He knew his disciple was a stubborn breed.
The man had never possessed much martial skill himself, yet trapped by the title of Sword Champion’s disciple, he had dragged his own two disciples onto the battlefield.
His eldest grand-disciple was cut from the same stubborn cloth.
He had returned to the front lines barely after the funeral rites had ended.
Though he had been assigned to the Logistics Division, how could anyone not see it?
That eldest grand-disciple of his—his eyes had long since held the unmistakable resolve for death…
His other disciples—some dead, some grievously wounded.
“Let the Xianzhou’s main cannons charge.
Those nine planets will be upon us before long.”
The General lifted his gaze toward the starry sky, his eyes heavy with solemnity.
The Diviner nodded and departed to arrange the matters that followed.
The Xianzhou Cangcheng needed to preserve its embers.
So long as the embers remained, the Cangcheng would never truly be extinguished!
The Sword Champion raised his eyes to the firmament.
In his gaze, there remained only a single-minded, unyielding sharpness.
His entire lineage, master to disciple—a household of martyrs.
Not a single coward among them!
Half a system hour later.
One after another, planets churning with green shockwaves of energy emerged at the far edge of the starry sky.
But what the astronomical telescopes revealed was enough to make one’s very skin crawl.
What green shockwaves?
Those were clearly countless, numberless Abominations of Abundance!
The abominations blanketed the planets so completely that the original surfaces could no longer be seen at all, rendering each entire world a solid, seething green.
Yet those abominations—they had once been the Cloud Knights stationed to defend those very worlds and the innumerable innocent people who had lived upon them!
“Strike Guard, the Abundance worlds have entered attack range!”
The Cloud Strike Guard closed his eyes.
He let out a heavy sigh, then gave the order.
The fleet arrayed around the Xianzhou in the starry void locked into formation.
The cold gleam of the ships’ alloy hulls trembled slightly in rhythm with the low thrum of their engines.
The main cannon barrels slowly extended from the bellies of the warships.
The muzzle fairings contracted in layer upon layer.
Streams of pale blue energy crept upward along the traceries of the cannons’ bodies, gathering deep within the firing chambers into blazing cores of light.
In the instant the command channel’s order was finalized, every main cannon roared in unison.
The light cores at the muzzles erupted outward, and beam after beam of condensed, incandescent cannon-fire tore free from their barrels!
They ripped through the interstellar dust.
The residual shockwaves of the cannon blasts pushed the fleet back a pace.
The beams carved perfectly straight trails of light through the depths of space, surging madly toward their targets.
These nine cannon blasts concentrated the overwhelming majority of the entire Cangcheng’s energy reserves.
Once they were fired, the whole Xianzhou ship would grind to a halt—leaving not even enough power for a warp jump.
But the Xianzhou had reached its moment of existential crisis.
To live or to die—there was no room left for hesitation.
Only decisiveness remained.
A single beam from any one of these main cannons possessed enough power to level heaven and earth, to detonate a star!
But…
it was all for nothing…
Yet in mere moments, like cells dividing and recombining, they regenerated without cease—and began converging rapidly in a single direction!
This speed surpassed that of light!
In virtually the blink of an eye, all the shattered fragments fused together.
They intermingled, adhered, and ultimately became a single Abundance world nearly the size of the Xianzhou itself!
No—no, that was wrong!
Call it by its true name: an Activated Planet!
The planet began to sprout branches, bending and twisting toward a single convergence point.
Space itself tore like shredded silk, warping, fracturing!
A colossal shadow emerged from the violently colliding planets—
It was like a mass of ceaselessly writhing, ever-shifting, formless flesh!
But in no time at all, that flesh transformed into a giant tree striding through the starry void.
Its branches and buds unfurled and stretched outward, and from them, face after face hung suspended—each one twisted into a sinister, mocking grin!
“Shuhu!”
The General of Cangcheng gripped his long spear.
His battle cloak stirred though there was no wind.
A pale white draconic Venerable Spirit burst forth from his spear.
In a flash, the white dragon swelled to the size of a planet.
