Chapter 680: A Cone Pierces the Heavens
Facing the domineering Magnetic Pole ahead and the ten Spirit Transformation experts from the Ten Universities glaring at him from all sides, Divine Monarch Chain Nexus’s first instinct was, naturally, to flee.
With a thought, he summoned the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Hazard-Avoiding Divine Shuttle, a magical artifact renowned for its unparalleled escape capabilities. The shuttle darted to his side like a fleeting shadow, only to be immediately ensnared by over a dozen streams of divine light.
Seal! Inspect! Seize!
Characters of various colors flashed as the assembled Spirit Transformation experts forcibly detained the Nine Heavens Divine Shuttle.
Under the relentless suppression of their combined Spirit Transformation power, the Divine Shuttle seemed on the verge of shattering, its components about to be dismantled and claimed by the individual Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs present.
This, of course, was part of Divine Monarch Chain Nexus’s plan. Using the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Hazard-Avoiding Divine Shuttle as a distraction, he shifted his form, his bionic body surging with power. He unleashed a flurry of dozens of movement techniques, martial arts, and daoist arts, initiating his third escape attempt.
But in the next instant, accompanied by a series of crackling explosions, the assembled Spirit Transformation experts struck again.
Various magical artifacts and bionic components erupted from Divine Monarch Chain Nexus’s body in rapid succession.
The streams of divine light descended like a swarm of locusts, stripping Divine Monarch Chain Nexus bare in an instant.
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus of Heavenly Demon University claimed Chain Nexus’s right arm, saying coldly, “You wretch! How much debt has your Finance Department racked up for Heavenly Demon University? How many bad debts have you left behind? Today, we’ll take your arm as partial repayment.”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole glanced at her opponent, knowing Sinful Lotus had once been the Heavenly Demon’s vice-principal, a veteran Spirit Transformation disciple who oversaw the university’s research and development. She possessed profound expertise in artifact refinement.
Zhang Yu also recognized Sinful Lotus’s name; she had served as a judge in the Artifact Refinement Design Competition during his year.
Meanwhile, Divine Monarch Bloodfall of Netherworld University firmly gripped one of Chain Nexus’s legs, declaring, “Rest assured, everyone. I’ll keep his leg to ensure he doesn’t escape.”
Simultaneously, Divine Monarch Great Devourer of Celestial Monsters University addressed Magnetic Pole: “Magnetic Pole, focus on suppressing the Sun. We’ll handle this beast.”
Magnetic Pole shot Great Devourer a disdainful look, knowing Great Devourer was the most unscrupulous of the lot.
She thought to herself, “So far, Divine Monarch Great Devourer is the only Spirit Transformation expert at Celestial Monsters University. To think that a single Spirit Transformation expert could monopolize all the university’s resources — this Mother Dragon is truly greedy and narrow-minded.”
After Divine Monarch Chain Nexus was suppressed, he tried to speak, but his meridians were immediately sealed, and his entire body was bound.
His consciousness sent a distress signal through the Dark Spirit Realm.
The fragmented response came back: “Chain Nexus… they got the jump on us this time… Rescuing you now would be too costly… not worth it.”
“Just kill yourself… Don’t worry… We’ll protect you when you’re resurrected…”
The voice continued: “If you don’t kill yourself… we’ll take all your remaining assets.”
Divine Monarch Chain Nexus sighed inwardly as his Primordial Spirit in the Sea of Consciousness gradually shattered into fragments.
Although the surrounding Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs desperately tried to intervene, they couldn’t prevent Chain Nexus’s consciousness from completely vanishing from his Sea of Consciousness.
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole wasn’t surprised. Capturing a Spirit Transformation expert was relatively easy, but preventing one who had condensed a Primordial Spirit — capable of freely manipulating it and controlling their own consciousness — from self-annihilating their consciousness was exceedingly difficult.
As Divine Monarch Chain Nexus committed suicide, the surrounding Spirit Realm violently fluctuated.
Several Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs skilled in talismans immediately activated their talismans, attempting to block the Dark Spirit Realm’s attempt to claim Chain Nexus’s soul.
Simultaneously, across vast spatial distances, the gazes of several Evil Gods pierced through the barriers of the fifth, fourth, and third layers of the Spirit Realm. Their terrifying wills crossed the Dark Spirit Realm, descending upon the battlefield.
Zhang Yu felt the Spirit Realm signals around him completely cut off for several minutes.
After an intense struggle, Divine Monarch Great Devourer of Celestial Monsters University sighed, “You lot are useless. We’ve secured his physical body, yet you couldn’t prevent his soul from escaping through the Dark Spirit Realm?”
The Spirit Transformation experts activating talismans snorted coldly. “The Spirit Realm power of those high-ranking Evil Gods on the fifth layer is extraordinary. The Dark Spirit Realm they’ve established now spans the Kunxu across the second, third, fourth, and fifth layers — it’s become deeply entrenched.”
“To stop them in the Dark Spirit Realm, we’d likely need the intervention of a Righteous God of the third rank or higher. Moreover, the Spirit Realm’s techniques for guiding the dead are exclusive to Righteous Gods, and our understanding of them is limited.”
“If you truly wish to destroy them… consider methods in the Material Realm instead.”
As Divine Monarch Chain Nexus perished, Zhang Pianpian, who was cultivating in the Supreme Clarity Realm, suddenly narrowed her eyes. The Soul-Guiding Pool began to glow brightly…
Meanwhile, users watching the battle live in the Dark Spirit Realm noticed that the broadcast abruptly cut off the moment the spatial barrier shattered. No one knew what happened next.
“Why did the stream stop?”
