Starfire Oasis.
The Garrison.
Fang You stayed in the fortress, leveraging the power of the ninth-level oasis and his own high-level abilities, allowing him to survey the entire vast domain with perfect clarity.
He had detected the Nine-Star Abomination long before it even stepped out of the inter-domain region.
“As expected, this abomination is heading for the ninth-level oasis.”
“Oases represent ‘life’ in the abomination realm, while abominations represent ‘death.’ The tide of death constantly seeks to devour oases, and the ninth-level oasis will inevitably bear the brunt.”
This was something he had foreseen.
It wasn't that the ninth-level oasis amplified the disaster tide, but rather, the ninth-level oasis acted as a beacon, drawing calamities towards it.
Half a day prior, he had received intel that several Nine-Star Abominations had appeared in the Yunhui Great Domain.
These Nine-Star Abominations were heading directly for the ninth-level oasis.
The one that appeared in the Falling Star Great Domain was no different.
Yin Luoxi: “I I I, I’ll take care of this abomination for… for myself!”
Qian Qiu: “Can you handle it? ←_←.”
Xidrina: “Sharpening swords with a swish.jpg.”
Xidrina: “Yin Luoxi, why are you running ahead? (*⊙~⊙)!”
Within the Apostle communication channel, many individuals were eagerly volunteering.
Not many within Starfire had ascended to high levels, but to deal with Nine-Star Abominations whose combat power was only 0.7 or 0.8 that of a Yu Jin Great Lord, there were many within the organization capable of doing so.
… Relatively speaking.
Yin Luoxi, having just incinerated several Seven-Star Abominations astride a fire phoenix, immediately made a sharp turn on her return journey upon seeing a boss appear, heading straight for the Nine-Star Abomination.
It was evident she was lacking a good thrashing from a Nine-Star Abomination.
If forced to return, she certainly wouldn't disobey, at most she’d pout and flop on a table, looking bored to death.
“Yin Luoxi’s mastery of the Burning Law is quite high. In a one-on-one fight, it’s not certain she’d lose to a Nine-Star Abomination.”
“The path this abomination is taking also happens to pass near the Burning Fire Mall.”
“Hmm, then… then let’s make it a tag-team match. Go, Xidrina.”
……
The trajectory of the Nine-Star Abomination’s movement was a perfectly straight line.
To say it would pass near the Burning Fire Mall was an exaggeration; it was still at least two to three thousand kilometers away.
Allowing this abomination to approach and then killing it within the oasis's range to harvest destiny points was unrealistic.
When the Starfire Oasis underwent its ascension tribulation, they had also killed Nine-Star Abominations outside the oasis.
Such abominations were too colossal; entering an oasis would be like a great white shark squeezing into a small pond, easily causing devastating destruction to the oasis.
Even the ninth-level oasis… should be avoided if possible.
Who knew how long it would take for this abomination to leisurely trundle its way to the Starfire Oasis. Too many variables existed, so…
“Burn to ashes!”
The fire phoenix manifestation expanded, and Yin Luoxi pointed a finger, unleashing an endless torrent of fire dragons from the heavens.
In an instant, the earth collapsed, space shattered, and a tide of energy surged outwards like a tsunami thousands of meters high, engulfing everything in its path.
Setting aside their strength, Yin Luoxi’s skills were undeniably explosive in terms of destructive power and visual effects.
Were it not for the fact that 99.999% of the abomination realm was desolate territory, this single strike from her would have instantly pulverized a hundred great oases.
Millions of lesser abominations were reduced to dust by this attack.
Even Seven-Star Abominations could not withstand the force of this single strike.
However,
The colossal silhouette of the Nine-Star Abomination flickered in and out of existence within the grey mist.
Yin Luoxi’s attack had almost vaporized the grey mist for hundreds of miles around, yet even so, all she could see was a portion of the abomination’s body.
It resembled a celestial body, with countless tentacles, kilometers and tens of kilometers long, rooted to it. These tentacles, like tiny hairs, vaguely formed a terrifying, human-like face.
