Star Odyssey

Chapter 2006: Drain

Bai Laogui frowned. "Something’s not right. Looking at everything, this must be part of Aeternus’s plan. But just what are they trying to do?"

Ni Huang grew extremely serious. "Why do Envoys face backlash if they absorb stellular energy too quickly? Why are there stellular tribulations? It’s all because the true universe prevents too much stellular energy from being extracted at a given time. People have studied the true universe for eons, and the conclusion that they’ve reached is that there is a limited amount of stellular energy in the universe. It is not infinite.”

"Are you saying that these droplets are somehow trying to drain stellular energy from the true universe?" Xia De instantly grew alarmed.

Ni Huang nodded. "That seems quite likely.”

"What will happen to us cultivators once the true universe runs out of stellular energy? Not only will this affect stellular energy, but also star energy which comes from stellular energy. Without stellular energy, how will humans continue cultivating? If stellular energy is taken away, won’t we be no different from ordinary humans?" Bai Laogui asked hoarsely.

Ni Huang turned to look towards the Human Domain. "Something big just happened. Send a report to the ancestors right now."

Chaos had descended upon the Fifth Mainland. Sixteen drops of liquid had spread across the entire Fifth Mainland, and each one of them was swallowing stellular energy at an absurd rate.

Arch-Elder Zen and the rest of the Human Domain’s Semi-Progenitors had come to similar conclusions about Aeternus’s intentions, but there was simply nothing that they could do. Their only option was to trust that the mighty Progenitors would be able to destroy the droplets.

Outside the barrier in the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines were fighting a losing battle. Blackless God alone was overpowering both of the humans. They were panting, and both of them were in bad shape. In the past, all three of the Sixth Mainland's Progenitors had worked together to hold Blackless God back, and the two were unable to do so on their own.

They were already aware of what had happened in the Fifth Mainland, but Blackless God's attack had been precisely timed to prevent the two human Progenitors from moving out to resolve the issue.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Progenitor of Secret Arts broke past the two Progenitors’ defense and shot into the Fifth Mainland.

A Progenitor’s strength was enough to level the entire Fifth Mainland.

The moment the Progenitor of Secret Arts, Yi Ren, arrived in the Fifth Mainland, an unimaginably powerful force smashed down on him. He was blown back, and most of his body was shattered.

The Progenitor of Combat and Progenitor of Bloodlines were both shocked. While they had not seen who had attacked, they had their own suspicions.

Blackless God's expression changed. "So what if you protect this place? Old man, I want to see how long you can keep it up!”

The Skygod then simply retreated.

The Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines both let out sighs of relief. They were aware of who their savior was, but they were unable to find any traces despite searching.

Some distance away, Mister Mu was staring at the Astral River. "Is this it? Murkiness? In the end, we were still too late."

The man disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already north of Chaos Flowzone at the closest droplet. He studied the drop of strange liquid. Even though it was within reach, not even he could destroy it.

A tiny, insignificant drop of some strange liquid was able to destroy humanity.

…

The sixteen droplets continued to consume all of the stellular energy in the true universe. As time passed, even Limiteers and Melders were able to feel that something was wrong. They were no longer able to easily absorb star energy. The sensation was similar to how ordinary people would find it difficult to breathe on a planet with low oxygen levels.

It was under these circumstances that countless corpse kings suddenly appeared in all corners of the universe and launched an indiscriminate attack on humanity.

In the Cosmic Sea, on an island not far from the Abyss of the Sea of the Sea, there were several children playing and laughing. This particular area had once been rather desolate with few visitors, but the founding of the Tower of the Fifth had converted this island into a supply transit point. Over the course of just a few short months, it had been transformed into a prosperous city. Major corporations had set up branches on the island, and even multiple auction houses had started to sprout up.

The island’s natives felt as though they had a bright future before them.

However, when a pair of scarlet eyes with slitted pupils suddenly appeared, that bright future was torn apart and replaced with a blood-stained sky.

There was a hidden world on the island that contained countless numbers of the Neohuman Alliance’s corpse kings. Many other hidden worlds had been scattered across the Fifth Mainland.

