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 835 - Inescapable Net

“Heh!” Xuanyuan Wentian gave a dry chuckle as he said, “My knowledge far exceeds what you have imagined.”

After that, he raised his hand and a thin sword, that was approximately six feet long and glowed with a faint white light, appeared in his hand, “The current you has already attained the privilege of causing this sword master to use his sword. Didn’t you want to kill me? Come then, try as hard as you can, bring me even more ecstasy! Let me fully enjoy the fruits of a thousand years of planning and preparation!”

An enormous sword intent spread out from Xuanyuan Wentian’s body. As the thin sword in his hand swayed, the space around him started to ripple, it was as if the sword was not passing through air but the surface of still water.

Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword intent had reached the pinnacle and it had shockingly reached the dreadful realm where he could form substance from the incorporeal.

Fen Juechen’s origins and powers were a huge secret that only he was privy to—he was firmly convinced of that. Xuanyuan Wentian’s words had caused unease to form in his heart but his hatred and killing intent intensified even more. His darkness profound energy began to stir restlessly but the space within a five kilometer radius was under extreme suppression. The originally pure white clouds in the sky had become gloomy and heavy before immediately turning dusky black.

Furthermore this suppression and darkness began to soundlessly and swiftly spread like a plague sowed by a devil, it expanded from five kilometers to several tens of kilometers to fifty kilometers.

Within a fifty kilometer radius, the skies were dark and the land was silent.

Moreover, this was not the result of Fen Juechen releasing his profound energy, it was merely created by the dark might and pressure that radiated from him.

In contrast, Xuanyuan Wentian, who was smack dab in the middle of this oppressive might, still had a bland smile on his face. His eyes were half-narrowed and the thin sword in his hand was only covered by a faint white glow. All of his profound energy had been withdrawn into his body and he was as calm as placed as a bell that had lain silent for a thousand years.

An unmistakable difference had appeared between the postures and auras of the two opponents.

The suppressed silence continued for very long before Fen Juechen abruptly exploded into action at a certain instant. All of the darkness energy in his body suddenly surged forth like an erupting volcano as it rushed heavenward. In an instant, his body turned completely black… This was not created by reflection of the darkness profound energy as his skin had actually turned completely black!

A slight change occurred in the eyes of the calm and tranquil Xuanyuan Wentian. The thin sword in his hand shook fiercely as the placid aura it created immediately began to distort. Following the explosive arrival of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, he faintly saw a blood-filled hell as boundless hatred and killing intent hurtled towards him.

“This is… the power of the devils!” Facing this sky-covering darkness, his soul was shaking and he could even feel some fear being birthed in his heart, but his eyes were filled with the light of ecstasy… He had seen this darkness profound energy that came from the devil gods one thousand years ago, when Ye Mufeng had personally let him experience it. But, even the Ye Mufeng of all those years ago had not given him such a sensation.

When it came to strength, the current Fen Juechen was far inferior to the Ye Mufeng who had gone berserk all those years ago but he had awakened and merged his devil blood and devil soul, so he could use the true “Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night” and the devil profound energy he was releasing was clearly even purer than the devil profound energy that was released by Ye Mufeng!

As Xuanyuan Wentian let out hoarse cries of excitement in a trembling voice, he was being pushed back by the storm of darkness that chased after him—because even he did not have complete confidence that he could directly face Fen Juechen when he was unleashing the full might of his darkness profound energy. Every time he retreated from his previous position, that space would be filled with a thousand incorporeal sword beams. This lasted until they formed a sword formation that was made up of one hundred thousand sword beams. The sword formation was so huge that it practically covered the sky. Like a raging tempest, this sword formation drove into the storm of darkness, that seemed to come from purgatory itself.

Space was rent apart like an old, tattered cloth as the dark devil profound energy was cut into a fine spiderweb in an instant. Tens of sword beams penetrated the darkness and pierced Fen Juechen’s body… Fen Juechen’s body was as hard and firm as divine steel while he was shrouded by the darkness, so when these sword beams that were weakened by his powers pierced into his body, a resounding sound that sounded like metal striking against metal rang out. After that, the sword beams shattered instantly. These attacks did not wound Fen Juechen in the slightest and he only felt an instant of pain when they collided against him.

