Chapter 574: Powerful Enemy from the Void

Chapter 574: A Formidable Foe from the Void

Bull activated a teleportation array to approach the colossal object floating in the starry sky.

As he drew near, he was stunned by what lay before him.

It was a massive creature, its body stretching over ten thousand meters in size.

Its entire form was covered with purple-black energy stripes.

Bull had initially intended to cast magic to dispel the obstruction before him.

Yet upon seeing it, his thoughts instantly scattered.

This was a powerful astral being.

If he rashly launched an attack, he might provoke it and bring about great danger.

As Bull approached, the astral beast also began to stir.

The enormous creature slowly turned, like a mountain range blocking Bull’s path.

Bull felt an overwhelming sense of oppression brought on by the sheer difference in scale.

It was suffocating.

He was utterly bereft of any will to resist.

Only when the giant eye of the astral beast appeared before him did Bull regain his senses.

He immediately turned and fled.

The astral beast slowly opened its mouth, and the surrounding astral dust began to gather toward its maw.

A flash of violet-black radiance erupted.

A beam of violet-black light shot toward Bull.

Silently.

In the astral realm, there was no medium for sound to travel—thus, battles here produced no noise.

Even explosions capable of destroying planets would appear to distant observers as nothing more than dazzling fireworks.

No one could truly feel the devastation or despair such scenes entailed.

At that moment, Bull felt as though he were but an ant.

A single casual attack from the astral beast made him feel completely helpless.

The violet-black beam pierced through Bull’s body, continuing onward until its energy was spent—or until it struck something else.

Li Wei, witnessing Bull being hit by the astral beast’s attack, was startled.

Had Master Bull perished?

Was the astral realm this perilous?

Could a legendary mage vanish so easily?

Soon, he spotted a familiar figure not far away.

Bull stood pale-faced, staring fearfully at the astral beast.

He had used a life-saving technique, teleporting out of the beam’s path just in time to escape death.

His brows furrowed tightly as he gazed at the beast ahead, unsure how to proceed.

If they wished to collect the Flowing Flame, they had to drive this astral beast away.

But with his strength, merely surviving an encounter with the beast would be fortunate—driving it away seemed like a delusion.

Suddenly, a ripple in space emerged nearby.

Li Wei stepped out from a spatial vortex beside Bull.

Glancing at Li Wei, Bull said, “That astral beast is blocking the way. It may affect the direction of the Flowing Flame’s dispersion, causing it to fall outside our collection net. That would lead to the failure of our Sunflare retrieval mission. We must find a way to get rid of it.”

Upon hearing this, Li Wei nodded and said, “I’ll give it a try.”

To the astral beast, the two were as insignificant as microbes, unworthy of attention.

Were it not for the faint aura of a legendary mage emanating from Bull, which gave the beast a slight sense of threat, it would have paid them no mind whatsoever.

Once the two kept their distance, the astral beast ceased all movement, remaining motionless in the void.

Though they didn’t know why the beast lingered here,

they now had to find a way to make it leave.

Li Wei fixed his gaze on the beast, locking onto the fine astral dust floating around it.

Some of the dust particles were slightly larger.

Li Wei focused on a pebble the size of a fingernail.

To the astral beast, this pebble was no different from ordinary astral dust.

Affected by the energy field surrounding the beast, the pebble orbited alongside the dust around its body.

As the dust gathered and grew larger and heavier,

the pebble would eventually be drawn down to the beast’s surface,

becoming part of its outer shell.

Li Wei took out a magical crystal and cast a space transmutation spell.

The crystal vanished from his hand, transformed into a fragment formed from dust.

The magical crystal reappeared beside the astral beast.

Due to its weight far exceeding that of the pebble, it was quickly drawn toward the beast by its gravitational pull.

The crystal had been imbued with elemental fusion rules—

transformed into an elemental nuclear bomb.

When it crashed into the beast’s body, the immense energy released from the uncontrolled chain reaction of elemental fusion erupted in full force.

In an instant, a blindingly radiant light burst forth from the beast’s body.

The explosion’s glow even swallowed the beast’s silhouette.

Without air or other mediums to carry it,

even the explosive shockwave failed to propagate outward.

Li Wei and Bull could only see a sudden burst of brilliant light from the beast’s body, unable to perceive the tremendous impact wave generated.

This led Bull to misjudge the power of Li Wei’s attack.

Though the light was dazzling, brightness alone did not indicate strength.

Bull said, “Perhaps even forbidden spells couldn’t harm such a mighty astral beast…”

Scarcely had the words left his lips—

The radiance enveloping the Star Beast gradually dissipated, revealing a body already half-charred to cinders.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"What... what kind of magic was that?"

