On the outskirts of Xichang, Tiangong stood with his four hands clasped behind his back, looking solemnly toward the city center. “The Church of the Earth Mother is truly an enemy that cannot be underestimated.”
Beside him, Liu Zhian stood covered in blood, with Liu Qi standing behind him.
Buzz!
Just then, Silver's figure materialized out of thin air.
“Mr. Tiangong, the Elder is about to fight three of them alone. Can you still fight? Our Liu family can offer more eyeballs!” Liu Zhian looked toward the city center, then turned to Tiangong.
Without turning his head, Tiangong replied, “Liu Zhian, this is no longer a question of eyeballs. We have no one left who can fight. Rot is dead, and Silver killed one of their Archbishops. We have already done our absolute best.”
Hearing this, Liu Zhian and Liu Qi's faces darkened. A battle of this level in the distance was no longer something they could help with. If they actually went, they would easily be instantly killed in passing.
Meanwhile, in other parts of Xichang City.
All the supernatural beings were consciously fleeing the city center.
On a certain street, Xiao Qi was running rapidly, leading Jin Dayong and the other two whom he had just found.
“Hurry! Run faster!” Xiao Qi shouted from ahead.
Around them, occasional Specters scurried past toward the outskirts. These Specters did not attack them; even with their low intelligence, they instinctively sensed the danger.
As Jin Dayong ran, he looked back. “Brother Xiao, didn't you say you were only a hair weaker than Liu Wen? I thought we'd be able to watch the battle from up close.”
“Dayong, stop listening to his bragging. Didn't you hear the commotion from the city center just now? If the four of us stepped into that terrifying lightning for even a second, we'd be turned to ash,” Yi Lianlian said quickly, hovering two meters off the ground.
In less than a minute, all the supernatural beings in the city center had completely evacuated.
At the top of the tallest skyscraper, Liu Wen stood expressionless on the edge, his six crimson eyes staring at Zhang Yi, whose entire body was now covered in flesh-and-blood faces.
“Liu Wen, your subordinates aren't all that, are they? I thought they'd be able to hold me back a bit longer,” Mu Ye's voice drifted over from the right.
Wen Nana's tone was ice-cold. “No matter how much preparation you've made, the ones walking out of Xichang City alive today will either be us or your Liu family!”
As she drew closer, her back swelled up. A massive flesh bulge tore through the back of her clothes, and a pitch-black, gaping mouth appeared upon it.
Her body grew to about two meters tall, turning slightly reddish.
Liu Wen's body transformed in tandem, growing to three meters tall with grey skin. An extra pair of arms extended from his back, and a long, strip-like object hung down from the top of his head toward his back.
“Whether I survive isn't decided by your trash talk! Come! Let me see if you three Archbishops can kill me even if you attack together!” Liu Wen's six crimson eyes glared furiously at the three Archbishops.
Crackle!
Lightning and raging fire manifested behind him. His extra hands grasped a longbow of lightning, with arrows formed from fire.
“Go!” All the faces on Zhang Yi's body opened up, letting out a roar.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A terrifying spiritual soundwave erupted. He was the first to charge at Liu Wen, his body breaking through the air and creating rings of sonic booms.
At the same time, Mu Ye lunged toward Liu Wen's rear, his hands and feet all transformed into razor-sharp blades.
In the distance, Wen Nana raised her left hand, releasing a massive gravitational pull in an attempt to restrict Liu Wen's movements.
Swoosh!
The extra hands behind Liu Wen's back raised and loosed an arrow toward Wen Nana. He ignored the space-warping spiritual soundwave and charged straight at Zhang Yi.
He reached out a hand, pressing it from a distance against Zhang Yi's incoming punch. “Zhang Yi, you are still too green!”
Bang!
A fierce wind quickly erupted around Zhang Yi to slow Liu Wen down, but a bolt of lightning simultaneously pierced through Zhang Yi's body, sending him flying backward.
Thud!
The piercing lightning struck a hundred-meter-tall building below. The entire building exploded, collapsing into rubble.
In the distance, Wen Nana quickly dodged the incoming arrow. This movement reduced the gravitational restraint on Liu Wen by half.
Without even glancing at the airborne Zhang Yi or the distant Wen Nana, Liu Wen spun around quickly, and a thick ice shield materialized in front of him.
Crack!
“Ah!” The ice shield was sliced open by Mu Ye's kick, but it still slowed Mu Ye down slightly. Roaring, he accelerated and drove his razor-sharp foot toward Liu Wen.
The split second the ice shield bought is enough. Liu Wen's body rapidly retreated, and the bow in his extra hands loosed three arrows in rapid succession.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three arrows struck Mu Ye right in the face. Fire and lightning enveloped him, triggering an explosion dozens of meters wide, with the shockwave sweeping across the surroundings.
Rumble!
The ground began to shake. In the distance, Wen Nana gritted her teeth and pulled her hands upward.
The high-rise buildings in the block beneath her feet shattered, and the ground cracked open. Some people hiding inside the buildings flew into the sky along with the structures, their faces filled with terror.
