Against the Gods

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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Chapter 1012 - Shortcut

Moon Splitting Cascade’s fundamental stage was profound and cryptic. It contained tens of thousands of mysterious principles and variations, while its profound energy circulation method was even more complex and ever changing… moreover, it could only be used with frost profound energy. Without frost profound energy, it was absolutely impossible to learn.

No matter the profound energy requirement nor the circulation method, they were all much harsher and more complicated than Star God’s Broken Shadow… the cultivation difficulty was also several times greater.

This was the Snow Song Realm’s Sacred Hall, a sacred place that no outsiders could approach. Here, Yun Che could obtain a state of complete focus. After his initial difficulty and four hours of strenuous nonstop cultivation, his mastery of Moon Splitting Cascade had already moved from the initial stage to the beginner stage. He now only needed a span of three breaths to teleport once and the distance far surpassed what it had been before. However, he would leave behind a clear ice afterimage.

After dozens of practice attempts, he would close his eyes and return to comprehending the mysteries and variations of its fundamental formula. Under his terrifying comprehension and focus, he would gain new understanding each time and every use of the art would show obvious progress.

The activation speed grew quicker and quicker, while the ice afterimages became fainter and fainter.

For ordinary profound practitioners, such enlightenment could not be forced. Tens, hundreds, and even thousands of years could be spent comprehending some of the extremely high grade and complicated profound arts before an understanding dawned...

On the other hand, Yun Che only needed to close his eyes and concentrate for fifteen minutes to half an hour to attain new understanding.

This was so for the Frozen End Divine Art, the Yun family’s Purple Cloud Art, the Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World… and now, this was also the case for the Moon Splitting Cascade he was currently practicing.

Eight hours later, an icy figure appeared in the Sacred Hall and silently observed the highly focused Yun Che as he practiced.

Eight hours was undoubtedly the shortest of times for a cultivator. Yet, in the newcomer’s eyes, every time Yun Che displayed the Moon Splitting Cascade, it would be several times more complete than during the previous eight hour period. Although it was still at the initial stage and could not be used for actual combat, if such astonishing progress continued, it was extremely probable that the first “shadowless” stage would be reached in less than a month.

Moreover, it seemed that he did not even need her guidance over this period.

Another “Moon Splitting Cascade” was completed. This time, it was not only fast but there was also barely any ice afterimage. However, there was still a tremendous gap compared to what Mu Xuanyin had displayed earlier.

Yun Che heaved a tiny sigh of relief. The clear figure of Mu Xuanyin suddenly flashed and appeared in his sights and he immediately walked forward, “Master!”

“Follow me.” Mu Xuanyin turned around.

Yun Che hesitated for a moment and did not comment as he followed her.

However, Mu Xuanyin abruptly stopped at this moment. “Do you have something to say?”

Yun Che also stopped. Words swiftly organised themselves in his head as he earnestly said, “Master, this disciple understands that cultivating the profound ways should be done one step at a time and fears obtaining quick results the most. Furthermore, disciple knows that profound arts and skills are at times even more important than profound energy cultivation but…”

“You want to ask if I know a method that will allow you to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm in two years?” Mu Xuanyin’s crescent shaped eyebrows slightly furrowed together.

“Yes!” Yun Che nodded his head, “Disciple followed Senior Bingyun to the Snow Song Realm for this reason, Master… should have long known of this. This matter is incomparably important to disciple. If disciple can advance to the Divine Tribulation Realm before the Profound God Convention and obtain the right to enter the Eternal Heaven Realm, no matter how many hardships there will be… even if I have to pay a great price, this disciple will accept all of it. I beg Master to grant my wish.”

Although the incomparably profound Moon Splitting Cascade had garnered great interest from him, mastering the Moon Splitting Cascade was not important to him. Because he belonged to the Blue Pole Star and not the God Realm. After he obtained his heart’s desire, he would leave the God Realm forever and return to the Blue Pole Star… moreover, the thing he longed for the most in the God Realm was to see Jasmine.

To see Jasmine… what he needed the most was profound strength and not the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon or the Moon Splitting Cascade.

He had forced Mu Xuanyin to become his master and even restrained his nature. His obedient behavior in front of her was absolutely not because he desired the Ice Phoenix bloodline, profound arts or the status of being her direct disciple. In this Snow Song Realm, if there was someone who could help him advance to the Divine Tribulation Realm before the Profound God Convention… it could only be Mu Xuanyin.

