Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1954 - Crushed Hope

RUMBLE!

RUMCRACK!!

BUZZ—

Every explosion caused the spectators’ blood to stir like tidal waves. Every clash of power was a mini cataclysm of their own right to their ears.

Space collapsed and collapsed again and dyed parts of the eternally gray sky of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning in black. From a distance, it looked as if dozens of giant caves had been drilled through the sky. It was as if the distortion and destruction would never end.

The ground was in even worse condition. It was littered with countless bottomless and pitch black abysses.

Chiang!

A second golden light extinguished.

Chiang!

The third Southern Sea divine origin fell dead.

……

……

Chiang!

The seventh star vanished forever from this world.

Rumble!!

A slash from Yun Che rocketed him toward the ground and drilled a new hole in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. It had been over a dozen breaths since the battle began, but Mo Beichen was still the one being pushed. He had not gained the upper hand a single time despite having clashed tens of times against Yun Che.

His countenance started warping uncontrollably. The flame in his eyes became more and more restless as well.

They were not in the Abyss! He was fighting a denizen of a lowly, godless world! It should not be possible for him to be suppressed to this extent, if at all!

This had to be one of the worst humiliations he had ever experienced in his life!

This Yun Che… how is his power so…

SHRED—

The sound of space being violently torn reverberated in his ears as the next attack approached. Mo Beichen spun around as a tinge of madness shot out of his eyes.

This time, he did not try to evade or defend against Yun Che’s attack. After yellowish brown profound energy burst out of his body and took the form of a massive, thirty thousand meter long rock spear, he threw it straight at Yun Che.

The rock spear compressed and severed every space unfortunate enough to lie along its path as it shot into the sky. From a distance, it looked as if the realm itself was being split in two.

Yun Che wasn’t planning to avoid it, of course. He met the rock spear head on and struck it with the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword.

BOOM—

An exceptionally dull and heavy sonic boom swept across the world.

The destructive strength of the rock spear was still weaker than Yun Che’s. It disintegrated rapidly beneath the power of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword.

However, the rock spear was much tougher than imagined. A three thousand meter deep crack appeared where the two attacks had met, but it did not explode into smithereens like all the previous attacks.

Yun Che wasn’t going to waste anymore time on it. He teleported away using Star God’s Broken Shadow before following up with a Heavenly Star Lamentation.

RUMBUZZ—

The crack on the rock spear deepened, but still it didn’t shatter to pieces. However, its trajectory had been changed enough that it was no longer bearing down on Yun Che anymore. The emperor allowed it to shoot past him toward the northern sky before dashing toward Mo Beichen again.

The Abyssal Knight’s pupils contracted into needle points. Yun Che had just executed a powerful move a moment ago, so it should take him some time to wind up his next attack. In reality, new energy had erupted from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword and slammed into Mo Beichen’s crossed arms the next instant.

Mo Beichen had just fired off a thirty thousand meter long rock spear, so he had no time to redirect his energy to defense at all. The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword easily knocked apart his guard before unleashing both its sword might and devilish flame point blank.

BOOM—

“AH!!!”

This was the first time Mo Beichen screamed out in pain not just in this battle, but also since he came to this world.

The space severing sword might and sky devouring devilish flames launched Mo Beichen into the distance like a piece of burning charcoal. A long, long trail of pitch black flames was left in his wake.

Chiang!

The eighth Southern Sea divine origin faded away.

A terrifying gleam shot out of Yun Che’s eyes at that moment.

A golden opportunity!

Countless wounds erupted throughout his body yet again, but his face still showed no signs of pain.

The continuous usage of power with zero rest in between was putting an insane amount of load on his body, and he had no doubt that it was absolutely going to result in a killer rebound later. But so what?

Eyes gleaming, he channeled as much power as he could into his sword before shooting toward the airborne Mo Beichen like a black meteor.

This attack was different from all previous attacks because it was a stab, not a slash. His aim was to pierce Mo Beichen’s solar plexus in one go.

