Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 785

Chapter 785

Chapter 785: Ascending to Paragon

Glimmers of blue and red light intermingled in the air, bound by a halo of gold . Where the attack passed through the air it left a wake of motley color . Lan Jue and Qianlin’s attack quickly reached the piece of Monarch .

The doppelganger’s face fell as it witnessed their attack coming . It turned to flee its scope .

But at that moment a captivating voice called out . “Take advice from Luo Xianni . A camera is all you need . ”

Ka-cha! As the sound of a camera’s shutter clacked, Monarch’s avatar froze in mid air . All the space around it was thick and still, only allowing the light of the Harmonious Swords to pass through .

At the crucial moment the doppelganger called on its enormous power to its full advantage . An explosion of energy erupted from it, and the beast itself was lost in a violet vortex . Luo Xianni’s pocket of frozen space shattered under the hurricane force that was the monster’s power .

No longer a man, the tempest that was the doppelganger was too large and unwieldy to avoid the attack that came at it . However its size was a boon, and the Harmonious Swords could only strike a piece of it instead of its whole form .

When the gold-wrapped power arrived the violet energies around it were quickly defeated . Lan Jue and Qianlin reappeared . Then a marvelous scene was revealed .

A flash of brilliant cobalt blue emanated from their location, quickly followed by a milky white counterpart . The two swelled in strength and brightness until they were interwoven columns of luminescence that rose into the sky .

All of the earth and sky was caught in the splendor, imbued with an unnatural stillness . A magnificent and staggering aura swept through the area before the dual columns of light burst out in all directions .

It was a strange power, once that filled the surrounding Paragons with a sense of clarity in mind and body . They felt cleansed, energetically and spiritually, and empowered . It wasn’t a fleeting sensation, either . The power lingered within them, strengthening them to their core .

Among them it was the Driver who felt it deepest . It was like all the lightning and thunder contained within him was seething, crashing in waves all through his body . More than just his energy, the transformative nature of this power seeped into his very essence .

The violet light in the sky brightened and was interspersed by flashes of gold . They illuminated every minute detail of the world below . In the distance the violet light coalesced to reform the body of the doppelganger . It stared in disbelief at its attackers .

What was this?

Once again the tell-tale ka-cha of Luo Xianni’s camera arose . The doppelganger froze again . What was different this time was that he had been injured by the Adepts’ Harmonious Swords and breaking free of Luo Xianni’s control was more difficult .

As the cloud of golden light expanded above them, nearby aliens fled . They sensed the power in it, and not only refrained from coming close but fled from the area altogether . Whatever birthed that light felt invincible and even beasts would not carelessly throw their lives away .

But could they really elude destruction?

The golden cloud continued to spread, and wherever it expanded scores of aliens fell from the sky . They crumbled into ash before ever reaching the ground . On the earth below, the purple fungus that caked the surface roasted as though beneath an intense heat, eventually withering away into nothing . Even the enormous artery rising into the heavens shook, and a screech of terror filled the air .

A titanic, purplish-black creature lifted itself from the depths of the earth . It looked like an octopus, and heaved itself out of the ground with its tentacles . Its body alone was five thousand meters in diameter, and stretched to ten thousand if one included its appendages . The shadow of the colossus stretched over a wide area .

It belched a poisonous black fog in the direction of the golden cloud . The beast seemed intent on containing the deadly power it emitted . However, before it got to close the mist would burn away .

From the aura the creature exuded, the humans knew it had the power of Nirvana . Precisely as they expected, the progenitor was the strongest they’d ever encountered . They suspected that this was the perfect specimen, the apex of its breed, in order for it to provide for the home worlds as it did .

The two columns of light piercing the clouds eventually merged into one and changed to gold . Everything around it was painted it spectacular light . Locked in the air, Monarch’s doppelganger struggled against Luo Xianni’s bonds .

The Photographer herself appeared among the other Paragons . None of them moved in to fight or take advantage of the marvelous display . The power that flooded their bodies, enervated them, was so intense it locked them in place .

