Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast

The encounter with Qingqiu Mingyue and Li Meng's mothers was only a minor episode, though it did catch Chen Chu slightly off guard. As he stepped into the courtyard, he casually asked, "Mom, didn't Little Hu go to Tiannan to compete in the national tournament? You didn't go to cheer him on?"

"No time." Zhang Xiaolan shook her head. "The company's been swamped lately. The production lines are running 24/7 in three rotating shifts, and I've had to help oversee the workshops myself."

The metal refining company she worked at was a semi-state-owned enterprise, mainly responsible for refining special types of steel used in crafting the shells of inscription missiles. After two all-out wars and with another War of Civilizations on the verge of breaking out, every department on the Blue Planet was ramping up production at a frantic pace.

In such circumstances, as the company's deputy general manager, Zhang Xiaolan couldn't in good conscience ask for time off. Now that Chen Chu's status was growing ever more prominent, she felt an even stronger need to maintain her image. At the very least, she couldn't embarrass him. So she continued to go to work every day as usual. Her nine-to-four schedule had only been granted because the chairman of the company had repeatedly urged her to leave work early.

As Chen Chu followed Zhang Xiaolan toward the living room, his steps suddenly paused. He turned to look in the direction of Wujiang City's train station. "So eager to die?"

A train had just arrived. As the doors opened and people poured out, a tall figure among the crowd immediately drew attention. He was over two meters tall, wearing a black suit, with dark skin, a man from the Northern Region.

His rugged features looked more like a half-evolved gorilla. However, in this Transcendence Era, people of all forms existed, including human-beast hybrids. The surrounding passersby merely gave him a curious glance before losing interest.

Disguised as a primitive human here to pay tribute to Nantian Martial Arts High School, the man unfolded a map of Wujiang City, glanced at the route marked for the school, and muttered to himself, "It's getting late. I'll find a hotel first and go visit the great Lord Divine Might's alma mater tomorrow."

Under the watchful eyes of station security, the dark-skinned man exited the terminal and casually followed the map toward a hotel. After only a short walk, however, his body suddenly froze. The surrounding space and time came to a standstill.

High in the sky, a pitch-black chain slowly emerged, stretching across the heavens. An invisible but terrifying wave of Soul Law enveloped the entire city. Only high-level cultivators could perceive it, and the stronger their cultivation, the greater the suppression they felt.

Kavadora, who had originally planned to show off a bit, now stood rigid on the street, face filled with horror as it looked upward. Just looking at the black soul chains tearing through space made its divine soul ache. If it faced that directly, it could be shattered instantly and wiped from existence.

Roar!

A soul-rending roar echoed through the void. The massive black chain that covered Wujiang City suddenly plummeted from the sky, like a demonic dragon piercing straight through the dark-skinned man. This demon god puppet, infused with a wisp of Deorus' divine soul, didn't even have a chance to resist. It disintegrated into ash under the might of the soul chains.

At the same time, a grotesque transparent phantom, over a hundred meters tall, was bound tightly by the soul chains and sealed in mid-air.

"Deorus. For sending a puppet to the Blue Planet to assassinate my family, I will deal with you personally later."

"Chu Batian? Why are you on the Blue Planet!?" The sealed phantom's eyes filled with astonishment and confusion upon seeing Chen Chu's figure slowly emerge.

Aren't the human forces on the Blue Planet supposed to be depleted? First, a Heavenly Feathered chief god has appeared out of nowhere, and now even the target himself is here.

Even Deorus couldn't help but wonder if it had picked the wrong day to act.

Why did everything start going wrong the moment I arrived? Is it the Giant Cult? Did they ally with the humans in secret and turn this assassination into a trap waiting just for me?

Boom!

Chen Chu didn't waste a word. With a slight press of his palm, space and time trembled. Deorus' soul fragment, along with the surrounding void, was compressed into a transparent crystal the size of a palm. The phantom was sealed within, as if suspended in amber.

In an instant, Chen Chu had struck with thunderous force and suppressed the demon god puppet completely. Meanwhile, in Tiannan City, outside the competition district, another dark-skinned man's expression drastically changed. "Something's gone wrong."

Sensing that contact with Wujiang City had been cut off, a terrifying force erupted from within him.

Boom!

By the lakeside of a quiet evening park, where only a few pedestrians remained, endless demonic qi burst forth. The sheer power instantly destroyed a nearby pavilion and sent the entire lake surging into the sky.

In its normal state, the demon god puppet possessed power equivalent to the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Realm. Once it erupted, its might was terrifying, instantly turning the skies and earth dark.

As waves of black demonic qi surged outward like a colossal beast that could devour the heavens and earth, it swept toward the adjacent competition zone, aiming to engulf and kill Chen Hu.

"Change of plans. Move in."

A long howl infused with heavenly-king-level might exploded high above. The sky dimmed, and a massive earth-yellow hand descended from above, suppressing the heavens and earth.

Even before the hand landed, the entire park rumbled and caved in by hundreds of meters. A palm imprint several kilometers wide appeared on the ground.

The puppet, having revealed its true form, was pinned beneath the earth. Startled and enraged, it raised its head and looked at the figure standing in the sky. "Xuanwu, you're on the Blue Planet?"

