Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1980 - The Cloud Falls Into The Abyss

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

In response to Shen Wuqing’s words, Shen Wuyi only said, “You were the one who failed to enter the Divine Extinction Realm despite a thousand years of investment running in your veins. You were the laughingstock of all the kingdoms.”

“You should’ve known this would happen from the moment you let down Mother and sullied her name but… that’s not the only thing you did, is it? Did you really think Mother was unaware of your secret relationship with that waste of breath?”

“If anything, you should be thankful that Mother hasn’t wiped out your entire family!”

It took Shen Wuqing a long time before she was able to recollect herself. When she looked up again, she stared at Shen Wuyi’s eyes for one breath… two breaths… three breaths… and still she could not glimpse even a trace of emotion behind those eyes.

How could it be so similar to those eyes she feared and hated the most?

“She is a monster,” Shen Wuqing whispered. “Just because she was hurt by a man, she decided that all men in the world must be dogs. Just because she would never see the light of day again, she decided that the entire world is deserving of her hatred!”

“Do not think that you or I are exempted from that hatred!!”

Her voice abruptly turned shrill and harsh.

“I was the Divine Daughter she chose! I was her closest aide! But just because you showed up, I was tossed away like trash!”

“Have you never considered that my present may be a reflection of your future!?”

Shen Wuyi flipped her hand around, and the profound light in the ruined hall dimmed immediately. As Shen Wuqing’s spiritual perception was nearly gone at this point, the loss of illumination robbed her of her ability to look Shen Wuyi in her eyes.

“I’m different from you.”

“I have no memories and no past. Mother is the one who saved my life and bestowed me my power. She is also the one who shaped my mind and my destiny.”

“Everything I have is a gift from Mother, and my gratitude for her is just as taintless!”

“That is why Mother never has to worry about disloyalty from me. Just the same, I can never be disloyal to Mother. Mother can destroy everything I have today, and I can only see it as her taking back the grace she has bestowed upon me. I would have no regrets and no complaints. I would only blame myself for my failure, and lament my inability to repay even a sliver for her kindness any longer.”

“...” Shen Wuqing did not move for a very long time. She stared at Shen Wuyi like she was staring at a pitiful doll even though she was the more pitiful between the two of them.

“On the other hand, you could not even live up to your namesake. You are a disappointment to Mother through and through.”

Wuyi’s eyes were perfectly calm. Her voice lacked the emotion a human being should have. It was ironic how she was more Shen Wuqing (emotionless) than Shen Wuqing herself.

“If it wasn't for the fact that God Bearers are difficult to find, you would’ve lost the right to serve Mother a long time ago. What you get today is what you deserve!”

Cold profound light abruptly flashed between her fingers. A terrible killing intent filled the room in an instant.

Since Shen Wuqing was completely crippled, Shen Wuyi’s aura alone had nearly turned her internal organs into goo. She collapsed on the ground and curled up into a ball. Her life began swiftly fading from her.

“Heh… hehehe… hahahahaha…”

Surprisingly, Shen Wuqing started chuckling despite the fact that she only had seconds to live. There was no fear, no longing in her voice. There was only sorrow… and pity for Shen Wuyi.

“Shen Wuyi.” She called Wuyi’s name one last time. “I have served Shenwu Yanye for a thousand years. I know far better than you just what kind of mad and devilish woman she really is!”

“I don’t know if I’ll go to heaven or hell, but I will be watching you from the other side. I can’t wait to know what your final fate will be… hahahahaha…”

For the first time, Shen Wuyi’s composure broke a little. Eyebrows scrunching up with displeasure, she rebuked, “How dare you address Mother by her name! You deserve a million deaths!”

The profound light on her palm instantly exploded into a merciless light of destruction. It easily shattered Shen Wuqing’s body and her last bit of life force.

When she withdrew her palm and turned away, Shen Wuqing’s tattered body had crumbled away into fine corpse dust. It quickly merged with the gray fog permeating the abandoned hall and disappeared completely.

