Di tempat di mana altar dao Devilsburung timur dulunya berdiri kini berubah menjadi kekacauan total. Bagi begitu banyak kultivator Devilsburung, altar dao itu menyimpan makna yang sangat besar. Dan kini, altar itu runtuh saat cabang besar menusuk ke atas, ujungnya ditumbuhi buah. Semua pengamat terguncang hingga ke tulang.
Hal itu terutama terasa saat... Grand Emperor Devilsburung, yang sebelumnya duduk di atas altar dao, tiba-tiba menghilang seolah tiada. Nyatanya, ia tak lain dari proyeksi ilusi. Dan karena statusnya sebagai Grand Emperor, tak seorang pun di tengah kerumunan mampu menduga. Hanya ketika altar runtuh dan aura buah dao meletup ke permukaan baru benar-benar terlihat.
Badai ilusi pun muncul. Setiap orang di sekitar sini merasakan ketakutan insting sekaligus, sesuatu yang timbul dari dasar kehidupan mereka. Salah satu penyebab ketakutan itu adalah berbaliknya peristiwa. Penyebab lain... adalah gemericik bel perang yang menyelimuti tanah suci Devilsburung.
Itu adalah suara kuno yang mengguncang langit dan bumi. Mereka adalah bel perang. Runtuhnya altar dao seolah-olah menjadi sinyal. Pada saat itulah, manusia dan Firemoon Darkheaven bangun dari daratan Revered Ancient dan melepaskan seluruh amarah perang ke dua tanah suci yang mendesis di atas kepala mereka.
Dalam seketika, langit dan bumi berubah menjadi kekacauan. Di luar, kekacauan bertambah, dan di dalam buah dao pun terjadi kekacauan.
Netherflame yang mengamuk dari dalam kuali tulang melontarkan gemericik gemilang yang memesatkan, menyebabkan getaran hebat. Erniu, yang berinkarnasi dalam beribu-ribuan cacing, terpukau oleh gempa dari kuali. Satu per satu, cacing-cacing itu mulai meledak.
Di dalam kuali, Netherflame sepertinya bereaksi terhadap kekuatan buah dao, lalu kembali mencapai keseimbangan. Tenaga di dalamnya mulai naik secara mengejutkan. Gemerisik semakin hebat hingga seolah tutup kuali akan hancur jete. Tutup kuali bergetar, lalu retak-retak muncul di permukaannya. Cahaya emas bersinar dari celah-celahnya. Grand Emperor Netherflame tampaknya akan segera melepas dirinya.
Tatkahlon itu, fragmen dunia yang mengandung peri suami mara tiba-tiba bergejolak.
Serentak dengan itu, cacing-cacing biru yang tersisa di luar kuali dengan giat menyerap kristal-kristal esensi terakhirXu Qing yang dikirim. Mereka pun berseru, u201cNietakut! Muka!"
Laut transparan di bawahnya mendelam. Air yang tak terbatas ditumbuhi ombak raksak terang, seluruh laut berubah menjadi puiting. Aura kuno pun mulai naik dari dalam puiting.
Dulu, tubuhnya meledak dan jatuh ke dalam air. Tapi kenyataannya, Erniu tengah mencari potongan-potongan tubuh ketiga di situ. Kekurangan waktu dan kekuatannya saat itu membuatnya tak bisa mengumpulkan semuanya dengan cepat.
Namun, Xu Qing memberinya kristal esensi terakhir. Xu Qing mampu menggunakan esensi itu untuk menciptakan tubuh abadi—sesuatu yang sama berharga bagi Erniu. Hal itu bisa memperkuat dirinya dan membantu melepas lebih banyak tanda segelnya, dan memungkinkannya menyerap ingatan ketiga dengan cepat. Saat menyerap esensi, ia mendapatkan kekuatan untuk mengeluarkan panggilan awal kehidupan ketiganya.
