Against the Gods

“Oh?”

In a location far behind the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace, Qianye Ying’er’s golden eyes faintly flashed as she looked at the white colored spatial vortex and the direction the profound warship was pointed in.

“It looks like they are prepared to enter the God Realm of Absolute Beginning,” Gu Zhu said.

“How naive,” Qianye Ying’er said as a faint smile played across her lips. “However, they have actually picked a rather good location for me.”

“They’re already catching up,” Gu Zhu said suddenly.

Those words caused Qianye Ying’er to clearly be taken aback, “They?”

Gu Zhu had used the two words “catching up”, which meant that there were not only people who were pursuing them, but people who were even faster than they were!

“It is the Heavenly Slaughter and the Heavenly Wolf,” Gu Zhu slowly said.

“...” Qianye Ying’er’s golden brows sank slightly, “The Heavenly Slaughter sure is protective of that kid, to think that she’d actually chase him all the way here.”

“No,” Gu Zhu said, “she has most probably sensed Miss’ movements and guessed that Miss was about to take action against him. That is why she has not hesitated to chase him all the way here.”

“I will leave the two of them to you,” Qianye Ying’er said coldly, her eyes and divine sense remaining firmly fixed on the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace.

Gu Zhu did not say anything but his speed started to ease up as well.

It was only when Yun Che and Xia Qingyue had gone closer to it, that they had discovered, to their shock, that the pale white spatial vortex was actually extremely big. In fact, it was nearly as big as a continent. But even though it was clearly a spatial vortex, weirdly enough, it did not have any power to tear through the space around it. It seemed to be merely a huge cluster of empty light that was quietly floating in the aether.

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace swiftly rushed towards forward, and the moment it came into contact with the pale white spatial vortex, it had completely disappeared in place… Its aura had also disappeared without a trace, and even the most keen spiritual senses in the universe would not be able to sense anything. It was as if the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace had literally vanished from this mortal plane.

Before long, Qianye Ying’er’s figure had also arrived, she flew into the pale white vortex at a crazy speed.

However, Gu Zhu chose to stop at this moment. His back faced the pale white vortex as he silently gazed into the black and boundless void. Within his old cloudy eyes lay the sediment of witnessing countless changes and experiences and one could not even detect the slightest ripple in them as he waited there silently.

The heavy silence of space did not continue for too long as a ripping sound akin to to a storm rang out in the distance… There were two identically small and delicate figures racing towards him, one whose hair was as red as blood, and the other whose rainbow robes fluttered in the aether.

Jasmine and Caizhi.

They had rushed toward the Moon God Realm from the Star God Realm and they had chased them from the Moon God Realm to this place.

Among the Twelve Star Gods, Jasmine’s speed was the fastest, and even if Caizhi had fully awakened her Heavenly Wolf divine powers, trying to catch up to Jasmine would have been like whipping a flagging horse in vain. So during this entire journey, Jasmine was the one who had been pulling Caizhi along.

In front of them was where the God Realm of Absolute Beginning was located, and the auras of the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace and Qianye Ying’er had completely disappeared from her senses. There was only one way to explain this complete disappearance—they had entered the God Realm of Absolute Beginning.

But at this moment, Jasmine was being accompanied by Caizhi, so she swiftly came to a halt, her eyes coldly staring ahead as a scarlet red light was reflected in their depths.

A gray-robed old man quietly stood in that place. His body was small and bent, his face old and withered. A gray robe that was not large seemed to be exceptionally voluminous as it draped across his body. It seemed as if he was only a bag of skin and bones and even those half-lidded eyes were as cloudy as the eyes of a dead man.

Yet his presence made Jasmine feel as if a mountain, so high that she could not see its peak, had landed in front of her, and that it would be difficult for her to take even a single step forward from that moment onward.

“Who are you?” Jasmine asked in a cold voice. This was a person who had not even released his aura yet, but he had already provoked such a feeling of dread from within her. Yet she actually had no impression of who this person was.

Gu Zhu did not respond to her question. Instead he spoke in an extremely rough and ugly-sounding manner, “The Heavenly Slaughter Star God and the Heavenly Wolf Star God, it is an honor to meet the two of you.”

Caizhi took a step forward as she suppressed the anxiety in her heart. After that, she assumed an aggressive and truculent stance as she spoke, “Since you already know who we are, then why don’t you get out of our faces?”

“Caizhi, step back!” The God Slaying Blade had appeared in Jasmine’s hand, reflecting a cold light that was mixed with the color of blood, “You’re not his opponent.”

