Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast
Chapter 862: Arrival on the Battlefield, Eighteen Planes (II)

Chapter 862: Arrival on the Battlefield, Eighteen Planes (II)

Faced with the threat of annihilation, the Heavenly Feathered warriors didn’t delay. Enormous orbital battleships surged forward into the rift, flying through the golden light screen.

As they passed through the heavenly gate, tens of thousands of meters tall, a titanic golden divine tree came into view, leaving even Chen Chu momentarily stunned. It soared in the void, hundreds of thousands of kilometers tall, its branches stretching out to cover vast swathes of space—comparable in size to Jupiter—and casting brilliant light halos.

The fleet currently hovered at the edge of these halos, where the golden light condensed into a massive luminous sphere. Within it, layers upon layers of illusory terrain, including mountains, rivers, and valleys, could be seen suspended in space. Yet now, a portion of this sphere had turned dark red, radiating a foul, sinister aura of darkness and evil.

At the edge of the deck, Luo Fei gazed at the sight in awe. "So this is the realm of the Eternal Divine Tree..."

According to the Heavenly Feathered Race’s detailed records, their core resided within the unimaginably massive Eternal Divine Tree, which had reached the realm of principles.

Tens of thousands of years ago, when the world of the Feathered Race was being devoured by the mythical world, this tree apparently emerged from a rift in the heavens and took root in their domain. Through the power of the Eternal Divine Tree, the Feathered Race had managed to resist the mythical world’s engulfment, resulting in their world becoming partially fused with the mythical world.

With the support of the Heavenly Feathered world, the tree had grown from mere kilometers in height to hundreds of thousands, becoming the equivalent of a supreme-level lifeform.

Using the Eternal Divine Tree as the center, the Heavenly Feathered world had evolved into an eighteen-layer planar world, stacked upon one another. The total area was at least a hundred times larger than it appeared from outside.

In addition, within the mythical world beyond, the Heavenly Feathered Race had once ruled a territory spanning nearly ten million kilometers, with a population of several hundred million and more than twenty vassal races. In the past, only the Heavenly Feathered Race could enter the realm of the Eternal Divine Tree.

However, with the eruption of war against the Purgatory Empire, and centuries of conflict, all of the outer territories had been overrun. Most of their people had perished, leaving only around twenty million, along with a few tens of millions from their vassal races.

Worse still, over the course of the decades-long extinction war, most of their mythical-level experts had fallen, and eight... No, nine of the tree’s eighteen layers had been seized. The corruption had nearly reached the trunk of the Eternal Divine Tree.

If the Purgatory Empire ever managed to infiltrate and corrupt it, then the Heavenly Feathered Race would be finished. Their destruction would become inevitable, just a matter of time.

That was exactly why the Feathered Race fought to the death, refusing to retreat. Since the ancestral land of the Eternal Realm still existed, the Heavenly Feathered Race had a higher probability of producing supreme-level divine kings. Their strongest, the Divine King of Light, even held the hope of breaking through to the ancient true spirit level and becoming an emperor.

However, if they were to lose their ancestral land, then unless one’s talent defied the heavens to the point of shattering the very principles of the mythical world, the Divine King of Light would forever be barred from stepping into the emperor level.

A race without a true-spirit-level powerhouse was considered a minor one within the mythical world. If they encountered an enemy with a similar level of strength as the Purgatory Clan, they could be wiped out at any time.

As the fleet neared the golden sphere of light, the invisible energy waves it emitted grew even more vast and overwhelming, giving Chen Chu and the others the illusion of drawing close to a stellar core.

Chen Chu keenly sensed that every thousand kilometers, they passed through a layer of golden light—an immensely powerful restrictive barrier, like layers of shells protecting the Eternal Realm.

Fortunately, with Bordea’s golden warship leading the way, the fleet passed through ten of these sky barriers without obstruction, eventually arriving at the edge of a branch stretching ten thousand kilometers.

This immense branch lay across the void like a continental slab. Each golden leaf spanned several kilometers and was covered with mysterious markings, and atop the branch sat a grand and ornate palace complex.

