Chapter 256 – Goodbyes
The Young Master contacted the Foxes with the help of the Southern Sect.
It was dangerous if they stayed too close to the mountain, so they convinced them to take sanctuary with them.
None had any bad thoughts about the Foxes, everyone just wanted to survive this upcoming disaster.
A bit further away they could see the Fiendish Sect flying towards them, but that should be fine since they would get struck down too by the Heavenly Disaster.
The Blood Fox at first didn't want to join them, but Umbra convinced her.
The Blood Fox covered the entrance with solidified blood, so no one would try to sneak in.
The sky darkened even more. The disaster was upon them.
The first lightning fell from the skies. To the shock of everyone, it was much wider than they expected. Not only was it wider than the whole mountain, but it also covered a large part of the forest.
The Lightning was bright, signifying death to the Beast that was Evolving. Yet the moment it reached above the mountain, it suddenly shrunk to a very thin lightning.
The Heavenly Lightning Lily absorbed the huge column of Heavenly Lightning and bloomed.
Usually, it would take thousands upon thousands of Heavenly Lightning strikes before it could bloom, but it bloomed right before their eyes with just a single strike.
The terrifying force made everyone shiver and Aiko's team were now seriously concerned about what might happen to her. They wanted to rush outside, but they also knew that they would be of no help...
Some Cultivators' eyes shone with greed, especially the Alchemist.
"Heavenly Grade, Heavenly Lightning Lily...!" One Alchemist in particular rushed outside, but as the whole place was doused with the remnants of the Heavenly Lightning; his body was shocked as soon as he set a foot outside the barrier.
He died on the spot.
The Cultivators panicked and wanted to go inside the flying ship where it was safer, yet they were blocked by the Elders.
"Keep pouring your Qi into the Arrays!" The Elders shouted. They didn't want to die just because of a few idiots. Even if they had to dry their Qi by force to survive, they would do it.
The Foxes did not need to contribute as their Energy was very different, yet a lot of Human Cultivators were dissatisfied.
But before anyone could say anything, the place darkened once again. Even more powerful Heavenly Lightning was upon them.
The World turned white from the lightning. It galloped towards the mountain, yet once again, a little bit above the mountain, it thinned.
The Heavenly Lightning Lily took the brunt once again, but as it had already bloomed, it could not withstand such a force...
It perished near instantly and the remaining Heavenly Lightning struck the vines around the mountain.
They were great conductors that allowed the lightning to disperse into the surroundings.
Unfortunately for the Human Cultivators, that meant there was nothing to protect their barrier from this freshly dispersed Heavenly Lightning.
The barrier was struck by it and it creaked and shook. There appeared spiderwebs on the partially broken barrier.
A shiver went down everyone's back and nobody held back any more. They all poured all of their Qi into maintaining the barrier.
...
{Meanwhile, inside the mountain}
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" The Seed cursed in Aiko's fashion, but that was expected.
Plants were incredibly fragile when it came to Heavenly Lightning, so when her vines were struck by it, it felt like her body was ripping apart.
[??? said that she is concerned about the Special Seed's Vitality.][??? revitalised the Special Seed.]
"I don't need your pity!" The Seed roared in anger. There was still one more Heavenly Lightning left, but Aiko's body was still not finished forming.
If the Heavenly Lightning descended now, Aiko would surely die.
The Seed cried in her mind, all of this Energy, all of this Vitality! She would have nothing left and might even perish if she blocks the next strike!
The Seed had a sudden thought of withdrawal, but was stopped by the Essence.
[??? said that the deal is still in place.]
The Seed cursed in an unknown language. "You scamming piece of shit!" She was absolutely scammed and that was because she got a bit too greedy. Now she had to pay the price for it...
The Seed wrapped the whole mountain with Ironwood Vines. Those were good conductors and would disperse at least some of the Heavenly Lightning for the Seed.
The Essence also provided Vitality to further strengthen the Ironwood Vines.
The Seed disconnected herself from the Ironwood Vines and wrapped another layer inside the small cavern. It now felt like anyone who would enter this place that they were in a small jungle...
The Seed would do everything she could to protect herself and her Master.
The world outside darkened. It almost felt like it was a night outside even when it was evening.
The last Heavenly Lightning descended even more terrifying than the previous two combined.
The Ironwood Vines attracted the Heavenly Lightning, but when the Heavenly Lightning touched the Ironwood Vines, they immediately vaporised.
They offered no resistance against this kind of Heavenly Disaster.
