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

by Mars Gravity

  Amidst the dull sounding explosion, a sunken roar was mixed within, as though it was the wailing of an evil ghost. The Golden Crow flames which carried the might of the burning heavens themselves, was scattered from a single collision and they splashed onto the surroundings. A few scattered sparks of flames landed on his body, however, they were immediately extinguished by the black aura. Xuanyuan Wentian laughed out loud. “Little Demon Empress, three months ago, if I have not relied on the power of the devil sword, this sovereign was indeed not your match. However, if this sovereign wants to kill you now, it is basically an easy feat!!”

  Xuanyuan Wentian instantly crossed a distance of three kilometers and stabbed his sword towards the Little Demon Empress. The sound of a sword slicing through air should have been an ear-piercing screech or the devil sword wielded by Xuanyuan Wentian should have brought about an incomparably sullen explosive sound which would cause one’s hair to stand on end. Furthermore, at the same instant, the black aura in the surrounding space intensely poured in, suppressing the light of the Golden Crow flames in the blink of an eye.

  Screee!!

  With a long cry, the blazing image of a Golden Crow broke through the skies and flew straight towards Xuanyuan Wentian, clashing intensely with the pitch-black devil sword in an instant.

  Space ferociously tore and the cries of the Golden Crow blazing image began to distort as well. The stalemate between the flames and devil sword had merely lasted for a short moment when the Golden Crow blazing image let out a miserable cry. It furious struggled but half of its body was immediately engulfed by the black fog.

  “See this? This is this sovereign’s current power!” Xuanyuan Wentian laughed out arrogantly, streaks of dark red blood faintly filled his face, making his face look extremely ferocious and terrifying.

  “Perish!!” Xuanyuan Wentian roared out, suppressing the Golden Crow blazing image even more intensely than before, causing it to collapse at any moment. Right at this moment, a scarlet red fire came blasting over from his right.

  Xuanyuan Wentian had a look of disdain and he did not even bother batting an eye. But, when the flames approached his body, he was suddenly thrown into shock, as he hurriedly retracted the Eternal Night Devil Sword. Then, with a thunder-like explosive cry, he swept out the sword and clashed against the two divine flames.

  Boom!!

  As though boulders had fallen onto the ground, the ground surface deeply caved in. Within the sky enveloping flames, Xuanyuan Wentian was instantly pushed three thousand kilometers back. Grabbing onto the devil sword in his hand, he glared deeply at Feng Xue’er with eyes filled with skepticism and menace.

  “That red-clothed girl… Is the Feng Xue’er you people spoke of?” Yun Qinghong said dazedly.

  “That’s right! She’s Little Sister Xue’er.” Xiao Yun nodded.

  “She’s actually…” Yun Qinghong took in a deep breath. “Her aura, is actually not any weaker than the Little Demon Empress’!!”

  “…Haah!?” Xiao Yun went blank for a moment and then his jaw almost fell onto the ground from astonishment.

  “This… is simply unbelievable.” Number One Under Heaven, who was aware of Feng Xue’er’s former strength was also dumbfounded. Feng Xue’er was definitely someone who had the most terrifying aptitude he had seen in his life. At the mere age of twenty, she was already a level eight Monarch. No matter if it was in the Profound Sky Continent or Illusory Demon Realm, it was unheard of since the beginning of time.

  But a level eight Monarch and the Little Demon Empress who had power nearing a god, was still an incomparably huge difference.

  However, after merely three months of disappearance, not only had Yun Che’s strength risen explosively, Feng Xue’er’s strength had actually reached a realm comparable to the Little Demon Empress!?

  He was simply unable to imagine just what had actually transpired in the three months they were in Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley!

  “Feng Xue’er, you sure gave this sovereign a considerably pleasant surprise,” Xuanyuan Wentian said sinisterly. “In just three months, the little phoenix has actually grown to such an extent. But unfortunately… you’re still too soft!”

  Three months ago, Xuanyuan Wentian’s strength could easily suppress Feng Xue’er.

  But the threat brought by the Phoenix flames that Feng Xue’er smashed him with earlier was actually not the least bit weaker than Little Demon Empress’s Golden Crow flames!

