Chapter 1658 1651: Aftermath of an Impoverished Galaxy (1)
Tremors. Waves. An explosion. A single event with disastrous calamitous effect left a galaxy, an entire galaxy, shaken and trembling. Heavy tremors rippled through space, time, mana, and light that distorted perception as only a flash of brilliant, blindingly, deafening, and mind-numbing light erupted!
The clash between native Sages and Zhan Jiangwen was outrageously explosive, intense, and stellar-altering, yet the leaders of the No-Name Galaxy, from minor Exalted leaders, those at the Mystic Star Phase, to major leaders at the Mystic Overlord, had acted swiftly to protect their interests from shockwaves while regions banded together to resist and reduce the catastrophic effects seeking to devastating their homes.
While many certainly lost their lives, had their cultivation bases shattered in the attempt, or had dramatic struggles by placing their everything on the line for their homes, the fact remained that the result was minimized to the best extent imaginable.
However, the resulting tremor was unstoppable. Whether you were a newborn infant or a supremely powerful expert, you felt the subdued screeching of an entire galaxy! The No-Name Galaxy was crying!
And it was only the beginning...
The waves upon waves of force that crashed against the galactic shell of the galaxy were like a heavy hammer smashing against creation itself. It distorted the shape of the shell itself.
The eight Sages and countless Ascended beings all conjured the thickest, strongest wards they could muster. Those in control over the protective arrays of a planetary, starfield and stellar region scale activated as the intensity of the explosion, the forewarning tremors of the coming waves through the flow of mana, space, and light came.
Sage Nepri was in control over the God Cage of Eight Directions Array, and she hastily formed over a hundred hand-seals while blood spewed out of her ears, nose, and eyes, yet she remained entirely unhindered by the spasming of her body as her Mystic Soul roared! She directed all available energy into the array, manifesting a gargantuan, galaxy-sized shielding of beautifully rainbow colors, fortifying the galactic shell without caring about the expense.
Controlling and directing such tremendous energy from all over was indescribably difficult. Her entire body began to fissure, cracks forming from her orifices to her body, like a fractured glass object. She barely held on, relying on a golden amulet hanging from her necklace-her Heavenly Treasure.
All of the Sages had drastic reactions as they witnessed the swarm of ferocious power slam against the reinforced galactic shell. The pounding sounds were like stomps of a divinity against their hearts. They felt terrified. They felt utterly insignificant.
The self-detonation of a Sage wasn't too difficult to handle and was certainly not enough to threaten the galaxy, but the sheer strength of this detonation suggested that Zhan Jiangwen hadn't just used his own strength, but relied on galvanizing the treasures he stole. He likely spared no expense to sacrifice everything in a last-ditch attempt at taking his enemies with him, those who foiled his epic plan to strive toward the legendary Resonant Soul Realm.
The level of pettiness exceeded their expectations.
The flash of destructive detonated power was quick, and it dissipated just as quickly, only causing chaos to reign Supreme outside of their galaxy's limits, likely preventing any steady exploration or visitors for a long while.
"He...really did it..."
Sage Pakhet was normally a fierce lioness who could fight with her life on the line fearlessly, yet despair and despondency invaded her heart as she observed the aftermath of that vagabond-thieving cultivator's detonation.
If they hadn't acted quickly, jetting him outside with all they had...
"THAT BASTARD!"
Sage Nepit cursed vehemently, his emotions riled to an extreme. Despite his age, he was teary-eyed and venom-spewing. He had only just got confirmation that his vault had been raided and taken advantage of. His carelessness caused him to lose... everything! And this bastard! This freaking bastard took it with him!
Whoosh!
Sage Hathor flew toward the destroyed region. Her heart was pounding.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The other Sages ignored all else and followed along. They arrived at the edge of the galactic shell, seeing the fragmented specks of time and space. There were abnormal distortions everywhere they looked, deadly and sinister. Just a single glance and they felt that the entire area was volatile to the point of possessing a strong degree of lethality toward them.
A newly created forbidden zone.
This area stretched an entire hemisphere of a galactic shell. Perhaps not even a Resonant Soul Realm's Supreme Sage would have been enough to cause such destructive results.
Sage Khonshu floated in the Dark Void next to Sage Hathor, slapping his hand across his face, dragging it downwards, and inhaling deeply as he allowed all of it to settle within his mind and heart. The exasperation and anger within him was palpable.
"It's almost as if tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of chaosnovas were unleashed all at once. He must have used some sort of ascension art to harness the volatile strength of what he stole, likely amplifying the momentum of their latent energies and essences to emulate them."
Sage Khonshu had always had an analytic mind and keen perception.
Chaosnovas were not a natural celestial phenomenon, but a fascinating art that those at the Heavenly Saint Phase could unleash by using their refined origin state-level mana, imbuing heavenly chaos, and emulating the properties of a supernova. It was destructive to the utmost. Given the Law of Momentum's ability to layer, it wasn't impossible for him to layer chaosnova using volatile materials as fuel to generate greater momentum for that art.
Sage Hathor clenched both her hands into tight fists, to the point her nails drew blood. She was visibly trembling from head to toe, her eyes glistening with a murderous light without a single outlet. She was normally known for her unshakeable calm, and this sight unsettled most of them yet...they all understood.