To that end, he had gathered all of his power at the tip of his sword.

Both his strength and his resolve at their highest, he narrowed the gap between himself and Mo Beichen in no time at all.

If he could sink just the tip of his sword into Mo Beichen’s chest—or ideally, skewer him completely—then He Ling would be able to kill him with the Sky Poison for sure!

It was their one and only chance to defy the absolute darkness that was the Abyss!

Unfortunately, a Half-God’s perception was beyond natural. When Yun Che was about three hundred meters away from him, the alarm bells in Mo Beichen’s head abruptly rang at full force.

There was no time to catch himself. Mo Beichen raised his right arm with difficulty, and suddenly, the silver vambrace covering his whole arm swelled and unleashed a yellowish brown profound light so thick that it almost seemed tangible. The next moment, a strange profound formation that was shaped like a boulder expanded in front of himself.

Ding~~~~~

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword stabbed into the profound formation that had appeared at the last minute, but it failed to pierce through in one go. Not only that, instead of the explosive clash of power Yun Che had grown accustomed to since their battle began, the two clashing powers generated a screech so shrill that even he was convulsing in pain.

A couple of cracks appeared on the boulder-like formation…

But that was it!

Forget making physical contact with Mo Beichen’s body, it could not even penetrate the formation!

“...” The black gleam residing in Yun Che’s eyes condensed violently.

BOOM!

There was a massive explosion, and Mo Beichen let out another scream of pain. Patches of Devil Flame of Eternal Calamity still burning on several parts of his body, he hit the ground like a meteor and sank to god-knows-where.

The resulting shockwave turned out to be far greater than he expected. He was knocked back uncontrollably from ground zero.

He immediately caught himself and attempted to pounce on Mo Beichen once more, but his vision abruptly blurred harder than ever before. Several mouthfuls of blood forced themselves out of his lips as he swayed on his feet, and he nearly fell from the sky there and then.

He was using God Ash, and yet he had launched attack after attack without a single pause. The damage he accumulated finally exceeded his limits and caused him to lose control over both his body and his aura.

Yun Che had no choice but to take a moment to adjust his breathing. While panting, he shot a chilling glare at the spot Mo Beichen had disappeared.

That barrier…

Meanwhile, the other profound practitioners were already standing at the absolute edge of the battlefield, but the shockwaves still managed to push them to god-knows-where.

There was no question that the battle between Half-Gods had completely exceeded their recognition, no, their imagination. They were so stunned that they were beyond numb.

The environment where the battle took place was destroyed so thoroughly that not even cataclysmic was a good enough word to describe it.

If this battle had taken place in the God Realm instead of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, it was unimaginable how many lives and star realms would’ve perished from this fight.

The most unthinkable thing of all was Emperor Yun’s power! His true power!

The man who stepped out of the Northern Divine Region and conquered them all wasn’t a Devil Master after all. No, he was a true Devil God!

If Long Bai could somehow witness this from his grave, he would be thankful that his death wasn’t a completely undignified one. After all, he at least got to exchange a couple hundred blows with Yun Che before the latter had decided to up the ante.

Extreme shock and non-stop revelations assaulted their senses so frequently it almost felt like it was normal to be slack-jawed all the time.

“The Venerable One… is no match for Emperor Yun!” One higher realm king muttered.

Yun Che had held the upper hand the whole fight. Mo Beichen had barely been able to get in a hit or two.

Yun Che was standing proudly in the sky. Mo Beichen was sleeping in an abyss of his own making.

They could never have imagined this scene until today.

Was Emperor Yun actually going to repel this hopeless calamity?

“Is… is this actually happening? Is Emperor Yun actually going to save us all?” An higher realm king said in an uncertain tone.

“Hmph. Stop being so naive.”

The Xuanyuan Emperor let out a quiet hmph. “If this was true, Emperor Yun would not have run with his tail between his legs and hidden like a turtle for an entire half a month. The Devil Queen would not have shown up today to commit suicide.”

