novelraw Chapter 348 : Fusion of True Spirit Marrow, the Path to Apostleship!
Chapter 348 : Fusion of True Spirit Marrow, the Path to Apostleship!
Chapter 348: Fusion of True Spirit Marrow, the Path to Apostleship!
Once the Supreme God’s disciple departed, the remaining people in the Apostolic Holy City dared not act rashly. They immediately ordered a halt to all offensive actions across every front, sending only a single mobile unit to support the Eighth Fleet, which was still locked in battle with the Three Universal Civilizations.
Upon learning that the Three Universal Civilizations had dispatched another massive fleet to rescue their forces, the Apostolic Holy City launched a brief counterattack, then allowed the Eighth Fleet to withdraw, deliberately letting the Three Universal Civilizations escape.
Thus, a grand battle came to an end with the sudden disappearance of the Artificial God. Neither side had the will to continue fighting, and both withdrew.
On the surface, the losses of the Apostolic Holy City remained within an acceptable range. But for the Three Universal Civilizations, the damage was truly crippling.
Of the six Transcendent-class combatants they had sent, three were slain by the Artificial God. The remaining three—including Dimitri—suffered grievous injuries, wounds so severe that recovery would be impossible anytime soon.
With the situation refusing to improve in the slightest, it would be only a matter of one or two years at most before the Three Universal Civilizations were completely shattered by the Apostolic Holy City.
This realization placed unbearable pressure upon both the forward bases and the rear command of the Three Universal Civilizations.
For the moment, there was only one path left!
At the urging of Emperor Odoacre of the Empire, the high command of the Three Universal Civilizations convened an emergency meeting. In this meeting, they resolved to deploy Dimensional Bombs into the Other-Dimensional Realm.
Dimensional Bombs could trigger dimensional explosions. Once the scale of such explosions reached a certain threshold, they could force two originally parallel dimensions of the Other-Dimensional Realm to overlap in one location—thus artificially creating a true Interstellar Great Wall, no lesser in size than the Wall of Guardians.
Such spatial overlaps would effectively stall the advance of the Apostolic Holy City’s fleets, buying the Three Universal Civilizations more time to prepare for war.
Of course, this came with tremendous risk.
If the overlap was not corrected in time, the two dimensions would fuse more and more extensively, possibly giving rise to a catastrophic Dimensional Catastrophe!
A Dimensional Catastrophe could, in lighter cases, swallow countless planets and submerge navigational routes. In the worst case, it might trigger an invasion from another dimension altogether.
Even before the war broke out, advisors of the Three Universal Civilizations had suggested deploying Dimensional Bombs. The idea was dismissed back then precisely because of the extreme risks involved.
But now, with the crisis worsening by the day, the Three Universal Civilizations could no longer afford to care about risk.
“Go forth!”
At Emperor Odoacre’s command, vast numbers of Dimensional Bombs were shipped to the frontlines. At the same time, many front-line Players received new Main Storyline Quests.
Those Players did not hesitate. They leapt into action immediately, hurling their bodies directly into the Other-Dimensional Realm.
Though Players were weaker in raw strength, their fearlessness of death and pain often allowed them to advance far deeper than elite soldiers in the Other-Dimensional Realm. Even if they lost communication, there was no risk of mission failure.
Rumble—! Rumble—!
As the readings on the monitors began spiking wildly, Buvalo let out a weary sigh.
From here onward, the Three Universal Civilizations would be racing against Death itself.
In thirty thousand years of the Empire, crises had been too numerous to count. But never once had there been a situation so utterly despair-inducing.
Technical disadvantages could always be overcome. But gaps in top-tier combat power… even with Bai Fu around, they were impossible to bridge in just a few short years.
And what’s more—
“Now we can only hope that the Original Pact won’t launch an attack. Otherwise, everything we’re doing now will all be for nothing.”
But would the Original Pact really remain silent?
