Chapter 428: Harvesting the Eggshell, Shifting the Battlefield

As soon as the passage connected, a dim light emerged amidst the brilliant radiance of the Holy Spirit, appearing inconspicuous, faint, and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Du En quietly detached from the passage, fell, and landed on the solid ground.

Once inside here, without the spreading of dazzling light, one could clearly see the light of this place.

Clear, cold-toned light, like silver gauze, scattered and reflected off the mirror-like rocks, filling the entire underground grotto.

Strikingly, this was also a peculiar space, deeper than the one where the Formless Birth Mother had just been.

As an anchor point, although it was not large, it was quite special; it appeared unaffected by the collapse just now, remaining incredibly tranquil and empty, with those clear, cold-toned silver lights flowing steadily.

Du En's brows twitched slightly, and he reached out to grab it; the silver light in his hand felt like gauze, like water, possessing a distinct tactile sensation, yet before it could touch his body, it immediately bounced away and flowed off, never making actual contact.

It was not ten thousand lights, but only a single beam.

While lost in thought, his eyes gradually recovered, his state improved rapidly, and soon his vision was mostly restored; he glanced at the Holy Spirit Hanging Lamp, which had fallen into an eerie silence, and began to walk through this Silver Light Mirror Grotto, moving along that single beam of light.

His figure was elusive, appearing here and there; sometimes he was clearly moving forward, yet he would eerily appear behind, and sometimes he was clearly crashing into those mirror stones, yet he would strangely appear in another spot.

This Silver Light Mirror Grotto was truly very peculiar; Du En walked faster and faster, and the faster he went, the stranger it became. In the end, in this not-so-vast space, a figure of Du En appeared before every single mirror stone.

The silver light was like gauze, flowing quietly, but because his presence filled the space, it had to be pushed and bounced aside, and thus, it flowed into the only remaining empty spot.

Du En's fully recovered eyes only saw a scene like a shattered mirror, as if it had not yet recovered, but following his steps and looking closely, he saw the complete picture he had not seen before.

In the hidden center surrounded by mirror stones, at the source of that beam of silver light, there was a giant egg on the open ground.

It seemed crafted from mirrors, exuding a silver texture; its brightness was inferior to the sun but exceeded the moon. It lay there quietly, smoothly cracked open into two halves, with nothing left inside.

It was just like the egg at the source of the ten thousand lights in the underground secret place of the Holy Mausoleum.

The hatching ground of the gods.

Du En's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at the Holy Spirit Hanging Lamp; the sight emanating from this lamp was also wondrous and complex at this moment, as if it had not expected to see this egg again.

She said nothing, and Du En did not intend to speak, so he continued forward, examining it and handling it, feeling a bit regretful.

As expected, it could not be broken, nor could it be put into Kongsang Mountain.

In terms of rank, it was a bit too high—at least seventh rank?

He could not be sure, nor did he know where True Monarch Buyi had obtained these two divine eggs, but one thing was certain: the ones appearing before Du En were definitely not in their original state.

That Immortal Sect's True Monarch must have used specific cultivation methods according to his own needs to turn the already unique and transcendent eggs into this even more special form, ultimately allowing the two gods, the Holy Spirit and the Dark Spirit, to hatch.

He could not do much about the eggshell left behind after the Holy Spirit hatched, but he did not need to be polite with the eggshell left by this Dark Spirit.

Thus, Du En was eager to try, wanting to repeat his old trick and destroy it with the lingering hatred of the Divine Venerable.

He wondered if it would have some impact on the Dark Spirit? This could not be determined, or rather, the probability was very small; after all, if that were really the case, the Dark Spirit would certainly have tried to stop them from entering.

However, what was certain was that it would definitely have an impact on True Monarch Buyi's side! After all, that guy had no scruples; as long as it was useful, whether it was divine remains or divine eggshells, he would use them all. Destroying it in advance would naturally cause an impact...

Seeming to see Du En's thoughts, the Holy Spirit Hanging Lamp suddenly shone brightly.

"On the surface, it still looks very normal, but in reality, the collapse just now had a great impact on it as well."

As she said this, under the brilliant light, that beam of silver light retreated back into the eggshell, and in the entire grotto space, only the brilliant golden light remained.

Then this mirror egg actually shrank down, quickly becoming the size of a quail egg, and landed in Du En's hand.

"In a sense, it can also be considered divine remains, a shed outer shell. Since you have seen the armor of the Bright, you should already know how to utilize it."

This was indeed correct; through the vision bridged by the puppet, during the battle with that Dark Spirit General, Du En had also gradually glimpsed the mysteries of the Divine Remains Armor.

