Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fierce Struggle

The first form of Heaven-Slaughter surged forth, corpse energy billowing like the sea, a gigantic hand imprint casting its shadow in all directions, carrying the aura of destruction as it grasped for the Void Warrior. The Void Warrior narrowed his azure eyes, a cold smile on his lips. In his palm, a vortex flickered like a black hole, reaching out to seize the colossal hand imprint. The black hole swelled with the wind, instantly absorbing the hand imprint into itself.

Almost simultaneously, a hundred miles away on the battlefield, Liberation Army soldiers were desperately resisting the assault of the Void Slave horde, covering the civilians’ retreat. The WZ-10 attack helicopters swept low, unleashing a torrent of fire, flames soaring skyward. Heavy machine guns and rapid-fire cannons blazed, weaving a deadly web of fire, fighting the Void Slaves in a bloody struggle.

Instruments mounted on the Void Slaves’ wrists fired blazing spheres of light; anything touched was reduced to powder. Even the 99A heavy tanks could not withstand five hits from these spheres. Suddenly, a cloud of white mist erupted above the Void Slave army, time seeming to stall for a second before the mist exploded, flames engulfing a vast area. The oxygen in that region was instantly consumed, terrifying high temperature and pressure roasting all the Void Slaves there into desiccated corpses.

A soldier tossed aside his cloudburst grenade launcher, picked up his QBZ-95 rifle, and muttered, "Damn, that felt good."

Just then, a flicker of black light flashed across the sky, followed by a rotating white hole expanding. A gigantic hand imprint descended from the heavens, destroying most of the Liberation Army’s defenses. The earth trembled, fissures spreading in all directions; several tanks were crushed beneath the hand imprint, and surrounding soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

"What the hell is happening?" a terrified soldier shouted.

Watching his first form being so easily redirected by the Void Warrior, Luo Longyu’s expression darkened. His withered face twisted, fangs gleaming coldly. Without hesitation, he launched the second form of Heaven-Slaughter.

The blade of corpse energy swept across the sky. This time, the Void Warrior did not activate the black hole transfer—clearly, it required a time limit. As the blade of corpse energy threatened him, light radiated from the Void Warrior’s back, mysterious streaks flowing and outlining the shape of a cannon. The cannon solidified, and a fierce ray of light tore through the void, striking directly at Luo Longyu.

The light moved with astonishing speed, leaving Luo Longyu no time to evade. As the suffocating light struck him, Luo Longyu was engulfed by the explosion, visible waves of light sweeping outward, raising a sandstorm. A jeep was hurled dozens of meters away, its occupants landing heavily, battered and disheveled.

"First Celestial Palace, suppress!" Amid the chaos came Luo Mengxuan’s commanding cry. The Void Warrior looked up to see a massive Celestial Palace descending from the heavens, its grandeur suppressing all earthly energies, as if some mighty will had arrived. Not daring to linger, the Void Warrior vanished in a flash of light.

With the target lost, Luo Mengxuan immediately withdrew the Celestial Palace, scanning the battlefield but unable to sense the Void Warrior’s presence.

The next moment, Luo Mengxuan’s expression changed drastically. A flash of light appeared in her hand, manifesting a fiery red feathered fan. With a swift turn, she slashed the fan, sending fierce marks that crackled with wind and thunder, burning the void.

Behind her, the Void Warrior raised a shield of light to block the fan. Luo Mengxuan seized the opportunity to retreat a hundred meters, pulling up Luo Longyu from the ground, her gaze wary as she faced the Void Warrior. "This one is far too powerful. Even together, we’re no match."

Luo Longyu’s throat emitted low growls, his hollow silver eyes glancing at the Void Warrior who floated calmly in the air. Suddenly, he dragged Luo Mengxuan behind him.

Staggered by Luo Longyu’s sudden pull, Luo Mengxuan snapped, "What are you doing?"

"Go!" Luo Longyu’s voice was raspy and harsh, but carried an undeniable authority. He glanced at Luo Mengxuan, then charged into the sky like a maddened beast. His thunderous roar shook the air, and he threw a punch at the Void Warrior.

The Void Warrior’s gaze narrowed, his aura rapidly rising. Light flashed at his chest, quickly forming a screen of light. In that moment, he seemed like a deity clad in golden armor, his force field causing the earth to sink, and thunderous rumbling rolled across the ground.

Their fists collided in midair, exploding with intense light that annihilated everything. When the brilliance faded, the Void Warrior was startled to see Luo Longyu unmoved, standing firm in the void. Behind him, a silver corpse wheel had appeared, resembling forged metal, with two concentric rings—one rotating clockwise, the other counterclockwise. Silver light flowed ceaselessly through the wheel, giving it a futuristic aura.

"Weapon fusion system..." the Void Warrior murmured coldly, his right fist erupting with a ray of force.

Luo Longyu remained still, his right fist likewise bursting with a silver imprint. As his combat power increased, the corpse wheel’s rotation accelerated, emitting a faint humming, as if challenging the Void Warrior.

The two locked eyes, sparks seeming to ignite between their gazes. In an instant, both struck with lightning speed, the fierce sounds of battle echoing without pause. They fought fiercely in the void, darting rapidly; the soldiers on the ground could barely see their figures, only the black shadow and silver light streaking across the sky. The battle zone spanned dozens of miles.

