Chapter 139 - The Mantis Preys on the Cicada, Unaware of its Corrupt Venom (Final Part)

Curtains of yin flames plummeting from above—raging tempests of ice at the front, back, left and right. Sandwiched by the extreme elemental assaults, Harun didn't bat an eyelid. Kaleidoscopic flames surged from his outstretched hands, becoming hordes of massive, coiling serpents that formed an unsurmountable barrage around him. The serpents opened their maws, baring forked tongues above which orbs of fiery light took shape. Each firing multicolor fire beams, the serpents blasted through Jiyan's ice-fire strike. Clad in Devil Essence, the Empyrean princess activated her Free and Unfettered Truth, forcing her way through Harun's tyrannical flames—a terrible mistake. 

While even the flames couldn't stop her Inner Truth, Jiyan's abilities could never outpace Harun's Eye of Sovereign Fate. Now using it with impunity, he could foresee every single one of Jiyan's moves before she raised her fists. Inarguably deadlier than his Eye of Luminous Treasures, if not for the ruinous consequences, Harun would abuse that right eye of his no end. Squads of ghostly butterflies appeared beside Jiyan, releasing a yellow pollen that enhanced her speed in exchange for a temporary loss of sight. Relying on her superhuman senses, Jiyan kicked at Harun's neck. An inch away from its target, the kick passed through a space portal, landing on the back of Harun's skull instead. 

Purple Sovereign Essence gathered at that area, putting an unbreakable energy shield in Jiyan's path. Unable to break through, her kick bounced against Harun's Sovereign Essence. But without looking back, Harun balled up his fist and smashed it into Jiyan's c.h.e.s.t—again sending her reeling across the cavern roads. Too fast for her reaction speed, Jiyan couldn't evade Harun's blow. But with the shelter of her Devil Essence, she reduced the impact to full-speed-truck impact-level, surviving it with minor blood losses, only. The illusory Dharma Protector's figure grew more detailed. But as her body shook from Harun's fist, Jiyan had to admit that she couldn't hold on much longer. 

With the golden lightning mark flashing on his c.h.e.s.t, mystical principles oozed out of Harun's flesh, giving him the aura of an autocratic behemoth. Thanks to his seven-colored soul and scourge values, Harun benefited a lot more from the lightning tribulations than any other refiner across the omniverse.

That single lightning bolt mark compared to three of the Landgraves, making the current Harun comparable to some of the strongest Sanguine Dolls. The longer he watched the clash, the more convinced Mukri was that this beefier Harun had lost three-fourth of his boss' wits—not that it mattered. Rushing back into the fray, Jiyan traded bare-handed blows with Harun, relying on the Infernal Claw Style to make up for her suppressed Withering Sword Art. And seeing her dance and twist to avoid Harun's casual but devastating blows, Mukri felt rage and indignation well up in his c.h.e.s.t, as if it was him and not Jiyan that Harun offended with this betrayal. 

The bull's gaze hardened. Purple flames billowed from his hide as he prepared to ignore his oath and gamble his life to strike his boss down. Sensing the clear, murderous intent, Birandar, who stood beside Mukri, activated his third eye—fully prepared to kill Mukri instead. "Birandar boy, you have not even been a disciple for three days that you're already willing to follow your master into madness? Is it his b.u.t.t or the guidance of his d.i.c.k that you came here for?" Full of righteous indignation, Mukri jabbed at Birandar and spun to face his new opponent. 

"I believe that Master can turn the situation around and free himself from the vixen before it's too late. If you don't, maybe you're not qualified to be his subordinate—giving me all the reasons to butcher you before you go rogue," Birandar countered, and as the two circled one another, the confrontations on the two other fronts worsened.

According to the initial plan, Weeping Soul and the 27th Landgrave, Nakula's backup plan, had to cooperate to take down Dolma. Alone, Weeping Soul could take her down. But thanks to her lordship over the Abyssal River, he had no chance of victory. 

Ranking among the six Sentient Treasures of the Heavenly Dream Land, on top of its abilities to create life, accelerate cultivation speed, and other miscellaneous skills, the Abyssal River commanded formidable offensive and defensive powers, making a direct confrontation in its vicinity a poor plan.

Routed times and times again, just like Jiyan, the Reverend struggled to keep up the pace—leaving an increasing amount of openings. Meanwhile, Harun's viciousness scaled to match Dolma's soul thirst. Swarms of jet-black bees stripped by colored lines flew out of his large sleeves, flanking Jiyan with hundreds of thumb-sized stings. 

If Harun's heartless words and fiendish gaze rattled her, the clouds of poisonous bees were the final straw. At the edge of each of those bees' stings lay a drop of Harun's blood, making the most destructive of all his toxic arsenal. As the blood's lethal powers increased alongside Harun's cultivation and incarnation breakthrough, to say nothing of Jiyan, even Harun couldn't tell how toxic a single drop currently was.

