Against the Gods

Black clouds covered the sky and alarming lightning filled the air. It was as if the entire Eastern Divine Region was being covered in a big wok, the atmosphere had become extremely oppressive and suffocating. Furthermore, gigantic tidal waves were surging and churning in countless ocean regions despite the complete absence of wind and all four corners of the Eastern Divine Region were blanketed with a terrifying aura which seemed to signal the coming of the end of days.

Moreover, beneath the white lightning domain, the space around the Conferred God Stage continued to violently shudder. That was the violent trembling of the very heavenly law itself.

Within the lightning domain, the indistinct image of the pale white lightning dragon was gradually becoming more and more solid as it stopped its coiling motion. Slowly, a lustrous white dragon head stretched out from the depths of the lightning domain.

In that instance, countless bolts of lightning shook the sky. Most of the profound practitioners were so shaken by this that they numbly sank to the ground. Every fiber of their being caused them to curl up and tremble weakly, and no matter how much effort they mustered, they could not force their limp bodies back to their feet.

“How could this be possible?” The eyes of the Eternal Heaven God Emperor swept over the chaos that had engulfed the Conferred God Stage as his heart grew more and more alarmed.

The power that belonged to the heavenly law was a power of law and governance that was placed above all beings. It was an existence that was everywhere, but at the same time, it was also an existence that was impossible to fathom. But the most observable phenomenon of the heavenly law was the lightning tribulations that were sent down.

The lightning tribulations sent by the heavenly law were originally only used to punish and test those profound practitioners which had broken through to the Divine Tribulation Realm. It was classified as a kind of principle and governance that was under the purview of the heavenly law. This was something that was regarded as the most basic knowledge among all profound practitioners of the divine way.

But the current power, which came from the heavenly law, and was flowing out had already exceeded the category of “lightning tribulation” countless times over. In fact, it had already gone beyond the limit of what a human could possibly bear.

Just the oppressive might alone was enough to shock and terrify a whole bunch of divine profound practitioners to the extent that they wished for death instead.

This definitely was not merely just a “test”. It was definitely the might of the heavenly law displayed to its extreme limit. This was a complete and thorough “punishment”, one which left no room for interpretation!

If the heavenly law had not felt the most extreme fear, then this would not have happened!

The so-called “jealousy of the heavens” had always merely been words used to express great regret, because how could there really be an existence in this world that would provoke the envy of the heavenly law.

But right now, everyone present could clearly feel that they were witnessing the true “jealousy of the heavens”!

“Nine tribulations… nine tribulations….” the head of the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders, Mo Yu, muttered to himself in a dazed and dispirited manner.

“Is it truly… nine tribulations?” Mo Wen’s current mental state mirrored that of Mo Yu’s.

“Nine tribulations… the predictions of our ancestor…” Mo Yu mumbled with a dazed expression on his face, it was as if he had entered a dream world.

But at this moment, Mo Yu’s body suddenly seized up and shook. He turned towards the Eternal Heaven God Emperor and shouted, “God emperor! Quickly raise up the barrier! The power of the heavenly law has already gone berserk, it is possible… that the others may get swept up in this as well!”

Unless there was someone who was willing to court death and forcibly interfere, a lightning tribulation would definitely never harm other people. The might of the previous eight stages of tribulation lightning had already been vast, but all of it had been solely focused within the confines of the Conferred God Stage and not a single bit of it had leaked out.

But right now the power of the heavenly law was shaking and going out of control, and even the great Divine Masters and god emperors in this place could feel it perfectly clearly, much less the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders.

The Eternal Heaven God Emperor did not hesitate in the slightest. He let out a loud roar that traversed across the entire Eternal Heaven Realm, “Everyone immediately leave this region, flee as far away as you possibly can! Protect the young generation! There is something strange going on with the power that originates from the heavenly law! The moment this lightning tribulation descends upon us, it will have enough power to obliterate a Divine Master… Flee at once!”

