FIGHTING THE GODS - SEASON 8 EPISODE 76

The sealed Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was blanketed in inky darkness.

For the first time in his life, Yun Che experienced what true darkness was. The world he was trapped in seemed like a bottomless abyss; there was not a single trace of light or life. In this world of absolute darkness, he could not see anything else, he did not even know where he was and what direction he was facing. His mind was under a lot of pressure and he started to feel a little dizzy.

“Yun Che… Do you know what you’ve just done!” Jasmine yelled through gritted teeth as her voice echoed in Yun Che’s mind.

“Of course I know.” Yun Che replied as he took a deep breath, trying his best to compose himself. Within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, even drawing breath was several times more difficult than it was normally.

“I had already told you very clearly, there isn’t any way that I can materialize to go harvest the Netherworld Udumbara Flower in this place. And I was even more clear about the fact that there was no way that you could do it with your current ability. You won’t even be able to go anywhere near it, you…”

“I know.” Yun Che said with a somber expression on his face, “I will definitely not question what you have told me. But we have already looked for the Netherworld Udumbara Flower for a whole seven years! And during these seven years, whether it was in the Profound Sky Continent or the Illusory Demon Realm, we have not been able to find even a clue regarding it. Now there is one that is growing in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest and it is extremely likely that it is the only Netherworld Udumbara Flower in this world! Furthermore, it is right on the brink of fully blooming… so how can you expect me to just give up on it like that!”

“When I saw this Netherworld Udumbara Flower, I had an powerful feeling that if we left like this, we might never see a second Netherworld Udumbara Flower in our lives ever again. Which also means that you will never be able to obtain a new body.” Yun Che said solemnly, “Furthermore… furthermore, truth be told, I’m not too afraid of that Netherworld Udumbara Flower. Just now, even though it was able to enthrall me briefly once I entered within a hundred meters of it, the moment I concentrated I was able to break out of its spell. My condition was far less serious than Xue’er and the others. This should be related to the fact that I possess the Dragon God Soul… and if my Dragon God Soul is fully unleashed, it should be very possible for me to resist its ability to steal one’s soul. At the very least, let me try it out.”

“Foolishness!” Jasmine said sharply, “Do you know how big a difference there is between a Netherworld Udumbara Flower that has fully bloomed and one that has not? Once a Netherworld Udumbara Flower reaches full bloom, its ability to steal your soul will grow at least ten times stronger!

“…” Yun Che stammered out in a stunned voice, “Te… ten times!?”

“For the past seven years, since I mentioned the Netherworld Udumbara Flower until now, I have always asked you to locate one but I have never ever once asked you to actually go obtain one. It is not something that a person from this plane, such as you, can even come into contact with!” Jasmine’s voice was filled with fury and Yun Che could well imagine that she was so shocked, upset and frustrated that she could barely contain the desire to smack him so hard that he flew tens of kilometers.

“Are you thinking that if you aren’t able to succeed, you will be able to escape using the Primordial Profound Ark? If you are, then you are truly naive! Having to endure more than ten thousand years of darkness energy which is of such a high quality slowly eating away at it, the laws of space in this place have long since been distorted! You will barely even be able to use the Primordial Profound Ark to move around in this Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, much less use it to leave this place!”

Yun Che, “…”

“Also, I clearly just warned you that there was a living creature hiding in this place! It’s strength is at least at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm! Furthermore, to be able to survive in such a dark environment, it is very likely going to be an extremely evil creature! Perhaps you will die under the claws of this foul beast before you can even approach the Netherworld Udumbara Flower! And even if you wanted to flee at that moment, you wouldn’t be able to!”

“You’ve basically made your own grave! And this is a grave that even I can’t dig you out of!” Jasmine yelled in fury.

“Heh heh.” At this moment, Yun Che suddenly let out a small laugh.

“…To think that you are actually able to laugh right now.” Jasmine said in an exasperated voice.

Yun Che faintly smiled as he said, “I just suddenly thought of the many times you’ve scolded me because I always risked my life for women. Every single time, I gave you the same reply. If it was for you, I would also be willing to throw my life away. But you’ve never once believed me. However, now that we’ve reached this point, are you starting to believe those words?”

“You…” Jasmine’s voice ground to a halt immediately.

