C611 This Road Is Blocked!

A gap was torn open in the heavens.

Bright moonlight and the cold glimmer of stars spilled through the breach.

Within the River and Rock Ward, Trolls and magnates, sensing trouble, simultaneously craned their necks skyward as the sky was punctured.

Nearly all were at the Unbound Stage, ninth level archdemons, capable of perceiving the slightest movement within a thousand miles, if they so desired.

To many of them, the opening in the sky resembled a well's mouth.

And they felt as though they were at the bottom of that well.

The well's base was expansive, shrouded in dense white fog, while its opening was minuscule.

Yet, with the opening of the breach, every magnate emerging from the Sword Prison could see, nestled among the clouds beyond the well, an Evil Statue with two faces.

There was also a dark Crucible of Evil, dwarfed by the Evil Statue.

Given their level of cultivation, they could discern the magical glyphs writhing on the surface of the Crucible of Evil. Thus, they could also make out Yu Yuan standing within it.

Even Yu Yuan's enigmatic dark eyes, the impassiveness on his face, and the scabbard in his hands were distinctly visible.

"Yu Yuan..."

Those who witnessed him felt a stir in their Heart Lake, naturally assuming that the young man, lured by the owner of the Moon Slayer cultivator's scabbard, had been ensnared by the Evil Statue's Mind Magic.

Indeed, Mr. Yan had mentioned that the Evil Statue, a creation of Boulderdawn, was a weapon of doom.

They were all too aware of what Boulderdawn signified.

It was an entity that had once caused the three great upper sects, Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep to lose sleep, a colossus that had unsettled billions of Sky Fiends and countless Otherkin across the Star River.

Zhongli Dapan came to an abrupt halt.

Tan Yuan, Shen Feiqing, and Du Heng, whom they had found, stopped in their tracks as well, gazing at him with eyes filled with reverence and awe.

Zhongli Dapan was the undisputed leader of Forgeroses.

His robust frame was evident as his hands naturally hung past his knees.

He looked up, his eyes suddenly blazing with an intense light.

"The Evil Statue, Yu Yuan, and the Crucible of Evil have already left the tent ahead of us!"

Zhongli Dapan inhaled deeply, his feet firmly planted on the ground, and addressed the trio from Forgeroses, "The realm we're in is part of the Sword Prison. It's a massive meteorite adrift in the dark, icy void of the extraterrestrial Star River, with the Sword Prison perched atop it."

He gestured to the ground beneath them, "This aerolite was ingeniously rigged with rune circles by the cultivators of Ebon Star and Sunlit Order. Their initial purpose was to conceal the Sword Prison, making it undetectable."

Shen Feiqing nodded in acknowledgment, "I've heard some about it."

"I've heard that the aerolite is always on the move within the Extraterrestrial Star River, shifting its position," Tan Yuan chimed in.

"Correct," Zhongli Dapan confirmed, his brow furrowing as he continued, "The numerous rune circles serve to mask the Sword Prison, so that those who encounter the aerolite may not even realize its presence, much less the existence of the Sword Prison within."

"The corpses of the giant crocodiles and the shattered warships of the Star River's Otherkin were left by outsiders who discovered the location of the Sword Prison and sought to strike at it."

"In reality, before the true master acted, he disclosed the aerolite's location, drawing many extraterrestrial powers and Sky Fiends to this place."

"The Sword Sect's guardians assumed it was a minor oversight that allowed the Sword Prison to be exposed to foreign threats."

"They believed it to be just another minor skirmish, a routine battle."

"..."

Zhongli Dapan, pausing, revealed to them that the Sword Prison had not been pulled into the Everlands nor had it been situated before the Godsblight Marsh when something occurred.

It was President Lyi who had divulged the location and trajectory of the aerolite that housed the Sword Prison, attracting a swarm of Otherkin from the Star River and Sky Fiends.

After a fierce conflict, the Sword Sect's guardians were left gravely weakened.

At that moment, the real body of the domain's master arrived. Amidst the chaos of the Star River, with the three major sects, Shadow's Keep, and Devil Palace distracted and the Everlands embroiled in its own turmoil, the Sword Prison was taken.

Beneath my feet lies an aerolite riddled with magic circles and countless illusions. It's not going to be easy to leave here quickly," Zhongli Dapan mused before declaring, "I'll give it a shot and see if I can break free from that opening!"

