Just as Chen Xu thought he had uncovered the truth, a new doubt arose in his mind.
If the Mother of Hell’s goal was the other five special worlds, why would she go out of her way to provoke these martial artists?
Even if her strength was truly at an incredible level, it made no sense to invite such a formidable enemy for no reason.
Could it be that the Mother of Hell had completely lost her sanity and was now acting purely on instinct?
No, that wasn't right. Chen Xu hadn't forgotten how she had provoked him earlier; she even remembered the fate of the original world consciousness of the Land of the Undead.
This indicated that she hadn't lost her mind—or at least, not entirely.
Then what was her purpose in provoking the martial artists? Chen Xu racked his brain, but no answer came to him.
Meanwhile, the battlefield on the other side underwent a sudden change. The Mother of Hell suddenly lashed out, and the hellfire on her body erupted violently.
An unspeakable sense of madness spread rapidly, enveloping the entire world.
Perhaps irritated by 'Chen Xu’s' prying gaze, she stopped simply defending and began to retaliate.
With a seemingly ordinary swing that carried the magnificent momentum of the world itself, she sent all the Martial Dao Lords flying with a single strike.
This was the terror of a World Lord within their own domain. Bolstered by the ultimate Dao principles of a special world, they were essentially invincible within its borders.
Only the Lord of Heaven managed to withstand the blow, relying on the power of faith flowing from the Heaven's Gate opened behind him.
However, the Lord of Heaven did not press forward. Recognizing the Mother of Hell’s frenzied state, he turned his attention to controlling Heaven's Gate, prioritizing the return of all his followers from this world to Heaven.
Seeing this, the Mother of Hell whipped her tail and slammed it hard into the ground.
In the next instant, the ground beneath the locations of the heavenly cities began to collapse, and magma surged forth.
Slender tentacles reached out from the magma, wrapping around the cities layer by layer. These tentacles were wreathed in hellfire and continuously emitted a corrupting aura.
“You like playing with tentacles? Then try a taste of my Soul Lash.”
To retaliate against the Mother of Hell’s targeted aggression, 'Chen Xu' used his highest authority to call upon a skill from the Undead Network—the original version of Tal Rasha’s Soul Lash.
With the invisible whip in hand, 'Chen Xu' aimed at the tentacles and lashed out.
“ROAR!!!”
As the whip struck, the Mother of Hell actually let out a roar of pain. The tentacles lost their grip, releasing the cities and falling to the ground.
The Lord of Heaven seized the opportunity to teleport all his followers back to Heaven. He even gave 'Chen Xu' a grateful smile.
'Chen Xu' was about to wave his hand to say it was nothing, but before he could even lift it, he was sent flying backward.
Boom!
The ground was carved into a long, deep trench as 'Chen Xu' skidded across it. His perfect physical body sustained damage for the first time, a deep claw mark appearing on his torso.
Before 'Chen Xu' could recover, another massive force struck. The Mother of Hell had appeared beside him at some unknown moment, her tail raining down on him like a flurry of fists.
With every impact, a new crack appeared on 'Chen Xu’s' body.
Unwilling to simply take a beating, 'Chen Xu' managed to cast a Soul Curse of the Life-Essence branch right in the Mother of Hell’s face during a brief opening.
The curse seemed to take effect, as the Mother of Hell momentarily ceased her assault.
However, the pause lasted less than a millisecond. Immediately after, 'Chen Xu' was met with an even more violent barrage of blows.
Under such terrifying attacks, the ground had long since shattered. The Mother of Hell even condensed a platform of hellfire beneath 'Chen Xu' just to support him so she could keep striking.
At that moment, the Martial Dao Lords who had been sent flying earlier charged back, rescuing 'Chen Xu' from the Mother of Hell’s grasp.
However, the enraged Mother of Hell unleashed another heavy blow backed by the momentum of the world, sending the Dao Lords flying once again.
Just as she prepared to continue her assault on 'Chen Xu', a beam of light shot from a distance, enveloping him.
The Mother of Hell was intimately familiar with this light. Without even turning her head, she roared in fury.
“Heaven!”
The Lord of Heaven had sheathed his holy sword and now held a covenant in his hands, linking himself to 'Chen Xu' and the other Dao Lords.
The Mother of Hell’s eyes glowed with a red light. The world membrane began to blur and turn chaotic, cutting off all spatial fluctuations.