After the majority of the Seven Skygods had been wiped out in the Fifth Mainland, the Hall of Honor had cooperated with various major powers to go after the Neohuman Alliance. They had struck hard, and the Neohuman Alliance had suffered heavy casualties. The situation had reached a point where Whiteless God had been left with no choice but to take action, and that was why she had coerced the Astral Beast Domain into invading the Human Domain. However, the Neohuman Alliance’s true strength had remained hidden within the various hidden worlds.

Countless corpse kings raced toward the Tower of the Fifth.

There were a number of corpse kings with power levels in the hundreds of thousands who led the charge, and they attacked the Tower of the Fifth.

Liu Ye appeared to protect the tower.

Liu Ye and Fei Hua gazed into the distance and were left astonished. "Where did so many corpse kings come from?"

"Be careful! It’s difficult to absorb stellular energy right now," Fei Hua warned.

Liu Ye let out a breath. "It’s going to be tough if we can't replenish our stellular energy reserves. I’ve never dealt with something like this, so we’ll need to be very careful."

Fei Hua nodded.

An arrow shot through the sky. Man Li was taking action, and his arrow proved accurate as it struck a corpse king. However, the corpse king was only momentarily slowed, and it quickly yanked the arrow out and continued its mad charge.

Man Li yelled, "Prepare for battle!"

Similar attacks occurred throughout the Cosmic Sea, the Innerverse, and the Outerverse—corpse kings appeared everywhere. There was no warning as this unprecedented war broke out, and just a few minutes earlier, no one would have been able to imagine this sudden turn.

The Neohuman Alliance had waited patiently while hiding for too many years. They had induced great harm and suffering for humanity, but they had never made a direct move against the Human Domain. This was the day that the Aeternals finally made their move, and an endless swarm of corpse kings enveloped the Human Domain like a black cloud.

***

In the Astral Beast Domain, at the Celestial Beast Empire’s capital, a woman requested to meet with Yao Di.

"Xin Yu, what do you need?" Yao Di asked gently.

The woman was Xin Yu. Although she looked young, she was actually someone from the same generation as Xu Qing. She was an Envoy with a power level of 600,000, and she was one of the humans who had fled to the Astral Beast Domain and sought refuge there long ago.

"I offer my respects to Your Majesty, Yao Di. Does Your Majesty know about the drastic changes happening in the Human Domain?" Xin Yu asked very respectfully.

Yao Di's brow creased. "Yes. I don’t know how Aeternus did it, but stellular energy is being rapidly sucked out of the true universe."

Although he sounded calm, he could not keep the worry from seeping into his voice. Many astral beasts also cultivated by absorbing stellular energy, and he was afraid that Aeternus would use the same method to attack the Astral Beast Domain.

Xin Yu glanced at Yao Di. "Is Your Majesty worried that Aeternus will attack my Astral Beast Domain in the same way?"

Yao Di was about to speak, but a thought sent a jolt through his heart. He stared intently into Xin Yu’s eyes. "What are you saying?"

Xin Yu remained respectful. "Your Majesty, the time has come to attack the Human Domain."

Yao Di’s eyes narrowed to slits.

"Our Astral Beast Domain has coveted the Human Domain for as long as I can remember. General Xu Qing was able to reach the Outerverse’s central weaves, but that was our limit at that time. However, we can take this opportunity right now to occupy the Human Domain! Without stellular energy, the humans are practically sitting ducks," Xin Yu persuaded.

Yao Di rose to his feet and slowly walked closer to Xin Yu while calmly staring at her.

Xin Yu felt a twinge of fear and reflexively lowered her head.

"I thought that it was strange when you asked to join my Celestial Beast Empire, but as the years passed, you never once did anything abnormal. I always assumed that you were a fake traitor sent to be the Human Domain’s mole, but I now see that I was overthinking things," Yao Di said.

Xin Yu laughed in relief and replied, "Since your subordinate has betrayed the Human Domain, I can no longer turn back."

"In that case, who are you representing?" Yao Di’s voice sounded like a crack of thunder, and he glared at Xin Yu.

The pressure of a Semi-Progenitor was too much, and panic overtook Xin Yu. She dropped to her knees. "The Neohuman Alliance."

