National Star Sea Era...

Chapter 922 I, Song Chi—Lord of the Heavenly Markets

As soon as the Firefly Fleet moved forward, it was as if it had crashed into a wall of sighs burning with hellfire.

A wave of attacks, several times more intense than before, swept in instantly. The giant lava spears hurled by the Balrog fell like a meteor shower, and the corrosive energy beams spewed by the demons intertwined into a web of death. The abyssal chants recited by the demonized Buddhist soldiers relentlessly eroded the warship's energy shields and the captain's mind.

"For the torch! For our homeland!"

A deafening roar echoed through the communication channel as the captains of the Fireships maneuvered their warships, pushing all weapon systems—main guns, secondary guns, and super main guns—to their limits, unleashing a furious barrage of firepower.

Energy beams tore through the demonic tide, and exploding fireballs continuously bloomed within the demonic ranks, purifying and tearing apart hundreds and thousands of low-level demons every second.

But there were simply too many monsters. They surged forward fearlessly, stepping over the corpses of their own kind, using their claws, their bodies, and all sorts of bizarre, magic-like abilities to frantically attack the fleet's formation.

To alleviate the pressure on the main fleet in the rear, the five mythical immortal ship clones charged to the forefront of the battle line from the very beginning, like five anchors firmly nailed to the most dangerous area.

The Shenxia Jiuli was surrounded by the vast martial arts dynasty's fortune. Wherever it passed, demonic energy retreated, and low-level demons melted away like ice and snow. Every time the main cannon roared, it could blast powerful fire demon commanders into pieces.

The Sky Ruins displayed astonishing spatial and temporal control capabilities, its hull flickering as it weaved through the demonic tide, dodging most of the attacks. At the same time, it used powerful cannons such as the Light of Judgment and the Blood Erosion Annihilation Cannon to carry out a decapitation strike against the commander of the demonic army ahead.

The most dazzling are the [Xuanhuang Chiyu], [Xianqin Zulong], and [Tiantang Shengguang].

The moment the three warships plunged into the deepest part of the enemy formation, their hulls suddenly erupted with unimaginable, immense energy. The three ships formed a triangular formation, and an incomparably profound runic array emerged from the void, linking the three together.

"The three corpses return to their places, the shrine descends upon the world!"

With a roar that seemed to come from ancient times, the hulls of the three warships began to deconstruct and reassemble in a dazzling light. Countless runes flowed and rules intertwined. Finally, a three-headed, six-armed mecha giant, as majestic as a chaotic god, with terrifying air currents flowing through its body and emitting terrifying fluctuations of up to the eleventh level, descended fiercely onto the battlefield of the Molten Abyss.

This is the active ability of the combined artifact [Three Corpses Shrine] – Three Corpses Hypermorphic Mecha Giant.

"boom!!!"

The mecha giant swung its mechanical arm, and the seven-colored magical weapon in its hand slammed down, turning a legion of fire demons and the lava land below into dust.

This terrifying mecha giant, temporarily possessing eleventh-tier combat power, instantly tore a huge gap in the dense demon army formation. Its invincible momentum even temporarily halted the demon army's frenzied advance, buying the Firewood Fleet behind it a precious respite.

However, this period of good fortune was short-lived, as the Abyss Demons clearly would not stand idly by and allow such a tremendous threat to exist.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by several roars that shook the abyss, two eleventh-tier abyss demons, whose auras were in no way weaker than those of the mecha giants, stepped out from the sea of ​​lava.

Their bodies were enormous, and the flames burning around them were no longer ordinary demonic flames, but rather "flames of annihilation" with a violent and corrosive nature.

Meanwhile, two 10th-tier Mind-Stealing Demon Lords, skilled in mental attacks, were hidden deep within the demonic tide, constantly bombarding the core link of the mecha giant with eerie mental screams.

A fierce mythological battle erupted. Although the mecha giant was powerful, it was ultimately a temporary combination with a limited lifespan. It also required a massive amount of energy and the mental energy of the three human emperor avatars. Under the siege of the five demon gods, it began to show signs of weakness.

Meanwhile, the [Shenxia Jiuli] and [Tianxu Cangqiong] were also targeted by other mythological demons and were caught in a fierce battle.

The balance of the war lasted only briefly before it began to tilt.

The first to give way was the [Three Corpse Super-Style Mecha Giant]. After severely injuring an eleventh-tier Flame Demon and a Heart-Stealing Demon Lord, its energy was finally exhausted, and its massive body began to disintegrate inch by inch, eventually turning into three dim streams of light, which then transformed back into the three warship clones: [Xuanhuang Chiyu], [Xianqin Zulong], and [Tiantang Shengguang].

At this moment, the three clones were already damaged and their combat power was greatly reduced.

Almost the instant it appeared, it was attacked by countless demons swarming around it.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

After the violent explosion, the three mythical immortal ship clones, carrying the will of the Human Emperor and the hope of civilization, sank into this molten abyss after exhausting their last bit of power.

