Against the Gods

The nine suns howled in fury as nearly every corner of the Southern Divine Region clearly witnessed the figure of a huge Golden Crow proudly spreading its wings high in the sky, casting a dazzling golden light over a vast swath of star regions.

The earth in and around the Deep Sea Divine Region sank dramatically… This place, which had protected the core of the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm for a hundred thousand years, had been utterly ruined by this clash between two divine regions. As those surpassingly dreadful Golden Crow divine flames bombarded it, it truly started to break apart and slowly crumble into nothingness.

The dazzling light of those scorching flames were reflected in the golden-tinted eyes of all who were present. The heat scorched their bodies, making them feel as if their muscles were red-hot irons ready to be pounded on a blacksmith’s forge, and they even felt as if their souls were being refined in this blazing heat.

If they felt like this several hundred kilometers away, they simply could not imagine what sort of purgatory Long Bai, who was right in the middle of that sea of burning flames, had been thrust into.

This hell of flames was far from over.

As Nine Suns Heaven’s Fury continued to rage on unabated, crimson lotuses made of fire started to silently blossom within that golden flaming hell.

The flame lotuses quickly proliferated throughout the sea of flames. At first, they had only been little dots of light amidst those roaring golden flames, but one soon turned into a hundred… then a thousand… then ten thousand… The entire area and the sky above it was dyed a reddish-gold color, it was an incredibly beautiful and enchanting sight to behold.

“World… Illuminator… Red… Lotus,” Qianye Ying’er softly whispered.

Nine Sun’s Heaven Fury and World Illuminator Red Lotus, the two ultimate moves of the Golden Crow and the Phoenix… Yun Che had not only used both flames at the same time, he could now even use both their ultimate moves at the same time!

Even though his cultivation in the profound way had not achieved any breakthroughs whatsoever during his three years in the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm, his control over his various powers had clearly reached a whole new level.

All the Dragon Gods and Dragon Sovereigns stared at the scene in shock and bewilderment. It looked as if their souls had left their bodies as none of them even said so much as a word.

As for the five mighty Venerable Withered Dragons… Before Yun Che had released his Dragon God aura, they had thought that nothing in this world could shake them anymore. But now, their withered visages were violently spasming and twisting from this extreme shock.

Dragon God… Darkness… Tribulation Lightning… Storm… Flames...

Nine Suns Heaven’s Fury and World Illuminator Red Lotus being released at the same time...

As former Dragon Monarchs and Dragon Gods, their knowledge and experience, which could be said to be the broadest and deepest in the history of the God Realm, was being shattered before their very eyes.

Yun Che’s figure hovered in the middle of the now-golden sky. His back faced the sea of flaming lotuses as he made a simple gesture with his hand.

BOOOOOM————

Cries of the Golden Crow intertwined with that of the Phoenix as those scarlet fire lotuses started exploding one after the other, flooding the area around them with an endless flow of red light. However, the Phoenix flames and Golden Crow flames did not repulse or attempt to devour each other. Instead, they started to merge together in a bizarre combination that defied all knowledge and common sense. The result was a crimson hell of flames that was as dazzling as a dream, but as dreadful as a nightmare.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Miserable cries rang out in the air as the weaker Divine Masters among the forces of the Western Divine Region started getting affected by the light of those crimson flames. Their bodies had turned as red as blood in the blink of an eye, their hair had started to singe, and they suddenly felt as if their bodies were being burned up by flames.

It was only after they started to panickedly circulate their profound energy that they managed to banish this dreadful heat from their bodies. When they raised their heads to look at each other, they could see the disbelief reflected in each other’s eyes. This was because those crimson flames were several hundred kilometers away from them!

The light of those crimson flames had dyed everything. The original colors of the sky and ground had been completely covered up in this bloody glow.

Only Yun Che’s figure hovered proudly in the air, his body out of the reach of that crimson radiance… The northern region profound practitioners all looked up at him dumbly and in this moment, it was as if they were no longer gazing upon their Devil Master, but a god.

