Chapter 4056 - Ran Qing

The massive explosion had broken the Eightpart Pantheons’ painstakingly forged defense line. The few devas from Blackscatter had been sent flying thousands of miles away, landing in sludge. Even if they hadn't been reduced to essence form, many of them had still lost limbs and body parts from the blast. It was a truly haggard sight.

When the explosion's shockwaves settled, only a crater could be seen where Blackscatter Fort had stood. Only a few cosmic gods were left standing there, though they didn't seem to have fared much better.

"Those three rats are gone again...."

The devas were so angry that they almost spat blood. They felt so frustrated that their faces flushed deep red.

"It's far too disgusting!"

"Has Blackscatter lost more than six thousand geniuses?" It was painful and humiliating, not just for them, but for the Eightpart Pantheons as a whole. They couldn't imagine the kinds of waves the loss would bring.

"I bet they'll curse at us for being useless while they blame the three rats...."

The fact that a mere three eighth-level cosmic gods had managed to properly kill thousands of people was ridiculous. Most tenth-level cosmic gods couldn't even achieve feats like that. Naturally, a huge part of it was the seniors' refusal to let them retreat. If they hadn’t tried holding the three back, they would have at least been able to escape. Tianming wouldn't have been able to chase down so many of them.

"Imperial Lady...!" They looked around for the thousand-meter-tall goddess in the white mist. The cosmic gods that remained were mostly around the second level and only around two hundred meters tall. The goddess was someone that was absolutely gigantic in comparison to them. Faced with someone from an imperial lineage, they nervously knelt in silence.

The Upper Star Ruin held strictly to a hierarchy. Even the seniors of the young cosmic gods would have to kneel to the imperial lady. They knew that she was no doubt infuriated, so they did their best not to draw her ire and knelt while they waited for her to leave.

However, the imperial lady remained silent the entire time, making them even more nervous. Her rage was real.

Right as they were wondering what they should do, two astral bodies appeared before them, one blue, one red. They shone so bright that they could rival the imperial lady in luminosity. The devas didn't know where they were from and merely knelt even lower.

The balls of light eventually faded into astral mist. To the right, a blue vortex formed, while a flaming astral pillar formed to the left. They looked like fire and water, yet they seemed to harmoniously and beautifully blend. However, the devas around them could feel immense pressure from them.

"Ran Qing," said a melodious female voice from within the blue vortex. It seemed to be the name of the imperial lady.

"What is it? Did you come to laugh at me?" Ran Qing coldly said.

"Our parents instructed us to come to your aid."

"There's no need."

"It isn’t a matter of need," came a bass voice from the flaming pillar. "Those three rats are public enemies of the Eightpart Pantheons. They have to be dealt with soon or we'll end up more and more as laughingstocks. It isn't appropriate."

"Do you have a plan?" Ran Qing asked.

"After learning what happened, the seniors suggested that we use a divine wonder domain to lay a trap for them. Only then can we ensure that they're unable to leave," said the voice from the blue vortex.

"Can the two of you use it?" the imperial lady asked, surprised.

"Fortunately, we can," said the voice from the flaming pillar.

"Alright. I look forward to seeing your amazing divine wonders." The imperial lady cast her angry gaze in the direction Tianming and the rest had escaped. "I know their rough location, but we only have one chance. Being hasty will just scare them away."

"Oh?" The other two wondered how she knew.

The imperial lady smiled. "I planted a parasite ghoul on the female earlier. There isn’t a single mutant specter in this world that can elude us devas."

"A parasite ghoul? What kind?" asked the voice from the blue vortex.

With an odd look, Ran Qing said, "It was too urgent, so I could only use the passion ghoul I had on hand."

"Passion ghoul?" the voice from the blue vortex muttered. "Then when the three rats get too busy mating, they won't be able to escape when we suddenly attack."

"That's why this is our best chance," Ran Qing said.

"Come to think of it, are the legends true?" the flaming pillar asked. "I heard that passion ghouls are capable of driving people far wilder than any aphrodisiac. Not even ten thousand men will be able to quench someone infested by it."

"Do you want to try?" the imperial lady asked, eyeing him.

The flaming pillar shuddered while the blue vortex spun faster and said, "He wouldn't dare."

"Well then, let's gather our troops and make a move," the imperial lady said.

***

Tianming anxiously returned to the Ancestral Void Ark with the essence of Zi Zhen.

"Did Big Sis Zi Zhen get hurt?" Qingyu was startled. She had trusted Tianming and Yin Chen so much that it was completely unbelievable.

"It's fine."

Tianming was just about to put her essence down and use ninelives fruits to heal her, yet ZI Zhen nervously said, "Not here! Find a quiet place."

"A quiet place?" Tianming was taken aback and looked at Qingyu and Moran. They were confused as well, and didn't know what was going on.

"Alright." Tianming thought that she was ashamed of having been hurt and didn't want others to see her heal. She had her own pride, after all, so he took her essence into a room in the ark and closed the door, giving her enough privacy. However, he noticed something weird about her essence.

"Why’re you so hot?" How could cosmic god essences be so hot and warm like a fireball?

"I don't know. Let's talk after we recover my body...." Zi Zhen's voice was hoarse. She felt like streaks of flame were coursing across her entire being.