The Sixth Mainland’s Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and at the same time, almost all Seven Skygods had fallen. Thus, not only did the Fifth Mainland need to send people to protect the pass leading to the Aeternals’ region, but they also needed to prepare for the Neohuman Alliance’s counterattack. At this same time, the Sixth Mainland needed to root out any hidden dangers that the Progenitor of Secret Arts might have left behind. Never before had humanity been so ripe for the plucking.
This was a unique opportunity, so Xu Qing could not let it go.
As for Lu Yin, he did not care about what was happening. Regardless of what sort of status he achieved, it was impossible for the entire Fifth Mainland to offer him support. Even more importantly, Qiu Xu had attacked Cemetery Keeper. This attack had not been at the orders of the Astral Beast Domain, which meant that they had been helped by the Aeternals.
While the Astral Beast Domain was also enemies with the Aeternals, the two had not reached the point where only one could exist. The astral beasts were perfectly willing to split the Fifth Mainland with Aeternus.
In the southern reaches of the Outerverse, within the Daosource Sect:
“The Ironblood Weave has fallen. We need to send people there as soon as possible to drive those beasts out and set up defenses again,” someone stated. He was a middle-aged man who gave off the impression of someone with a refined demeanor. His name was Jiu Yao, and he was the Semi-Progenitor in the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect who was the closest to becoming a Progenitor. He was also the Progenitor of Combat’s eldest son.
After he finished speaking, Jiu Yao looked to the side. There was an isolated space in that direction that was filled with magma with a body floating within. It was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman, but the truth was that the figure was not even a human body, but something formed from the magma itself. “There’s no rush. We should first finish cleaning up the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. In fact, wouldn’t it be best if those animals cleaned out the territory for us?”
Jiu Yao frowned, but then he looked elsewhere. In the new direction, all that could be seen was a cherry blossom floating in space. “What do you say?”
There was no response even after he waited for a long time.
The furrows in Jiu Yao’s brows deepened. Each of his companions was weirder than the next. “Then after we deal with the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, we will either drive those animals out, or one of us will visit the Astral Beast Domain to talk to them.”
With that, everything became calm once again.
…
Elsewhere in the Outerverse, the asteroid field and Eastly Weave were very close to Ironblood Weave. As soon as one passed through the asteroid field, they would be in Northcastle Weave.
Ten days had passed since Ironblood Weave had fallen, and yet the Sixth Mainland had not shown any response to the loss of Ironblood Weave because they were occupied with cleaning up the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. Some astral beasts had already slipped into Eastly Weave, and others had made their way into Northcastle Weave.
A weave covered a massive region, and it typically took half a month to a month for the average astral beast with the strength of an Explorer to cross a single weave. There were some species that could travel through outer space before reaching the Explorer level, but their speed was much worse. They might need a month or two to cover such a distance, and this was even taking wormholes into consideration.
As for the individuals who had managed to pass through the asteroid field that was nearly the size of a weave and enter Northcastle Weave within ten days, they were at least among the most powerful of Explorers.
There was an excited roar, and a three-colored flame burnt the void as it shot towards a distant spaceship. An instant later, the spaceship was nothing more than ash, and regardless of the number of people that had been inside, they had all disappeared.
This creature was a Fei Yan, a soaring firebeast. This species was ranked tenth on the Celestial Beast List, which showed how powerful they were in the Astral Beast Domain.
Any species that could be added to the Celestial Beast List had to be extremely powerful. After all, even the sound monsters were only able to rank eleventh.
Fei Yan was as strong as a Hunter, and the beast raised its head to let out a roar, causing tri-colored flames to illuminate the nearby region of space.
Somewhat nearby, another astral beast appeared. This one looked somewhat similar to a centipede, though it had wings.
After that, one astral beast after another started to appear in Northcastle Weave. Each one was at least as strong as an Explorer.
