The battle with the Extraterrestrial Demon had taught Lu Yuan a great deal, and he had no intention of trying to pry more information from his foe.
After all, even the people of the Celestial Clan had kept their mouths firmly shut before. Prying answers from the mouth of an Extraterrestrial Demon seemed utterly impossible.
Rather than wasting time on interrogation, it was far better to finish him off directly and set out for Celestial Star as soon as possible.
Thus, the moment Lu Yuan finished speaking, the Daluo sword core manifested, releasing waves of overwhelming sword intent.
When the Extraterrestrial Demon before him saw this, a flicker of dread crossed his eyes, though it vanished just as quickly. Clearly, he had long anticipated this outcome, however unwilling he was to accept it.
Yet defeat was defeat, and he knew full well in his heart that even if they fought again, the result would remain unchanged.
The person before him was far stronger than himself. Beyond this sword core, Lu Yuan undoubtedly had other trump cards.
So he chose to embrace his death. Before the end, however, he spoke once more.
"You are strong—far beyond my expectations. But the fate of the Xuanhuang Universe cannot be changed.
"We have made countless preparations. Moreover, this world no longer has any supreme paragons to suppress us. When we descend in full force, the only thing awaiting all of you is despair." He seemed entirely confident in his words, as if the ultimate fate and direction of this universe were already set in stone.
Yet Lu Yuan seemed completely indifferent. With a slight lift of his hand, he slashed down with the sword. In that instant, sword light surged, and sword intent roared like a torrent.
A breath later, both the Extraterrestrial Demon's physical body and his soul were entirely obliterated. Everything of him vanished, leaving no possibility of recovery.
When striking the final blow, Lu Yuan had also channeled his destiny power. He had no desire to let a lack of caution allow his foe to survive after such an arduous battle.
Extending his senses slightly, Lu Yuan confirmed that the Extraterrestrial Demon was indeed dead down to the last trace.
Without another word, he stepped out, appearing directly upon the planet below. Around him, Jiang Ningxian and the others immediately gathered.
"He's dead?" Jiang Haokong asked, shock and disbelief lingering in his eyes. He had watched the entire clash from start to finish, and the formidable might of the Extraterrestrial Demon had left an indelible impression on him—one that completely defied his expectations.
Even so, Lu Yuan had still slain the demon, emerging as the final victor. Jiang Haokong simply had not wrapped his mind around it yet. At times, he even wondered whether he truly ranked among the starry sky's top chosen prides.
Why was it that now, in battles like this, he could not intervene at all?
Naturally, Lu Yuan had no idea what was running through his mind. He simply nodded. "Yes, it's over. We should get moving as well." Indeed, their original objective had been Celestial Star, but they had been delayed by unexpected events along the way.
Now that the matter was resolved, they truly needed to hurry toward their destination as quickly as possible. In particular, Lu Yuan harbored a growing suspicion:
The situation on Celestial Star was likely even graver than he had imagined.
"Then what should we do about this place?" Jiang Ningxian knew it was time to depart, yet beneath the Extraterrestrial Demon's methods, this planet had been riddled with devastation.
They had to handle some aftermath; they could hardly just leave it completely unattended, could they?
"Release the life essence. Beyond that, there isn't much we can do," Lu Yuan replied after a moment's thought. "As long as the life essence remains, this planet won't perish entirely." There was no other choice. Powerful though he was, it was merely individual strength.
He possessed no means to rewrite reality or bring the dead back to life. Lu Yuan knew full well that perhaps not even the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperors could accomplish such a feat.
Otherwise, they would never have faded into the river of time.
Beside him, Jiang Ningxian and the others nodded upon hearing this. There truly was no other way.
Afterward, they took action, destroying the black altar and releasing all the previously sacrificed life essence back into heaven and earth. Only after finishing this did the group consider their next step:
heading toward the core region of the Thunderstrike Star Domain—the Ancestral Star of the Celestial Clan, Celestial Star.
"From everything we've seen and heard along the way, I think the Celestial Clan has completely defected to the Extraterrestrial Demons,"
Jiang Ningxian spoke again, a trace of hesitation in her voice. "They've even led those creatures to actively sacrifice the living beings of their own star domain. I just don't understand why they would do this."
"Because the power of the Extraterrestrial Demons possesses the ability to corrupt the soul," Lu Yuan answered. He continued, "I felt it myself. That power is exceedingly bizarre, almost impossible to guard against.
"Once corroded by it, nothing remains in the mind except violent fury, and it becomes nearly impossible to control. Perhaps that plays a role." This was merely a deduction based on his own experience; as for the full truth, he could not say for sure.
Certain answers could only be uncovered once they reached Celestial Star.
"Let's go. First, we'll rendezvous with Father," Jiang Haokong said, feeling that the matters surrounding the Extraterrestrial Demons were shrouded in utter bewilderment.
Lu Yuan wasted no more words and opened a void channel directly. They were not far from Celestial Star now, requiring only a few days of travel.
This time, there was no need to waste time on the road; they simply pressed forward.
And so, the group traversed the starry expanse again and again. Along the way, they passed several more living planets.
Fortunately, perhaps because they had eliminated the Extraterrestrial Demon ahead of time, the beings on these worlds had not suffered catastrophic strikes.
In a sense, they had prevented further tragedies from unfolding.
Several days slipped by.
Finally, on a certain day, the group emerged through yet another void channel.
This time, however, they did not emerge upon a planet, but in the open vacuum of space.
Directly before them loomed a colossal star, radiating a majestic, boundless pressure. Even Lu Yuan felt a pang of astonishment at the sight. This celestial body was vaster than a sun, and surrounding it were dozens of sun-like stars, providing ordinary life with the vital energy necessary for survival.
Such a spectacle seemed pulled straight from myth—dozens of suns. Had anyone on Earth witnessed this, they would likely have been struck speechless with shock.
Yet curiously, they noticed that the immense planet was split into two completely distinct regions.
One region appeared entirely normal, while the other was shrouded in boundless, unending black mist.
Indeed, the entire planet was cleanly divided into two contrasting halves, bizarre beyond measure.
Chapter 478