The Stars Beyond

Chapter 467: The Grand Event Itself Has Become Part Of The Prey

The decaying Great Barrier, the vast expanse of the world, the ancient trees languishing in sickness, the six huge palaces were distributed across different regions. Wang Xuan had arrived at the place. He stood on a slope and gazed at the Mortal Palace. It was called a palace, but in reality, it was a huge city.

Once magnificent and splendid, it was now devoid of any signs of life. It was late autumn, with a slight chill in the wind. Yellow leaves that fell from the sky added to its desolation. Just like this era that was heading towards its end, this transcendent palace was also desolate. No disciples, no bustling crowds, and as for the sacred beasts and gods, they were long gone.　　

Outside the huge palace, many figures appeared on the barren plain. There were monsters, sacred tribes, humans, and various unnamed species. They were all challengers participating in the cross-domain war. Wang Xuan was apart from the main force. He looked out at the huge palace and suddenly lost interest in the battle.

What was the point of everything here?　　

Even the mighty gods and the transcendents had lost confidence. The struggle for treasures and Old Covenant Artifacts was not to create a new myth, but merely to extend their lifespan for a few more years. Some sought to enter the stone houses that were supposedly carved out of real substance. They wanted to hide away like animals hibernating, enduring the long winter of eternity.　　

Wang Xuan watched quietly. He had treasures and had obtained the Old Covenant Artifact of the long-gone transcendent civilization. There was nothing here to attract him anymore. He had no desire to compete for the tree holes or ground nests where animals like bears and snakes hibernated. What he wanted was to find a way out in this era.　　

Everything that followed lost its allure to him. Even the lands of immortality, divinity, and technological life had given up resistance. They had deemed themselves failures and everything was coming to an end. Even the so-called grand events were just a formality. It was showing signs of exhaustion. Even the organizers themselves lacked confidence, let alone others.　　

"Will I soon become a lonely traveler pursuing elusive myths in the mortal world?" pondered Wang Xuan as he stood in place, letting the withered leaves fall upon him.　　

Some things could already be imagined even though they hadn't happened yet. The path ahead was difficult, and it remained uncertain whether this sentiment could blend into reality, whether it could be accepted by those around him. In the end, how many companions would there be? Would Old Zhang, Fang Yuzhu, and others stay, or would they be extinguished along with the final flames of mythology? Who would remain in the future to accompany him?　　

"Nothing else matters now. Currently, I just want to breakthrough to the Twelfth Stage. I want to step into that area that no one has truly entered before, if it exists," Wang Xuan said.　　

Wang Xuan sat down under a large tree and did not participate in the palace raid. Instead, he found himself surrounded by one secret technique after another, from the initial Golden Body Technique to the later supreme scriptures. He was engulfed by countless scriptures. There was the sound of pages flipping around him, it was as if many figures were chanting scriptures.　　

"Is it too late? Am I being presumptuous to seek enlightenment at the end of mythology? But I still want to try. There's always some unwillingness," Wang Xuan pondered. Many people gathered outside the six huge palaces, but he kept his distance and examined the laws of this era. He flipped through scriptures and his thoughts were wandering between reality and nothingness.　　

Many people were paying attention to Wang Xuan in outer space as his previous record was too good. In the three qualifying rounds, he single-handedly eliminated twelve limit breakers. Plus, he had slain a mechanical black Roc on the way. He was practically a killer of tenth-stage beings, he was the most terrifying reaper with the most terrifying record!　　

"What is he doing? He hasn't gone to the six huge palaces. Doesn't he want to participate in the battle anymore? Extraordinary people do extraordinary things, it's hard for us to understand," someone remarked.　　

"I guess he might be injured. His condition shouldn’t be good after all the hellish encounters. He must be recovering!" another speculated. In outer space, the transcendent beings on various spaceships were puzzled by his behavior. They were all speculating various theories.　　

