Chapter 356: The Power of Space

This was the first thought that surfaced in Baichuan's mind as he came back to himself after savoring and summarizing his insights on using his new power.

A beautiful scorpion gleaming with golden light before his eyes, slightly disheveled yet gazing at him intently like an adoring little fangirl—please, that's terrifying!

But then Baichuan suddenly recalled that he still didn't seem to know exactly what Jin Yun'er's true form was—human? Or perhaps some other humanoid creature? Or maybe some bizarre species he'd never seen before?

Thinking about it, Baichuan felt a surge of excitement. Of course, don't misunderstand—this wasn't because he'd gotten excited over a scorpion, but because before long, he'd truly be able to connect with that bustling starry sky!

This was a being who had been confined to a small planet, endured countless hardships to finally step into the starry sky, and was about to embark on that magnificent and mysterious journey—only to be stranded by the "Starry Sky Maze." From the depths of his heart arose the most profound longing and anticipation for that boundless, mysterious starry sky.

"Eh? Bai, the, the poisonous mist on my body seems to have disappeared?! And that corrosive venom seems to be gone too?"

Just as Baichuan was lost in wild thoughts, Jin Yun'er's astonished voice came from beside him.

In that voice, there was perhaps sorrow, perhaps joy, or perhaps both intertwined—bittersweet.

The sorrow was that her most fundamental power—Jin Du—had suddenly vanished, and she wondered whether she was now crippled. The joy was that she might finally no longer be shunned by all, bringing only death wherever she went, and could truly interact with others!

Coming back to himself, Baichuan looked over and saw Jin Yun'er seemingly powerless, sprawled on the ground. That long, agile, and powerful scorpion tail of hers also hung limply on the ground.

Only then did he recall that when he had activated his Characteristic power earlier, the "field" protecting him hadn't stopped. Now that Jin Yun'er had approached, she had been subjected to the indiscriminate annihilation of the "field."

"Dustless Land" truly lived up to its name!

Any power with an offensive nature, as long as it remained within the range of this "field," would be suppressed or ground away.

"Take another look now?" The recovered Baichuan withdrew that power and said to Jin Yun'er.

"Strange, it seems I can sense that power again…" Jin Yun'er exclaimed. Just as she was about to try, she hesitated and glanced at Baichuan. "Um, Bai, could you step back a little? Otherwise I'm afraid I might hurt you…"

Baichuan was stunned for a moment, then broke into an amused smile. This girl.

Glancing at the sky, Baichuan nimbly leaped and headed off in the direction he'd come from.

Matters here were settled. If he didn't return now, when would he?

Behind him was Jin Yun'er, who was somewhat dazed and instinctively following him.

The former companions she could barely call allies—the Desolate Kings—had been completely devoured by Lan Yu's scheme, and the thing that could break through to the Earth Immortal Realm was nothing but a false lie. At this moment, she had suddenly fallen into a daze of not knowing where to go.

In this situation, Baichuan, who had just saved her, had naturally become her mainstay.

……

Listening all the way to Jin Yun'er's account of the evil deeds by which Zhang Yu Ge had deceived her, Baichuan and Jin Yun'er quickly returned to the vicinity of the giant city representing the Extreme West Alliance. The enormous city stood upon the earth like an indestructible giant, with endless streams of people and merchant caravans pouring into it like long dragons—a truly magnificent sight.

Suddenly, Baichuan's gaze sharpened. He stopped and looked toward an empty patch of ground to one side.

"What's wrong? Bai." Jin Yun'er, still unaware of what was happening, was startled and grew nervous as well.

"Clap clap clap…"

"What keen perception indeed. Worthy of a being that the tree itself would dispatch all its Desolate Gods to draw the Lingneng Clan's attention just to protect…"

In the void, a string of crisp applause suddenly rang out. A lazy, magnetic woman's voice was full of admiration, and upon careful listening, one could even hear hissing sounds.

That was the sound of snakes flicking their tongues!

And no fewer than three of them! All snakes with impressive auras!

Having once been a snake himself, Baichuan was no stranger to all kinds of snakes. In fact, few could claim to understand these creatures better than he could. With just a few faint hisses, he had already gleaned some information.

But the other party seemed to know him? A member of the Lingneng Clan? Had information been exposed? Had some Desolate Gods been captured?

