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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Most of the northern parts of the Eastern Region were covered in snow and ice. As the Northern Region’s devil troops poured into their territory dripping malice, fresh blood soon dyed the snowy landscape in glaring red colors.

On the distant horizon, pitch-black devil figures cut open blood-colored chasms in this boundlessly white world.

There were ten devil armies, each numbering a million soldiers. But when faced against an enormous star realm, it was really just a small and pitiful number.

However, one side had been preparing for this moment. The soldiers of the Northern Region had transformed themselves into demons filled with rage and resentment, they were willing to lay down their lives for their vengeance. The other side was composed of factions who were all looking to their own benefit. None of the Eastern Region’s profound practitioners had made any preparations and their forces were weaker and more scattered than loose sand.

When the curtain on this bloody war was raised, it soon became a one-sided massacre. Yet that was not the only thing that was happening. The dark armies shot out like dark arrows as they streaked toward the heart of each star realm at an extreme speed.

The core of these devilish troops were being personally led by Tian Guhu himself.

He went at full speed as he sped past vast snowy vistas, leaving a dark storm howling in his wake,

Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace was the realm king sect of the Cold Sunflower Realm, Ever since Snow Song Realm King Mu Xuanyin had fallen, Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace had quietly become the number one sect in the northern part of the Eastern Divine Region. The only “obstacle” blocking their path to ascendancy was the Snow Song Realm’s new realm king. The new sect master of the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect had the power of a level eight Divine Sovereign, two whole levels higher than the Cold Sunflower Realm King.

However, with the sole exception of Mu Bingyun, the power of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace surpassed that of the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect.

On this day, Cold Sunflower Realm King Mu Xue’er was calmly meditating inside the Celestial Palace. As she gathered and focused the cold energy in her body, a frantic sound transmission suddenly rang from the icicle she wore around her neck.

“Sect Master! Our branch sects are being attacked… Devils! We’re being attacked by devil people!”

The Cold Sunflower Realm King slowly opened her eyes as she replied in a cold voice, “If the devils draw near, just kill them. To think you’d be so panicked and flustered while facing mere devils, has all of your cultivation and tempering over the years gone to waste!?”

“No! The devils that have come this time… Erk! AHHHHH!”

The sound of flesh rupturing and a skull being split apart soon followed that miserable wail.

The Cold Sunflower Realm King furrowed her brow deeply. Just as she was about to stand up, another branch sect sent her an urgent sound transmission. “Sect Master! Devils… Devil people are invading!”

The Cold Sunflower Realm King said, “The moment devils leave the Northern Divine Region, they become half-crippled. Just kill them as they come!”

“These devils are extremely terrifying. There are a lot of Divine Kings and even some Divine Sovereigns among their numbers… They’re ripping into us like madmen… Our grand protection formation collapsed before it could even fully form… Sect Master, please…”

Bang!

The very last thing she heard was the shattering sound of a sound transmission jade.

The Cold Sunflower Realm King shot to her feet, a dark haze swiftly covering her heart… At this time, she suddenly sensed something and her head swiveled toward the north.

A pitch-black figure was streaking in from the north and he was radiating a terrifying oppressive might that blanketed everything around him.

The light suddenly went dim. At that moment, everyone in Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace, including the Cold Sunflower Realm King, felt like they had been shoved into a deep abyss. They felt as if everything in the world had been swallowed up by a boundless darkness.

“Devils are invading!” The Cold Sunflower Realm King’s heart shook with shock and fear, but she started to yell out orders with incredible composure. “Close the realm! Set up the barrier!”

The vast Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace stretched over five thousand kilometers long and their disciples numbered in the tens of millions. Tian Guhu came to a stop in the air high above them as he looked down on them.

In order to survive in the shrinking Northern Divine Region, middle star realms always had to be prepared for cruel fights or pillaging. Yet this middle star realm sect could quietly luxuriate in this vast snowy region, could hunt down and exterminate dark profound practitioners without even blinking an eye...

His arrival was heralded by the dreadful aura that radiated from his body. It was also this aura that caused Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace to swiftly open their sect protection barrier. Countless disciples flew into the air and dozens of Divine Kings led them as they rushed into formation.

Tian Guhu’s face twisted slightly, but he did not say anything. Instead, he raised his Imperial Heaven Sword high in the air before slashing down with it!

RUMBLE!!

That attack split the sect protection barrier that had just been formed in half along with the vast Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace.

This display of world-destroying divine might nearly caused the eyeballs of every single Cold Sunflower disciple to pop out of their sockets. Their eagerness for battle and desire to protect their territory had instantly been extinguished.

Tian Guhu’s lips moved as he spoke in a deep, almost demonic voice. “Die… in the darkness.”

As he pointed his Imperial Heaven Sword downward, countless streaks of black lights fell toward the ground like inky meteors. They easily pierced through Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace, which had existed in proud and cold quietude since ancient times, and each of them obliterated thousands of dazed and helpless living beings.