“I AM SHUHU!
I AM ETERNAL!!!
”
The colossal tree, covered in innumerable eyes, did not speak in any conventional sense.
Its voice—if it could be called that—carried an incomparable, overwhelming arrogance and disdain.
“Hmph!
Come and fight!!!”
The General of Cangcheng was clearly a man of few words and decisive action.
Shuhu quivered slightly.
The Activated Planet beneath it plunged toward the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
Even as it fell, the Activated Planet ceaselessly spawned fresh Abominations of Abundance.
With every pulse of the Activated Planet, countless abominations were shaken loose onto the Xianzhou!
With every breath it took, countless Xianzhou natives plunged into Mara!
“The Xianzhou soars on high, the Cloud Knights ever victorious!”
Countless combat Starskiffs and Cloud Knights streaked toward the abominations filling the sky.
Their blood spilled across the heavens, and the Xianzhou was drenched beneath one crimson rain after another!
[At this very moment, you were walking along the street when you suddenly felt something warm drip onto your head.]
[You extended your hand.
Drip—drip— Fresh crimson blood traced the lines of your palm.]
[Jolted into dreadful awareness, you raised your head—and beheld a sight you would never, for all eternity, be able to forget!]
The simulated blue sky had completely vanished.
The firmament of the Realm had shattered!
Endless, numberless abominations choked the sky!
Through the gaps between them, you could still see a blood-red planet, still slowly, horribly pulsing!
Only a handful of scattered Cloud Knights remained fighting in the sky.
As for the rest of the Cloud Knights…
[You clenched your hand around the blood in your palm.
It seemed you understood something…]
[You sprinted toward home at the absolute fastest speed your body could muster!]
Now, the once peaceful and serene little street had become like oil boiling in a searing pan!
People fled in screaming panic, and those trampled underfoot wailed in agony!
The bodies of the elderly twisted and warped.
Leaf after leaf of ginkgo sprouted from their flesh.
Surging, roiling tissue engulfed their faces!
They transformed—utterly and completely—into monsters!
Their claws sharpened into rending blades.
They lunged without restraint toward the Dan Fǔ of the Xianzhou natives around them!
Blood fountained outward.
(T/N: Dan Fǔ appears to be a core organ or nexus of life force specifically for Xianzhou natives)
Shrieks of terror, curses of fury, and wails of despair blended into an unending cacophony.
From this single glimpse, one could see the whole—the entire Xianzhou had become a shrieking hell!
—Those who fall to Mara: the six senses are inverted; all human bonds are annihilated!
—Mara is the destiny of the long-lived species.
Memory overload.
Sanity collapses.
Flesh mutates.
The Five Afflictions entwine the body.
Step by step, they sink into the abyss, until at last they become mindless monsters.
There is no solution.
There is no salvation!
[You thought of this.
You drew the sword Liubai.
By the dim starlight, you slashed at the marastruck surrounding you.
In moments, their Dan Fǔ shattered, and the mara-struck perished!]
[You leapt onto the rooftops and continued your desperate dash toward home.]
[A rending claw suddenly burst from the roof tiles beneath you, grasping at your legs.
You flicked off the rooftop with the tips of your toes and evaded it with ease.]
[Through a crack in the roof, you caught sight of the familiar decor of that candy shop.
Your pupils trembled violently.
But after a moment of hesitation, you brought your sword slashing down upon the former old…
Abomination of Abundance before you.]
[A dull heaviness settled in your chest.
But you knew—this was no time to waver.
You continued running toward home.]
Several minutes later, you laid eyes on your house, nestled in a secluded corner.
The area around it was still relatively clean.
Despite yourself, a breath of relief escaped your heart.
You threw open the door and charged straight toward your parents’ room!
“Dad!
Mom!
We need to—”
“Clang—”
[The hand gripping your sword went slack.
The blade dropped to the floor with a crisp, ringing clang.
Your body stiffened.
Your mind reeled, buffeted into blankness by the scene before your eyes.
Within your gaze, there was nothing but utter, absolute disbelief…]