Against the Gods

Chapter 2053: Dragon Blood

The spatial shockwaves were growing weaker and weaker. In the end, only the ground was still shaking.

The Abyssal Qilin God’s angry roars and the clashes between two Divine Limit Realm beings grew more and more distant as well. Even so, Yun Che did not dare to slow down even a second. Every breath was a breath where he spent his life force just to progress a little further.

There was a loud boom, and Yun Che fell to the ground once more. He hugged Hua Caili and rolled across the ground for a long time.

This time, he wasn’t able to climb to his feet immediately. He drew a couple deep breaths and gritted his teeth so hard that they nearly broke before he was finally able to stand up. Once he made sure that Hua Caili was well protected, he broke off into a run once more.

His breathing was in complete disarray at this point. So were his footsteps. Even so, he refused to stop.

Hua Caili never knew it was possible for someone to accrue such serious injuries and bleed so much. She definitely did not think it was possible for someone like that to hold her so tightly and keep her from catching a single scratch… until now.

It wasn’t the Abyssal Qilin God who dealt him his wounds. It was… his desire to keep her life going no matter what.

She rarely received favor from others, but she knew that this was beyond even a life for a life.

Right here and now, she was witnessing what her aunt told her about a bond that transcended even life; an obsession that went beyond will.

More time passed, and even the earthquakes were swiftly weakening in power. Still, Yun Che refused to stop. It wasn’t until they could no longer feel any shockwaves, could not hear the roars of the Abyssal Qilin God except the occasional vague thuds of impact, and their crisis was finally resolved that Yun Che abruptly slowed down. As if the breath that had been keeping him going all this time was finally spent, he dropped to his knees and hit his head against the ground, spasming all over. He did not stand again for a very, very long time.

There was one thing that did not falter even when it looked as if he was completely spent, however. His arm was still clinging to Hua Caili as tight as ever.

At this point, Hua Caili’s five senses were extraordinarily weakened. Even so, she could hear his heartbeat as clear as day.

She slowly lifted her fingers and brushed away his hair. Some time later, she finally managed to touch his blood and sweat-soaked face.

The light, almost imperceptible touch seemed to jolt Yun Che out of his short coma. He began controlling his breathing and gripped Hua Caili’s hand before she lost her strength. Even now, he was still doing his best to comfort her, “It’s… fine now…”

He shakily lifted his upper body and placed his hand on her solar plexus. Pure, unblemished light shone out of it excruciatingly yet stubbornly and healed Hua Caili bit by bit.

Hua Caili opened her mouth and begged him weakly, “Save… yourself…”

Yun Che did not stop, however. While adjusting his breathing, he said in the gentlest voice he could muster, “From the moment I saw your injured form… I became certain that your life… is more important than my own… saving you… is the same as saving myself…”

“...” She felt as if her soul was struck by something heavy. Even her body was shaking violently as a result. Hua Caili’s lips parted, and she wept uncontrollably for a time.

Li Suo: (;￢＿￢)...

……

The battle between the Abyssal Qilin God and Hua Qingying was still ongoing. However, the Abyssal Qilin God was the only one attacking in fury, while Hua Qingying was half-guarding and half-drawing it away from Hua Caili and Yun Che.

Now that the Abyssal Qilin God’s fury was completely locked onto her, her speed at which she was luring it away far exceeded Yun Che’s escape speed.

Yun Che’s appearance had shone a glimmer of hope into the sea of despair that gripped her earlier… but only a glimmer.

She knew all too well just how hurt Hua Caili was after taking a deadly strike from the Abyssal Qilin god. It was near impossible that she would survive even with Yun Che protecting her and flying her away from the battlefield as quickly as he was able.

That was why her perception was sticking to Yun Che and Hua Caili like glue even as she drew the Abyssal Qilin God farther and farther away.

The duo were like leaves trying to survive the raging sea, or catkins trying to weather a sandstorm. One unfortunate accident was all it took to engulf them both.

Despite this, they did not falter. They continuously moved further and further away even as Yun Che’s aura kept weakening as a result. Miraculously, Hua Caili’s pitifully weak aura did not dissipate either.

When the duo finally left her perception range, when they were finally out of danger, Hua Caili’s aura continued to remain near undamaged since after the moment she took the attack.

At the same time, something wet passed through the eyes of the Sword Fairy who was famous for her heartlessness.

It was a miracle. One that should only appear in fairy tales.

It wasn’t even her who created this miracle. It was Yun Che.

She had witnessed Yun Che giving his all to protect Hua Caili with her own eyes. The fact that this miracle happened also proved that Yun Che was using all of his power… no, his life to protect her.

Now, there was nothing holding her back or distracting her any longer. Hua Qingying’s fear, worry and trepidation instantly disappeared into nothing, leaving behind only icy bloodthirst.

The light in her eyes turned into a sword, and the Immortal End Sword shone brightly in her hands, its ringing loud and undying.

