Against the Gods

Xia Qingyue slowly stood up under the moonlight. As she turned around and showed her beautiful face, even the moon’s luster seemed to dim a little.

When her purple robe slipped off her round and smooth shoulders, her skin glistened like beautiful heavenly jade, its glow putting the moonlight to shame.

Her snowy skin was exposed for a mere instant before red cloth covered it once more. Her long hair cascaded down her back as she lifted her delicate head, her beautiful eyes slowly sweeping across the length of Divine Moon City. Under the moonlight, she looked like a moon goddess out of legend, one that had been banished to the realm of mortals. No brush or tapestry could fully capture her divine grace and beauty in this moment.

She gently lifted a hand and a fleck of purple light shone from her fingertips. It swiftly coalesced into the sword that belonged only to each era’s Moon God Emperor, a sword whose power and prestige shook the universe, the Purple Pylon Divine Sword. A purple light matching the deep purple light gleaming in her eyes flowed over her sword.

When she lifted her arm, her eyes were not fixed on her sword. Instead, she was quietly looking at the sleeve of her voluminous red robe… She stared at it for a long time before her body started to grow diaphanous. In the next instant, she appeared outside Divine Moon City as she shot toward where she had detected Qianye Ying’er’s aura.

——————

The Moon God Realm’s appearance was exceptionally striking in this vast star region.

The Star God Realm was bathed in eternal starlight while the Moon God Realm constantly glowed with the light of the moon. Compared to the resplendent brilliance of starlight, moonlight was far more gentle and mysterious. It was tranquil and hazy and it seemed as if boundless secrets and mysteries lay hidden in every beam. The feelings it gave off were those of mysterious distance, and poignant beauty.

“The Star Gods and the Moon Gods came from the same roots. They were kin in the Ancient Era, so they probably never imagined that the mortal descendants who inherited their divine power would turn into mortal enemies.”

Qianye Ying’er stared at the distant Moon God Realm. No one in the God Realm could deny that the Star God Realm was the most eye-catching realm in the entire universe, but the Moon God Realm was the most ephemerally beautiful.

For this one point alone, the destruction of the Star God Realm really did seem like quite a pity.

“Weren’t you the one who stoked the fires of their hatred for each other?” Yun Che said as he glanced at her.

“I only tossed a few embers in,” Qianye Ying’er said languidly. “If there wasn’t already bad blood between them, it wouldn’t have been so easy to reel them in. Of course, they also had to be stupid enough to fall for the bait.”

Yun Che: “...”

“Speaking of which…” As she gazed at the Moon God Realm, Qianye Ying’er asked a question that she had asked Yun Che many times in the Northern Divine Region. “Did you really never touch Xia Qingyue even once after the two of you got married?”

“No!” Yun Che coldly retorted.

“Ai…” Qianye Ying’er let out a mysterious sigh. “That’s too bad, that’s really too bad. She has such a beautiful figure that even I am quite reluctant to imagine her body being toyed with by men.”

“To think that you couldn’t make a move on such a woman even after you were declared husband and wife. Just how useless were you in the past?”

Yun Che stared at her with frosty eyes. "Is there anyone in the world who's more qualified to judge my 'ability' than you? You of all people should be clear on just how 'able' I am."

Qianye Ying’er: “...”

“However, you were right on the money this time.” Yun Che’s voice turned grim. “Back then, I was never willing to go against her desires. I doubted and put up defenses against everyone in the world but her. Yet she… made me the most naive and stupid person in the world. Heh, it truly was a farce.”

“...I just received a piece of good news,” Qianye Ying’er suddenly said. “The Holy Eaves Realm has been rocked with internal strife. Luo Changsheng fled and his current whereabouts are unknown. Luo Guxie has also left the Holy Eaves Realm and it seems like she has gone looking for Luo Changsheng.”

“As for the Holy Eaves Sect, they’ve sealed up their realm and they’re not letting any news leak out.” When Qianye Ying’er finished speaking, her beautiful eyes twinkled. “Are you interested in hearing about Luo Changsheng’s true origins?”

“No!” Yun Che’s eyes remained fixed on the Moon God Realm. The scene of Xia Qingyue destroying the Blue Pole Star in front of him was still fresh in his mind. It tormented him every second of every day, and the pain he felt still pierced his soul with the same intensity now as it did back then.

