Against the Gods

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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Chapter 1353 - The Moon God Emperor Falls

Yun Che was dead.

He had shocked the world in a single battle during the Conferred God Battle, defeating Luo Changsheng, who had previously been the head of the Four God Children of the Eastern Region, and had induced a never before seen nine stage heavenly tribulation. He had been prophesied to be the “child of the heavens” by the Heavenly Mystery Realm, the Dragon Monarch wanted to take him as a foster son, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor wanted to make him his direct disciple, and the Goddess had taken the initiative to lower herself to propose to him. After he had gone to the Moon God Realm, he had even caused the “God Empress” to run away with him, causing the entire Moon God Realm to lose all face and dignity, throwing them into chaos…

Ever since he had made an appearance at the Profound God Convention, every single thing he had done had completely and utterly shocked the world, it had even been colored as something out of legend. Especially when he had completely and utterly broken the historical dominance and monopolization the upper star realms held in the Conferred God Battle, raising the spirits of all the middle and lower star realms, allowing them to take pride in this act.

Yet, just a little over a year after the Conferred God Battle, he had fallen… Fallen in the Star God Realm, buried under the power of the Evil Infant.

Furthermore, this news was not based on baseless rumours that came out of nowhere. It had come from the Eternal Heaven God Realm, the place whose trustworthiness could not be refuted!

Countless people were shocked and sighed sympathetically at the news. It was just that the minds of the people did not dwell on this piece of news for very long. Because there was another piece of world-shocking news that was released at the same time, and it was news that turned the entire Eastern Divine Region, no, the entire God Realm upside down.

The Evil Infant had reemerged!

The Star God Realm’s Heavenly Slaughter Star God had been the medium that the Evil Infant Wheel of Myriad Tribulations had used to awaken. One of the four king realms, the Star God Realm, had nearly been annihilated under the Evil Infant’s power and all of their Star Guards had been killed. The terrible battle which had gathered and concentrated the highest level of battle power in the Eastern Divine Region had ended with all four god emperors sustaining severe injuries. Furthermore, two Star Gods, two Moon Gods, three Guardians, and one Brahma King had fallen as well…

The mere thought of these names would cause boundless reverence to well up in one’s heart. Yet so many of them had actually fallen in the span of a single day.

In the end, the Evil Infant had even managed to escape safely, its current whereabouts were unknown.

Furthermore, all of these things had been announced to the world by the Eternal Heaven God Realm via the Voice of Eternal Heaven.

The entire world had been left reeling with shock and horror after the Voice of Eternal Heaven had said its piece.

All of the king realms and upper star realms, and even some of the middle and lower star realms, sent out countless profound practitioners to secretly search for any traces of the Evil Infant’s whereabouts.

The demonic wheel that had once destroyed the universe, the demonic wheel that had severely wounded four god emperors even though they had combined their might, a power that slaughtered Divine Masters like one would slaughter a dog… Imperceptibly, it was as if a heavy shadow had engulfed the vast Eastern Divine Region, and even the entire God Realm itself.

    ————

Eastern Divine Region, Moon God Realm.

In the god emperor’s chambers, the Moon God Emperor reclined on a couch, his body surrounded by more than ten profound formations, chaotic profound light concentrating on and engulfing his body, it was supposed to be suppressing the devilish energy inside his body and healing his injuries… But in reality, it was forcibly extending his life.

Within his bed chambers, all of the Moon Gods, Moon God Envoys, and descendants of the emperor had been gathered. All of them prostrated themselves on the ground, their expressions fearful and anxious. One could also hear either the clear or stifled sound of sobbing every now and then from the children and grandchildren of the emperor in the back of the bedchambers.

The Moon God Emperor’s complexion remained a greenish black and his body had been entirely covered by profound light. However, the people who had seen his actual wounds, even if they were Moon Gods or Moon God Envoys, every single one of them had been so shocked that their courage had been ruptured.

Even for a god emperor, all of these wounds were fatal ones.

Within the profound formations, the Moon God Emperor finally began to open his eyes slowly. A purple light flashed in those eyes, but this purple light that had once been able to subdue all under heaven with a single flash had now been reduced to a light that was as weak as the light of a firefly at this moment.

“Wuji,” he slowly said, “remain behind. The rest of you, withdraw from this place.”

“Royal father!” The Moon God crown prince Yue Xuange, who was in the front, raised his head as he cried out, his face was streaked with tears and his voice trembled as he said, “This child wants to accompany his father, I beg for royal father to not chase this child away.”

“Withdraw,” the Moon God Emperor said as he waved a limp and powerless hand.

“Royal father, this child…” Yue Xuange wanted to continue, each word accompanied by a sob.

