Against the Gods

The world had turned completely gray along with her swiftly fading consciousness. She couldn't even hear the rushing sound of the wind as she fell toward the ground.

I couldn't kill Qianye… nor could I kill Zhou Xuzi...

In the end… I wasn't able to do anything...

Big Brother… I'm sorry...

Big Sister… I'm sorry...

I'm… sorry...

Yun Che's figure appeared in that dim and gray world of hers and he brought a world of mountain flowers and green forests along with him.

"What's your name?"

"Name, oh…. Let me think. Orange, Apple, Hawthorn, Peach, Papaya, Lychee......Big Mushroom, Little Mushroom, Ant, Elephant, Camellia, Jasmine.."

"Ah! I got it! My name is Jasmine!"

"Little miss, even if you want to lie… You shouldn't be so obvious!"

…………

"Then it's decided! My name shall be… Little Jasmine!"

"What… the… this… what… how… how is this different!?"

"Of course it's different! Little Jasmine sounds even cuter."

…………

"That's right. Jasmine is my wife."

"Wow!!" So it's like this eh… Ah… Jasmine is Big Brother's wife, so Little Jasmine should be Big Brother's…"

"Little sister-in-law!"

"Hmmm, if that's the case, then Big Brother is my brother-in-law… Ah! Greetings, Brother-in-law!"

…………

When they had first met, she had played him like a fiddle, and the wild and exasperated look in his eyes every time she frustrated him was the most beautiful and important of memories… that had accompanied her during the gloomy darkness of the last few years.

If only time had been frozen in that period. How nice would that have been...

Zhou Xuzi swiftly sealed his own wound and when he lifted his head, the first thing he saw was his six Guardians… and the terrible scene of the last six Guardians of the Eternal Heaven God Realm being cut in two.

A single stroke of the sword had cut down six Guardians. Caizhi's attack had already become incredible enough to be recorded in the annals of the God Realm as a feat that would deeply shock a thousand generations.

However, it had not been enough to kill Zhou Xuzi.

"Tai Han, Tai Ze…"

Zhou Xuzi extended a hand, but the only thing he caught was the energy that was still bleeding out of their bodies… The severed bodies of the six Guardians powerlessly fell from the sky and all of them wore stunned and frustrated expressions on their faces. It was as if they couldn't believe that they, the mighty Guardians of the Eternal Heaven God Realm, had died just like this.

Now, all of the cornerstones which had supported the Eternal Heaven God Realm, the Eternal Heaven Guardians, companions who had accompanied him for countless years… had fallen.

Zhou Xuzi closed his eyes in sorrow. He suddenly felt as if he was the only person in this vast and boundless world and endless loneliness and sorrow filled his heart.

Even if he successfully took his revenge, even if the devils were all destroyed, would the Eternal Heaven God Realm… truly still have a future?

His eyes snapped open and a dark and sinister killing intent zoomed in on the distant Caizhi. As he stared at her body falling toward the ground, the white horsetail whisk was instantly sucked back into his hand, an incredibly frenzied and agitated Eternal Heaven divine power swiftly gathering within it.

Chi Wuyao's spiritual senses were so vast that she could clearly observe the rest of the battlefield even though she was currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Crimson Destruction Dragon God.

Alarm filled her heart, but the Crimson Destruction Dragon God's frenzied attacks didn't give her room to breathe, much less concentrate on interfering with Zhou Xuzi's actions. The only thing she could do was to shout out anxiously, "Save Caizhi!"

"You should worry about yourself first!!" the Crimson Destruction Dragon God snarled as his eyes practically popped out of their sockets. As he slashed down with his thick and brutish arms, two claw marks that were hundreds of meters long were torn through the air, completely engulfing Chi Wuyao in a domain of draconic destruction.

"Little Princess!!" the four remaining Star Gods yelled in unison. Each of them were facing at least two opponents of their level, and they were barely holding on as it was. Any distractions would only increase the peril they were already in and there was no way they could extricate themselves from their fights to save Caizhi.

Black devilish light erupted from Qianye Ying'er's hand as she met the huge draconic energy contained within the fist of the Chi Dragon Emperor with her own blow.