“Ah?” Caizhi was stunned by those words as an expression of disbelief appeared on her face. But when she looked at her big sister’s incomparably cold and dark expression, she grew completely somber and serious as well… With a flash of blue light, the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword had appeared in her hand as well.

Gu Zhu had yet to make a move.

Jasmine and Caizhi also stood there motionless for a long time. The air around them had grown incomparably oppressive and even the smallest grain of dust in the area around them had ground to a complete halt.

“Ah, so that is how its,” Jasmine suddenly announced in a low voice, “You’re Gu Zhu!”

Hearing his name caused the expression in Gu Zhu’s eyes to finally change a bit, “Heh heh, the Heavenly Slaughter Star God lives up to her reputation. Your intuition is so sharp that it is terrifying. No wonder Miss is so wary of you.”

It seemed like he was smiling, yet a smile did not crease his face at all.

“Heh,” Jasmine gave a cold snort before speaking in a mocking voice, “who would have thought that the Old Man Gu Zhu who had shaken the world and had wandered free and unfettered through this universe, a man who could face the king realms with a unbent back and a fearless heart, would actually stoop to becoming a dog by Qianye Ying’er’s side. It’s no wonder that you have hidden yourself away from the world despite still being in it. You’re simply too ashamed to see anyone.”

Gu Zhu was not enraged in the slightest at those words, not a single ripple appeared in his mental state, “The fact that this old one could survive until this day is entirely due to the Brahma Monarch God Realm. So what exactly is wrong with being the Miss’ dog?”

Jasmine, “...”

“Old Man Gu Zhu?” Caizhi’s mouth gaped open, “Wasn’t he supposed to have died many… many… many years ago already?”

She searched her memory frantically and it was only when she searched the memory fragments left behind by the Heavenly Wolf Star God three generations before her that she was actually able to find the name “Old Man Gu Zhu”.

“Even though I don’t know how you’ve been able to survive until now,” Jasmine’s eyes grew colder and colder and as she released her killing intent, the pungent smell of fresh blood began wafting from the God Slaying Blade in her hand as well, “if you dare to interfere with me today, then this princess will definitely leave you without a whole corpse to bury!”

Gu Zhu slowly joined his hands together in front of his body before he spoke in a gentle voice, “The blade of the Heavenly Slaughter Star God has never left a whole corpse behind before. This old one should have been died a long time ago, so if I am able to die under the God Slaying Blade of the Heavenly Slaughter Star God, it would not be in vain.”

Following that, his gray robes started to billow as a thin thread of air began to quietly swirl around him. In the blink of an eye, the already oppressive atmosphere suddenly grew several times heavier.

“Caizhi, I will try to pin him down. Once you find an opportunity, immediately rush into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning!” Jasmine sent a sound transmission to Caizhi.

She had said “try to pin him down”, so it was very clear that Jasmine did not have much confidence when facing the quiet oppressive might of Gu Zhu.

“Mn!” Caizhi could only agree. Qianye Ying’er had already followed them into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, so there was basically no time for them to hesitate any longer.

“Since you have already admitted that you are a dog paddling alongside Qianye Ying’er, then if this princess calls you ‘Old Dog Gu Zhu’, you shouldn’t mind too much, right?” Jasmine’s eyes narrowed into thin slits, but it was at this moment that the light in her eyes reflected a most extreme danger and the corner of her mouth crooked up in a cruel smile that would strike terror into the hearts of most people.

It was most probably because of Yun Che’s influence, but her tongue had become far more poisonous than it had been initially. Furthermore, she had even “learned” how to agitate and enrage an opponent before they engaged in battle.

As her icy voice fell, the God Slaying Blade flashed with a cold light… But it was at that very moment that her gaze violently jerked to the side.

On the other side, Gu Zhu’s old eyes also flashed as he swivelled in the same direction that Jasmine was facing.

“Ah? What’s happening?” Caizhi asked.

“Someone has come,” Jasmine said in a low voice as she felt her heart violently sink in her chest.

An aura was currently approaching them from far away, but it was travelling with extreme speed from the direction which they had arrived.

This aura was extremely cold and also incredibly strong. Furthermore, upon seeing Gu Zhu’s reaction, it was also clear that this aura’s appearance had taken him by surprise.

Was it friend or foe!?

“Who is it?” Caizhi asked impatiently.

“...” But Jasmine did not respond. Instead her eyebrows knitted together more and more tightly, because this aura was one that was completely foreign to her.

