Numerous Devas wept, casting aside the ornate crowns from their heads and tearing off the elite armor and magnificent robes from their bodies, rolling and roaring on the ground in agony. Their Heavenly Emperor had been sacrificed by the enemy, their comrades brutally plundered, their honor trampled beyond recognition, and their renown that once shook the Three Realms was savagely shattered to dust by the foe. Devas such as Yama, Vayu, Vayu, and Kubera knelt, crying out to the heavens in pain, loudly questioning the unknown entities as to why such a thing had occurred.

These unfortunate Devas—they were among the most highly ranked, most powerful, and strongest of the gods—were the primary targets selected by Gu Wuchen and his entourage for attack. They knelt there, naked, howling their grief to the sky, behaving like rabid wild dogs throwing a tantrum. The Devas wept, they sobbed, they shed tears, they raged, they suffered humiliation; these negative emotions twisted together in their hearts, gradually condensing into a mass of black vapor that rapidly swirled above their heads, slowly transforming into a colossal black vortex.

Ice-cold, bone-piercing gales spat out from the dark cloud vortex, blowing large numbers of Deva soldiers high into the air. Black lightning continuously shot forth from the mist, and the dull roar of thunder frightened the already haggard Devas into a state of stunned paralysis; they sat frozen on the ground, mouths agape. Fiery red Karma Fire rapidly surged out of the black cloud vortex, dyeing the originally black swirling mass a blinding crimson.

A tremendous pressure descended from the vortex, forcing countless Devas and divine warriors to their knees. Yama and the other Devas gazed at the swirling cloud in the sky with a mixture of shock and elation. They seemed to have realized something, raising their hands excitedly and shouting loudly: "O Conqueror of the Rakshasas, mighty Durga!

Save us pitiful beings!" A low growl emanated from the vortex, and a thick, dark, heavily furred leg slowly descended from the swirling mass. Then came the other leg, accompanied by a deep bovine bellow, as a pitch-black male lion, thousands of feet tall and covered entirely in dense, dark fur, slowly stepped out of the vortex. Upon the black lion's back rested a black lotus throne, upon which a Goddess with eighteen arms, adorned entirely with jeweled garlands, sat languidly.

Observing the numerous weeping Devas, the Goddess burst into unrestrained laughter: "Oh, feeble men! You weep? Why do you weep?

Why is it that every time I see you, you are always so crestfallen, like castrated roosters?" The Devas blushed crimson with shame, lowering their heads one by one, avoiding the Goddess's mocking gaze. The Goddess raised a wineskin and drank deeply of a bright crimson blood-wine. She cried out loudly, "Summon Indra to see me!

You have trouble again. I know, it's only when you are beaten until your blood flows that you remember me. Let Indra see me now!" The Devas lowered their heads further.

After a long pause, Yama managed a strained, dry laugh: "Our King, he has been captured. Those damned Asuras, they are preparing to sacrifice him! Yama's face was nearly bleeding—such utter humiliation made the words stick in his throat.

The Goddess paused for a long moment, then suddenly erupted into cackling laughter, falling off the lion's back. She laughed so wildly, so brazenly, that she rolled on the ground clutching her stomach, nearly laughing herself into a faint. "Heavens, heavens!

Shiva, Shambhu, you damned fellow, hurry and listen! Indra is about to be offered as a sacrifice! What a marvelous thing!

Something that hasn't happened even in the ancient ages—the Heavenly Emperor is to be sacrificed!" Durga laughed until tears streamed from her eyes, while the Devas shook their heads mournfully, utterly ashamed to face her mockery. In the void, Shiva merely frowned as he watched Durga. He shook his head helplessly and stated in a low voice, "Durga is an existence even I cannot control.

Yes, she is an incarnation of my wife, but this incarnation is far too powerful; even my wife cannot command her!" Lord Brahma spoke calmly, "We are aware, so we do not hold you accountable. Let us proceed to the control core of the Tri-City and temporarily suppress the mana output of the Tri-City! Let Durga deal with Pākayana and the others; perhaps she can slay a few disobedient ones." Vishnu smiled, took the hand of Lakshmi, and the group stealthily flew into the Tri-City.

Once the mana output of the Tri-City was suppressed, its miraculous power of resurrection would nearly vanish. Any Asuras, Rakshasas, and other races killed thereafter would no longer be protected by the Tri-City's mana and would perish completely. Gu Xiachen's divine sense had been monitoring the Devas and Lord Brahma all along; he clearly heard their calculations.

