Chapter 711: Life's Torrent (Two-in-One)

A biting cold wind blew.

Xu Zhi's expression was as calm as water.

He sat on his balcony, draped in a black down jacket, sipping hot tea. Like a young man from an affluent, middle-class family, he quietly gazed at the distant land.

The land had been leveled, turning into a vast crimson carpet.

On this hundred-acre expanse of blood-soaked ground, within what seemed like a colossal square arena in his large orchard, several human-sized figures battled fiercely.

"My orchard is almost obliterated. This is the first time a large-scale battle of this magnitude has erupted. I even thought the world wall I set up wouldn't hold, that they would break through, destroy my yard, collapse my living room, and shatter my refrigerator, sofa, chairs, and oven."

Xu Zhi looked into the distance. "Times are truly advancing."

"Ordinary deities cannot suppress the overflow of their power; they must reside in small spatial divine realms. They cannot descend to the mortal world easily, as prolonged stays would cause their power to continuously drain due to the difference in energy concentration, given their high-energy nature... Only at the level of high-grade deities can one achieve energy containment, allowing a living god to freely roam the mortal world."

The low, mid, and high deity realms represent the continuous accumulation and control of power.

Xu Zhi watched all of this quietly and said aloud, "And upon reaching the Ninth-Tier realm, one can perfectly control combat energy, without any leakage, conserving every bit of power, with micro-control reaching the level of laws... Otherwise, a battle of this magnitude would have long ago evaporated the earth's sand and rocks, destroying the entire world's ecosystem... After all, destroying the world is something neither side wishes to see."

Their battle was indeed a conscious effort to protect the environment.

However, Xu Zhi knew clearly that even though they were controlling their power to avoid environmental destruction, the world wall he had set up was still enduring the terrifying pressure from two monstrous entities. Yet, their combat energy, when striking the "world wall," seemed to vanish like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to stir up any waves.

It couldn't reach Xu Zhi's orchard at all.

This made Xu Zhi's expression turn even more admiring.

"The Insectoid Sub-brain is truly worthy of being the previous Insectoid Mother Emperor. From its physical shell, five gene-hero insectoids were born, each inheriting one of the Mother Emperor's five genetic talents for ruling the insectoids."

Only then did Xu Zhi truly feel the energy shield strengthening.

It seemed that the stronger the insectoids within the sandbox became, the stronger the world's protective barrier grew.

The energy they unleashed was absorbed by the energy shield, even becoming Xu Zhi's own energy. He watched its rapid increase with immense joy.

But why would the energy shield strengthen as the insectoids grew stronger?

This felt similar to the "Three Pillar Gods"; once Du Xue, the Daughter of Sheng Lin, and others broke through to godhood, the Three Pillar Gods would grow stronger accordingly.

Because your bloodline demon core is inherently a part of the other party, like a backdoor, which you can never resist.

"I couldn't understand it before, but now I'm beginning to grasp the principle behind the insectoid sub-brain..." Xu Zhi slightly straightened his expression. "The insectoid sub-brain is probably a pyramid structure similar to that of the Three Pillar Gods."

It's important to note that the Three Pillar Gods cared nothing for the resistance of their own racial beings!

They also paid no mind to various covert schemes against them. Like rebellious children defying their parents, they still meticulously nurtured them, appearing extremely magnanimous.

"In essence, the insectoids are quite similar to the Three Pillar Gods," Xu Zhi suddenly laughed wholeheartedly. "The stronger the internal races, the stronger the Pillar Gods become, and they cannot be resisted... The insectoid sub-brain has a structure similar to that of a Pillar God."

Many things couldn't be understood with his previous level of knowledge.

But as he continuously deduced the world sandbox, comprehended knowledge, and gained many truths, all previous obscurities were clarified.

"Still, I'm not afraid of them breaking out of my orchard, but a lot of the earth's material and soil will still be evaporated," Xu Zhi said, his expression no longer calm.

After this great battle, his orchard would likely be truly ruined.

After a few moments of contemplation, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat.

*Gurgle!*

An exquisitely structured white excavator appeared before him.

Xu Zhi called for the housekeeper girl, tossed her a spatial ring, then tore open space, instructing her to drive the excavator to the Mercury power station. "Go dig some sand for me."

*Boom!*

The ground shook violently.

With a *thud*, it dramatically sank!

Just as the Three Pillar Gods had said, the previous fighting was indeed a warm-up. Now, they unleashed their full power.

Their true full power.

