Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1949 - Back Against The Wall

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

There was no one in all of Primal Chaos who knew how to control and harness the power of divine origins except Yun Che. However, Shui Meiyin didn’t need to understand that to know what he was planning to do.

Her heart skipped a beat as she blurted, “Are you planning to fight against Mo Beichen, big brother Yun Che?”

“It’s the only way,” Yun Che said the most pessimistic thing in the calmest voice. “This world is gigantic to us, but tiny to a person at Mo Beichen’s level. As a man who’s wielded that level of power twice, I know exactly how small this world is to someone like him.”

He gave Shui Meiyin’s hand a squeeze before smiling at her. “I’m sure the girls and especially you know that better than anyone else.”

Shui Meiyin’s pupils trembled. There was nothing to refute there.

Mo Beichen had found them seven times in the past sixteen days, and that was only because he hadn’t invested much effort to find them.

How many more times could they elude capture with the World Piercer almost out of power?

The girls’ departure decreased his chances of being found, but how much did it really considering Mo Beichen’s power? Five percent? One? Even less than that?

“The reason the Devil Queen sought out Mo Beichen of her own accord could only be to protect the Northern Divine Region.”

Yun Che smiled in self-derision. “To think that even a crafty devil like her would be pushed by absolute strength to this extent… she had probably never felt so powerless in her life.”

“But…” Shui Meiyin shook her head strongly. “Mo Beichen is monstrously strong. The chances of you beating him are…”

“I’m aware. There isn’t even the slightest chance I could defeat him,” Yun Che spoke the cruelest truth she couldn’t bear to speak. “However, the power I gain by sacrificing the divine origins may allow me to hold out against him for a short while.”

He had been defeated by Mo Beichen in an instant during their first clash—if you could even call it that—but thanks to the experience, he was able to gauge the strength of the Abyssal Knight’s forcefield.

It might not necessarily be stronger than his while God Ash was active.

“Okay, let’s assume that you were able to resist him for a short while. What then?” Shui Meiyin asked.

“Wait for death to claim me, of course,” Yun Che answered. “However… would you believe me if I said that a miracle will happen before that happens?”

He wasn’t kidding. Only a miracle could save them from their current predicament, and he, the executor of said miracle, must believe it could—no, would happen before anyone else.

If even he didn’t believe that a miracle would happen, then there would truly be no light in this absolute darkness.

Shui Meiyin stared into Yun Che’s eyes without a word. A long time later, she suddenly broke into a smile and nodded strongly. “Mm! Of course I would. You’ve already created countless miracles up until this point. Why would it be any different this time?”

The crisis they were facing was one that left even the Devil Queen desperate and helpless.

Back then, the reason he had chosen to swallow his hatred and escape to the Northern Divine Region was because it was an option. The best option, even. It was the one place where he was safe from his pursuers and where he could gain strength as quickly as possible.

That option wasn’t open to him anymore. The restriction left behind by the Heretic God himself had completely blocked off his growth, and there wasn’t a single place in the entire cosmos that would hide him from Mo Beichen for an indefinite amount of time.

There was no retreat. To fight was his only option.

The eighteen golden lights remaining in the Southern Sea Divine Pearl began to stir restlessly to the soundless power of the laws of nothingness.

Previously, four divine origins was his absolute limit. However, the complete World-Defying Heaven Manual should, theoretically speaking, give him the complete version of the laws of nothingness as well.

He had never been able to make sense of the laws of nothingness, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the complete version would be far superior to the incomplete version. Considering that this was the territory of the Ancestral God, the difference between the two might even be cross-dimensional.

In the same vein, it made sense that he could control more than four divine origins.

If he could imbue himself with at least ten divine origins…

He should be able to keep God Ash active for around twenty breaths, if not longer!

This was why he had asked He Ling to activate the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm. One way or another, he must learn how to control at least ten Southern Sea divine origins in one go.

Assuming he succeeded, Primal Chaos would never see the Southern Sea divine origins again. He would never be able to reproduce this power.

It was Yun Che’s most desperate gambit yet. If he failed, then he would truly have nothing left to defy the Abyss.

The rebound was guaranteed to be unlike anything he had ever experienced, but it didn’t matter. Success or failure, he wouldn’t need to worry about it either way.

________

God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

The grayish white world looked as awful as ever, but it had never felt quite so oppressive until Mo Beichen stood in the sky and surveyed everything beneath his feet like a god.

The God Realm of Absolute Beginning was the birthplace of the Ancestral God herself, so it went without saying that it should be treated with the utmost reverence. However, the beings who lived in this primordial world were just as lowly as everyone else in the God Realm. Forget reverence, Mo Beichen could not even bring himself to treat them as equals.

A couple thousand profound practitioners stood on the ground beneath him. It wasn’t a particularly impressive number of people, but every one of them was a prominent figure in the God Realm. They made up the nucleus of every divine region's king realms and upper star realms.

