C1256
Deep within the Brugeth Starfield, a meteorite a hundred times larger than any other floated serenely, resembling a little world unto itself. Surrounding it were hundreds of smaller meteorites, identical in hue, orbiting it like a celestial court.
In the shattered expanses of the Astral Domain, such a colossal meteorite was a rare and curious sight.
"We've arrived," Pei Yuling announced, utilizing the power of the Mirror of the Infinite. Perched atop a lesser meteorite, he set Chu Yao aside and gazed solemnly at the massive stone below. "Chu Yao, you stay here. Don't wander off."
Chu Yao nodded, his gaze drawn to the enormous meteorite with curiosity. The dark brown earth below was littered with countless dead trees, leafless and devoid of life, their withered trunks large enough to require several people to encircle them. Chu Yao could only imagine the verdant splendor that must have once thrived here.
"This must have been what the Shadowkin's Astral Domain looked like," Chu Yao mused silently.
Narrowing his eyes for a closer look, he spotted the skeletal remains of humans, alien beasts, powerful beings, and archdemons entangled among the desiccated trees. Ruins of buildings, unmistakably in the architectural style of the Shadowkin, lay scattered across the terrain.
Yet, despite its size, the meteorite exuded an aura of desolation and oppression, a heavy, lifeless air that weighed on the spirit.
Chu Yao, with his level of cultivation and insight, could almost visualize the savage and bloody battles that had scarred the meteorite. As he continued to stare, a darkness settled over his heart, his mind clouding as if touched by an unseen malevolence.
"Once, this was the most flourishing world in the Brugeth," Pei Yuling murmured, clutching the Mirror of the Infinite before gracefully descending onto the vast meteorite below.
And then, as if dissolving into the sea, Pei Yuling vanished from Chu Yao's view, absorbed by the meteorite.
...
Beneath the surface, a gaunt Shadowkin elder sat disheveled, his hair eerily intertwined with the roots of a massive, yet unmistakably dead, tree. The roots were of an inconceivable girth, a testament to the tree's former grandeur.
The Shadowkin elder's hair hung like a few slender roots from a withered tree...
Suddenly, the elder, who appeared to have been dead for years, opened his eyes.
At that moment, the subterranean space lit up with the eerie glow of two green ghostly flames.
His hair, connected to the tree's roots, instantly regained its shine. He seemed to be drawing sustenance from the tree's nutrients, clinging to a fragile spark of life.
His survival seemed entirely dependent on the tree's roots, which sustained his existence.
"Have you come guided by the Origin Deity?"
Peering at Pei Yuling, who had appeared out of nowhere, his dark green pupils sparkled with madness and anticipation.
"Heh! A human, no less! It seems the Origin Deity's influence has spread throughout the Everlands! Truly worthy of the supreme Origin Deity, I always knew this day would come!"
Holding the Mirror of the Infinite, Pei Yuling stared at the crazed Shadowkin elder, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.
He had already realized that this elder was once the sovereign of Brugeth and among the first of the Otherkin to bow before the Origin Deity.
The elder played a pivotal role in the cataclysm that transformed Brugeth into the infamous extraterritorial battlefield it is today.
Indeed, were it not for this elder, Brugeth might still be a thriving Shadowkin domain, orderly and vibrant.
The elder's ambition had precipitated a monumental upheaval in Brugeth, shaping it into its current state.
Pushing aside his wandering thoughts, Pei Yuling adopted a neutral tone, "I am here to assist you as commanded."
"Are you prepared?" the elder asked with a sinister chuckle.
"I am prepared," Pei Yuling replied gravely.
"Good, let us commence."
...
Yan Qiling, with Yu Yiyi in tow, meandered through Brugeth with a nonchalant air.
Whenever he detected the presence of Otherkin or Everlands cultivators, he would steer Yu Yiyi clear, avoiding any unnecessary encounters.
Their objective was clear: find Yu Yuan first.
Yu Yiyi, as the artifact soul of the cauldron, was able to sense her master's presence within a certain proximity.
In theory, as long as Yu Yuan was indeed present, and the area where he and Yu Yiyi were active was sufficiently vast, they were bound to encounter him eventually.
Whoosh!
Yan Qiling came to an abrupt halt on a meteorite that barely accommodated ten people.
Yu Yiyi halted as well, looking puzzled. "What's the matter?"
Without responding, Yan Qiling's unique form began to shimmer with dazzling halos.
Each halo seemed to be a portal to a different dimension, making Yu Yiyi feel as though the man before her was navigating through layers of space.
After a moment of silence,
Yan Qiling inhaled deeply, his expression grave as he focused on a particular direction. "Not long ago, something inexplicable emerged in the Domain Channel between Hellmouth and Moonfall Sanctuary. Unexpectedly, Brugeth, now an extraterritorial battlefield, has also drawn attention."
"What are you talking about?" Yu Yiyi asked, bewildered.
"It's no use explaining it to you," Yan Qiling said, shaking his head. He furrowed his brow in deep thought. "There's a demon at work here! It's unclear whether that thing appeared by chance or was deliberately created. If it's the latter, first in the Domain Channel and now in Brugeth..."
"Brugeth!"
Yan Qiling gasped in sudden realization.
He vividly recalled the Skyreach Consortium's envoy sharing secrets about Brugeth with him before he decided to travel through Silver Sands to the extraterritorial battlefield.
"Could it really be such a coincidence?" Yan Qiling muttered, his lips dry.
...
In the chilly, damp cave,
Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit settled back into place, and the Dragon Slaying Stage was once again cast into the little world within the acupoint. He casually briefed Yan Ziyang on the current complex state of affairs.
He explained that the Frostfiend Clan had allied with the leading forces of the Star-Spawned Terror.
Furthermore, the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn had embraced a revolutionary philosophy, earning the recognition of several formidable extraterrestrial races.
Yan Ziyang listened, astonished by the revelations.
Once Yu Yuan had clarified the new dynamics of the extraterrestrial and Everlands, he gestured for Yan Ziyang to follow his instructions, propelling the Frozen Abyss toward the Astral Domain of the Wingkind.
Yan Ziyang complied with the instructions and glimpsed hope—a hope to rejuvenate the Wraithcult! He considered that even if he, Yan Ziyang, couldn't rely on the God of Ghosts from the Land of Terror for a second chance at life, he could still embrace his role as a preacher, gathering disciples within the Everlands to breathe new life into the once-obliterated sect. As long as the Wraithcult could manifest in the world once more, he would harbor no regrets and would not feel he had failed his ancestors or his sect.
That day, Yan Ziyang abruptly stood up, his brow furrowed. "An outsider has intruded upon our domain."
The Lunar Spirit, lurking within the Dragon Slaying Stage, covertly observing Yu Yuan as he kept an eye on the Frostfiend, opened his eyes at Yan Ziyang's declaration.
"It's what they call a Ghoul," Yan Ziyang stated with certainty.
"A Ghoul!" Yu Yuan tensed.
His mind raced to his previous encounters with the Ghoul King and Lin Zhuyun, and his expression grew stern as he braced himself for combat.
"It's merely a Ghoul," Yan Ziyang scoffed with contempt. "A lifeless entity. What significance does it have on the surface?"
"It won't detect us?" Yu Yuan inquired, intrigued.
"Absolutely not," Yan Ziyang assured him confidently. "Ghouls are unlike the Otherkin; they don't deduce anomalies from the flight of meteorites. Lacking intelligence, they only seek out signs of life. Without sensing vitality, they won't detect anything out of the ordinary. Rest assured, the Ghoul will simply mistake this for an ordinary, albeit mobile, boulder."
Yu Yuan nodded in understanding. He reasoned that if the Ghoul King and Lin Zhuyun were nearby, they couldn't be too distant.
Should he risk an encounter?