She slowly looked up. Her body, heart, soul, intent and sword merged seamlessly into one, and what was a jade glow emitted a purple hue that looked as brilliant as a fantasy.

The Abyssal Qilin God’s movements froze, its massive body continuously cut open by invisible sword intent.

“Die, evil beast!”

The feminine voice pierced souls as she swung her sword.

The world lost its color, and everything fell into silence.

……

The light profound energy was extraordinarily weak, and yet its warmth felt clearer and clearer as time passed. Eventually, she felt pain.

She knew then that she had completely escaped the shadow of death.

Sensing that Hua Caili had gotten a new lease of life, Yun Che relaxed and finally couldn’t hold on any longer. The light profound energy in his palm abruptly extinguished as he collapsed sideways on the ground.

He had only taken a few deep breaths before he sat up once more and exclaimed with joy so rich it was almost tangible, “Thank goodness… see? I said… we would be fine…”

His face was covered in ropes of blood, and even the parts that were untouched were pale as a sheet due to excessive blood loss. It was a horrifying look even for one as handsome as him, and yet Hua Caili just stared at him like it was the only thing that existed in this world. She was unwilling to look away for even an instant.

Suddenly, the surrounding space turned deathly silent. It was as if sound had ceased as a concept.

The Endless Fog was eternally gray and dark, but for some reason, phantasmal purple light was descending from above.

Yun Che subconsciously looked to the north where the light had come from, and his pupils contracted.

The northern sky was now marred by a glaring purple scar.

From a distance, it looked as if the Endless Fog had been split in two.

In the eyes of Yun Che and countless other profound practitioners, the purple scar that split the Endless Fog refused to fade even after a long, long time. It looked like it would become a new part of the scenery; an eternal memory of the Sword Fairy’s ultimate fury and power.

Slowly, Yun Che looked away while feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.

I can’t believe that woman is this…

She couldn’t possibly have killed the Abyssal Qilin God… could she?

No, she couldn’t have… the Abyssal Qilin God was a True God before it was consumed by abyssal dust. Even with its power degraded, its body is still the body of a True God. Not even an actual True God would be able to carve its body into pieces without significant effort, not to mention that this is the Endless Fog. Whatever injury it took should recover swiftly.

He relaxed when he arrived at this conclusion.

Calamity refused to give him a break, however. A pair of dark, ghastly glows appeared behind his back.

It was the eyes of an abyssal beast.

It was less than thirty meters away from Yun Che, and yet he did not notice it at all.

“Young… master Yun…” Hua Caili cried out weakly.

At the same time, the abyssal beast roared and pounced toward his back.

It was an early-stage Divine Master wolf-shaped abyssal beast. If this was any other time, it would not be able to threaten even a hair on their persons. Right now though, it might very well be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Exhausted, Yun Che’s spiritual perception and power were at rock bottom. By the time he sensed the approaching danger and turned around in panic, it was already too late.

The shadow and nightmarish aura closed the distance in an instant. Before he knew it, the abyssal beast’s fangs were grating against his skull.

Yun Che let out a muffled groan of pain but reacted swiftly. He grabbed the back of the abyssal wolf’s neck with unerring accuracy, dug his fingers into its flesh and bones, and ripped it off his skull, and tossed it away.

After tossing the abyssal wolf to the far distance, Yun Che rushed to Hua Caili’s side, lifted her into the air, and pressed her firmly against his chest just like before.

His remaining strength was such that he could not even kill an abyssal wolf he could’ve blown away with his breath if he was at peak condition.

By the time Yun Che lifted Hua Caili, the abyssal wolf had climbed back to his feet. Yun Che’s blood and its own injuries sent it into a berserk state as it pounced toward him again, bloody claws shining with a murderous light.

Yun Che was staggering and shuffling his feet away from the abyssal wolf as best he could, but when he looked up, his eyes were shining with greater violence than even the berserk beast.

There was a red flash, and the Heaven Smiting Sword appeared in his hand. A guttural growl escaped his throat as the sword traveled along a crooked trajectory and slammed into the wolf’s body.

BANG!

The abyssal wolf was bowled over in mid-air, but Yun Che also staggered backward from its sheer strength.

It was at this moment a cold wind erupted from his left flank. It was yet another abyssal wolf, and it was charging straight toward Hua Caili. Its cold, icy claws were rapidly swelling in size in her eyes.

Despite being stuck in an extremely crooked posture, Yun Che forcefully halted his momentum and blocked the attack with his own back.

Pssh!

The sound of the claw piercing through Yun Che’s back transmitted into Hua Caili’s ears as loud as day.

It also pierced into the deepest part of her soul.

“Kagh… ahhhh!!!”

As if the pain had jolted Yun Che’s violent side, he let out an angry, ghoul-like roar and awakened to a level of strength that his battered, exhausted body should not possess. His counter slash actually split the abyssal wolf in half and spilled reddish black blood everywhere.