Many figures rushed about in haste, each exuding the aura of the Fifth Heavenly Realm. On both sides of the branch, projections of transparent worlds twisted and warped, and occasionally, Heavenly Feathered warriors appeared with damaged or incomplete bodies.

"Hurry, carry this Lord to the healing pool!"

"This Lord's divine heart is injured! Bring them to the Temple of Radiance immediately!"

As alien beings with two pairs of transparent dragonfly-like wings darted about, the fourteen-ship fleet, including the golden warship, drew near the trunk of the divine tree. A vast will, mighty as the ocean, descended, radiating supreme-level pressure that swept across the fleet.

An ancient, weary voice echoed through the void. —Bordea, you’ve finally returned.

A solemn expression crossed Bordea’s face aboard the golden warship. "Divine King Shariel, how is your condition?"

—I’ll live... for now. But I must remain within the Eternal Heart to recover. I can’t manifest physically. My human allies, I thank you for coming to our aid. Unfortunately, the situation is too dire for us to hold a grand welcoming banquet.

At Bordea’s side, Heavenly King Zhenwu offered a faint smile. "Your Majesty is too courteous. The Purgatory Clan is a shared enemy of both our peoples. Helping you is helping ourselves. Once we’ve repelled the Purgatory Empire, we can celebrate properly."

—Hahaha... very well! Once the Purgatory Empire is driven back, I shall host a grand feast for all of you in celebration... However, as he laughed, the divine king’s will suddenly paused.

It only took a few breaths for the three powerful wills to converse. The enormous branch began to quake violently, and brilliant golden light burst forth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Space twisted, forming three massive golden vortexes. The divine king’s will reverberated again:

—These passages, from left to right, lead to the Tenth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Planes. The battles in those sectors are the most critical. Our forces are beginning to falter under the Purgatory Empire’s assault. We must entrust them to all of you.

Once Zhenwu gave the order, the thirteen battleships split into formation. Apart from Orbital Battleship 5, which remained in the void, the other twelve ships split into three sub-fleets. Each was led by a heavenly-king-level combatant, supported by two king-level powerhouses and over ten thousand elite transcendent warriors, with a million unmanned mech units assigned to each.

Chen Chu’s fleet consisted of Orbital Battleships 1 to 4, with him as the leader. Supporting him were Chen Wang and Luo Fei. Also aboard Orbital Battleship 1 were An Fuqing, Gabriella, and Li Daoyi.

Originally, Li Daoyi had been assigned to Battleship 3, but after the meeting three days ago, he requested a transfer. After all, Chen Chu’s combat power was second only to Heavenly King Zhenwu; since they were brothers, it was naturally safer to follow him into battle.

"Let’s go." Chen Chu stood at the edge of Battleship 1’s deck, his hands clasped behind his back and his expression calm. Behind him were Luo Fei, standing atop Mech No.1’s shoulder, and Chen Wang.

Boom!

At Chen Chu’s command, the kilometer-long battleship vibrated as it launched forward. Led by a thousand Heavenly Feathered warriors with white flame-like wings, they soared toward the first golden vortex on the right and vanished into it.

At the same time, the other two fleets also plunged into their respective vortexes. Heavenly Kings Xuanwu and Jiuyou had already gone to those planes in advance.

On Battleship 5, Heavenly King Zhenwu hovered silently, palm resting on a black stele. His gaze, emotionless and piercing, bore through the twisted plane barriers ahead, watching the war beyond unfold.

***

Within the thirteenth layer of the Eternal Realm, boundless white clouds stretched endlessly across the heavens, while islands ranging in size from several to hundreds of kilometers floated serenely in the air.

On these islands rose mountain peaks and sprawling forests, home to countless birds and beasts. Streams meandered through the woods, and waterfalls cascaded from the island edges in brilliant arcs.

However, this once-vibrant world had now plunged into the chaos of war. In the skies, warriors with silver flame-like wings, each dozens to hundreds of meters tall, let out furious roars. The massive weapons in their hands blazed with silver flames as they swung them in wild fury.

