Chapter 400: Colossus vs. Megastructure: A Full-Scale Battle Across Sea, Land, and Air

"Something is wrong..."

The Holy Spirit also sensed that something was wrong, though not through the calm, logical judgment of Du En, but rather from the unique observational perspective of a deity.

The Hanging Lamp jumped out and suddenly emitted a glow.

She did not actually have any spare energy left, but since there was plenty of residual light scattered by Du En, she collected and mobilized it for consumption with his tacit permission.

It soon illuminated something.

Du En then employed his Fiery Eyes of Truth and saw what had previously been hidden.

Puppet Threads!

These people of the Puppet Sect were actually all puppets! It was not because they had turned themselves into puppets, but because someone had turned them into puppets and was controlling them—no, the primary purpose must have been experimentation, using their bodies to experiment with the infection and utilization of Fluorite Disease! Who was it?

"The Tower Master, it must be him!"

The Holy Spirit spoke with certainty, and her radiance dimmed.

The Hanging Lamp returned to his shoulder, and his Golden Eyes could no longer see the threads.

A sophisticated concealment method? No, that's not it!

The Puppet Threads were actually just an image projected! The true physical form was not threads, and in fact, there was no concealment or disguise; it was another, incomparably sophisticated puppet technique that existed entirely beyond the insight and truth-breaking of the Fiery Eyes of Truth! It is...

In a flash of lightning, Du En understood the key.

At the same time, the Puppet Sect Tower also began to vibrate; the mastermind was no longer hiding behind the scenes.

Da-da-da! Amidst the dense sound of building blocks snapping together, the previously dilapidated tower structure completed its reconfiguration in an instant, and ten more cannon muzzles flipped out, extracting thick disease-Qi to erupt with deep purple disease-slurry cannonballs.

Du En did not take the hit head-on, but instead used spatial movement, attempting to leave this tower that held other mysteries.

But he did not succeed.

Threefold Treasure Tower!

The Dharma treasure manifested, and the treasure tower enveloped him.

It repels external evils and guards the Threefold, remaining immovable! But the disease-slurry cannonballs were indeed the essence of disease-slurry condensed after extracting disease-Qi; they were of a higher concentration than the water of the Sea of Disease, and they directly eroded the tower until it was tottering.

Du En remained calm, simply raising his hand.

Mountain-Lifting!

Rumble! The terrifying vibration, following the wild torrent of Dharma power, shook the foundations of the Puppet Tower, attempting to forcibly birth a mountain from within it—that massive mountain body weighing hundreds of billions of tons!

The disease-slurry cannons suddenly changed direction, and shell after shell smashed into the base of the tower.

The cracked tower base was glued back together, the Mountain-Lifting Dao technique was obstructed, and the Fluorite Disease began to spread across the tower body; the Puppet Sect Tower, originally just a structure of earth, wood, and steel, immediately sprouted deep purple flesh-blisters, from which clusters of crystals bloomed.

Du En's Dharma power was endless, and the disease-Qi of heaven and earth was inexhaustible.

The two sides engaged in a war of attrition over whether their Dao techniques could take form.

He glanced at the Holy Spirit, and she understood immediately; the light shone again.

It was still gathering Du En's residual light; it hadn't been used up at all just now!

Thus, the portion of Dharma power that had been resisting the pervasive disease-Qi was freed up due to the purification of the light.

He reached out, and his Dharma might erupted.

Sea waves surged, and the cape boiled.

Amidst the scrambling of the earth, a thousand-foot-tall Giant Spirit Dharma Image emerged! It looked vastly different from before, its entire body intricately carved as if clad in layers of hard armor; the giant hand raised at this moment, with its cold, dim, and muted color tone, manifested an essence dozens of times tougher than when it was previously in its small-success stage.

It suddenly reached out and grabbed, directly crushing an invisible shell on the outer layer of the tower, and gripped the tower itself, causing it to shudder violently.

A cold Dharma power began to become apparent, and a thick Dharma might began to manifest.

Du En felt a sense of repulsion, so he stomped down heavily; the Five Undying Light Wheels erupted, and a great force poured in, directly crushing the power that was repelling him, while simultaneously shattering those disease-blisters, and the mountain from Mountain-Lifting suddenly thrust out a corner! Trying to get rid of him? No way!

The Tower Master in the shadows was also enraged; since he didn't want to leave, then so be it!

He recklessly drove the Puppet Sect Tower, beginning to transform it into its combat form.

Rumble...

Amidst the violent tremors, the Puppet Sect Tower erupted with great might, directly shaking off the grip of the Giant Spirit Dharma Image's giant hand, then rose from the ground; under the combination of layers of structural components appearing out of thin air, it was no longer dilapidated in the slightest.

Those components had actually been hidden on the reverse side of the surface, concealed by a unique weaving-masking method; the Holy Spirit had never known and had always been kept in the dark. Now that the front and back components were united, this was the true Puppet Sect Tower!

