Against the Gods

There was no one present who knew more about the Southern Divine Region and its god emperors than Cang Shitian.

He had a firm grasp of both the temperaments and the weak spots of the Xuanyuan God Emperor and the Purple Micro God Emperor. Of course, things such as weaknesses didn’t really exist for the people who had ascended to the rank of god emperor. However, even the slightest flaw would be completely exposed and magnified when someone was faced with a lethal threat, no matter how powerful they were.

The destruction of their realms; this was a notion that had never crossed the mind of any god emperor. It was simply an absurd event that could never come to pass.

However, the recent events had shown that this calamity could indeed come to pass… In fact, it had just occurred once again before their very eyes. The Southern Sea God Realm, a realm far stronger than their own, was still being engulfed in that roiling all-devouring smoke. At this moment, every hair on the bodies of the two hapless god emperors was standing on end as they felt every nerve in their body violently spasm.

All of them had unconsciously dismissed the possibility of such a calamity happening because it had never happened before. However, the Devil Master Yun Che was different! He was not motivated by conquest or plunder, he did not act to further his ambitions or to gain advantages over others. Only vengeance moved him!

Moreover, this was no ordinary vengeance. It was a most terrible and cruel vengeance, devoid of all pity, compassion, and mercy!

Negotiating with the Devil Master? That was merely a foolish delusion. There were only two choices; grovel before him or die… and even the fact that they had an opportunity to choose seemed like a form of mercy in and of itself.

The Xuanyuan God Emperor’s face slowly turned from scarlet to a ghastly purplish pallor. His lips trembled but no words came out of his mouth, and he felt as if his entire spine was locked in an icy hell as a soul-piercing cold slowly spread throughout his entire body.

Riiiip~

Terrifying black symbols started exploding in the air as they slowly closed in on the two great god emperors. Cang Shitian’s words had utterly flustered both god emperors, leaving their defenses in complete shambles.

“Devil… Master…” Blood flowed from the corner of the Purple Micro God Emperor’s mouth as he muttered those words through gritted teeth. “Even though we were wrong back then… we didn’t do anything to garner such resentment… Do you… truly want… to… take things so far…”

“Cang Shitian,” Yun Che said in a bored voice, “if you want to be my loyal dog, then you’ll have to prove your worth.”

Cang Shitian hadn’t even needed Yun Che’s prompting. He immediately stepped forward and said, “Killing both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor here will immediately plunge both their god realms into chaos… They’ll be overwhelmed with panic, a lack of clear leadership, and even struggles over succession. As such, we won’t even need to trouble the Devil Master and the Three Yama Ancestors. I have full confidence that I’ll be able to destroy one of these king realms completely with only the aid of the Yama Emperor and his troops.”

“Cang Shitian! YOU~~~”

Cang Shitian ignored the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor’s dark and murderous stares as he continued speaking in a calm voice, “However, even though both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor have sinned heavily, their sins are not as heavy as the Southern Sea God Realm’s. Furthermore, given my understanding of these two, I know that they aren’t that incurably stupid. Please pardon this Shitian’s boldness as I say this, but I request that the Devil Master give them and their king realms one more chance.”

Both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and the Purple Micro God Emperor’s faces stiffened up, but a muscle in each of their jaws still twitched wildly.

“...” Yun Che briefly cast a look towards both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and the Purple Micro God Emperor. After that, he gave a soft sigh before he spoke in a low voice, “You have the chance to say one more thing.”

Those soft and apathetic words seemed to be akin to the act of a supreme emperor showing pity to the two most wretched peasants in the world.

The Three Yama Ancestors withdrew a bit of their power, lessening the pressure around the two god emperors. The Purple Micro God Emperor balled his hands into fists. When he thought of the life that he had lived as a god emperor and the ancestors of his bloodline, he gritted his teeth fiercely, the look in his eyes turning exceptionally malevolent.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt the aura of the Xuanyuan God Emperor swiftly weakening and receding.

“Fine.” The Xuanyuan God Emperor closed both his eyes and spoke in a very soft voice, “If the Devil Master will treat the Xuanyuan Realm kindly… the Xuanyuan bloodline swears to serve the Devil Master.”

