BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! All kinds of weird and earsplitting noises filled the inside and outside of the temple. They were the noises of the Immortal Cultivators' army of excavators rushing forward like tides and locusts and surrounding the temple.
Now and then, deafening explosions and hysterical roars could be heard. It was a small group of Immortal Cultivators who had broken into the periphery of the temple and were engaged in a fierce battle with the Cultivators who were defending the temple!
Every Cultivator inside the temple was prepared to sacrifice themselves. They blocked the gate of the temple like statues and waited for the arrival of the final moment of glory in silence. The only thing they were concerned about was the countdown displayed by the artificial intelligence at the back.
The second comprehensive strike of the "global sword network" had entered the final phase of countdown.
This time, the anti-air magical equipment in all the secret bases had been filled with the maximal spiritual energy that was overloaded. It would certainly be ten times more destructive than just now.
The defense shield of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" had been seriously damaged in the first round of strikes and could not be repaired for now. Right now, it was an enormous target that was hanging high in midair.
It was the best opportunity.
“10！ 9！ 8！ 7！”
Everybody was counting down silently in their heart, as if they could see the picture of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" falling from the sky in the middle of furious fire.
The starlight was their witness. They were willing to sacrifice their lives and their souls to make the scene a reality!
The drilling noises, explosions, and roars outside were drawing closer and closer. The collisions between the excavators and the earthly dragons had already affected the earth below their feet, making every bone and every muscle on their body shiver.
But they were still defending the place with their lives. In a few more seconds, the second strike would be fully launched.
“6！ 5！ 4！”
"Sister Yun …"
Han Te and the Coloured Glaze were hiding behind Zuo Jingyun. Although they were shivering hard, the two little fellows were also holding their vibration sabers and chainswords tightly without retreating at all.
"Don't be scared. We will have a chance. Once we blow up 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky', the Immortal Cultivators will certainly be in chaos. By then, I will find a way to help you escape at the cost of my own life!"
Zuo Jingyun protected the two little guys with her cold mechanical arms. She looked at A Boxing Champion next to her and said in a hoarse voice, "Someone needs to spread the news of today's battle and tell everyone!"
“3！ 2！ 1！”
Although the battle ahead was intense, when the countdown reached 'one', all the resistance warriors couldn't help but turn around and look at the enormous, glittering, colorful 'zero' that the artificial intelligence presented in the end, as well as the rising mystic rays that soared into the sky and pierced through the hearts of thousands of swords!
"Success!"
"The second round of global strikes, begin!"
"The Immortal Cultivators are still one step too slow. The attack will certainly blow down 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky'!"
The most dazzling flames appeared in the eyes of all the resistance warriors.
However …
Right after the countdown above the artificial intelligence's head jumped to 'zero', the picture of soaring flames on the light beams around that they expected did not appear. Instead, they were seriously twisted as if they had been infected by a crystal processor virus.
Then, a short sentence that was full of mockery popped up on all the light beams.
"Zero means nothing."
Hum …
The control center of the 'global sword network', which had been running at a high speed and humming in all directions, seemed to have been hit by a certain switch. The colorful brilliance around dimmed, the illumination rune arrays were turned off by force, and the defense system was completely cut off. The shining, gold, automatic crystal cannons dangled down, turning into garbage again!
"This is —"
All the resistance warriors were dumbfounded. Their hearts were half frozen, and they had no idea what was going on at all.
There was nothing but gloom around them. The only thing that was still eye-catching was the bright gold, enormous head in the void — the artificial intelligence that was supposed to control the 'global sword network' and contained the spirit, will, and ideology of countless Cultivators.
However, the enormous head, which was more than ten meters in diameter, had drastic changes after a weird twist, too.
The flesh on its face was corroded in an instant, turning from a human face with flesh and blood into a gloomy and terrifying skull at a speed visible to the naked eye. Two lines of blood tears flowed out of its pitch-black eye sockets, but its two rows of white teeth kept clattering as it laughed, "Heh … heh … heh …" It was extremely gloomy and terrifying.
"How — how did this happen?"
"This is impossible! Has it been corrupted by the Immortal Cultivators' virus? "
"Why? At such a critical moment?"
At the last moment, all their efforts had been in vain. The hearts of the resistance warriors fell from a high mountain to a bottomless abyss. They felt that the world was swirling, and their heads were blank. It was difficult for them to breathe. Their faces were red and almost purple because of the suffocation!
