Chapter 279: Chapter 172: Breakthrough! The Divine Seed is Formed

VMMMM~!!

Space hummed and trembled, sending out ripples like those on water. They spread in all directions, covering a vast area several hundred yards across.

"Hhhhhaaa~~~"

Like a great gasp of air, a black shadow materialized from nothing. Wreathed in tendrils of black energy, it transformed into a gigantic, horrifying head over thirty feet tall, with a savage face on both its front and back.

"Gu Zheng! You die—"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Flashes of cold light suddenly tore through the air, darting about before vanishing completely.

When they reappeared, they had already bored their way inside the giant head.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

Lines of Sword Gang, beams of cold light, pierced through the head and weaved through it with abandon.

This was the second form of the Chaotic Heaven Shield: three hundred and sixty blades. Gu Zheng pushed them to their absolute limit, infusing them with more than half of his Divine Wondrous power while fully activating Golden Thousand Blades.

Spatial Blade Intent—slash! Slash! SLASH!

In that instant, the sky full of blades became like a meteor shower, weaving in and out of the giant head.

BZZZZ~

On Gu Zheng’s body, the Reversed Soul Scale began to vibrate and rotate rapidly.

A torrent of evil spiritual energy from the giant head frantically assaulted Gu Zheng, but the Reversed Soul Scale intercepted and completely neutralized it.

This allowed Gu Zheng to focus his entire being on slaying the Evil God... whose body was nothing but a giant head.

’A clone?’

’No.’

’Not an incarnation, either.’

The oppressive might emanating from the giant head was comparable to that of a peak Heroic Body, but it was just an aura. There was no physical substance inside the head. His three hundred and sixty blades passed through it as if through empty space, like fish swimming through water.

’This is more like... a projection!’

’The Evil God’s projection?’

SHING!

A flash of blood-red light abruptly blossomed from a blade.

Wanting to end the fight quickly, Gu Zheng activated a Sealing Sword Talisman. It unleashed a blood-red Sword Gang that struck like lightning, splitting the giant head in two.

"PFFT~~"

A strange sound echoed through the air.

"BOOM!!"

The deafening explosion resounded in all directions.

Struck by the Sword Gang, the giant head exploded, scattering into countless wisps of black energy.

The black energy didn’t dissipate. The wisps writhed as if alive, swimming through the air. Half of them charged toward Gu Zheng while the other half fled into the distance, all of them shrieking incessantly.

Aieee~~~

"ROAR!" "ROAR~!"

On the ground, as the shrieks rang out, everyone in King Runan’s retinue began to growl and roar. This included the middle-aged scholar. They screamed as their bodies either bloated or became gaunt, black energy coiling around them. Their faces twisted into savage masks, their eyes dull and numb, yet filled with aggression as they lunged at anyone nearby.

"Ah! Run!"

"Monsters! Demon Fiends! They’ve turned into Demon Fiends!"

"..."

The area at the city gate and on the main road outside erupted into chaos. The crowd of onlookers, which had been watching the spectacle, scattered in an instant and fled in all directions.

The more than five hundred Divine Slaves gave chase, unleashing a rain of blood as severed limbs flew through the air.

BAM!

Han Ming sent the middle-aged scholar, now a Divine Slave, flying with a kick that launched him more than twenty feet away. "Close the gate!" he yelled.

"Yes, yes! Close the gate!"

"Close the gate! Hurry!"

The people beside him snapped out of their stupor and scrambled back, shouting as they ran.

A few drew their blades and joined Han Ming, attacking the Divine Slaves.

As time passed, more and more people had awakened their Divine Wondrous abilities after cultivating the True Skill Gu Zheng had given them.

Even if their physique and Spiritual Power hadn’t reached the Alien Body Realm, mastering these Divine Wondrous abilities gave them combat strength far surpassing that of past Grandmasters.

A single armed person could just barely hold their own against one Divine Slave.

Fortunately, there were only a few Divine Slaves at the gate.

A group of them swarmed forward and managed to hack off the Divine Slaves’ heads or legs, immobilizing them.

As the gate was closing, they quickly retreated behind it.

THUD~~

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The heavy city gate slammed shut. The other Divine Slaves rushed forward and began ramming it repeatedly, producing a series of dull thuds.

"Hah... hah..."

Panting, Han Ming waved to Guan Ai, who was running toward them. "Com... Commander Guan!" he shouted. "Go get the crossbows! And bring all the bows and arrows! These people who turned into Demon Fiends are incredibly strong. The few of us can’t hold out for long, and neither can the gate!"

"...Right!"

Guan Ai, who had been serving as acting Captain, shouted his reply.

The words had barely left his mouth before he turned and sprinted toward the armory.

’Bows, arrows, and crossbows!’

The Divine Slaves, once ordinary people, could indeed be harmed. But that was only if you could actually hit them.

Miss, and it was all for nothing.

Han Ming knew this, as did everyone else.

They all understood that the real battle was being fought in the sky.

The outcome of the contest between Gu Zheng and the black energy from the exploded head would decide the fate of Qingshi County.

If Gu Zheng won, everything would be fine.

But if Gu Zheng lost...

None of them would escape.

...

"SWISH~ SWISH~ SWISH~"

In the sky, cold light flickered amidst the unceasing shriek of wind being torn asunder.

The three hundred and sixty blades transformed into three hundred and sixty rays of light, slicing, dicing, and utterly annihilating the wisps of black energy.

The wisps of black energy were completely exterminated before they could even get close to Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng didn’t let the wisps fleeing into the distance escape, either.

His three hundred and sixty blades tore through the void, vanishing and reappearing to catch the fleeing wisps. They sliced them to pieces, annihilating them completely.

As the black energy dissipated, it left something behind.

Tiny silver threads, invisible to the naked eye, floated in the air.

Gu Zheng couldn’t see them, but he could faintly sense their presence.

He activated his Eyes of Golden Flame and scanned the area. What he saw made his heart jump.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +2506]

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +2497]

’Divine Source!’

’So these threads are the Divine Source of that big-headed Evil God?’

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow.

The Divine Source used for a single projection converted into a total of five thousand Demon Points.

’That big-headed Evil God was certainly generous,’ Gu Zheng thought.

However, Gu Zheng realized that the giant head projection wasn’t an independent entity.