Against the Gods

Sigh...

Chi Wuyao let out a quiet sigh in her heart.

The next moment, her devilish pupils turned as determined as a cornered person who had abandoned all hope.

Qianye Ying'er didn't say a word. There was only hatred and killing intent in her pitch-black eyes.

She had absorbed the Devil Emperor's blood with Yun Che's assistance. It was why her darkness profound energy had grown much faster than normal.

However, she was a mortal, not a monster like Yun Che. She didn't know the consequences of burning the Devil Emperor's blood completely and unleashing all of its power, nor did she want to. All she knew was that her body was overflowing with so much unstable darkness profound energy that it could tear her apart at any moment.

She stepped forward and swung the pitch-black Divine Oracle. What was a pitch-black spirit snake a moment ago was now a massive boa.

Her darkness profound energy was a violent fire that devoured all the light within its vicinity. The god emperors of the Western Divine Region were knowledgeable and wise, so they knew that Qianye Ying'er's current aura and attack were anything but natural.

The god emperors dodged. No one was foolish enough to block the hit directly. However, the weapon moved much faster than expected because the darkness profound energy empowering it was out of control. Its speed was like bone gangrene, as it shot straight toward the Myriad God Emperor's throat despite his best efforts.

Energy swirled around the Myriad God Emperor as he spun around. He crossed his sword in front of himself to block the weapon.

There was a shrill noise of impact as the Divine Oracle clashed against the Myriad Emperor's Sword. Incredibly, the dark light emitting from the Divine Oracle burned his face and body directly as if his protective aura didn't exist at all.

After he used the impact to push himself away to safety, he took a look at his sword and was shocked by what he saw. The weapon had accompanied him for tens of thousands of years, and for the first time ever there was a pitch black dent on its blade.

He shouted in warning, "Don't touch her—ugh!"

His shout turned into a groan of pain because the Divine Oracle he knocked away just a moment ago suddenly whipped toward him again in an unnatural fashion. His quick reflexes saved him from having his head smashed like a watermelon, but he still suffered a deep wound to his forehead.

"What…?" exclaimed the Chi Dragon Emperor and Hui Dragon Emperor in unison. They were going to approach Qianye Ying'er until they saw this.

The god emperors of the Western Divine Region possessed the strongest protective energy in the world as a matter of course. It took an incredible amount of effort just to break their defenses, much less injure their bodies.

However, Qianye Ying'er's rampaging darkness profound energy had torn through the Myriad God Emperor's protective aura like paper.

It was the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor's origin blood after all. The power one gained from burning it was a power that almost transcended the limits of this plane. At the very least, it wasn't something a god emperor could defend against.

It could only last for a very short time, and the price was probably worse for the burner themselves than it was the enemy. In the best case scenario, Qianye Ying'er might be weakened for a couple of years. In the worst case scenario… her cultivation could be permanently impaired.

"Wait until she runs out of power!" Long Bai ordered in a low tone.

It was too late though. A chorus of bloodcurdling screams cut through the air right after he finished.

The new Divine Oracle possessed an unnaturally wide attack range. The three god emperors managed to escape after withdrawing at full speed, but the four Divine Master Chi Dragons behind Qianye Ying'er weren't so lucky.

Shred!

The darkness coiled like a serpent, shredding three Master Dragons into pieces and killing a Dragon Sovereign who tried to block it with his arm. The Dragon Sovereign had probably believed that the arm of a Dragon God would be strong enough to block the attack. Instead, he lost both the limb and his heart in an instant.

The scene terrified the three great god emperors of the Western Divine Region and drove them to fly away in three different directions, determined to avoid Qianye Ying'er at all cost.

It was the right move. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before Qianye Ying'er burned out completely.

Long Er's eyes shone darkly as draconic energy surged around him. Then, one arm swirling with ancient draconic energy, he swooped down on Qianye Ying'er so fast that he left an afterimage behind. Finally, one of the five Venerable Withered Dragons had decided to take action against the unnaturally powerful Qianye Ying'er.

His draconic pressure was so terrifying that it shook everyone's heart and even the world itself.

Qianye Wugu was fighting against the Qilin God Emperor when this happened. The former abruptly forced the Qilin God Emperor away with a palm strike and teleported straight for Long Er.

The Qilin God Emperor stretched out his arms… but withdrew his power after a moment's consideration. Then, he turned to face Qianye Bingzhu. The Brahma Ancestor was currently battling against his four Ink Qilins.