The audience could vaguely see a huge dragon body tossing and turning in agony amidst the sea of heaven-scorching crimson flames.

Unless one personally experienced it, they would not be able to imagine the pain of being roasted by these crimson flames.

No one doubted that the Dragon Monarch possessed the strongest will and soul in the universe, but even he was on the brink of collapse after being thrust into this far-too-cruel purgatory.

Rooooaaaaarrr...

A hoarse dragon roar filled with pain seemed to ring out in the air as the writhing figure of the dragon suddenly started to swiftly and violently contract. Long Bai used this contraction to open up an exceedingly fragile dragon domain, but his efforts had also allowed him to escape that flaming crimson hell.

Long Bai had already transformed back into his human form under that crimson sky. His scorched body plummeted straight to the earth and crashed right into it.

Bang!

It was only right before his body hit the ground that the crimson flames wreathing Long Bai finally went out.

However, the fallen Long Bai lay on the ground for a very long time, and the draconic energy emanating from his body was incredibly chaotic and turbid, and it was also mixed with the aura of that soul-searing crimson flame… It was clear that this dreadful crimson flame had penetrated deeply into Long Bai’s body, arteries, and soul. Even someone as formidable as the Dragon Monarch would not be able to dispel and extinguish the energy of these flames in a short amount of time.

Yun Che slowly floated to the ground as he looked down on Long Bai.

Long Bai’s white robes, long hair, and eyebrows had all been burned to ashes and his exposed flesh had been scorched black, even the bones exposed by his wounds were not spared. It looked as if his entire body was covered in a thick layer of black charcoal and not a single spot on his body was left unmarked.

He didn’t possess an iota of the Dragon Monarch’s usual dignified might in this miserable state… and no one could bring themselves to believe that the wretched-looking man they were currently staring at was the ruler of the Primal Chaos, the Dragon Monarch who ruled over the entire universe.

It was also because he was the Dragon Monarch that he had been able to escape from such a situation. Even though his power was being severely suppressed, his overly-strong body had allowed him to swiftly escape from Yun Che’s crimson purgatory.

As he sensed Yun Che’s aura approaching, Long Bai opened his eyes. Pain, confusion, bewilderment, malice, and discontent flashed through his eyes… as his face, which was mangled beyond human semblance, spasmed wildly. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even say anything, a cloud of pitch-black smoke that had been circulating inside of his body spewed out of his mouth.

“Keh… Keh keh keh keh keh…”

His painful dry coughs caused his chest to heave violently. This violent movement caused his scorched flesh to split apart allowing blood to flow freely from it.

He simply couldn’t accept the condition he was in right now.

He was Long Bai!

He was the exalted and unparalleled ruler over the heavens and the earth! He was the monarch of the Primal Chaos!

How could a mere Yun Che have done...

Bang!!

A foot mercilessly stomped down on his chest, shattering his scorched ribs like brittle charcoal… Long Bai’s entire body went stiff and he stared at Yun Che coldly, as if he was looking down on a lowly ant.

He would only ever look at a person this way when he despised them.

“Long Bai,” Yun Che said in a grim voice as he scowled at the Dragon Monarch. “This new ugly appearance of yours suits you all too well.”

“...” Strength started to gather in Long Bai’s vicious gaze, but before he could even say anything, Yun Che pushed his foot down even further, immediately turning those unspoken words into a pained grunt.

“What’s wrong? You’re not willing to admit defeat? You’re not content with the result?” No joy or pity could be seen on Yun Che’s face. The only thing present was a soul-chilling apathy.

“You wanted a duel, and I granted you that opportunity.”

“You don’t use weapons, so I chose not to use a weapon.”

“You were injured, so I inflicted an even greater injury on myself.”

“I gave you every opportunity, but you were… too… useless… to take… advantage of it!”

Those cold words turned into a loud snarl as the rage hidden deep within his heart seemed to go out of control for just a moment. After that, a dark viciousness flashed through Yun Che’s eyes as his power surged downward.

Pchhht!!