The cold, icy blood of the abyssal beast drenched Hua Caili, but she couldn’t seem to feel it. She simply clung to his chest with all she had.

Your life is more important than mine.

What a ludicrous statement it was, and yet he was carrying it out with his life on the line.

Another throaty roar later, he flattened the other abyssal wolf into a pancake.

THANG!

The Heaven Smiting Sword fell out of his hand, and Yun Che swayed left and right like a drunkard. In the end, he could not help but collapse back on the ground.

His arm was still holding onto Hua Caili, however. He did not allow her back to make contact with the blood-drenched ground.

It had been a long time since they heard anything from the north.

Clearly, the battle between Hua Qingying and the Abyssal Qilin God was over.

While the Sword Fairy had conjured that purple scar out of ultimate frustration and fury, she surely hadn’t forgotten her true objective. She would surely shake off the Abyssal Qilin God and seek them out as soon as she was able.

“It’s fine now, it’s fine now…”

He forced down his panting and squeezed out his voice to prove to Hua Caili that he was fine. “It won’t be long before that senior finds us… I’m sure that—”

“Roar—

The deafening roar of an abyssal beast erupted far, far too close for comfort.

Yun Che’s voice came to a sudden stop. Both he and Hua Caili could tell that it was the cry of a mutated dragon!

He slowly turned around to face toward the source of the noise. At the same time, a massive shadow descended from above.

The draconic silhouette was over thirty meters tall. Bluish black in color, it was shaped like a horned dragon. It wasn’t big, but the aura it gave off was equal to at least a thousand nightmares.

After all, it was the aura of a Divine Extinction Realm dragon.

Even if Yun Che was at peak condition, he would have been hard pressed to fight a Divine Extinction Realm horned dragon, much less now.

“...” Hua Caili’s pupils dilated. Right now, the emotion that swelled in her heart was lightless despair.

In the end, I couldn’t…

If this is my fate, then so be it… but…

I didn’t want to drag him down with me…

The arm holding her gave her a squeeze, and a slow, fearless voice declared, “No need to be afraid…”

“It is just a Divine Extinction Realm horned dragon… so long as I am still alive, then I will never give up!”

There was nothing special about his declaration, and yet it was embedded deeply in Hua Caili’s heart.

A stake that would influence her life for as long as she lived.

Brimming with the most primal thirst for destruction, the Divine Extinction Realm dragon descended on top of them like a sky-breaking mountain. The draconic pressure alone was almost enough to tear their bodies to bits.

Yun Che gritted his teeth and looked up, eyes flashing with azure light.

ROOOOAAAAARRRRRR——————

A draconic silhouette manifested once more and let loose a roar that was even more stunning than the abyssal horned dragon.

The Dragon God was the king of all dragons, and the Dragon God Soul was the dragons’ greatest soul. Even after the horned dragon was completely consumed by the abyss, its bone and blood still feared the Dragon God deeply.

The abyssal horned dragon’s eyes immediately discolored. It flailed wildly in mid-air and plummeted toward the ground, and its terrible power spilled everywhere like a flash flood.

Hua Qingying was searching for the duo when the draconic roar caught her attention. She immediately turned around and shot toward the source at light speed.

Pssh boom!

Yun Che had been gathering his strength. When the abyssal horned dragon crashed against the ground, he let out a throaty roar, raised the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, and stabbed it into the abyssal horned dragon’s neck.

BANG!!

Maybe it was because the abyssal horned dragon had completely lost control of its power, or maybe it was because Yun Che had created yet another miracle via sheer willpower. There was a deafening bang that sounded like an avalanche, and his sword pierced deeply into the dragon’s neck, causing reddish black dragon blood to spray on top of him and Hua Caili.

It was at this moment Yun Che’s cruel eyes flashed with imperceptible intent.

A red bottle appeared soundlessly in his palm. When he crushed it, two blogs of crimson dragon blood emerged.

It was the horned dragon blood Mu Xuanyin had given him back at the Snow Song Realm.[1]

One glob of untainted horned dragon blood was inserted into the abyssal horned dragon’s wound, and the other was mixed with the shower of dragon blood.

The blood of the abyssal horned dragon had been corrupted by abyssal dust. Its quality was obviously much worse than before.

On the other hand, the horned dragon blood he possessed was pure and unused. It was enough to cut off all other possibilities and leave only one.

Roar!!

Meanwhile, the abyssal horned dragon finally recovered from the soul stun and let out a terrible roar. Its aura slammed into Yun Che like a boulder and sent him flying.

Unfortunately for the horned dragon, it didn’t even get to climb to its feet before a beam of light poured down from above like moonlight. It easily skewered its draconic body like it was rags.

1. Those who forgot where the horned dragon blood came from may look back to chapter 1018. ☜

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