The destruction of his realm simply weighed far too heavily on his mind. It was something that suppressed all other thoughts, surpassed all other priorities… and this included his own dignity and honor as a god emperor.

Even someone like Qianye Fantian had gone to find Yun Che to kneel before him, all just to ensure the continued survival of the Brahma Monarch Realm. He had used his death to buy the life of his god realm, so why couldn’t he, the Xuanyuan God Emperor, do the same?

Dignity, a proud and unbending spine, the most formidable of backgrounds, and even the messianic halo of saving the universe… All of it was worth less than dog shit in front of absolute cunning and might.

“Xuanyuan, you… What are you saying!?” The Purple Micro God Emperor swiveled toward the Xuanyuan God Emperor, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Hahaha…” the Xuanyuan God Emperor let out a miserable laugh. Having said those fateful words, he had now made the bed that he would lie in. Tension bled out of his face as he replied, “We can choose to defy him to the bitter end, but what we will reap is possibly the complete destruction of both our star realms and our bloodlines… Cang Shitian is absolutely right. The Devil Master isn’t the Dragon Monarch. He won’t show us the slightest bit of justice or mercy.”

“Even though the entire universe will deride me for choosing to live in shame, it will at the very least preserve the safety of the Xuanyuan Realm. What’s more… the truth of what happened back then has already been exposed to the rest of the universe. Even if we choose to die in defiance, do we even have any dignity left to die for?”

After he finished saying those words, the Xuanyuan God Emperor let out a long sigh. Though he had said those words to the Purple Micro God Emperor, he was also saying them to himself.

When he glanced at Yun Che, his heart was filled with boundless fear and gloom.

Before the events of today, the four god emperors of the south were utterly convinced that the Northern Divine Region didn’t stand a chance against the Western Divine Region.

However, he had just personally witnessed how terrifying Yun Che and his subordinates were, and they had completely overturned the notion he had previously held by destroying the Southern Sea God Realm in the span of a single day. However, the straw which broke the camel’s back had been Cang Shitian’s swift and absolute betrayal of the Southern Divine Region. It had finally convinced the Xuanyuan God Emperor to give up.

“A wise choice,” Cang Shitian said with a faint smile on his face.

“Xuanyuan! Have you gone crazy as well!?” The Purple Micro God Emperor’s body trembled violently before he yelled in a hoarse voice, “We possess the legacy of the True Gods, and have inherited all of the glory that our ancestors have accumulated over these last hundreds of thousands of years! Even if we must meet a bitter and violent end, we must never bend our knee to anyone else! Even the lowest profound practitioner of my Purple Micro bloodline is unafraid of death, so why must you shame and disgrace the Xuanyuan bloodline in such a way!?”

The Xuanyuan God Emperor closed his eyes, but he did not reply. His choice had nothing to do with the fear of death.

“The reason for the Southern Sea’s destruction was largely due to the fact that the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s blast was reflected back on them! Both our realms have built up hundreds of thousands of years of resources! We have innumerable mighty profound practitioners! We won’t be so easily defeated by these people! In fact, they might very well be engulfed by the wrath of the Dragon God Realm and the rest of the Western Divine Region before they even come close to our realms! At that time, you will have dragged the entire Xuanyuan Realm down with you with this irrevocable choice!”

“...” The Xuanyuan God Emperor still didn’t say anything.

“Well said.” Yun Che’s tone was filled with praise, but his lips were curled up in scornful derision. After that, he barked out a curt command, “The Xuanyuan God Emperor has been pardoned for now. As for the Purple Micro God Emperor… Kill him!”

The Xuanyuan God Emperor immediately felt the pressure around him disappear after the Devil Master gave his command. His arms fell to his sides and tension bled out of his entire body. Cold sweat poured down his back like rain and drenched his body in the blink of an eye.

The power of the Three Yama Ancestors instantly shifted to the Purple Micro God Emperor alone. The incredibly grating sounds of bones slowly cracking instantly rang in the air... This was the sound of the Purple Micro God Emperor’s bones slowly breaking under that dreadful pressure.

