A chilling sword-light swept out as dazzling sword intent surged forth like a torrential flood. Across from him, the Celestial Clan elder was plunged into utter despair at the sight.
He now knew who stood before him, and deep down, he had already realized that his fate was essentially sealed.
Yet when truly forced to face it, he still could not suppress the terror welling within him. Only now, any reaction was completely futile.
The sword cleaved downward with peerless sword intent. In just an instant, the Celestial Clan elder was engulfed by the sword-light. His physical body and soul were utterly pulverized by this terrifying force—even though his strength approached that of a Heavenly Position Immortal.
The problem was that his opponent was Lu Yuan, an invincible figure within the same realm, capable of holding his own even against those an entire realm higher.
And so, the Celestial Clan elder perished completely. From start to finish, aside from Lu Yuan suffering a minor setback early on because caution kept him from using his full strength, the rest of the battle was an absolute rout, leaving the elder without the slightest power to resist.
Soon, all the sword intent and sword-light faded. The entire pocket world returned to absolute calm.
Seeing this, a smile rose to Lu Yuan's lips. Indeed, just as the elder had said, even after Lu Yuan unleashed his full might, this space showed no signs of collapsing. The fierce battle outside had not sensed anything occurring within.
More importantly, because the space was so durable and the Celestial Clan had been so cautious, no information from the inside could leak out.
On that point, Lu Yuan felt the Celestial Clan had done quite well. Unfortunately for them, all their meticulous efforts had merely paved the way for him.
Without lingering on the thought, he turned while mobilizing the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens within him. The tokens shared a mutual resonance that would help him locate what he sought much faster.
This pocket world was fairly large, making such guidance necessary. Before long, Lu Yuan arrived beside an altar.
He could sense an Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token resting inside. Without hesitation, he channeled the power of his own Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens to draw it out.
The reason he did not reach in directly was simple: he feared the Celestial Clan had left behind hidden countermeasures within the altar.
Reality matched his expectations perfectly. He could clearly perceive diverse energies permeating the altar, serving as a kind of alarm. Had he reached in directly, he likely would have tripped the ward, alerting the Celestial Clan outside. But because Lu Yuan had instead used the power of the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens, the hidden measures left by the Celestial Clan were rendered utterly useless.
Shortly after, an ancient token emerged, radiating a purple halo.
Lu Yuan reached out and took hold of it. Feeling the aura inside, identical to that of the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens within his body, a smile spread across his face.
Originally, he thought finding more tokens after obtaining the seventh would prove exceedingly difficult. He had never imagined that so soon after leaving the Milky Way Star Sector, he would discover a lead—and this was already the eighth.
By Lu Yuan's estimates, the total number of Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens should be similar to the Nine Cauldrons, or perhaps just one more, but certainly no more than that.
This was because, through continuous fusion, he had discovered the power within the tokens grew ever stronger. By now, it had accumulated to an immense degree; only because he had not yet collected them all was he temporarily unable to unleash that power.
"I'll secure it first. As for fusing it, that can wait until later." Lu Yuan stowed the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token away and turned.
His objective had been achieved, so there was no reason to linger in this place any longer.
Leaving was just like entering. Meanwhile, outside, the great battle raged on.
Jiang Taiyu and the strongest Extraterrestrial Demons were nowhere to be seen. Lu Yuan sensed outward and discovered that they were already clashing beyond the celestial sphere. Clearly, their strength was too vast; had they fought with utter abandon on the ground, it would have brought catastrophic devastation to Celestial Star.
Of course, Jiang Taiyu did not care about the planet's fate, since the Celestial Clan had fully allied with the enemy. But the Extraterrestrial Demons still needed Celestial Star to expand their power and seize control of the entire star sector, so naturally they did not want the planet heavily damaged.
Consequently, the clash currently unfolding across the Lei Ji Mountain Range was essentially between the Celestial Clan and the various star sector forces. Astonishingly, the Celestial Clan alone was holding back numerous powerhouses, including those of the Maha Clan.
This would have been impossible in the past. From this, one could see that they had gained an enormous amount of benefits from the Extraterrestrial Demons.
Lu Yuan saw that the Celestial Clan now fielded a large number of Grotto-Heaven Immortals, alongside Creation Immortals whose strength was roughly on par with the elder he had just slain. Precisely because of this, even without direct aid from the Extraterrestrial Demons, the Celestial Clan was not at a disadvantage.
"Did you find the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token?" Right then, a voice echoed in Lu Yuan's mind.
It was Jiang Taiyu. Evidently, even while fighting beyond the realm, he knew Lu Yuan had emerged. Upon hearing the question, Lu Yuan nodded.
"In that case, we should depart as well," Jiang Taiyu's voice sounded again. "We have already lost some people in this clash, but fortunately, our objective was accomplished. You leave first."
However, Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "Senior, since we've already made our move, why should we leave? The Lei Ji Mountain Range is the ancestral land of the Celestial Clan. Seizing it would undoubtedly be a great boon, and it might deal a heavy blow to the Extraterrestrial Demons' side. Why not take it?"
He believed that since people on their side had already fallen, they could not have died for nothing. Thus, Lu Yuan decided to truly seize the Lei Ji Mountain Range. That way, their efforts would achieve something real.
"Certainly," Jiang Taiyu's voice resonated once more. "However, I must contend with these Extraterrestrial Demons and may not be able to pull away. Those of the Celestial Clan will have to be left to you all."
"That is more than enough!" Lu Yuan replied, his gaze turning solemn. Then, he murmured to himself, "With me here, the Celestial Clan amounts to nothing."
His words carried immense confidence and a sweeping grandeur capable of swallowing mountains and rivers.
Indeed, throughout his journey, no matter what adversaries he faced, Lu Yuan had resolved them one by one. Especially now, apart from the most supreme beings in the universe, almost nothing could pose a genuine threat to him.
Since the Celestial Clan chose to rebel and throw their lot in with the Extraterrestrial Demons, they ought to pay the corresponding price!
Chapter 494