There were extremely few strong individuals in the entire God Realm that had reached her level of power. Since that was the case, the ones who had surpassed her could easily be counted with both hands. Furthermore, every single one of these individuals had a powerful reputation that could shake the heavens and the earth, and she knew every single one of them all too well.

The Gu Zhu in front of her was already a person who had transcended all conventional thought, a person who should have faded from this world a long time ago. Yet she was still able to use her extremely sharp senses and intuition to pinpoint his identity.

But the aura which was approaching them at extreme speed, the aura which was not inferior to Gu Zhu’s aura in any way, it was actually completely foreign to her!

It was just as if a person who had never existed before had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Just who was this person? And why would this person come to this place?

The Brahma Monarch God Realm had already hidden one Gu Zhu who should have died a long time ago. Could it be that this was yet another person that the Brahma Monarch God Realm had hidden away?

Just as Jasmine was tensing up, the empty world finally lit up with a cluster of profound light. In the next instant, that profound light drew even nearer as it swiftly approached… It was a figure covered in an icy blue light and that figure’s entire body was completely encased within that incomparably dense icy blue light, so they could not even see that figure’s face or body shape.

It seemed as if that figure was carrying a thin and long sword in its hand and even that sword was encased in the blue light, so it was not possible to see its true appearance.

As the icy blue figure approached, a cold energy that pierced the heart and bored into the soul assaulted all of them.

Frost profound energy? Jasmine’s brows sank once again: Within the Eastern Divine Region, there was absolutely no one who could utilize ice profound energy at such a level. This person… was not someone from the Eastern Divine Region!

The blue figure arrived at where they were but it did not come to a halt. In fact, it did not even slow down. Instead an icy afterimage trailed it as it flashed by, the sword in its hand directly piercing toward Gu Zhu.

In that instant, that still and silent space had completely transformed into an icy hell.

This attack was far too sudden and it was as swift as a passing comet. Following the rupturing of a beam of blue light, Gu Zhu was instantly thrown backwards by tens of kilometers. A strange light flashed in his eyes and a storm rose up from his body before hurtling towards the icy blue figure.

The icy blue figure did not defend or dodge that attack, instead it rushed straight into the heart of the storm… Following that, a multi-faceted icy blue light, which was millions of times more brilliant than the light of any arctic pole, flashed, and that storm, which could even move the stars themselves, swiftly congealed and transformed into ice which filled the aether.

BANG!!

The chunks of ice which had been formed within the storm exploded and caused a hailstorm to engulf the entire area. That icy blue figure pierced through layers of hail as an icy blue sword beam smashed against Gu Zhu’s body, once again throwing him backwards fifty kilometers.

“Ah?” As she stared at that figure that was completely encased in icy blue light, Caizhi had grown completely dumbfounded and a soft involuntary gasp of surprise had escaped her lips.

“We need to go!”

Jasmine had no time to care about who this icy blue figure was. She grabbed Caizhi’s arm and in the next instant, she pushed her speed to its very limit as she rushed towards the God Realm of Absolute Beginning, before swiftly melting into that bright and boundless pale white vortex.

BZZ————

With a muffled explosion that shook the air around them, Gu Zhu and the icy blue figure were blasted far apart from each other.

Gu Zhu’s aura remained as stable as a mountain, but his withered old arms were covered in a layer of icy blue light that was hard to get rid of, and his ten fingers were faintly trembling as well. He looked at the figure, which was completely encased in that icy light that revealed nothing, before speaking gently, “In all the known world, the only people who have cultivated ice profound energy to such a level are the ‘Blue Dragon Emperor’ and the ‘Ice Qilin Realm King’.”

The icy blue figure, “...”

“Moreover, you have not used any profound arts, yet you can use just your ice profound energy alone to go head to head with this old one. Furthermore, you should also be a woman,” Gu Zhu’s eyes flashed with a strange light, “You are the Western Divine Region’s ‘Blue Dragon Emperor’!”

According to past experience and rumours, there were very few people in the God Realm that would be able to go head to head with him.

The icy blue figure, “...”

“Ah.” Gu Zhu let out a rare empathic sigh. “This child Yun Che does indeed have an extraordinary and mysterious relationship with your dragon clan. It looks like the young miss has acted with undue haste this time around.”

It was very clear that he was convinced that this icy blue figure was undoubtedly the ‘Blue Dragon Emperor’. Because given his knowledge, there could be no other possible alternative.

The icy blue figure remained completely silent. The sword in its hand pointed towards him and blue light flashed. That flash of light caused an ice curtain that could cover the sky to appear, as an aura that was so cold it cut at one’s heart firmly locked onto Gu Zhu…