The Heaven's Gate in the sky also began to turn illusory, flickering in and out of existence.
However, having stood against the Mother of Hell for countless years while maintaining such a vast domain, the Lord of Heaven naturally had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Before the world was completely sealed, the Lord of Heaven forcibly extracted 'Chen Xu' and the other Dao Lords from that world.
The Mother of Hell was left behind, roaring in place, venting her rage upon the empty air and the lingering traces of their Dao rhymes.
Back in Heaven, 'Chen Xu' stood up and patted the dust off his clothes, only to find his hand covered in a disgusting slime.
This slime had been left behind by the Mother of Hell’s tail strikes. It emitted a foul stench and carried a faint but extremely high-quality aura of corruption.
'Chen Xu' was about to shake the slime off, but then remembered he was in Heaven and looked toward the Lord of Heaven.
The Lord of Heaven noticed 'Chen Xu’s' gaze and immediately understood his intent.
With a wave of his hand, he summoned a trickling spring that washed away the filth from 'Chen Xu’s' body.
'Chen Xu' cupped his hands in thanks, and the other Martial Dao Lords gathered around.
The Myriad Beast Dao Lord, whose relationship with Heaven was somewhat strained, was the first to speak.
“Lord of Heaven, I wonder if you have a way to cure the fallen? My Myriad Beast sect is willing to exchange precious treasures for it.”
The Myriad Beast Dao Lord’s posture was quite humble; for the sake of his many disciples, he was willing to lower his head.
The Lord of Heaven shook his head, speaking in a tone tinged with regret and helplessness.
“Everyone, I shared the method for dealing with corruption many years ago.
That is the only effective method verified through practice. Aside from that, I have no other way.”
Hearing this, the Dao Lords all frowned.
They were all aware of the method the Lord of Heaven spoke of—in fact, every Dao Lord in the myriad worlds knew it. The Lord of Heaven had shared it freely years ago.
But no one was willing to use it because the side effects were too great.
The name of that method was Faith.
Only through faith could a brand be left upon the soul of the fallen, allowing the believer to receive the constant protection of the deity they worshipped.
Even if they were forcibly corrupted and fell, they could use the brand of faith to expel the corruption.
However, once faith was established, the believer was no longer truly themselves. A part of them would belong entirely to the deity.
This was why these Dao Lords were unwilling to use the method.
They were sects and schools, not a pantheon of gods.
At this point, Li Taiji stepped forward and made a suggestion to the other Dao Lords.
“Everyone, since the Lord of Heaven has no other way, why don't we seek out the Hunyuan Dao Lord?
After the incident in the Sea of Spirit, if the Hunyuan Dao Lord made any breakthroughs, he might be able to solve our troubles.”
The other Dao Lords did not object to Li Taiji’s suggestion. They cupped their hands to bid the Lord of Heaven farewell and left Heaven to find the Hunyuan Dao Lord.
The Lord of Heaven stood with his hands behind his back, watching the Martial Dao Lords depart, and murmured softly.
“Hunyuan... the Path of Immortals... is this also part of your plan?”
“The Path of Immortals? What Path of Immortals?”
'Chen Xu' had overheard the Lord of Heaven’s murmur. Chen Xu’s main body, sensing it through his clone, arrived directly in Heaven.
The Lord of Heaven looked at the suddenly appearing Chen Xu and the monocle he wore, but instead of answering the question, he asked one of his own.
“Since you are wearing the Sage’s monocle, you must have seen Hell’s condition as well—the state of her soul.”
Chen Xu nodded and said, “Her soul is covered in cracks and has five holes. I suspect the Mother of Hell’s target is our special worlds.”
The Lord of Heaven smiled slightly. “Yes, and no.”
“Yes and no?”
The Lord of Heaven condensed two spheres of holy light before him, each splitting into five parts.
On the left were the other five special worlds besides Hell. On the right were five words: 'Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, Yokai.'
Looking at those five words, Chen Xu suddenly remembered the notification he had received when observing that giant world with the monocle: corruption was intertwined with martial providence.
Seeing Chen Xu remain silent, the Lord of Heaven thought he hadn't understood and continued to explain.
“Hell wants to complete herself. The five special worlds are her targets, but the five systems of Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, and Yokai are also her targets.
To use the terms from that small world you hail from, Hell is a scumbag; she has spare tires, and perhaps more than one.”
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