Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1047 - Dragon Fault?

The profound ark from the Flame God Realm had phoenix-like wings on both the sides and was thousands of kilometers long. Aside from the the Primordial Profound Ark that housed an independent world, it was the most enormous profound ark Yun Che had ever seen.

As he got near to it, he sensed an extremely strong burning aura on his face. Any other disciple of the Ice Phoenix Sect would’ve felt some discomfort but it was no issue for Yun Che at all.

The profound ark was not only enormous, it also had a majestic aura about it. As such, it appeared like an imperial city in the sky.

Sect Master of the Vermilion Bird Sect, Yan Wancang, and Sect Master of Phoenix Sect, Yan Juehai, were waiting in front of the profound ark. Seeing Mu Xuanyin and Yun Che flying over in their direction, they took the initiative to greet them.

“We meet again, Snow Song Realm King,” Yan Wancang gave a slight bow. “We’ll be completely relying on the Snow Song Realm King’s power to achieve our goal this time.”

“No need to say such superfluous words.” Mu Xuanyin waved them off without the slightest sign of courtesy. She directly went past the two of them and got inside the profound ark. “Take good care of this king’s disciple. I don’t want to be disturbed for any matter, unless it is related to the ancient horned dragon; no matter how great of a trouble comes up.”

Mu Xuanyin’s figure had already disappeared into the profound ark by the time others finished listening to her words. Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai didn’t feel odd or any awkwardness at her attitude. Yan Wancang turned around, “An ice room has been set up on the right side of the profound ark. If the Snow Song Realm King has any other instructions for us, please feel free to let us know.”

“Ah… Master!” Yun Che promptly looked ahead, only to find that Mu Xuanyin had vanished from his field of vision.

“Hehe, your esteemed master has always liked quietness. As her disciple, the person closest to her, you should be most clear about it,” Yan Juehai said with a laugh. “Young Yun, it’s really surprising to see your esteemed master have you accompany her to our destination.”

“No, it was expected,” Yan Wancang said as he smiled. “Given Young Yun’s talent in the elements, it would not have made any sense if your esteemed master didn’t decide to take you along. Poyun will certainly be overjoyed to know of this matter.”

“Hahaha, that’s only natural,” Yan Juehai let out a long laugh. “According to Sect Master Huo, Poyun frequently misses Young Yun, since his trip to the Snow Song Realm.

“Junior Yun Che asks forgiveness for the late greeting.” Yun Che respectfully bowed to the duo.

“No need to be so polite,” Yan Wancang said in a gentle tone.

The two great sect masters of the Flame God Realm would’ve never conversed with any Ice Phoenix disciple… even if they were an elder. Moreover, their expressions and tone were extremely gentle. However, Yun Che definitely had the qualifications to be treated so by them. Not only because he was a direct disciple of Mu Xuanyin but also due to his great elemental talent that deeply shocked even two distinguished sect masters like them.

And the thing that evoked a great sense of goodwill in their hearts towards Yun Che, was naturally the words that he had said to Huo Poyun, when the latter had admitted defeat in a miserable state.

As they were talking, the crimson profound ark activated and flew straight in the direction of the Flame God Realm.

The profound ark tore through the sky as it traveled thousands of kilometers in the blink of an eye. It was incomparably calm inside the profound ark, without the slightest fluctuation in the air, making it impossible to sense that the profound ark was covering distance at an extremely fast speed.

The Flame God Realm was worlds apart from the simplicity and indifference of Divine Ice Phoenix Sect, which could be noticed from the way it was decorated. Yun Che was led to a well-prepared room by two disciples from the Flame God Realm. The room was especially spacious and was fully decorated in a luxurious fashion. Despite being only a guest room on the profound ark, it appeared far more gaudy than the Ice Maiden Palace, where he stayed during his time in the Ice Wind Empire.

“Hah… The Snow Song Realm is truly destitute in comparison.” Yun Che couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Just this much was enough to make out that the Snow Song Realm had no qualification to be considered on par with the Flame God Realm, if it didn’t have the presence of a mighty person such as Mu Xuanyin.

He had heard Mu Bingyun mention before that all great realms were connected to each other by a transmission formation, which could be used by paying sufficient purple stones or purple crystals. But the Flame God Realm used a profound ark to receive them and chose simple flight as their traveling method. Although the profound ark could travel at an extremely fast speed, it still required eight hours to reach the Flame God Realm.

Why didn’t they directly make use of the transmission formation? With Master’s strength, it would be a million times faster to travel even via tearing apart space. Could it be just for the sake of formality? That might really be the case…

As he had nothing else to do, Yun Che closed his eyes to rest and soon entered into meditation. Then, after an unknown period of time, the sudden sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the room. Yun Che opened his eyes when he heard the sound.