*Bang bang bang bang!*

Countless fists rained down, as if a cat were tormenting an unkillable ant, or pounding mochi.

Emperor Qi was violently exploding almost every second, dying more than a dozen times in an instant.

The Three Pillar Gods' three heads glowed brightly.

"The Nine Turns Mysterious Art is truly terrifying."

"Over 17 billion beings, more than forty deities, and tens of millions of Heavenly Emperors within your body, acting as a world furnace, constantly providing energy, while also recovering their strength cross-legged, contributing to the operation of your world-machine..."

"Our high-intensity destruction, although far exceeding your recovery speed, could probably only be sustained for half a month, and by then, we might be exhausted..."

"Then let us show you, this is the true power of laws, our true full strength."

"With this one strike."

"Genetic Lock, activate!"

The Three Pillar Gods' entire bodies erupted with intense white-gold flames, their eye sockets filled with divine fire.

Only at this moment did they truly enter their battle form.

It was the Corpse Race Genetic Lock form—no, it was the unified, terrifying genetic lock form of the entire Corpse Race!

"Our energy is too scarce; we can only unleash power twenty times greater than before, but have you ever witnessed it?"

The Three Pillar Gods instantly seemed to transform into Subar, the beast race war god with overwhelming battle intent, who fought the Joyful Emperor in ancient times, continuously wielding gravity-laden fists like meteors.

"No matter how strong your defense, it's far inferior to our offense, like the strongest spear meeting the strongest shield."

"However, we are more than just that!" the Three Pillar Gods roared, their eyes burning with bloodlust, as if infused with the emotions of all beings, becoming incredibly frantic, anxious, savage, and warlike.

"Do you wish to witness true death?"

*Rip rip!*

The gorilla's figure suddenly grew gaunt, turning a dull black-red. Two additional arms extended from beneath its ribs, oozing wet, viscous, gelatinous fluid. The surging power, like a dark-red black hole, instantly transformed it into a four-armed giant.

*Rip!*

Three furry arms suddenly twisted their own necks, spinning like screws, pulling out three white bone-skull swords, transforming them into headless bone swordsmen.

"What... is this?"

Faced with such a bizarre and terrifying scene, Emperor Qi's expression changed completely.

Only at this moment did he realize that the Three Pillar Gods had truly revealed their full battle form.

What he had learned before was merely superficial.

The Demon Core race perfectly controlled every part of their bodies, thereby squeezing the potential from every cell like a juicer, entering a berserk state.

Their specialty was explosive power.

This was precisely the bane of the Nine Turns Mysterious Art.

"Corpse... Sword... Immortal."

The headless gorilla slowly spoke, bending slightly into a half-crouched pose, gripping longswords. They were three genuine white bone-skull swords, smooth as jade, representing the Beast-shaped Pillar God's sword, the Plant-shaped Pillar God's sword, and the Human-shaped Pillar God's sword.

"Die!"

The single word was uttered.

*Boom boom boom.*

In that instant, as if the entire universe were a wooden table instantly overturned, countless chaotic currents surged like a magnificent waterfall from the Three Pillar Gods' palms, interwoven with countless grand laws. Each strand contained immeasurable Dao rhythms, drawing upon the power of the entire world.

The Three Pillar Gods fully unleashed their power as weak Ninth-Tier beings, attacking with twenty times the force of Subar, launching tens of thousands of strikes per second to utterly annihilate him.

"You want to beat me to death in an instant?"

Emperor Qi's expression subtly shifted, then he smiled calmly. "Then, let me show you my full power."

*Boom!*

Within the nine inner worlds.

All 17.3 billion beings inexplicably looked up.

Qiu Mingshan Che Su also felt a strange sensation.

Only the Moon God Ruyun from the distant Moon God Palace, who was tending to flowers and plants in her garden, still carrying a watering can, suddenly spoke, "Close your eyes."

Qiu Mingshan Che Su instinctively closed his eyes.

*Rumble rumble!!*

Heaven and Earth seemed like a tsunami.

When Qiu Mingshan Che Su opened his eyes again, the entire world had changed.

The sky was crimson.

The ground was completely covered in minced flesh.

Countless cities, tribes, mountains, and rivers had been transformed into endless blood-and-flesh energy, mixed with blood, bones, and clothing. Not a single living being remained within the entire Nine Heavens Aperture.

Qiu Mingshan was stunned for a moment. "That's 17.39 billion living beings! Those are... over seventy deities cultivated for thousands of years!"

