Against the Gods

Deep within the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

"This is the Abyss of Nothingness you often spoke of?"

Jun Xilei's feet were shrouded by white mist. Another five steps forward, and she would fall into a bottomless abyss that was said to be able to turn everything into nothing.

The Nameless Sword behind her back had shedded its stillness and weight a while ago. It was still ancient, but it was now glaring in a way that caused most people to avert their eyes.

"The living, the dead, aura, strength, sound, light, soul… everything that is tangible or intangible in this world will turn into nothing in the Abyss of Nothingness," Jun Wuming said slowly. "There were a lot of Divine Masters who, at the end of their lifetimes, tried to explore its secrets with all their power. However, all of them turned into nothing without exception.

"So, no one knows what is at the bottom of the Abyss of Nothingness?" Jun Xilei asked.

"No." Surprisingly, a bit of longing was shining through the murkiness of Jun Wuming's eyes.

The unknown was often as dangerous as it was tempting.

Jun Wuming's vitality had declined rapidly since the day he stopped Luo Changsheng with the Imagination Sword and saved Yun Che. Today, he looked so old that anyone who saw him would be surprised by his appearance.

"Why have you brought me here, Master?" Jun Xilei faced toward her master but averted her gaze immediately when she saw his face. At the same time, a bitter tang spread across her heart.

She hated herself for acting willful all these years. Worse, she knew she would never be able to repay his kindness and love in full. The only thing she could do now was to keep a tight rein on her willfulness, accompany him on his final journey of life, and fulfill his last wishes.

"Cough… cough cough…"

Jun Wuming pressed a hand to his chest, but his eyes were still staring at the Abyss of Nothingness. He explained, "A long time ago, I read about a power called 'Nothingness' from a book so ancient that its history was untraceable."

"Nothingness?" Jun Xilei repeated softly.

"It is a name that doesn't exist in the current recognition of man. Most Divine Masters would simply ignore it if they saw this term. But now that I'm nearing the end of my life, I'm starting to believe that it truly exists."

"As you are aware, the Sword That Returns to Nothing is the height of the Sword Sovereign style."

"Back then, this place is where I completed my understanding of the Imagination Sword."

Jun Wuming closed his eyes and sat down with his legs crossed. "Lei'er, let go of your concerns, the world, your sword aura and your sword intent. Try placing yourself inside a space of 'nothingness'."

"I cannot explain what 'nothingness' is to you. It all depends on you."

Jun Xilei obeyed her master's words and cleared out her mind quickly.

However, she soon felt she could hear something from the lightless, soundless and immaterial Abyss of Nothingness. It almost sounded like some sort of strange screaming.

Am I mistaken?

————

Nothing happened to the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm after Yun Che and Shui Meiyin had entered the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm. Everything was relatively peaceful.

Chi Wuyao had chosen to relay the Devil Master's order to delay the attack on the Dragon God Realm via the Nirvana Devil Voice after much consideration. As expected, everyone praised the wiseness behind the decision.

Time passed quickly. One day turned into two, two days turned into five, and five days turned into seven days.

"The six Star Gods of Star God Realm have arrived. They are all with Mistress Caizhi right now. Would you like to see them, master?"

Hua Jin reported to Chi Wuyao.

"No need." Chi Wuyao stretched lazily. "I have nothing to say to them. Back in the Eastern Divine Region, they would've all died if little Caizhi hadn't interfered. That favor and their guilt will drive them to work like a horse for little Caizhi."

"How goes the Western Divine Region?" She asked.

Hua Jin replied, "It is as you have predicted, Master. The Dragon God Realm is restless, but they've decided to stay their hand for now. The five realms are much quieter, but they are also preparing for war. It is so that they can mobilize their core forces quickly when the Dragon God Realm rallies them to his cause."

"However, I suspect the actual number of mobilized forces will be smaller than expected. It's because all five realms are secretly conserving their strength while expecting the other four realms to do their best."

"Very good. You may leave."

After Hua Jin left, Chi Wuyao pressed a finger to her forehead and basked in silence.

For some reason, she had been feeling ill at ease for the past couple days.

However, she couldn't figure out why no matter how much she thought.

————

Eternal Heaven Pearl, Eternal Heaven Divine Realm.

"Hnng… pwack!"

A shower of blood burst out of Yun Che's mouth, his complexion turning from bright red to pale white in an instant.

"Big Brother Yun Che!" Shui Meiyin rushed to his side and pressed both hands to his body. "Are… are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Yun Che waved his hand lightly while calming his energy and breath.

"It's fine, we still have a year or so. You will succeed," Shui Meiyin said consolingly.

They had cultivated inside the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm for two years.

This wasn't the first time Shui Meiyin had entered the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm. She could sense that it was much weaker than it used to be.

However, the poor environment didn't affect Yun Che's cultivation too much. It was because he could simply absorb energy from the divine crystals and jades he had plundered from multiple king realms. He didn't need to rely on his environment too much.

At first, he thought that cultivating his profound energy would be much easier than cultivating his soul.

However, his progress came to a sudden and complete halt when he hit the peak of level ten Divine Sovereign.

No matter what he tried, no matter how much energy he forcefully absorbed via the Law of Nothingness, he wasn't able to progress even an inch further.

Yun Che had never once encountered a bottleneck in his life as a profound cultivator.

That record ended when he hit the border between Divine Sovereign Realm and Divine Master Realm and discovered that it was like a mountain that stretched on forever. He simply couldn't break through it no matter what he tried.

In fact, he was getting the sense that his best efforts had failed to shake the "mountain" even a tiny bit.

Just now, he decided to throw all caution to the wind and punch through with everything he had, but all he got for his effort was a terrible injury.

