As soon as these words were spoken, many of the ninth-rank strong ones present felt slightly relieved.
Even though there were only a few hundred ninth-rank strong ones gathered here at this moment, in reality, the number of ninth-rank strong ones in the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm being hunted by human civilization easily numbered in the thousands.
The total number even approached ten thousand.
The majority were from the grand alliances of the peak races,
The rest were lone individuals who bore grudges against human civilization.
With thousands or nearly ten thousand ninth-rank strong ones, even if pursued by tenth-rank beings, a few would survive by scattering and fleeing. Let alone when faced with the Milky Way Star Lord?
Moreover, the environment in the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm is unique, suppressing many spatial techniques, making teleportation and instant movement impossible.
Previously, that human civilization member Xilan, who had only opened several hundred thousand layers of space, managed to hold out for three years against Huny, a special ninth-rank being who had opened over thirty million layers of space.
This is quite telling.
Indeed, Xilan's evolutionary path was special, particularly suited for escaping.
But did the many ninth-rank strong ones here lack such means? Strongest evolutionary paths? Which peak race doesn't have such paths?
"Everyone, the Milky Way Star Lord is indeed unbeatable, but that doesn't mean we have to let the humans slaughter us."
A ninth-rank Insect Race member stood up and said, "Our race has paid the price to invite the Son of the Tree World into the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm to counter the Milky Way Star Lord."
"My race has also paid the price to invite the Dragon Scale King into the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm to counter the Milky Way Star Lord."
"My race has also..."
One after another, ninth-rank strong ones from the peak races spoke up.
The announcements greatly boosted the morale of the gathered ninth-rank strong ones.
The Son of the Tree World, hailing from the mysterious cosmic secret realm 'Tree World,' the Tree World is ruled by a being known as the Mother of the Tree World.
The Mother of the Tree World is a rare special lifeform, an eleventh-rank peak existence, and the entire Tree World is, in strict terms, her body.
The Mother of the Tree World has a child named the Son of the Tree World. In the vast cosmos, the Mother and Son of the Tree World are the only ones of their kind.
Thus, both the Mother and Son of the Tree World are extremely powerful, with terrifying innate abilities.
The Mother of the Tree World guards the Tree World, and even the Strongest Ones are reluctant to attack, as it would be pointless.
With her strength, although the Mother of the Tree World isn't a match for the Strongest Ones, she has some means of resistance, at least enough to threaten the collapse of the Tree World before the Strongest Ones.
Thus, even if the Strongest Ones were to strike, they would gain nothing.
Moreover, the Mother of the Tree World voluntarily submitted to the Insect Race, offering a pound of Tree World Liquid every ten thousand years, which is why she has survived until now.
The Son of the Tree World is currently a ninth-rank being, and given the Mother of the Tree World's terrifyingly long lifespan, the Son has remained at the ninth rank for tens of millions of years.
So normally, the major cosmic races wouldn't even consider the Son of the Tree World as a ninth-rank being because they simply don't belong in the normal ninth-rank category.
As for the Dragon Scale King, it is a similar existence to the Son of the Tree World.
"The Mother of the Tree World?"
"And the Dragon Scale King?"
"These are legendary ninth-rank beings, not within the realm of normal ninth-rank life."
The ninth-rank strong ones began whispering to each other, their confidence growing.
Whether it was the Mother of the Tree World, the Dragon Scale King, or others, their lifespans were terrifyingly long. The entire lifetime of a normal ninth-rank being might not compare to just a few of their periods of closed-door cultivation.
So if they were considered in the same category as normal ninth-rank lifeforms, it would be unfair to the others.
"With these reinforcements, what threat does the Milky Way Star Lord pose?" The ninth-rank Insect Race member looked at the many strong ones, sending out a heavy mental wave.
He exchanged glances with the other strong ones from the peak races.
The reason their races paid such a high price this time was partly to ensure they gained something from this venture into the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm and partly to preserve their avatars.
