C1019 The Rogue Gathering Area
In the stillness that followed, the Sky Rift Valley revealed itself.
A streak of lightning burst forth from a fissure that was in the midst of healing, its instability evident.
Yan Qiling stood before several luminous cracks, gazing into the deserted valley with astonishment.
He had risked the journey here upon discovering a spatial crack from his location that was on the verge of closing and had not yet stabilized.
Unbeknownst to him, Yu Yuan had departed the Nirvana Realm, taking the Dragon Slash Platform along.
Unable to wait, he hurried over, only to find the valley devoid of any presence.
His soul consciousness expanded, revealing nearby signs of battle, the forsaken Ancient Black Iron Ship, the deceased Touzet within, and the peculiar shattered branches in the ship's hidden chamber below.
"The toxic miasma, peach tree branches, Hu Caiyun!"
Yan Qiling reached a conclusion and once again swept his soul consciousness across the Nirvana Realm, finding no further anomalies.
Several spatial cracks in the Sky Rift Valley were beginning to seal shut at that moment, including the one through which he had arrived.
Staring at the wider crack before him, Yan Qiling reflected for a long time, hesitant to act rashly.
He surmised that the safest spatial crack, the one presumably used by Peach Madam and possibly others, was right before him.
Yet, he had no knowledge of where the passage led or what awaited on the other side.
After Yu Yuan, Benin, and the others vanished, the crack had started to heal and destabilize, concealing many secrets within.
Even Yan Qiling harbored fear for places unknown and unfamiliar.
"Let it be."
Eventually, he decided to abandon his quest, returning through the spatial rift he knew well.
Thus, he missed the opportunity to encounter Yu Yuan again in the Outer Star River.
...
In a remote and icy corner of the galaxy, where the stars shone dimly, a Flowing Flames Storm capable of annihilating Yang Gods had just been narrowly avoided by three peculiar landmasses.
Arranged in a triangular formation, the foremost landmass trailed a dazzling trail of fire, resembling a winged spirit bird in flight.
The two lands behind were being pulled along by golden chains attached to the leading one.
Countless flames surged, forming a storm behind three strange lands, devouring the special materials abandoned by the bandits. On a piece of land shrouded in a faint blue light, a towering member of the Rock Clan stood. His body, constructed of crimson rocks, pulsed with blood that flowed like fire. When he spoke, his words were accompanied by a spray of sparks. "Damn it, we've run into the Flowing Flames Storm again. This is really bad!"
As he set down his massive hammer, a look of shock crossed his face. Near the scarlet hammer lay the skeleton of a vicious beast, which suddenly emitted a powerful spatial vibration. A mysterious glow filled its hollow eye sockets.
This beast, towering at around twenty meters tall, was known as the Starlight Beast. According to legend, its solitary eye was a coveted treasure sought after by the Void Spirit Succubus.
The Starlight Beast before him appeared to possess an Eighth Level bloodline, but its flesh, bones, and sinew, along with its peculiar eye, had been harvested long ago, leaving only its desolate skeleton behind, neglected by all.
In that moment, the unsellable bones of the Starlight Beast shone brightly from its eye sockets, startling him. Before he could react, figures burst forth from the eye sockets of the Starlight Beast, which had been dead for untold years.
Boom! The skeleton of the Starlight Beast could no longer endure the spatial tremors and disintegrated into bone dust.
"Something's amiss!" exclaimed the tall Rock Clan member, his face contorting as he shouted in the Demonic tongue commonly used by the Outland Devaputra.
Before humanity ventured into the Outer Star River, the Devaputra were the supreme rulers of the deceased, and their Demonic language was the lingua franca of the galaxy.
"People! Humans from the Boundless Land!" The shout from the Rock Clan bandit quickly drew hundreds of bandits from various races to converge from all around the land.
Further away, thousands of bandits looked on in bewilderment, not having caught the content of his shout.
