Chapter 622 - I’ll Redeem Them With Goodwill

"Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist, Flight of Steel."

Chieu!

Crisp birdsong floated across the battlefield.

Platinum Qi surged wildly from Cassius's shoulder blades and merged with his arms as though countless steel barbed feathers were stacking atop one another. His arms quivered and sliced the air with ease. His broad and imposing frame was quickly shrouded in a mantle of white steam. Faint outlines gathered into the shape of a waterbird beating its wings.

Boom! Whoosh!

A white meteor tore forward, gleaming with golden light.

Whoosh!

When it accelerated a second time, the bird vanished without a trace.

But on the other side, five figures hurtled through the air, each trailing terrifying explosive power. The air was replaced by twisted auras and sinister arcane force that sprouted and crawled like vines.

The Qi around the three deputy chiefs of the Gate Organization blazed like fire, and their vicious eyes were sharp enough to cut. Nearby, the river of faces forged from the Blood of Immortality surged toward the Moon God statue.

Boom...

Thunderous explosions rang without pause while violent shockwaves rippled outward from the clash. The Moon God statue, which was several stories tall, suffered an onslaught unlike any before. The halos of moonlight circling it were smashed one after another. It could not even see its foe at all. It could only feel the faint chirp of a waterbird and the barrage of silver force slamming into it.

All ten of its arms, entwined with moonlight, swung out recklessly. Dense silver arcs laced the air, sweeping across everything nearby. It looked overwhelming, yet seemed to accomplish little.

Crack!

The statue's arms began to splinter piece by piece. Within moments, half its limbs had shattered. In another blink of an eye, only a single pair of arms remained.

Whoosh!

A white blur flickered and reappeared directly behind the statue. The stone chips from the statue fell from Cassius's hands like sand. He stared at the sphere of moonlight above the statue's head with an expression devoid of joy or sorrow.

That sphere was the very core of the Moon God statue. The Ultimate Dark Form, Moon God, had been slain millennia ago in the World of Calamity by White Bird Holy Fist. Its remaining flesh had drifted into the surface world, where it had been enshrined by the Eclipse Society within statues. It then absorbed energy while awaiting resurrection.

The statue before him clearly housed a vast amount of Moon God flesh. Should Cassius shatter and absorb it, its resurrection plan would collapse entirely, erasing centuries of preparation.

"Since you are already dead, stay quietly in hell where you belong. When the power of the dead stirs in the realm of the living, it risks a second death. That second death is absolute and there is no return..."

Cassius did not fear the Ultimate Dark Form, Moon God. On the contrary, he meant to be the architect of its final demise. The fused Moon God statue would surely be destroyed during this Black Rain Manor operation, and many Eclipse Society elites slaughtered. Thus, the Eclipse Society's remaining influence in the surface world would plunge to rock bottom. The rising Golem Sect would sweep them all into the grave.

Chieu!

A white streak shot forth straight at the statue. Cassius bore no murderous intent. In fact, his expression was almost saintly. What he aimed to do was not slaughter, but purification. Wasn't removing the evil and preserving the good a sacred act?

Bang! Rumble!

But the bat-shaped blood-river and the Gate Organization deputy leaders converged at last on his flanks. Indeed, they had no choice but to join forces.

That first clash had proved that no single faction could handle the Golem Sect's master, even while most of his strength was tied up by the Black Rain Manor. Under the present circumstances, only a three-way alliance at full strength could restrain him and create a tenuous balance.

If one side fell early, the remaining two would meet the worst possible fate. Therefore, the Moon God statue could not be crushed in a single exchange. It had to hold out!

On the left, a river of viscous blood morphed into a monstrous face with a gaping maw.

"Eternal Maw!!!"

The mouth split crazily on all sides, becoming a bottomless crimson abyss. The scarlet abyss lunged forward, intent on devouring Cassius whole. Terrifying suction descended as blood-red tendrils of energy thrashed around like tentacles.

This was the dreaded ability possessed only by Yumila, the Ultimate Dark Form, ranked alongside the Secret Fog Blood Codex as a supreme Blood Race. Eternal Maw carried a lethal devouring trait capable of draining blood and energy from any living being.

On the right, the three Gate Organization deputy leaders rushed in, each unleashing his famed finishing move. They were, across different eras of the surface world, peerless figures who had long dominated their crafts. Thus, their very first eruption delivered assaults of terrifying caliber. Three extreme combat artist's killing moves roared across the sky.

Meanwhile, the fused Moon God statue refused to await doom despite only having two remaining arms. The orb above its head instantly erupted with a tidal surge of moonlight. Concentrated spheres of moonlight hovered and orbited like speeding stars. It gestured sharply and they all hurtled toward the oncoming Cassius.

Chieu!

The white avian figure cried out majestically, rending everything apart. Cassius, wrapped in raging white steam, threw a left hook. The ultimate technique of the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist descended and ruthlessly shattered the deputy leader's killing moves, smashing them head-on.

Whoosh!

His other arm spread like a wing, carving a profound, sacred arc through the air. That arc struck the Eternal Maw, cleaving it perfectly in two. The bat-face was but a mass of the Blood of Immortality, not Yumila's true body. Hence, Eternal Maw was not at its full might. Thus, it crumbled when confronted by Flight of Steel of the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist.

Bang! Bang!

