The Stars Beyond

Chapter 547: Those Who Fought For Three Thousand Years

Before dawn, in the deepest hours of the night, the darkness was profound. Wang Xuan skimmed just above the river, the reeds on either bank blurring past as he flew over a hundred miles to the neighboring city—Yuan City.

His spirit crossed the distance with such swiftness that streaks of light flashed by; moments later, he stood suspended high in the air, overlooking the city bathed in the dim lights of night, his murderous intent now concealed.

He located his target building effortlessly—the third tallest skyscraper in Yuan City, a seven-star hotel with a rooftop capable of accommodating small spacecraft.

Wang Xuan didn’t need to search; the man he was looking for wasn’t in a hotel room but on the rooftop. Dressed in black, the figure stood at the edge, a glass of red wine in hand, gazing out at the profound cosmic starscape.

He seemed to relish the moment, silently toasting to the void, as if celebrating a splendid occasion. “Heh, the superlative world, what can a gathering of several relics do? You’re all still going to die. The Sea of Transcendence is a dead end; countless civilizations have perished there. Rather than that fate, why not kill you all, seize a few relics, and take another path with my old friend.”

With a tilt of his head, he drained the wine glass, squinting his eyes, awaiting the good news from the stars. According to his calculations, the strike should have already been initiated, and the most powerful of this era were about to die.

“Who’s there?” Suddenly, he felt a chill, and whipping his head up, he caught sight of Wang Xuan in the sky. Instantly, he tossed aside the wine glass.

With a loud crash, the black cloak he wore burst open, transforming into a vast cloud of black mist that engulfed the sky, his form vanishing from the sight of ordinary beings. But he couldn't hide from Wang Xuan, whose spiritual eye, still effective even after the demise of myth, spotted him dashing towards a small spaceship on the rooftop. Wang Xuan's spirit scanned the entire building and, finding no accomplices other than the man, focused his gaze on him again, his intent to kill boiling over. Rarely had he felt such a strong desire to kill. If Zhang Daoling, the Sword Fairy, Fang Yuzhu, the Shadow Couple, the Beast Lord, and others were to be blasted by a warship, he couldn’t bear it.

In fact, at this moment, his heart was pounding, his instincts telling him that something was happening deep in space, likely a massive upheaval in the Sea of Transcendence. Such radiation, he knew, still had some effect on the real world.

In the dead of night, under the darkest sky, the catacombs were likely collapsing, the dimensional rifts being bombarded by a super warship. With a deep thrum, the mysterious man was twisted by an unknown force, nearly torn apart on the spot. Bloodied and battered, he was hurled backward, unable to approach the spaceship.

Although Wang Xuan was burning with a desire to obliterate him immediately, he restrained himself, seeking to uncover the secrets behind this gruesome conspiracy. The man was powerful, his face middle-aged and tinged with a decaying aura that was rare in this era. Remarkably, he had managed to maintain a cultivational level of seven tiers—exceptional considering that even the mightiest gods and unparalleled immortals had fallen to the fifth or sixth, some even to the fourth.

His preservation of such a high tier likely involved extraordinary means, possibly through the use of some rare artifact. “Yet another fallen specter!” Wang Xuan peered into his essence, seeing the bloody soul within him, wrapped in malevolent energy, once a formidable force.

However, how could a seventh-tier transcendental stand a chance against Wang Xuan? Now equated to a land immortal, the pinnacle of this universe, he faced few threats within the transcendental realm. “There was a little mishap, it seems I was too eager to finish you off early and exposed myself. I should have just blasted that estate outside Ancheng directly!” the specter spoke, his middle-aged visage, pale complexion, and icy eyes revealing a trace of regret, though it was too late for regrets.

In fact, had he secured the relics first, ensuring the grand scheme was set, he would have preferred to deal with Wang Xuan afterward, possibly even capturing him alive, given the young man's rumored intent to forge a new path and the secrets he carried.

“Speak, who else is involved, and what have you done at the dimensional rift?” Wang Xuan demanded coldly, dropping swiftly to the ground, instantly closing the distance.

