Chapter 704: Astonishing Harvest

Chapter 704: Astonishing Harvest

A soul attack was transmitted through the Destiny Voidscape, the virtual aspect of heaven and earth. Its speed in any spatial dimension was a staggering million times faster than light! In essence, unless one was beyond the target's Voidspace reflection range or couldn’t be detected, escaping such an attack was nearly impossible.

Boom! This powerful soul attack launched from tens of millions of li away struck Wu Yuan almost instantaneously, causing his soul to shake violently.

Hum~ Above Wu Yuan's mana body and soul essence, a purple jade disc revolved. It suddenly flared with brilliant light. Combining with his soul, it unleashed its might, blocking the incoming soul attack.

The purple jade disc was a low-grade celestial artifact that protected one's soul. Wu Yuan’s mana body had brought it along on expeditions after his soul's metamorphosis.

Hum~ The soul attack persisted relentlessly, but Wu Yuan's soul defense proved even more formidable, successfully resisting it.

To execute such a powerful soul attack, the attacker likely possesses the strength of an Astral Lord. Wu Yuan was astonished despite fending it off. This Archimmortal’s power has reached the Astral Lord-level? And he was aiming to annihilate my soul.

Directly obliterating an enemy's soul was extremely difficult. Even for fellow mana bodies, it was incredibly challenging for an Archimmortal to destroy a High Immortal's soul outright. Usually, one had to be exceptionally skilled in soul attacks to accomplish such a feat.

Of course, merely disrupting the opponent or causing momentary soul disorientation was far easier.

Which Archimmortal is this? I don't recognize him. Wu Yuan sensed the attacker's vital aura and committed it to memory.

He hadn't encountered this individual before. Though he had been exploring the Snowlight Mist Realm, Wu Yuan only spent around a century here and had only met a handful of Archimmortals during this time.

Since he wasn’t a core member of any of the Dao Realm's nine major factions, he lacked access to information on various powerful figures across the realm.

“Haha, I'll remember this grudge. Rest assured, I will pay it back in the future.” Wu Yuan's voice rang out, echoing through the air.

Flee! Wu Yuan's speed remained unaffected.

Simultaneously, the flow of time shifted, rapidly accelerating to four times the speed of light. In a single second, he could traverse millions of li, escaping like a bolt of lightning.

Wu Yuan had no intention of engaging in combat. In a direct confrontation, without the Genesis Divine Pillar, Wu Yuan could barely match a first-stage Archimmortal. Facing a powerful Archimmortal was pure suicide.

Moreover, having just acquired the Black Devil Star, Wu Yuan's top priority was to safely deliver it to his true self.

...

Hearing Wu Yuan's voice and witnessing his escape, a hint of bewilderment appeared in the eyes of the white-robed Archimmortal, who was currently plunging down from a glacier. He blocked it completely? It didn’t affect him at all?

As a sixth-stage Archimmortal, his direct combat prowess wasn't exceptionally terrifying, but he excelled in soul attacks. The previous strike was delivered with his full power. Theoretically, any mana body below a Fourth Tribulation High Immortal would have insufficient soul strength to resist it, and would be instantly annihilated.

In his view, although the Spacetime Sword Immortal's talent was inconceivable, he was still merely an Earth Immortal. His soul strength likely matched that of a High Immortal at best.

Even with a low-grade celestial artifact guarding his soul, he should have been greatly affected, if not killed outright. At least, his speed should have plummeted.

Could it be that he possesses a mid-grade celestial soul defense artifact? The white-robed Archimmortal's eyes flickered as he speculated.

Low-grade celestial artifacts generally ranged in value from over a thousand divine crystals to tens of thousands, and were typically wielded by High Immortals and ordinary Archimmortals.

Mid-grade celestial artifacts, even the most common ones, were worth at least hundreds of thousands of divine crystals. The most expensive could reach tens of millions of divine crystals. Usually, only Astral Lords could afford them.

Their value was determined by their function. Items used purely for physical attacks like flying swords and sabers were the cheapest, while special celestial artifacts used for soul attacks or spacetime manipulation were the most expensive.

Soul defense celestial artifacts? Though not the most costly category, they were still extremely valuable.

A mid-grade celestial soul defense artifact is worth millions of divine crystals at least. The white-robed Archimmortal's eyes flashed with greed.

His entire fortune, accumulated over countless years of expeditions, barely approached ten million divine crystals.

Little did he know that Wu Yuan's soul rivaled that of an Archimmortal, and his mana body's soul was also exceptionally powerful. Even with just a low-grade celestial soul defense artifact, he could withstand the Archimmortal's soul attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two rapidly left the group of High Immortals and High Deities behind, beginning a high-speed chase. No one dared to follow and observe the battle.

