The blaze finally burned out, after which Lu Yin raised a hand and let out a long sigh. He would be able to leave when the time ran out. However, to protect himself from anything unexpected happening, he preemptively took out his futon. If anything went wrong, he would immediately sit down on the futon and escape. He had no other choice, as that was absolutely better than dying together with everyone.
As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin put on his universal armor and reappeared inside the cannon. At this moment, the cannon’s energy blast was rapidly approaching them, and Yuehua Mavis and the others all had pale faces. They had no hope in Lu Yin’s ability to stop the energy blast, and they had only given him their cosmic rings in a final, desperate attempt. How powerful could an Explorer possibly be? At best, this youth could rival an Enlighter whose power level was at 200,000 with his external items, but this cannon’s energy blast had a power level of at least 400,000.
Everyone was desperate, and at this time, there was a rumbling sound from outer space, outside of Millions City. A certain suppression caused the nearby planets to tremble, and the volcanoes on all of them erupted at the same time.
Everyone on Millions City felt as though an unimaginably terrifying creature was being born underground. Hoffman, Starfox, Wei Rong, Cool Sis, and a few others all rose into the sky when they sensed that mighty pressure.
Lu Yin stared intently at the cannon’s energy blast as rune lines filled the area. His gaze then turned solemn as he tried to make a direct comparison between it and his armor. He should be able to withstand this blast, as the power level of this shot from the energy definitely had not reached 500,000; at most, it was at around 400,000. Thus, his newly upgraded universal armor should be able to withstand it.
There was a whooshing sound as a red radiance filled everything in their sight, and an unimaginable scorching heat accompanied a terrifying pressure that fell upon the group. In that instant, the attack directly rammed into Lu Yin’s body, as Lu Yin had moved forward to block everyone from the energy blast. He growled in defiance as the tremendously high temperature passed through the universal armor and cooked his body to the point where his skin actually began to crack.
Yuehua Mavis and the others were overwhelmed; was Lu Yin actually able to withstand that energy cannon by himself? How was that possible? Was he really going to do this?
There was another whooshing sound, as Lu Yin had not managed to completely block the energy cannon, only a majority of it. A trace of the attack swept past his body and shot towards those behind him, enveloping Yuehua Mavis and the others. Taylor Phoenix was instantly vaporized without even having a chance to cry out. Next was Mr. Jun, who could only withstand the attack for a moment before being vaporized.
The rest were mostly Enlighters. In the end, Lu Yin, Saul, and Cai Jianqiang were the only survivors who were not.
Cai Jianqiang continuously waved his palms as nine lined battle force shrouded his body while his berserk star energy compressed itself into a wave that withstood the aftershock of the energy cannon’s blast. Saul, on the other hand, continuously retreated. Although he was reduced to a miserable state, he was able to gradually dispel the energy.
The Enlighters had a slightly easier time withstanding the blast, but only slightly so.
If not for Lu Yin blocking the majority of the blast by standing in the front, everyone else would have been instantly vaporized, just like Taylor.
Lu Yin was not in a good state at this moment either. A faint hairline crack had actually appeared on his universal armor, which caused his heart to sink. In theory, based just on their rune lines, his universal armor should have been able to withstand the energy cannon’s attack. However, that was just in theory. When the two actually collided, the universal armor was not able to fully bear this attack.
The scorching heat had seeped in through the armor’s crack and flooded its interior. Right now, Lu Yin could only clench his teeth tightly as he experienced a boundless pain. His physical body had forcefully withstood a pressure that could vaporize powerhouses whose power levels were in the tens of thousands. He immediately took out the Backlash Pearl and placed it next to that tiny crack.
The heat and pressure seeped into the armor through the crack was slightly stronger than the remnant energy that had vaporized Taylor and Mr. Jun. However, the newly upgraded Backlash Pearl could absorb attacks that had a power level of 300,000, so it could just barely hold out.
Even if the Backlash Pearl was able to plug the gap for now, as time passed, more cracks would appear in the armor, and when that happened, Lu Yin would die without question.
But strangely enough, Lu Yin suddenly realized that the energy that had seeped into his armor seemed to be compatible with him. His mind flashed with a bold thought: could all of this energy actually be star energy? Could this terrifying destruction be the result of star energy being compressed to the extreme? If this was all star energy, then couldn’t he absorb it?