People had been raiding the six huge palaces one after another for the past half month. The battle was intensifying. There were powerful individuals that silently guarded these majestic structures that resembled cities.

Soon, people discovered that there were actually arena masters! Since ancient times, most of those who had achieved something in the cross-domain warfare had left after receiving their rewards. However, some chose to stay behind and became guardians of the huge palaces.　　

Chen Yongjie's blood boiled and his luxurious armor shattered into pieces. He was covered in blood. He hadn't fought desperately, but he had been following the main force every time. He had only one wish. It was to see if his master was here, he needed to check if he had become one of the guardians of the huge palace.

Unfortunately, he hadn't seen him yet. He was in the Life Essence Palace. He had followed the crowd into it several times, but he had not been able to get close to the core of the huge palace.　

"This is insane! There are incarnations of the strongest gods that personally sat in each of the huge palaces. They had become the palace lords. Who can defeat them?" someone exclaimed.　　

Soon after, someone had learned the truth. It was a limit breaker who paid a great price. He obtained such information after fighting his way to the deepest part of the Wanderer Palace and confronting the palace lord. It was not just the people on the battle that were shocked, but even people in outer space, on various spaceships, the spectators, the transcendent beings, were all shocked.　　

Incarnations of the strongest gods guarding the arena? Who could pass the test?　　

On the way here, people had seen the Blood Emperor, standing on a black transcendent wooden boat, and they had also seen the black-haired, blood-eyed woman that was motionless like a statue. It was the God of War.　　

"Does the strongest not need to participate in the qualifying rounds? Do they directly become the masters of the six huge palaces? In addition, there are still not a small number of participants from the previous competition in the six palaces who have become the guardians this time. Just like entering a dragon's den, who can make it through?" someone commented.　　

"The Blood Emperor and the God of War are both famous and powerful. There are few opponents in the Great Barrier. Letting them guard the arena is a bit excessive!" another person remarked.　　

Many people were dissatisfied. The limit breakers who participated in this competition were heavily defeated by Wang Xuan alone. There were only four of them left. How were they supposed to continue?　　

"It's as good as predetermined. The highest reward in the world will definitely be awarded to the six strongest gods, and in the end, it will certainly be a competition between them," someone concluded.　　

"No need to think too much. The highest reward will definitely end up in the hands of the Blood Emperor and the God of War!" another person added.　　

This caused an uproar. Many people were unwilling, especially the participants. They had hope as they hadn't seen the strongest ones in action during the qualifiers but now they were all disappointed.

However, not long after, people learned that neither the Blood Emperor nor the God of War had stayed in the huge palaces. They had another battlefield to attend to, one with even more formidable opponents.　　

"That person who looks like my master has been coming and going in the Life Essence Palace and he’s covered in blood from head to toe. He's really tough, but unfortunately, he hasn't come across Wang Xuan yet. The two haven't met," Qing Mu lamented in outer space, still hoping for Wang Xuan to make a move and confront the look-alike.　　

For the past half month, Chen Yongjie had raided the Life Essence Palace for the nineteenth time. This time, he was extremely close to the core area and he saw a familiar figure in a daze.

At that moment, he was mingling among the main force, covered in blood from head to toe and was heavily injured. With a glimpse, his eyes flowed with colorful divine radiance as he stared at the palace lord that sat high above!　　

"Everyone, put more effort into it! Don't even think about defeating the incarnations of the strongest gods, but you'll also be rewarded handsomely if you can get close to them. Let's charge together!" someone shouted, rallying morale.　　

Chen Yongjie's eyes widened as he looked up to the highest platform of the palace and shouted, "Old Xu!"　　

At almost the same time, as he was slightly distracted, he was struck on the back with a bang and he immediately coughed up blood, stumbling forward. Ahead of him, there was a row of guardians. Each of them held a sword or a spear and were ready to attack him indifferently. On the platform, a figure wearing a cloak and a bamboo hat suddenly opened his eyes and then waved his hand, beckoning Chen Yongjie over.　　