“Moreover, the three Yama Ancestors haven’t shown their faces even now. If we weren’t sure before, we now know that the rumors that they died to facilitate Emperor Yun’s escape are definitely true.”

“That’s right.” Not far away, the Purple Micro God Emperor echoed in agreement. “When Emperor Yun appeared, he held the Southern Sea Divine Pearl in his hands. He then infused his body with eighteen Southern Sea divine origins.”

They were both god emperors of the Southern Divine Region. Of course they recognized the Southern Sea Divine Pearl.

“It is clear that Emperor Yun’s power stems from the Southern Sea divine origins, and… did you notice that they have been disappearing one by one this whole time?”

It was the remnant of the old gods. They shone as bright as the stars in the night sky, and no one here was blind to their brilliance.

“In other words, Emperor Yun’s power should disappear when all eighteen Southern Sea divine origins are exhausted.”

In fact, eight of them had already been extinguished forever.

“At this rate, the remaining ten divine origins should last another twenty breaths at most.”

“So… while it might seem that Emperor Yun held all the advantage, not even he can kill the Venerable One in twenty breaths!”

Yun Che’s power was just too unusual, and the light of the Southern Sea divine origins too bright.

After their initial shock and disbelief had passed, everyone started to realize that the extinguishing stars were really the countdown for his power… and their fates.

“And even if a miracle happened, and Emperor Yun managed to kill the Venerable One,” the Purple Micro God Emperor continued pessimistically, “that man… is just one pioneer of the Abyss.”

The cold yet undeniable reality of his words extinguished the ember of hope almost as soon as it was ignited.

Back to the battle. While Yun Che was trying to adjust his breath, He Ling was beyond worried inside the Sky Poison Pearl.

It was because she knew better than anyone how hurt Yun Che was right now.

Strength wise, Yun Che at maximum God Ash was stronger than Mo Beichen. However, the injuries he suffered from the cruel rebounds were far worse than the ones he had dealt to Mo Beichen.

Moreover, Mo Beichen’s defense was clearly superior to his offense. When the man had summoned his yellowish brown profound energy for the first time, deep anxiety had immediately grabbed her soul in a death grip.

Earth profound energy was the least cultivated element type not just in the lower realm, but also the God Realm. It was because earth profound energy possessed the strongest defense, but also the weakest destructive power of all element types.

(Only light profound energy, an element type that could only be borne by special beings, was weaker than earth profound energy in terms of destructive power.)

It was why the vast majority of profound practitioners looked down on profound practitioners who cultivated earth profound energy.

In a world where the strong devoured the weak, and everyone sought to dominate one another, to cultivate a power that was only good for defense and protection was the same as practicing cowardice.

Yun Che had fought countless experts since he set foot in the God Realm, but the amount of earth profound practitioners he encountered could probably be counted on two hands.

That was how rare earth profound practitioners were in this universe.

Even the Heretic God had chosen to discard the Earth Seed when he made the decision to throw one of the Heretic God Seeds into the Abyss.

However, the earth profound energy surrounding Mo Beichen’s body was the last thing He Ling wished to see right now.

There were two main branches of earth cultivation. The first one was sand, and the second one was stone. The former gave control, while the latter gave defense.

Mo Beichen was without a doubt a stone-branch earth profound practitioner!

When He Ling saw Mo Beichen deflecting Yun Che’s full-powered stab despite having expended his strength, her heart had immediately plunged into the depths of despair.

How could this be…

Of all the things he could’ve specialized in… why stone? Why!?

RUMBLE!

The earth split apart, and Mo Beichen shot up into the air and reentered everyone’s view.

His earlier arrogance and dignified appearance were nowhere to be seen.

The Devil Flame of Eternal Calamity had burned the man’s face, neck, arms… there was almost no part on his body that wasn’t covered in burns. Over seventy percent of his hair was burned to nothing, and his exposed scalp was scorched black.

