By influencing the overarching flow of mountains and rivers, they could influence heaven and earth itself. This realization suddenly brought many thoughts to Lu Yuan's mind.
He felt as though he had caught onto something crucial, yet he could not quite grasp it for the moment. Nevertheless, this explanation gave him a general understanding of what the Extraterrestrial Demons were after.
At the very least, those beings sought to seize control of Celestial Star, and by extension, the entire star domain. Beside him, Jiang Ningxian and the others understood as well after hearing this.
Half of Celestial Star was completely engulfed in black mist, underscoring just how dire the current situation was. Jiang Haokong still had one point of confusion, however, and asked frankly, "Doesn't that mean there are beings on the Extraterrestrial Demons' side comparable to the Supreme Immortal Realm? Otherwise, why would Father need to step in personally?"
Jiang Taiyu was the master of the Jiang clan and the ruler of the Desolate Flame Star Domain—one of the universe's preeminent figures.
One could say that hardly anyone in the present era was his match. While not quite standing as a supreme powerhouse, he was undoubtedly one of the most invincible figures alive today.
Yet now, he had to take the field personally against those Extraterrestrial Demons. What other explanation could there be, aside from the enemy possessing beings of equal might?
Hearing this, Jiang Feiyi and his companions hesitated for a moment, then shook their heads. In the end, he explained, "We aren't sure either, but the Extraterrestrial Demons are extraordinarily difficult to deal with and possess unique methods. Those who are slightly weaker are easily influenced by them. Even when both sides are evenly matched across the board, the Extraterrestrial Demons seem to exert an overwhelming suppression over the living beings of our universe."
This was precisely why the experts arriving from various star domains had failed to gain an advantage.
The crux was that the Extraterrestrial Demons were truly powerful, their life force was extraordinarily tenacious and near-impossible to extinguish, and they wielded terrifying, esoteric techniques capable of corrupting a person's mind.
In short, even though they still held half of Celestial Star, maintaining that hold was an uphill battle—even with a powerhouse like Jiang Taiyu holding the line.
"What about the Celestial Clan?" Jiang Ningxian asked, suddenly thinking of them. This was Celestial Star, yet ever since arriving, they had not seen a single member of the Celestial Clan, aside from the few they had slain along the way.
More importantly, those Celestial Clan members seemed to have submitted to the Extraterrestrial Demons.
"The Celestial Clan? They betrayed us long ago!" someone spat with deep-seated hatred. "When we first arrived, we fell into their trap and suffered heavy losses. The Celestial Clan now bows to the Extraterrestrial Demons as their masters, and they are the ones responsible for seizing control of so many famous mountains and great rivers!"
The Celestial Clan had surrendered, betrayed this universe, and turned into enemies.
According to the defenders, the Celestial Clan had joined forces with the Extraterrestrial Demons to slaughter their own kind—traitors through and through, which accounted for such bitter resentment.
"Let us set that aside for now. You've only just arrived, so you should rest first. There are likely many fierce battles ahead," Jiang Feiyi said once more, his tone solemn.
Their foremost objective at present was to prevent Celestial Star from falling entirely into the clutches of the Extraterrestrial Demons.
That was why both sides were locked in a grueling tug-of-war here, vying for every famous mountain and mighty river. In other words, the great war had already begun.
Even though the Extraterrestrial Demons had only made an initial descent, they had already revealed terrifying power.
The situation demanded absolute vigilance. Moving forward, their priority was to continually rally forces from all sides to mount a defense. But the problem lay elsewhere: the Ji clan and the Eternal Clan had vanished without a trace during this period.
They had been the very first to align with the Extraterrestrial Demons.
Their disappearance was bound to be a crisis lurking in the shadows. Thus, even though the allied forces wanted to concentrate their strength to resolve the crisis on Celestial Star, they also feared that the two factions might strike elsewhere, or that Extraterrestrial Demons might suddenly appear on other fronts. No matter what, they had to conserve a portion of their strength; after all, in everyone's eyes, the situation here remained manageable for the time being.
In the eyes of Jiang Feiyi and the others, the arrival of Lu Yuan and his companions was a powerful boon. To them, Lu Yuan was a genuinely formidable expert.
His youth did not diminish that fact in the slightest.
"Alright, let's head back first," Jiang Ningxian agreed. She felt certain matters were best discussed once her father and the others returned.
For now, it was wiser to familiarize themselves with the situation, and they genuinely needed time to recuperate. They had been traveling non-stop for over a month and had fought intense battles along the way.
They could not possibly face the Extraterrestrial Demons the moment they arrived. Furthermore, as they learned more later on, they realized that the actual Extraterrestrial Demons were not particularly numerous. What they primarily faced right now was the traitorous Celestial Clan.
Having accepted the mysterious power of the Extraterrestrial Demons, the Celestial Clan's overall strength had drastically increased. Previously, the Celestial Clan had ranked only upper-middle among the top hundred star sectors, but things were different now.
Their top-tier combatants and core fighters had multiplied, bolstered further by that strange power. At the same cultivation level, they could easily overpower their opponents. In other words, the power the Celestial Clan had accepted was far more thorough than what the two traitor factions had received before. On top of that, the Extraterrestrial Demons pulled the strings from behind the scenes.
In truth, people like Jiang Feiyi mainly fought the Celestial Clan, while the Extraterrestrial Demons required even stronger figures to handle.
As they exchanged information, the group drew closer to the great hall. The hall had originally belonged to the Celestial Clan, but it had subsequently become the central headquarters for the various clans from beyond this star domain.
Jiang Taiyu had begun summoning forces from across the major star domains, and a centralized hub was necessary to organize and deploy them effectively.
*Rumble—*
Just then, wisps of light flared within the great hall, followed by the emergence of several figures.
The group at the fore numbered about five or six, clad entirely in black armor. They radiated an overwhelming, bloodthirsty aura, and their mere presence caused the surrounding heaven and earth to tremble.
They also noticed the arrival of Lu Yuan and the Jiang clan members.
"Seniors," Jiang Feiyi greeted them, bowing respectfully at once.
Beside Lu Yuan, Jiang Ningxian introduced the newcomers: "These people are from the Maha Star Domain, known as the Maha Clan. Across the universe, their physical bodies are said to be peerless.
"Even the Ji clan and the Eternal Clan fall short when it comes to sheer physical strength."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan could not help looking at them with a hint of curiosity. The Maha Star Domain was also one of the Ten Great Star Domains, immensely powerful.
At this moment, he could clearly sense a boundless, surging vitality within them. Just as Jiang Ningxian had said, the Maha Clan possessed terrifying physiques. With a single glance, Lu Yuan could tell that their bodies were by no means inferior to those of mythical exotic beasts.
Chapter 480