The insect art.
It was what Pudu Cihang used to control the emperor.
He employed black-striped centipedes in concert with other medicines to spin an illusion, making the victim believe he stood within a glorious temple.
How simple.
As for the backlash from Dragon Qi—
Heh. When a nation's fortune wanes, the so-called Dragon Qi is nothing more than nourishment for me.
Pudu Cihang drew back his drifting thoughts and focused on manipulating the medicines in the pill furnace.
Within it, thousands of human hearts had been fused together.
There were also hundreds of portions of pure virgin's blood and souls.
Beneath the veins of the imperial palace, it was as if a pill furnace the size of a room had formed, ceaselessly drawing in blood and resentment.
A purple-gold pill the size of a clenched fist—
It would be complete soon.
The pill patterns on its surface alone were intoxicating.
Just as Pudu Cihang was considering how he would weather the tribulation, several figures, each radiating a different aura, broke into the palace.
Their speed was extraordinarily fast.
His own insect guards could not stop them at all.
In moments, hundreds were cut down.
The insects in his ears shrilled without pause.
"Who is it?"
Pudu Cihang was enraged!
Dark clouds rolled over the palace.
Thunder snarled.
A gale rose.
Yan Chixia and the others, who had just forced their way in, saw a Buddha-shadow floating in the depths of the palace.
Its outward mien was all compassion, a cassock shedding rays of golden light.
But to their eyes—
The other party's disguise failed utterly.
Black hatred and purple-red demonic miasma coiled around his body in tangible streams.
"Old centipede, today is the day you die! I am the Chief Priest of the Eternal Cult. I heard you poisoned the human imperial court—today I have brought envoys to cut you down!"
The booming voice swept the entirety of the capital.
It startled the Fu sisters, who were hiding in a cellar.
The demon monk controlled the capital—how could anyone else still come in?
Fu Qingfeng said, "Let's go out and see!"
Even the slimmest effort might help.
Their father had taught them that even if they had to struggle until the last breath, they must defeat that monster!
When the two sisters stepped outside, they beheld a sight they would never forget.
The whole imperial city lay swaddled in roiling black smoke. Within it, a colossal purple centipede a hundred meters tall reared and roared, ferocity made flesh.
"No—the Pudu Cihang has already revealed its original form. We need to get over there and help!"
"Wait. If the newcomers could force this monster into its true body, then they must have real strength. We should rescue Father and the others first."
Some time ago, Fu Tianchou had gathered the people to attack Pudu Cihang, but they were defeated by the monster's dark magic. Now they all languished in the sky prison.
Many Daoist leaders were locked up inside.
If they could be freed—
It would surely be a powerful aid.
The sisters exchanged a look and, as one, slipped away, vanishing into the streets without a sound.
"I admit you have some power," Pudu Cihang said, "but to kill me—you are still far from it. The elixir is on the verge of completion. All of you, get in!"
A gash marred Pudu Cihang's abdomen.
Yan Chixia had just struck with everything she had.
Precisely because his life was endangered, Pudu Cihang had been forced to assume his true form.
Half of the monstrous centipede's body had already transformed into dragon scales, but the hideous claws and several side branches had yet to change into a dragon's shape.
Yet even now, with only this much—
An ordinary immortal would not be his match.
As Pudu Cihang shed all pretense, multiple halls around them flickered. Insect-shadows appeared everywhere.
One after another, centipedes ten meters tall rose from the ley veins.
They shrieked at the intruders.
The entire imperial city had become a nest of worms—
A living hell.
Those two words—
They pressed down on every heart.
Nie Xiaoqian's eyes filled with tears.
She had always thought herself miserable, but only upon seeing the people whose bodies had been boarded by insects did she understand what true suffering was.
She had never witnessed anything like it.
Her pale, delicate hand brushed the sigil etched into the back of her hand.
Nie Xiaoqian lifted her gaze to the great centipede and shouted up at it: "Wicked beast, Heaven will not accept you—because this tattered 'Way of Heaven' has no power. But our Eternal God will not let you go. Come forth… O great goddess, cast down this sin!"
The sigil flared, spilling golden light.
It answered her call.
Within the Eternal God Realm—
Ishtar, who had been savoring dessert with her sister, felt the tug of a summoning. Her spoon clattered to the floor.
Ai Lei-chan tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Someone's calling me. Looks like I have work to do. Sister, wait for me a little."
With that, Ishtar let her soul sink.
Wrapped in divine force—
She traversed the tunnel of time and space—
And descended into the world of A Chinese Ghost Story.
The instant she saw the horrifying centipede and the poisoned capital—
Kind-hearted as she was—Ishtar grew angry!
How could she tolerate humans being used as vessels to breed insects?
Her petite figure manifested in the sky.
"Did you slaughter a believer of God?"
The cold voice—
Rolled across the heavens.
Golden light drove back cloud and mist, illuminating the earth.
Hearing it, the monstrous centipede turned its head by reflex.
