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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By the time the news that the devils of the Northern Region had attacked star realms started to spread, an even more dreadful calamity was already engulfing the northern territories of the Eastern Divine Region.

The heavens grew dark as thunder and lightning roiled in the sky. Large fleets of dark profound arks arrived in the skies of one star realm after another, and dark devils started swarming out of them.

Devils poured down from the sky like an apocalyptic deluge.

As this darkness, dread, and malice descended, it cut through the bodies and defenses of the Eastern Region’s profound practitioners like cruelly-edged knives.

Chi Wuyao’s strategy was exceedingly simple and violent.

They would use forces from their middle star realms to suppress lower star realms, and the forces from their upper star realms to suppress middle star realms.

After that they would use all of the living beings in these middle and lower star realms as hostages to pressure and restrict the upper star realms… They would avoid clashing with the upper star realms altogether.

Despicable? Shameless? Cruel? Inhumane?

Weren’t these the very labels that other three divine regions had slapped on the Northern Divine Region!?

If that was the case, they would live up to their expectations!

Every dark profound ark was directly descending upon the realm king sect of a star realm.

Once they destroyed the core of a realm, it was easy to get the rest of the realm to surrender.

Thus, incredibly violent battles simultaneously broke out in over one hundred star realms in the northern territories of the Eastern Region.

Countless dark profound arks continued to fly deeper into the Eastern Divine Region even as these battles raged on. It seemed as if there was no end to them and it caused those already terrified Eastern Region profound practitioners who were already engaged in battle to shudder in fear.

A nightmare had suddenly descended on them on this day.

The land they were so familiar with had now turned into a viscous sea of blood.

Their comrades which they had just been laughing together with a moment ago were now corpses strewn across the plains.

As the darkness continued to spread, lives all around them were snuffed out as profound formations collapsed and entire sects were destroyed. Their struggles grew more and more powerless, until only boundless despair was left to them...

More and more people sank to their knees in despair… They knelt before the devils they used to despise and detest as they allowed themselves to be sealed into dark cages.

They might lose all of their honor and dignity by surrendering to these devil people, but at least they would still have their lives.

The devils who had suddenly poured into their world were different from the devils they normally knew! They were completely different!

In the past, any devils that they met became easily-slaughtered prey.

This was the first time they realized just how terrifying these devils clad in darkness profound energy were.

Gigantic sects which had existed for dozens of millennia were being leveled by these devils in the span of hours, clans which had a hundred generations worth of foundation had been completely destroyed… Gradually, the core of their star realms had been trampled and seized by the darkness.

As these realm king sects were being destroyed, gloomy darkness started to pervade the skies. Those profound practitioners who had come to reinforce them stopped in their tracks before turning around and fleeing back to their homes… Some of them even uprooted their entire clans and sects and fled their homes altogether.

In a single day, in the shockingly short span of twenty-four hours, nearly two hundred star realms in the Eastern Divine Region’s northern territories had fallen.

However, these twenty-four hours were merely the beginning.

The Eastern Divine Region had never dreamed that the Northern Divine Region would actually invade them in earnest.

Because they had never had to guard against the Northern Divine Region! They never needed to worry that their homes would be threatened by that place!

Now that these devils had been unshackled, they were free to vent a million years of rage, hatred, and battlelust. When faced with such demons of war, the Eastern Divine Region now knew exactly how terrifying they were.

In the Cold Sunflower Realm, Tian Guhu stepped out of the ruins of Cold Sunflower Celestial Palace. There were groups of Eastern Region profound practitioners bound in darkness all around him. More and more of them were surrendering and soon the number of captured profound practitioners stretched to the horizon.

Tian Guhu shifted his gaze from the people below him as he looked to the south.

At this time, a gigantic profound warship was speeding towards them from the south, leaving incredibly vast energy waves pulsating in its wake.

This profound warship was radiating the terrible might that belonged to an upper star realm.

The profound warship stopped in midair and a higher realm king dressed in blue robes stepped out of it. The earth-shaking oppressive might of a Divine Master surged out from his body.

The Scattered Star Realm King—Luo Chuanyun!

One million powerful profound practitioners flooded out of the warship as they swiftly formed up into a battle formation behind him.

The Scattered Star Realm was the closest upper star realm to the Cold Sunflower Realm, so their arrival could only be expected.

As Luo Chuanyun haughtily stared down at the lands below him, his brow creased deeply. The auras of the devils he saw were far stronger than the devils he had come in contact with. They had clearly emerged from the darkness, but they did not show any signs of weaknesses.

Furthermore, the hatred in their eyes and the malice that oozed from their bodies greatly astonished him.

And the moment his spiritual sense swept over Tian Guhu, the pupils in his eyes fiercely contracted.

“Scattered Star Realm King, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” Tian Guhu’s hands were folded behind his back and he made no move to draw his sword. “However, I would strongly encourage you not to attack, otherwise…”

He pointed at the hostages imprisoned in prisons of darkness below him. “This ocean of blood will be on your hands!”

