Encounter

"Outer Domain Heavenly Demon?!" Two furious voices shook the Starry Sky, shattering countless stars.

Having just watched Xu Changqing disappear, they had naturally been unwilling to accept it. They had not expected to see another woman in white.

One look was enough to tell that she did not belong to the Eternal Star Domain. There were already very few Heavenly Prides in the Eternal Star Domain as powerful as her; they had all been killed.

The woman in white was somewhat puzzled. They had clearly never met before, so why had they called her an Outer Domain Heavenly Demon the moment they saw her?

And how did they know she was a demon?

Yet she did not speak. She merely stood silently amid the Starry Sky, while the thick stench of blood around her told of the tragedy that had taken place here.

Her glossy black hair fluttered without wind, soft and smooth, cascading to her waist. Her white robes rustled fiercely. She made no movement at all, merely standing in the Starry Sky.

Yet she had already formed an imposing momentum.

"Anyone from beyond our domain—capture them and torture them to death one by one!" The two Saint Kings could not stomach that indignity. Even if the woman in white had only just arrived, they still intended to seize her.

Anyone capable of crossing the Starry Sky alone to reach this place was either an unparalleled Heavenly Pride or a mighty expert.

But now, they did not care about any of that.

The destruction of their families had made them thoroughly hate all living beings from beyond the Eternal Star Domain.

Blinded by rage, they ignored the consequences and wanted to kill an outsider, if only to comfort their aged hearts.

"Kill!"

The golden and purple Saint King mechas charged straight at the woman in white.

Yet the woman in white still did not move. Facing them, she remained utterly calm.

The next moment, the two Saint Kings saw the woman in white draw a golden holy sword. An incomparably terrifying aura emanated from it; that aura alone made their hearts tremble in fear.

"Damn it, a Great Sage artifact!" The two Saint Kings could not help cursing. Damn it, why were they so unlucky?

And where had all these Great Sages come from?

That white-haired man had possessed a Great Sage-level weapon as well; they could understand that.

But this woman, who had appeared from who knew where, had one too. That was truly baffling.

A Great Sage only emerged in the Eternal Star Domain after an incredibly long time, and those Great Sage mechas were almost never kept within the families.

Though her face could not be seen clearly, they could see a pair of limpid autumn eyes. Her indifferent gaze was filled with confusion and killing intent.

This Great Sage Weapon was a Forbidden Item and could only be activated once.

But once was already enough.

A Great Sage's Casual Strike was something a Saint King could never withstand.

Screech!

Golden sword radiance tore through the void of the universe. Before the people of the Eternal Star Domain could react, they saw a golden streak rip through the heavens in the Starry Sky, illuminating the cosmos.

Boom!

The next moment, people saw metal fragments falling through the Starry Sky, along with countless Blood Rains scattering down. Immortal Light shone brilliantly, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Had the great battle not ended already?

Why was there more?

"How hateful!" An aged voice trembled as it roared in unwilling fury.

They had coveted the physiques of the universe's great experts and had once captured many Divine Bodies traveling the Starry Sky alone. Over countless years, they had never failed.

Yet these days, Wuqing had appeared, and now there was another woman.

The woman in white did not even spare the two Saint Kings a glance as she swaggered into the Eternal Star Domain.

But the instant she descended into the Eternal Star Domain, she saw countless steel cities collapsed, electric light and flames flashing continuously, thick smoke billowing, and the smell of blood assaulting her nostrils.

She saw countless living beings, filthy from head to toe, lying on the ground. She also saw some pinned beneath enormous metal fragments.

On the chaotic streets, robots were moving massive pieces of metal and beginning to rescue people.

"Haha, that man went completely mad! So many families met their doom at his hands—we rogue cultivators are finally going to rise!"

"Those families had spared no effort to seize members of the Younger Generation heading into the Starry Sky, all for the sake of rising to power. Who would have thought that this time they would fail and instead be slaughtered until the heavens turned over? Such enormous families, with barely any survivors left."

"Wuqing really is powerful. He carried the Saint Tribulation and wiped out countless living beings. No one in our Eternal Kingdom has ever done anything like that."

The rogue cultivators rescuing people on the streets were overjoyed. Whenever these rogue cultivators discovered a Secret Realm, the great families would send disciples over to train.

Out of concern for appearances and fear of the other side's terrifying influence, no matter how desperately they fought, they could only drink a tiny sip from the bottom of the pot.

Now that those people were all dead, they would no longer need to fear the great families whenever they encountered opportunities in the future.

The woman in white's heart stirred. As she walked through the ruined streets, her overwhelming Divine Sense blanketed the surroundings, carefully gathering information and verifying it.

"So it really was him. He did not die..."

She concealed herself as she traveled through the Eternal Star Domain. Following the information she had gathered, she arrived at the forces that that man had exterminated.

People stood here and there amid the ruins of forces large and small, saying gloomily, "There's only a pile of scrap metal left. No Evolution Liquid, mechas, cultivation methods—nothing."

