Chapter 83: The Church of the Sacred Fireball

"God said, let there be light!"

Bacarel gently stirred his wings, extended his hand, and pointed with reverent words. The white-robed figure behind him mirrored the gesture.

A resonant hum filled the air.

Space quaked as a milky-white pillar of light descended from the heavens, enveloping the golden formation formed by eight ancient ships. The pillar, though seemingly lacking in destructive force, radiated an aura of profound sanctity. Yet the golden formation beneath it dissolved layer by layer, as snow melts under the sun.

The ancient ships shuddered ceaselessly; the outer array fractured. Zhou Tian furrowed his brow. He himself was indifferent, but the Celestial Spirits beside him, and Zhou Zui, all had but one life—if lost, there would be no return.

Inside the Mechanical War Buddha, the master of the black-gold armor wore a grim expression. His body was wracked with constant tearing pain; his mind clouded, the result of overtaxed soul power. The Mechanical War Buddha was but a prototype, its supporting intelligence unable to bear the full computational load, relying instead on his own soul, which suffered greatly.

He observed the urgency around the ancient ships. These were the seed-level contenders from all great factions—future emperors at the very least, most destined for even greater heights. To lose them here would be a tremendous blow.

Meanwhile, the mighty Dao Lord watched like a tiger eyeing its prey, yet had not spent much effort dealing with him. After all, he was not truly at the Dao Lord realm, merely borrowing the War Buddha’s power. The opponent needed only to block his attacks, dissolve his offense, and wait for him to exhaust himself.

Thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind. The master of the black-gold armor gritted his teeth. The energy furnace rumbled; a fist-sized golden crystal powered the entire War Buddha.

With a grinding clatter, nine colossal mechanical spheres—each like a star—broke down into countless components, surging towards the Dao Lord’s avatar.

The Dao Lord’s towering form surged with power. His crimson wings burst into flame; the bronze divine spear swept through the air, smashing aside the incoming parts. Yet more mechanical pieces pressed forward, assembling into a cage around him, trapping him tightly.

Chains of divine order pierced his flaming wings, locking him in place. Thunder crackled along the links, golden runes shimmered, and complex sigils flashed across the cage, sealing it with formidable power.

He did not hesitate. Though it appeared the opponent was sealed, he knew it was only temporary.

The Mechanical War Buddha trembled, blue light gleaming from its seams. Metal parts detached, flying toward the eight ancient ships.

"Do you think I don't exist?"

The Dao Lord snorted coldly, blood surging. His crimson wings spread a thousand feet, fire dragons roared, chains shattered, and the metallic cage quaked and threatened to collapse.

The black-gold armor reappeared in the void, its obsidian shell marred with cracks, scarlet blood dripping from them.

Golden exhaust flames erupted from its back, propelling the War Buddha toward the Dao Lord. At the same time, the energy furnace in its abdomen pushed to overload, its radiance intensifying.

"Solar Furnace!"

The resolute voice emerged from behind the visor. The core in its abdomen blazed like a miniature sun, unleashing a torrent of energy—a desperate gambit. Under manual control, the War Buddha’s core overloaded, releasing all its power in a single instant, producing unimaginable force. Due to the machine’s design, this meant the pilot could not escape the consequences.

Zhou Tian’s gaze sharpened. He saw the pilot’s self-destruction was meant to buy time. His abilities were few, and he had already used "Holy Word." Only "Flame Burst" remained, an attack skill, but easily avoided. He doubted these Heavenly Kings and Dao Lords could fail to dodge such swift fireballs.

Yet now, the Dao Lord appeared sealed, presenting an opportune moment. Zhou Tian did not hesitate. With a thought, seven enormous crimson fireballs, each hundreds of feet across, materialized in the void, radiating intense heat with hints of gold in their flames.

"Damn, so these fireballs change in size and effect depending on the target’s strength!"

Zhou Tian marveled at the seven fireballs, each rivaling the sun. Last time, targeting a wooden table, the fireballs were fist-sized. Now, with a Dao Lord as the target, their special effects had become astonishing.

All present stared, dumbfounded, at the sudden appearance of the seven fireballs. No one saw how they had manifested—there was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, only an abrupt arrival, yet the terrifying power within was palpable.

Swift as arrows, the seven fireballs moved in unison, their target the Dao Lord, still trapped in the cage. Not only had their effects grown stronger, their speed had also increased greatly.

Bacarel and his companions paled. Holy Sword, Thunder Hammer, and the Waters of the Yellow Springs were summoned, and a boundless shadow descended.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Four fireballs exploded, dispersing into a rain of flames, but three continued forward. Three robed cultivators reacted, forcibly unleashing divine arts to block Bacarel’s group from destroying the remaining fireballs.

The Dao Lord’s eyes were icy, his white hair piercing the void. He wielded his divine spear, shattering the cage’s latticework, nearly breaking free, but ultimately he held fast.

Crash!

The black-gold armor rammed into the cage. Though blocked by the Dao Lord’s flaming wings, the massive energy eruption engulfed him.

At the same time, the three remaining "Flame Burst" fireballs struck the Dao Lord’s body and detonated.

The entire void was obliterated; the starry sky collapsed, constellations tumbled—a Heavenly King-level War Buddha’s final trump card. Unlike human cultivators, these machines concealed vast reserves within their energy cores, capable of instantaneous eruption. Even a Dao Lord could not take such an assault lightly.

According to "Flame Burst," it inflicted 5% of the target’s current life force. Zhou Tian could not fathom how this 5% was calculated—this world had no numeric life bars—but the system’s claim was trustworthy.

When the dust settled, the Dao Lord’s crimson wings bore a gaping hole—being energy constructs, they slowly mended. His purple armor was shattered, cracks marred his avatar, golden blood dripped from his lips, and the beast head embossed on his chestplate was broken. His gaze blazed with fury. The self-destruction of the War Buddha was formidable, causing him significant trouble, but the strange fireballs that followed possessed an inexplicable law-force, bypassing his defensive arts and directly eroding his body.

(To all the esteemed readers, I am a sincere person—if you vote for me, I will be immensely grateful! And IG, let’s go!)