【Fufu, one of my companions saw someone while carrying out the mission in the Other-Dimensional Realm!】
Just as Buvalo and the others were growing uneasy, Bai Fu—who had only recently ended her Descent state—received a transmission from the Excavation-Princess.
“One person? What kind of person?”
Bai Fu asked at once.
【Judging from clothing and build, he looks very much like the leader of the Original Pact who attacked you in the Ethereal Realm before. But whether it really was him, we aren’t entirely sure.】
The Excavation-Princess spread her hands helplessly.
She had that Player use Reconnaissance Technique, but the gap in level was far too great. All the results came back as question marks, making it impossible to confirm the figure’s identity.
Bai Fu frowned deeply.
The leader of the Original Pact?
“Does your companion still have a Dark Energy version of the Eye of the Dark Moon Card?”
【Yes, Fufu, he does.】
“Good. Tell him to silently recite my name, then use one of those Dark Energy Cards.”
The Excavation-Princess promptly relayed Bai Fu’s instructions to the Player in question.
Moments later, Bai Fu felt the tug of a summoning. She instantly shifted her perspective.
After all, those Prayer Cards were products of her Prayer Card Factory. Even if sold to Players, she could still link to them at will.
A panorama utterly alien to the explored universe unfolded before Bai Fu’s eyes. It took her quite some time to adjust to the chaos of it.
Then, without any need for the Player to explain, her vision locked instantly onto a lone, upright figure in the distance.
Even before activating her Apostle’s Psionic Vision, Bai Fu was certain—this was indeed the leader of the Original Pact!
“What is he doing here? Does he intend to sabotage the Three Universal Civilizations’ plan?”
No.
That didn’t seem to be the case.
If sabotage had been his goal, he could have acted long ago. There was no reason to just stand idly by.
“Is he simply here to observe the battle?”
Bai Fu had an impulse—to summon Lufas at once, then rally the Three Universal Civilizations to besiege the Original Pact leader together.
But she quickly quelled that impulse.
Could they truly kill the Original Pact leader here?
Bai Fu thought it unlikely.
The Apostolic Holy City’s fleets were stationed far too close. If a fight broke out, the leader could call in reinforcements at any moment. Then, the tide would turn against them.
Even if, by sheer luck, they managed to slay him before help arrived, Bai Fu doubted Lufas would hand over the True Spirit Marrow so easily.
Lufas was never a trustworthy sort. Bai Fu had never once believed he intended to trade sincerely.
What troubled her most wasn’t Lufas’ character, but rather his terrifying pace of growth.
Having struggled in the Star Sea for years, Bai Fu had never seen an NPC grow stronger as fast and as monstrously as Lufas.
In just a few short years, he had risen from his second Molting to his fourth, now standing toe-to-toe with the Fourth Apostle, the Supreme God’s disciple, and even the Original Pact leader.
“This guy might turn out to be an even harder Boss than both the Supreme God’s disciple and the Original Pact leader. One way or another, he must be dealt with!”
Bai Fu fixed her gaze on the distant leader.
After four minutes, the leader finally moved.
He flew straight toward a Dimensional Bomb just hurled into the depths by a Player.
At first, Bai Fu thought he meant to prevent its detonation. But instead, with a light push, he sent it drifting deeper, expanding the scope of its blast.
“He… is helping the Three Universal Civilizations?!”
Bai Fu was stunned.
Was this because he felt threatened by the Apostolic Holy City? Did he secretly wish to prolong the Three Universal Civilizations’ resistance, draining more of the Apostolic Holy City’s power? Or was there another motive entirely?
Bai Fu recalled two conversations.
The first was when she and the Oathmaster had snuck into the Esper Garden. Back then, the Lightless One had cursed the leader of the Original Pact, claiming he had spared her only out of old ties with the Rebirth Empire.
The second was when she sought Yuan Yi’s help and heard from Yuan Yi’s close friend Ai. Ai had said the leader of the Original Pact might well be a famous figure from the Star Sea’s history.
If both accounts were true, that meant the leader had been born in the Empire—a historic figure of renown.