Bull's face was filled with shock.

Li Wei's gaze slightly sharpened—the Star Beast had not perished despite such a terrifying blow.

The beast let out a mournful cry from within the void.

It was a scream echoing from the depths of its soul.

Both Li Wei and Bull seemed to sense the sorrow and anguish of the creature.

Yet in a daze, it felt as though they heard nothing at all—everything merely an illusion.

Dozens of dark purple energy bands emerged across the wounded Star Beast’s form. After detaching from its body, these bands converged into a single point high above in the void.

Seeing this, Li Wei assumed the beast was preparing some ultimate counterattack.

Just as he readied himself to strike again and finish off the creature once and for all—

A distinctly intense spatial fluctuation rippled through the void.

At the convergence of the dark purple energies, a space vortex slowly opened.

From beyond the vortex emanated an aura so chilling it made one's hair stand on end.

Sensing that ominous presence, Li Wei's expression turned grave—it was the scent of an evil god.

On the other side of the vortex stood a being of demonic divinity.

A figure stepped forth from the swirling gateway.

Once the silhouette crossed over, the vortex gradually shrank and vanished without a trace.

As the terrifying aura permeating the void began to fade, Li Wei exhaled deeply.

Thankfully, it wasn’t truly an evil deity.

Otherwise, he would have had no choice but to consider fleeing.

If confronted by a true evil god, he wouldn’t even be able to spare thought for others—one lucky escape would count as fortune enough.

Worst-case scenario—he’d have to fight the evil god to the death.

Once before, deep beneath Haiyuan City, amid the subterranean seas, Li Wei had grievously wounded such a being.

But that did not mean he possessed the strength to challenge an evil god directly.

That "grievous wound" was only significant from his own perspective—

Merely slowing the advance of the evil god for a moment.

In truth, it posed no real threat to their life.

Even if Li Wei desired to confront them head-on, he might never get the chance.

He looked toward the figure who had emerged through the vortex.

Upon seeing the familiar visage, Li Wei froze momentarily—an inexplicable sense of recognition surged within him.

He recalled having seen a similar shadow long ago upon the Frozen Northern Plains.

Memories flooded back instantly, and suddenly everything became clear.

Including the overwhelming divine aura he had sensed earlier.

The enemy summoned by the Star Beast through the dimensional rift was none other than a denizen of the Void Demonic Race.

When Li Wei journeyed to the Frozen North in search of the Time Secret Realm, he encountered someone attempting to awaken the ancient Ice Emperor.

Entrusted by the Snow Queen, Li Wei set out to prevent the revival of the slumbering monarch.

Ultimately, however, he failed.

Later, he learned that the mastermind behind the awakening attempt was none other than a Void Demon God.

There, too, he met another—a self-proclaimed servant of the Void Demon God named Basam.

Claiming allegiance to the Void Empire, backed by a demon god known as the Void Emperor—an immensely powerful entity.

Eventually, this demonic minion clashed with an Eight-Winged Angel of the Light God, resulting in mutual destruction.

Though not entirely accurate—

Neither died outright; rather, their battle shattered space itself, casting both into chaotic temporal currents where they disappeared without a trace.

Given time, either could likely escape those turbulent flows.

They certainly weren't doomed to perish there.

Although Basam vanished, the troubles he brought spread throughout the Frozen North.

Nearly every living thing there fell victim to parasitic corruption, transforming into monstrous abominations.

Only the City of Ice and Snow remained untouched—a last bastion of safety.

Even then, repeated incursions plagued the city, placing it under constant siege.

All of this stemmed from a single source—the Void Emperor himself.

How could Li Wei ever forget?

Encountering one of the Void Emperor’s minions here in the Astral Realm was indeed startling.

Li Wei couldn’t help but ponder: Had the so-called Void Emperor already reached beyond the borders of Tianqiong World’s Astral Realm?

If so, matters grew dire.

The Void and the Astral Realm were not part of the same continuum.

The Astral Realm consisted of countless world bubbles.

These gathered together formed vast nebulae, galaxies, and star streams.

Such was the nature of the Astral Realm.

Beyond these formations lay immeasurable expanses of empty space.

Distances between nebulae, galaxies, and stellar streams were immense.

The blank regions separating them constituted the Void.

Above the Void resided the Divine Realm, home to the gods—far removed from mortal worlds.

Why had the Void Emperor dispatched agents to Tianqiong World to rouse the Ice Emperor?

To open a portal leading directly to this world.

For traversing the endless Void and sprawling Astral Realm required eons—even lifetimes might prove insufficient.

