The Stars Beyond

Chapter 546: The Great Enemy Of This Era

At night, Wang Xuan opened his eyes, his spirit returned, and the gnawing hunger within finally ceased. The world was utterly silent, and the night sky above the outskirts was a tapestry of stars. Stepping out of his spacecraft onto the cold ground, his breath misted in the chilly air.

Wang Xuan gazed upwards, as if trying to peer through the depths of the cosmos, pondering about the group struggling to cross the vast sea. He wondered whether they would manage to successfully navigate their treacherous path. In this era, when cultivation was nearly impossible, a group of people refused to bow to the harsh realities of the mundane world, instead embarking on a path filled with faint hope. He waited long; the three specks of light showed no change and slowly faded away. Intuitively, he felt them sinking deeper into the Life Soil beneath him.

Compelled by a sudden urge, Wang Xuan ventured into the Life Soil himself, only to find the area shrouded in mist and tainted with a hint of decay. “Must I too decay with this great era?” he mused as his spirit dove deeper. Without the treasures or the speed boost of the Banner of Slaying, his journey took considerably longer.

“Indeed, changes are afoot,” he noted with a chill. Even with all his powers, he was slower than before. The origins of myths, the birthplace of the supernatural, the Life Soil, was in decline—like the rest of the universe, correcting itself.

His external spirit, current flesh, and the shedding of his old internal landscape had already shown signs of this impending decay. He was not unprepared; the winter was already upon him. After a lengthy journey, he reached his destination and collected vast amounts of silver elixir and purple substances, knowing he might not be able to return.

Wang Xuan was on high alert, preparing for the harsh winter and ready to respond to the worst of changes. Returning from his journey, touched by the experience, his spirit left his body and soared into the night sky, looking down upon the brilliant city of Ancheng. The neon lights flickered, and skyscrapers rose up one after another, casting him into a reverie.

In this unique era, if familiar faces left this universe, who would remain for him to discuss the matters of cultivation? As Wang Xuan's spirit flew across the night sky, surveying the land below, he harbored a fear that one day, even he might be suppressed by this mortal world, unable to project his spirit freely.

The sensation of free flight might one day become a luxurious dream. “Hmm?” Wang Xuan noticed a river in the distance, illuminated by the glow of the night, where someone was fishing. Within this person glimmered a faint light—a sign of a supernatural being. In these times, when many immortals had perished and winter had arrived, it was rare to find such beings, and yet here was one, fishing leisurely.

As other supernaturals were consumed by panic and confusion, uncertain of their path forward, this individual was oddly at peace, fishing. Wang Xuan descended silently, approaching without making a sound, then paused not far away to observe him. He soon noticed something odd—the fisherman occasionally glanced toward Qingmu’s estate.

Was he keeping watch?

The man was exceedingly cautious, maintaining a distance that would have been unnoticeable to anyone not as perceptive as Wang Xuan, whose spirit roamed the night sky. Wang Xuan, nearly a celestial immortal in his own right and vastly more powerful than this man clinging to his fading supernatural fruit, swept a thought towards him, blanking his mind and leaving him frozen in place unknowingly.

Soon, Wang Xuan understood: a figure in a black robe had instructed this man to guard Qingmu's estate, to watch for any sign of Wang Xuan—better to miss a sighting than risk exposure. Thus, he had positioned himself sufficiently far away, blending into the crowd of casual fishermen.

“Who is this man in the black robe? Without a fertile ground for cultivation, who would still bear such malice towards me?” Wang Xuan wondered. In an era where everyone was desperate, plotting their own survival, who would harbor such strong hostility?

His spirit moved over Ancheng, sweeping past skyscrapers, spotting a few supernaturals along the way—sadly not many, and those few were heavily suppressed, mostly stuck between the first or second layers of their former power. One more tremor from the cosmos, and they would likely fall completely to mortal status.

He then visited Huang Ming’s Immortal Tea House, which lay in silence. Huang, the proprietor, had fallen from grace, reduced to a mortal, though his foundation was solid enough to make him a Grandmaster among ordinary humans. Fortunately, his body had solidified early; he hadn’t reverted to his true form. He appeared somewhat despondent, still adjusting to the drastic changes that had reshaped the world.

Wang Xuan glided silently through the night, unnoticed, as if he were merely a shadow. Finally returning to Qing Mu's estate, he began to divide his attention, focusing part of his mind on the angler who had been idly fishing by the riverbank.

"He hasn't made a move, just staying around the estate. I dare not approach too closely," Wang Xuan mused.

His vigilance was rewarded. In the dead of night, the angler rose like any dedicated hobbyist and started for home just before dawn, making a phone call along the way.

"Don't alarm him; he's irrelevant now. Don’t worry, without the treasures, it won't be long before he dies. For now, our focus should be on the depths of the cosmos—it’s harvest time," chuckled a voice over the phone, oozing anticipation.

"What will happen in the cosmos?" the angler asked, his voice tinged with fear.

"Treasures... you shouldn’t ask about things that don’t concern you!" the caller replied coldly. "Stay away from that estate. He can’t affect much now. But if his spaceship takes off, notify me immediately. We'll bring it down, eliminate him, leave no trace behind."

