Chapter 376: A Single Thought Crushes Eternity

That day.

On the Transit Star, the garrison troops casually patrolled as usual; during this period, Xianlian Province had remained peaceful, with almost no invaders, and expeditionary forces from other provinces had no desire to come and die, so the garrison troops were all relaxed.

They merely performed symbolic patrols each day.

Though the Transit Star itself held little value, its strategic significance was considerable.

If the enemy seized it, they could swiftly reach every corner of Xianlian Province through the Transit Star.

Yet, a grayish mist, like a celestial dome, enveloped the entire Transit Star; protected by the primordial power of the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing, even an Eternal being would require time to break through.

Suddenly—

"Boom!!"

As if heaven and earth were collapsing, a vast river stretching from the boundless starry void—hundreds of billions of li long—roared and surged, recklessly scouring everything in space and time, like a colossal serpent spanning the cosmos, directly crashing into the Transit Star, merely hundreds of millions of kilometers in diameter.

The entire Transit Star shuddered; its outer gray sky cracked open in countless fissures, as if heaven were crumbling and earth splitting.

"What's happening?"

"Is an Eternal being attacking the Transit Star?"

"My lord!"

Though the garrison troops couldn't help but panic, they knew the Marquis could arrive instantly via the interdimensional passage from the Xianlian Shengxing, so they had nothing to fear.

On the Interdimensional Plaza, Lin Qing looked up at the raging river colliding beyond the sky, "Lord Cangliu? So he's come…"

Deep within the vast river, a massive warship flickered in the waves; inside were tens of thousands of high-level Chaotic beings, standing ready.

"All troops."

Lin Qing immediately transmitted his order to the garrison: "Retreat immediately through Zero Interdimensional Passage to the Xianlian Shengxing!"

The garrison troops froze in surprise.

The enemy had just arrived, and they were abandoning the Transit Star already?

Losing the Transit Star meant losing the entire province's territory!

Yet as soldiers, they could only obey; instantly, each one swiftly passed through the Zero Passage on the plaza, retreating to the Xianlian Shengxing.

In the blink of an eye, all garrison troops on the Transit Star vanished.

Lin Qing glanced at the still-colliding vast river, then turned and flew into the interdimensional passage.

On the empty Transit Star, after repeated impacts from the hundreds-of-billions-of-li-long river, the protective layer finally shattered; the surging waters flooded into the Transit Star's interior.

In a pocket of space within the river, Lord Cangliu gazed down at the empty Transit Star, frowning slightly: "They evacuated immediately?"

"Seems this Xianlian Marquis is quite cautious."

Lord Jueyuan raised an eyebrow, "Of course—even with my father and me joining forces, even on the Transit Star, we couldn't defeat the Xianlian Marquis and that Flame-Swallowing Python. He knew I was coming yet still dared to attack—naturally, he grew suspicious. Out of caution, retreating to the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing was only logical."

He turned to the three black-robed, golden-masked Black Robe Sages beside him and asked: "Will you three enter the Xianlian Shengxing directly?"

The Second Sage spoke coolly: "Follow the plan. Even on the Xianlian Shengxing, the Xianlian Marquis's strength is inferior to ours—no threat, and he cannot protect Brother Jialin."

She glanced at the warship: "Lord Jueyuan has a clever plan—bringing half your army to plunder the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing?"

"It was my father's suggestion."

Lord Jueyuan smiled, "Since my father and I are leaving the Frozen Empire anyway, these troops are useless to us. Might as well use them one last time—let them ravage the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing. Not only will they gather more treasures, but they might also distract the Xianlian Marquis. If he splits his forces to hunt them down, he'll die faster."

"Hmm, useful indeed." The Second Sage glanced at Lord Cangliu. "Take whatever treasures you want from the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing, but once you capture Brother Jialin, the Flame-Swallowing Python is ours."

Lord Cangliu paused—everyone knew the Flame-Swallowing Python's power was ordinary among Chaotic beings, but its inner world was a great treasure trove, far more valuable than anything on the Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing.

Yet he could only nod in agreement: "Naturally."

"Then act."

The Second Sage gave a faint nod of satisfaction.

…

Xianlian Xianlian Shengxing.

The vast river surged out of the interdimensional passage, roaring and scouring the plaza used for troop assembly; buildings on the plaza were instantly pulverized.

Yet all inhabitants within several hundred billion li had already evacuated.

Just as the hundreds-of-billions-of-li-long river surged toward a sacred site on the Xianlian Shengxing, a tail as massive as a celestial pillar slammed down upon it!

Where that terrifying power passed, space-time twisted violently; vast quantities of river-like arcane forces shattered instantly.

"The Flame-Swallowing Python has arrived!" Lord Cangliu's face changed.

The next instant, Lord Jueyuan stepped forward, his body expanding countless times, reaching a height of a hundred billion li—like a colossal god—his feet crushing the endless river, his sky-obscuring hands seizing the pillar-like serpent tail.

The massive tail instantly shrank and retracted.

The next moment, a vast, towering serpent head emerged from the sky, exhaling a dark blue flame that blotted out the heavens, engulfing Lord Jueyuan and Lord Cangliu below; nearly a hundred billion li of space burned furiously, space-time seeming to melt and warp.

Merely this terrifying flame could burn a group of Eternal beings to death!

Yet a thread of purest cold energy suddenly appeared, spreading instantly—obliterating the dark blue flame, extinguishing it completely.

"Hmm?"

The Xianlian Marquis stood atop the serpent's head, his eyes icy as he gazed down at Lord Jueyuan and Lord Cangliu: "I wondered why Lord Jueyuan dared invade my Xianlian Shengxing—so you have allies?"

He looked at the black-robed, golden-masked Second Sage below: "Black Robe Sage of the Great Black Heaven Temple?"

Simultaneously, strange ripples spread; space-time within a trillion li twisted violently, instantly becoming a sealed domain cut off from the outside world.

The Third Sage, also in black robe and golden mask, looked up at the Xianlian Marquis and snorted.

The Xianlian Marquis's face darkened.

Such a space-sealing technique required the Flame-Swallowing Python to attack repeatedly for a chance to break free—yet in battle, there was no such opportunity.

Instantly, the trillion-li region had become a sealed domain.

Lord Cangliu's river technique propelled the warship through space-time, guiding it toward the outer edge of the sealed domain, while a cold command echoed across heaven and earth: "Go! All of you! The Xianlian Marquis is trapped—plunder and kill at will!"

The Xianlian Marquis's face was icy.

He knew Lord Cangliu was doing this on purpose, wanting him to split his attention and divert part of his strength to deal with the soldiers on these warships.

Moreover, Lord Cangliu was most skilled at dividing his battle bodies; although each battle body was inferior to the true form, they barely possessed power at the Eternal threshold, likely even stronger than Lin Qing. How could anyone on the Star-Refining Xianlian Shengxing possibly stand against them?

In the blink of an eye, propelled by Dahe, the warships pierced through this space-time dead zone and began heading toward the Star-Refining Army's gathering point, thousands of billions of li away!

"There must be another black-robed Sage hiding in the shadows..."