Chapter 323

If one wants to gain, one must pay? Li Yuan was lost in thought.

The Sky Snake deity paid such a heavy price, especially by bringing this mothership, so there must certainly be some ulterior motive.

In this world, without any kinship or friendship, how could there be so many free lunches?

"Should I go or not?" A trace of hesitation flashed through Li Yuan's mind.

He began to think rapidly.

Having finally passed the Sky Snake deity's ten-fold trials, now that things had come to this, how could he just give up?

If the Sky Snake deity truly wanted to force him to do something, he was already inside the mothership; based on the methods the other party had already revealed, he had no power to resist anyway, so there was no need to let him choose.

This indicated that the things left behind by the Sky Snake deity did not have such great malice, or at least, it wouldn't be pure malice.

The most critical point was that Xue Yan, the Ten Thousand Scale Beast Emperor... both of them had already entered the inner layer, and who knew when they might enter the core region.

Especially Xue Yan.

According to what Venerable Qiu Bing meant just now, the other party's skill level should have already reached the 'Sixth Stage High Tier'. At the Source Martial Artist stage, this was a terrifying level of skill, so it was no wonder he could become a deity's disciple.

Such a genius, just letting him try and break through... Li Yuan had a vague feeling that the Sky Snake deity was probably no weaker than the Ancient Torch deity, and it was even possible he was stronger.

The treasure left behind by such a powerful deity.

It could completely change the situation between different civilizations.

Once it fell into the hands of the Ten Thousand Demon civilization, the pressure faced by the Seven Star civilization in the future would be even greater.

"There is danger, but it is also an opportunity."

"I obtained the Ancient Torch deity's inheritance, which allowed me to progress rapidly and grow swiftly." Li Yuan thought to himself: "If I can obtain a treasure opportunity from the Sky Snake deity's inheritance, it will help me grow even faster."

On the path of cultivation, one should prioritize stability.

Therefore, before Li Yuan ventured into any Star Realm, he would always try his best to ensure his own strength reached its peak.

But when it was time to fight, one had to fight.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Qiu." Li Yuan made his decision and said respectfully: "Since there is no difference between going early or late, then let's go now."

"Fine."

"This path, you chose it yourself." Venerable Qiu Bing revealed a faint smile: "I have already reminded you several times... in the future, don't come blaming me."

Without waiting for Li Yuan to speak again.

Whoosh!

Venerable Qiu Bing waved his hand, and an invisible force emerged from thin air, directly enveloping Li Yuan.

"Boom!" Li Yuan only felt a thunderous explosion in his brain, and a terrifying force he could not resist swept over him. Even with his mental willpower, he could not block the invasion of this force... In an instant, his entire person had fallen into a coma.

Following that, Li Yuan's body vanished into thin air.

In this hall, only the burly, single-horned phantom remained.

"The first plan failed."

"Originally, the plan was to temporarily select Xue Yan as a reluctant substitute." Venerable Qiu Bing muttered to himself: "I didn't expect that such a peerless genius would be sent directly; even in the vast Divine Domain, such a genius is very rare."

"The second plan can be fully initiated."

"In the dark, it seems even the heavens are protecting my Sky Snake clan." Venerable Qiu Bing thought to himself: "Spirit Spear? Li Yuan? I hope that with my help, you won't disappoint me."

"Go and strive for that slim hope."

Mingxu Star Realm, Bright Moon Base.

While Li Yuan was venturing through the mothership.

Tavares, Jiang Zai, Luo Chan, and the others had long since retreated back to the Bright Moon Base.

As time passed day by day, no news came from the mothership, and many True Intent Source Martial Artists had already left... After all, these True Intent Source Martial Artists each had their own cultivation plans and could not wait forever in the Mingxu Star Realm.

Of course, under the coordination of the high echelon, the Bright Moon Base still maintained extremely strong combat power.

Inside one of the Fourth-Tier warships, in a super-large conference room, on one side, two special instruments were placed. The instruments emitted an invisible force, and between them, they supported two floating blood-red crystals.

These were the Life Crystals, representing the life imprints of Yu Jinghe and Li Yuan, respectively.

One could judge their life or death through the state of the Life Crystals.

In this conference room, there would be Source Martial Artists stationed in rotation for the long term to watch over the Life Crystals at all times.

Suddenly.

One of the blood-colored crystals erupted with a burst of red light. The intensity of the light almost enveloped the entire super-large conference room, and following that, the red light receded and quickly dimmed, with the crystal turning completely 'white'.

