Against the Gods

Shenwu Yi was using the recoil to float in the air. Then, she froze suddenly and spun around like a bent willow. Enveloped in dark red, profound light that resembled condensed blood, the Heartless Sword stabbed toward the back of Dian Jiuzhi’s neck like a stream of phantom light.

Dian Jiuzhi instinctively turned around and swung his hand upward, creating a silver domain of destruction that instantly spread out and locked down the space Shenwu Yi existed in like a sky dome. There was a muffled explosion, and he saw her silhouette and aura being consumed by the destructive energies.

At the same time, a cold chill touched the left side of his neck. Chiang!

Although Dian Jiuzhi didn’t use all of his strength, he had just launched an attack. Despite his protective, profound energy, Shenwu Yi’s sword was able to pierce his flesh and drew a thin, disjointed arc of blood in the air.

When Dian Jiuzhi hastily turned his head and looked, he saw a single bead of blood and the dark red sword that pierced the left side of his neck. However, he ultimately possessed fifty-two sexagenary years of knowledge and experience. A sufficient amount of profound way instinct had been engraved into his body long ago. The moment his spiritual senses locked onto Shenwu Yi once more, his body and power almost reacted before his thoughts. His left hand made a reverse grab for the sword while his right arm spun his torso around and launched an upward palm strike.

Kaboom! The power of Boundless was unquestionably forceful. Dian Jiuzhi had barely gathered any strength before launching the palm strike. Yet, the attack still elicited a thunderclap and pushed away Shenwu Yi and the Heartless Sword, both of which had not yet managed to slip away, instantly...

... or did they? Once again, both the wielder and her weapon scattered into a shower of afterimages.

“...!?” Dian Jiuzhi’s pupils contracted into pins. A familiar chill appeared behind him, and it was less than a third of a meter away from his back. As he had literally just spun his body, he could not even perform an instinctual dodge or block.

Chi!

There was a ripping noise, and Dian Jiuzhi’s snow white outfit was cut open. At the same time, a red mark almost one-third of a meter long appeared on his back. It was almost... almost deep enough to draw blood.

Dian Jiuzhi’s mind turned blank for a short period. It was like he had just encountered a phantom who shouldn’t exist. His whole life, Dian Jiuzhi had accumulated experience and knowledge. He had fought countless battles and visited the Endless Fog dozens of times. He had also witnessed innumerable swift or unusual movement arts of the Abyss.

No matter how potent a movement art was, it must be fueled by profound energy, and it was always traceable in some way. Just the same, no matter how skillful a movement art was, there must be a lull after an instantaneous movement was performed, long or short. If the movement art was executed poorly or seen through by the opponent, then it was no different from giving the opponent a moderate opening.

Shenwu Yi’s movements were different, though. She had performed multiple instantaneous movements at this point, but not only were they untraceable, she hadn’t paused even once throughout the fight!

During the brief period when his mind turned blank, Shenwu Yi had landed a stab on his forehead. As shallow as the wound was, it knocked him backward and drew blood.

Intense pain jolted him back to his senses. When his eyes regained their focus, Shenwu Yi’s ice-cold eyes appeared right before him once more.

Slap!

Dian Jiuzhi’s grab missed, and the sword that should have been coming toward him from the forward-left position suddenly and bizarrely appeared in his right flank position. This time, the sword was swinging like a whip and slapped him across the face.

Just as before, the attack failed to deal a significant wound to Dian Jiuzhi. However, it was unbelievably loud, like the heaviest slap in the world, and it landed squarely on the utterly shocked and dazed face of the number one Divine Son before everyone’s eyes.

Earlier, Dian Jiuzhi had given Shenwu Yi ten breaths of unchallenged offense as a show of courtesy. Despite facing a storm of attacks, he had caught it all without taking a single injury. He looked strong and insurmountable, elegant and refined.

But after that, Shenwu Yi launched seven strikes... and landed all of them.

As intense pain seared him, Dian Jiuzhi came to the perfect realization that Shenwu Yi had been as lax and unserious as he when he was only guarding against her attacks. More accurately, she found it utterly beneath her to accept his act of courtesy.

Dian Jiuzhi was hardly the only one who was stunned speechless. Dead silence hung outside the barrier like a suffocating blanket. The experts were all standing stiffly, like their souls had been sucked out of their bodies.

“At this point, there can be no doubt.”

Meng Kongchan said in a somewhat calm voice, “It definitely is... the Exquisite Profound World.”