“Young Yun, can I come in to have a talk?” The voice of Yan Wancang, the sect master of Vermilion Bird Sect, sounded from outside.

Yun Che got up immediately and went over to open the door, “Sect Master Yan.”

“Hoho, did I disturb you?” Yan Wancang asked with a laugh.

“It’s a matter of great honor to me that Sect Master Yan has come to visit me. There’s no way I’d feel disturbed. May I ask what instructions Sect Master Yan has for me?” Yun Che said respectfully.

“I only wanted to chat a bit with you. Consider it taking care of you, as your esteemed master has ordered. Alright, let’s sit down.”

With that, Yan Wancang closed the door and sat down by himself.

“...Then please excuse this junior.” Yun Che didn’t act unreasonably or cower either and at once sat before Yan Wancang.

If such a scene were to be witnessed by a resident of the Flame God Realm, their eyeballs might have popped out from fear. In the entire Flame God Realm, only Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie had the right to sit alongside him.

“Young Yun, I heard that you have come from a lower realm. May I know which star realm you’re from?” Yan Wancang asked.

When he first came to the Snow Song Realm, he had no hesitation in revealing his birthplace and even took the initiative to tell Feng Mo that he was from the Blue Pole Star, on the very first day of his arrival. After being severely reprimanded by Mu Xuanyin at the heavenly lake, his sense of vigilance was thoroughly awakened. Hearing Yan Wancang asking such a question all of a sudden, he replied in an apologetic manner, “About that… Junior has come from a little planet, so junior is sure that Sect Master Yan has never heard of it. Hence, it would be useless to mention its name.”

Yan Wancang was a bit startled at Yun Che’s tactful answer but didn’t pursue the matter or show any dissatisfaction. He lightly laughed before saying, “Let’s forget about it then. I may be extremely curious to know about the star realm from where an extraordinary genius like you has come but I think such a talent could only be bestowed by heaven and it has no actual relation with the star realm you were born on.”

“Sect Master Yan flatters me too much. This junior is undeserving of so much praise,” Yun Che responded.

“That might be true for others but your case is absolutely different,” Suddenly, Yan Wancang sighed with emotion. “When a person of your master’s capability appeared in the Snow Song Realm, I thought that her achievements would remain unsurpassed for eternity, with no one able to reach the same heights as her ever. Who would’ve thought that my estimation was so off the mark… It seems that Snow Song Realm is truly blessed by heaven.”

While voicing his thoughts, Yan Wancang didn’t bother hiding the look of admiration… and envy on his face.

After all, people like him who had reached such an age and cultivation level, were hardly left with anything to pursue other than finding a successor with exceptionally good aptitude; one could inherit their power and will. It would be for the best if their successor had the potential to surpass them eventually. However, to succeed in realizing such a thing was in fact even more difficult than becoming a sect master.

Yun Che, “…”

“Oh, hoho. Looks like I said a bit too much.” Yan Wancang waved his hand. “Young Yun, you can have as much fun as you want when we get to the Flame God Realm. So long as your master does not decide to hurry back, you can freely let that good-for-nothing son of mine take you anywhere you want. As for the horned dragon, your master will be the one to deal with it. When the time comes, you just need to watch her taking it down from afar. Hahahaha.”

Yan Wancang laughed in a very relaxed manner. It was apparent that he was especially confident in slaughtering the ancient horned dragon this time. Yun Che sightly pondered before saying, “Junior expresses his gratitude for Sect Master Yan’s kind hospitality. Junior wishes to… ask about a matter. In senior’s opinion, how much possibility is there in hunting the ancient horned dragon?”

“Well…” Yan Wancang was about to give him a reply when he forcibly swallowed back his words. He shook his head and said with a smile, “You should ask your master about it. No other person has the qualification to answer that question.”

“Eh?” Yun Che looked blankly at him for a brief moment. “Sect Master Yan, can I ask for the meaning behind those words?”

“Hehe, no matter how perfect our preparations are, it’s your master who is going to fight with the horned dragon in the end. So naturally, only she has the right to talk about the success rate of our objective,” Yan Wancang said with a rather noticeable smile of helplessness.

Yun was startled before immediately reacting to his words, “You mean… my master is going to fight the ancient horned dragon all by herself!?”

Yan Wancang was taken aback by Yun Che’s reaction “That’s only natural.”

“...” Yun Che opened his mouth to ask, “Don’t tell me the three senior sect masters are… not going to participate in the battle?”

An awkward look flashed past Yan Wancang’s face, “It seems your master hasn’t told you anything about the hunting of the ancient horned dragon. We have hunted the horned dragon multiple times in these past several thousand years and your master has always fought it alone so far. Even if the three of us want to assist her, we don’t have the ability to do so.”