From that angle, his aid in detonating Dimensional Bombs might not have a hidden agenda at all. Perhaps he simply wanted to help the Empire.
“Whatever the reason, it proves he isn’t planning to clash with the Three Universal Civilizations for now. He might even want to help them. Yes… perhaps he can be won over further.”
Bai Fu nodded to herself.
With the battlefield in shambles, clinging to old strategies was no longer viable. If she waited to raise her level first, the Three Universal Civilizations might already be destroyed. A new approach was needed.
With that thought, she stopped hiding and sent forth a tiny True Spirit Flying Beast from a Player’s hand.
Before the beast even reached him, the leader’s voice drifted over.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been watching me for twenty minutes now. Speak—what is it you want?”
Bai Fu: “Aren’t you curious about who I am?”
The leader remained calm. “I don’t care who you are. I care only about your purpose.”
Bai Fu said nothing, but calmly revealed her true appearance.
“You… Bai Fu?”
For once, even the ever-composed leader of the Original Pact faltered. His eyes widened, and the gray mist shrouding his face stirred violently as though caught in a storm.
“Why are you still alive?”
Bai Fu: “Did you really think killing both me and my avatar Hei Fu would be enough to finish me off?”
Wasn’t that the case?
“If not for the Fourth Apostle, I truly would be dead. But unfortunately for you,” Bai Fu began to spin her tale, “the Fourth Apostle fused a portion of my True Spirit Marrow. He intended to steal the power of the so-called ‘God of the Ethereal Realm,’ but in doing so, he inadvertently gave me insurance. Unless you destroy me, Hei Fu, and that fragment of my True Spirit Marrow inside the Fourth Apostle all at once, you will never truly kill me!”
The leader quickly regained his composure. “This is your secret. Yet you reveal it to me now. Are you trying to incite me to deal with the Fourth Apostle for you?”
“I simply want to propose cooperation.”
Bai Fu outlined the current state of the Fourth Apostle.
“If we don’t stop it now, once it fully matures, both you and I will suffer. Don’t think I’m exaggerating. You, of all people, know how troublesome I am as the God of the Ethereal Realm. But once grown, the Fourth Apostle will be ten times worse than me!”
The leader’s face grew taut.
If the Fourth Apostle truly bore a portion of Bai Fu’s True Spirit Marrow and could fully digest it, then indeed—it must be eliminated at once.
For this meant that the Fourth Apostle might one day wield the same power Bai Fu did: the ability to guide others in advancement.
The Apostle might not use such power as freely as Bai Fu. But regardless, such a potential had to be smothered in the cradle.
“As you say, the Fourth Apostle is indeed dangerous right now. However…” the leader chuckled softly, “if I kill it, then without its restraint, wouldn’t you seize the chance to restore yourself to full strength?”
Emmm…
The leader of the Original Pact had asked a rather tricky question, and for a moment, Bai Fu truly didn’t know how to respond.
Deny it outright (after all, she wasn’t the God of the Ethereal Realm at all)?
Leader: “Do you think I’d believe that?”
Admit it?
So it’s true, Bai Fu, you really do harbor sinister intentions!
Seeing that Bai Fu still hadn’t answered, the leader laughed: “It seems I wasn’t mistaken. Given the current situation, sitting back and letting you and the Fourth Apostle fight until both sides are wounded before stepping in to finish you off—that would be most advantageous for me. You’re no fool. You should understand this perfectly well. And yet you still came to me, and even revealed your own secret. Tell me, what is your true purpose?”
Damn it, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to trick the leader of the Original Pact into joining forces against the Apostolic Holy City. Good thing I’d kept one card up my sleeve.
Bai Fu curled her lips.
“Since you see so clearly, I won’t bother keeping up the pretense. I came to ask you to help me deal with Lufas.”
“Lufas? You yourself should be more than enough to handle him.”
“That was before. Now, he has become a Void Lord. His strength may not even be beneath yours!”