“What’s going on? Did Magnetic Pole actually succeed?”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Divine Monarch Chain Nexus lose?”
Soon, someone discovered that while the Dark Spirit Realm’s broadcast had ended, the Spirit Realm’s livestream had begun.
“Hurry! The Spirit Realm’s livestream is up! You can see all ten Spirit Transformation Experts from the Ten Universities have joined the battle!”
In an instant, a massive influx of Dark Spirit Realm users flooded into the Spirit Realm, eager to witness the battle’s conclusion.
Upon entering the Dark Spirit Realm, users were immediately bombarded with advertisements. On average, each person had to watch over ten minutes of ads before they could access the subsequent content — the scenes of Divine Monarch Chain Nexus’s three failed escapes, his capture each time, and his final suicide.
Meanwhile, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole led a large group of Spirit Transformation cultivators to sweep through the Sun-Patrolling Falling Darkness, clean up the battlefield, and seize supplies.
The materials Divine Monarch Chain Nexus had used for Spirit Transformation cultivation were gathered before the assembled cultivators.
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus remarked coolly, “It’s a pity the Evil God assisting Chain Nexus wasn’t present in person. He likely severed the connection to the Dark Spirit Realm the moment he sensed things were going awry.”
Magnetic Pole wasn’t surprised. She had already realized during their previous battle that the Auspicious God’s true form wasn’t on the battlefield.
After all, their opponent had always relied on the Spirit Realm and Dark Spirit Realm for combat. Bringing his true form to the battlefield would only create a vulnerability.
Once Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole had successfully taken control of Sun-Patrolling Falling Darkness, the Spirit Transformation cultivators gradually gathered around her, their eyes burning with curiosity as they pressed her to reveal her method for breaking through the spatial blockade.
Faced with the crowd’s curiosity, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole simply stated, “Over the past eight months, I have repeatedly reviewed Dao Qiankun’s battle footage from the awards ceremony, analyzing every frame to glean insights into spatial technology. Only through this relentless study have I achieved my current breakthrough and refined this World-Piercing Cone.”
As she spoke, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole communicated telepathically with Zhang Yu: “Good disciple, can you fire another shot?”
Upon receiving Zhang Yu’s confirmation, her gaze sharpened as she addressed the assembled Divine Monarchs with commanding authority: “Today, I will shatter the heavens. From this day forward, there will be no barrier between the Second and Third Layers.”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole soared skyward, followed by streams of Spirit Transformation Divine Light.
In an instant, they had pierced through the clouds, rapidly approaching the Third Layer world visible through the breach in the heavens.
But an invisible spatial barrier blocked their path.
“Break!”
With a low roar, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole slammed the World-Piercing Cone against the barrier.
Simultaneously, she activated the Immortal Sect Daoist Art: Great Sun Glazed Pure Fire, engulfing the drill in purifying flames. The blazing fire incinerated all external forces attempting to penetrate the cone, while also shielding it from the prying eyes, divine senses, and probing techniques of the surrounding Spirit Transformation experts.
Inside the flame drill, Zhang Yu once again activated the powers of Kunlun in the Palm and the Immortal Descendant. Clasping his hands together, he transformed into a black hole, frantically devouring everything before the drill.
As his Magic Power rapidly drained, Zhang Yu felt an even more violent backlash this time.
It was as if an entire continent had crashed into him, crushing him under its weight.
Despite Zhang Yu’s formidable physical strength, the impact shattered his bones and ruptured his internal organs, instantly turning him into a bloody mess.
Simultaneously, a terrifying roar echoed through the sky.
Then, as if a transparent glass dome covering the heavens had been shattered, it fractured wildly, creating a massive void in the sky before the eyes of all.
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus of Heavenly Demon University watched this scene, her heart trembling. Gazing at Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s retreating figure in the distance, she sighed inwardly, “Magnetic Pole… has she truly reached this point?”
Divine Monarch Bloodfall of Netherworld University stared at Magnetic Pole with a grave expression, thinking to himself, “We must force Magnetic Pole to hand over the Spatial Technology as soon as possible. It should be developed jointly by the Ten Universities.”
Divine Monarch Great Devourer of Celestial Monsters University gazed at the Kunxu’s third layer, her eyes suddenly gleaming with intense greed. “Excellent, excellent!” she thought. “Now we can finally charge in and plunder to our hearts’ content!”
Her gaze then shifted to the World-Piercing Cone in Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s hand. “This treasure clearly has a connection to me,” she thought.
But in the next moment, under the anxious, worried, and tense gazes of the assembled Spirit Transformation experts, hairline cracks began to spiderweb across the World-Piercing Cone, as if it were about to shatter completely.
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole sighed. “This World-Piercing Cone was merely my initial attempt at refining. It still has many flaws. After just two uses, it’s already irreparably damaged and beyond repair.”
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus’s eyes burned with fervor. “Why don’t we help you refine another one?”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole swept her gaze across the crowd, taking in the myriad expressions of desire and greed. With a cold snort, she retorted, “Help me? I doubt any of you possess the necessary skill. Among the Ten Universities’ elite, I am currently the only one capable of refining the World-Piercing Cone. If you wish to contribute, offer money or materials. I’ve already sent the bill for the World-Piercing Cone’s expenses to each of you…”
Though the assembled Spirit Transformation experts were unwilling to accept this, they couldn’t refute the words of Magnetic Pole, who had just shattered the heavens.
With a single sentence, she dismissed Sinful Lotus’s proposal. With a grand wave of her hand, she pointed toward the third layer of Kunxu. “Fellow cultivators,” she declared, “now that the heavens have been breached, the time for our counterattack has come!”