“Liu Wen!!!” a furious roar echoed from afar.
Zhang Yi, who had been blown away, charged back. His left hand had elongated into a two-meter-long spear of flesh, with various faces on it emitting green energy.
Crackle!
The green energy blasted toward Liu Wen, who was looking over.
A cold sneer appeared on Liu Wen's face. He grabbed the green energy with one hand. To Zhang Yi's utter disbelief, Liu Wen ignored the energy corroding his hand and redirected the blast behind him.
Behind him, Mu Ye, who had just broken through the fire and lightning, saw Zhang Yi's green energy hurtling straight toward him.
Mu Ye's expression changed drastically. “Holy shit, Zhang Yi, aim your damn shots properly!!!”
He quickly crossed his arms in defense.
Bang!
The green energy struck his arms head-on, the explosion sending Mu Ye flying.
On the ground, a massive pile of buildings was already closing in on Liu Wen. With a shift of his body, he prepared to escape the area.
Whoosh!
The faces on Zhang Yi's body suddenly opened their mouths and shrieked in unison, “Ah!!!”
With this shriek, Zhang Yi vanished from Liu Wen's spiritual perception.
His expression hardened, and he quickly looked toward Zhang Yi's previous position, but there was nothing there.
Pfft!
Suddenly, a spear crackling with green energy pierced through Liu Wen's chest from behind.
Zhang Yi leaned his head close to Liu Wen's ear, his expression savage. “Didn't expect that, did you? I've been hiding this move for a long time just to kill you!”
The green energy, combined with his spiritual power, poured into Liu Wen's body, slowing his movements.
At that moment, Wen Nana gritted her teeth so hard they almost shattered. She controlled the massive cluster of buildings, slamming them violently together toward Liu Wen and Zhang Yi.
Rumble!
A colossal rumbling echoed throughout Xichang City as a massive, several-hundred-meter-wide structure made of building debris formed high in the air.
Crack!
The structure compressed inward. To kill Liu Wen, she was willing to sacrifice even Zhang Yi.
The several-hundred-meter sphere kept shrinking and compressing. However, when it reached fifty meters in size, Wen Nana found she could no longer compress it any further.
Her expression turned ugly. “This Liu Wen is really tough to deal with!”
Crack!
Suddenly, the sphere split down the middle, and a grey tentacle burst through, shooting straight toward Wen Nana.
“Ha!” Mu Ye's figure appeared above the tentacle, and he slashed down hard on it with both hands.
Pfft!
However, his hands only cut halfway in before a fierce spiritual fire erupted from the tentacle, burning Mu Ye's body.
The dual agony of physical and spiritual pain forced a shrill scream from Mu Ye. “Ah!!!”
Crack! Crack!
Dense cracks continued to appear on the sphere as a massive number of tentacles burst through it.
Blood flowed from Wen Nana's nose and mouth. The opponent's counter-force was too immense; even with all her strength, she could not suppress it.
Bang!
In the next second, the compressed buildings exploded, and a thirty-meter-wide mass of flesh appeared.
In the center of the flesh mass, six massive, one-meter-wide crimson eyes scanned the surroundings. His body radiated a distorted, corrupted spiritual power. If any ordinary human saw him now, they would instantly go mad.
One of his tentacles pierced through Zhang Yi's chest. Lightning crackled along the tentacle, continuously electrocuting Zhang Yi.
“Very well. To think you actually managed to force out my true form,” a deep, furious voice echoed from the massive monster.
Most of the crimson light shining down from the sky was converging toward his body.
Zhang Yi's mind was on the verge of collapse from the electrocution. Looking at Liu Wen's true form, he roared, “Liu Wen! Do you really think this is all we've got? Wen Nana, Mu Ye, let's risk it all! Otherwise, we'll die without even killing him!”
Having revealed his true form and with the support of the blood moon's spiritual energy, Liu Wen's strength was skyrocketing. The three of them were no longer his match.
Hearing this, Wen Nana, the only one with relatively light injuries, did not hesitate and thrust her left hand into her chest.
Pfft!
With a forceful tug of her left hand, a beating, bright red heart emerged. It carried the rich aura of the Earth Mother, with all of her blessings concentrated upon it.
Not far away, the retreating Mu Ye also ripped out his heart. The two hearts transformed into streaks of light and shot into Zhang Yi, causing his aura to skyrocket once again.
Cracks appeared on the surface of his body. An Archbishop could accept at most one blessing. Any more would exceed their capacity, and they would be overwhelmed by the faith of the Church of the Earth Mother's countless believers.
At this moment, Zhang Yi's eyes gradually grew fanatical as countless voices echoed in his mind.
“O great Earth Mother, Sovereign of Flesh...”
“Earth Mother, please look upon your humble believer...”
“The greatness of the Earth Mother will surely shine upon the East and West Continents, driving away all monsters and demons!”
Countless murmurs echoed in Zhang Yi's mind, his main personality on the verge of being diluted and washed away by this wave of faith.