The sacrificial fire continued to burn Indra's body, with copious amounts of fat constantly flowing from within him. The sacrificial flames scorched Indra's form, and a strange, fragrant aroma circulated in the void. Vast amounts of magical power transformed into a visible, red tide sweeping everywhere.

Energy tides, accompanied by shrill whistling sounds, surged in all directions, gradually seeping into the bodies of the Asuras, who were visibly growing stronger. The Primordial Spirits of Yin and Yang were closely following the Asura Demon Kings like Pākayana, probing the secrets of the sacrifice with their entire consciousness. Their divine senses spread out following the sacrificial songs and incantations of Pākayana and the others; they were on the verge of grasping certain wondrous powers in the hidden void, about to secretly master this marvelous Law of Sacrifice.

At this moment, Durga absolutely could not be allowed to interfere. That formidable Mahāmāyā—whether Asura, Rakshasa, Yaksha, or any other—all races of the Guardian Heavens would lose their power of resistance before Durga. In the hearts of these Asuras, she was practically an invincible being.

If Durga made a move, the spectacle of sacrificing Indra would surely be ruined. Gu Xiachen gave a cold laugh, and a stream of chaotic spiritual light shot forth from above his head, instantly piercing out of the Tri-City. The three suns circling the Tri-City suddenly dimmed, and a massive wave of chaotic light swooped down like a gaping mouth, swallowing all three suns whole.

With three resonant chimes—Dong, Dong, Dong—the Chaos Primordial Spirit, the Chaos Bell suspended above its head, appeared in the void outside the Tri-City with a hearty laugh. Casually releasing dozens of bolts of lightning, it blasted dozens of stars outside the Tri-City into dust. The Chaos Primordial Spirit roared aloud, "Lord Brahma, the blueprints for the Tri-City you gave this Holy Lord are flawed!

That is not the complete blueprint for the Tri-City! Hand over the real blueprints quickly, or this Holy Lord won't mind obliterating the Tri-City." The roar of the Chaos Primordial Spirit, merged with the booming sound of the Chaos Bell, converged into a massive wave of sound that rushed toward the Tri-City. The enormous sonic wave caused the Tri-City to tremble faintly, and countless beings within heard the roar of the Chaos Primordial Spirit.

Lord Brahma's eyes rolled white with anger as he roared, "This fellow is relentless! Isn't what we gave him the real blueprint?" Shambhu sneered, "He is deliberately provoking us, or perhaps he wants to witness the Tri-City's true might." Vishnu glared, instantly issuing a sharp command: "Durga! An external enemy has infiltrated the Tri-City!

Go eliminate him at once." Lord Brahma, Shambhu, and Vishnu exchanged meaningful smiles; sending Durga to deal with the Chaos Primordial Spirit was undoubtedly an excellent plan to kill two birds with one stone. Just as their laughter died down, Durga, who had climbed onto her lotus throne and was settling in, paused. She looked up with confused rage and shouted fiercely, "Vishnu!

Is the external invasion more important, or is Indra's life more important? Hmm, strange—if you are already in the Tri-City, why aren't you stopping the Asuras?" The Devas’ spirits lifted; Vishnu had finally spoken! Given Vishnu's close relationship with the Devas, surely he would step in to help them?

But Vishnu's words made the Devas' hearts sink. Vishnu stated coldly, "Does what we say matter now? We already issued orders for them to cease fighting.

But who listens?" After a few cold laughs, Vishnu said faintly, "We are using the life-flames of the three of us to eradicate the Buddhist seals placed within all our Guardian Heavens by Zhunti and Jieyin. Once we succeed, we will recover all our divine power. We are currently immobilized!" Easily fabricating an excuse that they could not move, Vishnu completely deflected all responsibility.

The Devas' faces once again became grim. They seemed, vaguely, almost to recall that someone had sent a decree to stop fighting early in the great war between them and the Asuras. But it seemed, vaguely, that no Deva had 'heard' that order.

The Devas looked at each other, speechless for a moment. Durga, however, paid no heed to these petty power struggles. She burst into loud laughter: "Is that so?

Then it is simple! I will handle the external enemy, and I will deal with those Asuras as well!" "Durga, Durga! After all these years, have you made even a tiny bit of progress?" As Durga shrieked madly, a vast sea of blood rushed out from above her head, and vibrant scarlet light scattered everywhere.