Trapped in the anteroom of death by her most beloved, Jiyan lost her long-standing composure—spiraling out of control. A colossal and unbridled surge of Devil Essence exploded from her slender form, making her dress flutter and her eyes go bloodshot. Unable to resist this new explosion of malignant forces Harun's bee swarms burned to nothingness. But at the same time, Jiyan's heartbeat grew erratic. The world around her spun, and she dropped on her knees.

Wearing the same condescending smile, Harun ambled at his victim and shook his in disappointment. "It's not just monks that need to stay clear-headed. By now, you should understand how critical your emotional balance is to your Devil Essence. Before ruling others, Devils first learn to rule themselves. With your current state of mind, using that power with impunity is reckless, at best." Learning from his recent snippets of memories, Harun preached, then aimed his right hand at Jiyan.

Whacked by the internal chaos unleashed by her unruly Devil Essence, Jiyan could no longer resist Harun's tricks. Now realizing that Harun used the significance of those bees to drive her into self-immolation, she broke into cold sweat and let out a bitter smile.

A change of surroundings followed, and Jiyan now hovered in a flaming-red world where only Harun and she stood, surrounded by all the roots of her grief. 

Images of Agiri's last moments in the Divine Palace, of Jiyan's conflicts with Dilnaz, of Harun's words and each of the blows she traded with him, swirled around Jiyan—speeding up her mental breakdown. "You're even using the Mystery of Grief on me? I guess this is what they call a bitter breakup. Haha, you almost make me wish to say…that mother was right," Jiyan said in a self-deprecating tone, as she trembled amidst series of oppressive nightmares. 

"While I do not mind losing, at the very least I hoped…that we could win and lose together." Bordering complete collapse, Jiyan choked those words out. And mirroring her seething rage and disappointment, the Dharma Protector at her back turned into a flaming-red idol of wrath that challenged Harun with its crushing presence. 

…

Back to the real world, Jiyan lay on the ground, an inch away from death. Taking several leisurely steps toward her, Harun raised his right hand, the pitch black essence of death teemed from his palm, heralding a lethal move. 

Waves of panic made a mess of Mukri's emotional balance. But over 2,000 years old, the bull suppressed those emotions, and, without hesitation, summoned the Tribulation Clouds—almost.

Suppressed by the weight of Birandar's third eye, Mukri couldn't move an inch, and unable to complete his move, watched helplessly as Harun rammed his fist through Jiyan's heart. No blood poured out, yet the spark of Jiyan's life ended instantly. Dazed by this scene, Mukri, like most of the others on the scene, didn't sense the dozens of presences breezing their way past Birandar and him. 

The end of Jiyan's life filled the Blood Matron with a rush of ecstasy and, unable to restrain herself, she burst into laughter. Blood water jets surged from the Abyssal River, rushing up and blending to morph into a gigantic leviathan. With empty, golden eyes, the apocalyptic beast acted as Dolma's battering ram, crushing the Weeping Soul Tree under the infinite weight of its scaled body. 

Unable to resist, the Reverend cratered—sustaining a succession of severe injuries. But as the Blood Matron prepared to steal his soul, an electrifying force struck from within hers. Her surroundings changed, bringing her to a corruptly magnificent world where all her wildest fantasies and most obscure d.e.s.i.r.es became a reality. Led to chase the wonders of that irresistible land, Dolma forgot her initial conditions. 

But before she could enjoy the fruits of the Corrupt Land, large volcanic hands grabbed and tossed Dolma into another scenery. In this new land of flaming-red rocks, lava springs and sulfuric scent, all the roots of Dolma's scorn and resentment: the mortals, gods, weak-willed refiners, the Landgraves and so many others, became pillars of scorching flames—battering her till her squeals filled this Averse Land. 

Again, the Corrupt Land pulled Dolma back. But ten seconds later, the Averse Land re-summoned her to face the judgment of its scorching rods. In the outside world, Harun and Jiyan flanked a dazed Dolma, whose face twisted between maddening bliss and boundless rage. A dark-blue Dharma Idol stood at Harun's back and a flaming-red one at Jiyan's, as both exerted the powers of their legacy venoms on the Blood Matron. 

The veiled presences that walked past the distracted Mukri revealed themselves, becoming 120 herculean guards that surrounded the Weeping Soul Tree: Harun's Desolate Corpse Guard. 

"Divine Power: Solar Desolation."

By refining the abilities of three Sanguine Dolls, those state-of-the art zombies' strength and blood potency increased tremendously, enabling them to end the clash with their strongest ability: the Golden Crows' Divine Power. The corpses became 120 miniature suns that subsequently burst into a concert of chained nukes--threatening to wipe out everything across dozens of square kilometers.