"It will be fast; I won't keep you waiting," Phantylia chuckled, her voice once again carrying that familiar, inscrutable charm.
This was not blind optimism, but rather the powerful confidence stemming from her inherent nature.
Whether it was her near-immortal spirit essence as an ancient Heliobus, or her current physical body fused with the core of Douluo Star's life force, her recovery ability was nothing short of a system-breaking advantage.
Although the power of Nihility was extremely troublesome and its residual corruption was fiercely persistent, the Destruction she possessed was equally mighty and not without the power to resist it.
After the recent rest, she had forcibly purged the vast majority of the lingering Nihility energy from her body.
Once this most difficult interference was cleared, the boundless and terrifying life force contained within her Golden Tree body began to truly take effect.
Visibly, the dreadful fissures of Nihility on her body were being rapidly filled and repaired by vigorous, emerald life energy, and her body's transparency was quickly recovering.
If not for the priority of eliminating the tricky Nihility corruption, solely concerning the physical, fatal wounds, with her current life force reserves, she could recover instantly.
Celenova watched this scene silently, a faint glint flickering in her icy eyes, calculating something unknown.
"Crack—!"
An extremely sudden, shrill, and piercing sound of shattering burst forth, like a sheet of calm ice being forcefully smashed through by a great power.
In the void beside Celenova, the space abruptly exploded like fragile glass, scattering countless spatial fragments.
Immediately following this, a long-handled battle-axe, wrapped in savage gale-force winds and with a blade flashing with cyan-gold cold light, shot out from the rift with an irresistible charging momentum and boiling battle intent.
Its target was clearly and unmistakably the still-standing Celenova.
Wherever the battle-axe passed, even the stable structure of the heterospace seemed to be torn apart, leaving a twisted trajectory that lingered for a long time.
'Heh-heh, looks like the trouble you stirred up has arrived~ Well then... solve it yourself.'
Seeing this, Phantylia, who was nearby, not only showed no intention of helping but let out a schadenfrefreude-filled chuckle.
She was still severely wounded and had no desire to encounter the Xianzhou's Heaven-Smashing General, Fei Xiao, at this moment, which would only increase the risk.
Before her words even finished, her figure instantly transformed into an elusive, ghostly, deep green starlight, silently merging with the surrounding environment and rapidly vanishing into the depths of the turbulent heterospace, making a swift and decisive escape.
Celenova seemed utterly unfazed by Phantylia's abrupt desertion, not even a flicker in her eyes.
Her entire attention was focused on the awe-inspiring battle-axe that had broken through the void and struck.
Faced with this violent strike, powerful enough to cleave mountains and sever seas, Celenova's reaction was simple and utterly direct.
She slowly raised her right hand—a hand as white as jade and seemingly frail and powerless. At its slender fingertip, a point of ultimate, profound darkness, capable of annihilating all things, suddenly coalesced—it was Destruction energy, highly compressed and condensed to the extreme.
She did not choose to dodge, nor did she employ any flashy techniques; she simply pointed a finger forward, seemingly in an understatement, toward the sharp edge of the space-tearing battle-axe.
"Boom—!!!"
Fingertip and axe blade—two existences utterly disproportionate in size and force—collided with a deafening crash the next instant.
The expected energy explosion did not occur; instead, a silent yet terrifying destructive ripple, mixed with pure Destruction energy and savage wind elements, instantly spread outward in a frenzy from the point of impact.
Wherever this ripple passed, space itself violently twisted and shook, like the surface of water hit by a stone.
The heterospace that Celenova had personally opened and which should have been incredibly stable was, at this moment, easily ripped open with countless pitch-black fissures by the sheer impact of this clash of pure forces, as if it were made of paper.
The chaotic void energy from the outside instantly poured in, making a spine-chilling screeching sound.
A seemingly casual confrontation had all but utterly destroyed this hiding place.
The long-handled battle-axe, carrying the remaining gale force, flew back and landed precisely in a hand as white as jade but containing explosive power, where it was grasped firmly.
Space was forcefully ripped open into a larger gap like a curtain, and the magnificent, enormous fox-like celestial steed—Flying Aureus—completely broke through the fragile spatial barrier. Its soaring head and four hooves, flowing with the power of the gale, heralded its extraordinary presence.
Below it, the female general, standing proudly with the long-handled battle-axe resting on her shoulder and her posture straight as a pine, was none other than the Heaven-Smashing General of the Xianzhou Yuque, Fei Xiao.
"Finally caught you, Celenova."
Fei Xiao's mouth stretched into a wild, unrestrained smile, as if the person before her was not a mortal enemy but a long-lost friend.
"Courtesy demands reciprocity. I have certainly remembered your previous hospitality, so here, I've brought you a return gift."
