Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 537
However—
The effect of the Great Empyrean Soul Stirring Array had run out!
The tens of thousands of crystals embedded at the center of the broadcasting rune arrays cracked and exploded in one second, turning into colorful powder!
Xiao Xuance had been waiting a long time for that moment. He regained the immense Cultivation of the Nascent Soul Stage instantly. When the aura of Li Yao's blade left the saber and rushed toward, he grabbed and crushed it amid crazy laughter instead of dodging!
The invincible aura of the blade was crushed in one grab!
"Now that you've failed to kill me in one minute, you are doomed!"
At this moment, countless Grand Illusionary Soldiers were still crowding into the bridge from various directions.
Luo Xingzi and the other five Cultivators returned to the Nascent Soul Stage, too, but their 'Nascent Souls' were much smaller in size than before.
Just now, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers had protected Xiao Xuance. Except for the heavy strike at the end, he did not suffer any injuries, nor did he use too much of his spiritual energy. Therefore, he still possessed the ability to fight.
The six Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage, on the other hand, were not only heavily wounded but also running out of spiritual energy because of the fierce battle against the Grand Illusionary Soldiers just now.
"The stronger you are, the quicker you become exhausted. Li Yao, how long can you stay in the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage?
"You raged for an entire minute so magnificently and killed quite a lot of my Grand Illusionary Soldiers. You must be reaching your limits, right?
"More than a hundred thousand Grand Illusionary Soldiers have been deployed on Heavenly Phantom. How many more can you take down?
"I'm going to exhaust each and every one of you with the pure advantage in numbers!"
Xiao Xuance was extremely cautious. Although he had regained the capability of the Nascent Soul Stage, he was still hiding among the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, healing his wounds, making new strategies, and striking at the Cultivators' belief, because he was quite wary of Li Yao's weird superlative height of the Core Formation Stage.
The situation was indeed not in the Cultivators' favor.
The six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had been surrounded by infinite Grand Illusionary Soldiers. It was impossible to reduce their number.
Amid Xiao Xuance's crazy laughter, the crystal cannons on the shoulders of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers released dangerous electric arcs. Their chainswords and vibration sabers were triggered to the maximum, too!
Breathing heavily, the Cultivators stood next to each other, faced with the surging tides raised by the iron torrent!
Li Yao laughed, too.
Professor Mo Xuan lost his cool and shouted in the secret channel, "Well done, Li Yao. We've made it!
"In the one minute just now, you successfully distracted Xiao Xuance's attention and forced him to concentrate most of the computational ability of the star brain on you. It was a great opportunity for our infiltration.
"Because of your intense attack, we've finished the planting and the activation of the virus one minute faster than we expected!
"In five seconds, we will be able to control the central area around the star brain. Not only will we be able to paralyze all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, we can even control all of them in the bridge!
"But we cannot control them for long. You must seize the window to take down Xiao Xuance and destroy the star brain!"
"Understood!"
Li Yao licked his lips.
In three seconds, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers would be out of Xiao Xuance's control. Then, he had to find a way to buy him three seconds!
Li Yao took a deep breath. He suddenly pointed at Xiao Xuance, who was hiding behind the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, and yelled, "Xiao Xuance, if you have any guts as the best expert of the Flying Star Sector, do you dare to duel me? Let's see whether the high level of the Nascent Soul Stage is better or the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage is more awesome!"
Xiao Xuance laughed aloud. "Did you break your head when you formed the core? Right now, my thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers have surrounded you. Victory is all mine. A duel? Do you think we are in a movie or what?"
Li Yao sighed and said somewhat helplessly, "Alright, it is you who refused the proposal of a duel. Don't say that I didn't give you the opportunity later!"
After the conversation, three seconds were up!
In a moment—
The star brain had been bright gold in the beginning, but part of the virtual neurons at the core turned into a weird gray and then transformed from gray into black!
Twisted and tampered telepathic thoughts darted out of the star brain in all the directions in the sea of stars!
On Heavenly Phantom, in space, and inside Heavenly Saints City… all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, whatever they were doing a second ago, came to a weird standstill.
Many Grand Illusionary Soldiers that had been flying fell and hit the ground, leaving giant pits.
Their arms that had been waving swords and sabers a moment ago put down the blades and placed them on the two sides of the body. Then, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers crouched into the shape of balls, entering their idle mode!
They were like an army that had lost their vitality. The sound of slaughtering and explosions ended abruptly.
Inside Heavenly Saints City, many Cultivators and qi-trainers were dumbfounded. They looked at each other in bewilderment, not having the vaguest clue what had just happened.
In the meantime, on the bridge of Heavenly Phantom, the tens of thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers, after a moment of silence, opened their eyes again. Starry brilliance was beaming out.
But the brilliance turned into a strange gold!
Shua!
The tens of thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers turned to Xiao Xuance at the same time. The hundreds of them that were guarding around Xiao Xuance aimed their crystal cannons at Xiao Xuance. Dangerous brightness was flashing in their weapons.
