Chapter 129: Art Is An Explosion!
A small sun composed of Holy Light slowly ignited, rose, expanded, exploded, and finally spread within Cicada City…
Transforming into the terrifying First Holy Light Impact, it destructively shattered the surrounding buildings in a hemispherical shockwave pattern, expanding in all directions. At the same time, it brought blessings from Holy Light (Cough) to the Bubble World, ushering in the prelude to the gospel of a new era.
Holy Cough Blast came too fast. Even though the Heavenly Rank Cultivator had reacted and began redirecting the celestial phenomena power around his body to construct a domain in an attempt to stop and contain it, it was still a drop in the bucket, half a beat too slow.
In the end, it only intercepted less than 1/5 of the sectoral impact from the hemispherical Holy Light Impact Wave. For the remaining 4/5 sectoral directions, he was powerless despite his intentions and could only watch helplessly as this Holy Light Impact exploded, destroying building after building and releasing light and heat.
The vast underground city was, at this moment, illuminated and enveloped by milky white light. Numerous residents felt intense burning pain in their eyes, followed by temporary loss of vision. Some weaker ones even had their retinas directly burned, struggling to cover their bleeding eyes and emitting pained screams.
The massive Holy Light explosion produced multiple effects. The first and foremost was the real Holy Light Attribute pollution damage.
The super exclusivity and purification destruction attributes of Holy Light could already be understood as a Holy Light Version dirty bomb. Exploding at this moment in Cicada City was like a miniature tactical nuclear bomb.
The explosion released shockwaves, high heat, super rays, Holy Light Pollution… inflicting physical-level destruction and damage on the underground city.
Especially the never-before-encountered Holy Light Pollution, due to its unfamiliarity and lack of understanding, exceeding the scope of cognition, leaving no way to cope or counter it, forcing them to take it head-on. Moreover, because the Holy Light System was so dominant that it could match the Kunlun Immortal Path, its quality was extremely high, making it very hard to withstand.
This caught the Heavenly Rank Cultivator off guard. The “Prevent Spread True Qi Barrier” he hastily set up failed to effectively intercept the Holy Cough outbreak and instead burned through his Insect Nest Barrier.
Secondly, the underground world had long been dim and lightless year-round, relying entirely on scant luminous fungi and insects for lighting. The natives had adapted to the “dim light, darkness” environment, evolving Dark Vision, but now faced with the sudden intense light stimulation, they suffered an instant blinding, eye-searing painful impact.
Not only that, the true energy source of the underground world all stemmed from the development and utilization of the remnant Root Network of the Immortal Realm Tree.
Therefore, imported polluting energy like Holy Light held an extreme advantage in the underground world, comprehensively suppressing native pollution. The “Holy Cough” pollution spreading from the explosion not only destroyed and purified all heretical forces along the way but also stimulated the native pollution into uncontrolled rampage.
It was well known that one of the foundational pillars of Insect City was the super-large city defense Magic Array constructed from Immortal Realm Tree Root Tendrils. Using the Magic Array knowledge system of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, it constrained and tamed the Polluting Energy in the root tendrils, forcibly incorporating it for their own use.
But the violent impact of the Holy Light Explosion burned a hole in this vast energy network. This point of destruction truly shook the foundation of Cicada City, faintly undermining Insect City’s roots.
Its severity was akin to punching a hole in a load-bearing pillar at the base of a skyscraper. It wouldn’t immediately cause the building to collapse, but it had already shaken the foundation.
Similar destruction repeated dozens of times would inevitably leave irreparable trauma, turning the building into a dangerous structure.
If burning a “hole” in the Magic Array network was long-term damage, then using Holy Light to incite the tamed Polluting Energy into a riot was immediate major destruction.
In other words, Cicada City had built a “natural gas pipeline network,” subduing the dangerous natural gas (Polluting Energy) so that every household (Cicada City Residents) could enter the gas punk era: lighting, boiling water, heating, and so on…
Now, the brazen bandit Yuan Zhu, after robbing the Pill Repository, not only didn’t flee but escalated by blowing up a gas station in the urban area, using Holy Light to ignite the leaking natural gas, triggering a larger-scale chain reaction…
This chain of operations put the Heavenly Rank Cultivator in a dilemma.
Now, two paths lay before him:
1 Continue to forcibly kill or arrest the Nightmare Demonic Creature (Yuan Zhu), recover the stolen pills, and punish him.
2 Quickly repair the vulnerability in the Root Tendril Magic Array, prevent further spread of Holy Light Pollution, and curb its hidden harms.
Before the opponent could decide, Yuan Zhu acted first, helping him choose, which was:
3 Abandon the above two options and be forced to face a new challenge!
With a wave of Yuan Zhu’s hand, the approximately 20 Shadow Magic Worms around him all activated their internal Holy Cough Self-Destruction Program and, under his control, quickly moved in different directions of the underground city, scattering like heavenly maidens dispersing flowers, parting forever in all directions.
