Shangguan Feihua’s wounds are slowly healing.
He looks up at the giant figure soaring from afar, his brows slightly furrowed.
"What is that thing?"
The surrounding people also raised their vigilance, for a deadly battle had just erupted here, and the tricks of the Spirit Flying Church were plentiful. If an enemy appears again, it would not be surprising if it can fly.
"No, it’s the aura of the Alliance Leader!" A Spirit General from the Zhenyi Sect beside him said in a deep voice.
Shangguan Feihua naturally recognized Yue Dewen’s aura, but... the monster holding Yue Dewen and the other two Sect Leaders... had such large wings behind it.
It instilled a thread of tension within him.
A creature capable of defeating these three was definitely not something they could handle.
Moreover, while he’d seen the ultimate techniques of Grandmasters, he’d never seen one who could fly.
At most, they could jump high and run fast. None could truly fly.
No!
Suddenly, his gaze narrowed, thinking that the monster’s face seemed somewhat familiar.
With the flapping of wings.
Zhang Rongfang quickly flew close, gently setting the three down.
"This is as far as I go," he said in a deep voice. "Master, it’s up to you now."
"What do you mean? Aren’t you staying with me?" Yue Dewen stood firm and looked back, only to see a flash of blood, and Zhang Rongfang’s figure had already disappeared.
In his heavily injured state, there was truly no way he could fully keep up with that speed.
Alarmed, Yue Dewen quickly surveyed the surroundings to search for Zhang Rongfang’s whereabouts.
But there were no traces.
At this moment, Cosimo and Daoist Qingyi slowly came to, with a gray mist rising from them.
The mist flew from their mouths and noses, quickly dissipating into the air.
"Alliance Leader!" Shangguan Feihua and others approached and clasped their fists.
Yue Dewen had no choice but to suppress his thoughts of finding his disciple, turning back to the demeanor of the Alliance Leader, exchanging situations with a few other people.
In the distance, at the top of a tall stone pillar, near the edge of a ruined Dao Palace, Zhang Rongfang gently folded his wings, watching Yue Dewen and a group of people rally, heading towards Lingxiao Hall to rescue Jin Yuyan.
After a pause, the group quickly moved away.
He never appeared again from start to finish.
Watching Yue Shi’s departing figure, Zhang Rongfang’s expression gradually returned to coldness.
The mountain wind howled at the high altitude, blowing his long hair into a flutter.
’Why didn’t you act together with your Master?’ White Scale asked in confusion.
’Why should I act together with him?’ Zhang Rongfang echoed. ’I came to save him because I only want to save him. It doesn’t mean I stand with the Great Alliance.’
’So you’re saying you only care about your Master, and not the others?’ White Scale interpreted.
’You’re right.’ Zhang Rongfang’s expression lost the ease and naturalness he had when conversing with Yue Dewen, and was now more profound and calm.
’Besides being my Master, he is the Alliance Leader of the Great Alliance. Behind him stand the Great Dao Teaching, Zhenyi Sect, Black Ten Sect, Celestial Lock Teaching, and many other sects.
Essentially, he’s still the representative of the gods and deities.’
There was much left unsaid.
Since he developed the Human Immortal Martial Dao, gaining the ability to corrode and counteract the Spiritual Line with his bloodline, he was destined not to blend with the gods and deities.
’You are truly hypocritical.’ White Scale sighed.
’I’m never hypocritical,’ Zhang Rongfang responded. ’Before, it was me. It’s just the other side of my nature.’
’So what do you plan to do next? Go to the Great Capital on your own?’ asked White Scale.
’This was a war of gods. I wasn’t meant to be involved,’ Zhang Rongfang sighed, looking towards the ground where he could sense the blood left in the battleground cave slowly evaporating, fading away.
’I do plan to visit the Great Capital alone,’ he replied. ’This convergence of heaven and earth’s great change, even if I don’t want to get involved, I ultimately can’t escape it.’
’Yet you don’t want to join one of those deity factions?’ White Scale questioned.
Zhang Rongfang ceased answering, simply gazing quietly in the direction of Yue Shi’s departure.
His wings suddenly flared open, leaping forward, flying far away.
*
*
*
Snow Rainbow Pavilion.
Deep within the dark snow mountains, amidst the night, a dim blue light gently moved within the grand, majestic architecture of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion.
If one were to approach this blue light, they would discover that the light originated from the tall staff held by an elder dressed in a blue and gold robe.
The elder’s face was calm, ascending step by step on the black metal staircase, entering the deepest part of the Earth Mother Divine Hall within Snow Rainbow Pavilion.
Along the long corridor of the divine hall, were countless Earth Mother stone sculptures of various forms.
He weaved through the statues, each over ten meters tall, soon arriving at the center’s small clearing.
Clap.
The staff in the elder’s hand landed on the ground with a crisp sound.
"I conduct a sacred patrol, overseeing all things in the world by heaven’s mandate, whether birth, decline, upheaval, chaos—all ordained by heaven."
Raising his head, his eyes began to emit a piercing blue light.
Hiss!
Instantly, the blue light shot forth, transforming into two straight beams, illuminating the surface of one of the Earth Mother statues.
