Future Upon Future, How Many Futures Are There?
The buzzing of swarms of insects flapping their wings drowned out the alarm in the skies above Azure Cloud City.
The mother insect's swollen abdomen writhed continuously, each contraction releasing thousands of larvae. These newborn insects quickly hardened their exoskeletons in the air, instantly joining the overwhelming swarm of insects.
"Lord Azure Dragon, all the residents of Azure Cloud City have been evacuated." The Azure Dragon Guards reported this, "Everyone is waiting at the array's core."
"Form ranks!" Azure Dragon shouted sharply, a jade folding fan appearing in his hand. The fan unfolded, revealing a traditional Chinese ink painting of mountains and rivers in the sky, enveloping the entire Azure Cloud City. "From this moment on, Azure Cloud City is completely isolated!"
Upon seeing the ink-wash landscape in the sky, the soldier at the heart of the formation instantly formed a hand seal and planted the formation flag. A blue light covered the ink-wash landscape, adding another layer of protection.
The Kun Earth also controls the array flags, planting them in the Four Symbols directions. "Heaven and Earth are vast, the four seas are boundless. The Eight Trigrams evolve, forging the boundary wall. Hurry, hurry, as the law commands, open!"
Wu Ma leaped to Li Fire's side, his hands and feet gripping the bowstring. "Borrow a fire!"
Flames surged in Li Fire's palm, instantly engulfing Wu Ma's bow and arrows, the arrows bursting with intense flames.
The arrow was fired and exploded amidst the dense swarm of insects.
"Whoosh--"
The flaming arrows shot through the air, heading straight for the swarm of insects. The arrows exploded within the dense swarm, scattering flames, yet the insects' black carapaces remained unharmed.
Wu Ma nocked another arrow, an ordinary one, and shot it directly at the swarm of insects high in the sky.
An insect touched the arrowhead, the tip slicing through its carapace, and flames reignited on the black shell. In the blink of an eye, the flames spread through the crowded swarm of insects, until the sky was engulfed in fire.
"Li Fire, explode!" Wu Ma roared.
The Li Fire was manipulated, and explosions echoed continuously in the air. The chain of explosions had some effect, and some insects fell from the sky.
Zhen Thunder added fuel to the fire, "I have a move, a thunderbolt from the sky!"
The explosions within explosions hadn't stopped when the flames met the thunder and caused another explosion.
The insect swarm's carapace finally gave way and began to crack. However, at that moment, the insect swarm's bodies began to undergo strange changes. Their carapaces gradually fell off, revealing the writhing flesh inside, and their form rapidly changed.
"Something's wrong!" Wu Ma's pupils constricted sharply. He saw the swarm of insects changing their forms. "They're... evolving! Stop them!"
"Damn, doesn't the explosion break the toughness? It's so overpowered, why isn't it broken?" He Piaojian looked up at the sky and complained.
Qian Heaven stole hundreds of longswords. "He Piaojian, unleash them! We'll cover you!"
"Understood, Boss!" He Piaojian responded and moved, his longsword spinning around him, its light like a rainbow. He closed his eyes, focused his Sword Heart, and unleashed several sword energies simultaneously, "Time, reverse."
The longsword cleaved through time, and the evolution of the swarm returned to its beginning.
The mother insects seemed to sense something; they spread their transparent wings. Their mouthparts slowly opened, releasing clumps of viscous black substance that enveloped the swarm.
Seconds later, the swarm of insects broke through the black substance. Countless tentacle-like limbs emerged from the cracks. Each limb was covered with barbs, the tips shimmering with a ghostly green phosphorescence, emanating a chilling aura.
"Damn it, there's a cheat code." Someone whispered.
Enraged by their actions, the swarm launched a counterattack.
They flapped their wings and swooped downwards, and [Twenty-Four Stars] led his men in a desperate attempt to stop them.
Kan Water's clones healed from behind, and they fought each other in agony time and time again. However, the speed of healing was far from keeping up with the speed of injury; one second they were healed, and the next they might be devoured by the swarm of insects.
"May your soul return, from the highest Yellow Springs deepest hells."
Each death and resurrection only fueled their fighting spirit, making them inexhaustible.
After all, there are countless homes lit up in the city behind them. They still need to go home for the Lunar New Year reunion!
The situation was critical, and the crackling of electrical current brought even worse news.
"Sir, someone has broken into array core A3."
"Sir, someone has trespassed into array A5."
"Sir, the B4 array eye is under attack by a swarm of insects."
"Sir, the B1 array core has been breached. Someone... no, a seed! A seed has entered the Barrier, and they're reporting back to the swarm!"
The ink-wash landscape in the sky gradually dimmed, the barrier of blue light almost disappeared, and the swarm of insects expanded outward to break through.
"Sir, the seed has taken control of some innocent people, including a six-year-old child. We request... that they be killed outside the Barrier..."
Azure Dragon closed his eyes, listening quietly to the message coming from the walkie-talkie, his grip tightening involuntarily.
He looked up at the sky; the crimson entrance, like a giant eye, watched the massacre. In the center of the entrance, a vibrant flower was blooming.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself before replying, "Kill."
Azure Dragon's voice was very soft, and the walkie-talkie fell silent. Then came bursts of gunfire.
"No, that's not right, sir! The bullets have been stopped!" came another urgent voice from the walkie-talkie.
Just as the bullet was about to hit its target, an invisible barrier suddenly appeared. The bullet seemed to be stuck in a viscous liquid, its speed decreasing more and more until it came to a complete stop in mid-air.
In the sky, a gap suddenly appeared in the thick clouds that had been obscured by the swarm of insects, allowing a faint light to shine through and bestow upon it a sacred glow.
Fan Daoyi stood in the sky, holding the Scales.
This Scales is different from the one seen in the hands of flesh and blood creatures; its form is more ancient and simple, a product of Fan Daoyi's Analysis.
The Balance was determined by him.
Seeing this, Azure Dragon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Entrusting your future to others is, in itself, a form of gamble.
"The plan was spot on..." he muttered to himself.
Seeing the human figure in the sky, the flowers bloomed even more beautifully.
"Your Excellency Azure Dragon, all the Four Fiends Cult members parasitized by the seeds have died. We were unable to stop them." Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise returned from the rear and reported the situation to Azure Dragon.
"Hmm." Azure Dragon replied calmly, his gaze fixed on Fan Daoyi's figure above. "The opportunity is ripe. I trouble you all to hold the array's core and prevent any from leaving Azure Cloud City."
"We understand." The two men accepted the order and left.
They left, and another person stepped onto the platform.
She was draped in a gauze robe adorned with star and moon patterns, and her veil was embroidered with obscure runes, giving her an aura of mystery.
"The prophesied savior, the future of three salvations." Her voice was ethereal and otherworldly. "Is this prophecy going too smoothly?"
Azure Dragon glanced at her. "This is your prophecy, and you're asking me instead?"
"The path to the future is fraught with too much uncertainty; I find it hard to trust it." Her words were cryptic. "He shouldn't have entered the [Eight Trigrams] realm, outside of the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies; you changed the future."
"I'm not as capable as you think; I merely approved the proposal. Besides, perhaps I'm also walking down a certain path into the future."
The sorceress remained silent, her expression behind her veil unreadable.
"Mao Rabbit, what do you see as the future of the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies?" Azure Dragon asked Mao Rabbit through the veil.
I cannot speak.
Azure Dragon smiled and pointed a single finger at Fan Daoyi high in the sky.
"I declare, this battle a resounding victory!"