Three incomparably majestic Goddesses, ten thousand miles tall, roared as they rushed out of the blood sea. Chamunda, who had been consorting with the Devas, let out an ecstatically joyous cheer upon seeing these three colossal Goddesses. She leaped up and plunged directly into the body of one of the Goddesses.

That Goddess was pitch-black, looking exactly like Chamunda, yet her aura was hundreds, if not thousands, of times stronger than Chamunda's! This colossal, materialized Chamunda possessed three heads and twelve arms, wielding twelve different weapons; she bounded and roared like a monkey, her voice like giant thunder, blood-red light flashing in her eyes. Another Goddess was pure silver-white, possessing a devastatingly beautiful countenance.

She had only three heads and six arms, holding two steel forks, two long swords, and two scepters in her six hands. She stood quietly in the blood sea, and wherever her cold, merciless gaze swept, thick ice immediately formed. The last Goddess was entirely crimson.

Naked, she held a huge sea-bowl filled with thick blood plasma, which she drank continuously, roaring skyward with bloodthirsty intent. Occasionally, this Goddess glared at the stunned Devas around her; any Deva whose eyes were swept by her gaze felt the blood essence within their bodies rapidly churn, almost erupting from their forms. The Devas were shocked—what powerful Goddesses, what miraculous divine abilities and techniques!

Durga laughed wildly, roaring proudly at the heavens, "Lord Brahma, you three used the method of sacrificial wishing to funnel the Buddhist seals from the bodies of everyone in the Guardian Heavens into your own bodies, refining them with your primal flames. And what was the result? After all these years, these poor wretches still haven't shaken off the seals of the Twin Sages!" Slapping her chest forcefully, Durga bellowed, "Shambhu, you idiot!

Why did my original self ever marry you? What you failed to accomplish, I have achieved! I—and my loyal, devout warriors—have resolved all their seals!" Roaring to the heavens, Durga jeered loudly, "Vishnu, you claim to be the Three Great Lords of the Guardian Heavens—do you deserve that title?" Durga and her three manifested Goddesses all began to wail toward the sky.

Amidst their laughter, the red vortex behind Durga spun rapidly, and squads of soldiers, lifting wine jars, drinking heartily, and appearing utterly delirious, strode out of the swirling mass, laughing. A group of nearly a thousand divine soldiers and generals marched up before Durga, shouting fanatically, "Great Goddess, who shall we massacre this time? Who dares offend your majesty?

Your loyal and brave soldiers will eradicate all who disrespect you!" Durga glanced at the endless divine soldiers she had summoned and roared with laughter, "Follow my three incarnations and slaughter those clueless Asuras below! Bring their blood back to brew wine! And rescue that useless Indra—he is the Heavenly Emperor, after all!" The black Goddess who had merged with Chamunda laughed loudly, raising various weapons, and charged out first.

She crossed hundreds of layers of the Tri-City, arriving at the very level where the sacrificing Asuras were located. "Die!" roared the pitch-black Goddess, just as she was about to swing her weapon to strike the Asuras, the crimson Goddess behind her rushed forward with a booming laugh. This Goddess, drinking blood plasma, opened her huge mouth and sucked in a breath fiercely towards the densely packed Asuras; instantly, all Asuras within a radius of tens of thousands of miles floated weightlessly upwards.

The Goddess's mouth expanded to the size of half the sky, filled with seven or eight rows of sharp teeth like a shark's. Over ten billion Asuras within the vast area were swept up in the blood-scented gale with cries of alarm, flying in a stream directly into the mouth of this bloody Goddess. Her jaws slammed shut with a deafening Kacha, Kacha sound, and the Asuras swallowed were silenced forever.

Thick, viscous blood plasma slowly trickled from the corner of the Goddess's mouth. The Goddess, frantically chewing the flesh in her mouth, hastily brought the sea-bowl up to her lips, fearing the loss of even a single drop of that vital plasma. The Asuras, who were immersed in a sacred religious ritual and wholeheartedly enjoying the pleasure of increasing power within their bodies, turned around in terror.

Some elderly Asuras recognized who these three colossal Goddesses represented; they shrieked almost hysterically, "It's Durga! It's the invincible Mother of Difficult Access, Durga! We are finished!" With a wail of agony, those Asuras who knew Durga's fearsome reputation immediately fled in all directions without a word.