"What?"

"This!" The two Source Martial Artists on guard duty today, upon seeing this scene, felt their hearts churn with stormy waves.

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with horror: "It's Spirit Spear's Life Crystal."

"The Life Crystal has dimmed!"

Without any hesitation, the two Source Martial Artists immediately initiated an emergency transmission. Very quickly, Tavares, Jiang Zai, and Luo Chan received the news and came flying over.

The three of them were the current persons in charge of the Bright Moon Base.

When the three saw the dimmed Life Crystal, their hearts trembled; they all knew what this meant.

A dimmed Life Crystal meant the host had died.

"Spirit Spear, dead? Fallen in the Divine Land?" Tavares's heart trembled: "How is it possible? How could such a powerful Spirit Spear die?"

"Not long ago, didn't the Demigod transmit news saying that the Thousand-Eye Beast Emperor was suspected to have been killed by Spirit Spear?" Tavares could not believe his eyes.

In his heart, even if the three great Beast Emperors joined forces, they might not be able to kill Li Yuan.

Jiang Zai also held his breath; he knew very well the significance of Spirit Spear... If Spirit Spear fell and the other two great Beast Emperors were still alive, then the Bright Moon Base would likely not be able to hold out in the future.

Among the three.

Luo Chan was the most shocked in her heart: "Li Yuan is dead?"

Only she knew that Spirit Spear was Li Yuan.

A moment later, this explosive news had already been transmitted back to the highest echelon of the Seven Star civilization by Tavares and the others.

"Life Crystal dimmed?"

"How is it possible!"

"Li Yuan is dead?" Demigod Sanye, Demigod Baishan, and Fang Hai, the three high-level officials in charge of the Mingxu Star Realm war, were almost stunned when they received this news.

The three immediately convened a meeting on the virtual network.

"What happened? How could Li Yuan's Life Crystal suddenly dim?" Demigod Baishan could not help but say: "Could it be that the Life Crystal is damaged?"

"That is a treasure bestowed by the Alliance Leader." Demigod Sanye shook his head and said: "Even if separated by hundreds of millions of miles and located on different planets, it can accurately judge life and death... unless one is in a different spatial world, but Li Yuan and the Life Crystal are currently both within the Mingxu Star Realm."

"As for the Life Crystal being damaged? In these decades, the Life Crystal has never been broken."

As the chief steward of the Starfire Martial Hall, Demigod Sanye was relatively familiar with the characteristics of these treasures.

"I'll go ask the Master." Fang Hai could not sit still; he could not believe Li Yuan would die in the Mingxu Star Realm.

Whoosh!

Fang Hai's virtual figure vanished instantly; he had clearly gone to ask Senior Dongfang Ji... Not long after, his consciousness descended into the virtual world again, his expression looking very grim.

Demigod Sanye and Fang Hai looked at each other, their hearts sinking; they both already understood the result.

"The Master said."

"Unless Li Yuan suddenly left the Mingxu Star Realm, the Life Crystal would not show him as fallen." Fang Hai said in a low voice: "There is only one exception: in that Divine Land, there are some extremely special and mysterious places that can isolate the sensing of the Life Crystal."

"Once the Life Crystal cannot sense the existence of the host, it will conclude that the host has fallen, and naturally, it will become dimmed."

Both Demigods felt a glimmer of hope rise in their hearts again.

"However."

"According to the Master, such mysterious places cannot even be opened by ordinary deities. Like our Seven Star civilization's seven planets, none have places that can isolate the sensing of the Life Crystal." Fang Hai shook his head: "The probability of such a place existing within the Mingxu Star Realm is very, very small."

Both Demigods fell back into the valley of despair.

This sentence was almost a death sentence for Li Yuan!

"Did the Alliance Leader say what we should do now?" Demigod Sanye could not help but ask.

"Wait!" Fang Hai said in a low voice: "Currently, Yu Jinghe is not dead, Xue Yan is still alive, and the two great Beast Emperors should all still be alive... This is enough to show that the so-called Divine Land is not a dead zone for outsiders."

"We can only assume that Li Yuan has fallen into some extremely dangerous and mysterious place."

"But as long as he is alive, he will come out sooner or later." Fang Hai said in a low voice.

Demigod Sanye and Demigod Baishan both fell silent.

Wait? What a tormenting process this was.

Bright Moon Base, inside a Fourth-Tier warship.

