Chapter 448
Chapter 448: After the Fall
The angel fell.
That magnificent process was visible even from the surface.
Near the dawn-dusk line of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, people watched as the pure white Mother Vine bloomed in space like a newborn star. It was as if a fourth moon had appeared in the sky, its brightness second only to the sun. The blossoms opened at the moment day and night changed, and in those few seconds at peak bloom, people could even make out the structure of petals and branches.
But the bloom vanished in an instant. Before anyone on the surface could understand what they were seeing, the pure white new star hanging in the dusk silently collapsed into a skyful of crystal dust. The drifting crystal matter formed a sunlit haze in space that could cover nearly half a continent. Most of it evaporated into nothing as it dispersed, but some larger crystals remained.
Those powerless remnants began falling toward the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, but almost all were intercepted immediately by the planetary defense force waiting in full readiness. The few fragments that slipped past burned into bright streaks in the atmosphere, lighting the night as they fell from west to east, and then vanished completely before reaching the ground.
…
At the deepest level of the demon suppression tower in the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, the flow of earth veins was unusually active.
Streams of veinflow—large and small, glowing faintly—surged up from deep underground. They flowed soundlessly through the cavern filled with demon-suppressing pillars. Magma around the stone grotto gleamed with strange light stained by earth veins, slowly rising and falling with the shifting currents.
Serpent Princess, curled into a massive ball of snake and snoring like thunder beneath one of the pillars, jolted awake from a nightmare in which poisonous mushrooms had turned her scales charred black. A loud clattering echoed nearby. Startled, she lifted her head and saw that terrifying Omen Wandering Star floating in midair, rolling and crashing around without stopping.
The demon-suppressing pillars anchoring the chains gave off a low hum. Dense runes flared on and off with the creature’s movements, threatening enough just to look at.
“You… are you out of your mind?!” Serpent Princess shouted, trying to sound fierce while panic churned inside her. “If you won’t sleep, I still want to sleep!”
Omen Wandering Star suddenly turned. Its hollow, pitch-black eye sockets seemed to reflect endless horror and disaster, and the blustering big snake instantly shrank into a tighter coil.
But after only a moment, the stone sphere’s attention drifted away from the useless serpent demon who posed no threat at all. It kept rolling in the air, muttering nonstop.
“No, this isn’t right… how can nothing happen, how can nothing happen… A great disaster has already covered this planet. It should have arrived. This is the surest I’ve felt in years—how could it, how can it… How dare it?!”
The stone sphere erupted into senseless fury. It hammered itself left and right against the seals, muttering, “How dare it, how could it,” over and over. Between the curses were fragments of babble no one could understand—”only the ill omen goddess has the right to rewrite it,” “I’m weakened, I’ve been abandoned”—until it looked nearly rabid.
In the next instant, the forest of demon-suppressing pillars and the countless chains reacted. With a deep metallic hum, every pillar flared with golden light. Dense runes lit all at once. The chains flooded with spiritual power, wrapped in fine sparks. Thunder and lightning burst between the stone pillars, and the iron links snapped tight with a shriek of metal on stone, binding Omen Wandering Star in midair.
Then the earth veins surged, drawn by the many formations in the cavern. Streams of light rushed along pillars and chains together, and in a blink they drowned the stone sphere.
The earth veins roared through the cave. True-spirit thunder scattered across the platform. Serpent Princess, coiled beside a pillar and too slow to dodge, took at least six or seven strikes on the spot. Her whole body convulsed as she thrashed wildly, howling at the top of her lungs.
“Damn it! If you’re gonna strike someone, strike it!
“I was minding my own business—who did I offend… ahh!
“Yuan He! Yuan He!!
“I’m done playing! Let me out, damn it—ahhh!”
At the center, Omen Wandering Star shuddered violently under the chains. It made a horrifying noise and tried desperately to twist away from the earth-vein streams surging toward it, but they wrapped it completely. It shouted on instinct—and the moment it opened its mouth, a huge lump of veinflow stuffed itself straight in. The whole ball went even crazier, rolling and struggling in midair like it had lost its mind.
The more it struggled, the more violently the pillars reacted. Even more lightning began bombing the cavern indiscriminately. Serpent Princess wailed under the strikes.
“Yuan He, your uncle—damn it, don’t feed that ball shi—damn it—ahhh—”
Because she shouted that, Omen Wandering Star—which had finally managed to clamp its mouth shut—lost control again. In pure rage it cursed back, “You long worm, don’t talk so gross—ah—”
And got another mouthful crammed in.
Only then did Serpent Princess finally manage to untangle herself. But before she could crawl away, another immortal thunderbolt slammed into her body. Spasming, she raised the one tail that could still move and pointed with all her strength toward the top of the cavern.
“I hate you rotten, smoke-belching bastards… feeding shi to a ball, and using thunder to protect wildlife…”
“I told you not to be that gross…”
Crack—
“Damn it! I’m burnt!”