This star energy that had been compressed to the extreme and formed into an energy blast was inherently the same as the star energy released by the incinerated natural treasures in the furnace in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. In some sense, this place was also equivalent to a furnace.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. He did not care if it was reasonable or not, as he would simply try it again. Stil, before he made the attempt, he crushed the jade talisman. Even if an accident occurred, Mister Mu should still be able to arrive in time to rescue them—just Lu Yin’s universal armor and Backlash Pearl would be enough to stave off the energy blast for another half a minute without any problems.
He shifted the Backlash Pearl slightly, allowing the scorching heat and pressure to seep into the universal armor once again. Lu Yin screamed in pain, and his body was immediately flushed red as he burned. He revolved his Cosmic Art rapidly as he began frantically absorbing the blazing star energy. Soon, all of the insanely hot energy that had trickled through the crack in the universal armor was absorbed by Lu Yin. He had guessed correctly—the energy blast was indeed unleashed through compressing a countless number of star essence, and this blast was fundamentally nothing more than star energy.
This ultra-compressed star energy that had been heated to a high temperature was the same as the vaporized star energy that had been ubiquitous within the furnace, though the ultra-compressed star energy was even better suited to being absorbed. Even if Lu Yin was only able to absorb the energy that seeped through the crack in his armor, it still formed a tornado-like star energy vortex that was frenziedly consumed by Lu Yin.
If Lu Yin’s star energy absorption rate in the furnace in the Daosource Sect’s ruins had been 40,000 times that of a normal cultivator, it was even faster at this moment. This was because this star energy had been densely compressed, and it was in the most suitable state for being absorbed.
Generally, no one should be able to absorb this energy, as the force of this energy blast was enough to almost instantly vaporize any powerhouse, and any expert that could withstand it had no need to absorb this star energy.
But in this unique situation, the energy blast was being blocked by Lu Yin’s armor, and only a small amount was leaking through and being absorbed by him.
Behind him, Yuehua Mavis and the others were having a difficult time just trying to withstand the aftermath of the energy blast.
On the other hand, Lu Yin was withstanding the energy blast while simultaneously absorbing it.
In another part of the mobile fortress, the expert from the Specter Clan had a strange look on his face as he stared at the screen. Once the energy cannon fired, he had no longer been able to observe the situation inside the cannon, but why had the cannon blast not come out yet? Could the cannon be too old and damaged, or had the blast somehow gotten stuck?
The power released by the energy cannon in the instant that it had been fired was too overwhelming. Thus, even if it was blocked, the strength of the blast would gradually dwindle.
Half a minute passed. Then, a minute, and two minutes.
The crack in the universal armor started to widen, but fortunately, the Backlash Pearl was able to help Lu Yin bear the brunt of the burden. Additionally, the widening of the crack in the armor allowed him to better absorb the star energy.
He did not know how fast his current star energy absorption rate was, but he knew that it definitely surpassed his absorption rate when he had been in the Daosource Sect’s ruins because he could clearly sense his third cycle within his body. He had originally assumed that it would take him a long time to complete it, but at this point, he had a feeling that he was close to completing it. Additionally, completing his third cycle would mean that he would be one step closer to becoming a Cruiser.
The harsh red light was the only thing anyone could see, and after some time, the Specter Clan expert grew impatient and decided to fire a second energy blast from the cannon. However, he then discovered that the star essence reserves were insufficient to do so.
Inside the cannon, the might of the energy blast had clearly fallen, and the power level of the attack had declined to around 350,000 at this time.
More cracks had appeared on Lu Yin’s universal armor, and if it had been in such a state in the beginning, then it would have failed to withstand the energy cannon’s initial burst. But fortunately, it was still enough to withstand the weaker attack that Lu Yin was currently facing.
The energy cannon was blocked by Lu Yin for a good ten whole minutes.
And during this time, he had completed the third cycle within his body.
His star energy absorption rate during this period could not be calculated in terms of a normal cultivator’s rate. Instead, it could be considered as a completely separate way to absorb star energy as it was more like a torrential overflow. It had coincidentally taken advantage of unique, suitable conditions to form a perfect opportunity for him to complete the third cycle.