The cruel sound of something being punctured rang through the air as Yun Che’s foot shattered Long Bai’s ribcage and sank deep into his chest.

Two large clouds of blood burst out from Long Bai’s chest and mouth simultaneously.

The World Dragon City, the Venerable Withered Dragons… It was clear that Long Bai had not only wanted to destroy the devil race. Instead, his overarching desire was to plunge Yun Che into the depths of despair, to unequivocally show Yun Che how puny and insignificant he was in front of him… It would be all the better if he could make him wag his tail like a dog and beg for pity, to force him to completely disgrace himself.

By doing so, he would prove to Yun Che, Shen Xi… and himself that Shen Xi had made a huge mistake by choosing Yun Che!

Yun Che had been just as vicious… He had chosen not to use any weapons and even hurt himself grievously before the fight, all so that he could completely strip the dignity from Long Bai when he handed him this miserable defeat. He had not even allowed Long Bai to find half a reason to comfort himself over this loss.

“Dragon Monarch!”

“My lord!!”

The sound of bones shattering and the wildly-spraying dragon blood roused the mighty Dragon Gods, who had been frozen in shock, from their slumber. They no longer cared about the Dragon Monarch’s orders or the example that was made of the White Rainbow Dragon God as five of them surged forward, their draconic energy flaring up like lava from an active volcano. The only Dragon Gods who didn’t advance were the sorely-wounded Azure Dragon God and the still-fearful White Rainbow Dragon God.

Before they could even make a move against Yun Che, a heart-rendingly shrill dragon cry suddenly reverberated in the air.

The bizarrely-changed draconic aura mixed with his dragon blood as it blasted Yun Che far away. It was at this moment that Long Bai started slowly climbing to his feet, and the draconic energy swirling around his body… was shockingly mixed with a dense bloody energy.

Color instantly drained from the faces of all the Dragon Gods, and the Divine Masters of the Western Divine Region all wore expressions of great shock on their faces.

“My lord…” the Pure Dragon gasped in helpless surprise.

“Dragon Monarch, you…” Long Er’s brow furrowed heavily as he gasped out those words in shock, his heart half-filled with rage and half-filled with pained disappointment.

His bizarre draconic aura, his bloody dragon domain… Long Bai was actually burning his own Dragon God blood essence!

Even though burning one’s blood essence would allow someone to obtain power that transcended their usual limits, the price they had to pay was commonly the irrecoverable loss of their innate talent! Nobody would ever do it unless their backs were against the wall.

Among the human clans who possessed a special inheritance, losing some blood essence wasn’t that big of a deal. As long as they didn’t burn too much of it, there would be a way to recover the lost blood essence. However, it would always take a huge amount of resources and time to do so.

However if someone from the Dragon God bloodline was to lose any blood essence, that blood essence would remain lost forever! There had never been a Dragon God who had successfully regained their lost blood essence and there never would be!

(After all, they didn’t have the Dragon God Marrow.)

What was even more terrifying than the notion of burning one’s blood essence was what the Dragon Monarch was doing right now… He wasn’t just burning a little bit of his Dragon God blood essence, he was burning at least half of it!

The price he would have to pay for this act would be evident once this battle was over, as his draconic might would very likely become weaker than the seven surviving Dragon Gods.

He had gone crazy… The Dragon Monarch had gone crazy.

He had definitely been handed an unexpected and miserable defeat by Yun Che, but this current situation definitely wasn’t desperate for him, and it definitely wasn’t desperate for the Dragon God Realm.

On the contrary, even though he had lost his personal battle, the Western Divine Region still held an overwhelming advantage in power over the Northern Divine Region.

He only needed to give the order to send the Northern Divine Region into the abyss. He could even pay Yun Che back tenfold for all the serious injuries he had inflicted on him.

If he had still possessed even a shred of rationality, there was no way he would have done such an inexplicable and deranged thing.

Since Long Bai had already burned his blood essence, there were no other options left to him. It was also at this moment that Long Bai completely let go of his dignity as the Dragon Monarch, something he had been wearing for hundreds of thousands of years. His scorched features twisted up in hate, making him look even more ugly and sinister than the most wicked demon anyone could imagine.

