Chapter 591 - Blood Vulture King and Xiadu's Appearance

As the end of the time-travel drew nearer, Cassius grew bolder and bolder, especially now that he was backed by the safety of the legendary antiques with lingering attachment. He would perform wild feats that ordinary people could not fathom. He traded grievous wounds to prevent the Seranar King from fleeing back to the World of Calamity.

This bargain was not worth it to other Holy Fists. But to Cassius, it was worth every bit!

Screech!

A sky-piercing cry of a raptor burst and rippled across the heavens. Crimson light swelled violently as the Dominator Fist Qi blasted outward. The hardened Qi, dense as a solid, flooded the surrounding space like resin.

The Seranar King erupted savagely and shot backward; normally he would streak several kilometers like a meteor in the blink of an eye. Yet he barely went a hundred meters within this crimson Qi field before his burst of speed was spent. When a combat artist broke through to the Holy Fist realm, his once-iconic aura naturally rose to unprecedented heights.

Had the being before Cassius's Qi field been an ordinary dark creature or a common combat artist instead of the Ultimate Dark Form Seranar King, they would have been frozen in time, embedded within the Dominator Fist aura. They would be unable to shift or move, like an insect sealed in amber.

Boom!!!

The Seranar King tried to erupt again within the terrifying crimson aura. Yet that frightful scythe strike he had delivered had drained too much of his energy, leaving him unable to muster enough strength.

The Seranar energy on his body flared and burned like flames, searing only about a hundred meters around him. It was just a hair short of breaking through Cassius's Dominator Fist Qi field. That tiny shortfall was fatal... because Deep Ice Ultimate Fist had finally arrived!

Crack, crack...

The temperature of the sky and ground over Saint Lun Mountain, along with forests and clearings dozens of kilometers around, all plunged in an instant. Crystalline snowflakes whistled down, striking the earth now sheathed in white frost. Within a few blinks of an eye, the temperature had fallen below freezing.

Whoosh!

A black-blue figure pounded across the ground at a wild sprint. He neither flashed through the air nor glided; he simply ran on solid earth, silently gathering force that pulsed obscurely through the ground.

Thud, thud, thud, crack!

The blue-black runner kept the same rhythm, yet his speed grew ever faster. A haze of Qi wrapped tightly around him, forming a wavering afterimage. It resembled a towering iceberg refracting sunlight.

Thoom, thoom, thoom, swish!

After taking three more steps, Deep Ice Ultimate Fist shot sideways, his eyes and aura locked onto the Seranar King... and unleashed a punch!

A frigid iceberg of the Arctic Ocean slid sideways, falling straight ahead.

Cassius's face turned solemn and domineering; two crimson beams shot from his pupils. "And me as well!"

Though he was gravely wounded, he seemed unfazed as he dove straight ahead. A massive crimson vortex of Qi swallowed his figure whole. But what thundered out of the vortex's far side was no longer human but a Blood Vulture engulfed in terrifying flames.

Its densely packed feathers quivered, rippling like the afterimages of Hundred Palms Thousand Hands. Its wings sliced the air in high-speed glide, trailing two red waterfalls of Qi. Ten razor talons wrapped in Qi clawed downward.

Its beak glinted with the very Blood Vulture's Beak Cassius had wielded with the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist before attaining the Dominator Fist realm. It was crimson all over, the tip glowing red as though about to drip blood.

Upright scales tanged with feathers upon the Blood Vulture's crown. Wild Qi danced, forming a blazing red crown that radiated an inexplicable domineering will. Cassius's eyes merged with the vulture's scarlet pupils as their two forms fused as one and howled toward the Seranar King.

"Blood Vulture King!!! Thinking of killing me? Dream on!

Aaaargh!

" A horrifying roar blanketed the entire buffer zone. The resonant shockwaves made skulls quake, infecting minds with that will.

The Seranar King would never resign himself to death and had never imagined dying. He was an undead Ultimate Dark Form, the very source of Seranar energy and the origin of the Evil Eye clan!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"I will not die!" The Seranar King thrust his right arm and seized the crimson solitary eye floating beneath his cloak.

