Against the Gods Chapter 1823 – Return of the Dragon Monarch

The Dragon Monarch hadn't tried to conceal his presence when he returned to the Dragon God Realm. Therefore, every dragon god was instantly made aware of his existence.

“Your Majesty, you've finally returned!”

“... the Northern Divine Region is stronger than we could've imagined. The Eastern Divine Region was completely crushed. The Eternal Heaven Realm was massacred.The Moon God Realm was destroyed. The Brahma Monarch Realm submitted to the devils to preserve themselves…”

“Yun Che is now as strong as a god emperor!”

“The devil race possesses three old and terrifying monsters. The two Brahma Monarch God Emperors who were thought to be deceased, Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu have reemerged and sided with the devil race! We now have confirmation that the Brahma Monarch Realm was hiding the Primordial Seal of Life and Death, and that they've found a way to use it!”

“The Southern Sea Realm was destroyed in a single day. The Southern Divine Region was so scared that Deep Sea, Xuanyuan and Purple Micro all surrendered to the devil race without resisting.”

“Ash was killed! Big brother was injured by the Devil Queen and is still recuperating…”

“Your Highness, Crimson Destruction… is too ashamed to see you!”

“All the realms of the Western Divine Region are ready for combat. We only need your orders and your leadership now, Your Majesty…”

………....

The eight dragon gods' sound transmissions entered his ears in rapid succession. He could hear their excitement, joy, regret… the chaos was unprecedented. It was obvious how serious the situation had become.

The Dragon Monarch didn't give them a reply, however. His expression and even his eyes didn't change in the slightest.

He slowly and soundlessly walked toward a certain destination. He was the supreme ruler of the current world, and yet he tiptoed as if he was terrified of disturbing something… or someone.

A long time later, he came to a stop.

An imposing draconic barrier that isolated everything—aura, light, sound and more—stood in front of him.  

Any living being who came within five hundred kilometers of the barrier would immediately be struck by a sense of terror. They wouldn't dare to take even a single step forward.

It was because the barrier had been laid down by none other than himself. The draconic aura circulating the barrier was his own aura.

Not only that, he had injected a small amount of his soul into the barrier. If someone tried to break through the barrier, he would be alerted immediately unless he was in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. 

He was certain that no one had so much as touched the barrier, however.

There were a lot of dragon slayers in this world, but none were foolish enough to provoke the Dragon Monarch himself.

As a result, no one knew what had transpired in the world inside the barrier.

The Dragon Monarch raised his hand quietly, and a gap about 3.5 meters tall appeared in front of him.

He exhaled once and stepped in. The gap vanished the second he stepped through, giving no one any chance to peek through it.

The Dragon Monarch stood where he was and stared at the white light in front of him for a very, very long time.

The light belonged to the barrier of the Forbidden Land of Samsara, a barrier that had existed for over two hundred thousand years. It was quiet, pure, flawless and eternal. The power used to construct it was a class above all else, and yet it wasn't intimidating in the slightest. In fact, it cleansed the mind and soul like the purest water in the entire universe.

But that was no longer the case.

Only a couple of years had passed since that day, and yet it had become weak, fragile, and almost non-existent. The barrier was now so thin that it looked like a wisp that could disappear at any moment.

An entire hour later, Long Bai finally stepped forward. 

The surroundings had changed completely as well.

The elements were no longer gentle, the air no longer felt fresh, the wind no longer felt comfortable, and the soil no longer smelled intoxicating.

The cloud that usually frolicked across the grass was completely gone. The chirping birds and dancing butterflies were nowhere to be seen, and even the spirit flowers and plants that covered the ground had wilted away.

The Forbidden Land of Samsara was just a place where the Well of Samsara was located. It wasn't a fairyland from the beginning.

It was Shen Xi's presence that had turned it into a fairyland.

Now that she was gone, all that was left was a rapidly wilting garden, and a well that had been dead for eternity.

For the past two hundred thousand years or so, one look at Shen Xi was all it took to fill him with infinite joy and satisfaction. Nothing seemed insurmountable to him as long as she was around.

Now she wasn't. Not anymore. Perhaps forever.

