C1295 The Void Was Sealed

Deep within the Spirit World, Pei Yuling, of human origin, gazed at Diggs with reverence. The butterfly-like Origin Gate hovered above Diggs's head, tilting slightly towards the back. One of its wings, a radiant Mystic Gate, faintly touched the massive tree root.

The Mystic Gate appeared to be drawing psionic power from the tree's root, siphoning various hues of blood, and stripping something away. In return, an enigmatic force, strange and indistinct, emanated from the other Mystic Gate, slowly infusing Diggs with its power. It was as if the Origin Deity had bestowed a gift upon him.

Diggs's presence surged in an intimidating crescendo. The gaunt Shadowkin elder's veins pulsed with a tremendous, frenzied vitality, albeit one tainted with malevolence.

"Yu Yuan..." he murmured in a deep tone.

Snap! His hair suddenly broke away from the ancient tree's roots.

"How is it?" Pei Yuling stepped closer, his voice low and filled with deference.

"He is extraordinary," Diggs replied, his face somber. Seated at the base of the tree, his eyes gleamed mysteriously as he continued, "Fear not, my ascension is inevitable. The one who promised to restore what I lost will fulfill his vow!"

Pei Yuling's excitement grew. Diggs, once at the pinnacle of the ninth level, had been a mere step away from the tenth. The current Shadowkin patriarch, a descendant of Diggs, had won the throne. Diggs's defeat meant he was denied the full support of his clan and thus, his advancement was thwarted. He was so close!

Originally, it should have been the current patriarch serving as High Priest, with Diggs rightfully seated as the patriarch.

"Allow me to extend my congratulations, Elder," Pei Yuling said, bowing deeply, his respect genuine. He eagerly anticipated Diggs's success in transcending the bloodline boundaries of the Shattered Star, with the Origin Deity's aid.

Should Diggs ascend to the tenth level, becoming a paramount force among the extraterrestrial Otherkin, then perhaps Pei Yuling, too, might harbor hopes of divinity. The power within the Origin Gate that could catalyze Diggs's transformation held the same potential to elevate Pei Yuling to the esteemed rank of a primordial spirit.

If Pei Yuling were to ascend to godhood, becoming a primordial spirit woven from the intricacies of space magic, who in the vast universe could possibly restrain him?

What could the combined might of the five great powers, the Boulderdawn, numerous primordial spirits, and Dark Deities do against him, a master of space rules who had attained the realm of the primordial spirit?

Moreover, by that time, the power of the Origin Realm had likely spread throughout the Infinite Galaxy!

With these thoughts, Pei Yuling's confidence soared, and his resolve to follow the Origin Deity and strive for the pinnacle of cultivation only grew stronger.

...

Elsewhere.

Lin Yan, tasked with overseeing the Starway, was besieged by a throng of anxious individuals.

"Lin Yan! What's going on here? We came freely, but now we can't return?"

A cultivator from the Skyblight Cult, his face flushed with anger, bellowed, "Do you realize how perilous the extraterritorial battlefield is at this moment? If we remain here, we're doomed!"

Lin Yan, visibly stressed, replied, "Enough! I don't want it this way either."

"Where is Pei Yuling? Where is he?" demanded a Solar Spirit cultivator from the Thunder Sect, his voice thick with fury.

Cultivators from Winter's Bite and Ethereal Void also raised their voices in concern.

Lin Yan, with a furrowed brow, informed them, "I've heard there's been some trouble with Pei Yuling."

This revelation left many in shock.

"Hold on!" Lin Yan's demeanor suddenly brightened.

A realization dawned upon the crowd.

They all turned their gaze to a miniature divine palace, bearing Cao Jiaze, as it swiftly approached.

"Cao Jiaze!"

"It's Cao Jiaze!"

The cultivators from both the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea were instantly electrified.

In their eyes, Cao Jiaze was akin to a deity—not only for his exceptional wisdom and formidable combat prowess but also for wielding the Ebon Star's ultimate treasure.

With Cao Jiaze's arrival, it was as if everyone had found their anchor.

Yet, as he drew closer, they noticed his countenance was marred by sorrow, his gaze seemingly distant.

"Jiaze?"

Lin Yan stepped forward to meet him, making room for the palace to descend. "I've never seen you look so troubled. What's happened? Where is Master Fu?"

"He and the Rod of Heavenly Justice were destroyed by Ballo of the Starborn," Cao Jiaze mourned.

"Ah!"

A wave of commotion swept through the crowd.

"Activate the Starway. I must report back to the sect immediately," Cao Jiaze commanded.

"There seems to be a problem with the Starway. It only allows entry, not departure," Lin Yan explained through sobs to Cao Jiaze, his body shaking uncontrollably. "The Starborn, Ballo! Our Ebon Star will ensure they pay dearly for this!"

Fu Xuanwen had been good to him, and his death had sent him into a spiral of despair.

Cao Jiaze, who had been eager to use the Starway to escape the Brugeth and return to the Everlands, was also stunned by the news.

A malfunctioning Starway meant more than Lin Yan or anyone else present could comprehend.

