In this world-shattering struggle, they were no different from dragonflies flapping their wings amidst violent winds and giant waves—small, yet resilient.
Mountains crumbled, the earth split, and towering tsunamis surged.
The entire planet's geography was being completely rewritten in the aftermath of the battle.
High mountains were plowed flat, and vast seas turned into rift valleys; if this were a star inhabited by living beings, it would be a purgatory by now.
Fortunately, this was merely a barren dead star that Shuhu had specifically chosen to hide his root system's true body.
An unknown amount of time passed, and this high-intensity war of attrition finally began to show signs of exhaustion.
The wounds on Qi Zhimu's body, which instinctively healed in an instant, now took two or three seconds to complete regeneration.
Shuhu's aura also appeared slightly withered, but that massive vitality remained as bottomless as a vast ocean.
This was the chasm between a mortal and an Emanator.
Even after mastering forbidden techniques to plunder countless powers, one remained powerless before a true Emanator of an Aeon.
"What? Exhausted already?"
Shuhu keenly captured his opponent's decline and couldn't help but smile.
"I told you, the choices you make are all in vain; no matter how much blessing of abundance you plunder, it cannot change your inherently weak nature."
"Qi Zhimu, look at yourself. To kill me, you've turned yourself into this... is it worth it?"
"Give up. Fall into my embrace, and I shall grant you true perfection—no more pain, no more fatigue..."
Qi Zhimu ignored His chatter.
The bloody hole pierced through his chest was healing at a visible rate, but the killing intent in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"Lord Zhimu!"
The Mian Xue sisters cried out in unison.
Qi Zhimu froze for a moment, meeting their determined gazes; a fleeting struggle passed through his heart before he finally closed his eyes.
No refusal was a silent consent. Seeing this, they smiled at each other—a smile that was poignant and resolute.
Their hands began to form seals without hesitation, activating the final forbidden technique of the Self-Actualization Aspect Method.
Sacrificing their own flesh, soul, memory, and even existence itself, they merged unreservedly into another's body, pushing his power to the absolute limit.
"Lord Zhimu, goodbye..."
Accompanied by a final, lingering call of affection, their bodies instantly disintegrated.
Two blinding pillars of blood-red light pierced the dim sky, charging through the spatial distance without hesitation and crashing directly into Qi Zhimu's battered body.
In an instant, a terrifying aura like never before erupted with Qi Zhimu at its center.
Ancient and vast, it carried an oppressive weight that loomed over all living beings.
The wounds on his skin that were slowly healing were restored instantly, and his body began to undergo an astonishing transformation.
The black cuticles fell off layer by layer, revealing smooth, white skin.
Countless lush green tender leaves sprouted from his pores, then turned into emerald fluorescence and vanished, bringing about unknown changes.
Only those crimson, tyrannical eyes remained unchanged in their madness.
Shuhu was filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
That aura... an aura that made even his soul tremble... "...The Ambrosial Arbor?!"
Shuhu lost his voice in disbelief, followed by a surge of wild ecstasy.
"Hahaha, you truly are mad! It was one thing to activate The Self-Actualization Aspect, but you actually dared to touch the power of the Ambrosial Arbor? You think you can use that to contend with me?"
How was this any different from throwing a meat bun at a dog?
Qi Zhimu slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with indifference.
He gently clenched his fist, feeling the vast power within his body.
This was the final trump card Mian Xue and Clear Cold had bought for him with their lives, and it was also one of the killing moves the three of them had planned for a thousand years.
"Shuhu."
Qi Zhimu's voice became somewhat ethereal; on the surface, he was devoid of joy or sorrow, but in truth, his killing intent was frigid.
"Today, this place shall be your grave."
As he spoke, an azure fist-wind had already pierced through Shuhu's massive trunk, moving too fast to react to.
Azure vines quickly crawled over the wound, frantically draining Shuhu's life force and preventing his regeneration.
The situation reversed in an instant.
Mian Xue and Clear Cold had voluntarily become vessels to carry the power of the Ambrosial Arbor, descending into the abyss with him.
He would never fail them.
With the empowerment of the Ambrosial Arbor, every one of Qi Zhimu's attacks plundered Shuhu's life force, converting it for his own use.