  And it had merely been three short months!

  Feng Xue’er’s change had greatly shaken his heart. At the same time, the intensity of his killing intent towards Feng Xue’er had grown several fold.

  Feng Xue’er quietly stood next to the Little Demon Empress with a thin layer of scarlet red flames wrapped around her body. On her delicate face with dream-like beauty, a slight degree of tenderness and doubt had faded away. What replaced them were the extraordinary aptitude and grandeur of a celestial maiden… as well as a very faint might that was sufficient to shake one’s soul.

  “The Phoenix flames are the divine flames of a divine spirit, I bear the gift of the Phoenix God and I have never used it to eliminate a single living being,” Feng Xue’er lightly said. “But for you alone, I will definitely not hold back!”

  Feng Xue’er lightly flipped her palm and dancing Phoenix flames began to fill the sky. Golden flames that could set the sky ablaze also burned within Little Demon Empress’ hand. Two masses of divine flames smashed out at the same time and collided against each other. However, they did not obliterate each other. Instead, they blended together without the slightest bit of rejection, forming an enormous fiery serpent that was several dozen meters wide. It slithered towards Xuanyuan Wentian and everywhere it went, space were blazingly torn through.

  Three months ago, the two people were mere strangers. However, in these three months, they resided in the same place and did not separate even for a moment. Subtly, the energies of these two people could already easily merge. Though the Phoenix and Golden Crow discriminated against each other, the flames of the Phoenix and Golden Crow were divine flames of the same attribute and plane!

  Chapter 860: Battling the Devil God with Combined Strength

  Xuanyuan Wentian carried a ferocious smile as he stretched out his hand. Following after this movement, a gigantic pitch-black palm stretched out from the space in front of him, grabbing towards the merged flames brought out by the Little Demon Empress and Feng Xue’er head on.

  Bang!!

  With a dull reverberation, the divine flames that had blazingly crossed through three kilometers in space were firmly grasped within his palm. The annihilation energy within the Phoenix flames and Golden Crow flames exploded forth at the same time. Fiery light charged into the skies, yet the flames were never able to escape from the control of the pitch-black hand. As the pitch-black hand tightened, the struggling Golden Crow flames and Phoenix flames quickly extinguished. In a short several breaths of time, they had already been completely engulfed by the black aura.

  Looking at this scene, the expressions carried by Feng Xue’er and the Little Demon Empress changed at the same time. The Illusory Demon profound practitioners below had even more so stared with their eyes opened wide.

  “Little Demon Empress’s Golden Crow flames, were actually… actually…”

  “Divine flames are just nothing more than that in the face of this sovereign’s present strength.” Xuanyuan Wentian coldly laughed, filled with arrogant pride. He slowly raised the Eternal Night Devil Sword and the surrounding tumbling black fog began to gather towards the blade like raging tides. An ice-cold yet dangerous aura enveloped the surrounding space of several hundreds of kilometers. “Why don’t you people tremble… as you welcome the deaths personally bestowed by this sovereign!?”

  The black aura on Xuanyuan Wentian’s body exploded forth as he pierced his sword straight towards the Little Demon Empress and Feng Xue’er. While he approached them, the streaks of light suddenly dimmed. The fiery l
ight that was initially scorching to the eyes was quickly being suppressed into dimness. At the same time, the two of them felt that space had suddenly turned sticky, as though their bodies were stuck on a spider web, making it especially hard for them to move.

  They were basically unable to evade as well and they were left with no choice but to take Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword strike head on.

  The pressure exuded by Xuanyuan Wentian was far more terrifying than three months ago. The Little Demon Empress’s eyes shone with an ice-cold glint and not the slightest bit of fear could be seen on her face. Golden Crow flames that had a color close to that of pure gold were smashed straight towards Xuanyuan Wentian’s chest. Feng Xue’er made a move right after, as scarlet red flames blazed into the skies.

  Out of the two women’s flames, one was like a scorching fiery sun, while the other was as sacred as a rainbow.

  Boom!!

