CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 440: LIVING STAR

Yu Sheng certainly knew the Inference Star Body was the Dark Angel, but that was not what he wanted to ask.

"Dark Angel" is how common people refer to Inference Star Bodies—all invaders from outside the world are called Dark Angels, Heka Star, Beauty God, Tree Angel, Shadowless Skeleton... they share such common names.

But after interacting with Anka Aela, Yu Sheng realized the truth behind these "Otherworldly Invaders" might be far more complex than people imagined; "Dark Angel" is just a generic term, and understanding their essence is the only possible way to resolve this "invasion phenomenon."

In this regard, "Yun Qingzi," who has already achieved a high level of symbiosis with the Inference Star Body, obviously knows something.

But unfortunately, "Yun Qingzi" doesn’t seem inclined to cooperate.

He even sensed the "erosion" Yu Sheng was conducting, sensed the blood that was incessantly seeping deep underground.

Within a millisecond, the Inference Star Body reacted.

A disquieting tremor emanated from deep within the earth, rapidly causing fractures in the surrounding crystal structures connected to the cave. The illusion of Yun Qingzi in the crystal mirrors vanished in the blink of an eye, and then the entire cavern began to dissolve and collapse—the ground first split open with a massive crack, revealing faint streams of light from the earth veins, with interwoven crystal branches connected to those underground springs. The crystal structures containing Yu Sheng’s blood components were entirely "sliced" away, plummeting into the earth through the fissure.

Yu Sheng felt his consciousness disturbed by a powerful force, felt as though trapped in this abandoned crystalline cage, witnessing his rapid descent, the end of which was the lava lake deep within the mantle, and during the descent, in that scorching hellish underground space, he saw the extensive limbs of the Inference Star Body piercing through the entire planet—

The feathered shell supporting the crust, the tubular structures transporting energy immersed in magma and deep earth veins, the crystal giant structure akin to the skeleton of a giant beast changing position amidst vibrations, seemingly making final preparations for the detachment of the Ascension Body.

In the next second, darkness descended, engulfing everything in the chaotic vision after death.

In the grand cavity of the mantle layer, above the endless lake of magma, Yun Qingzi’s figure emerged from a crystal cluster on one of the crystal branches, gazing at that hellish sea of fire, watching the "crystal pollutant" cut from the main body fall into the lava, and in the blink of an eye, consumed by the terrifying heat.

The pollution was curbed, the eerie blood intercepted outside the immune barrier; the "Ascension Body" under layers of protection remained unaffected... but what is this persistent unease?

"Yun Qingzi" tightly furrowed his brow, unable to pinpoint the source of such unease.

No, "Ascension" must be executed ahead of time; too much on this planet has already gotten out of control.

...

Lightning shattered the darkness, and gusty winds and torrential rain raged in the wilderness outside the City Defense Array, unsettling spiritual power aftershocks destabilizing the air, while burning dust slowly dispersed in the wind and rain.

Two forces stood facing each other before Mo City’s City Defense Array.

Mo Ran clasped her sharp sword tightly, standing atop the tower, feeling the chill of the cold wind almost piercing her bones. She intensely stared at the sky outside the city, and with the next thunderclap, she saw large and small Immortal Boats forming a battle array, sword-controlling cultivators lined among the clouds in the lightning.

Before becoming entrenched in this standoff, both parties had already engaged in a brief yet fierce conflict—the scorching and agitated spiritual power lingering in the air, as well as the countless ravines on the ground, were results of that earlier brief battle.

The reason Lord Yun Shan and others gathered outside the city stopped, of course, was not because they were free from the control of the Inference Star Body, but because of one person.

Mo Ran gently inhaled, with a slight reverence in her look, gazing outside the City Defense Array.

Master Yuan Hao, in white clothing and white hair, stood with his hands behind, standing silently between the opposing sides, calmly overlooking all things in the rain. Behind him, the Four Symbols and Five Elements Power transformed into a phantom talisman formation, circulating grandly between heaven and earth, hundreds of spiritual lights interspersed in the formation, locking onto the army outside the city from afar.

At Yuan Hao’s feet, a fissure still exuding rolling heat stretched across the earth, separating Mo City from the army outside, extending far beyond.

A single strike from the Supreme Unity Realm’s mighty power instantly calmed even the cultivators outside controlled by the Inference Star Body; no one dared to act rashly—after all, they were only interfered with cognitively, unlike those black-clothed cultivators who had been brainwashed into Yun Qingzi’s minions, their basic judgment abilities remained intact.

Xuan Che stood with hands down behind Yuan Hao, alongside Master Uncle, emotionlessly staring at a forty-five-degree angle at the distant horizon.

The two communicated in secret.

"Master Uncle, what should we do next?"

"What else can we do? I’m also very anxious..." Master Yuan Hao said expressionlessly, "The people outside the city are just trapped by the Knowledge Barrier, can’t really go on a killing spree, can we?"

