Chapter 1969: Myriad Worlds
The War Priest shook its head and said, “The other spatial cracks aren’t as big as the one at the Fiend races’ Netherworld Seal, so it’ll be hard to descend via those cracks. It took a great deal of time and preparation before I could just barely descend via this spatial crack.”
“Which secret dungeons can be used to create spatial cracks?” Zu An asked.
“Each of us has our own unique ability. I don’t know the method the others use, so I can’t be certain about it, but those who descend will have to face the wrath of this world’s will, so there will be certain phenomena in the vicinity,” the War Priest replied.
Zu An fell into deep thought. Now that I think about it, there have been unnatural phenomena shrouding Copper Gong Mountain in recent days, such as the thick white fog and the purple fog nearing the center region. It might be impossible to take preemptive measures, but we can still achieve timely intervention.
“What’s the world you’re from called?” Zu An asked. It’s best to gather as much information about the enemies as possible.
“Branda N151 Barren Star…” the War Priest replied.
Zu An was surprised. These monsters have quite a technological name for their planet!
“Are there other worlds?” Zu An asked as he took note of the name.
“Countless more. A single layer of the galaxy can have over a hundred million civilizations, and we don’t know how many layers of galaxies there are in the universe,” the War Priest replied.
Zu An was speechless.
Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi's jaws nearly dropped open. They had never heard anything like this before. There are over a hundred million civilizations in a galaxy, but there are other layers of galaxies on top of that? Why does this sound like a myth to me?
“How strong is your world in the galaxy?” Zu An asked.
“The farther away a world is from the center of the galaxy, the scarcer its resources are, and the weaker the indigenous population. My world is around the middle, whereas your world is at the outermost region,” the War Priest replied.
Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi exchanged gazes. They understood those words. So our world is the weakest one in the galaxy.
Zu An frowned and asked, “Why did you come to our outermost world if your world is far richer in terms of resources?”
The War Priest suddenly revealed a look of terror, saying, “It’s because our world is dying…”
Zu An’s heart sank. He could tell that the War Priest was indeed not in its strongest condition, and there were probably more beings of its level in this world. That showed just how strong its world was. Just what kind of thing could drive them to the brink of destruction?
Upon hearing Zu An asked that question, the War Priest opened its mouth and began, “I-It’s Spec…”
Its body suddenly shook halfway through those words, and its eyes regained their clarity. It was no longer under the control of Daji’s Voice of the Devil. However, its eyes filled with absolute horror as it exclaimed, “No, I haven’t said it yet. I haven’t said it yet…”
Bam!
Its entire head exploded, and purple fluid splattered everywhere. It was fortunate Zu An had protected the others in time, so they didn’t get defiled by it.
“W-What happened to it?” Ji Xiaoxi asked, her face turning pale. She was startled by the abrupt explosion.
“That could have been its punishment for uttering a forbidden name. There are incredibly powerful beings in this world who can bring about death just by having someone else utter their name,” Zu An replied.
Ji Dengtu’s face paled. He asked, “There are really such beings in the world?” He was so frightened that even Teacher Bai in his robes couldn’t console him.
“There are. You must be careful if you ever meet them. Some, you mustn’t look at directly. Some, you mustn’t utter the name of. Others, you can’t even think about,” Zu An said with a bitter smile. He wouldn’t have known these things if not for the beings he had met in the tomb.
“What do we do now?” Ji Xiaoxi asked as she gulped down her saliva. Everything that had happened today was a shock to her.
“Fortunately, it gave us useful information we can work with,” Zu An replied with a vexed sigh. There were many more questions he had wanted to ask, and yet such a situation occurred. “Keep what you saw and heard today a secret. Don’t divulge a single word about it, or else it would plunge the world into chaos.”
A pandemonium would break out if the populace learned that such terrifying beings were trying to invade their world. Stronger cultivators could even take the opportunity to undermine the current order. That could weaken humankind, making it easier for those monsters to invade.
“We know. This matter is of grave importance.” Even Ji Dengtu stowed away his usual lackadaisical attitude.
Just then, a few figures flew over and landed near them. They were the academy’s Yan Xiangu, followed by Empress Liu Ning and Eunuch Lu, Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming, Imperial Secretariat’s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, and King Guangling Zhao Yuan. They were stunned to witness the War Priest’s massive body, as well as the devastation around Shadowmoon Lake.
The empress was worried. She wanted to rush to Zu An’s side, but she had to hold herself back as the others were present. She asked, “Regent, were you the one fighting? Did you sustain any injuries?”
