1078 Death & Weapon
Celestial Demon Cult:
The Cult Leader sat on his throne with the elders and supervisors. He kept tapping on his throne with his finger and looking annoyed. After a few seconds, he said, "Why don't you say anything?"
"Our situation is not ideal," said Red-eye. "These martial artists did not trust us before; now, it's even worse."
"How can they believe such nonsense? Our soldiers were the first in the frontline; we provided the best resources and the most powerhouses," complained a female Elder.
"We should just accelerate the plan and take over the court."
"That would be stupid. Qian Heng is popular, and the people respect him. So, they would just rebel even if we use force."
"So, we're not going to do anything?"
"The best option is for the Cult Leader to prove itself in this war," said Red-eye. "Increase his popularity and trust. Then, after the war or if something happens to Qian Heng, he will be the de facto leader."
"But, can we even win this war?"
The room was immediately quiet. After seeing the First Heavenly Emperor, they already understood the fate that awaited them.
"Should we just surrender?"
"That's not an option," replied Red-eye. "Although I despise Qian Heng, he's correct on this issue. If we surrender without a fair fight, our Martial Arts Will will crumble, resulting in the possible destruction of the cult."
"But by the time we put up a fair fight, the enemy might no longer wish to show mercy."
That was the crux of the problem, but there was no solution to this issue - unless they wanted to abandon their martial arts path for something else.
"Alright, you're all dismissed," said the Cult Leader. "I need some time alone to think." Everyone dispersed, and he sat silently on his throne, his star-shaped irises moving independently.
The Yin Side of the World:
"Commander, we have excellent news," reported an elderly Array Master.
"What happened?" asked Tie Gang.
"The array weakened?"
"Hmm, why?"
"It appears that the people controlling it are no longer professionals or using their best effort."
"Internal contradiction?" muttered Tie Gang with a smile as he thought of something. "Tell me what you need to further accelerate its destruction."
After the discussion, Tie Gang contacted the War Room, and soon afterward, numerous new portals appeared with new legions, professionals, resources, and powerhouses. They were divided into two groups: the one focusing on taking down the formation and the people healing the mortals.
For the next few days, more demon race cannon fodders to harass the enemy and dwindle their numbers. Tie Gang was on guard, so they never suffered from another sneak attack, but his legions suffered casualties because of how savage and mindless these beasts fought.
Xu Shi finished her work three days later and cured all the remaining mortals. They returned to a normal appearance, but many people lost much of their lifespans in the process. However, that was not an issue as their lifespan drastically increased after these people entered the era of Mortal Civilization.
Once her work finished, Xu Shi left. She still did not want to participate in this war out of respect. So, after putting the mortals in a safe environment to ensure the aftershock of this war would not annihilate them, she returned to the court.
On the fifth day after landing on this world, a roar from the Heavens shook the entire world. Then, a colossal blue turtle whose body covered the entire sky appeared before the world, heading straight for the shield.
"Turtle King, what are you doing?" yelled Qian Heng, manifesting in the Yang Side of the shield.
"Making you pay."
"You should understand why we did it. We⌜"
"I don't care about your nonsense," yelled the Turtle King. "I promised to remain neutral, but you still attack the people under my protection. Now suffer for your actions."
Boom! He crashed into the shield, shaking the entire world.
Qian Heng exhaled to calm down, "I know what we did was wrong, but this is no excuse to work for these invaders."
"I don't care."
Boom!
"Turtle King, be reasonable."
"I promise an old friend to protect his descendants." The turtle's voice boomed between Heaven and Earth. "But you wiped out his lineage by killing the Monster Sovereign and all his bloodline."
Boom!
"I...didn't know."
"You reap what you sow," replied the turtle before continuing his onslaught. The other origin cultivator powerhouses helped, and cracks appeared on the shield after less than thirty minutes. Qian Heng glanced at them with red eyes before leaving; he knew he had little time and needed to worry.
After two hours, the shield finally broke, releasing the fog from the Yang Side. However, the fog was blown away with one breath from the turtle. A Yin-Yang Symbol appeared in the sky, releasing an invisible wave that affected the entire world.
"What's going on?" asked Tie Gang.
"They've changed the Order-Disorder of the world with the help of Heavenly Dao and this formation," replied Ao Shen.