Even Nan Wansheng had not been able to contend against the combined might of the Three Yama Ancestors, so what chance did the Purple Micro God Emperor have? His face turned as white as a sheet as the protective barrier of energy around him started to undulate violently. However, his eyes still remained firm and resolute, and a dense violet light started to explode out of them.

Crack!

Another sickening crunch rang through the air as the Purple Micro God Emperor’s chest sank in. Blood gushed out of all seven orifices on his face and glaring purple light erupted from his eyes as he let out a huge roar of pain.

“HAAAAAAH!!!”

It looked as if the skies were collapsing all around them as a purple sun fiercely exploded into life. The violet light instantly flooded the area around them as it released a world-shocking divine might. It then proceeded to forcefully rip a hole in the power sealing in the Purple Micro God Emperor.

The Purple Micro God Emperor staggered out of the hole he had ripped open, but the rest of the Yama Devils instantly stretched out their hands, unleashing their power. The Purple Micro God Emperor immediately felt the might of the Yama Devils press in on him once more.

The divine purple light suddenly twisted in the air as it violently tore open a hole in space and shifted the Purple Micro God Emperor forward. This also shattered the Yama Devil power that was suppressing him.

However, the Purple Micro God Emperor knew that there was no chance for him to put up a fight in this situation. He could not even drag in a victim to die together with him. The only thing he could do now was to try his very best to escape.

It was at this moment that the Purple Micro God Emperor showed why exactly he was considered a god emperor. The power that he had unleashed in utter despair surpassed any other power he had ever released before, and it also showed just how powerful a god emperor of the Southern Divine Region could be! He had forcefully broken out of the sealed space created by the Three Yama Ancestors and all of the Yama Devils by himself! Even though it had only been a temporary reprieve, this feat alone was worthy of being boasted about to the rest of the universe.

After he released that power which had exceeded his limits, the Purple Micro God Emperor’s vision blurred for an instant, but his body continued to move forward. He was desperately using all of his remaining power to flee toward the south.

However, a figure blurred into existence in front of him and shot out a palm made of energy which continued to grow with each passing instant. His spiritual perception told him that this attack was composed of a sword energy that he was all too familiar with.

The Xuanyuan God Emperor.

Chiii!

As the energy palm smashed right into the Purple Micro God Emperor’s chest, an incredibly grating tearing sound echoed in the air.

The Xuanyuan God Emperor’s face was cold and impassive. Not even a shred of emotion could be seen from it. When his energy palm collided into the Purple Micro God Emperor, a boundless amount of sword energy had surged into the Purple Micro God Emperor’s body, mercilessly ravaging it.

Since he had already made a decision, he, as the god emperor of a king realm, would follow through with it without any hesitation.

He had chosen to kneel before Yun Che, hence, the stubborn and unyielding Purple Micro God Emperor, someone who had just been his brother-in-arms a few moments ago, had become the perfect object to show his devotion.

One could well imagine just how much power and energy the Purple Micro God Emperor had expended to escape from the shell of power formed by the Three Yama Ancestors and the Yama Devils. If he were to take a blow in that state, he would not even be able to defend against it, much less launch a counterattack.

“You…”

The Purple Micro God Emperor weakly gasped out that word, but his body seemed to have already been transfixed by an uncountable number of swords. More than a hundred trails of blood slowly drifted out of his body as Yan Two’s ghost claw fiercely slashed into his back.

Yan Tianxiao and the other Yama Devils instantly caught up as well, and their unleashed power fiercely suppressed his movements and the power which was about to erupt out of him once more.

This time, the Purple Micro God Emperor didn’t struggle. It seemed as if he had accepted his fate. He turned to stare at the Xuanyuan God Emperor with empty and listless eyes. There wasn’t any disappointment or scorn in them. Perhaps, he had already expected the Xuanyuan God Emperor’s sudden attack… from the moment he had knelt before Yun Che.

“Xuanyuan, listen here.” The Purple Micro God Emperor’s voice grew hoarse. “There’s nothing left for me to say about the choice that you just made, but I will never be the slave of a devil! Even if that results in the extinction of the Purple Micro bloodline!”

