Besides, after several clashes tonight, this flesh vessel was already on the verge of collapse; there was no need for it to squander more strength on these mindless beasts.
The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth fixed all of its small eyes on Baizhantian, every single one bloodshot. The crimson lightning cloaking its body crackled even more dazzlingly, and its speed surged in an instant, almost launching into a final sprint.
Anyone with eyes could see that it had gone from a locomotive into an exceedingly furious locomotive.
When Zhu Erniang darted past right before it, its eyeballs didn't even twitch, treating her as completely invisible.
The spider immortal strode on her long legs toward the rear of the Donao beasts, disappearing without a trace in just a few breaths.
No matter how dull-witted Baizhantian might be, it understood that Zhu Erniang must have played some trick on it to make the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth regard it as a mortal enemy that had to be eliminated.
It tilted its head and sniffed. Aside from the scent of blood and the spider demon's venom, there seemed to be another faint, fishy stench. It had initially assumed it was sap oozing from splintered trees, but smelling it now—
Could it be?
Without another word, Baizhantian stripped off its outer robe and hurled it far away.
No wonder the spider demon had ambushed it from beneath the sand dune earlier—she had plotted to frame it all along.
After tossing the robe aside, Baizhantian darted toward the flank. Yet the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth remained entirely focused on it, paying no heed whatsoever to the garment.
The real culprit was right here, the egg thief was right here, and tossing that scented robe away right in front of its face—did it take the beast for a fool?
Enraged even further, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth let out a long howl and accelerated once more.
Thanks to the lightning cloaking its body, it possessed the ability to burst into short sprints. What was more, the mortal realm's gravity was far weaker than that of the Fu Realm; for these Fu Realm creatures harboring floatstones within them, entering the mortal realm made them feel as light as swallows. Covering seven or eight zhang in a single stride was effortless!
The distance between them shrank in an instant. The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth lowered its head and rammed forward.
Baizhantian produced another spear and thrust backward, meeting the beast's shield-shaped bone plate.
Holding back made no sense anymore; it might as well give this creature its final strike.
Even with its abilities, it could not withstand the creature's primordial, colossal might, and was instantly hurled into the air like a kite with a severed string.
The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth, on the other hand, stumbled on the spot.
The heavyweight locomotive flipped onto its side, tumbling three or four times across the ground before barely skidding to a halt.
Dust and haze billowed across the ground.
A monster weighing over ten tons had actually been knocked down by a single blow from Baizhantian!
The impact left it dizzy, nearly sprawled on its back with all four limbs in the air.
Yet the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth soon shook its head and clambered back to its feet.
From Baizhantian's strike, a massive chunk had chipped off the bone plate on its forehead, but it had not shattered into pieces; the crimson flame lightning automatically protected its master, actually counteracting the power of annihilation.
Even so, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth roared in agony. The bone plate was densely packed with nerves and extremely sensitive; the strike Baizhantian landed inflicted pain no less severe than having a tooth wrenched out raw.
Compounded by the disorienting fall, the behemoth's hatred burned even hotter.
The massive beast herd swerved sharply after their leader, continuing to chase down the fugitive who deserved ten thousand deaths!
After breaking free from Baizhantian's entanglement, Zhu Erniang gave the pursuing Lingxu City imperial guards the slip before heading deep into the forest.
She knew very well where she needed to go.
After twisting and turning through the terrain, Zhu Erniang spotted He Lingchuan waving at her from amid dense shrubbery.
The kid was grinning without a care in the world.
Dong Rui stood behind him, wearing a deadpan scowl.
The creature that looked neither like a snail nor a toad bore a colossal shell, unhurriedly chewing on the alfalfa blossoms its master handed over.
Aside from them, no one else was around—not even a single bird.
He Lingchuan stepped forward and laughed heartily. "Erniang, you managed to get away too?"
He was rather pleased with himself for successfully escaping National Preceptor Qingyang's pursuit, but he couldn't high-five Zhu Erniang.
The giant spider's legs were bristling with barbs; a single prick would leave him riddled with bloody holes.
"Piece of cake," Zhu Erniang snorted. "I smeared all the egg fluid from the gourd over the wound on Baizhantian's back. The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth is chasing after it with great enthusiasm right now."
When she lunged from the sand dune earlier, she had smashed the gourd along with its mucus right against Baizhantian's back. The latter hadn't realized a thing, assuming the sound was merely snapped tree branches.
During their escape, He Lingchuan had explained to her that the gourd held the stolen egg of the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth.
Of course, now it was just egg yolk and fluid.
The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth had mediocre eyesight, but its sense of smell was absurdly keen.
Not long ago, the Wu beast leader had ambushed its lair, smashing two eggs on the spot and snatching away another—an unbearable grief etched into the behemoth's heart. Now that it suddenly caught the scent of its lost offspring, fury consumed it immediately.
To clear herself of suspicion, Zhu Erniang had voluntarily shed the forepincer tainted with the fluid before the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth caught up. That left Baizhantian as the sole scapegoat.
"Baizhantian's flesh vessel is ruined," Zhu Erniang asserted. "It had already depleted too much energy before, and from what I saw, exchanging blows with the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth will only accelerate its collapse."
Dong Rui was a bit impatient, but mostly anxious. "Aren't we leaving yet?"
He had been waiting outside Tianji Peak earlier and witnessed with his own eyes just how 'lively' Mount Xu was tonight.
He was originally playing a supporting role and had little expectation for the success rate of He Lingchuan's operation, figuring that a forty-to-fifty percent chance would already be miraculous. If that guy surnamed He perished on Mount Xu, Dong Rui would immediately drive his snail-toad and beat a hasty retreat, suffering practically no loss.
