Jiang Ningxian spoke up, looking around with a grave expression. From the very beginning, she had found this place rather strange.
At first, she had thought her senses might be playing tricks on her, but now, the conviction only grew stronger. As she had just noted, this place was far too quiet—there was not even the faintest sound.
One had to understand that this was a planet capable of sustaining life. Its conditions in all respects were exceptionally well-suited for living beings, entirely unlike the uninhabited planets they had passed earlier.
Under such circumstances, something was clearly amiss. No matter what, there ought to be at least some stir of activity. Beside her, Lu Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing her words.
Earlier, he had been preoccupied with other thoughts and truly hadn't noticed. But just as Jiang Ningxian pointed out, the place was indeed far too quiet.
Without a word, he immediately extended his divine sense, sweeping everything around them into his perception.
Soon, Lu Yuan opened his eyes, his expression shifting. "It's just as you said. There's something wrong with this planet."
"What should we do next?" Jiang Ningxian asked. In truth, even if there was an issue, it had little to do with her directly. However, knowing that the Extraterrestrial Demons were in the Thunderstrike Star Domain, she did not dare let her guard down.
What if those entities had laid an ambush right here?
"This planet isn't very large. Let's... go take a look," Lu Yuan replied, feeling it necessary to investigate.
After all, they had an objective: to see what those Extraterrestrial Demons were plotting.
Although they could not yet confirm whether the planet's condition was truly linked to them, investigating would never hurt. At most, it would cost a bit of time without causing any real harm.
Hearing this, Jiang Ningxian nodded immediately. She glanced at her younger brother and the clansmen who were still recuperating, and without alerting them, set off with Lu Yuan first.
The planet was not particularly large, and everyone present was at least in the Immortal Realm; if danger arose, they could regroup in a matter of moments.
Under these circumstances, there was no need to be overly cautious—the two of them going ahead was more than sufficient.
Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian stepped into the void together and flew forward.
Along the way, they swept their divine senses across the terrain below. The place truly resembled Earth, with lush forests, towering mountains, and flowing rivers.
It met virtually all the requirements for human survival, yet the problem was that from start to finish, the two of them did not spot a single living creature.
It was truly bizarre.
"We can't go on like this; it's wasting time," Lu Yuan said after a while, halting in midair with a solemn gaze. He had indeed confirmed the problem: living beings had definitely existed here.
Yet for some reason, they had abruptly vanished. What remained uncertain was whether only a portion of them had disappeared or every last one. Therefore, he had to examine the entire planet.
With that thought, Lu Yuan did not hesitate. He stood still and closed his eyes. In the next instant, an invisible force radiated outward with him at its center, blanketing the entire planet in a short span of time.
After all, he was now in the Creation Immortal realm; cloaking a planet in his divine sense was no difficult feat.
Moreover, what Lu Yuan sought was merely to detect whether any living beings remained, which made the task even simpler.
Soon, he opened his eyes and retracted his divine sense, his brows knit tight.
"How is it?" Jiang Ningxian asked beside him.
"I found some living beings, but... they're very strange," Lu Yuan replied, his tone laden with uncertainty.
In his perception, they were indeed alive, but they were entirely unlike anything he had ever known.
In the end, he decided they had to see for themselves. Of course, before that, he had Jiang Ningxian notify Jiang Haokong and the others to follow along.
At this moment, Lu Yuan already sensed an impending danger, making it necessary for everyone to stay together. After all, he could not even see through the nature of those presences he had sensed.
And perhaps that was the root cause of why there were no living beings anywhere else here. Before long, the group reconvened.
They flew directly toward the distant location. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the planet, a massive black altar rose like a mountain.
It was colossal, exuding an inexplicable power at every passing moment. A closer look would reveal that the black hue of the altar was not its original color, but the result of being drenched in so much blood that it had eventually stained pitch-black.
It was utterly chilling. Surrounding the altar were volcanic craters continuously spewing magma.
Rumble—!
A peal of thunder cracked through the air. Following closely behind was a man with wings sprouting from his back.
Standing beneath the altar, his voice was filled with deference: "My Lord, the living beings of this planet have been thoroughly sacrificed, without a single omission." He was a member of the Celestial Clan, enveloped in lightning. Yet unlike ordinary members, the aura emanating from him was tainted, as though corrupted by something alien.
"Did it have to take this long?" Soon, a raspy voice drifted down from atop the altar, carrying an eerie power that gripped the soul.
At the same time, a figure stepped forth from the altar, shrouded in black mist.
"The lives of several planets in a row have only restored less than half of my strength. It seems I must continue, or else things will inevitably go wrong on the Celestial Star." From these words, it was clear that to recover its power, this entity had sacrificed the populations of multiple planets.
The Celestial Clan member voiced no objection whatsoever. Instead, upon hearing this, he became even more reverent and continued, "Rest assured, My Lord. The living beings of the next planet are already prepared for you. You may proceed whenever you wish."
"Good," the figure replied, seemingly quite pleased. But soon, as if sensing something, he spoke again.
"Someone has actually arrived. I do not wish to fight right now; go intercept them." With that, the figure transformed into a streak of black radiance and vanished from the spot.
In the next moment, cracks webbed across the black altar, as if it was on the verge of collapsing without the support of his power.
As for the Celestial Clan member, he knitted his brows upon hearing the command, but said nothing. Turning around, he looked toward a certain direction. He, too, felt it.
Over there, people were approaching. What was more, their realms and strength were not low. Yet the Celestial Clan member paid it no mind.
He simply stood where he was, waiting quietly. However, as the aura drew closer, he realized that the approaching presence seemed formidable indeed.
Chapter 468