That was indeed not a conventional artifact-refining method, but his artifact-refining skills had already reached a state of mastery. Not only could he easily refine artifacts of corresponding ranks, but in the refining of various objects, he had gathered the strengths of all schools and was self-taught, naturally able to easily draw inferences and thus absorb and digest it.

Right now, true flames rose in his hand, and he began the preliminary refining, mainly to imprint some seals for protection and isolation, so as to avoid being utilized by the Dark Spirit later when he carried it on his person.

However, this was truly an unexpected joy.

Based on the eggshell's peculiar origin, although it was damaged and might have lost some of its essence, it was still more than enough to forge a sixth-rank precious artifact.

And as long as it was forged, even if it shattered or self-destructed in battle, he could use the magic treasure to transform it again, and furthermore, stack its power! Seeing Du En's gaze flicker slightly as he thought about the usage of his artifacts, the Holy Spirit could not help but break away from her complex thoughts, her heart skipping a beat, and she could not help but say: "If possible, please treat it kindly; at the very least, don't easily use it for self-destruction."

Du En did not take these words to heart.

He did not take them in, literally.

Because as he initially imprinted the restrictions, a voice sounded in his ears—a murmur from the distant past.

"Under the night curtain, the god spread its wings, bringing light to the earth. Everything it saw was novel, and there were many little people who formed tribes on the ground, playing happily, and suddenly a sense of joy welled up."

"Raising its eyes again to look into the wilderness, there were tribal warriors leaping to save their clansmen, fearing no sacrifice, which moved the god, making it involuntarily flap its wings, beginning to rebel against its own instincts from the moment it was born."

"But, also because of instinct, after saving the people, it continued to look up into the distance and saw the sky... I, only seeing the boundless black curtain shrouding everything, my own light dim, completely unable to illuminate that profound depth—that terror which placed living beings and stars upon a chopping block—so, I decided, I must break through that black curtain."

A young voice, a low voice, the voice of the Dark Spirit.

Perhaps because this time he had obtained the entire eggshell, rather than just a piece as before, the echo Du En heard this time was longer and accompanied by some fleeting images.

Breaking through the darkness, reaching the ground, wantonly spreading its own light, seeing the people on the ground at that time, the tribal warriors, and the pitch-black, twisted night sky.

In the Dark Spirit's perspective, the empty night sky and starry sky had ripples and distortions invisible to others, a plain black curtain.

This was because of his instinct as a god, because of the principles he originally followed, and also because True Monarch Buyi had no special concealment.

Thus, the subsequent events were very easy to connect.

Protecting the people, the establishment of the Dark Kingdom, the growth of the god, the beginning of actions, the divergence from the Holy Spirit—this had likely appeared from the very beginning, so the War of the Holy and Dark was unavoidable. Since it could not be avoided, then make use of it! Thus there was the Formless Birth Mother, thus the Fluorite Disease spread, thus... Du En and the others arrived, pushing the situation further to the present.

He hadn't expected that the Dark King was once a tribal warrior who feared no sacrifice.

Du En thought to himself.

Then he continued to think that it might have been that near-death experience that changed the other party's mindset, or perhaps the Dark Spirit's inherent duty, guiding him as he drew too close, gradually moving toward corruption, or perhaps after becoming king, tasting the poison of power, he spontaneously rotted and stank.

These thoughts were only fleeting.

Because it actually didn't matter; there was no need to delve into it.

Du En put away the eggshell.

After losing its support point, this space also began to collapse and disintegrate.

It was time to leave, time to go up, time to go see the Dark Spirit.

Regardless of the original intention, since that god had long plotted and voluntarily released the Fluorite Disease, then presumably it would not evade the responsibility it ought to bear.

Therefore, it was time to go and crusade against him. The god and the human thought silently, their intentions aligned, and with their gazes cast upward, they vanished from where they stood.

The descent had taken quite a long time, but the return required no time at all.

The Dark Kingdom Royal Palace, underground prison.

In the third underground level, shrouded by the Wood Domain and mist, Yun was currently opening their eyes with a look of deep worry, having no heart to continue sitting in meditation to circulate their Qi.

Because not long ago, the Crimson Phoenix True Flame that Du En had left behind here had suddenly vanished, which could not help but make one feel extremely anxious.

However, just at this moment, accompanied by a figure flashing into existence, he had already appeared once more in Yun's sight.

"Your Excellency."

Yun spoke subconsciously, and seeing Du En nod, they did not continue speaking, because the current situation simply did not allow for them to explain things slowly.

She also understood silently what she needed to do next.

To take the prisoners within the Wood Domain's shroud, as well as others in the palace worth saving, and move far away from this area beneath the Throne of God.

Because from here on out, this place would become a battlefield, and they could not be allowed to become a burden.

