The battle was still ongoing!
Li Rong'en was silently fighting, his body continuing to swell, growing ever larger. This was not a secret technique for giantization but simply the accumulation of dead cells!
Cells cannot regenerate infinitely; they have a limit on the number of times they can regenerate. The lifespan limit of a species often depends on the maximum number of times its cells can regenerate.
He was overdrawing his regenerative capacity, pouring all his future strength into this moment, burning himself out!
Cells were burning, and his lifespan was burning.
"What kind of secret technique is this?" After killing hundreds of puppets, the number of puppets present did not diminish. No one knew how many corpses this so-called "Alternative Taboo" Puppet Master had collected over the years or how many puppets he had created.
The puppets were questioning:
"What a peculiar secret technique—igniting oneself, overdrawing the future, piling all potential into the present."
Li Rong'en chuckled softly:
"I learned it from a reclusive scholar. According to him, this is a byproduct of his research on infinite cell proliferation, which I call…"
"Extreme Elevation."
"Does this name sound good?"
The puppets nodded and then shook their heads:
"It sounds good, but it's quite cliché."
Over a hundred puppets of saint-level strength surged forward, among them hidden angel-level puppets. The collision of such immense power tore the earth apart!
Mountains crumbled with a rumbling sound.
"Kill them all! Kill them all!"
Li Rong'en roared, then began to sing a hymn, his heartbeat like a war drum. He charged forward amidst the rhythm, staining himself with blood!
"The knight shall never cease his charge."
The pure white spear swept across, the ground suddenly cracking, tearing a chasm thousands of meters long, hundreds of meters wide, and bottomless!
It could be foreseen that this chasm would one day evolve into a grand canyon, becoming a must-visit destination for many tourists, a new holy land for adventurers.
Li Rong'en grew more courageous with each battle; despite his armor being in tatters, he did not stop. The spear pierced the chest of an angel puppet, and his heavy shield swept away, shattering saint puppets into pieces that fell like rain!
"I am experiencing the eighth day that the Lord once went through."
While bathing in blood, Li Rong'en recited solemnly:
"That was the day of darkness, the day of suffering."
"But darkness is the necessary path before dawn. That darkness must end here with me; the new ones shall thrive on the ninth day, at the moment when dawn breaks!"
"I walk the path the Lord once walked; I shall fear nothing. The blade pressed against me is the darkness of the eighth day and the violent light of the ninth day!"
"And then, I shall walk toward the Lord!"
"I will eventually return to"
"His embrace!"
The saints echoed:
"Emper Xiang above!"
"I have found you!"
He raised his head, straightened his back, bent his knees, and flexed his arms, holding the spear in a poised position, much like how the Lord would throw a spear at the ruler of death!
Li Rong'en threw the spear with great force.
The spear tore through the void, breaking the barriers between reality and the spirit realm, simultaneously existing in both realms.
In reality, it pierced through numerous puppets; in the spirit realm, it stabbed countless extraordinary beings. And then!
In reality, the spear was embedded in a ten-thousand-meter-high peak, causing an avalanche that echoed for miles.
In the spirit realm, it pierced the chest of a little bearded man. He lowered his head in disbelief, his fingers manipulating countless transparent threads connected to numerous active puppets.
He was drawn from the spirit realm into reality, appearing dazed, floating at the site of the collapsing peak, before plummeting down!
"Cough cough."
The Puppet Master coughed up blood, weakly speaking:
"You actually… could discover me."
Burning in flames, Li Rong'en walked forward, gazing at the little bearded man pinned against the mountain's ruins:
"I will take you down with me."
"Is that so?"
The little bearded man replied weakly:
"I admire you; you are the second person to find me. You remain calm in battle; you perceive reality and observe the spirit realm. But do you know?"
The Puppet Master smiled:
"The highest realm of puppetry is not in creating powerful puppets but in…"
"Becoming a puppet yourself."
Li Rong'en's expression changed, and he retreated in horror as the little bearded man's body cracked, shattered, and died.
As his body perished, a massive spirit emerged from within!
The Puppet Master had long since abandoned his body; the puppets were merely a facade, the body just a burden.
For countless years, he had crafted puppets from the corpses of angels and saints, devouring their souls!
He had long become a 'god,' already stepping onto the path of divinity!
The pseudo-god-level massive spirit filled the sky, and many observers in Tianchuan City were struck by thunder; the Extraordinary Law Enforcement Office was thrown into chaos!
"A god has descended!" The director's face turned pale: "Immediately report to the governor!"
He coughed up blood. To spy on a god, even a first-tier pseudo-god, brought him great backlash!
The director changed his perspective, narrowing his view to avoid looking directly at the god filling the sky, quietly observing the situation, preparing for the possible upheaval to come!
Meanwhile, in the outskirts.
The god gazed at Li Rong'en, a smile on his face:
"You are the most resilient one I have ever seen."
"You are a true saint, transcending fanaticism."
"Your body will become my new puppet, and your spirit will become a part of me."
"You are worthy to merge with me."
Li Rong'en was pressed down, bending over and coughing blood; at that moment, he finally realized!
No wonder, no wonder the Puppet Master wanted to help the Lost Church in the Storm Kingdom, no wonder he wanted to hunt the believers of order.