Their panicked actions triggered a chain reaction throughout the Asura army. Every Asura who had heard of Durga's fearsome might fled in terror, while the younger Asuras who had not yet heard of Durga's existence looked at their fleeing kin with bewildered confusion. Even more valiant young Asuras bravely charged toward Durga, laughing brazenly and shouting curses at her.

Two young Asura generals, thousands of miles tall and possessing immense strength, rushed before the manifestation of Durga’s white Goddess form. Just as they were about to raise their weapons to attack the white Goddess, a cold glint flashed in her eyes, and the two Asura generals, along with tens of thousands of Asuras behind them, were instantly frozen into blocks of ice. The white Goddess simply raised a long sword and waved it gently; these frozen Asuras shattered into fragments.

The black Goddess let out an angry complaint, blaming her other two selves for stealing her fun. The enraged Goddess opened her mouth and spewed a stream of pitch-black flame towards the Asuras ahead. The raging inferno instantly covered land and sky spanning hundreds of thousands of miles; all Asuras within this range instantly turned to ash and scattered.

The red Goddess roared roughly, stomping into this tier of the city. Her great maw opened repeatedly, grabbing Asuras and stuffing them into her mouth. Countless Asuras died in the red Goddess's mouth, vast pools of blood plasma spraying everywhere.

The Asura formations, once tightly packed, immediately collapsed. Led by the three Goddesses, the army rapidly disintegrated backward in chaos. Every Asura who saw these three Goddesses casually dropped his weapon and fled backward with screams of agony.

Durga’s three incarnations laughed maniacally, leading countless divine soldiers in pursuit, slaughtering the Asuras until rivers of blood flowed. But not a single drop of blood was wasted; all the flesh and blood entered the belly of the red Goddess. Lord Brahma, Shambhu, and Vishnu watched this scene helplessly from the main control core of the Tri-City.

Whether they weakened the Tri-City's mana output was irrelevant; once inside Durga's stomach, the Tri-City's mana could not penetrate her belly to resurrect those poor Asuras. For the Asuras, Durga was their natural nemesis. No matter how powerful the Asuras were, they were utterly powerless against their natural enemy.

Lord Brahma and Vishnu gazed with mutual contempt at the embarrassed Shiva. The two of them sneered in unison, "A man who can't even control an incarnation of his own wife—is he even a man?" Shiva's face grew exceedingly ugly; he sneered, turned away, and muttered a curse under his breath. The Devas, who had been beaten into utter rout by the Asuras, went mad when they saw how powerful and unstoppable Durga's three incarnations were.

The battered and disgraced Devas like Yama found new armor from the armory, donned new weapons, reformed their armies, and followed Durga's divine soldiers to charge toward the Asura horde. The Devas fiercely unleashed their most powerful spells to injure the Asuras, fully washing away the shame of their previous defeat. Kill, kill, kill!

Slaughter these ill-fated Asuras before them, so that the renown of the Devas may once again spread throughout the Three Realms! Rescue their Heavenly Emperor Indra, and then mete out the severest punishment to all Asuras. These scoundrels who dared defy the Devas, who dared use the Heavenly Emperor for sacrifice, must be punished, must receive the most severe retribution!

Some Devas even started discussing with wild laughter what manner of punishment to inflict upon the Asuras: they would strip the Asuras of the right to eat their fill, strip them of the right to bathe, strip them of the right to drink clean water, and even strip them of the right to ** with their wives... Oh, the Asuras enjoyed too many privileges! These base demons should not enjoy so much.

Caught in the chaos, the Devas unleashed a massive assault, and the Asuras suffered an even more tragic defeat. Pākayana and the other Asura Demon Kings finally realized that things outside were going wrong. Some of the Asura Kings led their personal guards forward to meet the threat.

Gu Xiachen's expression darkened. His true body transformed into another appearance, exchanged a look with the Corpse Emperor and others, and then headed toward the three incarnations of Durga along with those Asura Kings. Since they had delivered themselves to his doorstep, he might as well take the opportunity to properly test the might of Durga.

Durga, the most powerful Mother of Difficult Access in the Guardian Heavens, the Demon King even the Three Giants could not eliminate, was now facing this challenge. Let's see how strong the strongest Goddess of the Guardian Heavens truly is. Gu Xiachen's true body followed an Asura Demon King forward and kicked Yama, who was happily swinging his weapon toward the Asuras, high into the air.