Thus, portals became the sole viable path.

But now, Li Wei had encountered minions of the Void Emperor in the Astral Realm beyond the Celestial World.

Did this not mean that the Void Emperor’s vast army was already at the gates?

If that were truly the case, the Void Emperor could launch an invasion of the Celestial World at any moment.

There would be no need to rely on the Ice Sovereign to open a spatial passage.

The Void Emperor could initiate a planar war directly from the Astral Realm against the Celestial World.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Li Wei’s mind.

Yet ultimately, he had to return to the present reality.

He gazed at the Star Beast and the Void Demons.

He more or less understood what was going on.

This Star Beast might very well have been a spatial coordinate placed near the Celestial World by the Void Demons.

It just so happened—unfortunately for it—to lie right in the path where the Elemental Tower collected solar radiance.

That was what had triggered everything.

It was precisely this coincidence that made Li Wei realize the Celestial World might soon face a planar war initiated by the Void Emperor.

Perhaps the Void Emperor hadn’t yet acted because his forces had not yet arrived at the Celestial World.

Or perhaps he hesitated, wary of the fact that the Celestial World still lay under the dominion of the gods.

Daring not easily commence a planar war.

The spatial beacon left by the Void Emperor outside the Celestial World had been attacked.

The Void Demons were growing anxious.

They sent forth a powerful divine servant of a demon god.

No sooner had the divine servant appeared than it locked onto Li Wei and Bull in the distance.

The surrounding area was empty and desolate, with only two human mages present.

There was almost no need to think—it was obvious these two were responsible for what had just occurred.

The divine servant immediately launched an attack on them.

“Void Grasp!”

The divine servant raised one hand, aimed at the space where the two stood, and clenched it tightly.

The space around Li Wei and Bull instantly came under tremendous compressive force.

From afar, their bodies appeared somewhat distorted.

Bull’s face turned pale with panic as he frantically tried to flee the range of the Void Grasp.

If he stayed any longer, he would be crushed flat by the spatial pressure into nothing but pulp.

The divine servant’s eyes remained cold and indifferent, though a trace of bewilderment flickered within.

How could such weak humans have injured the Void Behemoth?

Li Wei cast a Spatial Rending Spell.

The warped space before him cracked open, splitting into a fissure as thick as a finger.

But the enemy’s power was too overwhelming—the spell failed to take effect.

After all, the opponent was a demi-god of the eighth tier, blessed with immense strength bestowed by a demon god.

Far surpassing ordinary eighth-tier demi-gods.

Even the Jade Prince would likely be utterly crushed before such a being.

Only with an arsenal of semi-artifacts could one hope to stand a chance against this divine servant.

Relying solely on raw power, a single strike would be enough for the divine servant to obliterate him.

Such was the terrifying chasm between their strengths.

This divine servant, empowered by a fragment of demonic divinity, had reached the pinnacle of demi-godhood.

Yet even then, it was worlds apart from beings like the Sacred Dragon King or the Dread Dragon King.

The Sacred Dragon King could stand toe-to-toe with true deities.

Naturally, he could effortlessly crush a mere divine servant who possessed only a sliver of demonic power.

In terms of innate strength alone—

Li Wei was utterly insignificant before such a being.

Yet the force he could command far exceeded even the divine servant’s imagination.

Even the Sacred Dragon King had been startled by the power Li Wei displayed.

No matter how strong one’s offense, it meant nothing in the current situation.

Li Wei had to find a way to escape the reach of the Void Grasp if he hoped to retaliate.

Otherwise, he would be crushed to death by a single slap from the divine servant.

Bull employed every escape technique at his disposal, yet none could free him from the grasp.

Even his precious magical item for spatial teleportation had lost its effect.

The Void Grasp not only compressed space—it also sealed all spatial magic in the vicinity.

Trapping those caught within, rendering escape impossible.

Bull’s face flushed red with desperation.

Perhaps it was the high pressure from the spatial compression forcing blood to rush to his head.

He shouted frantically: “Do you have any ideas? Hurry up! I’m about to explode!”

Li Wei, with a physique rivaling that of a legendary dragon, fared slightly better than Bull for the moment.

Though he felt the crushing weight of spatial pressure,

he could still move freely, at least.

He pulled out a magic stone and shoved it into the finger-thick rift he had just torn open in space.

Forcing it in, the stone was sliced into three pieces by the spatial tear.

Bull stared at him in confusion, shouting, “What are you doing?”

Moments later, colorful light began to radiate from within the spatial rift before Li Wei.

A smile crossed Li Wei’s lips.

“Get ready—we’re about to take off!”

(End of Chapter)