“Heh!” The Scattered Star Realm King gave a cold laugh. “To think that a mere devil would dare to behave so arrogantly in front of this king!”

Profound energy erupted from his body as he took a single step forward.

But it was when he took this step forward that he saw a sinister smile flash across Tian Guhu’s face.

Boom!!

Darkness exploded and a blood-colored hole appeared in the sea of people below him. Several hundred thousand people had been completely obliterated.

“You!!!” Luo Chuanyun’s body went rigid as the expression on his face dramatically changed.

To a higher realm king, the lives of mortals were as cheap as grass. If one counted the amount of people Luo Chuanyun had personally killed in open and in secret, it far exceeded the amount of people who had just died.

However, right now, it was a conflict between the Eastern Divine Region and Northern Divine Region, a conflict between the righteous and the devil people. So he would undoubtedly be held responsible for all these lives which had just been lost because of that single step he had taken… and he might never be able to absolve himself of it. 

Miserable wails of fear and terror rang out across a vast stretch of bloody snow-covered land, causing the scalps of the Scattered Star Realm’s profound practitioners to go numb.

“Wail and cry to your heart’s content. If you want to blame someone, blame the Eternal Heaven God Realm!” There was no reluctance or pity in Tian Guhu’s eyes. On the contrary, they seemed to be filled with a twisted joy. “We were willing to be caged up in the Northern Divine Region, but the Eternal Heaven God Realm still wanted to destroy our star realms and push us to the brink of extinction!”

“Since they want to shove our backs against the wall, then they had better not complain when we retaliate!”

He slowly raised his head to look at the Scattered Star Realm King. “Are you sure you want to bear the blood of this star realm on behalf of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor? Hmmm?”

As he looked at the boundless sea of people below him, the Scattered Star Realm King’s hands started to shake… Tian Guhu’s words had given him a clear reminder that it was the Eternal Heaven God Realm who had selfishly provoked the Northern Divine Region first, that everything that was happening in front of him was the fault of the Eternal Heaven God Realm.

Since that was the case, the Eternal Heaven God Realm would definitely take action. In fact, they had to take action, it was only right for them to do so!

These devils who were hellbent on revenge clearly had no intention of attacking any of the upper star realms, so why did they have to take responsibility on behalf of the Eternal Heaven God Realm?

The desire to retreat sprang up in his heart, but since he had already come here, he would lose a great amount of dignity and honor if he simply retreated like this.

At this moment, his sound transmission jade suddenly rang violently. After that a panicked voice rang in his mind. 

“Sect Master! Devils are invading! They’ve already reached our capital! The barrier protecting our city is under attack! Please return and reinforce us!”

Great shock instantly seized the Scattered Star Realm King’s heart. He saw a cold smile form on Tian Guhu’s face. “We are only doing this to force the Eternal Heaven God Realm to atone for their sins. If we were merely venting our hatred, we would have massacred these people a long time ago.”

“As long as the upper star realm sects obediently stay at home, we won’t come and bother you either. However, if any of you want to sacrifice yourselves for the Eternal Heaven God Realm… don’t blame us for wiping you off the face of the world!”

The Scattered Star Realm King’s expression went through a series of changes. He withdrew all of his aura into his body and spoke in a low voice, “Order your people to retreat from the Scattered Star Realm and I promise you, as the Scattered Star Realm King Luo Chuanyun, that we will immediately retreat and not interfere with you.”

Humans were selfish by nature, especially when the responsibility so clearly belonged to someone else.

The Scattered Star Realm King’s current stance was exactly what Chi Wuyao and Qianye Ying’er had predicted it would be.

If they shared a common foe, they would rally together and fight to the bitter end.

But if the Eternal Heaven had caused this trouble… then the Eternal Heaven should bear the brunt of the consequences! If they could preserve their lives and their realms by staying out of this conflict, why should they sacrifice themselves for no good reason?

“Very good. A wise decision,” Tian Guhu said as he gave a soft chuckle. After that, his smile froze on his face and his voice suddenly turned low and deep. “What did you just say your name was?”

“?” The Scattered Star Realm King’s eyebrows knit together in puzzlement before he replied in a proud voice, “The Scattered Star Realm King, Luo Chuanyun.”

“Heh.” Tian Guhu smiled once more but his voice was now as dark and deep as an abyss. “Such a disrespectful name. It’s better if it was wiped off the face of this world!”

Bzzz——

The Imperial Heaven Sword was unsheathed and his Yama Devil power flared out of his body. His strength, that of a level eight Divine Master, caused the faces of everyone from the Scattered Star Realm to go white, and this included Luo Chuanyun.

“You… you!” Luo Chuanyun’s heart and eyes were shaking in fear.

When he had arrived, he had sensed the aura of a Divine Master from Tian Guhu’s body. Even though he had been shocked by it, he had still remained proud and haughty.

But right now, he found it difficult to even breathe. The terrifying devilish might that threatened to break apart his body told him that this young man in front of him was at least half a realm stronger than him. It was very likely that he was a late stage Divine Master, the ones who stood at the very pinnacle of this era’s profound way.