Her expression was extremely grave as she silently accepted this task, which was actually quite arduous.

After all, no one knew when the great battle might suddenly erupt.

In short, the two of them and the one god moved quickly.

By utilizing the spatial movement that those at the Spirit Severing stage could perform even without divine sense, they could accomplish many things in a short amount of time.

Then, just as Du En returned to the third level above ground, he could not help but glance toward the direction of the city walls.

Because of the previous battle with the Formless Mother, he had been forced to retract much of his extra dispersed power, which had also affected the puppet army.

Those ordinary puppets, because they were inscribed with simple operating modes and relied on the convenience of having superior quality and quantity, were not a problem to deal with the defenders, even if they were not sufficiently precise or agile.

But the puppet Du En that was entangling the Great General Ming was finally seen through by him.

Therefore, at this very moment.

Accompanied by a booming explosion, the previously entangled battle group separated, and Great General Ming's gaze appeared very sinister.

"To think it really is a fake puppet?!"

Startlingly, the puppet Du En that had been forced back had already been viciously torn open due to the controller's momentary distraction earlier, revealing the support components inside crafted from various rare treasures, with none of the flesh and internal organs that a normal person should have.

To tell the truth, if not for Du En returning in time and immediately taking back precise control, it would not have just been torn open, but would have been at least one-third pulverized, losing at least half of its combat power.

Even so, it was impossible to continue entangling the opponent as tightly as before.

"Hmph!"

With his eyes flickering, Great General Ming let out a cold snort and suddenly flew toward the Dark Capital.

"Trying to run?!"

Jiang Ying was covered in blood, her Diamond Skirt Armor had been shattered more times than she could count, and her physical recovery could not keep up with the damage; now, with flesh turned inside out and bones exposed, it was a gruesome sight.

However, seeing the enemy about to run, she immediately charged out.

She arrived through the air, her fist momentum astonishing.

At the same time, the puppet Du En was also attacking.

Although the puppet body was already damaged, by sacrificing this puppet, it could continue to cooperate with Jiang Ying to entangle the opponent for a while, preventing him from participating in the decisive battle against the Dark God.

Regarding this, the chief general under the Dark God naturally already had a countermeasure.

Another boom sounded!

Jiang Ying's fist and the puppet's spell were each blocked by a single hand simultaneously.

And one figure had already broken through the air, moving with abnormal speed, charging straight toward the palace.

It was that Great General! Looking closely, what was blocking the human and the puppet was actually a suit of armor.

God-Bone Armor! "What?!"

Facing the enemy's "cicada shedding its shell" escape, Jiang Ying was greatly shocked and wanted to pull back, but she did not expect to have her fist grabbed by this God-Bone Armor in a backhand motion.

It was almost like a living thing, and under remote control, it possessed strength comparable to hers, causing her to be unable to break free even as she swung her fists repeatedly.

However, she was not the only one here.

With a bang.

The puppet Du En arrived carrying wind and sand, the five-fold light wheel flashing past, already quite dim; the accompanying punch forced the God-Bone Armor to retreat, releasing Jiang Ying's fist.

"Don't think about running!"

She knew what she had to do, quickly gathering strength while stomping her feet, her legs exploding with blood, and she violently shattered the surface of space, chasing after him with extreme speed.

Left in place was the fierce battle between the armor and the puppet.

The situation regarding the high-end combatants was rapidly becoming clear.

Likewise, the situation was the same for the mid-to-low-end side.

Seeing the leading general "shed his armor and flee" had a nearly devastating effect on the morale of the Dark Kingdom's defenders; at the same time, Du En, judging that the situation was untenable, was very decisive, immediately urging the reserve puppet army to launch a frantic attack and constantly self-destruct.

The battle between the armor and the puppet had just begun and had not yet ended, but the Dark Kingdom's defenders had already been completely wiped out.

The only survivors were the scarred, curled-up, but tenacious mount—a giant snake that was still casting demonic arts, appearing like a mountain at the Spirit Severing stage.

If one truly wanted to kill it, it would require squeezing out a bit more effort.

Du En was currently resolving the defenders quickly, naturally to consolidate his combat power, so he left it alive for now, though he first had it completely restrained.

Then, one puppet after another quickly fell into silence.

Only a few Tier 5 puppets crossed the devastated battlefield, flying or tunneling toward the Dark Kingdom Royal Palace.

As for the God-Bone Armor, it would be troublesome to resolve, so he let the puppet Du En entangle it for the time being.

Thus, amidst the ignorant and strange slumber of the city's residents, the main battlefield quickly concentrated and shifted to the Dark Kingdom Royal Palace.

(End of chapter)