Chapter 1004: The Return of the End, Battle of the True Spirits

So powerful!

The moment the awakened colossal beasts, such as the Single-Horned Kunpeng, laid eyes on the Five-Colored True Spirit, whose body stretched ten thousand kilometers and towered upon the earth like a living mountain, their souls trembled in instinctive fear.

Even the seven ancient titans, including the Time Dragon, felt their bodies sink heavily. Their soul and will slowed, as if mired in viscous time. The principles they wielded within their bodies also became sluggish and obscure, difficult to summon and unbearably heavy.

Unlike ancient creatures that merely wielded principles, a true spirit had completely merged with its internal principles, which were recognized by the origin of the mythical world. The difference between the two was like that of a Sixth Heavenly Realm cultivator and a Seventh Realm cultivator.

Ancient titans relied on the powerful principles within them, and at best, could corrode and manipulate a radius of ten to twenty thousand kilometers of surrounding space. Through this, they could command the power of heaven and earth on a large scale to clash against foes. However, a true spirit had already become one with its principle, fully integrated with the world, acting as a sovereign over a domain. Its kingdom was an extension of its very power.

Just like this five-colored world; within a world infused with the True Spirit’s principles, every action it took represented absolute authority. A single thought could alter basic foundational principles, turning all matter, all minerals, even all life into a five-colored attribute. Matter itself could transform.

Of course, such foundational alterations were still limited. It could only change the specific principle it had fully mastered. Even so, this true spirit was overwhelmingly powerful beyond any other beast’s comprehension. Every movement carried the boundless might of heaven and earth, and that was only the baseline difference.

While all of the ancient titans of the Dragon Palace showed hesitation in their eyes and the titan- and mythical-level beasts trembled in fear, a chorus of wild, excited howls suddenly erupted.

The Silver Colossal Dragon spiraled through the dark-red storm and let out a thunderous roar.

Ao Tian! What a massive beast! The great Saixitia shall stand on its head and roar!

The titan-level Single-Horned Kunpeng, over fifteen hundred meters long, cried out in elation.

Charge! Let’s kill them all!

Nearby, the Deep Sea Dragon Turtle, surrounded by a yellow domain, roared with bloodshot eyes.

Ghidorah, you block the front. I’ll bombard them with my breath!

Even the usually silent Zhulong was now boiling with blood.

I’ll crush those titans!

Grace. The great Thorsafi must remain graceful.

While several colossal beasts howled in excitement, the Golden-Blue Colossal Dragon, also awakened, gracefully spiraled around the Destructive Dragon Emperor.

Yet as these excited titan- and mythical-level dragon kings bellowed with glee, the rest of the beasts were left dazed.

Wait, isn't something off about their reactions?

That was a true spirit. A being of immense power, surrounded by legions of ancient titans, titan-level beasts, mythical beasts, and alien armies.

Boom!

A dazzling red brilliance erupted from the Dragon Emperor. Its form rapidly expanded like an inflating balloon, instantly swelling to over thirty-five thousand meters in length. In a flash, a terrifying pressure pierced the skies and saturated the world. Rings of red shockwaves radiated outward from the dark-red Dragon Emperor, expanding in every direction.

Where those waves passed, the five-colored brilliance that pervaded the world trembled, shattered, and collided with earth-shaking roars. At the same time, the dark-red storm clouds controlled by lightning and magnetism surged and rapidly expanded to cover a radius of a hundred thousand kilometers.

Such overwhelming might caused the previously indifferent Five-Colored True Spirit to suddenly straighten its posture. Grave light flashed in its eyes.

The Dragon Emperor was only at the middle stage of the ancient titan level, yet after entering its Dark-Red Form, it had completely crossed the threshold into the true spirit level.

In an instant, every one of the aliens and colossal beasts on the opposing side, which had previously waited with confident smiles for the invading colossal beasts to charge to their deaths, turned solemn.

Crap. The enemy also has a true-spirit-level entity. No wonder they dared to invade an empire as mighty as ours.

As all of the beasts, including those of the Dragon Palace, were stunned by the Dragon Emperor’s newfound strength in its Dark-Red Form, a layer of pitch-black flame ignited across its body.

Boom!

Everything nearby collapsed and disintegrated in an instant. Even the principles of heaven and earth and the space that bore all things shattered like broken glass. Within those flames, the Dragon Emperor’s body expanded again, reaching a staggering forty-one thousand meters. Muscles bulged across its entire form, pushing against its thick, golden-black scales. Arcs of golden-red lightning danced across its massive, burning body, exuding a savage aura that made every other beast tremble.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the Dragon Emperor descended in its Endbringer Form, the heavens and earth trembled across a radius exceeding five hundred thousand kilometers. All things lost their color, and the world itself seemed to plunge once more into chaos. Its aura was so terrifying, it even surpassed that of the True Spirit.