These beasts were far too excited. Humans had long since dreamed of conquering the Astral Beast Domain, and the inhabitants of the Astral Beast Domain had similarly dreamed of conquering the Human Domain. The excitement of finally fulfilling their dream caused the beasts to start destroying everything they saw.
Fei Yan landed upon a planet in Northcastle Weave, and the beast’s sharp claws pierced into the center of the planet, causing the entire planet to start cracking apart.
This planet’s technology had only developed as far as cold weapons, and even their most powerful individuals were only able to cut through a building, which could not be considered as stepping upon the path of cultivation. They had no ability to resist at all, and their planet quickly shattered.
A bit further away, a fiery red light struck the centipede-looking beast. This beam came from a technological weapon that had been developed by a planet that had just started exploring nearby galaxies. This beam was a weapon that the civilization used for warfare.
The inhabitants of the planet had panicked the moment they discovered the giant centipede, and they had not hesitated to attack it with their most powerful weapons. However, their efforts were useless, as there was not even a single scratch to be seen on the centipede.
The giant centipede became aggressive, and it flew straight towards the planet and tore it apart. Countless people wailed as they were consumed by lava or black holes. There was a flash of light that lit up the universe before quickly disappearing.
The flames of war quickly engulfed Northcastle Weave. Multiple planets were destroyed one after another, and spaceships exploded without end.
A man with a pale face stood in outer space and watched as the various astral beasts unleashed their destruction upon the planets in the distance. Just when the man was about to make a move, there was a soft beep from his gadget. This man was a Cruiser, and he was from Northcastle Weave.
Northcastle Weave had many cultivators, though very few of them could roam through outer space on their own.
The Greatsword Dynasty was the power that controlled Northcastle Weave, and they had summoned every cultivator in the entire Northcastle Weave to gather together in order to combat their current crisis.
The Greatsword Dynasty had ruled Northcastle Weave for countless years. With the astral beasts’ invasion, cultivators had started to congregate in the Greatsword Dynasty’s capital. They looked up at the imperial palace, waiting for the leader of the dynasty to show himself. Northcastle Weave was their home, as well as the home of their friends and families. It was impossible for those people to get to safety in time, which meant that the astral beasts had to be driven back.
The gate began to open, and all the gathered cultivators stared at the imperial palace. They saw a man in imperial robes and with a haggard expression on his face. He was the lord of the Greatsword Dynasty. The young man who had once been threatened and controlled by Aegis had since grown up.
“Our nation mourns. I feel the pain of our people, and I will use our full strength against these invaders! We will be fearless! Fearless against these foreign enemies! I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!”
Many of the cultivators became excited, and they echoed the man, “I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!”
“I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!”
“I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!”
…
Ding Xing stood nearby. His eyes looked conflicted. These people wanted to defend, but how? The Astral Beast Domain itself was invading, and just how many people could actually help protect Northcastle Weave?
The Great Eastern Alliance had reached an agreement with the Sixth Mainland: the Sixth Mainland had given the Great Eastern Alliance three years to retreat to the Innerverse. Therefore, this was also the condition that the people of Northcastle Weave had been given. Only about 6,000 cultivators remained. About 40% of their numbers had already left for the Innerverse, and those who remained were unwilling to leave the weave or had been kept behind by the Greatsword Dynasty for some reason or another.
In essence, it was because their leader did not want to leave.
The Greatsword Dynasty had already survived the threat of having their nation destroyed, and yet they had eventually managed to reestablish their government and stabilize their nation with Lu Yin’s help. However, they had paid a hefty price for that help. The Greatsword Dynasty was no longer fully independent.
It was not that the Greatsword Dynasty did not want to resist. They truly did want their independence, even if only a small bit, but they did not dare to speak of such things when faced with the increasingly powerful Great Eastern Alliance.