"The bandits' rendezvous point," Yu Yuan murmured with a smile, standing amidst the ashes of the Starlight Beast and instinctively glancing skyward.
The pale blue light curtain above was unfamiliar to him; it was not the barrier he knew but rather a protective field akin to that of the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, designed to prevent the chaotic energies of the galaxy from seeping in and causing death among those bandits with fragile bloodlines.
He took several deep breaths and then saw hundreds of bandits charging towards him. Their bloodlines were notably inferior.
The majority were of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Levels, belonging to various races. They lacked uniform attire and hailed from numerous minor tribes he had never even heard of.
Members of the Asura, female demons, Dark Elfkind, and Bright Clan were a rare sight.
It seemed highly unlikely for those of noble bloodlines to fall into the ranks of bandits.
"Silver Scale Clan! And the Void Spirit Succubus!"
A thunderous shout drowned out all other noises, accompanied by a heavy, earthquake-like rumble, revealing a dark brown-skinned giant towering over ten meters tall.
His upper body, bare and crisscrossed with scabbed scars, was encircled by black iron chains at the waist.
Some of the chains trailed on the ground, slithering like a tail as he moved.
The black iron chains, stained with blood and dulled in color, were likely his favored weapon, having claimed the lives of countless creatures.
The stench of blood emanating from him was enough to make many recoil in discomfort, prompting them to give him a wide berth.
"Djinn Clan."
Zhan Ruonan from the Red Devil Sect frowned, her lips curled in disdain.
"A formidable member of the Djinn Clan," Sun Jun remarked, squinting without much concern. To the humans who had emerged from the heavens, most other races were merely prey and lambs, nothing extraordinary.
"They're human after all!"
The language of the bandits began to shift, their shouts now in the awkward human tongue, seemingly to ensure they were understood.
Yu Yuan observed the hundreds of bandits on this land, noting the fear and wariness in their eyes as if they were facing a devastating flood or a wild beast.
This area was a major hub for the roving bandits of the Outer Star River, reportedly home to three kings of roving bandits.
Though these kings often left to hunt and didn't always stay put, the bandits led a perilous life, constantly on edge and in great numbers...
Yet, upon realizing their visitors were from the Boundless Human Race, even these battle-hardened bandits couldn't suppress their fear.
Yu Yuan cracked a smile.
He had come to a profound understanding that in the remote depths of the Outland Star River, from the perspective of Devaputras and various alien races, it was humanity that epitomized savagery and brutality. Humans were seen as the common foe and the nightmarish demons of all.
"Benin, and Hart, you two are safe now," Yu Yuan said, stroking his chin and gesturing to Benin. "You're free to go. Head wherever you wish."
Benin remained silent.
A look of distress crossed Hart's face as he pondered, "This is the stronghold of the king of roving bandits. As members of the regular army, we've always been at odds with bandits. Where can we possibly go now?"
"From whence do you hail, and what brings you to our lands?"
A formidable warrior of the Djinn Clan towered before Yu Yuan and his companions, standing tall like a small mountain.
He was among the rare few who looked upon Yu Yuan and his group without a trace of fear, likely confident in his own combat prowess.
"I've heard that the white crane from the Boundless Land visited here not so long ago."
At that moment, Peach Madam emerged with a graceful smile, stepping forward from behind Yu Yuan and Sun Jun.
As she approached, Sun Jun hastily sidestepped, wary that she might suddenly unleash a toxic miasma and engulf him in its deadly embrace.
"The white crane? The one that departed with Heixun from the Ember Waters?" Yu Yuan asked in surprise.
Peach Madam gave a slight nod. "I made a promise to inform you of Heixun's whereabouts, as well as that of the white crane, once we left the Nirvana Realm. We'll discuss Heixun later. For now, let's focus on the white crane."
"The white crane!"
The countenance of the Djinn Clan's warriors blanched, their eyes betraying a deep-seated terror.
