Against the Gods

The barrier covering Burning Moon’s capital parted when the Burning Moon God Emperor gave the order. Silence suddenly blanketed the area.

Fen Daozang, a peak level nine Divine Master and the head of the Eleven Moon Eaters, walked up to the Burning Moon God Emperor quickly after the barrier had opened. He was also the God Emperor’s great uncle.

“What is the matter, God Emperor?”

Still staring at the sky, the Burning Moon God Emperor said with a frown, “It’s the Devil Queen.”

“What!?” Fen Daozang exclaimed in shock.

“What must come, must come,” the God Emperor muttered to himself.

From the moment the Untamed Divine Marrow he kept hidden in the Thousand Desolations Divine Sect was stolen and detected by the seventh Witch, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she sought reparations from him.

However… he didn’t expect her to show up herself. It seemed a little too much even for something this important.

It had been several thousands years since the last time Chi Wuyao had visited the Burning Moon God Realm.

“How should we prepare, God Emperor?” Fen Daozang asked.

The Burning Moon God Emperor fell silent for a moment before asking, “How many Moon Eaters are present in the realm right now?”

Fen Daozang answered, “Seven in total including me, God Emperor.”

“Gather them all and have them wait at the main hall.” The Burning Moon God Emperor’s eyes flashed darkly. “The Devil Queen is cunning and devious, so we cannot clash against her head on. However… this is our capital she’s visiting. She will not underestimate our power!”

“Understood.” Fen Daozang accepted the order. He let out a near imperceptible sigh when he turned around.

Although the Burning Moon God Emperor had spoken in a forceful and imposing manner that was befitting his status… in reality, the fact that he had ordered every immediately available Moon Eater to go on standby at the main hall showed just how wary he was of the Devil Queen.

To put it even more bluntly… he was afraid.

Tens of thousands of years ago, when the Soul Stealing Realm was still the Clear Sky God Realm, the Burning Moon God Emperor had never ordered more than one Moon Eater to accompany him when the Clear Sky God Emperor came visiting.

Burning Moon Royal City was bustling with activity for a time, but the Devil Queen was approaching at a surprisingly slow pace. She seemed to be giving them an ample amount of time to react and prepare on purpose.

The leisurely approach was incredibly arrogant, but it also loomed over their heads like an invisible doom.

Fifteen full minutes later, the Devil Queen’s voice suddenly came from above. “How have you been, Burning Moon God Emperor.”

She neither announced herself nor declared her reason to visit. Since the blunt greeting was directed at the Burning Moon God Emperor alone, no one had the right to answer her besides him.

The Burning Moon God Emperor frowned deeply before rising to his feet. By the time he was fully erect, he was full of smiles and beaming like the sun. “Hahahaha! This king knew that an honored guest was soon to arrive at our royal city when all the devil flowers in the Burning Star Pond bloomed at the same time, and the sky was filled with black stars yesterday. But I wasn’t expecting it to be you, Devil Queen!”

He floated into the sky and appeared in front of Chi Wuyao. He shot a glance at the entourage she brought with her before smiling even wider. “The Burning Moon Realm is honored to have you as a guest, Devil Queen. Many years have passed since we last met, and it looks like both your beauty and your power have improved by leaps and bounds during this time. This king is truly impressed.”

“And you look like you haven’t changed at all, Burning Moon God Emperor.” The ghost of a ridiculing smile danced across Chi Wuyao’s lips. “Did you really waste all your years having fun on top of women?”

Everyone in the Northern Divine Region knew that the Burning Moon God Emperor was lust incarnate.

But Chi Wuyao was the only one who would dare say it to his face and make fun of him.

Instead of getting angry at her, the Burning Moon God Emperor laughed loudly and said, “There is nothing more enticing than power and sex to a man. This king may be the emperor of Burning Moon, but his nature is that of a shallow mortal who couldn’t forget the pleasures of the secular world. This king knows that he is incomparable to you, Devil Queen.”

Chi Wuyao smiled beautifully in response. “I guess you aren’t completely oblivious after all, Burning Moon God Emperor.”

“~！@#￥%...” The corner of the Burning Moon God Emperor’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Had the Devil Queen been someone else, he would’ve smashed them to dust already.

He knew that Chi Wuyao had come for the opposite of peace, but the level of hostility she was displaying still exceeded his predictions.

She was probably very angry about the Untamed Divine Marrow… and worse, she wouldn’t have come personally if she didn’t have absolute confidence in getting what she wanted.

A good ending was starting to look like an impossibility.

Chi Wuyao watched the thinking Burning Moon God Emperor for a second before saying, “Aren’t you curious why I’m here today?”

The Burning Moon God Emperor replied with a chuckle, “Considering how long it has been since we last met, not even ten days and nights would be enough for us to talk about old times. I’ve prepared a banquet, so why don’t we speak while we enjoy it?”