Unafraid, the fallen specter stepped back, confessing, “There’s nothing to hide. I took matters into my own hands, commandeered some warships from this era, and mobilized two ancient spacecraft I once controlled, to annihilate the immortals, slay the gods, and seize the relics.”

With a loud crack, he was gripped by an invisible force that tore at him, his body riddled with cracks ready to burst, and his soul bound, unable to self-destruct.

"It's too late, whether you're enraged or anxious, it doesn't matter. The fleet has already struck, catching them completely off guard. Since the mythos has decayed, let the last flickers of light extinguish," he said with a cold laugh. With a sudden force, his body was torn apart, disintegrating into superlative firelight, his soul swiftly clutched by Wang Xuan, who began to extract its secrets immediately.

"Coordinates beyond Old Earth..." Wang Xuan swiftly texted Qian Lei, giving the precise location of the hostile ship, which was solitary and easily destructible.

"Was this just an avatar? His true lair in the extinguished realm of the immortals?" Wang Xuan crushed the crimson soul, leaving no trace behind. Yet, his heart was still heavy, knowing that anything he did now was too late; what was meant to happen in the depths of the universe had already transpired.

"Fallen specter!" Gritting his teeth, he soared skyward, heading for Wangwu Mountain, from where he could access the extinguished realm of immortals. Although he could enter from the mists above his own soil, he feared the immortals' realm was too vast, and locating the specter's lair directly could prove difficult.

Following the specter's memories, he entered through Wangwu Mountain's shattered sanctuaries deep within. Opening his spiritual eye, he saw the dim and dark shadows of the immortals' realm. Invisible to ordinary beings, visible only to transcendents.

"After the extinction of the immortals' realm, it didn't disappear entirely but darkened, became silent, and no longer barred transcendents from entering." He plunged into this half-material, half-spiritual plane, permeated with decay, devoid of life, where once beings had perished and ancient tribes had buried themselves prematurely, according to legend, awaiting rebirth in the next era of transcendence.

The dark immortals' realm, devoid of any light or life, was chillingly silent and disconcerting. It was said some realms of death were born from the extinction of great eras. This made sense, as some realms of death were indeed ancient specter lairs. Now, in this realm of immortals, all beings had perished, including plants and trees, which, according to ancient texts, were likely to foster specters.

Ahead, endless shadows densely packed, seemed like hordes of spirits converging towards a bizarre location.

"Is this how ancient specters are born? Undying obsessions consuming each other until only the most formidable entities emerge?" Wang Xuan mused softly. Did this imply that after the celestial realms grew silent, countless races and endless beings would return as specters?

"No, someone is orchestrating this, deliberately catalyzing and summoning these obsessions to manifest them. It wouldn’t just happen naturally!" Wang Xuan concluded, his spiritual eye revealing more than met the ordinary gaze. He sensed something amiss in the terrain ahead.

Suddenly, a figure descended with a thunderous crash, accompanied by boundless sword light that split the earth below, illuminating the once-darkened celestial realm anew.

"Ah, you actually came. It seems you've killed my incarnation. His memories were incomplete, intentionally erased of crucial information by my true self," a voice declared. A faint silhouette emerged, its tone carrying a mild amusement.

"The First Murder Formation, the work of the creator of the Demon Embryo Technique, and now in league with you, the specter." Wang Xuan spoke directly, his gaze piercing as he asked, "Where is your true form?" In this region, a deadly formation had been laid.

"Deep in the cosmos, fetching a relic. Since the planar fissure collapsed, naturally, it's time to collect the spoils. At this moment, it’s quite spectacular there," the specter replied. It was just a shadow, not the actual entity.

"No, you are not his spirit, merely a flicker of his mental essence," the shadow realized suddenly, then sighed, "You've dodged a bullet by being so cautious."

From afar, Wang Xuan watched coldly. His spiritual eye surveyed the area, noting that the once-dreaded First Murder Formation had greatly diminished in power in this era.

Since there were no longer any rules, they could only provide pure energy. The formations could only crudely use sword qi and light beams to kill their enemies, with no possibility of the order's divine chains appearing.