He finally understood why Shenwu Yanye had gone to the lengths she did to conceal Shenwu Yi, refusing to let anyone see her face for two whole decades. It was because the woman would stun the world the moment she revealed her actual ability, more so than even the Child of Darkness that won the Abyssal Monarch’s attention, Pan Buwang.

At this point, Meng Jianxi had figured out a little of what was happening on the battlefield. He asked uncertainly, “Her unnatural movements aren’t caused by any movement art. It’s... a spatial curve caused by the Exquisite Profound World, right?”

Meng Kongchan replied, “Making contact with one Exquisite Profound World allows one to move seamlessly to the other six Exquisite Profound Worlds. Therefore, being at the level of Seven Profound... means that she owns seven portable spaces she can traverse anytime she wants!”

It was common knowledge that the only function of portable spaces was to store objects. Not even the powerful Divine Regents had ever thought of using it to perform spatial leaps.

“Space is the hardest power to grasp of them all, and yet she is using her seven Exquisite Profound Worlds like seven fingers.”

Meng Kongchan continued, “The most shocking thing of them all, she is the only one who knows where her seven Exquisite Profound Worlds are located after she conceals them. She’s performed multiple spatial curves at this point, and yet I wasn’t able to detect any sign of the Exquisite Profound Worlds at all.”

Meng Kongchan exhaled silently before remarking, “I did not think that there exists another junior who can so open my eyes besides Yuan’er.”

Meng Jianxi murmured, “Am I right to say that Dian Jiuzhi is fighting only one Shenwu Yi, but it’s like he’s facing seven of her at once?”

“No.”

Yun Che’s gaze followed Shenwu Yi closely, not straying for even an instant during his speech. “If he were really fighting against seven opponents, he could at least detect all seven people’s presences and positions. But she... nothing about her movements is predictable. No amount of battle experience or knowledge is effective against her.”

If even the Dreamless Divine Regent was this surprised, everyone else could only do worse. Dian Jiuzhi’s sorry state was bare for all to see, but no one was ridiculing him or jeering at him. Dian Rahu’s eyebrows were tightly knitted, and his eyes were shining with shock as well. That said, his aura was still steady.

Shenwu Yu’s bizarre spatial curves completely defied instinct and common sense. Forget Dian Jiuzhi, even he, the Boundless Divine Regent, would be stumped for a while, assuming that he had never encountered it before. However, he was equally confident that Dian Jiuzhi would discover the best way to deal with this tactic as soon as he regained his cool... and it so happened that this method fell under his strongest expertise.

“Exquisite Profound World, spatial... curve?” Hua Caili whispered the completely unfamiliar concept. The surprise on her face refused to fade for a long time.

Hua Fuchen sighed. “Forget you, this is the first time I’ve witnessed something like this.”

“In that case... Can Shenwu Yi actually defeat the Boundless Divine Son?” Hua Caili could not help but say this expectantly.

Hua Fuchen knew what she was thinking, of course. Still, he shook his head slowly and said, “If their cultivation levels were the same, then there would be almost no chance for him to defeat Shenwu Yi even if he held the absolute advantage in terms of profound vein, body, and knowledge in the profound way.”

He said “almost”, not “absolutely”. It was because he was well aware of how powerful the Divine Vein of Great Rage was.

“However, cultivation is an insurmountable gap, not to mention that this battlefield is only thirty kilometers wide.”

Hua Fuchen declared a conclusion that, to his knowledge and experience as a Divine Regent, was irrefutable[1]. “Dian Jiuzhi only needs to employ one method to cement her defeat.”

“I know! He just needs to ignore everything she does and defeat her with sheer brute force!”

Hua Caili’s expectation dimmed considerably after she thought she figured out the trick. Then, she unconsciously and involuntarily snuck a glance at Yun Che.

Before this, Yun Che could always sense her gaze. He would instantly return her gaze or curl up the corners of his lips slightly in response. He never failed to make her feel happy, and her heart pounded in elation.

This time though, Yun Che’s gaze was focused entirely on the Eternal Night Divine Daughter with a ruinous countenance and a succubus’ form. His gaze chased her every move as if he were afraid of missing even an instant of her poise.

His eyes shone with familiar brightness and clarity, but for some reason, Hua Caili thought they hid a layer of invisible mist. It made his gaze look obsessed and misty to the point where it could not tolerate any other scenery... not to mention that he completely failed to sense or respond to her gaze despite how long she had been looking at him.

“...”

For a time, Hua Caili was stunned. She completely lost interest in the fight as an exceedingly unfamiliar sense of unease and emptiness began to fill up her heart.