After a brief hesitation he crushed it completely, unleashing a terrifying power.

Boom, boom!

The swelling phantom of dreadful red light, the gliding Blood Vulture King, and the soaring iceberg, these three forces crushed everything in their path and finally slammed head-on!

Thud!

***

In the Hongli Empire, near Florence, in Farr County.

This was the second weak point brought about by the calamity tide. Layer upon layer of black mud spread from the inter-world passage and completely displaced a lake in the surface world. The mud, reeking of intense evil and doom, advanced over the land, devouring hills and forest alike. Worryingly, the buffer zone between the surface world and the World of Calamity expanded bit by bit wherever the mud flowed.

Thus, though the weak point lacked the overwhelming spectacle of East Sea City's, it proved equally aggressive. In a short time, dozens of towns in Farr County were swallowed whole.

A long figure stood silently atop a gully ringed by hills on the edge of the buffer zone, his aura extraordinarily grave. He had fiery red hair, wore a long trench coat, and bore a gold ring on his hand. His thumb kept rubbing the ring's intricate uneven carvings.

This was a habitual gesture of the Chief Mechanist whenever faced with a thorny issue or uneasy foreboding. If he were merely pondering routine matters he would spin the ring once, not rub it incessantly.

"Exactly as the Golem Sect's master foretold, an unprecedented upheaval has arrived," said a figure in a black suit who appeared beside the Chief Mechanist. It was Deleshart, President of the Hunters' Association. Formerly a Radiant Hunter, he was now the Number One Shadow Hunter.

"Unprecedented upheaval, unprecedented disaster..." The Chief Mechanist shook his head. It was a situation utterly beyond his control. He could vaguely feel the terrifying tremors radiating from that distant weak point, and they were enough to chill the heart. Even though he was one of the world's rare extreme combat artists...

"There are actually three such places across the continent! But I have no confidence at all in resolving or even in resisting just this one in front of us successfully..." The Chief Mechanist muttered to himself.

Deleshart instead tried to encourage his superior, hoping to restore some confidence. The Chief Mechanist only shook his head and fell silent. Some matters were far less simple than imagined. The higher one's status and strength, the clearer one understood the sheer dread and disparity of the situation.

Those of lesser insight and power would remain lost in the fog. They bore a rather pitiable confidence, such as Deleshart next to him. He still framed the crisis as something the Dark Hunter Organization could solve with full effort, albeit with extreme difficulty.

However, reality far outstripped Deleshart's imagination. Relying on just the Dark Hunter Organization—no, on just Florence itself, could very well mean total annihilation within days.

"Golem Sect, the Covert Martial Arts community, Black Rain Manor, Cassius..."

A list of great powers flashed through the Chief Mechanist's mind until he could only see Cassius's face. A flicker of hope ignited within him, only to die out soon after. This calamity descent was not just one weak point; there were two more!

As a top figure, the Chief Mechanist had sensed three explosive surges the moment the calamity tide arrived. Without doubt, those were three passages. The invasion did not just affect Florence but other regions of the Hongli Empire as well.

The Golem Sect and the others had to handle the dangers near their own territories. They could not send all their forces north in support. Frankly, judging by the terrors of this weak point, those other major powers were likely hard-pressed to save themselves. Who would aid whom was still uncertain. Therefore, the Dark Hunter Organization would have to shoulder this alone.

Of course, the royal family and council would go all out as well. Though even together, they would be but a cup of water on a burning cart.

Life was hard...

The Chief Mechanist rubbed his ring, his gaze dark and deep. Time slipped by until the sky brightened, and the sun appeared, overshadowing the moon. It was a rare day that had both the sun and moon in the sky at the same time. The sun was unusually dim, while the moon glowed a strikingly conspicuous pale red.

Vast, uncanny waves imperceptible to ordinary folk rippled through every corner of the surface world. Dark creatures were rioting across the land. They no longer hid in wastelands or mingled among crowds. Instead, they revealed themselves in broad daylight, attacking humans like vicious beasts. Their bizarre appearances and dreadful abilities spread panic. Yet the two years or so of spreading Covert Martial Arts were bearing fruit.