Back then, Luo Changsheng had been an opponent he had to put his life on the line to defeat, and even then, he had barely won. Today, even though Luo Changsheng had cultivated inside the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm for three thousand years, his name could no longer be uttered in the same breath as Yun Che’s.

“Do not underestimate anyone. Sometimes, a chess piece that isn’t very important at the start can produce spectacular results. In fact, sometimes these chess pieces produce results that can’t be replicated by anyone else.” Qianye Ying’er gave a smile that did not seem like a smile. “Besides, this is Luo Changsheng we’re talking about.”

A light abruptly flashed in Qianye Ying’er’s eyes just as she finished speaking. After that, she slowly turned around.

A red figure who radiated the oppressive might of a ruler seemed to appear out of thin air as she slowly materialized in front of them.

The Moon God Realm, a land eternally enshrouded in moonlight, looked like a bright gigantic moon in this star region. Xia Qingyue stood in the center of this ‘bright moon’, and the moment she appeared, the entire Moon God Realm became her stage. Even the bright moonlight seemed to be illuminating her and her alone.

Yun Che’s hands immediately balled into fists before he slowly relaxed them. He raised his head to look at her and a cold light that was impossible to restrain shone in his eyes.

Xia Qingyue was just as beautiful and elegant as she had always been. Her beauty was so breathtaking that it could send a man tumbling into an eternal dream.

She was dressed all in red, just like she had been on the day of their wedding. However, the color of her clothes seemed so glaring and painful to Yun Che right now… because it looked as if she was drenched in the blood of his friends and family.

“Yun Che, Qianye Ying’er, long time no see.”

Xia Qingyue said her words in a measured and steady manner. Compared to the cold light which shone in Yun Che’s eyes, a light which was so sharp that it could practically cut skin, her tone and purple eyes were as calm as a pool of placid water, as faint and light as mist.

“Oh no, it hasn’t been long at all.” The edges of Yun Che’s lips started to curl up as a barely contained frenzy leaked into his voice. “In fact, I see you every single day! In my nightmares!”

A cold wind whistled in the air as it set Xia Qingyue’s long hair and voluminous red sleeves aflutter. Under the moonlight emanating from the Moon God Realm, she looked like a mournful figure in a beautiful but bleak painting. Her eyes contained no trace of emotion as she looked at Yun Che, only her ever-present distant calm could be seen. “The Devil Master of the Northern Region, who can eradicate countless lives with a flick of his finger, who has terrorized the residents of the Eastern Divine Region like they’ve never been terrorized before, actually still has nightmares?”

“He, hehe.” Yun Che started to laugh, but his laughter sounded incredibly dark and sinister. “How can my trivial actions be compared to the Moon God Emperor’s actions!? I mean, how can my actions be compared to a person who destroyed her own homeland to secure her seat as god emperor!?”

“When it comes to cruelty and viciousness, is there anyone… who can be compared to you, Moon God Emperor!!?”

Grk!

As Yun Che’s voice grew more sinister and severe, he started to grind his teeth together.

“Ai.” Xia Qingyue let out the softest of sighs. “Compared to the position of Moon God Emperor, a mere Blue Pole Star was like a grain of sand before the sea. So why wouldn’t I abandon it. Yun Che, you’ve already become the Devil Master of the North, yet you still can’t understand such simple logic?”

“Oh, I understand. I understand perfectly.” Yun Che raised a hand and every single one of his fingers was trembling. Now that he finally came face to face with Xia Qingyue once more, the faces of his clan, parents, lovers, daughter, sect… all appeared in his head. These images, each of which was indelibly etched into his soul, were overlaid with the scene of the Blue Pole Star’s destruction. They chaotically jumbled together in his mind in an incomparably cruel fashion, making him feel as if he was living through the nightmare of losing everything once more.

“What’s so important about your homeland? What’s so important about your family?” He muttered in an incredibly dark and contemptuous voice. “They are all weaknesses! Weaknesses that must be thrown away… Weaknesses that a person should get rid of themselves!”

“As for me? What was I to you, I wonder? Actually, there’s no need to wonder! I was naturally just a tool to you!” His smile warped into a distorted grin. “When I was the ‘God Child Messiah’ who was revered by the world and favored by the Devil Emperor, you were so full of care and concern that you even delivered the Brahma Monarch Goddess to me as a slave!”

