Chapter 895: Hope And Despair

At the entrance to the Starfall Sea, an old man stepped forward. Behind him was an imprint of Madam Hong, and he was carrying a strange-looking weapon that he stabbed towards the drop of blood. However, his actions did not hinder the droplet in the least. It shot straight through the old man and passed through the Starfall Sea's entrance without any resistance before slowly dissipating.

The spacecraft holding the Fifth Mainland cultivators did not hesitate, and it similarly shot straight past the elder before vanishing on the other side of the entrance.

The old man turned to dust right where he stood, and all of the other Sixth Mainland cultivators who had been standing between the old man and the Starfall Sea's entrance also turned to dust. Everyone else stood rooted in place, not even daring to move.

The group within the spacecraft did not understand what had just happened, and it was even possible that the Sea King himself might not fully understand everything. Only Lu Yin was aware that, when that drop of blood had appeared, it had absorbed the effects of the cosmic phenomenon in the sky. That had not been a drop of ordinary blood, and it should have come from the Rune Progenitor. The runes of the cosmic phenomenon itself had changed, and only the Rune Progenitor’s blood could have this effect on the cosmic phenomenon that was capable of suppressing everything.

What made Lu Yin certain that the drop of blood had come from the Rune Progenitor was that he had felt an extremely strong attraction to it. He had truly wanted to absorb that drop of blood for himself, and he had a premonition that if he had managed to do so, his comprehension towards Truesight would have increased by leaps and bounds.

Unfortunately, that drop of blood had already been used up.

Lu Yin stared fervently at the Sea King, wondering if the powerhouse had any more of that blood.

Regardless of if it was about passing through the Sea King’s Dome or the entrance to the Starfall Sea, the Sea King and his group had made complete preparations, and they had been absolutely confident in their chances of escaping.

As the spacecraft left the Starfall Sea, they intended to leave and go straight through Chaos Flowzone before entering the Cosmic Sea. However, things did not go as planned. When the vessel exited the Starfall Sea, they were immediately confronted by a giant hammer that descended from the sky like a massive mountain range and pounded at the spacecraft.

The Sea King’s expression immediately changed, and he wielded the Sea King's Trident in the void as he met the hammer head on. There was a bang as the Sea King's Trident and the hammer collided against one another, the impact causing the void to split asunder. The powerful collision also swept the spacecraft to the north, as the hammer was also forced back.

Dojo Master Lan’s expression grew ugly. “It’s an expert from the War Martial Realm’s Toolcasting family. There are more coming.”

The Sea King’s face went pale, as there was not just one hammer, but rather three descending upon them. The one that he had just blocked had been the biggest, and its wielder should have been an Imprinter, and the other two should belong to Enlighters.

The strength of those in the spacecraft was enough to defeat these three, but Madam Hong would catch up to them while they were occupied by these hammers.

However, if they did not defeat these three powerhouses, then they would not be able to continue on to Chaos Flowzone. This was a difficult dilemma, and they were suddenly plunged into a desperate choice.

The Sea King made a snap decision without any hesitation and steered the spacecraft to the north. That was the direction of the fissure that led to the Outerverse. This was the only way out of their predicament.

Lu Yin knew that Hai Qiqi must have told her father about the hole in the Astral River.

As the spacecraft changed trajectories and left, Madam Hong arrived and glanced over at the hammers. Bloodlust visibly radiated from her eyes as she continued the chase to the north. “You can’t escape!”

The eonlight-grade Aurora was extremely fast, and it did not take long for the spaceship to arrive at the fissure. Ordinary people would find it difficult to even see the narrow gap in the Astral River, but with Hai Qiqi guiding their way, the spacecraft managed to reach it safely.

The gap had become much more narrow than when Lu Yin had first passed through it. According to his initial estimates, the hole would have vanished around half a year after he came through it, and it had already been about that long since he had arrived at the Innerverse. The fissure was now only wide enough for two people to pass through, so it was impossible for the spacecraft to continue on.

Many cultivators in the spacecraft stared at the fissure with strange expressions. However, some of them seemed to have thought of something, and they looked quite excited.

The Sea King looked at Tian Yanzi, who pushed a single palm forward. Of the 10,000 cultivators aboard the spacecraft, a number of them felt their branded hands burn hot once again, and they were then tossed out of the vessel towards the direction of the hole. There were not many people in this group, but it did include Lu Yin, Hai Qiqi, Zhang Dingtian, Hai Dashao, Lan Baobao, Lan Si, Elder Tong, and Elder Shan.

