Chapter 57: Nuwa’s Strike
In Thirty-Three Heavens, Di Jun glanced at the kneeling demon officials. Standing one level beneath him were the demon emperors Taiyi and Fuxi. Below them was Demon Preceptor Kunpeng, and after him were the Ten Demon Sages. Finally, there were the rest of the heavenly officials.
"Bai Ze," Di Jun summoned. "Tell Us how many demons have fallen."
Bai Ze stepped out, bowed, and reported. "Answering Your Majesty, it is currently the nine thousand seven hundred forty-seventh year of the war. So far, Heavenly Court has lost three hundred Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, three thousand Golden Immortals of the Great Unity, twenty-seven thousand Golden Immortals, over four hundred thousand Profound Immortals, over a million Sky Immortals, and countless Earth Immortals."
Audible sounds of cold breaths could be heard as they heard Bai Ze's reports.
"Tell Us how much remains of Heavenly Court's army," Di Jun said.
"Reporting to Your Majesty," Bai Zei continued. "The Heavenly Court still has eight hundred Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, twelve thousand Golden Immortals of the Great Unity, forty-nine thousand Golden Immortals, seventy thousand Profound Immortals, eight million Sky Immortals, and countless Earth Immortals."
"Tell Us how the war will go if we continue to fight like this," Di Jun asked.
"Your Majesty, we cannot survive the war like this," Bai Ze said. "We need to keep a force of at least forty-eight thousand Golden Immortals in reserve to unleash the greatest power of the Starry Sky War Array. Soon, we won't be able to send out many Golden Immortals, and the Titan Tribe will hold an undeniable advantage over us. However, if we dispatch Golden Immortals, we will weaken the Starry Sky War Array by a level, and we won't be able to combat the Pangu Genesis Formation."
"Bai Ze has a point," Di Jun said. "Do beloved officials have any suggestions?"
The demon officials immediately began discussing different strategies. Each put forth their own suggestions, but the pros could not outweigh the cons. Finally, it was Kunpeng who stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I believe we should attack the core of the Titan Tribe."
Di Jun raised an eye. "And why is that Demon Preceptor?"
"It isn't the weaklings that determine the victors in the war, but the top combat strength. As long as the titans fall, what can the rest of the Titan Tribe do?" Kunpeng said.
"Beloved official has a point," Di Jun said. "But, what about the Pangu Genesis Formation? The Starry Sky War Array cannot guarantee victory over the Pangu Genesis Formation. Especially since the farther away it is from the Starry Sky, the weaker its strength."
"Your Majesty, delaying it will only prolong the inevitable," Kunpeng said. "Although the Titan Tribe managed to replace Houtu, the Pangu Genesis Formation requires balance. Chiyou's early Quasi-Saint’s strength will inevitably hinder its power."
Di Jun stayed silent as he contemplated Kunpeng's suggestion.
"Your Majesty, we don't need to win over the Titan Tribe when we attack," Kunpeng added.
"Oh?"
Kunpeng revealed a sinister sneer. "The titans are brash and reckless, fearing nothing. If we attack their core, would we be afraid of them not chasing us? We simply need to lead them back to Thirty-Three Heaven and deal with them here."
Di Jun's eyes lit up at Kunpeng's last words. He looked appreciatively at Kunpeng. As expected of the sage who created the Demon Script.
After the war started, the twelve Titan Tribe branches: Di Jiang Tribe, Jiuyin Tribe, Jumang Tribe, Rushou Tribe, Gonggong Tribe, Zhurong Tribe, Qiangliang Tribe, Tianwu Tribe, Jizi Tribe, Shebisi Tribe, Xuangming Tribe, and Houtu Tribe all returned to the land around Buzhou Mountain near the valley containing the Pangu Temple.
The day was like any other. Numerous giants sparred against each other without mercy. Giants had powerful bodies. Even if they received a large wound, as long as they had enough vitality, they could heal within a few days.
Aside from the warriors sparring, numerous other giants were catching prey. Despite the war, giants still needed to eat, which was integral to their strength. Unlike the Immortal Path or Martial Path, few giants directly absorbed essence. Instead, they received essence from the flesh of what they ate.
Their favorite prey were demons. Since demons cultivated the Immortal Path, they had large amounts of essence compared to other creatures. Such a relationship also contributed to the current feud between the Titan Tribe and Demon Clan.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a myriad of stars appeared above the tribe. Of the forty-eight thousand stars shining above, three hundred sixty-five shone the brightest, especially the silver blue star, gold red star, and purple gold star.
