Chapter 364: Bai Fu Descends from the Sky
The attack launched by the Supreme God’s disciple came far too suddenly.
Whether it was Bai Fu, who had been watching intently from the very beginning, or the Fourth Apostle who had once cooperated closely with him, or even the rest of the Apostolic Holy City’s attendants who knew him well—none of them had expected things to develop into this situation.
“Has he gone mad?”
That was Bai Fu’s first reaction.
She could not comprehend it.
Although she had indeed done plenty to sow discord, his actions should not have driven the Supreme God’s disciple to such a ruthless strike at this moment.
Could it be that Sen Lan’s betrayal and the frontline army’s fall into a trap had driven him insane?
The Fourth Apostle and the others quickly “reacted.”
Of course.
The Supreme God’s disciple must have discovered their little schemes and thus decided to strike first!
The problem was—how did he dare?
He was alone, while they had more than a dozen people on their side, including the Fourth Apostle, a being among the transcendent of transcendents.
Where did the Supreme God’s disciple get the confidence to take on ten at once and crush them all? Did he have accomplices?
The Fourth Apostle looked around in horror.
However, the more it looked, the more impossible it seemed.
Everywhere its gaze turned, there were only wildly growing black and white branches—it saw no one who might be aiding the Supreme God’s disciple.
“Don’t bother looking—it’s just me!”
The Supreme God’s disciple saw through the Fourth Apostle’s thoughts at a glance.
The smile on his face grew ever more terrifying.
“But don’t think that just because it’s only me, you’ll survive. For this day, I’ve made every preparation. From the instant those branches pierced your bodies, your fate was sealed—you’ll all burn as the kindling to fuel my ascension to godhood!”
“Branches?”
The Fourth Apostle had yet to react, but the other attendants entangled by the branches suddenly realized something was wrong.
The energy within their bodies was draining away—and if their eyes did not deceive them, that energy was being absorbed by the very branches that had impaled them.
If it were only simple absorption, that would have been fine. Through their contract with the Fourth Apostle, they could draw upon nearly inexhaustible reserves of energy. Losing a little could easily be replenished.
The real problem lay in the fact that the branches piercing their bodies were absorbing only half of their energy.
The white branches drained psionic energy; the black ones absorbed dark energy.
That single act caused the energies within those psionic priests—who had yet to master the synthesis of Ethereal Realm Particles—to spiral out of balance.
Before they could even stabilize that imbalance, another branch of a different color stabbed into their bodies.
The newly grown branches did not continue to absorb energy; instead, they injected energy back in—except the energy injected was what had been drained from someone else.
With every siphon and injection, the captives were immediately afflicted with a 【Energy Disorder】 debuff, their whole bodies wracked with pain.
“What in the world is this?”
One attendant, terrified, tried to sever the branch binding him.
He raised his hand and unleashed a strike powerful enough to shatter stars—but to his astonishment, it failed to damage the branch at all.
On the contrary, the energy he unleashed was devoured by the branch without hesitation—then transferred to another attendant’s body, causing that one to grunt as blood surged under his darkened skin, as though he had been punched violently in the face.
“?”
The sight made every person present—save for the Supreme God’s disciple—feel their hearts tighten.
Someone refused to believe it and tried again, only for their nearby companion to be “beaten” once more.
“Stop moving! Are you trying to get us all killed?”
The shouts came with a trace of panic.
If energy attacks didn’t work, what about physical slashes?
One attendant drew a longsword forged from extra-dimensional material.
That blade could cleave even the body of a tank-type Sovereign with ease.
Yet to his shock, when he swung with all his might, it left nothing but a pale mark on the branch!
“Eseron, what in the heavens have you done?”
The First Cathedral’s top candidate disciple, Weipses, glared furiously at the Supreme God’s disciple.
His rage boiled over so much that he shouted Eseron’s real name aloud.
The Supreme God’s disciple, Eseron, smiled down pleasantly at the nearly cocooned Weipses, whose body was wrapped tight by black and white branches.
“I never intended to go this far. Blame Bai Fu—she made me feel threatened. I had no choice but to take the risk and activate my contingency plan.”
At that, Eseron couldn’t help but thank his past self.
After reaching a cooperation with the Fourth Apostle—after setting his resolve to challenge the end of the Path of Evolution—after obtaining the Cosmic Treasure Double Helix Tree birthed by the Ethereal Realm—and after glimpsing his own ‘future’ through the Secret-Viewing Crystal Sphere gifted by the Saints—he had prepared two paths.