A light screen projection appeared, showing a figure in white.

"Demigod Baishan." Tavares, Jiang Zai, and Luo Chan bowed respectfully.

"The news of Spirit Spear's death cannot be fully confirmed for the time being, and our high echelon does not believe that Spirit Spear would die just like that." Demigod Baishan said in a low voice: "The three of you must also keep it strictly confidential; it must never be leaked."

"Yes." The three said in succession; they all knew the severity of this matter.

Once it spread, it was feared that it would cause panic.

"You must also be prepared to retreat at any time." Demigod Baishan said solemnly, and then his gaze fell on Tavares and Jiang Zai: "Tavares, Jiang Zai, the Alliance treasury is mobilizing treasures at the fastest speed to allow you to cultivate to a higher level as soon as possible..."

"Once a major retreat occurs."

"You will need to lead the other Flying Sky Martial Artists to hide in the Mingxu Star Realm and strive to persist within the Mingxu Star Realm until you possess the strength to resist the Beast Emperors." Demigod Baishan sighed lightly.

"Understood." Tavares and Jiang Zai both said solemnly.

Since they chose to break through to Flying Sky Martial Artists within the Mingxu Star Realm, they had naturally already made the worst preparations.

Once a major retreat occurred, True Intent Source Martial Artists like Luo Chan and An Yongya could retreat along the Star Realm passage.

But Flying Sky Martial Artists like them who had already broken through could only continue to stay in the Star Realm.

If it came to that point, they could only choose to fight for their lives, or flee like the current Flying Sky Beast Kings, hiding and struggling in the Star Realm, waiting to accumulate enough strength before launching a counterattack.

Blue Star Xia Nation, Jiangnan Province.

Inside the ancient Divine Palace, which was as small as dust, the young girl in white had been leisurely waiting for Li Yuan's return.

Suddenly.

"Hmm?" Gu You felt something and suddenly looked up, a trace of shock flashing through her beautiful eyes.

Whoosh! Her figure vanished instantly from the main hall.

Following that, she had already appeared in another hall.

This hall was empty, with only an ancient glazed lamp emitting a strange light floating in the void.

At this moment, the light of the ancient lamp was dim and flickering.

"Even the light of the Soul Lamp is flickering?" A trace of worry appeared in the girl's eyes: "Li Yuan, what happened to you in that Star Realm? You must not die in there."

The Soul Lamp was a treasure much higher-grade than a Life Crystal.

Through the state of the Soul Lamp, the girl could judge that Li Yuan had probably encountered big trouble.

Before, she had said she didn't care about Li Yuan's life or death, but when it truly came to this moment, she was also incomparably worried.

However, if it were in a normal dimensional plane, she could still go to investigate or even rescue him, but an extra-dimensional Star Realm? She didn't dare to enter at all.

One day, two days, ten days, one month... time passed relentlessly.

Li Yuan's Life Crystal had never lit up again.

Yu Jinghe's Life Crystal, however, remained as usual; this contrast caused the fire of hope in the hearts of the Seven Star civilization's high echelon to extinguish bit by bit.

When forty days passed, even Demigod Baishan and Fang Hai, who held great hope for Li Yuan, felt their hearts waver.

The only thing that kept a glimmer of hope for them was that Yu Jinghe, Xue Yan of the Ten Thousand Demon civilization, and others also had not come out of the 'Divine Land'.

The two great Beast Emperors who were suspected to still be alive had also not come out.

These situations made the already mysterious 'Divine Land' of the Mingxu Star Realm appear even more baffling.

And within the Mingxu Star Realm.

The three major forces—the Tianliang civilization, the Seven Star civilization, and the Mingxu Beast clan—all dared not act rashly.

Both major civilizations were firmly guarding their only bases.

The Flying Sky Beast Kings of the Mingxu Beast clan also dared not show their heads and were all hiding, which actually formed a subtle balance in the situation within the Mingxu Star Realm.

Xia Nation, Jiangbei City, Starfire Martial Hall, Nanhu Residential District, late at night.

Inside the villa.

"Zhangzhou, could something have happened to Xiaoyuan?" Chen Hui lay on the bed, the more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong: "Before, no matter how busy he was cultivating at Flying Star, he would occasionally send us messages to report that he was safe."

"Why hasn't there been any news for over a month?" Chen Hui's voice was filled with worry.

Before this.

Even during the year he followed Demigod Lie Feng to cultivate, Li Yuan, besides his diligent cultivation, would usually send some messages home from Flying Star every half month through his Flying Sky-level authorization.