The Dragon Emperor let out a sky-splitting roar. Blazing red light burst forth from its body, dyeing the sky of the five-colored world in a blood-red hue. Within that ominous red light, a twisted space emerged. The Dark-Red World was summoned into reality.

In that instant, the Dragon Emperor, already at its limit, surged once again. Its aura soared and its body expanded to forty-three thousand meters. Sharp red bone spikes erupted from every joint, each wrapped in an ominous crimson glow.

The Dragon Emperor appeared utterly monstrous, wreathed in an apocalyptic aura capable of annihilating the heavens and leading the world toward its end. Simply by standing there, it caused the surrounding tens of thousands of kilometers of space to collapse into a raging, chaotic state of destruction.

The dark-red storm clouds and thunder that blanketed the heavens burst open with a deafening roar, laced with streaks of blood-red lightning that spread in all directions for hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Under their barrage, the principles the True Spirit had fused into the world began to unravel. The order established by those laws fell into chaos.

At the same time, whispers and chants echoed through the void, as if the cosmos were singing its own destruction. "Destruction... End... The ruin of all things..."

An ominous spectacle unfolded before all. This was the Dragon Emperor’s second time entering this form, and its power boost had grown even more immense.

All of this occurred in an instant. Before the surrounding colossal beasts could react, including the Silver Dragon and the Golden-Blue Dragon, they were hurled away by the sheer force of the explosive pressure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Over a hundred colossal beasts shot out like meteorites. Some were flung tens of thousands of kilometers away, crashing down with ringing heads and dazed minds. Even so, they had been shielded by an invisible force at the moment of impact. Otherwise, any beast not at the ancient titan level would have exploded on the spot from those annihilating golden-red lightning bolts. If not killed outright, they would be critically wounded.

The great Saixitia is a little dizzy.

Spun thousands of kilometers away and smashed silly, the Silver Dragon shook its head vigorously before finally turning its gaze to the distant battlefield.

When it looked toward the center of that chaotic crimson destruction and saw the enormous, dreadful silhouette standing at its heart, the Silver Dragon, along with every other beast, stared in stunned silence.

Even the well-traveled Time Dragon inexplicably felt a deep, primal fear rise in its eyes.

This beast named Thunder Fiery is nothing short of a monster. A creature like that, already so terrifying at just the ancient titan level... What will happen once it steps into the true spirit level?

A vicious roar exploded across the sky.

Charge! Kill them all!

The Dark-Red World that had descended above the sky began sinking rapidly under the Dragon Emperor’s command. It became tangible, pressing down with crushing weight, and the five-colored light across the sky burst apart.

Beast, you seek death!

As the Dragon Emperor descended across a span of over a hundred thousand kilometers, the True Spirit let out a furious roar. The five-colored scales protruding from its body gleamed like crystal.

Thousands of light pillars—white, blue, red, and more—each dozens, hundreds, or even over a thousand meters thick, pierced the sky and shattered all before them. They carried the power of heaven and earth across millions of kilometers. From a distance, it looked like thousands of space battleships had opened fire all at once. The sight was awe-inspiring and overwhelming.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The world was engulfed in blinding light. The devastating energy bombardment violently shook the descending Dark-Red World, unleashing shockwaves that rippled across hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

In the very instant the two true-spirit-level beasts clashed, the entire world plunged into chaos. The blast rattled the minds of countless beasts and aliens, leaving only the thunderous roar of destruction.

A deep, solemn, yet savage roar resounded. From within the radiant explosion, a colossal beast engulfed in black flames and glowing with brilliant red light burst forth with a deafening cry.

Boom!

What greeted the Dragon Emperor was a crimson light pillar over three thousand meters thick, imbued with true-spirit-level power and a searing might capable of annihilating all creation.

The pillar directly struck the Dragon Emperor, which neither dodged nor flinched, and exploded into a dazzling brilliance that resembled a crimson sun with a diameter of ten thousand kilometers. The heavens and earth trembled wildly, and the land itself collapsed.

However, in the very next moment, the heart of that blazing solar explosion caved inward as if something had devoured it, transforming into a pitch-black void several thousand kilometers wide. Within that black hole stood the red beast, completely unharmed. A formless aura radiated from it, crushing space and time as it pressed down on all of history itself.

Such a terrifying sight made the pupils of the ancient titans coiled at the True Spirit’s feet contract sharply. Then, a Void Python over ten thousand meters long raised its head and let out a savage hiss.

Kill! Kill every last one of those invading beasts!

Bang!

The space around the Void Python shattered. Its massive body dove into the void, lunging toward the Gray Python hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The Three-Headed Golden Colossal Dragon also roared ferociously. Its entire body was ablaze with golden fire, radiating divine majesty, and it became a golden streak that pierced the skies, targeting the Ancient Magma Dragon.

With the two ancient titans leading the charge, the other beasts followed in a frenzy of howls, including the minotaur army that had been knocked down by the earlier explosion. Whether it was the beasts of the Five-Colored Empire or those of the Dragon Palace, they all leapt at each other without hesitation.

