"Dare to kill my Eerie Domain Emissaries? Then listen to the silence of extinction!" The eerie voices echoed relentlessly through the space around Lu Xuan, a cacophony of threats and taunts. They were countless, a horrifying buzz like a swarm of insects, like a tide of ants crawling over one's skin.
Ji Fuyao's beautiful eyes narrowed, flickering with spiritual fire as she tried to pierce the endless dark cosmos, searching for the source of the voices. But her vision failed her. All she could feel was the buzzing, like a cloud of mosquitoes, and a prickling sensation on her skin as the sounds invaded her ears. She glanced down at her pale, slender arm, horrified to see ominous marks appearing—brands from the Eerie Race, glowing with a sinister, dark light. Ji Fuyao had been marked! Ye Chen, Xuanji Holy Lord, and Wuwu also looked up, equally unable to pinpoint the Eerie Race's location in the void. Yet, they felt their presence everywhere, an overwhelming sense of dread.
The Eerie Race seemed to be vast in number, lurking in the shadows, all hurtling towards the Fallen Star Sea. Ye Chen couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Master, just how many of the Eerie Race are there in this Star Sea?" Though he couldn't see them, his intuition screamed that their numbers were immense.
"Quite a few," Lu Xuan replied casually. He activated his Insight Eye, sharing the vision directly with Ji Fuyao and the others. The next instant, they were all stunned into silence.
"Terrifying!" Ji Fuyao gasped. "This is just the outer perimeter of the Tai Chu Star Domain, and there are already so many of the Eerie Race!"
Through Lu Xuan's Insight Eye, countless black, eerie black holes appeared across the Star Sea. The Eerie Race had already occupied these Star Seas and Planets, crawling over them like parasitic worms, like maggots devouring a corpse. Dozens! A hundred! Hundreds! There were hundreds of them, at least at the Ancient Ancestor Realm, with a significant number of Heavenly God Realm cultivators among them!
Ye Chen's face paled. "How can there be so many Heavenly God Realm cultivators?!" The previous six Eerie Domain Emissaries had, in their dying moments, triggered some ritual, alerting this vast horde. Now, hundreds of Eerie Domain Emissaries had locked onto the Fallen Star Sea, hurtling towards it. They swarmed, a dense, buzzing mass like wild bees.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
In Lu Xuan's vision, these Eerie Domain Emissaries' forms were horrifyingly clear, each one grotesquely unique. Some were pockmarked and festering, utterly repulsive. Others were blurry, indistinct, not quite humanoid, with three heads and six arms. Some had green blood oozing from their eye sockets, crawling with eerie insects. Still others were covered in red hair, drifting through the cosmos, a truly bizarre sight. This was a legion of utterly mysterious and terrifying beings.
This terrifying sight instinctively made Ji Fuyao draw a step closer to Lu Xuan. They realized now that what they had seen of the Eerie Race before was merely the tip of the iceberg. Ye Chen gazed at the worlds the Eerie Race had abandoned, now riddled with holes, like wood utterly consumed by termites. The Star Seas and Planets within them let out mournful wails and whimpers. Some Heavenly Daos still lingered, pathetic and tragic. Others had formed symbiotic bodies with the Eerie beings, and now, with the Eerie Race temporarily gone, they trembled uncontrollably. Bizarre scenes unfolded before Ji Fuyao and the others.
At this, Ye Chen clenched his fist. "Master, the Eerie Domain must be exterminated! They are nothing but parasites, devouring the cosmos!" As he refined the Fallen Star Sea and perfected its fragmented Great Dao rules, he had sensed its past wounds. Worlds, like children, carried scars that didn't vanish, only hid. The Eerie Plateau had once loomed over the Fallen Star Sea for countless ages, consuming vast amounts of Great Dao rules. If not for Master's sudden reappearance, this Fallen Star Sea would have, like so many others, been utterly destroyed.
Xuanji Holy Lord's eyes blazed with determination. She suddenly looked at Lu Xuan. "Master, after this is over, I wish to go to the Eerie Domain to cultivate." Baili made this decision without a moment's hesitation. Ji Fuyao, Ye Chen, and the others all turned to Xuanji Holy Lord. History was repeating itself. In their previous lives, when the Eerie Plateau first appeared, Xuanji Holy Lord had also turned to cultivating Eerie Power, hoping to shoulder some of the burden for Master. Now, she was making the same choice.
Lu Xuan nodded faintly. "Alright. After the Ling Xu Pill Sect's alchemy convention concludes."
Xuanji Holy Lord tilted her graceful neck, a brilliant smile gracing her lips.
Ji Fuyao stepped forward, placing her jade hand gently on Xuanji Holy Lord's. "Junior Sister," she said, her voice firm, "this life, we'll walk this path with you!"
Slap! Ye Chen added his hand to the stack.
Slap! Wuwu followed suit.
Slap! Slap! Slap! One by one, the disciples' hands piled up: Wuwu, Ah Li, Chen Changsheng, Qingqiu. Finally, Lu Xuan placed his large hand atop Qingqiu's delicate one. In that moment, master and disciples were united in spirit.
Ye Chen recalled words he'd once spoken in the Martial Refinement Emperor's Secret Realm and repeated them now. "One person can walk fast, but a group can walk further!"
Hearing this, Ji Fuyao's eyes grew slightly red and moist. Walk on! Keep walking! In this instant, all seven disciples felt a pang of emotion. There was still such a long road ahead! Endless crises still loomed over their heads. But thankfully, they had Master!
Lu Xuan chuckled softly. "Don't be so sentimental. Everyone will be fine."
Ji Fuyao murmured, "Everyone will be fine."
A moment of silence. Lu Xuan returned to his recliner, settling in with a relaxed air. "These Eerie Domain Emissaries still have some time before they arrive. We'll wait for them."
Ji Fuyao wiped her eyes. "Master, I'll cook." She retrieved a large pot, then, instead of ordinary ingredients, poured a generous bowl of Star Sea Condensation Pearls into it, beginning to prepare a meal. Wisps of cooking smoke began to curl upwards.
The System's voice chimed in Lu Xuan's ear. "Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Annihilate the invading Eerie Race within three days! But..."
"But what?" Lu Xuan asked.
"Be honest," the System retorted, "are you 'card-bugging'?"
Lu Xuan was speechless. Well, yes and no, he thought. I just had my disciples fight six Heavenly God Realm cultivators for three days and three nights. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
The System's notifications continued.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring a massive Cultivation Foundation!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the Ultimate Divine Ability [Full Power State]!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring a Seven-star Heavenly God experience card!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, your Spatial Attainment has increased to Nine-star Divine Venerate Realm!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring a Bronze Ancient Mirror (double-sided mirror)!"
As the notifications faded, an incomparably pure spiritual energy surged into Lu Xuan's body, rushing through him like a mighty river. The familiar tingling sensation returned. Lu Xuan's cultivation instantly stepped into the early stage of One-star Heavenly God Realm!
Boom! Lu Xuan felt his Divine Sense expand to an immeasurable degree. He murmured, "Heavenly God Realm, huh."