Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 2008 - Demanding Repayment

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

The restless sand and dust of Qilin God Realm carried Yun Che’s roar into the distance.

Then, the world suddenly fell silent.

The sand stopped flowing, and his roar stopped spreading. Every grain of sand and dust had frozen in place as well. It was as if the world itself had suddenly come to a standstill.

The yellow qilin light suddenly spread out and enveloped hundreds of kilometers of space. At the same time, an aura that resembled a sea pressed down on Yun Che.

Yun Che didn’t look afraid or surprised though. In fact, he felt only a sense of deep relief.

The aura was unbelievably heavy and powerful as expected, but it wasn’t violent, angry, and definitely not bloodthirsty. This meant that he had already crossed the biggest hurdle.

He gazed into the distance. The yellow qilin light abruptly turned solid, and to Yun Che’s surprise, the light wasn’t a light at all. It was a gigantic profound light palace, and he was right at the center of it.

This triggered a memory in his head. During the Era of Gods, there were two divine powers that were boasted as the greatest defense of the entire universe beneath the Creation Gods. One of them was the Black Tortoise’s Xuanji Tower, and the other was the Qilin God’s Qilin Sacred Palace.

Could this be the mythical Qilin Sacred Palace!?

Yun Che could not perceive the outside world at all. Aura, sound, even light… it was as if the yellow palace was everything that was left in the world.

Yun Che tried extending his divine perception beyond the hall he was in, but all he found was absolute nothingness. It was a two-way disconnection, and it was so absolute that it was terrifying.

A war could happen right outside the hall exit, and he wouldn’t be able to perceive anything.

The earth element was focused on defense, and disconnection was obviously a kind of defense. However, he never realized how terrifying disconnection could be until now.

A pair of giant eyes slowly opened from the space in front of him. The eyes were thirty meters wide and almost circular, and the pupils looked like a pair of ancient monoliths. The yellow light within its eyes resembled topaz.

Yun Che could see his own reflection in those eyes. In a sense, his shape, eyes, aura, power and everything was locked within the Qilin Sacred Palace and the giant eyes.

Yun Che took a step forward and bowed slightly, “It is an honor to meet you, senior qilin. This junior is Yun Che.”

He was respectful but not obsequious.

The world remained as silent as ever. Even Yun Che’s voice seemed to be drawn into an invisible black hole.

Yun Che did not panic despite failing to elicit a response. He simply stared at the divine eyes in front of him and allowed its seemingly infinite divine consciousness to scan him again and again.

Finally, a heavy, ancient voice rang beside his ears and his soul sea,

“A mere Divine Sovereign dares to disturb my slumber? Do you wish to be buried in this sandy abyss for eternity?”

Yun Che replied calmly, “You could bury me with a single finger if you wanted to, senior. But you’ll never do this because I am the successor of the Creation God of Elements, Ni Xuan!”

He unleashed his profound energy. He created a fireball in his left hand, an icicle in his left, a gust of wind beneath his feet and lightning around his body.

For obvious reasons, he did not show off his dark element.

“One of the Creation God of Elements’ elemental seeds is inside your body. You should know whether I’m telling the truth from the moment you perceived my aura.”

When Yun Che heard that the Qilin God Realm contained the richest earth element of the entire Abyss, he immediately put two and two together.

All other beasts except the dragons had been corrupted into abyssal beasts, but the final qilin was still alive to this day. At the time, he was almost certain that Qilin God was saved by the Heretic God’s seed, and now he knew it for certainty.

After all, he could feel the power of the Heretic God’s seed from the qilin’s topaz eyes. Just the same, the Qilin God should be able to perceive his Creation God of Elements’ powers instantly.

“You came from the other world?”

To the denizens of the Abyss, the “other world” was the “Eternal Pure Land” they dreamed of their whole life. But the Qilin God didn’t sound particularly surprised or excited. It exuded a level of calmness and gravity that resembled a million mountains.

“Yes.” This was the one secret he should never reveal to a denizen of the Abyss, and yet Yun Che had answered the Qilin God without any hesitation whatsoever. “I have come to retrieve the elemental seed inside your body. I hope you’ll fulfill my wish.”

“Hehe!” The Qilin God’s low chuckle shook Yun Che to his core, and its eyes abruptly shone with so much pressure that even his body could break at any moment. “So what if you’re the successor of the Creation God of Elements? You’re just a human Divine Sovereign!”