If Yun Che was around, she could perhaps just barely manage to take on the Chi Dragon Emperor on her own. However, she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out for too long in his absence.

Chi Wuyao's anxious cry rang in her ears, and her spiritual senses sensed the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's erupting killing intent and Caizhi's dissipated aura.

A dense white light started to radiate from the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's body as a sinister malice, so great that he had only felt something like it a few times in his life, flashed through his eyes. His horsetail whisk swished through the air and dozens of white energy beams surrounded by needle-shaped fragments of space appeared and shot toward Caizhi with venomous force.

Boom!

Qianye Ying'er, who was already on the back foot, suddenly forcibly diverted her energy, and the draconic might of the Chi Dragon Emperor smashed her right in the center of her chest.

In the next instant, blood gushed out of Qianye Ying'er's mouth. Her body was wracked by such intense pain that she felt like it was going to shatter, but she still spun in midair and forcefully regathered the darkness profound energy that had just been dispersed and launched her body towards Caizhi.

The Chi Dragon Emperor paused for a single instant before he immediately gave chase, his claw shooting straight for Qianye Ying'er's back.

However, a withered and ancient figure suddenly blurred into existence in front of him.

BANG————

The claw of the Chi Dragon Emperor slammed straight into Gu Zhu while the power of the Hui Dragon Emperor slammed into him at the same time. The dreadful draconic power of the two mighty dragon god emperors mercilessly hammered into every part of Gu Zhu's body.

Yet he didn't even shift a single centimeter and his expression remained as tranquil as the water at the bottom of an ancient well.

On the other side, the Myriad Manifestations God Emperor was battling Yan One together with the Jade Dragon God and the Sky Dragon God. However, to his utter surprise and frustration, he simply couldn't gain the upper hand in this fight. Shock and alarm grew in his heart as the fight grew more and more frenetic. Yan One's attacks were growing wilder by the second and he kept letting out shrill cries that threatened to rupture both his heart and his eardrums.

He was already regretting choosing this opponent… To think that he, a god emperor, couldn't get an advantage over his opponent, even though he was workingwith two Dragon Gods!

No matter who the enemy was, this was still an incredibly humiliating thing for him to experience.

It was at this time that he spied Qianye Ying'er shooting through the air from the corner of his eye. When he saw the blood spraying from her mouth and realized that she was trying to save the Heavenly Wolf Star God, a sinister thought flashed in his mind. He broke away from Yan One's Yama Devil power and made a sudden turn, the gray sword in his hand erupting with the dense and brilliant power of his Myriad Manifestations' bloodline as it streaked towards Qianye Ying'er.

Bang!!

A gray figure materialized in front of him as the Myriad Manifestation God Emperor's gray sword strangely switched targets and struck an old man instead. When the sword slid through his body, his Myriad Manifestation divine power violently erupted within.

At nearly the exact same instant, the Chi Dragon Emperor and the Hui Dragon Emperor were also drawn in by him, almost as if their souls had been bewitched into doing so… The powers of the three mighty god emperors of the Western Divine Region exploded all over Gu Zhu's body at the same time.

BOOM————

Any single one of these three god emperors could destroy stars with a single flick of their fingers.

Even so, Gu Zhu's body still did not even rock under their attacks. He was clearly a small and withered old man, and his body had even become a little bent and crooked, but at this moment, it seemed as if he had become a most sturdy and unbreakable wall as he stubbornly guarded Qianye Ying'er's back… He remained defiant even though he was facing off against three mighty god emperors at the same time.

Qianye Ying'er had transformed into a streaking comet as her speed reached its limit. Caizhi was growing closer and closer, but Zhou Xuzi's killing beams of white light had almost reached her as well...

She snarled silently as she flung an arm out, the Divine Oracle snapping forward like a striking snake. It instantly stretched across dozens of kilometers as it exceeded the speed of those beams of Eternal Heaven divine power and wrapped itself around Caizhi. After that, she violently flung her in the direction of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning.

Crack!!!

