novel against the - Chapter 2043

Chapter 2043: Abyssal Devil

Yun Che’s “mature” lecture left Hua Caili stunned for a long moment, as if she were struggling to grasp his words.

But the silence was broken by a clear, melodious giggle.

Yun Che instinctively touched his nose: “Was something I said… that amusing?”

“No, no.” Hua Caili quickly covered her lips, though her smile remained: “It’s just that the way you looked just now, and the things you were saying, reminded me so much of my father.”

Yun Che: “…”

“Even though you’re so young.” Hua Caili’s eyes crinkled at the corners: “I’ve taken all your words to heart. But there’s one thing I can’t quite agree with.”

“Which part?”

“When you said you were cold and heartless.” Her soft smile held an unwavering conviction: “Though I haven’t seen much of the world, and likely haven’t met as many people as you, I’m certain of one thing: you are not a cold and heartless person. Quite the opposite, you are the kindest, most wonderful person I’ve encountered during this entire journey.”

Yun Che started to speak, but Hua Caili swiftly cut him off: “Don’t deny it just yet. The day we first met in the Qilin Abyss Realm, we were strangers, yet you came to my rescue without hesitation. Princess Helian of the Qilin Abyss Realm owed you a debt of gratitude, and you helped the entire Helian Royal Family gain entry to the Qilin supreme-ruler Realm, even restoring their long-lost dignity.”

“And as for me, you’ve saved me countless times, yet you insist on repaying a supposed debt to me, wishing you could return the favor tenfold. You even agreed to my unreasonable request to accompany me.”

“So, you’re not cold and heartless at all. In fact, you’re the most loyal and righteous person I’ve ever met.”

Yun Che opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Hua Caili interrupted him again: “And I have undeniable proof!”

“Your light profound energy.” She looked at Yun Che, starlight shimmering in her beautiful eyes: “Though I’ve never seen light profound energy before, all profound practitioners know that the reason those with light profound energy are so rare is because wielding it requires a sacred, unblemished body and a pure, benevolent heart.”

“And someone like that… a Young Master Yun like that, would be the furthest thing from ‘cold and heartless’ imaginable.”

The girl’s eyes were so pure that he found himself looking away. He chuckled and said: “The supposed qualities of light profound energy are mere rumors. You speak of my loyalty and righteousness, but do you recall, at the Qilin supreme-ruler Convention, how I ruthlessly tormented my opponents? My methods were undeniably cruel, devoid of any mercy. Even just now, I killed those three without a flicker of emotion.”

“Or perhaps, you could guess how many people I’ve killed in my lifetime…”

Yun Che’s words, however, failed to elicit any doubt or shock from Hua Caili. She simply shook her head slowly, the smile between her brows deepening: “My father once told me that one’s appearance and talent are determined at birth and cannot be changed. But, beyond these inherent traits, if one can be loyal and righteous, abhor evil, and live by a code of swift retribution, they are a rarity, deserving of respect.”

“To be lenient towards enemies is to cripple oneself, to be merciful to the wicked is to aid in their evil…” She murmured, then blinked: “Before, I found my father’s teachings tedious and pointless. But after meeting Young Master Yun, those words I should have forgotten have become crystal clear.”

Her father was one of the Six Kingdoms’ Seven supreme-rulers. To be worthy of his praise was the highest form of recognition in the world.

“Alright, alright.” Yun Che adopted an expression that was part resignation, part flattered surprise: “Since Sister Qu insists, then it must be true. I suppose I can go around proclaiming myself a good person from now on.”

“You already are.” After emphasizing this, she added: “And I must thank Young Master Yun for helping me understand this. I certainly wouldn’t have figured it out on my own, even after many years.”

An invisible warmth bloomed between them, bridging the distance.

“No wonder you chose to reveal your light profound energy.” Li Suo’s voice cut through the air unexpectedly.

“Building trust and fostering closeness by revealing a major secret is secondary. The crucial element is to trigger the other party’s ‘cognitive bias’.”

“Precisely.” Yun Che replied calmly: “I’ve often remarked that ingrained cognitive biases can be the most terrifying thing in certain situations.”

“Observe,” he said with a touch of smugness: “Because of her preconceived notions about ‘light profound energy’, she has already decided, at a fundamental level, that I am a pure and virtuous person. Even when I admit to being ruthless, even when she witnesses my cruelty towards opponents and my merciless killing firsthand, she will find justifications to deny it… oh, ironclad proof, indeed.”

“…Despicable, wouldn’t you say?” Li Suo commented.

Yun Che shrugged with a faint smile: “The moment I encountered her in the Abyssal Endless Fog, it was already a despicable undertaking.”

Li Suo: “However, it seems you have failed.”

“Failed?” Yun Che’s brow furrowed slightly: “What do you mean?”

