Chapter 242.2: Blood and Tears, Iron and Steel

Piercing alarms rang across the city, filling every corner of Spring City.

A ruined truck shook off layers of dust and transformed into a gigantic beast. Swiftly, it smashed through a wall, trampled everything in its path, and savagely devoured the blood and bones beneath its feet. Even if they were torn apart in the counterattack a moment later, the blood-red lights embedded in their twisted wreckage continued to flicker stubbornly.

Grotesque constructs cobbled together from fused scraps of metal spread steel wings like birds and soared into the sky, gathering in great numbers until, at last, they formed a storm of ash-gray and black. Wherever they passed, nothing remained amid the rust but ruins.

The earth shook. Cracks tore rapidly across the ground as a corrupted, aberrant train burst from the tunnel. Its maw opened wide as it crashed into the sanctuary, rampaging through it before coiling itself around the holy statue and wrenching at it.

That wasn’t all; more creatures emerged. Rustling and scraping noises came from ventilation ducts, sewers, and shadowed corners. Countless tiny monsters, pieced together from parts and wreckage no one could identify, rushed through the city in swarms.

Each one was no bigger than a palm, yet when they gathered, they became a tide that made one’s skin crawl. They were too many to count, stretching on as far as the eye could see.

No one could even tell whose wails and screams they were hearing anymore. Once the swarm had passed, all that remained amid the dried blood were shattered bones and mangled remains.

The Security Bureau teams tightened their formations and braced themselves, only to watch the overwhelming tide of steel race straight past them, not sparing them a single glance. As far as the eye could see, the entirety of Spring City had been engulfed by that terrifying tide. Pieces of metal and wreckage had been crudely forced together into hideous forms, frantically destroying every foe and enemy that came within sight.

No matter how many were destroyed, ravenous monsters would simply take shape again from the fragments. And no matter how thoroughly they were shattered, blood continued to seep from beneath the wreckage, and the fury coursing through them never died. Not even Jian Yuan could have imagined just what terrifying consequences the techniques he had taught Ji Jue could bring about!

Hell had become a furnace, and within that furnace burned an undying hatred that could never be extinguished. After all, what else could tears and death give birth to, if not monsters such as these? There was no need to resist corruption, no reason to fear aberration. All they had to do was unleash the pain and hatred burning inside them.

With that lingering hatred as its source, Pacifier Creation spread everywhere. Aberrant Alchemy drew out every trace of savagery and violence within the monsters, while Fluid Alchemy reshaped them into forms best suited to their true nature. Ji Jue elevated their suffering and hatred, transformed their blood feud, purified their despair, and united it all into a single whole.

When an avalanche came crashing down, every innocent snowflake in it had been born from the ashes of despair. When a dam finally burst, every drop of mud swept helplessly along had been formed from blood and tears.

All suffering had a source, but when had those lofty schemers ever cared about the cries of each falling snowflake, or the tears mingled into every drop of blood? Now, the time had come for it all to end, and everything would face its final reckoning!

Ji Jue had never tried to control them. He poured out every last trace of spirit matter and pushed himself beyond his limits. All he had done was place this power destined to create nothing but hell into the hands of every dead soul trapped within that hell.

And then, he taught everyone what hell had taught him. Do not remain silent. Do not endure and stand still any longer. Give in to hatred. Let yourself burn. Destroy everything. Pour out all that suffering, hatred, and venom to your heart’s content! Wreak your vengeance upon everything that has driven you to despair!

Flames spread through the tide of hatred, while the relentless grinding and clashing of steel rang out without end, drowning everything beneath its roar. When viewed from high above, the mechanical monstrosities looked like a vast, rampaging tide swallowing the land. Neither its beginning nor its end could be seen.

With cries and wails that no one dared ignore any longer, they savagely destroyed everything in their path. The deafening crashes of destruction never ceased, reverberating between heaven and earth. Before the relentless tide of aberrants, even the heavily fortified sanctuaries and halls were engulfed, overrun, and torn apart in an instant.

An enraged roar erupted from within the collapsing building. “Get lost!”

The aberrant man unleashed arcs of lightning as he shot into the sky. From atop a shattered wall, a mechanical monstrosity hurled itself upward without regard for its survival. It opened its jaws and bit down, only to be burned to ash by the flames. As it shrieked, the aberrant man’s ascent stalled for a moment, as if something had grabbed hold of him.

Trampling over the wreckage of its own kind, a hound-like monster leaped into the air and clamped its jaws around the top of his foot, refusing to let go even as its body came apart in the very next instant. But before that could happen, more of its kind had stepped over it and begun climbing!

At last, a shadow fell across the last traces of savagery on his face. It was over. The moment realization dawned on him, the writhing mountain of steel reared up, then opened its maw and snapped shut.

BOOM!

Blood, wreckage, flames, and arcs of electricity burst from the gaps, staining large stretches of steel and machinery crimson.

As flesh knitted together, countless monsters merged into one. Under the transformations wrought by Fluid Alchemy, they took on an entirely new form, as though reborn. A savage, beast-like snarl still lingered upon the face assembled from shattered steel and machinery, while countless flickering scarlet lights gleamed like eyes.

They stared at the figures scattering through the ruins and lunged forward. Whenever one was crushed beneath the trampling horde, even more opened their eyes from within the bloodstained machinery. Driven by ravenous hunger, they crawled forward and gnawed at the corruption, swelling in size without end.