Every step taken in the Divine Master Realm was like ascending to a new heaven, so at least six heavens existed between him, a level two Divine Master, and Tian Guhu!

If he had gone to any of the other star realms controlled by an upper star realm of the Northern Region, he could have left completely unscathed. However, he just had to go to the Cold Sunflower Realm and he had even haplessly offered up his innocent name.

“Run… RUN!!”

Luo Chuanyun roared once he was engulfed by that soul-penetrating killing intent. He abandoned his profound warship as he turned around to flee.

However, fangs of darkness closed in on him from behind and mercilessly dragged him into the abyss of death.

Many similar scenes played out above the skies of the middle and lower star realms conquered by the Northern Divine Region.

Thousands of people were being used as hostages to press the morals of these upper star realms, and revenge against the Eternal Heaven God Realm was being offered up as the reason...

They would not invade the upper star realms, but if any upper star realm interfered, they would be included in the scope of their vengeance...

The Northern Region’s attack would last until the Eternal Heaven God Realm atoned for their sins.

As one star realm after another fell to the devils, these rumors swiftly spread throughout the entire Eastern Divine Region. They even reached the Western Divine Region and the Southern Divine Region.

The devil people of the Northern Region really did not attack any upper star realms but the upper star realms clearly felt the peril of interfering with them. They waited for the Eternal Heaven God Realm to step up and solve this problem. No one was willing to blindly sacrifice themselves or bear any responsibility for the Eternal Heaven God Realm’s mistake.

Due to the selfishness inherent in every human being… they would tarry. But the longer they tarried, the longer they stayed quiet, the deeper the darkness would thrust in. It was already burrowing into the Eastern Divine Region at an incredibly frightening speed.

Furthermore, no one was aware of the secret chess pieces that were quietly being placed on the board amidst this chaos and destruction.

Additionally, the praise and admiration that had been heaped on the Eternal Heaven God Realm for “destroying three star realms of the Northern Divine Region” had gradually transformed into resentment, blame, and curses due to the Northern Divine Region’s frenzied “vengeance”, the dark calamity that had suddenly befallen them all.

    ————

Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm.

“Lord Ash, we have received some news from our northeastern territories. The devils of the Northern Divine Region have launched a full-scale invasion against the Eastern Divine Region’s northern territories. It is rumored that many lower and middle star realms have already been conquered by the devils… This entire affair started because they want to avenge the destruction of three of their star realms by the Eternal Heaven God Realm.”

“Hehehehe.”

A giant figure lay slouched on a gigantic seat. He had long silver-gray hair and a strange face that looked like it was sculpted by a sharp sword. Even the pupils of his eyes were ash-gray.

He was one of the Nine Dragon Gods of the Dragon God Realm—The Ash Dragon God. 

He was also the most arrogant and conceited Dragon God.

He gave a cold laugh before speaking in a mocking voice, “We should have just allowed those pitiful devils to slowly die in that cage of theirs. But those idiots in the Eastern Divine Region just had to go provoke them. Haven’t they heard that a dog will jump over a wall if it's desperate?”

“Lord Ash, do we help them suppress the devils?”

“Help? Suppress?” the Ash Dragon God said with a bored look on his face. “Have those devils stepped into the Western Divine Region?”

“No, they have not. Your subject has paid careful attention to them and they are very far from the borders of the Western Divine Region. Forgive me, but they don’t have the guts to come near our Western Divine Region either.”

“Then why should we do anything? Since when has it been our responsibility to clean up after the Eastern Divine Region every time they do something stupid?” The Ash Dragon God looked to the side. “Since this is a mess they made, they should clean it up themselves.”

“However.” The Ash Dragon God’s eyes narrowed. “We still need to inform the Dragon Monarch about this.

“There’s no need for that.”

A deep and indifferent voice rang out in the air as the Azure Dragon God slowly walked inside and said, “The Dragon Monarch has gone into seclusion recently and he will be in seclusion for at least several months. He said to tell all of you that he is not to be disturbed, no matter what happens, much less for a small external matter like this.”

“Seclusion?” The Ash Dragon God looked amused. “Why did the Dragon Monarch suddenly have the urge to do this? His cultivation already reached the very limits of this current era two hundred thousand years ago. What will a few months of cultivation even do?”

“You had better not investigate this matter or ask the Dragon Monarch about this once he emerges from his ‘seclusion’.” The Azure Dragon God warned him before he turned around to leave.

As for the Northern Divine Region’s sudden grand invasion of the Eastern Divine Region? He barely paid it any attention.

What did the Dragon God Realm have to do with the trouble that the Eternal Heaven God Emperor had stirred up!?

All of the devils in the Northern Divine Region would definitely be exterminated during this war while the Eastern Divine Region would also suffer heavy losses…. As a Dragon God of the Western Divine Region, he would happily enjoy this conclusion where the Western Divine Region could “both have its cake and eat it too”.

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