The Celestial Maiden and the other deities—or to be precise, these Earth Immortals—were all completely stunned.
As Earth Immortals, the toll on their souls would be imnse if their true bodies were to fully awaken. They used human souls to control a vast space that served as their "flesh," a classic case of a small horse pulling a large cart. Therefore, for ninety-nine percent of the ti, their true bodies had to remain in a deep slumber. Even their incarnations rarely awakened unless absolutely necessary, all to preserve the power of their souls. If a soul's consumption was overloaded and it was subsequently depleted, they would fall into an eternal slumber, unable to ever awaken again—the equivalent of death.
It was for this very reason that the Blood Ancestor's true body was unwilling to awaken last ti, even when Lin Tang caused such a massive commotion in the Langhuan Holy Land. Only at the very end, when the space itself was on the verge of collapse, did he even consider reviving.
But there are always exceptions. During certain specific periods, the true body of an Earth Immortal could be fully resurrected with minimal consumption of soul power. But now was definitely not one of those tis.
So then… what was the deal with this fully awakened Earth Immortal?! Its aura was completely unfamiliar. The Celestial Maiden and the other righteous deities searched their mories but ca up with nothing.
"Is he truly from your Underworld faction?" the Celestial Maiden asked doubtfully.
The few Earth Immortals from the Underworld discreetly exchanged glances.
"Nonsense! Didn't you see him reach his hand out from our Underworld? He's definitely one of our comrades!"
"Hmph! To tell you the truth, we dared to confront you so early precisely because we had this ace up our sleeve!"
"Hehe, we're destined to win this ga, unless you dare to fully resurrect right now. But would you really be willing to do that?"
Hearing this, the hearts of the righteous Earth Immortals sank. Yes, they were willing to save the common people and contribute to the safety of all humanity, but they were absolutely not so magnanimous as to sacrifice their own lives for a group of mortals. Fully resurrecting their true bodies? It was out of the question! But if that was the case, this "ga" was truly lost…
Even if I possess Ning Yuexi right now and unleash ninety-nine percent of my true body's power, it's still not one hundred percent. Facing a fully resurrected Earth Immortal, I basically stand no chance. the Celestial Maiden thought, smiling bitterly.
Sensing their somber mood, the Earth Immortals from the Underworld grew smug, preparing to continue their verbal assault. But they never expected what happened next.
The colossal, sky-blotting hand that had retracted once again extended from the spatial channel. Its clear palm lines, like rows of trenches, reached them in an instant.
"What is this?!"
All the Earth Immortal incarnations hurriedly dodged.
The next mont, the Stygian River Projection, which the righteous Earth Immortal incarnations had been so desperate to avoid, was scooped up by the colossal hand as if it were a common strand of seaweed. The terrifyingly lethal power of the projection, capable of freezing and eroding even Lin Tang's Dharma Body, was completely useless against this gigantic hand.
Seeing this, the Underworld Earth Immortals grew anxious. They wanted the being to leave the Stygian River Projection behind but didn't dare to actually try and stop it. They could only watch helplessly as the gigantic hand retreated back into the spatial channel, erasing the Transmission Array and the spatial channel completely along the way.
The Underworld Earth Immortals and the Celestial Maiden's allies were all stunned into silence.
"Ha! Didn't you claim this Earth Immortal was part of your Underworld faction? If so, why would he destroy your Transmission Array?" an Earth Immortal from the righteous faction said sarcastically.
The Underworld Earth Immortals were unable to save face.
"Hmph, just you wait and see!"
"Let's go!"
They decided to retreat.
"Thinking of leaving? It won't be that easy!"
"You'll be leaving your incarnations behind for good!"
The Celestial Maiden and her allies naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity to kick them while they were down. They imdiately struck again, unleashing a brutal group assault. On one hand, they had the advantage of ti and terrain, fighting on their ho turf. On the other, several of the Underworld Earth Immortals had already been severely beaten by Lin Tang multiple tis. Now, without the Stygian River Projection to heal their wounds, they were vulnerable. After a period of intense fighting, the righteous faction of the mortal realm finally erged victorious and completely annihilated the Underworld Earth Immortals' incarnations!