One might think that the atmosphere was clamorous, electric, and exciting since it was like a summit of the loftiest experts of God Realm, but in reality, it was anything but that. Forget clashing auras, the air was so stiff, cold and oppressive that one could barely feel its movement at all.

It was because Mo Beichen’s presence was too terrifying. The Divine Masters felt as tiny as a reptile beneath the foot of a titanic beast, as if they could be crushed with nary a thought. Their premonition was spot on.

The humility, shock and fear they were feeling were countless times greater than even the time they faced Emperor Yun himself.

Floating not far below Mo Beichen, Qi Tianli stared at the Divine Masters beneath him while a mixture of indescribable emotions churned inside his chest. Usually, they were so arrogant you could almost believe that they were the king of the world. But today, the aura of a Half-God had them all as silent as death. He felt both incredibly glad yet guilty that he was able to stand where he was right now.

Qi Tianli did not believe that his choice was unwise. He was the first person Mo Beichen had sought out since arriving in this world, and by choosing to submit then and there he was able to become the Abyssal Knight’s most trusted subordinate on this side of the world.

When the Abyss truly descended upon the Primal Chaos and took over the God Realm, he was confident that the “status” and “merits” he earned today would place his star realm in a much better position compared to the others.

However…

His feelings were completely different from when he had submitted to Emperor Yun.

Back then, he had submitted to Emperor Yun because that was where the river was headed to, and he was just cruising along its current. But submitting to Mo Beichen… half a month had flown by, and still he could not shake off the deep guilt chewing away at his heart, not to mention that he was the one who had presided over Yun Che’s grand coronation ceremony just a few years ago…

He shook off the stray thoughts and scanned his eyes across the crowd for a moment. Then, he gave Mo Beichen a half-bow and said in a respectful tone, “We are an eighth of an hour away from the start of the ceremony, Venerable One. The king realm and upper star realm representatives of the Southern Divine Region and Western Divine Region are all present.”

Of course they were present. They had submitted to Emperor Yun back then, and the Half-God floating above their heads was many times scarier than even him. Not only could Mo Beichen annihilate an entire star realm with the snap of a finger, Emperor Yun and the Devil Queen were pushed so hard that neither had made so much as a peep for the past two weeks or so.

As soon as they heard the summons, they had scrambled to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning as quickly as humanly possible. Everyone was terrified that the slightest delay would bring annihilation upon their star realm. You would have to be completely suicidal or insane to ignore this “invitation”.

The four Ink Qilins and the Master Qilins were all present at the scene. For obvious reasons, they were a hundred times calmer than the representatives of other star realms.

The Blue Dragon Emperor could be seen standing at her corner in silence. Her long blue robes concealed her liquid figure, but not the cold indifference and dignity etched on her gorgeous features. It was impossible to know what she was feeling right now.

She stood out like a looming water lotus that bloomed at the bottom of an endless cliff on this land of hopelessness and despair. She looked so noble and dignified that no one even dared to look her in the eye, much less approach her.

The southern crowd was made up of the king realm and upper star realm representatives of the Southern Divine Region. They were led by the Deep Sea Realm, Xuanyuan Realm and Purple Micro Realm.

The Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm was located at the center of the king realms, but their auras were easily the most disturbed of all the king realms. Not only that, countless people were shooting Cang Shuhe all sorts of looks.

It was because she was both the Deep Sea God Emperor and Emperor Yun’s imperial consort.

The Blue Dragon Emperor was one of Emperor Yun’s imperial consorts, but the entire world knew that it was only in name. Forget sleeping together in the same bed, the amount of times Emperor Yun had set foot on the Blue Dragon Realm could be counted on one hand.

Add to that the fact that the Qilin Realm had begged for mercy on their behalf and acted as their “guarantor”, no one thought that the Blue Dragon Emperor or the Blue Dragon Realm would be bogged down by the empty title.

On the other hand, Cang Shuhe could hardly claim the same thing. It was true she had started as a mere pawn Emperor Yun used to seize control of the Southern Divine Region, but she had shed the title of consort-in-name a long time ago.

When Yun Che and Yun Wuxin temporarily resided at the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm, Cang Shitian had wished he could proclaim the news to the whole world immediately.

Later, Emperor Yun would pay Cang Shuhe frequent visits at the Deep Sea Imperial Palace after Shui Meiyin had finished creating a large dimensional formation in the Deep Sea Realm. These visits would last anywhere from ten days to a month.

Unfortunately, that was all in the past now. Not only had Cang Shitian thrown in his lot with Mo Beichen at light speed, he spared no effort in performing his duties as perfectly as possible. Considering that Mo Beichen had listened to his suggestion and held this commendation ceremony, one could deduce that the Abyssal Knight was satisfied with his performance thus far.