The chilling, decisive tone, dripping with malevolence, felt like a whisper from the abyss. It sent a shiver down Wang Xuan's spine.

In that moment, a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. Someone harbored not just intense hostility towards him but also desired a bloody harvest in the cosmic depths!

Although the mysterious person restrained himself, Wang Xuan could feel the impatience, the eagerness to reap a victorious harvest soon.

"He mentioned the treasures..."

Abruptly rising, Wang Xuan boarded his spaceship and instructed the mechanical bear to immediately contact Chen Yongjie and the others at the dimensional rift, hoping it wasn’t too late.

After the signal was sent, death seemed to count down the seconds, chilling his heart and sending shivers down his spine. Who was it? Shang Yi? Or was there another, more ambitious and ruthless figure about to strike?

Yet, there was no response in the vast emptiness of space, increasing Wang Xuan’s agitation. Had it already happened? Was it too late?

The sinister implications of the brief conversation haunted him. Too many knew about the rift now; someone was planning to strike there, and the odds of their success were alarmingly high.

Hoping to rely on his own strength or unite the present-day transcendants for a hunt was futile. The era's mightiest, those few who clung to their celestial fruits with the aid of treasures, were all near the transcendent sea of light.

"This is an attempt to breach the dimensional rift with a super battleship, targeting a group of transcendants whose powers have waned so drastically in this era they could be slain by conventional weapons."

Even if they couldn't be killed instantly, the collapse of the cavern and the backwash of the sea of light could sweep them away. Ninety percent of the Transcendents and gods would be caught off guard and would perish.

Only a few Earth Immortals might be able to forcibly traverse the sea using their treasures, but an abrupt attack would likely prevent them from coordinating effectively, ultimately leading to their demise. After all, there had been no successful precedents in history. Acting separately, each relying on a single treasure to cross the sea, was mostly doomed to fail. Such a scenario meant total annihilation for those in the dimensional rift, leaving no remains, possibly leaving behind treasures as the sea of light receded. Wang Xuan broke into a cold sweat, shuddering at these bloody and ruthless scenarios. The person behind this was ruthlessly exploiting the dire circumstances.

"Little Bear, have we made contact with them yet?"

"No, the message has been sent. I hope they receive it."

Wang Xuan's forehead was slick with sweat. In an era of great suffering, where no path forward for cultivation existed, a group of top-tier Transcendents clung to their dreams, unwilling to give up, venturing to forge a path and stake their future on it. Who could have imagined that someone would strike such a malicious blow from behind? He felt saddened by the deterioration of the age. Some were willing to risk their lives for a new world, yet others were prepared to strike them down from the shadows, taking their lives. And now, all he could do was wait, powerless to stop it, likely too late to change anything.

"Fallen spirits, Shang Yi, the founder of the Demon Spawn Technique... who else?" He pondered the currently potent forces with malice.

"Qian Lei, if someone attacks a spaceship launched from the old earth, can your side detect it immediately and lock on?"

Unable to alter the events unfolding in the depths of the cosmos, Wang Xuan focused on investigating and acting on this end, his aura seething with the intent to kill as he contacted his connections.

He had known Qian Lei back on the old earth before he had become a Transcendent, reaching out to him first.

Moreover, Guan Lin was working there, and Chen Yongjie was also involved, maintaining good relations with the deputy of the relevant department.

"What's going on?" Qian Lei asked.

"Trouble is brewing," Wang Xuan quickly explained the situation.

"Old Chen is caught up in it too, deep in the cosmos..."

In a swift and straightforward exchange, Wang Xuan had already left the estate and caught up with the angler, seizing control of him and sending his call records to Qian Lei for investigation. After ending the call, Wang Xuan returned to Qingmu's estate with the man in tow, looking to the mechanical bear and asked, “Little Bear, if someone targets the spaceship as we ascend to outer space, intending to shoot us down, you’ll be prepared, right?”

“Worry not, who could shoot down a bear? I'd flatten them like a celestial being!” the bear stated expressionlessly.

“Good, stay quiet and be ready to act at any moment,” Wang Xuan instructed.

Soon after, Qian Lei reported back with the location of the person who had been communicating with the angler.

“Stay alert, don’t let anyone ambush you and obliterate you and the spaceship,” Wang Xuan warned Little Bear before setting off alone. His target was in the neighboring city.

He moved under the cover of night, intent on hunting down this mysterious individual to interrogate and peel back his secrets, driven by a tumultuous mix of concern for the familiar faces he was trying to protect and seething rage towards the perpetrator's cruel intentions.

His murderous intent palpable, Wang Xuan sped along a river. Opting not to use his physical body, which wasn't fast enough, he flew along the waterway, heading towards the dim lights of the distant city before dawn. In the depths of space, terrifying beams of light intersected, resembling countless comets streaking across the dark void, raising clouds of terrifying energy. Within the dimensional rift, caverns collapsed and spider-web-like tunnels, massive as chasms, exploded continuously.

The abyss suffered the most violent bombardments, with the sea of transcendental light backwashing forcefully, sending waves crashing high, even spilling out of the dimensional rift to illuminate the pitch-black cosmic void.