Against the Gods Chapter 1654 - Soul-crushing

“...”
Zhou Xuzi didn’t move a muscle. His mouth was open, but no voice came out. His environment was dark and eerie, but his eyes were shockingly white.
Right now, there was nothing more hopeless than the blood before his eyes.
True despair was without color or sound.
It was the same as when Blue Pole Star was destroyed right in front of Yun Che.
The only thing more dreadful than despair itself, was the despair created from the death of hope.
“Heh… hehe…”
The low chuckle sounded like the chant of the devil. After casting away the dirty blood clinging to his hand, Yun Che watched his crushed enemy and burned with absolute satisfaction for the first time since the day he overflowed with hatred. “So… how does it feel? Old dog Eternal Heaven?”
“Doesn’t it feel great to watch the person you value the most die horribly right before your eyes? Doesn’t it!?”
“I’m a bloodthirsty, cruel, sinful, inhuman devil person whose existence was denied by the world itself, and you chose to believe what I said!?”
“You believed ME, you stupid old dog!?”
“Hah… haha… hahahaha…”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
He laughed like he had gone completely mad. His black hair was swinging all over the place. However, it was impossible to miss the heart-wrenching pain and blood behind his mad laughter.
“...” Zhou Xuzi finally turned his head slowly toward Yun Che and Chi Wuyao. He possessed the body of a god emperor, but his movement was so slow and stiff it was as if he was a poorly made marionette. A tiny voice squeaked through his lips.
“You…”
“The Untamed Divine Marrow is a good thing to have,” Chi Wuyao said. “But my desire to meet you was nothing compared to Yun Che’s.”
“How does it feel to bear Yun Che’s pain and despair? Oh, what am I saying…” Chi Wuyao shook her head. “You still have your home, your subordinates, your family, your children, your grandchildren… this?”
“This is just the appetizer.” Chi Wuyao stretched out her little finger. “You’ve only just begun to pay back everything you owe him.”
“But don’t worry, it is only a matter of time. One day, you’ll pay back everything you owe one time, ten times, a hundred times over!”
It was supposed to be Yun Che’s grudge, but for some reason Chi Wuyao’s eyes were deathly cold as well.
“...” Zhou Xuzi started trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, blood started pouring out of his eyes, his ears, his nose, and his mouth.
“AAAAAAAH!”
Zhou Xuzi, the kindest and gentlest of all god emperors screamed like an animal as his profound energy exploded like shattering stars. All around him, the world started crumbling at an astonishing rate.
The power of a despairing god emperor was nothing to scoff at!
But Chi Wuyao was long ready for this. She hit Yun Che once in the chest and knocked him away. Then, she swung a strip of black fabric at Zhou Xuzi with her left hand.
The power of two god emperors clashed against one another. The dark world around them instantly suffered massive damage.
At this point, Zhou Xuzi had turned completely insane. He screamed again and again and threw his power all over the place like a child.
Rumble!!
Suddenly, the sound of an unnatural explosion cut through the space of destruction between the two god emperors, and Yun Che returned with blood red profound energy covering his entire body. Screaming even louder and crazier than Zhou Xuzi was, he charged toward the latter and swung his gigantic, vermillion-colored sword straight at his head.
“Old dog Eternal Heaven… die… DIE!!”
Yun Che’s maximum power was comparable to that of a level seven Divine Master after he activated Hell Monarch. Had Zhou Xuzi been clear-headed, he would’ve been shocked by Yun Che’s power.
The moment Zhou Xuzi sensed Yun Che’s aura, he ignored Chi Wuyao’s power completely and pounced toward Yun Che like a despairing wolf who had caught the scent of blood.
Rumble!
The earth turned upside down, and countless mountains crumbled from the impact. Although Chi Wuyao managed to leave a bloody wound at Zhou Xuzi’s waist, the latter’s power still hit Yun Che’s Heaven Smiting Sword directly.
Yun Che had been improving at an impossible rate, but there was no way he could fight against a rampaging god emperor right now.
The impact sounded like the sky itself was shattering, or two stars colliding into one another. Blood sprayed out of Yun Che’s throat, and he was knocked back like a wilted branch in a hurricane. However, it took Yun Che only a moment to regain his bearings, swallow the blood in his mouth, hold up the sword he hadn’t let go even after his bones were broken from the impact, and channel it with the red energy of hatred once more. Then, he pounced toward Zhou Xuzi again.
Chi Wuyao sighed inside her mind. She had foreseen this from the start. This was the main reason she had ordered Jie Xin and Jie Ling to follow her on this trip.
She rose into the air and made a devilish hand seal, gathering the darkness energy around her to drive back Zhou Xuzi. At the same time, she fired a black beam from her eyes straight at Zhou Xuzi’s soul. It was the soul of the Nirvana Devil Emperor.
The Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s soul trembled in fear when his ten-thousand-year-old trauma was brought back to life. As a result, Chi Wuyao successfully drove back both his power and his person. However, the god emperor was still rampaging and doing everything in his power to get at Yun Che.
A barrier appeared out of nowhere and knocked Yun Che away before he could reach Zhou Xuzi. Then, two white figures appeared from the darkness and immobilized Yun Che with their power.
It was Jie Xin and Jie Ling. The combined might of two level ten Divine Masters was so great that Yun Che couldn’t even lift a finger, much less charge toward Zhou Xuzi again.
“UAAAHH… I’LL KILL HIM… I’LL KILL HIM! AAAAAH!!”
Yun Che screamed like a madman as he struggled to free himself. Every time he shouted, bloody spittle would fly out of his throat.
Jie Xin and Jie Ling were completely unmoved. Today, their only task was to keep Yun Che under control.