Its hollow, immense eyes stared fixedly at the ‘tiny’ demigod manifestation before it.
This gaze placed an immeasurable pressure on Yin Luoxi, as if digging out all her inner fears.
“…… Bah!”
She had indeed been momentarily terrified, and felt utterly humiliated.
How could she, the Empress Yin Luoxi, be afraid of a mere Nine-Star Abomination?
In her anger, the space around Yin Luoxi seemed to churn like giant waves, and from within these waves, majestic, crimson dragon heads emerged, one after another.
Tens of thousands of dragon heads opened their mouths, simultaneously spewing forth pillars of red light that struck the surface of the distant celestial body.
Light bloomed and spread, covering heaven and earth.
The deafening roars drowned out all other sounds.
Suddenly,
Whoosh—
The colossal fire phoenix exploded, dissolving into countless streams of fiery light.
At the same moment, it reappeared dozens of kilometers away.
Within the gradually dissipating fiery streams, a massive tentacle could be faintly seen whipping down, tearing apart continental plates and shattering the sky.
Yin Luoxi couldn't help but pat her chest.
…… That was a bit close.
Her demigod manifestation couldn't withstand many such blows. The formidable defense of her manifestation was only truly effective against opponents of the same tier.
And her manifestation, compared to ordinary peak demigods, held no particular advantage.
Her strength lay in offense; offense was the strongest defense.
She didn’t possess much combat intelligence, but she still had a bit, and using the power of flames for teleportation was a secret technique she had developed herself.
“Should I disperse the demigod manifestation?”
“Without the manifestation’s bulky, enormous body, I could dodge more easily.”
“No, I can’t…”
Without the manifestation, she had no room for error, that was one reason.
Secondly, there was a pervasive sense of great terror and ill omen in the air.
Her intuition told her that if she lost the protection of the manifestation, her demigod body would continuously decay. She couldn't withstand it.
“No matter, let’s just fight!”
Yin Luoxi acted like a mobile artillery platform, continuously unleashing attacks, leaving one wound after another on this unnameable abomination.
But the abomination’s offensive was equally fierce.
Its combat style was simple, not flashy at all, yet it was fast and powerful.
The speed of its tentacle whips was beyond Yin Luoxi’s divine sense to track.
She was fighting purely based on combat instinct and experience.
The scene seemed incredibly perilous.
“…… Not really.”
“It’s just like this.”
All abominations had one weakness: their attack methods were too monotonous, relying solely on instinct.
Yin Luoxi admitted that her initial situation was indeed somewhat perilous, but after understanding the abomination’s attack patterns, she had become quite comfortable!
As expected of her!
This was, in fact, the art of combat born from profound techniques and exceptional experience.
Technique—Yin Luoxi, who had cultivated legendary body-tempering and meditation techniques, possessed energy manipulation skills that would awe ancient gods.
Experience—She had died hundreds of times in the Tower of Combat, and it wasn't in vain.
She and the Nine-Star Abomination exchanged blows back and forth.
Suddenly, a figure forcefully intervened!
Burning with scorching white flames, she unleashed a brilliant sword radiance thousands of meters long, slashing down from the sky.
Boom—!
In the shattering space, Xidrina carved a massive gash into the abomination.
“Hey, hey, hey, that’s my prey!”
Yin Luoxi glared, hands on her hips.
Xidrina glanced at her, then looked at the grand, colossal Nine-Star Abomination.
“You won’t be able to kill it fighting like this.”
Yin Luoxi: “?”
Yin Luoxi: “Who said I couldn’t kill it!”
Given another… three hours, she was confident she could beat this abomination to death.
“However, since it’s the mentor’s order, I’ll generously share this prey with you.”
Xidrina: “(﹁“﹁)”
She erupted in flames and lunged towards the Nine-Star Abomination.
……
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The world trembled violently.