"But what if they attack first?" Xuan Che secretly glanced sideways, "Can we win?"

"Win what! You’ve read too many storybooks? How can we win against so many people? Moreover, there are so many warships! If we can’t hold it later, just run straight into the City Defense Array, we’re just here to stall for time..."

"Uh, won’t that be a bit embarrassing?"

"Silly child, your Master Uncle has been wandering the world for so many years, growing through countless hardships, relying on knowing when to yield and when to fight... Keep your eyes steady, hold tight!"

"Oh, oh."

In the conversation, on the large Immortal Boat outside the city amidst the clouds, the scholarly middle-aged man was already staring with a serious expression at the unexpected visitor in mid-air for a long while, finally unable to resist stepping forward in mid-air and cupping his fists, "Senior, may I know..."

"Qianfeng Ling Mountain, Yuan Hao, here to mediate this matter," Master Yuan Hao raised his hand slightly, his expression indifferent, "If you’re willing to heed Taixu Spirit Hub’s orders, then leave now."

Lord Yun Shan slightly squinted his eyes.

A buzzing noise echoed in his mind, he couldn’t hear the words from the opposite side clearly, nor did he understand the occasional clear syllables in the noise, yet he didn’t find the noise strange, nor was he truly curious about the identity of the person opposite.

In fact, he couldn’t even make out what the two people standing in mid-air looked like in the distance.

The entire world in his eyes was "hazy," and this "hazy" feeling... has lasted a lifetime.

This is very normal, the world is like this, only that Mo City looks somewhat strange at the moment... Strange?

Lord Yun Shan suddenly felt a daze in his mind, feeling as if he had suddenly forgotten something very important.

He raised his head in astonishment, seeing the few family retainers closest to him also raising their heads in confusion, casting similarly confused glances at him.

Why am I here? What’s happening? I seemed to be dueling with someone just now, but... with whom? Why duel? Is that Mo City in the distance? The Family Head of Mo Family seems to be standing over there, but why does he look so ready for battle?

A strange rumbling sound echoed between heaven and earth, as if resonating in everyone’s hearts.

On a hillock near the edge of Mo City, Hu Li’s ears twitched, instinctively looking towards the Crystal Jungle outside the City Defense Array, while Erin poked her head from Hu Li’s embrace, looking around anxiously, "What’s that commotion, is something else about to emerge from underground?"

Hu Li couldn’t answer Erin’s babbling questions, she just tightly held the puppet, and then suddenly discovered that the ground at the edge of the Crystal Jungle was slowly rising, as if a new mountain was "growing" from there.

With a loud thunderclap, the wind and rain between heaven and earth strangely paused for a moment in the sound of the thunder, as if missing a beat.

In the rain, Luna reached out her hand, seemingly also staring at the "mountain" slowly rising at the edge of the land, yet no one could discern the true thoughts and focus of this "Artificial Saintess" from her pale, steel face — Shuji’s eternal rainy season was reflected on her smooth metal shell, but in the reflection of wind and rain emerged a vast wilderness, where wild grasses stretched endlessly.

Outside the city in mid-air, Xuan Che suddenly noticed the chaos gradually spreading among those Immortal Boats and sword-controlling cultivators on the clouds in the distance.

"Master Uncle, the battle formation opposite seems to be in disarray," he immediately transmitted with Divine Sense, "The expressions of those leading figures have changed."

"I see it," Master Yuan Hao, who was struggling to maintain a masterly demeanor while ready to flee at any moment, nodded slightly, unchanged in expression, "Don’t make any rash moves, something’s not right... the movements underground aren’t right."

On the clouds in the distance, the battle formation formed by cultivators gathered from several nearby major cities already showed obvious breaks, with people seemingly suddenly awakening and looking around in confusion, some abruptly left the formation, some turned and fled, others fell from mid-air, as if hearing a call, rapidly diving into the writhing, swaying living Crystal Jungle.

At the edge of the plain, something astonishing was gradually emerging from underground, the terrain there was changing, the eerie rumbling from deep underground gradually transformed into the terrifying crack of earth splitting, amid rising smoke and dust, large patches of pale crystals burst from the ground, rising like mountains.

Mo Ran gasped, her sword-holding hand trembling involuntarily, looking at the Crystal Mountain rising at the plain’s edge, merely witnessing it, felt her mind already teetering: "What is... that thing?"

Silence surrounded her, the family retainers were evidently unable to answer her question, only the same shivering and fear permeated hearts, and as an immense sense of powerlessness surged, Mo Ran suddenly heard a voice from behind.

A guard stumbled up the platform amidst the wind and rain, his voice sounding like a shout from a nightmare —

"The, the track platform’s communication is restored! They, they say... they say there’s a face on Shuji’s surface!"