Little Spicy Stick also bounced out, looping tragic BGM in his mind and personally singing: “Goodbye, daddy, tonight I’m setting sail far away. Don’t worry about me, I’ll self-destruct and my soul return to Cockroach Village~!”
Shock! Shock! Shock!
The Heavenly Rank Cultivator’s pupils, hidden under the “False Face Helmet (Insect Helmet),” contracted violently!
…
That previous Holy Cough Blast was the ultimate sure-kill technique Yuan Zhu had racked his brains to devise while secluded cultivation (sound asleep) in the Shadow Dream Hole these past few days.
It was also the strongest one-time Unique Skill he had independently developed after attempting to break away from the Boss Template. Its power even surpassed the Tiger Demon’s ordinary Supernatural Abilities.
Its basic principle was the “White Mouse Holy Light Ignition” experiment.
He had repeatedly used “polluted Mouse, Frog” in Du Ling for Holy Light ignition, forming a foundational cognition of biological Holy Light Bomb, pollution fuel Battery.
As long as the “fuel (biological bomb)”‘s vitality, physical body strength, pollution concentration, soul quality… were continuously enhanced from different dimensions, the Holy Light combustion effect could be further amplified and magnified.
So, if all Holy Light could be ignited and released in an instant (detonated), wouldn’t that be the “Supreme Holy Light Mega Bomb”? And this was the basic principle of Explosion!
This principle was known to all, but the difficulty lay in the fact that the stronger the “polluted monster,” the higher its resistance and rejection to Holy Light. You could use even stronger Holy Light to grind it down and purify it to death, but it was very hard to make it willingly and instantly fully combust, turning it into a bomb.
The difficulty behind this was enormous.
The best outcome was no more than capturing, sealing, and confining a “super demonic creature,” forcibly using it as fuel for sustained and stable ignition, slowly producing Holy Light like an oil lamp.
Finally burning until the oil was exhausted and the lamp extinguished, thoroughly squeezing out its remaining value. In a sense, orthodox Holy Light Cultivators were even more cruel and evil (lighting heavenly lanterns), insanely tormenting without allowing quick death.
The ideal “instant detonation” required the demonic creature to fully submit body and soul, mixing Holy Light into every inch of its flesh, perfectly blending with its vitality, to fully combust in an instant and release terrifying Holy Light.
If Holy Light could be more deeply and evenly distributed in the spirit, will, and soul, the power of the Holy Light Explosion could rise even further. But one could imagine the difficulty.
However, all this was a piece of cake for the Tiger Demon. It voluntarily offered its fully submissive Ghost Companion Magic Worm, pre-injected with Holy Cough, tempering every inch of flesh, penetrating the soul, evenly mixing and actively going dormant on standby, awaiting the moment of ultimate sublimation, which would be a Holy Light Version small nuclear explosion!
The effect was far better than Yuan Zhu and the Heavenly Rank Cultivator had imagined.
…
These Shadow Magic Worms were first made from Human Rank peak death row prisoners, polluted and tempered into Earth Rank Demonic Giant Insects, further sublimated in the Shadow Dream Hole into 4th Realm Shadow Magic Worms, and then followed the Tiger Demon to ransack the Pill Room, gorging themselves to elevate another level.
Up to this point, the magic worms were already terrifying “Holy Light Bombs.”
And when they released all their “Holy Cough” at once, it was like activating Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law or all Eight Gates of Escape open, erupting in an ultimate strike far exceeding their own limits.
Yuan Zhu conservatively estimated that this explosion had already reached the level of a full-force strike from a Heavenly Rank Cultivator.
A Shadow Magic Worm’s once-in-a-lifetime ultimate sublimation had such terrifying effects, leaving not a trace of Extraordinary Shadow Pollution or Mutated Tissue, and even the “indomitable proud bones” mixed with precious Bug Gold were turned into magic resistance fragments, scattering everywhere, killing and injuring many Earth Rank guards.
The sharp-eyed Yuan Zhu even saw several jagged-edged shell fragments embedded in the Heavenly Realm powerhouse’s armor. Though it failed to breach the defense, it left scratches on the opponent’s armor.
This explosion’s even more terrifying aspect was the Holy Light Pollution Residue, floating in the air and rapidly spreading in Cicada City.
Using his temporary control over Holy Cough, Yuan Zhu estimated that this wave of Holy Cough Particles could persist in the air for 10 minutes before automatically burning out, destroying, and evaporating.
During that time, once attached to natives’ lungs, it would evolve into a one-time Holy Cough Sickness (basic effect of Holy Cough Skill).
Fortunately, this disease had poor infectiousness and duration, only causing brief discomfort and unease. Due to excessive dilution, it caused no organic damage, just a period of discomfort lasting two hours before recovery.
But! But!
Yuan Zhu’s Holy Cough possessed some of his unique Holy Light Attribute: if you actively recharge and renew, my Holy Cough Particles would give you free extensions and refills.
