Chapter 464: Star God
Among the three beams of light, the one from Ji Lian’s hand was the most dazzling, its brilliance shooting straight to the sky, as if splitting the world in two.
The next was the Demon-slaying True Sword struck by Liu Shuyue, only slightly narrower than Ji Lian’s, yet its momentum far exceeded its performance during the previous dragon slaying.
This made Chen Xuan’s heart tighten involuntarily.
Ranked by strength, Liu Shuyue was undoubtedly the last among the three. For her to wield the Demon-slaying True Sword to such an effect, she must have burned more life force as fuel. If she hadn’t started practicing the improved Celestial Mist Cloud Birth True Skill, this sword would likely have drained her of all her lifespan.
But now was not the time for hesitation.
Since the threat posed by the enemy was equivalent to a world-destroying inner demon, one must go all out from the start.
After switching abilities, he summoned dozens of Thousand Thoughts Swords in one breath, each blade sparkling with the power of the Celestial Thunder Order.
Under his command, the Thousand Thoughts Swords swarmed towards the giant insect like a swarm of bees.
Kunlun Peak suddenly boiled over!
The giant insect was the first to be directly hit by the Demon-slaying True Sword, its armored hide shattering at the impact site, along with the underlying tissues being cut open, causing a large amount of purple fluid to gush out from its body!
These liquids splashed onto the snowy mountain, leaving patches of dark stains — neither snow, earth, nor rock seemed unaffected, as they reacted violently with the fluids, corroding into a mass of black ash.
It clearly felt the pain, its body curling into a ring as it let out a hiss, crashing heavily to the ground, causing snowflakes to scatter everywhere.
Immediately afterward, the Thousand Thoughts Swords pierced its body like raindrops, golden electrical lights exploding continuously, unleashing a continuous roar!
Its flesh and scales were visibly blasted away in all directions.
How resilient could it be?
Chen Xuan couldn’t help but be a bit surprised, as typically, a Great Demon would be done for after taking a hit from the Demon-slaying True Sword; yet it withstood three swords, along with the rampant bombardment of the Celestial Thunder Order, without showing any sign of retreat.
The giant insect rolled over and climbed up, with the spikes on its back emitting light, changing from a rough keratinous look to something as transparent and sharp as crystal.
He immediately realized this thing was akin to the crystal pillars that destroyed the city of Paris and caused the mutation in the surface survivors.
"Don’t let it launch those spikes!" Chen Xuan shouted.
But everyone didn’t need his reminder.
Just as the Demon-slaying True Sword finished slashing, Xu Xuanling and Honglian’s abilities followed suit.
The Thousand Machines Lock Moon Array was activated, and a dozen chains appeared out of thin air, wrapping around the giant insect from all sides. Although the purple fluid oozing from its wounds could corrode stones to powder, it could not destroy these chains made of spiritual qi. Enraged, it thrashed its body, trying to break free, but instead, the tighter the chains wrapped.
Honglian utilized the King’s Castle maneuver, turning every bullet she shot into remote-detonating sticky TNT packs — which, after reaching a certain speed, shed their outer shell to reveal an adhesive layer underneath, sticking firmly to the target. This weapon, customized by Walter Company, perfectly made up for Honglian’s lack of direct destructive capabilities.
The moment the detonator was pressed, thirty crimson fireballs instantly engulfed the giant insect, the intense shockwave not only stirring up waves of snow fog among the mountains but also causing a significant avalanche above the sea of clouds.
At this moment, Chen Xuan caught a glimpse of the Wind Song having ascended, indicating that Elorie and Liuli, who stayed behind on the ship, also intended to join the battle, providing firepower support for their side.
Others did not remain idle either, continuously hurling various Thunder Techniques and Flying Swords at the enemy, causing the giant insect to wail incessantly.
Ten minutes later, the monster’s resistance noticeably weakened.
Every time it managed to snap a chain, several more would replace it; every time it tried to arch its shell and aim the spikes at the crowd, Ji Lian would use an unnameable Thunder Technique to force it back into a curled stance. What’s more, once the Wind Song joined the fight, the strike depth instantly extended to a level of dual cultivation of material and spiritual, leaving the giant insect’s body with wounds of unimaginable proportions, whether from electromagnetic cannons or gamma-ray weapons.
Its hind part was even directly blown off, the smoldering flesh slumping helplessly in the snow like mud.
"Everyone, keep it up; it’s almost done for!" Xu Xuanling shouted.
Chen Xuan also sensed the enemy’s weakness, a sudden thought occurring to him; since the Star God and the Mother of Flesh and Blood were mortal enemies, if he could personally kill the giant insect, wouldn’t he receive a substantial reward of Seed of Flesh and Blood?
With this thought, Chen Xuan switched to "Decomposition and Re-Fusion," stretching out his fingers towards the enemy.
Instantly, a sign popped into his mind.
— Infinite.
Chen Xuan found himself momentarily stunned.
Could it be that he was seeing things?
He had to pay an infinite cost to turn the opponent into writhing flesh? If the enemy were still that vibrant initial monster, it might have been conceivable, but now it was already battered and bruised, gasping, its long body severed into two segments, and yet it was still labeled infinite?
If the cost to re-fuse the entire giant insect was too high, what about narrowing the focus?
He moved his hand, fixing his gaze on its abdomen — where the first slash of the Demon-slaying True Sword had cut open its belly, and after all this time, the wound had become a gory bloodletting channel, a large mass of internal organs sliding out and hanging like satin between its limbs.
Still showing up as infinite.
A foreboding feeling suddenly welled up in Chen Xuan’s heart.
He next set his sights on the broken appendage near the wound.
It was still infinite.
No, this wasn’t a dying enemy at all!? Its vitality was unfathomable—
"Interesting, isn’t it?"
A voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Everyone working together to face a powerful foe, and the enemy being shattered and beaten back by your powerful attacks. This is the power of unity, giving lower beings the illusion of overcoming destiny."
Something accompanied this sentence, lightly landing on his shoulder.
Chen Xuan turned his head sharply.
A black coin was resting on his shoulder.
He hadn’t noticed at all when this thing appeared, nor when it flew to his side. He considered himself cautious enough, maintaining distance from the enemy throughout, using the Thousand Thoughts Sword for remote assault, and occasionally activating the Divine Eye Technique to ensure he didn’t miss any of the enemy’s counterattacks.
Without any hesitation, he reached to adjust his glasses, but his fingers brushed against air.
He then reflexively reached for the scanner gun in his pocket, again grasping nothing. At this moment, the sky atop the mountain gradually darkened, the wailing of the giant insect having unbeknownstly stopped, while Ji Lian and Liu Shuyue continued to cast spells, yet their movements grew increasingly slow, their figures turning indistinct, as if a layer of frosted glass lay between them and Chen Xuan.
This bizarre scene instantly triggered Chen Xuan’s past memories.
In that abandoned clubhouse outside the third ring, he had been dragged into such a barrier by Fei Wuniang.
And while fighting Liu Zhidong, he had voluntarily used this ability.
Labelled as taboo by the Ability Store.
"Yet sometimes, the turn of fate needs just a second..." The voice resounded, "After a second, confidence turns to despair, trust to suspicion, victory eludes you, and the enemy still stands before you. This sort of turnaround always fills me with genuine pleasure."
Chen Xuan realized he recognized this voice.
When he used the Golden Cicada Shell Escape Technique to evade death, it was the opponent that had left those words of angry whisper: "You owe me."
"Remember me now? We’ve met again."
The darkness devoured the surrounding snowfield like a light-blocking curtain, and a tall figure emerged slowly from it.