"I am aware that my strength is no match for you, old friend. I hope you don't mind me working together with my subjects to subdue you."

"Hehe," Qianye Bingzhu chuckled a little. "It is the honor of my life to be able to do battle against five great Qilins at once. My only wish is that my broken body won't crumble too soon."

Rumble!

A golden sun erupted in the sky of Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm and stopped Long Er by force. Slowly, the Venerable Withered Dragon turned to face his attacker.

Qianye Wugu knew he had to go all out if he were to have any chance of holding back Long Er.

Thus, he ignited all of his Brahma blood, released all of his Brahma soul, and summoned the golden image of a Brahma Emperor across his entire body. Even his eyes and skin were dyed gold in color. "Your fellow resurrector, Brahma Emperor Qianye Wugu, wishes to test the might of a Venerable Withered Dragon."

"Hmph." His heart was ancient, but his pride as a Dragon God was still present. Long Er replied indifferently, "You do not qualify."

Qianye Wugu simply responded by pushing out his palm and flooding the sky with golden light. He was aware that he was no match for the Venerable Withered Dragon, but equally, Long Er would not be able to defeat him in a short time.

The entrance of a Venerable Withered Dragon was without a doubt hail to the snow that was their predicament. While Qianye Ying'er was suppressing three god emperors all by herself, how much longer could she maintain her current state?

On the other side, Zhou Xuzi was staring daggers at the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning's giant form. The Guardians' deaths had more or less extinguished his final hope of having a future for Eternal Heaven. All he had left in him was hatred and sorrow.

Not even bothering to heal himself, he flew alone toward the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning.

The Dragon Emperor was already hard pressed to protect Caizhi and do battle against the Azure Dragon God at the same time, and now a hateful Eternal Heaven God Emperor had just joined the battle. When it sensed the blast of divine energy behind his back, the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning let out an angry roar, enveloped Caizhi's body with half of his draconic energy, and tried to stop a Dragon God and a god emperor with the remaining half of his power.

The Dragon Emperor's absolute loyalty toward Caizhi was an artificial emotion the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had forced upon the creature. However, it was still unshakeable and incorruptible by any emotion.

There was a loud bang, and the dragon emperor was sent staggering a couple kilometers away from the point of impact. Before he could recover, the Azure Dragon God and Zhou Xuzi appeared like lightning and landed a second blow.

The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning could fight both the Azure Dragon God and Zhou Xuzi and maintain a stalemate for a very long time.

However, protecting Caizhi was its top priority right now. Nothing was more important than this duty.

Zhou Xuzi focusing all his attacks on Caizhi made things even worse. No matter which angle the god emperor came from, it always ended with the Caizhi atop its head. The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning had no choice but to expose himself again and again to the Azure Dragon God's attacks to protect her.

Roar!

The dragon emperor let out a furious, helpless roar as the Azure Dragon God tore thousands of blood-drenched scales from its body and smashed it heavily against the ground.

Finally, the dragon emperor could no longer maintain its protective energy and Caizhi flew far, far away, heading for the ground.

The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning roared even angrier, but a grayish blue shadow smashed into its spine and bent its body like a V before it could crawl back to its feet.

On the other hand, Zhou Xuzi ignored the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning entirely and flew straight at Caizhi. Eyes brimming with hatred and fingers bent like an eagle's talons, he made a grab for the girl's head.

All four Star Gods—Heavenly Flame, Heavenly Sun, Heavenly Soul, and Heavenly Charm—sensed the danger at once and looked at her.

"Princess!"

The battle between the Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning and the Azure Dragon God was unapproachable and took up an enormous amount of space. Now that the dragon emperor was suppressed by the Azure Dragon God… there was no one left to save Caizhi.

In that moment, without exchanging any word or thought with anyone at all, they listened to the blood of the Star God inside their veins… and arrived at the same, grim determination.

Right now, all four Star Gods were covered in blood and wounds. Normally speaking, they would be hard pressed to defend themselves, much less break free from their opponents and fly to Caizhi's rescue.

Unless...

"HAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A chorus of horrific screams suddenly shattered the air. At the same time, the four Star Gods erupted like blazing stars.

The supernova-like explosions threw the Dragon Sovereigns who had been suppressing—in some cases, even bullying—them far, far away.

With speed surpassing even the fastest meteor, four starlights cut through air and space and flew straight for Zhou Xuzi and Caizhi.

Caizhi looked up slowly. The most brilliant starlight in the world flooded her dazed pupils.