Still it increased, growing with every passing moment . One second was like a full day of rigorous cultivation . The Driver’s reaction was most intense, but it was the Pharmacist who received the greatest benefit in the moment .

She was still channeling her Slaughter Domain, which through conflict had swelled her power to a Reflection of Heaven and Earth . Beneath the light of the golden cloud she could sense its influence flowing through her . Occisus pulsed with energy, and with the addition of this strange power she was surprised to feel her status as a Reflection solidify .

In other words, in just a matter of seconds she had broken through to the next degree of Paragon . Had she held back on her breakthrough to Paragon there was a chance she would have achieved this on her own . However, she did not, and the bridge that spanned the two levels was vast . It was unthinkable that she should so easily rise to the next level .

In addition, her breakthrough also seemed to break another seal holding back Occisus’ power . The runes on its surface flared and two more were added . Its aura swelled and merged with its mistress to where it became difficult to tell what was the Harbinger Faerie and what was the Banishing Blade .

The surprise in the doppelganger’s eyes deepened . The golden cloud actually filled him with dread . It could sense the universal protogenia flowing within it, slowly gathering together .

Lan Jue and Qianlin were finally revealed, kneeling within the column of light and the banishing blades floating at their backs . Both Demortus and Captus shimmered with light, and golden runes blazed on their surface .

Lan Jue sat in stillness, peaceful as a Buddha . Behind him an image had slowly begun to take shape . It was stately and ancient in appearance, from another era . Though it was only a faint  outline, the aura it exuded made the onlookers want to prostrate themselves in worship .

Another image appeared behind Qianlin . This one looked exactly like her .

A corona of blue light pulsed within Lan Jue’s chest, growing clearer with each moment . Its influence spread through him until Lan Jue looked like a glimmering statue of sapphire . The air around Qianlin was misty and ethereal and made her seem all the more like an immortal goddess .

Monarch’s fragment sucked in a breath and began to swell . A blinding purple light shot out from it as it called upon all of its power . But just as it was preparing to attack, a deafening peal of thunder stayed its hand .

Brrrrruuuuuummmm . All of the power the doppelganger gathered scattered . The sound frightened it so deeply that it immediately turned and fled . Glistening pearls of light twinkled in the depths of the golden cloud, hints of lightning rumbling within . Just the prospect of it terrified the beast and forced it to run for its life .

The progenitor, until now only threatening violence, shook violently . All of its tentacles dropped . But it could not flee like the Monarch’s avatar! It was rooted here, deep in the earth with no way to extricate itself .

“What is that?” The Pharmacist stared in awe at the golden cloud above them .

It was clear that Lan Jue and Qianlin had chosen to break through right after using their Harmonious Swords . What the Pharmacist didn’t understand was the spectacle they produced . No one seemed to know what the two were doing .

Luo Xianni had been ready to attack, but the thunder had darkened her features . She shook, just like the alien beasts, and her power fell away .

“That is the presence of universal protogenia . It seems to have taken a form similar to tribulation lightning, like in the ancient days . ” She couldn’t be sure, either .

“Tribulation lightning?” The Pharmacist said in shock . “How is that possible? Didn’t it disappear with the immortals?”

Before she finished the thought another blast of thunder sounded . A single bolt of golden lightning ripped through the cloud and descended toward Lan Jue . In the same instant – whether it was Luo Xianni, the Pharmacist, the Gourmet or the Pauper – all of them fell from the sky . It was as though an enormous, invisible hammer had come crashing down from above that none of them could withstand .

“It really is tribulation lightning!” Luo Xianni cried out in shock and alarm as she desperately tried to protect herself from the pressure . She simply couldn’t understand why such power would appear now, or what Lan Jue and Qianlin had done to summon it . It was unimaginable, where they even human?

Tribulation lightning was a manifestation of universal protogenia, the most destructive force in all of time and space . How was it that Lan Jue was able to withstand it? Even she and Jue Di would be burnt to ash if they were struck .

It was the first time she had felt it, this fabled lightning . Although it had not be directed at her, the fear that gripped her was so absolute she couldn’t move a muscle much less save her son .