While avatar techniques are semi-public secret arts among the major races, the cost of recreating an avatar after its death is not insignificant.
If so many ninth-rank strong ones were to perish in the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm, even if only their avatars, it would still have a considerable impact on the major races.
Finally, the peak races wanted to test the true strength of the Milky Way Star Lord.
When the Milky Way Star Lord killed Huny earlier, it was a complete instant kill, and apart from knowing that the Milky Way Star Lord was very strong and had opened at least a 100M layers of space, they knew nothing.
Inviting these legendary ninth-rank beings to take action this time was to determine the Milky Way Star Lord's limits.
While the Strongest Ones might not care much about the Milky Way Star Lord, the tenth and eleventh-rank strong ones were very interested.
Because in the distant future, they might face the Milky Way Star Lord in battle on a large alien battlefield.
Since they were destined to fight the Milky Way Star Lord one day, they naturally wanted more information about him.
Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm.
Outer Area.
Within a wide canyon, thousands of ninth-rank aliens had already been forced into this place.
As for outside, hundreds of human civilization evolvers were maintaining the blockade.
To have hundreds of ninth-rank strong ones blockading thousands or tens of thousands of ninth-rank strong ones? It seemed like a fantasy. The individual strength of the two sides wasn't much different, and in terms of numbers, the blockading side was outnumbered by ten times.
But this was the reality.
Because of the deterrence of the Milky Way Star Lord, no ninth-rank alien dared to resist or hesitate.
What if resisting led to the Milky Way Star Lord's arrival? Wouldn't that be a death sentence? Indeed, in the minds of all the ninth-rank aliens, the Milky Way Star Lord couldn't possibly kill all of their thousands or tens of thousands of members.
But if the Milky Way Star Lord was determined to kill, he might not be able to kill them all, but he could definitely kill a few hundred.
No ninth-rank alien wanted to be among those few hundred.
So, faced with the human evolvers' siege, even if the other side was weaker, the ninth-rank aliens would flee if they could, not daring to fight back.
Outside the canyon.
Doko and several other special ninth-rank members of human civilization were also observing the distant canyon.
"We can only suppress them to this point. If we press further, it will force these aliens to resist," said a special ninth-rank member of human civilization.
These ninth-rank aliens had been hunted to this point without daring to fight back.
This wasn't just because they feared the Milky Way Star Lord but also because they had a way out.
But now?
All the aliens had been cornered in the canyon, and the many layers of space were also sealed.
These ninth-rank aliens had no way out. If they were pressed further, it would only incite them to resist.
"As I expected, this trip to the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm has become even more interesting."
Lin Yuan took a step forward, his figure stretching across layers of space as if spanning the entire canyon.
The expressions of the Son of the Tree World and the Dragon Scale King changed slightly.
"Even after seeing you in person, I'm still disappointed," Lin Yuan said casually, "Because even with you two here, the end result won't change."
"All of you, prepare to die."
Lin Yuan's tone was calm, but his words carried an air of certainty, like an ironclad law.
"None of you will be able to escape"
He kept the number of space layers around 200M.
The number of space layers couldn't increase, but that didn't mean Lin Yuan couldn't use other means.
For example, the Mysterious Emperor Strike.
Having mastered the first stage of the Mysterious Emperor Strike, Lin Yuan could double the power of each strike.
This power didn't come from the space layers but was specially augmented, and only doubled—not too exaggerated.
The truly abnormal aspect of the Mysterious Emperor Strike wasn't the magnitude of the increase. Even in its most perfected state, the increase was only fivefold.
It was the ability to maintain a "constant" state.
Any strike could maintain the corresponding multiplier, which was the most precious aspect of the Mysterious Emperor Strike.
But to confirm this, one would have to battle Lin Yuan for several years, even decades, otherwise, it would be impossible to notice.
If it were just one or two strikes, the most one could deduce was that he used some kind of explosive power secret technique.