The awakened ones within the Burning Fire Oasis couldn't see the distant colossal silhouette, but they could hear the deafening roars, and an inexplicable sense of dread and fear arose in their hearts.
It was as if a great terror was approaching.
No, not “as if,” it was indeed!
“What happened? Has a disaster appeared?”
“Could it be the legendary Eight-Star Abomination? I’m scared!”
“Don’t panic, we have the venerable Yin Luoxi here. Didn’t you see yesterday how Madam Yin Luoxi’s single flame incinerated a Seven-Star Abomination? I’ll boldly speculate that Madam Yin Luoxi has already ascended to demigodhood, or at least possesses the strength to fight a demigod.
“At this very moment, perhaps Madam Yin Luoxi is fighting an Eight-Star Abomination, but she will win!”
A high-level awakened one analyzed.
This was quite exaggerated, given Madam Yin Luoxi’s age, but it wasn't entirely impossible.
However, what was more alarming was, had the disasters become this terrifying already…
……
City of Falling Stars.
Belaizemon and his grandfather, Orlando, stood together, their mythical faces filled with terror.
“What… what was that just now?”
Not only were they terrified, but a few drops of blood also fell from their eyes.
Just moments ago, their highest-powered monitoring system had captured the appearance of an ultra-high energy great terror.
They immediately locked onto it and, using the power of their divine artifacts, cast their gaze to probe.
The next moment,
Crack~
The divine artifact shattered.
But before it shattered, they vaguely glimpsed a terrifying shadow.
A colossal shadow that completely extinguished any thought of resistance.
Their hearts were filled only with profound dread, terror, and despair.
They were tired, ready to give up, let it all be destroyed!
The two mythical figures exchanged glances and sighed sadly.
……
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes sighed mournfully.
The sorrow of divine descendants and humans differed, but occasionally, there were commonalities.
There was something she couldn’t understand no matter how hard she tried: “How could a high-level abomination appear in the Falling Star Grotto, such an outermost great domain? This can no longer be explained by misfortune; it’s unreasonable!”
But no matter how unreasonable it was, the fact remained.
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes had only one thought at this moment: run.
If she didn’t run, would she wait to be eaten by a high-level abomination? Given the terrifying nature of high-level abominations, she could say with certainty that the Falling Star Great Domain was doomed; not a single oasis would survive.
For a being like her, with extremely robust life force in the demigod realm, appearing before a high-level abomination would immediately draw its attention.
Compared to ordinary awakened ones, she wasn't necessarily much safer.
Resisting a high-level entity? The thought never even occurred to Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes.
Over the long years, she had gradually cultivated to the peak of the demigod realm. However, Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes knew her own limitations; she wasn't a particularly skilled combat demigod.
In less polite terms—she was weak.
She didn’t even want to fight an Eight-Star Abomination.
Facing a Nine-Star Abomination? Spare her. She’d be considered a light snack, not even enough to be full.
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes quietly made her escape.
Not long after she had started fleeing, she let out a surprised “Hmph.”
“It’s the Fire Phoenix demigod who guards this domain. She… she… she…”
She was initially going to say that this demigod was risking her life.
But the scene that unfolded next left Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes speechless.
She couldn’t help but wonder, perhaps she had been too reclusive at home and was no longer keeping up with the times?
“To contend with a high-level entity in the demigod realm, is that reasonable?”
“That’s definitely not reasonable!”
This must be a legendary chosen one, a peerless talent appearing once in a hundred million years.
“That makes sense. This would explain why a human demigod could appear in an outermost great domain like the Falling Star Grotto.”
“Because she is beyond spec.”
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes activated a special secret technique, allowing her to perceive more clearly.
Yin Luoxi’s ‘precarious situation’ made her nervously clench her fists.
“To contend with a mythical entity in the demigod realm is still too difficult.”
“She has no room for error; any mistake would cost her life.”
“But she still holds firm against the high-level abomination, not retreating half a step. Is this the spirit of human sacrifice?”
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes was deeply impressed.
Of course, admiration was admiration, but she wouldn't hesitate to flee when the time came.