  The overly intense clash of profound energy swirled up tornadoes that had enveloped the entire sky. The Golden Crow flames and Phoenix flames that blended together had even set the horizon ablaze. The dark sword beam was engulfed by the flames, however, like an enraged dark gigantic beast, it suddenly expanded, ruthlessly suppressing the Golden Crow flames and Phoenix flames. Following after the ghost cry-like whistling of a sword image, the flames were ruthlessly torn apart.

  The faces of the Little Demon Empress and Feng Xue’er paled at the same time and their bodies were quickly thrown back by the impact. However, a blast was suddenly heard from behind them as a third ball of flames passed between the two of them, straight toward Xuanyuan Wentian.

  Xuanyuan Wentian groaned as his body tumbled several dozen times to the back. When he stopped his body, the hair covering his forehead had already been completely burnt to a crisp. He reached out his hand to rub his forehead but instead of being furious, he let out a grim laugh. His pitch-black eyes locked firmly onto Yun Che. “Heh, Yun Che. Your every appearance would always bring a different surprise to this sovereign and this time it’s no exception. It has only been three short months but your strength has actually elevated several times and it has seemingly surpassed this sovereign when I had yet to cultivate my devil physique. What astonishing aptitude.”

  “But… So what!?”

  The swirling black aura was still endlessly pouring into the Eternal Night Devil Sword. While Xuanyuan Wentian’s low voice was still echoing, his body had already shuttled off like a ghost. The Eternal Night Devil Sword slashed down and its pitch-black blade sliced open a dark curtain of light that was several dozen meters in length in the sky, wantonly twisting space itself.

  “Big Brother Yun, watch out!!”

  The exchange of blows earlier had already allowed Feng Xue’er to truly experience Xuanyuan Wentian’s terror… That was power that she could not hope to match against with her present strength. Furthermore, she had an uncomfortable feeling that even if she worked together with the Little Demon Empress, it would still be seemingly impossible to defeat Xuanyuan Wentian. And though Yun Che’s profound strength had risen explosively in the three months they were in Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, he was still far weaker than the two of them.

  After Feng Xue’er yelled out, the blazing image of a Phoenix immediately flew out of her body. Within the twisted space, it ignited a mass of Phoenix flames that burned to the absolute limits. As though their hearts were in resonance, the Golden Crow blazing image on the Little Demon Empress’s body flew out at seemingly the same time, releasing an extremely sonorous mighty cry under Xuanyuan Wentian’s sword curtain.

  Among the three of them, Yun Che’s strength was comparatively the weakest. However, facing Xuanyuan Wentian who was like a nightmare itself, how could he possibly allow two women to face him while he alone retreated? Golden Crow flames ignited in his two hands and with Falling Moon Sinking Star activated, he struck towards Xuanyuan Wentian.

  Boom!!

  Four terrifying energies clashed against each other, forming incredibly terrifying energy tornadoes. The surrounding space completely collapsed in an instant and that terrifying profound energy tornado was imprisoned right after as it shrank into the collapsed space. The tornado wildly twisted and then, like a balloon being popped, it suddenly exploded.

  This time, space in the surrounding several hundred meters broke apart and spatial fragments scattered haphazardly all around like countless metal needles. Under the force of the impact that radiated out, Xuanyuan Wentian was pushed back several dozen steps, while Feng Xue’er, Little Demon Empress and Yun Che, as though they smashed away by a gigantic mountain, felt intense pain in their organs and were sent flying back in three directions like broken leaves.

  Even after the three people had combined their strengths, they were still defeated in the exchange!

  “Hahahaha…” Xuanyuan Wentian laughed out loud. Sweeping up his body, he had already charged right towards Yun Che who was still flying backwards. The Eternal Night Devil Sword flashed with an ominous black glint. “Then let’s first begin with you!!”

  “Ah!! Big Brother Yun!” Feng Xue’er’s beautiful face paled from Xuanyuan Wentian’s actions. She could no longer afford to care about the mess within her body as she desperately circulated the Phoenix flame energy. A pair of Phoenix flame wings spread open behind her and a gigantic image of a Phoenix surfaced on her body as well. Her entire being looked as though it had materialized into an actual Phoenix.

