The entire grotto-heaven of the Azure City Star Skiff was collapsing.
Buildings collapsed in swaths, and deep, bottomless fissures split the ground, from which countless writhing masses of dark-red flesh emerged like living things, striking terror into all who saw them.
This flesh spread rapidly like a virus, devouring everything in its path.
Those swallowed by the flesh could no longer break free.
Three figures stood atop flying swords, darting through the ruined buildings, not daring to touch the ground.
Within the unseen darkness above, incredibly violent imaginary energy was continuously bombarding Rahu, attempting to save the devoured Azure City.
Qi Zhimu knew that General Wind of Evil had rushed back.
But he knew even better that it was all too late.
"Guard Qi, what on earth is this thing?!" Clear Cold's voice trembled.
"A living planet, an Abomination of Abundance," Qi Zhimu said, his brow heavy with suppressed emotions.
He hadn't expected Shuhu to have such a trick up his sleeve; there had been no such terrifying thing during that battle at Yueque years ago.
"Before I rescued you two, I encountered the fallen Azure City Sword Master and Yaoqing Sword Master."
"They likely charged into that writhing flesh to save others, only to become one of the countless agonizing faces within, never to emerge again..."
Hearing Qi Zhimu's words, disbelief flashed in the sisters' eyes.
Those were the strongest warriors of the Xianzhou besides the Generals; if even they couldn't contend with Rahu... no wonder Qi Zhimu kept moving on his sword and didn't dare touch the ground.
Currently, Rahu had enveloped all of Azure City, devouring it bit by bit from the outside in.
No one knew when the ground would be completely assimilated by Rahu's flesh.
Flying on his sword consumed a great deal of energy, but Qi Zhimu couldn't stop.
The closer they got to the interior of the Star Skiff, the more survivors there were and the harder evacuation became, yet time was slipping away.
The three arrived at a starship port that hadn't been fully devoured yet; it was packed with terrified civilians.
Hordes of visible Abominations were charging in, and the Cloud Knights stationed there were simply unable to hold them back.
With a thought from Qi Zhimu, a thousand flying swords swept into the crowd of Abominations of Abundance, slaughtering them at will. They were quickly wiped out with the support of the starship reinforcement units' covering fire.
"Take them and go, fly to the highest point. General Wind of Evil is continuously attacking Rahu to keep our final evacuation route open."
"Yes!"
However, misfortunes never come singly.
Countless Abominations of Abundance began crawling out of the writhing flesh, scouring the various grotto-heavens.
The Cloud Knights and the Sky-Faring Commission's combat fleet were already struggling to move, and the efficiency of finding and rescuing survivors was heavily impacted as a result.
Fortunately, General Wind of Evil was still able to provide long-range support, frequently summoning gale-force winds to pick up the rampaging Abominations and tear them to shreds.
But he couldn't use his full power; if the area of effect was too wide, he would inevitably hit his own people.
Qi Zhimu felt both relieved and worried.
Relieved that the Qingyun Grotto-Heaven hadn't been fully devoured yet, but worried whether his mother and friends had met with disaster.
Calculating the time, Yu Huai and his companion should have just returned from Pier Point not long ago.
The jade message communication frequencies were completely cut off, making them useless for contact.
If the Cloud Knights didn't have methods other than the jade messages, they would have lost contact with each other as well.
With duty on his shoulders, Qi Zhimu could only fight his way through the Abominations to rescue civilians, gradually approaching the Qingyun Grotto-Heaven.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally returned to the Qingyun Grotto-Heaven, but the scene before him was like a vision of hell.
Several armies of the The Abundant Alliance had invaded Qingyun from different directions, and the level of devastation here far exceeded the outer areas.
The sky was stained with Rahu's crimson hue, the ground was a bloody mess, and hardly any living people could be seen—only the thick, nauseating stench of blood and the aura of Abominations.
Qi Zhimu's heart slowly sank to rock bottom.
"Kill!!"
A roar came from behind.
The Sky-Faring Commission's combat fleet arrived through the air, sniping every Abomination within sight.
A murderous aura suddenly surged in Qi Zhimu's eyes as he charged alone into the front lines to slaughter the enemy.