The first was the natural plan: to make ample preparations, conquer the Three Universal Civilizations, feed the Double Helix Tree with transcendents captured from them, and then, using the power of the Key of Destiny, turn the tree into his new “skeleton,” allowing him to ascend beyond even the God of the Ethereal Realm—to become a True God.
The second plan was for the worst-case scenario.
If something went wrong during his external conquest—if he failed to subjugate the Three Universal Civilizations and couldn’t gather enough Divine Fire or Seeds of Faith—what then?
Eseron’s solution was to turn the transcendents of the Apostolic Holy City into bait!
Becoming a god was something he must do—inevitable, unyielding. Waiting was possible, but not forever.
Thus, when the time came, he would never hesitate to turn against his own kind.
For that purpose, Eseron made extensive preparations.
It was easy to say he would strike his own people—but how could he ensure he could actually win against them all?
His strength was formidable, yes—but not enough to single-handedly defeat every transcendent of the Apostolic Holy City.
After much contemplation, he found his answer.
What was the Holy City’s greatest weakness?
Eseron’s answer: its power system was far too uniform!
Every strong individual relied on the psionic stream. If someone introduced a system that countered psionics, the entire balance would collapse.
After learning the method to synthesize Ethereal Realm Particles from the Fourth Apostle, a bold idea formed in his mind.
That idea was precisely what he was executing now.
Using the Double Helix Tree as the foundation, he cultivated it deliberately, enhancing its ability to absorb and inject energy—so that it could disrupt the balance between psionic and dark energy within its targets, creating the perfect moment for him to harvest them.
The result was spectacular.
Within mere minutes, every attendant present lost the ability to resist. They felt as though they were sinking into a quagmire—the more they struggled, the deeper they sank.
Only Eseron and the Fourth Apostle were immune to the Double Helix Tree’s effect, since both had mastered the synthesis of Ethereal Realm Particles. Their internal balance was stable, beyond disruption.
Of course, Eseron had anticipated this.
That was why his first target was the Fourth Apostle—for whom he had prepared another gift—
A recompiled fragment of the True Spirit Husk of the God of the Ethereal Realm!
That fragment had originally been given to him by the Fourth Apostle. After their cooperation, it had now become the bullet fired back at its former owner.
“Are you feeling it now? Your body swelling, every bit of energy within you slipping out of your control?”
Eseron cast a glance toward the Fourth Apostle.
The Fourth Apostle roared, “I was wrong! I saw through your malice long ago, yet I never imagined you could take it this far. I should have struck you down when you left for the front lines—then you wouldn’t have been able to command the tree’s power now!”
“?”
Eseron froze.
“You saw through my malice? Since when?”
He was confused.
If that were true, shouldn’t the Fourth Apostle have smashed the Double Helix Tree to pieces by now?
Forget it.
Why bother thinking about that?
It was time to reap the harvest.
The number of transcendents here wasn’t quite enough—but it didn’t matter. Once he absorbed everyone present and his power soared, he could always go gather the remaining Divine Fire needed to fill the Double Helix Tree.
Eseron raised his hand.
The Fourth Apostle immediately shouted, “Stop him! He’s trying to devour your power to ascend as a god! If you don’t stop him, not only will you die, but everyone close to you will likely be wiped out as well!”
Those trapped were no fools.
They knew full well that now was not the time to worry about hurting each other.
Since attacking the Double Helix Tree was useless, their only option was to strike directly at Eseron.
If Eseron died, then even if the Double Helix Tree drained them dry afterward, it wouldn’t matter—they could simply spend time recovering later.
Everyone launched their counterattack.
In the face of their retaliation, Eseron merely gave a disdainful smile.
That’s it?
They couldn’t hurt him at all!
From the moment the Fourth Apostle failed to evade the True Spirit Husk Fragment he had prepared, the outcome had already been decided.
“I’ve already won!”
The Double Helix Tree began drawing out the life force of all who were bound, and as the surging vitality nourished him, Eseron felt stronger than ever before.
It’s time!
He shot forward at incredible speed, charging straight at the Fourth Apostle—intent on killing it completely and seizing the essence of its True Spirit.
A fierce battle erupted.
Although the Fourth Apostle had been struck by his trap and its condition was extremely unstable, its foundation remained intact. Therefore, even under Eseron’s assault, it was still able to hold on—for now.
——
“Looking at its state, it won’t last much longer.”
Bai Fu’s expression turned solemn.
Everything had gone far beyond her expectations. She had originally planned to wait until the Supreme God’s disciple and the others left, then show herself to obtain the True Spirit Husk Fragment from the Third Apostle.
But now, that plan was impossible.
Leave?
No, I can’t!
If she sat back and did nothing, the Supreme God’s disciple’s strength would skyrocket after this battle. He might very well rise straight to Level 275—or even complete his fifth divine metamorphosis.
