A single punch.
All life flourished.
Under this punch, Jessinova's body exploded on the spot.
Yet as an Abyss demon, having its body burst apart would not easily kill it. Even so, the utterly terrifying might of this punch blasted it straight out of the Aska.
In every universe, the speed of light was different.
For instance, in Yu Xian's original world, light traveled at nearly three hundred thousand kilometers per second, whereas in this universe, it could reach only two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers per second.
Hurtling backward out of the Aska, Jessinova was utterly powerless to control its body. In the blink of an eye, it had reached the speed of light, and then... superluminal speed.
What happened after exceeding the speed of light also varied from universe to universe.
In some universes, going faster than light would puncture the cosmic barrier—put simply, one would fly out of the universe and plunge straight into the Tree Universe. If that happened in the Abyss, then congratulations: one was directly contaminated by the Abyss and might instantly sprout more than a dozen heads.
Yet in other universes, time reversal occurred—not for the entire universe, but for the superluminal traveler itself.
This was precisely what was happening to Jessinova right now.
As its body hurtled backward, it mutated frantically. In the bloody mist, colossal eyes sprouted one moment and densely packed heads the next; at times it spewed out a human being, and at others it transformed into a long serpent that devoured itself.
Along the way, it collided with countless celestial bodies. Yet its body smashing into these planets did not shatter them; instead, it instantly turned them into oceans of life.
It drifted through these worlds like a ghost. Boundless flowers burst into bloom across them, and countless life-forms erupted across them. Even stars sprouted myriad blossoms woven from flame and lightning, and even black holes transformed into gigantic blooming lotuses.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, flowers blossoming all along the trail.
After spewing out who knew how much, it punctured the barrier of this universe, its body instantly reemerging in the Abyss.
Then, its body finally reached its absolute limit. It had time to cry out only a single "No!" before its core detonated with a thunderous roar, sending terrifying energy sweeping across the surroundings.
As a Hegemon Rank powerhouse, the energy within Jessinova was naturally staggering beyond measure.
The energy unleashed by the explosion instantly annihilated everything around it. The universe where Yu Xian and the others were was likewise affected; more than half of the universe visibly collapsed, all matter vanishing into brilliant white light.
Aboard the Aska, what everyone saw was the pitch-black universe sprouting countless white blossoms, while a red corridor stretched from the entrance all the way into the distance, terminating in a white halo. Inside the halo, it looked like shattered glass, with countless points of light squirming.
***
"What happened?"
"Where's Lanlan?"
"Huh?"
The Sea Clan members at the Aska's entrance all wore dazed, bewildered expressions.
By the time they came to their senses, Muse, who had delivered that punch, was already gone, leaving only the utterly preposterous scene outside.
A few days earlier, Niman had commanded Muse to maintain, upgrade, and protect the Aska: any intruder entering the Aska without authorization was to be killed without mercy.
The instant Jessinova stepped foot onto the Aska, its fate had already been sealed.
Out in space, Hai Liwei stared at the sight ahead, equally baffled. After all, the difference in power was far too vast for him to discern anything clearly; he could only sense an indescribable terror ahead.
"*Gulp.* Brother Yu, what is going on? Could it be... a Demon Emperor has arrived?"
Cold sweat beaded on Hai Liwei's forehead. He swallowed hard and unconsciously tightened his grip on the greatsword in his hand, his voice laced with trepidation.
Beside him, Yu Xian's body gradually dissolved into bubbles, as if about to disperse at any second, but then quickly recondensed. He chuckled, "Nothing much. I just got a bit of a fright."
A literal fright.
Yu Xian had also thought a Demon Emperor had shown up, nearly scaring his avatar into scattering.
However, his true body still aboard the Aska immediately learned more information through the Star Ring.
Just like antivirus software notifying users after eliminating malware, Muse notified Yu Xian and the others after slaying an intruder, complete with an attached kill video.
After watching the video, Yu Xian knew what had happened, and his confidence bounced right back.
"I'll go take a look."
Having said that to Hai Liwei, Yu Xian immediately flew toward the blooming expanse ahead.
It truly was a profusion of blossoms. Even meteorites drifting through outer space sprouted vivid flowers, filling the entire world with kaleidoscopic colors.
Hai Liwei didn't want to go in the slightest, but seeing Yu Xian fly forward, he opened his mouth, sighed, and resigned himself to risking his life to tag along. After all, his life had been saved by Yu Xian; at worst, he would just pay it back.
"Something's weird. Why have all these meteorites sprouted flowers?" Hai Liwei flew slightly faster as they drew near, landing on a meteorite ahead of Yu Xian. He looked at the blossoms upon it, thoroughly bewildered.
In the myriad heavens and worlds, no wonder was impossible; flowers capable of growing in space were not unheard of.
Yet materializing out of nowhere like this was deeply strange—and by all appearances, these didn't look like any species that could survive in space.
Yu Xian touched down on the meteorite and directly reached out to pluck a flower. Hai Liwei had no time to stop him, his mouth dropping open only after Yu Xian had already picked it, leaving him to heave a long sigh toward the heavens.
*Big brother, could you please exercise a shred of caution?*
Hai Liwei no longer wanted to call Yu Xian "Brother Yu"—he felt like calling him "Big Brother" now.
"Such rich vitality, and this power is very unique. Take a look." Yu Xian casually held the flower out toward Hai Liwei, but just as Hai Liwei was about to take it, Yu Xian abruptly yanked his hand back.
???
Hai Liwei stared at Yu Xian, his head full of question marks.
Meanwhile, Yu Xian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he had pulled his hand back fast. He teleported the flower back into the hands of his true body aboard the Aska, cleared his throat, and said solemnly, "Pick one yourself. Someone needs this flower."
"Oh, all right." Hai Liwei assumed someone else aboard the Aska wanted to study the flowers. He nodded and picked one himself to inspect.
Yu Xian kept a completely straight face, but mentally sighed at the near miss. He hadn't even given Nora flowers yet; if Hai Liwei had taken the flower he held out, wouldn't that mean the very first time he gave someone flowers, he gave them to a man?
How could that be allowed!
Hai Liwei plucked a flower and immediately sensed how abnormal it was.
The vitality of this flower shouldn't just be described as "rich"—it had to be described as "surging." To his senses, the life force inside it was like a tidal wave, astonishingly potent.
Ordinary flowers would wither and die some time after being plucked, whereas the blossom in his hand would likely remain in full bloom for thousands of years even after being picked, keeping its vibrant appearance forever without ever withering.
In addition to the surging vitality, the flower also carried a peculiar energy.
Hai Liwei felt he might just be ill-informed—at the very least, he had never encountered this type of energy before, nor did he know what purpose it served.
He turned to Yu Xian and asked, "Brother Yu, what do you make of this?"
The words had barely left his mouth when he saw Yu Xian pop the flower into his mouth and swallow it whole. Hai Liwei's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. What in the world was going on?!
Chapter 308