"What's with the lack of respect? What did you call me?" said the man. He was the renowned Grand Alchemist Xu Fu, the ferryman in the afterlife.　

Initially, he had no physical form. Under the cloak and bamboo hat was a dark void. But things had changed, he had returned with an incarnation. He had merged with the spiritual fragment of the ferryman. His strength had skyrocketed which made him a palace lord.　　

His incarnation had returned as a powerhouse like him wouldn't allow others to control him. Whether he wanted to stay or leave was entirely up to him.　　

"Senior Xu!" Chen Yongjie immediately corrected himself. His face was covered in blood but he was still smiling. It was truly unexpected to battle with Xu Fu in the cross-domain war. Although he had been fooled and unfairly blamed before, meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land made him very happy.　　

"You shouldn't have come. It's very dangerous here. Even I am ready to intercept a supreme reward at any time and then run away. Yet you dare to come here and join the fun……" Xu Fu stopped speaking halfway as Chen Yongjie was practically brought over here by him.　　

After some thought, he said, "Well, you can sit beside me and cultivate. If you have any questions, just ask. Hmm, let me prepare some resources that are in this huge palace for you."　　

"Did the person who looks a lot like my master die in the Life Essence Palace? He didn't follow along this time!" pondered Qing Mu as he felt uncertain.　　

"Old Qing, maybe that person is your master!" Transcendent Ma suggested.　　

"I think he… might really resemble Grandmaster Chen!" Wu Yin said.　　

In an instant, Qing Mu was not feeling well. He had been speculating about it himself, and now he was restless. He felt anxious.　　

On the twenty-first day, in the mortal realm, the aftermath of the rules trembled violently wherever there were mythical creatures. Many transcendents were terrified as they feared their own realms might collapse.

Even Wang Xuan was affected. He abruptly opened his eyes, it was a rare experience. He was actually shaken back. It made his blood roiled, even his transcendent power was in turmoil and somewhat unstable. However, he was much better off compared to others.　　

Within him, the Life Essence Furnace was restless and uneasy. Even it was affected which indicated how serious the situation was!　　

"Hold steady, don't stir up trouble. If this is exposed, I'll have enemies from all over. Especially in this place where there is no lack of mighty deities. Even transcendent beings are secretly watching!" muttered Wang Xuan as he was getting anxious. He naturally knew that something significant had happened in the Great Barrier and the mortal realm.　　

Soon, news of peerless powerhouses going berserk came from the Great Barrier. Some people had died and the blood of mighty gods stained the earth. They were offered as sacrifice to a semi-mature treasure which caused the Great Dao there to resonate incessantly. The semi-mature treasure unexpectedly triggered the resurgence of the Immortal Umbrella, the Pool of Life, and the Divine Palace which continued to resonate.　　

"Unfortunately, these three treasures are special. They are usually shrouded in mystery. They rarely reveal themselves even when they are shaken, giving people little opportunity. Whether they are still in the Great Barrier remains doubtful. They might have already arrived in the mortal realm."　　

Boom!　　

It seemed like mythology was decaying comprehensively, and the collapsing transcendent world was sweeping across every land in a terrifying manner.　　

"Oh my god, I'm losing my realm. What's happening?!" exclaimed a person. Many people were horrified. The mortal realm and the Great Barrier were resonating, causing transcendents to start losing their realms.　　

A wave of panic swept through and everyone was in terror. This upheaval came too suddenly. In the past twenty-plus days, there had been tremors, but they had not affected the transcendents. It was completely different now. It was like a preview of the end of mythology which unsettled souls and instilled a profound fear deep within.　　

"Oh my god! Something big is happening! A storm of epic proportions! This grand event itself is part of the prey and sacrificial offerings. Some mighty ones are marching together in the Land of the Undying and the Land of Divine. This is being led by a transcendent being who decisively charged into the Immortal Realm to seize the Sword of Mortal, the Roaming Ark, and the Ascension Banner!"