Just as Yama let out a scream of terror, Gu Wuchen seized his neck and threw him heavily to the ground. With a dull thud, the Tri-City trembled faintly, and Yama spat blood and fainted. Durga's three incarnations paused, all looking toward Gu Xiachen simultaneously.

The black Goddess snorted in anger and swung her weapon toward Gu Wuchen. At the same time, Durga's true body outside the Tri-City and the Chaos Primordial Spirit began to clash. As the three incarnations charged into the city occupied by the Asuras, Durga herself rode out of the Tri-City on her lion.

In the vast void, Durga immediately spotted the Chaos Primordial Spirit above her, with the Chaos Bell hovering. She let out a triumphant, wild laugh and casually pointed at the twenty-four subordinate divine generals following her, shouting happily for them to charge toward Gu Wuchen.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos stared impassively at the twenty-four swaggering Durga Generals. He stood motionless in the void until the twenty-four bold and careless generals were less than a li away, only then did he gently point to the Chaos Bell above his head.

A deep, resonant chime suddenly erupted; with a single mighty peal, the twenty-four powerful generals, each possessing the cultivation base of a Minor Celestial Golden Immortal, rolled their eyes and collapsed unconscious. Their three souls and six spirits were shattered by the vibration, their internal organs convulsed violently, and faint, wave-like ripples could be seen beneath the skin of these generals—their bodies were resonating with the bell's sound.

Gentle, oscillating waves churned relentlessly within the bodies of the twenty-four generals, rocking them back and forth. These heavenly soldiers would never wake. Even if they did, their three souls and six spirits were destroyed; they were merely twenty-four walking corpses.

Durga, who had been laughing wildly, suddenly froze, staring blankly at the Primordial Spirit of Chaos, her expression becoming increasingly grim.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos grinned toothily at Durga, then pointed a finger. A strand of chaotic spiritual energy shot out, coiling around the twenty-four bodies and drawing them into the Chaos Bell. The bell chimed faintly, the chaotic spiritual energy surged in a brief, violent crush, and the twenty-four generals instantly disintegrated into pure spiritual energy, becoming nourishment to restore the Chaos Bell's power. "Good, very good!"

Durga roared with rage, turning her fury into a laugh. She bellowed, striking the head of the lion mount beneath her with force, launching herself forward amidst a plume of black flame.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos merely watched Durga, his form utterly still. Only when Durga closed the distance to within ten li did the Primordial Spirit of Chaos suddenly flicker, appearing instantaneously behind her. He used an exceedingly crude military grappling technique, seizing Durga by the neck, and amidst her enraged curses, casually hurled her toward the Triple-Connected City.

This military grappling technique was simplistic in its structure, yet when wielded by the Primordial Spirit of Chaos, it became exquisitely precise; every move carried the aura of the Great Dao.

Durga clearly witnessed every motion of the Primordial Spirit of Chaos's hand. Instinctively, she perceived countless subtle flaws within the technique. With her vast, battle-hardened experience, she knew she could effortlessly evade this grab and counter with a devastating blow against the Primordial Spirit of Chaos. Yet, even though Durga saw the technique clearly, she could not generate the correct response. She stared dumbly as the hand slowly, agonizingly slowly, approached her neck—watching the fingers clamp around her throat. It felt utterly nightmarish; she saw everything, but her body simply refused to react.

A terrifying, immense force erupted from Gu Wuchen's hand. The power was so potent that Durga merely grunted once before Gu Wuchen lifted her up as easily as one might lift a small child.

Durga cursed in fury, her body tossed away like a bundle of straw by Gu Wuchen.

With a colossal impact, Durga, whose body spanned ten thousand li in height, slammed directly into the golden citadel at the apex of the Triple-Connected City.

Tens of thousands of Yakshas and Kimnaras, who had been foolishly watching the battle, screamed as they were crushed into a bloody pulp by Durga’s body. Deva Brahma and the others had secretly weakened the magical power output of the Triple-Connected City, ensuring that the Yakshas and Kimnaras crushed by Durga died instantly and utterly.

Durga felt every joint in her body groan in excruciating pain. Her internal organs vibrated violently, like curdled tofu, and she could muster no strength at all. The Triple-Connected City was so impossibly sturdy that even after Durga’s colossal body struck it, not a single trace of damage marred the citadel's surface.

