Star Odyssey

Chapter 3950: Rampart

Jue Ling asked in a low voice, “Can Heaven and Earth As One be used again?”

Yu Jing turned to stare at Jue Ling, and she quickly continued, “It’s not that I don’t want to use the Immovable Skyveil Formation, but rather that I have a feeling that things are not as simple as they appear to be. The bugs we are facing are absolutely not their foundational force.”

“There’s no need to explain. I understand,” Yu Jing replied, “However, the enemy has certainly made preparations this time. Using Heaven and Earth As One might not be as easy as before.”

Someone stepped out from behind Jue Ling, and stared out at the stars with a weathered face. “Allow this old woman to help you out.”

Yu Jing looked at the woman in surprise. “Jue Huang?”

The elderly woman’s eyes danced with mirth when she looked over at Yu Jing. “According to seniority, you should refer to me as ‘Ancestor.’ I even held you in my arms when you were a babe. You even swore to me back then that you would one day marry a woman from my Jue family. Have you forgotten that?”

Jue Ling was taken aback. Had that really happened?

Learning that the Yu family wanted to marry into the Jue family was something that would keep some people up at night. It was hard to believe how long Jue Huang had lived.

Yu Jing gave an awkward chuckle. “Please don’t bring up things from my childhood, Senior.”

Jue Huang looked away and again stared off into the distance. “My end is approaching. I don’t have much time left. I’ll help you once before I die. I’ll try to drag that thing out here, but don’t expect a live capture. Just kill it with Heaven and Earth As One. Allow my old body to directly experience the Yu family’s true foundation.”

“Ancestor-”

Jue Ling wanted to say something, but Jue Huang interrupted her. “Protect the Jue family.”

While the Yu and Jue families were rivals, watching Jue Huang leave to die was still very uncomfortable. The Cheng family had recently been wiped out, and with Jue Huang going to her death as well, it felt like the end of an era.

“I’ll go with you, Senior,” another person said as they stepped out from behind Yu Jing.

He turned to the man. “Ye Ge?”

Sure enough Ye Ge, who had once served as the hidden guardian of the Spirit Nidus’s Wisdom Domain, had stepped out. He had not died all those years ago, but had rather returned to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, where he had remained hidden within the Yu family. At this moment, he was stepping forward once more.

No one had expected the man to choose death.

Ye Ge looked at the endless sea of insects. “While I am not near my end, I have long been tormented by old injuries. If I hadn’t remained in cryostasis for so long, I wouldn’t have survived even this long. I’ll fight here, and should I survive...” He turned to face Jue Ling. “I hope that the Jue and Yu families will jointly report this matter to the Greater Sancti and ask for their divine help in healing me. I will put my life on the line for this.”

Jue Ling glanced at Jue Huang, who nodded. “Alright.”

The insects continued to approach. Over 100,000 cultivators and even more otherborn stared intently at the encroaching horde. It was agony to fight against the insects, but they had no other choice.

Behind the insects, still sitting on the stone cube, Shan Lie watched with an amused smile. He was not at all concerned about the insects that had been destroyed during the earlier battle. There were too many Nests present, as the Immortal Lord had decided to wipe out these humans. The Nest civilization had thought that there was only one megaverse of humans, but clearly, there were more.

Still, this swarm of bugs should be enough to keep the humans occupied until the Immortal Lord arrived.

You will be annihilated, humans.

Right as that thought occurred to Shan Lie, his expression abruptly changed. The stone cube spun around without warning, unleashing an enormous amount of power in all directions. Jue Huang stepped out, her Blood Tower Soul legacy skill slashing down from above. “Are you a human or an insect?”

Shan Lie looked up at the falling Blood Tower, but he merely sneered and patted the cube.

Longevity Stele quickly split apart into countless smaller cubes, which moved to envelop Shan Lie. The Blood Tower slammed into the cubes with the ringing of metal, yet it failed to leave even a mark.