"This is—"
Xiao Xuance was dumbfounded. Inside the Heavenly Lord Battlesuit, the crystal processor that was connected to the star brain was in chaos, too. The information streams projected to him were like scattered swirls that he could not make anything out of!
"The star brain has been planted with a virus. How is it possible!"
Li Yao extended his right hand and pressed down, while he said, "Kill him."
Chapter 805: Doom of the Villain |
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The Grand Illusionary Soldiers that had been loyal to Xiao Xuance suddenly turned into Li Yao's dutiful dogs and lunged at Xiao Xuance without any hesitation!
The crystal cannons were roaring, the chainswords were slashing, and the vibration sabers were uttering desperate screams!
Xiao Xuance made a poor decision himself, too. With the capability of the Nascent Soul Stage, he should not have been locked onto by the Grand Illusionary Soldiers so easily. However, he had regarded the Grand Illusionary Soldiers as his own 'shield' a moment ago. Therefore, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers around him were particularly dense with barely any gaps.
When the Grand Illusionary Soldiers rebelled and attacked their master, even Xiao Xuance was bewildered for a moment, before he was drowned in the iron torrent quickly!
All the Cultivators were shocked!
Exclamations echoed nonstop in the communication channel. Countless Grand Illusionary Soldiers passed by them like the fiercest piranhas and dispersed when they were about to hit the Cultivators, as if the Cultivators were covered in an invisible shield.
The Cultivators who were breathing hard because of the shortness of spiritual energy watched the Grand Illusionary Soldiers lunging at Xiao Xuance, their fear not entirely gone. They felt their heads going dizzy, and they failed to come up with any comments.
Luo Xingzi and the other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were the fastest to realize what had happened. They were overjoyed. "You planted a virus in the star brain?"
Li Yao nodded. "There's no time to explain. The star brain can automatically detect and annihilate the viruses. We cannot keep the star brain paralyzed for long. We have to seize every second to exterminate Xiao Xuance and destroy the star brain!"
Li Yao charged at Xiao Xuance, closely followed by the other six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who apparently considered him the core of attack!
Six Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage and one in the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage were attacking the best expert of the Flying Star Sector together!
With Xiao Xuance's capability, if he was determined to run away, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers would not necessarily have been able to stop him, but the situation was different when several super experts were monitoring him in the periphery!
Manipulated by the spectral Cultivators, countless Grand Illusionary Soldiers flew to Xiao Xuance and detonated themselves. Even the Grand Illusionary Soldiers that did not detonate themselves were also improving the output efficiency of their crystal reactors to the maximum. As a result, the crystal reactors together with their entire bodies were all melting into molten iron. They all smashed at Xiao Xuance like clusters of magma!
Sixteen Six-Barreled Revolving Vulcan Machine Guns appeared around the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit again. But this time, it was not the highly-heated explosive bullets that were triggered, but the freezing bullets that contained frost rune arrays!
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
Every bullet would explode into a vague, icy mist when they reached Xiao Xuance. The melted, twisted iron and alloys were frozen by the icy mist and turned into an extremely thick shell after they were combined!
The six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators all saw through Li Yao's tactic.
He was building an 'iron cocoon' around Xiao Xuance in such a way so that Xiao Xuance would be restrained inside and could not get out of the siege!
"Let's do it together!"
Of the six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, two were adept at temperature manipulation techniques. They blew rain and ice quickly toward the target.
The other four Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, although not as good at the temperature-manipulating techniques as their other two companions, mostly brought a few crystal bombs of the ice class with them.
For a moment, cold, bluish colors were flashing crazily, and the air was freezing. Hardly had the Grand Illusionary Soldiers around Xiao Xuance been melted in the high temperature when they were condensed into ugly shackles again!
"Ahhh!"
This time, Xiao Xuance truly burst into fury. The flames outside the Heavenly Lord Battlesuit gradually expanded into a giant almost five meters tall whose face was as vivid as that of a real person. His fury could be clearly seen on the giant.
The self-detonation of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers and the re-forged iron shackles seemed to have no other effects except stalling him for half a second in his craziness!
However, half a second was enough!
The self-detonation of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers delayed him for half a second, and the collective attack of the six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators delayed another half. And when the half second was over, new Grand Illusionary Soldiers had crowded close again!
The Grand Illusionary Soldiers and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were like two giant hands that was smacking Xiao Xuance in turn unceasingly; Xiao Xuance felt lightheaded but had nowhere to run!
Xiao Xuance suffered heavy wounds in that minute. His spiritual energy was burning up, too, in the prolonged battle. The giant of flames seemed intimidating, but they were shaking like a torch in the billowing wind. Occasionally, long streams of fire were thrown out, but they would often collapse after swallowing less than ten Grand Illusionary Soldiers despite their awe-inspiring appearance.
Seeing through Xiao Xuance's fatigue, Li Yao flapped his wings and dashed to dozens of meters away where he stared at the villain who was coming to his doom.
