Chapter 582: Chapter 582

Five days slipped by and it was June 10.

At the Golem Sect's God's Tears Lake, the golden sunlight looked like majestic dragons dipping their heads from the clouds. The lake rippled, setting countless sparkles dancing. A cool breeze skimmed the surface yet paused before a wooden boat, as though checked by an invisible barrier.

The boat rocked, sending waves lapping to either side. A figure in a dark cloak sat cross-legged and motionless in the boat. Even breathing failed to stir his chest. He resembled a cold, rigid statue.

As time flowed, the sun climbed swiftly from the horizon. Naturally, the shadows of everything revolved and shifted. Yet the boat stayed exactly where it was.

A mountain-sized dark shadow blanketed the boat and much of the lake, blotting out the light. From afar, one would see that the silhouette was a vast clawed hand. Only, the hand was enlarged ten thousand-fold.

A chain of cracks drifted from the center of the lake. On the boat, the cloaked statue suddenly opened his eyes, lifted his head, and revealed his face. It was Odo.

He sprang to his feet, pivoted, and gazed toward a certain isle. The ring-shaped islet looked entirely ordinary. Yet now, billows of sooty steam spewed forth like a thousand tentacles, cocooning the isle. Beside the isle towered a bone weapon as thick as a pillar, thrusting toward the clouds. It was the Beast-God Weapon that Cassius had brought back five days earlier.

At the moment, the weapon looked utterly different. It had once been all savage crimson, with holes that vented terrifying black fumes. Its five claws could rearrange at will to form a battle-axe, talons, or fist. In full revival, it could even become the Beast-God's own living forearm.

But now, in Odo's eyes, the Beast-God Weapon was like a withered giant tree, its power drained to the point of breaking. Crimson had faded to a pallid white. Its black fumes had vanished as though it had been siphoned away. Of the five feral claws, only one remained—a lone pillar pointing skyward. The Ultimate Dark Form's life essence within the weapon had been exhausted.

Now, even that last claw began to crack inch by inch. Flakes peeled away from the white finger in great sheets. Large chunks splashed into the lake while smaller ones turned to powder finer than sand and blew away.

The Beast-God Weapon finally collapsed like a falling mountain. Huge bones crashed into the water, sending water spouts high. Waves that were meters high raced across the surface.

Odo's boat bobbed wildly as if upon a stormy sea. The Golem Sect disciples guarding the perimeter were drenched, and some were even swept off their feet. As Covert Martial Arts Practitioners, none would drown in mere spray. They only hurried to swap posts at a safer distance.

On the boat, Odo seemed glued to the prow, eyes fixed on the isle. After a long stare, he muttered, "Master's aura has vanished... I can no longer sense his presence!"

That same evening at God's Tears Lake, Odo stood on the bank and looked up. The sunset sank into a sea of clouds like a hot coal dropped into chaos. Light dimmed, turning the sky into a black curtain.

It's time. Blood Mist should take my watch. That thought had formed when his gaze abruptly froze. He stared into the night vault as though spotting something uncanny.

A southern star was brightening at a rate visible to the naked eye. Its glow was a pale red. Astrologers said such hue signified baleful aggression. It was an omen of ill. Yet to Odo, the eerie star shone with a ruby's allure. He could not look away, as he stood there, wholly entranced. He was content to be ensnared and captured.

"What a beautiful star..." A sigh sounded beside him. Odo jerked his head, breaking the spell. Turning, he saw the cloaked Blood Mist. Blood Mist, too, gazed skyward in fascination.

That night, the moon was dim and the stars sparse. The brightest light overhead was that ruby-red star. It even resembled a meteor flaming through the sky.

"This is..." Odo narrowed his eyes and looked again. His eyes widened as if seeing something new.

A vague outline formed of a raptor with wings spread, gliding down. The brightening star was the raptor's right eye!

A piercing shriek stabbed through Odo's ears into his brain. Terror clutched his heart as a blood-red figure swelled before his eyes. A domineering, terrifying Blood Vulture lunged at him like a demon with outstretched claws.

"Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist! It's Master's fist technique! It is also the supreme form of my Illusory Moon Fist and Blood Mist's Azure Wind Fist!"

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. The Blood Vulture vision vanished as if it had never been, yet chaos reigned. Many Golem Sect disciples on watch cried out. Some stumbled into the lake, others froze stupidly, and others screamed as though soul-struck. This content belongs to novｅlfire.net

Odo shifted his gaze back to the centre of God's Tears Lake. His eyes stayed there, reflecting crimson. "It seems everyone felt it too..."

The isle was no longer shrouded in volcanic smoke. Now, a vast Blood Vulture phantom stood with its wings spread. Its head was lifted in peerless pride. An utterly overbearing aura washed across all corners of the lake.

Fish and shrimp fled in droves toward the shallows. Some, mutated by the Golem's life magnetic field and the Beast-God Weapon, dragged their misshapen bodies in a frantic attempt to escape. They almost seemed monstrous under the hazy moonlight.