Translated, as long as the infected actively recharges vitality or even lifespan, they could subjectively maintain Holy Cough for a long time. Burning themselves to gain a weak “low-fever excitement state”…
This self-damaging behavior was entirely from the victim’s subjective will and could be stopped anytime, so the subsequent Holy Cough was no longer a Holy Light Sickness but something the patient chose themselves. Just like the two siblings accepting Holy Cough and evolving it into Holy Cough Breathing Technique.
Once the “burn life” nature shifted, the originally disease-like Holy Cough instantly switched sides to become Holy Cough Blessing (a blessing in the eyes of Holy Light). It represented him starting to accumulate merit and virtue, spreading the Path of Holy Light, with users spontaneously renewing to maintain Holy Light. His Holy Light faction attribute would spontaneously shift positive, becoming an upright person!
Everyone using their lives to maintain Holy Cough would naturally gain corresponding benefits, able to counter Miasma Pollution in the air, improve Breathing Method efficiency… installing a “breathing purification filter” in the lungs, thereby saving True Qi used to purge internal pollution.
Thus, first the Holy Cough Blast triggered a Miasma Riot, briefly disrupting Cicada City’s Magic Array; then the Holy Cough Pollution from Holy Light Particles caused widespread respiratory distress and upper airway burning in nearby civilians.
Next, smart individuals would keenly discover: Huh? This stuff (Holy Cough Particles) seems able to suppress the Miasma Riot from the Holy Light Blast?
Holy Cough actually counters Polluting Energy?!
This addition and subtraction equaled easily weathering the Miasma Crisis. Was there a better way to sales pitch one’s own product (self-produced and self-sold)? Forcing users to renew Holy Cough on the spot. Having experienced the convenience of Holy Cough, they would naturally choose to renew.
Even Yuan Zhu hadn’t expected that the Shadow Magic Worms’ Holy Cough Self-Destruction would instead become a means to illegally promote and spread Holy Cough Particles within Cicada City. Forcing you to get infected with Holy Cough to breathe Deadly Poison Miasma, and freely clearing lung pollution to help you pass the Miasma crisis… from then on living the super cultivation mode with Holy Cough attached, unable to extricate yourself, becoming potential users (believers) of Holy Light.
Those further out, unlucky enough not to get Holy Cough Pollution, instead had to endure more Miasma, polluting their True Qi purity, forced to use Qi Threads to clean internal pollution.
Though Yuan Zhu couldn’t comprehend all these changes in the short term, he saw the supreme power of the “magic worm self-explosion,” which was shocking! He then fell into ecstatic joy. Thus, he decisively let the remaining magic worms leave daddy (himself) and set sail far away… forcing the Heavenly Rank Cultivator before him to choose.
The Heavenly Rank Cultivator taking over Cicada City Magic Array naturally perceived the series of chain accidents triggered in that brief instant. Thus, he decisively launched clearing measures against the magic worms fleeing in different directions.
Though the threat of the Nightmare Demonic Creature (Yuan Zhu) was fearsome, it was no longer the priority. The urgent matter was to block the opponent’s follow-up “self-explosion attacks” and reduce property losses to Cicada City, avoiding further deterioration.
Thus, he used Martial Dao Domain to seize the five nearest magic worms, forcibly confining them in the air like being solidified in air amber, unable to move. He then raised his hand and slashed a True Qi longsword at the farthest magic worm, chopping it down from afar, thinking it would prevent self-explosion… but
Boom!!!
A massive roar. This slash was like a fuse, igniting yet another small Holy Light sun in Cicada City’s airspace, recreating the previous scene.
Next to the originally unhealed “Root Tendril Magic Array hole,” another new burned-through hole appeared, with Miasma Pollution rampaging again. Cicada City’s citizens were blessed—those civilians who hadn’t gotten the “Holy Cough Particle Blessing” finally got to freely experience the taste of “freely breathing Polluting Energy.” One word: pain mixed with refreshment!
At the same time, two more Heavenly Ranks sped in…
Yuan Zhu looked up, pondered briefly, and…
“No!”
“Stop!”
Two phrases in the native language he could understand reached his ears in succession, but it was too late. The five Shadow Magic Worms confined by the Martial Dao Domain simultaneously launched a “fivefold Holy Cough grand chorus.”
Let Cicada City feel the grace of Holy Light!
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Five Shadow Magic Worms self-destructed simultaneously, stacking exponential effects—what a spectacular sight?! This was no longer 1+1+…=5, but =25!
Five “Cough Blast Holy Insects,” along with the previous two burned-through holes, briefly tore open the City Protection Array in the underground city, creating a short-term unhealable wound, with faint Nightmare Aura leaking out.
The two Heavenly Ranks arriving like lightning struck with farsighted inspiration, teaming up to target Yuan Zhu with a combo technique for a remote Ambush, attempting to heavily injure and repel him.
Meanwhile, their moving targets, instead of encircling and attacking Yuan Zhu, joined the first-arriving Heavenly Rank to jointly suppress the underground city’s “pollution riot,” not even having time to stop the frantically spreading Holy Cough Particles in the air.
In this wave, the “self-exploding holy bandit” Yuan Zhu achieved total victory. This time, all city civilians could claim the “Holy Cough Particle” super gift package for free.