The earlier battle had caused such a huge commotion that it caught the attention of the experts in the capital, so they had rushed over to check the situation. With Liu Ning’s standing, there was no need for her to personally head over, but she figured that no one else in the world other than Zu An could have been involved in such a devastating battle. Out of worry, she had rushed over as well.
“Your Majesty, I’m fine,” Zu An said. He knew she was worried, so he assured her with a gentle smile.
Liu Ning blushed, but her heart was put at ease.
Yan Xiangu anxiously asked, “Libationer, what happened here?”
“There was a spatial crack earlier. A monster from another world tried to descend…” Zu An roughly explained the situation to them. Those present here were the top leaders of the empire, and he would require their cooperation for his future plans. Thus, there was no need to hide the truth from them.
“What?” Yan Xiangu and Liu Ning fell silent, but the others broke out into a commotion. They doubted the credibility of Zu An’s words, as it was inconceivable to them how their peaceful world would suddenly be invaded by monsters.
Ji Dengtu interjected, “Zu An’s words are true. My daughter and I witnessed it as well…”
They shared how they were chased by monsters on the mountain over the last few days, as well as what they had just witnessed a moment ago.
Yan Xiangu walked up to the War Priest’s carcass and inspected it, saying, “This monster isn’t from our world. There are no records about it.”
The crowd was forced to accept Zu An’s words as the truth.
“We should first deal with that spatial crack,” Zu An said as he flew above Shadowmoon Lake. The lake had calmed down, but a pitch-black crack with a hint of purple aura could be found in its depths, reminiscent of an open eye.
Without waiting for the others to respond, he drew the Tai’e Sword and unleashed a brilliant streak of sword ki into the lake. The lake parted into two, revealing the spatial crack. The sword ki gushed into the spatial crack, making it distort.
Those present here were top-notch experts. They sensed the spatial crack becoming increasingly unstable before eventually collapsing on itself and disappearing into thin air. Even Zu An’s political rivals cheered at the sight.
Only Bi Qi stared at him with fearful eyes. This brat is stronger than I expected. I really mustn’t underestimate him.
Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He still couldn’t shatter the fabric of stable space with his current strength, but the spatial crack had only just formed and was still in an unstable state, so it wasn’t as difficult for him to deal with it. He couldn’t have done the same for the Netherworld Seal, which had existed for many years.
“You mentioned that the War Priest had fighting prowess comparable to you, and that it wasn’t in its strongest state yet. How strong do you think it is among the monsters?” Liu Ning asked with a worried frown.
“It should at least be at the level of a warlord, though it’s definitely not the strongest in its world,” Zu An replied. While the War Priest hadn't shared its background, it wasn't difficult to deduce the details from its tone and way of doing things.
“It wasn’t the strongest one?” Pei Zheng asked worriedly. That devastating aura I sensed earlier was already on par with the strongest earth immortals in our world. This will be tricky to deal with.
“You don’t have to be so worried. They still can’t breach our world’s barrier yet. For the time being, we should be fine as long as we find the spatial cracks in time and destroy them,” Zu An said as she shared his earlier analysis with the others.
The crowd’s grim expressions finally alleviated. Pei Ming chuckled, saying, “It’s lucky that the regent uncovered the monsters’ ploy in advance, so we can make preparations for the future. Otherwise, the consequences could have been dire.”
“I was lucky. The world must have been looking after us,” Zu An said. He wondered if the world’s will was really secretly helping them.
The crowd chuckled. They were living in an era of superstition, after all, so they believed that heaven’s will was behind everything.
Liu Ning cleared her throat and said, “Keep this matter confidential. Chaos will ensue if it’s leaked, and we could end up collapsing to internal strife before the monsters invade. General Zhao, mobilize your soldiers to seal off Copper Gong Mountain. No one is allowed to approach this area until we clean it up.”
“Lord Bi, you’ll stop the people from major clans who have rushed here after receiving the news.”
“Lords Pei, you’ll investigate potential appearances of similar spatial cracks elsewhere.”
“Master Yan, we’ll need your help with rune formations and the mobilization of the academy’s students all over the world.”
The crowd was impressed listening to the empress’ orderly arrangements.
Finally, Liu Ning turned to Zu An and said, “Regent, based on what I've heard, the Fiend races are also resisting the monsters in a sealed land. You have close ties with them, so is it possible for you to be a bridge between us to negotiate an alliance to deal with the common enemy here?”
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