Her tone was relaxed, even carrying a hint of playful mockery. She seemed entirely unconcerned about the experience of having been ambushed by Celenova and nearly taken out in one move, yet the boiling battle intent in her fiercely burning eyes showed she was absolutely serious.
Celenova remained silent. She was not surprised that Fei Xiao had found her and attacked so swiftly.
Since the previous sneak attack had failed to achieve a complete victory, it was inevitable that she would be targeted by the Heaven-Smashing General for a reckoning, given her nature of growing stronger with every fight.
Just as Fei Xiao was about to shoulder the battle-axe and step forward, the surrounding space suddenly began to fluctuate violently.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—!
Four figures, radiating a dense aura of Destruction and possessing extremely high energy levels, appeared without warning at the four cardinal directions around her, forming a perfect circle of death that instantly sealed all her paths of advance and retreat.
To the east, a tall woman held a phoenix-patterned longsword burning with deep purple flames.
Her exposed skin on her cheeks, neck, and arms was covered in Destruction patterns flowing like molten gold. Her aura was ferocious and blazing, having already surpassed the so-called Limit Douluo of this realm—it was Luan Feng, the head of the Fire Phoenix Soul Tool Division.
At this moment, she had been completely assimilated by Destruction and had undergone an apparent rejuvenation, restoring her youthful appearance and peak physical condition, no longer showing signs of aging.
To the south, a giant as sturdy as a mountain had already completed his Martial Soul Avatar, with hideous black bull horns growing on his head and his body engulfed in boiling dark red flames. Every step he took caused the void to tremble—Wang Yiheng, the Mad Bull Douluo and head of the Evil Monarch Soul Tool Division.
To the west, a lean man held a long, dark-gold saber. His bare upper body was thickly muscled, and beneath his bronze skin, streams of Destruction gold-blood rushed like flowing lava. His gaze was sharp as an eagle's—Liao Mengkai, the Saber Soul Douluo and head of the Claw of Dread Soul Tool Division.
To the north, a robust man holding an exaggerated silver great hammer and entirely covered in heavy soul tool armor stood in silence. Electric arcs flashed around the hammerhead, emitting a chilling sense of oppression—Xia Xuanchen, the Silver Hammer Douluo and vice-head of the Evil Monarch Soul Tool Division.
These four, originally top-tier nine-ring Soul Masters, had their power terrifyingly amplified after being assimilated by Celenova's Destruction power. In terms of sheer energy level, they had all broken through the limits of this realm.
Under normal circumstances, even the combined efforts of the four would never be a match for the battle-hardened Fei Xiao.
But the situation was drastically different now—because Celenova, the former Emanators of Harmony, was present.
Among the Exterminator Lords, Celenova might not possess the most potent individual combat strength, but her most terrifying ability was unification.
She could perfectly integrate the power existing in a cluster formation, unleashing a fearsome strength far exceeding the simple sum of the individuals, effectively converting quantity into quality.
This was precisely why the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook, most often dispatched her as the vanguard general—she could maximize the efficiency of the Destruction tide.
At this moment, although Celenova was not directly attacking, her invisible Harmony Field had already been deployed.
She not only connected and stacked the powers of the four but also, through a bizarre method, extracted, infused, and augmented the four individuals with the Destruction energy of countless Anti-Matter Legion Nulls in the distance.
Under Celenova's system-breaking support, the energy levels of Luan Feng, Wang Yiheng, Liao Mengkai, and Xia Xuanchen were forcibly pushed to an unbelievable height—they had touched the threshold of a Demigod.
If there were a sufficient base of Anti-Matter Legion members, Celenova could even temporarily elevate them to the realm of a True God.
Even so, the encirclement by four Demigod-level combatants, in the past on Douluo Continent, would have been enough to sweep away all opposition and overturn the entire world.
Faced with the encirclement of four formidable Demigod-level powerhouses, radiating overwhelming power and looking on with murderous intent, Fei Xiao showed no fear. Instead, the battle intent burning in her heroic eyes grew even more intense.
She grinned, revealing her stark white teeth, and her wild aura surged. The battle-axe on her shoulder hummed, as if thirsty for blood.
"Ho, what an excessively enthusiastic welcome."
Fei Xiao laughed loudly.
"Perfect time to stretch my muscles. Come on... let's have a grand battle."
Before the words were finished, the power of the azure gale force erupted violently around her, and Flying Aureus let out a ringing neigh that echoed across the space.
Her posture and aura suggested that it was not she who was surrounded by four Demigods, but that she, alone, was about to fight all heroes and counter-encircle her opponents.
This was the Heaven-Smashing General: without doubt, without regret, and unbeatable.
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