Chapter 703: Karmic Retribution!
Chapter 703: Karmic Retribution!
BOOM! Like hungry wolves spotting blood-soaked raw meat, the greed of Naraka's forces was fully unleashed.
Their gazes swept over the Heavenly Palace, seeing the Constellation Army, countless treasures, glimmering crystals, and naturally, the beautiful celestial maidens and sweet, delicious celestial infants...
Madness took hold! Complete madness!
"Kill! Kill!"
Amidst the deafening roar of the Great Mother, akin to a grand chorus, the eyes of Naraka's forces turned bloodshot. No devilish magic was needed to corrupt their minds; they willingly became vessels of voracious greed!
No rallying was required. One by one, demons and devils followed the Great Mother through the Sacred Emperor Barrier, breaking through the encirclement, plunging towards the streets and celestial palaces below!
The battlefield spread from the Sacred Emperor Barrier to the heartland of the Celestial Court.
For the imperial family, this was an unbearable catastrophe.
BOOM! A massive reserve of the Constellation Army surged from the celestial palaces below, forming ranks to confront the Great Mother and her army of demons and devils!!
The Heaven-Reaching Constellation, Nine Arcanes Constellation, and Martial Peak Constellation descended from the Sacred Emperor Barrier, leading a revitalized portion of the Constellation Army and reinforcements from the 18 Department Legions, charging towards the Great Mother."Anyone who dares enter the Heavenly Palace shall be slain without mercy!"
The furious roar of the Heaven-Reaching Constellation echoed across half the divine land of the Celestial Court.
His anger highlighted the urgency within.
Never since its foundation had the Celestial Court allowed any army to penetrate its divine land—this was a historic first. Now, to speak of humiliation was pointless; at this moment, preserving the glory of the Celestial Court and the lives of the imperial family was of utmost urgency!
It was a matter of life and death!
The high and mighty imperial family was now cornered.
"Stop them, kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Three Great Constellations took command, summoning more of the Constellation Army, striving to hold back the demons and devils that surged into the divine land.
BOOM! The two forces clashed in mid-air, celestial weapons, Sword Souls, and Life Sigils clashing against fangs, claws, demon magic, and blood arts, instantly splattering the sky with blood!
For the first time, that blood splashed upon the magnificent celestial palaces of the divine land, as destructive divine might descended, shattering palace after palace. In moments, this serene and exalted place was transformed into a vortex of blood and ruins!
This sight undoubtedly tore at the hearts of the Constellation Army!
But their rage was futile. The insatiable greed of Naraka's forces dictated everything, and more demons and devils crossed through the Sacred Emperor Barrier, circling and diving towards the rear of the Heavenly Palace. Once inside, any people caught were immediately slaughtered, torn apart, and devoured.
The demon and devils revealed their savage nature to the fullest in that instant, as a blood-red darkness momentarily cloaked the entire Heavenly Palace. Blood rained down, slowly turning the pristine palaces into a hellish landscape of death and decay.
"Kill! Eat! Plunder!"
The Great Mother, too, seemed mad, her laughter—a mix of male and female tones—echoed loudly as her massive mountain of flesh and blood crushed countless palaces beneath her. She smothered large numbers of the Constellation Army and palace men and women alive, absorbing them into her body and making them part of her growing resentment.
Looking around, half of the Heavenly Palace was quickly stained red with blood. The flesh mountain moved, growing larger with each step, while the celestial mist turned into a mist of blood, enveloping everything.
From afar, the cries of the terrified imperial family rose. These beings, born with a silver spoon and accustomed to viewing lives as mere candles or chaff, only now understood the fear of losing their dignity when all their protections were stripped away.
The cries of despair mixed with maniacal laughter formed a chaotic symphony.
"Haha. Hehe! Chew chew! Kakaka! Hehehe!"
The Great Mother's mountain of flesh sprouted countless mouths—human, dog, bird—all laughing bizarrely, like a giant snail, she rolled over celestial palace after palace, leaving a trail of slimy destruction.
"We can't solve this disaster without killing the Great Mother!"
Above in the sky, the Three Great Constellations gathered, their faces ashen, lips trembling.
"Where is His Majesty? Where is the Crown Prince?" The Nine Arcanes Constellation trembled.