Even though he was shocked, Odo barked orders to the disciples. "Kill them!"

The aberrations were soon cut down. Blood rippled along the shore with a heavy stench. Minutes later, Odo and Blood Mist stood on the boat at a respectful distance, staring at the isle.

The enormous vicious Blood Vulture remained perched there, radiating extreme dominance. A distant glance made one wish to kneel in worship. A burly figure sat cross-legged in its right eye, shining with stellar crimson light.

The light pulsed like it was breathing. From afar, it seemed like the vulture's eye blinked with a peculiar rhythm. It seemed like it was resonating with a blood-red star in the sky!

Odo pressed a hand to his chest where his heart hammered. He spoke with an inexpressible thrill. "Blood Mist, this time Master truly is stepping into that unprecedented realm! I can feel the tide surging in my heart!"

"Yes, Odo!" Blood Mist's eyes glowed red hot, the vapor body beneath his cloak whirling madly.

"He really is going to become a Dominator Fist, the overlord of fist techniques! The day Master succeeds, our Golem Sect will sweep the world of all dark creatures, and the Gate Organization will be smashed to pulp beneath our iron fists!"

Each new day saw several red stars light upon the Blood Vulture phantom. The stars formed invisible nets, weaving a hidden resonance. Each night, the firmament bore more crimson stars. For every star on the phantom, one shone in the heavens, matching point for point as it formed a tattered Giant Falcon constellation. Over time, the Giant Falcon constellation grew ever more complete and vibrant.

At any moment, it could solidify into a dreadful creature descending from the starry sky to the earth. Nor was that all—the isle's leaking aura drew flocks of real vultures. Sensing a king, they flew from every corner to God's Tears Lake. They did not enter the lake but gathered in bordering woods to watch, looking like pilgrims before their deity.

Time continued to flow as the days slid toward the end of June. But beyond the Golem Sect, the entire surface world suffered upheavals.

Natural disasters surged, as typhoons, landslides, broken dams, even earthquakes and tsunamis came one after another. It felt like something was slowly sweeping across the whole planet, causing dormant troubles to suddenly surface.

Calamity Tunnels, already a grave issue for months, multiplied throughout June. They swarmed like a hornets' nest. Many cities suffered small-scale dark creature invasions. Had the Golem Sect's crusade over the last years not swollen the ranks and skill of Covert Martial Art devotees, countless civilians would have perished in the turmoil.

The Golem Sect, Black Rain Manor, and Dark Hunter Organization cooperated closely during the upheaval. Their forces stationed across counties supported one another, filling gaps. For a period of time, they functioned as one body, advancing and withdrawing together. Many other Covert Martial Art sects also mobilized and redeployed members.

Meanwhile, the Gate Organization's grand comeback campaign was shelved outright. Calamity-Soldier Alonzo had fallen and the Beast-God Weapon had been seized. Blood Demon Diaz was half-crippled, and only the other two resurrected deputy leaders remained.

Thus, for safety, the Gate Organization stayed largely hidden throughout June, just as furtive as before. Though, they still clashed fiercely with the Golem Sect's allied forces in several locales.

There were some victories and some defeats.The extreme combat artists seldom showed themselves, stationed instead at vital strongholds as guardians. At the same time, the altars kept running, hunting for weak points between worlds. The three Arcane Stone Tablets continuously resonated, ceaselessly trying to sense the calamity tide.

Golem Sect forces had assaulted one such altar base. Before seclusion, Cassius had entrusted his own Arcane Stone Tablet piece to the four elders. Using it, the sect had gradually pinpointed the altar base. That battle had involved Golem Sect forces, Covert Martial Art elites, a knight-level ace of Black Rain Manor, and the Chief Mechanist. Yet it never escalated to total war.

The Gate Organization's foundation was too deep, and that base bristled with lethal measures. Moreover, it was guarded by two resurrected extreme combat artists, equal in prowess with the Chief Mechanist. Without Golem Sect's Cassius present, they could not claim certain victory.

Since Cassius was secluded, the leaders surmised he was on the verge of that legendary breakthrough. Settling the Gate Organization afterward would be far safer once he reached the Holy Fist realm.

The Gate Organization harboured similar thoughts as well. They too waited for the calamity tide, for inter-world weak points to align, and for their leader Xiadu to awaken!

Thus the two great powers were locked in a standoff for all of June. They were like two volcanoes brimming with magma, ready but not yet erupting. But a single spark and the volcanos would burst.

Amid this steadily intensifying pressure, the Blood Vulture phantom on the isle swelled larger and denser. Each night, the Giant Falcon constellation above grew more complete.

On midnight of June 30, the final day of the month, the deafening roar of a raptor echoed through the isle.

A terrifying wave split the lake, rent the sky, and shattered the clouds as a colossal crimson bird plunged from the chaos and descended!