The huge Heavenly Lightning struck the huge mountain, shattering it immediately. Nature was much better at combating the Heavens, so the Heavenly Disaster lost the brunt of it's might.
Yet the Mountain was destroyed as the Heavenly Lightning kept on going.
The small jungle created by the Seed was the next to take the brunt.
The flowers, vines, trees, everything disappeared in front of the Seed's eyes.
She poured all of her Vitality into them, yet she still was unable to block it. The Ghosts assisted with their Arrays, but those were likewise immediately overwhelmed...
There was no chance of survival under these conditions...
The Seed now regretted being taken away from that place. It was peaceful even if they used her as an Illusion for their 'real Treasure'.
The Seed scoffed at everyone, nobody wanted it since they all believed she was useless. Yet they dared to kidnap her from her Mother...
The seed shook her head, it seemed like this would be the end of her short life...
The heavenly Lightning was nearing Aiko, but a sudden pull moved the lightning away from her.
"One last time." The Seed chuckled with melancholy.
[Seed of Time, Space, and Life; 0/100,000,000] -> [Primordial Seed of ####]
It was all absorbed by the seed.
Her image and her real body cracked as it consumed the Heavenly Lightning. They were not compatible, this would result in mutual destruction.
A small streak of Heavenly Lightning reached Aiko and struck her between her eyebrows. Aiko frowned gently murmuring in displeasure.
The Seed chuckled. That was so like her... "Maybe next time I will be more honest..." She shook her head weakly as her image was unrecognisable.
The Seed cracked more and more until it shattered into nothingness...
[Primordial Seed of ####] -> []
...
{Outside after the last strike}
The Sky darkened again. All Cultivators plopped on the ground. The only ship that survived this disaster was the Young Master's ship and even that was battered badly.
Yet it seemed like there would be a fourth strike.
It seemed the Heavenly Disaster was upset about something, but after another hour it finally retreated...
The already weak Cultivators who no longer cared about their lives suddenly saw a light at the end of this endless tunnel.
They felt like they spent years under this abuse, yet it was only a few hours...
The Advanced Reconnaissance Unit warned everyone that it was not over yet, there were still the Fiendish Cultivators!
But when they looked towards them... oh how pitiful.
Only one ship out of many survived the abuse and even that one was barely flying in the air.
The Cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and let them approach before they would battle them.
The Foxes were not as relieved. Seeing the whole mountain get vaporised like that; their hearts were tight.
Nothing happened to Aiko, right? She survived, right?
Their minds were cloudy. They knew that they had to rush and see for themselves, but their bodies would not listen to them. They were terrified of the chance that Aiko was no more.
The Fiendish Cultivators approached and Wanshu suddenly stood up.
"I'm sorry." It was a weak and guilty voice.
She suddenly sped up away picking up the bastard that she never wished to see again.
He forcefully fed her drugs that made her veins bulge and she ran away from this place carrying him.
The Umbra was shocked. She didn't know what to do... check on Aiko or pursue her lover... she couldn't choose and this hesitation made Wanshu go away.
The Blood Fox cared more about Aiko than anyone else, so she stood up weakly. She was terrified, but she still held hope.
Before she could wobble over, there was an explosion.
"All hail the Fiendish Sect!" The Fiendish Cultivators shouted as they jumped out of the flying ship.
They gathered Energies in their Cores, blowing themselves up. Those explosions were powerful and easily shattered the barrier.
More and more Fiendish cultivators jumped down and exploded. The Righteous Cultivators were in complete disarray.
"Don't falter! Kill them before they reach us!" Fiend Wang shouted as she used her Techniques to shoot them from the sky.
...
The Foxes were no exception to these explosions.
The Blood Fox reacted a moment too late and both of them were thrown outside the ship by the explosion.
Umbra had it worse as she still didn't move from her place and didn't guard, because of the shock she was experiencing.
Her limbs were sprawled in all the wrong directions. Her body was bleeding slowly and she had a blank expression on her face.
She couldn't believe what happened in front of her eyes. Was Aiko really dead? Did Wanshu leave her?
Her mind was jumbled and she could not think properly.
The Blood Fox was a bit better, her body was mostly intact except for the numerous bleeding wounds. She might've been late to shield both of them, but the blood inside her body still did protect her.
The Blood Fox stretched a Blood shield around them. It could not be shaken by a simple core explosion. She pretty much drained the whole place of the residual blood, creating a thick and powerful protection.
The explosion didn't lessen until all the Fiendish Cultivators died.
Everyone was shaken and morning was slowly approaching.
The Blood Fox was trying to keep Umbra alive, but her eyes were empty like she gave up on her own life...