In the eyes of the two great factions, all they needed to do now was bide their time. Everything had already been set in motion.
It was true that they were helpless against the measures left behind by Earth's ancient powerhouses. But the difference now was that they had the extraterrestrial heavenly demons on their side.
Those entities were employing special methods to grind away that power. Once it was worn down to a certain threshold, the protection would cease to function. When that time came, given their cultivation and strength, they could basically do whatever they pleased; as long as they willed it, nothing could stand in their way.
After all, let alone in the Milky Way Star Sector, Heavenly Position Immortals stood at the pinnacle even across the entire Xuanhuang Universe.
Furthermore, the surrounding teleportation platforms had mostly been destroyed. Reinforcements from the outside could not possibly arrive in such a short window of time.
Of course, just to be safe, they had also utilized various means to thoroughly seal off Earth, permitting entry but forbidding exit.
Doing so ensured that news from this place could not even reach the wider cosmos. In the two factions' grand scheme, the Milky Way Star Sector and Earth were of paramount importance.
Everything was to begin here and end here. Otherwise, they would not have expended so much time and effort to completely isolate the world.
In fact, the appearance of extraterrestrial heavenly demons elsewhere in the starry sky was merely another component of their plan.
Its purpose was to divert the attention of the various powerhouses led by Jiang Taiyu so that they could carry out their scheme unhindered. For now, both the Eternal clan and the Ji clan possessed plenty of patience.
Even so, another thought occurred to them beforehand: in the meantime, they could also stir up some trouble for the Heavenly Court.
It would not disrupt their overarching plans anyway, and it would serve as retribution against Lu Yuan. Soon, under the command of the two factions, the beings of various races who had submitted earlier began harassing the Heavenly Court, even setting their sights directly on the five super cities.
Without question, this crossed the Heavenly Court's bottom line, as the vast majority of those within were ordinary citizens and allies. Under such circumstances, the Heavenly Court had no choice but to take action.
With that, Earth, which had only just stabilized, was once again plunged into turmoil. In particular, Jiang Huanyun, as a Grotto-Heaven Immortal, could sense that the aura of this world was beginning to shift, permeated by a strange, inexplicable power.
Yet he could not fathom what it was specifically, leaving him no choice but to try transmitting messages outside. The problem was that he received no response whatsoever.
From this, he realized that the two factions had likely placed Earth under a total blockade.
"I hope you can return soon," Jiang Huanyun murmured to himself. He knew that with the current strength of the Heavenly Court and the Jiang clan, they could weather the impending disaster for a time, but they could not hold out forever.
Thus, he knew their only hope lay in Lu Yuan returning quickly. Once Lu Yuan arrived, the situation would improve considerably. Even so, Jiang Huanyun still harbored some doubt in his heart.
For both factions had dispatched Heavenly Position Immortals—Heavenly Position Immortals! In the present universe, barring Supreme Immortals, they were among the strongest figures in existence.
Even if Lu Yuan returned in time, could he truly stand against them?
This doubt stemmed from how rapidly Lu Yuan's cultivation realm had climbed. As far as Jiang Huanyun knew, Lu Yuan was currently in the Creation Immortal realm. While that was already remarkably formidable, it still fell far short when compared to a Heavenly Position Immortal.
Nevertheless, no matter what, he could only place his hopes on Lu Yuan. At the same time, Jiang Huanyun knew that Lu Yuan was someone adept at creating miracles.
And so, time slipped by bit by bit. Under the direction of the two factions, some extraterrestrial beings actively provoked the Heavenly Court while launching assaults against the five super cities.
However, Earth today was no longer what it once was. It possessed a sufficient number of experts and numerous figures in the Saint Realm. Coupled with the Jiang clan, as long as the top figures of the two factions did not personally intervene, the other extraterrestrial beings could not gain the slightest advantage.
Even so, the Heavenly Court grew increasingly weary from repelling the continuous assaults. After all, more and more beings were defecting to the two factions. If this continued, they would sooner or later be forced into a completely passive position. Yet despite the strain, they chose to persevere.
Meanwhile, deep in the starry sky, a void passage opened, vanished, and was carved open anew.
Repeating this cycle over and over, they traversed boundless distances, crossing the void in the truest sense. Before long, two figures stepped out from a spatial rift in a certain region of space. It was none other than Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian.
"It seems we've reached the Milky Way Star Sector." Jiang Ningxian looked at the resplendent starry sky in the distance, a glimmer of joy in her expression. After all, this was not her first time here, so she quickly recognized it, though she turned to look at Lu Yuan to be certain.
Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Indeed. We've finally arrived in the Milky Way Star Sector." He still remembered gazing up at the sky in his youth; it had been this very expanse of familiar stars.
"Let's keep moving. Getting to Earth from here will still take some time," Jiang Ningxian spoke again. She knew they had already lost a great deal of time along the way, so they had to hurry.
Lu Yuan thought the same. Yet soon, his brow furrowed slightly as he murmured, "Why do I feel like the aura of this star sector is different from before?" Having lived here all his life and reached his current realm of cultivation, his senses would naturally not mislead him.
More importantly, Lu Yuan noticed that within his mind, the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token had begun to emit a faint glow.
It seemed to have detected that strange aura as well. It was exceedingly peculiar, something that had never occurred before.
Beside him, Jiang Ningxian frowned upon hearing this. "I feel something faint as well, but it's hard to put into words." Involuntarily, the two exchanged a glance, finding it deeply unusual, before the same thought crossed both their minds: Could the two factions have done something during this time?
"Let's go. Once we reach Earth, perhaps we'll find our answers," Lu Yuan said. Without another word, he waved his hand. This time, he channeled even more power, opening a spatial passage that led much farther into the distance.
One had to realize that while the Milky Way Star Sector spanned over a hundred thousand light-years, it was not particularly vast within the grand scale of the universe. Even with Lu Yuan's ability to tear open spatial passages, traversing it still required some time.
Of course, such a speed was undeniably terrifying. After all, even light would require over a hundred thousand years to cross the entire Milky Way Star Sector, whereas Lu Yuan would need nowhere near that long. Without lingering any further, the two stepped directly into the spatial passage.
Chapter 533