When it saw that the speaker was a slight, slender girl, it burst out laughing.
"So you're the backing for those idiots down there? Such a frail body—one touch and you'll break. But your eyes are fine. I'll dig them out and string them for a rosary…"
Pudu Cihang had no notion of Ishtar's true power.
All this time he had hovered at the cliff's edge of life and death without knowing it.
"Cultivators below, withdraw," Ishtar said mildly. "Auntie's angry. My power may be hard to control…"
Her words fell into the ears of Yan Chixia and the others.
They jolted as if struck by lightning, then immediately seized Bai Li and fled for their lives.
The goddess was angry.
To linger was to die.
As for Pudu Cihang, deserving as he was—
He dared belittle a goddess.
Then take what's coming to you.
"Oh?" Pudu Cihang's tone remained mocking. "From the way you talk, it sounds like you think you can kill me. Come then—show me what you've got. You're not even an immortal, and you dare—"
He never finished.
The scene before him stunned him speechless.
The slender woman had only lifted her hand—
And the firmament turned to starlight.
"Silhouette of sin," Ishtar intoned, "I stand for the Eternal God and pronounce you guilty."
"Behold—beneath God's shining, you will not so much as leave a place to bury your bones."
"Unlike previous worlds, this strike draws power from the Eternal God Realm. I, too, am curious to see its force."
After all, she was Gong Rin.
The goddess of Venus could summon ancient stars, but do not forget—she was now truly a goddess.
The starlight she drew upon—
Was the power of the Eternal God Realm.
A golden arrow formed out of radiance and dropped into the heavenly bow Maanna; her aim was locked on Pudu Cihang.
"Die, disgusting reptile. Let the mountains tremble at a star's薪—"
Whoosh.
The force broke the sound barrier.
From the heavens, it plunged straight into Pudu Cihang's body.
There was no light in that instant.
The entire imperial city was purified.
Boom.
A colossal detonation battered the ears of Yan Chixia and the rest.
They went weak with terror and thought the world was ending.
As for Pudu Cihang, the target of the blow—
After despair, only more despair remained.
His body would not move. He poured out all his Dao arts, even drew upon the Dragon Qi.
But that dreadful arrow—
It pointed straight at his soul.
"No… why… why is this happening… the path I've walked for thousands of years…"
"Even Heaven could not punish me!"
"Help—"
Pudu Cihang howled like mad.
He did not realize it was already illusion; his body had been obliterated.
Even the entire palace had been blasted into a crater hundreds of meters across.
The terrifying energy rippled outward for thousands of miles.
"Ah… this power seems a bit much. What do I do now?"
Ishtar was dumbstruck.
She had only wanted to swat a disgusting big bug.
And yet she had turned the world into a mess—and it seemed she had slain a whole brood of monsters besides.
Never mind. Best to slip away first.
"Ahem… the big centipede has been erased. The rest is up to you…"
Leaving those words behind, Ishtar's figure turned to golden light and vanished.
Yan Chixia and the others exchanged looks.
Could it really be that simple?
Only when they straightened their backs and returned to the palace did they fully grasp the goddess's dread power.
That one blow—
It had nearly failed to fit inside the world.
A thousand-mile chasm cut into the earth—could she not hold back even a little strength?
Good heavens—she could open a sea!
…
When Ishtar returned to the Eternal Shrine, her sister beside her smiled and asked, "So fast? Was the enemy so simple?"
"Mm… just a big bug that killed a lot of people… Anyway, one blow and it shattered. That's all…"
Cold sweat pricked Ishtar's brow.
She mustn't be found out.
She had gone too far.
As her mind raced with frantic prayers, Hina Yi approached and said in an even tone, "Goddess Ishtar, you exerted excessive power in the mortal world and slew many living beings. Though your merit balances your fault, you must still accept three days of punishment as a lesson in discipline."
"Yes. Ishtar pleads guilty."
Gong Rin knelt with sorrow, bowing her head to receive divine grace.
Only then did Ai Lei-chan react.
Her sister had blundered again.
Oh, this girl.
She never grows up—always so reckless…
...
In the Wanjie Chat Group—
Bearded Swordsman: "Brothers, Beard is back—my dear… the goddess is truly terrifying. She carved a thousand-mile canal with a single strike!"
Ding! The Bearded Swordsman uploaded an image.
Demon Sword Spirit: "…I want to see a video, but I don't want to see that!"
Tanjiro: "+1"
Dashan Chu: "Brother, you're making a fuss. The goddess definitely wasn't in her Heroic Spirit state!"
Bearded Swordsman: "You're right. I made the Eternal Priestess plead to God. I'm ashamed our world is too barren and has no treasures, so I want to develop and offer sacrifices again, so…"
General Yuwen: "So it can be done this way—but one can't always meet the Eternal Priestess. It must be an existence beloved by the world."
Then Yan Chixia uploaded the video.
Many people exclaimed.
So there truly was a goddess who could call down the power of the stars in an attack—unbelievable, and yet right before their eyes. A revelation.