“Moreover, it looks like Shenwu Yi is manipulating her Exquisite Profound Worlds like her own limbs, but it’s not as easy as it seems.”

Hua Fuchen observed the battlefield with sword-like clarity. “Her aura is clearly weaker after executing multiple spatial curves in a row. It is the power of space. Maintaining the Exquisite Profound Worlds must come at a gigantic cost.”

“But whatever the outcome may be, this duel... and especially the emergence of the Exquisite Profound Worlds will surely enter the history books of the Abyss.”

Thang!!

Hua Fuchen had just finished saying this when a heavy, deafening clang came from inside the barrier. After taking seventeen hits in a row, Dian Jiuzhi finally recovered from his daze and unleashed a thick aura of profound light that looked as dense as crystal. It was at least a meter thick and repelled the Heartless Sword when it was about two-thirds of a meter away from him. Even Shenwu Yi herself abruptly jumped away from Dian Jiuzhi and hovered in the air, halting her relentless assault completely.

By now, Dian Jiuzhi’s white shirt was torn in several places, and his exposed skin showed wounds of varying depths. Even his face was covered in several bloody gashes. His eyes, however, were unnaturally calm and cold. He had forcefully removed the shock and panic brought by the illogical Exquisite Profound World, his arrogance, and his gentle nature from his person, leaving behind only the master of his arts. He stopped holding back and unleashed the power of Great Rage in full, shaking the space around him.

Dian Rahu’s complexion didn’t change, but the mild tension that had gripped his body until now vanished entirely.

“I have never witnessed or heard such a movement art. My horizons are greatly broadened today.”

Even his voice sounded dramatically different from normal, imposing and powerful. “If our cultivation levels were the same, then you may have defeated me easily. But for this bout... I shall employ my unfair advantage to win!”

Despite the blood and gashes on his face, Dian Jiuzhi looked every bit the number one Divine Son he was, considering his appearance and spiritual pressure. Once he was done speaking, he launched an all-out attack that consumed an insane amount of profound energy. The power of Great Rage instantly blotted out the sky and enveloped the thirty-kilometer space in front of him like a tidal storm that had appeared out of nowhere.

There was no doubt about it. He was going to defeat Shenwu Yi’s impossible technique with sheer power!

Shenwu Yi covered herself with her sword and switched to defense, but the power of Great Rage was such that she was still blasted several kilometers away like a lone boat that was tossed helplessly by the storm before she was able to steady her form. Even so, she was being pushed back rapidly. It wasn’t until she was less than three hundred meters away from the barrier that she finally found the leeway to launch a counterattack of her own.

In her left hand, the Heartbreak Sting suddenly left her hand and shot toward Dian Jiuzhi’s forehead against the tidal wave of energy. Wherever it went, it let out an ear-piercing shrill that caused everyone’s heart to skip a bit.

The power of Great Rage could not completely stop it in its tracks, but it stripped it of its speed and strength layer by layer. Dian Jiuzhi did not withdraw his power to defend against the counterattack. Instead, he tapped his foot and casually shifted past ten positions and watched the Heartbreak Sting still following its original trajectory and stabbing into his original position out of the corner of his eye.

Right before the sting would make “contact”, it suddenly disappeared amidst a flash of light.

By the time Dian Jiuzhi’s pupils contracted slightly, the dangerous screech sounded right next to his ears.

Bang!!

Blood mixed with countless bits of flesh spilled through the air. The anomalously “disappearing” Heartbreak Sting had reappeared behind Dian Jiuzhi’s defenseless back and slammed into his spine.

“What...?!”

Dian Rahu had just relaxed for half a breath when the shocked cry escaped his lips. His eyes especially widened so much that they threatened to rip apart at the corners. The Heartbreak Sting, a Divine Children armament, could be spatially curved through the Exquisite Profound World as well?!

The scene did not just stun the Divine Regents. Even the Chief Priest’s eyebrows had visibly twitched at the unexpected turn of events.

The shock Dian Jiuzhi just forced down battered his mental defenses once more. During that instant loss of concentration, a blur covered his vision, and the woman he had nearly driven all the way to the edge of the battlefield reappeared right before his eyes. She was aiming straight for his heart.

Thang!!

Dian Jiuzhi’s back might be defenseless, but his front was full of power. The pain stabbing his soul cleared his mind way faster than last time as he clenched his teeth a little and muttered under his breath, “Boundless Manifestation... master of all martial arts... Hah!!”