“...” Yun Che fell in a daze. It went without saying that he was certainly unaware of the hunting process before and was actually under the impression that the Flame God Realm was the one exhausting all their power and primary battle force, while his master was only there to provide external assistance… Who the f*ck would have thought that they completely relied on his master to fight it single-handedly!?

Yan Wancang let out a bitter laugh, “You also saw it three months ago, how the three of us were utterly defeated in an instant, despite jointly resisting the attack that she had launched in anger. You are currently unable to understand or imagine the real strength of your master. Hah… Much less you, not even I, Sect Master Yan, or Sect Master Huo are able to understand the extent of her strength and capability. She is an existence of the Divine Master Realm, after all… The closest realm to becoming a god.”

“Since that ancient horned dragon’s strength is equivalent to a person at the Divine Master Realm, although your master is able to rival it, it’s absolutely impossible for the three of us. Rashly charging it would be no different from having a death wish. Besides, we cultivate fire-attribute profound arts, which poses no threat to it.” Yan Wancang shook his head. “Our role is to determine the period when the ancient horned dragon begins to cast off its scales and immediately lock onto its location when it breaks out of the God Burying Inferno Prison.”

What the heck… No wonder you guys were willing to let Master take away as much as half the body of the dragon, despite it being a creature of the Flame God Realm. So you were completely dependant on Master to fight it on her own and did nothing other than provide the dragon… as well as doing the job of an advance scout.

Three months ago, he felt that it was an incomparable display of sincerity for the three great sect masters to personally come to ask for it… But now it seemed that it was completely natural for them to do so!

“However, I do believe that your master is quite likely to obtain a positive result in the hunting this time. During the previous hunting period a thousand years ago, she would most probably have succeeded if not for that unforeseen incident. Even though she failed on the verge of success, the dragon fault of the horned dragon was injured by your master. This interval of a thousand years isn’t enough for it recover.”

“Dragon fault!?” Yun Che blurted out in a loud voice.

“Oh?” A doubtful look appeared on Yan Wancang’s face.

Yun Che promptly explained, “I had a sword before which was also called Dragon Fault. It’s just a coincidence but I ended up embarrassing myself before Sect Master Yan.”

Dragon Fault… such a nostalgic name.

Chu Yuechan was pregnant when he got that sword… It accompanied him and bathed in blood as he fought his way ahead on the path of cultivation. That sword witnessed his most important growth period… him dominating the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament, exterminating the Burning Heaven Clan and awing the leaders of the seven nations… Its contribution was so illustrious but didn’t have a good end…

It was eaten by Hong’er!!

“I see.” Yan Wancang nodded with a faint smile.

“Sect Master Yan, although junior has never seen the ancient horned dragon, I do know that a dragon has the strongest body among all living beings. Consequently, their recovery ability should be extremely strong too. Given the mighty strength of the ancient horned dragon, coupled with the fact that it lives in the God Burying Inferno Prison which has the most suitable environment to it, how is it possible that it has yet to recover from its injury, even after a whole thousand years?” Yun Che stated his doubt.

Yun Che was very clear about the recovery ability of a dragon… He also possessed Dragon God’s bloodline and had such a strong recovery ability that he himself found it fearsome.

“Hoho, you’re right. When it comes to the strength and ability of body, no living being could compare to the dragon race. If any part of their body gets severely injured, it’d be completely healed before long; with the sole exception of its dragon fault,” Yan Wancang explained with a smile. “That’s the place where the Life Gate of a horned dragon exists and as such, it is the only weak place on the horned dragon’s body. Once it suffers an injury, it would greatly damage its vitality and it require quite a long time to recover completely from such trauma. Moreover, if you could seriously injure that place, it’s also possible to have it directly meet its death.”

“You can also say that the dragon fault is its fatal weakness.”

“Oh… so that’s how it is,” Yun Che nodded in realization.. “Since it’s the location of the Life Gate, it should be very difficult to seriously injure the dragon fault?”

“Of course, it is. The ancient horned dragon guards its dragon fault with its extremely strong energy. To make that energy scatter and injure the dragon fault is actually even more difficult to accomplish than directly inflicting a severe injury on its body. During the several times your master has fought with it, she has never intentionally aimed to attack its dragon fault. After all, doing so would only cause you to waste your strength and stamina. The reason she managed to deal an injury to its dragon fault was because it had lost a great amount of its energy after a long and fierce battle, where it was being suppressed by her in all aspects.”

“Now that the ancient horned dragon has yet to recover from the injury to its dragon fault and there’s a clear increase in the profound power of your master, this time… “ Yan Wancang paused for a moment, before saying assertively in a changed tone, “We’ll definitely succeed!”