Through Lu Yuan's various means, the crises facing Earth and the Milky Way Star Sector had almost entirely been resolved.
Remaining behind offered nothing more to do beyond stabilizing the existing situation. The problem was that his own cultivation and evolution had already hit a bottleneck.
Without a major battle, advancing any further would likely take a great deal of time. Yet taking his time was simply not an option, as the Extraterrestrial Demons had already descended.
With two other great factions eyeing things covetously as well, Lu Yuan knew he had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
He could no longer proceed step-by-step, cultivating and evolving slowly as he had before. Given the opportunity, he naturally wanted to reach higher realms in the shortest possible time. Becoming a Heavenly Position Immortal was merely an interim goal; if at all possible, achieving Supreme Immortal was an absolute necessity.
Only then would he be able to confront even more numerous and perilous situations. Thus, Lu Yuan had ventured into the starry sky beyond the realm, intending to battle the Extraterrestrial Demons that had descended.
His purpose was to achieve a breakthrough amidst great battle. Just as he had thought moments ago, it was time to campaign across the stars.
At this moment, he stood upon a planet awash with magma, its overall temperature reaching several thousand degrees. Yet there was not the slightest change in his expression. Lu Yuan's strength was simply too formidable; such an extreme environment had no effect on him whatsoever.
"At our current speed, how long will it take to reach the Thunderstrike Star Domain?" Lu Yuan looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through endless distance.
Before his eyes stretched countless stars and the vast, hollow, desolate universe. Fortunately, he possessed a star chart formed from domain points. Otherwise, even with his cultivation, crossing star domains to reach his desired destination would have been extraordinarily troublesome.
Compared to the cosmic starry sky as a whole, even a Creation Immortal appeared somewhat insignificant.
"If you rely purely on opening void passages, reaching the Thunderstrike Star Domain would probably take nearly half a year. Unless you comprehend the laws of Heavenly Position, it won't be much faster," Jiang Ningxian said with a smile beside him. Having crossed the starry sky to reach Earth herself, she was naturally familiar with such matters.
At the same time, the other members of the Jiang clan nodded, well aware that this method of travel was impractical. Hearing this, Lu Yuan blinked in surprise and rubbed his nose.
He could tell she had another method in mind. Everyone present seemed to know about it; he was the only one in the dark.
It could not be helped. High as his realm was and strong as he was, he had lived on Earth for essentially his entire life. When it came to the realm beyond and many of its intricacies, his knowledge was a blank slate.
This was another reason Lu Yuan had chosen to leave Earth. In the end, one had to step outside and learn more. How could anyone ever attain the supreme heights while obstinately lingering on Earth, knowing so little of this world and the wider universe?
"We need to use a teleportation platform. With one, reaching the Thunderstrike Star Domain will take a month at most, since it isn't actually very far from the Milky Way Star Sector," Jiang Ningxian explained in due time.
These so-called teleportation platforms had been left behind by ancient forebears of various star domains in the distant past. As for why they had first been established, there was no way to verify it now; only dubious records suggested a profound connection to the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperor. Such platforms could be understood as another type of void passage.
The difference lay in the fact that a teleportation platform could span immense distances that even a Supreme Immortal could not cross on their own.
In truth, when the various star domains had chosen to descend upon the Milky Way Star Sector, they had mostly utilized teleportation platforms as well.
These platforms were scattered across numerous corners of the starry sky, linking the major star domains together. As long as one possessed the domain points, one could locate them, preventing travelers from becoming completely lost in the universe.
Naturally, the locations where the platforms were situated were generally kept far away from planets that harbored life. The reason was quite simple: those who had established the platforms feared that some might use them to slaughter weak living beings. Therefore, after leaving Earth, the group first needed to rely on their methods to locate a platform's position.
"I see," Lu Yuan said, nodding in understanding upon hearing the explanation. He suddenly felt that the ancient forebears who had set up these platforms had planned things thoroughly, taking the protection of weak living beings into account. Without dwelling further, he asked, "Then how long will it take us to reach the nearest platform?"
"Not long—just three to five days," Jiang Haokong answered. He seemed long accustomed to crossing the starry sky; after all, he had come alone from the Desolate Flame Star Domain to the Milky Way Star Sector. Consequently, he felt little curiosity or interest in such travel, wishing only to reach the Thunderstrike Star Domain quickly to see what kind of beings the Extraterrestrial Demons actually were.
Hearing that it would take three to five days, Lu Yuan was slightly surprised.
The reason was simple. Easy as it sounded, one had to realize this required him to continuously tear open void passages. While that took little toll on him and amounted to mere traveling, spanning several consecutive days of such transit meant covering an unfathomable distance. By the technological standards of Earth before the cataclysm, achieving such a distance would have taken well over a century.
Such was the vastness of the universe.
"Let's be on our way, then." Without pondering any further, Lu Yuan tore through the void once more, constructing another void passage.
Right now, the most important task was indeed to reach their destination as quickly as possible, to see what the Extraterrestrial Demons were, what had happened in the Thunderstrike Star Domain, and how the Celestial Clan fared.
And so, as Lu Yuan repeatedly carved open void passages, time slipped away bit by bit.
During this journey, they passed many planets: some churned with magma, some were bitterly frozen, and others were covered entirely in ocean. In short, each was unique. Yet without exception, almost none had given rise to life; eternal desolation seemed the only fitting description for them.
Lu Yuan's horizons broadened continuously as he truly perceived and experienced this universe for the first time.
Finally, five days later, the group stepped slowly out of a void passage.
Lu Yuan and the others had arrived on another planet. This world possessed sky and ground, though the earth was shrouded in swirling yellow sand. More importantly, Lu Yuan noticed that this planet gave him a peculiar sensation entirely absent from all the others: it was actually suitable for living beings to survive, yet completely devoid of people. It felt thoroughly strange.
"What an unusual place," Lu Yuan murmured, shaking his head before looking toward Jiang Ningxian.
Understanding his thought immediately, she spoke up.
"The teleportation platform—we've arrived."
Chapter 464