Chapter 733
Ren Xue
“I said, before I go completely mad, I want to do one last thing.” Ares turned around. Although he had no facial features, Tang Wulin could feel that he was smiling. “Ares, the God of War, once fought for the sake of fighting, and killed for glory. But now, I finally understand the meaning of fighting—to protect. This is more meaningful than all the battles I have fought in the past thirteen thousand years.”
He turned to face the seventh tumor.
“But your body can’t withstand a single attack,” Dai Chengfeng calmly analyzed. “Although the guardian of that tumor is weaker than the previous one, it still requires a full-force attack equivalent to that of a first-level deity to destroy it. You are now…”
“I know,” Ares said calmly, “so I won’t attack the tumor.”
Everyone was taken aback.
“What I’m going to attack is this entire realm itself.” Ares raised his bone blade and pointed it at the sky. “The world beyond the Gate of the Abyss is the reflection of the Abyss in the realm of the gods. It exists because the power of the Abyss has created a temporary ‘law’ here. As long as this law is broken, this realm will collapse, the power of the Abyss will be temporarily dispelled, and we will have a window to approach Isis.”
“But the power required to do that…” Qian Renxue gasped.
“It requires detonating the full power and divinity of a god,” Ares said. “Perfect, I have one right here.”
"You're insane!" Bibi Dong shouted angrily. "You'll be completely annihilated, without even a chance to be reincarnated!"
“I’ve been insane for a long time,” Ares said softly, his voice filled with relief. “I’ve been insane since the first day I was imprisoned here. Now, I just want to die as a god, not as a monster.”
He looked at Tang Wulin.
"Tang Wulin, you just asked me if you were prepared for the price to be paid for rebuilding the seal. Now, I'm asking you the same question. I paid my price; are you prepared for yours?"
Tang Wulin remained silent.
Then, he nodded emphatically.
"I'm ready."
“Very good.” Ares seemed satisfied. “Now, after I detonate my divine spark, you have approximately thirty breaths. Within those thirty breaths, the power of the abyss will be dispelled, and all monsters will temporarily lose their ability to move. You must use these thirty breaths to rush to the Tree of Life, find Isis's consciousness, and then—”
He didn't finish speaking, nor did he need to.
Everyone understood.
"Let's begin."
Ares took one last look at the world.
This crimson, twisted, insane world, the place where he had imprisoned himself for thirteen thousand years. He hated it, hated the abyss, hated it all. But now, he was grateful for it—because here, he had found the ultimate meaning of the battle.
Ares, the god of war, was born for battle.
Now, he will die for what he has protected.
In the name of Ares, the God of War—
He raised the bone blade high, and the divine power within him began to burn. It wasn't an ordinary burning; it was a complete ignition of his divine essence, soul, and body as a unified whole. Golden flames rose from his body—the divine fire of the God of War, pure, blazing, and filled with an indomitable fighting spirit.
The dark red "vessels" struggled in the flames, and the eyeball-like protrusions screamed. The power of the abyss tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Ares's divine nature has been ignited; this is an irreversible process.
"—This body, this soul, this divinity—"
Golden flames shot into the sky, burning a large hole in the dark red heavens. Within the flames, a massive figure could be vaguely seen, wielding a giant axe, clad in armor, his eyes burning with an inextinguishable fighting spirit. That was Ares in his true form, the posture befitting a god of war.
"—Burn this fire to pave the way for protection!"
As the last word fell, the golden flames contracted to their limit, and then—exploded.
It's not an explosion of energy, it's an explosion at the level of laws.
Centered on Ares, a golden ripple spread outwards. Wherever the ripple passed, the dark red sky faded, the scorched earth crumbled, and the monsters froze as if in a trance before turning to ashes. The laws of the abyss were briefly shattered by the self-destruction of the God of War.
"go!"
Tang Wulin roared, flapped his dragon wings, and charged toward the Tree of Life.
Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong, and Dai Chengfeng followed closely behind.
Thirty breaths.
They only have thirty breaths.
In the blink of an eye, they broke through the monsters' encirclement.
On the fifth breath, they crossed the fissure where lava flowed.
On the tenth breath, they flew over those twisted mountains.
On the fifteenth breath, they arrived at the roots of the Tree of Life.
The situation here is even more shocking than what can be seen from afar.
The upper half of the Tree of Life's trunk is pure white, with warm golden veins flowing through it, exuding a rich life force. But the lower half, starting from the ground, has turned completely black. Black roots, like countless tentacles, penetrate deep into the earth, drawing a dark red, viscous liquid from the cracks. That liquid spreads upwards along the roots, corroding the trunk like a virus.
There was a faint spot of light at the base of the tree.
It was the silhouette of a woman, curled up, her arms wrapped around her knees, her head buried deep in her arms. Her body was translucent, as if she might vanish at any moment. Around her was a dense, almost tangible darkness. Countless tentacles reached out from the darkness, coiling around her, trying to drag her into the deeper darkness.
That was Isis, the last consciousness of the goddess of life.
"Isis!" Qian Renxue called out, trying to get closer.
But the dark tentacles moved.
They surged in from all directions, no longer monsters, but tentacles formed from the purest abyssal power. Each tentacle possessed god-like strength and contained intense corruption; once touched, one would be corroded by the abyss.
"Twenty breaths!" Dai Chengfeng swung his sword and severed several tentacles, but more tentacles surged forward.
"I'll clear the way!" Tang Wulin charged ahead, his golden dragon spear swirling into a golden storm, severing tentacles wherever it passed. But he could sense that the power of the seventeenth seal was rapidly fading, and a backlash was imminent.
"Twenty-five breaths!" Bibi Dong's death aura formed a barrier, temporarily blocking the attack from the flank.
Finally, at the twenty-eighth breath, they rushed to Isis's consciousness.
"Isis, wake up!" Qian Renxue reached out, wanting to touch the phantom.
The phantom trembled slightly and slowly raised its head.
It was a stunningly beautiful but haggard face, her eyes filled with exhaustion and pain, yet deep within, a glimmer of light still shone. She looked at Qian Renxue, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes before they gradually cleared.
"Are you...the God of Angels?" Her voice was weak, like a whisper.
"Yes, I am Qian Renxue." Qian Renxue grasped her hand—though it was only a phantom, she truly touched it. "We've come to save you, we've come to close the Gate of the Abyss." (End of Chapter)