  Using the Empyrean Dance of the Phoenix Wing, she forcefully reversed her posture and with a force that could destroy the sky and decimate the earth, she charged towards Xuanyuan Wentian.

  However, Xuanyuan Wentian’s speed was too quick. Even if Empyrean Dance of the Phoenix Wing could temporarily allow Feng Xue’er’s speed to break through her limits, it was basically still far from being enough. The pitch-black devil sword was now merely a meter away from Yun Che.

  Yun Che gritted his teeth, however, he did not use Star God’s Broken Shadow to escape. A red light flashed in his hands, then he grabbed onto the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword and smashed it straight at Xuanyuan Wentian.

  Xuanyuan Wentian revealed an extremely belittling smile after seeing Yun Che’s action. He suddenly retracted the Eternal Night Devil Sword and grasped towards Yun Che’s gigantic vermilion sword with his empty left hand. “Your sword still isn’t worthy of being received by this sovereign’s own sword!”

  Clang!!

  With a loud clang, Xuanyuan Wentian’s hand had already grabbed onto the blade of Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, releasing out a deafening noise akin to divine metals clashing against each other. People were unable to believe that it was actually a noise made by a clash between a physical body and a sword.

  Yun Che’s arms trembled and under the intense numbness. He instantly lost his sense of touch, his organs were even more so in a state comparable to rivers and seas being overturned. It was not that his heavy sword had never been directly held by anyone else… just that no one had ever once grabbed it bare-handedly.

  However, Xuanyuan Wentian merely used a single hand and his Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword was firmly fixated in the air. The entire surging force of the heavy sword rebounded back onto his own body. If not because the strength of his body had long surpassed the realm of mortals, his hands and even his arms, would have already been shattered.

  But…

  Before Xuanyuan Wentian, who held onto Yun Che’s heavy sword, could even leak out an arrogant laugh, his expression suddenly changed. Following after, he even retracted his hand as though he had been electrocuted and accompanying his action was a scream that could not be completely described as mournful.

  The sudden scream would naturally lead to a short loss of focus and the Phoenix image materialized by Feng Xue’er broke through the skies at this moment, heavily smashing onto Xuanyuan Wentian’s body.

  Xuanyuan Wentian’s body was instantly ignited with Phoenix flames and he was ruthlessly sent flying away. The direction he flew to was coincidenta
lly where the Little Demon Empress was. By then, the Little Demon Empress had already stabilized her body. Waving out her palm, with Xuanyuan Wentian’s body as the medium, an intense mass of Golden Crow flames ferociously exploded, adding a layer of Golden Crow flames to his body which was already burning with Phoenix flames.

  Bang!!

  Xuanyuan Wentian heavily smashed onto the ground, smashing out a humongous, deep crater on the surface of the ground. In the next moment, a ray of black light exploded out from the deep crater, instantly extinguishing the Phoenix flames and Golden Crow flames which enveloped his body.

  Within the black light, Xuanyuan Wentian slowly floated into the air. His outer garments had already been burned to a crisp and his body was also filled with burn injuries. However, he did not seem to be batting an eye at these injuries. His two eyes firmly glared at the left hand he raised and his entire left arm was trembling intensely.

  A vermilion scar was engraved on the palm of his left hand and it was still emitting a frail vermilion glow. Within the scar, pearls of crimson black blood dripped downward.

  With his level of cultivation and “devil physique”, even if it was an injury ten times heavier than this one, the casual guidance of his profound energy would have immediately stopped the blood from flowing.

  However, even after pouring his profound energy towards this scar which was emitting out a vermilion glow several times, when approaching the wound, the profound energy would suddenly dissipate away, basically preventing him from stopping the flow of blood, let alone healing it. What was more frightening was that this wound which was clearly just two inches long felt as though there were millions of poisonous claws constantly stabbing into his palm, causing him unbearable pain.

  “What’s going on… What exactly is going on?” Xuanyuan Wentian furiously growled.

  “This is… a devil slayer sword!?”

  The Eternal Night Devil Sword suddenly transmitted a fearful voice and even the pair of opened eyes at the hilt of the sword had suddenly shrunk.