Chapter 680 — Why the Arts of Calculation Enchant

Among the villagers, the most flamboyant had always been the Blind Elder, who loved to dabble in brush and ink and show off his charms; but ever since the Butcher emerged from his madness and regained his former elegance, once this pork-slaughtering, meat-selling butcher began to flaunt his own charms, there was practically nothing left for the Blind Elder to do. United wills make a fortress. Though almost none of the divine cities of Taihuang Heaven could survive this impact, every heart was stirred by the bold singing of the Butcher and Shen Mu, and the divine abilities around them now seemed an impregnable divine city.

The First Ancestor Human Sovereign's Heaven-and-Earth Seal became this city's sky and earth, its four walls; the other gods and demons were the generals who reinforced the walls, while Shen Mu and tens of thousands of divine-ability practitioners were soldiers standing upon the walls to fend off the enemy's assault. Their qi and blood were joined, their divine abilities linked, as they held back the terrifying might unleashed by the destruction of heaven and earth. In a single instant, everyone felt an unimaginably dreadful pressure.

Some had the blood vessels of their entire bodies burst under that dreadful force, blood gushing like a fountain, until they were men of blood; some had their sinews torn and their skin split open; some had their garments shredded; some had their bones broken. Yet no one fell back—even those whose arms were severed did not retreat in the least, for they still had their primordial spirits and could still wield their divine abilities.

At last, the most terrifying first wave of impact passed.

The First Ancestor Human Sovereign's legs suddenly gave way, and he collapsed to his knees in a faint. A multitude of arms caught him, keeping him from falling flat, and laid him gently upon the ground. Though the divine-ability practitioners and gods and demons present were many, the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, for their safety, had borne more than nine-tenths of the pressure. He was a powerhouse of the God-Slaying Platform realm, surpassing the other gods and demons by more than words could tell; even bound together, all of them were far beneath him.

Shen Mu and the Alchemist stepped forward to examine and heal him, while the other gods and demons stood in a ring around them, holding back the aftershocks.

Taihuang Heaven was now like a hell of magma. What fell from the sky was a rain of lava, laden with black ash and mixed with fire-stones the size of mountain ranges plunging from on high.

The hot winds blew with a frenzy a hundred times the speed of sound or more, turning the magma into towering waves that rolled on, swallowing all in their path. And the quaking of the earth caused volcano after volcano to erupt from the seabed of the magma sea, pillars of fire shooting hundreds, even thousands of li into the sky. The sky had long since shattered.

Shards of space in a riot of colors, without any thickness at all, drifted through the air giving off a strange radiance; some flew at furious speed, like the sharpest blades, slicing apart all that they passed.

The breathable air was all but exhausted. With every breath of the foul atmosphere, they drew in no telling how many poisonous gases that corroded their lungs.

Even holding their breath, the toxins still ate into their skin. Xing An opened his box, took out a handful of seeds, and breathed softly upon them.

At once, green grass spread all around them, and willows and trees grew into shade. The stretch of land, six or seven li across, that they guarded remained tranquil—one of the few pure lands left in Taihuang Heaven.

Here had not become a world of magma, and so Xing An could use his creation divine ability to make plants grow and purify the air. Ma Rulai gently opened his palm.

The plants and the pure land rose and drifted toward the back of his head, settling into the phantom images of the Twenty Heavens, where Buddha light nourished this sole patch of green. Pure air spread out from around him, and everyone breathed it in greedily. "This cannot go on.

" Ma Rulai and the monks' Buddha light formed a vast canopy of radiance, shielding the crowd.

He said: 'Even with our creation divine ability, we cannot hold out for many years. Sooner or later this sky will turn into a black sun, with no light at all; the spiritual qi and spiritual power between heaven and earth will be no more; our divine abilities will regress, our cultivation will wither, and in the end we will become heaps of white bones here. ' Xing An closed his box and said abruptly: 'Sect Master Shen, you should have a way to build another spirit-energy translocation bridge, no?

' Shen Mu and the Alchemist together suppressed the First Ancestor Human Sovereign's injuries. Hearing this, Shen Mu looked up and said: 'Impossible now.

Though I have materials enough, the altar on the Barren Ruins side and the altar here shattered at the same moment; the surging spirit energy crushed both altars at once.

Without the altar at the Barren Ruins, I cannot forge a translocation bridge.

' Xing An frowned, looked at the shattered sky, and shook his head: 'The gods and demons may survive, though they will only grow weaker by degrees, but the divine-ability practitioners cannot live on. These practitioners are all burdens—cast them off. ' Tens of thousands of divine-ability practitioners were still all around; hearing this, their hearts turned to ice. Shen Mu straightened up, his gaze falling on Xing An, and said calmly: 'I have been to Taiming Heaven, right above Taihuang Heaven.

There is a passage there that leads straight to the Barren Ruins.

Taiming Heaven and Taihuang Heaven have also been pierced through; one can go from Taihuang Heaven to Taiming Heaven, and then on to the Barren Ruins. No one need die. ' Xing An said: 'But bringing these people will only slow our steps. Moreover, we gods will have to protect them; in this doomsday world, protecting these practitioners will only make us burn through our strength faster.

My suggestion is to travel light. ' His gaze swept across the faces of the crowd.

'Perhaps we should first kill off a batch and make them into dried meat, so that when hunger comes on the road we may replenish our strength.

' Everyone shuddered with cold dread, not daring to meet his eyes. Shen Mu said with a half-smile: 'Xing An, in my eyes, you are a burden too. If you do not wish to be a burden, then think as a normal person would.

On the road, help where you should help, and simply do your part. You are not the leader of us survivors—best not to speak in the tone of a leader. ' Xing An frowned.

The Village Head coughed once and said with perfect composure: 'Xing An, there should be quite a lot of dried meat in your box, no? ' The Blind Elder stroked the Dragon Tuo Divine Spear.

The black dragon was soft as a cat, swimming beneath his rough palm, its bones rattling with a clattering sound—most comfortable.

The Blind Elder laughed: 'Perhaps if we make Brother Xing An into dried meat, we can stave off hunger on the road. ' The Lame Elder, his courage now full, chuckled: 'Cut off his two legs first! ' Xing An said calmly: 'Old Sword God, you are not whole of limb, and you are no match for me now. I can let all of you come at once.

Not to mention you—even if you add this Daoist Brother Pang Yu, I fear you not in the least.

' The Alchemist asked curiously: 'What did you say?

Say it again. ' Xing An's eye twitched. After a moment, he said slowly: 'On the road, I will do my part.

' Shen Mu looked toward the First Ancestor.

His injuries were grave, and he would not wake for some time. The First Ancestor's body was heavy and solid, and the True God Pang Yu would be needed to carry him on his back.

As for the other divine-ability practitioners, they could travel over the magma sea, treading on magma, walking upon the sea—no great difficulty for them.