Chapter 1174: The All-Mother
The All-Mother turned toward the witch of dreams. "Will you allow me the next match?"
Unwilling though the witch of dreams might be, she still forced a smile. "I would be honored, All-Mother."
The All-Mother's three back spines squirmed forward like oars, tugging her heavy, unwieldy body behind. Her beak opened as she released a shrill, chaotic screech. She was draped in what felt like the source of darkness, from deep within the stellar abyss. A gust of cold and the stench of decay swept toward them.
Her large red eyes were the size of rugby balls, and the massive, milky-white blob that formed her body was supported by skeletal, angular legs with circular suction cups at their base. Her head made one nauseous, formed by layers of layers of some white gelatinous substance, covered in swollen, bulging eyes.
At the very center was a massive beak filled with sharp teeth, with the bulbous eyes facing Zhang Lie and Sun Mengmeng.
"Who might my opponent be?"
"Me,"
Sun Mengmeng announced, stepping forward and retrieving her garuda bow from her dimensional storage.
"To kill such a lovely young woman fills me both with pity and excitement." The All-Mother struck immediately, feelers extending from her body, so dense as to form a cloud of darkness around her.
"[Lunarflame Shot]!" Purple flames burned over Sun Mengmeng's fingers, manifesting into three arrows.
The energy in the three fiery arrows was so dense that they took on corporeal form. If not for the unusual heat they gave off, an ordinary bystander would never believe that they had been formed of flame.
Three arrows, brimming with purple flame, flew toward the All-Mother like tracking missiles.
The feelers exploded in three blooming flowers of flame. Even so, they clearly possessed remarkable regenerative abilities, as they restored themselves within moments.
"[Lunarflame Shot]!" Fire-attuned genetic energy burst from Sun Mengmeng's body as her body erupted in flames. She pulled her greatbow taut.
Sun Mengmeng's right hand blurred as countless arrows of purple flame shot out of her bow like a meteor shower that tinted the air purple and gave the halls of chaos a phantasmagorical appearance. The air turned dry and arid, as though a cataclysm was nigh.
The explosions bloomed like flowers amidst a rain of purple meteors, which continuously struck the feelers and prevented their forward advance.
Sun Mengmeng cast [Black Sun], forming a cordon of purplish-black flame around her.
She activated her most impactful soulshards for battle, transforming from a young woman to a fierce warrior with a chitinous carapace, wreathed in black flame.
Her flames were so intense that the armor-type soulshard actually began to crack and split. Black flames seeped out from the cracks, burning so intensely that she looked like a warrior out of hell. They simultaneously flared from her garuda bow and transformed into an undead phoenix.
"[Netherworld's Gaze]!" Hundreds of arrows, like beams of moonlight, shot toward the All-Mother. Their flames felt as though they could destroy everything they touched.
Sun Mengmeng shot out arrows so quickly that all one saw were the afterimages they left behind.
The arrows continuously put pressure on the All-Mother.
"[The Nine Moons of the Underworld]!" Nine flaming moons appeared in the hall, overshadowing the illumination within.
Black flames exploded at the point of impact, clearing away the remaining feelers.
Before her eyes appeared a monster of gigantic proportions, a cloud of roiling, decaying mist. At times, that mist would aggregate to form vile organs and limbs, sticky black tentacles, a mouth drooling with saliva, or distorted legs with cloven hooves like those of a goat.
The mysterious, malformed lifeforms bowed down to the All-Mother. The members of Team Zenith watched on with shudders down their backs.
Zhang Lie frowned. "What's this?"
The witch of dreams explained, "These are the avatars of the All-Mother—her children, if you will."
The All-Mother clambered forward as Sun Mengmeng nocked an arrow. Her entire bow began to blaze. She launched her arrows straight toward the ceiling, where they exploded to form black moons.
"[Lunar Apostasy]!" The black moons covered up the ceiling as blazing moonlight began to fall.
The moonlight was composed of countless such flames. Like a waterfall, the flames splashed onto the All-Mother and the monsters she created.
The witch of dreams murmured, "Your companion stands no chance."
Zhang Lie turned to her. "Thank you."
The witch of dreams cried out again, "I'm not joking! Many among the halls of chaos joined its ranks because of their awe at our leader's strength; or, even if they don't, they fear it. The All-Mother is different from the rest of us."
Zhang Lie asked, "Does she not care about the king of chaos' power?"
The witch of dreams replied, "She joined the halls of chaos in order to bear his progeny."
Li Feng understood immediately. "You mean that the All-Mother just wants the king of chaos' child?"
Sun Xiaowu guessed, "So that's why they entered the banquet together, rather than beforehand like all you guests. She really might as well be your leader's wife!"
The witch of dreams scowled. "What do you mean, wife? I won't acknowledge such a shameless fellow. She's just a little strong, that's all."
Zhang Lie made an 'ahh' of realization. "You have to admit her status as wife because of her strength, don't you?"
The witch of dreams snorted. "She's shameless and sticks to our leader like a limpet. Even he can't do anything about her."
Nightdemon shrugged. "My main body doesn't mind."
"So, did they end up having children?" Zhang Lie asked curiously.
None present believed that the monsters with cloven hooves were the progeny of the All-Mother and the king of chaos. After all, the cloven monsters only bore the aura of the All-Mother, without any chaotic energy whatsoever.
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