Against the Gods (Web Novel)

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was the Moon God Realm’s fastest profound ark. Even a god emperor would be hard pressed to chase it.

Space was infinitely vast, and the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace looked like a starry scar as it penetrated layer upon layer of space… But Yun Che still felt that it was moving too slow.

“Faster… please move faster!”

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace had no life or consciousness, but Yun Che kept chanting for it to move faster like a mantra. His hands were clenched, his body was shaking, and his expression was horribly twisted from the very beginning.

All he could do now was pray that he would be faster than his enemies, and that he would be able to save his family before the God Realm reached them.

However… according to Shiu Qianheng, it had been two hours since they departed. The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was fast, but it was almost impossible to fill up such a time gap!

Sweat rolled down his body like the rain. His brain kept replaying everything that had happened yesterday, causing blood to seep between his fingers.

“Master, you don’t need to worry too much. It might not necessarily be true…” He Ling kept trying to console Yun Che despite knowing how useless her words were. “They are a king realm… they wouldn’t do such a thing… it has to be a mistake.”

The Eternal Heaven God Realm was a sacred name. He Ling might hate the Brahma Monarch God Realm, but just like everyone else living in the Eastern Divine Region, she had always thought of the Eternal Heaven God Realm as the holiest, most respectable land in the Eastern Divine Region.

She truly didn’t want to believe that this was happening from the bottom of her heart… Even Shui Qianheng with over ten thousand years of life experience had been horrified and shocked by this turn of events.

“...” Yun Che didn’t react to her words at all.

Fear had overwhelmed his fury and hatred completely. Fear was occupying every corner of his body and cells. He almost couldn’t feel anything besides fear, and he didn’t try to imagine the terrible consequences that might happen at all… If he did, even he couldn’t tell what he might do next.

……

……

To the east of the Eastern Divine Region, where the Blue Pole Star lay.

A star system from the lower realms was a place that not even the divine way profound practitioners of a lower star realm were willing to hang around, much less set foot on its planets. It was because there was absolutely no value in exploring them.

But today, profound arks and profound ships kept entering this star system one after another. Moreover, every one of these vessels was famous in the God Realm.

Even the lowest ranking person in the ship was the absolute ruler of a star realm.

For some reason, these people had all decided to gather here today, a star system they usually wouldn’t deign to even glance at.

The aura here was so thin and poor that it even made them feel intensely uncomfortable. Even lingering around in this star system would normally bring shame to them.

The star system wasn’t big, and it didn’t hold many planets. However, there was one planet that caught everyone’s attention even when it was still far away… It was a blue colored planet. It looked like an azure pearl sitting in the middle of a group of gloomy-looking, black, or scarlet colored planets. It was undoubtedly the brightest and prettiest planet of this star system.

Pale blue light refracted onto the surface of the vessels as they drew closer. Despite clearly being a low level planet, it gave of a dreamlike beauty for some reason.

The foremost profound ship came to a halt, causing the vessels behind it to stop as well.

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor and the Dragon Monarch slowly walked out of their profound ship. They were quickly followed by countless important people. Everyone was staring at the azure colored planet right in front of them, their eyes flashing with different emotions.

“Is that the planet Yun Che came from?” the Dragon Monarch asked. He couldn’t remember the last time he had come into contact with such a lousy plane, but he had come anyway to fulfill his mission.

“Mn.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor nodded. His expression looked complicated, but there was also a hint of grim determination behind it. “This planet is called the Blue Pole Star, and it’s without a doubt Yun Che’s birthplace. It’s made of ninety seven percent water and three percent land. Obviously, it suffered great devastation a long time ago.”

“Moreover, this planet shows no sign of collapse despite being made up of three percent land only. There must be something unusual with it.”

Everyone heard the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s explanation clearly.

It was no wonder that the planet was as blue as it was. It was almost completely made up of sea.

“Color me curious,” the Dragon Monarch said, “but how did you know this place? Did Yun Che tell you himself?”

“No,” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor replied, “it was the Eternal Heaven Pearl.”

“Oh?” The Dragon Monarch shot him a sideways glance.