The environment of the Myriad Mountains Ice Plain was harsh and populated with towering mountains. The white-robed Archimmortal pursued with all his might, even resorting to paying a great price to employ a powerful secret art, but still couldn't catch up to Wu Yuan. The distance between them grew increasingly larger.

Finally, Wu Yuan abruptly dove into a crevasse in an ice layer, taking advantage of the Myriad Mountains Ice Plain's unique environment which hindered the Archimmortal's soul detection abilities.

...

The Hundred Mysteries Palace, one of the nine major factions of the Dao Realm which had a Sovereign presiding over it, occupied a vast region within the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm.

In a special plane within the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm belonging to the Hundred Mysteries Palace, a figure clad in white robes appeared out of thin air. After reviewing several reports, he wasted no time making his way to a majestic hall.

"Greetings, Astral Monarch!" The white-robed figure stood in the grand divine hall, bowing respectfully.

"Jing Qu, you said you had an important matter to report? What is it?" A figure in black armor sat on the throne at the far end of the divine hall. He emanated a vast aura, waves of oppressive pressure sweeping out from his body.

Even within the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm, the Astral Monarch exerted immense power. His gaze was calm.

As an Astral Monarch, he ruled over vast territories with tens of thousands of Archimmortals under his command. Only the Astral Lords, who possessed eternal lifespans, were worth some attention.

As for ordinary Archimmortals? With lifespans of merely a hundred million years, they died in batches over the long years, and he hardly paid them any mind. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for them to even catch a glimpse of him.

Of course, Archimmortal Jing Qu was very close to the Astral Lord phase, and coupled with his claim of having important news to deliver, the Astral Monarch naturally didn't mind granting an audience.

However, if he detected any deception, severe punishment would undoubtedly follow.

"Astral Monarch, I've discovered traces of a Black Devil Star," Archimmortal Jing Qu quickly reported.

"A Black Devil Star?" A cold glint flashed in the black-armored Astral Monarch's eyes. "Is this true?"

"It's absolutely true. It's in the Snowlight Mist Realm," Archimmortal Jing Qu hurriedly continued. "Here's the battle footage."

With a wave of his hand, a projection appeared, showing the entire process of Wu Yuan's mana body engaging in combat with High Immortal Zhuo Hao's true self.

As the projection ended, Archimmortal Jing Qu swiftly recounted the events once more.

"Spacetime Sword Immortal? A member of the Spacetime Island?" The black-armored Astral Monarch murmured softly, seemingly lost in thought.

The great hall fell silent.

Archimmortal Jing Qu waited anxiously but respectfully. After another fruitless attempt at searching, he had immediately decided to report this matter.

The appearance of a Black Devil Star was of great importance! According to the publicized rules of the nine major factions in the Dao Realm, it was indeed a forbidden item. No powerhouse was allowed to use it freely.

Archimmortal Jing Qu understood that capturing Wu Yuan was beyond his capabilities alone.

What he didn't know was that the Astral Monarch had already sent a sliver of consciousness to a special plane within the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm.

...

The sky in this place was filled with purple flames, as if it were a world of fire.

"Great Sovereign." The black-armored Astral Monarch appeared and bowed deeply.

"Ya Hei, what brings you here?" A cold voice resonated from within the endless purple flames, and a blurry figure began to coalesce in the sky, bearing down on the black-armored Astral Monarch. Yet its face remained indiscernible.

“I’m here regarding a member of the Spacetime Island, known as the Spacetime Sword Immortal. His mana body is currently fleeing with a Black Devil Star,” the black-armored Astral Monarch said respectfully. "Given his talent, he's likely the most valued prodigy of the Spacetime Island, possibly even someone who has caught the Dao Master's attention.

If he intends to visit the Black Devil Blood Hollow, his true self will certainly proceed there. If our Hundred Mysteries Palace were to pursue him with full force, it might endanger his life.

What should we do? I humbly seek the Sovereign's guidance," the black-armored Astral Monarch said respectfully.

"Is this all you came for?" The cold voice echoed from within the endless purple flames. "Remember, you absolutely cannot trespass onto the Spacetime Island, but outside of it, no one will interfere. You may use any means necessary.

If you want the Black Devil Star, then feel free to take action. Even if the Dao Master values him, should you truly kill him, you won't be held responsible. It can only be blamed on his inability to withstand the hardships of tempering.

Moreover, you should be aware that if the Dao Master truly cares for someone, he can even bring the dead back to life by reversing time.

Now go! Don't bother me with such trivial matters again." A hint of anger seeped into the cold voice.

Boom! As if heaven and earth were shattering, Astral Monarch Yai Hei's wisp of consciousness was instantly expelled from this immortal voidrealm plane.