Just to let his uncle and aunt rest easy.

Over a month, and not a single message? He didn't even reply to the many messages from Li Zhangzhou and Chen Hui... This was the first time.

"It is a bit strange."

Li Zhangzhou, who was always steady, also couldn't sit still and touched his wife's hand: "But you don't worry too much. You know Li Yuan's situation; he is already the top martial arts genius in the history of the Xia Nation. Didn't he tell us last time that he was already a top Source Martial Artist?"

"For a powerful martial artist like him, it's common to venture out and cultivate for a few months at a time." Li Zhangzhou said.

"But not to the point of not sending any news back." Chen Hui said worriedly.

"Alright, don't be anxious. Tomorrow I will contact Hall Master Yang." Li Zhangfu comforted his wife.

Since Li Yuan entered the Martial God Star Realm, his authorization had been raised.

As Li Yuan's family, Li Zhangzhou and the others were qualified to contact 'Hall Master Yang' of the Starfire Jiangbei Branch Hall directly.

Flying Star, a mysterious place not far from the Martial God Star Realm.

"Master."

"Li Yuan's Life Crystal has been dimmed for over 40 days." A low voice said: "I am worried, has he really fallen... On the other hand, Li Yuan, as a member of the Martial God Star Realm, has completely disappeared for over two months, counting his previous quiet cultivation time."

"Now, many people are already guessing where Li Yuan went." The low voice said: "Although Duanmu Hong issued an order to temporarily suppress many conjectures."

"But if this continues, three months, six months... these messages won't be able to be hidden sooner or later."

"Such a young genius cannot never appear again." The low voice said.

Now, the name Spirit Spear had spread across many alien civilizations and was the most eye-catching young generation of the Seven Star civilization.

But civilizations like the Ten Thousand Demon civilization, the Tianliang civilization, the Immortal Ruins civilization, etc., were still very concerned about Li Yuan.

After all, compared to 'Spirit Spear', Li Yuan was much younger, and his potential was incomparably astonishing.

"Keep an eye on Xue Yan and Yu Jinghe. Once they come out, be sure to find out what happened in the Divine Land at the fastest speed." Dongfang Ji said slowly: "I want to know which deity set up this mothership."

"Yes." The low voice said.

This mysterious space became quiet again.

But Dongfang Ji's heart could not be completely calm.

"So much time has passed, and there is no news at all. Could it be that Li Yuan is really dead?" Dongfang Ji sighed inwardly.

Before Li Yuan appeared, he had high hopes for Fang Hai, believing that Fang Hai could surpass Lante in the future to become the top Demigod of the Seven Star civilization.

And even become a deity to take over his heavy burdens.

Then, Li Yuan appeared.

After initially understanding Li Yuan's talent, Dongfang Ji paid quite a lot of attention to him. In the year or so that followed, Li Yuan's growth speed was even beyond imagination... Li Yuan's current strength was still not as good as Fang Hai's.

But in his heart, Li Yuan's importance had long surpassed Fang Hai's, and he even believed that Li Yuan had hope of surpassing him in the future.

But now?

"I hope he can survive." Dongfang Ji sighed inwardly; he had already seen many examples of geniuses falling.

Dongfang Ji knew that once Li Yuan died, if the Seven Star civilization wanted to give birth to such a monstrous genius again, it was feared that several thousand years would not be enough.

It was just a pity.

As strong as Dongfang Ji was, facing the Mingxu Star Realm, he was also beyond his reach and could only wait.

The outside world was noisy and bustling, with undercurrents surging.

But inside the mothership, it could be called peaceful, with no major battles breaking out again.

Yu Jinghe, the Ten Thousand Scale Beast Emperor, and Xue Yan, who were in the inner layer, were each in a special passage, cultivating desperately, hoping to enter the core region of the inner layer.

Only Li Yuan.

In the trial ground of the Alien Deity area, after being struck by that invisible force, he had fallen into a coma.

Li Yuan only felt that he had a very, very long dream; this was the longest dream he had ever had in his life... It was also as if he had slept for a very, very long time.

Finally!

"Whoosh!" Li Yuan's consciousness suddenly cleared, his eyebrows trembled slightly, and following that, he opened his eyes.

He sat up abruptly and subconsciously looked in all directions.

This was a very vast hall, supported by ten towering pillars, all of which emitted a metallic luster, and the height of each pillar was probably over ten kilometers.

