Chapter 437 Kill Them All - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

To wield one sword infused with over a hundred laws, what an exhilarating and formidable experience! What would it be like to wield a sword imbued with thousands, tens of thousands of laws? The Sword God, Mei You Ru, felt an unparalleled sense of exhilaration. He mused inwardly, why did it take him so long to comprehend this? In truth, it wasn’t as though he hadn’t seen others who could merge several laws into a single strike, but their attacks had always been disappointingly weak. The proud Sword God Mei You Ru, after a cursory examination, felt deeply disappointed and concluded that the correct path was to adhere to a singular sword law, to reach the pinnacle where one sword breaks all techniques—this, he thought, was the true path. Indeed, this was the true path, but the Sword God Mei You Ru had overestimated himself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stagnated for so long. Sword God Mei You Ru was eager to see what kind of sword technique the witch Su Miao would use in response. It was somewhat strange that a witch, with her mastery of magic, preferred to wield a sword, but his anticipation was genuine. The void shattered. Su Miao remained tranquil, elegantly turning while pointing forward with her Star Shine staff. In an instant, the void disintegrated. The sword strike unleashed by Sword God Mei You Ru with all his might was obliterated. He was dumbfounded; wasn’t the witch supposed to continue with her sword? Why had it suddenly turned into magic? This was dishonorable! As Mei You Ru attempted to withdraw, he realized his body was trapped within the void, immobile. Not only that, but his body was also being slowly dragged into the collapsing void. "No, no, no..." Sword God Mei You Ru struggled fiercely, attempting to resist. But such resistance was destined to be futile. His hands and feet were bound by fine threads of law. When had that happened? The Sword God Mei You Ru displayed a look of despair and decided to use his final move. Concealed within his throat was a life-bound sword intent. Since ascending to godhood, this sword intent had been hidden, unused for hundreds of millennia, its strength now immeasurable. Before becoming a god, he had once used this very sword intent to break through three realms, turning the tide against supreme adversaries. Could he succeed against this witch now? He didn't know, but he had to try. Truly speaking, the gap between the eighth and ninth levels was not like the past three realms; it was an insurmountable chasm, invisible and vast. Breaking free from this predicament was itself a feat of pride. Hiss! Sword God Mei You Ru opened his mouth, releasing the sword intent concealed for eons. The sword intent, lustrous and translucent, emitted a faint glow, easily piercing through the chaotic vacuum, appearing to advance smoothly. But as it progressed a few more inches, it began to fracture inch by inch. The glimmer of hope in Sword God Mei You Ru's eyes shattered alongside the fracturing sword intent. Moments later, his body began to crumble, his divine soul disintegrating. In his final moment, he sequestered part of his divine soul within his god core, attempting to escape into the chaotic tide, seeking a sliver of survival. However, Sword God Mei You Ru seemed to forget that Su Miao was aiming precisely for his god core. A tug in the void, and the god core was extracted, placed before Su Miao. Starlight blossomed. The remnant soul of Sword God Mei You Ru, wishing to utter a few parting words, was utterly purified. Su Miao stored the god core into her magical space, setting her gaze upon the eighth-level deity Morris. This eighth-level god core was of great significance. ... “The Sword God is dead.” “An eighth-level Sword God, the ruler of a universe, a divine creator, has been so easily vanquished?” “The witch must be at the ninth level…” “What do we do?” “No, wake up. The witch isn’t necessarily at the ninth level. Would a ninth-level deity need to kill one by one? Surely, they’d wipe out swaths at once without such laborious effort. Hang on until the Celestial Palace notices something’s amiss, and we’ll have a chance.” “Is that true?” “Fool, do you really think she can’t kill en masse? She wants our god cores.” “The god core... If I offered my god core willingly, would I be spared?” “Offering your god core is like cutting off your foundation, more excruciating than death. Who would agree to that?” “Lady Witch, here is my god core, I offer it willingly, please spare my life!” The surviving deities were engaged in normal discussions, not expecting a seventh-level demon god to step forward, presenting his god core while pleading for Su Miao's mercy. The other gods remained silent, desperately wanting to kill that traitor first. Yet, they restrained themselves. Because they too wished to know if willingly offering their god core would spare their lives. After being exalted gods for so long, they had forgotten death, forgotten fear, and now, facing death, their fear had amplified. Su Miao temporarily spared the eighth-level demon god Morris, calmly fixing her gaze on the seventh-level demon god who voluntarily gave up