“……”
“On my way to the Ethereal Realm, Lufas approached me and demanded that I join him in dealing with you. Although I have my differences with you, with the Apostolic Holy City about to invade, there was no way I could agree to him. That would leave me at war on two fronts—against both the Apostolic Holy City and the Original Pact. But I had no choice. He threatened that if I refused, he’d ally with the Apostolic Holy City to fight me and the Three Universal Civilizations together. So I was forced to agree.”
“Oh?”
The leader narrowed his eyes, trying to discern whether Bai Fu was lying.
Bai Fu continued spinning her tale: “My original plan was to join forces with Lufas to kill you after the Three Universal Civilizations completed their Dimensional Bomb detonation. But… you appeared, and so I changed my mind. Between Lufas and you, I believe you are the more trustworthy. If I work with Lufas, who knows if, once the deed is done, he might suddenly turn on me? But if I work with you, at least for now, you won’t suddenly turn around and kill me.”
The leader nodded.
If everything she said was true, then indeed, her reasoning was sound.
The only problem…
“You think I should believe what you’re saying?”
“Trying to believe just once wouldn’t hurt.”
The leader stared at the smiling Bai Fu.
He wished to exterminate the Apostle of the Ethereal Realm, because that Apostle was a shadow of the Old Days. By the same logic, he also wished to eliminate the Void Monster, a remnant of the Old Days.
Could this be the right point of entry?
Neither spoke, and the silence stretched for several dozen seconds.
Finally, the leader laughed as well: “Haha, very well, I’ll believe you this once. How do you intend for us to cooperate?”
Bai Fu explained: “I’ll lure Lufas here and join him in attacking you. At that moment, you’ll have two options. The first is to cooperate with me to counter-kill Lufas. The risk here is that we might fail to kill him, as he is a Void Lord. And should he survive, the trouble ahead will be immense. He may be newly ascended, but who’s to say he hasn’t already established a vast power in the Void Realm? The second option is to pretend to be killed by us, then hide in the shadows and observe Lufas’ every move—learn his true motives for wanting you dead, and gauge his true strength. The risk with this path is that you really might die. Even if you survive, you may end up learning nothing at all. So—which will you choose?”
The leader hesitated hardly at all: “The second option.”
Bai Fu was surprised: “So confident in your own strength?”
The leader only smiled silently.
Confident in his own strength?
Indeed.
But more than that, he trusted the words of the Child of Prophecy.
When Bai Fu had spoken of her plan, he had quietly reached out to the Child of Prophecy.
【What does my future hold?】
【The stars shall continue to shine.】
That brief phrase was enough to steel his resolve.
“Then, let us put on this little play together. While the Apostles, the Three Universal Civilizations, and the Revolutionary Army all display their powers, the Void suddenly makes its move. I’m curious—what will their ambitions prove to be?”
“Pleasure working with you.”
With the leader’s cooperation, Bai Fu was more confident than ever of obtaining the True Spirit Marrow from Lufas.
Of course, the leader might not follow her script, and could at any moment tear up their agreement and turn on her.
But that didn’t matter. All she knew was that once she secured the True Spirit Marrow, she could immediately raise her level to 260 and ascend to become a true Apostle.
At that point, no matter how Lufas or the Original Pact stirred up trouble, she would have the power to protect herself.
……
Three days later.
滴滴.
As he cultivated in the Void, Lufas felt a tremor stir in the depths of his soul. He immediately opened his eyes.
The sender of the message was Bai Fu.
His eyes flicked across the words. The next second, he slapped his thigh.
“Opportunity has arrived!”
With his voice, strange ripples spread across the Void Realm. Then, one pair after another of hollow, white eyes opened in the emptiness.
……
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Lufas descended from the Void.
Before he could even rein in the surging tide of Void energy behind him, Bai Fu rushed up to meet him.
“You’re too slow.”
“The leader of the Original Pact has already left?”
“No, but he’s shifted locations several times. He could leave at any moment.”
Lufas exhaled in relief: “Since he’s still here, let’s begin.”
“Wait.” Bai Fu stopped him. “Where’s the True Spirit Marrow I asked for?”
