Chapter 902: Nine-Fold World-Ending Dragon, Suppressing the Demon God (I)

Within the golden crystal barrier, over a thousand golden battleships of varying sizes flew through the sky, each no less than a kilometer long and packed with elite warriors of the Heavenly Feathered Race.

On the fringes of the Heavenly Feathered legion hovered over a dozen colossal black battleships, each stretching more than ten kilometers in length. Tens of thousands of meters above, the chief gods of the Heavenly Feathered Race all turned their gazes downtoward Battleship 1, located several dozen kilometers away.

There, arcs of purple thunderbolts leapt through the air, entwined with golden-white flames, forming a massive sphere of light a thousand meters in diameter that sealed off the interior from the outer world.

Though the law-bound world inside obscured direct sight, chief gods like Bordea could faintly sense a terrifying, veiled aura within. It was an energy as volatile as a million-year-old volcano, brimming with cataclysmic destructive force. Earlier, their attention had been on Heavenly King Zhenwu and Heavenly King Xuanwu, leaving them unaware of this aura.

Behind that radiant sphere stood a black-and-red bio-mech. It drew sharp stares from several chief gods, especially due to the crimson murderous aura, which carried traces of lingering resentment from the multiple great demon kings it had slain.

Just as the chief gods were startled by the residual souls clinging to Mech No.1, the law-bound world formed by the True Great Sun Flame and the Heavenly Purple Lightning abruptly contracted, revealing Chen Chu’s figure.

Hum!

A black halo burst from Chen Chu, rippling outwards. The entire world trembled faintly, and behind him emerged a massive, translucent, dark-golden star, spanning a thousand kilometers. The instant the star’s shadow appeared, a crushing, oppressive force swept through the void.

Boom!

Under the dark-golden star’s looming presence, every battleship and warship across the field shuddered violently and dropped several dozen kilometers. Cultivators and Heavenly Feathered elites aboard all turned pale, staggered by the sudden weight. Fortunately, this oppressive force dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. Even so, over a million individuals had been flattened onto the decks, their faces ashen.

"A pseudo-world-level weapon!" Anstira and the others fixed their gazes on Chen Chu’s weapon, visibly shocked by the overwhelming force of a condensed world emanating from it.

He’s forged a pseudo-world-level weapon while still only at the beginning stage of the chief god level. Not only is this human genius terrifying in combat power and absurdly fast in cultivation speed, he also excels at artifact crafting.

Even Xuanwu and the other two heavenly kings were stunned.

Wait, isn't refining even a basic demonic weapon supposed to take years at the very least? How has Chen Chu refined that battle axe in just a few hours, and even merged it with his halberd?

As the crowd reeled in astonishment, Chen Chu lowered his gaze and examined the weapon that had just been reforged in his hands.

After fusing with the black battle axe, the Eight Desolations Creation Halberd had undergone a remarkable transformation. Its standard length had increased from four meters to four and a half, and its design had grown more menacing.

The formerly black-and-gold dragon scale patterns on the halberd shaft had been replaced by layers of armor-like black plating, etched with scorched, cracked earth motifs. The halberd’s front blade had turned pitch black, radiating a razor-sharp edge. The cleaving sides of the blade had become thicker and heavier, resembling a narrow axe head.

At the same time, a series of translucent glyphs, visible only to Chen Chu, appeared on the halberd.

[Weapon]

Eight Desolations Creation Halberd(Pseudo-world-level)

- A powerful weapon forged from a micro-world, possessing the four key traits of weight, durability, sharpness, and world-creation.

- Standard Function: Demonic Light Repulsion. Size freely adjustable.

- World Pressure: The original "Infinite Pressure" property has evolved through fusion with a world. It now grants extreme weight and density, generating a crushing force field that collapses everything nearby.

- Note: When the enemy’s raw physical strength is weaker than the wielder’s, a world-collision impact will send them flying.

The fusion with the broken black battle axe had simply reinforced the halberd’s existing attributes. Traits like durability and weight had been pushed to new extremes. Its former Infinite Pressure, which allowed for theoretically limitless mass gain under the support of a domain or World Force, had now solidified into the World Pressure.

Of course, even with terms like "infinite" thrown around, the halberd’s actual weight still had a limit. Otherwise, if it could truly increase without end, it would’ve already become a black hole.

Xuanwu, still in disbelief, exclaimed, "Chen Chu, you actually fused that battle axe into your halberd!?"

