FIGHTING THE GODS - SEASON 8 EPISODE 54

“…The surrounding towns of the core lands of the Eternal Night Royal Family were suddenly enveloped in a black fog overnight. Everyone within the towns, whether they were almighty profound practitioners or powerless women or children, were violently killed… Soon enough, all blame landed on the Eternal Night Royal Family because when the Eternal Night Royal Family’s core profound art, the Eternal Night Illusory God Record, was invoked, a black fog would envelope the user’s body. The bodies of those who died under the Eternal Night Illusory God Record were blackened and enveloped in a black fog that persisted for more than a few days.

“…After that, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region was the first to question them. They named the Eternal Night Royal Family as a sinful, devil clan; massacring innocents in order to enhance their devilish strength. In the name of protecting the Profound Sky Continent and to get rid of evils, they then joined forces with the other three Sacred Grounds to annihilate the Eternal Night Royal Family…”

This was what Feng Qianhui had told him regarding the Eternal Night Royal Family back then, that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region had implicated the Eternal Night Royal Family.

The name “Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night” could be altered, but the attribute of “darkness” could never be changed, thus the profound aura of the Eternal Night Royal Family would always be black…

Using underhanded means, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region framed the Eternal Night Royal Family as an “evil devil clan.”

However, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would never have dreamed that the Eternal Night Royal Family, who bore the devil’s soul and blood, and cultivated the “Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night” could indeed be labelled as a devil clan!

In fact, they were a primordial devil clan!

“Jasmine, you mentioned that the reason why Fen Juechen’s power had increased explosively was because he had merged with a devil soul. Could that devil soul be the remnant soul of Ye Mufeng, who was sealed in the Soul Sealing Coffin?” Regarding the issue which Jasmine had yet to bring up, Yun Che had gradually formed an outline of the situation in his heart.

“Back then, after the Soul Sealing Coffin had been opened by Fen Juechen, Ye Mufeng’s remnant soul had wanted to seize Fen Juechen’s body, because at that point in time Fen Juechen’s body carried an extremely dense resentment. It could be said that his negative feelings were at its peak; it was simply a body bestowed by the heavens. However, Fen Juechen’s willpower was too strong. He was countered when attempting to devour Fen Juechen’s soul. At the same time, he discovered that Fen Juechen was actually Ye Huang who had reincarnated and thus gave up struggling. This allowed Fen Juechen to counter-devour his soul and also using his remaining willpower and all his might, he transferred the origin power which was sealed within the remnant soul into Fen Juechen’s body, allowing him to slowly absorb and assimilate it.

“Is this type of absorption a property exclusively belonging to the Eternal Night Devil Clan or the Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night?” Yun Che asked right after. This was because Jasmine had clearly said that the direct transference of Profound Strength and legacies were extremely difficult tasks.

With Fen Juechen’s assimilation of devil origin, it became a direct transfer or inheritance of profound energy. In just a short few years, he leapt from the Spirit Profound Realm to the Sovereign Profound Realm. It was a mythical jump of five profound realms!

“Of course not! If that were so, then the devil race would not have been crushed by the god race during the Primordial Era. This was possible and realized because the forbidden reincarnation technique created an exceptional and strange coincidence.” Jasmine said blandly. She was initially shocked and could not comprehend Fen Juechen’s ability to directly absorb the concealed devil origin in his body, but she was now speaking in a calm and deadpan manner; an attestation that the truth of the matter did not deviate too far from her scope of knowledge.

“Coincidence?”

“As I’ve said, a thousand years ago, in order to secure Ye Huang’s soul, the Eternal Night Royal Family activated the forbidden reincarnation technique where Ye Mufeng separated a fifth of his soul and fused it into Ye Huang’s soul. Fen Juechen’s soul is in essence Ye Huang and Ye Mufeng’s souls melded, with Ye Huang as the dominant party. Although this vestige of Ye Mufeng’s soul and the soul in the coffin he integrated originate from the same person, there is an inherently distinct difference. The latter is a subsequently devoured soul similar to prey, but the former is his original soul!”

“Since these two parts of essentially different souls trace back to Ye Mufeng, they were able to assimilate with Ye Mufeng’s devil origin perfectly, and allow Fen Juechen’s soul to co-exist with Ye Mufeng’s devil origin to a certain degree of harmony. In addition, the devil origin is completely malleable, allowing Fen Juechen to directly absorb the power melded within the devil origin and utilize it as his own power.

“It’s just that this kind of harmony covers only a small portion after all. So even though Fen Juechen is able to directly absorb the devil origin, the speed of absorption will be sluggish. It’s been several years but he has only managed to absorb less than half, and during the process of absorption… the pain will be unfathomable, especially in the initial stages. Due to the existence of some incompatibility, while he bears this power, his body and soul will endure a pain similar to constant ripping and shredding… that kind of pain is something that no normal person can bear.”

“…” Yun Che remained silent. This should be the aforementioned “hell” by Fen Juechen.