“Jasmine, you’ve given far too much already. On the other hand, I have never really been able to do anything for you. Even cleansing that devilish poison from your body was only possible due to the existence of the Sky Poison Pearl. I have never ever needed to give up anything or pay any price. Right now, this Netherworld Udumbara Flower may be the only hope of you getting a new body. So even if the risk was ten times greater and the chance of success was ten times lower, I would still choose to stay behind.”

Jasmine, “…”

“Moreover, I was not being completely reckless when I chose to stay behind. I had already carefully weighed the pros and cons in my mind. Our situation is far less dire than you made it out to be. Even though the Dragon God Soul in my body has already become a part of my own soul, because my spirit power is too weak, even I am not able to tell just how strong it actually is. Therefore, it is impossible for you to know either, Jasmine. If my will is resolute enough and I am able to draw out even more of the Dragon God Soul’s soul power, approaching the Netherworld Udumbara Flower is not an impossibility!”

“And even if that living creature that is hidden in the darkness is an evil beast, if it is at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, it isn’t impossible for me to beat it either. Two months ago, Fen Juechen had around the same level of strength. In the end, not only did I manage to beat him, it was a complete victory!” Yun Che said in a voice that was brimming with confidence as his eyes widened in the darkness.

“…” Jasmine remained silent for a while before viciously spitting out a response, “IDIOT! The reason why you were able to beat Fen Juechen was entirely because of Hong’er! You really thought that the present you could be a sixth stage Monarch!?”

“Because of… Hong’er?” Yun Che asked in a stunned voice.

“Forget it.” Jasmine said as she gave a faint sigh, “Now that things have reached this point, it would be useless even if I scolded you another ten thousand times. If that foul beast can survive in such an environment, then it means that it must be a creature of the darkness element, so it should also be vulnerable to Hong’er just like Fen Juechen was. If that is the case, then you might have the ability to face it in open combat… but it isn’t a sure thing! Right now, the first thing you need to do is to get accustomed to this environment so you can remain in your peak state indefinitely!”

Jasmine’s tone remained stern but she had subconsciously softened it already. Though she still felt that Yun Che choosing to remain in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest to wait for the Netherworld Udumbara Flower to bloom fully was the stupidest and most reckless thing he could do, that it was akin to digging his own grave, it had all been because of her this time around… completely because of her.

Moreover, this was a man that she had spent the most time with in her life, the man whom she understood the most. From start to finish, he had always been this kind of person…

“When you’re in this place, do you feel a weight on your chest, do you start feeling dizzy and does it get harder for you to breathe?” Jasmine asked with surety in her voice.

Yun Che nodded his head, “Yes. Furthermore, these sensations are far more intense now than when I had first entered this place. Darkness energy is able to devour one’s life force and soul, so the sensations that I am feeling right now should be considered quite normal.”

“Hmph! The only reason why you are able to maintain your present state is because your life force far exceeds that of a normal person. If it was a normal Emperor Profound Realm practitioner, he would have lost all the strength in his body and he would be teetering on the state of unconsciousness after one hundred breaths. But even with your life force, you still won’t be able to hold out in this place for too long. In two hours, you will…” Jasmine’s voice suddenly stopped and when she spoke again, her voice had become neutral and emotionless, “It looks like I don’t need to remind you about this after all. If you dared to stay behind, then you’ve definitely thought of this as well.”

“That’s only natural.” Yun Che said as he stuck out his chest, “The origin of energy in this world is the energy of heaven and earth and darkness energy is naturally also no exception. The Great Way of the Buddha could even absorb and transform the energy from the spatial storm within the Primordial Profound Ark into vitality for my body, much less the fire element found in the Sea of Death. So it stands to reason that the darkness energy in this place can be absorbed as well! The richer and denser an element is in one place, the stronger the ability of the Great Way of the Buddha to absorb and transform said element into vitality for my body. So it can definitely cancel out or maybe even exceed the rate at which my life force is being eroded by the darkness energy in this place.”

Yun Che’s brows twitched as he suddenly asked a question, “The level of the darkness energy in this place truly surpasses your level as well? You said that you would not be able to stop it from devouring your spirit body but why do I not find it quite so terrible? In fact, I think that it is far weaker than the spatial storm I had to face in the Primordial Profound Ark! When I had to endure the spatial storms within the Primordial Profound Ark, if I just relaxed for a few breaths, I would be deader than dead. But in this place, even if I do not activate the Great Way of the Buddha, I can still hold out for a long period of time.”