At the same time, they heard the Sea King’s voice call out, “We have abandoned the entire Starfall Sea just to preserve a spark of hope. Live well, and one day, return to stir up the Starfall Sea once again. Don’t embarrass our Fifth Mainland, as there will come a day when the tides will reverse, and at that time, kill your way into the Sixth Mainland.”

Hai Qiqi’s face turned pale. “Father, what are you doing? Let’s flee together!”

The Sea King shook his head, and he looked at Hai Qiqi with clear reluctance. “I’m sorry, but Father cannot go. I brought this disaster into being when I shattered the Upper Three Gates and changed the sky. This caused the Sixth Mainland to start a full offensive against us. Qiqi, live well, and perhaps we will meet again one day.”

The Sea King then looked at Lu Yin with a stern expression. “Kid, take good care of Qiqi, and remember—if you gain the ability one day, then shatter the Upper Three Gates once again. I cannot tell you what lies behind them, but it could be either a blessing or a disaster. However, that place is the only chance for us to defeat the Sixth Mainland. Remember, no matter what others do to stop you, shatter the Upper Three Gates!”

Lu Yin’s gaze trembled. The Upper Three Gates?

“Senior Sea King, in the Outerverse, there’s Yuan-” Lu Yin was about to say something in reply, but he was not able to get it out before being forced into the depths of the fissure by the Sea King.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The tossed out cultivators fled through the hole in the direction of the Outerverse while the cultivators who had not been thrown towards the hole raced there desperately. They also wanted to escape.

Meanwhile, Hai Qiqi was knocked unconscious by Elder Shan and carried away.

Madam Hong rushed over from the distance and was immediately alarmed by what she saw. She had never expected there to be a passageway that led towards the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse, but she was delighted at this discovery. The war in the Innerverse was extremely intense, and this passageway could allow them to easily invade the Outerverse since the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse would be powerless to stop their forces.

When the Sea King saw Madam Hong arrive, he lifted the Sea King's Trident in his hands. Meanwhile, Dojo Master Lan, and Tian Yanzi also grew solemn, though there was a certain feeling of tragedy in the air.

Despite being the Starfall Sea’s ultimate powerhouses, they had abandoned it just to preserve the final spark of the younger generation. Now, those sparks absolutely had to flee to safety; otherwise, all of their sacrifices so far would become meaningless.

Madam Hong made her move, one against three. She was extremely powerful, but due to the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, she could not defeat them quickly. She could only watch on as the weaker cultivators fled through the hole.

The Sea King was also feeling very anxious, as he was carefully calculating the time. The moment he was certain that Hai Qiqi had safely arrived in the Outerverse, he would destroy that fissure, regardless of whether or not there were other cultivators still within it. They could only perish as he could not allow Madam Hong to pass through the hole and enter the Outerverse.

Within the small gap, everyone raced ahead at their top speed, anxious to reach the Outerverse. Everyone looked very nervous as they were desperately fleeing for their survival.

Even Lan Si did not utter a single word, as he simply grabbed a hold of Lan Baobao and fled at top speed. Their father, Dojo Master Lan, was doing the same as the Sea King and had sacrificed himself to protect his children.

Outside the fissure, Tian Yanzi coughed up a mouthful of blood. His arm had been shattered.

After that, the skin all over Dojo Master Lan’s body turned red, making him look like he had been baked by a fire.

The Sea King’s hair was stained with blood, but it was impossible to know if the blood belonged to Dojo Master Lan, Tian Yanzi, or the Sea King himself.

Madam Hong had no time to show mercy like when she had fought back at the Skyblaze Dojo. She attacked mercilessly, her rest mist twisting around the trio. With a wave of her hand, Tian Yanzi was directly torn to shreds, and his blood stained the vacuum of outer space.

Shortly after, the red mist similarly entered Dojo Master Lan’s body, and he also exploded without leaving a corpse behind.

The Sea King’s eyes had long since gone bloodshot, and he suddenly turned around to face the hole in the Astral River and slapped out with a hand. He was a Lockbreaker, and in an instant, he dissolved the residual energy of Yuan Shi and Venerable Di that was clashing within the hole, which caused the fissure to start visibly healing.

Madam Hong grew furious. “You must have a death wish!” She seized a hold of the Sea King’s neck, and fresh blood dripped down onto her hand.

