The Stars Beyond

The secret realm, with its vast internal territory, was now decaying. The entire small world was withering, with various spirit trees wilting, dried leaves covering the ground, and divine flowers withering.　　

The secret realm became blurry, hazy, and was filled with cracks. Under the terrifying effect of the Number One Killing Formation, its speed of decaying accelerated. It actually perished even before the end of the myth.　　

In the dying light, as the last beam of light swept across the small world, illuminating everything, the whole world was about to collapse. The secret realm seemed to have a life of its own as blood dripped from the sky.　　

"What a pity!" Wang Xuan lamented and regretted it. A small world ended just like that, disintegrating.　　

He controlled the Life Essence Furnace to transform into a stream of light and quickly rushed out. Otherwise, it would be very dangerous with the collapse of the space here.　　

In the azure sea, the Life Essence Furnace was crystal clear. Wang Xuan and Celestial Sword Maiden left the area and looked back from afar. Initially, there was a dazzling light that rose and collapsed. Then, it shrunk, and finally quickly calmed down.　　

They thought there would be a terrible explosion, with the entire sea drying up and a tsunami reaching the sky. They never expected it to die so peacefully and momentarily.　　

Jiang Qingyao sighed softly, "If the Immortal Realm dies and extinguishes, it's just a matter of seconds. The extraordinary may notice anomalies, but ordinary people won't feel anything. Myths will vanish and die in silence."　　

"Let's go, bloody maiden. Let's heal our wounds first," Wang Xuan said. At that moment, they both looked like blood gourds, covered in crimson, with injuries everywhere.　　

"Wanna fight?" replied Jiang Qingyao. She lightly tapped him with the broken Purple Celestial Dao Sword. The sword had pits and fractures on its body, some parts were even charred black.　　

"Don’t do it, this is a damaged treasure. I might get knocked out if you're not careful," said Wang Xuan, stepping back.　　

"I haven't activated it anyway," Celestial Sword Maiden said joyfully, holding the broken sword, reluctant to let go. A faint mysterious purple light flowed over the blade.　　

"I've broken twenty-seven bones this time. It's really miserable," said Wang Xuan as he inspected his internal body. He was feeling pain all over his body.　

Wang Xuan had a supreme treasure in hand, which was cautious enough, but he still almost had an accident. The power of the Number One Killing Formation was beyond imagination. With the broken Purple Celestial Dao Sword as the formation base, one could almost withstand the gods and kill the Buddhas!　　

Thinking from another perspective, he felt that the man in the black robe was probably even more aggrieved than him, because the man had failed even with such a killing formation that could harvest peerless transcendents.　　

Not long ago, when Wang Xuan searched the black-robed man’s spirit, he felt his despair, anger, and unwillingness. It was a close call, and the result could have been different with just a slight change.　　

Even after Wang Xuan searched his spirit, he couldn't help but sigh at the danger. This killing formation was limited by the materials of the formation. It had many flaws due to the lack of natural treasures to support it, it’s far from perfect.　　

"This is troublesome. Although I obtained the Number One Killing Formation, I will encounter problems similar to that old demon's. Where can I find so many treasures to refine the formation diagram?" pondered Wang Xuan. Then, they arrived at an island deep in the sea, lush with clear springs, and mountains. It was relatively quiet, and not yet developed by newcomers.　　

Next, after Wang Xuan tried several times, he triggered the spiritual perception again and, together with Celestial Sword Maiden, entered the inner landscape to begin healing.　　

Here, time seemed to fly by. Rich silver material fell like heavy snow covering them, causing a strong metabolism boost in both of them. Broken bones reconnected, torn flesh closed, and vigorous new vitality accumulated in their cells. They emitted a faint glow and were full of fresh vitality.　　

The change was quick. The vitality of their spirits and flesh became extremely vigorous, injuries and illnesses disappeared, and with a slight shake, scabs and the like fell off their bodies, leaving no wounds left on them. They put on their transcendent armor again, wore their clothes, and were completely restored.　　

"I need to study the Number One Killing Formation carefully," Wang Xuan said. For the tens or hundreds of years to come while he was in the inner landscape, he would ponder the Dao Harnessing Killing Formation, which he valued greatly. For a while, he even put aside the issue of the Banner of Severance and focused on his research.　　

Celestial Sword Maiden also joined in, discussing with him from time to time. They comprehended together and exchanged and verified with each other. They were achieving excellent results and had significantly improved their understanding of the killing formation.　　

