Lace Glory Universe King GL - Chapter 27

Bathed in dazzling blue radiance, Sikong Zhen’s pupils had completely transformed into two whirling nebulae. A gem hovered before his chest, while demonic energy condensed around him into dark purple crystalline armor. Above his head, the Heaven-Mending Stone absorbed the energies leaking into the air. As long as the ritual array remained intact, Sikong Zhen’s link to the gem was unbroken.

But the Seven-Tower Array would not last much longer.

First Empress Wu Zetian’s and Galo’s towers fell, and finally Di Renjie’s—now all six beams of light striking the gem had vanished.

This was the best chance to reclaim the gem. Nuwa seized the moment, casting two Fusion Rectangles—one enveloping the demon gem, the other sealing the Heaven-Mending Stone. Within these rectangular spaces, no hero could intrude.

Sikong Zhen opened his eyes and saw the gem firmly confined within Nuwa’s prism of light.

“Withdraw!” Nuwa commanded.

The Heaven-Mending Stone shot back to her like a meteor, but the demon gem did not move. Instead, the array’s space began to warp and shudder, crystalline explosions ringing like glass breaking.

What was happening?

“Hahahahaha…” A mocking, seductive laughter drifted out.

From the darkness behind Sikong Zhen emerged a woman with violet hair and garments, crimson eyes and nails, yet crowned with gold, exuding imperial grandeur.

It was none other than Empress Dowager Mi Yue of Xuan Yong.

Nuwa’s face remained calm, though her heart sank. Indeed—heroes could not enter her matrix, but Mi Yue’s shadow chains could.

Mi Yue retracted her chains, pulling the gem into her palm. Shadow minions rose from the night, gathering at her sides.

“Many thanks, Lord Sikong. Just now, from this stone, I tasted youth once again,” she said with a sly smile.

So, she too had stolen a share of the array’s power.

“You thief!” Sikong Zhen roared, furious. He unleashed Thunder Wrath, rising into the skies, five storm-drums circling him as bolts rained down upon Mi Yue’s shadows. The minions crumbled under the thunder, scattering into the night.

“A man so merciless to women—no good fate awaits him!” Mi Yue prepared to vanish into shadow.

But Sikong Zhen had anticipated it. His right hand struck out with a chain of lightning, lashing her just as she slipped away. At the last instant, the Empress Dowager’s beautiful face was torn by a bloody gash. Wounded, yet she vanished with the gem clenched tight in her hand.

Wu Zetian arrived with Galo, Shangguan Wan’er, and Di Renjie close behind.

“After her! Mi Yue won’t get far!” Nuwa ordered. With her injury and shadow form’s limited duration, escape was unlikely.

The three pursued with numbers on their side.

Sikong Zhen descended slowly from the skies, sparks of thunder still leaping from his body, his crystalline armor seething with abyssal power. He grinned down at Wu Zetian.

“An old acquaintance—how fares Your Grace?”

“You will address me as Your Majesty.”

“There is already one Majesty in the palace. You confuse me.” His words dripped with mockery, designed to provoke.

Wu Zetian ignored him, summoning Life and Death at My Command. The ground beneath Sikong Zhen exploded in a storm of force.

This array was far stronger than usual, infused with the storm-awakening power Nuwa had taught her.

The blast stunned Sikong Zhen for a moment. Yet his thunderous might was now beyond measure, reinforced by the divine power that had once toppled the Dragon King.

The Grand Minister spread his arms, drawing upon the stars themselves.

“With the Ziwei Emperor Star as my sacrifice,” his voice thundered, “I name this strike The Fall of Ziwei.”

The heavens rippled. The Dipper’s handle swung, its point aimed at Wu Zetian’s brow.

“Careful!” Nuwa cried, shifting into her serpentine form, ready to shield her.

The paving stones cracked beneath Wu Zetian’s feet. She hurled storm-wreathed orbs to defend herself, yet the power was devoured by tendrils of demonic energy from Sikong Zhen’s hands.

Black holes bloomed at the ends of each tendril, swallowing her magic whole.

Nuwa rushed forward, scales bristling, raising twelve layers of barriers with her serpentine coils.

But the thunderous demonic force tore through the first barrier with ease.

