The Stars Beyond

Chapter 248: Catastrophe From The Immortals

Chapter 248: Catastrophe From The Immortals

The man rose to his feet, emerging from the pitch-black canyon to be greeted by the fierce sun. He staggered slightly, murmuring to himself, "My soul has been severely wounded. Having absorbed the yin energy on a rainy night, I'm now feeling unwell under the impact of the sun's fiery essence."

With a swift motion, he soared into the air, intent on finding his true bones. The woman followed him closely, and together they flew under the scorching sun.

Eventually, they landed in a vast mountain range thousands of miles away. This place bore traces of its original inhabitants, but it had long been deserted.

The man was a human of this planet. Under the protection of a powerful being he followed, he had endured a thunderous ordeal that shattered his body, leaving behind only a spiritual essence that entered a world beyond the veil.

In essence, if left to his own devices, he would most likely have perished completely, leaving nothing behind. The saying "when one achieves enlightenment, even their pets ascend to heaven" holds some truth. It was because of the unparalleled strength of that peerless being that those around him could also transform and ascend.

At the summit of a great mountain, amidst ancient woods and thickets, the man used his psychic power to part the vines and clear the thorns, finally uncovering the rubble below.

The former site of cultivation had long been abandoned, its history faded and weathered. He sighed, wondering how many years had passed. Over two thousand years had elapsed, and all the people from his past life were no longer to be seen.

He was momentarily lost in thought, recalling the mountain of his youth, where he grew up learning with other children, his fellow disciples, and the elderly. They had all vanished into the mists of time, their graves nowhere to be found.

Overwhelmed with emotions, he hadn't felt this way in many years. His dear senior sister had once tearfully seen him off on his journey, watching him leave their sect.

The last time he returned, on the eve of his ascension, she had already passed away. Now, as he stood there, her vivid image appeared before him. After more than two thousand years, her memory remained fresh in his mind.

"If one does not become immortal, everything turns to smoke and dust. And yet, having attained immortality, one longs to escape. When the grand curtain falls, all things wither. It's pitiful, lamentable, and tragic."

Zhou Chong began digging through the rubble, unearthing an underground palace. Inside, he found a jade box containing a small fragment of skull bone, still active, with a flicker of life emanating from its charred interior.

However, Zhou Chong's expression suddenly changed. Who had tampered with his bones?

When he had returned to undergo his tribulation, this place had already been abandoned. His gentle senior sister, his fellow disciples, and his masters and uncles had all perished.

Now, to his shock, he discovered that the bone had been gnawed by some creature, leaving only half of it behind, stripped of much of its vital energy. It was no longer as potent as he had imagined.

"Why would someone only eat half and leave the rest?" Zhou Chong's face darkened with frustration and anger, but he had no target for his wrath, unaware of who was responsible.

Studying the underground palace, the jade box, and the true bone, he meticulously examined the traces around him. It seemed that someone had been here within the last hundred or two years.

"A hundred years ago, were there any special events on this new star? Did any powerful transcendents appear?" Zhou Chong inquired.

Yuan Hong, clad in dark red armor, shook her head and replied, "I've only recently awakened from the nurturing Peach Wood of Souls and am unaware of events from over a century ago."

Zhou Chong placed the fragmented true bone into his soul body. Instantly, blood-red filaments spread from the charred bone, intertwining and spreading.

He produced a jade pot, from which a stream of supermatter flowed, absorbed by the blackened bone fragment. On his soul body, the blood threads spread further, increasingly intertwining to outline a faint blood-colored figure.

True fleshly rebirth was no easy feat. His current forced attempt was actually detrimental in the long run, but it was a necessity.

"Let's go!" Zhou Chong commanded, and they instantly took to the sky.

They were thousands of miles from Sun Family's Kongning City, but for beings like them, such a distance was trivial.

Yuan Hong warned, "Now that you've nourished your true bone with blood energy, your strength has significantly increased. However, your partial blood form could be detected by scanners. In this era, humans wield powerful forces like warships. A direct hit would be disastrous."