“Hmph, didn’t I say this just now. The level of the darkness energy is extremely high but its intensity is extremely weak. The darkness energy here is akin to the profound energy being released by a Sovereign whose profound strength is exhausted, whose life has withered away and who is on the brink of death. So even though the profound energy being released is still at the level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, it is so weak that it would not even be able to kill a True Profound Realm practitioner.” Jasmine said as her voice grew serious once more, “But what worries me the most is that this darkness energy is still clearly in an active state, it has not lain dormant.”

“…What is that supposed to mean?” Yun Che asked.

“It means that this darkness energy is clearly being constantly released from some place. Furthermore, despite the fact that it has been unable to spread due to being completely sealed in this place, it still remains so thin even after ten thousand years have passed… It is highly likely that some dreadful thing that is hidden in this place has been releasing this high level of darkness energy while some other thing has been steadily absorbing this darkness energy! If not, why would the darkness energy in this place still be so thin despite this place being sealed away for ten thousand years and why is the darkness energy still in an active state!?”

“Otherwise, given the level of the darkness energy here, if it were to get dense enough, it is not something that Supreme Ocean Palace’s barrier could seal away!”

Jasmine’s words sent a fierce jolt through Yun Che’s body. After that, he asked in a low voice, “Could it be… that it is the darkness-element Profound beast that has been hiding in here along?”

“Compared to a mere Monarch level darkness profound beast, I am much more curious about what exactly could be releasing this level of darkness energy!” Jasmine said in a somber tone, “Since we are already sealed in this place, we might as well find out what kind of mysteries are hiding in this place!”

“Just based on this bizarrely high level of darkness energy, the thing that is hidden in this place is far more dreadful and complex than what Supreme Ocean Palace thinks it is!”

Jasmine’s words caused the whole atmosphere of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest to abruptly change for Yun Che.

Something whose level surpasses Jasmine and something that Jasmine called “dreadful”… just what could it be!?

But all of these things were secondary to him right now. What he needed to do first was to get accustomed to this environment. After that… he would use all of his strength to obtain that Netherworld Udumbara Flower that was almost within reach, no matter what the cost.

Within the darkness, Yun Che sat down, calmed his mind and focused his heart. The Great Way of the Buddha circulated slowly at first, but after that, it began to circulate faster. All fifty four of his profound entrances began to gradually open up along with the pores on his body. A thread of extremely refined and pure energy of heaven and earth began to flow into his body like a cool stream, becoming part of his strength and his life force.

A faint gold pagoda hazily appeared over Yun Che’s head as it began to slowly revolve in place.

In this world that was filled with darkness energy, his life force and profound energy was being swiftly chipped away and even his soul was under assault. At the same time, the Great Way of the Buddha drew out the energy of heaven and earth that was far purer than normal from this darkness energy and it swiftly recovered both his vitality and his profound energy… Gradually, as the golden colored pagoda soundlessly spun, the rate of erosion and recovery easily balanced each other out.

Yun Che opened his eyes… All of this was proceeding far more smoothly than he had expected.

As such, he could now survive in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, a place that would cause all who knew of it to blanche just at the sound of its name, for a sufficiently long period of time.

After Yun Che stood up, he raised an arm. With an explosive pop, violent Golden Crow flames sprang to life on his palm. The Golden Crow flames fought desperately to pierce the incomparably dense darkness and they managed to illuminate an area that was roughly ten paces around Yun Che.

Yun Che began to move slowly towards the deepest parts of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest once more. Given what Jasmine had just said, if the darkness energy in this place was not being absorbed by something and was allowed to build up over time, then it could completely… and easily destroy the sealing barrier that Supreme Ocean Palace boasted was the strongest in the entire continent. But the barrier had lasted for a whole ten millennia, and nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened either…

Could it be because the thing that was hiding in this place… was deliberately maintaining its sealed state!?

As that thought flashed through his mind, Yun Che immediately trembled in fear.

Within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, even Jasmine’s spirit perception was greatly restricted, much less Yun Che’s own spirit perception. As he walked towards the deepest parts of the nest, he could not sense anything else besides the boundless darkness. If not for Jasmine’s warning, he would not even have known about that “living creature” that was hiding within the darkness.

The entrance of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was rather narrow and cramped but the further one went in, the more spacious it got. In the middle segment, the path had already broadened out to an unknown height and width. As Yun Che neared the deepest part of the devil nest, the area the Golden Crow flames could illuminate shrank drastically. And at this time, an extremely bewitching purple light once more appeared before Yun Che’s eyes.

It was the otherworldly purple light of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower!