The Star Chaser completed its final hyperspace jump. The instant it broke free from the void, an indescribable sense of oppression washed over everyone on the bridge like an icy tide. It felt as though the weight of the entire universe was pressing upon their hearts, making even breathing difficult.
Beyond the portholes was no longer the familiar brilliant river of stars, but an absolute abyss of darkness from which even light could not escape. That darkness was not nothingness, but the ultimate manifestation of something that devoured all existence. At its center, a vortex too vast to describe slowly revolved. It was utterly silent, yet it emanated an ending Dao resonance that could make even Golden Immortals' souls tremble—this was one of the endpoints of the universe, the Eye of the Returning Void.
Even gazing at it from afar filled one with the helpless feeling of being as insignificant as dust, liable to vanish at any moment. Around the vortex's edge drifted dense Return to the Void Qi, purer and more absolute than that found in the depths of the Annihilation Star Sea. An ordinary Golden Immortal who touched even a trace of it could have their Dao foundation collapse and be reduced to nothing.
Yet beyond the Eye of the Returning Void, in a relatively stable region of nothingness known as The Ring of Termination, things were unusually "lively."
From afar, several factions could be seen.
The immense hull of the Sky Patrol Immortal Boat hung to one side like an iron mountain range. The Star Inspector's projection stood at its prow, his aura unfathomable, surrounded by elite Star Guards. What made Li Wuyang's gaze sharpen was the faint yet familiar aura he sensed within the immortal boat—it was the sealed shell of Xuan! They had actually brought