C1225 Natural Selection

A palpable grief and despair emanated from the ship as it approached, its presence heavy and inescapable. The Starborn clansmen aboard bore ashen faces, their eyes a dull grey, the color of death.

Resigned to their fate, they harbored no illusions of survival, desiring only a swift end to their suffering.

Encountering the fearsome Demons of the Everlands, what chance did they have of escaping with their lives?

For any intelligent life in the extraterrestrial realms, an unfortunate encounter with these demons meant certain death.

As Wan Jing gestured, Yu Yuan's gaze fell upon the warship's deck, strewn with the bodies of the fallen.

—They were the elite of the Starborn from Kuvrepros.

The corpses bore signs of torture, with ghastly wounds so deep their bones were exposed.

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed in concern.

Gheirat, the sovereign of Kuvrepros, felt a rush of vitality as he laid eyes on the warship, his pupils threaded with blood, mirroring the fury of a provoked Starbeast.

Leo's face turned grave, and he quickly grasped Gheirat's arm, cautioning him against any hasty actions.

At the same time, aboard the Demian, the Great Sage Beru and the platinum Shura Ciara also caught sight of the emerging warship.

Beru's frame shook subtly, his complexion drained of color as he was overwhelmed with remorse.

Had he and Leo not ventured into Kuvrepros, would these clansmen have suffered such a tragic fate?

He had once encountered many of them in the Scattered Star Realm, where they had knelt before him, pleading for his blessing, considering it an honor to speak with him or even catch his gaze.

Now, most of them were dead, and the few who remained were living a fate worse than death.

The Great Sage Beru's face was devoid of any trace of a smile, his eyes growing colder by the moment.

"Senior Zhu! Mr. Pei!"

Cao Jiaze, the keeper of the Mark of the Celestials, stood within a grand palace, his face breaking into a smile of relief as he respectfully greeted the two figures behind the warship.

Zhu Huan of Haunted Hills was a late-period Unbound cultivator, ranked just below the Sect Master and Lee Tianxin of the Sunlit Order.

He was the undisputed titan of this journey.

Hunched over, he glanced at the unremarkable Zhu Huan and then at Cao Jiaze from a distance, squinting with a smile and nodding in acknowledgment.

In Zhu Huan's eyes, Xu Jingyao was a more agreeable and appealing choice.

After all, he was the promising newcomer of their sect.

Standing beside Zhu Huan was a man with a tall stature and strikingly handsome features, exuding an air of confidence. When Cao Jiaze looked his way, he responded with a radiant smile.

His gaze casually drifted past Cao Jiaze and settled on Chu Yao, who was standing on the Thunder Token, giving a slow nod of recognition.

Chu Yao promptly bowed, exclaiming, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Pei. Before I departed from the Everlands, my master instructed me to attend to you diligently should I have the good fortune to encounter you."

With newfound assurance, Chu Yao, who had previously been stooping and hanging his head, now stood tall and straight.

"Your master is too modest. He simply wishes for me to look after you, to prevent any hardships you might face abroad," the man said with a carefree smile, gesturing for Chu Yao to relax.

On the meteorite, the Dragon Slaying Stage within Yu Yuan's Heart Aperture stirred subtly.

Yu Yuan, who had been observing the man named Pei, silently connected with his remnant soul, sensing that the man's presence and the peculiar spatial vibrations emanating from him had activated the Dragon Slaying Stage.

"A Pei surname, acquainted with my Senior Brother, and versed in space magic..."

After a brief reflection, a name zipped through Yu Yuan's mind like a bolt of lightning.

He suddenly understood why Xu Jingyao and his group had managed to arrive here with such haste.

It was because of Pei Yuling!

Pei Yuling, akin to an unfettered crane, had made a name for himself three centuries ago, wandering the extraterrestrial Star River, crafting Starways for the five paramount forces of the Everlands.

Naturally, he wasn't a philanthropist; he always worked for compensation.

Whether it was the three grand upper sects, the Devil Palace, or the Shadow's Keep, if they could meet his price, constructing a Starway in the extraterrestrial or a teleportation circle within the Everlands was well within his capabilities.

Following his confinement in the Sword Prison, Pei Yuling became the most renowned expert in space magic.

He had few friends, yet Zhong Chichen, his Senior Brother, shared an immediate and profound bond with him.

Three hundred years ago, Yu Yuan had heard his senior brother mention someone who was constantly active in the extraterrestrial realms, yet he never had the chance to meet this individual.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One by one, the mighty Solar Spirit cultivators launched themselves from the warship, joining forces with Cao Jiazhe and others to strike at the frenzied, bloodthirsty Shura.

Huang Baiqi, Lu Rui, and Wan Jing were all individuals Yu Yuan had previously encountered.

"Is that Gheirat?" Xu Jingyao, with a defiant look, turned to address the ruler of this domain. With a condescending and detached tone, he remarked, "You once commanded the Starborn warriors and killed many of our people. What right do you have to be angry?"

With a thunderous crash, an elder of the Starborn, a relative of Gheirat, was struck down by a single slap. His bones shattered, and blood poured forth.

"Cultivators who venture out from the Everlands for their training have always been prey for you. Likewise, when we fall to your hands, we accept our fate. Isn't this the way of life? Survival of the fittest, a lesson we've learned from you," Xu Jingyao declared, bursting into laughter. "Uncle Zhu, isn't that the truth?"

Zhu Huan of the Haunted Hills, his face betraying no emotion, simply stated, "It has always been so."

In the blink of an eye, the slender Zhu Huan appeared above the battleship where Beru, Ciara, and Demian were stationed. Like a blazing inferno, he sought to incinerate all life.

"I smell the scent of the Frost Well! What, do you dare to call upon Sabonis?" Zhu Huan's mocking laughter emanated from the fiery orb as a rain of fire fell from the heavens, each droplet unerringly finding its mark.

The Shura warriors, locked in combat with the Everlands' Solar Spirit cultivators, were suddenly on high alert, feeling as if their very souls and blood were aflame.

Overcome by an unbearable heat, they pounded their chests and howled, their savagery intensifying.

"Silence the Heartthumper Drum!" Ciara exclaimed, her face draining of color. She sensed the danger; the warriors, driven mad by the Heartthumper Drum, were on the verge of exploding from Zhu Huan's provocation.

At that moment, an impenetrable darkness began to emanate from Ciara's body, spreading silently outward.

In the boundless reaches of the starry void, where no Domain existed, the chilling cold and darkness seemed to amplify in power, far surpassing that within Ionodios.

"Beru, please look after the others."

Ciara's voice emerged from the darkness as she communicated with Demian through their mystique. A dense stream of dark light surged towards the sky, colliding with the fiery rain and the blazing Zhu Huan, who resembled a flaming meteor.

The pounding of the Heartthumper Drum finally ceased. From the Dark Realm, the Platinum Shura Demian let out a beast-like roar amidst the oppressive darkness.

"Alright."

Beru acknowledged, transforming into a shooting star as he left the darkened area to join the Shura Warriors at their core.

The nearest star suddenly radiated a soft glow, preventing the fiery rain, caused by Zhu Huan, from reaching the Shura, silently extinguishing it instead.

"Is that Yu Yuan? What's he doing? Just spectating?"

Xu Jingyao of the Sunlit Order flicked a flame towards the remaining Starborn, igniting them one by one. He regarded Yu Yuan with a curious gaze.

Yu Yuan responded with a detached air.

"Hey, I heard Tang Cen suffered terribly at your hands at the bottom of the Embers Sea?" Xu Jingyao called out, "Where's the Crucible of Evil? Show it to me! Oh, and the Dragon Slaying Stage, the scabbard of the Divine Sword. You seem to have quite a collection of treasures."

"Indeed, quite a collection," Pei Yuling replied, nodding with a smile.

Yu Yuan, paying no mind to Xu Jingyao from the Sunlit Order, furrowed his brows and fixed his gaze on Pei Yuling. He pointed to the acupoint on his chest and challenged, "The Dragon Slaying Stage is right here. If you dare, come and take it."

"Hong Qi, your reputation precedes you."

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