Chen Chu returned from his thoughts and gave a small nod. "Mhmm. I figured there was no point in holding onto that axe. Better to refine it and enhance my weapon."

"You're a damn monster." All three heavenly kings couldn't help but voice their awe.

Chen Chu’s figure flickered and instantly appeared before the crowd, standing tall with his halberd in hand. His long black hair billowed without wind, and his handsome features were peerlessly divine, like a true god summoned from the depths of antiquity. "Bordea, Anstira, everyone, greetings."

"The Divine Might King is too polite." After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Bordea explained their evacuation plan to Chen Chu in simple terms.

They had chosen to abandon over ten million elite troops, more than thirty old and frail mythical-level powerhouses, nine chief gods, and even two late-stage and peak divine kings who had no intention of leaving.

Even Chen Chu was shaken by the Heavenly Feathered Race’s decisiveness. Looking toward Anstira, he solemnly asked, "Won’t this deal a massive blow to your race’s vitality? To abandon so many of your people at once, aren’t you afraid others will voice dissent?"

He glanced toward the millions of elite warriors in the distance. If today’s leadership could abandon ten million for the sake of retreat, what was to stop them from doing the same tomorrow in the face of some other threat?

Under normal circumstances, such an approach would shatter morale. The race could fracture from within. Even if the Heavenly Feathered Race managed to gain a foothold among the human race, their remaining combat strength could still plummet, with defectors emerging in droves.

The human race’s current unity stemmed from the cohesion of the entire Federation. Whether kings or ordinary transcendent soldiers, everyone placed equal value on their people. As a result, not just Chen Chu, but even Zhenwu and the others harbored similar concerns.

"Please be at ease. What you fear will not happen to us,” Anstira explained gently. "Our people are one with the Mother Tree. Every time a member breaks through to the seventh tier, ninth tier, mythical, or even chief god level, they return to the Mother Tree. Each time we temporarily merge with it, the life imprint we leave behind is optimized. If one day we fall or perish, the Mother Tree can regenerate a new body based on that life imprint and the original foundation. To us, death is but a cycle. As long as the Mother Tree exists, we have hope of rebirth."

Gasp!

This time, not just Chen Chu, but even Zhenwu and Xuanwu were visibly stunned. That golden divine tree truly lived up to being a true spirit-level entity; its capabilities were insane. It was practically an infinite save point.

However, just as the shock registered on Chen Chu’s face, he quickly realized something. "No, if the Eternal Divine Tree is truly that powerful, how did the Heavenly Feathered Race still lose to the Purgatory Empire?"

"It’s not that simple." Anstira wryly smiled. "This kind of resurrection comes at a tremendous cost. It consumes a staggering amount of life energy, and the resurrected individual retains only basic foundational data. Their former cultivation, techniques, and memories are completely gone. Calling it ‘resurrection’ is misleading; it’s essentially a different person altogether. Only chief gods are able to retain a portion of their cultivation and memory. The stronger one is, the more they preserve. For instance, if I were to die, I’d likely be reborn at the beginning stage of the mythical level.

"As such, the Mother Tree prioritizes nurturing those above the mythical level. Even so, over the course of centuries, it has only managed to regenerate a little over twenty mythical powerhouses and two chief gods. As for the ordinary members, their life imprints remain in a frozen state. Only when external threats are gone and life energy becomes abundant will they have hope of rebirth."

So that was how it worked. Chen Chu and the others nodded slowly, letting out a faint sigh of relief, though there was still a lingering sense of regret.

The Eternal Divine Tree’s resurrection ability was nothing short of absurd, like a save file system in a game. After breaking through in cultivation, one could update their life imprints. Upon death, they could be reborn based on it. However, the cost of that rebirth was immense. Without their former strength or memories, the so-called "resurrected" being was essentially an entirely different person.

Even so, this function was immeasurably important to a civilization. It was akin to continually optimizing the race’s genetic archive, enhancing the species as a whole. If humanity possessed such an ability with their talent and rate of advancement, perhaps one day every human could awaken "god-level" talent and become a race of gods.

Gasp!

The thought sent a chill through Chen Chu and Zhenwu, and they exchanged a solemn glance. That Eternal Sapling growing in human territory had to be protected at all costs. It could be humanity’s key to rising swiftly within the mythical world. After resolving the crisis posed by the Purgatory Demon Clan, they would need to find an opportunity to study and explore it further.