Jue Huang’s expression changed dramatically. While her specialization was in Linear Insight, she still possessed impressive destructive power. While she had become a peak Dukkhan through a Seed Transfusion, it should be impossible for her to not even scratch this creature. How are its defenses so strong?

As that thought flashed through her mind, stones dropped from the surface of the cube, instantly reforming into a long whip that lashed at her.

Jue Huang waved a hand, and the Blood Tower sword behind her swept sideways to collide with the whip. Space warped, and ripples shot out in arcs that crushed countless insects.

“Hey, human woman! You deliberately directed the shockwaves of the exchange to my adorable bugs! That's not alright. Beware of retribution,” Shan Lie called out mockingly.

Jue Huang's eyes were ice cold. “Are you truly human?”

Shan Lie laughed playfully. “Defeat me, and I’ll tell you. However, there’s one condition: you can’t kill me, human.”

With that, the stone cube shot towards Jue Huang.

No matter how hard Jue Huang struck the stone, she was unable to damage it. Shan Lie constantly taunted the old woman, never making a move himself.

Yu Jing and Jue Ling anxiously watched from the distance. “The bugs will be on us in less than half a stick of incense’s time. If we can’t force that monstrous cube into Heaven and Earth As One’s range before they arrive, we’ll be done for. Killing masses of bugs will accomplish nothing.”

Jue Ling’s eyes narrowed. “Ancestor won’t let us down.”

Jue Huang attacked relentlessly. But forget about harming the stone cube; she could not even move it. Its defenses and strength were on an entirely different level. Helpless, she could only rely on Linear Insight.

“How can even that be ineffective?” Jue Huang was stunned. Even her Linear Insight had no effect on the cube.

Inside the cube, Shan Lie cackled. “Human, you’re hilarious! You want to attack a rock with something like that? Hahaha! Do you understand that this really is a rock? It may be alive, but it only has instincts. It’s like giving intelligence to a machine. Intelligence doesn’t give rise to emotions.

“It’s like you’re whispering love to a stone and expecting it to respond. Hahahaha!”

Jue Huang’s face fell. Not only was the human bastard refusing to fight, but he also kept verbally mocking her. It was revolting.

She then suddenly dispersed her Blood Tower and shot at the cube with just her body.

Shan Lie grew puzzled. “Seeking death?”

Longevity Stele’s whip fiercely lashed at Jue Huang’s body. When it drew near, she suppressed her urge to defend herself and instead grabbed the whip. “Now!”

Ye Ge abruptly appeared, a powerful aura supporting Jue Huang as he also grabbed hold of the whip. “Throw it!”

Shan Lie sneered and patted the stone cube.

Longevity Stele simply broke apart its whip into smaller cubes, though that still failed to break free from Jue Huang and Ye Ge’s grasp.

Shan Lie grew confused. What are they doing?

The cubes fragmented even further, yet they were still unable to escape.

Jue Huang was highly capable, and she had already realized that, no matter how the cube’s whip was, even when the cubes repeatedly broke apart and grew smaller and smaller, they were never able to actually separate from the main body. They functioned much like an arm stretching out; it could never detach from the body. So long as the two of them maintained a hold on the countless small cubes that formed the whip, they would have control over the entire stone creature.

Jue Huang and Ye Ge worked together to hurl the stone cube towards the sea of insects.

Shan Lie sneered. “Child’s play.”

Finally, he stepped out from the cube’s embrace and pointed down the whip at Jue Huang. “Human, be careful! Don’t hurt my adorable mount.”

Jue Huang did not move, which allowed Shan Lie’s finger attack to pierce her shoulder. She turned around, coughing up blood yet also smiling. “Let’s die together.”

Saying that, they were suddenly surrounded by a Blood Tower. Jue Huang viciously spat out more blood, while outside of the Soul legacy skill, Ye Ge let go of the whip. Instead, he pushed the Blood Tower to the side.

The stone cube had never been the target of their attack. They had always been after Shan Lie.

A powerful creature was certainly a threat, but an intelligent enemy was a far greater threat.

Shan Lie’s expression changed. He immediately tried to break out of the Blood Tower, only to find that it was unimaginably sturdy.

