Chapter 861: Arrival on the Battlefield, Eighteen Planes (I)

As they neared the battlefield, the fleet began to decelerate from over-limit speeds. The frantically retreating clouds, as well as the mountain ranges and rivers below, gradually came into focus.

Hum!

On the deck, Mech No.1 tremored faintly as a crystal embedded in its chest fired a beam of bluish-white light. Luo Fei soared out, clad in a magnificent red-and-white battle suit.

With her strength rising and her divine battle armor refined through the absorption of No.1’s super-divine origin, its energy-based form had also upgraded. When dormant, it now resembled a sleek suit of armor.

Clang!

Her armored boots hit the deck with a weighty metallic thud. With a strikingly valiant presence and her black hair cascading over her shoulders, she stood behind Chen Chu, her eyes shining with excitement as she gazed at the expanding golden light screen on the horizon.

"Finally, we’re here."

Chen Chu nodded slightly. "Yes. At long last."

His Demon God Body 2.0 had just finished its reforging, causing a surge in his strength. He could now take down more demon kings and great demon kings.

There wasn’t any need to challenge a demon god yet. His current cultivation stood at the peak of the mythical level. Compared to the demon gods, the gap in raw power was still too vast. Though he could temporarily reach the supreme level by breaking open the Nine-Fold Heavenly Gate or an explosive burst of Temporal Reincarnation, it was ultimately a forced breakthrough. Exposing all of his power too early wouldn’t do him any favors.

After all, he had to go all out just to clash head-on with beginning-stage demon gods in their normal state. Even then, being able to contend with them didn’t mean that he could defeat them, much less kill them.

Worse still, doing all that could attract the attention of the peak great demon gods. After all, who wouldn't want to kill a mythical-level cultivator with the heaven-defying talent to contend with demon gods?

Chen Chu glanced over at Luo Fei and smiled faintly. "By the way, when did you break through to the Ninth Heavenly Realm?"

A small grin tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yesterday."

While others couldn’t cultivate while on this high-speed interstellar voyage, she could. Her cultivation advanced primarily through absorbing No.1’s super-divine origin. Even so, it had still taken her nearly half a year to break through from the Fourth Heavenly Realm to the Ninth.

With that in mind, Luo Fei sighed. "Even with No.1 helping me, I still don’t think I’ll ever catch up to you. You’re a total freak. At this rate, you’ll probably hit the supreme level before I even get close to the king level."

Everyone had already found Chen Chu’s one-year journey to the king level astonishing. However, in just over a month since reaching the mythical level, he had already reached its peak.

After witnessing the celestial phenomena that occurred when he reforged his divine body, everyone had the same hunch; within a month, he was bound to break through to the heavenly king level. Crossing from king to heavenly king in two months—no other king-level powerhouse would even dare dream of such a pace.

Qingqiu Tianyao, a once-in-a-generation genius who had dominated his region, had become a king decades ago during the Chaotic Era. Even now, however, he had only reached the peak of the mythical level.

Chen Chu chuckled. "Everyone’s physique is different. There’s no need to compare yourself to me. Besides, your cultivation speed isn’t exactly slow."

Luo Fei nodded. "By normal standards, it’s true I’m not slow. Among our year of martial arts students, only you, An Fuqing, and I made it to the Ninth Heavenly Realm."

She was well aware of that fact, but she didn’t let it get to her head. "Still, my method of cultivation is a bit of a shortcut. In terms of raw talent, I’m far inferior to both you and An Fuqing."

"An Fuqing’s talent... really is freakish," Chen Chu admitted.

Unlike him, who had a colossal beast avatar and the attribute panel; or Luo Fei, who had Mech No.1 as a cheat device; An Fuqing, who had also reached the Ninth Heavenly Realm in a year, was the real deal. That talent to enter an epiphany state at any moment... even Chen Chu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

After a brief pause, Chen Chu thoughtfully said, "According to the plan, I’ll be moving independently during the early phase with Heavenly King Xuanwu and the others. I’ll stick with you for now. This is our first time on the battlefield. Before the enemy figures out our capabilities, we’ll have the best chance at maximizing our gains. Let’s see if I can help you and No.1 take down two great demon kings."