"Troublesome!" Zhou Chong frowned. This was no longer the era from over two thousand years ago; even ordinary humans could now grievously harm him, a lesson he'd learned harshly at Yuan Chi Mountain just three days ago.

He retracted the true blood back into the bone, planning to reveal his blood form only when necessary to interact with the Soul Locking Bell and the God-Slaying Flag.

Under the blazing sun, they entered Kongning City early.

After circling the Sun Family's residence four times and observing carefully, Zhou Chong's expression changed. He identified a palm-sized golden flag as the legendary God-Slaying Flag, lost since ancient times.

"A rare divine artifact, specialized in killing primordial spirits. Over the ages, the number of peerless beings who've perished under this small flag is at least a handful," Zhou Chong remarked, surprised to witness it in this era.

Yuan Hong nodded, "When I first saw it, I couldn't believe it either. It's one thing for other treasures to appear, but the emergence of this legendary item in these special times is quite eerie."

Zhou Chong frowned, "Even with my true bone, attempting to seize the God-Slaying Flag is extremely dangerous, as I'm not in my true fleshly form. I must first subdue the Soul Locking Bell and use it to touch the flag, then swiftly take it away. Things will be easier once I regain my fleshly body."

"The Soul Locking Bell is also terrifying, easily snatching away a person's three souls and seven spirits," Yuan Hong added.

"At least the Soul Locking Bell is somewhat predictable. The God-Slaying Flag is too aberrant and terrifying. Historically, its owners didn't possess it for long. We must be cautious."

......

The resounding clang of a bell woke Wang Xuan from his afternoon nap. Startled, he wondered, "Is that woman so bold as to attack in broad daylight, under the clear sky?"

Sensing an extraordinary presence, he realized a more powerful soul body had appeared. Had an Immortal arrived?

Wang Xuan calmed his mind, maintaining a serene mental state to observe the situation at the Sun family's residence without projecting his spirit. As a transcendent being, he could perceive soul bodies in the physical world. He spotted a mysterious man.

This man's spiritual body was terrifyingly powerful, far surpassing the woman in the dark red armor. Had he reached the level of carefree wandering? If not, he was undoubtedly close to it.

The man, brimming with vigor, directly employed his divine powers to seize the bell. Under the bright sun, this was nothing short of a supernatural spectacle.

As the bell resounded, a bone surfaced, covered in blood-red filaments. Transforming into a blood shadow, the man radiated blood-colored symbols, attempting to refine the silver bell.

Clang!

After a violent tremor, the silver bell exploded the blood shadow, scattering droplets of blood, to Yuan Hong's horror.

The man, a being from beyond the veil, had his true blood dispersed by the Soul Locking Bell!

In the next moment, the true bone shone brightly, and the scattered blood reversed its course, reforming the blood shadow. However, his soul body had suffered damage, a fraction shattered by the bell's vibrations.

"You said there was something odd about the Sun family, and indeed, someone is hiding inside this Soul Locking Bell, trying to refine it!" Zhou Chong said to Yuan Hong, his face grim.

He had just entered the mortal realm and was already educated harshly, injured upon assaulting the Sun family!

In his hotel room, Wang Xuan was startled. The man's spiritual fluctuations were familiar, matching the roar of the Immortal from the night Yuan Chi Mountain was destroyed.

An Immortal had descended to the mortal world!

Though Wang Xuan sensed the gravity of the situation, he also felt that this man was not as strong as he had imagined.

"Demons and evil spirits, begone!" Zhou Chong's voice was icy with murderous intent. "To think of sacrificing another's primordial spirit to refine this bell, how malevolent!"

As he spoke, Zhou Chong summoned several powerful artifacts: a snow-white ruler, a blue ethereal shield, a flying sword, and notably, a powerful talisman that he affixed directly onto the silver bell.

Then, he extended a blood-colored hand towards the bell, dominantly intending to seize it.

"Hold your anger, Daoist friend. I mean you no harm. I am trapped inside this bell, and to save myself, I ventured here with two souls and six spirits. I attempted to refine this bell only for self-preservation."