The gathered elders of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace were instantly frightened out of their minds. They began to yell, “Run! Hurry up and run!!”

This was power that only a Divine Master could display, so even if they combined all of the power within their sect, they would not even be able to put up the slightest resistance.

All of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace’s Divine Kings shot into the air as they crazily burned their own blood essence. They hoped that their sacrifice would be able to save the lives of some of their disciples. 

Shnnnk!

A merciless ripping sound rang out in the air as Tian Guhu’s body flashed behind them. They had all been instantaneously cut in two and the great ice formation they were just starting to form collapsed right after.

Under the sword of a level eight Divine Master, what difference was there between Divine Kings and blades of grass?

He did not even bother to take a single glance back at them. His divine senses were already locking onto the strongest aura among those who were fleeing. In the next instant, his body blurred and appeared somewhere else.

Clang!

It only took a single blow of his sword to shatter the Cold Sunflower Realm King’s ice sword. She flew through the air, blood spraying in her wake.

Bang!

He ran her through with his second attack. The Cold Sunflower Realm King’s body dissolved within the darkness as it scattered into droplets of blood which flew through the air.

Tian Guhu’s vision grew blurry for an instant.

White snow, darkness, the color of blood… all deeply prodded at the most painful scene frozen in the depths of his soul…

    …………

A girl was quietly lying in the arms of a man. Her robes were tattered and stained with blood, and her aura was as thin as gossamer… This was the most relaxed and at peace she had ever felt in her entire life. She no longer needed to feel fear, to struggle to survive, to live in anxiety.

“Big Brother Tian, why… Life is already so hard, but everyone is still trying to kill each other… Why must we be caught up in these cruel fights all the time… Is there truly no way that we can break out of this cage… if we actually worked together?”

“Qing… er…” Tian Guhu hugged the dying girl as he gritted his teeth and sobbed silently.

“I heard… that the sky beyond this region is blue, and the seas are also blue… There, we can see lush viridian forests, beautiful and enchanting flowers in strange and wondrous colors…”

“I hate the people there… But… I… really… wanted to… see it…”

    …………

Bang!

The Cold Sunflower Realm King’s remains fell to the ground and the blood droplets that swirled in the air mixed in with his frozen tears… In the next instant, boundless darkness started to mercilessly spread from his body.

“Qing’er, I’m coming to where you are, I’ll be there real soon… and I’ll see all the sights you wanted to see together with you.”

As he mumbled those words, he thrust the Imperial Heaven Sword into the ground. The darkness of the Yama Devils surged in and an endless black light erupted in the vast snow region which stretched five thousand kilometers long. It mercilessly swallowed up this gigantic sect which had existed for hundreds of thousands of years and reduced it to ruin.

He did not enjoy killing, and he had never committed such a great sin before. However, as he felt countless lives flicker out and die underneath his dark power, his face and his heart remained unmoved.

He soared into the sky as he flung out an arm, creating several gigantic crescents of dark energy with the Imperial Heaven Sword. Those energy crescents shot out and destroyed the dozens of profound arks which were trying to flee the scene of destruction. 

Booom!!

A pillar of ruinous energy soared into the sky. The foundation of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace, an ice leyline was obliterated in a single instant. Tian Guhu raised his head to the sky as he howled, “The Cold Sunflower Realm King’s sect has been destroyed. All who surrender in this star realm will live, branded as captives. All who resist… are to be killed without mercy!”

Miserable wails shook the skies of the Cold Sunflower Realm as the pale white snow-covered lands were swiftly dyed the color of blood. Tian Guhu’s voice blanketed the entire realm and the news of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace’s destruction mercilessly destroyed the faith and last hopes of countless Cold Sunflower profound practitioners.

Reports filtered back to the border of the Northern Region.

“Reporting to the Devil Master and Devil Queen, the Cold Sunflower Realm King and her sect have been wiped out. The first ‘foothold’ has been established.”

“As for the remaining nine star realms, the six lower star realms were easily taken and our forces have already penetrated the heart of the three other middle star realms. We will be able to conquer all three realms within the next ten hours!”

When the news was conveyed to the rest of the dark profound practitioners, their hearts were set aflame.

With the Northern Region Heavenly Sovereigns as their leaders, the ten million young dark profound practitioners had formed the vanguard of their invasion force. Chi Wuyao had not done this to probe the strength of their enemies, she had done this to allay some of the apprehension and fear that still existed in the hearts of the Northern Region’s profound practitioners.

A million years of hiding in this dark hole had caused the fear of the Eastern Divine Region to be ingrained in their bones. The older a Northern Region profound practitioner was, the more profound their fear. After all, unlike the young profound practitioners, it was not so easy to get their blood boiling.

But the vanguard, whose strength was actually rather weak as Tian Guhu was the only Divine Master among them, had cut through their targets like a knife through hot butter. In less than day, they had won all their battles.