Thud! The thousand-foot giant, no less impressive, stomped down its own pillar-like giant feet—six of them in total—causing the cape to begin to shatter. Then it raised an equal number of six terrifying puppet hands, and a diamond-shaped gem on the tower top shone, swirling the surging disease-Qi to transform it into the power to drive itself, allowing it to unleash unimaginable giant might!

Facing this Puppet Sect Tower that had transformed into a height comparable to his own, a Puppet Sect Giant Soldier Puppet that was overall much more massive, the pitch-black Giant Spirit Dharma Image remained silent. Only various ticking and snapping sounds came from its body, and then, on its previously simple and crude form, various restrictions and all kinds of mechanical structures began to appear.

In the blink of an eye, the dark armor revealed countless deeper patterns, with wildly surging Dharma power flowing within them; amidst the flow of sparks, various gold and iron structures condensed and manifested, instantly becoming a giant Dharma-treasure-and-Dao-technique assembly unit.

Both sides finished changing forms at the same time; both were terrifying man-made giants, and they collided with a roar.

Cannon muzzles with calibers of dozens of feet, vector mass thrusters, various Dharma-treasure-ejecting sub-units, layers of self-destructing weapon restrictions...

Boom, boom, boom! Bang, bang, bang! Dharma light clamored, and explosions were constant.

Spiritual light shone brilliantly, revealing pure terror.

The eastern cape of the Holy Kingdom was reduced to nothing in an instant; scattered artillery fire and splashed sub-units created thousand-foot-deep craters wherever they landed on the ground, leaving behind all sorts of indelible traces.

After various long-range methods failed to decide the outcome, the Giant Spirit stepped forward, and the tower structure shifted.

Clenching fists like small hills and raising puppet hands capable of digging up the earth, the two collided violently.

The Tower Master still wanted to utilize his stable chassis, with six pillar feet deeply embedded into the surface of space, and six full giant puppet hands, enough to create a significant advantage.

After all, the Giant Spirit Dharma Image only had two legs and two fists. However, after the two collided with a roar, before the giant puppet hands could swarm him, this massive Dharma image actually took advantage of the momentum to grab one of the giant puppet hands and leaped up.

Incredibly agile, not at all burdened by its size and mass, it landed directly on the side of the Giant Soldier Puppet, avoiding the other giant puppet hands while twisting and dismantling the giant hand it was holding!

As soon as it was dismantled, the giant puppet hand underwent a change; the structural layers opened up, and various tiny, mosquito-like fourth and fifth-tier puppets flew out, while the self-destruct setup began to take effect.

This was no simple self-destruction; by swallowing the spiritual energy of the outside world, it could form a spiritual energy network, enveloping and entangling the target that triggered the self-destruction.

That was only the result in a normal spiritual energy environment; now, in this diseased world, it undoubtedly made this move even more terrifying, almost instantly forming deep purple, glowing tentacles that were about to bind the Giant Spirit Dharma Image.

However, long before it released the puppets, this side had already performed a targeted operation.

Shooting cannons? Who doesn't know how to do that!

One could only see the chest armor of the Giant Spirit Dharma Image suddenly open, drawing in the spiritual energy bridged into the blessed land of Mount Kongsang, blending it with magic power to form a terrifying, unstable, and free-roaming mixture of spiritual arts, which then roared into a scorching crimson ray, directly engulfing the puppets that had just been released, and striking the giant puppet hand that was about to self-destruct just as the glowing purple tentacles were forming.

Hum...

Sizzle~

Amidst the strange sound of melting, there was only the splashing of molten iron and flame, making sounds of erosion as it landed on the ground.

However, although the Giant Spirit Dharma Image had destroyed one giant puppet hand, there were still five more of the same giant hands, as well as the main Puppet Sect Tower giant structure!

Boom! Before it could react, the Giant Spirit Dharma Image was hit and sent flying sideways.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Deep purple rays shot through the air; it actually rotated ten and a half times in mid-air, dodged these attacks, and smashed heavily into the sea, disappearing without a trace.

The sea of the Source Origin Star Realm is very, very deep, as if the seabed had been hollowed out and piled up to form the only land, with a depth of over ten thousand zhang; even a thousand-zhang giant image falling into it would leave no shadow.

Thump, thump, thump! The Puppet Sect giant soldier puppet did not hesitate in the slightest, directly taking large strides before leaping down.

Boom! A deep red spiritual art ray burst out from the sea, blocked by a giant shield it held up.

Bang! The giant shield melted, it entered the sea smoothly, changed its form, its pillar-like legs folded and adhered, spraying out a wild current of spiritual energy to become a highly efficient thruster, and the giant puppet hands merged and positioned themselves above the tower body.

In the blink of an eye, a fifteen-hundred-zhang-long giant sea vessel had already taken shape, locking onto the Giant Spirit Dharma Image that was actually floating in the sea—looking closely, it was actually using artifact prohibitions to transform magic power into a giant image that suspended and pushed its virtual outer body! The giant image in the sea and the giant vessel in the sea, the battle began again, entering the second round! Boom! With thrust at full capacity, it broke through the water pressure; the deep sea could not stop it at all.