When Xiao Xuance released furious flames of spiritual energy for the seventh time, trying to break out of the siege, only to be smashed back by Luo Xingzi doggedly, Li Yao finally raised his right hand and opened his fingers, aiming his palm at the prey!
The six dragon-like spiritual stripes on the right arm of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit spiraled to the center of his palm.
In the palm was another golden stripe in the shape of a dragon head, as if an enormous dragon was lurking right inside Li Yao hand!
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and mumbled spells. The six dragon stripes on his right arm and the golden rune inside his palm were flaring in dangerous brilliance at the same time!
Shua!
When the dragon stripes were the brightest, six dragons suddenly appeared out of nowhere and span rapidly around Li Yao's right arm!
The right arm of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit underwent shocking changes, too. The plate continuously extended, and his fist was consumed by a golden light beam from which an exceptionally majestic dragon flew out!
The highlights of Bai Xinghe's Dragon King Battlesuit were the nine dragon-like artificial limbs that were passed on from the era of the Star Ocean Imperium. In the battle against the Temple of Immortals, two of them had been damaged. The remaining seven had been heavily modified by Li Yao and transformed into a piece of very awesome aggressive magical equipment.
The artificial limbs could be placed on the back or returned to the Cosmos Ring. At the crucial moment, the six artificial limbs could be activated at the same time and revolve rapidly around his right arm, boosting the drill of mystic rays that had been installed on the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit earlier and increasing the power of the drill to the maximum!
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
With the most majestic dragon as the axis, the other six artificial limbs were revolving at the highest speed. Endless spiritual energy spurted out of Li Yao's palm and constituted a gargantuan drill with the seven dragons as the bones. Glamorous flames as if a starship crashing through the atmosphere were triggered while the drill was spinning in the air intensely!
Even Li Yao found himself barely able to perform such a violent attack. He felt that his entire right arm was about to be torn apart. He extended his left hand and grabbed his right arm to help maintain the stability of the giant drill!
Far away, after fighting hundreds of rounds with the six Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and destroying thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers, Xiao Xuance was burning his life and soul to the limits, too. At this point, the flames surrounding him quickly expanded into a magnificent man who was wearing a crown and a battle robe.
It was a shame that his soul had already started dispersing. The magnificent sight did not last half a second before it turned into a bloated monster who was laughing crazily in desperation.
But the crown on his head was equally delicate and still glittering splendidly!
"Go to hell!" Li Yao roared. He pushed his right arm forward brutally. The drill of mystic rays mixed with seven enormous dragons instantly turned into a giant pillar of light that rushed toward Xiao Xuance!
BOOM!
Xiao Xuance's spiritual shield held back the attack for half a second. The collision of the immense spiritual energy triggered such a sweeping blast that countless Grand Illusionary Soldiers nearby were blown to smithereens.
Half a second later, Xiao Xuance's spiritual shield together with his Heavenly Lord Battlesuit completely collapsed. The pillar of golden light pierced into his chest and out of his back. A shocking giant hole was left on his chest by the drill of mystic rays. All his internal organs were gone. Even the blood all over his body was vaporized in an instant!
The mystic rays faded out.
All the attacks came to an end.
Xiao Xuance was still floating in midair, holding his saber high, with the same unbendable demeanor as before.
However, the color on his skin had gone, turning him lead colored.
"You… may stop me…"
Starting from his feet, Xiao Xuance's body turned into ash, flying into the air inch by inch, as if ten thousand gray butterflies were dancing gracefully near him.
"But you cannot stop the evolution!
"Long live the evolution! Long live the Immortal Cultivators! Long live the civilization of mankind!"
When his saber turned into ash, he tried to raise his hand high and roar. But hardly had he moved his arm when his fist collapsed as if it were made of sand.
He could only wave his bare wrist and shout desperately, "Love live the Imperium of True Human Be—"
Before he made the final declaration, Xiao Xuance—the best expert of the Flying Star Sector, the commander-in-chief of the Imperium of True Human Beings, and an Immortal Cultivator—completely turned into ash, dispersing in the air!
None of the Cultivators who saw the scene would be calm again until a long time later.
Even the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were looking at each other in bewilderment. They were asking the same question—"Is this the end of everything?"
"It is not. We must destroy the star brain!"
Li Yao's face was pale, and his temples were pulsating after performing his strongest move. He gritted his teeth and closed his right hand. The seven dragons that had pierced through Xiao Xuance's body just now took a turn in midair and rushed toward the thousands of broadcasting rune arrays behind him.
BOOM!
The high wall that was embedded with broadcasting rune arrays had been on the verge of collapse in the first place. Under the scourge of the seven dragons, the wall exploded and revealed the vast control room behind it, where the star brain, the most crucial device for the Immortal Cultivators, was hidden!
The control room of the star brain was as vast as the bridge, but most of the space was occupied by giant crystal chips, computational rune arrays, and ventilation tubes. However, at the center of the room, in a vertical room that looked like a shaft, loose light spots were floating in midair and outlined what seemed to be a brain!