Chi Wuyao was in her element, and it barely took her any effort to damage Zhou Xuzi’s soul because the latter was in a state of madness. However, the god emperor seemed to have gone completely mad, and despite the painful roars Chi Wuyao caused with her attacks he continued to charge toward Yun Che from every possible angle he could conceive of. The hatred in his eyes was as red as Yun Che’s own.
It was at this moment that a new aura approached from the distance. Honorable Tai Yu quickly appeared in the black fog.
Zhou Xuzi hadn’t messaged him, but the clash between two god emperors was impossible to miss.
A crazed Zhou Xuzi, a missing Zhou Qingchen…
Honorable Tai Yu understood what had happened immediately. The only thing that could drive his lord to insanity was Zhou Qingchen’s death.
But this was the land of darkness, and the Devil Queen wasn’t alone today. The two Witches who were keeping Yun Che under control were shockingly powerful. Besides that, another level eight Divine Master was heading their way...
“My lord, we need to go!”
Honorable Tai Yu tore apart the layers of darkness blocking his way and grabbed Zhou Xuzi’s arm. “We need to go, now!!”
Bang!
Zhou Xuzi knocked away both his arm and his person.
Honorable Tai Yu rushed back to his god emperor immediately and blocked his way. He stared straight into the hateful eyes of Zhou Xuzi and said, “My lord! Will you let Qingchen die for nothing!? We must leave! And take our revenge later!”
His son’s name pierced through Zhou Xuzi’s soul like a needle. The Eternal Heaven God Emperor finally regained a bit of clarity.
A bit of light suddenly shone through the all consuming darkness. Nearly ninety percent of the shining object was destroyed by the terrible, black storm around him, but what remained of it continued to shine a bright, white light into Zhou Xuzi’s eyes.
Zhou Xuzi froze for a second before holding the jade in his palm. He held it tightly, terrified of damaging the object any more than he already had.
It was the Longevity Jade he had personally forged for his son on his birthday.
The jade hadn’t left his son’s side until the very moment he died.
The madness faded away, and tears poured down his cheeks. He turned away and flew away with Honorable Tai Yu, his back looking as mournful as a fading sunset.
“Yun Che… Chi Wuyao…”
The hatred and sorrow behind Zhou Xuzi’s voice could fill up the whole sky. “I will gather everything the Eternal Heaven God Realm has… the Eastern Divine Region… and even the three divine regions themselves… to destroy the Northern Divine Region and grind both of you down to ash!”
“Guh… aaah!”
The sky abruptly darkened. Somehow, Yun Che was able to distort the combined power of Jie Xin and Jie Ling just a little using Eternal Calamity of Darkness and free himself before they could do anything. He charged straight toward Zhou Xuzi, but—
Rip!
A golden shadow cut through space and wrapped around Yun Che like a spirit snake, sealing all of his movements by force.
Then, Qianye Ying’er appeared in front of Yun Che and grabbed him by the shoulders. She said seriously, “Save your strength. You can’t kill him the way you are right now!”
In the distance, Zhou Xuzi and Honorable Tai Yu finally vanished completely from everyone’s sight and spiritual perception.
Yun Che trembled uncontrollably as his pupils shrank. A shower of blood burst through his lips, and his eyes turned still. He collapsed as if all of his energy and his soul were drained away from his body.
His consciousness sank into oblivion.
By killing Zhou Qingchen right in front of Zhou Xuzi, he was finally able to vent his anger. But that was all.
The inability to do anything to Zhou Xuzi even though he was right in front of him, the self-loathing that his powerlessness caused… that was the worst pain and torment of it all.
Chi Wuyao walked over and glanced once at the unconscious Yun Che. She sighed. “He acts like a child even though he’s changed into a spirit of vengeance.”
Qianye Ying’er carried Yun Che in her arms before saying quietly, “Maybe we’ve all forgotten that he’s only thirty years old… he is a child.”
Chi Wuyao: “...”
Qianye Ying’er turned away and walked back to the dark profound ark. She made sure to walk slowly and quietly. It took a while before their figures were swallowed by darkness.
“Ai.” Chi Wuyao shook her head slightly. “I wonder if I did the right thing.”
“Hua Jin.”
Chi Wuyao called out, and the Witch appeared in front of her in a kneeling position.
“How is it?” she asked.
Hua Jin held up a black pearl and said, “Here. We have the Eternal Heaven God Emperor to ‘thank’ for everything going so smoothly.”
Chi Wuyao accepted the black pearl and scanned it once with her consciousness. A smile appeared across her lips. “Well done.”
Suddenly, her eyes changed without warning as she vanished before Hua Jin.
“... !?” Caught off guard, the Witch nearly said something before covering her own mouth. Then, she concealed her aura and vanished into nothing like a ghost.
Chi Wuyao passed through the space of darkness and reappeared outside. She spread her spiritual perception ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand kilometers away in an instant, but a frown quickly appeared on her face.
“Show yourself!” She threatened, leaving a permanent sound ripple in space.
But she couldn’t find any aura or signs that someone had been here a moment ago, much less get a response.
Chi Wuyao withdrew her spiritual perception and muttered to herself. “Did I make a mistake?”
She exhaled quietly before vanishing into thin air.
One breath… two breaths… three breaths!
Shred!
Chi Wuyao appeared from a rift in space and spread her consciousness to the max at the fastest possible speed.
She had absolute confidence in her own senses.
But still, she found nothing at all.
That tiny, fleeting aura had somehow escaped her spiritual perception in just a fraction of an instant.
But someone like that didn’t exist in this world, not anymore.
So who could it be?...