As for the true-spirit-level battle in the center, none of them could interfere. They didn’t even qualify to approach.

Boom!

The world shook violently, and a massive crimson claw blotted out the sky. Twined with golden-red lightning, it slammed down and annihilated space across thousands of kilometers, forming a gigantic black hole.

Hum!

The five-colored light surrounding the True Spirit flared across a span of 10,000 kilometers, forming 999 layers of principle barriers. Under the impact of the crimson claw, these barriers began to collapse layer by layer. With each shattered layer, the claw dimmed slightly. After breaking through just over 100 layers, its strength was spent and it dissipated.

The Dragon Emperor’s Endbringer Form was incredibly powerful, but compared to a fully matured true spirit, the externalized principle power it wielded still fell slightly short in intensity.

The True Spirit let out a sky-shaking roar. Its massive eyes remained cold as they stared quietly at the Dragon Emperor, which stood at the center of the crimson light above.

In just that brief exchange, this colossal beast had displayed terrifying energy output and was surrounded by seemingly endless layers of principle barriers. Gazing down coldly at the True Spirit below, the Dragon Emperor let out a deep, rumbling growl that echoed slowly through the heavens and earth.

So this is your true form—standing upon the land, wielding boundless power, forging a massive form from the endless tempered five-colored materials of the world? If that’s all you’ve got, then your defeat today is certain.

The true world form was another evolutionary path for colossal beasts. It also involved refining the world and enhancing the self, but unlike ancient colossal dragons, which refined a micro-world within their bodies, this path absorbed all worldly essence and fused it into oneself, forging an enormous and powerful true form.

In that regard, it was somewhat similar to the Dark Star power wielded by the Dragon Emperor. The difference was that one devoured and refined all heavy elements and minerals, while the other smelted five-colored crystalline ores.

The True Spirit looked up. Its massive maw parted slightly, revealing rows of jagged fangs like peaks of a five-colored crystal mountain. A voice even deeper and more majestic resounded across the sky.

Invading beast, I acknowledge your strength, but don’t forget, your growth level is only at the middle stage of the ancient titan level. How long can you maintain this kind of state? One star-quarter? Two?

This True Spirit was no different from others which, upon witnessing the Dragon Emperor’s explosive transformation, chose to fight head-on rather than retreat. It was confident that such a massive leap across major realms, which boosted strength hundreds or even thousands of times in an instant, could never last.

All it had to do was endure until the Dragon Emperor's power was exhausted. By then, a mere middle-stage ancient-titan-level beast could be obliterated with a single casual swipe. At that point, it would let these invading beasts truly understand what despair meant.

The low growl that shook the heavens lifted the spirits of the Golden Colossal Dragon and the others standing in the shadow of the Dragon Emperor’s oppressive aura.

Looking down at the self-assured and composed True Spirit standing firmly upon the earth, the Dragon Emperor curled its lips into a grim, cruel smile.

Under normal circumstances, that assessment would be correct, but unfortunately, it was the exception. Its heavenly-tier bloodline acted like a vast reservoir, granting the Dragon Emperor an unfathomably deep foundation. It felt like it could maintain this level of power, which surpassed all limits, for one or even two full days.

Which meant... kill.

Boom!

Space shattered like a mirror. The Dragon Emperor transformed into a streak of red light and descended from the sky, piercing through everything until it appeared before the barrier of principles, each layer stretching ten thousand kilometers thick.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before the Dragon Emperor, who radiated endless red light, each barrier, formed from pure, condensed principle power and several kilometers thick, began to collapse layer by layer. Like dry wood before a storm, they were smashed through with unstoppable force.

In an instant, the Dragon Emperor shredded through all 999 layers of principle barriers, becoming a beam of divine light that struck down upon the True Spirit’s head.

Boom!

Its massive head was slammed down violently. Countless five-colored crystals atop its skull shattered, forming a massive crater dozens of kilometers wide.

Around the crater, cracks spread out in all directions, extending across half of the beast’s head. The sheer force of the impact shattered the surrounding space in an instant.

Such a durable body.

Roar!

At the very moment the Dragon Emperor landed on its head, the True Spirit reacted violently. Its head, over a thousand kilometers long, crashed into the ground like a comet.

Boom!

The land across a radius of over a hundred thousand kilometers crumbled. Massive slabs of multicolored rock, dozens or even hundreds of kilometers wide, were flung into the sky, soaring up to tens of thousands of kilometers high. The heavens cracked, the earth split, and space itself trembled.

The impact and erupting energy resembled a cosmic collision, radiating blinding brilliance and sending ring after ring of red shockwaves spreading in all directions. The searing waves of energy swept across hundreds of thousands of kilometers of surface, reducing countless materials to ash, and the ground melted into blazing lava.

This was true annihilation of the heavens and earth.