“Withdraw! Keh… Keh keh…” The Moon God Emperor’s voice suddenly grew severe and he burst out into a painful and intense coughing fit due to the devilish energy in his body being disturbed, “This king has not died yet… but are all of you already starting to disobey my orders!?”

Even though the Moon God Emperor was so severely wounded that he was on the edge of death, his might still remained and that low shout of pain and anger caused everyone’s heart to shake in shock. Yue Xuange panickedly inclined his head, “This… this child does not dare! Royal father, please quell your anger, this child will leave now.”

Everyone left and very quickly, only two people, the Moon God Emperor and Yue Wuji, were left in the bedchamber. The Moon God Emperor lightly closed his eyes as he took a very long breath, but his complexion was becoming more dark and ashen.

“God Emperor, the Western Divine Region’s Dragon Queen can definitely save you, why are you unwilling to give it a try?” the Golden Moon God Yue Wuji said in a pain-filled voice. He took a single look at the Moon God Emperor’s wounds before averting his gaze once more. He did not dare give them another glance.

“It’s not that I’m unwilling, it’s that… it truly is already too late,” the Moon God Emperor said with much difficulty. He was the person most clear on what kind of state his body was in. The distance between the Moon God Realm and the Western Divine Region’s Dragon God Realm was too far, so even if Dragon Queen Shen Xi was truly willing to extend a hand and help him, he would not be able to hold out until then.

Besides… the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace that could reach the Dragon God Realm in the fastest speed possible had already been given to Yun Che by Xia Qingyue.

“The truths garnered from the Heavenly Mystery Realm have never deceived me,” the Moon God Emperor said with a miserable laugh. “As the emperor of a king realm, I am still unable to escape my destiny. It looks like all the preparations that I have made over the last few years were not wasted after all.”

“God Emperor…” Yue Wuji closed his eyes in pain.

The Moon God Emperor raised a hand, holding aloft a glazed pearl which gleamed with a strange light. Upon seeing this pearl, Yue Wuji's eyes widened fiercely.

“Wuji, this ‘Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl’, this king… will entrust it to you now.”

But Yue Wuji did not move to take the pearl. Instead he fell to his knees fiercely and said in a frightened and alarmed voice, “God Emperor, Wuji is absolutely unworthy of carrying such a responsibility, I beg the God Emperor to take back his command.”

The Moon God Realm’s Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl was the core artifact of the Moon God Realm. It was the wellspring of all the Moon God divine powers and the symbol of the Moon God Emperor.

“Wuji, you and I have been brothers for so many years, so how can this king not know you all too well?” The Moon God Emperor said gently, “This king… does not want you to inherit the title of Moon God Emperor. Rather, I am… entrusting it to you so you can hand it over to Qingyue.”

“…” Yue Wuji raised his head but he did not look too surprised. It was just that his expression had become incomparably more solemn and grave than before, “God Emperor, Wuji is well aware that your greatest wish over the last few years was for Qingyue to succeed you as the next god emperor. But… the plan involving her pretending to be the God Empress has been ruined, and there is no longer a clear path for her to ascend the throne. After all, she was born in the lower realms and what happened during the wedding also incited the wrath of the entire realm. Even becoming your foster daughter was something extremely hard to do. If she succeeded your title as god emperor, there will be a great amount of obstruction and resistance, I’m afraid that…”

At that time, it was very likely that she would face objection from the entire realm. How could a young girl who had not even reached thirty years of age endure such great resistance to her rule?

“Furthermore…” Yue Wuji finally said after hesitating for a moment, “Perhaps Qingyue might not be willing to do so either.”

“How can this king not understand all of these things?” the Moon God Emperor said, with his eyes still closed. “All those years ago, she had promised to pretend to be the God Empress and inherit the title of God Emperor in the future because she wanted to repay the debt of gratitude she owed this king. However, one year ago, after she returned, this king sensed that she suddenly had a desire for the seat of god emperor. Furthermore, it was a very intense desire at that.”

“…?” Yue Wuji was stunned by those words.

“Her change happened after Yun Che appeared. So of course, it can only be because of that kid! But now, that kid just had to go and die… Keh, keh keh…” Due to an agitation that he had a hard time controlling, the Moon God Emperor’s injuries were aggravated and he vomited out many mouthfuls of black-colored blood.

“So… even this king does not know if the current Qingyue… is still willing or not… Keh… Kehkeh…”

This was something the Moon God Emperor had been keeping to himself. When he finally regained his composure, his face grew slightly less ashen but what replaced it was a deathly pale complexion that was shocking to see.

“Wuji,” he opened his mouth once more, “use a Profound Imagery Jade to etch out the words that this king is about to say… The last will and testament I am leaving behind that declares that I am going to pass my position to Xia Qingyue. If she is willing, then hand the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl over to her and publicly announce this king’s last will and testament. If she is not willing, then you will succeed me… Even though this action will trouble and burden you, you are this king’s blood brother and after this king passes on, your strength will also be foremost among all the Moon Gods. You are the only choice that can convince the masses then.”

