Chapter 154
Chen Huai'an gazed at the corpses strewn across the Jinhe River, his eyes locked onto the Corpse King, Di Jiang, a fierce killing intent coalescing into a chilling wind.
"Uncle, I, Chen Huai'an, owe you a life. Revenge is never too late, and gratitude should not wait until morning!"
"凝——!" A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the heavens, as dark clouds gathered ominously.
The remaining half of the talisman paper instantly ignited.
Chen Huai'an's hair turned completely white, the silver light of thunder flowing through his strands.
Under some inexplicable force, Chen Huai'an's body lifted off the ground,
His right hand, gripping the thunder talisman, became charred, as thunder dragons surged through his meridians, his flesh now a vessel for divine thunder!
"Ninefold... Heavenly Tribulation?!" Di Jiang's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the figure enveloped in lightning above him. "Who... who are you? A reincarnation of the Thunder Department? No... that can't be! It’s not time for that yet! I should be the strongest now; those old geezers promised me..."
"Enough of your nonsense!" Chen Huai'an snorted coldly, slapping the thunder talisman onto his crown and pointing his finger like a sword towards the sky. His eyes sparkled with lightning, and the blood vessels at the corners of his eyes burst, exploding into electric mist.
"Zixiao punishes evil, ten thousand thunders..." As he spoke, thunderous energy erupted from his seven orifices,
His voice resonated with the echoes of heaven and earth: "...Refine the true!"
Boom——!
Centered around Chen Huai'an,
Countless purple thunder pillars pierced down from the heavens.
Ice shards from the Jinhe River floated into the air, electric arcs weaving through them.
Di Jiang's crown and flowing robes shattered in the thunderous energy, revealing a face riddled with sealing nails.
"Stop it for me!" He formed seals with both hands, a massive imperial visage coalescing behind him, draped in dragon robes, the corpse energy surging like an ocean. Beneath the dazzling golden tassels, his green face bore sharp fangs, and his red eyes blazed like torches, countless ghostly soldiers emerging to protect their emperor.
Yet even so,
They were still being torn apart inch by inch by the thunder.
"I refuse to accept this!"
Di Jiang looked up at the shadow in the sky, his roar shattering glass for a hundred miles around.
Cracks appeared on his face, bronze nails peeling away to reveal charred finger bones beneath.
His body was disintegrating.
"You bunch of... liars! I will not let you go..."
"I am ordained by heaven!"
"I have endured twelve heavenly tribulations!"
Above the heavens, Chen Huai'an's entire being was charred, yet his thunderous eyes still shone brightly.
"Can't the heavenly tribulation kill you?"
"Then let me do it myself!"
The final purple lightning struck down like a colossal pillar supporting the sky.
With the sound of thunder, the dark clouds dispersed.
Where Di Jiang once stood, there was now only a handful of ash and a pool of golden liquid.
Chen Huai'an fell from the sky.
Unseen, unheard, and lost in thought.
The transformation of a divine cultivator using the Zixiao Divine Thunder Talisman turned him into divine thunder, temporarily gaining the residual power of the heavenly way.
But this also meant he would be subjected to the refining of that power.
How could mere Qi Refinement withstand such a domineering process?
The cost, of course, was,
To disintegrate into ash.
…
Kunlun Mountain.
The tightly shut gates of the celestial palace suddenly swung open.
Celestial music floated through the air, and rainbow clouds gathered at the peak of Kunlun Mountain.
The demon-slaying masters and the revivalists exploring the Kunlun stone tablet looked up at the extraordinary sight above, dumbfounded.
A dignified female voice resonated from the clouds:
"I have heard of the suffering in the mortal realm, the torment of demons and evil spirits for too long. Today, I open the heavenly gates to gather disciples."
"To enter my Kunlun Celestial Palace, one must ascend the ten thousand stone steps before the palace gates. Those who reach a thousand steps may enter the outer gate, three thousand steps for the inner gate, five thousand steps for direct transmission, and eight thousand steps to receive the sect's legacy. Those who surpass ten thousand steps shall become the next palace master."
As her voice fell,
The barrier beyond the nine thousand steps vanished completely.
…
At the Great Thunder Sound Temple.
Golden clouds pierced the heavens, and the True Buddha appeared.
Golden blood dripped from the glazed tiles, and the Bodhi tree transformed into a diamond protector.
The True Buddha's toes touched the ground, shrinking the entire Mount Sumeru to a grain of gold dust on his robe.
"All beings suffer, and the Buddha's realm has no door."
The sound of the Buddha echoed throughout the mountains, as three thousand golden lotuses surged from the earth.
"Only those who cross the river themselves may see me."
