Against the Gods - Volume 08 - Cloud's End Mirage

by Mars Gravity

  She did not turn back as she once again pushed her speed to the limit, fleeing into the unknown distance. In the blink of an eye, she felt the energy that was locking onto her disappear and she also felt Xuanyuan Wentian’s aura grow further and further away.

  BOOOOOOM!!!!

  A curtain of black light abruptly spread across the sky, causing all the light in the surrounding area to grow dimmer by several degrees. At the same time, an invisible sword beam seemed to descend from the heavens as it instantly cut this curtain of black light in half, severing the mountain below it into two equal halves as well.

  BOOM BOOM BOOM…

  The black clouds which covered the sky began to roil and rumble as if indicating that a storm was imminent. Beneath the curtain of black light that had been slashed in half, Xuanyuan Wentian and Fen Juechen’s gazes clashed with one another. Xuanyuan Wentian had initially been been thrown off balance but once he could clearly see Fen Juechen, his eyes suddenly narrowed as the corners of his mouth hooked up into a strange and unfathomable smile.

  “There are not more than ten people in the entire Profound Sky Continent that can display this level of power. I had originally thought that one of those ten people had intentionally come to spoil my plans but I never thought that it would actually be… Tsk, tsk.” Xuanyuan Wentian crossed his arms across his chest as he measured Fen Juechen with his eyes. His gaze lingered especially long on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that was slung across Fen Juechen’s back as his smile grew even more strange.

  His calm and unruffled appearance clearly showed that he was not in a rush to chase after Feng Xue’er who was fleeing further and further away.

  “Xuanyuan Wentian! Today is… the day that you die!!” Fen Juechen was like a lone wolf who was facing down his mortal enemy. He stretched out a hand and slowly grasped the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that was strapped across his back. In an instant, ten bolts of black lightning split the air around him. Black light curled around the body of the jet-black sword as an incomparably dreadful, sinister and cold aura pervaded the area.

  It was fortunate that this was a desolate and uncivilized area and not a city. Otherwise the entire city would have been shrouded with this dark might.

  “Oh?” Xuanyuan Wentian was still smiling merrily, he did not assume a fighting stance, “Are you not going to explain why you want to kill this sword master?”

  “When you get to hell, you can ask King Yama yourself!”

  The black light in Fen Juechen’s eyes flashed as a beam of black light shot out from the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword and exploded towards Xuanyuan Wentian.

  This sword stroke did not have any wind up nor did it require any accumulation of energy but it carried the full brunt of Fen Juechen’s boundless hate and killing intent. Furthermore, even though this looked like an incredibly casual and common sword stroke, the moment it was unleashed, the air around him was instantly compressed as an enormous darkness energy crazily converged from all directions. In an instant, a huge vortex of darkness energy had formed at the tip of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword.

  Xuanyuan Wentian’s originally casual and relaxed expression froze up abruptly as he suddenly felt as if his body had become mired in mud. Following that, an unbearable sensation that grew heavier by the moment began pressing down on him as he could faintly hear the wails and mutterings of countless evil spirits and ghosts whispering in his ears. He was slightly dazzled as an asura purgatory that was strewn with bodies and mountains of corpses appeared in front of him… he could even smell the scent of blood that was so thick that it assailed his nostrils.

  Xuanyuan Wentian had two thousand years of cultivation and he had a wealth of experiences and knowledge. So he instantly realized that the other party’s aura of darkness had actually affected his very heart and soul!

  To be more accurate, it had created a sort of suppressive effect on his soul!

  When he had met Fen Juechen the last time, he had been absolutely shocked by the rate at which his power grew. What caused him to be even more shocked right now was that he realized that what had been displayed before was not the full extent of Fen Juechen’s power… But this sword stroke was still able to directly suppress his soul.

  This clearly meant that Fen Juechen’s current might had already begun to approach the level he was at!!

  Amidst his utter astonishment, Xuanyuan Wentian instantly discarded any carelessness that he previously possessed and stopped underestimating this enemy. All of the profound energy in his body began to surge unreservedly as countless incorporeal energy swords appeared and formed into a gigantic sword formation.