Many Covert Martial Arts enthusiasts who had trained the simplified techniques of the Six Southern Dipper arts and the Golem Heart Codex stepped forward. They did not fear the hideous dark creatures. On the contrary, they displayed a fervent, bizarre passion. No one knew whether practice had affected their minds or if weak wills, enslaved by fist techniques, had twisted their outlook. But in any case, they stood up to fight!

Killing and fighting raged everywhere throughout the continent. Dark creatures' claws and fangs met Covert Martial Arts Practitioners' fists and sinew. Each side had their reasons and would not retreat an inch! Battle fervor was at an all time high, and nearly bordering on madness, as though life and death had to be decided by the next day. The entire Hongli Empire was in flames!

On the afternoon of July 1, the calamity's black mud from this weak point had reached the imperial capital Florence. Bubbles bulged and writhed inside the mud. They were embryos of grotesque dark creatures that were about to hatch. They bore an intense urge to kill and conquer the moment they broke free. They seemed like battle murder machines programmed with a default setting.

Invade! Conquer! Feed! Slaughter!

From atop Florence's lofty city wall, one could see that black-mud embryos dotted the land. Vast hordes of dark creatures perched, flew, and ran, packed together like an army of ants. Their true number was impossible to discern.

Had the buffer zone not remained, they would have swarmed forward and encircled Florence long ago. Even now, the buffer zone seemed to blur and fade. It wouldn't be long before a bloody battle erupted.

Atop the walls, the Chief Mechanist clenched his fists and kept silent. Beside him, a Dark Hunter raced up. "Sir, we have spotted traces of the Gate Organization to the southeast!"

The Chief Mechanist’s head snapped to the side. "The Gate Organization?!"

Misfortunes never happened one at a time. The worst case had arrived.

Swoosh...

Suddenly, a large group of black-clad figures moved swiftly toward them from the southwest. Their strides were steady and forceful, their bodies emanating a savage, formidable aura. They were clearly elite warriors.

"Those are—!"

Ten minutes later, the Chief Mechanist breathed a long sigh of relief. Though hardly free of crisis, he felt immeasurably eased. The elites of Black Rain Manor, the Empire's Covert Martial Arts community, and Golem Sect had truly come!

All forces had arrived to reinforce Florence! It was an immense surprise to receive aid in the hour of bitter need. Furthermore, beyond that, there was another stunning piece of news!

Golem Sect's master Cassius had, just a day ago, broken through to the legendary Holy Fist realm! That was an ultimate existence mightier than an extreme combat artist! Having one of their own elite fighters scale a higher peak before the great war was like injecting a shot of pure courage into everyone!

"Cassius, may you resolve this crisis... please..." The Chief Mechanist prayed silently in his heart.

Elsewhere within the black-mud buffer, at the second weak point, the Gate Organization's squad plunged straight in, unaffected. Several former deputy leaders led the way, using special tactics to move every dark creature blocking them and reach the inter-world passage. They had brought an entire ancient altar and three Arcane Stone Tablets. The ritual began once more!

This time, it was no mere positioning. It was a summoning to call forth the Gate Organization's eternal undying leader, Xiadu!

And to open the Gate!

***

On Saint Lun Mountain, a terrifying battle at last drew to its close.

The Ultimate Dark Form's vitality was too strong. In some sense, it was truly immortal. Even with two Holy Fist-level beings, it took nearly a full day to drain him to the dregs.

In truth, Cassius and Deep Ice Ultimate Fist had already dealt the Seranar King a grave wound when they burst forth together during that midnight clash. It was a wound that struck his Will and origin directly, beyond any healing. The Seranar King's resolve had begun to crumble from that moment, forcing his strength to unravel.

Yet it took another entire day before the two Holy Fists could slay him. Such was the obstinacy of an Ultimate Dark Form. Though in the end, the Ultimate Dark Form, Seranar King, fell upon Saint Lun Mountain!

And the badly wounded Cassius began to partake of the feast that was rightfully his...