Chapter 597 - End Of The Great War

In the real world, the ground was laced with countless cracks. Cassius knelt on one knee under the black mud giant's arm. The flesh of both his forearms had split, exposing gleaming white bone. His spine slowly bowed, yet his indomitable Will only rose higher.

Cassius's face looked both divine and demonic as his eyes stayed locked onto Xiadu, who was opening the gate. He normally disliked staking everything on a single punch, but with the time-travel about to end, one desperate gamble no longer mattered!

Power, power—goddamn it, come out for me!!!

Swish, swish, swish...

Three different expressions flashed across his upturned face, each signifying one of his personas. At that moment, between Cassius's burning desire, death-defying resolve, and mutually-destructive intent, the three core principles of his Golem Covert Martial Arts began to eerily resonate.

At the same time, one after another, acupoints on his rugged body lit up like brilliant stars. They shone red, white, and violet, as though inlaid with gemstones.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

Mist-like vapor shot out of his acupoints. This clearly meant Cassius had entered an all-out state. He clenched his fists, compressing them. It felt as though he meant to seize both the sky and earth in his palms.

The aged voice of White Bird Holy Fist suddenly sounded beside Cassius's ear. "No matter what you intend next, so be it."

Chieu...

A phantom white bird spread its wings, piercing through the Ultimate Dark Forms besieging White Bird Holy Fist and the barrier of the inter-world passage. It glided away at an unbelievable speed. It did not alight on Cassius but skimmed upstream along the black mud giant's arm.

Crossing tens of thousands of metres, it appeared high amid the clouds. It then gracefully plunged down toward Xiadu's body. Xiadu was at the critical phase of opening the Gate of Heaven, and his strength had waned sharply after repeated exertions. Hence, Xiadu neither tried nor was able to block what did not appear like an attack.

Chieu!

A waterbird's cry spread from within Xiadu's body. The sixty-six stars of the Cygnus constellation seal flared brilliantly. Simultaneously, the scarlet Giant Falcon constellation and the dark-violet Star Python constellation resonated awake, each surging to its limit. Torrents of energy coursed within them.

Three beastly phantoms, firmly shackling his essence, were faintly visible beneath Xiadu's pale-gold skin.

Chieu! Screech! Hiss!

A second later, three colossal creatures burst from the three Southern Dipper seals. They were a red falcon whose wings burned like flame, an elegant yet sinister white waterbird, and a purple python coated in sonic scales.

These were not mere phantoms but the power of three Southern Dipper Holy Fists. They had infused a third of their Qi into them. Now, White Bird Holy Fist's Will drew nearly all of it forth, leaving only a remnant to keep Xiadu's seals intact. The rest roared free, crashing down upon Cassius like an anointing torrent.

Rumble...

Scarlet, white, and violet rivers swept downward and slammed into Cassius. The vast phantoms of the White Bird, Sonic Snake, and Blood Falcon rushed in, pouring endlessly into Cassius. It was an ocean of Qi cultivated by three Southern Dipper Holy Fists since antiquity, entwined with their peak, perfected Southern Dipper Forces. For Cassius, who shared the same lineage, it was an unparalleled empowerment.

His Qi surged, swelled, and erupted. The three core principles harmonised the conflicting forces, letting the boost achieve its utmost potency. On the ground, Cassius shone in three colours, his strength climbing with every heartbeat. His body struggled to contain it as cracks appeared on his skin. After all, the combined Qi and Southern Dipper Force equalled a Southern Dipper Holy Fist at their absolute peak.

Crack, crack, crack, crack...

His bones cracked harshly all at once. Beneath the black mud giant's pressure, Cassius slowly raised his head and straightened. His knees locked upright, and he rose to stand tall.

The black mud giant's dreadful power suddenly faltered. Atop the black mud giant, bathed in ever-thickening platinum holy light, Xiadu cocked his head and looked down on Cassius.

"Oh? A final struggle, is it? No matter. The gate is open, and you are already too late!"

His gaze even pierced through the passage to watch White Bird Holy Fist fighting beyond.

It's useless. Even if you three old relics pour all your strength into one man, it is merely another Southern Dipper Holy Fist. Now, the Gate of Heaven's opening is completely unstoppable. Once my true body emerges, it will sweep away every hindrance! I should thank you for siphoning power from the seals just now. You let me catch my breath and open the Gate of Heaven sooner.

A flurry of emotions flickered through Xiadu's mind. He suddenly raised his right arm in perfect sync with the black mud giant. His hand landed on the gate with a

boom

. At last, his five fingers slipped into the golden-lit fissure.

"Open. Now!!!"

Crack-crack-crack...

Boundless might burst forth at that instant. The glow on the Gate of Heaven rippled violently, unleashing a terrifying surge. Yet Xiadu forced the blast back down.

"Return... return... return... return..."

Layer upon layer of whispers echoed to the heavens as countless voices chanted as one. It was the voices of men and women, young and old, all merged into an eerie chorus. It sounded like a dreadful call from the devil.

Boom!

The Gate of Heaven shuddered and its radiance dimmed swiftly. An arm covered in crystallized, tar-like scales thrust from the gate and clamped onto the panel. Every gap between the scales resembled a demonic well. Boundless calamity, endless misfortune, and final death lurked within them.

Whoosh...

A fearsome black mist streamed from the arm's surface, spreading in all directions. Wherever it passed, the sky dimmed, stars vanished, clouds grew tainted, and the air looked choked with dust.