“I don’t know what manner of creature you bugs might be, but this Blood Tower is the power of a Greater Sancte. Unless you’ve broken through to the Immortal realm, you can’t break it,” Jue Huang declared with a bitter laugh. She pushed two fingers forward, attacking Shan Lie with Linear Insight.

He staggered several steps back, the brightness in his eyes dimming. “I truly underestimated you.”

“Even if I die, I’ll take you with me,” Jue Huang stated, coughing up even more blood. She was forcing it out in order to strengthen the Blood Tower, empowering its defenses.

Outside, Ye Ge had succeeded in repelling the stone cube, slamming against the Blood Tower. In the same manner that Jue Huang had been unable to do anything to the stone creature, it was also helpless against the Blood Tower.

The Blood Tower was thrown in the direction of the approaching swarm.

Jue Ling shouted from afar, sorrow filling her voice, “Now!”

Yu Jing exhaled. “Heaven and Earth as One!”

The line of light reappeared, and it shot in front of the cultivators, piercing the opposite side of the battlefield.

This light had once brought hope to all the cultivators. This second time, it allowed them to breathe a bit easier. This would be enough to resolve everything yet again.

From within the Blood Tower, Jue Huang watched the approaching beam of light and smiled. Her face was deathly pale, the bloodstains on it giving her a tragic appearance. “So, this is the Yu family’s foundation... Truly impressive. If the Cheng family hadn’t been destroyed, an alliance between the three clans might have revived the glory of the Skyveil Megaverse.”

In front of her, Shan Lie also watched the light shot towards them, though his expression was eerily calm. He raised a hand, and a card appeared in his grip. “Seven-Star Primeval Card: Rampart.”

Outer space was constantly filled with darkness. A light had illuminated it with a momentary flash that carried away countless bugs.

Yu Jing closed his eyes. It was over.

Jue Ling stared ahead, grieving. “Farewell, Ancestor.”

Jue Rou’s eyes had also flushed red. “Farewell, Ancestor.”

The Jue family, as well as many other cultivators, slowly bowed. “Farewell, Ancestor.”

When the light faded, the insects were gone, as was the Blood Tower. However, in its place, a wall had appeared. It looked absolutely ancient, and it was adorned with various carvings, as well as dried, blackened bloodstains.

Yu Jing and the others stared at the wall. What is that?

The wall crumbled into powder, revealing Shan Lie, who remained completely unharmed. He was holding Jue Huang aloft with one hand, and it was impossible to tell if she was alive or dead.

Everyone fell silent as they stared in terror and disbelief.

Yu Jing’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Impossible! How could he have withstood Heaven and Earth As One?”

Jue Ling’s entire body was trembling. “Ancestor...”

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Ye Ge was clutching one of his shoulders. Half of his body had been crushed by the stone cube, but he was also staring on in disbelief. From his position, he could clearly see that Jue Huang was still alive. Her eyes were partially open, though her body had been torn open, and she was bleeding.

There was a hint of a smile on Shan Lie’s face as he held Jue Huang up with one hand. He turned to look across the battlefield. “You humans are really something, always attempting to do such self-righteous things. Who told you that that move of yours could kill me? Who told you... that I came here because this woman lured me out?

“I simply didn’t want my adorable mount to be harmed, nothing more. Did all of you really think that you could kill me?”

He shifted his arm slightly, moving so that Jue Ling and the others could clearly see that Jue Huang was still alive.

“Look at this. This woman truly wanted to die with me. She even gave a sigh before dying. Interesting... it’s been so long since I last felt something like this.”

Jue Ling clenched his fists. “Ancestor-”

Jue Huang was barely able to open her eyes. She looked into the distance, and barely managed to make a sound. “Don’t... don’t worry about me... Kill... kill him... he... is not human...”

Shan Lie frowned. “Hey, what’s with the insults? That’s not very nice!”

With that, he slapped the old woman across the face, crushing half of her skullbones and sending blood spraying across the starry sky.

Jue Ling was absolutely furious.