“In truth, Yun Che’s birthplace came to me as a complete coincidence,” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor said. “The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s movements probably had a direct impact on the fate of the Primal Chaos. Although her aura is undetectable to the likes of us, the Eternal Heaven Pearl is an exception.”

The Eternal Heaven Pearl was one of the Profound Heavenly Treasures. Therefore, it was on the same level as the Devil Emperor.

“So, you’re saying that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor visited this planet after her return?” the Dragon Monarch said thoughtfully.

“That’s not all. She spent most of her two months on this planet,” the Eternal Heaven God Emperor said slowly. “There must be a reason why this lowly planet could draw such a level of affection from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. Since the Eternal Heaven Pearl commanded me to investigate it, I sent a couple of youngsters who hadn’t entered the divine way yet sporadically into several different locations on that planet.”

The group listened quietly to the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s explanation. No one knew that he had done such a thing until just now, but it was true the Eternal Heaven Pearl was the only object that could detect the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s movements.

“They weren’t able to locate the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s exact location, and their time spent on that planet were mostly fruitless. They did come across one unexpected bit of news, however. They discovered that this planet was Yun Che’s birthplace.” The Eternal Heaven God Emperor let out a sigh before continuing, “Yun Che is very well respected on this planet. He once saved both continents from disaster and was called ‘Spiritual Master Yun’ because of his achievements. Moreover, his parents are still alive and well, and he has several wives and a daughter.”

“...Several wives?” A frown abruptly appeared on the Dragon Monarch’s face.

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor raised an eyebrow in response. He clearly wasn’t expecting such a minor detail to catch the Dragon Monarch’s attention. “It is also true that the Moon God Emperor and Yun Che were formerly wed here.”

The God Realm was quite far away from the Blue Pole Star, and the Eternal Heaven Pearl had lost much of its energy. So it was impossible for the Eternal Heaven Pearl to detect Yun Che’s aura despite its level. However, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s aura was completely unique, and she was the strongest existence in the world. Her uniqueness actually made it possible for the Eternal Heaven Pearl to track down her rough location.

After that, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor withdrew all of his subordinates and sat on the information. He had never planned to tell this to anyone or approach the planet until today, when a reason he would never have accepted in the past prompted him to announce this location to public, and appear on this planet in person.

“That’s right. This is definitely the planet.”

A mild but imposing voice spoke as Qianye Fantian walked closer to the Dragon Monarch and the Eternal Heaven God Emperor. His eyes occasionally flashed with passion and menace as he stared at the azure planet in front of him.

His interest in the planet had grown several times greater after listening to the Eternal Heaven God Emperor. After all, it was the planet that had given birth to a monster like Yun Che, and a place the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had deigned to stay for an unbelievable amount of time!

“Hehehe, Ying’er must’ve awakened seeing that you’re here.” The Southern Sea God Emperor also stepped forward.

The three strongest god emperors of the entire God Realm had once again come together in this poor star system.

“I was a bit late, unfortunately. This king wouldn’t have minded touring the planet ahead of time,” Qianye Fantian said with a smile.

Qianye Ying’er had told him the exact location and characteristics of the Blue Pole Star through her soul fragments, but...

“Eternal Heaven God Emperor, this king has a curious question to ask,” Qianye Fantian said, “It isn’t like you to consent to a despicable ploy like this. Why have you decided to break your own rules?”

Consciously or not, Qianye Fantian had used the word “ploy” to describe the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s actions.

Qianye Fantian was among the people who knew the Eternal Heaven God Emperor the most. That was why he had been caught off guard by his recent actions.

“Extraordinary circumstances often demand extraordinary means.”

He didn’t say that it was the last two lines of the prophecy that had prompted his action. It was impossible to tell if he had chosen to conceal this because he didn’t want to cause undue panic… or because he didn’t want the world to know that he was the one who drove Yun Che onto the devil’s path.

“Oh?” Qianye Fantian smiled easily before replying, “Qianye is impressed with the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s decisiveness. However, it doesn’t sound like you’re planning to use Yun Che’s family as hostage despite your knowledge of them.”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor closed his eyes and said heavily, “...We’ll wait for him for nine hours.”