"Little Princess…" the Heavenly Flame Star God's warm, peaceful voice entered her ears. "We know that our sins are unforgivable. This is the only way we can atone for some of it."

"This is our final gift to you. You can't dislike it, okay?" said the Heavenly Charm Star God lovingly and forlornly.

The Heavenly Flame Star God was the first to arrive. He was so moving so fast, and his pressure so immobilizing that Zhou Xuzi had no way of avoiding him. The only thing he could do was cross his arms and gather enough strength to distort the space in front of him.

Rumble!!

There was an explosion of starlight, and the Heavenly Flame Star God returned to ashes just like that. Not even Zhou Xuzi could withstand the supernova that surpassed the power of a Star God. The god emperor instantly bled from all his orifices and rolled across the sky like a tumbleweed.

Before he could recover himself, another two starlights closed in on him in the same manner.

Zhou Xuzi had been a god emperor for tens of thousands of years, so he was able to react very quickly. He forced himself to swallow the gurgling blood in his throat, summoned the cracked Armillary Bell, and channeled all of his power into the divine artifact. It immediately swelled to three thousand meters and flew toward the Heavenly Sun and the Heavenly Soul.

KABOOM!

The light generated from the explosion nearly blinded Zhou Xuzi's eyes, but filled Caizhi's eyes and soul with warmth.

The Armillary Bell distorted drastically, and the crack Caizhi dealt earlier widened at an incredible rate. Then, a boom that felt like the fall of heaven itself later, the remaining starlight hit Zhou Xuzi square in the solar plexus, drilled horrifying holes into his already severely injured body, and crushed his organs to the point where they shifted out of place.

Zhou Xuzi hit the ground heavily and threw up blood non-stop.

It was at this moment the Heavenly Wolf Devil Sword flew back into Caizhi's hands. The wolf's head at the sword tip also reopened its vengeful, bloody eyes.

She slowly rose to her feet. Somehow, she was able to dig up a reservoir of dark Heavenly Wolf divine power from her small, exhausted body.

She wobbled into the air and flew toward Zhou Xuzi. She then let out a low, hateful growl and swung her sword at the kneeling god emperor.

Zhou Xuzi abruptly looked up and caught the sword with both hands, keeping it at bay.

Caizhi's pupils were dark and vengeful. The wolf behind her was flickering but violent. Even as weakened as she was, the force behind her sword was still something to behold.

Zhou Xuzi bled from his palms, and his arms were slowly but surely giving in under the pressure. However, he was able to gather his strength eventually and push back against Caizhi.

Unfortunately for him, the breather only lasted half a breath's time. His widened pupils shrank into the size of a needle… because one final starlight was approaching him at high speed.

Immobilized by the Heavenly Wolf's power, Zhou Xuzi could only watch the starlight of despair fly closer and closer to him.

BOOM—

The star turned into a supernova, destroying Zhou Xuzi's last protective aura and spraying his blood everywhere. However, not only did the explosion not harm Caizhi in the slightest, the girl felt like someone was pressing her cheeks with a warm hand.

A tear slid soundlessly across her cheeks, and the brilliant starlight eventually faded into nothing. Caizhi brought her sword down.

Of the twelve Star Gods, the Heavenly Wolf was the only one left now.

KABOOM!

This time, Zhou Xuzi had nothing left to defend himself. His chest cavity crumpled beneath the swing, and at least half of his chest bones and ribs shattered at the same time.

Red peeking between the black in her eyes like the blood stains of the abyss, An exhausted Caizhi somehow summoned a power that could only be described as fueled by infinite hatred and swung her sword again and again.

BOOM… Zhou Xuzi's right arm was shattered.

BOOM—Zhou Xuzi's left arm was shattered, and the force was so great that it literally ripped chunks of flesh from his body.

BOOM… Zhou Xuzi's legs and knees turned to dust.

BOOM—this one struck Zhou Xuzi's skull and turned his world into a nightmarish buzz.

BOOM—

The final strike pierced his broken body completely and scattered his dirtied blood across the field like a burst blood bag.

Bang. Zhou Xuzi collapsed to the ground like a dying dog, unmoving.

However, his eyelids were still trembling, and there was a wisp of aura that struggled like a dying fish on shore. The end of the devil race was happening right before his eyes, and he refused to die until he witnessed its end.

At the same time, the Heavenly Wolf Devil Sword crashed into the ground and made a noise that sounded like crumbling mountains.