The giant vessel was like a spear piercing the sea, thrusting directly forward, while on the vessel body, small openings opened one after another, covered in glowing stone crystals, shimmering with a dangerous deep light.

Beep! Amidst the strange sound, dense, fine lines of deep light covered all directions.

Squeak, squeak, squeak! In the ear-piercing screech, the giant image, which had moved through space to the side of the giant vessel, was hit by the fine lines of deep light; the outer floating protective shell, built layer by layer from artifact prohibitions and magic power, immediately suffered an indescribable impact, teetering on the brink of collapse.

The giant vessel returned with a turn that did not at all match its form and mass, suddenly folding back and crashing through the sea.

Furthermore, layers of deep light fine lines concentrated here, and amidst the condensed firepower, the outer floating protective shell was smashed to pieces.

Seeing the giant vessel had arrived, the giant image suddenly erupted with thick magic power; under invisible heavy compression, a fist seemed to have been strengthened multiple times, radiating a fierce momentum capable of suppressing everything, and then it threw a punch, directly shaking the giant vessel that was at full thrust.

Thump...

The two collided, and the giant image, along with its fist and half its body, turned into powder on the spot.

The giant vessel did not fare well either; the ramming horn formed by the giant puppet hands exploded and shattered by nearly half.

The invisible impact directly opened an air bubble on the seabed, displacing the seawater, causing the surface space to rupture, and the sea from the front and back to converge, forming an indescribable turbulent sea vortex.

Amidst the turbulence, as soon as the Giant Spirit Dharma Image stood firm, it suddenly soared into the air, its legs relying on the disintegration of artifact prohibitions to gain enough thrust to fly out of the sea.

At the same time, the shattered parts were also recovering rapidly; it would only take a short time to fully recover.

How could the Tower Master of the Puppet Sect Tower let it succeed? On the spot, the giant vessel changed its form, abandoned the damaged parts, turned into a flat, streamlined shape, and two hundred-zhang nozzles, by compressing and burning disease energy, radiated a dazzling and dangerous deep purple light, also suddenly rising into the air; the speed was simply astonishingly fast, the sound was left far behind, and it could easily escape the capture of a star.

Furthermore, combined cannon muzzles, tracking self-destruct puppets, and other attack methods that hadn't been used in time were all fired from afar as soon as it left the sea.

The dense web of firepower dyed the sky purple, tearing the clouds to shreds.

The back of the Giant Spirit Dharma Image popped open, with dense artifact prohibition structures, all for self-destruction.

When it comes to artifact refining, what Du En is best at is self-destruction!

The ultimate method of the Giant Spirit Dharma Image is the simple and unadorned act of hugging the enemy and self-destructing!

Madly swallowing spiritual energy, not caring about the infection of the disease, it suddenly reversed its movement amidst the eerie glowing light.

Retreat, retreat, retreat!

The two nozzles on the flying giant machine suddenly reversed, enduring the terrifying instantaneous counter-impact force, directly tearing through the exterior and deep into the skeleton, but relying on profound techniques and the wanton squandering of disease energy without any concern, it achieved a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in its speed and direction.

At the same time, various attack methods continued to pour out, forming a dense web of firepower with a thickness of more than a hundred zhang, enough to let an ordinary Spirit Transformation stage cultivator die dozens of times.

However, despite clearly intending to play at self-destruction, the movements of that Giant Spirit Dharma Image were simply outrageous; it remained as flexible as a person, and while dodging and shifting, it even utilized the characteristics of the two sides of the surface space to forcibly drill out a loophole path that shouldn't have existed.

It arrived in front of the rapidly retreating giant machine and suddenly turned into flying stars filling the sky; every fragment was a self-destruct unit equivalent to a top-grade fifth-tier magic artifact, and there were countless of them.

This was what Du En's Daoist technique, the Giant Spirit Dharma Image, looked like after reaching perfection! "What kind of Daoist technique is this?!"

The Tower Master only felt a deep sense of absurdity.

Du En did not deny that his practice had gone astray, but as long as it was useful and effective, that was enough!

"You disperse, and I shall disperse too!"

Facing the flying stars filling the sky, the giant machine also suddenly underwent a massive disintegration, shooting out countless fragments to meet an equal number of attacks, subsequently triggering a continuous series of explosions.

Even at Spirit Spring Village, one could see at this moment a spreading scar suddenly appearing on the distant horizon.

Thump! The Puppet Sect Tower landed back on the coastline, its whole body emitting overloaded green smoke, its various methods almost withered away; it looked even more dilapidated than before it changed its form, with not a single good spot to be seen.

Bang! The Mountain-Lifting Daoist technique directly shattered and collapsed; it was because Du En could not sustain it, the consequence of wantonly using the Giant Spirit Dharma Image, and since the self-destruction was finished, the Giant Spirit Dharma Image would fall into a stagnation period for a very long time; it was the Daoist technique itself needing to cool down and recover.

(End of chapter)