Lufas opened his right hand. Slowly, an irregular black crystal about the size of a goose egg floated up from his palm.
【Complete True Spirit Marrow (Ninth Apostle)】
Excellent.
Seeing the words appear upon the crystal, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.
Lufas stored the Marrow away again. “Don’t worry. Once the leader of the Original Pact is slain, I will hand it over to you.”
“It had better be that way.” Bai Fu snorted. “Lufas, even now, you still refuse to tell me your true reason for wanting him dead?”
Lufas opened a gate to the Other-Dimensional Realm before them. “I told you before—because he is the God of the Ethereal Realm. Unless you mean to tell me that you are the God of the Ethereal Realm? There are indeed many rumors out there claiming so. But I am certain—you are not the God of the Ethereal Realm!”
Heh!
Of course I am not the God of the Ethereal Realm. But neither is the leader of the Original Pact. The true God of the Ethereal Realm… is Élisée!
Forget it. If you won’t tell me, then so be it. I only asked to keep you from letting your thoughts run wild and spoiling things at the last moment.
Stepping into the Other-Dimensional Realm with Lufas, Bai Fu instantly transformed into a chatterbox machine. She went on and on, dragging Lufas’ attention this way and that, constantly dropping “side remarks” and little distractions until he was thoroughly exasperated.
Was Bai Fu always this talkative?
He felt an urge to find a rag and stuff it into her mouth.
This went on until the leader of the Original Pact entered their sight, and only then did it improve.
Enough chatter—now it was time for fists!
Lufas muttered incantations under his breath. With his chanting, the Other-Dimensional Realm began to quiver in strange ways.
Hmm?
The leader noticed the anomaly at once.
All around—front, back, left, right, up, down—the three coordinate axes of this void, and the eight sectors divided by them, each sprouted a “¤”-shaped sigil.
“This is Void Power. This space has been cut apart, becoming a separate ‘world.’ This ability is somewhat similar to the Rebirth Empire’s Dimensional Cube. So, the Void Lord has finally made his move?”
The leader pressed his right hand downward. In an instant, a vast sigil, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, unfurled beneath his feet.
From the sigil, crimson radiance surged upward, transforming the area around him into a domain of war, brimming with killing intent.
“Attack!”
Lufas shouted to Bai Fu, then charged first.
Bai Fu did not hold back or play tricks—she followed immediately.
Lufas’ intelligence might be questionable, but his eye for battle was sharp. He could instantly tell whether she was fighting seriously.
The leader, too, proved himself a veteran actor.
The moment Bai Fu and Lufas appeared, he displayed surprise in his tone and expression with flawless naturalness.
“It’s you two?”
Seeing this, Bai Fu exhaled in relief.
Perfect!
From here, all she had to do was cooperate with Lufas in assaulting the leader.
While she continuously unleashed Prayer Cards to carve out openings for Lufas, Bai Fu also quietly used one Blank Skill Copy Card each on Lufas and the leader.
From Lufas, she copied an escape technique—【Void Unification】. When used, it granted a special buff allowing her to ignore the differences between dimensions and move freely among them.
With this, she no longer feared ordinary space seals.
From the leader, she copied a domain skill—【Burning World】. Within this domain, the mana cost of using skills would skyrocket.
Overall, it was a double-edged sword, much like 【Suppression】 she had copied from the Lightless One. But Bai Fu could nullify the debuff by merging with Yulia.
Mana costs high?
No matter. She would just increase her mana recovery speed!
“Excellent. Now, let’s see how Lufas and the leader of the Original Pact intend to act out their parts.”
Bai Fu was fully prepared.
As time passed, the leader struck first.
From his palm, golden light burst forth like a divine sword, effortlessly piercing through the spatial prison that Lufas had meticulously woven.
Before the prison could close again, several figures rushed in from outside.
“Leader, are you unharmed?”
“I’m fine. Now is not the time for talk—focus on eliminating them!”