  Zzt zzt zzzt zzt zzzt zzt….

  Space was mercilessly torn apart as Heaven’s Might sword energy shot into that vortex of darkness. The tearing sounds were not ear-piercing, instead it sounded like the sinister and dreadful howls and wails of ghosts and devils.

  Fen Juechen’s eyes widened even further as the whites of his eyes completely disappeared and all of the darkness energy in his body immediately began to surge like a tidal wave. A dreadful energy that was so terrifying that it could not be described poured down on Xuanyuan Wentian in torrents.

  The huge Heaven’s Might Sword Formation seemed to be frozen solid as it instantly stopped moving. Xuanyuan Wentian’s expression was unexpectedly startled as well… This was no ordinary Heaven’s Might Sword Formation, it had been set up by him, Xuanyuan Wentian! The only people in the Profound Sky Continent who could directly resist this sword formation were Huangji Wuyu, Qu Fengyi, and Ye Meixie. He had never ever dreamed that Fen Juechen would not only not be routed by the sword formation that he had set up with nearly all his strength, but he was actually able to make Xuanyuan Wentian feel as if he himself was being suppressed.

  However, he did not panic in the slightest. After he had recovered from his shock, the depths of his eyes astonishingly lit up with a burning ecstasy.

  “Heaven’s Might Absolute Sword… Sky Break!”

  Ding!!!

  A sword beam that was several kilometers long slashed across the dark and overcast sky, as if it was cutting apart the blue dome of heaven. Under the might of this heaven-shaking sword beam, Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword formation and Fen Juechen’s vortex of darkness collapsed at the same time as both of the attacks disintegrated into a jumbled mess of profound energy.

  Even though it was merely a jumbled mess of profound energy left in the aftermath of those attacks, it had swept across the frail ground below like a devastating hurricane. In the blink of an eye, the land below had been devastated beyond recognition as several small mountains were directly leveled and a thick layer of gray dust covered the entire area.

  That tremendous and unmatched sword intent smashed against Fen Juechen’s chest like a mountain, causing him to tumble backwards. But he immediately halted his tumble as a pair of jet-black eyes fiercely glared at Xuanyuan Wentian.

  “Hahahaha… hahahahaha…”

  In contrast, Xuanyuan Wentian, who was facing an opponent whose strength had far exceeded his own estimation, was not only not flustered, he even started to laugh wantonly instead, “This is too wonderful! It is simply too wonderful! I had originally believed that you had come at me because you were being reckless and ignorant, unable to control your own emotions. But to think that you actually had sufficient confidence to face me.”

  “Tsk… tsk, tsk! Nineteen days!” Xuanyuan Wentian smiled as he gave a sigh, “In the short span of nineteen days, your strength was actually able to increase to this extent… Hahahaha! This is simply far too wonderful! The Devil Lord wasn’t lying to me after all… Ah, no! This is even more delightful than what the Devil Lord had described! The past millennia of effort has indeed not gone to waste.”

  Fen Juechen, “???”

  “This is indeed worthy to be called… a power that is on the level of the gods and devils,” Xuanyuan Wentian said as he stopped his wild laughter. He stared at Fen Juechen, his eyes widening as they shone with the most intense greed, e
lation and madness, “This is truly… the power of devil blood and devil soul that has merged together again after a thousand years!”

  Fen Juechen’s pitch-black eyes widened in shock as he gave a low roar, “What did… you say!?”

  Chapter 835: Inescapable Net

  “Heh!” Xuanyuan Wentian gave a dry chuckle as he said, “My knowledge far exceeds what you have imagined.”

  After that, he raised his hand and a thin sword, that was approximately six feet long and glowed with a faint white light, appeared in his hand, “The current you has already attained the privilege of causing this sword master to use his sword. Didn’t you want to kill me? Come then, try as hard as you can, bring me even more ecstasy! Let me fully enjoy the fruits of a thousand years of planning and preparation!”