The regeneration ability Shuhu was so proud of was actually no match for the power of the Ambrosial Arbor; his body began to disintegrate, and his roots withered.
Fear truly descended for the first time upon the heart of this immortal Emanator of Abundance.
If this continued, he would die... he would really die!!
To be sucked dry by a mortal he viewed as an ant, using the very power of Abundance he was most proud of!
The reason he had coveted the Xianzhou Alliance for thousands of years and never forgot the Ambrosial Arbor was precisely because the rank of the Arbor's blessing was higher than the blessing he had received.
And his only advantage over the Ambrosial Arbor was possessing sentience and the ability to split his form.
As long as the root system was not destroyed, his other self could return time and again, even after dying countless times, becoming stronger each time.
But now, a mortal had actually mastered this kind of power... "No... NO!!!"
Shuhu let out a roar of unwilling frustration.
His great work was not yet finished; he had not yet devoured the Ambrosial Arbor, and he had not yet become truly immortal!
He could not die here!
Shuhu finally stopped caring about the cost, frantically burning his remaining essence to send a single, one-time-use signal into the distant sea of stars.
The entire universe seemed to freeze for a split second.
An unspeakable will, so grand it could soothe all the turmoil in one's heart, crossed the sea of stars and cast a glance.
The glance carried a pure, indiscriminate mercy.
Crack—
The Imaginary Isolation Barrier that Qi Zhimu had spent a thousand years of effort to strengthen using the Named Abomination's ability and the cooperation of Mian Xue and Clear Cold was as fragile as a bubble under that gaze, shattering instantly... At the same moment, on the Xianzhou Luofu.
The Cloud Knights fighting Abominations amidst the ruins, the pilots covering the retreat of civilians, and even the elderly, weak, women, and children trembling in the delve shelters.
Every Xianzhou person bearing the Blessing of Longevity, no matter where they were or what they were doing, felt something in their hearts at this moment.
Everyone turned their heads in unison, looking toward a certain direction deep within the sea of stars.
It was a tremor originating from the depths of their souls.
On the battlefield, the Luofu defense line was already on the verge of a total collapse.
Had it not been for Jingliu and the others arriving just in time to desperately hold their ground, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Even so, the battle continued to grow more difficult.
But after that glance descended, a shocking scene occurred.
Shuhu, who was in a life-and-death struggle with Teng Xiao, actually abandoned all advantages without hesitation and vanished instantly, as if fleeing in panic.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Teng Xiao's eyes were filled with shock as he let out a sharp, thunderous shout.
His shock did not stem from the glance cast by Yaoshi, but from the violent Imaginary fluctuations coming from that direction.
The level—Emanator rank!
And that familiar fluctuation was something he wouldn't mistake even if he died; it originated from Shuhu.
The contents of a certain casual conversation with Qi Zhimu a thousand years ago had actually come true.
Shuhu really did have roots! No wonder they had never been able to kill him completely.
And the aura of the Shuhu who had vanished was rapidly overlapping and merging with the coordinates of Yaoshi's glance... Although heavily injured, his duty as General would not allow him to let Shuhu escape.
"Defend the Luofu! Until the mopping up of the remaining enemies is complete, no one is to leave their post!"
Teng Xiao forced out a final breath to leave his military order, vanishing in a flash of golden light as he pursued alone.
The Abundant Alliance, which had been frantically attacking the Luofu, also seemed to receive some kind of summons.
Except for the Abominations trapped deep in the battle lines who could not escape, most of them surged toward the direction where Yaoshi's glance had descended.
The tragic battlefield of the Luofu's defense was actually shifting outward rapidly in this eerie manner.
On the ground.
Jingliu stood frozen in place, as if held by a binding spell.
The longsword in her hand dripped blood continuously, and her entire heart trembled violently.
Just now, the moment Yaoshi's glance descended, she had captured the existence of another Shuhu in that direction, along with an aura engraved in her heart.
It was Master!
Though it was mixed with a thick, foul stench of Abundance, and though it had become violent and strange, she would never mistake the beloved she had pursued for a thousand years.
Even if... he had already severed their master-disciple relationship, he was still her Master.
He must be, for all lifetimes to come!