Qianye Ying’er: “...”

“But the moment I became a devil person, became the one flaw in your spotless life, you didn’t even hesitate to throw me away… In fact, you needed to wipe away that stain yourself!”

“Tsk!” Yun Che shook his head as a hollow mocking laugh left his throat. “We were born in the same year, the same Floating Cloud City, the same Blue Pole Star, yet I was so childish and foolish when compared to you, Moon God Emperor. I was just a pitiful and ignorant worm in front of you. A worm that you looked down at from above and toyed with in the palm of your hand. A worm that was even so naive as to view you as the person closest to him in the God Realm, the person he could trust the most, the one he could entrust everything to. Heh… Hahahaha, how absurd, how absurd!”

Xia Qingyue’s lips moved a little as she spoke in a calm voice, “It’s a pity that I still felt some tenderness towards you back then, so I allowed you to leave behind your last words instead of ending you as quickly as possible… It was just a few short breaths, but it allowed you to survive and grow into the menace you’ve become today.”

She tilted her head toward him as her red robe fluttered in the air. The purple light in her eyes suddenly shone with the vast might of a god emperor. “This was a mistake that this king made back then, so it will be up to this king to personally rectify it!”

“Heh, you think you’re up to the task?” Qianye Ying’er’s eyes narrowed as she gave a cold, dry chuckle. “Moon God Emperor, you actually dared to come alone. Even though I am not what I once was, do you really think… that Yun Che is the same as he was back then?”

“As long as I can kill you, that is enough!” Imperious might flashed in her cold eyes as purple light flickered around her body. Her red sleeve danced in the air as a small beam of purple light shot out from the sword in her jade hand. Only one beam of light had erupted from the tip of her sword, yet it seemed to be piercing toward both Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er’s throats at the same time.

Qianye Ying’er didn’t move a single inch. Her golden eyes stared straight into Xia Qingyue’s purple orbs. They were a pair of mesmerizingly beautiful eyes, eyes which were as lovely as a celestial fantasy, yet they contained a gloomy coldness and killing intent that seemed to come from the depths of the nine hells. “Moon God Emperor, before we begin, aren’t you interested in seeing the grand gift that Yun Che has prepared just for you?”

Xia Qingyue: “...?”

“Xia Qingyue.” Yun Che looked away from her, his gaze falling on the Moon God Realm behind her, that land glowing with silver moonlight. He finally addressed her by her name instead of calling her the Moon God Emperor.

“Ever since this Devil Master has returned to the Eastern Divine Region, I could not even be bothered to cross swords with the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor. However, you are the only person that I must personally bestow the gift of death upon!”

“This Devil Master will grant you a gift before you die. Watch closely, and don’t miss even a single moment. It’d be a shame to miss something like this.”

“...” Xia Qingyue’s crescent brows started to knit together. The words that rang in her ears sounded startlingly familiar to her.

These were the words she had delivered to Yun Che in front of the Blue Pole Star… He had delivered them back to her word for word, even his tone and expression were the same as hers had been.[1]

One could well imagine just how deeply that scene had been carved into his soul.

As she watched Yun Che slowly press his fingers together, a deep feeling of unease suddenly rose up in her heart. “You…”

He gently snapped his fingers, and a clear “clicking” sound rang out in the air.

BOOOM——————

A huge explosion ripped through the air. It sounded as if the entire universe had imploded, as if all the mountains in the world had collapsed. The entire star region was shaking wildly.

Xia Qingyue swiveled around. The Moon God Realm, that world that was always wrapped in ethereal, hazy moonlight, appeared in her purple eyes… as well as the beam of black light that mercilessly skewered it as it soared towards the heavens.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

Cacophonous explosions rocked the air like peals of world-destroying profound thunder. The Moon God Realm was cleaved in half by that black light and the numerous explosions began erupting all over the fractured land. In the blink of an eye, the two shattered halves had been reduced to countless silver-white fragments and moondust. The Moon God Realm had crumbled apart in an indescribably beautiful and mesmerising manner.

However, this beautiful destruction only lasted for a fleeting moment. The darkness began to madly devour the flying debris and moondust. Soon, even the moonlight had been consumed… This continued until the darkness swallowed everything up and returned it to the void.

——————

1. Cute alyschu note: chapter 1527