Li Suo explained slowly: “Your intention, I presume, was to elicit romantic feelings from her. But she just compared your demeanor to her father’s. How can romantic feelings develop under such circumstances?”

“That’s where you lack understanding.” Yun Che said with a relaxed air: “Her inexperience is evident. Consequently, the man she has interacted with most, the one she admires and respects above all others, the one whose image she holds in the highest regard is, without a doubt, her father. She frequently mentions ‘father’ in our conversations.”

“Therefore, her offhand comment essentially signifies a subconscious alignment of my image with her father’s. This is not a failure at all. Rather, it’s a redirection of intimacy, trust, and even a degree of admiration. It’s the ideal scenario.”

“…??” Li Suo couldn’t grasp the concept and remained silent.

“Oh, I forgot.” Yun Che said, as if suddenly remembering: “You don’t have parents, so naturally you wouldn’t understand.”

“…” Li Suo didn’t respond.

Just then, a highly unusual surge of abyssal dust emanated from behind them.

Yun Che spun around, and Hua Caili simultaneously gasped: “Look! Ah… could it be…?”

As far as they could see, the middle-aged man whom Yun Che had just run through with his sword and pinned to the ground, his life force extinguished, was now enveloped in swirling gray mist. The surrounding abyssal dust, as if drawn by an unseen force, surged towards his corpse.

But instead of being consumed by the abyssal dust, the lifeless body gradually turned pitch black. Then, a violent, icy dark profound energy began to radiate from it.

Screech!

The body beneath the gray mist stirred. Its legs, supporting the form pierced by the massive sword, slowly rose to a standing position.

He was shrouded in gray mist, his barely visible face ashen like a corpse. But his eyes blazed with a terrifying black light, much like an Abyssal Beast.

The profound energy that should have vanished with the body’s death now surged within him once more, even more ferocious than when he was alive.

“An Abyssal… Devil!” Hua Caili whispered.

Profound beasts completely corrupted by abyssal dust become Abyssal Beasts.

Humans completely corrupted by abyssal dust become Abyssal Devils.

However, while profound beasts inevitably transform into Abyssal Beasts upon corruption, humans, upon being fatally wounded and killed, are usually reduced to nothingness by the abyssal dust… Transformation into an Abyssal Devil is an exceptionally rare occurrence.

As for the specific circumstances under which a human can be transformed into an Abyssal Devil by abyssal dust… some speculate it’s due to a unique physique that undergoes a warped transformation before being annihilated; others believe it’s connected to a special soul that merges with the abyssal dust. Theories abound, but there is no definitive answer.

A strange glint appeared in Yun Che’s eyes.

During his time in the Abyssal Enless Fog, he had encountered countless Abyssal Beasts and occasionally witnessed Abyssal Devils. But this was the first time he had personally observed a dead profound practitioner undergo such a transformation.

The newly formed Abyssal Devil grasped the hilt of the sword with both hands and ripped it from his body. What sprayed forth was dark red blood, just like that of an Abyssal Beast.

A pair of terrifying abyssal eyes locked onto Yun Che and Hua Caili.

Then, he let out a savage roar, inhuman in its ferocity, and swung the massive sword at them.

Abyssal Devils, like Abyssal Beasts, possess the purest desire for destruction.

But unlike Abyssal Beasts, their abyssalized bodies retain the ability to control profound energy and their battle instincts. Within the Abyssal Endless Fog, saturated with endless abyssal dust, their wounds regenerate rapidly, their power never waning. They are far more terrifying than Abyssal Beasts, far surpassing their former selves in life.

The sword might and sword intent carried by the descending giant sword were no less potent than when he was alive, made even more ferocious by the abyssal dust.

Hua Caili cried out softly as she was instantly forced back several yards.

Yun Che charged forward, activating the Hell Monarch. His palm grasped the giant sword without flinching.

A resounding clang echoed as the bones in the Abyssal Devil’s hands shattered. His gray mist-shrouded body was thrown backwards. Yun Che reversed his grip on the sword and brought it crashing down on the Abyssal Devil’s body.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each blow, empowered by the might of a Demigod, contorted the Abyssal Devil’s body. With the seventh strike, the Abyssal Devil’s form could no longer withstand the onslaught and exploded into several pieces mid-air.

Yun Che stepped forward, and the Ice Phoenix’s power surged out, swiftly encasing and freezing the fragmented remains of the Abyssal Devil. Then, it shattered into a cloud of ice dust.

Wisps of dense gray mist rose and dissipated around the ice dust, quickly merging into the boundless Abyssal Mist Sea.

Yun Che slowly lowered his hand, his gaze following the fading wisps of gray mist.