This was two and a half times the population of Earth!

Witnessing all of this firsthand, he fell into extreme silence.

Was this the perspective of such terrifying beings?

For these ancient overlords who regarded all living beings as mere ants, the creatures of a world were seemingly nothing more than weeds that, once killed, would reappear after a few centuries or millennia.

Ruyun merely smiled.

*Boom!*

Outside.

Emperor Qi raised his arm high.

"This is my strongest strike, sacrificing absolutely everything! A strike from 170 trillion living beings!"

He roared!!

*Boom!*

The ancient mythical emperor leaped into the air, his arm descended, and a single punch landed.

Every single hair on his Pangu True Body continuously disintegrated. Endless flesh and blood, imbued with the spirit of a desperate struggle, transformed his entire being into the purest, most brilliant light, like a true supernova explosion.

The Three Pillar Gods and Emperor Qi violently collided, both displaying absolute, frantic bloodlust, igniting and incinerating everything.

The world transformed into light.

At the center of the explosion, endless electrical sparks crackled and glittered.

"To resist that attack, Emperor Qi sacrificed over 17 billion beings from his entire inner world. This is a monumental act, unimaginable to anyone."

Xu Zhi's expression was stunned. He abruptly stood up. "Truly ruthless."

*Thump thump thump!*

He felt an instantaneous surge of endless energy flooding his body, like a torrent of chaotic power, immediately breaking through the shackles of his current realm, completely advancing him from a Mid-Tier Heavenly Emperor to a High-Tier Heavenly Emperor.

In an instant, his High-Tier Heavenly Emperor energy was pushed directly to its peak limit, and even the accumulation for the Deity realm began to rapidly increase.

"The life force of an entire world... Is my path to godhood beginning now?" Xu Zhi stood dazed, gazing at the terrifying struggle in the distance.

*Hoo hoo hoo!*

Loud gasps for breath.

As if pulling the enormous bellows of the entire world.

"Your strongest strike still didn't kill me; I still endured it."

Emperor Qi was bathed in blood, his flesh and blood continuously regenerating as he recovered. Like a long-distance runner after a marathon, he was hunched over, his two arms dangling as if broken, a truly ghastly sight.

Emperor Qi took a deep breath. "It's hard to imagine that I had to pay such a high price just to block that. The fusion of 53 and 100 is like two entirely different beings, a complete breakthrough in realm, a total transformation of the body. How could the disparity be so immense... And this Ninth-Tier being hasn't even absorbed energy or increased their cultivation yet."

"Foolish!"

"Foolish! Foolish!"

The Three Pillar Gods stood opposite, utterly enraged. They seemed to transform from cold machines into beings consumed by furious emotion, like Subar in his frenzied state.

"You actually destroyed a world."

"The energy from that world would have been enough to let us fully become true Ninth-Tiers, filling 30% of our energy reserves, instead of being at a mere 1% exhaustion."

"Just... to block one of our attacks?"

The Three Pillar Gods' voices intertwined, almost incomprehensible. To them, the heartache was beyond imagination.

Emperor Qi's inner world was his personal domain.

It didn't contain all the beings from the Ancient Wood Planet, but he had cultivated it for thousands of years, making it incredibly vast—it was practically one-third of the Six Realms!

"Is this not good?"

Emperor Qi's flesh and blood recovered once more, and he stood up, calmly stating, "This has truly been an exciting battle."

"It is not good."

The Three Pillar Gods' expressions turned completely serious. The headless gorilla waved its three white bone longswords and coldly stated, "Did you think that was our full-power strike? It was indeed our full-power strike, but this is our normal state! Any casual attack from us is a full-power strike, reaching 80% of what you just witnessed. You... can no longer block it."

Indeed.

Sacrificing an entire world, a monumental cost, just to block one attack—what about the next one?

The disparity was simply enormous.

In the distance, Armin and the others' expressions completely changed.

They had thought the opponent was strong, but never expected them to fully reveal their true battle form. The gap between such beings was truly despair-inducing.

One had to ignite over 170 beings from an entire world just to block a single attack from the other—and this was from a weak Ninth-Tier who had just transformed and hadn't absorbed energy yet.

A true, fully energized Ninth-Tier would be unimaginable!

"Yes, my full-power strike just now could barely block one attack," Emperor Qi's expression suddenly became calm. "But what about *this* full-power strike of mine?"

At that instant, his body continuously crackled and popped, as if the entire Nine Turns Mysterious Art had undergone a super terrifying grand update!