The consequence of such formidable ramparts was that the immense force with which Gu Wuchen had thrown Durga was entirely absorbed by her body. Every cell in Durga screamed in agony; the searing pain brought hot tears to her eyes, and she burst into loud wails.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos looked at Durga with a trace of awkwardness. Killing was one thing; beating someone until they cried was a situation whose flavor had decidedly changed.

Shaking his head helplessly, the Primordial Spirit of Chaos sighed deeply, "Durga, do not tarnish the renown of your difficult-to-approach mother. Why are you weeping?"

A fierce glint suddenly flashed in Durga’s eyes, causing the Primordial Spirit of Chaos's heart to clench slightly. He felt a chill silently creeping up behind him. He spun around in haste only to see Durga's black lion mount transformed into a lion-headed divine being, towering ten thousand li high. It gripped a battle-axe in its right hand and held a shield in its left, silently bringing the axe down upon the Primordial Spirit of Chaos’s head.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos sneered, sweeping his great sleeve. A white torrent of water shot from his left hand, while his right hand unleashed a surging wall of fire. The twin forces of water and fire collided squarely with the lion-headed god. This unfortunate black lion had its right half instantly frozen rigid, while its left half was incinerated to ash. Suppressed power exploded from the water and fire, blowing half of the beast’s body far away, and the swirling mixture of water and flame reduced the remaining half to drifting ashes.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos chuckled dismissively. A mere mount with the cultivation of a Mid-Grade Celestial Golden Immortal, while rare, was utterly incapable of resisting.

Mother of the Inaccessible, Durga, stared dumbfounded at her mount, so easily destroyed. She instantly surged with power, transforming into a streak of black firelight and hurtling directly toward the heart of Gu Wuchen. Durga roared in fury, smashing dozens of weapons down upon Gu Xiyechen's head.

Stars trembled, and the void shattered. The enraged Durga was indeed formidable; the power she displayed subtly exceeded the strongest might achievable by an Upper-Grade Celestial Golden Immortal, infinitely approaching the ultimate limit of a peak Celestial Golden Immortal.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos trod complex steps, lightly creating faint, silver ripples in the void as he retreated. Every step harmonized with the movements of the stars and celestial phenomena; every step subtly obeyed the laws of the Heavenly Dao. No matter how dense or how violent Durga's attacks became, they only struck the sleeves of the Primordial Spirit of Chaos as he deftly parried, never managing to touch his body. The nature of water is one of intimacy, capable of encompassing all things, just as the sea accepts all rivers—nothing is excluded.

The Waterfall Sleeves stirred up waves of white water that gently met Durga’s weapons. Durga's heavy attacks landed upon the Waterfall Sleeves, where the massive volume of water ceaselessly absorbed and stored the impact.

One strike, two strikes; only small ripples disturbed the Waterfall Sleeves.

One thousand strikes, two thousand strikes; circles of swells began to form on the Waterfall Sleeves.

One hundred thousand strikes, two hundred thousand strikes; the white Waterfall Sleeves had turned a faint black, and the muffled roar of countless winds and thunder could be heard emanating from within.

One hundred thousand strikes, one million strikes; the Waterfall Sleeves had become purplish-black, and the water within had transformed into an ocean of surging waves. Concentrating all vision upon them, one could discern an angry tide capable of shattering all things churning within—Gu Xiyechen’s hands began to tremble continuously.

Durga relentlessly delivered her ten-millionth strike. Gu Wuchen’s hands grew so heavy that he could no longer move them freely.

Taking a deep breath, the Primordial Art of the Indestructible Profound Yellow Body activated to its fullest. Profound Yellow energy surged from Gu Wuchen, and infinite strength materialized upon his arms. He roared, and his sleeves swept forward lightly. The accumulated, unparalleled force of Durga's ten million consecutive strikes bore down heavily upon her.

Durga’s momentum halted, and the flesh on the front of her body instantly exploded, spewing forth countless fragments of blood and tissue that were instantaneously vaporized by the terrifying torrent of energy. However, by allowing the damaged parts of her body to fly off, Durga successfully vented about thirty percent of the impact force.

