Boom!!!
The blinding white light engulfed the entire sky, the explosion's intense glow even surpassing the blazing sun!
The sea surface was illuminated as if it were made of gold, and the Star Fortress's observation lens instantly overloaded and shattered, forcing everyone in the control cabin to close their eyes.
"Did... did we hit it?"
White's voice sounded muffled in the intense ringing in his ears. He struggled to open his stinging eyes, only seeing a boiling sea of light through the porthole.
"We hit it! A direct hit right at the tyrant's position!"
Juno, who had been sensing with the "Star's Grip," responded confidently.
"Good!" The High Elder of Iron Spine gripped the console, his fingers turning white, slamming his large palm onto the control panel in great excitement. "This round of bombardment will cleanse the land. Even gods should..."
"No, he's not dead!!!"
Juno's exclamation interrupted the elder's words. Her pupils contracted violently as she detected Fang Yuan's condition through the formation disk. "It's impossible... he's completely unharmed!"
Indeed, in the smoke and debris of the explosion, a figure was walking through the void—completely unscathed—none other than Fang Yuan!
Not only had they failed to kill him, they couldn't even make a scratch on him!
"F**k!!! This tyrant's body is really that tough?" The High Elder was nearly going mad as he shouted, "Continue the bombardment!"
"But Lord, all the weapons on the Star Fortress are overloaded, and even the cultivators providing the energy are close to collapse..." one of the operators hesitated to report.
"Do you care about that now?!" The High Elder's eyes gleamed with cold light, his voice nearly hoarse. "Killing the Summer Emperor is the only priority!"
"Fire the cannon—!!"
Inside the Star Fortress, over ten thousand cultivators were frozen in terror.
They had just barely managed to support the previous round of bombardment, depleting their spiritual energy, and now their bodies were on the verge of collapse, veins burning in agony.
"No... we can't do it anymore..." Some of them fell to their knees, shaking their heads in despair.
"I can't even squeeze out a drop of spiritual energy..." Another person turned pale, blood trickling from the corners of their mouth.
"We're going to die... we'll really die..." Despair spread among the crowd.
The cultivators from the West Continent all chose to go on strike, but their refusal was meaningless. The High Elder's face twisted as he showed no mercy. "You won't get away with this!"
He formed a seal with his bony fingers, and a formation emerged in the cabin, a blood-red light screen enveloping the ten thousand cultivators like a net!
"Since you've chosen to be cowards, then let your lives contribute to the war!"
The next moment, the formation activated, and the cultivators screamed in agony.
Their already depleted meridians were forcibly stimulated, draining the last drop of their spiritual and even their life force!
Some bled from their seven orifices, others had their muscles torn apart. But the energy levels of the fortress's cannons began to rise.
Enough for the Star Fortress to fire once more!
"Now, fire the cannon!!!"
The High Elder shouted again.
...
"Here it comes again..."
"Do they really think I'll be afraid of such useless trash?"
Fang Yuan gazed at the swarm of shells approaching, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. These seemingly terrifying attacks were nothing but a futile spectacle to him—unable to harm him in the slightest.
When the previous round of bombardment hit him, he had already concealed himself within the "Eternal Frozen Abyss."
Just like White's divine ability, only attacks that surpassed space—such as the Lance of Longinus—could truly harm him.
Although these shells were infused with the spiritual energy of thousands of cultivators and enhanced by formations, they still couldn't break through space!
It was all just a waste of effort.
But this time, Fang Yuan wasn't planning to use the same trick again, as the vast Star Fortress had already entered his line of sight.
With the "Eye of Calamity," he could easily see through layers of obstruction, observing the situation inside the Star Fortress.
Inside the fortress, countless cultivators had their spiritual energy drained, their bodies withered, being used as fuel for the cannons.
"So many cultivators... what a pity, they've all been used as raw material for the cannonballs."
A cold glint flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes. "Human mines... truly tragic..."
"Enough. Let me change all of this!"
...
Inside the Star Fortress's control room, Juno and over a thousand formation masters were clearly exhausted. The continuous use of the "Star's Grip" was depleting their spiritual energy, and their minds were beginning to blur.
However, under their control, the second round of bombardment was still aimed precisely at the Summer Emperor.
But after the results of the first round, Juno had little hope of killing Fang Yuan. If the second round failed as well, she would grab the formation disk and flee immediately!
She hoped—maybe this time it would succeed!
Juno tightly shut her eyes, focusing on locking onto Fang Yuan's position with the "Star's Grip," when suddenly, she felt the familiar metallic sensation in her palm disappear.
Instead, a warm, fleshy touch replaced it.
At the same time, she sensed that she had lost connection with the artifact!
Juno's heart shook violently as she snapped her eyes open!
To her shock, her hand was no longer holding the formation disk, but instead, her hands were gently resting on a young man's chest.
And that young man... was none other than... the Summer Emperor, Fang Yuan!
"How does it feel?" Fang Yuan slightly lowered his head, his voice calm as though asking about something completely ordinary.
But Juno was too horrified to respond. Her blood almost froze as she screamed in terror.
Why was Fang Yuan here?!
The entire ship's cabin erupted into chaos!
What was going on? He had clearly been several kilometers away, how did he suddenly appear inside their Star Fortress?
The control room immediately went into full combat mode, with alarms blaring and energy shields activated!
"Then, let's deal with one first." Fang Yuan's voice was eerily calm, and Juno felt an invisible force bind her body, dragging her into Fang Yuan's own body!
"Save me..." Juno struggled desperately, but before the final word could escape her lips, her terrified face was completely swallowed up by Fang Yuan's body.
"You monster!" The High Elder of Iron Spine had never seen anything like this. In shock, he bellowed.
He raised his right hand and released a brilliant spiritual energy cannon, which illuminated the entire cabin like daylight!
However, as the light beam pierced through, the elder's face changed dramatically. Where Fang Yuan had been, now stood White, looking stunned!
"You fool!"
The cold mockery came from behind, and the High Elder felt a chill of death run up his spine. Before he could turn around, a sharp strike cut across his throat!
The bloodline from the Earth Sword's slash hadn't even faded when Fang Yuan's figure vanished like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, two corpses were severed in half, blood dripping from the tips of Fang Yuan's sword...
Fang Yuan flicked the Earth Sword and looked toward his final target.
Inside the sealed ship cabin, only the last enemy—the Pope—remained.