From afar, in the hotel, Wang Xuan knew who was hidden within the bell – the traitor, entrenched inside the Soul Locking Bell. However, the situation differed from what Mr. Ghost had claimed. The traitor's three souls and seven spirits had largely entered the bell, and he was actively trying to refine it.

Wang Xuan had harbored doubts from the start. Now, it seemed clear that this suspicious character harbored malicious intentions. Anyone attempting to rescue him would undoubtedly become a sacrifice to refine this rare and strange treasure.

"Cursed traitor!" Wang Xuan thought, a cold glint in his eyes.

Zhou Chong coldly retorted, "What a joke. Do you really think I'm clueless? Just now, you clearly attempted to use the bell for sacrifice. Had you not been trapped, you might have succeeded."

Mr. Ghost responded, "Fellow Daoist, I acted in self-defense, unsure of whether you were friend or foe. Now that we've clarified our intentions, how about we let bygones be bygones?"

Zhou Chong ignored him. The talisman he had attached to the bell glowed, visibly weakening the silver ripples emanating from it. He reached out with his blood-colored hand to seize the bell.

Yuan Hong was shocked by the man's strength from beyond the veil, almost succeeding in sealing the silver bell. She cautioned, "Be careful!"

Zhou Chong replied, "The bell has only activated its first layer of runes. Had the second layer revived, I wouldn't have come. Even with true blood covering my soul body, I couldn't withstand its bell waves."

"Daoist friend, let me out and the bell is yours. I relinquish it," Mr. Ghost offered from within.

"Who are you? Are you connected to the beings beyond the veil?" Zhou Chong inquired, not releasing him. Extending his blood-colored hand across the void, he began to pull the Soul Locking Bell from the Sun family's secret vault.

"If you don't let me go, I'll risk everything and activate the second layer of runes with my own sacrifice!" Mr. Ghost threatened.

In the hotel, Wang Xuan gasped in shock. The bell's current display was just the result of its first layer of runes?

The Sun family was in turmoil. The blood-colored hand intruding into their home was shockingly audacious, especially in broad daylight!

Many were trembling in fear at this terrifying spectacle.

One after another, energy beams surged skyward, opening fire on the blood-colored hand!

"Enough!" Zhou Chong's voice was icy as he thought of the Sun family's destruction of the Yuan Chi Mountain passage. His endless rage exploded, and with another blood-colored hand, he struck towards several members of the Sun family.

Instantly, six direct descendants of the Sun family burst open, annihilated both in body and spirit.

Zhou Chong carefully avoided a particular area, not daring to strike in the direction of the God-Slaying Flag. Even though it had only revived one layer of runes, he kept his distance.

"An invasion by a transcendent, this is unforgivable!" someone from the Sun family shouted in anger.

As Zhou Chong ferociously held onto the large bell, intending to retreat, he once again swung his other blood-colored hand, capturing several of the Sun family's high-ranking members. With a forceful squeeze, they were reduced to bloody pulp.

Boom!

An energy cannon struck Zhou Chong, causing him to stagger backward. At this stage, he was wary of the super-energy beams, his blood splattering from the impact.

"How dare mere mortals challenge an Immortal?" Zhou Chong sneered, retreating with the Soul Locking Bell. He was hit again by an energy cannon, his true blood splattering but then reassembling.

In the hotel, Wang Xuan watched coldly. He had no sympathy for the Sun family, but such behavior from an immortal was distasteful. What right did they have to disdain the mortal world?

Regardless, today he intended to obtain powerful trump cards – the ancient golden bamboo slips from the pre-Qin era and the God-Slaying Flag were his targets.

If he could silently eliminate both the Immortal and the Sun family, that would be even better.

"The calamity of the Immortal has finally emerged," a centenarian elder of the Sun family growled. "Initiate the mothership restart plan!"

"Are we really going through with such a plan? The uncertainties are terrifying," someone said tremulously, hesitating as they watched the blood figure retreat.

"Restart it! They've come killing to our doorstep, what is there to hesitate about? This generation lacks courage! So what if he's an Immortal?!" the elderly man barked furiously.