Moreover, these little stings of pain only caused the darkness energy in Fen Juechen’s body to surge even more violently. The Eternal Night Devil Sword continuously blasted out attacks as the world instantly grew even darker and all of the sword beams were drawn into the darkness.

“Lightless Eternal Night!!”

…………………………

BOOM BOOM BOOM...

Heaven-shaking explosions rang out from behind and the light had very clearly grown much dimmer. Feng Xue’er turned around and saw that the southern sky had turned completely dark, as if hundreds of kilometers worth of dark clouds had gathered there. Even though those two extremely dreadful auras were sufficiently far away enough from her, they still caused her entire body to go cold.

“Fen Juechen?” Feng Xue’er could scarcely believe what she was muttering to herself, “He is… fighting against Xuanyuan Wentian?”

“Big Brother Yun…” Feng Xue’er immediately turned around. She felt that the last breath of Yun Che that she had protected with her Phoenix flames before softly whispering, “Big Brother Yun, you’ll definitely be fine, I beg you, please hold on…”

As she flew towards the unknown north, she looked like a streaking red shadow that drew a line against the blue sky.

Darkness!

Sword beams!

Two completely different powers clashed in the sky above. These peerless and dreadful energies caused the heaven and earth to tremble.

The sword beams originated from the number one swordsman in the entire Profound Sky Continent. Under the strokes of his energy blades, the all-encompassing storm of darkness was being continuously rolled aside and broken down into fragments. But this storm of darkness relentlessly surged like an enraged vicious beast as it continued to firmly suppress Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword formation. It did not look like either party had gained the upper hand.

The wild and overgrown hills below them had long ago lost their ridges and peaks and the ground had actually sunk to an unknown level under the calamitous power that was on display. Only the ancient foundations, that had not seen the sun for ten thousand years, were left. It was practically a scene straight out of the apocalypse!

Any battle between Monarchs would cause calamitous destruction, much less a battle between Monarchs who stood at the pinnacle of the Sovereign Profound Realm. In the past, when the masters of the Sacred Grounds dueled occasionally, they would always fight where the blue ocean was, the clashing of their fists caused massive tidal waves that soared into the heavens. But when this kind of power descended on this innocent piece of land, it was turned into a purgatory of destruction in the blink of an eye.

Xuanyuan Wentian had never ever expected that Fen Juechen would be able to match him blow for blow after obtaining the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword just a few short weeks ago. He, the master of the sword who had reigned supreme over the Profound Sky Continent for more than a thousand years—perhaps even Fen Juechen did not anticipate that his strength and cultivation would grow to such an extent after his devil blood had awakened.

Fen Juechen was howling while Xuanyuan Wentian was filled with excitement… As the two of them were locked in a vicious battle, neither of them realized that three figures had appeared in the skies far above them.

Those three people were completely unmoved despite being assailed by the heaven-shaking energy waves that were radiating from the duel. Moreover, the auras being exuded by these three people were as vast and profound as the ocean.

Huangji Wuyu, Qu Fengyi, Ye Meixie!

The Four Sacred Masters of the Profound Sky Continent were all gathered at this calamity-stricken land at this very moment.

“That person… is Fen Juechen?” Ye Meixie said in a heavy voice as disbelief and incredulity colored his eyes.

“When he had arrived at Supreme Ocean Palace previously, I went out of my way to check the level of his profound strength. It was roughly around the middle of the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm and that result had already caused me no small shock… But today, he can actually match blows with Xuanyuan Wentian? What is going on?” Qu Fengyi’s expression was heavy and solemn and her voice was filled with an extremely heavy astonishment and bewilderment.

“Could he have used some kind of special forbidden technique?” Ye Meixie asked in a low voice, “Does such a forbidden technique even exist in the Profound Sky Continent?”

The reason why these three people had appeared in this place was because they were chasing after Feng Xue’er… to be more accurate, they had come for the “Mirror of Samsara”. Furthermore, all of them had hidden this from their respective Sacred Grounds and they had each come alone.

“...” Huangji Wuyu stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking, “Fen Juechen’s power has indeed reached a level where he is nearly equal to us. But he is still young after all, so his experiences are too shallow. Coupled with the fact that the power he possesses is exceedingly unusual, it is clear that he does not have complete control over it. At this moment, it seems like he can match Xuanyuan Wentian blow for blow, but as the fight drags out his loss will become clear.”