He glared at Liu Wen, endless rage burning in his eyes. “Liu Wen, even in death, I can drag you down with me! You old bastard, you've had a good run!”
Bang!
However, the moment those words left his mouth, over a dozen tentacles whipped his body simultaneously, instantly blowing his flesh to pieces.
Looking at the obliterated Zhang Yi, Liu Wen's six eyes narrowed as he muttered, “Drag me down? Unless your Earth Mother comes in person, you bunch of temporarily buffed garbage are no match for me!”
In his true form and channeling the power of the blood moon, Liu Wen did not believe he could lose to them.
Wen Nana's eyes widened. Seeing Zhang Yi, who had received three blessings, blown to pieces in an instant, her face was filled with such utter disbelief that she was left speechless.
“Damn it, how did he suddenly become so strong!” Mu Ye's scalp tingled with fear. There was no retreating from this godforsaken place.
Just as the tentacles behind Liu Wen reached out, preparing to crush these two pests of the Church of the Earth Mother...
...in the area where Zhang Yi had been blown to pieces, countless low growls echoed in unison: “O great Earth Mother, supreme Sovereign of Flesh!”
A blinding white light formed from the three blessings appeared, carrying the boundless power of faith within it.
Rumble!
As a bolt of spiritual lightning struck the white light...
Swoosh!
The white light suddenly shot toward Liu Wen. The lightning was dispersed by the impact, and the spiritual force surrounding Liu Wen was pierced through as the light entered his true body.
“The origin of the world is the Earth Mother. Only by believing in the Earth Mother can you embark on the path of true evolution!”
Voices of men, women, young, and old echoed in Liu Wen's mind, and countless images of the Earth Mother materialized in his thoughts.
The Earth Mother's high-and-mighty gaze stared down at Liu Wen, looking at him as if he were an insect that could be crushed at will.
Pfft!
Slits tore open across Liu Wen's body, and white arms that did not belong to him sprouted out, carrying an incredibly sinister aura.
“Has the Earth Mother made her move?!” Wen Nana cried out.
Mu Ye flew to her side, his expression solemn. “It's only a fragment of memory left by the Earth Mother in the blessings. But even so, it's enough to take Liu Wen's life...”
Before he could finish, he saw all of Liu Wen's tentacles suddenly erupt, shooting toward the two of them.
Wen Nana and Mu Ye's expressions changed drastically as they turned and fled in opposite directions.
They no longer had the enhancement of the blessings. Besides, even with the blessings, they were no match for Liu Wen.
Pfft!
Before they could run very far, they were impaled by the tentacles. The flames erupting from the tentacles began to cremate them.
“Ah!!!” Wen Nana and Mu Ye let out agonizing screams.
Their bodies warped and finally crumbled into ashes.
Having killed Zhang Yi, the murderer of his son, Liu Wen felt a wave of relief. The grudge between them was finally settled.
At the ends of his tentacles, countless white arms continued to sprout from the grey flesh.
Liu Wen's six eyes grew solemn as he ignored the voices in his head. No, if I let this corruption remain in my mind, I'll either die or be controlled by the Earth Mother!
It was only because his spiritual power had reached an incredibly powerful level, combined with the continuous energy supplied by the blood moon, that he wasn't immediately converted into one of the Earth Mother's puppets.
With this thought, a ruthless glint flashed in Liu Wen's eyes. You want to convert me? Even if I have to discard most of my physical body, I will never become your dog!
Rip!
Liu Wen's body tore open. All the flesh where the white arms had sprouted sloughed off, leaving behind only a three-to-four-meter-wide mass of flesh.
With this separation, his power plummeted, and the crimson light enveloping Xichang suddenly dissipated.
On the outskirts, seeing the sudden dissipation of the crimson light, Liu Zhian and Liu Qi's expressions changed.
“Did the Elder lose?!” Liu Zhian's eyes were bloodshot.
His father was already dead. Was his grandfather going to die now too?
Tiangong spoke from the side, “He is not dead. Patriarch Liu's aura is still there, though it has weakened significantly.”
He stared toward the city center, his expression unreadable. I didn't expect Liu Wen's strength to reach such a terrifying level. He has single-handedly raised the ceiling for the initial supernatural standard.
Then, as if realizing something, Tiangong's face suddenly grew grim. “With four Archbishops falling in Xichang City all at once, I'm afraid the Earth Mother will not let this slide.”
Liu Qi stared at the sky over the city center, his face dark. “Not four, but six. Five of the Church of the Earth Mother's Archbishops were personally killed by the Elder, and one was killed by Silver. Their high-level leadership has been completely wiped out. Knowing the Earth Mother's nature, even if she has reservations about Destiny, she will not let the Elder go.”
Even as he spoke, a bizarre, sinister aura emerged from the city center.
Within Xichang City, every living creature of flesh and blood felt their blood rushing faster, goosebumps breaking out all over their skin.
“This aura... the Earth Mother is here!” Liu Zhian said, his face pale as he stared toward the city center.
A blinding white light burst forth in that direction, dispersing the dark clouds in the sky to reveal a horizon painted with the red of the setting sun.
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