Immediately afterwards, the mythical enslaved creatures that had been fighting alongside the fleet also met with annihilation.

In order to protect the severely injured Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, the Star-Crowned Eagle had its wings torn off and its head crushed by a demon lord, its divine blood scattering across the sky.

Although the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox was saved by the [Divine Summer Nine Li] at the last moment, it was already on its last legs and its fighting strength was less than one-tenth of what it used to be.

The situation on the battlefield took a sharp turn for the worse.

The situation of the [Shenxia Jiuli] and the [Tianxu Cangqiong] is equally precarious. They are besieged by multiple mythical demons, and their hulls are covered with shocking scars.

"Crack!"

A giant claw imbued with the flames of annihilation slammed into the bow of the [Divine Summer Nine Li], instantly shattering its defenses with terrifying power of erosion, and the ship began to crumble inch by inch.

"Buzz!"

Just as it was about to be completely annihilated, an ancient chessboard phantom flashed across the ship's hull, and the collapsing ship quickly returned to its original state as if a video was being played in reverse—the [Time Chessboard] component's trait "Twelve Lives Chessboard" was triggered for the first time in this bottomless abyss.

However, the mythical monsters that besieged them did not stop, and even more ferocious attacks followed one after another.

On the other side, the [Sky Ruins] also shattered after withstanding several rounds of concentrated fire, but it was restored to its original state amidst the flickering phantom of the chessboard.

Resurrected, fought fiercely, sunk again, resurrected again...

With the incredible power of the [Time Chessboard], the two warship clones were like two stubborn nails, firmly nailed to the front line, returning from the brink of destruction time and time again, continuing the seemingly endless battle.

However, resurrection is ultimately limited and cannot be infinite. The two warships were like candles flickering in the wind, and it was unknown when they would be completely extinguished.

Behind them, the main fleet of the Torchfire, having lost its strongest barrier, suffered a sharp increase in casualties under the relentless onslaught of the demonic tide.

The explosions and flames from the warships stretched far and wide, and the extinguishing of each flame meant the fall of hundreds or even thousands of captains who carried the torch.

An atmosphere of despair began to spread.

All the captains of the Torch Ship were waiting and hoping for the retreat order from the Joint Fleet Command.

They have paid a far greater price than expected. Three of their five mythical immortal ship clones were lost, one mythical enslaved creature was killed and two were seriously injured. The fleet's overall losses have exceeded 60%, a loss that is crippling and even shaking the foundations of their civilization.

However, the long-awaited order never came.

The four command centers, which are beyond the control of civilizations, have maintained a chilling silence on this matter.

It's as if the bloody battles fought by the expeditionary fleet of the Fire Civilization, and even its impending total annihilation, are merely a series of cold, acceptable numbers in their "penetration" plan.

Grief, despair, resentment... all sorts of emotions burned in the heart of the surviving captain.

But they did not retreat, nor could they retreat. For behind them lay the very survival of the entire civilization.

If they retreat without permission, the four transcendent forces will likely launch a purge against the Humans of the Torch.

All they can do now is fight to the death, until the last warship and the last captain of the Torchbearer.

Just as the Torch Expeditionary Fleet was in dire straits and the surviving captains had resigned themselves to their fate, a long-lost thought, yet carrying an indescribable majesty, suddenly resounded through the highest level of the Torch Network, directly in the highest Torch communication group chat.

"Alright, Jiang Yuan, activate the [Market Projection Token]. Now... leave the rest to me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan and the other three, whose faces were originally grave and whose eyes were filled with anger, were instantly overjoyed.

They knew Song Chi all too well and were certain he was not one to speak carelessly. So Jiang Yuan made his decision almost without hesitation. With a thought, a token inside the [Shenxia Jiuli] warship clone, which had been dormant, suddenly activated. The token was engraved with mysterious market patterns.

hum-

The moment the token flashed, an indescribable, magnificent aura, surpassing ordinary mythology, arose like a primordial beast that had slumbered for millennia, and crashed down upon the entire [Molten Abyss].

Above the sky, the eternally rolling dark red fire clouds were forcibly pushed aside and dispersed by an invisible force. Endless purple mist appeared out of thin air, rolling and spreading, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the battlefield that stretched for countless light-years.

Under the gaze of countless awe-inspiring eyes, the purple mist rapidly gathered and solidified, eventually transforming into a majestic, ancient projection that exuded an unparalleled aura spanning all heavens and myriad realms.

This is the [Vast Market of the Heavens].

The moment the market projection solidified, a detached gaze descended from the depths of the projection, sweeping across the devastated battlefield below. Within that gaze, it seemed, lay the trajectory of the birth and death of all things and the cycle of eras.

Immediately following, under Song Chi's will, the projection of the market covering the sky trembled slightly, and a colossal hand formed from endless purple mist, seemingly slow but actually transcending the concepts of time and space, gently waved towards the boundless demon army below.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no strange phenomenon of the collapse of rules.

