"The Thunderstrike Star Domain?"
Hearing her words, Lu Yuan was momentarily taken aback, as the name was very familiar. After all, it was the first force he had confronted after rising in strength.
Yet deep down, he could not quite understand why the extraterrestrial heavenly demons would appear there.
Frowning deeply, he immediately asked, "The extraterrestrial heavenly demons are in the Thunderstrike Star Domain... then what about the Celestial Clan?"
Lu Yuan knew that although many members of the Celestial Clan had descended upon Earth, a large portion still remained in their own star domain. In fact, the same was true for most major star domain clans. After all, they would not abandon their own homeland for the sake of other pursuits.
Thus, the question in his heart remained: if the extraterrestrial heavenly demons had appeared, what had become of the Celestial Clan? Could it be...
"It isn't clear yet. The message from Father was limited and extremely urgent," Jiang Ningxian shook her head and added, "However, my guess is that they're either all gone, or they've all been turned into puppets of the extraterrestrial heavenly demons. After all, even the Eternal Clan and the Ji clan chose to cooperate with them. If they descended, conquering a realm like the Thunderstrike Star Domain wouldn't be very difficult."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded, finding the speculation reasonable. Yet which outcome had actually unfolded was anyone's guess.
Of course, there was another possibility: perhaps from the very beginning, this was what the two great powers had planned all along.
"All right, it's time to go." Lu Yuan said no more. Casting one last glance at the Heavenly Court members and the Beast Kings, he waved his hand.
Rumble!
A deafening roar erupted. Before them opened a void rift. On the other side of the rift lay the boundless, vast expanse of starfields. Looking through it, one could not tell where it led at all.
In fact, not even Lu Yuan knew, for a very simple reason: he had used his powers to forge a void passage targeting the domain coordinates provided by Jiang Ningxian, but where exactly it would deposit them remained unknown.
After all, this was Lu Yuan's first time leaving Earth. What was certain, however, was that after passing through the passage, he would still be within the Milky Way Star Sector. The star sector was simply too vast. Even with his formidable strength, he could not leave the Milky Way Star Sector in a single leap.
Then, without another word, he stepped forward and vanished into the passage.
Jiang Ningxian and her brother exchanged a glance, and staying silent, followed close behind. Once everyone had departed, the passage vanished entirely.
He was gone. Lu Yuan had departed.
"Should we... disperse as well?" Zhu Qingyu murmured, gazing at the spot where his figure had vanished. She looked up toward the empty void, a trace of bewilderment flickering in her eyes.
Yet soon, that bewilderment was completely replaced by resolve. She knew that now that he was gone, they would have to face everything ahead on their own.
"Yes, we still have a lot of work to do," Ice Fairy responded beside her. Like Zhu Qingyu, her gaze was clear and determined. The Heavenly Court now rested upon their shoulders.
In truth, from the very beginning of Lu Yuan's plans, he had only ever been the master of the Heavenly Court in name. He rarely involved himself in specific affairs, precisely so that the younger generation could still hold up their own sky even in his absence.
Therefore, after a fleeting moment of distraction, nearly everyone present regained their resolve. They looked toward Jiang Huanyun, bowed slightly, and then departed to their respective duties.
Even without Lu Yuan, cultivating and protecting the common folk had to continue. They could not afford to slacken. Otherwise, to their minds, they would fail King Lu's trust.
"That King Lu has truly trained these young people well. In due time, they will surely be able to stand on their own and allow the Heavenly Court to grow into a truly formidable power." At this moment, an elder from Jiang Ningxian's uncle's generation in the Jiang clan walked over.
His own cultivation was at the Grotto-Heaven Immortal realm, extraordinarily powerful. Their remaining on Earth served partly to stabilize the situation here, and partly to assist the Heavenly Court. Seeing the resolve in Zhu Qingyu and the others, he voiced his praise without hesitation.
"Naturally. Lu Yuan not only possesses a peerless disposition, but also the foresight to plan far ahead," Jiang Huanyun replied with a smile. He held Lu Yuan and the Heavenly Court in high regard. After all, the two sides had collaborated for a long time and understood each other well.
"So no matter what, those of us staying behind must fully assist the Heavenly Court. In the future, the Heavenly Court may become even stronger than our Jiang clan," another Jiang clan member said. After all, many members of the Heavenly Court were now people of the Jiang clan. If the Heavenly Court grew strong, the Jiang clan would naturally prosper alongside it; in other words, they rose and fell together.
"I was wondering..."
"When King Lu returns next time, will he have become a Heavenly Position Immortal?" another Jiang clan member mused, gazing into the void with an expectant look in his eyes.
After all, having descended to Earth, they had witnessed Lu Yuan's growth firsthand. In just a few short years, he had reached a terrifying level, even slaying Creation Immortals who had been renowned for ages. On this front, they were profoundly shaken by his feats. Even among the Jiang clan, no one had ever seen such a rate of growth, which was why he dared harbor such expectations.
When they met next time, Lu Yuan might well have ascended to the Heavenly Position realm.
A Heavenly Position Immortal stood at the very pinnacle of the entire universe. One step further was Supreme Immortal—the absolute peak of the immortal realm.
"He manages to bring us surprises every single time." Jiang Huanyun, too, was filled with anticipation. Still, he did not dwell on it any longer. Next, the Jiang clan had to help the Heavenly Court stabilize the situation on Earth.
***
Beyond the stars, countless celestial bodies flickered. Here, brilliant starlight seemed to permeate every corner. Yet in the end, all starlight would eventually fade to oblivion. In the vast universe, the only things that endured eternally were desolation and cold.
Hum, hum, hum...
At that moment, upon a certain planet, a rift opened in the starry sky. A group of people emerged, stepping onto the ground.
More accurately, this planet had no ground, only endless seas of magma. Indeed, this was a planet with an average temperature of several thousand degrees, where ordinary creatures could not possibly survive. Yet to those present, none of this posed the slightest trouble; they did not even furrow their brows.
"So this is what lies beyond the stars. It's a bit different from what I imagined," Lu Yuan said, gazing out at the bizarre spectacle before him, a glint of light in his eyes.
He knew that starting from today, his battles beyond the stars had truly begun.
Chapter 463