Lufas was dumbfounded. He had never imagined the leader possessed the power to shatter the prison and connect to normal space on a whim.
In the earlier clash, with Bai Fu’s dazzling psionic support, he had managed to gain the upper hand. But in truth, his advantage had never been all that decisive.
Now the leader’s aide had arrived, and the balance of victory in this battle would uncontrollably tip toward the leader’s side.
For a short time it was still manageable, but if it dragged on, as soon as either he or Bai Fu suffered a serious wound, the situation would completely rot.
Was he going to use his trump card?
The trump card had originally been reserved for dealing with Bai Fu and the Apostolic Holy City. If he used it now and made Bai Fu and the Apostolic Holy City feel threatened, then even if they smoothly eliminated the Original Pact leader here, their plan might still fail to unfold.
Calm down, steady down, steady down again — the situation had not yet deteriorated to the point where the trump card had to be played.
Lufas relied on his superior spatial abilities to flicker through the encirclement of several attackers; he seemed to handle it quite easily, but Bai Fu was starting to struggle.
"You still have any backup? If this kept going, once my prayer cards ran out my strength would instantly drop by several tens of percent, and by then both you and I would be stuck here!" Bai Fu snapped.
"…"
"At a time like this, say it plainly — yes or no. Miss this chance, when would we next get the opportunity to kill the Original Pact leader? Fine, give me the True Spirit Marrow and I’ll make one last gamble!"
"…"
"What are you hesitating about? At this point you still want to wait until the mission is finished before giving it to me? Have you lived too long and want to court death? Hurry and hand over the True Spirit Marrow — maybe we’ll have a slim chance; if luck’s with us, killing the Original Pact leader wouldn’t be impossible."
Bai Fu was enraged and cursed Lufas out.
By now she had taken several hits; the black, tight combat suit had been dulled from glossy to matte and she looked particularly battered.
At this juncture there really was no room for hesitation.
Either he revealed his trump card,
or he did as Bai Fu had asked and handed her the True Spirit Marrow.
Lufas decisively chose the latter.
In truth, at first he had not planned to hand the True Spirit Marrow to Bai Fu. His plan had been to kill the Original Pact leader and immediately use the trump card to take Bai Fu out as well, but there was no time left for such scheming.
It was just one True Spirit Marrow — it held no real value to him; fine, give it.
Let Bai Fu and the Original Pact leader slay each other to mutual ruin — it would make handling Bai Fu afterward even easier.
"Take it!" Lufas produced the True Spirit Marrow and tossed it into a suddenly opened passage in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, the True Spirit Marrow flew out from before Bai Fu.
She reached out her right hand and, with a slap, clutched the True Spirit Marrow in her palm.
"Thank you."
A sincere smile of gratitude crossed her face.
At that instant,
she felt all the sounds of the world vanish, leaving only the almost audible game prompt right beside her.
【Detected True Spirit Marrow. Merge?】
As if there were any doubt.
She had waited a long time for this day!
Bai Fu clenched her right hand hard, and the True Spirit Marrow seemed to be crushed and directly fused into her body.
【Merge progress 0%……1%……2%……】
The progress bar began to surge at an incredible speed.
"That is…"
The Original Pact people did not immediately notice anything amiss — on the battlefield, someone suddenly exhibiting violent energy fluctuations was not unheard of.
But Lufas, who had been covertly communicating with Bai Fu, vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
Bai Fu was drawing out the latent power hidden within the True Spirit Marrow?
But could the single True Spirit Marrow he had thrown really contain that much power?
He had personally cooperated with the Artist to eliminate the Ninth Apostle; although the Ninth Apostle had been gravely injured at the time, Lufas felt that even at full strength the Ninth Apostle was probably still not as strong as an ordinary fourth-stage Transcendent. Yet the aura emanating from Bai Fu now…
【Merge progress 100%】
A chime like celestial music rang in Bai Fu’s mind.
Immediately thereafter, she received two successive prompts.
The first informed her that the "Twelfth Apostle" talent had successfully activated.
