Chapter 508 |
The energy grew ever stronger. The pillar of light above and the demonic shadow below split the two worlds in black and white, then in a paradoxical way recombined. The mages felt none of the transcendental detachment immortals claimed — no cutting away from causality and calmly ascending alone. Instead, presence pressed in so heavily it no longer fit the void.
“Twelve Capitals Heavenly Calamity Array, activate!”
Daoyuan Heavenly Sovereign’s booming voice filled every ear. His tone betrayed barely contained excitement and a sliver of panic about the future. At this point he had prepared everything to the utmost; what remained was to follow the procedure and leave the rest to fate.
No sooner had his words fallen than the whirlpool in the void slowly rotated clockwise, and the sigils on the “ground” reflected that motion.
At the same time, under the feet of immortals and monsters alike, the array-disc of the Twelve Capitals Heavenly Calamity Array began rotating counterclockwise. Opposing energies froze in place; the lighter, yang-like spiritual qi rose into the pillar of light while the denser demonic qi sank into the shadow. Immortals and demonic creatures rose or fell accordingly — everything moved with terrifying order.
Between the spiritual qi and the demonic qi, exotic energies multiplied. They liquefied and solidified in rapid cycles, finally becoming a plasma-like high-energy substance that flowed between the two realms.
At that moment, the Heaven-Toppling Seal re-formed and shot out from Da Luo Heaven, growing ever larger until it truly felt as if heaven and earth were being overturned — the world flipped in an instant.
The demonic shadow rode atop it like a black hole, drawing endless demonic qi from the Demon Suppression Abyss. The plasma-like exotic energies poured into it, condensing its form. The outline of a headless demon could already be made out.
The mages watched solemnly. They had expected Daoyuan to preach or at least declare something before ascending, but instead he began the ascension without a word to anyone.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A dull, hammering heartbeat resonated across the whole area, causing every living thing inside to sync. Horrified, people discovered their own heartbeats and the fluctuations of their souls involuntarily matching that same frequency. Mages below ninth tier felt their mana surging outward. Randolph stationed a protection array outside; only then did that strange sensation abate.
Creatures forming half of the array began to shatter in succession. Demonic qi and demonic flesh conducted back along the energy pathways into the demonic shadow. At the six nodes where the Primordial Demons were seated, illusions piled in layers and one look could make a person lose their wits.
The heartbeat intensified. The void trembled as if a colossal body were about to break free. Within that expanse, only the mages’ position could barely remain calm. Low-tier mages in the fleet were ordered into safe havens to avoid needless casualties from any accident.
Soon, at the whirlpool and disc’s center, a materialized membrane of void appeared — this film connected all the Demon Suppression Abyss exits, dissolving the distances between them as if with solvent and fusing them together.
Immortal civilization clusters were reduced to name only; only Da Luo Heaven hung alone above the black-hole-like exit.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out. One corner of the membrane fractured; dense demonic qi burst forth and took shape as barbed tentacles that hammered into the void, tearing the membrane wider.
The True Demon’s torso was struggling to break the seal and reach the outside.
The void turned into an ocean; each strike of the torso became a tsunami. Living creatures were tiny boats, floundering in the waves.
Hugo True Spirit of the First Sanctum stepped out of his ship and cast a world-breathing spell to shield the fleet from the shock.
From within Da Luo Heaven, Daoyuan and the five Heavenly Sovereigns below poured out power. The Zhou Tian Star Array dimmed in sections; the membrane grew thinner and thinner. The mages could already see the mass within — a heaving block of flesh battering the seal.
Laura’s face was grave. “The torso is horrific. Fleet execute maximum defense plan.”
The True Spirit Mages joined forces and cast defensive magics. Then — pop — the membrane shattered. The torso leapt from the Demon Suppression Abyss and fused with the demonic shadow.
Unimaginable force in an instant corrupted and converted everything in the area into Third Epoch energy. The demonic shadow sprouted limbs and donned armor. It clutched its own neck with both hands and roared.
The roar shook heaven and earth. Remaining demonic creatures were pulverized into meat paste.
The howl continued; even the exotic energy succumbed to the sonic force and vanished. The Twelve Capitals Heavenly Calamity Array spun faster. The six Primordial Demons rose from their nodes and strode toward the forming body, their forms continuously collapsing — parts converting into pure energy, parts into disgusting cerebric tissue — and in moments they fused to the body.
The True Demon was reborn.
A hatred and murderous intent beyond words filled its eyes. It turned to face Da Luo Heaven, hammered both fists into the void beneath it, and drew out a pitch-black, archaic spear.
At that moment Daoyuan shouted, “Fenghun! Begin!”
Another formation beneath executed at no less speed than before. The five Heavenly Sovereigns bared their full energies; immortal spiritual qi became chains that bound the resurrected True Demon in layers. The Heaven-Toppling Seal rained down heavily onto the demon’s head. Daoyuan abandoned his flesh body; his Primordial Spirit leapt across time and space into the True Demon and merged with it.
The True Demon’s struggle triggered chain tremors in the void. Fenghun and the other five Heavenly Sovereigns, pale and strained, poured every sliver of qi into the formation to help Daoyuan stabilize his body.
Daoyuan’s flesh melted away and a massive surge of spiritual qi poured into the formation, most of it entering the Heavenly Sovereigns who served as the array’s eyes. Their vast Primordial Spirits, visible to the naked eye, rose rapidly and in an instant reached nearly ninety thousand kilometers.
Daoyuan entered the True Demon’s head and engaged in a desperate battle with the Primordial Demon consciousness within. Backed by Immortal energy, he maintained the upper hand. After tearing apart one line of consciousness, Daoyuan devoured it; in the process he grew stronger. To the observing True Spirit Mages it was clear his Primordial Spirit was becoming demonized — not passively afflicted but actively transforming. Daoyuan himself had become one of the Primordial Demons: the greatest demon-head.
Sensing the change, the Primordial Demon minds violently self-destructed and fused five into one to jointly resist Daoyuan.
After the Primordials combined, their power suppressed Daoyuan. Even though Fenghun and the others poured forth their last reserves, they still could not restore Daoyuan to dominance.
Daoyuan then fixed his gaze on the mages.
He stretched his body with torturous effort to an exaggerated scale; the spear’s tip spat energy that pierced everything. Its target: the Mage legions.