Who could have guessed that He Lingchuan truly was a jinx of plague, bringing disaster wherever he went—even the Heavenly Palace couldn't withstand his havoc!
Yet this catastrophe was simply too enormous. Right now, all he wanted was to get out of Lingxu City and flee the Beijia Kingdom as fast as possible!
"Let's go." He Lingchuan pointed westward.
Zhu Erniang countered, "I want to see how Baizhantian finishes."
He Lingchuan understood. "Is your enmity really as deep as the sea?"
Earlier, when man and spider jumped into the lake, they had the chance to slip away. Yet once the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth showed up, Zhu Erniang said to He Lingchuan, "Split up. You lure away National Preceptor Qingyang," and then charged right back.
Her stance made it clear she was going back to pick a fight and get revenge.
Zhu Erniang snorted. "We fought in the past. Twice."
He Lingchuan pondered for a moment. "Head to Mount Xing."
Mount Xing was only two hundred zhang north of Lingxu City. Its tallest peak was shaped like the character '几', and the Thunder-Wielding beast herd happened to be running in that direction.
Dong Rui piloted the snail-toad to burrow underground.
It was worth noting that Zhu Erniang's demon immortal body could barely shrink down to the size of a horse, allowing her to enter the Mud Palace on the snail-toad's back alongside He Lingchuan.
Even as an ancient demon immortal with vast experience, she still clicked her tongue in admiration of this Mud Palace magic artifact.
Riding inside without stepping outside the shell, one could directly view the surrounding scenery in crystal clarity throughout the journey.
The snail-toad traveled underground, stealthily ascending Mount Xing and concealing itself within the thickets. The terrain here was elevated and unobstructed, providing a clear view over the northwest corner of Lingxu City.
Any further forward lay Lingxu City, with no better vantage point for concealment.
They were here to watch the spectacle; if new complications arose at this time, the losses would far outweigh the gains.
Just as Dong Rui hopped out of the snail-toad's massive shell, he suddenly pointed toward Lingxu City and blurted out, "Look, quick!"
Looking down at Lingxu City from Mount Xing, flames soared into the sky everywhere, and dense smoke billowed all around. Not only was the lower city ablaze, but explosions were also detonating in continuous succession across the Floating Isles.
How had that peaceful, serene, opulent imperial capital turned into this?
Was this caused by the earthquake at Mount Xu?
He Lingchuan stared unblinkingly, equally shocked.
After quite a while, he took a deep breath and murmured, "Fang Canran."
Of course it was Fang Canran!
When Fang Canran discussed the plan with him earlier, he had only proposed the backup plan of luring the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth to help He Lingchuan escape, but never breathed a word about an uprising in Lingxu City.
Because none of that concerned He Lingchuan anymore.
His feat of infiltrating Mount Xu was merely the key that unlocked this cascade of cataclysms in Lingxu City.
Yet it was only a key.
Fang Canran and the organization behind him were determined to seize every chance to expand their gains!
They had plotted for too long; only by orchestrating a thrilling, all-out upheaval in the imperial capital could they do justice to their prolonged wait.
Zhu Erniang moved to the other side of the peak. "Baizhantian's vessel won't last."
The two hurried over and looked down at the battle below.
Just as Zhu Erniang said, Baizhantian's vessel was severely damaged. Fearing encirclement by the herd, it had no choice but to retreat after clashing twice with the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth.
The Donao beast herd pursued relentlessly from behind.
The mortal realm's gravity was far less than that of the Fu Realm. Even the clumsy, heavy Donao beasts could move swiftly here, running with the speed of the wind. Moreover, despite the desperate attempts of the Lingxu City garrison to intercept them, more and more Donao beasts joined the charge under their lord's summons, swelling into an increasingly magnificent torrent.
He Lingchuan made a rough estimate—there were over five hundred of them now.
Dozens of breaths later, Lu Shishi's body began to break down, right at the foot of Mount Xing. For the first time, He Lingchuan witnessed with his own eyes what it meant for "bones and flesh to part."
Muscles ruptured, tendons snapped, nerves decayed, and flesh sloughed off bone of its own accord, like rotting meat that had lost all cohesion.
In the blink of an eye, half of the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl's skeleton was exposed.
The most terrifying part was that she could still feel the pain, shrieking with harrowing misery.
Clearly, Baizhantian's wisp of divine soul had already returned to the divine realm and no longer possessed her body.
Standing on the hillside, He Lingchuan could barely make out her crying "Help me!" and calling for "Mother!"
Yet soon she could no longer make a sound, for her vocal cords had melted as well.
The skin on her face had long peeled away, leaving her facial features as nothing more than squirming masses of blood. Red was her face; white were her teeth and the whites of her eyes.
Deprived of upper and lower eyelids, her rolling eyeballs looked terrifying beyond measure.
She seemed to have caught sight of He Lingchuan standing on the hillside.
Even though He Lingchuan had survived brutal battles and witnessed horrific deaths, seeing her gaze still sent an uncontrollable chill down his spine.
That pain, that hatred, that madness...
And remorse.
Endless, boundless remorse.
He Lingchuan recalled the first time he saw Lu Shishi on Tianshu Peak; she was as fresh as a dew-drenched lily of the valley.
How devout and starry-eyed this little girl had been toward the celestial gods, how unyielding in her faith, willing to give everything for them.
Now, she had indeed given everything.
Yet after Baizhantian had finished using her, it cast her aside like a tattered sack.
It turned straight back to the divine realm without bothering to spare another glance, leaving her alone to suffer the agony of a body coming apart at the seams.
Such harrowing, inhuman misery and agony—Lu Shishi, who had voluntarily offered herself as a flesh vessel, surely could not have known what awaited her in the beginning.
Only now, when it was far too late for regret.
Chapter 704