Sejenak kemudian, api beku melayang naik dari puiting laut transparan. Lalu, tangan hitam besar tiba-tiba melesat dari puiting. Ia tidak nyata dan sejati, melainkan ilusi. Tapi ia memancarkan aura yang sangat kuno, sekaligus mengeluarkan keangkerikan luar biasa.
Ia terlihat sangat gruesome. Seperti tangan, kecuali jari tengahnya memiliki kepala. Jari manis dan jari telunjuk bengkok seperti lengan, sementara jari manis dan jempol seperti kaki. Di telapak tangan ada mulut merah darah yang terbuka lebar. Apa lagi, tangan itu ditutup oleh bulak hitam yang tak terhitung jumlahnya. Ia terlihat sangat ganas, bahkan menakutkan.
Ini adalah proyeksi kehidupan ketiga Erniu. Ia adalah sang megavillain yang pernah disempurnakan oleh Grand Emperor Immortal Skill. Sebagai jawaban atas panggilan Erniu, ia melayang naik ke langit. Dalam seketika, ia mencapai kuali tulang dan menyentuhnya.
u201cPalingok!" Erniu berkelangka.
Kuali itu bergetar, lalu tenang. Lalu, sebelum Erniu sempat memamerikan kecantikannya, sekelompok gila dari dalam kuali meledak. Gemericik gemilang yang menghancurkan mengguncang lingkungan.
Proyeksi kehidupan ketiga Erniu berkedip seolah akan runtuh. Padahal, ini tidak benar-benar kehidupan ketiganya, hanya proyeksinya. Menggunakan ilusi itu untuk menekan kekuatan yang menakutkan Netherflame sama sekali bukan hal mudah.
Tatkål tatkala tampaknya proyeksi kehidupan ketiga Erniu akan runtuh... Xu Qing yang baru menyatukan tujuh dunianya dengan sempurna tidak enunya beralih. Ia muncul tepat di samping proyeksi kehidupan ketiga Erniu, matanya bersinar. Dengan tangan kanannya yang diluncurkan, ia menekan pilak pada kuali yang bergetar.
Lalu ia berteriak dengan suara gemilang, u201kExtreme logam. Extreme kayu. Extreme air. Extreme api. Extreme tanah!"
Kelima dari tujuh dunia yang melayang di belakangnya meledak, seolah lima pecahan kristal melepaskan kekuatan lima elemen dan menghancurkan kuali. Selanjutnya, dua dunia yang tersisa dilepas. Extreme ruang. Extreme waktu!
Sekejap kemudian, teriakan tajam terdengar dari dalam kuali. Tapi lalu, Xu Qing dan Erniu sama-sama terkesiap saat kekuatan yang sangat menakutkan meledak dari dalam kuali. Kekuatan yang seolah mampu menghancurkan segala sesuatu. Seolah setiap halangan tak bermakna di hadapanninya.
Tutup kuali meledak terbuka, dan Xu Qing serta Erniu terlempar mundur. Lalu, Netherflame melambang di dalamnya saat bersiap untuk keluar. Tak peduli betapa kuat mereka berdua, itu tetap tidak ternilai dibanding Netherflame.
Suaranya serak, ia berkata, u201kSemua kalian—"
Namun, fragmen dunia yang mengandung peri suami tiba-tiba meledak. Ia bergetar dengan intensitas tuhan. Ia berubah menjadi gelombang kejut yang menyelimuti dunia. Pada saat yang sama, perisai mara mencapai kuali dalam seketika dan menekannya dengan keras.
Gelombang dan distorsitasi mereka mengemuka. Kekuatan Altis Hantu pun dilepaskan tanpa kendali.
Xu Qing dan Erniu tak enunya meluncur mundur kabur dari arena pertarungan. Mereka tahu kekuatan yang akan dilepaskan jauh melebihi mereka.
Tindakan perisai mara membuat mata Netherflame memerah dan menggelitik tangannya sebagai respons, menghilangkan kekuatan serangan.
Sejenak kemudian, planet kuno yang mengerikan muncul di belakang perisai mara. Kehadiran planet itu menyebabkan angin ribut mengamuk, menebar seluruh area dengan will yang mengaburkan langit dan menutupi tanah.