The visitor seemed to be up to no good!

In an instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind, and Baichuan had already prepared for battle.

An invisible pressure quietly spread, and the atmosphere suddenly turned tense, even causing Jin Yun'er to grow serious as her long, deadly scorpion tail began to sway.

"Hehehe…"

"No need to be so tense. I mean no harm…"

The next moment, amid the woman's muffled laughter behind her hand, ripples suddenly appeared in the void, turning ethereal and profound. A graceful figure, seemingly solid yet illusory, slowly stepped down along invisible stairs.

The first thing to catch the eye was a pair of straight, slender jade legs, with silk garments of a smooth sheen wrapping her slim calves, her dainty feet encased in boot-like high-heeled combat boots. Above that was a waist one could barely grasp, a fullness half-concealed yet seemingly about to spill forth, a cascade of black hair gently gathered up and tied into a distinctive ponytail. On a pure, jade-white face, a pair of alluring peach-blossom eyes were especially striking.

It was a feeling of both innocence and desire.

Baichuan seemed to have sensed the beautiful scorpion behind him heave a faint sigh—was it dejection?

Yet behind this utterly charming woman followed several ferocious, terrifying great serpents. Two bulging lumps on their flat snake heads gave them a hint of dimension, and within their fang-filled mouths, crimson forked tongues flickered ceaselessly, exuding a terrifying aura.

This appeared to be a being with the bloodline of a dragon, and most importantly, it was a creature of flesh and blood!

Beneath that powerful aura, its flesh-and-blood body was out of place among this world's mighty Star Beasts. Even from a rough assessment, Baichuan knew this was a creature no weaker than a Tier 4 Star Beast!

To be able to move about this world with several serpentine creatures comparable to Tier 4 Star Beasts at the very least—needless to say.

Most importantly, he seemed unable to sense the other's existence. The feeling she gave him was as if she were right before his eyes, yet also worlds away.

"Lingneng Clan?"

Though phrased as a question, Baichuan's tone carried certainty.

"Well, I suppose that's not wrong." The woman raised an elegant brow and openly admitted it. "But you didn't attack first, which was beyond my expectations. I thought I'd be attacked the moment I arrived…"

"But even if you did attack, it wouldn't work~ What appeared here is merely a projection. The arts of the Lingneng Clan are just that powerful and wondrous."

"Oh~ is that so…"

A questioning voice rang out like sudden thunder. Brilliant lightning flashed like a sharp sword, piercing straight through the exclaiming woman's body and blasting a huge crater into the ground, with crackling currents of electricity rampaging within.

Under such a lightning strike, before the woman could even react, the great serpents behind her had already grown furious, hissing as they opened their bloody maws, seemingly about to spew deadly poisonous mist.

But the next moment, the woman stopped them. She furrowed her brow with a slight headache, looking as pitiful as Xi Shi clutching her heart, and shook her head helplessly. "I've told you, you can't hit me. What appeared here isn't my clone, nor my consciousness—it's merely a projection created using the arts of the Lingneng Clan."

"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Zixiu—the 'Zi' unique to the Lingneng Clan, and 'Xiu' as in beautiful. Remember it, okay…"

"The power of space…" Baichuan ignored her talking to herself and carefully sensed the surrounding space before speaking slowly.

And not just any ordinary kind!

Ever since obtaining the remnant power of the Star Beast, Baichuan had discovered he seemed to have gained a slightly more delicate perception of the space around him. Now, through that suddenly unleashed bolt of lightning, he had detected deeper changes behind the woman.

It was the power of space!

It seemed this stretch of space had been influenced by some unknown force. She indeed wasn't lying, but she had probably left a few things unsaid—not only could he not hit her, but she couldn't hit him either.

It's just that his attacks would pass straight through the opponent's body, while the opponent's attacks were directly annihilated by an even higher, destructive layer of power within that space.

At the same time, the opponent's projection should only be able to move around the vicinity of that affected space.

But if that were the case, what was the point of the opponent doing this?

"Though I've exaggerated, I have to say, your perception seems extremely sharp…" Zixiu was somewhat surprised, "That is the power of the 'Ancestor,' you know. In this realm, only two can receive such a precious gift~"

Understanding this, Baichuan no longer made a move, and instead asked the woman, whose tone seemed to be showing off, "Your purpose?"