It might just be enough to keep the Deep Sea Realm and Cang Shuhe safe… or it might not.

As a result of this, the Sea Gods and the Divine Envoys were beyond anxious to say the least, though the one who should be most affected by all this, Cang Shuhe, was the calmest of them all. No one could discern a hint of emotion or thought behind the endless ripples of her eyes.

Rui Yi was also by her side. The attendant had not left her master’s side for even a moment this entire time.

“On the Eastern Divine Region’s side, the Snow Song Realm and Flame God Realm haven’t arrived yet.”

“As for the Northern Divine Region…” Qi Tianli paused for a moment and dipped his head unconsciously. “The three kings realms—Soul Stealing, Yama and Burning Moon—are all present, but seventy percent of the upper star realms… have yet to arrive.”

The Soul Stealing Realm was led by Jie Xin and Jie Ling. All nine Witches were present as well.

The Yama Realm was led by Yan Wu, and the Burning Moon Realm by Fen Daoqi.

Their auras were also markedly different compared to the other three divine regions. It was much more oppressive and solemn.

They showed no panic or fear despite Qi Tianli’s words. Their eyes contained only lightless darkness.

Once again, everyone in the God Realm knew that the Northern Divine Region was absolutely loyal to Yun Che.

“Good.”

Mo Beichen shot them a sideway glare. “This ceremony would be too boring otherwise. You can’t intimidate the monkeys if you do not have readily available chickens to slaughter after all."

It was at this moment four blazing auras emerged from the east at high speed. The moment they got close, the heat of their auras was immediately annihilated by Mo Beichen, and the flight speed and even altitude were bowed by his infinitely heavy pressure.

They were none other than the Flame God Realm King Huo Poyun, and sect master Yan Wancang, Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie.

Huo Poyun shot Mo Beichen a glance and bowed deeply. “Flame God Realm King of the Eastern Divine Region, Huo Poyun pays his respects to the Venerable One of the Abyss. We were delayed by certain matters, and we humbly beg your forgiveness for nearly arriving late.”

Just like the upper realm kings, Huo Poyun’s attitude and choice of words were humble to the max. He dared not show even the slightest bit of kingly dignity on his face.

Qi Tianli said, “You’re not late, and that’s the most important thing. Come in, Flame God Realm King.”

Suddenly, Mo Beichen shot Huo Poyun a sideways glance.

Since the first day he arrived in this world, he had heard of the young man’s name from Qi Tianli.

He was one of the “useful” people Qi Tianli had advised him to keep an eye on, but what really caught his attention was the extraordinarily rich divine presence that was circulating around his body.

“Huo Poyun,” Mo Beichen asked indifferently, “I doubt there are many God Bearers at your level. It is your misfortune to be born in this world.”

Mo Beichen’s sudden words caused the scene to fall silent immediately.

Earlier, the man had not deigned to say a single word even when he was “welcoming” the God Emperor of a king realm. Qi Tianli was the one who did all the talking for him.

No one expected him to break his silence for Huo Poyun.

To say they were stunned would be an understatement.

Despite being addressed directly by the Half-God, Huo Poyun was able to maintain his composure much better than his peers. He said frankly, “The Venerable One is astute beyond measure. Besides bearing the Golden Crow bloodline, Poyun was also blessed by the remnant spirit of the Golden Crow itself. That is why I was able to reach where I am today.”

Huo Poyun was born a middle star realm denizen, but his cultivation was already the equal of former God Children of the Eastern Divine Region such as Jun Xilei or Shui Yingyue. Not only that, his upper limit was destined to be greater than theirs. Even if they ignored his future, no one could deny that Huo Poyun had acquired a number of accomplishments that could be proudly displayed for at least a thousand years to come.

There were only three people in the entire cosmos who could boast to have received the full inheritance of a remnant spirit of the old world. They were Feng Xue’er, Mu Xuanyin and of course, Yun Che.

It was a shame he could never walk out of Yun Che’s shadow, a shadow he had imposed upon himself no less.

Still looking at him, Mo Beichen said, “Qi Tianli was right. Your future is limitless. When the way to the Abyss is fully open, you will be able to head there and cultivate without being chained down by the limitations of this world. You may even become an Abyssal Knight like me.”

W-what? That Huo Poyun… has the potential to become as scary as Mo Beichen? The man who looks down on all of us like ants?

Nearly every Divine Master at the scene looked like they might faint from shock.

The light in which they saw Huo Poyun had also changed drastically.

The evaluation had come from someone who belonged to a higher plane than they were. They had zero reason to doubt his words.

In the near future, the Abyss would rule over Primal Chaos, and the God Realm would go from the dominant force of the cosmos to a humble world underneath the Abyss’ rule. What Mo Beichen was implying was that most of them would fall from grace… but not Huo Poyun!