"The first battle of the Underworld invasion is our victory!" the Celestial Maiden said with a triumphant smile.
"I wonder what the outco will be for that junior nad Long Tianji," the Lord of Luo Fu said, stroking his beard.
"This…" The Celestial Maiden looked quite worried. But on second thought, since the mysterious, fully resurrected Earth Immortal was not from the Underworld faction, he might not necessarily kill Lin Tang. Furthermore, even if he did, it would only be his Dharma Body. Lin Tang's true body was still alive and well.
Besides, what does it matter to if that brat Lin Tang lives or dies? It'd be great if he died. Just looking at him is annoying! the Celestial Maiden thought.
Since the spatial passage was closed and the Transmission Array had disappeared, the Underworld monsters and Earth Immortal incarnations that had rushed into the mortal realm were all dead. This first battle was indeed a grand victory for the human world. This brought a sense of relief to everyone in Central Earth, their faces lighting up with delighted and excited smiles. Of course, they were still worried about Long Tianji. The State Preceptor's contribution to this battle was imasurable. With his fate uncertain, everyone was on edge. In this situation, there was nothing they could do but continue to pray for his safe return.
Ever since witnessing the giant hand take Lin Tang away, Ning Yuexi had once again plunged into deep agony. When the Celestial Maiden's incarnation returned, she dropped to her knees, her face etched with sorrow as she pleaded, "Your Grace, if you had possessed from the start, Long Tianji might not have been captured. It's my fault, and I'm in so much pain! I beg you, please possess imdiately! If possible, I hope that after you possess , you can bring him back…"
The Celestial Maiden was silent for a long while before she spoke coldly, "Although we have repelled this invasion, the war is far from over. They will surely persist, invading a second and third ti. If Long Tianji has not returned by the next invasion, I will possess you then. Possessing you now would be aningless! Instead of wallowing in self-pity, you should seize this final opportunity to try and break through to the Foundation Establishnt Stage!"
With those words, she impatiently vanished. After such an exhilarating battle, she was utterly exhausted.
"Is it over? We won? There won't be any more trouble?"
In the terrifying insect nest, Dong Mingfeng felt as if each day was dragging on for a year. She was trembling from the fear of the countless insects and was so nauseated she couldn't even eat. How she longed to return to her normal life as a wealthy socialite! The mont she finished watching the livestream, she was ecstatic. Then she pulled Shen Jiayue over to start making snide remarks.
"Lin Tang and that Lee Encai didn't even show their faces, and they have the nerve to say they went to the front lines. The State Preceptor stole all the glory."
"Now that the great battle is over, they should be coming back, right?"
"Not necessarily. They might have gone off traveling sowhere again. Didn't they spend days touring the capital last ti? Gallivanting around behind Youling's back, so shaless…"
"Mom, stop it. You're going to upset Youling again."
Shen Youling said nothing. At this mont, she couldn't be bothered to deal with them. Seeing the battle co to a halt, she should have been happy and relieved, but for so reason, she felt a persistent unease.
Did sothing happen to Lin Tang?
She tried to contact Lin Tang and Lee Encai, but her phone kept indicating that their numbers were out of service.
"Sigh…" Shen Youling didn't know what expression to wear. All she could do was sigh.
「Luo Fu City.」
When they learned that the Underworld forces had retreated, the people here couldn't bring themselves to celebrate. Although they hadn't been killed or injured by the nuclear bomb, it didn't take a genius to know that they would suffer from the subsequent nuclear radiation. How many people would sicken and die?
"State Preceptor, you must return safely!"
"We're all waiting for you to heal us!"
"That's right. In this situation, only the State Preceptor can save us now."
Lee Encai was also in the city. The nuclear blast's shockwave and radiation had no effect on her, of course. She furrowed her brow, her expression solemn. Taking out a Communication Talisman, she tried to contact Lin Tang's Dharma Body, but it was t with silence, like a stone sinking into the ocean.