Wang Xuan had delved deep into the study of the First Murder Formation. Now, he could even set one up himself. If he were ever trapped inside, it would be quite problematic. But being on the outside, he carefully observed and then began to dismantle the formation, collecting various precious materials.

"You're quite generous, burying the True Formation Crystals to provide energy," he remarked as he unraveled the formation, uncovering numerous priceless artifacts. These were the spoils gathered by the specter and the founder of the Demon Embryo Technique before the end of the celestial realm, and they were truly extraordinary.

"In the future, I may need them. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to refine a true diagram of the First Murder Formation," he contemplated.

With a muffled sound, the shadow dissipated instantaneously as Wang Xuan finished dismantling the formation and gathered a plethora of rare treasures. There were special formations here that could gather spirits and draw in the resentment of various races.

"It's somewhat reminiscent of the legendary Soul Burial Formation. Cultivating fierce ghosts and nurturing extraordinary beasts. It seems that the ancient specters were born from a celestial realm that had been extinguished," he mused, destroying the formations and gathering too many rare materials to carry away.

Finally, he dispersed these items in the desolate areas of the celestial realm, where they could be retrieved when needed in the future.

"I hope there's no bad news coming from the depths of the cosmos," he worriedly thought as he set out on his journey home.

As dawn broke and the sky brightened, Wang Xuan returned to Ancheng, his body and spirit reunited as he opened his eyes.

"Wang Xuan, Chen Yongjie has been trying to contact you. He's been looking for you several times," the mechanical bear informed him immediately.

There couldn't have been better news. At least Chen Yongjie wasn't dead. Wang Xuan quickly reestablished contact with him, and the connection was established instantly.

"Wang Xuan, I'm okay. The experience just now was terrifying, too violent. It felt like the universe was exploding!" Chen Yongjie exclaimed.

Qingmu appeared, leaning closer to the screen with a mix of excitement and eagerness. "A universal war!"

"How are the Shadow Couple, Fang Yuzhu, the Sword Immortal, Xu Fu, and the Demon Lord?" Wang Xuan asked quickly, eager to know their fates and wishing he could rush to their aid immediately.

"They... a bunch of cunning folks, how could they get into trouble? Don't worry, they have more warships, they've made arrangements long ago," Chen Yongjie reassured.

Wang Xuan naturally understood. When they ventured into the dimensional rift, those people had massive warships, with giant motherships escorting them. But later on, those ships were taken by their descendants.

"They didn't just take them away, they clearly made preparations in advance. They're on guard, afraid that someone might go crazy and wipe them all out. All the ships are hiding deep in the cosmos, with monitoring points near the crucial wormholes," Qingmu explained the details.

The culprits were the specter and the founder of the Demon Embryo Technique. Their fleet was detected long before it reached them. Then, the Shadow Couple, Fang Yuzhu, and others received the report and left the cavern, boarding their ships to temporarily depart.

At that time, a group of strong individuals ordered no contact with the outside world temporarily, and Wang Xuan didn't get a response.

By the time the enemy ships arrived, there was no one there. They left behind a few ships as a decoy, but in reality, they were nowhere to be found.

The powerful specter and the founder of the Demon Embryo Technique ordered the bombardment of the dimensional rift, collapsing the cavern and allowing the transcendent light sea to flood in.

Only when everything calmed down did the two villains smile and lead their men into the dimensional rift to search for treasures.

"And then, they met their tragic end. Immortal Fang, Senior Yan, and others returned aboard motherships and warships, cornering them there. Not one was left alive, they wiped them all out!" Wang Xuan's emotions surged, finally letting out a breath he'd been holding, relieved that the people he worried about all night were unharmed.

He felt a sense of understanding. What kind of people were they? In the cruel world of the Great Enclave, they fought and struggled for three thousand years, all elite among the elites, all ruthless individuals. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived, let alone reached such heights.

"Senior Yan, Senior Bai, Immortal Fang, Senior Xu, and the others all said they didn't want you to come to see them off, to avoid unnecessary sadness. They hope you can carve out a new path in this world. If they're still alive, they hope to meet you again in the new universe," Chen Yongjie informed him.