War was coming.
Three days after Wei Qing reached a certain… unspoken agreement with the two geniuses, news arrived from the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
Without any warning—over the span of just a few days—a vast host of the Antimatter Legion pressed in and sealed Yaoqing in a tightening encirclement. Yaoqing's scouts had barely completed their initial reconnaissance when they reported something chilling: the enemy's scale was comparable to the last great war against the Abundance-born.
According to the spies stationed at the front, it wasn't just Phantylia and Xingxiao—the two Destruction-aligned Lord Ravagers long active on Xianzhou battlefields—who had joined hands this time.
A third Lord Ravager of unknown identity had descended as well.
Because that figure appeared humanoid, the scouts tentatively suspected either Fenfeng of [Nihility] or Guiji of [Elation].
Panic swept across Yaoqing.
Three Lord Ravagers in command.
Even a ship famed for martial ferocity like Yaoqing didn't dare to act rashly under a Legion formation and deployment of this level. Instead, it immediately sent pleas for aid to the other Xianzhou ships.
Fortunately—or perhaps ominously—no one knew what purpose the Destruction faction had come for. It was as if they were deliberately giving Yaoqing time to prepare, because for the moment, they made no substantive move at all.
Soon, once the other Xianzhou ships received Yaoqing's distress call, they dispatched reinforcements without delay.
Especially Luofu and Zhuming, the two nearest ships to Yaoqing. To prevent the Alliance from losing yet another ship, both ships' generals personally led the expedition, bringing elite forces in bulk.
On Luofu's side, besides General Teng Xiao, those accompanying him included his disciple Wei Qing and the Sword Champion Jingliu. In terms of top-tier combat strength, only the Dragon Venerated, Dan Feng (Imbibitor Lunae), remained behind to guard Luofu.
Two Emanator-level figures, plus a third whose power rivaled an Emanator—Luofu's seriousness could not have been clearer.
And then, only three days into the campaign, the unexpected happened.
The Abundance Emanator Shuhu, accompanied by a living planet called Jidu Mirage, led a vast host of Abundance-born in an invasion of Xianzhou Luofu.
…
Luofu—Scalegorge Waterscape.
At the sealed site near the Ambrosial Arbor's root, an ill-omened green radiance now spread like a shroud.
The sea was no longer calm. It boiled and churned, rolling as if in feverish convulsions. Countless twisted plants lashed at everything along the shore. The air was thick with a nauseating stench—Abundance power warped to an extreme, rotting into something foul.
Above Luofu hung an enormous, planet-like aberration: Jidu Mirage.
Across its surface, tumor-like tissue writhed and pulsed, continuously spewing clouds of tainted spores that gnawed at Luofu's protective arrays.
Tens of thousands of Borisin wolfships and Wingweaver skiffs poured out like a locust swarm, screaming as they plunged into the hastily raised Cloud Knights lines.
The battle was horrific.
The Abundance-born numbers far exceeded expectations, and they fought with terrifying frenzy—as if some force had fully unleashed their savagery. They charged without regard for casualties, slamming themselves again and again into the Cloud Knights' defenses.
The Cloud Knights resisted with everything they had, but their line was still being forced backward, inch by inch.
At the entrance to Scalegorge Waterscape, Dan Feng stood like an immovable pillar. Clear, surging dragon power flooded from him, forming an immense curtain of azure water that struggled to hold back the corruption pouring down from Jidu Mirage.
"Dragon Venerated!" A Cloud Knights officer, drenched in blood, staggered forward with a report. "The left flank is about to collapse!"
Dan Feng's voice remained calm, but the fists clenched at his sides revealed his strain.
"The General will receive the message and return at full speed. Until then, we cannot allow these abominations to touch the Arbor's seal—even by a hair."
He lifted his gaze toward the grotesque bulk of Jidu Mirage, and toward the vast shadow half-hidden behind it—an oppressive presence that made the heart tighten.
"Shuhu… you came, after all."
Cold resolve flashed in Dan Feng's eyes.
"Then leave your life here."
With that, his figure became a streak of blue-green light that shot into the sky, hurtling straight at the shadow's core—toward where Shuhu, the Abundance Emanator, was hiding.
A clear dragon's cry rang out, piercing the heavens.
The Imbibitor Lunae arts stirred the boundless waters of Scalegorge Waterscape, shaping them into countless roaring water-dragons that smashed headlong into Jidu Mirage and the Abundance host sheltering beneath it.
"An ant trying to stop a carriage." Shuhu's mocking voice drifted from the darkness.
To Shuhu, the entirety of Luofu held only two figures worth real caution: Teng Xiao and Wei Qing.
In his original plan, he had intended to use Jidu Mirage to assault Xianzhou Yuque, drawing the Alliance's attention—then strike Luofu while it was exposed, seizing the Ambrosial Arbor.
Now, with three Lord Ravagers joining the board, it saved him considerable trouble.
Thick, ancient-tree-sized vines erupted from the sea like gigantic serpents in a frenzy, effortlessly shredding the incoming water-dragons.
Dark green ichor mixed with the clear seawater, spreading an even heavier stink of decay.
More grotesque monsters birthed by Abundance surged from the openings in Jidu Mirage. They howled and rushed Dan Feng—and surged downward toward the Cloud Knights formations as well.
Dan Feng's face was like carved stone. The Dragon Venerated's power poured out without restraint.
Blades of water—sharp as steel—whirled into slaughtering spirals, grinding down the charging monsters in swathes.
But he quickly realized the problem: the shattered remains did not disperse. Instead, they wriggled and fused as if alive, reassembling in the blink of an eye into even more twisted forms—then lunged again.
The Abundance's immortality was being pushed to its most terrifying extreme under Shuhu's hand.
"It's useless, Imbibitor Lunae." Shuhu's voice carried clearly across the chaos, reaching Dan Feng's ears. "The Abundance's gift is inexhaustible. And how long can your strength possibly last?"
"Once I reclaim the Arbor's power and reforge my divine body, you Xianzhou insects will all become fodder for my revival!"
Dan Feng did not answer the taunt.
His dragon power surged again—vast waves rolling outward—forcing the oncoming tide of corrupted monsters back several paces, if only briefly.
Yet Shuhu remained hidden within the massive shadow cast by Jidu Mirage, watching Dan Feng's struggle with cold amusement.
He had no urgency to act personally—like a hunter toying with prey, or like someone waiting for something to arrive.
"Stubborn resistance."
"Waiting for Teng Xiao to return? What a pity. A trap laid by three Lord Ravagers—do you really think it's so easy to slip free? At this moment, they're likely struggling just to survive."
"And as for that little whelp who managed to wound me…" Shuhu's voice turned suddenly colder, greedier. "If he returns, it saves me the trouble of seeking him out. That peculiar power of his—combined with the Arbor—will be the key to my ascension to the throne of immortality."
Join here to read ahead.
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Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 100)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 100)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter89)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter86)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter63)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter75)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 53
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 57
From Junkman to Wasteland 35
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