Chapter 509 |
The True Spirit Mages stepped forward in unison. Eight True Spirit bodies—each over ninety thousand kilometers tall—formed an impenetrable shield around the fleet. Laura’s True Spirit body was tiny by comparison, but she placed herself at the very front.
“That spear is a pseudo-tenth-tier strike. All mages, prepare to activate Rebirth!”
No sooner had the order fallen than the void tore open. The spear streaked through the gap between Void and Dark Realm. Nehem raised the Nine-Headed Dragon staff; Dark-Realm matter under his control formed layered barriers that gradually slowed the projectile. The spear, however, was brutal: despite the interference it still drove toward the fleet with iron resolve.
Laura appeared before the spear like a ghost and pressed a slender finger against its tip. Her diminutive body erupted with terrible demonic power; her incantation echoed through the void like an aria.
The spectacle shook people’s souls. Laura’s life flickered a dozen times; the spear’s speed dropped dramatically.
Other True Spirit Mages rushed to intercept. The spear shifted from a material form into pure energy and continued onward in that state.
Ordinary mages watched in awe, but Adam found something off. Could a single spear really wipe out the fleet? That idea seemed absurd.
At that moment Adam noticed the faint pattern of the Zhou Tian Star Array reigniting. The array’s sigils flashed and writhed toward the fleet, and in an instant wove a net beneath them.
“Fleet, follow the derived live-gate evasion route! Sanctum main cannons, charge! Coordinates XXXX — volley!”
The spear was strong, but it had only been a diversion. The real killer moves were the Zhou Tian Star Array’s strangling maneuver and the Heaven-Toppling Seal’s sneak attack. The Seal, struck by the main cannons, halted in midair and then, in the next moment, flew back. The Seal was, after all, a ninth-tier treasure; with a flash it triggered a reversal, turning its own adverse trend and energy back upon its attacker.
The fleet was affected and stalled for a breath. The Zhou Tian Star Array chased on; the live gate was simultaneously inverted into a dead gate, and the terrible spiritual energy condensed into an inexorable killing formation.
Fenghun and the other five Heavenly Sovereigns rose with grim faces and an earth-shaking roar. The killing array upgraded.
This was a killing blow. Daoyuan must have known the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign met with the True Spirit Mages and would leak the live-gate position to them. The Heaven-Toppling Seal’s greatest use was to turn a live gate into a dead gate.
Everything happened too fast. Wilde True Spirit’s body transformed into a world-swallowing beast and instantly placed itself under the fleet to take the brunt of the killing formation, hard-stopping that terrifying attack at the cost of its body being shredded and blood flying.
He ignored his wounds. He destroyed the detached, aberrant tissues to prevent them from mutating, and with his true body opened his maw and swallowed the entire fleet.
The True Spirit Mages were furious. They unleashed their firepower and, in the shortest time, shattered the spear. Then they homed in on the place where Wilde had been, and with the most violent methods destroyed the Zhou Tian Star Array. Wilde spat the fleet back out; Laura rushed to help heal the wounds and grinned: “How about we just take him out now?”
Daoyuan had gambled everything on that single strike to catch the True Spirit Mages off-guard, and then execute his follow-up. But now the fleet survived and True Spirit combat power remained intact. He had no more chances to put the mages at a disadvantage.
The True Spirits stared ice-cold at Daoyuan and said harshly, “Wait a moment. Let the Primordial give us an explanation.”
This attempted ambush had already sentenced Daoyuan to death. Whatever the Primordial ultimately intended, Daoyuan would certainly die—and by the hands of the mages.
Daoyuan sighed silently. He still had other means to trouble the mages, but they were meaningless now. If only the incoming True Spirits had been limited to Nehem, Randolph, and Maxison, he would have had absolute confidence in turning them into raw energy. But there were too many of them. Rather than waste his remaining cards, he—
The Heaven-Toppling Seal recoiled and, to everyone's shock, slammed down beside the five Heavenly Sovereigns. The Zhou Tian Star Array and the Twelve Capitals Heavenly Calamity Array simultaneously reversed; the five Heavenly Sovereigns were struck by the backflow of energy and suffered grave wounds.
Fenghun roared in disbelief, “Daoyuan! What are you doing? Have you gone mad?”
“Sorry, Fenghun. Blame the mages — they are too strong. I have no choice but to devour you!” Daoyuan answered.
Another Heavenly Sovereign struggled to steady his fluctuating Primordial Spirit and spat in hatred, “Do you even know what you’re saying? We are—”
“You became strong because of me,” Daoyuan cut in viciously. “I severed off my spirit to give you power; I can reclaim it!”
The Heaven-Toppling Seal slammed down, and the enclosing formation contracted to imprison the five Heavenly Sovereigns. A vast portal tore open in empty space, and six dissimilar ninth-tier beings stepped out and charged the Sovereigns with savage ferocity.
“I still have trump cards,” Daoyuan muttered, resisting the original Primordial Demon consciousness within his demon body. “Don’t blame me—blame the mages for being too strong, and blame the old man for not aiding me!” He murmured to himself as if that could soothe him. “Give up resisting, merge with me. I’ll take you up and ascend together!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Twelve Capitals Heavenly Calamity Array shifted again. The upper and lower formations sprouted spikes that pierced the living immortals trapped inside the array. The immortals—even the Heavenly Sovereigns—felt their internal energies sucked away and funneled to Daoyuan.
The immortals became desiccated husks. A slight void gust would have blown them to dust. Their Primordial Spirits were exposed and, before anger could be vented, were forced to surge toward Daoyuan.
In an instant all six schools’ immortals were annihilated; billions of Primordial Spirits swirled on the True Demon’s surface, scowling with boundless hatred and snapping back at Daoyuan—they wanted him to die with them.
One of the six suddenly-appeared ninth-tier beings pointed at the mages and asked, “Master, what now? Shall we strike and kill these guys?”
After absorbing his kindred, Daoyuan fully suppressed the Primordial Demon consciousness and savagely tore it into fragments that he swallowed. He had completely mastered the demon body; with surging demonic flames he revealed the terrifying aura of a near-tenth-tier brink.
He did not answer the ninth-tier being, only whispering in a voice only he could hear: “Almost… just a little more.”
He cast his gaze toward Da Luo Heaven and the Primordial Immortal Hall—he knew the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign must be watching. Rage flared: I am no weaker than you—why am I still afraid of you?
He could not help raising his hand. Dark qi condensed into countless dim little spheres.