“It is true that the seed you desire is inside my body. In fact, my very life has become bound to the seed. If I give it to you, I will perish for sure. Why would I give my life to a mere human Divine Sovereign?”

The Qilin God obviously wasn’t using its full power, but it was still powerful enough to crush any other Divine Sovereign in an instant.

Yun Che remained proudly standing, however. Forget shaking, there wasn’t even a shred of fear in his pupils.

“You want me to justify my request? Very well,” he said loud and clear.

“One, abyssal dust affects a beast far more than it affects a human, which is why the dragons are the only beasts who are still holding on. Everyone else has been corroded into abyssal beasts including your own people.”

“The only reason you managed to survive until today is thanks to the Creation God of Elements’ elemental seed. If not, you might have died or joined the abyssal beasts in the Endless Fog a long time ago.”

The Qilin God was unresponsive at first, but when Yun Che mentioned the name “abyssal beast”, its pupils contracted as if pricked by a needle.

“In a sense, the Creation God of Elements saved your life and allowed your kind to survive to this age. A favor like this cannot be repaid in a million lifetimes, not to mention that I, his successor, am merely asking you to give me the elemental seed.”

“Two!” Yun Che continued before the Qilin God could respond, “I live in a world where Primal Chaos and conflict do not exist anymore. Do you know why I risked everything to come to this world of abyssal dust and tragedy?”

Expectation flickered in the Qilin God’s eyes as it waited patiently for Yun Che to give it an answer. Yun Che lifted his head a little and reminisced, “After the War of Gods and Devils, the Creation God of Elements managed to last longer than any god despite being poisoned by Myriad Tribulations. It was around this time he discovered that something was off with the Abyss and tossed one of his elemental seeds into Abyss. It is the one inside your body right now.”

“As the successor of the Creation God of Elements, I could naturally sense where the elemental seeds are. The reason he threw it into the Abyss is to draw my attention to the Abyss.”

“As for why he did it, the answer is very simple. It’s because his power is the only power that may rescue the denizens of the Abyss!”

Yun Che conjured his elemental powers once more, but one more element was added to the mix. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even an element. It was…

… The abyssal dust around him.

The abyssal dust possessed no color, shape or form. However, the Qilin God could sense its existence and its movement as clear as day as his aura was spread throughout the palace.

Its pupils immediately became three times bigger than before.

“You… can control abyssal dust?”

“You can control abyssal dust!!”

Yun Che lowered his palm, and the abyssal dust scattered into the surroundings once more. Both his expression and his aura were calm as if what he did was nothing at all. “Senior Ni Xuan is the Creation God of Elements, and abyssal dust is, in essence, a higher form of element. It might not be controllable by the beings of this world, but the Creation God of Elements himself? Of course he can.”

It was complete nonsense, of course.

The real reason he could control abyssal dust was because the Laws of Nothingness transcended above all.

There was no need to tell the truth though. A convincing lie was good enough.

“Unbelievable… to think that the abyssal dust can actually be controlled! This was something even he couldn’t do!”

The Qilin God would never have believed Yun Che without the demonstration. Even now, abyssal dust was swimming between Yun Che’s palms.

He? Is he referring to the Abyssal Monarch?

Yun Che was very satisfied with the Qilin God’s reaction, but his expression remained the same as ever, “As my powers are incomplete, my ability to control abyssal dust is quite limited. If I can obtain the last Heretic God seed though, I should be able to cleanse this Abyss bit by bit and turn it into a true Eternal Pure Land! I’ll be able to fulfill senior Ni Xuan’s final request to me!”

“And that’s why…”

Yun Che said seriously and firmly, “If we look at the smaller picture, you owe the Creation God of Elements your life.”

“If we look at the bigger picture, you too have a duty to save the world from the end.”

Silence followed, but the world wasn’t silent anymore.

The air was still covered in tiny grains of sand, and the sand beneath his feet was flowing as ever… but their surroundings were completely silent until now. It was a reflection of the Qilin God’s feelings.

“Hehehehe!” The Qilin God let out another low chuckle. “It may be true that I live only thanks to the Creation God of Elements’ elemental seed, but it wasn’t like he personally entrusted it to me, nor did I seek it out on purpose when I came upon it. So how do I owe him anything?”

“Besides, all denizens of the Abyss are selfish. Why would I give up my life for the good of others?”

Yun Che actually smiled instead of panicking. “If you were anyone else, then I would have no doubt that you’d be telling the truth.”