Eyes gray and unfocused, Caizhi slumped against her sword and just barely kept herself from dropping to a full kneeling position. She could sense that a wisp of Zhou Xuzi's aura was still struggling to live, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to her feet and end it once and for all. However, her arms, no, her entire body no longer felt like they belonged to herself, and even keeping her eyes open nearly depleted all of her strength and willpower.

Sis...

I'm… so tired…

I… really… don't have… anything left… anymore…

Bang…

A dreamlike murmur later, still slumped against the Heavenly Wolf Devil Sword, her consciousness finally faded into complete darkness.

Long Bai had been watching everything. He hadn't tried to save Zhou Xuzi or kill the unconscious Caizhi with his own hands.

It was beneath him.

"Azure," he said indifferently, "kill that Little Heavenly Wolf. But make sure you preserve the body."

It would make an excellent gift for when he met Yun Che later!

He hadn't given the order via sound transmission, so everyone heard his words clearly.

ROAR!!!

The Dragon Emperor of Absolute Beginning let out a roar of absolute fury and frustration. A violent storm of energy immediately shattered much of the Azure Dragon God's bones and knocked him high, high into the air.

Unfortunately, it wasn't able to transform the opportunity into a chance to crush the Azure Dragon God once and for all. It was because the nine Dragon Sovereigns who were battling the four Star Gods earlier had rushed over to stall it for as long as they were able.

Eager to carry out the Dragon Monarch's order, the Azure Dragon God forced himself to return to an upright position before flying toward Caizhi. Behind him, the dragon emperor's roars grew a decibel louder.

"Yama Emperor, Qianying!" Chi Wuyao shouted. However, Yan Tianxiao was busy defending himself, and Qianye Ying'er had lost half of her mind after burning the devil's blood. She hadn't reacted to the roar at all.

Chi Wuyao abruptly descended toward the ground, but the Crimson Destruction Dragon God wasn't going to let her escape as a matter of course. A crimson domain that seemed to burn with infinite flames abruptly appeared from his body, and he shouted, "You will not escape! Devil Queen!"

Suddenly, Chi Wuyao stopped and turned to faceLong Fei. her eyes were gleaming with a demonic light.

Chi Wuyao once said that anyone whose soul had been feasted upon by her devil soul before—even if it was the Crimson Destruction Dragon God himself—would be traumatized by the experience. She had claimed that he wouldn't be able to face her without fear until a very, very long time later.

She was correct. Even now, the fear was twisting inside his pride like a malicious snake. It was why he had sworn to destroy her, the source of his fear and shame with his own two hands.

Now, after he saw the all-too-familiar gleam in her eyes, the Crimson Destruction Dragon God immediately and instinctively protected his dragon's soul. He looked like a bird who was scared by the twang of a bow.

It was at this moment a blue gleam of space appeared less than thirty meters away behind the Crimson Destruction Dragon God and pierced into his neck.

It had happened all too suddenly and unexpected. There was zero sign whatsoever until it happened. Forget the others, even Long Fei himself didn't notice it despite being so close to the ambusher.

There had only been thirty meters of distance between Long Fei and the strange reaction, not to mention that his attention had been fully focused on Chi Wuyao. It had come as a complete surprise!

Even better, the cold beam of power had pierced through the supposedly impenetrable body of a Dragon God with ease!

Ding! A ring of ice sealed the Crimson Destruction Dragon God's power before he could gather it.

Ding! A second ring of ice sealed all the veins on his upper body.

Ding! A third rice of ice pushed down his second attempt to channel his power again, and...

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding...

It began from the wound in his neck, and it ended up with everything being encased in ice. A total of eighteen rings of ice had frozen his power, his blood, his veins, his bones, his profound veins, his consciousness, his limbs and more so fast that those who weren't facing the scene didn't even have time to turn their heads.

The Crimson Destruction Dragon God had been frozen into ice before he was able to react or put up any meaningful resistance at all. Then...

BANG!

The sword sang again, and the rings exploded. The frozen Crimson Destruction Dragon God, the physical body that was second in power only to Long Bai, shattered into a shower of dreamlike, bluish fragments.

The blue figure who did all this wasn't done yet, however. They cut through space with impossible speed and brought their sword toward the Azure Dragon God next.

Everything had happened in just an instant. No one was anywhere near fast enough to cry out in warning. By the time the Azure Dragon God turned around in shock, all he saw was the Crimson Destruction Dragon God shattering into a million pieces, and… a blue light that was just inches away from his head.

Bang—

The Snow Princess Sword struck the Azure Dragon God squarely in the forehead and erupted into a thousand-meter expanse of ice.