"What specifically did they change?"
"No immortal can attack a mortal."
"To be precise, no one with immortal strength can attack someone with mortal strength," added Huo Fenghuang.
"So, they are targeting Li Jun."
"Most likely."
Tie Gang grunted, "Can we break this new rule? What's the price for ignoring it?"
"Exile," replied Huo Fenghuang, using her Heavenly Eye to analyze the situation."
"That's not so bad."
"You're wrong," said Ao Shen. "Their final trump card is an Emperor Artifact created with only one purpose: Exiling people to the upper dimension."
"If you add the World Source they are willing to spend, this is a problem," added Huo Fenghuang.
"Wait, if they have such a trump card, why not use it as a sneak attack? Why use it as the eye of a formation, which will make it easier to be discovered?"
"I don't know," shrugged Ao Shen.
"It might have to do with the fact this artifact seems to require the formation to function," added Huo Fenghuang, making Tie Gang frown.
This group did not know that the first Eternal of this world, the one with the Martial Ancestor Destiny, the Eternal Fist Emperor, left this artifact to protect his homeworld. However, he also had selfish desires; he wanted his family to last, so he left the restrictions that only his bloodline could activate the artifact. Sadly, even with destiny protecting them, his family became extinct, and the artifact was lost and became useless.
Someone revealed news about the artifact, and the Peaceful Life Palace used this brilliant formation to activate it.
As this group had a swift conversation, the situation was rapidly changing. A cage or barrier suddenly appeared around the Turtle King, sealing him. No one had time to react.
"What is it now?" complained Tie Gang.
"Heaven, Earth, and Human-this is the Human Array," said Ao Shen. We should have seen this coming." He swiftly analyzed the situation, and there was good news: this formation was the weakest, so the Turtle King could escape on his own. The enemy's plan was most likely to temporarily remove him from the battlefield.
"Watch out," yelled Huo Fenghuang, but before she could react, Qian Heng and the Cult Leader appeared next to her, blocking her path. Meanwhile, Ao Shen suddenly had dark marks all over his face and body.
'This is...that bastard's curse? Isn't he dead?'
Lightning Fist, Purple Dragon, and another Immortal Sovereign appeared before him and used their most potent attacks. Their objective was obvious-kill him as soon as possible. They had a fourth Eternal powerhouse, but their job was to hold off the enemies' other two Immortal Sovereigns.
Boom!
Ao Shen flew into the distance, his black armor full of cracks, broken bits, and blood dripping from his ear and nose. Despite his appearance, he was only injured and not dead, all because of the whip on his hand, which was composed of dragon scales. People thought he asked for precious resources to exchange for the Immortal Sovereign. Still, only he knew that he asked the Heavenly Emperor to give him enough time to finish his Proving Dao Artifact as soon as possible.
Then, according to his plan, he turned his former body into a multi-purpose whip.
Ao Shen's aura increased with the weapon at hand. He licked his lips as he looked at his opponents, "I'm going to enjoy slaughtering all of you, especially you. I will ensure you stay dead this time."
"How can the plan fail?" muttered Purple Dragon, but Ao Shen would not tell him his former body contained a trace of Chaos Bloodline, and he has too many abilities to deal with curses, even if it's one of the very best.
Ao Shen was about to move when he sensed something. As he gazed over, he saw Qian Heng and someone else sealing Huo Fenghuang before a third person wearing a hood appeared and attacked her.
'She won't survive this one,' he thought calmly; he detected the Eternal Aura from the hooded individual.
Boom!
Huo Fenghuang had no chance to react, and her body and soul were annihilated. Of course, as an Eternal, she did not experience true death.
Swish!
To everyone's surprise, Huo Fenghuang appeared perfectly intact, except for the irate and fierce look she gave her attackers. She had never been so angry, and for good reason. After many years of hard work and unparalleled talent, she finally turned her Phoenix Bloodline into a Longevity Bloodline, granting her an extra life.
But she had to waste it on this war that she thought would be a piece of cake. Although she could regain that life with enough time and resources, Huo Fenghuang did not know whether she could succeed during her time in the lower dimension - a fact that has greatly hindered many of her plans.
"I'm going to make you pay."
However, before she could act, the sky suddenly changed.