The remaining seventy percent propelled Durga’s body backward at high speed. In the blink of an eye, she traversed the distance Gu Wuchen had retreated and plunged headlong back into the Triple-Connected City. Gu Xiyechen’s consciousness remained fixed on Durga. As she crashed into the Triple-Connected City, his mind stirred, and the full power of the Waterfall Sleeves erupted without reservation.

A wave of water swept out in all directions. The immense power, restrained by the Waterfall Sleeves divine ability, was suddenly unleashed without control.

Durga’s flesh and organs, including her eyeballs and brain, were instantly turned to green smoke and scattered. The terrifying power surged out like a tsunami, sweeping over the Triple-Connected City. The dozen-plus layers of the city were engulfed in this all-destroying tidal wave of force. The core structure of the Triple-Connected City remained impervious. The massive force, equivalent to seven million heavy blows from Durga, shredded the bodies of countless Dharma-protecting Heavenly Warriors and destroyed innumerable buildings, yet the physical body of the Triple-Connected City sustained no damage whatsoever.

The immense shockwave caused the Triple-Connected City to spin wildly in the void, concurrently dragging the moons and stars orbiting it into a rapid rotation. Under Gu Wuchen’s deliberate manipulation, his massive divine sense controlled the trajectories of these celestial bodies, slamming them violently into the Triple-Connected City. Strike after strike...

One by one, the stars shattered against the surface of the Triple-Connected City, sending plumes of black and red fire soaring into the sky. The massive shockwaves pushed the colossal city slowly away from its original position. The violent shaking caused everyone within the Triple-Connected City to lose their footing, and the deafening noise made the Dharma-protecting warriors and kinsmen halt their slaughter in terror, looking around in horror as if the end of the world had arrived.

A ball of crimson flame flashed rapidly in the very center of the city's silver layer, engulfing all twelve tiers of the citadel. Countless Dharma-protecting Heavenly beings were reduced to ash within this conflagration. This flame burned for a full quarter of an hour before slowly dissipating. When the fire vanished, nothing remained within those dozen-plus city layers except for the main structure of the citadel itself, gleaming clean and etched with magical glyphs; everything else was annihilated.

Deva Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, and the others watched this spectacle with slack jaws through the magical arrays of the control core. They had discerned the secret of Gu Xiyechen’s Waterfall Sleeve strike: it was a terrifying divine ability that gathered the enemy's power and then used that very power to attack the enemy.

Furthermore, he wasn't borrowing the power of a single enemy attack, but accumulating the might of millions, even tens of millions, of the enemy's attacks to deliver that single, devastating blow.

What an astonishing divine ability; what a terrifying method. Deva Brahma’s face grew somber. He performed a calculation and spoke coldly, "Even if we restored our strongest divine abilities, we could not achieve this." Shiva and Vishnu exchanged worried glances and simultaneously shook their heads.

The Waterfall Sleeves divine ability originated from the Primordial-grade grand divine being, True Lord Taiyin. Such a miraculous, ancient technique was not something just anyone could learn.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos gazed from afar at Durga’s solitary, purple-gold skeleton lying motionlessly within the Triple-Connected City, and frowned deeply. Durga’s skeletal frame was truly formidable; even though her flesh had been destroyed, this skeleton remained, utterly without a single crack. Suddenly, this skeleton twitched and rapidly shrank to the height of ten zhang.

This skeleton, gleaming brilliantly with purple-gold light, knelt piously on the ground, contorting into a strange posture of worship.

Then, it began chanting an incantation in a low murmur, offering its fervent devotion to some unknown entity in the void. It chanted loudly, declaring its intent for the sacrifice: the countless Dharma-protecting Heavenly beings who had just been killed by Gu Xiyechen’s earth-shattering strike across the dozen layers of the Triple-Connected City were being offered up by Durga as sacrificial victims.

The slain Dharma-protecting Heavenly beings had only their physical bodies destroyed; their souls lingered restlessly within the Triple-Connected City. The power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation had not yet managed to draw them into the Netherworld; they could still linger in the mortal realm for a short while.

But with Durga’s sacrificial chant, these infinite souls were suddenly sucked away by some unknown entity. An invisible vortex appeared in the void, and all the souls were drawn into it with agonizing cries.

When the Asuras performed sacrifices, the phenomena in the void were not very pronounced because their offerings were too weak, and the power gained from the sacrifice was too meager. However, this time, Durga ruthlessly offered up the souls of trillions of Dharma-protecting Heavenly beings. This invisible vortex grew immensely large and lasted for a considerable time.