The door opened, and Shen Wuyi slowly stepped past the two old women guarding outside the entrance. The door snapped shut behind her once more.

“I was going to leave her body to be taken back to her family, but since she dared to disrespect Mother, I had no choice but to scatter her like dust.”

“Bring this message to Shen Wuqing’s family: Despite being a bearer of divine essence, Shen Wuqing was a useless and foolish woman who not only felt no gratitude for the benevolence Mother has shown her, but dared to defy her. As punishment, her body and soul were destroyed and buried in abyssal dust, and they, family of Shen Wuqing, are no longer deserving of Mother’s Divine Grace.”

“They have twenty-four hours to get lost from the Eternal Night Kingdom of God. They will never return. If they dare to disobey, they will be exterminated to nine generations!”

A Divine Daughter of a Kingdom of God should’ve been as lofty as the stars in the sky. No one could have believed that one’s death would be so easy and tragic.

No one, unless it was the Divine Daughter of the Eternal Night Kingdom of God.

The light shining in the sky of Eternal Night was no different from the light in the other Kingdoms of God, and yet it felt like there was no light at all. There was only an eternal curtain of darkness.

And that was why its True God was titled: “Yanye (Loathsome Night)”.

Inside the abandoned hall, a soul voice so weak that it was nearly imperceptible sounded:

Big brother Pan…

I’m sorry…

In the end… I couldn’t escape after all…

I will never be able to respond to your hopes and expectations again…

But… I’ve never regretted my decision, and I never will…

It is only when I recall your name… that I feel like I’m truly alive…

I’m sorry…

With that, the sorrowful, heart-wrenching voice disappeared forever.

…

The earth was desolate and barren. The sky was so dark that it was difficult to see far away. The howling wind was an eternal wail that would never fade.

To the citizens of the Four Divine Regions, this was a scene they might encounter from time to time.

But here in this world, it was the norm.

The name of this world was “the Abyss”.

The disaster called “abyssal dust” was anywhere and everywhere in this world. It constantly fed on everything that existed be it the living or the non-living like the people on the other side of the world would breathe air.

A shoot of green grass, a flower that didn’t need to be very beautiful, these were miracles the people of this world could live a full life and never see. It was because they only existed in the Kingdoms of God, and the ultimate land known as the “Pure Land”.

To them, the normal in this world was rot, a short lifespan, death, withered bones… abyssal dust, abyssal beasts, and abyssal ghosts.

Whoosh—

The howling wind was so loud it was like the roar of an abyssal beast. It took only an instant for a sea of sand to blot out the sky.

This was a desert where a terrible sandstorm could happen at any moment. It was also close to the edge of the Endless Fog, so an abyssal beast—something far more terrible than the sandstorm—could appear at any moment. As a result, very few people frequented this place, if at all.

Today was not a lifeless day, however. Two figures could be seen zipping through the sky after the sandstorm had subsided a little. They were a man and a woman.

The man possessed a tall, muscular physique. His features were as sturdy as his eyes were sharp. Half of his body was drenched in blood, and he was dragging a half-bent arm in front of himself. There was a horrifying wound stretching from his arm all the way to his left ribs, and a closer look would reveal that the wound was leaking gray fog.

The man was clenching his teeth a little, but otherwise he looked unperturbed. He kept drawing on a yellowish profound aura to suppress his wounds.

The woman next him wore a goose yellow robe. She looked especially small and delicate next to the man. Her countenance was stunning, and she gave off a formidable aura that only a fool would underestimate. Right now though, her eyes were full of worry.

Her long hair was tied behind her back. Beneath her hair was a light golden cloak with intersecting patterns on it. The yellow profound light circulating across the patterns clearly marked the cloak as a powerful defensive item imbued with high level earth profound energy.

“We’re going to reach the capital in just another nine hours.” The woman’s eyes kept darting back to the man’s injuries. “You must hold on until then, Ninth Senior Brother.”