“At the same time, the external energy that cannot fully meld will also reduce his lifespan. If he ceases the absorption and maintains this current state, he can live for another three years at most. If he persists in absorbing devil origin, his remaining lifespan will shorten further.” Jasmine sneered, “Hmph, how could the transfer and inheritance of power be that simple! If it were anyone else faced with such a price, even if it was for the sake of a power ten times stronger, they would still absolutely refuse. Only Fen Juechen, with such a dark life history, would choose this hopeless road.

“Which is why, even though both of you experienced two lives, you were blessed by the Mirror of Samsara, enjoying impossibly good luck that could incur the wrath of heaven! But Fen Juechen… he could even be named as the most pitiful existence in the whole Profound Sky Continent. Bearing a shattered life, a shattered soul, saddled with the grievances of two clans over two eras, and enduring a living hell of pain with every breath.

“He paid such a price in exchange for power, yet he was thwarted by you, and shown mercy by you… Hmph, the consequent unjustness, humiliation and resentment would be ingrained in him more deeply than you can imagine.”

“The thought of casually killing him did cross my mind, but because he was pitiful to such an extent, I thought to spare his life. He won’t have much time left anyway, and with me around, he won’t be able to kill you.” Jasmine’s tone shifted slightly, and continued, seemingly more meaningfully, “Even without me, he still won’t be able to kill you. Let him keep his wretched life to kill whoever else he wants to. After all, you are one of the last few amongst those he wants dead, contrary to expectations.”

“The others he wants dead… could they be from the Four Great Sacred Grounds?” Yun Che asked.

“Of course! Ultimately it was the Four Great Sacred Grounds who annihilated the innocent Eternal Night Royal Family, and were the perpetrators of his tragedy. His sole motive for staying alive till today is revenge!”

With the word “revenge,” Yun Che couldn’t help but recall his last seven years in the Azure Cloud Continent…

The sole motive for staying alive till today was revenge… weren’t these the words ringing in his soul almost every day, every night, inundating his every breath and moment…?

Perhaps, in this world, the person who could truly understand the present Fen Juechen’s completely twisted belief… would be Yun Che.

But the difference was, during that time, other than revenge, he had Ling’er…

Just that…

“When revenge eclipses all else and becomes your sole belief, any other advice, any other impediments will become virtually useless. However, with the little remaining life that he has, no matter how fast his speed of growth, he could never reach a level where he poses a threat to the Sacred Grounds, much less take any revenge…” Yun Che paused, as if suddenly recalling something. He frowned deeply and said, “A thousand years ago, Ye Mufeng’s strength alone was not enough to overpower any of the Sacred Grounds’ masters, but after he released his devil blood, all four Sacred Grounds’ masters had to join hands to defeat him. Fen Juechen is a direct descendant of the royal bloodline, so is it possible…”

“Of course it’s possible!” Jasmine replied assertively, “Although thirty percent of the inherited blood was lost due to the forbidden reincarnation technique, there’s still about seventy percent that was retained. Also, Fen Juechen already knows the method to release the confined devil blood inside him.”

“And that is… the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword!”

“…It’s no wonder why he is participating in the Devil Sword Conference and wants possession of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword.” Yun Che murmured, “It’s for the sake of releasing the confined devil blood. Since the key to releasing the devil blood lies in the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, then, would he have the ability to control the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword?”

“He won’t be able to!” Jasmine shook her head, “During that time, Ye Mufeng surpassed Fen Juechen, whether it was his profound strength or the density of his devil blood. Even after the devil blood was released, he was still unable to control the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Come to think of it…” Jasmine considered Yun Che, “Aren’t you curious why the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword is able to release the Eternal Night Royal Family’s devil blood?”

“I’m guessing… the Eternal Night Royal Family’s devil blood originated from the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword?” Yun Che asked cautiously.

“Hmph, you’ve guessed it!” Unknowingly, Jasmine had strolled over to the sound obstruction barrier made for Hong’er. Watching the blissfully sleeping Hong’er, a gleam of tenderness flashed across Jasmine’s icy gaze, “According to Ye Mufeng’s memories, ten thousand years ago, the ancestors who established the Eternal Night Royal Family unexpectedly found the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword in a deserted place, south of the continent. When the Eternal Night Ancestor picked the sword up, he couldn’t sense the mighty aura of a sword, but a strange aura of darkness. Just when he was about to abandon the sword, he inadvertently brushed against a drop of black liquid on the hilt… within that moment of contact, the drop of black liquid instantly absorbed into his body.”

“Devil… blood!?” Yun Che exclaimed.

“Though the power of the bloodline contained within was weak, it was still on a different and much higher level, and once the devil blood entered his body the nature of his profound strength changed rapidly. Even his soul was affected, which caused his temperament to change greatly as well. However, it was fortunate that the Eternal Night Ancestor possessed great profound strength. Although his temperament became violent and explosive, it didn’t tamper with his character so much as to land him in a state where he became a bloodthirsty creature. Essentially, he fully retained his logic and reasoning, clearly aware that these changes originated from the devil blood.”