Four figures were blasted away on both flanks, delaying Cassius for barely a heartbeat. But it was enough time for the orbs of lunar energy to land.

Boom...

A chain of horrific detonations erupted. Warped moonlight branched like lightning, turning the area into a plasma pit of no-man's land. Blades of radiance sliced the ground finely.

Whoosh!

Yet a white blur burst straight forward from within that barrage with its arms spread, layered with unscathed steel wings. Just as Cassius had said, the dark creatures could not even hurt him. Since Cassius was unharmed, the statue would now pay a heavy price! What final defense could it muster? It was a dead man's struggle.

A phantom waterbird suddenly accelerated at an inconceivable speed. The towering statue raised its last two arms, but the fine jade palms shattered as they moved through the air. Then, the forearms, elbows, and upper arms burst into a storm of fragments. They were all ground to powder by the merciless bird.

Boom!

The bird pierced straight through, gouging a huge cavity in the statue's chest. It instantly looped back, unleashing innumerable overlapping impacts. The multi-storey statue collapsed on the spot as its skirt peeled away, crumbling into sand. Nearly a hundred holes had demolished its structure.

Buzzz!

The hovering moonlight sphere vibrated violently, and a phantom of the Moon God statue made purely of energy seemed ready to form around it. The bird phantom flashed past again with a chirp. The Moon God energy phantom instantly crumbled halfway through its birth.

A hand wrapped in white currents pressed down on the sphere. An expressionless Cassius activated his Golem Covert Martial Arts, quelling the sphere's resistance.

"Not even a mouthful, but it'll plug the gap in my teeth ..."

He sensed the Moon God's lingering mad Will writhing in his palm, exuding a dreadful taint. But what fear did Cassius have? His was a Dominator Fist! Would he fear a dead Ultimate Dark Form? If it's dead, let it stay dead!

Crunch.

Five fingers squeezed and crushed the sphere. Chunks of black substance fell, squirming like rotted flesh. However, they soon lost all life and lay still.

The array near the Baptism Chapel glimmered and abruptly absorbed an unknown material. Not far away, in all four directions around them, the Eclipse Society, Gate Organization, Totem Temple, and direct bloodline Blood Race all had their powers siphoned continuously into the surrounding array.

Their blood streaked the ground in various colours as energy was stolen from them. At first glance, it resembled a grisly sacrificial ritual. Strange and terrifying petals blossoms unfolded in layers. But each bloom’s center was the Baptism Chapel. A gigantic cloud hand reached high toward the sky, striving to drag Black Rain Manor down.

Cassius turned slowly, not a flicker of pity on his face. "The dead has died once more. Next, it's your turn..."

He believed he should purify the remaining two evil forces. An entire federal age had passed, and the Gate Organization's necro-revival techniques had advanced. Its two former deputy leaders looked little different from the living.

Strictly speaking, they were dead in Cassius's eyes and deserved a second, final death. Cassius would help them with the purification. He had gradually grasped one core element of the Holy Fist: purification!

A saint must walk the path of purification and prove everything through deeds. All that is unholy should be destroyed, and every sinful thing erased! In truth, Cassius was not killing them. He was redeeming them! All of this was with a heart brimming with goodwill.

In that moment, Cassius felt a stirring within. Having gained insight, he had to forge it in practice while the iron was hot.

He whipped around and saw the Eternal Maw charging again. The river of blood shattered by Flight of Steel had re-formed with the True Progenitor of Blood's Will. Without hesitation, it launched a second frenzied assault.

But at that moment...

Bang!

A fist wreathed in white smashed it apart. Moreover, Cassius did not give the river of blood another chance to form. He held it down with one hand, unleashing the terrifying Thorn Feather Force in overlapping waves. Its steel-like surface reflected light, like a flowing tide of holy radiance.

Everywhere it passed, blood was purified.

"Just like that, I'll redeem them with my goodwill. Two are not enough. I still need more..."

Cassius glanced at the three Gate Organization men retreating in the distance while purifying the Blood of Immortality. He was now so strong that, even without his Dominator Fist energy, no collaboration of the surface world's top powers could touch him. Only an Ultimate Dark Form from the World of Calamity could pose a real threat.

Of course, there was also Xiadu... What state was it in now?

What grievous wound had the all-consuming White Bird Holy Fist dealt Xiadu during the Hongli Empire's fall? And how much of Xiadu's goal had been fulfilled? Perhaps those three men could provide some answers...

Whoosh!

Cassius vanished on the spot.

Three figures were fleeing at top speed within Black Rain Manor.

"When did a Dominator Fist arise in the surface world?! Utterly damnable!"

"He's not even using normal Holy Fist level strength! Most of his energy is tied to the manor, yet he can still crush us combined..."

"Our only course is retreat. Only when the Chief awakens might we..."

Bang!

Their words cut off when the black-robed figures to left and right were blasted away like torn sacks. They crashed through several buildings as a figure wreathed in white currents descended from the sky.

One foot stamped onto Holy Fist Evil Heart's shoulder, driving him hard into the ground. Dust billowed, and three concentric shockwaves boomed outward. Only one figure remained standing, wrapped in a holy aura.

Cassius lowered his head and placed a broad hand on the bloodied Holy Fist Evil Heart's skull. "Use your last resort. Call out Xiadu. It may be your only way to live. Do not think that seizing another's body with Qi will let you dodge my judgment... After sin is purified, only ash remains."