As they stared at the truth unfolding in front of them, the Northern Region’s profound practitioners were beginning to understand that the Eastern Divine Region was not that frightening. Now that the Devil Master had descended upon their Northern DIvine Region, they had become far stronger than they had even imagined.

“Very good.” Chi Wuyao stared into the distant southern skies. She raised a jade hand wreathed in black mist as she pronounced the dark command that would push the Eastern Divine Region into an even deeper nightmare.

“The hundred realms in the western territory. Use the first one as a foothold and press them from all sides!”

“Remember, no one is to go near the Snow Song Realm or attack any upper star realm. The moment you enter the realm, press them on all sides and take the heart of their realm. None of you are to show the slightest bit of negligence or mercy.”

“Kill all those who resist and bind those who surrender with darkness so we can use them as hostages!”

Chi Wuyao’s lips curved up in a cold and merciless smile. “Doesn’t the Eastern Divine Region keep prattling on about their morals!? Then we’ll use these people as hostages and use their morals as shackles!”

RUMMMMMBLEEEEE...

Thousands of bolts of lightning lit up the Northern Region’s skies.

One hundred dark profound warships that stretched longer than fifty kilometers surged past the border along with hundreds of thousands of dark profound arks. They left a sun-blotting darkness in their wake as they swarmed toward the western territories of the Eastern Divine Region.

Now that those ten penetrating arrows had landed, it was time for the true darkness to engulf the world. 

Chi Wuyao waved an arm and a projection spread out in front of her. A map of the entire Eastern Divine Region was displayed on that screen. All nine thousand of its star realms were accurately mapped out there. The king realms, upper star realms, middle star realms, and lower star realms were highlighted in different colors so it was easy to tell which was which.

There were a few spots on the map which were glowing with a strange black light. There were about one hundred of these dots of black light.

The positions of these black dots had been decided by both her and Qianye Ying’er. After all, her consciousness had dwelled within Mu Xuanyin for ten thousand years, so she had spent most of her time in the Snow Song Realm. As a result, Qianye Ying’er’s knowledge of the entire Eastern Divine Region and her knowledge of where the important “hubs” far exceeded her own.

Chi Wuyao swiftly scanned the map. Finally, her gaze fell on a dot of light on the right side of the map and remained fixed on it.

“What, are you still worried?” Qianye Ying’er’s voice rang in her ears.

Chi Wuyao stretched out a hand as she said, “These three ‘footholds’ are much too close to the Holy Eaves Realm. The Holy Eaves Realm has three great threats, Luo Guxie, Luo Shangchen, and Luo Changsheng and the sect is also incredibly strong and potent.”

“It will be easy to use our blitzkrieg assault to take these three footholds, but if the Holy Eaves Realm decides to contest our presence, then we will have to split off some of our king realms to deal with them…” Chi Wuyao turned to look at Qianye Ying’er. “Are you still unwilling to say it at this point? This queen’s chest is currently trembling mightily due to the worry that I am feeling.”

Chi Wuyao’s words caused Qianye Ying’er to glance at her chest unconsciously. Those full luscious globes, which stuck out without any effort, formed a captivating arc as they rose and fell with Chi Wuyao’s breathing. Qianye Ying’er immediately averted her eyes as she clenched her teeth.

“There is a huge landmine buried in the Holy Eaves Realm.” Qianye Ying’er spat out. She was well aware that Chi Wuyao was provoking her… So she had no choice but to tell her in order to “recover some lost ground”. “As long as we set off this landmine, the Holy Eaves Realm will descend into internal chaos."

“Oh?” An interested look appeared on Chi Wuyao’s face.

Qianye Ying’er stretched out her white hand. She held a soul crystal that she had prepared a long time ago between her fingers. “When you think the time is ripe, make sure that this falls into the hands of Holy Eaves Realm King Luo Shangchen. Once you do that, you’ll just need to sit back and watch the spectacular show that the Holy Eaves Realm is going to put on for us.”

Chi Wuyao reached out to take the soul crystal and swept her divine senses over it. Her lips instantly pursed up into a small smile that was alluring enough to enchant most people. The worry and anxiety she had previously felt had disappeared into the ether.

“You even managed to dig up such sensitive information on the Holy Eaves Realm. You truly do live up to your name as the Brahma Monarch Goddess who was universally feared by the king realms.”

“Heh.” Qianye Ying’er gave a cold chuckle. “I also never imagined that all of the ‘sensitive information’ that I worked so hard to dig up over the years would end up being a wedding dress for your Northern Divine Region!”

“Oh, no,” Chi Wuyao said as her smile grew even more bewitching. She whispered in that sultry voice of hers, “I think you’re mistaken about something. This isn’t a wedding dress you made for the Northern Divine Region. It’s one you made for Yun Che, my adorable little hatchling.”

Qianye Ying’er: “~！@#￥%…”

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