Boom!

The silver light was knocked flying, shattering a mountain, but without pause, it surged up again, fighting with renewed vigor. Soon, another thunderous crash, the black shadow crashed to earth, a great cloud of dust rising. Yet it emerged, and the two silhouettes clashed once more.

"My god... Is this a battle of immortals?" a soldier exclaimed, unable to help.

"Void Spirit Sky Blade!"

"Heaven-Slaughter, third form!"

A crescent moon’s glow sliced the sky, while a massive corpse energy blade swept across, colliding with the crescent, sparking intense light like a solar flare, blinding all who tried to look.

After this exchange, both the Void Warrior and Luo Longyu halted. The Void Warrior’s gaze dimmed, and Luo Longyu was worse off—half his body deformed, his face cracked to reveal a terrifying skull, like a demon. Yet the corpse wheel behind him spun so fast it was a blur, looking more like a halo of light.

"The Path of the Corpse... truly a scourge. Without fleet support, I can’t take you down," the Void Warrior finally admitted.

Luo Longyu continued to growl, saying nothing. His situation was dire; if the battle continued, only mutual destruction awaited.

"But you must be eliminated, or you’ll ruin my Void Spirit grand plan!" Suddenly, the Void Warrior changed his tone. His black armor exploded, revealing crimson flesh bulging with veins, surging with immense energy. His body began to rupture, huge tentacles emerging, four thick arms protruding, and a second head forcing its way out.

With agonized screams, the Void Warrior’s massive body split down the middle, oozing foul pus.

Luo Longyu’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t know what the Void Warrior was doing, but it was clearly nothing good. If allowed to continue splitting, the consequences would be dire for him.

Without delay, Luo Longyu lunged forward, his hands chopping at the Void Warrior’s two heads.

But even as he was splitting, the Void Warrior was not powerless to resist. As Luo Longyu was about to strike, four enormous hands seized him, gripping tightly and pulling with force as if to tear him apart.

Luo Longyu felt his bones threatening to dislocate, and he could not help but howl, exerting all his strength to contend with the Void Warrior. The Path of the Corpse’s power was so fierce it felt unreal to the Void Warrior.

At that moment, Luo Mengxuan hurled her feathered fan, unleashing countless blades of light that shattered everything, severing and incinerating the Void Warrior’s four arms to ashes. Luo Longyu seized the chance to break free, his hand slicing into the Void Warrior’s two heads.

The Void Warrior’s two heads then burst with starlight, as if galaxies were erupting from their skulls. Several giant tentacles flailed wildly, striking Luo Longyu and sending him flying.

Before Luo Longyu could land, two J-11 fighter jets streaked across the sky, four missiles trailing fire struck the Void Warrior squarely. The sudden appearance of the jets caught the Void Warrior off guard, engulfing him in flames and sending his burning body plummeting from the sky.

"Hawk 02 reporting, target hit, over."

"02, 02, let's give him another run, over."

"02 received, over."

The two J-11s swiftly turned in the sky, diving and releasing missiles with a thrilling screech, like a symphony of war, blasting the area where the Void Warrior fell.

The soldiers cheered, exhilarated by the jets’ arrival. With such overwhelming firepower, the Void Warrior would be lucky to survive, let alone escape unscathed.

"First Celestial Palace, suppress!" Luo Mengxuan seized the moment, rapidly weaving seals. The golden Celestial Palace slammed down, startling the two pilots who quickly pulled up and veered aside.

"Die!" Luo Mengxuan gripped her seal tightly, her whole body glowing faintly red. Massive green vines erupted from the earth like serpents, swiftly climbing the Celestial Palace and wrapping it completely. With a flash, the palace vanished, and the endless vines collapsed inward, trying to crush the Void Warrior alive.

Finer vines pierced the Void Warrior’s ruptured, charred body, frantically draining his void energy.

Some tentacles struggled free of the vines, but were quickly entangled again and dragged back.

Terrifying sounds of collision and howls echoed from within the vines. Luo Mengxuan bit her lip, her face flushed, beads of sweat forming on her pale forehead, clearly straining with effort.

Luo Longyu glanced at Luo Mengxuan, then at the mound-like green vines. He rapidly gathered the fourth form of Heaven-Slaughter, corpse energy blades sweeping across miles, absorbing the rising sun’s heat and transforming into a blazing fire blade. The scorching aura withered even Luo Mengxuan’s vines.

The sudden spike in temperature caught Luo Mengxuan’s attention, and she looked up at Luo Longyu.

The corpse wheel whirled, Luo Longyu’s presence suffocating. He soared into the sky, gripping the corpse energy blade, streaking toward the vines like a firebrand.

Luo Mengxuan understood, and as Luo Longyu approached, she quickly retracted the vines. Half the massive body broke free, but before it could react, the fiery corpse energy blade descended, cleaving it in two and reducing it to ashes. The ground was vitrified by the heat, a testament to its frightful intensity.

With the strike landed, the corpse energy blade dissipated, and the searing heat faded. Luo Mengxuan collapsed to the ground, panting, her gaze curious as she regarded Luo Longyu. She muttered, "How peculiar... The Path of the Corpse breaks through with sinister energy, yet how can it possess such a formidable, fierce aura? It defies reason."