But with that casual wave of the hand, the demon army, which had been surging like a black tide and seemed capable of engulfing everything, was swept away as if by an invisible hand.

Hundreds of millions of ferocious demons, whether low-level Molten Demons, powerful Flame Demons, Evil Demons, or those twisted demonic Buddha soldiers, all silently disintegrated and collapsed the moment they came into contact with the purple mist energy, turning into ashes and dissipating into the abyss.

The entire front line, where the originally impenetrable demon army formation was completely wiped out, created a vacuum zone spanning hundreds of billions of miles.

The power of one blow is so terrifying.

However, after doing all this, the giant purple hand did not press its advantage to completely wipe out the remaining demon army. Instead, it slowly withdrew, hanging high in the sky along with the majestic projection of the market, radiating a chilling pressure.

The next moment, Song Chi's icy gaze pierced through the endless distance of space, past the layers of allied warships and defenses, and landed precisely in the direction of the Allied Forces' main camp in the Star Sea, which was guarded by the four transcendent civilizations.

A calm voice, yet containing an undeniable question and overwhelming rage, resounded like thunder from the heavens, echoing in the depths of the consciousness of every high-ranking member of the allied forces, especially the four transcendent beings:
[Rending Heaven, Eternity, you've gone a bit too far this time!]

The voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the recently subsided Molten Abyss, and also resonated in the hearts of every strongman in the Allied Forces' headquarters.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

All the surviving captains of the Torch Ship looked excitedly at the miraculous projection of the ruins in the sky, their eyes rekindling with hope.

Inside the allied forces' headquarters, all was deathly silent. Whether it was the Titans, the Eternals, or the powerful beings from the Origin Star Temple and the Myriad Machines' Nest, they could all clearly feel the coldness and...threat contained in that gaze.

A gaze that, though not from a transcendent being, already possesses the power to interfere in the power struggles at the transcendent level.

The wills of four transcendent beings, including the God-King of Rending Heaven and the Eternal Ancestor, converged silently.

They could sense that the aura emanating from the market projection, including that casual strike just now, had definitely reached the twelfth-order domain.

After a brief silence, the Sky-Splitting God-King, one of the four transcendent beings of the allied forces, spoke first:

"Who is your Excellency?"

Although all four had some guesses, none of them were certain, so they took the initiative to ask about Song Chi's identity.

When questioned, Song Chi did not try to hide his feelings this time. His voice, like a thunderclap, quickly echoed throughout the entire sky of the Molten Abyss.

[I, Song Chi, the Emperor of Civilization, Lord of the Heavenly Markets!!!]

This declaration, like a thunderclap from the heavens, was deeply imprinted on the souls of all living beings who heard it.

After a brief silence, a deafening uproar swept across the entire battlefield.

"Song Chi?! Is he the newly appointed ruler of the Heavenly Ruins Divine Court, the one who is the 'Soul of Humanity'?"

"He's actually the master of that mysterious and unpredictable 'City of the Heavens' that connects all the heavens?"

"So that's how it is! No wonder the Torch Civilization has developed so rapidly in the last tens of thousands of years, it has such an extraordinary opportunity!"

"To annihilate billions of demons with a single strike, and to force the four transcendent beings into silence... Such power is truly the mark of a transcendent being!"

On the side of the allied forces, countless warriors and captains from different civilizations, after a moment of disorientation, quickly erupted in an indescribable shock.

They looked at the purple-mist-shrouded projection of the market city in the sky, their eyes filled with awe.

Song Chi saw all of this clearly, but he didn't care. At this moment, his gaze was focused on the four transcendent beings, including the Sky-Splitting God King and the Eternal Ancestor.

His decision to reveal his identity was not to show off, but to buy more time for both the preservation of civilization and himself.

Don't be fooled by the fact that his attack just now barely reached the transcendent level; only he himself knows the true situation.

The Ancestral Realm of Inherited Flame, the Celestial Market and Sky Dome of All Heavens.

The main body of the Sky Ruins, high in the sky, is now radiating a dazzling seven-colored light. This is the extraordinary phenomenon revealed by the [Origin Star's Reflection of the Heavens] component being pushed to its limit.

The "Origin Star Core" characteristic of the [Origin Star Reflection of the Heavens] component was fully activated. Even though the Sky Ruins Sky Ship, which carried it, had successfully advanced to the eleventh tier [Mythical Origin Ship], it still could not give the warship transcendent combat power. Instead, one of the [Great Dao Origin Totem Pole] was also activated. With the combined blessing of the two, the projection of the Heaven Ruins Market in the bottomless abyss barely gained temporary transcendent combat power.

Ultimately, he miscalculated.

He never expected that one of the extra conditions for upgrading the Zhutianxu Market from level 109 to level 110 would be a drop of transcendent essence blood.

Since the market failed to advance to the eleventh rank as he had hoped, he could only try to buy time in this way, and it seems to be working quite well so far.

(End of this chapter)