…
On the upper levels of the demon suppression tower, several inner disciples responsible for monitoring spirit-vein movement across the high tower guarded a major formation node. One of them tilted his head, puzzled.
“…What’s that noise down below?”
Another disciple glanced around. “I didn’t hear anything…”
As they spoke, a third person studied a jade token, then suddenly slapped his thigh.
“Ah! Junior Brothers, look at the way the spirit veins are flowing. Loss and gain match, increase and decrease mirror each other—it even hints at grand dao harmony and a conjugate cycle! Wonderful! You and I have guarded the formation here for ten years, and I’ve never seen such a scene. I’ve been stuck at this realm for years, and seeing this conjugate cycle, I feel a faint enlightenment. I think I can break through within the next few years…”
The two junior brothers immediately clasped their fists.
“Ah, congratulations, Senior Brother, congratulations! To see such mystery from the flow of the spirit veins…”
“How fortunate, how fortunate! After you break through, Senior Brother, you must treat us to—”
The room fell silent.
The three stared at each other, then jolted as the same realization hit. They all rushed toward a nearby jade platform.
“No. That’s not right!”
…
Before the grand hall of the Parted Clouds Palace, Immortal Yuan He—who had stayed behind to guard the sect—looked up at the sky. He watched that trace of pure white afterglow sink into the distant night and gradually fade among the stars. Only after a long time did he let out a soft sigh.
“This calamity finally passed safely,” Immortal Yuan He said, shaking his head.
He turned to the ancient little mirror floating beside him. In its reflection was the scene aboard “Taia,” with Immortal Yuan Ling standing on the star-disc platform.
“Second Senior Brother, how is it up there?” Yuan He asked.
“We’re hurrying to gather the scattered crystal fragments,” Immortal Yuan Ling replied with a smile. “By the borderland’s experience, the remains after an angel falls are usually no longer dangerous, but there are still people like the hermitage order watching these wrecks. We can’t let the angel catalyst fall into their hands.”
“And Mr. Yu?” Immortal Yuan He asked. Without noticing, his expression turned solemn as he said the name.
A being that could destroy two dark angels in a row… It was hard to call that an ordinary expert anymore. Even Immortal Yuan He—who rarely involved himself in sect governance and usually studied the Dao in the mountains—could feel, at last, the daily mental pressure the borderland special operations bureau director must live under.
“The Otherworld Hotel just sent word,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, his expression a little strange. “He said he needs to rest for a while. Said fighting an angel was a little tiring…”
Immortal Yuan He had no words.
The two old men both felt those words barely sounded human, but neither could find the right thing to complain about. They stared at each other through the spirit-link mirror for a moment, then let out a breath at the same time.
It was a sigh of relief.
“So far, ‘angel fall’ has happened twice,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, voice thick with feeling. “At least this proves dark angels truly can die, and that the process can be repeated. From now on, one unsolvable catastrophe hanging above all beings is gone.
“Next I’ll send the news to the borderland. Honestly, I’m curious how that Director will react this time.”
Immortal Yuan He thought for a moment, and a strange smile tugged at his mouth. “Probably with no expression at all.”
…
Behind her desk, Bai Li Qing suddenly frowned and rubbed her nose.
In the air before her, a pair of indifferent eyes appeared for an instant, and a cool voice slid into her mind. “What is it, Sister?”
“…Nothing. My nose just itched,” Bai Li Qing said lightly.
“Then it might have been a sneeze, but the signal weakened because it was too far away.”
Bai Li Qing paused and looked up at the floating eyes. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
The eyes drifted to the side.
Bai Li Qing frowned faintly. After a brief hesitation, she said, “Is it just me, or have you recovered a little of your old—”
The eyes didn’t answer. They vanished from her view.
In the next instant, someone shoved the office door open. Song Cheng—face glowing with excitement—charged in.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he felt killing intent. The Director sat behind the desk as usual, her expression calm, but her steady gaze pinned his face like a blade of cold light. Cold sweat broke out at once.
Was he here at the wrong time?
Had he interrupted something he shouldn’t?
If he retreated the way he came, could he still save his weekend leave?
Song Cheng’s thoughts buzzed, but the voice across from him cut straight through them.
“What is it?”
Song Cheng swallowed, steadied his breathing, and forced his expression into place. “Angel fell, Director—we just received word from the Featherwing star region. Yanxing Entity has been struck from the registry.”
The killing intent vanished instantly.
Bai Li Qing shot to her feet behind the desk.
In a blink, the Director—who rarely showed emotion—cycled through several expressions. Song Cheng even saw the corner of her eye twitch. He hesitated, unsure whether he should add more.
“Director, over on Wu Tong Road—”
Bai Li Qing took a quiet breath and waved him off. “I have my own arrangements for Wu Tong Road. Also, there’s something else—go tell Administration to replace this damned desk…”