Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Every star in this vast star region had gone out.

The entire area was filled with meteoroids and space dust. The dispersing Purple Pylon divine power and Yun Che’s elemental energy gleamed with brilliant light as they devoured everything that approached them.

Yun Che stood proud and tall within a field of meteorites. The wound on his chest was horrific and sinister-looking, but he seemed to pay it no mind. His gloomy eyes were fixed on the red figure in the distance. Her aura was extremely weak and frail, causing his lips to curl into a cold and cruel smile.

Qianye Ying’er’s wounds were heavy but none of them were life-threatening. Her body blurred as she arrived at Yun Che’s side. Her eyes were pointed in the same direction as Yun Che as she said in a cool and indifferent voice, “To think that you would actually burn your own life force to open up this Purple Pylon Divine Domain. Your desire to kill both Yun Che and I is so strong that it’s rather puzzling. In fact, I don’t quite know whether to praise you for your ruthlessness or mock you for your stupidity!”

Xia Qingyue slowly rose to her feet.

Drip...

Drip...

Droplets of fresh blood slowly fell from her pale lips. They slowly but inexorably dripped from her lips as each dot dyed her red robes an even deeper shade of scarlet.

As the Moon God Emperor, there was nearly no power in this world that could truly push her into a desperate situation.

Yun Che had sworn to kill her himself but he knew all too well that it was utter foolishness to believe that he could kill a Xia Qingyue whose power had already surpassed Yue Wuya with just him and Qianye Ying’er alone. They would definitely be forced to use a trump card, no matter what.

Right now though, it seemed that there was no need for it.

The Purple Pylon Divine Domain was incomparably strong and when they hadn’t been able to break it, it was strong enough to cause them to despair.

Its strength truly had exceeded the limits of the current universe. But she had to pay an enormous price just to use it, even though she already possessed the Nine Profound Exquisite Body.

She had to burn her own life force to use it so the nature of her domain was actually quite similar to the most terrible of the Heretic God’s divine powers—Other Shore Asura.

Thus, if this divine domain which was connected to her life, which she had to sacrifice her own life to use, was forcefully ripped apart, the backlash would far exceed the backlash of the cruelest domains in the current universe.

Her vitality and her body had sustained heavy damage and her profound energy was swiftly dissipating. It was as if she was unable to gather any of it. This was supposed to be a long and drawn-out battle, a bitter and vicious struggle to the end, but it had been brought to a swift close because she had opened the Purple Pylon Divine Domain… In her current state, she was nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered by Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er.

She had already calculated that the odds of this happening were very high due to Yun Che’s presence. However, she still had not hesitated to use it… Because this was her final gamble and it was the only gamble she could make.

Her purple hair fell to her shoulders messily as they instantly turned as black as ink, providing a sharp contrast to her increasingly pale face. She stared at Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er as she softly whispered to herself, “In the end, I still… wasn’t able to… accomplish anything…”

“No, you did well! You did very well!”

Yun Che slowly advanced and compared to Xia Qingyue’s soft and fevered whisper, his voice was cuttingly cold. “You very… very successfully forced me to become a monster!”

He slowly raised the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword. He pointed it at the distant Xia Qingyue, the tip of his sword flashing with a gloomy black light. “And now, it is time for you… to pay back your debts!”

Drip...

Yet another drop of blood gently fell from her lips.

For some odd reason, Yun Che felt a wrenching pain in his heart as he gazed at those hazy eyes filled with pain. It was as if countless needles were deeply stabbing into his heart.

However, the cruel image of the Blue Pole Star disintegrating under that purple light immediately flashed into his mind, wracking his heart with a different pain that was just as intense. He gritted his teeth as hatred and killing intent violently surged into his sword… However, even as he tightly clenched his teeth together in rage, he found that he was unable to speak.

Given Xia Qingyue’s frail and utterly messed up aura, he could kill her in more ways than he could count.

His father, his mother, Wuxin, Yuechan, Lingxi, Caiyi, Xue’er, Yuanba...

These faces slowly floated up in his mind. His hands were gently trembling. In fact, even now, he still found it quite hard to accept that Xia Qingyue had actually been able to so ruthlessly deal that vicious blow.

Even though the Blue Pole Star had been surrounded by god emperors, even though its fate had already been sealed, she still shouldn’t have personally...

How could she bear to personally...

Was the position of the Moon God Emperor really that important to her!?

Qianye Ying’er took a step forward and said in a calm voice, “If you can’t bring yourself to do it, let me do the deed.”

But her expression suddenly changed after she finished speaking.

