Lu Yuan stood upon the Moon, his voice remarkably calm.
At this moment, he looked exceedingly frail, as the vast majority of the strength within him had been consumed by the sacrificial rite. Even so, facing the fury of the Ranked Immortals, he showed not the slightest hint of worry.
Instead, a smile crept onto his face, as if he had anticipated this very moment all along. Beside him, with the continuous infusion of essence blood, the small bronze cauldron diffused an unbroken emerald radiance. Responding to the summons, the Yongzhou Cauldron caused the previous power not to dissipate, but rather to grow ever more intense.
He stood in place, enveloped by its glow, appearing extraordinary. Above him, the wills of the Ranked Immortals descended one after another, radiating dazzling, resplendent light. Far from comprehending his words, they found Lu Yuan far too arrogant.
In the distance, the twelve Demi-Saints heard him as well, each stunned into exchanging bewildered glances.
"Is this Lu Yuan insane? Who he's facing right now are the Ranked Immortals!"
"Just because he used the power of Earth's ancient experts to disrupt their methods, does he really think he has the right to be proud?"
"Too rash, far too young. He hasn't even stepped into the Saint Realm. The power of an immortal is beyond anything he can imagine." The various beings spoke, all convinced that Lu Yuan had lost his mind.
He had managed to hold off the Ranked Immortals before solely due to the contingency left behind by the Severance of Heaven and Earth. But now, the wills of the Ranked Immortals had manifested in person, clearly intending to slay him to vent their fury.
Under such circumstances, he should have used a Boundary-Shifting Talisman to flee back to Earth as quickly as possible; only then might he retain a glimmer of hope.
Yet rather than choose to flee, he continued to provoke the Ranked Immortals. In their eyes, this was nothing short of seeking death.
"A mere ant dares act so brazenly before us. Utterly ridiculous." At this moment, one of the immortals spoke. Shrouded in light, his appearance obscured and his racial origin unknown, his voice was laden with killing intent. "Enough. Since that is the case, we shall grant you the most severe punishment."
They had projected their wills here precisely to execute the person who had ruined their plans. Now that they had found him, they had no desire to waste any more words. The instant those words fell, the Ranked Immortals advanced in unison.
*Boom!* In an instant, an overwhelming, supreme might emerged across the Solar System. This was not just a single immortal, but twenty to thirty of them.
Even without directly striking, the sheer pressure radiating from them was unimaginably terrifying, horrifying to the extreme.
Below, the Moon trembled violently. Had it not been for the protection of the Severance of Heaven and Earth, most of the celestial body would have cracked apart on the spot.
And now, they shared only a single objective: bring down their might and crush that ant.
Yet at this very moment, not the slightest flicker of emotion stirred in Lu Yuan's eyes.
Another surge of power slowly welled up within him. At the same time, strands of essence blood poured into the small bronze cauldron once again.
In that breath, the Yongzhou Cauldron quivered, and the power nurtured within it could no longer be restrained, erupting outright.
Boundless brilliance shot forth as one of the legendary Nine Cauldrons slowly floated into the air. A formidable power surged forth, instantly enshrouding the entire Moon.
It transformed into an incomparably magnificent beam of light, unexpectedly charging straight toward the Ranked Immortals. This sight caught everyone completely off guard.
"Not good!" Seeing this, the Ranked Immortals grew flustered. This power was utterly terrifying, far stronger than before, exceeding what a mere projected will could withstand—it was the contingency belonging to the Severance of Heaven and Earth.
They moved to react at once, but it was already too late; they had been firmly locked on by the Yongzhou Cauldron. Moreover, as time passed, the power it radiated grew increasingly potent.
After all, this was unleashed through Lu Yuan's continuous sacrifice. In truth, he had been on guard all along, knowing that once the Ranked Immortals' plan was foiled, they would inevitably fly into a rage from humiliation.
Now, it appeared exactly as he had anticipated: their wills had descended, and should those wills suffer damage, their true bodies would not fare well either. That was why Lu Yuan had spoken earlier of having waited for a long time.
This time, he not only intended to shatter the Ranked Immortals' scheme, but also meant to inflict a heavy blow upon them, declaring to the deep cosmos that any attempt to invade Earth would come at a price.
Only by making a portion of them suffer a bitter loss, feeling true pain, would Lu Yuan's goal be achieved.
Meanwhile, the Yongzhou Cauldron, having soared outward, arrived directly before the Ranked Immortals in the blink of an eye. They sought to retreat and evade, but found it impossible, leaving them no choice but to mount a defense.
Yet this was the awakened power of the Severance of Heaven and Earth, an attack Lu Yuan had brewed for a long time, meticulously prepared.
In the very next instant, the Yongzhou Cauldron collided with the Ranked Immortals.
*Boom!* The void trembled violently.
An incomparably dazzling radiance burst forth, seeming to represent eternity itself. Everything fell silent.
When the light finally dispersed, the wills of the Ranked Immortals had vanished, completely annihilated. This meant that the entire crisis was utterly resolved.
"The wills of the Ranked Immortals... were shattered by Lu Yuan as well?"
"He... he might have anticipated this step all along, which was why he was waiting."
"So this man's goal was never just protecting Earth; he wanted to deal a grievous blow to every star sector!"
The twelve Demi-Saints stared in a daze. They knew that in terms of raw cultivation, Lu Yuan lagged immeasurably behind the Ranked Immortals. But the crux lay in his ability to trigger the Severance of Heaven and Earth—the contingencies left behind by past powerhouses. It was equivalent to borrowing external might to repel the wills of the Ranked Immortals, a feat so astounding that it shook them to their cores.
This man possessed terrifying audacity, and astonishingly, he had pulled it off.
In the distance, Elder Jiang was equally stunned upon witnessing this. In his eyes, in every respect, Lu Yuan was no different from a true powerhouse.
His temperament, his scheming mind, and his ability to make the most correct decision at critical moments—across the entire sea of stars, scarcely anyone of his generation could compare. All he lacked now was mere cultivation.
"The Holy Maiden choosing to cooperate with him, letting go of the Mount Li Imperial Mausoleum and the Human Sovereign essence blood, was truly the wisest choice," he murmured. He believed that so long as this man did not perish and encountered no mishaps on the evolutionary path, he was bound to become a powerhouse whose name would resound throughout the universe.
Now, every extraterrestrial being turned their gaze toward the Moon.
At this moment, the Yongzhou Cauldron returned to Lu Yuan's hands. All the light upon it had vanished, leaving it exceedingly dim. With the sacrificial rite concluded, its power was exhausted, requiring further sacrifice to be reawakened. Yet now, Lu Yuan no longer had the strength to spare.
The rite had nearly depleted all his power, costing him a substantial amount of essence blood, which would take time to recover.
More importantly, he had personally endured the immense pressure previously exerted by the Ranked Immortals. The disparity was simply too vast; even before they had struck, the sheer pressure had inflicted injuries upon him—the most severe he had suffered since embarking on the evolutionary path.
He had merely kept it hidden. Now that the matter was resolved, Lu Yuan could barely hold himself up. His body trembled, his face turned pale as golden paper, and a trickle of fresh blood seeped from the corner of his lips.
Chapter 208