However, the Sea King was blocking her way to the entrance to the fissure, and he smiled bitterly at the woman. “It’s over.”

Madam Hong’s eyes went wide, and she hesitated over whether or not she should head to the Outerverse. At this moment, Mr. Yi and Mr. Da coincidentally arrived. When Madam Hong saw them, her eyes lit up. The red mist gathered around the two men before tossing them both straight into the closing gap. “Use your strength to attack the Astral River from the Outerverse! I will act in tandem with you from here and tear open a new path.”

The Sea King’s expression changed, and he wanted to yank Mr. Yi and Mr. Da out from the hole. However, he did not even have the ability to resist Madam Hong. He could only helplessly watch on as Mr. Yi and Mr. Da chased after the fleeing crowd. The gap soon vanished.

The Sea King was despairing, as there was no cosmic phenomenon suppressing the Outerverse. While Elder He could still hold Mr. Da back, nobody was capable of stopping Mr. Yi.

Madam Hong heaved a sigh of relief, and she watched on expectantly. Why hadn’t anyone considered the possibility of tearing open a path between the Innerverse and Outerverse before? Still, it wasn’t too late to act now. The Outerverse’s resources may not be comparable to the Innerverse’s, but they were still quite significant. At the very least, it was still enough for Flying Horse Manor and the Tong family to profit from.

On the other side of the Astral River, the cultivators shot out of the gap and were ejected into the middle of space. Lu Yin also rushed out, and he immediately turned around to look back. There were still quite a few people within the fissure, but he also made the decision to do his best to dissolve the remnant power of Yuan Shi and Ancestor Di.

At this moment, the hole was still shrinking, so there did not seem to be any need for Lu Yin to act. Someone on the other side had already started dissolving the energies, which should be the Sea King. It would be difficult for anyone else to pass over anymore.

Outside the hole, Hai Dashao and the others watched the events unfold in despair, but they remained silent. That man who had been hiding underground at the Skyblaze Dojo and who looked 90% similar to the Sea King was Hai Feng, the Sea King’s eldest son. That man also seemed to be in mourning.

Hai Qiqi was still unconscious on Elder Shan’s back.

Lan Si, Lan Baobao, and the others also stared at the fissure with grieving expressions; Dojo Master Lan would not be coming with them.

There was also that sylvan dragon from the Skyblaze Dojo, though he was currently in a humanoid form, and he also appeared to be disheartened. He had been saved by Tian Yanzi and lived at the Skyblaze Dojo for many years. The dragon felt affection for the dojo master, but the man was now gone.

Out of everyone from the entire Starfall Sea, these people were the final spark, and they were the ones whom the Sea King’s team had fought to save.

Many people were still in the fissure, unable to rush out in time as it rapidly shrunk. Many of them wailed in despair.

Suddenly, two figures tyrannically shoved aside all the cultivators at the forefront who would have made it through in time. In their stead, these two figures leaped out. Then, a majestic strength that caused space to shudder emanated out. As they unleashed their unimaginably terrifying might, the astral cemetery visibly crumbled.

Elder He’s expression changed, and he moved in front of everyone to block the attack. He stared at Mr. Yi and Mr. Da in stunned amazement. “How did you guys get here?”

By now, the gap had completely closed up. The rest of the cultivators had not made it through.

Elder He and the others did not have any time to grieve for the lost cultivators, and they stared at Mr. Yi and Mr. Da in despair. These two were Imprinters, and Mr. Yi in particular was a powerhouse whose power level far surpassed 500,000. When they had been fighting while under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, they were able to have a fight. But now, Mr. Yi alone was enough to sweep through them all.

Hai Feng, Hai Dashao, Lan Si, and the others all had ugly expressions, as this development was very troubling.

This entire region of space was under the control of these two Imprinters. Even Elder He would be suppressed despite being an Envoy. He was not even capable of beating Mr. Da, let alone Mr. Yi.

Without any hesitation, the two Imprinters unleashed their full strength in a carefree manner, causing the entire astral cemetery and even parts of Endless Weave, Southside Weave, and other weaves to feel their fearsome power.

This was their true strength.

The two had been suppressed for far too long, but now, they were finally able to release their power level without hiding anything, and it petrified the crowd.

Mr. Yi was very satisfied by this turn of events. As he watched despair fill the eyes of those in front of him, he released a long sigh of satisfaction. This was correct. This was the attitude that these natives should have towards him.