his god core. With a gesture of her mage's hand, she received the god core, erasing the remnant soul inside. In a flash of the God-Slaying Silver Sword’s gleam, the godless seventh-level demon god was obliterated, body and soul. The remaining deities were overwhelmed with terror and despair, regretting having accepted the Celestial Palace’s bounty. Such matters should have been thoroughly investigated before execution. But in their experience, the Celestial Palace’s bounties came down so often, that the slightest delay would rob them of their opportunity; they simply hadn't had the luxury to think too deeply. And thus, they’d hit an impenetrable wall, left with no chance of survival. “Witch, your wanton slaughter will not escape the Chaos Path’s judgment!” Shouted a sixth-level demon god. Su Miao casually slapped him to death, taking his god core. ... “Hahaha, a legend sprung to mind; in the chaos, gods battled, countless deities and demons fell, ultimately leading to creation’s demise. Witch, are you gathering our god cores to walk a similar path? You will…” Before the last word could be spoken, Su Miao snuffed out the seventh-level demon god with an overwhelming blast of law-infused sword energy from her God-Slaying Silver Sword, shattering his skull and claiming his god core. ... Unbeknownst to any, only the eighth-level demon god Morris remained in the starry expanse. Morris fixed his gaze on the witch Su Miao standing in the void, saying, “Witch, let's make a deal. I’m willing to offer all my assets as a gesture of goodwill; they contain six god cores of decent quality.” He sent over a dagger—this was no ordinary weapon but imbued with spatial magic, containing Morris’s collection of rare materials. Su Miao blinked, and before the dagger reached her, she directly broke through its barriers. In the next moment, its contents poured out, indeed revealing six god cores, albeit of mediocre quality, each inscribed with special runes capable of triggering explosions at a whim. Though these explosive runes were unfamiliar to Su Miao, she was more than acquainted with explosions. That familiarity enabled her to recognize them at a glance. This demon god was not being truthful. With a flick of magic tendrils. Su Miao brandished her Star Shine staff; stars flared into terrifying tendrils grasping for the demon god Morris. Further tendrils snatched up the six god cores that Morris had intended to offer. Seeing the tide turning, Morris preemptively detonated the god cores. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The six god cores exploded, shattering the tendrils that seized them, causing the void to collapse into chaos. Originally, Morris had planned for this six-core detonation to grievously wound Su Miao, but given the current situation, not only had it failed to wound Su Miao, it hadn’t even breached her domain. Indeed, from Su Miao’s perspective, the explosive power of the six god cores was nothing compared to the stellar explosions she had unleashed in the past. How could it possibly challenge her domain? “Witch, the Celestial Palace houses ninth-level powerhouses, don’t you want more intelligence?” Morris panicked, hastily proposing, “If you spare me, I’ll disclose all the Celestial Palace’s secrets to you.” A ninth-level powerhouse? Su Miao recalled her visit to the Temple of the Gods when a decayed divine consciousness had swept over. That presence was strong, yet the deity seemed to be experiencing the Five Decays of Heaven and Man. Could that be the ninth-level powerhouse Morris mentioned? Reflecting on the recent desperate thirst the Celestial Sea had for universal origin, such a possibility was not out of the question. In due course, she could seize this decrepit being’s god core. “Witch, have you decided? I must confess, I have friends in the Celestial Sea. I’m willing to share all intelligence from within.” Morris, fearing she wouldn’t agree, dangled another tempting offer. Su Miao remained silent, simply observing as the boundless tendrils swept toward Morris. Morris unleashed his full power, casting formidable magics one after another, shattering wave after wave of tendrils. Yet, the tendrils were inexhaustible. This reminded Morris of unspeakable ancient entities. Could it be that this witch was not a mere witch, but an eldritch entity clad in a witch’s guise? Only such an entity would crave the god cores and corpses of deities. To confirm his suspicion, Morris scanned the void. Previously slaughtered demon gods had left no bodies behind. Indeed! Absolutely! A tremendous sense of fear emerged in Morris's heart. Rumor had it that certain universes had been overtaken by these indescribable entities, with demon gods being either devoured or corrupted—a truly terrifying fate. Under such cataclysmic conditions, not even ninth-level powerhouses could ensure their survival. Given the witch's presence here, it implied her true target was the Celestial Sea. The Celestial Sea? This information had to be relayed, otherwise... Was he distracted during the battle? Su Miao noticed the preoccupied Morris and bound him with threads of law. By the time Morris regained his senses, Su Miao had already extracted his god core with the God-Slaying Silver