Even though it was difficult to fathom the essence of the entire killing formation and fully understand the formation’s principles, they could still arrange and refine the formation diagram based on the memories of the man in the black robe. Of course, the biggest problem still lay in the limitation of natural treasures, which were difficult to gather.　　

"It seems that it will be impossible to refine the formation diagram in the short term. I wanted to use it to deal with the Evil Dragon but it seems impossible for now," Wang Xuan sighed helplessly. He had the strongest killing formation in hand but couldn't set it up.　　

The man in the black robe spent a lot of time and effort. Who knows how many years he spent to create a flawed Number One Killing Formation? Now, with the end of the transcendent era approaching, where would Wang Xuan go to collect materials?　　

"However, I still have some good things here, which should be able to replace some of the natural treasures," said Wang Xuan, sorting through various treasures.　　

The golden small tree and the nine golden crows on it were supreme treasures, and the Spirit Chain was of the same level. Additionally, there were the Banner of Severance, iron awl, Silver Beast Skin Scroll, and more.　　

"There's also the Book of Ages, the page carrying the mental illness technique, and the real supreme treasure of them, the Life Essence Furnace!" exclaimed Wang Xuan. 　　

He believed that if he went to the Land of the Undying and looted the gods, he would probably be able to gather enough natural treasures by seizing the powerful weapons of the mighty gods.　　

The weapons of those mighty figures must be treasures, crafted with exquisite materials. However, doing so would attract too much hatred, especially from the likes of the Evil Dragon and the sword lunatic who were also there.　　

"There's also the Purple Celestial Dao Sword, which can be placed in the killing formation as a substitute for natural treasures," Jiang Qingyao said. If needed, she could use the sword for it.　　

The two studied and manipulated the Number One Killing Formation in the inner landscape. In the end, even Wang Xuan's various treasures from the earlier stages were taken out. Short swords, fishing lines, hooks, divine lamps, golden gourds, and so on were naturally included, and there was no shortage of the purple gourd given by Celestial Sword Maiden, which had the chaotic aura.　　

"Not to mention, after looting Demon Lord's home and ransacking Qi Tian's cave, there are plenty of things we can use," Wang Xuan remarked.　　

The two set up a crude and simple Number One Killing Formation. Despite having many treasures, and with Jiang Qingyao even contributing her own collection, it was still not enough.　　

They failed even with the use of supreme treasures like the Life Essence Furnace and the Purple Celestial Dao Sword. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to set up a rudimentary version of the killing formation.　　

"I regret it a bit. Earlier, I should have stolen all kinds of treasures from the conglomerate's secret vault, leaving nothing behind. Maybe then we could have gathered enough materials," Wang Xuan sighed. He only took the best treasures when he was there.　　

When he came back this time, he found that the secret vault was already empty. It was either taken away by the conglomerate or reclaimed by the returning immortals. Of course, if he had done so earlier, he might not have survived and would have been pursued by various forces to the end.　　

Now, his relationship with various parties was still okay, except for the Evil Dragon and the creator of the Demonic Embryo Technique who were always eyeing his body. Otherwise, he had few other mortal enemies.　　

"At worst, you hide from the Evil Dragon. Time is on your side!" Jiang Qingyao said. The two didn't plan to stay in the New World for long. They would leave in a while and enter the depths of the universe to explore the unknown starry sky.　　

They speculated that after the man in the black robe died, his main body would know sooner or later. After all, secrets couldn't be kept forever.　　

Moreover, not long ago, the Life Essence Furnace shook wildly. Perhaps the peerless transcendents in the Land of the Undying had already set off and were on their way back, coming to search for the last supreme treasure! However, the journey was long, and those people would have difficulty returning in these two days.　　

"Third Stage bear, come pick me up," said Wang Xuan, contacting the mechanical bear via radio.　　

"There's no Third Stage bear, only Second Stage bear is left!" The mechanical bear said indignantly. It had been guarding Wang Xuan and had just recently improved its realm, but today… it dropped again!　　

"Hurry up, or else you'll become a First Stage bear soon!" Wang Xuan urged.　　

The small silver spaceship rushed over and picked up Wang Xuan and Jiang Qingyao from the deserted island in the deep sea. As a precaution, he didn't linger and didn't go to see Professor Lin and the others, heading directly into the dark universe.　　