"The bottleneck of Divine Master Realm is infamously difficult to break through. It took me thirty seven years to overcome it, and father told me that my progress should be marked as a miracle in the history of God Realm. That is why you don't need to worry at all," Shui Meiyin continued in a gentle voice.

However, Yun Che declared with a frown, "No, this isn't a bottleneck at all!"

He had his suspicions, but it was only after the forced attempt that he was finally able to confirm it.

"Eh?" Shui Meiyin exclaimed.

"It's a restriction… a restriction that was put down by the Heretic God himself, I suspect," Yun Che said heavily. His voice was full of complex emotions.

"A restriction… but why?" Shui Meiyin asked in puzzlement.

Still frowning, Yun Che explained to her, "There are seven special gates in my Heretic God Profound Veins. The first five gates—Heretic Soul, Burning Heart, Purgatory, Rumbling Heaven and Hell Monarch—can all be opened like normal, but the last two gates are sealed by a restriction as well."

"The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had unsealed them for me."

"I thought that was it, but it looks like my profound cultivation is restricted as well."

Moreover, the restriction was shaped in a way that eluded his senses until he tried to enter Divine Master Realm.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had unlocked the restriction on his gates, but not the restriction on his profound cultivation. He wondered if it was on purpose or not.

"As for why this restriction exists…"

Yun Che's thoughts grew clearer after his breathing had calmed down.

"Meiyin, do you still remember the demonic beast rampage that affected more than half of God Realm? The one that began when the crimson crack appeared and lasted until the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left?"

"Of course I do, and that's not all. The weather and the elements became increasingly chaotic as well," Shui Meiyin replied. Then, she exclaimed in realization, "Do you mean…"

"Mn. I believe it's why the restriction was put down," Yun Che said seriously, "It's because the current Primal Chaos could no longer withstand the aura of gods."

"When the Devil Emperor first appeared, the living panicked, the heavenly way shivered, the elements had turned chaotic, and the natural order had threatened to crumble upon itself. Had the Devil Gods been allowed to return to Primal Chaos, they wouldn't have needed to destroy the world. The current law and order would've crumbled on its own, and the consequences… unpredictable."

"This was the biggest reason the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor ultimately chose to depart the world," Yun Che said with a sigh, "She didn't want to destroy the world the Heretic God had protected until the end of his life… no, until now."

"So, you're saying that your sixth and seventh gate, and the realm above Divine Sovereign Realm, fall under the domain of true gods?" Shui Meiyin asked.

"I'm not sure," Yun Che replied, "but it's definitely… not a power this world can withstand right now."

Back at Burning Moon God Realm, when he had sacrificed the Star God's Divine Origin to activate the sixth gate "God Ash" for the first time, he had sensed the entire world trembling around him despite his blurring consciousness.

Later on, Qianye Ying'er had told him that almost one quarter of the Northern Divine Region was shaking during those several breaths.

At the Southern Sea God Realm, the power erupting from the Titanic Sea God Cannon was also a power that transcended the limits of Primal Chaos. It also caused a massive quake across most parts of the star realm.

If a mere flash in the pan already threatened the world so, then prolonged use of a power that transcended the limits of the world… might truly be more serious than he imagined.

"He was the last god to pass away. There's a chance he had lived long enough to see the fading of Primal Chaos' aura, the formation of the new heavenly way order, and the stabilization of the elements. That is why he put down a restriction on his own profound inheritance and stopped his inheritor from being able to open the sixth gate or break into Divine Master Realm."

Obviously, there was no one in the world who knew his profound veins better than the Heretic God himself.

Yun Che was just a level ten Divine Sovereign right now, but Hell Monarch would put him on par with a level ten Divine Master already.

If he was allowed to break through to Divine Master Realm as well, then… he would definitely exceed the world's limits.

In other words, the restriction the Heretic God left behind put him at exactly the maximum power the world could endure.

"There's a very low chance the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor missed this restriction, meaning that she probably came to the same conclusion and decision as the Heretic God. She unlocked the gates so I would have an ultimate trump card to use in a life-or-death crisis, and because she knew it wouldn't last nearly long enough to damage the world's law and order."

"Does that mean there's absolutely no way to unseal it at all?" Shui Meiyin asked worriedly.

It was impossible to remove a Creation God's restriction with the current world's power.

However, Yun Che smiled in a carefree manner before saying, "It's fine. Everything I have today is thanks to the Heretic God. The restriction is both a limit and a gift, and it is only right that I accept it gratefully."

"Plus, I may have failed to overcome my upper limits, but my foundation has become far stronger than even I can imagine."

So Yun Che stopped thinking about breaking through to the next realm, rubbed his hands and rose to his feet. He smiled again and said, "I can maintain Hell Monarch at all times now. That is enough!"

"There's only a year left now. I'm going to spend all of it cultivating my soul."

Shui Meiyin let out a sweet cry as Yun Che roughly pushed her to the ground.

"Ready? Let's begin~~"

The flowing black fabric that was Shui Meiyin's dress was pulled all the way up to her chest. A pair of smooth, white legs that dazzled the eyes appeared into view, and…

(Ninety nine thousand words went missing mysteriously because the hard disk exploded… it's not my fault!)

————

At the same time.

Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm, Forbidden Land of Samsara.

There was a small distortion in space, and a tall, imposing figure stepped out of it.

His eyebrows were as straight as swords, and every line on his face was sharp and defined. His eyes glowed with divine power almost like the sun on a clear sky.

When he appeared, the air within five hundred meters around him froze, and the world dimmed and fell silent… even the dead felt like they were worshipping the unparalleled lord of the world.

He was Long Bai!