Faced with a barrage of dark beams and surrounded by three Great Luo Demon Gods, Tongtian made an exceedingly bold, even crazy decision: he charged toward the Otherworld Fortress!
This was no suicidal charge, but a desperate gamble to survive by plunging into danger! The fortress's surface defenses were indeed fierce, but its enormous bulk was the best cover of all. Flying close to its surface would greatly restrict the firing angles of the long-range cannons, forcing the enemy to hold back for fear of hitting its own fortress!
"Steady!" Tongtian growled. Under his precise control, the sphere of light formed from the Chaos Bead darted through gaps between the dense dark beams like a storm petrel in a tempest, plunging and climbing in hair-raising evasions to dodge most of the attacks. The few it couldn't avoid were met head-on by the Chaos Bead Light Shield. Destructive ripples of energy burst out with each impact, and the shield shuddered violently, but it held.
The three Great Luo Demon Gods roared furiously. Their massive bodies were far less nimble than Tongtian, and when they saw their target rushing straight toward the fortress, they hurried to accelerate their pursuit. Their huge claws, wrapped in the power to tear apart Chaos, raked viciously at the sphere's tail!
"Junior Sister, help me!" Yun Xiao cried. Her thoughts were in sync with Qiongxiao and Bixiao. The auras of the Three Sisters' Chaos Immortal Bodies linked together, and they struck out with their palms at the same time! Their three streams of Chaos Magic Power fused into a Misty Grey giant palm. Rather than meeting the Demon Gods' claws, it slammed into the Chaos Flow to the side!
Boom! The Chaos Flow churned under the force, instantly forming a chaotic vortex. Though it couldn't hurt the Demon Gods, it successfully disrupted their pursuit and bought the sphere a precious bit of distance!
In that split second, Tongtian had already piloted the sphere to within reach of the enormous fortress's surface! Seeing it up close was even more shocking. Dark red energy fluid coursed through pipes that writhed like blood vessels. In the depths of honeycomb-like holes, hunched Demon God silhouettes could be glimpsed. The fortress's entire outer shell glimmered with a nauseating, cold sheen that seemed to blend metal and living tissue.
"System, scan for the nearest energy node or weak point!" Tongtian commanded urgently, maintaining high-speed maneuvers as he dodged enormous tentacles and energy spikes that suddenly thrust out from the fortress's surface.
[Scan complete! Three thousand li to the front left. An energy node with unusually active fluctuations has been detected. It may be a small incubation pool or energy transfer hub, and its external defenses are relatively weak!]
"That's the spot!" Tongtian's gaze sharpened. He swung the sphere around and charged in the direction indicated by the system!
Behind them, the three Great Luo Demon Gods had closed in. Their frenzied attacks kept raining down, and fine cracks had already appeared in the Chaos Bead Light Shield! Wudang and Kui Niu poured all their magic power into repairing it, their faces pale.
They had to succeed quickly! The thousand-li distance vanished in an instant. Ahead lay an enormous, hundred-li-wide structure resembling a "boil." Beneath its surface membrane, countless embryo-like Demon God silhouettes writhed, and its energy fluctuations surged violently.
"Focus all our attacks on one point! Break through it!" Tongtian bellowed. The Qingping Sword was already in his hand, and his Chaos Sword Qi had been condensed to the utmost!
"Chaos Returns to Origin Slash!"
"Shangqing Divine Thunder!" (Wudang)
"Kui Water Divine Thunder!" (Kui Niu)
"Chaos Tribulation Light!" (The Three Sisters, united)
Everyone unleashed their full strength without holding anything back! At the forefront was a Gray Sword Aura that embodied the essence of Tongtian's Primordial Sword Dao. Behind it came raging thunder, surging waves of water, and a beam of Chaos light formed by the Three Sisters' fusion. Like rivers converging, they crashed into the same point on the "boil" node!
What terrifying power was unleashed by the full-force strike of a Mid-Quasi-Saint, three Grand Unity Golden Immortals, a Golden Immortal Peak, and a powerful divine beast!
Sss—BOOM!!!! Once the Chaos Sword Qi tore a hole in the fortress's seemingly tough outer shell, the following torrent of energy poured violently inside! It was like a red-hot brand plunged into grease!
The enormous energy that had accumulated within was instantly triggered, setting off a chain reaction!
Blinding light erupted from within, accompanied by a muffled yet earth-shaking boom! The hundred-li-wide "boil" node swelled violently, then burst apart like fireworks! Countless Demon God limbs, viscous dark energy fluid, and fragments of laws mixed with a terrifying shock wave swept wildly in every direction!
"Go!" The instant the explosion began, Tongtian had already piloted the sphere away from the fortress, using the blast's recoil to shoot off like an arrow loosed from a bow! It was several times faster than before!
"Roar!!!" The three Great Luo Demon Gods closest behind them took the brunt of the blast. The explosion of their own fortress hurled them away, shattered their scales, and drew out anguished howls. More Demon Gods on patrol were torn apart by the shock wave. A gigantic hole had been blasted into the fortress's surface. Flames soared inside, chaotic energy spilled in all directions, and the piercing alarms blared at full volume!
The entire Otherworld Vanguard Fortress descended into chaos!
Tongtian and the others took the opportunity to flee ten thousand li. Looking back, they saw the enormous fortress shuddering violently in Chaos like a wounded beast. Small explosions kept going off in the damaged section, clearly indicating severe internal damage.
"We did it!" Qiongxiao excitedly pumped her fist.
"Master, we damaged one of its vital organs!" Bixiao could barely contain her excitement.
But Tongtian showed little joy. His expression was even more grave. He knew that although the strike had caused considerable damage and delayed the Vanguard Fortress, it could never destroy it. The fortress's core was still intact, and its true powerhouses had yet to act. This was more like a stern warning and a test.
Worse, they had completely exposed themselves. After this clash, the Otherworld Demon Gods would surely be on guard against the Primordial World. Their next invasion might be even fiercer and more cunning.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Tongtian said gravely. "We can't stay here. The powerhouses inside the fortress will react soon. We must return to the Primordial World immediately!"
He sensed several terrifying auras comparable to Quasi-Saints awakening deep within the fortress, their overwhelming fury already fixed on them!
Without hesitation, Tongtian poured his full strength into the Chaos Bead. Guided by an inexplicable sense of the Primordial World, he began the even more perilous return journey along the route they had taken to come here.
The Chaos Expedition had achieved its purpose. They had confirmed the reality and urgency of the threat from another world, dealt a heavy blow to its Vanguard Fortress, and, most importantly, obtained precious firsthand intelligence.
After Tongtian and his group had endured countless hardships and finally pierced the Chaos Barrier, they once again felt the familiar aura of the Primordial World. The first volume of their journey was nearing its end.
What they brought back was not just wounds and spent magic power, but a boulder cast into a tranquil lake—and a spark already lit, destined to set the whole plain ablaze!
The sky over the Primordial World was about to change.
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