Yao Di was not surprised. "So, the Neohuman Alliance sent you to join my Celestial Beast Empire?"

"Yes." Xin Yu decided not to hide anything.

“Why?”

"To serve as a bridge for communication between the two sides. I am merely a messenger," Yu Xin replied.

Yao Di looked at the woman. "Did the Neohuman Alliance ask you to pass on this message?"

Yu Xin grew flustered. "Yes, but it's also this subordinate’s sincere opinion. Human beings are nothing without stellular energy. If our Astral Beast Domain invades right now, there are only benefits and no downsides."

For a short time, the pressure grew heavier as the room remained completely silent. Finally, Yao Di broke the silence. "You can leave."

Yu Xin swallowed and respectfully left.

Just as she arrived at the door, another individual stepped in the room. It was the imperial advisor, Skymender.

Yuxin offered Skymender a respectful bow.

Skymender took a step past her, and Yu Xin went stiff. The next instant, blood painted the four walls of the room as her body exploded with a loud noise.

Yao Di looked at Skymender. "Why did you kill her?"

Skymender answered indifferently, "She deserved to die for wanting to use my Celestial Beast Empire in their plot."

Yao Di shook his head. "She had a point. There’s no disadvantage if we attack the Human Domain right now."

Skymender turned serious as he looked at Yao Di. "Has Your Majesty already forgotten what we have been waiting for all this time?"

Yao Di wearily replied, "We’ve been waiting for too long already."

"That doesn’t matter. We need to keep waiting. This is not about you or me, but rather about my Fourth Mainland. For the sake of my Fourth Mainland’s long-cherished wish, how can we afford to be dazzled by Aeternus? Has Your Majesty forgotten? Our ancestors suffered as they waited for so many years—how can all that they did be for the mere destruction of the Human Domain?!" Skymender angrily retorted.

Yao Di smiled bitterly. "Imperial Advisor, there’s no need for this. I haven’t forgotten. Don't worry, the Celestial Beast Empire will not attack. We still need the Human Domain to fight off Aeternus, as it would be foolish for us to face Aeternus head on without them.”

…

Outside the Technocracy, more and more spaceships continued to line up; they contained the Perennial World’s army. These people had arrived in the Forsaken Land expecting a war with the Human Domain, but they were instead about to fight against corpse kings.

Lu Yin had also not expected to see such drastic changes devour the entire universe so quickly.

He also attempted to absorb stellular energy but found it to be extremely difficult. The solitary droplet that had appeared in the Technocracy was devouring the vast majority of the stellular energy here.

Once the true universe was emptied, there would only be one ending for humanity: annihilation.

Lu Yin would be fine, as he could also use death energy, but what about normal cultivators? How would they be able to keep fighting the corpse kings? Once their reserves of star energy were depleted, they would have no way to recover aside from star crystals or star essence. That was truly a worst-case scenario.

Countless corpse kings charged through outer space, but Grand Elder Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors did nothing. These corpse kings could be left for the army to deal with as a form of training. It was more important to first lead them away from Sky Creation Academy.

Arch-Elder Zen’s suspicions made sense. If Sky Creation Academy really did have a connection to Aeternus, then leaving the army there was a very dangerous move.

Lu Yin acted as Wang Dashuai and kept a very low profile.

Some distance away, Wang Si was surprised that both Wang Su and Wang Yi were still missing. Could Sky Creation Academy have captured them?

Bai Laogui was thinking similar thoughts, as both Liu Shaoge and Yu Chen had vanished.

Although the Neohuman Alliance had a massive number of corpse kings, their forces were not enough to fight against the full strength of the Human Domain. These corpse kings were essentially cannon fodder intended to force the humans to use up their star energy or stellular energy reserves by overwhelming the humans with sheer numbers.

Many cultivators were already no longer able to attack as freely as normal, as they could not recover their energy as quickly as they were accustomed to. Humans were dealing with a truly brutal handicap.

The Sixth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao made a trip to the Starfall Sea, and he asked to see the Progenitor of Combat, hoping that the Progenitor could destroy the droplets. The answer was disappointing: not even a Progenitor could destroy that liquid.

For several days, Lu Yin acted as Wang Dashuai while fighting against the Neohuman Alliance.

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