Against the Gods

Chapter 2106 - Sha Xing, Xian Yue

“Prey?” Li Suo asked.

Yun Che rose to his feet and said sinisterly, “The Star and Moon twins.”

Li Suo withdrew her hand and extinguished her light. “I see. Now I understand why your emotions are at its strongest whenever Meng Jianxi brings up the Star and Moon Kingdom of God. You were very concerned about them.”

While adjusting his aura, Yun Che extended a hand and made a grabbing motion. The surrounding abyssal dust immediately gathered into a mild whirlpool and flowed into Yun Che’s palm.

The Endless Fog was infinitely vast. Not even a High Priest would be able to locate a specific aura or anomaly. In other words, so long as the Fog Monarch did not reveal himself of his own accord, not even a True God could detect him in the Endless Fog.

Even so, Yun Che acted with the utmost caution.

“Looking at the location of the Star and Moon Kingdom of God and the Star and Moon Divine Children’s previous track record, this is the area they would most likely appear... it was worth searching for them non-stop for the past few days!”

Li Suo asked, “You haven’t made contact with anyone from the Star and Moon Kingdom of God since entering the Abyss though. How were you able to recognize their presence?”

“It is true I haven’t made contact with anyone from the Star and Moon Kingdom of God, but... I recognize the presence of the Heavenly Wolf and the Purple Pylon!”

As he spoke, the whirlpool of abyssal dust had been compressed into a long, narrow line.

“You are facing two Divine Children this time, and they must have a protector,” Li Suo said worriedly. “The risks of targeting them are extremely high.”

“You’re overthinking this.”

Yun Che smiled. It was at this moment a middle-sized abyssal beast walked over and stopped in front of him.

Yun Che had selected this abyssal beast half a month ago, and it had been crouching not far away from him this whole time. It was only now Li Suo finally understood what it was for.

Yun Che grabbed its claw and drilled open its limb. Then, he injected the compressed abyssal dust into it.

......

“This time, we’re going to be practicing in the Endless Fog for six months at least. Are you afraid, Sha Xing?”

“Afraid? Is that a joke? If it wasn’t for the Star Sovereign’s order, I would have wanted to see what the inner region looks like.”

“You may not fear the Endless Fog, but... what about the Fog Monarch? Rumors have it that the Fog Monarch is omnipresent in the Endless Fog. He might be listening in on our conversation right now.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about the Fog Monarch at all. The rumors also say that the Fog Monarch bestowed many favors and rescued many people from abyssal corruption. You saw the projection just like me. He punished the two abyssal knights who offended him gravely, but he ultimately did not take their lives. We cannot possibly know what he truly thinks, but on the surface at least, he is a merciful existence. In that sense, he's even less scary than an abyssal beast.”

The two youngsters were walking shoulder to shoulder. One of them had eyes that glittered like stars, and another eyes that looked as clean as the moon. Their attire was similar, their figures were similar, even their footsteps were astonishingly similar.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that the strength of their profound qi, circulation of aura, and even breathing rhythm were virtually identical as well.

If not for their different appearances, one could mistake them for a mirror reflection of each other.

They were Sha Xing and Xian Yue, the twin Godbearers of this generation’s Star and Moon Kingdom of God[1].

The twin Divine Regents of the Star and Moon Kingdom of God, Wu Shenxing and Wu Shenyue, were a pair of twins. Their parents carried the power of the Star God and the Moon God in them, and they had awakened their divine essences, adjusted their innate powers to become compatible with the Heavenly Wolf Star God and the Purple Pylon Moon God’s power, and inherited their divine powers at the same time. Together, they were known as the Star and Moon Divine Regents and were once renowned as the miracle twins of their generation.

Sha Xing and Xian Yue weren’t twins. In fact, they didn’t even share the same parents. However, they had grown up together and were chosen to become Godbearers at the same time. Throughout the years, their compatibility and “balance” crept ever closer toward perfection. Today, they had already reached the level of the former miracle twins. Naturally, the Star and Moon Divine Regents were quite impressed with them.

The two Divine Children slowed down at the exact same time.

“We won’t be able to leave easily once we enter the middle region. Let us make one last preparation before we depart.”

It was at this moment a dangerous aura suddenly appeared in front of them. It closed the distance in just the blink of an eye.

The two Divine Children exchanged a look with each other. “I guess that preparation will have to wait.”