Enough power to obliterate a Divine Master…

Those words were like thunderbolts that dropped from the highest of heavens, especially since the words had been uttered by the Eternal Heaven God Emperor himself.

The Conferred God Stage was immediately thrown into complete disarray. But just as the audience was about to flee, a loud explosion rang out in the sky. Within the pale white lightning domain, the white lightning dragon released a roar that sounded part dragon roar, part cry of heavenly wrath. After that it descended from the sky and entered the world of man.

Space ripped apart like silk whenever it came into contact with the body of the dragon. It was as if the entire world was being chiseled into two halves from within.

The might of heaven exploded forth and everyone immediately felt as if countless mountains had been dropped on their backs. Fleeing was no longer an option and maybe it had already been too late to even try by then. The Eternal Heaven God Emperor took to the sky and let out a sharp yell, “Gathered profound practitioners, listen to my orders! Focus all your power on sealing the Conferred God Stage!”

After the Eternal Heaven God Emperor had given his order, the seven Eternal Heaven guardians who were present immediately moved. Their bodies flickered as they arrived at the borders of the Conferred God Stage. They looked like twinkling stars streaking across the sky as blazing light radiated from their bodies. Profound energy that surged like the ocean was being released without hesitation. This profound energy soon formed an extremely strong sealing barrier.

The Eternal Heaven guardians were, along with the Star Gods of the Star God Realm and the Moon Gods of the Moon God Realm, supreme existences which were second only to the four great god emperors within the Eastern Divine Region. Every single one of them possessed the earth-shaking strength of a Divine Master.

So one could well imagine just how strong a barrier forged by the combined power of all seven of them was.

Outside of the guardians themselves, all of the adjudicators in the area surged forward after receiving orders from Honorable Qu Hui as they also sent their power into the barrier.

“Qianze, I’ll be entrusting Meiyin and Yingyue to you! Everyone else, follow me!”

Shui Qianheng took to the skies as soon as he could, the gathered Divine Sovereigns of the Glazed Light Realm following closely behind him.

“Gathered elders, to me! The rest of you, protect the younger discipes!” Luo Shangchen bellowed in a deep voice as he led the gathered Divine Sovereigns and rushed forward.

Luo Guxie did not follow after Luo Shangchen. Instead, she gave a toss of her robe as an invisible barrier formed around Luo Changsheng.

The stronger you were as a profound practitioner, the better you would be able to feel the dreadfulness of this heavenly might. The strength of the seven guardians was extremely terrifying, but compared to the heavenly power before them, everyone present could clearly feel a sense of powerlessness, and they knew that it was extremely possible that the seven guardians would not be able to seal this pale white tribulation lightning. As a result, all of the gathered Divine Masters and Divine Sovereigns took action instead of retreating, as they poured all of the profound energy they could muster into the barrier.

The isolation barrier, which was originally transparent, began to glow brightly with profound light as it squarely kept the area of Conferred God Stage tightly sealed within. Furthermore, this barrier contained the all the profound energy of more than half the Divine Masters in the Eastern Divine Region, as well as all the profound energy of countless Divine Sovereigns. What was forged from this was perhaps the strongest wall of despair ever formed in the history of the Eastern Divine Region.

The space which Yun Che was confined in had became a world of calamity that was completely isolated from the outside.

He raised his head up high and looked at the heavenly law lightning dragon that was descending from the heavens… This was the most dreadful oppressive might he had ever endured in his entire life and it far exceeded anything that he recognized. It was to the extent that he did not have the slightest doubt that this power was enough to annihilate all the living creatures in existence.

Yet, he did not feel the slightest bit of fear.

On the contrary, a strange longing began to throb in the depths of his profound veins.

In that single unblinking moment, the white lightning dragon reflected in his eyes had grown closer and closer. It inched closer and closer until it was practically within reach, its enormous mouth yawning open, revealing countless teeth made of pale white lightning, before it violently bit down on Yun Che’s whole body.