The main body of Gu Xiyechen and the divine sense of his Three Corpse Primordial Spirits simultaneously detected this colossal vortex, large enough to swallow almost the entire Triple-Connected City. Innumerable souls were sucked into the vortex, and a strange aura spewed forth.

Gu Xiyechen vaguely perceived that once these souls, governed by the Heavenly Dao, entered that vortex, they immediately slipped beyond the Dao’s jurisdiction. Tiny points of light subtly flowed away from the Wheel of the Heavenly Dao; a portion of the Heavenly Dao’s rules had been broken.

Just as a terrifying nuclear energy is released when an atomic nucleus is disrupted, the energy unleashed when the rules of the Heavenly Dao are broken is even greater.

About ninety percent of this colossal energy was swallowed by the vortex, while the remaining ten percent was injected from afar into Durga’s body. Even though it was only ten percent of the power, this amount was indescribably vast, nearly equivalent to ten times the strength of a peak-grade Celestial Golden Immortal!

This immense power roared down like a red torrent, rapidly fusing into Durga’s body.

Muscles, blood vessels, and nerves rapidly regenerated upon Durga’s purple-gold skeleton. The internal organs within her abdominal cavity were also quickly rebuilding.

Consuming eighty percent of this power, Durga acquired a brand new physical body several times stronger than before.

And the sacrifice continued. Countless souls were still being devoured by the vortex, and more and more potent energy continuously flowed into Durga’s body.

Durga laughed aloud, surrounded by swirling scarlet Karma Fire. A massive lotus pedestal appeared beneath her feet, formed entirely of the Red Lotus Karma Fire capable of incinerating all things. "No matter who you are, you are doomed to die!" She pointed fiercely at the motionless Primordial Spirit of Chaos and issued her final ultimatum.

The Primordial Spirit of Chaos let out a cold sneer. Three parts of his divine sense carefully pierced the void, sinking into the massive vortex.

The Chaos Bell roared once more, and immeasurable chaotic spiritual energy shielded the Primordial Spirit of Chaos. The surrounding starry sky shuddered; Durga felt a blur before her eyes—the Primordial Spirit of Chaos had vanished without a trace. He had long since slipped back into the Triple-Connected City, merging with Gu Xiyechen.

Gu Xiyechen recalled his Three Corpse Primordial Spirits, secretly gathered the Corpse Emperor and the others, and stealthily departed the battlefield where Durga’s three avatars were furiously slaughtering the Asuras. They transformed into the appearance of ordinary ascetic immortals and crept into the silver city layer. They found some hapless ascetic immortal, refined him with the Chaos Bell, and occupied his residence. The divine sense released by the Primordial Spirit of Chaos had already discerned the scene within the vortex.

The mystery of how the Dharma-protecting Heavens achieved massive magical power through sacrifice was now laid bare before Gu Xiyechen; there was no need to linger and admire Indra's fate any longer.

Durga’s true strength likely surpassed that of a peak Celestial Golden Immortal, barely qualifying her as a minor figure of the Primordial grade. However, she lacked sufficiently powerful weapons and sufficiently profound divine methods. Her combat power could at best contend with the Corpse Emperor, while Gu Wuchen could easily obliterate her in a second. Such an enemy was not worth Gu Wuchen’s continued entanglement.

Now, Gu Wuchen needed to focus entirely on dealing with what lay behind the vortex: a floating, perfect body in the empty, null void that seemed to be some bizarre projection of this universe!

A body absolutely perfect, suffused with an aura of laws antithetical to the Heavenly Dao—the so-called demonic aura.

This body was indescribably massive. It lay quietly in that void—a void roughly the size of the mortal realm Gu Xiyechen inhabited—and it almost entirely filled that space.

It was a perfect body that eclipsed any congenital physical form Gu Wuchen had ever witnessed among the countless innate gods and saints.

Vast and powerful, yet utterly lifeless and devoid of intellect—it was merely an empty shell.

Gu Xiyechen secretly pondered the origin of this body. Could this be one of the three hundred and sixty million primordial demons said to have been born from the Earth Source Star?

Holding this speculation, the three parts of divine sense released by the Primordial Spirit of Chaos cautiously approached this inconceivable body. If he could refine this body... Gu Xiyechen suddenly harbored a gigantic ambition.

Chapter One concludes. I will strive for Chapter Two later! To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!D