Mu Xuanyin slowly turned around, and her icy eyes seemed to give off an eternally unchanging ice-cold light. “You have merely entered the Divine Origin Realm, how can it be so easy to breakthrough to the Divine Tribulation Realm in two years!?”

“...” Mu Xuanyin’s words did not cause Yun Che to be disappointed. Instead, his mind was shaken.

Because she had said “how can it be so easy”, which meant that it was “not impossible”!

This signified that… she might really have some extraordinary method!

“Master, no matter what method it is, as long as there is a tiny chance… I am willing to try it!” Yun Che did not look away from Mu Xuanyin’s gaze as he decisively declared.

“Is she really so important to you?” Mu Xuanyin coldly asked.

“Yes.” Yun Che nodded without hesitation.

“...Alright.” Mu Xuanyin suddenly slowly nodded her head, the brilliance in her icy pupils unchanging. “Since you are so anxious, I have no choice but to grant your wish.”

While Yun Che was stunned, blue light suddenly surfaced in front of Mu Xuanyin, “Huanzi, I permit you to temporarily use the Sacred Hall’s teleportation formation. Make sure Feixue arrives at the Sacred Hall to see this king within the span of a hundred breaths!”

Mu Xuanyin’s voice faded together with the blue light. Yun Che was rather dazed as he inquired, “Mu Feixue?”

“Unless you can enter the Eternal Heaven Pearl, it will be impossible to cross two great realms of the divine way in a short two years no matter how talented you are and how extreme the training. Although the Snow Song Realm has countless miraculous pellets and spiritual herbs, it is impossible to reach the heavens in a single step.”

Mu Xuanyin’s tone changed a little. “However, due to the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon, our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect can indeed make use of a shortcut!”

“Master, you… you said ‘shortcut’... could it… b-be...” Yun Che started to stutter.

“Do you know why the highest level women in our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect with the greatest talent, cultivation, and status are mostly single and will never marry?” Mu Xuanyin asked.

“...Disciple has heard that if the women of the Divine Phoenix bloodline lose their vital yin, their cultivation and profound art progress will become very slow and a far cry from what it had been previously. Additionally, the greater one’s talent and cultivation, the more cold one will become, thus...”

Yun Che’s reply was very soft. This was what he had heard from Mu Xiaolan. Mu Bingyun had been single for thousands of years and Mu Xuanyin tens of thousands… Cough, moreover, Mu Xiaolan had said that the even more talented Mu Feixue of the direct Divine Phoenix bloodline would likely remain unmarried for her entire life like Mu Bingyun.

But now…

“Hmph, so you already know.” Iciness that was enough to freeze the azure sea was present on Mu Xuanyin’s peerless face. “However, that is only half of the reason.”

“Although some of the profound cultivators of the so-called dignified and upright sects hold contempt for dual cultivation, it is not an evil method. If a couple is able to come to an agreement and complement each other in the exchange of yin and yang, it will be extremely beneficial to the profound strength and profound arts training of both parties. However, the Ice Phoenix bloodline of our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect is an extreme yin bloodline, thus the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon is an extremely cold profound art which rejects external yang energy. Hence, the fusion of yin and yang is absolutely impossible. If yin and yang is exchanged, not only would the vital yin be lost, only the male will benefit each time.”

Yun Che was speechless.

“It is exactly because of the relation between the Ice Phoenix bloodline and the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon that the vital yin of Ice Phoenix women greatly exceed that of other women. Moreover, their vital yin contains the purest Ice Phoenix aura. If it is obtained by a man, it will greatly raise his profound energy cultivation and even strengthen his icy physique.”

“So, do you understand now?”

Yun Che opened his mouth. After a long time, he said with some difficulty, “Is this what Master meant by… shortcut? Appointing Mu Feixue as disciple’s dual cultivation companion, is also… for the sake of…”

“That’s right!” Yun Che’s reaction made Mu Xuanyin frown a little, “To break through to the Divine Tribulation Realm in a short two years, robbing Ice Phoenix vital yin is the most practical shortcut!”

“With enough… vital yin…” The corners of Yun Che’s mouth faintly twitched as he fell into a daze. One did not know what state of mind he was in as he stupidly asked, “Then… how much Ice Phoenix vital yin is needed to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm?”

