He wanted to see if the diamond-shaped magical devices were similar to the black snow. Unfortunately, the devices were high in the sky, which made them much more dangerous to approach. Therefore, he settled on the grim reapers as his next goal.

Blurring into motion, he headed to a spot in the distance where he saw some war puppets fighting with some grim reapers. Along the way, he took time to study the mutagen on the battlefield.

This is a living mutagen, not the kind that comes from forbidden grounds, or the kind made by cultivators!

Narrowing his eyes, he sent his shadow out to devour the surrounding mutagen. Such living mutagen was very suitable for the shadow. Meanwhile, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior flew out and circled protectively around Xu Qing like a dharma protector.

Xu Qing continued on his way, and the slaughter proceeded around him. There were too many Holytides on the battlefield. As Xu Qing sped along, blood splattered onto his uniform, and dripped from his face and hands down to the ground. As time passed, he left behind a wake of corpses. He was cautious by nature, so despite the bloodshot nature of his eyes, his expression was still calm and collected. He didn’t stay in one place for very long, and whenever he sensed Spirit Trove fluctuations, he would flee.

Thus, time passed, and eventually he reached the spot where the war puppets and grim reapers were fighting. Being on the battlefield, he now had a good sense of how difficult things were for the human cultivators. The deafening noise here was much more intense than on the other side of the golden net.

It was easy to imagine how cultivators from either side would eventually go deaf from it. They wouldn’t hear the screams of others, nor their own howls of grief. People who lost their hearing would experience two contradictory sensations. On the one hand, the battlefield would seem vastly bigger because of the lack of sound. On the other hand, that person would feel immeasurably small because of being isolated and alone. That state could help a cultivator to focus more on fighting, but could also drive them to the limits of sanity.

Xu Qing saw people like that as he moved along. He saw some corpses with hands clamped over their ears as if they only hoped to stop hearing the rumbling and booms around them. It was the same with both humans and Holytides.

At the moment, Xu Qing was stepping over a mangled corpse. He looked at it, then looked up at the spot ahead where the grim reapers and the war puppets fought back and forth. The puppets seemed to have the upper hand.

Both parties were dozens of meters high. The Sea-Sealing County war puppets were humanoid, while the grim reapers looked like mantises. They fought back and forth ferociously, causing blood to spray with each blow. Either that, or shattered puppet parts would fly out.

The shockwaves spread far and wide. After all, the battle prowess on display was not just Nascent Soul; it was actually more in the Spirit Trove level. More than ten thousand war puppets had engaged the grim reapers, and there were already high casualties on both sides. Before long, though, the war puppets blasted through the grim reapers, then surged onward.

When Xu Qing arrived, he gathered some of the flesh and blood of the grim reapers. He could sense their brutal aura, and was able to detect the power of the red moon in it. It was stronger than in the black snow.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he once again sensed that, all of a sudden, things were changing on the battlefield!

Then Palace Lord Kong’s voice echoed out, filled with unprecedented solemnity.

“All Sea-Sealing County battalions: fall back immediately!”

Even as the words rang out, the sky flashed as an intense sound that surpassed all the magical devices erupted from the huge vortex. The sound crushed down on everything, and seemed to restore hearing to all cultivators on both sides of the conflict.

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump!

It sounded like a heartbeat, pulsing down from the vortex in the sky, filling all the lands. And then, an eye peered out from within that vortex. It was ashen gray, lifeless, and in fact, pulsing with a boundless aura of death. Then the eye lunged forward, and the vortex was pulled open as a crimson head emerged!

It was not the head of a human. Rather, it was the bright red head of a bird! It was only a head, not a body. The bird’s neck ended in a gaping hole, as if its neck had been cut through with a sharp blade. This bird’s head was so huge that it was larger than Qingqin’s entire body, as if Qingqin were just a child, and this was an adult. As it appeared, filling the sky, a huge emperor’s throne could be seen in its eye!