With a slight bend of his knees followed by a forceful extension, he launched himself skyward like a projectile. A surge of power, seemingly capable of ripping through space itself, emanated from him, causing myriad points of light to cascade from the heavens like rain.

These glimmering droplets were the Void Lock that hung over the meteorite, now shattered by the fist intent coursing through his entire being.

To Shen Feiqing, Tan Yuan, and Du Huang, this prodigy from the Forgeroses sect had, with the formidable fist intent of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void," swallowed the entire sky whole.

With a series of thunderous cracks, countless arcane circles of spiritual energy and soul, invisible to the naked eye, detonated mid-air.

A sword light, with the power to wither all in its path, shot from another direction towards the gaping hole.

As the sword light ascended, it was as if a deity of death and desolation had infused its essence into the sword's will.

Any who dared to decipher or feel the sword's will were struck with terror as they felt their essence, spirit, and soul draining away uncontrollably.

Du Huang coughed up blood, his neck veins bulging as blood spurted out.

With a cold huff, Tan Yuan swept her sleeve, drawing the up-and-coming star of Forgeroses into her little world. There, she used her abundant vitality to help him stabilize his physical form.

With a mighty roar, Loong Jie transformed into a resplendent Five-clawed Golden Dragon, nearly a thousand feet long, exuding the imperial might of the Nagas. Like a golden waterfall flowing in reverse, it too surged towards the opening.

In the most ancient of times, the Five-clawed Golden Dragon reigned as the supreme being of the Everlands.

Long ago, representatives of the evilkind such as the Dark Phoenix, along with the Kylin, Vermillion Bird, and other ancient alien beasts, all revered the Five-clawed Golden Dragon as their supreme sovereign.

Loong Jie, the aged patriarch of the Nagas, was known for his licentious and unruly behavior. His domineering actions were carried out without regard for the consequences, earning him the disdain of many within his clan. Nonetheless, during the clan's elections, he was chosen to lead by the oldest dragons among them. The reason was clear: Loong Jie was a pureblood Five-clawed Golden Dragon. His bloodline was the most noble, the most commanding, and the truest representation of the Nagas. It also held the greatest potential for birthing a new prodigy for the clan. To the elder dragons, Loong Jie's lascivious nature was not a flaw but rather his most significant asset.

At that moment, the majestic Five-clawed Golden Dragon displayed his full form, preparing to take flight from the confines of the Sword Prison. Hiss! Hiss! Far off in the Star River beyond our world, the commander of the evilkind's army also manifested his true form. Resembling a snake that stretched endlessly like a river, he was somewhat more slender than Loong Jie, yet his length exceeded that of Loong Jie's thousand-foot dragon form by a considerable margin. The green serpent was adorned with intricate and mysterious patterns that, upon closer inspection, revealed themselves to be the rivers, lakes, and vast waterways of the Everlands, as well as the powerful currents of the extraterrestrial realms.

This formidable commander, who had once led the evilkind's forces in fierce battles against the Otherkin of the Star River, now sought to escape through the breach. Green Willow, a ninth-level giant snake with the potential to ascend to the ranks of the Dark Deity, should have stood alongside the Moonfang Tiger. Yet, for reasons unknown, he was detained in the Sword Prison, forever deprived of sunlight.

Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang, two diminutive figures, clung to his neck, appearing no larger than flies. Zhongli Dapan, Xi Quan, Loong Jie, and the great commander of the Shadow's Keep were all intent on finding a shortcut. Unwilling to exhaust their efforts navigating through the dense fog and myriad illusions shrouding the aerolite, they sought the most straightforward path. They aspired to emulate the Evil Statue and Yu Yuan, aiming to soar directly into the heavens and away from their earthly confines.

Inside the Crucible of Evil, Yu Yuan, his face expressionless and eyes dark and mysterious, peered down at the gaping hole below.

"This path is closed," he uttered with a snort. The bladeless sheath, which he had been clutching tightly, was drawn from the Crucible of Evil and thrust into the hole. "Everyone, retreat."

The dense sword light and sword's will, contained at the base of the sheath, burst forth explosively.

As the first streak of sword light flashed like lightning, Zhongli Dapan, Loong Jie, Xi Quan, and Green Willow, wailing as though they had lost their parents, came to an abrupt halt.

And then, they plummeted!

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