Boom!
With the Mysterious Emperor Strike augmenting his attacks, Lin Yuan's strikes underwent a qualitative change. The Son of the Tree Realm and the other three special ninth-rank beings were immediately overwhelmed and began to retreat.
"The Milky Way Star Lord wasn't even going all out when he killed Huny?"
"This is terrifying. The Son of the Tree Realm and the others are being forced back by the Milky Way Star Lord!"
"It's over. We probably won't make it out alive."
In the canyon, the numerous ninth-rank aliens suddenly realized the dire situation.
"200M layers of space, and he's mastered a secret technique that doubles his power?" The leading ninth-rank Insect Race being observed carefully.
Finally, he came to a conclusion.
"This must be the true strength of the Milky Way Star Lord. As long as we can determine his strength, no matter the cost, it will be worth it."
The ninth-rank Insect Race being thought silently.
Only by determining the opponent's specific strength could they make targeted preparations in the future.
Otherwise, they might repeat the scene on the alien battlefield, where the Tianyu Race kept sending their undefeated eighth-rank beings, one after another, to deliver ninth-rank treasures to the Milky Way Star Lord.
Far away from the canyon.
The numerous ninth-rank beings watching were stunned.
"The Milky Way Star Lord... The Milky Way Star Lord is incredibly strong."
"He's pushing back the Son of the Tree Realm and the Dragon Scale King so severely"
"It's unimaginable."
One by one, the ninth-rank beings trembled. Even from a great distance, they occasionally felt the terrifying aftermath of the battle that made their scalps tingle.
One could imagine the immense pressure on those near the battlefield or facing the Milky Way Star Lord.
Boom!
The layered power of space, further enhanced by the Mysterious Emperor Strike, turned into one terrifying blow after another, forcing the Son of the Tree Realm and the other three beings into a miserable retreat.
Bang!
At that moment, one of the beings' bodies exploded and perished on the spot.
Of course, the one who perished was just an avatar entering the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm. Whether it was the Son of the Tree Realm or the Dragon Scale King, they had only sent their avatars.
"We can't escape."
The Son of the Tree Realm sighed inwardly. Even with their combined strength, they were barely holding on against the Milky Way Star Lord. Now that one of them had died, there was no hope left.
In the canyon below, the ninth-rank Insect Race being saw that the situation had no chance of turning around.
So he turned to the numerous ninth-rank aliens behind him and said, "Everyone, the Milky Way Star Lord is ruthless. If we stay here, we'll eventually die at his hands."
After seeing the expressions on the faces of the numerous ninth-rank aliens, the ninth-rank Insect Race being continued:
"In that case, why don't we directly enter the inner and core areas? Those areas are much larger than the outer region, and it's basically impossible for the human evolvers to set up a blockade in the inner and core areas."
Upon hearing this, the numerous ninth-rank aliens present immediately understood.
Rather than die at the hands of the Milky Way Star Lord or the human evolvers...
It was better to hide in the inner and core areas. Those areas were far larger than the outer area, and it would be impossible for human civilization's evolvers to establish another blockade.
Even if the Secret Realm eventually closed and they were killed by the Secret Realm's power, it would still be better than having their treasures fall into the hands of human evolvers.
Since they were going to die anyway.
Why "aid the enemy"?
"Go, go, go."
"Let's head to the inner area now."
"Yes, even if we die, we can't let human civilization gain anything."
The numerous ninth-rank aliens in the canyon immediately flew towards the inner and core areas.
In the sky above, Lin Yuan crushed the last of the Son of the Tree Realm into pieces, then saw the large number of ninth-rank aliens fleeing towards the inner and core areas.
"The Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm will kill all outsiders in the inner and core areas once it closes. They would rather leave their treasures behind in the Secret Realm than let human evolvers have them?"
Lin Yuan immediately understood the intentions of those ninth-rank aliens.
...
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