As the words fell, the True Buddha transformed into a sea of red clouds.
Meanwhile, inside and outside the Thunder Sound Temple, all those kneeling in worship, regardless of their faith, found scars appearing on their foreheads.
…
In a Catholic church, the sky split open with a beam of golden light.
Yahweh descended upon a cloud ladder, holy light cascading down like a waterfall.
As He lowered His gaze, the sea of clouds formed seven lampstands, and with a raised hand, holy flames fell, igniting the thorns beneath His feet, birthing holy roses. When they touched the ground, they burned into the inscriptions of the Ten Commandments, etching eternal laws into the marble.
Inside the church, those possessed by demons were enveloped in black smoke.
The smoke coalesced into howling demons, their piercing screams drowned out by the sacred hymns.
"Those who bear the cross, come drink from the cup of the everlasting covenant."
The holy decree transformed into a white eagle soaring over Mount Calvary.
The rust on the iron nails of the demon statue peeled away, revealing the New Testament in Greek.
The shadow of the Ark of the Covenant appeared beneath the Lord's cross.
In the flapping of cherub wings, the foreheads of the faithful were branded with a scarlet flame emblem.
…
In the neon-lit streets, a parade of ghosts roamed.
The entire Osaka transformed into a realm of spirits.
…
In the United States, a meteor fell.
The zombie virus began to spread throughout the city.
…
In Tianfu District.
While the Demon-Slaying Division in C Province was busy cleaning up the battlefield, calming the crowd, and treating the wounded,
Across the globe, divine descents and large-scale anomalies began to erupt one after another.
At this moment, the charred remnants of Chen Huai'an lay quietly in a nutrient chamber,
Oblivious to everything happening outside.
…
…
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Chapter 165: I Know
……
"How is Chen Huai'an's condition?"
"Not good." Xiang Xiaoyuan looked gravely at Luo Haisheng, who was also lying in a nutrient chamber. Thanks to his powerful self-recovery ability, half of his body had already emerged.
"What do you mean, not good? Isn't that kid's leg growing back?" Luo Haisheng pointed at Chen Huai'an's leg, which was sprouting dark red flesh buds in the nutrient chamber. Although the rest of his body remained charred, at least there was a glimmer of hope.
"I think you might not want those legs to grow back." Xiang Xiaoyuan handed a test report to Luo Haisheng.
Luo Haisheng glanced at it, his expression turning blank— the report showed that the newly grown muscle tissue was entirely composed of demonized cancer cells.
So the question arose.
When Chen Huai'an fully regrows,
Is he still Chen Huai'an, or is he just a mass of demonized cancer cells?
"There exists a dendritic high-density spiritual energy cluster within Chen Huai'an. This energy cluster is different from the spiritual energy we currently encounter; it exhibits the properties of lightning and cannot be extracted by us."
Xiang Xiaoyuan produced another test report for Luo Haisheng and continued, "The thunder spiritual energy cluster has preserved Chen Huai'an's last brain cells. They are battling against the demonized cancer cells, but due to their excessive aggression, they are also continuously consuming these enhanced 'thunder cells.' On the other hand, the proliferation rate of the demonized cancer cells is too fast. Based on sample simulation tests, there are ultimately two possible outcomes: either both sides suffer, and Chen Huai'an's brain explodes; or the demonized cancer cells win, completely taking over Chen Huai'an."
"No, we absolutely cannot let the demon dragon devour Chen Huai'an." Luo Haisheng's expression darkened. "Is there any way to slow down the growth of the demon dragon? Can we take Chen Huai'an out of the nutrient chamber?"
"That would indeed slow the demon dragon's growth, but Chen Huai'an's 'thunder cells' would also starve." Xiang Xiaoyuan sighed.
"Really, is there no other way…"
Luo Haisheng stared at the disfigured young man in the nutrient chamber, clenching his fists tightly.
Chen Huai'an had saved him, saved the Demon-Slaying Division, saved Tianfu District, and one could even say he saved the entire C Province. Yet now, as a hero, he lay in the cold nutrient chamber, his body being relentlessly eroded by demonized cancer cells.
"We said we would save him before, but it feels like we were just talking nonsense back then." Xiang Xiaoyuan lowered his head, her eyes filled with bitterness and guilt.
"No, there is still one way."
Xiang Xiaoyuan looked up, astonished at Luo Haisheng.
"Using my activated cancer cells." Luo Haisheng gripped the edge of the nutrient chamber, the charred metal shell twisting and deforming in his palm. "My ability is cell assimilation; my cancer cells are simply lacking dragon energy compared to the demon dragon, so they are not demonized and do not possess independent consciousness."
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