“In that case, this queen shall not bother with pleasantries.”

“Please.”

Chi Wuyao had only brought four people with her today.

Yun Che, Qianye Ying’er, Eighth Witch Yu Wun and Ninth Witch Chanyi.

The fact that the Devil Queen had chosen to bring her weakest Witches instead of her strongest, the Great Witch did lessen the pressure sitting in the Burning Moon God Emperor’s mind by a lot.

The banquet was set up in the main hall, but only a few dozen people were attending. Moreover, they were all incredibly important people.

After all, how many people in the entire Northern Divine Region had the right to sit in the same space as the Devil Queen?

When the Burning Moon God Emperor appeared with the Devil Queen and her entourage behind her, everyone in the hall stood up in unison and saluted them respectfully. At the same time, an invisible but terrifying pressure started pressing down on the guests.

A total of seven Moon Eaters, twenty Burning Moon Divine Envoy's, and the most talented princes and princesses were attending the banquet.

When a group of people were gathered in one place, their natural auras would mingle together and form a kind of invisible pressure. Since everyone here was a top tier expert, the pressure that was formed could crush almost anyone’s willpower and paralyze them in place.

Although their guest was the Northern Region Devil Queen herself, they weren’t going to make things easy for her!

One of the attendees was Fen Jueran, the Burning Moon Prince who met Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er back at the Imperial Heaven Tower. He froze for a second when he saw the duo, but he quickly regained himself and lowered his head again. His heart started beating wildly.

Chi Wuyao stood at the entrance to the hall and looked around for a bit. A demonic smile started crossing her lips. “If there’s one thing you people have improved on, it would be the way you treat your guests. Even I’m a bit taken aback by how ‘magnificent’ your hospitality is.”

A god emperor’s words were expected to strike the world like thunder, but Chi Wuyao’s were as soft as cotton and as seductive as a succubus. The moment her voice entered the ears and slipped into the soul, everyone in the hall trembled and felt their blood rush to their heads. The princes and princesses who were weaker compared to the people around them even started swaying and feeling dizzy all of a sudden.

What should’ve been a tremendous, unified pressure dissolved into shambles in almost an instant.

“Hahahahaha!”

A loud laugh suddenly cut through the haze and woke everyone up like the morning gong. The Burning Moon God Emperor said loudly as his retinue recovered themselves, “I could rouse the whole realm, and it still wouldn’t be enough to welcome a guest as honorable as you, Devil Queen. I would be plenty grateful already if you don’t find the banquet too inadequate.”

“Now, please take your seats so I may show you the extent of my hospitality.”

Chi Wuyao smiled and stepped into the hall. Wherever she went, people bowed their heads in fear… that’s right, not deference, but fear; a fear that sprang from the bottom of their souls.

The princes and princesses were covered in cold sweat. Everyone had heard of the Devil Queen since long ago, but they had never had the misfortune of encountering her until now. Who would’ve thought that that a simple voice was all it took for the Devil Queen to unbalance them and make their hearts tremble even now?

The Burning Moon God Emperor sat down in his chair, and Chi Wuyao sat in the seat of honor. Yu Wu and Chanyi stood to the left and right side of Chi Wuyao behind her and treated the people around them as if they didn’t exist.

Yun Che sat next to Chi Wuyao, and Qianye Ying’er stood behind him.

The duo hadn’t said a word since they entered the Burning Moon God Realm, but the Burning Moon God Emperor was very different from what they expected him to be.

“Devil Queen, forgive me if I assumed wrongly, but is she the Witch you recruited in the recent years, the one named ‘Chanyi’?”

The Burning Moon God Emperor stared at the Witch behind Chi Wuyao.

Out of all the people Chi Wuyao had brought with her, Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er were without a doubt the biggest curiosities of them all.

Ten months ago, a level seven Divine Sovereign named “Ling Yun” had crushed the Imperial Heaven Tower cultivator, Tian Guhu and killed the Yama Ghost King, Yan Sangeng in a single strike. Besides that, his companion “Ling Qianying” had heavily wounded the fourth Witch, Yao Die.

This incident had shocked the world and affected many people. And after so many days, it would be embarrassing if the Burning Moon Realm still hadn’t figured out that Ling Yun was Yun Che, and Ling Qianying was the Brahma Monarch Goddess who had escaped to the Northern Divine Region.

Since that incident, Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er had been staying at the Soul Stealing Realm. There were two versions of the rumors regarding the duo. The first one suggested that they had departed for the Soul Stealing Realm of their own accord. The second one suggested that the Witch’s injuries angered the Devil Queen greatly, so they were captured and taken back to the Soul Stealing Realm for punishment.

Knowing Chi Wuyao, the Burning Moon God Emperor was inclined to believe the second rumor.