BOOOOOM——————

The lightning dragon descended to the earth, white light brilliantly filing the air. A pillar of white light rushed towards the heavens, piercing through space and the blue sky as it shot towards distant star regions that were yet unknown to man.

Pale white lightning ruptured and exploded all across the confines of the Conferred God Stage. The barrier which was sealing the Conferred God Stage violently shook amidst explosive wails, and this alarmed all the Divine Masters such that they went pale with shock.

This barrier concentrated all the strength of more than half the Divine Masters in the Eastern Divine Region, yet it was actually shaking!

CHA———

The pale white tribulation lightning wailed explosively as it shook the sky. The might of the heavenly law continued to explode outwards, causing the space within the Conferred God Stage to become completely distorted before it started to rip and twist into countless fragments.

The completely frenzied heavenly might was basically unable to keep itself confined within the Conferred God Stage as it violently lashed out at its surroundings. Its attacks smashed against the barrier that was sealing the Conferred God Stage, causing the barrier to emit noises which sounded like wails of laments as it continued to shudder violently.

“This… This is….” Shrouding Sky Realm King Lu Zhou firmly pressed both his hands into the barrier as the greatest expression of shock and alarm he had ever worn in his life appeared on his face.

“So this is truly… the real might of the heavenly law? To think that it was actually so dreadful!”

“How could this be possible!?” Shui Qianheng’s pupils dilated as the vibrations and power that was transmitted to him caused both his arms to grow sore and numb. Fear and alarm raced around in his heart and even when he mustered all his strength to regain his composure, he could not suppress that mounting sense of dread.

BOOOM——BOOOM!!

The power of the tribulation lightning exploded in waves and the impacts caused by these explosions shook the barrier violently. It was at this moment that a crack exploded on the barrier which contained the might of more than half the Divine Masters in the Eastern Divine Region. This crack was accompanied by an explosion which sounded like the very heavens themselves had ruptured. After that, the crack in the barrier began to spread with extreme speed.

“Wha… What!?” This scene was so alarming that it caused everyone’s hearts to clench in fear.

All the Divine Masters and Divine Sovereigns who were gathered in front of the barrier had looks of tense concentration on their faces. Vast and mighty profound energy surged forth once again and no one held anything back this time around… But the crack still continued to swiftly spread and the shaking that rocked the entire barrier was clearly getting more and more violent.

CRACK!!

With another huge explosion, a second crack that was shaped like a thunderbolt ruptured open.

Shouts of alarm and fear filled the air to such an extent that they nearly suppressed the wailing of the thunder. The Divine Masters at the scene were so shocked that all color drained from their faces. They did not dare to look down on this berserking heavenly might in the slightest, even if the guardians were in front of them, they still all took action again… But even though they all moved in unison, they were still unable to completely suppress this heavenly might.

What was even more terrifying was that this core of the power that originated from the heavenly law was focused on the Conferred God Stage itself. The heavenly might that they were struggling with was only the excess power that radiated outwards!

The heavenly law was not to be defied, and the might of heaven was not to be touched… But the heavenly law was, after all, indistinct and distant, so it was not until this very moment that they had personally experienced and gained a true understanding of just how terrifying the might of the heavenly law was.

If the barrier collapsed, this heavenly might, which even the gathered Divine Masters and Divine Sovereigns could not contain, would truly be let loose into the world… and the results would be so disastrous it would not bear thinking about.

“Let’s take action,” the Dragon Monarch said softly.

At that moment, the Dragon Monarch, Eternal Heaven Divine Emperor, Brahma Heaven God Emperor, Star God Emperor, Moon God Emperor, and the four Star Gods and four Moon Gods who were present, all moved in unison as they took to the skies. A might which hid the sky and covered the earth descended down from the dome of heaven before it covered up the barrier.

In an instant, the wind and clouds started to change.

In the next instant, God Emperor Shitian had also appeared beside them, in front of the barrier. He brought his vast power to bear, injecting boundless divine power into the barrier.

