Chapter 680: Counteroffensive

“W… won?”

Xiao stared at this scene, utterly incredulous: “Lord Fang Xing didn’t just defeat the Civilization’s Elegy—he killed it outright?”

“Hah! This was a Fourth-Step Dao Lord… once fallen, no method can save it!”

No matter how strong the Civilization’s Elegy was, it remained a Dao Lord, never having forged its own eternal imprint.

Thus, upon death, unless an eternal being who has opened the Dao of spacetime intervenes, it is nearly impossible to revive!

Equivalent to the most complete death!

“Impossible…”

Kui Lan stared at Fang Xing’s figure, still unable to believe it.

Wasn’t this one once merely an ordinary Law Lord? How could he have reached such heights so suddenly?

“From today onward, this universe… will have only one voice: human civilization.”

He knew clearly that neither the insect race nor the alien beasts could possibly halt Fang Xing’s advance.

…

“W… won?”

Inside the sword-shaped spaceship, Wan Jian Dao Lord stared at the scene, his jaw nearly unhinged.

After a long while, he came to his senses, clutching his face with both hands.

A low sobbing sound arose.

…

“Hail Lord Fang Xing!”

On Blood Prison Continent, the emissary of the Deep Sea Civilization arrived—he had been lucky, surviving the previous round of sacrifices.

Now, his expression was profoundly humble; he bowed deeply: “Congratulations, my lord, on slaying the Civilization’s Elegy!”

“Hmm. Summon the Civilization Council immediately. I require every civilization to attend.”

Fang Xing spoke calmly.

Not long after, within the Tai Xu Universe.

As the earth-shattering news of the Civilization’s Elegy’s demise spread, emissaries from countless civilizations appeared in the virtual grand council chamber.

Called a chamber, it was in truth a vast expanse of heaven and earth.

Each mighty being, whose aura could effortlessly annihilate ordinary planets, now sat like obedient children, gazing upward with worshipful eyes at the figure at the very top.

Wan Jian Dao Lord sat among them, his face still etched with disbelief.

“Ladies and gentlemen… as sovereign of the Blue Star Civilization, I declare humanity’s counteroffensive has begun. All civilizations devoted to restoring human glory may join the Blue Star Alliance.”

Fang Xing glanced at Wan Jian Dao Lord and announced without hesitation.

He had become a Fourth-Step Dao Lord—he could no longer serve the Starlight Civilization as a vassal.

Saving civilization from ruin had already repaid his prior karmic debt.

Now, he would raise his own banner.

“Blue Star Alliance?”

The emissaries turned swiftly to Wan Jian Dao Lord, only to find him expressionless.

Clearly, he had anticipated this.

Or perhaps… with Lord Han Sen present, he didn’t mind?

Even if Blue Star Civilization seized vast territories, it would still have to cede half to the Starlight Civilization!

That was the confidence of an eternal civilization.

“Alright. Unanimous approval.”

Fang Xing glanced at the voting results: “Next, we must consider the counteroffensive. This time… we will invade the insect race’s territory, seizing more resource nodes and life planets.”

“Wait.”

Wan Jian Dao Lord frowned, posing the most critical question: “The insect race’s two eternal beings are merely wounded, not dead… what do we do when they awaken from slumber?”

“Can the Starlight Civilization locate where the two insect eternal beings sleep?”

Fang Xing looked at Wan Jian Dao Lord.

“How could that be possible?”

Wan Jian Dao Lord shook his head vigorously.

Just as Lord Han Sen’s slumber site is the Starlight Civilization’s highest secret,

now that the Civilization’s Elegy is dead, the hibernation sites of the two insect eternal beings—no matter how many insects you slaughter—can never be found.

In this regard, the insect race is even a hundred times more united than humanity!

“So… a surprise assassination is impossible. We’ll take the path of direct confrontation.”

Fang Xing smiled: “To deal with eternal beings is simple—I simply become one myself.”

“Lord Fang Xing’s Dao must be terrifying. If you succeed in opening your Dao and ascending to the Fifteenth Stage as an eternal being, you will surely be among the strongest of the eternals…”

Wan Jian Dao Lord hesitated: “But Lord Fang Xing, how can you be so certain you’ll succeed in opening your Dao?”

“Naturally…”

Fang Xing nodded: “Eternal beings sleep for at least tens of thousands of years, correct? Do you know how many years I’ve spent cultivating to reach this point?”

Wan Jian Dao Lord’s pupils widened abruptly…

…

Several days later.

A shocking rumor spread across the entire Xia Dynasty Universe.

The insect race’s Civilization’s Elegy had been slain by Lord Fang Xing; the insect race was now in full retreat.

When many powerful beings heard this, they first refused to believe it—but seeing the insect invasion forces begin retreating at any cost, they finally understood, erupting into jubilation. Next came the founding of the Blue Star Alliance, with the Starlight Civilization joining immediately, followed by the announcement of a human civilization allied army launching a counteroffensive against the insect race.

This advance was not unstoppable, but it flowed smoothly, and they even seized considerable territory from the alien beast civilization.

After all, the alien beast progenitor was dead; the previous alliance between alien beasts and humanity had automatically dissolved.

Moreover… the Blue Star Federation’s new territories were not taken from the alien beasts—they were seized from the insect civilization, and thus legitimate war spoils!

Of course, resistance was not absent.

When a civilization faces annihilation, martyrs always emerge.