Eternal Heaven divine power exploded over the space that Caizhi had been in just an instant earlier. A white scar that stretched over five kilometers was torn into space as a storm of destruction raged over the area like a thousand heavenly calamities.

Boom!

The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning let out an explosive roar as he fiercely smashed the Azure Dragon God's head into the ground with a swipe of his gigantic claws. However, he did not take the opportunity to deal a critical strike. He soared into the heavens and opened his mouth wide, causing a storm to fly toward Caizhi. The winds gently wrapped around Caizhi and pulled her toward the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning before carefully depositing her on top of his head. Then, he securely wrapped her in his own protective draconic energy.

The annihilation of the last Eternal Heaven Guardians had clearly caused Zhou Xuzi to lose his composure. His power descended from the sky as he charged at the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning, his teeth clenched so hard that they looked like they were about to break… However, a golden figure blurred into existence in front of him and the Divine Oracle transformed into a venomous snake that shot straight at his heart.

He had been severely wounded by Caizhi's previous sword slash, and his aura had grown disordered due to his anxious wrath, so Zhou Xuzi was easily pushed back by Qianye Ying'er.

Blood trickled down the corner of Qianye Ying'er's mouth. There was a wound on her chest, but her attacks were still ruthless and severe. Black devil energy swirled around the Divine Oracle as it sliced open one black scar after another on Zhou Xuzi's body.

Bang!

The Divine Oracle knocked aside his white horsetail whisk from an extremely bizarre angle, causing Zhou Xuzi to stumble backwards. The Divine Oracle immediately darted out once more and struck Zhou Xuzi in the same place he had been wounded before.

A dense black light exploded on Zhou Xuzi's chest as his broken bones and ravaged flesh were instantly dyed a frightening scorched black.

Zhou Xuzi swiftly backpedaled as pain wracked his body.

Qianye Ying'er was just about to give chase when her heart suddenly shuddered and she immediately turned around to discover the cause.

Buzz!

Buzz!

Buzz!

The Chi Dragon Emperor, the Hui Dragon Emperor, and the Myriad Manifestations God Emperor… The power of these three mighty god emperors crazily poured down on Gu Zhu's body and every single blow of their dreadful god emperor might struck him like a bolt of earth-shaking heavenly lightning.

However, Gu Zhu didn't move a single muscle as he bodily endured all of their blows like an ancient bell which remained pristine and unrusted even after an eternity had passed.

Perhaps he had sensed Qianye Ying'er looking at him, but Gu Zhu's eyes finally rippled as a surprisingly powerful beam of white light erupted from his body with no warning at all.

As the white beam struck the three mighty god emperors, it was as if a million hammers had smashed into their bodies and blasted them far away.

They stared at Gu Zhu with a look of puzzled shock as their numb arms started to throb with pain.

"Uncle Gu…" Qianye Ying'er felt her heart tighten in her chest, and for a moment, she couldn't even breathe. "You're… fine… right?"

Blood soundlessly flowed from Gu Zhu's mouth, nose, ears, and eyes… but he continued to keep his back facing Qianye Ying'er. He did not want her to see him in this state.

"Miss." He breathed out that word in a soft whisper. His voice was as calm and composed as it always was, but it sounded as fragile as an ancient leaf trembling in the wind. "I will no longer be able to serve at your side after today, so you… must…"

Before he could even finish, his withered body, which had been standing proud and erect just a moment ago, crumpled forward as he plummeted to the ground.

"Uncle Gu!" Qianye Ying'er unwittingly cried out in alarm as she rushed forward at her fastest speed… However, she had traveled too far from him during her duel with Zhou Xuzi. By the time she finally arrived, she could only watch Gu Zhu's body smash into the ground right in front of her.

Qianye Ying'er fell to her knees and it was only now that she saw that Gu Zhu's body had been completely dyed in fresh blood. It was so ravaged that it looked like a piece of rotten wood that had been battered by storm winds for a thousand years.

His aura had already become so weak and thin that even a gentle breeze could blow it away.

Qianye Ying'er's palm froze in midair, her jade fingers trembling. She did not even dare to touch him. She clenched her teeth in sorrow as tears started to fall from her eyes.