A curtain of light abruptly spread open in front of them and a small and beautiful palace appeared within that curtain of light, a strange white glow the color of moonlight radiating from it… In the next instant, a wild storm instantly appeared around it.

In the blink of an eye, Xia Qingyue’s figure had disappeared into a distant star region.

“The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace!” Qianye Ying’er gave a low cry.

Yun Che had already started giving chase, his figure seemed to split apart space itself as it dashed after Xia Qingyue.

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was one of the fastest profound arks in the Eastern Divine Region. Its speed was so incredible that even Qianye Ying’er in her prime could not catch up to it when she was with Gu Zhu.

Bang!

Yun Che stretched out a hand to grab Qianye Ying’er as he again activated Hell Monarch. Darkness howled around him as he raised his speed to the very limit, his eyes and aura fiercely locked onto the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace.

The moonlight that flowed around it made it an exceptionally conspicuous target amidst the boundless field of stars.

However, since he was matching speed with the fastest profound ark in the Eastern Divine Region, he still could not draw any closer to it even after raising his own speed to the very limit.

Yun Che silently ground his teeth. He dearly wished that he could give himself a fierce slap right now. He clearly had the chance to easily take Xia Qingyue’s life just a moment ago, but his instant of hesitation and distraction had given her an opportunity to escape.

As his teeth ground together, the darkness swirling around his body grew more and more frenzied. A black light suddenly flashed through his eyes as he thrust his arm forward. Dreadful explosions immediately began to rock the vast sea of stars in front of him as thousands of kilometers of space violently shook after being engulfed by darkness. Soon, a cosmic hurricane that could destroy moons and shatter stars started to form.

They had forced Xia Qingyue into a dead end when they had forcefully broken her Purple Pylon Divine Domain. If they let her escape right now, they would never have the chance they had today once she fully recovered from her injuries!

Rummmbleeee...

Untold destruction was being wreaked in these violently shaking star regions and the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace shook like a withered leaf caught in a storm. It started to let out a shrill sound as it shuddered and swayed violently. However, it managed to escape the windstorm in the next instant and it continued to head west at maximum speed.

Yun Che had come to a short halt when he had launched his attack. As a result, he had not only failed to shoot down the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace, but also allowed the distance between them to grow even wider.

His eyebrows sank as anxiety welled up in his eyes. He once again pushed his speed to the limit, locking onto the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace with his divine senses. He did not allow himself even a single second of distraction.

Xia Qingyue, even if you run to the ends of the universe… I will still hunt you down and kill you myself!

An exquisite girl dressed in rainbow robes slowly walked out from the destroyed star region they had just been in. Her calm eyes quietly looked in the direction that the three people had left in.

Caizhi.

She had arrived the moment Xia Qingyue had opened her Purple Pylon Divine Domain.

However, she had not made her presence known. She had not interfered when Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er were caught in the Purple Pylon Divine Domain or when the domain itself suddenly collapsed. Instead, she silently watched the battle unfold from a distant location.

She only turned around once the auras of the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace and Yun Che disappeared from her spiritual perception. After that, she flew toward the south.

Two hours… Four hours… Six hours...

They sped by countless star regions and before they even realized it, the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace had left the Eastern Divine Region. It continued to streak toward the west like a shooting star.

A distracted look suddenly appeared in Yun Che’s eyes for an instant.

Eight years ago, on the day that he had reunited with Xia Qingyue in the God Realm, both of them had been desperately fleeing from Qianye Ying’er aboard the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace.

Nearly all of the actors from that day were present. The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was present… and they were even traveling down the same route as they had before, whether it was intentional or not.

However, this time, the ones who were in pursuit were him and Qianye Ying’er, and the only one on the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace this time was Xia Qingyue.

“The direction she’s traveling in…” Qianye Ying’er muttered under her breath. “It looks like she’s trying to escape into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.”

“Hmph, this is just like what happened all those years ago, when the two of you were trying to shake me off your tail.”

Just as Qianye Ying’er had finished speaking, they saw something white swirling in the star region in front of them. As they drew nearer, they could clearly see that it was a white vortex.

They had reached the center of the four divine regions, the entrance of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace flew straight into that spatial vortex. The moment the profound warship came into contact with it, its aura completely vanished. It was as if all traces of it had been wiped off the face of this earth.

Everything that was happening felt so uncannily familiar, but Yun Che’s speed did not drop. He headed straight into the white vortex with Qianye Ying’er hot on his heels.

A white light flashed in front of him as they entered a different space. A heavy and ancient aura rushed to meet him and the ashen-white sky and ground seemed to stretch out endlessly, imparting a feeling of bleakness and endlessness that was hard to describe.