"The Crown Prince is still at the Taiwei Imperial Palace, overseeing everything, while His Majesty is said to be cracking the Immortal Asylum..." the Heaven-Reaching Constellation said.
"Breaking through the Immortal Asylum makes sense! What's there to oversee anymore? They've breached our home!" the Martial Peak Constellation snarked, his face twisted with rage. "If you ask me, the Crown Prince is nothing but a giant manchild, a good-for-nothing nurtured for thousands of years! Such a waste of devotion!"
"Shut up!" The Heaven-Reaching Constellation shot him a glare. His heart bled, his lips bitten to bleeding, he shakily said, "There's no point in talking about this now. If we don't stop her soon, our dynasty's thousand-year foundation will truly be finished! To be defeated by a corpse demon, even in death, our ancestors would scorn our spines! If those two won't act, we must sacrifice ourselves first!"
The Nine Arcanes and Martial Peak Constellations clenched their teeth, breathing heavily. As they opened their eyes, everything they prided themselves on was being ground into the dust by the Great Mother!
The disappearance of the Five Infernos Star Barrier was too great a blow to their imperial line, leaving only the Sacred Emperor Barrier, a fitting end under these circumstances...
Now, it seemed, Lu Fan's strategy was the most lethal!
"Charge!"
Although the Martial Peak Constellation was the first to curse the Crown Prince, he was now the first to rush towards the Great Mother.
"For the eternal prosperity of our imperial dynasty, kill, kill, kill!" the Heaven-Reaching Constellation commanded. Wielding a six-foot sword, the stars shifted as he charged at the Great Mother.
"Wait for me...!" The Nine Arcanes Constellation followed, her tears streaming down the celestial palaces below.
"Destiny is determined by cause and effect; all things face retribution! The Great Mother was born when our dynasty first utilized the incense offerings! And now, as our dynasty faces calamity with no one to aid, the tide turns eastward... It's the incense offerings, indeed, that herald our true extinction."
For the first time, the Nine Arcanes Constellation felt profound regret. Yet, even with reverence in her heart, she could not resist temptation. Now, only a desperate struggle remained.
In her eyes, the Great Mother was not merely a supreme demon; she was retribution, a destiny. Her countless faces, enraged and anguished, began as human faces—the Great Mother's core formed of her own human kin!
"Eat! Eat! Ahahaha! Eat!"
The human faces on the core of the Great Mother twisted, unleashing towering grievances, filling the entirety of the Celestial Demon Abyss with the stench of blood and flesh. Now, they plunged the Heavenly Palace into a mire of stink, disaster, and bitter resentment.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The attacks from the Three Great Constellations struck the mountain of flesh and blood, blasting huge, gaping wounds that spurted blood, shredding the laughing faces.
Yet, the Great Mother did not halt her advance toward the Taiwei Imperial Palace, sprouting countless eyes on her body, which stared fixedly at the Three Great Constellations.
"Halt! You step further into the realm of our dynasty, and not even your corpse will remain intact!" The Heaven-Reaching Constellation, wielding his massive sword, bellowed with a chilling voice.
"Not even a corpse? Hehehe, I'm already dead, we are long past being whole corpses..."
The mountain of flesh laughed manically.
SNAP! CRACKLE! POP! Her enormous mass suddenly contracted, and in front of the Three Great Constellations, she transformed into an eight-foot-tall woman with pale skin, flowing black hair, and a grotesquely wide, crimson mouth—an eerie, chilling beauty.
"You...!" Just as the Heaven-Reaching Constellation was about to speak, he suddenly realized the eight-foot woman had vanished.
He whirled around, his instincts screaming, slashing with his sword!
KLANG! The eight-foot woman caught his Sword Soul with her palm.
The Sword Soul, containing the might of 83 Sword Prisons, remained utterly still.
"Great Mother!" The Heaven-Reaching Constellation's eyes widened in horror.
As he uttered those words, the Great Mother's other hand yanked his head from his neck, along with his esophagus, trachea, and windpipe, stuffing them into her gaping maw.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! She crushed his head to pieces, and a mix of red and white blood cascaded from the corners of her mouth.
With a satisfied look, she closed her eyes and giggled, "The flavor of devotion is delicious, so very delicious..."