Brother Lin, oh, Brother Lin, your true body is countless billions of miles away and can't return. If your Dharma Body is also destroyed by the enemy, will I ever see you again in this lifeti?
Lee Encai's nose tingled, and she felt the urge to cry.
Just then, a giant spider, seemingly struggling under the weight of a pearl necklace, slowly crawled onto the wall beside her. It then spoke in a human voice, "Beautiful Gu Immortal, would you accept my gift? As for that Lin Tang you ntioned, what does it matter if you see him or not? Isn't it better to have by your side forever?"
"Get lost!" Lee Encai snapped, swatting her hand out and squashing it into a pulp.
She was utterly sick of this weirdo, the Gu God. It was constantly controlling insects to buzz in her ear. Such a chatterbox completely undermined the dignified image of a deity! Fortunately, it didn't seem to intend to use force, nor did it try to abduct her while Lin Tang was away. Otherwise, Lee Encai would have a real headache on her hands.
In modern society, information spreads with incredible speed. The Transmission Array in the eerie cave had been destroyed, and the human realm had won a great victory in the first battle. News of this spread across the globe almost instantly. Nations across the globe analyzed the recorded livestream video fra by fra. They were shocked by how difficult the Underworld monsters were to kill and simultaneously envious of Long Tianji's imnse power. Why did Central Earth have a super expert like that, while they hadn't found one?
"The Underworld has retreated this ti, but will they be back?"
"Most likely. We just don't know when, or if they'll try to break through from the sa location or choose new coordinates. What if next ti… they establish a beachhead in one of our cities? How would we stop them?"
"By the way, Central Earth deployed a nuclear weapon without the approval of the international convention. That's outrageous! They must be condemned!"
"Exactly! They must provide an explanation and pay the price!"
Humanity can be exceptionally united at tis, and at others, it loves to engage in infighting. Even if the world were ending tomorrow, there would still be sches and backstabbing today.
And so it was. Just as Central Earth was about to catch its breath and silently lick its wounds, a group of nations, led by Arin and followed by Sunset Country and others, issued diplomatic statents demanding that Central Earth be punished for violating the treaty.
When these words reached Central Earth, Jiang Shan, Yan Qinghe, and the others had to fight the urge to roll their eyes. Are these foreigners insane?
When the people of Central Earth found out, they were furious. They spontaneously flooded major foreign websites with angry comnts. "Our nuclear bomb exploded within our own borders! What business is it of yours? The damn Underworld was at our doorstep! A city was nearly wiped out, and so many people died! The situation was critical! What's wrong with using a nuke to fight the enemy? We should have asked you first? Waited for your permission? By then, it would've been too late! Besides, why do we need your permission in the first place? The nerve of you people!"
Most ordinary people around the world were reasonable. Seeing that the argunts from Central Earth's netizens were logical and well-founded, they agreed with their actions. But, as always, so unreasonable people continued to pop up and squawk, arguing that since all countries had signed the nuclear treaty, a promise was a promise, and everyone had to abide by its rules. No country should use nuclear weapons without authorization. You broke the rules, so you must accept the punishnt!
These countries clung stubbornly to this point, demanding various concessions and putting Central Earth under imnse pressure. The leadership was still struggling to find a good way to handle this tricky situation when the Underworld's second invasion began, catching everyone completely off guard.
It was too fast. So fast that no one had ti to react.
A bustling city within Arin was targeted by a huge spatial portal. Then, countless Underworld monsters sward out, pouring into the tropolis in a one-sided slaughter. In less than an hour, the entire city had fallen. The surrounding cities were now facing an existential crisis. All of Arin was thrown into a panic.
"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!"
"Who will save us? Who can save us?"
"Central Earth has a Long Tianji! Where are our superheroes? Where are they?!"
"Oh, shit! What the hell are those sons of bitches in the Black Palace doing?"
"Doesn't Arin have the most nuclear weapons in the world? What are you waiting for? Bomb them! Bomb the hell out of them!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers