Chapter 683: It Has Appeared

The Hall Sovereign’s attack was earth-shattering and elusive, possessing an incredibly magnificent aura that manifested divine power.

The Captain counterattacked with the organs and viscera from his past life. Their style was incredibly bizarre, and the power of his past life shook gods and spirits.

The Red Moon cultivators, in particular, had almost all witnessed these terrifying limbs and organs. They knew these parts typically carried the Red Moon Divine Palace when it traveled, serving as its ceremonial retinue. Each one contained a terrifying suppressive power. Among them were even organs Xu Qing had seen back in the Sea of Heavenly Flame!

For countless years, the inhabitants of Moon Offering Gorge had speculated about the origin of these organs and limbs. Yet, they could never have imagined that these were actually from the past life of someone who seemed to possess only Nascent Soul cultivation. After all, the Captain's era was separated from the present by eons, making the time gap far too vast. Therefore, any individuals from his time who were still alive would undoubtedly be exceedingly rare.

These unfolding transformations astonished cultivators from both sides, leaving them deeply moved.

Especially now, as the madness in the Captain’s eyes intensified, the colossal mouth he conjured in the sky, like a maw devouring heaven and earth, suddenly enveloped the Hall Sovereign. Moreover, a torrent of saliva secreted from this massive mouth, raining down everywhere. The viscous saliva solidified upon impact, rising vertically. It carried potent corrosive properties and possessed the ability to seal, automatically forming a barrier that locked down everything in its vicinity.

Upon witnessing this, the Hall Sovereign's expression changed drastically. A profound sense of unease surged within him. Just as he was about to counterattack, an unprecedented, agonizing pain suddenly erupted in his eyes. Under this severe pain, his spellcasting was interrupted. The world before his eyes shifted, becoming blurry, as countless afterimages materialized within the haze, retaliating against him.

Surprisingly, all these afterimages were of the Captain. Staring at them, the Hall Sovereign's face turned grim.

"Even if these eyes once truly belonged to someone else, they are mine now."

The Hall Sovereign snorted coldly, retreating. Disregarding the excruciating pain in his eyes, he circulated his cultivation and unleashed a powerful tremor outwards. Instantly, a burst of golden light erupted from his body, expanding with a rumbling sound and transforming into countless seals that rapidly coalesced. As this happened, blood flowed from his eyes, and startlingly, a face emerged within his pupils!

The face was none other than the Captain’s! He was smiling, an eerie smile, and within the eyes of *that* face, there were more faces, nested one within another. It was impossible to tell how many, but all of them seemed to be sporting that same eerie smile! The appearance of these faces caused the Hall Sovereign's body to tremble, threatening to disrupt his divine ability. His body even paused for a fleeting moment!

Yet, he was the Hall Sovereign after all. Though his origin was unknown and both his cultivation and physical body were assembled from disparate parts, at this critical moment, he still uttered an incantation!

"By the Azure Command, through the Abyss's Righteous Judgment, fiends and specters, be bound and sent to the Springs of Despair."

As he spoke, the golden light around the Hall Sovereign intensified, becoming even more blinding. The scattered seals instantly completed their formation, coalescing into the shadow of an incomparably colossal golden rhinoceros! Roaring skyward amidst the rumbling of heaven and earth, the golden rhinoceros charged forth, directly confronting the incoming colossal mouth.

With a thundering crash, the colossal mouth clamped onto the rhinoceros. Amidst loud creaking, the rhinoceros's body held firm, preventing the Captain’s past-life mouth from biting further! Seizing this moment, the golden light around the Hall Sovereign's body intensified once more, converging on his eyes. This caused the faces within his pupils to instantly contort! Those faces seemed to be overwhelmed, rapidly dissipating under the golden light. As his eyes were gradually purified, the Hall Sovereign's aura surged, on the verge of breaking free and turning the tide!

The Captain sneered. "Just a mere eye-stealing patchwork."

He raised his hands, waved them sharply, and let out a low growl. "Past life's form, become an imprint! Gather in this body, lock life and seal soul! Head, facial features, limbs, torso, internal organs... Go!" Blue light erupted from the Captain's body, forming a sea of radiant azure. He raised his right hand, formed a hand seal, and pointed at the Hall Sovereign.

Instantly, all of his past-life bodies and organs surrounding him roared to life. They rapidly surged towards the Hall Sovereign, closing in with astonishing suppressive power and a majestic aura.

At that moment, the Hall Sovereign was still contending with his own eyes. Witnessing this new development, his mind reeled, and a life-or-death crisis resurfaced. At this critical juncture, his body suddenly disintegrated with a boom, transforming into a sheet of golden light that rapidly recoiled, attempting to flee! But the very next instant, Li Xiaoshan, having somehow broken free from the Blood Guards' restraints, appeared in a single step. He swung the long saber in his hand, his eyes filled with fierce killing intent, and brought the blade down!

This single strike cleaved the void, forming a deep chasm, and descended with a crushing force, like a sudden manifestation of a celestial river! Heaven and earth rumbled! It struck directly onto the golden light!

Li Xiaoshan spat out blood. He had poured his entire being into that strike, suffering a massive backlash in return. His body shattered, completely covered in gore, and he collapsed, barely clinging to life as he fell to the ground. However, his saber strike had a considerable impact. The golden light was severed, emitting a mournful wail from within, and that sheet of golden light involuntarily paused mid-air!

In that fleeting moment of pause, the Captain's organs rapidly converged. First to arrive were the limbs! The Captain's past-life body parts, surrounding him, blurred in an instant, merging into the Hall Sovereign's body. Next came the internal organs, then the neck, torso, head, ears, nose... Finally, the colossal mouth from the sky bit through the golden barrier, swallowing the Hall Sovereign whole and merging with him!

While this may sound slow, it all happened in a flash, in the blink of an eye. All of the Captain's past-life body parts vanished, completely merging into the Hall Sovereign's form! At this moment, the Hall Sovereign’s torso, limbs, internal organs, head, and facial features – indeed, everything – were now the Captain's past-life body! The same applied to his eyes. At this moment, a brilliant blue light erupted, radiating outwards in all directions with a thunderous roar, bathing the entire world in dazzling azure.

Most astonishing was his appearance. As his facial features were replaced by the Captain's past-life forms, his look transformed, ultimately becoming a face identical to the Captain’s! Heaven and earth changed hues, and winds surged. This spectacle filled all the surrounding Red Moon cultivators with horror and disbelief!

Under the convergence of these countless lights, the Hall Sovereign, now subsumed by the Captain's past-life body, exhibited a highly unstable aura, seemingly still struggling. Yet, his body remained rooted to the spot, utterly motionless!

"How could my eyes be so easily controlled?"

"To tell you the truth, from the moment I was born in every single life, I’ve been constantly placing restrictions on my body. Whenever I had time, I’d temper it for fun. These restrictions and temperings accumulated over eons, to the point where even I became afraid of them! And this body is your grandpa's most formidable magical artifact. Today, one past-life body is enough to deal with you. If you keep struggling, believe it or not, I'll summon all my past-life bodies and crush you to death."

The Captain spoke with arrogant pride, looking at the Hall Sovereign, who was now subsumed by his own past-life body. His words caught Xu Qing’s attention, though he wasn't particularly surprised by his senior brother’s success. After all, the Captain had been preparing for this day for an incredibly long time!

What did surprise Xu Qing was the Captain's habit of tempering his body and placing restrictions on it. So Xu Qing glanced at the Captain’s body in this current life.

"The restrictions are a bit fewer in this life; after all, every time I do something big, I end up losing a limb. Right now, only my head has been fully tempered!"

Noticing Xu Qing's gaze, the Captain guessed his thoughts and gave a cough. Xu Qing's expression was peculiar. He nodded, then looked back at the unmoving Hall Sovereign.

"Over there?"

"Don't bother with that," the Captain said. "That eye-stealing thief's soul isn't simple, but it can forget about escaping the past-life body's seal. Once my past-life body slowly refines it, it will be under my complete control."

The Captain, with his hands clasped behind his back, wore a look of utter triumph!

On the battlefield, the momentum of both sides had now completely reversed. The Hall Sovereign’s defeat caused the Red Moon cultivators to collapse mentally, with many already retreating, unwilling to continue the fight. Conversely, the Anti-Moon cultivators’ morale soared. For hope, for freedom, and for the future, they fought with all their might.

Just as everything seemed to be progressing favorably, a sudden anomaly occurred!

A colossal roar, more potent than heavenly thunder, erupted from within the Crimson Mother's chrysalis. The sound was immense, like the creation of the world, and instantly generated a violent wave of intent! Wherever it passed, Anti-Moon cultivators spewed blood, and many of their physical bodies disintegrated instantly! The Red Moon cultivators suffered similarly; in this sound wave, their bodies disintegrated, annihilating both form and spirit! Both sides rapidly retreated, moving far away from the Crimson Mother’s chrysalis!

Xu Qing's expression also shifted. He sharply turned his head, joining the Captain in looking towards the Crimson Mother’s chrysalis, from where the sound had originated! Cracks rapidly spread across the surface of the Crimson Mother's chrysalis, and beams of bloody light pierced through from within, illuminating all directions. Simultaneously, the Crimson Mother’s chrysalis shattered!

Amidst deafening rumbles, the chrysalis splintered and exploded. From within, five figures recoiled, revealing the Crown Prince and his companions. Their expressions were utterly solemn, and each bore injuries. The Fifth Princess and Old Eight, in particular, had blood at the corners of their mouths, and their eyes, filled with killing intent, also showed profound shock! As for the Crown Prince, his chest was caved in, with a massive cavity where his heart should have been. The wound refused to heal because his heart was gone! Princess Mingmei's expression was grim; her injuries were also severe. Only Old Nine appeared relatively unharmed, his eyes burning with intense battle intent. He stood at the rear, protecting his elder brothers and the others.

"Retreat! It's coming out!" Old Nine suddenly cried out as they fell back. The moment his words left his lips, a massive amount of fresh blood began to churn within the shattered Crimson Mother's chrysalis, as if it connected to an endless ocean. A sea of blood now surged forth, flowing over the Sovereign's statue and onto the ground, rapidly engulfing the entire area! A terrifying aura simultaneously rose from within!

It was not the aura of a cultivator, but the fluctuations of a deity. The sky turned blood-red once more, and the ground followed suit! Immediately after, under the convergence of countless gazes, a figure emerged from within the Crimson Mother's chrysalis, stepping out slowly and deliberately, treading upon the flowing blood!

As it advanced, an overwhelming sense of oppression erupted, sweeping away all in its path. Heaven and earth trembled, all directions blurred, and anomalous matter proliferated!

This was the descent of a god.