“And so, after he established the Eternal Night Royal Family, he decreed that all his newborn, direct descendants had to seal at least ninety percent of the devil bloodline, seizing the opportunity while the inherited bloodline was weak! Unless they faced a catastrophe, they were absolutely forbidden from releasing the seal. For a whole ten thousand years everyone obeyed. The Heavenly Sin Divine Sword became the entire clan’s sacred yet forbidden item, and they protected and looked over it for generations. For every generation, with the exception of the Eternal Night King, no one was allowed to come close or lay a finger on it, much less allow it to fall into another’s hands. The appellation Heavenly Sin Divine Sword was given by the Eternal Night Ancestor, meaning: those who carelessly lay a finger on it will have sinned and invoked heaven’s divine wrath!”

“Then, what about the Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night? Where did it come from?” Yun Che asked.

“Similarly from the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword!” Jasmine knitted her eyebrows slightly, “The Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night was obtained from the sword by the same Eternal Night Ancestor. Just by removing the word ‘devil,’ the name was then changed to the Eternal Night Illusory God Record. It wasn’t mentioned within the inherited memories of the Eternal Night Royal Family how it was retrieved, clearly denying the knowledge to any descendants. Relying on this diluted devil blood and the Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night, the Eternal Night Royal Family achieved the greatest strength, at the highest level on the Profound Sky Continent, within a short period of time.”

“The devil blood… the Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night… both originated from the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword! But where did that sword come from? Why would it have the blood and art of the devil clan which were eliminated a million years ago?” Yun Che asked solemnly. This, he feared, could be the crux of the whole issue.

Jasmine’s tiny face was equally solemn, “This is also the point I’m most concerned about. Before the Eternal Night Ancestor obtained it, the Profound Sky Continent had absolutely not an iota of record on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. It was as if the sword appeared from thin air. The Eternal Night Royal Family does not know of its origins, nor does anyone else. However, we should be getting our answers soon…”

“Two months later, head to Supreme Ocean Palace and attend the Devil Sword Conference while you’re investigating the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest! I’d like to see exactly what secret that Heavenly Sin Divine Sword has! I can only hope that whatever is inside hasn’t dissipated during these ten thousand years!”

Jasmine’s voice had dipped; for the devil blood and art to have reappeared after a million years, even if it occurred in the Realm of the Gods, it would still be an earth shattering event. However, her expression was still calm, because on the Profound Sky Continent, even if she were to exhibit a small portion of her power, there was nothing that was not within her control.

“I’ve got it.” Yun Che nodded and inhaled a little, on one hand digesting the information that Jasmine loaded him with today, and on the other, sinking further into his rumination.

“What are you thinking about? Did it suddenly occur to you that what you’ve witnessed in your past two lives have been completely insignificant?” Jasmine slightly tilted her exquisite, doll-like face up, speaking in a patronizing tone and attitude.

“I’m thinking about… Fen Juechen’s situation.” Yun Che lifted his head, staring into the white expanse of the Sky Poison Pearl, “He is indeed as you described him to be, beyond pitiful and lamentable. His most pitiful aspect would be… he thought he had nothing, no relatives, only vengeance, yet fate arranged for him to stumble upon his former father’s soul. However, this father of his gave him not familial warmth to rely on as he lived his life, but turned him into a vessel for vengeance… you could even call him a tool.”

The remnants of Ye Mufeng’s soul recognized that Fen Juechen was Ye Huang. He should therefore be clear that this transference of his own memories and devil origin to Fen Juechen will cause the latter to gain immense power, but at the same time, to inherit and bear an unfathomable agony. Even his lifespan would be suddenly cut to just a few years, essentially turning him into a marionette whose sole purpose was revenge…

During that time, they ignored the consequences, disobeyed their ancestor’s instructions and activated the forbidden reincarnation technique on Ye Huang. This was in order to allow him to live on, continuing the bloodline of the Eternal Night Royal Family. But a thousand years later, Ye Mufeng’s remnant soul personally destroyed all of this, completely destroying all the effort put into preserving their son’s life…

This was absolutely not something a father would do.

“Should the current Fen Juechen be successful in his quest for vengeance, I fear he may no longer have any further attachments to the mortal world.” Yun Che murmured, rather emotionally. Just as the words left his mouth, the silhouette of Xiao Lingxi wavered across his vision…

Perhaps, there was still…

Jasmine was naturally clear on Yun Che’s hint, and she sneered, “The thousand year devil blood released by Ye Mufeng caused his soul to subsequently change its nature, and his temperament naturally followed suit to change greatly. This remnant soul bore a thousand years of suffering; at that time, his willpower, his vengeance, both were exponentially greater than his son’s! This is the devil! The devil that warps a human’s nature!”

“The devil… is indeed a fearsome thing! Fen Juechen, that guy…” Yun Che sighed in frustration, “I still really wish he could live a couple of years longer. Little Aunt’s heart is softer than cotton—she will surely be deluged in sorrow for a long time.”

“Also, his heart holds the most hatred for Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. It seems like he and I both have a common enemy… and there’s also that Sun Moon Divine Hall.”