  An enormous sword intent spread out from Xuanyuan Wentian’s body. As the thin sword in his hand swayed, the space around him started to ripple, it was as if the sword was not passing through air but the surface of still water.

  Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword intent had reached the pinnacle and it had shockingly reached the dreadful realm where he could form substance from the incorporeal.

  Fen Juechen’s origins and powers were a huge secret that only he was privy to—he was firmly convinced of that. Xuanyuan Wentian’s words had caused unease to form in his heart but his hatred and killing intent intensified even more. His darkness profound energy began to stir restlessly but the space within a five kilometer radius was under extreme suppression. The originally pure white clouds in the sky had become gloomy and heavy before immediately turning dusky black.

  Furthermore this suppression and darkness began to soundlessly and swiftly spread like a plague sowed by a devil, it expanded from five kilometers to several tens of kilometers to fifty kilometers.

  Within a fifty kilometer radius, the skies were dark and the land was silent.

  Moreover, this was not the result of Fen Juechen releasing his profound energy, it was merely created by the dark might and pressure that radiated from him.

  In contrast, Xuanyuan Wentian, who was smack dab in the middle of this oppressive might, still had a bland smile on his face. His eyes were half-narrowed and the thin sword in his hand was only covered by a faint white glow. All of his profound energy had been withdrawn into his body and he was as calm as placed as a bell that had lain silent for a thousand years.

  An unmistakable difference had appeared between the postures and auras of the two opponents.

  The suppressed silence continued for very long before Fen Juechen abruptly exploded into action at a certain instant. All of the darkness energy in his body suddenly surged forth like an erupting volcano as it rushed heavenward. In an instant, his body turned completely black… This was not created by reflection of the darkness profound energy as his skin had actually turned completely black!

  A slight change occurred in the eyes of the calm and tranquil Xuanyuan Wentian. The thin sword in his hand shook fiercely as the placid aura it created immediately began to distort. Following the explosive arrival of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, he faintly saw a blood-filled hell as boundless hatred and killing intent hurtled towards him.

  “This is… the power of the devils!” Facing this sky-covering darkness, his soul was shaking and he could even feel some fear being birthed in his heart, but his eyes were filled with the light of ecstasy… He had seen this darkness profound energy that came from the devil gods one thousand years ago, when Ye Mufeng had personally let him experience it. But, even the Ye Mufeng of all those years ago had not given him such a sensation.

  When it came to strength, the current Fen Juechen was far inferior to the Ye Mufeng who had gone berserk all those years ago but he had awakened and merged his devil blood and devil soul, so he could use the true “Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night” and the devil profound energy he was releasing was clearly even purer than the devil profound energy that was released by Ye Mufeng!

  As Xuanyuan Wentian let out hoarse cries of excitement in a trembling voice, he was being pushed back by the storm of darkness that chased after him—because even he did not have complete confidence that he could directly face Fen Juechen when he was unleashing the full might of his darkness profound energy. Every time he retreated from his previous position, that space would be filled with a thousand incorporeal sword beams. This lasted until they formed a sword formation that was made up of one hundred thousand sword beams. The sword formation was so huge that it practically covered the sky. Like a raging tempest, this sword formation drove into the storm of darkness, that seemed to come from purgatory itself.

  Space was rent apart like an old, tattered cloth as the dark devil profound energy was cut into a fine spiderweb in an instant. Tens of sword beams penetrated the darkness and pierced Fen Juechen’s body… Fen Juechen’s body was as hard and firm as divine steel while he was shrouded by the darkness, so when these sword beams that were weakened by his powers pierced into his body, a resounding sound that sounded like metal striking against metal rang out. After that, the sword beams shattered instantly. These attacks did not wound Fen Juechen in the slightest and he only felt an instant of pain when they collided against him.

  Moreover, these little stings of pain only caused the darkness energy in Fen Juechen’s body to surge even more violently. The Eternal Night Devil Sword continuously blasted out attacks as the world instantly grew even darker and all of the sword beams were drawn into the darkness.

  “Lightless Eternal Night!!”