Lima sosok berotot melaju di permukaan planet. Kelima sosok itu adalah dewa-dewa, sekaligus masa lalu kaisar manusia.
Yunan. Sageheaven. Mirrorcloud. Dao Life. Dark War.
Mereka melepaskan seluruh kekuatan tuhan ke planet kuno di bawah mereka.
Di sela-sela itu, fragmen dunia yang hancur di kejauhkan tak lagi kabur. Sekarang jelas terlihat betapa rusaknya ia setelah pertarungan. Juga terlihat jenazah kepala botak dari klon Netherflame.
Ada juga Grand Emperor Devilsburung, tertelan darah dan luka parah. Devilsburung menatap perisai mara, lalu ke arah sekitarnya. Wajahnya pucat se mati.
Grotto surgawi ini sebenarnya terbuat dari buah dao manywonders smolderlife! Buah dao manywonders smolderlife dapat menghidupi kembali apa saja di bawah tingkat Dewa Sejati. Satu buah dao dapat digunakan tiga kali. Namun, hanya bisa dipakai sekali dalam seumur hidup oleh seseorang.
Melihat betapa layu buah itu, Netherflame pasti sudah pernah memakgunya. Sepertinya, setelah dipakai sekali lagi, ia akan menghilang selamanya. Itulah cara Netherflame bangun kembali! Dan juga tujuan perisai mara!
Darah menyembuh keluar dari mulut Devilsburung saat ia terjajak mundur. Sementara itu, perisai mara menggelembung di atas kuali, menatap Netherflame dari atas. Tubuh Netherflame kini lima puluh persen ungu, tiga puluh persen emas, dan dua puluh persen hijau.
Shē tak bisa memastikan asal usul ungunya. Tapi emasnya berasal dari tetesan air, dan hijaunya... berasal dari buah dao. Pandangan perisai mara mengeras. Shē telah menahan diri se selama ini. Shē belum pernah benar-benar melepaskan seluruh kekuatannya.
Satu alasannya adalah lawannya memiliki landasan kultivasi yang sangat kuat. Alasan lainnya adalah karena Shē tahu ia hanya punya satu kesempatan untuk mencapai tujuan sejatinya. Dan ia tak akan menerima kegagalan.
Rencananya semula tidak memperhitungkan variabel Xu Qing dan Erniu. Biasanya, Netherflame diharapkan mencoba menguasai Devilsburung, lalu Shē akan bergabung dengan Devilsburung untuk mencapai tujuan. Meski Netherflame kuat, Shē yakin bisa mengatasinya.
Tapi tak sesuai rencana. Xu Qing dan Erniu memang menambah variabel baru, lalu situasinya beralih. Netherflame berubah pikiran, tidak lagi mencoba menguasai Devilsburung, melainkan memilih untuk bekerja sama. Dan ia memutuskan untuk mencoba menguasai Xu Qing.
Karena itu, perisai mara tiba-tiba hanya menunggu dan menyaksikan peluang datang. Perisai mara tidak menganggap variabel baru itu negatif. Baik kehidupan ketiga Erniu maupun tubuh fisik aneh Xu Qing justru membuatnya lebih yakin rencananya akan berhasil. Itulah sebabnya ia hanya menunggu dengan sabar.
Baru ketika Netherflame melepas diri dan mengungkapkan kekuatan buah dao manywonders smolderlife... peluang yang ditunggunya akhirnya tiba.
Shē memang ingin Netherflame mengambil tindakan ini, untuk mengungkapkan buah dao. Oleh karena itu, tindakan perisai mara tadi sebenarnya tidak lain adalah mengungkapkan rencana cadangan yang telah disiapkan selama ini—sepenuhnya tanpa ragu.
Rencana cadangannya adalah Planet Ancient Emperor manusia. Secara kemanusiaan, itu adalah harta paling berharga yang dimiliki manusia. Dengan berkah dari lima dewa manusia, harta berharga itu melepaskan kekuatan yang luar biasa. Gemericik gemilang terdengar saat Planet Ancient Emperor mulai menerapkan tekanan yang menghancurkan.