To her, Gu Zhu was both her teacher and her father.

When her own birth father had decided to discard her, it had been Gu Zhu who rescued her from Qianye Fantian's hands without any regard for the consequences of his actions.

When she had returned after falling into devildom, he was also the one who had stood by her side without a single shred of hesitation, no matter what her status or situation was… and now, he had used his own body to block the attacks of three mighty god emperors for her.

For more than half of Gu Zhu's life he had been controlled by the Brahma Soul Death-Wishing Mark. He had been the first successful experimental subject that Qianye Wugu had "created" with the Primordial Seal of Life and Death. He had gained an incredibly long lifespan because of that… However, his lifeforce had also grown incredibly weak as a consequence, even in spite of the fact that his cultivation had reached the tenth level of the Divine Master Realm.

Tears landed on Gu Zhu's withered hand, causing his lips to gently twitch up into a small smile. However, it was a smile that seemed to be filled with boundless peace and joy.

"To think that Miss… would actually… shed tears… for this old slave…"

"Miss… you've really… changed… Heh… Heh heh…"

That faint smile froze on his ancient face as all life left him.

Caizhi had already regained consciousness atop the head of the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning. She stared at Qianye Ying'er, who was currently kneeling in front of Gu Zhu's body, with a complicated look in her starry eyes.

The Chi Dragon Emperor stared at his own palm before giving a cold snort. "That old man's power was truly strange. Could it be because... of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death that the Dragon Monarch spoke of?"

"He's already a dead man, so there's no need to bother," the Hui Dragon Emperor said as he stared at Qianye Ying'er. "I heard that this Brahma Monarch Goddess is currently the closest person to the Devil Master Yun Che. She is also the new master of the Brahma Monarch God Realm. We can't let her live."

"There's no need for any pity! Let's give her a quick death! Attack!" the Myriad Manifestation God Emperor shouted as the gray sword in his hand started to glow with a dense light.

The three mighty god emperors attacked once again and after their bodies started to move, an incredibly dreadful energy vortex started to spin towards Qianye Ying'er.

Qianye Ying'er did not immediately move to dodge the attack. In fact, she did not even turn around to face it. She slowly stood up as she gritted her jade teeth grimly. Her entire body started to shake… and when the three god emperors of the west neared her, she suddenly jerked her delicate head up high and let out a shrill scream of despairing determination.

BOOOM————

An incomparably sinister and bizarre field of darkness energy exploded out of her body.

"Woah!"

The bodies of the three god emperors of the Western DIvine Region suddenly froze once they were caught in this field of darkness energy. After that, they all let out muffled groans as they were blasted far away.

In the west, Long Bai and the Venerable Withered Dragons instantly and violently turned to look in her direction, their eyes glowing with shock and surprise.

The look on Chi Wuyao's face dramatically changed as well and she yelled in an anxious voice, "Qianying, don't be impulsive! Don't forget what we discussed before!"

However, even Chi Wuyao's voice was not able to stop Qianye Ying'er.

Dark devilish runes swiftly started to spread across her body from the center of her chest. They covered her body, her limbs, and her face… they even covered the tip of every finger and toe. These runes transformed her beautiful golden eyes into a bottomless abyss and dyed her flying golden hair into the deep black of a boundless night sky.

The hearts of every Northern Divine Region profound practitioner on this battlefield started to leap wildly in their chests as their blood violently tossed and turned inside of them. Even the darkness profound energy erupting from their bodies had started to become frenzied.

It was a resonance of darkness… The dark aura that covered the battlefield at this moment was one that neared that of the Devil Master himself.

As the three god emperors of the Western Divine Region stared at her with dumbfounded eyes, Qianye Ying'er slowly turned around, her devil rune-covered face both bewitching and lovely.

The Divine Oracle, which she was still holding in her hand, lost all of its golden luster as it started to shine with an incomparably pure black light.

For the first time, Qianye Ying'er had completely released the drop of Devil Emperor blood that circulated inside of her body… without caring about any of the consequences.