“Do not worry, Junior Sister Lingzhu.” Despite his severe injury, the man’s eyes looked as firm as a heavy sword. “This is but a flesh wound. It may look scary, but it’s really nothing at all.”

“But…” The worry in the woman’s eyes did not lessen in the slightest. She whispered after a moment of hesitation, “I’m worried it will affect your ability to perform in the upcoming…”

“It won’t,” The man forcefully changed the subject with a firm response, “I will admit that it was a more harrowing experience than I expected, but your safety is worth the sacrifice. Otherwise, I could die a thousand times and still not make it up to the lord or the sect.”

The woman shook her head before gripping his right arm gently. “You don’t need to go this far for me. I would have preferred it if you always put your safety first, and everything else second. It’s not just me who thinks this way either. The Helian Dynasty and the sect both know that your safety is far more important than mine. That is why you must never endanger your life like this again.”

“Do not forget that you are Mo Cangying. You are the future and hope of the Helian Dynasty!”

But Mo Cangying replied indifferently in a tone that would accept no rebuke, “There is nothing more important in this world than your safety.”

Helian Lingzhu had expected this response, so she didn’t say anything else and looked away. While staring at the endless sandstorm in front of them, she said, “The good news is that we haven’t come out empty-handed despite the dangers we encountered. The bad news is that it’s not worth the risk at… huh?”

Both of their gazes had lasered on one point of the sandstorm at the same time.

It was because a silhouette had appeared behind the everchanging sandstorm.

The duo immediately raised their guard and focused their spiritual perception. The silhouette rapidly gained clarity in their vision.

It was a man in rags and covered in blood.

Mo Cangying’s wound was bad enough, but it didn’t even count as a scratch when compared to this man’s.

His entire body was covered in blood and scars. Wherever they looked, they could only see ripped flesh and white bones… there wasn’t an inch on his body that was absolutely terrifying to look at.

They had witnessed countless wounded in their lives, but this was easily the worst one they had encountered.

What was unbelievable, was that he was walking.

The sandstorm was still blowing, and he looked like he might collapse to his feet at any moment. Every step he took took a little more out of his tattered body, but he kept walking as if supported by pure willpower.

“What on earth happened to this guy? How did he even get such injuries?” Helian Lingzhu exclaimed in shock.

“Ignore him. Let’s go,” said Mo Cangying while withdrawing his gaze.

Sympathy toward outsiders was the stupidest and cheapest notions one could have in the Abyss. It was something every Abyss denizen had learned since they were born, and the most basic laws of survival.

Helian Lingzhu did not hesitate to look away either. At the same time, they identified the mysterious man’s profound aura. He was a peak level ten Divine Sovereign, one who was literally on the verge of becoming a Divine Master. A shame…

The duo would fly a while longer before Helian Lingzhu suddenly looked behind herself. Maybe it was to satisfy her curiosity, or maybe it was something else. Regardless, she looked back at the wounded man and noticed that he just happened to be looking up as well.

Their eyes met. At that moment, she felt like someone had stung her in the soul.

What she saw wasn’t a pair of eyes, but a pair of starry lakes with infinite darkness as the backdrop. His face was covered in clotted blood and eerie scars, and objectively speaking she should reel away as if she had encountered a monster of her nightmares. And yet, his blade-like features and those eyes that seemed to tug at her very soul…

The guy’s lips moved as if he was trying to say something. However, his strength faltered, and his eyes slowly closed before she could make out anything.

One last step later, he slowly fell forward and hit the ground with a heavy thud, unmoving.

His silhouette began rapidly disappearing behind the growing sandstorm as well.

Once again, Helian Lianzhu felt like someone had stung her soul. She abruptly came to a stop and murmured in a daze, “He… we… we need to turn back and save him! We must!”

Mo Cangying was caught off guard by her outburst. Before he knew it, Helian Lianzhu had already flown back to the wounded man’s side.