To their utter surprise, Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er could immediately sense and locate the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace the moment they entered the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

Xia Qingyue had not tried to hide the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace’s aura like she did the last time they had entered the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. Instead, she continued to dive deeper into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning at the fastest speed possible.

The news of the Moon God Realm’s dark destruction swept through the entire Eastern Divine Region like a world-shaking storm. After that, the news proceeded to deeply shake the Southern Divine Region and the Western Divine Region.

The devil people of the Northern Region had descended upon the Eastern Divine Region like a plague of locusts, leaving devastation in their wake. In the short span of a single day, two king realms of the Eastern Divine Region, the Eternal Heaven God Realm and the Moon God Realm, had been left in ruins. Yun Che had bathed one realm in its own blood and had destroyed the other in a glorious explosion of darkness.

A soundless dread had also started to spread along with this news.

The Eastern Divine Region’s fighting spirit had already been badly shaken by the slaughter of the Eternal Heaven God Realm, and now it had taken another serious blow with the news of the Moon God Realm’s demise.

In the Qilin Realm, one of the six king realms of the Western Divine Region.

The Blue Dragon Emperor was dressed in blue robes and ripples of mist appeared around her as she moved. Her eyebrows had knit together slightly and it was clear that her heart was heavy with worry.

The Qilin Emperor rose to his feet to greet her. He said, “The Blue Dragon Emperor has come because of what happened to the Eastern Region’s Moon God Realm, right?”

The Blue Dragon Emperor raised her head, her blue eyes somber and grim. “The calamity that struck the Eternal Heaven God Realm was already alarming enough. But to think that they actually managed to obliterate the vast Moon God Realm… This has already gone beyond the realm of shock and horror.”

As the emperor of a god realm, her very first reaction to this news was utter disbelief. However, once the news had been confirmed, a cold and cutting sensation began to spread through her body, a sensation that the god emperor who reigned supreme over ice and snow was not even supposed to be able to feel.

If there truly existed a power that could obliterate the Moon God Realm in the span of a few breaths… then it could also destroy her Blue Dragon Realm. How could she still remain calm and composed?

The Qilin Emperor let out a long sigh. “To think that the denizens of the dark Northern Region, who cowered in their hole for so many years, were actually so terrifying… They even managed to destroy two king realms in the span of a single day. Heh, even when I hear myself now, I still can’t shake the feeling that it’s just a ridiculous joke.”

The Blue Dragon Emperor replied, “This fierce battle between the Northern Divine Region and Eastern Divine Region started as revenge against the Eternal Heaven God Realm after they destroyed three small star realms in the Northern Divine Region. However, with what we know right now, the size, strategies and dark strength of this devil person army doesn’t resemble that of a punitive force assembled to punish the Eastern Divine Region for the destruction of three star realms. Instead, it seems like they’ve…”

“Been preparing for this for a long time,” The Qilin Emperor finished her sentence in a deep voice.

When the Northern Divine Region had started their invasion of the Eastern Divine Region, none of them had paid it any mind. Everyone believed that the Eastern Divine Region would quickly suppress this devilish plague which had swarmed over the border to take revenge.

But how quickly things had changed!

“What I’m worried about right now,” the Blue Dragon Emperor continued, “is that they not only have a plan, but that the scope of their plan is not only limited to the Eastern Divine Region. After all… their Devil Master is Yun Che.”

She still clearly remembered that scene in the Eastern Divine Region, when they had all gathered outside the Blue Pole Star… The man who had let out that despairing dragon roar as he hugged Mu Xuanyin’s body amidst the darkness. Those eyes which had scanned the faces of each and every person who had been present that day. Those incomparably gloomy and vacant eyes.

“Your worries aren’t unwarranted.” The Qilin Emperor’s voice turned heavy. “I also sent a letter to the Dragon God Realm concerning this matter and I should receive a reply from them very soon.”

The Dragon Monarch would always be the one who decided on whether the Western Divine Region would involve itself in any matter or not.

Just as he had finished speaking, a woman arrived outside the hall. She bowed and said, “Reporting to the Qilin Emperor, the Dragon God Realm refused to take our letter and told us that the Dragon Monarch was currently preoccupied with an important matter. They also said that he did not want to be disturbed by anyone.”

The Qilin Emperor and the Blue Dragon Emperor shared a glance before the Qilin Emperor said in a deep voice, “It looks like the Dragon Monarch has his own plans.”

“If the Dragon God Realm does not move, then we naturally don’t have a reason to move either.”