The giants didn't have time to marvel at the beautiful scenery before the starlight descended. Each starlight crashed into the ground like a meteorite, cracking the land and blasting whatever unlucky giants directly under it into chunks of flesh.
Before the starlight could reign for more than ten breaths, a furious shout echoed over the Titan Tribe. A mysterious force dispersed the starlight and diverted their trajectory away from the giants.
"Di Jun, you stinky bird! Are you tired of living, daring to come to the Titan Tribe!" Di Jiang's voice resonated across over a hundred thousand li surrounding the Titan Tribe.
Di Jun's laugh answered Di Jiang's wrathful roar. "I'm also helpless. I waited for you for nearly ten thousand years, but I didn't expect the so-called brave titans to suddenly lose their courage and hole up in the tribe. Since you won't come to me, I'll come to you!"
"You damn flat-feathered beast!"
Di Jun's words had thoroughly infuriated all the titans. Instantly, a massive humanoid figure with wild hair wearing a furred loincloth appeared in the core of the Titan Tribe. The twelve titans had formed the Pangu Genesis Formation.
"Come!" The Pangu Genesis Formation raised its arm to summon the three Heaven Opening Treasures, but just like the last time, neither the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, nor the Chaos Bell could be summoned.
Two snorts rang in the air, and the Pangu Genesis Formation trembled for a moment but was otherwise fine. An illusionary ax appeared in the false Pangu's hand. It exuded a powerful aura, but it was akin to rootless duckweed in the Saint's eyes. It appeared strong but held no substance.
"Break for me!" the false Pangu roared as it slashed its ax down.
In response, the forty-eight thousand stars of the Starry Sky War Array shimmered. The glittering lights formed countless layers of starlight that blocked the ax, but they shattered like glass on impact. However, the layers eventually slowed down the ax enough that the stars only dimmed slightly before regaining their brightness.
Di Jun commanded the Starry Sky War Array to retaliate against the Pangu Genesis Formation. Thousands of stars slammed against the false Pangu’s chest. Although each impact sent ripples across the false Pangu's skin, they didn’t inflict any noticeable injuries.
The two most powerful formations of the Great Desolation continued to duke it out. The Pangu Genesis Formation constantly attacked and weakened the Starry Sky War Array, while the Starry Sky War always managed to disperse most of the Pangu Genesis Formation's power and remain relatively unharmed.
However, that would not last long. The titans could see that the Starry Sky War Array was on the brink of collapse. They wanted to take this chance and get rid of Di Jun and the other top-level demons as soon as possible. Without the Starry Sky War Array, the Demon Clan was just easy pickings for the Titan Tribe.
At this time, the Starry Sky War Array focused all its effort on defense and fleeing. The false Pangu roared with unwillingness and chased after the fleeing demons. It constantly swung its ax, destroying the landscape with each missed strike.
The chase didn't last long since they were already near Buzhou Mountain. When the Starry Sky War Array reached the top of Buzhou Mountain, the Pangu Genesis Formation unleashed a powerful ax strike.
Pangu Heaven Opening First Art - Chaos Splitter
The Starry Sky War Array bunched up together, forming a ball of chaos. It flew under the incoming ax blade as if attracted by some unknown force. Finally, the ax touched the ball of chaos and split it in half.
"Hahaha, Di Jun, you stinky bird finally died!" Zhurong's voice jeered from the Pangu Genesis Formation.
"No, wait! Something's strange!" Gonggong said, his voice overlapping with Zhurong’s laughter.
The Starry Sky War Array that seemed to have been split by the ax dispersed into a hazy black mist, but within that mist, countless tiny motes of light glimmered. As the lights increased in intensity, so did the aura of the Starry Sky War Array. It soon surpassed its peak strength when it first battled the Pangu Genesis Formation.
The Pangu Genesis Formation suddenly looked up, ignoring the hazy Starry Sky War Array below it. The stars of the Starry Sky had descended and came incredibly close to the land of the Great Desolation. It seemed as if the sky would collapse into the ground, returning the Great Desolation to chaos. Even so, various natural disasters appeared.
Simultaneously, with the Starry Sky closer to the land than ever, the Starry Sky War Array reached an unprecedented level of power.