On the pillars were engraved winding flying snakes, resembling coiled dragons.

The four sides of the hall were empty, with invisible forces vaguely obstructing Li Yuan's line of sight.

This vast hall seemed as if it were suspended above the void.

"I?" Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and discovered, as if after the fact, that he was sitting on a huge jade platform in the center of the hall.

In other words, he had been lying down before.

"What happened to me?" Li Yuan was a bit dazed at first.

With his powerful mental consciousness, he was very sensitive to the passage of time. He hadn't felt it while sleeping before, but now he quickly distinguished it.

This made Li Yuan understand: "I slept for forty-six days?"

Sleeping for so long was something Li Yuan had never done before.

"Is this the core region of the inner layer?" Li Yuan was vigilant in his heart: "Why did I sleep for so long? How is the situation outside?"

Suddenly, a trace of shock flashed through Li Yuan's eyes.

"These wisps of wind fluctuations between heaven and earth..." Li Yuan noticed his own changes; his perception of the mysteries of wind was probably several times stronger than in the past.

Even the mysterious fluctuations of other Law Great Daos were much clearer now.

It seemed as if, during this period of sleep, Li Yuan's talent had undergone another transformation.

"You're finally awake." A familiar voice suddenly sounded in the hall.

Clatter~ Whoosh!

A large amount of light gathered, condensing into two phantoms, both of which were figures Li Yuan had seen before.

One phantom was the black flying snake phantom, the trainer, who now seemed like an attendant.

And the other burly humanoid figure, growing a single horn and wearing heavy battle armor, was none other than the 'Alien Deity Envoy' Venerable Qiu Bing, only the aura he emitted was vigorous and fierce, and his whole person was nearly real, his aura much stronger than before.

Venerable Qiu Bing just stood there, making Li Yuan's heart tremble.

"Senior Qiu?" Li Yuan stood up and stepped off the jade platform, unable to help but ask: "What is the situation?"

"Little guy." The black flying snake phantom laughed: "Why still call him Senior Qiu? You should address him as Venerable, the great 'Venerable'."

"Venerable?" Li Yuan was shocked in his heart.

"In my Sky Snake clan, only extremely great existences are qualified to be called Venerable." The black flying snake said solemnly: "Even in the Sky Snake Divine Palace of the Divine Domain, Venerables are qualified to leave their own names."

Li Yuan listened, feeling dazed, and could not help but look at the burly, single-horned figure.

Suddenly, Li Yuan realized.

No wonder there were some places before where he felt strange. As an Alien Deity Envoy, why would he repeatedly remind him to be cautious when facing the inheritance? By logic, shouldn't he be bewitching him to accept the Alien Deity inheritance and the Sky Snake deity's treasure?

Venerable Qiu Bing, Venerable.

So that was it.

"Spirit Spear, you guessed correctly." Venerable Qiu Bing stepped out and arrived in front of Li Yuan, smiling: "I am the owner of this mothership, and also the Sky Snake deity 'Venerable Qiu Bing' you speak of."

"You don't have to call me Venerable; continue to call me Senior Qiu." Venerable Qiu Bing looked at Li Yuan.

"Senior Qiu." Li Yuan gave a bitter smile.

"You must have many confusions in your heart. No need to be anxious; I will tell you slowly." Venerable Qiu Bing smiled: "Since I chose you, I naturally won't hide anything from you."

"You fused with the Origin Treasure 'Spirit of Heavenly Wind'. How do you feel now?" Venerable Qiu Bing laughed.

Li Yuan was surprised upon hearing this and could not help but ask: "The changes in my body are because I fused with this treasure?"

"An Origin Treasure, even to a Venerable, is a supreme treasure." The black snake phantom on the side said: "You slept for so many days before because you were refining and fusing with this treasure."

"Your body is indeed powerful; you successfully refined it in just over forty days. The Venerable and I thought it would take at least half a year." The black snake phantom said.

Li Yuan suddenly understood.

"The Spirit of Heavenly Wind has great uses even for deities." Venerable Qiu Bing laughed: "And for those below deities, its greatest effect is similar to remodeling your body's bloodline, making your compatibility with the Wind Law increase significantly... It has the best effect on Second-Tier and Third-Tier."

"If it were a Demigod, their bodies are too strong, so the effect would be much worse." Venerable Qiu Bing smiled: "This is also the reason why I only screen Second-Tier and Third-Tier lifeforms."

(End of chapter)