The more devout a soul was devoured, the more his soul would grow!
No, it was Him.
He filled the sky, and His spirit looked down at Li Rong'en like a tiny, humble ant. His voice was like the morning bell and evening drum, shaking hearts and deafening ears!
He said calmly:
"I have existed for many years, encountering no rivals. People fear me, panic before me; everything is my game."
"And you."
The god cast an admiring gaze:
"You are the most exquisite toy I have ever seen, the most splendid that I have killed. You are—"
The god's words suddenly halted, frowning slightly, as the massive spirit occupying the sky turned to look. Li Rong'en, barely holding against the fierce divine pressure, turned his gaze as well.
A girl.
A girl dressed in a maid outfit, walking stiffly, her gaze vacant.
She was slowly approaching.
"Is she your backup?"
The god said indifferently:
"Interesting; to be able to move sluggishly under my overwhelming might, appearing only slightly dazed—she seems to be a top-tier angel as well."
After a pause, the god looked at Li Rong'en with great interest:
"A very good strategy—fighting alone while having an angel hidden as backup, striking at the right moment. If I were just a heavenly envoy, you might have already suffered greatly. However, your backup seems quite lethargic; besides giving me another exquisite toy, what other use could she have?"
Li Rong'en coughed up blood, his armor trembling and cracking. He murmured,
"I don't know her."
"Don't know?"
The god was momentarily stunned and looked again at the maid, who was cautiously approaching the battlefield, holding a broom. She raised her head, pure and innocent, and said,
"Master sent me to take you all back. Please come with me."
Her voice was ethereal and crisp.
Some powerful observers, struggling to peer at the scene, were dumbfounded. An elder shook his head, believing she was an angel or saint who had gone mad. Others sighed, lamenting the impending withering of a beautiful flower.
"Interesting."
The vast spirit filling the sky shook its head:
"She's just not right in the head, probably already polluted and gone mad. This spirit cannot be kept."
It was disdainful, thinking that this dull and sluggish unknown was unworthy of being devoured, fearing it might pollute its own spirit.
Immediately, the god's thoughts stirred, summoning thunder and wind to strike at the maid!
The maid holding the broom was engulfed by the lightning.
When the lightning faded, she was unharmed.
She even sniffed her nose.
The scene fell into dead silence, and countless observers were left in shock; someone rubbed their eyes. In the governing building, Wu Liangyu, watching everything, felt a mix of horror and confusion.
"This maid…"
He frowned and murmured:
"Why does she look somewhat familiar?"
Wu Liangyu couldn't recall where he had seen her.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts.
The god was also taken aback, slightly surprised, and for the first time regarded the maid seriously, using all its power!
The wild thunder intertwined, forming a vast thunder pool, slanting down to unleash millions of lightning strikes like a flood!
The thunderstorm plummeted violently, resembling the Milky Way crashing down from the heavens!
The maid was knocked back, her snowy white skin cracking as if injured.
But she was merely injured.
Feeling the pain after many years of slumber, she found it new and was somewhat angry:
"Why aren't you listening?"
As she spoke,
the torn skin healed, and she raised her tiny fist, waving it at the vast spirit occupying the sky.
"Thou—"
The god frowned, wanting to speak, but changed color.
It was astonished and terrified, sensing a vast and horrifying pure power erupting from within the maid!
This pure physical strength stirred the winds, the wind tearing through the void!
Where the gale passed, reality and the spirit realm shattered simultaneously!
The god suffered a heavy blow, its massive spirit body destroyed by more than half under countless bewildered gazes; it wanted to flee!
"Don't run!"
The maid shouted angrily, remembering her master's orders to bring him back alive. So, she carefully controlled her power, raising the broom high. The broom, now infused with divinity, suddenly expanded, blocking out the sun, sweeping away the clouds!
The fleeing god was swept back as if it were mere trash.
The Puppet Master was utterly dumbfounded, trembling slightly. Where did such a being come from in Tianchuan City???
Such terrifying physical strength from a pseudo-god of the ancient path??
The ancient path was stronger in physique but weaker in spirit.
There was still a chance!
The god did not give up, letting out a furious roar, launching a counterattack with everything it had, actually tearing through the maid's body and laughing loudly!
"Thy flesh shall become my new body! Arrogant pseudo-god of the ancient path, thou—"
It fell silent.
The god saw a spirit vastly greater than itself, curling up within a relatively weak and humble body.
The maid's fair skin suddenly healed, and she angrily squished the god into a small ball, stuffing it into her pocket.
"Time to go back and report!"
The maid, under countless trembling gazes, bounced back cheerfully.
"I feel like I forgot something…"
Ah Gui thought while hopping, but she was too slow-witted to remember, so she decided not to think about it.
Holding the broom and the ball, she bounced even more joyfully, stepping out a grand rhythm. Countless observing eyes shrank back in fear; no one dared to directly gaze at a terror.
And in the shattered ruins of the battlefield.
Li Rong'en blinked in confusion.
He coughed up blood, retreating into the spirit realm, heading toward Tianchuan City.
This last breath should be a baptism for his disciple; he should tell her the Lord's name, share the Lord's glory.
With the pure white knight having a worthy successor, he would die without regrets.