Wu Zetian pressed on, weaving more arrays, but she could see it was hopeless. The black tide gathered like storm clouds, pressing upon the defenses.

The second barrier shattered.

“The Heaven-Mending Stone has absorbed demonic energy—it alone can counter him!” Wu Zetian urged.

Nuwa shook her head. The stone was hers, but now tainted with corruption. If she fused with it, creation’s source would be polluted, with catastrophic consequences.

“Then let me wield it!” Wu Zetian cried, seeing the barriers crumbling.

“No. A mortal body cannot endure the stone’s might,” Nuwa warned. “At Inverted Heaven, I already sent word to Mengqi and the others—wait.”

But Wu Zetian would not wait. Seeing Nuwa straining to hold the barriers, she seized the seven-colored stone from her.

“Forgive me.”

“No!” Nuwa shouted, unable to stop her.

Wu Zetian pressed the stone into her chest. Her body turned translucent, blades of light sprouting from her spine into a vast web. In moments, The Oracle of Nyx cloaked her, bearing the might to shift mountains and seas.

The web of blades extended beyond the barriers, clashing with Sikong Zhen’s demonic tendrils. At once, the bells of Chang’an rang in unison.

White threads and black tendrils quaked against each other. Nuwa’s barriers shattered.

But the white lattice was laced with demonic taint, and Nuwa could not resist the backlash. Flames flared in her silver hair, turning to black feathers.

“Xiaowa!” Wu Zetian cried, seeing blood at her lips.

Nuwa’s body convulsed, crashing down the tower. Her long hair burned, silver giving way to dark plumes. The omen was dire.

Seizing Wu Zetian’s distraction, Sikong Zhen struck through the lattice.

Agony ripped through her arm. Golden-red blood welled from the wound, floating in the air, resonating with the Heaven-Mending Stone to strengthen the web.

Below, Nuwa lay unconscious. But then, from Inverted Heaven, bronze chimes sounded, stirring her soul. Ancient memory awakened—

The scales of her serpentine tail inverted, starlight flowing backward to the dawn of time. From the rainbow furnace where the stone was forged, sparks leapt—the same Ziwei starlight burning in Wu Zetian’s eyes.

Nuwa saw her own nail, shattered in primordial ages, falling to earth. Through Zhou’s phoenix mountains, past Han’s Weiyang Palace, until it sank into the radiance of Wu Meiniang’s birth.

“So—it was you…”

She realized then: part of her own divine essence had lodged within Wu Zetian. That was why the empress could endure the stone’s power.

Revived, Nuwa rose skyward. She drew the Sword of Creation from the primal furnace, plunging it into the clash between white and black. Creation’s force siphoned the demonic tide, purifying the stone’s tainted light.

Sikong Zhen would not allow it. He broke off his spell, hurling himself like thunder at Nuwa.

She struck with Annihilation, but it glanced off his shield.

At close quarters, every instant mattered. He twisted her own corruption against her, inflaming the demonic taint in her body. Agonizing pain racked her, black feathers scattering as the sword slipped from her hand.

Wu Zetian lunged to catch it, but Sikong Zhen’s lightning was faster.

A sharp crack—the divine blade shattered in two.

Delight gleamed in Sikong Zhen’s eyes. The demon gem’s power was overwhelming. With only half absorbed, he had broken the Creator’s weapon.

Wu Zetian grasped the broken shard. Blood spilled onto the blade, and a surge of heat rose through her. The flower-mark on her brow burst into nine-colored light. With all her strength, she hurled the blood-soaked shard, empowering it with Majesty of the Empress.

The broken blade pierced Sikong Zhen’s chest, shattering his armor. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Both women held their breath. The world itself seemed to wait, silent for judgment.

Then came the wail—the demon core within Sikong Zhen screamed like a newborn, but its voice was anguish. A freezing power surged through him, freezing every vein, tearing even his soul apart.

The light in his eyes dimmed. His once-commanding presence collapsed into nothing but shock and unwillingness.

A faint mist rose as his spirit unraveled. His form turned ethereal, like sand in a storm, scattering piece by piece into the night.

Until at last, the final glimmer of his soul dissolved into the darkness—gone forever.

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