  …………………………

  BOOM BOOM BOOM…

  Heaven-shaking explosions rang out from behind and the light had very clearly grown much dimmer. Feng Xue’er turned around and saw that the southern sky had turned completely dark, as if hundreds of kilometers worth of dark clouds had gathered there. Even though those two extremely dreadful auras were sufficiently far away enough from her, they still caused her entire body to go cold.

  “Fen Juechen?” Feng Xue’er could scarcely believe what she was muttering to herself, “He is… fighting against Xuanyuan Wentian?”

  “Big Brother Yun…” Feng Xue’er immediately turned around. She felt that the last breath of Yun Che that she had protected with her Phoenix flames before softly whispering, “Big Brother Yun, you’ll definitely be fine, I beg you, please hold on…”

  As she flew towards the unknown north, she looked like a streaking red shadow that drew a line against the blue sky.

  Darkness!

  Sword beams!

  Two completely different powers clashed in the sky above. These peerless and dreadful energies caused the heaven and earth to tremble.

  The sword beams originated from the number one swordsman in the entire Profound Sky Continent. Under the strokes of his energy blades, the all-encompassing storm of darkness was being continuously rolled aside and broken down into fragments. But this storm of darkness relentlessly surged like an enraged vicious beast as it continued to firmly suppress Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword formation. It did not look like either party had gained the upper hand.

  The wild and overgrown hills below them had long ago lost their ridges and peaks and the ground had actually sunk to an unknown level under the calamitous power that was on display. Only the ancient foundations, that had not seen the sun for ten thousand years, were left. It was practically a scene straight out of the apocalypse!

  Any battle between Monarchs would cause calamitous destruction, much less a battle between Monarchs who stood at the pinnacle of the Sovereign Profound Realm. In the past, when the masters of the Sacred Grounds dueled occasionally, they would always fight where the blue ocean was, the clashing of their fists caused massive tidal waves that soared into the heavens. But when this kind of power descended on this innocent piece of land, it was turned into a purgatory of destruction in the blink of an eye.

  Xuanyuan Wentian had never ever expected that Fen Juechen would be able to match him blow for blow after obtaining the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword just
a few short weeks ago. He, the master of the sword who had reigned supreme over the Profound Sky Continent for more than a thousand years—perhaps even Fen Juechen did not anticipate that his strength and cultivation would grow to such an extent after his devil blood had awakened.

  Fen Juechen was howling while Xuanyuan Wentian was filled with excitement… As the two of them were locked in a vicious battle, neither of them realized that three figures had appeared in the skies far above them.

  Those three people were completely unmoved despite being assailed by the heaven-shaking energy waves that were radiating from the duel. Moreover, the auras being exuded by these three people were as vast and profound as the ocean.

  Huangji Wuyu, Qu Fengyi, Ye Meixie!

  The Four Sacred Masters of the Profound Sky Continent were all gathered at this calamity-stricken land at this very moment.

  “That person… is Fen Juechen?” Ye Meixie said in a heavy voice as disbelief and incredulity colored his eyes.

  “When he had arrived at Supreme Ocean Palace previously, I went out of my way to check the level of his profound strength. It was roughly around the middle of the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm and that result had already caused me no small shock… But today, he can actually match blows with Xuanyuan Wentian? What is going on?” Qu Fengyi’s expression was heavy and solemn and her voice was filled with an extremely heavy astonishment and bewilderment.

  “Could he have used some kind of special forbidden technique?” Ye Meixie asked in a low voice, “Does such a forbidden technique even exist in the Profound Sky Continent?”

  The reason why these three people had appeared in this place was because they were chasing after Feng Xue’er… to be more accurate, they had come for the “Mirror of Samsara”. Furthermore, all of them had hidden this from their respective Sacred Grounds and they had each come alone.

  “…” Huangji Wuyu stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking, “Fen Juechen’s power has indeed reached a level where he is nearly equal to us. But he is still young after all, so his experiences are too shallow. Coupled with the fact that the power he possesses is exceedingly unusual, it is clear that he does not have complete control over it. At this moment, it seems like he can match Xuanyuan Wentian blow for blow, but as the fight drags out his loss will become clear.”