Tepukan Netherflame bergema bolak-balik. Ia ingin lepas, tapi sebelum bisa, perisai mara menggigit ujung lidahnya dan memuntahkan darah tuhan. Perisai mara juga tak ragu melepaskan seluruh kekuatan altar tuannya untuk mencegah Netherflame lepas.
Selanjutnya, vorton muncul di dalam Planet Ancient Emperor. Kekuatan planet, kekuatan dari lima kaisar manusia, dan kekuatan altar tuhan perisai mara menyenduknia Netherflame!
Netherflame telah tersegel.
Setelah mencapai tujuannya, kilau sifat mania lahir muncul di mata perisai mara.
Shē akhirnya bisa beralih kembali menjadi dia. Selama ini, tujuan sejatinya bukanlah membunuh Netherflame dengan seluruh kekuatannya. Dan juga bukan pula tentang jiwa Netherflame. Shē hanya menunggu agar lawannya mengeluarkan buah dao. Lalu, dengan bantuan Planet Ancient Emperor, ia akan memisahkan lawannya dari dunia luar. Dan hal itu, secara bertahap, memutuskan koneksinya dengan buah dao manywonders smolderlife. Setidaknya untuk sementara, buah dao takkan lagi memiliki koneksi karma terhadap apapun.
Dengan cara itu, Shē akan mendapatkan kesempatan untuk mencapai tujuan sejatinya.
u201kGrand Emperor... u201cpadam, ia melenggengkan tangannya, dan sebuah patung megah terbang keluar dari dalam tubuhnya. Patung itu semakin besar di atas permukaan laut. Air laut mendesi. Itu adalah patung Grand Emperor Swords
In the spot where the eastern Devilbirds’ dao altar had once stood, there was now pure pandemonium. To countless Devilbird cultivators, that dao altar was something of immense significance. And now it had collapsed as a huge branch snaked up, with a fruit on its end. All onlookers were shaken to the core.
That was especially true when... Grand Emperor Devilbird, who had been seated atop the dao altar, suddenly blurred away into nothing. As it turned out, he had been nothing but an illusory projection. And because of its Grand Emperor personhood, no one in the crowd had picked up on any clues otherwise. It was only when the dao altar collapsed and the aura of a dao fruit erupted into the open that people could see the truth.
An illusory tempest spun into being, and everyone in the area felt a sensation of extreme uneasiness, something instinctive that came from within their life force itself. One reason for the uneasiness was the dramatic turn of events. The other reason... was the sound of tolling bells that filled the Devilbird holy land.
It was an ancient sound that shook heaven and earth. They were bells of war. The collapse of the dao altar was apparently some sort of signal. At that moment, the humans and the Firemoon Darkheavens rose up from the Revered Ancient mainland and unleashed the full fury of war onto the two holy lands that floated above them.
In an instant, heaven and earth devolved into great chaos. As chaos reigned outside, disorder was also raging inside of the dao fruit.
As Netherflame howled from within the bone cauldron, a deafening rumbling sound echoed out, resulting in intense vibrations. Erniu, incarnated in countless worms, was hit by the force coming from the cauldron. One by one, the worms started exploding.
Inside the cauldron, Netherflame seemed to react to the might of the dao fruit, and once again reached a state of balance. Power began to rise explosively within him. The rumbling got so intense that it seemed like the lid of the cauldron was about to be blasted open. The cauldron lid vibrated, then cracks started to appear in it. Golden light shone out from within the cracks. Grand Emperor Netherflame was just about to break free.
At that critical moment, the world fragment that contained the empress surged with force.
Simultaneously, the remaining blue worms outside the cauldron madly absorbed the rest of the crystals Xu Qing had sent over. Then, they shouted, “I’m not afraid of you, bitch! Third life!”
The transparent sea below seethed. The boundless water was covered with huge waves as the entire sea turned into a whirlpool. An ancient aura then began to rise up from within the whirlpool.