Sitting on that throne was a person. He wore an emperor’s robe, as well as a crown, the beads of which obscured his face. He emanated a majestic mightiness that created a tempest all around him. The terrifying bird’s head was apparently serving as his imperial carriage.

All of the Holytide cultivators on the field of battle dropped to their knees to kowtow, their eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

“Emperor!”

“Emperor!!”

Next, a projected image of Palace Lord Kong appeared above the fourth line of defense, tens of thousands of meters in size. His feet were planted on the ground while his head was high in the sky, and he radiated a terrifying, baleful aura. To his left was the Dao Bell, emanating an ancient thrumming, and to his right was a 30,000-meter Emperor’s Sword, pulsing with killing intent. Behind him, the air undulated into the shape of a huge eye that stared at the newly-arrived emperor.

“Redspirit, you old bastard.”

The newcomer was the emperor of the Holytides’ fourth royal dynasty, the Redspirit Dynasty!

The battle lines were clearly drawn, with Emperor Redspirit on one side and Palace Lord Kong on the other.

The delineation created by the golden net was very clear. Outside of the net, imperial might surged. Inside the net, a baleful will enveloped all. The pressure from the two mighty figures swept across the battlefield, filling the prefecture. As a result, countless living beings in Tidefall Prefecture shivered from the depths of their souls.

Emperor Redspirit and the Palace Lord Kong were simply too powerful. As they locked eyes and their energies squared off, heaven shook and the earth quaked. Close examination would reveal that the air between them was filled with the projections of countless minor worlds.

It looked like a sort of supernatural phenomena. As their minor worlds collided, countless figures flew out from them and started fighting. It was a hair-raising sight as innumerable minor worlds crumbled. Yet more minor worlds popped into being to replace them. It was obvious that the minor worlds on both sides were reaching the point of being able to combine into one. Both of their auras rose higher and higher, until that unification happened, and illusory major worlds appeared. That signified the true extent of their cultivation bases.

By reaching this point and forming illusory major worlds, they were in the fourth stage of Void Returning. After creating that major world, they would lift it high, turning it from illusory to corporeal. And by hoisting it onto their shoulders, then fusing it with their soul, they would turn it into a full world.

They would be one-world Smoldering Gods!

That said, neither Emperor Redspirit nor Palace Lord Kong were at that point yet. After all, the difference between fourth-stage Void Returning and one-world Smoldering God was a gap that was rarely crossed!

As a result, fourth-stage Void Returning was considered extremely domineering in most situations. As their minor worlds collided endlessly, black clouds collapsed and lightning transformed into starlight. Down below, only those cultivators who were in Spirit Trove dared to look up at what was happening. All others could only avert their eyes.

However, there were a few who had outrageous gall, or perhaps who didn’t look away in time, who saw what was happening. When they did, their eyes bulged, their flesh exploded, and they were destroyed in body and soul.

Xu Qing only saw for a brief moment, and it caused his mind to reel and his soul to feel like it was about to be ripped to shreds. Thankfully, his fleshly eyes were able to endure the pain. He took a deep breath as he realized that meant his fleshly body was a lot tougher than his soul. Taking out the green crystal the Captain had given him, he began to absorb it while backing up with the rest of the army toward the golden net.

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out that surpassed the magical devices of war.

The Holytide army was clearly in high spirits. In fact, as soon as they received the orders from their commanders, they started rushing toward the retreating Sea-Sealing County forces.

Meanwhile, Emperor Redspirit’s cold voice echoed out high above.

“Kong Liangxiu, if it weren’t for the destiny aura of Sea-Sealing County converging on you and forming your major world, you wouldn’t be a match for me.”

“You,” Palace Lord Kong said coolly, “one of the four mighty emperors of the Holytides, don’t have the blessing of the Holytide Region’s destiny? Why might that be? Don’t you know?”

This content is taken from 𝑖𝑟𝘦𝒶.𝒸𝘰𝑚