Against the Gods (Web Novel)

The Bane Glass Bird was a powerful devil beast that lived in the Disaster Fog Devil Valley during the era of gods and devils. It had glass-like body that was as tough as steel, and it was lightning fast. A flap of its wings could sweep up a dark hurricane, engulfing everything in a hellish catastrophe.

“Scree~~~”

The Bane Glass Bird retracted its wings, suddenly diving through the sky like lightning. Everywhere it went, dark space would twist into whirlpools. Under the radiant red light from Jasmine’s body, the body of the bird refracted prismatic light... However, this light was not beautiful to the eye and instead resembled the shine of snake’s scales, sending chills through people’s hearts.

These dark devil beasts seemed to possess an acute territorial awareness. Regardless of whether it was the Nine Desolate Devil Fang from earlier or the current Bane Glass Bird, both of them attacked Jasmine the moment they spotted her.

The Bane Glass Bird’s incredible speed greatly shocked Jasmine This was probably not its fastest velocity, but it still surpassed the speed that Jasmine would be capable of at peak condition. For the short moment that Jasmine was dumbfounded, the dark tornado that had been created by the Bane Glass Bird’s charge had already closed in on her.

The red glow that Jasmine had retracted earlier exploded forth once more. Her small, snow-white hand reached directly into the dark tornado. With a casual grasping motion, it instantly disturbed the dark space tearing tornado. At that moment, the Bane Glass Bird shifted the direction of its charge slightly and rushed directly toward Jasmine’s side. Shattered rocks flew into the air as it pierced a deep, gigantic crater in the dark abyss.

In a flash, Jasmine appeared next to the Bane Glass Bird using Star God’s Broken Shadow. She reached out her hand to grab onto one of its reddish-yellow feet, turning her body to ruthlessly hurl the Bane Glass Bird, which was several hundred times her own size, away from her.

The Bane Glass Bird screeched miserably as it was sent flying several dozen kilometers away like a cannonball. When its body fell, it carved a fissure that was more than a hundred meters long into the pitch-black ground. Only afterward did the Bane Glass Bird finally come to a stop, the colorful scales on its entire body gradually staining with scarlet blood.

“Scree…”

The Bane Glass Bird’s cry became fierce and savage. When it stood up, its entire body dripped with blood, and its pair of wings trembled slightly. However, the aura of its body not weaken and instead grew even more ghastly and tyrannical.

“Scree——”

“Scree——!”

Just as Jasmine was about to step forward and give the Bane Glass Bird a killing blow, two similar, ear-piercing cries resounded from the darkness nearby. There were actually two more Bane Glass Birds!

Aside from that of the Bane Glass Bird, hundreds of different, yet incomparably terrifying dark auras were approaching at extreme speeds. Their goal was obvious!

Considering Jasmine’s current state, dealing with so many dark devil beasts at the same time was simply an impossible task. After she took a step back, Jasmine furrowed her brow and no longer hesitated, floating up into the air. She flew upward as fast as she could, ascending over a thousand meters until her body crossed the critical point between the two worlds.

The dark devil auras instantly disappeared without a trace, and the elements and laws of the surrounding world reverted back to normal. Jasmine stopped, and glanced below her one last time. Her palm sliced forward and tore space apart, allowing her to instantly rise more than thirty thousand meters and return directly to the top of Cloud’s End Cliff.

After leaving behind the dark world at the bottom of the cliff, Jasmine did not immediately depart. She stood at the edge of Cloud’s End Cliff and looked at the dark, foggy void below with an indifferent expression. It was as if she were thinking about something…

No one would have guessed that the depths of this abyss would hide such a strange world that shouldn’t have existed. Even Jasmine would not have expected it had she not come here herself.

If a single one of the dark devil beasts were to escape this deep abyss, then this world would definitely be plunged into a catastrophic nightmare. No one would be able to oppose it. Even if the Monarchs from all three continents were to combine their strength, exterminating even one devil beast would be a foolish dream.

Not a single one of the profound practitioners in this world had any idea that such terrifying creatures were actually hidden in the world that they lived in… and that there were so many of them!

“With the passing of the Evil God… the reason behind this dark world’s existence should remain an eternal mystery,” Jasmine muttered to herself after pondering for a long time.

————————————

Divine Phoenix Empire, Black Moon Headquarters.

After returning from Supreme Ocean Palace, Zi Ji’s state of mind could no longer return to its former calm. The Devil Sword Conference which had gathered experts from the entire continent did not get them the secrets of the Divine Profound Realm like they hoped. Instead, it made the Four Great Sacred Grounds, which had dominated the Profound Sky Continent for ten thousand years, realize that there were still existences above them that were so powerful… they were just ants in their eyes.

As a result of the Four Great Sacred Grounds’ act of greed, their lives were now in someone else’s hands.

When Zi Ji returned to the Black Moon Headquarters, he also shouldered an extremely important mission related to the present Supreme Ocean Palace—he was to prepare congratulatory gift for Yun Che’s and Princess Snow’s engagement ceremony that would take place in twelve days.