Before, his body had exploded and dropped down into the water. But the reality was that Erniu had just been looking for pieces of his third-life body there. The downsides had been that he had very limited time, and also wasn’t actually strong enough at the moment. Because of that, he couldn’t quickly put all the pieces together.
But then Xu Qing gave him the last of the essence crystals.... Xu Qing was able to use that essence to craft an immortal body. But it was something equally precious to Erniu. It could nourish him and help him to release more of his sealing marks, and it enabled him to rapidly absorb memories from his third life. As he absorbed the essence, he gained the power to make the initial call to his third life.
An instant later, frigid flames erupted from the whirlpool of the transparent sea. Then, a huge black hand suddenly reached out from the whirlpool. It was not true and real. Rather, it was illusory. But it emanated an aura that was extremely ancient, and at the same time, pulsed with unparalleled ferocity.
It looked extremely gruish. It resembled a hand, except that the middle finger had a head on it. The ring and index fingers were bent like arms, while the pinky and thumb were like legs. In the palm was a gaping, blood-red mouth. What was more, the hand was actually covered with innumerable black hairs. It looked incredibly fierce, even horrendous.
This was a projection of Erniu’s third life. It was the very same megavillain that Grand Emperor Immortal Skill had refined. In response to Erniu’s summons, it rose up into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it reached the bone cauldron and made contact with it.
“Be refined!” Erniu howled.
The cauldron trembled, then went still. Then, before Erniu even had a chance to start preening, an intense force burst out from the interior of the cauldron. Deafening rumbling rocked the surroundings.
Erniu’s third-life projection blurred as if it might collapse. After all, this wasn’t truly his third life, but just a projection of it. Using it to suppress the power of the terrifying Netherflame wasn’t going to be easy.
Just when it looked like Erniu’s third-life projection was going to collapse.... Xu Qing finished fusing with all seven of his major worlds. Without any hesitation, he burst into motion. He appeared right next to Erniu’s third-life projection, his eyes gleaming. Extending his right hand, he pushed down onto the trembling bone cauldron.
Then he spoke in a booming voice. “Extreme metal. Extreme wood. Extreme water. Extreme fire. Extreme earth!”
Five of the seven worlds hovering behind him erupted, and it looked as if five crystal fragments suddenly let loose the power of the five elements, which crushed down onto the cauldron. Next, the remaining two worlds were unleashed. Extreme space. Extreme time!
A piercing cry echoed out from inside the cauldron. But then, Xu Qing and Erniu both reacted with surprise as a supremely terrifying force erupted from within the cauldron. It was a force that seemed capable of smashing through anything and everything. It was as if all obstacles were meaningless compared to it.
The lid of the cauldron blasted open, and Xu Qing and Erniu were sent tumbling backward. Then, Netherflame floated up inside as he prepared to emerge. No matter how strong the two of them were, it was insignificant compared to Netherflame.
Voice hoarse, he said, “All of you—”
But right then, the world fragment containing the empress exploded. It pulsed with the explosive aura of a god. It turned into a massive shockwave that swept through the world. At the same time, the empress stepped out, reaching the cauldron in an instant and shoving it down with great force.
Ripples and distortions spread. Peak Altar God power was released without any restraint.
Xu Qing and Erniu didn’t hesitate to shoot backward to get away from the field of battle. They knew that the forces which were about to be unleashed surpassed them by far.
The empress’ action caused Netherflame’s eyes to become bloodshot as he waved his hand in response, dispelling the attack power.
An instant later, a shocking, ancient planet appeared behind the empress. The planet’s mere presence caused wild winds to scream, and filled the area with a sky-obfuscating, land-enshrouding will.
Five figures were seated cross-legged on the surface of the planet. Those five figures were gods, as well as past emperors of humankind.
Eastglory. Sageheaven. Mirrorcloud. Dao Life. Dark War.
Thēy unleashed the full force of thēir god power into the ancient planet beneath.