“Listen, Long Bai… If anything… anything… were to happen to Xi'er…”

“I will give up the light… turn into a devil… and make you suffer through every torture that exists in the world!”

“I will spill your blood and scatter your ashes… to every corner of this God Realm… so that you will be stepped on by every living creature in the world for all eternity!!”

Long Bai raised his head with his eyes tightly shut. His facial muscles were clearly writhing in agony.

Every day without fail, Shen Xi's tearful, hate-filled curses would resound in his mind and soul a million times.

The way she had looked at him especially felt like the world's cruelest, most poisonous blade gouging his heart again, and again, and again… never-ending.

Another unknown period of time later, he finally arrived at the center of the Forbidden Land of Samsara, former home of Shen Xi.

The bamboo house she once lived in had crumbled into a floor of dead bamboo.

Suddenly, he picked up a few wisps of pure spirit energy. He glanced to the side and saw a clump of still living spirit plants swaying to the wind.

These spirit flowers were the lowest existence in this tiny world, and yet they had captured his eyes like Shen Xi herself.

Heart suddenly beating a lot faster, he strode toward the bush until he suddenly lost strength in his legs and stumbled to the ground. The knees that had never bent to anyone crushed a couple of flowers and leaves and sank into the soft soil. ①

At the center of the bush of flowers was a pool of dry blood. A couple of years had passed since that day, and yet they were still giving off faint auras of light… for a moment, the aura that belonged to Shen Xi and Shen Xi alone filled up every corner of his soul.

He unconsciously extended a hand toward the blood stains, fingers shaking and swaying uncontrollably. Right before he was about to make contact though, he abruptly withdrew his hand and… bent down like some sort of dying fish that was thrown into a dried pond. He was inhaling the scent like his very life depended on it.

No one would ever believe that the Dragon Monarch, the unparalleled master of this word, would be capable of such an ugly, and even disgusting act unless they saw it with their own eyes.

A long time later, he suddenly stopped his mad breathing and dropped on one side of his body. He curled up like a prawn and lifted his shivering right hand into view.

This was the arm that had hurt Shen Xi that year.

A relationship that lasted three hundred thousand years, and a dream that lasted over two hundred thousand years… gone in an instant.

There was Shen Xi, and then… there was no more.

“Where are you… Dragon Queen… where are you…”

“I know… you're still alive… but why… why can't I find you…”

“I'll promise you anything… if you return…”

“I will do anything to save your child… I will raise her like my own daughter… I will make her the future master of the Dragon Race if that is your wish…”

“If you return…”

“Ugh… hmm!”

His eyes were blank, and he wouldn't stop muttering to himself. Blood was trickling down his mouth, and yet he didn't notice it at all.

“This arm…” he stared at his right arm with what could only be described as a shocking amount of loathing and hatred. “I will cut it off for hurting you… for now though, I still need it for something…”

“I need it… to kill Yun Che!”

When the name tumbled out of his mouth, his eyes sharpened like needles, and his killing intent grew so much that it almost felt tangible.

“No one… is worthy… of my Dragon Queen… and that animal… DARED… sully her!?”

“He must die… he must die!”

“I will tear him to pieces… crush his body… grind him to dust… and scatter his ashes across the world!”

Crack!

His bones broke audibly as he clenched his fists.

The Dragon Monarch hated Yun Che as much as Yun Che hated him.

Long Bai had been a variable Chi Wuyao wanted to avoid as much as possible when they launched their first assault on the Eastern Divine Region, but Yun Che? The Devil Master wished that Long Bai would show up so he could sacrifice his divine origins and tear him to pieces with God Ash as soon as possible.

The opposite was equally true. In fact, Long Bai's madness might even be greater than Yun Che's!

There was a dark shadow residing inside his eyes, but it wasn't the northern region devil race, but Yun Che.

A venomous flame burned within that shadow. He had been waiting for Yun Che to reappear all this time. He had known that the boy would return eventually.

The comeback was far, far sooner than he predicted, however.

In just four years, the boy had become as powerful as a God Emperor and taken control over the entire Northern Divine Region… even he had to admit that his progress was terrifying, dark, and impressive.