Supreme Ocean Palace had never been so serious and anxious about preparing a congratulatory gift… because their lives had never been in someone else’s hands before.

The seventh floor of the Black Moon Headquarters was as quiet as ever. Only the babble of flowing water could be heard, but not only did it not disrupt this serenity, it added a hint of elegance.

At this moment, the startled cry of a young girl broke this silence.

“Ah! You… who are you?”

“Who dares to break into Black Moon Merchant Guild!”

This cry made Zi Ji frown. Regular people could not enter the seventh floor of Black Moon Merchant Guild. Forcefully breaking into it was as difficult as reaching the heavens, and none had had the guts to do it. Yet, from the panic in the young girl’s voice, it was evident that an esteemed guest had not arrived. Someone had forcefully broken in.

The moment that Zi Ji turned his body, he instantly moved several meters and arrived where the cry came from. In a glance, he saw the three young girls who usually attended to him anxiously blocking the path of a red clothed girl.

As soon as he could clearly see that girl, Zi Ji’s originally stern face twisted, and his pupils shrank intensely, as if they had been stabbed by needles as they shrunk intensely. He hurriedly said, “Qing Chen, Huang Que, Zi Xi, she is an esteemed guest. Do not be impolite. Hurry and apologize!”

Fearing that the red clothed girl would make a move, he had already rushed forward and bowed, his body bent deeply. “Senior, these three little maidservants have never seen senior’s appearance made an innocent offense as a result. I hope that senior has can be magnanimous and does not take their behavior personally.”

Qing Chen, Huang Que, and Zi Xi were instantly dumbfounded… As people who were intimately aware of Zi Ji’s identity, they had never seen him this frightened or give anyone such a deep bow— not even when the Sovereign of the Seas arrived in person.

Indeed, if the Sovereign of the Seas had arrived, Zi Ji would not be this anxious and frightened. However, the person in front of him was...

Jasmine!!

“Catch!” Jasmine coldly voiced out. With a push of her small hand, a dress adorned with red crystal tassels, which looked luxurious without losing any of its cuteness, floated toward Zi Ji while wrapped in red light.

Zi Ji hurriedly raised his arms and carefully received it.

“This was bought from your Black Moon Merchant Guild’s New Moon City Branch seven years ago. It is currently somewhat damaged. You have three days to fix it completely!” Jasmine commanded.

“This…” Zi Ji had a dumbfounded expression. He then recalled that Jasmine seemed to be wearing it when he saw her in the Devil Sword Conference.

“Are there any problems?” Jasmine’s voice turned thirty percent colder.

Zi Ji’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, “No, not a single one. Since it came from our Black Moon Merchant Guild, we will naturally take responsibility until the end…”

“That’s for the best,” Jasmine coldly said. “Remember! This princess wants it to be fixed. This princess does not want you to find another piece that looks exactly the same. This princess only wants this piece! You have three days. In three days, this princess will personally come to retrieve it. If it’s not completely fixed, or if this princess isn’t satisfied with it, then this princess will tear this headquarters of yours apart!”

After saying that, Jasmine and instantly disappeared from where she was. Zi ji did not have any opportunity to speak.

Zi Ji gasped for breath. With trembling hands, he wiped sweat from his forehead. After taking a considerably long time to steady his state of mind, he calmly said, “Qing Chen, Huang Que, Zi Xi, hurry and send a voice transmission to the guild leaders of the first ten… no, the first thirty side branches. Have them personally bring the best artisans in their guilds, use the most superior profound crystals to power their best profound arks, and immediately make their way to headquarters as fast as possible. Not a moment’s delay is allowed… Hurry!”

“Yes!” The three young girls did not dare to probe further and moved in a rush. It was clearly from Zi Ji’s expression that this was a grave matter that concerned the existence of Black Moon Merchant Guild.

After circulating Great Way of the Buddha for several days, Yun Che woke up from his trance. The heavy feeling on his entire body had once again weakened considerably. The dormant portions of Phoenix blood and Golden Crow blood also had clear traces of awakening.

Yun Che opened his eyes and saw that Jasmine was standing in front of him.

“When did you return?” Yun Che subconsciously asked.

“Just now,” Jasmine replied.

“That’s strange. You were wearing the Red Smoky Fairy Dress when you left. Why did you change into another?” Yun Che asked in suspicion, sizing up Jasmine with a glance.

Jasmine was currently wearing a short, bright red polka dot dress with a huge butterfly ribbon tied to the back. Girls were creatures that loved to change into different clothes after all, and changing clothes was normal for other girls. However, it was an extremely rare sight when it came to Jasmine because... Jasmine always had a soft spot for the Red Smoky Fairy Dress—it was the first dress that Yun Che had bought for her.