Meanwhile, the shattered world fragment in the distance was no longer blurry. It was now possible to see how damaged it had become during the fighting. Also visible was the beheaded corpse of Netherflame’s clone.
Also present was Grand Emperor Devilbird, coughing up blood and badly injured. Devilbird looked at the empress, then at the surrounding world. His face was as pale as death.
This grotto-heaven is actually made from a manywonders smolderlife dao fruit! Manywonders smolderlife dao fruits are able to resurrect anything under the level of a True God. One such dao fruit can be used three times. However, it can only be used once in a lifetime by any given person.
Considering how withered the fruit looks, Netherflame must have already used it. It looks like after being used another time, it will disappear forever. So that’s how Netherflame managed to come back to life! And that’s also what the empress is here for!
Blood sprayed out of Devilbird’s mouth as he staggered backward. Meanwhile, the empress hovered above the bone cauldron, looking down at Netherflame. Netherflame’s body was currently fifty percent violet, thirty percent gold, and twenty percent green.
Shē couldn’t tell where the violet was coming from. But the gold was from a drop of water, and the green... came from a dao fruit. The empress’ gaze hardened. Shē had been holding back this entire time. Shē had not gone all out.
One reason was that hēr opponent had a spectacularly powerful cultivation base. The other reason was that shē knew shē would only have one chance to achieve hēr true objective here. And shē would not accept failure.
Her original plan had not accounted for the variables presented by Xu Qing and Erniu. Originally, Netherflame was supposed to try to possess Devilbird, whereupon shē would join forces with Devilbird to achieve hēr objective. Although Netherflame was strong, shē knew shē could handle him.
But things didn’t go according to plan. Xu Qing and Erniu did present new variables, and then circumstances shifted. Netherflame changed his mind, and instead of trying to possess Devilbird, had decided to cooperate with him. And he had decided to try to possess Xu Qing.
Therefore, the empress had just waited and watched for the opportunity to come. The empress didn’t believe the new variables to be negatives. Whether it was Erniu’s third life or Xu Qing’s strange fleshly body, they actually just made hēr more confident that hēr plan would succeed. That was why shē had just waited patiently.
It was only when Netherflame broke free and revealed the power of the manywonders smolderlife dao fruit... that the opportunity the empress had been waiting for finally arrived.
Shē actually wanted Netherflame to take this action. To reveal the dao fruit. Thus, the empress’ action just now was actually hēr unhesitatingly revealing the contingency measures she’d had in place the entire time.
Hēr contingency plan was humankind’s Planet Ancient Emperor. In terms of personhood, it was the most precious treasure humankind possessed. And with the blessing of the five human gods, the precious treasure was unleashing astonishing power. Rumbling sounds echoed out as Planet Ancient Emperor exerted crushing force.
Netherflame’s howl echoed back and forth. He wanted to break free, but before he could, the empress bit down on the tip of hēr tongue and spat out some god blood. Shē also unhesitatingly unleashed all the power of hēr god altar to prevent Netherflame from breaking free.
Next, a vortex appeared within Planet Ancient Emperor. The power of the planet, as well as the power of the five human emperors, along with the might of the empress’ god altar, caused Netherflame to be devoured by the planet!
Netherflame was sealed.
Having accomplished that, a gleam of human nature appeared in the empress’s eyes.
Shē had become she. For this entire time, hēr goal had not been to go all out to kill Netherflame. Nor had hēr goal been Netherflame’s soul. Shē had been waiting for hēr opponent to take out the dao fruit. And then, by means of Planet Ancient Emperor, shē would isolate him from the outside world. And that, in turn, would cut away his connection to the manywonders smolderlife dao fruit. At least temporarily, the dao fruit would have no karmic connections to anything.
In that way, shē would finally have the chance to reach her true goal.
“Grand Emperor...” she murmured. She waved her hand, and a majestic statue flew out from inside her body. It grew larger and larger above the surface of the sea. The sea water seethed. It was a statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage!
Xu Qing looked at it, his heart pounding with both anxiety and excitement. He could now guess what the empress was trying to do.
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