The combat strength of the Star-rank powerhouses present was mostly between 800 and 900.
For various reasons, they had lingered at this level for a very long time, and every single one of them possessed an overwhelmingly fierce desire for a breakthrough. Only people like them would risk their lives to follow along; to break through to the Li Rank, there was nothing they wouldn't do.
The sorrow of wild cultivators lay in having neither proper heritage nor sufficient resources, leaving them with no choice but to stake their lives.
Meanwhile, Star-rank powerhouses with combat strength under 700 had largely stayed away. Yu Xian's earlier punch had frightened plenty of people, after all; even if those cultivators harbored designs on Helick's treasure, they lacked the guts to follow.
The biggest difference between them and the former group was that they still had room to grow. They could console themselves that they would prepare for the Li Rank once they became stronger.
In truth, Margaret and the others had arrived so quickly entirely because Yu Xian was too easy to read.
An Earthling, a powerhouse, suddenly vanishing.
Even a fool would know to immediately keep an eye on Earth.
Next, they discovered the Aska drifting in outer space, and then... they found him.
It was precisely because the answer was so simple that so many Star-rank powerhouses had followed one after another.
The Star-rank powerhouses present knew full well that among everyone here, Yu Xian posed the greatest threat. Thus, once they struck, they had no intention of stopping easily. Instead, they unleashed a saturated barrage, attacking with near-frenzied abandon. The space around Yu Xian began to spiderweb with dense cracks, looking as though it would shatter at any second.
Yet this space seemed to have formed some kind of connection with Feng Laixian's storage ring; precarious as it seemed under the onslaught, it stubbornly refused to break.
Luo Xiao and the others attacked for a full five minutes before finally ceasing their assault.
With the strength of those present, five minutes of saturated bombardment was more than enough to destroy every planet in the solar system four or five times over, or even obliterate the sun itself.
Where Yu Xian stood was practically warped now. Energies of various colors were forcibly compressed together, radiating astonishing heat, making it impossible to see what was happening inside that patch of space.
Yet the moment they stopped, a flash of black light shot past, and Luo Xiao's head detonated on the spot. His deformed helmet flew outward, hitting the ground with a crisp clatter.
The headless corpse's blood pressure was extraordinarily high, causing blood to erupt like a geyser.
Then blood rained down.
Only when the blood splattered across them did Margaret and the others snap back to their senses, their pupils contracting ring after ring.
Once they registered what had happened, their gaze immediately fell on Yu Xian, clad in the King of the Abyss Battle Armor with smoke wafting from his body. He stood beside Luo Xiao's headless corpse, his fist still smoking, with twisted fragments of Luo Xiao's helmet scattered on the ground.
At this moment, Yu Xian was like a god of slaughter. Merely standing there struck terror into their hearts.
Thump, thump, thump...
With their acute hearing, everyone present could sense one another's accelerating heartbeats.
Margaret and the others wore expressions of shock and dread at this sight. They knew full well that they could never have survived the assault they had just unleashed, which made it all the more terrifying that Yu Xian had emerged completely unscathed.
This man was simply no longer on the same level of existence as them.
Retreat!
Margaret, Spence, and the rest backed away in unison, scattering instantly.
Yet none of them dared flee outright, for they knew that whoever ran toward the exit first might become Yu Xian's next target.
"According to the rules of combat among Star-rank powerhouses, since you struck with murderous intent, you must have prepared yourselves for the possibility of dying in battle."
Yu Xian swept his gaze over the crowd, speaking slowly.
In fact, he hadn't used any abilities at all. Withstanding the barrage and obliterating Luo Xiao had both relied purely on the King of the Abyss Battle Armor's sheer durability.
"Wait! I can pay a ransom for my actions!" the Guarantee Queen blurted out hurriedly.
In essence, all struggles boiled down to 'men dying for wealth as birds die for food.'
The Guarantee Queen was confident she could pay a ransom generous enough to satisfy Yu Xian and spare her life.
However, Yu Xian didn't spare her a single glance. He turned to look at Margaret, who immediately manipulated her Star Divine Artifact, the Toxic Blood Spider Spear, to shield herself.
Her face was fraught with terror, dreading that she would have her head blown apart by Yu Xian's fist just like Luo Xiao.
In truth, Yu Xian had indeed intended to do just that. But before he could strike, another phoenix cry rang out from Feng Laixian's storage ring. Margaret happened to be closest to the ring, and in the next second, she was sucked into it with a look of stunned disbelief. The entire process happened so fast that no one could even react.
Inside the Shell of All Arts, everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events.
Zhang Buyao suddenly remembered something and said excitedly, "I remember now! Uncle Feng's storage ring has a guardian artifact spirit! That sound just now was the artifact spirit's voice!"
"Sister Yaoyao, then why does the artifact spirit eat people?" Little Nora asked, tilting her head up to look at Zhang Buyao's chin.
Zhang Buyao blinked, struck entirely dumb by Little Nora's question. How could she possibly know why the artifact spirit of Feng Laixian's storage ring had swallowed two people in a row?
"Feng Laixian has already turned into the Abyss, so the artifact spirit of his storage ring probably isn't normal either. Yu Xian, get out of here quickly," Niman warned through voice transmission.
Yu Xian nodded in acknowledgment. He had already wanted to leave before knowing about the artifact spirit, and now that he knew what had swallowed Zhi'er, he certainly had no reason to stay.
He was not about to gamble on whether the King of the Abyss Battle Armor could withstand an attack from the artifact spirit of Feng Laixian's storage ring.
Outside, Yu Xian bolted toward the exit right away. The others finally realized that Yu Xian hadn't been lying earlier—something was truly wrong with this place.
Run!
Spence was the second to take off, and the rest broke into a sprint one after another, terrified of becoming the artifact spirit's next target.
Yet it was clearly too late. One by one, the Star-rank powerhouses were sucked into the storage ring without the slightest power to resist. As Spence was being pulled in, he threw his arms around the Guarantee Queen beside him, clinging to her with a death grip.
"Let go!"
Naturally, the Guarantee Queen didn't want to die either. She immediately elbowed Spence, but Spence refused to let go no matter what. In the end, both were sucked into the storage ring together.
By this time, Yu Xian had already reached the exit. He took a stride forward, and half of his leg was already through the ripples. But in the next instant, a powerful suction latched onto him. His expression instantly shifted as his body flew backward at high speed.
"Such immense suction!"
Gritting his teeth, Yu Xian ignited the King of the Abyss's thrusters and activated his own abilities in rapid succession, halting his momentum midair in a dead heat.
Yet just as he prepared to summon Auntie Number Two, the suction behind him exploded with tremendous force. He was sucked into the ring in an instant, and with Yu Xian pulled inside, the entire space finally reached its limit and shattered instantaneously.
Upon the colossal ruby, the phoenix swam around the gem before letting out a resounding cry. Then it turned into a golden spiral and vanished rapidly.
All returned to calm; all returned to darkness.
Chapter 327