That would be catastrophic.
Simply fusing the powers of multiple Apostles to reach Level 275 would already be terrifying—but if he managed a fifth divine metamorphosis and triggered the Reaper’s Descent, it would be far worse.
There was no more time to hesitate—he had to be stopped!
Bai Fu turned sharply and shouted toward Lufas, who was hiding within a spatial rift, “Cover me! If we can’t stop the Supreme God’s disciple here and now, you might never have the chance to take revenge on the Apostolic Holy City again!”
Lufas nodded gravely.
The ones who had come along—Hiye, Jinlu, Shadow Foxtail, Black King, White King, and Eye of Sorrow—all turned toward Bai Fu.
What about us?
“Hiye, Jinlu, attack the Double Helix Tree. See if you can free those people.”
“Shadow Foxtail… the rest of you, broadcast what’s happening here—try to summon reinforcements. Even if no one comes, at least make everyone wary of the Supreme God’s disciple. There’s no longer any point in continuing the war between the Apostolic Holy City and the Three Universal Civilizations!”
“After broadcasting the message, don’t worry about him—go straight to Holy Land Star. Take anything valuable you find. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—don’t waste it!”
Bai Fu quickly assigned everyone their tasks.
Oh, right—there were also the Players.
Fight—just fight!
I’ll grant you the two ultimate buffs, 【Mind Over Matter, Transcendent Descent】 and 【Power of Faith】. You don’t have to think about anything else—just bombard Holy Land Star and the surrounding regions until you’ve turned this so-called pilgrimage site of the Apostolic Holy City into rubble!
After issuing all the commands, Bai Fu wasted no time activating her newly acquired ability—
Majestic Divine Body!
You want to become a god?
Supreme God’s disciple, then I’ll show you what a divine body truly is first!
——
Eseron’s right palm halted one meter before the Fourth Apostle.
A mere illusion—he had struck at empty air.
Where had the Fourth Apostle gone?
He searched for it—
—but the next instant, something bizarre happened.
A thunderous boom came from the sky, and he snapped his head upward.
Then, he saw it.
A colossal giant god, thousands of meters tall, with a wrathful vajra gaze and crystalline skin gleaming with cold light. The giant stood amidst the clouds, looking down upon the world with eyes that judged mortals like ants—eyes that ultimately fixed upon him.
The moment their gazes met, Eseron saw the giant god bring down its palm without mercy.
As the hand swept downward, space was torn apart entirely, revealing kaleidoscopic fissures of higher dimensions. The dazzling light shook countless stars in its wake.
“An Artificial God of Psionics? No… this presence feels far too real!”
Eseron was stunned—he hadn’t expected something like this to appear.
He had no choice but to abandon the Fourth Apostle for the moment and counterattack.
Terrifying Ethereal Realm Particles burst forth from his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted like storms, their thunderous shockwaves sweeping across Holy Land Star’s surface with such force that the entire planet trembled like a toy marble.
The two sides clashed at a speed invisible to the naked eye. Each collision left behind a molten scar in space that refused to close.
Seeing Eseron preoccupied, the Fourth Apostle began considering escape.
But just as it moved, Eseron’s laughter rang out.
“You think you can run away now?”
Huh?
Wait—that’s a prison woven from Ethereal Realm Particles!
The Fourth Apostle crashed headfirst into a transparent “barrier.” Ripples shimmered across the air, and its face changed drastically.
“When I’m done with that thing, I’ll come for you next!”
Leaving those vicious words behind, Eseron focused on the descending giant once more.
That giant god was powerful—but still far weaker than he was now. At this moment, he was invincible!
Not even Bai Fu or the leader of the Original Pact, not even together, could defeat him!
“My path to godhood—nothing can stop it!”
Just as Eseron reveled in triumph, a strange beam of light pierced through his Ethereal Realm Particle prison and reached the Fourth Apostle.
He snapped his head around.
“Lufas?!”
When he saw the newcomer’s face, Eseron’s pupils contracted sharply.
Without a word, Lufas placed a hand on the Fourth Apostle’s shoulder and pulled it along as he began to run.
Damn it—that’s the power of the Void Sovereign!
Eseron’s fury exploded.
The Fourth Apostle was a key part of his plan—he absolutely could not let it escape!
“Stay where you—”
“Patience, patience. Get through me first.”
Hei Fu suddenly appeared out of thin air before Eseron, smiling as she tightly gripped the Ritual God’s Scepter and the Titan Sacred Shield.
The fusion of staff and shield made the aura radiating from her small frame even mightier than that of the sky-covering giant god!