No matter how impressive he was, he would never, ever, ever be worthy of his Dragon Queen. He should never have sullied her!

To slaughter Yun Che even a moment sooner, the supreme ruler of God Realm burned with a kind of madness no ordinary person could possibly imagine!

Back at the Southern Divine Region, the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm.

Chi Wuyao abruptly rose to her feet and frowned deeply.

“What's wrong?” Qianye Ying'er asked immediately.

“...” Chi Wuyao slowly returned to her seat and said, “The Dragon Monarch… has returned.”

“Oh?” Qianye Ying'er looked surprised. “Didn't you say that he should linger around the God Realm of Absolute Beginning for at least another two months? It's only been half a month since your declaration.”

“That is why there is the saying 'No plan survives first contact with the enemy',” replied Chi Wuyao as she continued to frown. She thought to herself: Was Long Bai's premature return the reason behind my worries?

He is a threat, but that doesn't seem right…

Her Nirvana Devil Emperor's soul was such a transcendent existence that it sometimes gave her supernatural danger senses. Her soul would warn her of danger even before the crisis had arrived. It was very different from Shui Meiyin's Divine Stainless Soul.

“Hmph. This is good news, right?” Qianye Ying'er replied, “Yun Che longs to slaughter Long Bai with his own hands. Strategically speaking, we have lost our best chance to destroy the Dragon God Realm while the Dragon Monarch was gone. However, Yun Che will only see this as a good thing.”

He's coming out in four days anyway. If anything, this timing is perfect.”

“...” Chi Wuyao remained as silent as death.

“You look... worried?” Qianye Ying'er eyed her. “It is true that the Dragon God Realm's control over the Western Divine Region would greatly increase with the Dragon Monarch's return, but if Yun Che kills him then that control would vanish just as quickly, if not quicker. We've considered all this already, so what are you worried about?”

“That's a good question.” Chi Wuyao narrowed her eyes into half-slits. “What am I worried about?”

“Allow me to change my question a little. What kind of scenario will it take to catch us off guard?” muttered Chi Wuyao while tapping her lip with a finger. 

“Hmph.” Qianye Ying'er humphed disdainfully. “The only thing that could surprise us now is if Long Bai shows up with the full might of Dragon God Realm right now.”

Qianye Ying'er was obviously joking, but Chi Wuyao immediately paled like a ghost.

Yun Che was currently inside the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm, and it would be another four days before he returned to them. If the Dragon God Realm truly were to descend upon them with the full might of the Western Divine Region while he was gone, they would definitely be in grave danger. Spiritually speaking, Yun Che's absence during the invasion would drastically lower the devil people's morale. Physically speaking, their fighting strength would also fall off drastically without Calamity and Misfortune.

Moreover, the Dragon God Realm alone was almost unbeatable. The entire Western Divine Region? It was simply impossible.

Worse, Yun Che specifically instructed them not to disturb him until he exited the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm. They couldn't even move the orb because there was a chance it might disrupt its stability.

The Eternal Heaven Divine Realm was a special realm with its own independent time and space laws. If it were to collapse, a time and space distortion could occur and wipe out Yun Che and Shui Meiyin from existence.

In other words, not even hiding was an option.

Chi Wuyao's reaction surprised Qianye Ying'er. The latter narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “Do you actually believe that could happen? Hah, even if Long Bai were to issue the order to march to the Southern Divine Region right now, and assuming no delays were to happen during this time, it'll take at least several days to mobilize the forces of the Western Divine Region. By the time they finally reach us, ten days would have passed by already.”

Chi Wuyao opened her eyes and said seriously, “The worst blow the world can throw at you usually comes from the unknown.”

“The Dragon God Realm doesn't know that we have the Primordial Profound Ark. Equally…” Her voice dropped lower. “There might be something that we don't know about the Dragon God Realm.”

“They are the Dragon God Realm after all! The strongest, oldest, and greatest realm in the entire history of God Realm!”

————

①: Jie Yuan doesn't count

1. Jie Yuan doesn't count

Chapter end