The energy blast became weaker and weaker, and it had now reached the point where it was equivalent to an attack with a power level of 200,000.
Lu Yin punched out, eliminating the remainder of the energy blast and pushing the remnant pressure back underground.
Behind him, Yuehua Mavis and the others simply stared at Lu Yin in shock. They had all been reduced to a pathetic state, but they simply stared at Lu Yin. This youth had actually blocked an attack with a power level of 400,000. Just how had he done it?
Lu Yin barked, “Hurry up and escape! There’s no way we’ll be able to take on another one of those.”
The crowd seemed to awaken from a daze, and the Blaze Engineer said, “Head underground.”
“Why not to the mouth of the cannon? We can exit straight from there,” Sall Phoenix asked in a low voice.
The Blaze Engineer sniggered. “If it was that easy to escape, then this wouldn’t be an ancient mobile fortress. The more something seems to be an exit, the harder it will be to use as an exit.”
He then streaked past Lu Yin and dashed deep underground.
Yuehua Mavis glanced at Lu Yin and then similarly rushed underground.
Villa Mistress Lian and Zhu Tiezhu both followed closely behind.
Sall Phoenix could only follow behind the others, though he glanced at Lu Yin with a boundless killing intent and wariness in his eyes. This kid could not be allowed to live.
Saul and Cai Jianqiang exchanged glances before also flitting past Lu Yin and dashing underground.
Lu Yin stopped Cai Jianqiang, and then offered the man his cosmic ring back. “This is yours.”
Cai Jianqiang took it back and solemnly said, “I’ll remember this time that you saved me.”
After that, he hurried underground.
Lu Yin let out a deep breath. He looked at his universal armor that was now covered with multiple cracks. He would have to find a replacement when he returned. This armor still had a robust defense, as even with these cracks, it was able to withstand an attack with a power level of 300,000. However, that was only against something like the energy blast. If Lu Yin was facing an Enlighter’s battle technique attack, the existence of these cracks would prove fatal for him.
Yuehua Mavis and the others were searching for a way to escape from the cannon while the Specter Clan expert had left his original underground location. He started moving towards the City Master’s estate to search for more star essence. He wanted to fire the energy cannon a second time, as he did not believe that these people would be able to survive a second blast.
After the Specter Clan expert left, another person sneakily infiltrated the room. It was actually Zhu San.
The Zhu family had lived within the Millions City for countless years, and they understood Millions City better than anyone else. The Zhu family’s ancestor had noticed early on that Qiong Xi’er was being controlled, and the Zhu family also naturally had their own ways to infiltrate the City Master’s estate.
If not for the Neohuman Alliance’s ambush, the Zhu family would have never exposed these secrets so soon.
Even if the Neohuman Alliance’s ambush failed this time, the Zhu family would still be forced to leave Millions City, as the Qiong family definitely would not allow it.
Zhu San sneakily moved through the underground passages; there was just one last corner separating him from the control room where Qiong Xi’er was controlling Millions City.
Just as Zhu San was about to enter, his expression changed. Qiong Xi’er, who should have been under the control of the Specter Clan expert, actually moved. Her eyes were clear, and it was readily apparent that she was not being controlled.
“Who?” Qiong Xi’er barked as she looked in Zhu San’s direction. She then stretched out her right hand as her fingers bent to form a peculiar design with one finger tapping towards the direction where Zhu San was hiding.
If Lu Yin could see Qiong Xi’er’s finger at this moment, he would have definitely been startled. Qiong Xi’er was obviously just a Limiteer, but this finger’s power level could rival those on the Top 100 Rankings. Although it had not reached the level of strength that Lu Yin had possessed as a Limiteer, it was not too far off.
Zhu San was petrified. “Xi’er, it’s me!”
Qiong Xi’er’s gaze turned cold, and the finger formed a peculiar diagram that continued traveling towards Zhu San without any hesitation. Killing intent filled the room, and Zhu San’s pupils shrank. As he stared at Qiong Xi’er’s finger that was approaching him, he dodged the attack at the last juncture, her finger slamming into the wall behind him and leaving an unusual mark there.