Mech No.1 had the unique ability to grow stronger by devouring the flesh and souls of living creatures. Whether it was level 4 transcendent lifeforms or demon kings, it could devour them all. The more it ate, the more powerful it became.

In this regard, it was even more effective than the Destructive Dragon Emperor, who could only accelerate its growth by consuming the flesh of colossal beasts. Alien powerhouses like demon kings or great demon kings were of little use when eaten.

Unlike colossal beasts, they were too small and contained too little flesh. Even if their true forms were hundreds or thousands of meters tall, they were still simply law-energy constructs. Once slain, they would dissipate.

At this point, even if the Dragon Emperor devoured mythical-level colossal beasts, it would be like munching on a broad bean—a light snack, with no real effect. The energy within ordinary mutated and colossal beasts was simply too insignificant to nourish it.

By now, the thirteen battleships had slowed to standard cruising speed, gradually halting a hundred kilometers from the golden light screen. The Heavenly Feathered Race’s golden warship, which had been trailing quietly behind, shuddered and kicked up white shockwaves as it surged ahead and settled beside the world-barrier-like light screen.

Whoosh!

Behind them, Bordea spread his three pairs of golden, flame-like wings and took flight. A group of elite warriors from the Heavenly Feathered Race soared into the air with him, their radiant wings fanning out brilliant light in all directions.

Boom!

Countless strands of golden light gathered into a dazzling pillar, which then struck the sky screen. The sky trembled as ripples of light spread out, forcing open a massive rift.

Behind it was a stairway of golden steps, each tier dozens of meters tall and stretching several kilometers wide. At the top stood a colossal gate, tens of thousands of meters tall.

Flanking the heavenly gate, which was supported by four massive stone pillars, were thousands of figures standing on either side, each bearing a pair of white flame-like wings. These people were clad in white armor and wielding golden longswords. They were flawless and striking, and they had glowing white feathers drifting gently around them, emanating a divine aura.

At the forefront of these angelic legions hovered a silver-haired youth, radiating mythical-level energy. With two pairs of white wings extending from his back, he hovered in the air like a seraph from legend. Seeing Bordea opening the world barrier, the four-winged youth offered a gentle smile. "Welcome back, Lord Bordea, King of Judgment."

All the Heavenly Feathered warriors on both sides bowed respectfully. "Welcome home, King of Judgment."

As he looked at the one welcoming them, Bordea frowned. "Mikadiel, why are you the only one here?"

The Heavenly Feathered Race sending only one mythical-level being as a greeting party for their new ally’s army inevitably felt like an insult.

The silver-haired youth wryly smiled. "Lord Bordea, it’s not that we’re slighting our allies. The truth is, the situation is extremely dire. All of the major chief gods and divine kings are currently occupied.

"After three demon gods severely wounded Divine King Shariel and forced him to retreat, the three great empires launched a full-scale assault. As of now, the Ninth Plane has fallen. The Tenth through Fourteenth Planes are all under heavy attack—"

The youth began to cough violently, his aura flickering with weakness.

"It’s that serious?" Bordea’s brow furrowed deeper.

Heavenly King Xuanwu had relayed the situation earlier, and though Heavenly King Zhenwu had also sent word, Bordea hadn’t expected the Purgatory Clan to launch another all-out offensive so soon. Based on recent patterns, the Purgatory Clan typically rested for half a day-cycle after a failed assault before resuming their attacks.

Space distorted beside Bordea, and Heavenly King Zhenwu silently appeared. The invisible pressure he radiated startled the silver-haired youth.

He's one of the human race’s reinforcements? So strong. It's like I'm standing right in front of a divine king.

In a deep tone, Heavenly King Zhenwu said, "Lord Bordea, we have no time to waste. Let’s head to the battlefield ourselves. Mikadiel can brief us on the full situation on the way."

Bordea was more than willing to oblige. "Alright. Let's go."