Chapter 678 — The Wounded Divine General

"What if Qi Jiuyi's news is false? Would we not be handing Taihuang Heaven over to them? " Shen Mu said coldly, "If it is true, then unless we withdraw, countless soldiers of Taihuang Heaven will die with no place to be buried!

" True God Pang Yu gritted his teeth and flew off.

Shen Mu's heart was still somewhat disordered. He looked up at the sky, then at the divine cities of Li and Mingyi, then at the Chiming alien star still moving slowly, and suddenly called out loudly, "Keep reinforcing the Transfer Bridge!

Do not stand there gaping—reinforce it, quickly!

" Dao Lord Lin Xuan and the others came to their senses and hurried to work harder.

Shen Mu paced back and forth.

He stopped, took out the Book of Life and Death, and said through gritted teeth, "How is this thing used? Lou Yunqu of Mingdu can unleash the power of the Book of Life and Death—can I not unleash its power as well? " He tried again and again, but in his hands the Book of Life and Death could only reflect names; it could not revive the dead. Just then the sky suddenly grew much brighter.

Shen Mu looked up, and his heart sank. Flowing fire filled the heavens—a vast continent, blazing furiously, hung inverted above Taihuang Heaven. Luofu Heaven.

All of Luofu Heaven was in the throes of burning and destruction: the earth shook, mountains swayed, volcanoes erupted, magma had spread across the entire continent, the seas had evaporated and become thunderclouds riven with countless storms! Around the altar, everyone stared blankly at the sky. The sight was so magnificent, so awe-inspiring, that they could not help but watch, forgetting all else.

"Reinforce the altar!

" Shen Mu shouted sternly, rousing them.

The people came to their senses and hurriedly resumed reinforcing the altar.

Meanwhile the alien star in the sky was entering Jingping faster, bringing greater pressure to bear on the altar. Clearly the gods and demons of the Suspended Void Realm had noticed the phenomenon beyond the heavens and were trying to leave this place before Luofu Heaven fell.

Li City was nearest to this place, so True God Pang Yu directly used his great magic power to transport its army. Other gods and demons of Taihuang Heaven set out as well, hurrying to the other divine cities to carry troops to the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge. Shen Mu then had the ability users of Taihuang Heaven enter the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge.

The pressure on the bridge surged; the ground all around cracked without cease, opening chasms of unfathomable depth, until only the Transfer Bridge still stood. At this rate, the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge would not hold much longer. "Let the ability users go first!

The gods and demons stay! " Venerable God Sang Ye shouted loudly, "Senior brothers, to the other divine cities! " Many deities departed one after another, hastening to bring more armies of ability users from the other cities.

The area around the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge was already a sea of people, all waiting to enter.

The spirit energy spewing from the Transfer Bridge grew fiercer still, its radiance soaring to the heavens, brighter even than Luofu Heaven in its blood sacrifice. The bridge's tremors grew more violent, and the earth around it rumbled again and again! Ma Rulai, the Village Head, and others arrived in succession, using their own magic power to suppress the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge, greatly easing the pressure on Xu Shenghua, Lin Xuan, and the rest.

Xu Shenghua, Dao Lord Lin Xuan, and the others then threw themselves into repairing the shattered runes. Shen Mu swiftly took out the primal artifact for measurement and calculation, observed the speed of Luofu Heaven's fall, and rapidly calculated when and where it would collide with Taihuang Heaven.

After a moment he lowered the artifact in despair. "Only two hours remain. . .

" And the point of collision was vast beyond measure: the center of Taihuang Heaven, near Li City, a region over a hundred thousand li across, containing dozens of divine cities large and small—whether human territory or demon territory, all would be crushed directly beneath Luofu Heaven! A deep sense of helplessness came over him.

A collision of this magnitude was not something a figure like him could possibly withstand. Just then Shen Mu suddenly saw figures flying up from the alien star, rushing toward the falling Luofu Heaven. At the same time, streaks of light shot up from the demon race as well, heading straight for Luofu Heaven—the gods and demons of the Suspended Void Realm, and the demon gods of the demon race! These gods and demons were using their mighty bodies and magic power to hold Luofu Heaven back by force, trying to make it deviate from its original course!

From Luofu Heaven came earth-shaking roars.

Hundreds upon hundreds of gods and demons, their sinews and bodies hideous with strain, hurled every ounce of their strength against it. Even as their flesh split and their muscles tore, they could not change the momentum of Luofu Heaven's descent—yet they did slow its fall a little. Luofu Heaven gradually tilted, like an enormous flying disc, and continued its descent toward Taihuang Heaven.

Time crept on. More and more ability users entered the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge, while armies of ability users were still being sent in an unending stream from the other divine cities. The alien star in the sky had now sunk more than halfway into Jingping.

Suddenly a rain of fire fell from the sky—debris from Luofu Heaven. Boulders as vast as mountains, melted and burning, plunged from the heavens.

Millions of fiery stones tore across the sky, trailing billowing smoke, and bombarded the continent of Taihuang Heaven. In the demon territory, Furiluo raced about, carrying ability users of the demon race from one demon city to another, delivering them to Shike City, the most strongly defended of all. Other demon gods were doing the same.

But the ability users that Furiluo and they carried were only of the demon race's highborn breeds; the lowly breeds could wail and beat the ground, and they paid them no heed.

There was no emotion in Furiluo's eyes. He did what he ought to do, mechanically.

He came to Xian City, and found it strangely tranquil, without the chaos of war he had seen in the other cities. Xian City was peaceful.

Though the demon commoners here had taken to the streets as well, not one of them made a sound. He saw a mother in the street holding her child, looking up at the sky, pressing the child's face to her breast. He saw lovers embracing, holding each other tight. Many demon commoners, families of several, huddled close together, their faces calm, watching the sky.

In the sky, a massive fragment trailed roaring fire down toward Xian City. In their eyes the fragment grew larger and larger, the firelight more and more brilliant, until their faces were lit a blazing red. "Run!

" Furiluo shouted at them.

No one of his race answered him.

The mother murmured softly to the child in her arms and did not look at their Honored King.

Boom— The fragment of Luofu Heaven struck. Xian City was annihilated in an instant; every demon in the city was torn apart and vaporized by flame and explosion in the blink of an eye. The terrible blast hurled Furiluo up and flung him hundreds of li away.

Furiluo crashed into a stretch of mountains and rivers, landing on his back, staring blankly at the shattered sky.

He rose to his feet, his body stained with blood, and suddenly, like a wounded old wolf, let out a grief-stricken howl at the heavens. "Ah—ah—ah—" His three faces twisted hideously.

Heart-rending howls came from him—at first short and sharp, as though his strength had left him, then longer and longer, more and more agonized.