Cao Jiaze's heart clenched suddenly.

Time passed.

Chu Yao, along with other cultivators from the Poison Cult and Taintborn who had survived the totem-pole's destruction, finally arrived.

"Chu Yao!"

Upon seeing him, Cao Jiaze's brow furrowed, and he immediately inquired, "You left with Pei Yuling. Where is he now? And what has happened to you both?"

"Ogeus is dead. Mr. Pei has pledged allegiance to the Origin Deity and defected from the Everlands."

Upon seeing Cao Jiaze and the Starway, Chu Yao spilled everything he knew as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube, clinging to a flicker of hope.

The cultivators present were left in stunned silence.

"Origin Deity!"

Cao Jiaze took deep breaths to steady his emotions, then glanced between the Spirit World and the Starway, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

He realized that a master of space magic must have sealed the Starway before them.

With Pei Yuling knowing the precise coordinates and being its creator, his defection meant they could no longer depend on the Starway.

"So they can still enter. What does the other side intend? To hunt down and kill every living being on the extraterritorial battlefield?"

The more Cao Jiaze pondered, the more his unease grew.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yan Qiling's Lunar Meteorite and the howling Crucible of Evil, after a long separation, finally converged at a designated boundary.

Both the meteorite and the crucible came to a halt simultaneously.

"Master, are you alright?"

Yu Yiyi, the cauldron spirit, was fraught with anxiety. She wasted no time in approaching and, with a swift dash, entered the Crucible of Evil.

The instant she entered the cauldron, the profound connection between the Frost Queen, the mightiest of the Banes, and the dark cauldron was ruthlessly severed.

She naturally assumed the Frost Queen's role and continued to wield control over the Crucible of Evil.

The Frost Queen submitted without protest.

"That Chen woman suddenly lost control of her powers recently and nearly gave us a heart attack."

Yu Yiyi, her expression icy, showed no fear of Chen Qinghuang as she casually recounted the event.

She explained that when Chen Qinghuang had opened her eyes, a horrifying force of death and destruction had burst forth like a deluge towards the far reaches of the void, mingling with an infinite spectrum of spatial light.

She didn't delve into specifics, merely outlining the broad strokes.

Yet Yu Yuan understood that this was due to "Benin" making an unexpected appearance, attempting to drag him and the Crucible of Evil into the Spirit World, which the empress detected and intervened with from a distance.

Because of him, the secular bird and the Voidweaver had once again clashed, shattering a vast expanse of the extraterrestrial domain.

"Is she alright?"

Yu Yuan looked on with deep concern at the empress, who lay with her eyes closed, her breathing steady.

A sense of warmth slowly filled his heart.

Regardless of her past, from the moment they met, she had never inflicted harm or bore ill will towards him.

First, he had discovered three "solar nuclei" and presented them to Yuan Lianyao, granting her an extraordinary fortune.

Then, when he faced peril, she intervened without a moment's hesitation, willing to enter slumber once more to contend with the Voidweaver.

Yu Yuan suddenly realized that his impromptu rescue of the young empress in his second life, as Hong Qi, might have been the most fortuitous and correct act of his entire existence.

The empress, or rather, the secular bird, was unconcerned with the heinous deeds he had committed at the end of his second life.

Regardless of his past misdeeds or the infamy that followed him, all that mattered were his virtues...

"She's fine; she's just sleeping in her own unique way. Everything is normal," Yan Qiling responded. His expression then grew serious, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Yu Yuan, are you truly set on going to the Spirit World? I can't shake the feeling that it's a mistake. Just approaching it makes me sense impending doom. I believe there's a power beneath the Spirit World that's beyond our comprehension."

"I'm aware, and I've seen it," Yu Yuan confirmed with a nod.

"You've seen it?" Yan Qiling asked, astonished.

"Yes, before we regrouped, I nearly made it into the Spirit World. Through the Dragon Slaying Stage, I caught a glimpse of the vivid scenes within." Yu Yuan recounted the Otherworld he had witnessed through the Dragon Slaying Stage's vertical pupil-like feature, sparing no detail and concealing nothing.

Everyone listening felt a chill down their spine.

An elder Frostfiend gazed at the Frost Queen with a look of longing, struggling with the desire to speak.

He was eager to take the Frost Queen and flee, yet he knew that Adele, now a Bane within the Crucible of Evil, could not break free from its dark embrace.

Yan Ziyang's expression soured as he hesitantly suggested, "Perhaps we should leave?" He kept a wary eye on the empress, worried she might awaken abruptly.

"Is there any way to reach out to Boulderdawn?" Yu Yuan pondered, addressing Yan Qiling. "The disturbances in the Spirit World should be made known to more clans and powers. The Voidweaver, the enigmatic Origin Realm, along with Diggs and Pei Yuling, they're enemies to us all."

"I've tried, but it seems Brugeth has been sealed off," Yan Qiling said with a wry smile.

He paused before adding, "It's not just us; others who have come from the Everlands and the archdemons from Shadow's Keep can't leave through the Starway either."

"All spatial phenomena have been constrained."

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