Clearly, the Yama Realm thought the same thing as well.

But today, not only did Chi Wuyao bring Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er with her, she even allowed Yun Che to sit beside her. Even stranger, the longer the Burning Moon God Emperor examined their behavior, the more he felt that… Yun Che was being treated better than even the Witches themselves.

It was why he was both incredibly surprised and puzzled right now.

Generally speaking, the normal reaction in this situation would be to request the guests introduce themselves and make their conjectures based on that. Even the Moon Eaters and the Burning Moon Divine Envoy's thought that their God Emperor was going to ask Chi Wuyao about Yun Che immediately.

But he didn’t. Not only did he not ask about Yun Che or question Chi Wuyao’s motive for coming here, he had asked about the ninth Witch instead. He never even glanced in Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er’s direction. It was almost as if he didn’t care about them at all.

Chi Wuyao hadn’t come in peace. He might be incredibly curious, but he wasn’t going to let himself fall into Chi Wuyao’s rhythm no matter what.

In fact, he was the one who had something to “apologize” for, so the first thing he needed to do was to gain as much advantage over the Devil Queen as possible.

In this case, the ninth Witch Chi Wuyao recently recruited was clearly the best choice to begin his attack.

“That’s right,” Chi Wuyao answered. “Chanyi became my Witch seven years ago. She is an obedient child, and I like her a lot.”

Chanyi: “...”

“I see.” The Burning Moon God Emperor nodded with a chuckle. “I had heard that the Devil Queen usually chooses her Witches based on their looks first and their talent second. This king never thought much of that rumor until today. This king is now certain that this new Witch of yours can make nations swoon beneath her feet.”

On the surface, it sounded like the Burning Moon God Emperor was praising the ninth Witch’s beauty. In reality, he was ridiculing her talent and Chi Wuyao’s eye for talent.

As a middle stage level eight Divine Master, Nanhuang Chanyi was certainly the weakest Witch to date.

“But of course. I’m sure that even you would be charmed if you ever got the chance to witness her true appearance,” Chi Wuyao replied leisurely as if she hadn’t noticed the hidden barb. “Speaking of which, this queen heard that the Burning Moon Realm has recently welcomed their youngest ever Moon Eater, and that you’ve even adopted him as your son. Is that true?”

The whole reason the Burning Moon God Emperor asked about the ninth Witch was so that he had an excuse to bring up his adopted son. His heart skipped a beat when Chi Wuyao seemingly walked herself into his trap.

But on the surface, the Burning Moon God Emperor’s emotions were hidden perfectly. He put on a look of pretend surprise and said, “Oh? This king is surprised that you would care about such a small matter. Since you seldom leave the Soul Stealing Sacred Region, this king is surprised that you would care for such secular matters.”

Chi Wuyao smiled slightly. “Half the Northern Divine Region was stunned by your gesture, so it would be harder not to hear about it. Besides, since when were Moon Eaters a small matter?”

“Hahahaha!” The Burning Moon God Emperor let out a loud laugh before calling out, “Daopian!”

A brawny and stalwart-looking man left his seat and bowed respectfully. “What is your order, royal father?”

His life aura wasn’t particularly thick compared to his compatriots. He was almost the youngest person to attend the banquet among them. But unlike his life aura, his profound aura was extremely powerful. It was the aura of a late stage level eight Divine Master!

The devil brand on his person also marked his status as a Moon Eater.

The Burning Moon God Emperor smiled at his adopted son. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come greet the Devil Queen already, it’s rare that she would care about rumors like this.”

“Yes, royal father.” The man turned toward Chi Wuyao and gave her a respectful, but not overly humble bow. “This junior, Ji Daopian greets the Devil Queen.”

“So, you’re the Burning Moon God Emperor’s newly adopted son and the new Moon Eater.” Chi Wuyao seemed to be examining Ji Daopian curiously from behind the black fog that was covering her face.

“Yes,” Ji Daopian replied with his head lowered.

“Ji?” Chi Wuyao’s brows spread slightly. “You retained your surname even though you’ve become a Moon Eater and the Burning Moon God Emperor’s son? This is a bit unusual.”

“...” Meanwhile a certain nobody named Yun had closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.

Ji Daopian’s eyes were cool and sharp. He was unmoved by the Devil Queen’s imposing aura even though he had just recently inherited the Burning Moon divine power. “Royal father possesses a heart of gold. He gave me my divine power and allowed me to keep my original surname for a hundred years.”

“I see. This queen admits that she is impressed by the Burning Moon God Emperor’s ability to win the hearts of his people.”

But before the god emperor in question could say anything, Chi Wuyao added, “However, this queen must also question your eye for people, Burning Moon God Emperor. How can you grant someone this untalented your divine power and even the honor to be your son? Have the Moon Eaters truly fallen this far?”