“Divine Extinction Realm... level two?” Sha Xing frowned a little. “Why would there be a Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast in this region?”

“It is pretty rare,” Xian Yue said. “It’ll be a good warm-up.”

The abyssal fog split open to reveal an abyssal beast surrounded by gray fog in mid-pounce. At the same time, azure blue starlight and dark purple moonlight shone at the same time.

One twin unsheathed a forceful, heavy sword, and the other an agile, purple sword. Despite this, they achieved perfect compatibility in an instant. The power of the star and the moon shone at the same time.

Boom!

The heavy sword broke the shielding, and the purple sword pierced the heart. In just one exchange, the Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast was spilling blood and losing its balance.

The abyssal beast let out an instinctive howl. Since it couldn’t feel pain, it twisted its body at an angle that would’ve snapped the spine of an actual profound beast and thrust a pair of abyssal claws at Sha Xing’s solar plexus.

The heavy sword was the fiercest and most straightforward weapon of them all, but what if it was combined with the illusory Star God’s Broken Shadow?

Shred!

The abyssal beast’s attack missed, and Xian Yue had predicted all of Sha Xing’s movement. As soon as his sword pointed at a certain angle, a purple moon exploded where Sha Xing was a moment ago and engulfed the abyssal beast completely, annihilating both its body and its auric perception.

At the same time, Sha Xing appeared above the abyssal beast and gathered his strength in just half a breath. While the abyssal beast was struggling to break free from the purple moon, the angry, howling silhouette of the Heavenly Wolf manifested behind his back.

“Heavenly Star Lamentation!”

Rumble!

The attack felt like an actual star crashing to the earth. The Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast let out a mournful howl as its spine snapped in half, and its body struck the ground so hard that it formed a huge, deep pit. Considering how impossibly tough the ground of the Endless Fog was, this was quite an impressive feat.

It wasn’t over, however. Starlight and moonlight descended once more, their destructive power crisscrossing and merging with each other. Together, they painted a brilliant light web of destruction so colorful that it blinded even in the dark Endless Fog.

Boom boom boom boom—

Twelve explosions later, Sha Xing and Xian Yue withdrew their power at the same time and returned to the sky, backs facing each other. Then, the heavy sword and purple sword disappeared from their hands.

The perfect synchronicity of their movements and pacing would have stunned anyone who saw it for the first time. However, it was just another day to the duo who had been working to improve their compatibility for the past thousand years.

“I remember the first time we encountered a Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast in the Endless Fog. It was a hard won victory where both of us were covered in wounds. Today...” Sha Xing smiled lightly. “I feel like we can fight even a level four Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast. Together.”

“Just that?” Xian Yue lifted his head with a proud smile on his face. “We may not be at level four Divine Extinction Realm yet, but there is no level five Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner in the entire Star and Moon Kingdom of God that we cannot defeat together... including abyssal beasts!”

Sha Xing cast his gaze down at the abyssal beast they had hacked into pieces. “It’s time to collect our loot.”

They could sense its abyssal crystal since its body was cut open.

Sha Xing descended toward the abyssal beast. He was just about to rip it open with his hand when suddenly, the upper torso of the abyssal beast abruptly pounced up and thrust its claw at his solar plexus.

Abyssal beasts had no consciousness. Naturally, it couldn’t think for itself, much less play dead.

It was one thing if their quarry was a dead man, but an abyssal beast that had been hacked into pieces? Who would think that it was still alive? Who would still be on their guard?

The attack happened so unexpectedly that Sha Xing blanched. Xian Yue was spinning around in shock as well. However, not only did the abyssal beast hold the element of surprise, Sha Xing wasn’t prepared at all. Forget using Star God’s Broken Shadow, he didn’t even have time to channel his profound energy.

So, the abyssal beast’s sharp claw pierced right through his chest and out of his back.

For an instant, Sha Xing’s pupils contracted to pin-heads. Then, they dilated into sheer violence.

Bang!

The Star God’s power erupted from his chest and ejected the abyssal beast’s claw with vengeance. At the same time, the Purple Pylon divine power descended and blasted its broken upper torso far, far away from Sha Xing. Then, a series of follow up explosions turned it into bits and pieces.

“Are you alright?” Xian Yue asked with a frown while kicking away the abyssal beast’s lower half.