In these past few years, Yun Che had bought Jasmine many dresses in the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm. They were a miscellaneous assortment of princess dresses, moonlit dresses, fairy flowing dresses, phoenix tailed dresses, dawn jade dresses, and more. Furthermore, they were all bright red, and every single one of them was extraordinarily lavish. However, ninety nine percent of the time, Jasmine wore the Red Smoky Fairy Dress, and the occasional change in attire was just to see if she looked good in something else.

Although it had been worn for seven years, with her profound energy protection, there was never a single stain or speck of damage on the Red Smoky Fairy Dress. As long as she wanted to, wearing it for hundreds or thousands of years would not be a problem.

“Don’t you always say that I don’t like changing dresses? Hmph!” Jasmine snorted coldly and turned her head away, looking like she was too lazy to deal with him.

The red dress that Jasmine was wearing was rather short, and her two thin, jade-like calves were completely exposed. A pair of small red gemstones on her jade skin glittered with flowing light, and Yun Che was barely able to tear his gaze away. He hurriedly turned his head to the side, praying that Jasmine did not notice where he was looking earlier. He hastily changed the topic and asked, “Jasmine, what did you discover in the Azure Cloud Continent? What is hidden at the bottom of Cloud’s End Cliff?”

However, Jasmine responded with a question. “...when will you be ready to head over to the Azure Cloud Continent?”

“If possible...” Yun Che did not hesitate very long, and answered, “As early as possible would be best. I even want to head over there right now.”

“I don’t even know how Ling’er looks right now,” Yun Che muttered softly.

If everything from back then truly wasn’t an illusion, then the present Ling’er should already be sixteen years old.

“Then how are you going to get there?”

“Using the Primordial Profound Ark, of course.”

“Primordial Profound Ark?” Jasmine glanced at him, then leisurely said, “Do you know how far from each other the Azure Cloud Continent and the Profound Sky Continent are?’

“The distance between the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm is approximately six hundred and fifty thousand kilometers.” Jasmine slowly raised two fingers. “The distance between the Profound Sky Continent and the Azure Cloud Continent is seven times that!”

“Seven times…” Yun Che was secretly shocked. “Over four million five hundred kilometers!?”

It was no wonder that both the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm knew of each other’s existence and had several historical grudges. Yet, regardless of whether it was the Profound Sky Continent or the Illusory Demon Realm, neither could find detailed records of the Azure Cloud Continent. Even if there were, an extreme few existed, and most were obscure rumors. In reality, although they existed in the same world, there was actually a distance of about five million kilometers between them!

Even though five million kilometers of continental ground was a great distance, reaching the other side would just be a matter of time. Traveling over five million kilometers across the ocean, however… It was almost impossible for humans to go traverse that with just their own strength.

Jasmine crossed her arms in front of her chest and softly said, “With the Primordial Profound Ark’s remaining energy, traveling back and forth between the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm dozens of times would be possible. However,going to the Azure Cloud Continent… can only be done once! If you excessively consume the Primordial Profound Ark’s energy before then, I’m afraid that, after reaching the Azure Cloud Continent, you won’t even have to think about returning.”

“In other words... it would be best to not use the Primordial Profound Ark,” Yun Che said faintly. Then he looked at Jasmine with a respectful expression. “Jasmine, heh heh…”

“I can bring you there.” Jasmine’s expression became stern. “However, you must promise me one thing.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Jasmine’s slender brows tilted slightly. The dark world beneath Cloud’s End Cliff was undoubtedly the largest concern in her heart that could not be relieved. “When you’re in the Azure Cloud Continent, regardless of whether that happens sooner or later, you’re not allowed to approach Cloud’s End Cliff ever again! Even if your strength becomes a hundred times stronger than it currently is and is eventually able to sweep across the entire continent, easily enabling you to defeat someone like Xuanyuan Wentian, you must never attempt to investigate the bottom of Cloud’s End Cliff!”

Yun Che was someone who possessed an extreme level of curiosity and never feared unknown dangers. Jasmine was deeply aware of that. With Yun Che’s speed of growth, the day that he became undefeatable in this world would definitely come. When he no longer had any enemies, out of curiosity, boredom, and confidence, he would try to investigate what was beneath Cloud’s End Cliff...

That would be the same as sending himself into a dark hell that he would never return from! The dark absorption force there would prevent him from ever escaping, and the dark devil aura would reduce him into ash. Any of the devil beasts would easily tear him into shreds.

Jasmine needed to cut his wishful thinking short from the very beginning.

:

I know I stated that I was going to China with mommychu to visit grannychu and was hoping to return sometime June or so, but mommychu struck again, pushing our flight to June 1st. My trip to China is also now extended from June to the middle of July. Due to this trip, the planned double daily month releases for MEN will now be even more delayed. They WILL still come out after my trip though! Any regular chapters for every one of our series will still be coming out when I'm there (MEN 7, ATG 7, SR *TBD by Patreon*). I will try my best to get them out according to schedule, but if any chapters are missed due to chinachu problems, all of them will be made up when I get home.

I know some people do not read the chapter posts in their haste to read the chapter so I'll be leaving this message at the bottom of each chapter as a reminder!