships he had gone through to get to this point. For someone of his personality to hide himself to the point of obscurity and constantly wander from place to place like a duckweed; for him to choose to vanish quietly and alone even after bestowing the Helian Empire the greatest boon they could imagine…

“So… is Yun Che your real name?” The girl asked in a serious tone.

“Of course!” Yun Che met her eyes with pure, sincere eyes. “Sister Qu is my savior. My master taught me to repay even the slightest favor tenfold, so why on earth would I lie to you about my name?”

“Um… right.” “Sister Qu” subconsciously bowed her head and stared at her own feet.

Now that she thought about it, he had even revealed his light profound energy to her just because he didn’t want to leave a scar on her face, so why would he ever lie to her about his name?

He said he owed her his life, but anyone who could count would know that he had saved her more times than she had him.

He was so honest and candid with her, but she…

Hua Caili could not help but feel a bit of regret and panic.

As if he did not notice her feelings, Yun Che asked casually, “You’re exploring and training in hopes of breaking through to the Divine Extinction Realm, right Sister Qu?”

Surprisingly, Hua Caili did not nod her head. “I was planning to complete my breakthrough. I really want to. But Fa… father said that there’s no hurry. Before he saw me off, father gave me two questions. He said that if I can find the answer to both questions, then my adventure would have been worth it. He even said that it would be a greater achievement than simply entering the next realm.”

She was so distracted that she nearly said the word “father” with additional emphasis.

“Hmm? What questions?” That got Yun Che interested. “Tell me. Maybe I can find the answers for you.”

Hua Caili’s eyes lit up. “Aunt said that they are answers I can only discover after living through a myriad of experiences. Although you’re young, you are far more experienced than I am. Maybe you really can answer his questions for me.”

She began, “My father’s questions are: What is the most precious thing in the world? And what is the cheapest thing in the world?”

She stared expectantly at Yun Che’s face but could not find any traces of thinking on his face whatsoever. The young man simply smiled enigmatically as if he knew the answers the second he heard the questions.

“Did someone ask you these questions before?” Hua Caili asked.

“No. But I am certain I know what the answers are.” He said smilingly, “In fact, both questions share the same answer.”

“Huh?” the young woman exclaimed in confusion, “But how can that be? They are completely opposite questions. How can they possibly share the same answer?”

It was at this moment Yun Che stopped in his tracks. “You know what, I’m not going to tell you the answer. It is something that you should figure out yourself. Don’t worry though. If I’m not mistaken, you will likely discover the answer or at least glimpse a hint very soon.”

The young woman blinked, her dazzling eyes full of puzzlement.

Yun Che lifted a hand and created an isolating barrier around Hua Caili. “Sit and conceal your aura as best you can. Then, I want you to project your injuries to the surroundings and heal yourself normally.”

“W-What?” Hua Caili looked even more confused.

“You’ll understand very soon.” Yun Che did not give her a clear answer. He simply wore a calm and collected look on his face. A moment of thought later, Hua Caili chose not to pursue the line of questioning and obey his orders. She began sitting down and withdrawing her aura into the barrier. At the same time, her flawless face began looking weak and unnaturally pale.

Her injuries had barely healed for the past few days… It was clearly on purpose.

Yun Che pushed, and the gigantic abyssal crystal floated into the barrier as well.

From an outsider’s perspective, it would look like the young woman was absorbing the abyssal crystal’s power to heal herself.

Yun Che turned around. As if on cue, the two presences he was sensing abruptly sped up. He had just taken two steps forward when the men appeared in front of him.

They were both wearing black outfits tailor made for the Endless Fog. They were also carrying broadswords and exuded similar auras. They were clearly from the same sect.

The two men quickly glanced over Yun Che and stared at Hua Caili for a moment. Then, they shifted their gaze further and stared at the abyssal crystal.

Their pupils dilated with pleasant surprise and greed so strong that they could burn a hole in the abyssal crystal if it was tangible.