He fiercely turned to face Yun Che, his eyes drilling holes into his body as he continued, “Yun Che, since you have chosen to make this a life and death struggle, you had best be prepared. My Purple Micro Realm will definitely dye you and yours in blood as we fight to the death!”

“Hehehe! Hahahahaha!” Cang Shitian’s wild laughter echoed in the air once more. He shook his head mockingly as he sneered at the Purple Micro God Emperor, “My dear Purple Micro God Emperor, to think that you would still be so naive even after being a god emperor for twenty thousand years. Struggle? Dyed in blood? Are you really that convinced that your Purple Micro Realm will be able to do those things?”

“...” The Purple Micro God Emperor’s brow suddenly furrowed.

“The devils of the north have nearly a million years worth of resentment built up against us. Every single one of them can barely wait to give up their lives in this titanic struggle against the rest of the Divine Regions. However, the Purple Micro Realm has enjoyed more than seven hundred thousand years of peace and prosperity as one of the exalted king realms. Your generation, the generation before you, the generation before the previous generation… Not a single one of you has ever experienced true hardship, much less a calamity and crisis of this proportion. Are you really that sure that their very first response will be to fight when the devils come calling? Are you so sure that they won’t panic and fall into disarray?”

“Even the Eastern Divine Region, as strong as it was, was completely defeated in consecutive battles. In the end, the remaining realm kings scrambled to be the first to kneel before Yun Che and swear their fealty to him. Does the Purple Micro God Emperor think that our Southern Divine Region will do much better?”

“Hmph!” The Purple Micro God Emperor gave a cold and disdainful snort.

“And did you say that... you choose death? Tsk tsk.” A chilling and sinister smile appeared on Cang Shitian’s face as he turned toward Yun Che and bowed. “Devil Master, the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm is located very near the Purple Micro Realm, so I am intimately familiar with them. The Purple Micro bloodline has a very unique sort of vital energy and blood essence which can be used to bolster their own strength and the strength of others. Hence, they are extremely suited to be used to bolster your own strength. Even though you may find joy in their destruction, it would be such a terrible waste. If this Shitian may be so bold as to suggest…”

“You should keep them as chattel instead of killing them. After you’ve trampled over the Purple Micro Realm, round up all the members of the Purple Micro bloodline and breed them like livestock. The men can be used as slaves while the women can be used as concubines. They’ll be able to use their Purple Micro vital energy to increase the strength of the Devil Master and the devils under your command. This will not only provide you great benefits, it might very well engender feelings of gratitude and loyalty in the Purple Micro clansmen who were afraid to die in the first place. They will then proceed to praise and worship the Devil Master for all time because of the gracious mercy that you have shown them.”

“As such, the Purple Micro bloodline will be transformed from a royal clan to a clan enslaved to the devils within the span of just a few generations, and this will continue for all time. After all, there’s nothing easier to breed than slaves in this world.”

The eyebrows of Yan Tianxiao and the rest of the Yama Devils twitched at that notion. Even they, members of the Yama Realm which fiercely hated the profound practitioners of the Southern Divine Region, felt a shiver run down their spines at this moment.

The Purple Micro God Emperor’s head jerked up violently when he heard those words. A ghastly expression appeared on the face of the person who had refused to yield even an inch. The pupils in his eyes constricted to their limits as shining cracks of purple light began to appear in them.

Qianye Wugu gave Cang Shitian a deep and measured look, then slowly closed his eyes.

Cang Shitian had managed to swiftly assess the situation and figure out what were the most advantageous and disadvantageous actions to him. As a god emperor of the Southern Divine Region, he had not only changed sides, but he had done so in a complete and irreconcilable manner. In fact, he had been utterly unscrupulous and amoral in proving his usefulness and loyalty to Yun Che.

If he was capable of such a thing, this also meant that he would also be the first person to betray Yun Che if he lost the war against the Western Divine Region or met a power that could completely suppress him. Furthermore, it was very likely that he would backstab Yun Che in the most venomous and insidious way as a parting gift.