The news had been spread to every corner of the God Realm, and Yun Che must’ve known this already. If he cared for his own family, then he would definitely show up on the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace around this time.

“What will you do if Yun Che doesn’t show up in nine hours?”

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor breathed deeply as his closed eyes trembled. Several breaths later, he opened his eyes to reveal a darkened gaze, saying, “Then we’ll take his family hostage!”

The same method would be almost, if not completely useless to most people in the God Realm, but the Eternal Heaven God Emperor knew Yun Che well, and he knew that the latter would never abandon his family and escape on his own… After all, he had charged into the Star God Realm alone for the Heavenly Slaughter Star God several years ago!

However, not even a million “shameless” and “despicable” would be enough to describe this ploy, and he, the Eternal Heaven God Emperor… had just declared that he would use it.

If this was a day ago, he would never have imagined that he would use such a despicable ploy against another person, or the amount of shadow it would cast on his own heart.

Behind him, countless gazes drilled trembling holes behind the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s back… It was as if they were seeing him in a completely new light.

“Good!” Qianye Fantian praised. “It looks like the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s determination to kill the devil person Yun Che is as firm as a thousand mountains. It’s true that the devil person Yun Che is a dangerous threat, and no means is too low if it means getting rid of him.”

“If Yun Che doesn’t show up in nine hours, then… well, I’m sure you couldn’t bear to commit such atrocities yourself, so why don’t this king alleviate you of that burden?” Qianye Fantian asked with a chuckle.

“You? Heh, have you asked for my permission?”

Suddenly, the cold, imposing voice of a woman cut across space before a flash of moonlight descended from above. It was the Moon God Emperor who had landed in between the god emperors, followed closely by Yue Wuji.

Everyone focused their eyes on Xia Qingyue, and Qianye Fantian turned around to face her before narrowing his eyes. “Your old ties to the devil person Yun Che aren’t holding you back, are they? Moon God Emperor?”

He purposely put emphasis on the line “old ties to the devil person Yun Che”.

“Holding me back?” Xia Qingyue shot a half-smile at Qianye Fantian before continuing menacingly, “If your dear daughter hadn’t screwed up yesterday, this king would’ve killed Yun Che with her own hands. There would’ve been no need for today’s commotion or future threats to speak of. And you dare talk to me about accountability!?”

“...” Qianye Fantian frowned upon hearing this.

“If Yun Che is as heartless as you are, he would’ve fled the God Realm a long time ago. So answer me, Brahma Heaven God Emperor…” An invisible pressure dropped down on Qianye Fantian. “Can you kill your daughter as atonement for his escape!?”

“Hehe.” Qianye Fantian averted his gaze and laughed in response. “Forgive this king for his slip of the tongue, Moon God Emperor. If the devil person truly shows up, this king shall leave it to you to slay him.”

“This king has said yesterday that the devil person Yun Che must be slain by her own hands, so you never had the right to ‘leave him to me’ to begin with!” Xia Qingyue said coldly before switching her attention to the Blue Pole Star. Her lips curled into an icy sneer as she said, “Yun Che is just a level one Divine King. There’s no way he could escape the Dragon Monarch and the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s combined power even if he had a million lives. So… why are the rest of you here?”

She was of course asking the other god emperors and Eastern Divine Region realm kings.

“Are you here to slay the devil person? Or… are you here to steal a share of the pie that is Yun Che’s planet!?”

Her scornful comment struck true for almost everyone present.

“Then why are you here, Moon God Emperor?” Qianye Fantian countered.

“It seems like you’ve all forgotten one thing,” Xia Qingyue’s voice grew more and more frigid, “Blue Pole Star isn’t just Yun Che’s birthplace. It is this king’s birthplace as well!”

“So this king asks, you greedy people…” She abruptly turned around and glared piercingly at the group of realm kings behind her, “Have any of you asked for my opinion before you came here!?”

The higher realm kings took a step almost in unison when her chilly gaze and presence hit them. No one dared to say a word for a time.