Beneath the floating islands, black clouds churned violently as countless demons and demonized aliens surged upward. Their numbers were more than ten times those of the Heavenly Feathered warriors, and corpses torn apart in midair rained down every moment.

Atop floating islands more than a hundred kilometers wide stood towering castles of white stone, thousands of meters high and sharp in form. The ornate reliefs carved across their surfaces glowed with golden light, releasing luminous shields that shrouded the islands entirely.

From the spires of these sharp buildings, golden beams, each hundreds of meters thick, blasted outward from time to time. They pierced through hundreds of kilometers of sky, reducing every demon they touched to ash.

Surrounding the islands were colossal beasts, each one to two hundred meters long. They were covered in golden scales with four wings sprouting from their backs, and roared like flying dragons. These level 9 beasts guarded the floating islands, tearing many of the invading demons apart midair.

Higher in the skies, thousands of Divine Phoenix Lineage warriors with golden wings formed battle formations. Dozens of divine runes orbited each of them, forming vast red arrays spanning ten kilometers each. Every activation of these arrays unleashed widespread devastation across dozens of kilometers. A rain of meteoric fire descended from the heavens, setting the black clouds below aflame and reducing countless demonized aliens to dust.

With silver-winged warriors engaging in melee, Divine Phoenix Lineage warriors assaulting from range, and elite squads of ten to a hundred Heavenly Feathered Lineage fighters maneuvering with white wings fanned behind them, the battlefield was carved apart into multiple fronts.

These elite squads targeted powerful demons, slashing out with battle swords ablaze with white flames, and sending sword lights hundreds of meters long tearing through the battlefield.

These white-flame sword lights had powerful restraining effects against demonic qi, tearing through the domains and protective shields of the demons they struck. Worse still, the wounds from these sword lights ignited with white flames that continued to burn, only extinguishing once the demon was reduced to ash amid agonized screams.

More than 1.2 million elite Heavenly Feathered troops, relying on their floating fortresses, clashed with tens of millions of true demons and demonized aliens. The battlefield spanned tens of thousands of kilometers.

The entire plane was nearly split in two. Above, the sky was painted in radiant golden light, filled with winged figures radiating divine might like celestial beings; below, black clouds seethed and surged as demonized forms erupted upward in horrifying swarms.

However, the fiercest fighting lay in the mythical-level clashes. Twelve mythical-level deities, bearing two pairs of white, golden, or silver wings, were engaged in combat with seventeen demon kings, spreading across twelve battle zones.

Given their speed and the magnitude of their attacks, these powerhouses’ movements caused floating islands to explode beneath golden and black light, and the sky to ripple with spatial quakes.

Each time a thousand-meter-long sword light or a black spear’s shadow detonated, hundreds or even thousands of Heavenly Feathered warriors and demons were turned to ash.

Unlike the human frontlines, where effort was made to avoid harming one’s own troops, these demon kings and Heavenly Feathered deities showed no concern for whether their subordinates got caught in the crossfire.

In fact, it was exactly what the demon kings wanted. With their overwhelming numbers, it took only one demon king to pin down a Heavenly Feathered deity, freeing the others to unleash devastation on the surrounding forces.

With the power of their law-infused demonic might, every strike wiped out several kilometers in an instant. The Divine Phoenix battle formations, which relied on divine runes for large-scale attacks, were particularly vulnerable. Many had already been obliterated by demon kings.

The Heavenly Feathered deities’ eyes burned red with fury at the sight. "We’re outnumbered. Everyone, fall back to the fortresses! Use the divine leaf shields to resist the demon kings’ attacks!"

Just as a late-stage mythical Heavenly Feathered powerhouse issued the command, two demon kings manifested their true forms, each hundreds of meters tall, and struck him with a joint blow. He coughed up golden blood as he flew into a floating island several dozen kilometers wide.

Boom!

The island exploded into fragments, detonating on impact, and an even fiercer clash erupted across the sky.