"Ancient Annihilation Constellation, form!" Di Jun's voice reverberated in the surrounding million li.
The hazy Starry Sky War Array rose from the ground. As it did, it merged with the actual Starry Sky. The three hundred sixty-five major stars and forty-eight thousand minor stars blasted starlight that converged into a colossus of stars equal to the Pangu Genesis Formation.
"Just a mere imitation!" Di Jiang's voice appeared from the Pangu Genesis Formation. The false Pangu raised its ax and attacked the star colossus.
In response, a giant bronze bell appeared in the star colossus's hand. It raised the bell and slammed it against the ax. The resulting clash from the ax against the Chaos Bell sent bell rings echoing over ten million li, killing countless weak creatures.
The titans were shocked by the Ancient Annihilation Constellation's strength. The first time the Starry Sky War Array appeared, it couldn't even resist. The second time it fought against the Starry Sky War Array, it could only delay the Pangu Genesis Formation. But during the third clash, it was able to trade blows!
The Pangu Genesis Formation held the upper hand, but whatever damage dealt to the Ancient Annihilation Constellation was repaired by the starlight from the Starry Sky, a practically limitless source of energy. Dragging it on would only end in their defeat. The titans needed to destroy the Ancient Annihilation Constellation and Starry Sky War Array as soon as possible. The false Pangu raised its ax above its head, gathering power.
Upon seeing the Pangu Genesis Formation's actions, Di Jun commanded the demons to blast it with as much starlight as possible.
Three hundred sixty-five dots shined on the Chaos Bell as it channeled the power of the Starry Sky. The star giant smashed the Chaos Bell onto the Pangu Genesis Formation. Bruises and injuries formed on its skin, as well as lingering starlight, but the false Pangu stood firm and unmoved.
Pangu Heaven Opening Second Art - Open Heaven
The ax left a brilliant arc in the air, like a trailing sky, as it cleaved through the Ancient Annihilation Constellation, greatly injuring Di Jun, Fuxi, Taiyi, Kunpeng, the Ten Demon Sages, and the rest of the Golden Immortals of Great Firmament that controlled the three hundred sixty-five major stars. The star colossus scattered the technique's dividing effect.
Di Jun's face turned grave as he saw the Pangu Genesis Formation raise its ax again to gather power. "Everyone, attack it with all your might! Detonate the formation flags if you have to! Destroy the Pangu Genesis Formation!"
Over forty-eight thousand miniature stars appeared and smashed into the Pangu Genesis Formation. Many of them sputtered out of existence as the Golden Immortals controlling them died, unable to withstand the backlash. A few crazy ones gave up on surviving and self-detonated along with the formation flags.
The stronger ones who did this, such as the Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, directly turned their stars into supernovas. These supernovas unleashed a single strike near the top power of the Starry Sky War Array. The Pangu Genesis Formation faltered, stumbling back a single step.
Still, the Pangu Genesis Formation held firm even as more injuries, burns, and wounds appeared on its body.
Pangu Heaven Opening Third Art - Dividing Earth
The stars scattered and returned to high above the land as the false Pangu's ax cleaved down. The miniature stars charging toward the Pangu Genesis Formation fell. They imploded on impact, making a crater out of the formerly mighty Buzhou Mountain. Even Di Jun, Taiyi, Fuxi, and the other Quasi-Saints fell onto the ground, spitting mouthfuls of blood.
The false Pangu gazed at the downed demons with labored breaths, obviously on its last legs. Still, it swung its ax at the demons, intending to kill them and cinch victory.
"This is the end!" Di Jiang's voice boomed from the Pangu Genesis Formation.
However, coercion descended at this moment. The titans bellowed while the demons rejoiced. A hand with milky white skin appeared through a portal, reaching toward the Pangu Genesis Formation.
"Destroy!" the false Pangu roared, changing the trajectory of its ax swing towards Nuwa's hand.
The hand phased through the ax and tapped the Pangu Genesis Formation's chest before disappearing. Moments later, cracks started to appear originating from the point Nuwa tapped. Like shattered porcelain, the Pangu Genesis Formation broke apart, revealing the twelve titans inside. Although they weren't spitting blood, their aura fluctuated wildly, revealing their unstable state and hidden injuries.
Di Jun rose from his collapsed state. His gaze locked onto Di Jiang’s. As if they had a prior agreement, both of them roared. "Charge!"