“But you are a qilin. The god of the qilins no less.” He looked up and stared into the Qilin’s eyes with undisguised respect. “Be it in the ancient times or the current era, everyone knows that the qilins are beasts of auspiciousness, benevolence and righteousness. Despite possessing enormous power, you offer only kindness to the world. You’ve never oppressed another race, and you loathe evil and conflicts. If someone does you a favor, you’ll repay them a hundred fold.”

“It is why the qilins are the most revered beast of nobility in every era!”

“It is also why this junior dared to disturb your slumber as a mere Divine Sovereign,” he continued, wearing the same smile as before. “I am certain that it’s no coincidence that the elemental seed somehow fell into your hands. Only the qilins could be trusted with the seed and are worthy to be protected by the Creation God of Elements himself, and only the qilins could withstand the test of time and still fulfill their duty without fail.”

“That is how I know you were lying, senior. Not only are you not angry at my appearance, I’m willing to bet that it’s the best surprise you’ve had in forever.”

The divine light in the Qilin God’s eyes melted. The soul pressure that had been assaulting Yun Che all this time vanished into nothing as well.

“Hahaha, hahahaha!”

The Qilin God’s laughter resounded throughout the Qillin Sacred Palace. It was old yet full of joy and liveliness… It had been too long since he last laughed, much less laughed from the bottom of his heart.

“What determination, what courage, what intelligence! No wonder you’re the Creation God of Elements… no, the Heretic God’s successor! No wonder my ancestor, the true Qilin God, revered no one more than the Creation God of Elements!”

“To think that my life wasn’t in vain, to think that I would actually receive a miracle… hahahahahaha!”

My ancestor, the true Qilin God?

Yun Che’s heart skipped a beat. Was this Qilin God not the first Qilin God who fell into the Abyss? Was it its descendant?

In any case, the Qilin God’s laughter and high praise finally allowed Yun Che to relax.

“Young man, it seems like you are well acquainted with my race in the other world.”

Yun Che smiled but didn’t say anything. To say that he was “well acquainted” with the qilins was a bit of a stretch, but he definitely knew them like the back of his hand.

Everyone said that the qilins were beasts of auspiciousness, benevolence and righteousness. All Yun Che was willing to say was that it depended on your perspective. But Yun Che wholeheartedly agreed that the qilins were good-natured creatures who loathed conflict above all else.

For starters, the Western Divine Region was ruled by the Dragon God Realm, and the Qilin Realm came second. However, they weren’t just the second greatest power in the Western Divine Region. They were also the second greatest power in the entire God Realm.

Despite this, the Qilin Realm had never oppressed another race or even fought against anyone. It was how they maintained their stance of absolute neutrality until Yun Che showed up. They loved giving out favors, but they hated owing another person a favor.

Back when Long Bai rallied the entire Western Divine Region to attack Yun Che, and the Northern Divine Region was completely cornered, the second greatest power of them all, the Qilin Realm had fought so passively it practically wasn’t fighting. The Qilin Emperor and the four strongest Ink Qilins had been easily “pinned down” by the enemy, and not a single Northern Divine Region profound practitioner had died at the Qilin Realm’s hands. In fact, they lost a lot of qilins to the Northern Divine Region.

Had they gone all out, the Northern Divine Region would never have held out until Yun Che exited the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm.

Later, the Qilin Realm was the first realm to surrender to Mo Beichen.

Did Qi Tianli deserve to die for his betrayal?

Of course he did. As he had told Chi Wuyao back then, if betrayal wasn’t punished properly, then loyalty was nothing more than a joke.

Was Qi Tianli detestable then?

Actually, no. Chi Wuyao herself admitted that Qi Tianli had made the most rational and correct decision when he realized that it was impossible to defeat Mo Beichen. Realistically speaking, it was also his only option. Had he resisted, the Qilin Realm would’ve been massacred to the last.

Later, Qi Tianli had bound himself and surrendered to Yun Che. He clearly didn’t fear death as he never begged for his life even once. All he asked was that the Qilin Realm be spared.

It was how Yun Che came to gain a total understanding of the qilins’ nature.

The Qilin God before him was the god of the qilins just like the Dragon God was to the dragons. Since they all originated from the same roots, this Qilin God might even be purer than its descendants in terms of nature.

That was why he had prepared a comprehensive plan when he learned that the “host” of the Heretic God Seed was a qilin.

His plan could be summed up very simply: moral blackmail. And it worked, things had turned out far smoother than he could possibly hope.