Sword. Morris opened his mouth, his expression filled with terror as he faced Su Miao. "Witch, you... you are the end..." The void crumbled. Before Morris could finish his sentence, Su Miao shattered his body. With that, all the gods trapped in the starry domain were entirely annihilated by Su Miao, and she had reaped a bountiful harvest of god cores. However, this was just the beginning. Su Miao dissolved the starry domain and returned to the chaotic void. There were no demon gods left nearby. Those not trapped had all been slain. Su Miao glanced at the Celestial Sea amidst the chaos and turned to leave. She wasn't in a rush; once she accumulated enough god cores, she would start her next move. As for Star City... Su Miao's gaze pierced through the chaos, looking toward the direction of Star City. She observed that many demon gods had already fled from Star City, choosing to escape. Yet, the Celestial Palace, which controlled Star City, had shown no reaction. Since they weren't taking any action, Su Miao was not in a hurry either; she could afford to wait. After all, having acquired so many god cores, it would be a waste not to study them before using them. ... "Did you hear? A witch arrived outside, and in just a few days, she's killed nearly a hundred demon gods." "Where did you hear that? I heard she's killed over a thousand. It's terrifying, and many eighth-level deities are among the fallen." "The latest news is that Sword God Mei You Ru and Morris, both rulers, have perished." "Forget the latest news, let's flee while we can; I think Star City is about to change." "Have you heard? The new witch dared to attack the Celestial Sea unscathed." "She must be ninth level!" "No wonder the Celestial Palace has been silent after issuing the bounty." "Don't recklessly talk about ninth-level beings. They're not for us to discuss. If they can't kill the witch, couldn't they easily crush us?" "Remember the prophecies from those deceased demon gods? They spoke of an eventual destroyer bringing ruin to the Celestial Sea." "Could they be referring to this witch?" "I don't know, but it's not unlikely." "You're overthinking it. Do you realize how terrifying the interior of the Celestial Sea is? There's no telling how many ninth-level beings reside within." "This discussion is pointless. I'm leaving to save my own skin. You all can stay if you wish, but I believe it won't be long before the witch returns to Star City." "..." The city's demon gods exchanged brief discussions before swiftly fleeing. In the Celestial Palace, the eighth-level demon god Quan Peng entered the inner hall respectfully, bowing deeply as he spoke. "Your Majesty the Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor, there has been progress in the investigation. The witch originates from a universe used as sustenance for the Celestial Sea, but she's entangled with the fate of many universes. It's impossible to pinpoint which universe she originally hails from." Boom! A terrifying aura was released. The voice of the ninth-level powerhouse, Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor, resonated. "Did you notify the Celestial Sea?" Quan Peng replied respectfully, "A message was sent, but there has been no response from the Celestial Sea, possibly due to intensifying internal conflicts." Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor chuckled. "Because of their wars, the Celestial Sea's demand for universal origin has increased, leading to today's situation. What a hassle." Quan Peng inquired, "Your Majesty the Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor, will you take action yourself?" Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor responded, "Why should I take action?" Quan Peng was confused. Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor explained, "When the witch arrived at Star City, I observed her, yet saw nothing." "Recently, the witch attacked the Celestial Sea without harm and slew numerous demon gods, showing no fear of the Celestial Palace's bounty. Do you understand what this implies? The witch is very confident in her power, acting with impunity." "As a fellow ninth-level being, acting against her without fully understanding her capabilities could be a loss rather than a gain." This time, Quan Peng understood. The implication was that His Majesty the Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor believed he couldn't defeat her, hence his reluctance to act; otherwise, he would have already crushed her as he did to the previous eighth-level peak challenger who had offended the Celestial Sea. Quan Peng asked, "Your Majesty the Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor, what if the witch comes to the Celestial Palace?" Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor laughed. "I've fortified the Celestial Palace for millions of years; do you think the witch dares step here? Let me tell you, the defensive arrays guarding the Celestial Palace are, in some sense, a simplified version of the barriers protecting the Celestial Sea. If the witch dares to come here, her death is assured." A look of joy spread across Quan Peng’s face. "Thank you, Your Majesty the Xuan Tian Ancient Emperor, for your protection!" (End of Chapter)