Mu Xuanyin was silent for a moment, before she replied in an indifferent voice, “Amongst this generation of Ice Phoenix disciples, Feixue possess the highest grade of Ice Phoenix vital yin. If they could all be like Feixue, a thousand would perhaps be enough.”

“A… thousand!?” Yun Che opened and closed his mouth, causing him to almost bite his tongue.

Mu Xuanyin remained unmoved by Yun Che’s response. “But there is only one Feixue and it is not possible to find any within the young generation that can compare to her. If selected from the Sacred Hall, Ice Phoenix Palace and the various great Ice Phoenix Branch Sects, at least three thousand Ice Phoenix disciples who have retained their vital yin are needed for this to be work. Hmph, although the chances do not even reach ten percent, there is likely no better alternative.”

Three… three thousand!??

“~！@#￥%…” Yun Che’s scalp was numb as his legs turned to jelly, “Too… too many……”

After speaking these words, Yun Che suddenly regained his senses as he used all his might to shake his head, “No, disciple cannot accept…… this method.”

“Cannot accept?!” Mu Xuanyin’s expression abruptly darkened, “Why not?”

The light in Mu Xuanyin’s eyes fluctuated, causing the atmosphere to suddenly change as a chill immediately swept from the bottom of Yun Che’s feet to the top of his head. Yun Che never imagined that his rejection would result in such an intense reaction from Mu Xuanyin. He could only brace himself as he spoke, “To allow so many of my fellow junior and senior sisters to lose their talent… and even sacrifice their purity for the sake of this disciple’s profound strength advance, this disciple... cannot allow such a thing.”

“Sacrifice? Hmph!” Mu Xuanyin icily said, “You are my, Mu Xuanyin’s, direct disciple. Being selected is their honor! It is no sacrifice!”

Even in his wildest dreams, Yun Che would never have imagined that Mu Xuanyin would propose such a method for the sake of finding the only shortcut for him. Two years... three thousand Ice Phoenix vital yin…

It was impossible to imagine what would happen in those two years…

Let alone the fact that there was not even a ten percent chance of success, even if it really enabled him to advance to the Divine Tribulation Realm in two years… it would be no different from an incubus plundering vital yin to supplement his yang energy! Forget about what kind of reputation he would have in the Snow Song Realm, if the Little Demon Empress, Xue’er, and the rest knew of this…

Moreover, Mu Feixue…

“Out of the question.” Yun Che continued to shake his head, “Disciple cannot do it. Disciple can endure even the most cruel and hardest training but using so many fellow junior and senior sisters, this disciple…”

“Using?” Mu Xuanyin coldly snorted in a disdainful manner, “Did you not save Bingyun’s life to make use of her to come to the Snow Song Realm? You suddenly changed your mind in the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake and did all you could to make me your Master. Was this not for the sake of using me to help you advance to the Divine Tribulation Realm?”

“...” Yun Che opened and closed his mouth. He had no response to her words.

“Do you know that even the emperor of a nation would not even dare to touch any of the women in the Snow Song Realm who possess Ice Phoenix vital yin? If I allow you to select any of them, absolutely no one will disobey! Not only is this the best chance for you to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm, it is also a great blessing that no one will ever be able to receive, yet you dare to reject it!?”

“Hmph, do not think that I don’t know that you, who have not even reached the age of thirty, already have several wives in the lower realms. Bingyun has also once told me that you are reckless and never suppress your desires. In the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace she had established, you engaged in profane activities with the women in the asgard, as the asgard master, in broad daylight. Yet you now dare to act like a saint in front of me!?”

“！@#￥%...” Yun Che was flabbergasted... the hell! Why did Mu Bingyun tell her all of this…

“Disciple… disciple and them were… both willing parties, moreover…”

At this time, an ice-cold breeze approached and Mu Feixue, dressed in snow white clothes, drifted over.

Her arrival made it seem as if a beautiful snow heart ice lotus had suddenly blossomed in the Sacred Hall.

“Feixue greets Sect Master.”

She respectfully bowed her body at Mu Xuanyin’s side but did not even take a look at Yun Che. It was as if he did not exist in this world.

“Feixue, your arrival is timely.”

Mu Xuanyin replied Mu Feixue but her gaze never shifted away from Yun Che’s body. Her voice suddenly slowed at this moment… moreover it became incomparably relaxed, “Che’er, this is the first day that I have formally become your master, yet you actually dare to disobey my words.”

“You~have~no~choice~in~this~matter!!”

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