"Truly a man who doesn't know romance~" Zixiu complained in displeasure, but did not conceal anything. With a slight smile, she carefully observed Baichuan's body, seemingly examining him.

After a long while, when even Baichuan was getting a little impatient, she finally said: "I came to see just what kind of charm you possess, that you could make that dying tree place its treasure's bet on you."

"But now that I've seen, it is indeed not bad. A pity you chose the wrong enemy. You shouldn't have come here. The might of the Lingneng Clan, you understand nothing of it at all."

"The Ancestor's might, none can oppose!"

Zixiu shook her head with a hint of regret, speaking with seeming pride.

"If you want to flee now, there's still time. This is no place for you."

Having said that, Zixiu said no more, turned around without the slightest hesitation and left, vanishing without a trace in just a few steps.

A strange woman!

Baichuan stared in some bewilderment at the vanished woman; even he was completely at a loss regarding the situation before him.

He truly had never seen such a thing. A normal person, upon learning the target their civilization had set its sights on, would have been impatient to upload the information, dispatch a great army, and prepare to take it in one fell swoop for a great merit.

Yet, the opponent had gone beyond his expectations — came to take a look, and truly just came to take a look.

What exactly was the opponent's purpose?

This move had truly bewildered him. One could say it not only stirred up the grass and alarmed the snake, but also gave him plenty of time to prepare, and that last line was even a well-meaning dissuasion?

He seemed to have detected no hostility from the opponent.

Could it be that within the Lingneng Clan there are also factions? Is this one a dove?

"Bai, are you alright?"

As his thoughts drifted, Jin Yun'er's cautious inquiry came from beside him.

"I'm fine." Coming back to himself, Baichuan shook his head and replied.

Regardless of the opponent's purpose, Baichuan knew there was no time left for him to erode the earth.

After all, someone from the Lingneng Clan had already come here, which meant he had truly been exposed right under the opponent's nose, and an attack could come at any moment.

In that case, it was time to strike before the opponent understood his true purpose — launch a surprise attack on the Lingneng Clan's stronghold, and then break out of this world!

Fortunately, he now occupied a vast continent. The power of an entire continent, along with the remnant strength from the Star Beast, was still considerable.

Not only that, the remaining Desolate Gods would also lead those powerful Desolate Beasts that had escaped the Lingneng Clan's clutches and harbored hatred toward them.

These were all his reinforcements.

Musing over his next decision, Baichuan slowly left the place, heading toward the great city. It was time to inform Lingxin and prepare early.

……

Endless ocean churned; heavy beast-shadows occasionally surfaced from the deep sea to breathe, or twisted their massive bodies to tear each other apart. In the sky, the thunderous roar of powerful engines — that was the overlords of the air battling. On the continent, the roars of Mechanical War Beasts rang out from time to time.

This was the most brutally contested deep-sea region!

Yet none of this commotion dared to touch a small island within this ocean.

No matter how towering the waves, no matter how powerful the Desolate Beasts, once they touched that island, they silently lost their breath. It was a startling Snake-shaped Mechanical War Beast! Its slender body coiled and wound around the island, solely to guard the graceful figure at its very center.

She was a woman of indescribable beauty.

If Baichuan were here, he would surely notice this woman looked exactly like the one who called herself Zixiu whom he had seen before.

"You've worked hard, Shadow."

She slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she did was pick up the mask beside her, covering her devastatingly beautiful face, then gently looked at the war beast guarding her, showing none of the seductive demeanor she had in front of others.

The snake-shaped war beast voluntarily lowered its proud head, letting her step on it and sit.

Then she silently gazed at the distant sea, lost in thought.

After a long while, she took out a blood-colored Crystal fragment from her embrace, within which a peculiar, radiant liquid continuously flowed.

This was a Crystal she had previously, out of boredom, followed the leader to trace an aura and accidentally discovered. She rubbed this peculiar Crystal, and after a moment took out another — a gray Crystal of extremely similar shape.

She simply gazed at these two Crystals of different colors yet somewhat similar, seemingly lost in deep thought.

After an unknown length of time, a barely audible sentence finally came on the wind:

"So the surname is 'Bai'…"

……

(End of this chapter)