“However, the most important point is…” Huangji Wuyu’s voice grew deeper as a heavy dark haze formed in the space between his brows, “Have neither of you realized that the current appearance of Fen Juechen and the darkness profound energy he is using… is extremely similar to Ye Mufeng back then!?”

“What!?” Qu Fengyi and Ye Meixie gasped in surprise at the same time. After an instant, they both exclaimed together, “That is… the Eternal Night Royal Family’s Eternal Night Illusory God Record!!?”

“...” Huangji Wuyu’s gaze fell on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that was grasped in Fen Juechen’s hand before he continued slowly, “It is highly likely that Fen Juechen’s exceedingly bizarre power has something to do with the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that he is holding in his hand… No! It’s definitely related!”

“That Heavenly Sin Divine Sword was indeed hiding some enormous secret but after we broke the seal that day, none of us could detect anything and we treated it was a dead sword. After that, that red-clothed demoness tossed it to Fen Juechen… and right now, Fen Juechen’s power has greatly increased and he is even using the profound art of the Eternal Night Royal Family. His current state is extremely similar to the Ye Mufeng who wielded the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword all those years ago… There can be no mistaking this!”

“To be able to cause a person who was at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm to rise to our level in the span of a few short weeks… Could it be that it really contains the secret of the Divine Profound!?” Ye Meixie exclaimed as the pupils of his eyes widened.

Ding!!

The bracelet on Qu Fengyi’s right arm flashed with a faint blue light. Qu Fengyi’s eyebrows twitched as she said in a low voice, “We have discovered Feng Xue’er’s current location and it was three hundred and fifty kilometers to the north. Do we continue giving chase or…”

Qu Fengyi used her eyes to convey her intention as she stared at Xuanyuan Wentian and Fen Juechen. Only the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword could explain the bizarre changes that Fen Juechen had undergone. Since that was the case...

“Let’s leave! Let’s chase after Feng Xue’er!” Huangji Wuyu decisively said after he hesitated for a short moment.

“My thoughts are aligned with Brother Huangji,” Ye Meixie said with a dry chuckle. “Xuanyuan Wentian harbored wicked designs and tried to keep the Mirror of Samsara all for himself. Hmph, it is practically the will of heaven that Fen Juechen appeared in this place to delay him. If there aren’t any unforeseen incidents, it is very likely that the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword will fall into Xuanyuan Wentian’s hands once again. At that time, if the three of us combine forces, we will be able to wrest it from his arms.”

“Alright!” Qu Fengyi said as she slowly nodded her head, “The eyes and ears of the Black Moon Merchant Guild have been fully mobilized, this is the biggest inescapable net in the entire Profound Sky Continent. As long as Feng Xue’er and Yun Che are on the Profound Sky Continent, they can forget about ever hiding from us! Before the sky turns dark today, she and Yun Che will definitely fall into our hands!”

“After we obtain the Mirror of Samsara, we will share the secrets among three of us. As for Xuanyuan Wentian…” Huangji Wuyu gave a dry chuckle, “Without even mentioning his sly and crafty ways, the current Mighty Heavenly Sword Region no longer has its Three Sword Attendants and its northern region has been completely destroyed. As such, it no longer has the qualification to stand on equal footing with us. We will fully pay him back for the many times he has plotted against us over the years on the day that we wrest the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword away from him… Let us go!”

The three people did not tarry any further. Nor did they deeply think about the matter of Fen Juechen as they shot off in hot pursuit of Feng Xue’er.

Riip!!

A white arc flashed across the sky as it cut apart the curtain of darkness that covered the sky and obscured the sun. Under the light of that rainbow, Xuanyuan Wentian’s pupils flashed with a strange light… Astonishingly, his gaze shot in the direction that Huangji Wuyu and the others had left in.

“This power is so great that it is scarcely believable. For you to grow to such an extent in the short period of nineteen days, then… if this sword master uses it, wouldn’t I become completely unrivaled under heaven in the span of a single night!”

Xuanyuan Wentian muttered to himself. But after that, he let out a sinister snarl, “This power has truly caused me delight but it’s such a pity that your control of it leaves so much to be desired… I suppose it is time for this sword master to harvest the fruits of one thousand years worth of labor!!”

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