Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 695

Chapter 695

Chapter 695: Gates of Slaughter

In this instant, Occisus finally accepted its master and propelled her into the realm of the Paragons . The power of her Domain was inferior to that of the Violet Princess, but even the terrible alien’s strength couldn’t hold thirst for carnage back . Even the universe seemed to shrink away from the fearful sense .

The Violet Princess, for all her power, hesitated to engage .

Captus also seemed galvanized by Occisus’ display and began to quiver . Ripples of angry red light pulsed from it, weaving among its companion’s violent display . A strange, uncomfortable sensation swept across the area .

The Violet Princess screamed . Her howl still hung in the air as she dissolves into a violet stream of light and vanished into space .

As she did the blinding red and white lights mingled to create a towering gate . Three words were etched into reality at its apex:

Gates of Slaughter!

All around them the universe was a tapestry of red and white, separate but woven together . Time and space collapsed at their borders and any asteroid within 5 kilometers splintered into dust . Nothing was capable of denying the pure destructive force that threatened to devour this pocket of the universe .

Captus swelled to enormous size . It writhed and cut through the air, wildly casting squalls of power every which way . Occisus continued to burn with a pure white fire, and its light embraced the newly ascended Pharmacist .

“What are you waiting for, flee!” Jun Yongye’s voice rang in Lan Jue’s mind . It brought him back to his senses . He reached out his right hand and Captus shrunk as it fell into his palm . Blade and man as one, Lan Jue became a ray of red light that streaked into the distance . The Pharmacist followed close behind .

Eventually the trail of light they left behind faded into nothing . They were gone .

The Gates of Slaughter remained behind, but began to fade after ten seconds . Even so the calamitous sensation remained . Waves of its power continued to wreak havoc through the area and fluctuated frantically as though universal protogenia itself was forced to submit .

After another ten seconds a different power swept through, strong and constraining . Two flashes of purple cut through the pale white light, depositing the Violet Prince and Princess .

The Princess still looked anxious and apprehensive . Her pretty face pouted in disbelief . “It was so frightening,” she said . “It was like my mind and power were in danger of being shattered . How could such boundless power exist? It is in defiance of universal rules, beyond what should be allowed! But I felt it clearly, well beyond that limit – beyond what Monarch can safely use . ”

The Violet Prince furrowed his brow, perceiving some invisible thing .  After a moment he spoke again . “Monarch says it is not real… it is a simulation of a real force, like the one in the blade left behind by the human . Monarch has managed to control some measure of the human weapon’s power, perhaps He will learn more about this . Princess, you are too cowardly . ”

The Violet Princess stood tall and regarded him with prideful incredulity . “I am to be Queen, I must protect myself from danger . That human is also of great interest to me . I wish to take him as my mate, our offspring would be very strong . ”

The Prince narrowed his eyes . “What of the female? Maybe she is a suitable breeder . ”

A flash of purple lit up the Princess’ eyes . Before her, an image of the Pharmacist appeared complete with a near-perfect representation of her aura .

ζ

Twinkling motes of silver filled an empty tract of space . Silken threads of silver grew from them, connecting them . All of a sudden they cracked like a fractures mirror, and from the fissure in space-time there emerged a sapphire blue battleship .

Any energy signature was constrained . In fact all was quiet, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all . Within Zeus-1 the Wine Master sat down on the floor, exhausted . Transferring them over such a long distance by himself was a stretch of his abilities, not to mention the size of the ship . The Starfields were also rife with disrupting energies that made it all the more difficult .

Lan Jue’s face still showed his shock . Captus had disappeared back into its place between dimensions, but Occisus remained suspended in air . It flickered in and out of existence, surrounded by white light . Thankfully, with Captus’ help, its unbridled murderous power was contained . Were that not the case he feared for the safety of those onboard the ship .

No trace was seen of the Pharmacist, who had joined with her blade . However Lan Jue could feel waves of power coming from Occisus that felt familiar .