These Abominations posed no real threat to him.
In less than ten minutes, the Cloud Knights and the fleet had cleared most of the Qingyun Grotto-Heaven and were moving the remaining survivors.
His home and the Academy where he once taught were both in ruins.
There was no sign of his mother, nor of his friend's family.
No news might be good news, but... it could also be the worst.
Qi Zhimu's grip on his sword tightened, his expression shifting rapidly.
Just then, a sharp and familiar sword intent soared into the sky.
"!!!"
Qi Zhimu reacted instantly, snapping his head around to lock onto the distance.
That sword intent belonged uniquely to his mother!
...Qiu Zhiyan held her longsword, looking like she was in a frenzy, tirelessly slaying every Abomination of Abundance that lunged at her, fiercely protecting Jingliu behind her.
She didn't know how long she had been fighting.
The wounds on her body were increasing, but she felt no pain.
She only knew one thing: she could not retreat.
Behind her was a child; Yu Huai and Hui Yu had risked their lives to lead her away from the devouring flesh and the pursuing Abominations, holding on until Qiu Zhiyan arrived.
At the very moment Qiu Zhiyan grabbed Jingliu's hand, they were completely devoured by Rahu, dying a gruesome death before their daughter's eyes.
Afterward, there were endless Abominations of Abundance.
Borisin, Wing-Makers, Serpent Descendants... they were countless.
"Come on!"
Qiu Zhiyan roared, slaying dozens of Borisin with a single strike.
The eyes of these bloodthirsty beasts were filled with a hunger for slaughter and plunder.
Qiu Zhiyan's sword moves had long since become erratic; they were no longer the orthodox Cloud Knight swordsmanship of the Xianzhou, but something more primal and violent.
Every strike was laced with madness, hacking the Abominations into pieces.
But there were too many of them.
A Wing-Maker flapped its massive wings and lunged from the side, its talons raking across Qiu Zhiyan's left shoulder with lightning speed.
The flesh was torn open, exposing the bone beneath.
She let out a muffled groan, grabbed the creature's claw, and slammed it into an oncoming Serpent Descendant, then hacked them both into mincemeat with a flurry of strikes.
Jingliu hid behind her against a ruined wall, clutching her arms tightly. Her red eyes, filled with fear, didn't dare to close as she watched Qiu Zhiyan fight a bloody battle.
"Don't be afraid, child, I'm here."
Qiu Zhiyan could sense Jingliu's fear and comforted her in a voice that was gentle yet carried an eerie tone.
Another wave of Abominations surged forward.
Qiu Zhiyan's consciousness began to blur as something deep within her body fully awakened, taking over most of her mind.
In an instant, the wounds on her body healed rapidly.
The longer she slaughtered, the more the light in her eyes faded, her pupils turning blood-red and releasing a terrifying gaze even more brutal and murderous than that of the Borisin.
The Abominations converged from three sides to surround her, and Qiu Zhiyan let out a beast-like howl.
The longsword in her hand erupted with a world-shaking sword intent. She took a large stride forward, crouching low, and delivered a horizontal slash—
An invisible sword qi swept across the battlefield, slicing all the charging Abominations in half.
The ruined buildings behind her were not spared either, their severed surfaces as smooth as a mirror.
Most of the Abominations within a several-mile radius fell to this earth-shattering strike... Qi Zhimu rushed toward the source of the sword intent at top speed.
The few remaining Abominations along the way tried to block him, but they were all cut down.
His heart beat faster and faster as an ominous premonition coiled around his mind.
Rounding the last piece of rubble, he saw everything—
His mother was covered in blood, standing amidst a pile of Abomination corpses, severed limbs, and mangled flesh.
She was still alive.
Qi Zhimu felt a pang in his heart and was about to speak, but in the next second, he went cold all over.
Qiu Zhiyan turned around.
Her eyes held only a desire for slaughter, her gaze murky and frantic.
Golden, wood-like patterns appeared on her face, and branch-like protrusions were faintly visible beneath her skin.
The Mara-Struck.
The fate of the Xianzhou's Long-lived Species, and also their curse.
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