“Hehe… Hehehehehehe…”

Long Bai was laughing, and his laughter made everyone’s skin crawl and sent a chill down their spines.

“I am the Dragon Monarch, ruler of the Primal Chaos, the one who reigns supreme in this universe. All races and living beings must bend the knee in my presence!”

“And you… are nothing more than a stripling barely thirty years of age. A filthy devil beast dyed in darkness!”

“How can I lose to you… How can I not be your equal!?”

As Long Bai rambled on in his hoarse voice, his wild and dreadful pride that had been hidden for countless years was on full and vulgar display.

Perhaps, his usual image, where he had treated all things with a calm indifference and disdained to ever use his power to display his superiority, had hidden an extreme pride all this while. It had hidden the fact that he had never truly regarded any person or any living being with any importance.

“I was only testing your strength just now! This is my true strength!” Long Bai roared as he raised up a blackened arm, a sinister blood-colored energy slowly swirling around it. “Feel the flames… of my imperial wrath!!”

His current appearance and words made it seem like he had gone completely insane.

“My lord! My lord… You…”

All of the Dragon Gods were completely stunned by this turn of events, their hearts spiraling into a deep abyss.

Long Bai had indeed suffered a miserable defeat, but he had not lost because he was weak. He had lost because the returned-Yun Che was simply far too terrifying. This was especially true of his Dragon God aura, an aura which transcended all common sense. It had suppressed Long Bai’s power far too severely for him to have a chance of winning.

However, even though he had lost in a rather ugly fashion, he had definitely not lost any dignity in his defeat. Besides, he still had the vast forces of the Western Divine Region at his command, so he could instantly turn the situation around in the blink of an eye.

They were simply unable to understand why this defeat had such a great impact on Long Bai… After all, he was the Dragon Monarch with the strongest dragon soul, the strongest will and conviction!

A dreadful cold might fell upon the five Dragon Gods as Long Bai turned to look at them. His voice turned into a low growl as he said, “Why would I need any help to kill Yun Che! If any of you dares to interfere in my fight… I will make sure that your death is so terrible that there won’t be enough of you left to bury!”

The five Dragon Gods frozen in place. They no longer dared to release even a single wisp of draconic energy.

As they exchanged glances… they could only see the same confusion and bewilderment reflected in each other’s eyes..

“Aiyah,” Chi Wuyao muttered. “That Long Bai’s obsession with Shen Xi is truly unimaginably terrifying.”

She cast a sidelong glance at Qianye Ying’er. “Oh my, is that Shen Xi really so beautiful that she was worth throwing the entire universe into disarray?”

“Hmph, she’s just some slut.” Qianye Ying’er sneered as she gave a small disdainful snort.

She had never seen Shen Xi before, and she had no desire to ever do so.

“Heh… Ahhhhhhhh!”

Long Bai let out a roar as his figure blurred into a streak of bloody light that shot straight for Yun Che… Now that he had burned his blood essence, his Dragon God power was frenzied and filled with a bitter desperation… but it was also tinged with a faint despair.

Now that he had lost Shen Xi forever, personally killing Yun Che had become his final obsession, the one that he had to fulfill.

Yun Che stood firm as he slowly raised his arms to take on the blood-colored draconic energy.

BANG———

Bloody light exploded, but Yun Che’s body had not moved a single inch. The dragon claws that Long Bai had created with his frenzied energy had simply been caught between Yun Che’s fingers.

Even though he had burned his blood essence to conjure up this wild and frenzied Dragon God power, it still couldn’t overcome the overwhelming bloodline suppression that originated from Yun Che’s Dragon God aura.

As he stared into Long Bai’s eyes, which had become bloodshot in his abject despair, Yun Che’s mouth slowly hooked up into a contemptuous sneer as he murmured, “Is that all?”

Crack!!

He tightened his fingers as bloody light erupted from Long Bai’s arms, shattering the dragon claws that had been scorched by his crimson flames into powder.