That was calamity spilling across the world. Moreover, it was merely the passive effect of a third of Xiadu's true body entering reality! Its mere emergence seemed to rewrite the world's rules, driving all to despair. It surpassed the environment-altering abilities of even Holy Fists or Ultimate Dark Forms. It was a deeper, more primal kind of terrifying change.

Clatter...

Now that Xiadu's true body had shown itself, the gate's opening sped up exponentially. The full form of that scaled arm slowly emerged.

The humans battling dark creatures in Florence sensed the shift at the final battlefield and looked from afar.

Those who saw the Gate of Heaven and the gigantic hand upon its frame screamed. They fell, clutching their eyes, as blood seeped from their seven orifices. Those of weaker strength collapsed on the spot and died wordlessly. Others babbled madly, shouting incoherently as though their brains had been shattered.

The Chief Mechanist cast one glance, then bowed his head as pain stabbed through his mind. It was as if a flame had seared his brain. In his mind, Xiadu's true body was blurred, indescribable, twisted, and insane. It could not form a definite outline at all. In truth, any being beneath Holy Fist was unworthy to glimpse Xiadu's true body.

It was endless calamity and endless madness; an existence almost equal to the very root of the world. How could ordinary humans hope to comprehend such a sight?

Now, Xiadu's true body was no longer suppressed by the Origin Sea. Xiadu let out an ear-splitting laugh.

"Finally... finally... Eons of scheming, ages of waiting... Now at last it bears fruit, time to reap it all!

Hahaha...

"

Without hesitation, he turned into a streak of light and rushed toward his true body clinging to the gate. The two overlapped and fused in eerie union.

Crack, crack, crack!

The force resisting the Gate of Heaven grew even more ferocious. In barely half a breath, a third of Xiadu's body had emerged from the gate and pressed forward.

"No cage can confine endless calamity!!!

Hahahaha—

" Xiadu's laugh cut off abruptly. A weird eye suddenly sprouted on his asphalt-scaled arm. The eye snapped around and stared at Cassius on the ground.

The black mud giant's arm crushing Cassius had shattered, as it was sliced by an immensely fearsome edge. That edge had not yet materialised, yet its devastation was already manifested.

From the sky, deep, wide ravines spread like tangled tree roots for five hundred kilometers. The fractures looked as though hewn by blades, its edges impossibly smooth. Soil had vanished bizarrely without a trace.

"That is..." Xiadu's true body felt doubt for the first time.

On the ground, Cassius trembled at high frequency. Even his extraordinarily tough Golem body was riddled with cracks. Gouts of blood sprayed out, yet turned to drifting mist in midair, as though utterly decomposed by some force.

A mysterious, unfathomable energy enveloped Cassius. In his Dantian, three sets of meridians twisted and spun into a spiral. The surging Qi and Force of the three Southern Dipper Holy Fists revolved at high speed and clashed madly inside the spiral. A hazy white light gradually formed.

In the dim darkness where up and down were reversed, a bizarre, ferocious, and brutal glowing weapon floated silently. All of Cassius's attention was drawn to it. It seemed unbelievably beautiful and irresistibly tempting. It was seizing his soul, igniting his desires like wildfire!

A bewitching demonic voice urged him by his ear.

Take it, take it! Grasp it! You must secure it!

He thought someone else had spoken, yet dimly realised the voice was his own. He was the one telling himself to grab that weapon!

"Yes, this is the power I desire, the thing I've longed for! At last it's here. Finally, damn it, it's here!"

Would Cassius hesitate? Impossible!

Swish!

He thrust out a broad hand and seized the glowing weapon.

Boom!

Endless savage thoughts, endless murderous miasma, endless lust for destruction all surged into his mind!

Thorn Sonic Death Armament!

It was an evil weapon, indeed, a demonic weapon. It caused extreme slaughter, frenzied malice, and absolute ruin.

It's... it's damn perfect for me!

Cassius seemed to turn into a being of light. His whole body emitted white radiance. Every inch of skin, every bone, and every muscle was suddenly riddled with honeycomb perforations. A rippling fluid poured out crazily from those holes. It all converged at Cassius's right hand and started to condense!

Zing!!!

A weapon of utmost ferocity and evil suddenly appeared. Cassius's entire right arm was smoking, as though on the verge of disintegration. Blood dripped from his eyes as he glared skyward into the huge eye on Xiadu's arm. A manic smile curled his lips.

"Thorn... Sonic... Death Armament!!!" Cassius pronounced every word through gritted teeth, blood trickling between them as his life and Qi burned.

Zing!!!

His entire right arm became an utterly dazzling streak of light as the malevolent weapon slashed out! It seemed to traverse space, appearing abruptly at the Gate of Heaven. It struck directly at Xiadu's emerging true body.

Ding!

For a moment, time itself seemed frozen as an unbelievable silence fell. Even the holy light of the Gate of Heaven ceased to flow. Only a white arc of light sliced through everything and returned to its origin.

It re-appeared in Cassius's palm, quivering gently.

High in the sky around the gate, Xiadu's asphalt-scaled true body split with a sudden crack, cleaving him cleanly in two. Black mist mushroomed skyward with a squelch.

"No! No!!"

Within the gate, exactly half of Xiadu's body had emerged. After the cut, the half still inside crashed down.

The Origin Sea launched a fierce backlash; white holy light from the gate flared brightly.

Crack...

The gate began to close again.

On the ground, Cassius planted the evil weapon like a staff, his shattered form standing unmoved. Blood spouted from the rifts in his back, drifting far away as mist—like a billowing crimson cloak!