Yue Wuji’s lips quivered but he did not try to oppose or deny the Moon God Emperor. He stretched out a hand to take the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl and said, “Wuji will definitely not disappoint the God Emperor in what he has entrusted me with.”

After the profound image was etched, the Moon God Emperor closed his eyes for a while before saying, “Summon Qingyue here.”

    …………

The god emperor’s bedchambers contained a cold desolateness it had never possessed before. Xia Qingyue slowly walked inside, her footsteps producing no sound. She was merely wearing a pure white set of plain moon robes, but her far too beautiful elegance imperceptibly caused this cold and desolate bedchamber to grow that much brighter.

“Foster father.” She knelt down and softly said those words.

Upon witnessing Xia Qingyue’s arrival, the Moon God Emperor’s eyes grew several degrees brighter. But the words that came out of his mouth were exceptionally cruel, “Qingyue, Yun Che is dead.”

“…I know,” Xia Qingyue replied, there was no sorrow or joy in her voice.

Her cold and detached response caused the Moon God Emperor’s eyebrows to knit together. After sighing silently in his heart, he got straight to the point, “Wuji, come and administer the law.”

Yue Wuji was startled by those words. But after that his expression abrupty changed and he yelled out in an alarmed voice, “God Emperor, could it be that you want to… No, that is out of the question! The Purple Pylon divine power can be inherited through the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl, but how can… we force such a thing to happen!?”

“This must not come to pass!” Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes opened and she resolutely shook her head, “Foster Father, your current wounds are far too severe, if you lose your Purple Pylon divine power, you will definitely…”

“Do all of you want this king to die with many regrets!!” The Moon God Emperor let out a low roar, the profound formation immediately being shaken by waves of black energy, causing his entire body to contort in pain.

“Normally, the origin power inherited from the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl would require a very long time before it would once again reawaken in the profound veins of the new Moon God. But Qingyue, it will be different for you,” the Moon God Emperor said in an incomparably resolute voice. “You have the Nine Profound Exquisite Body, so this sort of direct inheritance will allow the Purple Pylon divine power to reach its peak in the shortest amount of time and it will even combine with your original power. It will also… allow you to surpass this king… in the shortest amount of time!”

“This is a miracle of the profound way and it will also be a miracle when it comes to the power of the Moon Gods, but it can only become a reality in your body. To be able to allow the Purple Pylon divine power to shine so gloriously… even if this king were to die ten thousand times, I would be able to rest easy!”

Xia Qingyue’s chest heaved but she finally closed her eyes and softly uttered, “Yes.”

The Moon God Emperor left the profound formations which were forcibly extending his life and sat in front of Xia Qingyue. A special profound formation was formed below him and Xia Qingyue as it slowly rotated. After a long period of time, he slowly lifted his finger, a dot of purple light collecting at its tip… This was a very small dot of purple light but in an instant, it illuminated the entire bedchamber in a sea of purple.

The Moon God Emperor’s complexion grew incomparably pale and wan in the next moment but his finger shot forward like lightning, lightly striking the middle of Xia Qingyue’s brows. The purple moonlight immediately spread out from the middle of her brows, causing her entire figure and the entire world to be engulfed within this light.

Inheriting the power of a Moon God could originally only be done after a Moon God had died and their origin power had been returned to the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl. After that, once they found the next person who could inherit that power, they would use the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl to pass that Moon God’s power to the next Moon God.

It was also done this way in the Star God Realm.

This sort of direct inheritance was the first of its sort in the history of the Moon God Realm… and it could only be realized by someone who possessed the Nine Profound Exquisite Body.

Time flowed swiftly in this purple-colored world. Yue Wuya’s face was incomparably calm and there was even some satisfaction that could be found in his expression. However, the expression of Yue Wuji, who was beside him, was filled with pain, because he was well aware that the only reason Yue Wuya could still struggle at death’s door despite such dreadful injuries was precisely because of his strong Purple Pylon divine power.

Furthermore, the moment he lost the Purple Pylon divine power… was undoubtedly the moment he would perish as well.

Two hours…

Four hours…

Six hours…

Eight hours…

CLAANG!!

At some random point in time, the purple light suddenly completely dissipated.

A layer of sparkling and translucent purple light flowed all over Xia Qingyue’s body, down to the very tips of her long hair which was dancing in the air even though there was no wind. Her beautiful eyes opened and in the depths of those eyes flashed a deep purple light that looked like the starry sky.

The face of Yue Wuya, who was sitting in front of her, had lost all color. Even the previous greenish black tinge had completely disappeared and his hair, which had originally been black and tinged by purple, had already turned gray at some point in time

He slowly lowered his finger, before… directly toppling backwards.