“I’m fine. It’s just a minor injury.” Sha Xing lifted his hand and sealed his wound with profound energy in no time. He was frowning just as deeply as Xian Yue. “It’s strange though. If an abyssal beast were still alive, then its destructive impulse would drive it to fight to the death. However, its body was blasted to pieces, and it was, for a time, completely motionless. Why would it gain a second wind out of nowhere?”

“I don’t know.” Xian Yue replied, “The Endless Fog is vast, and the abyssal beasts are endless. Anything can happen here. Still, look at the bright side. We now know not to let our guard down even against an abyssal beast that seems to be completely dead. Better to learn this lesson now than after we enter the middle region.”

“Indeed.” Sha Xing sat down. “I’m going to recover for a bit. Guard me.”

Sha Xing closed his eyes and slowly circulated his profound energy. The next moment, he opened his eyes and let out a cry of surprise and pain.

“What’s wrong?” Xian Yue moved closer.

“Abyssal... corruption!” Sha Xing spat slowly.

Xian Yue let out a huge sigh of relief. They could easily dispel the abyssal corruption of an early-stage Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast unless they allowed it to fester for too long.

Unfortunately, he quickly noticed that Sha Xing’s expression was ugly. He quickly reached out and felt Sha Xing’s wound with his profound energy. He blanched.

To Xian Yue’s shock, the abyssal dust that invaded Sha Xing’s body was so thick that his soul was trembling just touching it with his profound energy.

Xian Yue quickly shook off his shock and stopped hesitating. He abruptly rose to his feet and shouted, “Senior Stellar, please show yourself! Sha Xing is afflicted with abyssal corruption! It has entered his profound veins!”

“Senior Stellar!”

Several shouts later, a rugged voice finally responded, “A mere Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast is enough to cause you two to panic to this extent?”

His voice was full of disappointment.

“Stellar... Star Sovereign...” Sha Xing turned his head with a painful groan, “This... is different...”

A middle-aged man with a fierce-looking face and a white beard that was shaped like a halberd descended. He was wearing a star robe.

He extended a finger and touched Sha Xing. Just a moment later, his disappointment was replaced by rapidly swelling shock and horror.

He abruptly raised his finger and gathered the power of the Divine Limit Realm at his fingertip. Then, he shot it through Sha Xing’s solar plexus.

Sha Xing turned white and threw up a mouthful of dirty blood, but the Stellar Star Sovereign’s eyebrows remained tightly knitted. Not only did he not withdraw his power, but he continued to rummage around with the utmost caution.

As the wound in Sha Xing’s solar plexus slowly widened until it was starting to damage his internal organs, the Stellar Star Sovereign finally withdrew his energy and stared at the shattered remains of the abyssal beast. He exclaimed in shock, doubt and disbelief, “It’s just a Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast... How can this be? How can this be?”

“Not even you can help him, Senior Stellar?” Xian Yue exclaimed.

The Stellar Star Sovereign’s eyebrows twitched. It took him a while before he finally answered, “This level of abyssal corruption should not belong to an early-stage Divine Extinction Realm abyssal beast at all. It is something... only a Divine Limit Realm abyssal beast could produce.”

“What!?” Sha Xing and Xian Yue burst out in shock and horror.

“If I was the afflicted one, I could dispel it with ease. But...” He looked at Sha Xing with deep worry. “Sha Xing is the one who is afflicted, and the abyssal corruption is nestled in his profound veins no less. If I were to dispel it by force, it would do irreversible damage to his profound veins.”

“Just now, I dispelled the abyssal corruption outside his profound veins. As for the part inside his profound veins... I can only seal it temporarily. I believe... the two supreme ones are the only ones who stand a chance at dispelling the abyssal corruption without hurting your profound veins.”

He grabbed Sha Xing’s shoulder. “The trial ends here. You must return to the Kingdom of God immediately.”

“But...” Sha Xing clenched his teeth tightly.

“No buts!” The Stellar Star Sovereign said in a tone that wouldn’t accept no as an answer. “Do you understand what the consequences of permanently losing your profound veins are!?”

Sha Xing stopped arguing then. He cast Xian Yue an apologetic look before leaving together with Stellar Star Sovereign.

......

Author’s Note: The Pure Land Meet is nigh. Did we miss anything?

1. TL-Disclaimer: Mars did NOT make it clear what their gender is. I’m assuming they are both male because of the word 他 but it’s entirely possible that isn’t the case. ☜