When the Sixth Mainland had been given the Outerverse, the Greatsword Dynasty had seen this change as an opportunity. Even though they would still be ruled by someone else, they had already suffered through a worse situation. No matter what happened under the Sixth Mainland, it could not be worse than what the Greatsword Dynasty had already endured. Besides, the Sixth Mainland also needed the Greatsword Dynasty’s help.
These were the thoughts of the Greatsword Dynasty, and so their imperial family had not retreated to the Innerverse, and many of the dynasty’s cultivators had been forced to stay behind through various means.
Lu Yin had been aware of the situation, but he had not had the time to deal with it.
Are we doing the right thing? Ding Xing stared out at the crowd of people who were currently united as one, all eager to fight against the Astral Beast Domain. Ding Xing let out a helpless sigh. He had previously ventured out into the greater universe, and he had some idea of its vastness. He could only hope that not all of these people would die to the astral beasts.
Right when Ding Xing was thinking this, the capital city was overwhelmed by a horrifying heat as a three-colored flame began to burn the Greatsword Dynasty. “Humans, enjoy your deaths.”
Ding Xing was startled, “Your Majesty, RUN!”
All of the gathered people began to scream, but at that time, a sword was unsheathed in a corner of the capital city. A woman emerged from the void to face Fei Yan with a sword held in her upraised hand. “10,000 Swords As One.”
The sword cut into Fei Yan’s body, and blood appeared. “Who?”
The woman stared at the beast with cold eyes. “The one who will kill you!”
She stepped forward as she spoke, and her sword fell again.
Ding Xing became excited. “Your Majesty, it’s Madam He! Rumors claim that she cultivated in the Innerverse’s Myriad Swords Peak. She returned long ago, and although many people sought to take her on as their master, none could find her. I never thought that she would still be here in the imperial city.”
“Wonderful! With her taking action, this astral beast will certainly die. She’s a powerful Hunter who’s managed to establish an impressive reputation in the Innerverse!” the emperor of the Greatsword Dynasty grew excited as well.
The three-colored flames clashed with Madam He’s sword, and the imperial city was instantly destroyed as flames shot covered the sky.
Madam He was already breathing heavily, and half of her body had caught on fire while her long sword had become twisted. Humans held no advantage when fighting against astral beasts, let alone one whose species ranked within the top ten of the Celestial Beast List.
“Human, go to hell!” Fei Yan raised a paw to grab the woman, and flames that could incinerate even the void swept towards Madam He.
Her eyes began to blaze. “10,000 Swords As One.”
As her voice fell, she stepped forward with her sword. The blade pierced through the flames to stab Fei Yan’s body. The sword qi shot through the creature’s body and erupted into the sky.
The many cultivators in the imperial city became excited. They had won! They had actually won!
Before Madam He, Fei Yan’s body was so hot that her skin burnt. When she lifted her head, Fei Yan’s massive eyes opened again. The beast opened its mouth and bit down.
This was the day that the Greatsword Dynasty was destroyed. It was Northcastle Weave’s saddest day. Countless people throughout the weave died tragic deaths, and many of them were used as rations for the invading astral beasts. There was no way to even tally the death toll.
More and more astral beasts began to pour into Northcastle Weave, unleashing wanton destruction wherever they went. Northcastle Weave began to break, and with that, the astral beasts looked to the south, towards Frostwave Weave.
…
Terrible screams echoed out in every direction. The city had already been destroyed, and a woman clutched her child as she screamed. A shadow covered her, and the body of an enormous astral beast swept by. Its mere passage caused the entire city to disappear.
The city sat at the border between Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves. An astral beast had already pushed this far into the Outerverse. It was the forerunner, and it had destroyed several planets so far. Once it rose from the wreckage, it continued traveling south.
The creature became thrilled when it saw more planets and space stations up ahead. It loved hearing the desperate wails of humans as they died, and it enjoyed seeing blood flow in rivers. The sight always caused the creature’s blood to surge and its heart to beat faster. The beast sped up to move forward even quicker. It would be the first astral beast to enter Frostwave Weave.