Among the king realms, only Qianye Ying’er had not taken any action.

Even the gathered god emperors had been so shocked that their faces had lost color, but not a single trace of shock or fear could be seen on her own. She floated in the sky, high above, as she steadily fixed her gaze on the center of the Conferred God Stage. Her golden hair danced in the air and the soft armor that she wore hugged bewitching curves which were even more alluring than that of a devil. However, the golden mask that she wore concealed her eyes and did not allow anyone to observe the light that was currently rippling in her beautiful eyes.

The Dragon Monarch, the four god emperors of the Eastern Divine Region, God Emperor Shitian of the Southern Divine Region, the four Star Gods, and the four Moon Gods all moved at the same time. The power they exerted together was so dreadful that it could completely flip the Eastern Divine Region on its head.

Under this power, which normal folk could not even imagine, the cracks in the barrier finally stopped spreading.

The spirits of the gathered Divine Masters and Divine Sovereigns were greatly lifted and they felt their hearts relax slightly. Gradually, the cracks began to slowly mend and the shaking of the barrier had clearly grown much gentler than before.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a great sigh of relief and completely regain their composure, an earthshaking explosion suddenly rang out in the space between heaven and earth.

BOOOOOOOOOM——————

The tribulation lightning within the Conferred God Stage completely exploded outwards as a white light, countless times more dense than the previous one, pierced through the heavens. In an instant, uncountable fine cracks appeared on the barrier which had just been made whole.

Before the gathered Divine Masters and Divine Sovereigns even had time to panic, the barrier had ruptured and burst open. All of them flew backwards from the impact, it was as if they had been smashed by a heavy mallet.

“Ahhhh!!”

“Shi… Shit!!”

The collapse of the barrier meant that this entire Eternal Heaven God Realm would be buried by tribulation lightning. Everyone’s hearts plunged into a deep abyss, but… in the very next instant, that absolutely dreadful heavenly might had actually disappeared.

In fact, it had completely disappeared!

The berserking white tribulation lightning had broken through the barrier, but it had not dissipated. Instead, it seemed to have been devoured by the very air itself, as it disappeared without a trace. Light and warmth, that had not been felt in a long time, radiated from the skies above. Everyone instinctively raised their heads to look, but what they saw was miles and miles of clear sky. The black clouds, which had just been blanketing the skies a moment before, had astonishingly, completely disappeared.

Everything that had just happened had seemed like an illusion that had just been shattered.

Everyone was rooted in place and it was a long time before anyone came to their senses.

The Conferred God Stage had vanished.

In the area where the Conferred God Stage had previously been now lay an empty hole that was one hundred and fifty kilometers wide. One could not see to the end of the pitch-black darkness of that empty hole.

This bottomless abyss, that seemed to run through the entire Eternal Heaven God Realm, was irrefutable proof that everything that had just happened was indeed not a dream.

In the air above that empty hole, there remained the last bits of pale white lightning.

The pale white lightning whinnied as it slowly receded and the figure of a person could soon be clearly seen within that pale white lightning. The lightning receded until a face could clearly be seen by everyone who was present.

“Yun… Che…”

Countless jaws dropped to the ground as they stuttered words that came from the depths of their souls.

Yun Che’s body was completely bare and only that layer of white lightning, which seemed to be unwilling to dissipate fully, acted as clothes as it covered his entire body. Furthermore, there was not a single wound that could be seen on his entire body. His black hair had grown several times longer, and those long locks chaotically danced as they were illuminated by the lightning that played about his body.

A deathly silence settled across the entire Conferred God Stage.

Zzzt… zzzzzt… zzzt zzzt!!

Yun Che’s eyes shifted and to everyone’s astonishment, they could see pale white lightning flash and crackle in his pupils. He slowly lifted an arm as he pointed a finger wrapped in white lightning towards a pale white face:

“Luo… Chang… sheng…”

“Let’s… go… again!!”