Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1945 - Death and Life (1)

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

“Release our master!”

Three people broke the silence first after the sudden attack.

To the three Yama Ancestors, it felt like being stabbed in the eyes to watch Yun Che being grabbed by the neck. It instantly sparked both their mania and their rage.

Their Yama powers erupted like boiling, pitch black lava. Not even bothering to right themselves after the spatial storm from earlier, they charged toward Mo Beichen and screeched like vicious wraiths that had gone mad.

“Yun Che!”

The Yama Ancestors weren’t the only ones who had lost their minds. Despite her rather serious injuries, despite knowing that the action she was about to take was completely irrational, Mu Xuanyin still broke through her limits and escaped Caizhi’s grasp in an instant. After the Snow Princess Sword reappeared in her grasp, she stabbed toward Mo Beichen with the coldest, cruelest light in the world.

Caizhi wasn’t able to stop Mu Xuanyin not because she was incapable, but because she had summoned her Heavenly Wolf divine power at nearly the same instant. The Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword had followed right behind the cold image of the Ice Phoenix.

In a different direction, an utterly bloodless Qianye Ying’er forcefully twisted her body in mid-air and attempted to follow the others to battle as well. However, she wasn’t able to muster her full strength before two immensely powerful energies locked her in place.

They belonged to Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu, of course.

“Stay away from him!” Chi Wuyao infused her voice with the power of the Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul and shouted.

Unfortunately, the three Yama Ancestors, Mu Xuanyin and Caizhi had acted out of pure instinct. There was just no way she could’ve stopped them in time.

Meanwhile, Mo Beichen was staring at captured Yun Che. His gaze was utterly cold and emotionless.

Yun Che’s eyes kept growing wider and wider. God Ash’s rebound had bloodied his whole body, but the pain and injury were nothing compared to the pale helplessness he was feeling right now.

He was at his weakest after using God Ash, and he had fallen into the hands of his enemy during this time. Worse, it was an enemy whose power surpassed anything he had ever seen before. It was literally the worst case scenario.

His body was completely stiff except for his pupils. He couldn’t even move his finger by a millimeter.

Every hair, every drop of blood, every cell was still as if it was sat on by a million mountains. It felt so heavy that all he could feel was infinite despair.

That’s right, despair.

Despair was a feeling he was most familiar with, but never had he encountered a despair that was so overwhelming that not a hint of hope could be found anywhere.

In the past, no matter how desperate the situation was, no matter how powerful the enemy he encountered, he was never disheartened or tempted to back down. He had soldiered on even when he faced down the Netherworld Udumbara Flower as a mortal soul, or the entire Star God Realm as a Divine King.

This was the second time since the destruction of “Blue Pole Star” that he was filled with absolute despair and powerlessness.

He was throwing all of his willpower and energy into breaking Mo Beichen’s grip right now, but he was unable to summon even the tiniest gust of energy.

The shrill cries of the three Yama Ancestors entered his ears. The trio were powerful enough to send chills down the spine of even the greatest God Emperor of Primal Chaos, but not Mo Beichen. The only change in the man’s expression was the imperceptible upturn of the corner of his mouth.

His silver armor bulged a little. The Abyssal Knight had released his forcefield.

RUMBLE!

Even the people living at the borders of the Eastern Divine Region could hear a dull rumble when he did this.

The space tens of kilometers around Mo Beichen distorted violently in that instant. It was as if a small portion of the Primal Chaos world had been carved out.

Tens of kilometers away, the three Yama Ancestors felt as if a colorless, invisible, yet impenetrable wall had struck them with the force of a hundred stars. The collision immediately transformed the distorted space next to the Yama Ancestors into three black vortexes, and their maddened screeches into howls of pain. Over half of the devilish force fields surrounding them had crumbled away like nothing, and their bodies were twisted like broken branches. Not only that, they were thrown back several times faster than they were charging earlier.

It seemed unbelievable that the powerful Yama Ancestors would be unable to pierce even the forcefield of an Abyssal Knight, but reality cared nothing for one’s disbelief.

CHIANG—

The Snow Princess Sword stabbed into the forcefield and let out a cry shrill enough to shatter one’s soul. At the same time, Mu Xuanyin’s icy eyes shone with the most brilliant blue to date.

Unfortunately, even if she wasn’t seriously injured to begin with, there existed an impassable gulf between her and Mo Beichen. Just like the Yama Ancestors, she was unable to get closer by even a centimeter despite unleashing all of her Ice Phoenix divine powers.