Besides that, he had suffered varying degrees of superficial wounds all over his body. That was the problem though. They were all superficial. The longest wound on the man’s body was only one-sixth of a meter long, and not a single wound was deep enough to expose bone.

“...” Yun Che’s hands tightened around the hilt of his sword.

He shared the same worry as He Ling as a matter of course.

He would rather face a Mo Beichen who was twice as destructive as he was than this.

Right now, Mo Beichen felt like his soul was a million raging devils.

It never occurred to him that the first time he lost control of his emotions after becoming an Abyssal Knight would take place in this lowly world!

He raised his right arm again. The silver vambrace had transformed into a long and narrow shield.

It was an arm shield, and yellowish brown profound energy that looked like flowing sand was circulating around it.

“You… you dare…”

When he spoke, there was enough fury in his words to tear a soul apart. “You dare dirty the shield His Holiness bestowed me with your filthy hands!?”

Every man and woman who survived the stringent training and tests to become an Abyssal Knight was given an abyssal profound artifact by the Pope.

Mo Beichen was no exception. He had received his vambrace on the day he became an Abyssal Knight.

Although the vambrace was a defensive profound artifact with zero destructive power, it complemented well with his earth profound energy. It made his defense even more disgusting than it already was.

Besides that, the vambrace was a gift from the Pope and the symbol of acknowledgement from the Abyssal Monarch himself. It was the symbol of his identity and his honor!

This was why Mo Beichen was truly furious. He wasn’t angry that he looked horrible and unsightly, he was angry that Yun Che had forced him to use his abyssal profound artifact.

Yun Che did not say a word in response. He gathered all of his willpower, retook control of his dying body, and raised the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword once more.

Thump!

Thump!!

THUMP!!!

In He Ling’s world, Yun Che’s heartbeat suddenly beat many times louder than it had before.

Fear and panic filled her emerald eyes instantly.

She had become one with Yun Che in the most literal sense for many years. There was no one who knew him better than her. That was why she knew exactly what Yun Che was thinking right now.

When they walked out of the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm with the knowledge that he could control eighteen Southern Sea divine origins at the same time, they were actually quite confident that they would be able to strike down Mo Beichen.

Now, after Mo Beichen had demonstrated his terrifying level of defense, Yun Che realized that his chance of skewering him in the time he had left… was so small it might as well be zero.

Not all was lost, however. He still had one last trump card in his pocket.

A trump card that he planned to use only if all hope was lost. A trump card that could only be used by sacrificing his own life.

Its name is…

Other Shore Asura!

“No! Master! No!”

He Ling screamed as she desperately tried to stop Yun Che from succumbing to the impulse. “It’s not that time yet! There has to be another way! Please! Please!”

Suddenly, the Devil Queen’s figure flashed across her mind.

Out of everyone present, she was the only one who could interfere with Yun Che and Mo Beichen’s fight! It was because she possessed the Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul!

Blinded by panic, she hurriedly located Chi Wuyao’s aura and sent her a soul transmission:

“Sister Devil Queen, please help master with your Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul! As long as master can stab that man with his sword, I’ll be able to kill him with the Sky Poison! Please! You’re the only one who can help master now!”

It was at this moment Mo Beichen’s eyes narrowed.

“You think you can stab me with your sword and poison me to death? You must be—” He was about to ridicule He Ling’s foolishness when suddenly, he remembered something and narrowed his eyes further. “Sky Poison…”

“The Sky Poison Pearl!?”

He hadn’t bothered to hide his voice. Everyone could hear him as clear as day.

Yun Che’s sword froze in mid-air.

He Ling’s complexion and eyes turned deathly white in an instant.

There was no one who could listen in on He Ling and Yun Che’s soul conversation. But a soul transmission to Chi Wuyao, who was far, far away from the center of the battlefield? Who did she think Mo Beichen is? He was a Half-God. It took him barely any effort to intercept the soul transmission.