At the most perilous moment, even an insect Dao Lord, the Great Mother, attempted to assassinate Fang Xing using a one-time secret treasure.

Unfortunately, Fang Xing made every insect know what true invincibility meant.

After that failed assassination, every insect Law Lord and above fell into silence, clearly abandoning their territories and hiding in the dark reaches of the universe.

Life planets capable of sustaining life were exceedingly rare; the dark regions, filled with chaos and dark matter energy, were the norm.

Even true eternal beings struggled to locate Dao Lords who deliberately hid in the dark regions.

!

Of course, by hiding this way, the insect civilization lost its breeding grounds and could only cultivate new insects within their internal worlds—gradually, their innate talents would degenerate until they became ordinary beasts, effectively losing all hope.

Only worlds of the Celestial Rank could nurture eternal beings.

The inner realms of ordinary Insect Law Lords and Dao Lords were merely Small and Medium Thousand Worlds—what kind of powerful cultivators could they possibly produce?

Thus, whether insect, alien beast, or human—once territory is abandoned, it is equivalent to slow death.

Of course, the insects weren’t planning slow suicide—they intended to hide for tens of thousands of years, then wait for the two eternal beings to recover.

Even if Han Sen recovered by then, it would merely become a two-versus-two standoff.

Though Fang Xing’s slaying of the Civilization’s Elegy was astonishing, the Civilization’s Elegy was merely a peak Dao Lord.

If one of the two insect eternal beings could advance further, they could crush Fang Xing and restore the insect race’s glory.

Clearly, they had no idea that Fang Xing’s true monstrous trait was his cultivation speed.

…

Time turned, stars shifted.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of years passed.

Qing Yuan Great Realm.

Lingbao Palace.

Within the herb garden.

“Dark roots stretch toward the celestial Gang , ninefold Golden Core shatters the jade gate; twisted branches bind ancient green, jade trees bloom, filling myriad valleys with fragrance…”

As these Dao verses echoed, the long-sealed cultivation chamber door burst open.

Han Lin stepped out, clad in a green robe.

“Finally… ninth layer of the Soul Spirit, peak…”

He sighed.

He knew his own limits—he was average in talent, but his sole advantage was his “Plant Body,” which naturally resonated with spiritual plants.

Thus, he chose a steady cultivation path.

No matter how great the temptations or honors beyond, he never left Lingbao Palace until he achieved Soul Spirit.

Even after breaking through to Soul Spirit, he spent most of his time immersed in planting duties, slowly accumulating merit to exchange for the next stage of the Longevity Scripture—“Green Emperor Longevity Scripture”!

In addition, he obtained a strange seed, said to be used in tandem with the “Green Emperor Longevity Scripture.”

After successfully switching to the “Green Emperor Longevity Scripture” and assimilating the “Longevity Tree” seed as his life-spirit plant, Han Lin realized he had struck gold.

The “Green Emperor Longevity Scripture” combined with the “Longevity Tree” possessed the miraculous power to break the Soul Spirit’s ten-thousand-year lifespan curse!

It was thanks to this ability that Han Lin slowly endured, endured, endured—surpassing the ten-thousand-year limit, outliving nearly all his companions…

Back then, peerless prodigies, Ao of Dongshan, fox spirit maidens… even those who became Nascent Souls ultimately fell at the threshold of Heavenly Immortal and Heavenly Demon realms.

Later, even some disciples attained the status of Nascent Soul overlord, yet when the ten-thousand-year limit arrived, they still turned to white bones.

In contrast, Han Lin, obscure and seemingly unremarkable, climbed step by step.

Now, he has reached the peak of Nascent Soul cultivation!

Moreover, he has gained profound insight into the Law of Life and the Law of Jia Wood, and plans to choose the simplest path among them to achieve the Heavenly Immortal realm.

As for the Chaos Realm after that? He never even considered it.

To become a Heavenly Immortal, with infinite lifespan, is already enough….

“Senior Brother Han!”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Han…”

“Congratulations, Senior Brother Han, on your breakthrough—your cultivation has advanced further…”

Along the way, disciples bowed respectfully one after another.

Yet Han Lin remained as he always was, his expression blank, showing little emotional fluctuation.

Only after he passed did they straighten their backs: “So this is Senior Brother Han… He was among the first batch of disciples! After Yiling the Heavenly Immortal became an elder, he was unquestionably the most senior senior brother in seniority!”

“The first-generation disciples—if they didn’t become Heavenly Immortals, shouldn’t they have died of old age long ago?” asked one disciple, puzzled.

“Heh… that’s just your ignorance. Our Lingbao Palace has the ‘Green Emperor’s Eternal Life Scripture’—if one can assimilate their life-spirit plant, they may break beyond the Nascent Soul’s maximum lifespan… Because of this, many Nascent Soul overlords have begged desperately to join our sect…”

“It’s said… when Han Lin’s lifespan was revealed, powers from across the land sent Chaos Realm cultivators to our door—only to be turned away by our Lingbao Ancestor, who debated them into retreat, even sending lavish gifts as apology…”

“I heard that too—rumor has it… even the Ancestor of the Wa Huang Palace once sent a divine mark, yet still could not sway our Lingbao Ancestor…”

One disciple with obvious influence smiled and said: “The Ancestor of the Wa Huang Palace—that’s an Eternal Realm being…”

(End of Chapter)