Cracking sounds immediately erupted.
The Earth Mother statue over ten meters tall began to tremble violently, its surface fracturing.
Snowflake-like fragments fell from its body. The form also began to rapidly shrink.
Before long.
The entire statue had completely cracked open, revealing a mass of black Spiritual Line at its center.
This black Spiritual Line began to quickly deform and reshape under the blue light.
In less than half a minute.
A graceful and perfect female body was fully formed.
"Sacred Dance, welcome back," said the Holy Patrol with calm eyes.
"My lord, Sacred Dance has failed!" The just-awakened Sacred Dance flashed with blue light and donned a blue-gold robe.
She immediately lowered her head to the Holy Patrol, kneeling on one knee.
In theory, the three of them were of equal rank, but this time, she truly did poorly. To be utterly defeated and killed by mortals was an unspeakable humiliation for her!
"It’s okay, your task was successful," replied the Holy Patrol. "So that’s fine."
"My lord, the next two phases..." Sacred Dance spoke, wanting to ask.
"The Divine Shepherd has completed the second phase. Here, we have the final third phase," said the Holy Patrol calmly. "One hundred and eight arrays have successfully stacked, and now, we only need sufficient sacrificial offerings."
"The stage is set, just awaiting the actors to take the stage?" Sacred Dance understood.
"Yes. You should go and assist the Divine Shepherd. This time, don’t die again," the Holy Patrol admonished.
"There won’t be a second time!" Sacred Dance declared resolutely. "By the way, my lord, the person who killed me is that sixth on the Red List, Qiankun Daoist Zhang Rongfang. How do you intend to deal with him? Do you want to make him into a Spirit Guard puppet as before, or simply kill him?"
"Possible. The physical strength of Qiankun’s child is quite good. If not for his spiritual weakness, he could indeed be considered a second Yue Dewen. Using him to make a puppet should produce a top-tier strongman," the Holy Patrol agreed, nodding.
To beings like them, a strong body is merely a vessel, as long as the spirit survives, resurrection is infinite.
Thus, when Sacred Dance was killed, he was only slightly surprised, with no further reaction.
During the previous two convergences of heaven and earth, the three of them had also been killed. So this was just routine.
As long as he, the Holy Patrol, remains alive, the other two can be resurrected countless times.
This does not depend on the ability of the Spirit General to sacrifice believers to resurrect,
but purely on the trinity, centered on his Holy Patrol, enabling infinite resurrection.
Sacred Dance is the body among them. The Divine Shepherd is the breath among them.
And he himself is the true core spirit.
Thinking of Zhang Rongfang, the Holy Patrol couldn’t help but recall that past figure.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Go," he said in a low voice.
Sacred Dance stood up, bowed slightly to him, turned, and transformed into a blue shadow, disappearing outside the Earth Mother Divine Hall.
Leaving the Holy Patrol alone, standing in the central area, leaning on his staff, quietly contemplating.
Time slowly passed.
Suddenly, he lifted his head, his eyes shining with blue light, looking towards a distant direction.
"It’s started...."
His hand suddenly grasped the staff.
The blue light at the staff’s tip suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the entire vast Earth Mother Divine Hall.
The ground began to tremble, emitting the clatter of mechanical gears turning.
Rows of blue runes slowly emerged beneath the Holy Patrol’s feet.
All the blue runes formed four massive concentric circles. They also divided the central open space into three large circular bands.
From the outside in.
The first circle unleashed a massive number of countless silver Spiritual Lines.
The second circle released red Spiritual Lines.
The third circle unleashed black Spiritual Lines.
While at the very center where the Holy Patrol stood, a point of brilliant blue light continuously radiated outward.
Such bands represent the entire construct of forming a truly Divine Body.
"The gods grant their skin to the mortal world, their flesh to their servants, their bones to their subordinates. Only leaving their essence, sitting high above the sky, beneath the earth...."
The Holy Patrol softly recited the hymn of Spirit Flying Heaven, yet his gaze lingered towards the direction of the Great Capital.
*
*
*
"Kill!!"
Amid the torrent-like cries of combat and neighing of horses.
The Great Spirit Legion, clad in black and white armor, charged fiercely like a torrent towards the equally black-armored Hollow Legion ahead.
Flocks of vultures circled high above, watching below, waiting to dive down and feast on the corpses once the skirmish calmed.
From above, one could see tens of thousands of the Great Spirit Legion crashing into the gray-black Spirit Guard Army clad in full-body black heavy armor, with nothing inside but a hollow cavity.
Both armies numbered in the tens of thousands.
The great army far outnumbered the black Spirit Guard Army, and the black-armored among them had white markings on their arms, chests, and backs to distinguish themselves from the Spirit Guard Army.
When the two sides clashed head-on, blood splattered, limbs fell, and shards of broken Spirit Guard armor littered the ground.
But strangely, all the Spirit Guard Army, once cut down and dismembered, would swiftly surge with silver Spiritual Lines, stand up, and restore themselves.
They were essentially undying.
Only a few deities among the army, consuming Spiritual Lines with their Spiritual Lines, could completely annihilate them.