Thick silver radiance burst out of his body and blazed like a silver inferno. As his arm moved, the silver light transformed into a three-hundred-meter-long sword that horizontally cut the space in front of him.

BOOOOOMMMM—

The three-hundred-meter-long sword unleashed a sword projection that was over thirty kilometers long. It engulfed every inch of space within the barrier. In fact, the barrier was the only reason it did not slice off half of Eden’s Crown.

Shenwu Yi disappeared and reappeared three thousand meters above ground. The Heartbreak Sting had also returned to her hand before shooting out once more.

Following an unpredictable trajectory, the human and the sting attacked Dian Jiuzhi from the front and the back simultaneously. However, Dian Jiuzhi closed his eyes directly and concentrated his spiritual senses on himself. In fact, he stopped perceiving Shenwu Yi altogether. His grip shifted a little, and the silver light took on the shape of a giant halberd instead.

The giant halberd was descending from above. Soon, the power of the Great Rage would engulf the entirety of the battlefield. It would cover every blind spot... even himself.

To fight strength with strength, to trade wound for wound... Considering the absolute advantage he held in terms of cultivation level and physical prowess, and considering the fact that the battlefield was an enclosed space merely thirty kilometers wide, there was zero chance Dian Jiuzhi could be defeated.

“......”

Yun Che’s fingers clenched tightly.

“It is an unfair win, all right.” Meng Koonchan sighed. “However, it is the best way to deal with this tactic.”

Shenwu Yi abruptly stopped in her tracks. It was because she realized instantly that the resulting explosion would engulf the entire battlefield. She could possess an infinite amount of Exquisite Profound Worlds, and she still wouldn’t be able to find a safe space in this enclosed battlefield.

BOOOOOMMMM!!!

Silver light illuminated the sky, and space shuddered violently.

This wasn’t just the power of the number one Divine Son; it was the most forceful power there existed in the Abyss. Everyone knew about Dian Jiuzhi and his Divine Vein of Great Rage, but few had ever witnessed, much less experienced, the man going all out. For a time, every profound practitioner in the temple felt chilled to the core. Those at the same cultivation level as Dian Jiuzhi, especially, blanched. They could hardly believe that the power had been unleashed by a peer in terms of cultivation.

“Isn’t this... a little too brutal?”

Xian Yue could not help but speak up in a low tone, “Shenwu Yi is two cultivation levels below him. This level of power will probably injure her se... huh?”

Xian Yue’s voice suddenly became caught in his throat as he looked up into the sky, eyes dazed. He could not say anything for a very long time.

As the silver light waned, Dian Jiuzhi slowly lowered his arm. It was at the halfway position when suddenly, his movements stiffened, his eyes opened wide as saucers. He, too, was looking up into the sky.

High in the sky, a black figure stood tall with fluttering clothes. The pair of beautiful eyes looking down at the earth looked as cold and indifferent as before, as if they were made from ice.

Shenwu Yi... was completely unharmed.

No matter how mentally robust Dian Jiuzhi was, he could not help but be stupefied by this outcome yet again. Outside the barrier, the crowd fell into a dumb and stupefied trance as well.

The Exquisite Profound World wasn’t something that could be dealt with using common sense. That was why everyone could tell that Dian Jiuzhi had more or less gone all out.

The power of Great Rage was indescribably potent and terrifying. Faced against such power, Shenwu Yi should have been injured even if she defended against it with all her might at first notice... if not severely injured. The one scenario that could not have happened... was for her to be perfectly unharmed.

Yun Che’s vision blurred for an instant as he looked up at the fairy-like figure in the sky. When his vision regained its clarity, he thought he saw what looked like an odd refracted ray of light about 1.5 meters in front of Shenwu Yi. It was... ice?

“...”

The Chief Priest stiffened for an instant. It was only an instant, but it caused the man standing behind him, Donghuang, to lift his head abruptly.

Heart beating wildly, he asked, “Master, why... ??”

A long silence followed. It lasted a few breaths straight before the Chief Priest finally said a few words, “Glazed Glass Ice.”

“...?”

Dong Huang did not understand. For the first time, the man who never looked up to anyone besides the Abyssal Monarch arched his head and stared at the woman standing high up in the sky.

“Exquisite Profound World... Glazed Glass Ice...”

“This woman... she’s an Ice Heart Nine Profound!”

“Ice Heart... Nine Profound?”

Dong Huang was only more confused.

1. You think Shenwu Yanye would let Shenwu Yi enter the battlefield knowing that she can’t win? I swear, sometimes this just doesn’t make sense... ☜