The explosive rebound caused the Snow Princess Sword to bend violently, and the brilliant power to shatter into nothing. Mu Xuanyin was immediately thrown back like a butterfly who had lost control of her wings.

Caizhi was right behind her, but she had no time to catch her right now. Brow furrowed, she dropped the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword like a warhammer.

RUMBLE!

For the first time, a depression appeared on Mo Beichen’s forcefield. That was all her full-powered attack managed to do though. The forcefield recovered almost immediately and slammed into her like a mountain.

The Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword was knocked away so violently that Caizhi nearly lost her grip on the weapon. She herself was sent flying into the distance, and her complexion had turned deathly white for a moment. However, her aura quickly turned even darker and more bloodthirsty than before.

Devilish light bloomed in her eyes as the pitch black, utterly devilized Heavenly Wolf appeared behind her tiny body.

The devilish wolf let out a howl that shook the world before pouncing toward Mo Beichen, hatred overflowing. When the Heavenly Wolf divine power reached its peak, both Caizhi and her massive sword merged into one with the wolf.

Mo Beichen cast the little girl who dared to challenge an Abyssal Knight a sidelong glance before voicing his mockery,

“How pitiful.”

His long hair suddenly floated behind his back, and a bit of silver gleamed within his eyes.

POBOOM!!

Caizhi felt as if a massive world just exploded in front of her. There was enough energy to destroy a galaxy.

The howling wolf was stopped in the first instant, twisted in the second, and destroyed in the third…

The Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword was thrown to god-knows-where, and its master’s eyes were completely unfocused. She plunged toward the bottom, unconscious.

Everything had happened so quickly.

The three Yama Ancestors, Mu Xuanyin, Caizhi… they were all representatives of the pinnacle strength of this plane, and yet Mo Beichen had defeated all of them in just the blink of an eye…

“Meiyin,” Chi Wuyao’s cold voice rang beside Shui Meiyin’s ears, “Teleport them back to us, now!”

Out of everyone present, Shui Meiyin was the only one besides Chi Wuyao who did not lose herself to panic and launch herself into a suicide attack. It was because Divine Stainless Soul alleviated much of the soul pressure of a Half-God.

Although the spatial storm was still blowing all around her, Shui Meiyin released the World Piercer’s spatial divine power without hesitation and teleported the three Yama Ancestors, Mu Xuanyin and Caizhi back to her side very quickly.

Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing she could do to the one person they wanted to help the most, Yun Che.

“Get lost!”

Meanwhile, Qianye Ying’er had been struggling to break free of her retinues’ hold all this time. Suddenly, she whipped out the Divine Oracle and sliced the space between herself and the two Brahma Ancestors.

After their hold on her was gone, she immediately charged toward Mo Beichen in a straight line. Then—

“Get back here, Yun Qianying!”

The devilish command pierced through Qianye Ying’er’s agitation like a thousand icy needles. Her charge gradually slowed to a temporary halt. Turning around, she was going to say something when her eyes met Chi Wuyao’s countenance, and her words died in her lips. It was only then she finally ceased her mad desire to launch a suicide attack against Mo Beichen.

It was because she saw the Devil Queen’s dark eyes, her calm expression… and the blood slowly trickling down the corner of her lips.

Anyone in this situation could afford to be impulsive or emotional, but not her.

The reason was very simple. Back when Long Bai had descended upon the Southern Sea God Realm with the World Dragon City, the pressure she felt had almost been oppressive to drive her into despair. But even that battle wasn’t a millionth as desperate as this one.

That was why she must remain calm and collected. The worse the situation was, the cooler her head must be. Otherwise, there really would be no hope.

“You, Yun Che?”

Mo Beichen said while examining Yun Che’s features indifferently. No one else deserved even a sideways look from him.

Although it was phrased as a question, Mo Beichen knew full well that Yun Che wouldn’t be able to answer him. He didn’t need his reply anyway.

Crack… crack crack!

His fingers tightened, and Yun Che’s neck bones started breaking one by one. He still wasn’t able to produce any noise though. Whatever blood remaining on his face swiftly faded away.

“Your bones are impressively tough,” Mo Beichen praised—or more accurately, exclaimed in amazement. There was barely suppressed excitement in his eyes. “The blood of the ancient Dragon God definitely runs in your veins, and its purity… it’s not far behind even those so-called Ancestral Dragons, tsk tsk.”