The second told her that the conditions for the third Transformation Quest had been met.
It was coming — that sensation came: as if her whole being had become blazing flame, a scorching radiance powerful enough to illuminate any dark corner of the universe burst forth!
But that was only the beginning!
If she completed the Transformation Quest, if she clicked to level up, if she shot her level up all at once to level 260 and triggered the fourth Divine Transformation, if she maxed the levels of the newly acquired skills — then the energy surge erupting from her would be terrifying, like a flood unleashed!
However…
"Now was not the time. If she leveled up here it would surely arouse the Original Pact’s suspicions." Bai Fu suppressed the fire in her eyes. Time was urgent; she did not even look at the other prompts brought by fusing the True Spirit Marrow, but quickly shouted at Lufas and the leader respectively —
"Everyone, fall in behind me!"
Whoosh!
Black flames spewed from Bai Fu’s body; under the blaze even the space reinforced by Lufas trembled, as if it might be burned through at any moment.
In that moment, Bai Fu became the brightest figure in the arena, literally dazzling.
The black flames rose and formed a dragon that, at a speed too fast to properly register, lunged at the leader.
The leader’s expression tightened.
This momentum… to be honest, it was not strong enough to make him afraid, but… what was that subtle sense?
Right — it was a deviation!
The Bai Fu now bore a slight deviation from the Bai Fu from moments ago.
She was still herself, but she was no longer entirely herself.
The leader had no time to consider the difference carefully; the flame-dragon had already struck him.
The critical moment had arrived!
He unleashed a terrifying pressure in an instant, powerful enough to reverse stars and rivers.
At the same time, Lufas on the other side moved as well.
Now that events had reached this point, he no longer needed to hide any of his power.
He became a "light" — the smoothest, strongest, most indestructible "light" in the world!
"Leader?!" The Original Pact members were terrified; they wanted to rush forward to save him, but it was already too late.
How could the master of space manipulation, Lufas, give them such an opportunity?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The imagined cataclysm did not arrive; the onlookers felt as though they had been thrown into a vacuum glass sphere.
There was no flow of time here, no concept of space; it seemed like the world at the moment of its birth, and all one could see were three vortices of energy entwined together in absolute silence.
At an unknown instant, the string-like energy beams suddenly snapped.
In that instant, reality collapsed like a crushed glass roof.
Chaotic energy gushed from the rift; blinding white light, accompanied by a high-frequency buzzing that could pierce the retina, swept in all directions. Unknown particles, riding on the tremor like the dawn of the universe, penetrated the chests of the onlookers, tearing the sealed space into billions of shards of cold, sparkling crystalline dust.
Whoosh—
Time finally began to flow again.
At the center of the explosion everything emerged: Bai Fu was holding her broken right arm, blood flowing everywhere; the leader was nowhere to be found; only Lufas stood there laughing heartily.
Dead.
Finally dead!
With that, the Original Pact would no longer be a threat; those who could still stop him from becoming "Lord of the Day" were only the Apostolic Holy City, Bai Fu, and the other Void Lords.
Oh, no — there was no Bai Fu anymore, because Bai Fu was about to die here!
"Bai Fu, thanks to you." Lufas said.
"Hm?" Bai Fu turned.
Lufas clapped his hands, and golden ripples stirred in the vacuum; layers of spatial folds peeled away along the ripples, revealing a dense web of "cosmic scars". From the depths of those scars, grotesque void creatures surged out like tidal creatures competing to rush forward.
Under their onslaught the scars widened, and when the last three roughly humanoid silhouettes ruptured the void, the curvature of spacetime emitted a wail.
They were Void Lords!
Three whole Void Lords!
The twisted gravity naturally radiating from them distorted the entire other-dimensional space behind them into a scene worthy of Van Gogh’s Starry Night!
"Seeing how hard you tried, I’ll let you die a little easier." Lufas’s face split into a terrifying grin; in his hand, one of the bottles had appeared without anyone noticing.
The bottle contained —
【Old Corruption of the Ages Poison】