She was currently observing whether this extraordinary demigod could repel the high-level abomination.
She thought it was difficult, but she didn’t begrudge offering her spiritual support.
“Go, stranger human powerhouse.”
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes secretly observed.
A figure enveloped in scorching white flames suddenly appeared in her field of vision.
Immediately after, a demigod manifestation, golden and resembling a war god, appeared with a roar. With a single sword strike, it forced the high-level abomination to retreat.
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes: “???”
Another human demigod?!
And it was another chosen one who could contend with a high-level entity in the demigod realm!
This was definitely unreasonable!
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes fell into deep contemplation.
“Indeed, I’ve been too much of a shut-in and am no longer keeping up with the times.”
“Humans nowadays can have mythical beings contend with demigods, and demigods contend with high-level entities, is that right?”
Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes continued to doubt her entire existence.
She hesitated for a moment, then quietly flew forward, towards the terrifying battlefield.
Driven by curiosity, Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes hoped to get a clearer view.
She dared not fly too fast.
The battlefield on the other side would not be decided quickly.
Suddenly, Lady of Ten Thousand Snakes slammed on the brakes mid-air; her divine sense detected a figure lurking as sneakily as herself.
Oh, it was a human mythical being.
She flew over and looked down at this mythical being.
“Hey, can you also contend with a demigod in the mythical realm?”
Belaizemon: “?”
He might have encountered a demigod who was seriously ill, what should he do? He was super panicked!
……
Abomination Realm, Sea of Shattered.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky and earth seemed to invert, space was grasped by an invisible hand and twisted into a knot.
The war unfolding before them was beyond the imagination of mythical beings and demigods.
This was a war waged by those wielding the power of ‘World’s Shelter’ against high-level abominations.
And they, humans…
Had won!
“We killed a high-level abomination!”
“Hahaha, as expected of us!”
“This is a small step for mankind, and a giant leap for the war calamity!”
World’s Shelter, awesome!
The Sea of Shattered had encountered several high-level abominations, and their response was simple—pool the strength of several ninth-level oases to form a righteous encirclement against a single high-level abomination, repeating the process.
The last high-level abomination fell before it could even reach their oasis.
Xiguang Demigod, who was controlling one of the ninth-level oases, wiped sweat from his forehead, a smile on his face. The soreness in his body and soul could be ignored.
He exchanged intel and tallied losses with the demigods of the other three major powers.
There were losses, to be sure, but they were lower than anticipated.
“What about the outer domains? We now have surplus strength and can provide appropriate support to outer domain powers, just as Starfire Academy is doing.”
“We humans must stand together.”
The great domains outside the Sea of Shattered faced less intense disasters, yet suffered greater losses.
Xiguang Demigod could only offer his condolences.
“Huh, the Burning Fire Merchant Guild?”
They paid special attention to the Burning Fire Merchant Guild, and had even stationed a considerable force at the Burning Fire Oasis.
Intel had been received not long ago.
Upon seeing it, Xiguang Demigod was greatly shocked.
He shared it with his old friend, Brilliant Steel Demigod, and received the same shocked expression.
“Holy crap?”
“Killed a high-level abomination in the demigod realm?!”
Oh, so it was a two-on-one, that’s slightly more reasonable… like hell it is (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!
They were peak demigods themselves, how could they not understand the gap between themselves and a high-level entity!
“Years ago, in the 404 Trial Ground, the examiner praised Yin Luoxi as a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. Looking at it now, that wasn’t an exaggeration at all.”
At that time, Yin Luoxi wasn't the strongest contender, but she had indeed received the highest evaluation.
“The other one must be the president of the Burning Fire Merchant Guild.”
Xiguang and Brilliant Steel Demigods exchanged glances, both arriving at the same speculation.
They understood.
This made sense.
“Among the inheritors of the Heavenly Pillars who received inheritances, two of them must be them.”
“We underestimated them; this Burning Fire Merchant Guild is more formidable than we imagined.”