The tide of World Devourers was temporarily repelled by Xiao Yan's pillar of chaotic faith, but the northeastern part of the Co-Prosperity Zone had been reduced to a gray ruin. The devoured buildings and creatures left no trace, as if that area had never existed since the birth of the universe. The leaves of the Tree of Chaos continued to turn into powder, and the Tree Spirit's will was as weak as a candle in the wind. Clearly, its primal suppression could not last much longer.
"We must find a way to completely kill them." Xiao Yan frowned as he looked at the gray mist that was reforming in the cracks. " The Power of Chaos can tear them apart, but it can't kill them; the Light of Faith scorch them, but it can't eradicate them. They're like a malignant tumor; as long as there's even a trace of resentment left, they can be reborn infinitely."
Xiao He suddenly pointed to the Core Anchor at the root of the Tree of Chaos: " The Tree Spirit said... it sensed the 'protective power of the same origin'! On the other side of the Hyperdimensional Interstice, there was a civilization that also fought against the World Devourers, and their power... can 'purify' the resentment of the laws!"
"A civilization in the Hyperdimensional Interstice?" Qing He immediately pulled up a star map; the dimensional region connected to the rift was blank. "Our probes have never passed through there. How can we contact them?"
"Perhaps... it can be done through 'dreams'." The Dream Guardian's voice came through the communicator, his figure appearing somewhat illusory in the dream projection. "The resentment of the World Devourers interferes with reality, but it cannot penetrate the 'deep dreams.' I can try to sink my consciousness into the crevices to search for traces of that civilization."
The Dream Guardian immediately entered the deepest part of the dream. Three hours later, his projection suddenly fluctuated violently, a look of shock on his face. "Found them! They are the ' Star Spirit Clan '! A hyperdimensional civilization renowned for its ' Realm Barrier Mending Technique '! Their homeworld was devoured by the World Devourers, and now they hide in the ' Stardust Belt,' barely surviving by repairing their broken boundary walls!"
He transmitted a scene: the Star Spirit Clan were slender, with translucent wings on their backs, covered with patterns like star maps. They were using luminous threads to repair a broken boundary wall, and when the threads touched the remaining gray resentment, the resentment melted away like ice and snow.
"It's this kind of thread!" A glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. "It has the power to purify the resentment of laws!"
"But the Star Spirit Clan don't want to believe us," the Dream Guardian with a wry smile. "They've been driven to such a state by the World Devourers that they no longer trust any civilization in a 'complete plane,' fearing we're here to seize the Repairing Technique."
"I'll go see them," Xiao Yan decided decisively. "Only by going in person can we convince them that our enemies are common."
Qing He immediately objected. "It's too dangerous! The Hyperdimensional Interstice are full of broken laws, even the Power of Chaos might be ineffective, let alone the main force of the World Devourers!"
"There's no time." Xiao Yan looked at the crack, where the gray mist was growing thicker, and he could vaguely hear the creaking sound of the boundary wall being gnawed at. " The Tree of Chaos won't last seven days; we must obtain the purification power before then."
He looked at Xiao He and handed her a fragment of the Tree of Chaos fruit. "After I leave, you will preside over the Shield of Faith. Remember, no matter what happens, you must not let the World Devourers approach the core of the tree."
The following morning, Xiao Yan boarded a small shuttle and, carrying the " Stardust Belt Coordinates" drawn by the Dream Guardian, plunged into the rift in the boundary wall. As soon as the shuttle entered the Hyperdimensional Interstice, the surrounding space began to distort violently, sometimes turning into liquid light and sometimes solidifying into shadows. Countless fragments of broken laws, like sharp blades, sliced through the hull, leaving behind a piercing friction sound.
"The laws here... are completely chaotic." Xiao Yan used his Power of Chaos to stabilize the ship, but a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes—he could feel that the Power of Chaos was greatly suppressed here, as if it were stuck in a quagmire.
After drifting for two days in the narrow passage, the shuttle finally spotted the Star Spirit Clan in a " Stardust Belt " composed of countless celestial debris. It was a makeshift city built from fragments of a star's core. On the city's outskirts, the Star Spirit Clan were busily repairing a crumbling boundary wall. The wings on their backs shimmered with a soft blue light, and with each flap, golden threads flew out, binding the gray resentment.
"Halt!" A cold voice rang out, and a Star Spirit Clan woman clad in star-patterned armor blocked the shuttle's path. Her wings were covered in battle scars, and her spear was pointed directly at Xiao Yan. "Leave! The Stardust Belt does not welcome any outsiders!"
Xiao Yan stepped out of the shuttle, dispelling the Power of Chaos around him to show he was harmless. "I come from the Co-Prosperity Zone, seeking cooperation. Our plane is being devoured by the World Devourers, and we need your purifying power."
"Cooperation?" The woman sneered, the light on her spear intensifying. "Back then, it was the so-called 'cooperators' who leaked our location, allowing the World Devourers to destroy our home planet! You beings from complete planes only know how to use us as tools!"
Just then, a violent tremor came from the other end of the Stardust Belt. Countless gray mists surged out from the shattered boundary wall, larger and more ferocious than the World Devourers of the Co-Prosperity Zone, clearly indicating that the main force had discovered this place.
"Run!" The woman's expression changed drastically; she turned and rushed towards her people, shouting, "Activate the emergency barrier!"
But it was too late. A giant hand composed of countless resentful thoughts broke through the temporary barrier and seized a young Star Spirit Clan. The child's wings quickly turned to dust in the giant hand, and he let out a painful cry.
"Stop!" A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes, and the Power of Chaos erupted with its last light from the crevice, transforming into a blade of light that severed the giant hand. The severed resentment receded like a tide, but more World Devourers were surging in from all directions.
"You..." The Star Spirit Clan woman was stunned. She could sense that although Xiao Yan's power was suppressed, he was doing his best to protect them.
"Now, can we talk about cooperation?" Xiao Yan stood in front of the Star Spirit Clan, his gaze resolute. "We may come from different planes, but we face the same enemy. Your purifying power, combined with our Shield of Faith, might truly be able to kill them."
The woman looked at the rescued child, then at Xiao Yan's robes, which were gradually being eroded by the gray mist, and finally nodded. "I am Xing Yao, the patriarch of the Star Spirit Clan. Come with me, and I will show you the true origin of the World Devourers."
Guided by the Star Spirit Clan, Xiao Yan entered a Star Core Tower in the city center. At the top of the tower, a black crystal floated, sealing a scene within: countless destroyed dimensional laws wept and grieved in the Hyperdimensional Interstice, eventually coalescing into the prototype of the World Devourers in the "gap between nothingness and existence".
"They are 'orphans of the laws,'" Xing Yao's voice was filled with sorrow. "Being forgotten and abandoned is why they hate all beings that are whole. To purify them, we need not only power, but also... to make them understand that there is still a possibility of being 'accepted.'"
Looking at the scene within the crystal, Xiao Yan suddenly understood something. He turned to Xing Yao, a resolute glint in his eyes. "I have a plan, but I need your purification threads, and... your trust."
Xing Yao looked at him, then at the approaching gray mist outside the window, and finally gripped the spear tightly in her hand. "Fine. I'll trust you this once."
On the Stardust Belt, Xiao Yan and Xing Yao stood side by side. In the distance, the roars of the World Devourers grew closer, but in their eyes, a light brighter than the stardust ignited.
The fate of the Co-Prosperity Zone and the future of the Star Spirit Clan may hinge on this cross-dimensional cooperation.