The Grand Mage of the Realm of the Sacred Dragon Empire was, without a shadow of a doubt, a legendary existence.
In fact, the barrier safeguarding the imperial capital existed entirely by anchoring itself to his mage tower. That was precisely why the Grand Mage had appeared the moment the barrier fractured.
Mere metal shards, capable of piercing through the capital's barrier?
Though he was thoroughly bewildered, the Grand Mage of the Realm still deployed the highest-tier mana shield at his disposal. By all accounts, this magical aegis should have been enough to withstand even a Tier-10 holy incantation!
And yet, the sword shards instantly punched through his shield, followed immediately by his body.
The instant his head was struck, only a single thought flashed through his mind: *Impossible. This defies all reason!*
Under normal circumstances, when ordinary pieces of metal struck his barrier, it should have been like tofu colliding with diamond. How could they possibly pierce right through his shield?
However, what he thought did not matter in the slightest.
The metal fragments continued to rain down like scattered flower petals from the heavens, turning the entire imperial capital into their target.
Every noble who offended Yu Xian's sight—and even the King of the Sacred Dragon Empire himself—was struck by the shards. The projectiles blasted through their estates and smashed the targets straight into meat paste. Under that terrifying kinetic impact, even their very souls were shattered to pieces.
In other words, not even the resurrection magic of this world could bring these dead back to life.
Through the phone Yu Xian had given her, Scarlett watched the entire scene unfold. She was overcome with excitement. Her greatest nemesis was dead, and so many wicked figures had met their retribution. It was truly wonderful.
Yet after the rush of excitement faded, she suddenly realized that Yu Xian's strength was beyond absurd.
"Lord Newton, may I ask you a question?" Scarlett could not resist speaking up.
Yu Xian nodded. "Shoot."
"Since you're so powerful, why don't you join the Hero Party? With you on board, dealing with the Calamity Demonic Dragon should be a breeze," Scarlett asked.
Yu Xian nodded. "That's true enough. But if I step in, how is the Hero supposed to grow?"
"Honestly, it wouldn't hurt if the Hero didn't grow either," Scarlett quipped.
Yu Xian chuckled. "And when the time comes that he truly needs to grow, and I'm no longer in this world, wouldn't everyone be doomed?"
"..."
Scarlett had no rebuttal for that.
At that moment, Yu Xian took back the phone from her hand and smiled. "All right, everything is satisfactorily resolved. Let's head out to find the Hero!"
With that, the two embarked on their journey to catch up with the Hero Party.
***
Beyond the Tree Universe, Between Being and Non-Being.
The branch of the Tree Universe severed by Quan Juehua had already been eroded by the expanse Between Being and Non-Being until barely a third of it remained.
Even so, Quan Juehua did not panic in the slightest. Soon, the branch would reach its destination: another bough of the Tree Universe.
The instant the two branches collided, he would slip back into the Tree Universe. As for this severed branch, it would ultimately be reduced to complete nothingness within Being and Non-Being.
"Hehehehe, it seems this old man's skills are superior after all!"
Thinking of Little Nora's inconceivable power, Quan Juehua let out a low chuckle and muttered to himself.
So what if she had a powerful backer? Could a mere backer compensate for the vast power and experience he had accumulated over countless ages? Unless a Transcender stepped in personally, no one could dream of killing him.
Besides, he was not the type to admit defeat so easily. Even if a Transcender rejected him, he would still defy heaven and forge ahead.
Sooner or later, he would achieve transcendence, or carve out a new path—one that would rival even a Transcender's.
*Wuuu...*
Just as he was contemplating which leftover experimental subjects and contingencies to handle first once he returned, an ethereal, lingering, yet profoundly deep sound echoed in his ears.
A... a whale?
With the experience gathered over countless cosmic annihilation epochs, Quan Juehua instantly recognized what kind of creature produced that sound.
The problem was that this was the expanse Between Being and Non-Being. How could a whale possibly exist here? Furthermore, how could sound propagate across Being and Non-Being? This made no sense at all!
Quan Juehua rose from his cross-legged stance immediately, his gaze piercing through layer upon layer of spatial barriers toward the surface of the Tree Universe's branch. Yet due to the branch's obstruction, all he could see was pitch-black darkness.
*Wuuu...*
The sound echoed once again.
Shrewd and calculating as Quan Juehua was, his scalp tingled and goosebumps prickled across his entire body.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.
Ten thousand percent wrong. Had the branch of the Tree Universe drifted off course?
Yet...
How could there possibly be a whale Between Being and Non-Being?
The so-called Between Being and Non-Being was an infinite realm flooded with endless 'being' and endless 'non-being.' Both coexisted eternally, annihilating each other in perpetuity. Any matter entering this realm would be eroded by infinite non-being, eventually returning entirely to nothingness.
This was the manifestation of the ultimate Dao, infinity of infinities. Aside from Transcenders who were equally infinite, any creature falling Between Being and Non-Being would die in a heartbeat.
So... how could there be a whale?
Yet the whale's call drew steadily closer. It seemed to be moving directly toward Quan Juehua's position.
Quan Juehua's eyes widened. He felt as though he had fallen into some terrifying dimension where his fate, his life, and everything else were no longer under his control.
Outside the branch of the Tree Universe, the realm Between Being and Non-Being resembled the static snow of an old television screen, filled with countless black and white particles that endlessly emerged and vanished in an infinite cycle.
Far beyond those myriad black and white particles, a colossal whale drifted slowly forward.
In appearance, it closely resembled a blue whale, yet dozens of dragon whiskers grew symmetrically along both sides of its head. Its skin was azure, radiating a soft halo of light, and three pairs of eyes lined its flanks, all of which remained shut.
From time to time, it would part its cavernous maw to swallow everything around it, letting loose an ethereal, lingering whale song, before expelling all that it had consumed through blowholes along its back.
This was the Transcender—Whale!
It had once been the Origin Returner of the Feather Universe, commanding the origin of all fish, revered by countless souls as the Celestial Zenith Whale.
Later, refined by endless ages, it advanced from Origin Returner to Transcender. It had bestowed upon all living beings the privilege of near-immortality, showering blessings upon countless lives across the Feather Universe—an era celebrated as the Blue Feather Era.
Yet even a Transcender would eventually tire of living.
After immeasurably long epochs, Whale had finally had enough of existence. It had seen through all phenomena and experienced infinity in full.
In the end, it chose not to obliterate itself, opting instead to enter an eternal slumber Between Being and Non-Being, allowing its body to drift through the void on pure instinct until the end of forever.
Quan Juehua had never imagined that other living beings could exist Between Being and Non-Being. He had believed that as long as he calculated the precise angle to sever the branch of the Tree Universe, he would safely reach the next.
He had failed to realize that an unforeseen event was unforeseen precisely because it defied all anticipation.
And so, he and Whale met by pure chance.
Chapter 675