"Retreat!"
Little Crane's voice was soft, but it carried the lightness of a burden lifted.
Her body began to turn transparent, fading from solid to insubstantial, then from insubstantial to nothing as she vanished into a crack in the void.
She retraced her path, carefully passing through layer upon layer of interlocking formations and weaving between the web-like defensive nodes.
The Devil Race Powerhouses patrolling nearby still did not notice her.
Although the Stronghold contained many formations and restrictions designed to detect Void Cranes and other spacetime lifeforms, none of them reacted when Little Crane passed through.
No one discovered her.
No Detection Formation was triggered.
Nothing was amiss.
Little Crane traveled through the crack in the void much faster than she had on the way in.
She had learned the layout of the Formation Runes, the patrol patterns of the Devil Race Powerhouses, and the timing of every safe opening.
Getting in had taken nearly three years.
Getting out took only a month.
When Little Crane emerged from the Spacetime Membrane and returned to the outskirts of the Star Core Graveyard, Fang Chen rose from where he sat cross-legged and looked at her.
He saw how dim her light had grown, the exhaustion in her eyes, and the faint smile at the corners of her mouth.
"Is it done?"
Fang Chen's voice was soft, as though he were afraid of disturbing something.
Little Crane nodded firmly, her Nine-Colored Eyes full of pride.
"All 501 Meteor Tears are in place. I put 500 on the Dark Red Orb and the main structure of the Teleportation Array, and one with nine golden lines on the surface of the Chaos Star Core!"
She paused, and a cold glint flashed through her Nine-Colored Eyes.
"Mm!"
Fang Chen nodded. Among the Meteor Tears he