The transcendent world was about to fall silent forever, with only a few days left. Wang Xuan decided to stay low-key for a while. He wanted to temporarily cut off from the outside world, and wander in deep space with Celestial Sword Maiden. Whenever they passed by a planet with life, they would avoid it.　　

"Are these really components of the Dao Harnessing Banner? Can they reproduce the Number One Supreme Treasure?" pondered Wang Xuan. In the spaceship, Wang Xuan played with a pile of treasures, focusing on two palm-sized small banners.　　

He was quite fond of them. He had also obtained the Banner of Severance, which could even sever the flesh of the most powerful gods! However, after trying to merge them for half a day, the two banners only resonated with mysterious fluctuations but couldn't unify in the end.　　

The iron awl, the Golden Beast Skin Scroll with holes, and the Silver Beast Skin Scroll dug from Qingcheng Mountain were all put together by him. They all had fluctuations, but they couldn't be merged.　　

"Huh, something else is vibrating?!" said Wang Xuan with surprise. It was actually the short sword. It had also moved once, but only that one time. Afterward, no matter how he manipulated, activated the Banner of Severance and the Godslaying Banner, the short sword didn't react much.　　

This weapon didn't have any extraordinary attributes. It had only one characteristic, which was hard and sharp. It had even cut off the fishing line of the fisherman on the Departed Land Moon.　　

"What's the reason behind this? I wanted to reproduce the Dao Harnessing Banner, and the short sword moved once. Is there any causal relationship?" He doubted, opening his Spiritual Eyes, but couldn't see anything.　　

Outside the spaceship, the universe was vast, profound, and cold. It was a darkness that stretched endlessly. They stayed away from the New World and traveled aimlessly.　　

Celestial Sword Maiden played with the Purple Celestial Dao Sword. This time, her celestial sword couldn't absorb the broken sword, but instead, her celestial sword itself had to merge into this broken sword.　　

As she continued to refine it, she saw scenes of the past, with thunderous flashes and Heavenly Tribulation of the Dao Harnessing-level, shaking her mind. It was incredibly shocking.　　

That kind of power would instantly kill even the peerless transcendents. There was no suspense. Apart from supreme treasures, whether in the Mortal Realm or the Immortal Realm, there was no creature that could withstand it.　　

"This sword, originally about to become a supreme treasure, was still destroyed in the end," she said with a complex expression. In that vast Heavenly Tribulation, an entire starry sky was shattered!　　

Luckily, that sword was refined in the depths of the universe. Otherwise, sentient beings would have suffered, and an entire starry land would have been reduced to a place of destruction!　　

"What's going on?" asked Wang Xuan, putting down a small gold and silver banner and then turned to look at her.　　

Celestial Sword Maiden said with a serious expression, "The Purple Celestial Dao Sword is almost considered a success in refining. It contains the spirit of the strongest figure of that mythological civilization. He wanted to ascend together with it, reaching the Dao Harnessing-level, but was ruthlessly destroyed by the chaotic Heavenly Tribulation of the Dao Harnessing-level!"　　

"This…" Wang Xuan was truly surprised.

This should have been able to mature into a supreme ancient sword, but in the end, it was destroyed because of this?　　

"In order to break free and ascend to the Dao Harnessing-level, ancient people tried various methods." He sighed.　　

In the Departed Land where the fragments of Xu Fu’s spirit were located, the moon was actually the eye of a creature, and the giant beast was the result of a lost civilization's efforts.　　

That civilization had once tried their best to upgrade the physical body of an invincible creature to the Dao Harnessing-level, but its spirit collapsed prematurely. In the end, that civilization left behind an incomplete supreme treasure as a form of life.　　

As for the civilization of the Purple Celestial Dao Sword, they wanted to use the supreme treasure as a vessel. Letting the spirit enter it to achieve the sublimation of the level of life, but it also failed.　　

"How can this pile of objects be combined together, and how can the Number One Supreme Treasure, the Dao Harnessing Banner, be reproduced?" pondered Wang Xuan. He tried various methods, but nothing seemed to work.　　

He thought for a moment, then put the Banner of Severance, the iron awl, the Beast Skin Scrolls, and the short sword into the Life Essence Furnace. He was ready to take them into the void and refine them in the sea of red substances above the meteorite passage.　　

"I'll personally refine the treasures and see how it’ll be!" exclaimed Wang Xuan. His spirit set off with the furnace, passing through the Life Soil, and soon appeared in the meteorite passage.