Mars' two Bubble Worlds existed in a special area within the Sea of Quanta: the Sea of Data. Here, lifeforms similar to Seele's Bubble World can emerge. Dreams can be turned into wishes; fears into tangible and permanent objects. It is the pinnacle of Mars' creations, the crystallization of an entire civilization.
Sa never had the intention to fight in the real world. Her greatest strength lay inside the Sea of Quanta, and by extension, the Sea of Data. It just so happened that the power she sought was hidden within it.
Within the tall skies of Langqiu appeared Sa. Her form was no longer the island with the three torsos, but a huge female humanoid who wielded a dark staff. The end of her staff carried forth a blazing meteor that descended onto the city.
"What the hell is that..?"
"No. That's far above my pay grade."
"Is this the power of an alien god..?"
The ones affected by the meteor were Earth's immortal cultivators. The strength exhibited by Sa altered their understanding of the Honkai.
Their general consensus became united:
How strong must humanity be to win against these gods?
For the first time, they felt the weight of their duty—of the sacrifices made by the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
'A familiar saying… Like a frog in a well.'
Chen Tianwu stared at the falling meteorite. Its crushing weight rendered most of them helpless.
'To defy fate, stand with the pioneers, and slay gods.'
He finally understood the true nature of immortal cultivation. He had accepted his death when the blazing meteor exploded into lollipops.
That's right. Lollipops.
Thousands of lollipops rained upon the futuristic and urban city. Unlike Earth's cultivators, the people of Langqiu focused on survival. Hence when literal candies rained down from the sky, they, too, felt at a loss.
"You dare ignore my presence? Your divinity is nothing but a fake! Idiotka!"
Seeing Sin Mal's 'lively' words, Shi Tian who was watching from afar laughed.
"Oh no... She's embodying the true meaning of xianxia… pfft!"
He hadn't laughed like this for a long time. Sin Mal acting like a bonafide young master made his entire day. It took a while to regain his calm composure.
He reappeared right beside Sin Mal.
"I will introduce a new phrase for you."
"Hum..?"
Shi Tian looked at Sa. The latter's piercing gaze turned into apprehension the moment she saw him.
Crack-!
Six time projections walked out of the shattered mirror. These Shi Tians belonged in the brief past. Like him, they possessed the pinnacle of Nascent Soul Realm as well as the sixth level Tao Heart.
Their figures blurred until only one Shi Tian remained. The power he emitted increased to the Divine Transformation Realm. Varying colors swirled atop his palm before turning into a gray orb made of fog.
The next moment, he was already speeding towards Sa.
Zoom-!
"Feel the immensity of heaven and earth!"
The gray orb within his palm expanded into a large sphere and trapped Sa in an instant.
BOOM-!
A vague phantom of yin and yang appeared as the explosion took place. After the gray fog dissipated, Sa's power was weakened. A yin-yang symbol could also be seen engraved on her forehead.
Shi Tian looked at the mark. It was the same mark he applied to IX, but a weaker version of it. The mark forces the target to confront the next attack head-on—without any kind of defenses. It is a skill that deals true damage in gaming terms.
In exchange, his spiritual qi was completely drained. Even with the pills he placed on his mouth, it will take a dozen seconds to recover.
'It's being erased fast. That recovery too..!'
His voice echoed to the remaining six via spiritual consciousness.
"Now! At the same time!"
Nobody held back. Sin Mal's comically large hammer approached Sa's head. Sirin utilized the void and trapped Sa's lower body into a dark cube. Hei and Ji Xuanyuan wiped their sword with their two fingers. The Xuanyuan Swords glowed dimly as they flew to their target.
Finally, dark blue butterflies surrounded Seele and Veliona. Their sixth grade scythes carried a superior force that threatened to erase Sa straight out of the Sea of Quanta. It was the same attack they used to weaken IX's influence—a one-time attack borrowing the Sea of Quanta's core power.
Hammer. Cube. Swords. Scythes.
Sa could not escape her fate.
Bam-!
Bzzt-!
The collision of several powers gave rise to a blinding light above the night sky. Langqiu experienced daytime for a few seconds before it died down.
Everyone stared at the wounded celestial giant in the sky. Cracks appeared throughout Sa's body like a broken porcelain glass. Parts of her body crumbled down, leaving it hollow. Her long silver hair fluttered as half of her branch-like wings broke.
"How resilient!"
Like always, Sin Mal livened things up through her trashtalking.
Shi Tian, who was beside her, did not speak but eyed Sa's staff. He noticed her grip over it tightening. Coupled with the foreboding feeling he felt…
"Last phase. Defend!"
He immediately assisted the exhausted Seele and Veliona. Everyone else had already prepared their defenses which consisted of the [Blade Mantra 2.0]. Imaginary Energy counters Quantum Energy and vice versa. It all boils down as to who has a better control of which energy.
A golden light descended upon the broken-down Sa. The air she stepped on started to grow flora and fauna. Thick wooden branches rose from it, turning into living vines. These vines entangled Sa's broken body. Akin to time reversing, the holes on her body disappeared as it was mended.
Her power threatened to erode the surroundings, only to be blocked by the joint imaginary barrier erected by five Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. The skies are soon filled with countless hostile bird-like creatures.
The moment Sa stepped forward, an hourglass-like item was revealed from behind. It was protected by an egg-shaped crystal barrier.
'That's her final attack. It's checkmate once she succeeds..!'
Shi Tian gazed at her. A phantom of six eyes appeared as he looked deeper. Three of them were already lit up.
'There's no Vita to redo things if we fail. But... we have a fully powered Tuna.'
His mind raced fast.
'No hurry. We still have a lot of cards left...'
He looked at everyone. Seele and Veliona had already recovered from their prior attack. It wasn't as strong as the one they used against IX, lest they would've been incapacitated for two entire years.
Just then, he noticed another woman floating atop the city. It was none other than Hare. Her appearance made Shi Tian smile, for it meant one thing:
'It's time to show Mars and Venus how it is done.'