“Such a massive, pure abyssal crystal…” the man to the right gulped visibly. “I doubt even senior uncle has seen something like this before.”

The man to the left was steadier than his companion. With difficulty, he shifted his gaze away from the abyssal crystal and focused on Yun Che and Hua Caili again. The former sported the aura of a level three divine master, and the latter could not be perceived because she was isolated by a barrier. That said, he could tell that her complexion was deathly pale even though a veil was covering her face. She was clearly recovering from a grievous injury.

The level three Divine Master was fine, and the girl within the barrier was grievously injured… clearly, this meant that her cultivation was far weaker than her companion’s.

They were both level five Divine Masters.

His fear and wariness swept clean in an instant, the corners of the man’s mouth began to curl up uncontrollably. There was a clear tremor in his voice when he spoke, “A golden opportunity has finally fallen into our laps, Junior Brother Liu.”

He slowly stepped forward, but did not grab the abyssal crystal inside the barrier immediately. Instead, he held out a hand toward Yun Che and ordered, “You should know the rules of the Endless Fog, boy. Give it to me.”

Although he was speaking to Yun Che, it was clear from his side-eye that he thought little of him. His movements were unhurried, and his grin was almost split from ear to ear.

He thought they were predators who had everything under control.

They had never seen such a huge abyssal crystal in their lives. The Endless Fog was a place with no rules or order, so generally speaking, anyone with half a brain would do everything in their power to hide such a massive prize. However, not only was their opponent grievously injured, she had no choice but to use the abyssal crystal to heal herself. Perhaps she thought she could get lucky and recover her strength before anyone discovered her, but she wasn’t. She had unwittingly lured danger to her doorstep.

If this wasn’t a golden opportunity, then what was?

Yun Che did not reveal any hint of fear, however. He simply side-eyed the man in return and answered seriously, “Why should we give you what is ours?”

Inside the barrier, Hua Caili sneakily opened her eyes just a tad to watch Yun Che’s performance.

“Hmm?” Caught off guard, the two men finally afforded Yun Che their full attention. When he confirmed his profound aura again, their gaze turned even more scornful and ridiculing than before. They looked at him like they were looking at an ignorant fool who entered the Endless Fog for the first time ever.

“I see. Not only do you want to give us the abyssal crystal, you want to give us your life as well!”

The man wearing black slowly walked toward Yun Che snarking as he came.

Yun Che frowned deeply and appeared between them and the barrier in a flash. He said solemnly, “What are you doing? Looking at your aura, you are both practitioners of a righteous sect. We should be helping each other in the Endless Fog, not robbing each other. Aren’t you afraid that you will bring shame to your sect?”

Yun Che’s righteous words nearly brought the two men to their knees. From laughter, that was. The man to the right said, “Who in the world is this idiot? This has to be his first time in the Endless Fog.”

He then pointed a finger at Yun Che and said scornfully, “Allow Grandpa Liu to teach you a lesson, boy. You can be royalty in the outside world, but here in the Endless Fog, if Grandpa Liu wants you to die, then you will die!”

“Cut the bullshit and just kill him already. Who knows what might happen if we drag out this encounter for too long?” The man to the left circulated his energies. “Kill him quickly, and leave no traces behind.”

Take the prize, kill all witnesses. That was how it was in the Endless Fog.

As soon as he finished, the man rushed toward the abyssal crystal like a viper.

A dark grin spreading across his face, his companion also fired a broadsword surrounded by a cyclone of pure power straight at Yun Che’s solar plexus.

His opponent was a level three Divine Master. Just because he was two levels below his cultivation realm did not mean he could not surprise them if he gave it his all. That was why he didn’t hold back one bit.

High up in the sky, Hua Qingying snorted to herself.

Unlike Hua Caili, Hua Qingying was a grizzled veteran. The second Yun Che produced the abyssal crystal, she immediately knew what he was plotting.

“Drawing out one’s greed and reversing cause and effect, huh? A childish ploy. But…” she muttered to herself. “A simple trick probably suits Caili best.”