At last she had broken through . He couldn’t know whether she would rise to be a Reflection of Heaven and Earth like his brother, but it wasn’t out of the question . After all, she had the benefit of a Banishing Blade . She would inevitable be integral in the fight against the aliens .

Lan Jue couldn’t say he wasn’t a little envious of the Pharmacist’s breakthrough . It seemed like everyone around him had been advancing while he remained behind . His brother was especially impressive, leaping to second degree and commanding Varochana as his dharmic reflection . In the course of a single day he had become one of humanity’s most promising Paragons .

Hua Li had also received the rights of his ancestors and ascended to Paragon status . He was now truly His Majesty Poseidon . Chu Cheng had yet to take that step, but was separated by only the thinnest margin . Now, the Pharmacist had joined the ranks of Eastern powerhouses .

But himself?

Lan Jue’s individual Discipline had risen to ninth level eighth rank . If he wanted he could reach peak rank in very little time, even break through to Paragon . His body was imbued with immortal qi from the thunder essence, and he had command of the mighty All-Heaven lightning . Although he could not be called a Paragon, the truth was he wasn’t a typical Adept, either .

The restriction that had been imposed upon him – by Bize, by the arrow of compassion, by his connection to Qianlin – they held him back . The only way he would rise to Paragon was with Qianlin by his side . Her Discipline was only slightly less than his own, yet Lan Jue was still uneasy . IF she didn’t come to before it was time for her breakthrough, it may result in problems . If she couldn’t sense the flows of protogenia as she crossed the barrier, how could she advance? It wasn’t even certain the process wouldn’t come with unseen dangers .

After all, a Paragon’s growth depended on their comprehension of the universe .

Lan Jue glowered helplessly, but he knew he couldn’t rush . He had to find a way to rouse Qianlin from the hell the Astral Phantom had put her in .

He thought back to Qianlin’s small hands gripping his shirt . He took it as a sign that maybe the day she came back to him wasn’t far off .

Each time they cultivated Lan Jue channeled the immortal qi he absorbed from the thunder essence into her body . He hoped it would nourish her . It was the reason she appeared more and more ethereal, like a fairy from the old tales . Whatever awful toxin the Astral Phantom had used, it could not be more powerful than the essence of the immortals . It had to be strong enough to bring her mind back .

“What did you find out?” The Clockmaker asked, alarmed at Lan Jue’s panicked bearing .

He snapped back to the present and faced her with a bitter smirk . “The aliens’ reactions are better than we thought . We captured an alien as fast as we could, but the Violet Princess still tracked us down . Faced with her Domain, the Pharmacist broke through . Then our weapons somehow created this power, on their own . It was powerful enough to scare the Princess away and give us an opportunity to run . I think she’s still in the process of her breakthrough now . ”

“The Pharmacist broke through, that’s incredible! Meditate, learn from the power she releases . I’ll protect the ship . ” Zeus-1 was distant by this point . Unless the three alien planets were headed right for them, there was nothing to worry about .

In fact the Clockmaker’s permission wasn’t needed . Su Xiaosu, Lin Guoguo and the Driver were already immersed in meditation . Xiaosu and Guoguo still had a ways to go before it was their time to break through, but the Driver tread nearer every day . His moment would be when the evolution of his Discipline . The primordial lightning he commanded was strengthening fast, though it still couldn’t compare to Lan Jue’s . At any rate, his ascension was all but assured .

Lan Jue sat and crossed his legs, slipping into introspective silence as he felt the flows of the Pharmacist’s protogenia . It was easy for him to understand its secrets because they were issued from Occisus – a pair to Captus which he bore . When the bearers of the Banishing Blades ascended these weapons would channel their powers, more potent than any astrum . It was something they all had in common .

Of course, Lan Jue had his own unique potential . His All-Heaven lightning and the thunder essence continued to amalgamate, boosting his cultivation . Most importantly, it gave him a sense of the immortal realm that had passed into legend .