However, the reality would only be crueler than their imagination.
They had aimed all their firepower at the open gate of the temple, but they had not been prepared for the darkness deep inside the temple.
At this moment, from the darkness deep inside the temple, hundreds of spiritual puppets flooded out like tides.
Those spiritual puppets were like octopuses with a big eye at the center of their bodies. They were made of a round shell and four freely extensible, circular mechanical arms. Shua! Shua!
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Shua! At the tip of the mechanical tentacles, cross-shaped pincers that were full of sawtooth were opened. At the center of the pincers were crystal cameras with a super high resolution, too. Almost ten thousand crimson crystal cameras were glittering in the darkness as they stared at the resistance warriors without blinking.
It seemed that there must be other channels behind the temple that led to the outside world or even the ground, and the channels had long been under the control of the Immortal Cultivators.
"Have — have we been tricked?"
"Trap. This is a trap!"
Looking at the countless cold spiritual puppets flying in the sky and uttering earsplitting noises of metal being twisted, some of the resistance warriors finally realized what was going on in desperation, but it was already too late.
But even if they were killed, they still could not figure out what the problem was.
The smiling skeleton that was crying bloody tears in midair continued collapsing and falling apart. This time, after the pale mask of the skeleton was ripped off one piece after another, it turned into the handsome face of a middle-aged man that seemed to be carved out of marble.
What was shining in the darkness, other than the middle-aged man's smiling face, was the glass of wine that was as red as blood that he was holding in his hands.
"My dear friends, thank you for your marvelous performances so far. Your passionate and attentive performance truly made us appreciate a soul-stirring, passionate, and soul-stirring play."
The middle-aged man who looked like a marble statue sipped the wine and continued smiling. "However, even the best play has an ending. Time is precious, and I have to reveal the truth to you. Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Wuying Lan. I am the master of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' that you have been thinking about destroying …"
"What!"
"How — how is it possible?"
"What … What kind of trap have we fallen into exactly?"
Including Zuo Jingyun, all the resistance warriors of Starlight felt that their souls had been shattered. The beliefs and strength that supported them to this moment had collapsed. Everybody was like an empty shell as they stared at the enormous head in midair in desperation.
"Don't you understand? Then, let's take a look at the real 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' right now! "
Wuying Lan slightly raised his voice. A new light beam immediately popped up next to his head that was as enormous as a god's. The appearance of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" that was shot at a close distance was displayed on the light beam.
Surrounded by redness and gold, the spiritual shield was intact, and the surface was as bright as new. "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" was still floating high in the sky like the most glamorous flower of the other shore. Was there any sign that it had been attacked at all?
"It's a pity that the picture of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' that you saw just now — or rather, everything that you saw after you entered the so-called 'temple' was false and simulated by the Immortal Cultivators," Wuying Lan said casually.
Wuying Lan said casually, "Since the very beginning, there has never been a 'global sword network' or a 'temple of the Cultivators'. Everything, including your hope, your destiny, and the things that you are willing to fight and sacrifice your life for, are all false. They were given to you by the Immortal Cultivators.
"Even your organization and the life of every one of you have been intentionally preserved, carefully planned, and controlled by the Immortal Cultivators. You think that you are 'free', but your so-called 'freedom' originates from our rewards. In fact, you are no different from the sinners in the Land of Sins on the ground. You are all puppets made of flesh and blood that are manipulated by 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky'. Including your resistance, fierce battle, escape, and 'desperate counterattack', everything originates from … the script written by the Immortal Cultivators."
The 3D light beam that surrounded Wuying Lan began to play the pictures that had been secretly shot a long time ago. They were the most confidential battle meetings of the resistance organization, indicating that the Immortal Cultivators had indeed infiltrated and controlled the entire underground branch of Starlight a long time ago.
"This … This is …"
Many Cultivators were at a loss for what to do. More Cultivators were sobbing. Some of them clutched their heads so hard that their fingers were deeply embedded into their skulls. They staggered a few steps back and fell to the ground, unable to say anything for a long time.
Some of them even darted their suspicious eyes at Wei Longtao, the leader that they trusted, relied on, and worshipped most!
"Right. There is also Wei Longtao, your general commander and the almighty hero of Starlight."
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