Their cries sounded so clear and bright. Even the wails of anguish had become strangely pleasing to the ear.

High above, the dark rainbow light churned in fury. Dazzling pillars of light descended, crushing the rampaging monsters below, yet it was all completely futile. Again and again, the enormous monsters surrounding the sanctuary were wiped away, but nothing could stop the supporting pillars from cracking and collapsing.

The Mortal World Abomination, which had once towered between heaven and earth, had now been forced to bend beneath the weight of the world itself. It could no longer sustain the projection of Maelstrom. The enormous wound that had split open across it gradually began to close, while the vast vortex behind it grew faint and illusory, slipping beyond reach.

Across its four heads, its fury could no longer be concealed. Rainbow light poured down like torrential rain, shredding vast swathes of steel monsters. From the fragments sent flying, even more creatures crawled out of the blood and hatred once again. They greedily devoured corruption and embraced aberration, then, utterly ignoring the suppression and control of the Upper Abomination, they turned around and sank their teeth into it instead.

Amid the deafening crashes, a distant voice drifted over. “How does it feel, High Priest-Saint?”

Changsheng glanced back coldly. Aboard the airship, he saw that wrecked figure bracing himself against the railing, his face riddled with scars and wounds. His white hair was streaked and disheveled, his body broken and battered, but his eyes burned like the furnaces of hell, glowing red with an unceasing blaze.

As if genuinely curious, Ji Jue asked, “How are you enjoying the suffering, hatred, and despair created by this Great Abomination?”

BOOM!!!

Lu Changsheng no longer held anything back. Annoyed by Ji Jue’s gaze, he raised a hand and clenched his fist.

The rainbow light filling the sky converged and surged forward. Tens of millions of attacks shot forth. An incalculable barrage erupted at once, corroding, crushing, transforming, infiltrating, battering, and tearing through everything in its path.

Meanwhile, Ji Jue merely waved his hand. Under Total Network Control, every attack and every destructive force was redirected toward Spring City, smashing apart the nodes that Jian Yuan had created. Even then, the raging force had yet to run its course, slamming head-on into the workshop that had transformed into the Celestial Pillar.

The earth shook and the mountains trembled. From somewhere in the darkness came what sounded like a furious growl, though it was too faint to make out clearly.

Ji Jue waved his hand once more and issued another command. Aggregation!

Enormous shapes rose from among the countless monsters rampaging across the ground. Vast quantities of machinery were forced together, interlocking with one another. Hideous faces wailed and screamed as they overlapped, merged, and transformed into an entirely new form that resembled some aberrant colossal beast.

Numerous limbs supported its massive body, which was as heavy as a mountain, as it slammed headlong into Changsheng’s Great Abomination Incarnation, even though it was pitifully weak compared with him.

“It’s all show and no substance!”

Beneath the collapsing heavens, Changsheng abruptly swept out a hand. Sparing only the slightest fraction of his attention from the countless matters demanding it, he crushed the enormous monster charging toward him into pieces.

“So what if it’s bigger? What good does that do?”

The moment those countless fragments fell to the ground, a new silhouette began to emerge from among them. Each time it was shattered, it simply reformed. After devouring and assimilating even more of its own kind, its form grew clearer and more distinct. Like a rabid beast, it clung to Changsheng relentlessly.

When it opened its maw, an endless torrent of aberration toxin poured out. Blood spilled from its body, and sparks burst through the searing fuel before erupting into a river of flame. It crashed into him, latched on, and tore into him with its teeth.

Then, a second colossal monster rose from the ground, then, a third...

BOOM!

Under the Great Abomination Incarnation’s contemptuous gaze, another monster as large as a building was smashed to pieces. Every attack proved futile.

And yet, at some point, countless specks of crimson had begun to hover in the air. Vast amounts of resentment and lingering hatred glimmered in the scattered sparks.

Ji Jue reached out once more. Under the authority of Total Network Control, the millions of invisible hands that had once filled Spring City and held everything in their grasp appeared again, overlapping with each other. The likeness of the ancient Sage seemed to emerge once more, though what had taken shape was merely one of its myriad hands.

Now, as that enormous hand rose in unison with Ji Jue’s, the entire world seemed to grind to a halt beneath the movement of its five fingers. When those fingers spread open, countless metal fragments rose from the ground, reassembling and fusing together before flying into its palm. There, they took shape as an enormous handgun, crude and heavy in form.

The hatred and red light filling the sky trembled, contracted, and converged into a vast, surging torrent.

The torrent collapsed inward, condensing.

Finally, Aberrant Alchemy manifested in full. A myriad of spirit circuits wove together until, at last, they formed a single crystal-clear bullet.

Click.

The bullet slid into the chamber. With a practiced flick of the wrist, the cylinder snapped shut and spun. The round locked into position, and the hammer cocked back as the pitch-black muzzle was aimed directly at the face of the Mortal World Abomination.

Just like that, Ji Jue ignored the rainbow light sweeping toward him from all directions and casually took aim at the most offensive-looking head among them.

“You will receive everything you deserve, because I have chosen to make an enemy of you,” he said, his cold voice seeming to drift through the wind. “This is just the beginning, Changsheng.”

From this moment on, the feud between us will end only when one of us dies!

Ji Jue pulled the trigger.