“God Emperor!” Yue Wuji hurriedly rushed over to support Yue Wuya with his arm. Upon sensing his aura, an aura so weak and light that it felt like the dying rays of an evening sun, boundless pain and agony appeared on his face.

“Foster father…” Xia Qingyue swiftly walked right in front of him as she thought of using the Purple Pylon divine power she had just acquired to extend his life. However, she was slowly but firmly stopped from doing so by Yue Wuya.

“Qingyue,” Yue Wuya looked upwards, his voice wispy and weak, “Do you… still remember… the day… that I found you?”

Xia Qingyue nodded her head while emphasizing each word that she uttered, “Xia Qingyue remembers, I will never dare to forget.”

“That day, when you had been pushed into a corner, in order… to not be sullied by others, you desired… to end your own life… I took action… and saved you… and I even personally killed those… people who were in the Divine Origin Realm…”

This was the first time in ten thousand years that he had deigned to personally kill a few people who had just reached the Divine Origin Realm, people who could not even be considered as trash in his eyes.

“But did you know that… during our journey to the Moon God Realm… how many times… I had thought of taking action… and killing you!?”

Xia Qingyue, “…”

“Because… I hoped that you were Wugou’s child… Because she would have been overjoyed by that… But I was also afraid that you were Wugou’s child… Wugou’s… and that man’s child!”

“…” Xia Qingyue’s chest violently heaved.

“Qingyue… During the past few years, no matter… how good I was to you, no matter how much I swore that I would definitely not harm your father… you have never been willing… to even reveal a single character of your father’s name… You dreamed of returning to the place of your birth… but you’ve never dared to go back… He… Hehe…” Yue Wuya suddenly let out a miserable laugh, “Let me… tell you today… You were… absolutely right in doing so… Because… because… I hate him… My hatred for him is incomparable!!”

“If you had let me find out who he is… I would definitely have killed him… I would definitely… have killed him with my own hands!!”

“…” Xia Qingyue averted her gaze as a pained look appeared in her eyes, but she used all of her might to suppress it.

“Because he stained my Wugou, stole away my Wugou… If it was one of my other concubines… I would be able to bestow her to him… as many as he wanted… I could have given him all of them… But why… why did it have to be Wugou… Why…”

Xia Qingyue bit down on her lower lip fiercely, her body lightly trembling. She wanted to say that her father had done nothing wrong… But this matter had absolutely nothing to do with right or wrong, had nothing to do with whether one should hate or should not hate.

“Wugou and I… were in love for a hundred years… and we wanted to live and die together… She and your father… spent only seven short years together… The year she came back, she had terminated her marriage with your father and had not brought back a single thing that had to do with him. Even the clothes she wore… were the ones that she had worn when she had ‘met with disaster’ all those years ago… But why… was she not willing to allow me to erase the memories she had of your father… She would rather allow herself to become mired in the guilt she felt towards both parties, suffering through that pain and torment, than choose to forget him… Why… Keh… Kehkeh…”

Two deep trails of tears ran down Yue Wuya’s wan face. The emperor of a king realm was actually weeping… No, the him who had already entrusted the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl and the Purple Pylon divine power to someone else was no longer the Moon God Emperor. The current him was merely Yue Wuya, a man who could finally freely express his emotions without care, a man who could finally cry if he wanted to.

“I hate him… even when I’m about to die… I still feel like killing him…” He once again let out a miserable laugh, “What Moon God Emperor… From start to finish, I’ve… only ever been a… narrow-minded and petty man lost in his sorrow… Even more than that, I am also… a piece of trash who could not even protect… the one he loved the most… a useless piece of trash who did not even have the strength to take revenge!”

“God Emperor, none of this is your fault,” Yue Wuji said as he shook his head. “It’s the Brahma Monarch God Realm… If in the future, even if there’s the smallest possibility… Wuji will definitely find an opportunity to kill Qianye Ying’er!”

“Qingyue…” Yue Wuya’s voice was growing weaker and weaker, “If you are willing to become the Moon God Emperor, then take this Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl… from Wuji’s hands… Your path to ascension will be laden with countless thorns and obstacles… But all of these things… will become your greatest tests and training, tests and training that will transform you into a true god emperor…”

“If you are not willing… After my death… just like you wished… you can also finally… return to the star realm where you were born… But… you definitely need… to take good care… of your mother… Also tell your father this for me… I… Yue Wuya… will never… ever… for… give… him…”

His voice was as light as a wad of cotton, until it slowly began to fade away like a cloudy mist.

    …………

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You have probably all noticed that we've had a couple of days recently where we didn't do daily releases.  Sorry folks.  Quick reminder, our official release schedule is 1 chap per 1-2 days.  We do our best to keep it daily for you but it doesn't always work.  The next few should be daily.  Please enjoy.-Rubble