“That was frightening.” Hua Caili hurried over, her beautiful face alight with wonder and excitement: “That’s the first time I’ve seen someone transform into an Abyssal Devil right before my eyes.”

“Mine as well.” Yun Che nodded: “Consider it an unexpected bonus?”

The roars of Abyssal Beasts echoed from the distance, clearly disturbed by the earlier commotion.

“Let’s get out of here.”

The two of them concealed their auras and headed in the direction without roars.

As the abyssal fog swallowed their figures, Yun Che glanced back at the spot where the Abyssal Devil had been.

“Why is your soul sea churning so violently?” Li Suo asked suddenly.

Even when he encountered the Qilin supreme-ruler in the Qilin supreme-ruler Realm, his soul hadn’t been this disturbed.

“I believe I’ve… discovered something quite extraordinary.” Yun Che narrowed his eyes, lost in thought: “But it will take time to verify.”

…

…

Ten days later, at the outer edges of the Abyssal Endless Fog.

“…I still can’t face the death of living beings as calmly as you. Does that make me weak?”

“Not at all. It simply means your nature is pure and kind. And because you’ve only ever known the beauty of the world, you haven’t yet encountered tragedies more cruel than death itself.”

“Tragedies more cruel than death…” Hua Caili pondered for a moment, then asked with genuine curiosity: “What could be more cruel than death?”

Over the past few days, she had unknowingly peppered Yun Che with numerous questions.

“Many things,” Yun Che said, gazing ahead, his voice calm and steady.

“Like… watching your homeland crumble to ashes before your very eyes…”

“The irreversible loss of someone you love dearly…”

“The truth that arrives too late for redemption…”

“Despair without any means of escape…”

“Betrayal by someone you trusted implicitly, the venomous words and wounds inflicted by someone you held dear…”

“So many things… In comparison, death is but a fleeting moment of fear and pain, sometimes even a welcome release.”

Hua Caili unconsciously pressed a hand to her heart.

His words, though spoken calmly, evoked a suffocating sense of sorrow within her.

Fleeting images of her father, her aunt, the Zhetian Nation flashed before her eyes… She shook her head and said: “I’ve never considered these things before, and now… I’m almost afraid to. Just hearing you talk about them is frightening.”

“It would be a terrible fate for anyone to experience even one of those things.”

Yun Che smiled gently and said: “Don’t you worry. Someone as good and kind as you is sure to be blessed by heaven. Your loved ones will surely protect you from such worldly sorrows.”

She looked at Yun Che for a long moment, then asked with sincerity: “It’s truly baffling. You’re barely sixty years old, yet you’ve seen and experienced so much. It’s as if… you’ve lived countless lifetimes, like those ancient masters who’ve journeyed through numerous worlds.”

“Perhaps it’s because my life has been somewhat unusual. And also…”

He paused, hesitating for a long while before finally making up his mind: “Sister Qu, the truth is… I’m not actually sixty years old.”

“Eh?” Hua Caili’s eyes widened in surprise: “But at the Qilin supreme-ruler Convention, I saw with my own eyes that the Profound Tablet assessed your bone age as just over sixty.”

Yun Che stopped walking: “It’s not that the Profound Tablet malfunctioned. It measures a person’s bone age. But in my case…”

His words trailed off as a brilliant blue light erupted from his body. Behind him, a massive azure dragon phantom materialized… accompanied by an ancient dragon’s might that instantly froze the surrounding space.

“Ah!” Hua Caili gasped, stumbling back slightly. Her wide eyes, filled with astonishment, reflected the dragon phantom superimposed over Yun Che’s form.

Yun Che smiled faintly, lowering his arm. The dragon phantom and its might vanished: “I possess dragon marrow and a dragon soul, gifts bestowed upon me by my master. Therefore, my bones and blood are inherently different from those of ordinary humans. The Profound Tablet, designed to measure human bone age, naturally cannot accurately determine my true age.”

“I mentioned before that I was only about ten years old when Master rescued me. Over a hundred years have passed since then. So my real age is closer to one hundred and twenty.”

Looking at Hua Caili, her lips parted in surprise, the astonishment still evident in her eyes, he said with a hint of guilt: “The dragon marrow and dragon soul are secrets that Master urged me to keep hidden. That’s why I concealed it from Sister Qu for so long. If Sister Qu is angry, I… will accept any punishment you deem fit.”

Compared to Hua Caili’s surprise, Hua Qingying, observing from high above, felt her soul tremble as if ten thousand mountains were collapsing.

With Hua Caili’s limited experience, she couldn’t discern anything unusual about Yun Che’s dragon soul. But Hua Qingying possessed a wealth of experience…

“Dragon supreme-ruler…” she murmured, her following words filled with incredulous wonder:

“Could it be… beyond even the Ancestral Dragon…?”