“...” Yun Che still couldn’t say a single word or move a finger. His vision was rapidly fading as well.

Chi Wuyao’s gaze grew even darker. She was aware at this point that Yun Che was the sole object of Mo Beichen's interest. Not only that, he wasn’t planning to kill him.

Yun Che would already be dead if that was his wish.

If she had to guess, it must be because he found out that the Heretic God and the Devil Emperor’s powers ran through Yun Che’s veins. Perhaps he even knew about the Heavenly Profound Treasures.

This meant that he would not take Yun Che’s life until he had found a way to rob him of his inheritances and Heavenly Profound Treasures.

“Yan One Two Three, do not act until I’ve given you a command!” Chi Wuyao ordered in a tone that would brook no rebuke.

Mu Xuanyin was seriously injured to begin with, and her aura had become positively feeble after that rebound. The only reason she hadn’t lost consciousness yet was because of her desire to save Yun Che.

Caizhi wasn’t faring much better than her either.

“Save… him…”

Even in her current state, Mu Xuanyin was still struggling to right herself. Each word was uttered as if they were drenched in blood.

“Do not worry. He will be fine,” Chi Wuyao whispered to both women before a flash passed through her pupils. The Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul slipped into Mu Xuanyin and Caizhi’s soul sea without any resistance.

They were weakened and unguarded against Chi Wuyao. Naturally, the Devil Queen had no problem robbing them of their consciousness and putting them to sleep.

After turning her palm over and enveloping the unconscious Mu Xuanyin and Caizhi in a blurry ball of protective energy, she returned her gaze to the front and said, “There is only one way to save him now.”

“!!”

Qianye Ying’er blanked out for a moment. The next instant, she appeared in front of Chi Wuyao, grabbed her shoulders, and just barely managed to keep her voice down as she uttered, “Tell me!”

“Ugh… ughhhhhh…”

On an unrelated note, groans of pain were mixed amidst the trembling space.

They weren’t Yun Che’s because he couldn’t even make a sound right now. It was Nan Zhaoming and Nan Zhaoguang trying to reach out to Mo Beichen after picking up his aura with their spiritual perception.

They weren’t asking to be saved. All they asked of him was to be released from this life immediately.

After all, not even the worst punishment of the lowest level of hell could possibly inflict the level of pain they were experiencing.

Unfortunately for them, Mo Beichen ignored their cries for death completely.

From the start, his soul and his power had been focused on Yun Che and Yun Che alone. Having witnessed the Divine Sovereign unleashing the power of a Half-God with his own eyes, he no longer had any doubt that Qi Tianli was telling him the truth.

He could not even imagine what kind of merit he would be awarded when he delivered this man to the Abyssal Monarch, the man with both the Creation God and the Devil Emperor’s inheritances in his body.

Since everyone else was dead, he didn’t even need to split the credit with anyone else.

“The emperor of this world? Heh!” His eyes grew increasingly heated even as he sneered. “Be thankful. You should’ve been the first to die, but now, you will live even if you don’t want to.”

“You will live long enough to become the Abyssal Monarch’s tribute. It will be the greatest meaning and glory ever in your life.”

Suddenly, his brow furrowed a little. “I remember that old Qilin warning me never to underestimate or relax my ground around you because you are a man who has defied the odds again and again.”

“In that case… what if I do this?”

There was a weak flash of profound energy, and…

PRAK PRAK PRAK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK…

Yun Che’s impossibly tough draconic bones and his meridians started shattering at the same time. It sounded like a thousand lightning bolts striking the ground continuously.

“We will separate that man from Yun Che!”

Despite the disturbing noise, Chi Wuyao remained perfectly calm and collected. She gave her answer in the calmest and succinct manner possible.

Her answer extinguished the ray of light in Qianye Ying’er’s heart immediately. The woman moaned painfully, “How could we do that when we couldn’t even get close to them…?”

“It's an impossible feat with our powers, yes.” Chi Wuyao slowly turned her head. “But not impossible for the World Piercer!”

Shui Meiyin and Qianye Ying’er’s eyes lit up at the same time.

Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu also turned around with looks of realization on their faces.

Chi Wuyao wasn’t looking at Shui Meiyin, however. She was looking at the three Yama Ancestors.”

“Yan One, Yan Two, Yan Three. You always said you would give your lives to keep your master safe, didn't you?” she gave the cruelest order in the calmest voice she had ever used in her life, “The time has come. I need you to give up your lives for your master.”