Because the earlier seal in Wujiang had cut off contact, this puppet was still unaware that Chen Chu was also present.

Heavenly King Xuanwu looked down coldly and said, "If you could sneak in, why couldn't I return? Deorus, do you really think your intelligence is that accurate?"

The puppet's expression darkened slightly. However, before it could respond, a cold smirk appeared on Xuanwu's face. "Have you never wondered how those Giant Cultists got so much detailed information, including the exact whereabouts of Chen Chu's family?"

Xuanwu's words nearly spelled it out. Those so-called cultists of the evil gods were compromised and had become pawns of the human race. As his voice faded, an enormous phantom of a Black Tortoise emerged behind him, vast and boundless. It descended to suppress the demon god puppet and seal its soul origin.

"Despicable humans!"

Boom!

The puppet roared, unleashing a terrifying force from within. In an instant, demon-god-level pressure shook the heavens and earth. Seeing that it no longer had a chance to kill Chen Hu, the puppet, under Deorus' will, decisively self-destructed. It exploded like a black sun.

Yet before it could fully detonate, Xuanwu directly suppressed its power. Even an explosion powerful enough to destroy all of Tiannan City and kill tens of millions was instantly restrained. From afar, it looked like a black glowing sphere, continuously shrinking until it left behind a three-kilometer-wide crater.

In the nearby villa district, Xia Youhui, Chen Hu, and the others all looked up in shock. Their eyes fell on Xuanwu, who radiated overwhelming pressure. "What just happened?"

This puppet hadn't even had a chance to strike before it was suppressed. Even Anstira, who was standing by, didn't need to act. The entire incident felt surreal.

In truth, this was how it should be. If the humans had everything under control, and yet two demon god puppets could still turn the Blue Planet upside down, now that would be a joke.

At the same time, in the Northern Region, a transcendent special forces team charged into a local tribe and suppressed the sacrificial priest the moment they arrived.

In the mythical world, within the Purgatory empire, Deorus, who had been cultivating in the endless darkness to recover from its injuries, suddenly opened his eyes. Its voice was low and icy. "Humans, you all deserve to die."

The moment the puppet in Tiannan City self-destructed, a wisp of information crossed the vast expanse and returned to Deorus, sensed through their shared origin. The content of that information made its expression turn grim. This entire plan to target Chen Chu had, in fact, been a human conspiracy.

The demon cultists stationed on the Blue Planet had already betrayed it. They had colluded with high-level human forces to pass along false information and set a trap. Even the so-called cry for help from the god Gai was nothing but a lie.

"I underestimated them." Deorus' face twisted with regret. It realized it should have acted with more caution. Even sending in two demon kings with sealed powers would have been better than crafting and dispatching puppets.

The loss of two puppets along with two soul essence wisps wasn't a big deal. Deorus could recover them by consuming a single principle-level divine item. What truly soured its mood was that it only sensed one of the soul essence wisps being destroyed. The other had vanished without a trace. Even it couldn't detect the exact location; only that it still existed. The implications were clear.

***

After dinner, Chen Chu watched as Zhang Xiaolan tidied up and said, "Mom, I've got something to take care of in West Meng later. I probably won't be back tonight."

This return wasn't just for refining and absorbing that strand of primordial origin. Chen Chu also intended to check in on Luo Fei. Right after breaking through and emerging from seclusion, he had accessed the Celestial Intelligence, learning that Luo Fei was about to break through to the mythical level and was entering the initial stages of fusion with Mech No.1. If he hadn't been concerned about unexpected events on this end, he would have gone to West Meng immediately.

Zhang Xiaolan paused slightly, then smiled. "So busy... Well, it's good to stay busy. Be careful on the road, Ah Chu."

"Mhmm, I will. I'm heading out now." Chen Chu nodded. After saying goodbye to Zhang Xiaolan, he walked out of the courtyard and vanished silently.

In West Meng, the entire surface of the First Research Institute Base was covered with thick power cables, each over ten meters in diameter. These cables were connected to massive electrical energy converters that extended deep underground.

Amid the heavy machinery, numerous researchers in white coats were moving about, busy with preparations.

"Belor Nuclear Station link complete. Energy accumulation in progress."

"North Lin's Stuart Nuclear Station is showing violent energy flow fluctuations. Notify them to stabilize the output. If it can't be stabilized, cut the link."

"Wuxia Nuclear Station connection successful. Energy transfer beginning..."

Surrounding the research facility, dozens of mechs—each several dozen meters tall—stood on high alert.

In particular, a jet-black mech over two hundred meters tall floated in the sky, exuding mythical-level presence. Its expression was solemn as it watched the activity below.

The space before it folded inward, and Chen Chu, with his black hair cascading down, appeared out of thin air.

The mythical-level mech paused briefly, then straightened up with reverence. "Lord Divine Might, you've arrived."

Chen Chu gave a slight nod. "Your Excellency Tariff, what's the situation below?"

"At present, Major General Luo Fei's soul wave frequency and life magnetic field have reached 100% synchronization with Mech No.1. As soon as the ninety-seven nuclear power plants across the Blue Planet's western hemisphere complete their connections, the procedure can begin."