Others were unwilling to accept it. They refused to believe that Xu Changqing had truly left behind nothing, and began digging frantically.

Under normal circumstances, let alone standing atop the bricks and tiles of a major force, being able to see their gates would have counted as good fortune. Now, they were not only standing within the homes of those major forces, but digging three feet into the ground.

The woman in white traveled to many places, but the Eternal Star Domain seemed to have been crippled. Metal fragments lay everywhere. She had no idea what those fragments were, but flesh clung to them and blood stained them.

Moreover, all of that metal carried the aura of Heavenly Tribulation.

During this time, she also used a certain Divine Ability to witness what had happened earlier.

Fortunately, not much time had passed—only about a month.

Piecing together the scattered scenes, she learned the full course of events.

Two Great Emperors had once appeared in this world, and the reason countless living beings had died was because of an item belonging to one of those Great Emperors.

"Since he has already been here, there is nothing worth lingering over."

The woman in white knew that wherever Xu Changqing had gone, whatever he had obtained, he would certainly not leave behind even the slightest opportunity.

Even ordinary spirit herbs would be uprooted, regardless of whether they were useful to him.

"I look forward to our battle." She gazed into the Starry Sky, anticipation appearing in those autumn eyes.

She remembered Xu Changqing saying that if one day he rose to prominence and she rose to prominence as well, then on the Emperor's Road, the two of them would be unable to avoid each other. Sooner or later, they would fight.

She held great respect for this Person who Transmits the Dao, who had left her with a beautiful period of time during her childhood.

But even more than that, she wanted to defeat him.

Xu Changqing was cultivating in seclusion aboard the cosmic vessel Emperor Daoyan had given him. In one of its rooms, he began reading all kinds of scriptures and cultivation methods.

He treated all kinds of Evolution Liquid as beverages, casually pouring them into bottles and taking a sip now and then.

Though the countless cultivation methods were all rather poor, reading enough of them would always bring inspiration.

Whenever he gained something, he would pilot the cosmic vessel to the nearest ancient road, battling and fighting to the death against living beings in strange ancient lands.

His comprehension was exceptional. He could often master simple cultivation methods at a glance and even envision another path from them.

"By analyzing the mysteries of how the cosmic vessel traverses the universe and combining them with the Divine Movement Technique, I should be able to create a Secret Technique suited to me, judging by the principles within Emperor Daoyan's scriptures."

Among the cultivation methods Emperor Daoyan had given him were naturally Divine Abilities, movement techniques, and the like, but none suited him.

Even if he cultivated them, he would not be able to unleash their full power.

A self-created technique would not only suit him, but as he saw more cultivation methods later on, it would naturally grow stronger alongside him.

Xu Changqing began studying the sensation of the cosmic vessel traveling through the universe. His Divine Sense enveloped the vessel as it continuously moved through the Starry Sky.

Whenever the cosmic vessel began traversing the void, it created a black hole, coordinates within the black hole, and a Space Node.

Over the following period, Xu Changqing constantly crossed the universe. Whenever he encountered ancient lands of life, he would descend to investigate.

In the end, he arrived in a silent region of the universe. There were few ancient lands of life here, and dead stars filled the area.

Yet certain living beings still existed on some planets. Xu Changqing naturally clashed with them, but unfortunately, the strongest beings in some ancient lands of life were only Saint Kings.

With his Saint cultivation and combat strength that allowed him to enter the Divine Prohibition state at will, he had no fear of Saint Kings at all.

Two years later, Xu Changqing encountered someone in an ancient land of life.

She was a woman in white. Standing before a pile of rubble, she quietly looked at the damaged Five-Colored Altar before her, then began repairing it.

Boom!

A sudden thunderous explosion rang out. She immediately turned around and discovered a colossal object in the Starry Sky. She was very familiar with it; she had seen it in the Eternal Star Domain.

It was a bloodstained cosmic vessel, covered in the aura of Divine Sense—an exceptionally familiar aura.

Buzz!

The cosmic vessel stopped quietly in the distance, silently facing the woman in white as though confronting her.

The moment Xu Changqing saw the woman in white, ripples rose in his heart as well. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and he muttered, "I never expected us to meet here."

Little Nannan, it seems we have no choice but to fight this time.

Unfortunately, you may lose.

Xu Changqing could not help wanting to make a move. Once he defeated the Ruthless Great Emperor, it would prove that the Emperor's throne in this lifetime might belong to him.

The woman in white stood quietly before the Five-Colored Altar. Solemn emotion surfaced in her autumn eyes. From that enormous cosmic vessel emanated astonishing battle intent.

"Sooner or later, we will fight. This battle is to understand him better, so that I can defeat him in the future."

She could not understand why Xu Changqing, who had originally been ahead of her, had appeared behind her instead.

Meanwhile, Xu Changqing was thinking that after fighting her, his self-created cultivation method might perhaps achieve a breakthrough.