Slowly yet surely, they each received confirmations that their vaults, even the hidden locations that contained their backups, and even their dummy vaults meant to lure others in and trap a potential thief, which were only stored with enough bait to fool others, every last bit of it was gone.
Everything. Was. Gone.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With Sage Imentet by her side, Luo Ning arrived. Her aura was sputtering out into a weak state and barely had any strength within her. Sage Imentet had to bring her here. When they arrived, there was an eerie silence. Despite the vacuum of space, they could hear the static of the chaotic regions outside the galaxy, the new forbidden zone.
The eight Sages of the No-Name Galaxy were all present, excluding the Sage that was currently visiting the Utmost Purity Galaxy visiting her Dao Companion, Sage River Oasis, and the Sage whose whereabouts was almost always a mystery, Sage Shattered Sphinx. Chances were, even those two Sages had lost everything.
"Chaosnovas..."
Sage Pakhet muttered absentmindedly. It was as if she wanted to tether her thoughts to something tangible to move away from the irresistible reality of the situation. Normally, she was a fierce proponent of handling things with strength and decisiveness, but there was nothing to decide or handle here. All her strength was irrelevant.
All of their strength was irrelevant!
Sage Amunet, who was shrouded in a cloak of mystery in all but gender, started to formulate hand-seals. She was as adept as Oracle Arts, as skilled as World Prophetess Bai from the Utmost Purity Galaxy, and only a few among the galaxy were aware of her grandiose divination skills.
She formed an intangible connection to the world as a mystical hum emanated from her body. Her actions caught the sight of all of the Sages.
Sage Nepit's eyes brightened.
"Right! He might not be dead! There's no way a Sage of his caliber who cultivated for tens of thousands of years would throw it all away without certainty of taking us down with him!"
His words immediately inspired a change in their eyes and hearts. Hope sprung from the depths of despair and loss.
Sage Amunet executed her divination arts several times, and her shrouded figure shook quite a few times. She seemed to be performing several attempts, and with each attempt, the anticipation and hope in their hearts were slowly being chiseled. They guarded Sage Amunet silently, preventing even the faintest of disruptions from affecting her.
Luo Ning observed Sage Amunet curiously. She took a few low-tier, peak-quality Mystic-World products that could rejuvenate her cultivation base and heal internal injuries. She was drinking elixir and popping pills like water and candy as she watched on with a neutral expression. Her actions did not go unnoticed by the seven sets of eyes present, which included all but Sage Amunet.
Her aura noticeably improved at a startling pace. They could all confirm her current cultivation base with their keen senses, and it was far from the Enlightened Sage's aura she emitted earlier. She was only an Earthly Saint, a mere Rune King! Additionally, they sensed her Alchemic Mystic Soul cultivation base. She was a remarkable talent of the Alchemic Dao for certain, especially after reaching such cultivation despite the difficulties her path of cultivation possesses.
Additionally, she was incredibly young and her aura doesn't naturally originate from the No-Name Galaxy. She was a foreigner!
Earlier, Sage Imentet referred to her as Earth-Saint Luo and she had blocked two blows from that mad thief! She exhibited an unnatural strength as an Enlightened Sage and stood her own. Now that she was just devouring precious products far exceeding her cultivation base's needs as if they were water and candy, their curiosity was piqued.
They didn't immediately talk to Luo Ning or ask questions. There was a more pressing matter.
Sage Amunet!
After a little over an hour, Sage Amunet's aura stabilized. The others waited with bated breaths, trying to taper their expectations to the best of their ability, yet hope was tenacious and invasive to the heart.
"...""...""..."
After a solid sixty seconds, Sage Amunet began to speak, and everyone focused their everything on her every word,
"I've convened with the world, consulted with the trend, and scoured for answers..."
"...!"
They could feel their hearts pounding. Not even Sage Pakhet was an exception, but Luo Ning was entirely calm. She was the furthest connected to their troubles, so her serenity was entirely expected. She was obviously the least affected considering nothing of hers was stolen and she had no stakes here and simply assisted her friend to survive. A feat that she accomplished.
"...The world reveals...annihilation. There is nothing that remains of anything. Only annihilation. The thief, our treasured materials, everything was shrouded by annihilation. Everything..."
Every single additional syllable seemed to unwillingly descend into depression.
"So he's just dead? He really...killed himself?"
Sage Nepit was unwilling to believe it.
"And our treasures accumulated over incalculable years...just...gone?"
His tone was childishly baffled. However, no one could blame him. Not only did they lose their treasures, their galaxy's top forces were robbed as well, and
"Makes sense,"
Sage Khonshu released a disheartened sigh that echoed into the soul.
"..." Sage Khepri."..." Sage Hathor."..." Sage Imentet."..." Luo Ning.
"If everything's been annihilated, then we're left with no choice-we need to plan our next step. The chaos of this will extend across our galaxy without mercy,"
Sage Pakhet, the normally fierce lioness, exhibited an unexpected calm as she began to gather her will and pave a way beyond the lightless path ahead of them.
"We'll need to hold a galactic discussion,"
Sage Nepri's hoarse voice echoed through the Dark Void.
A discussion!
None of them disagreed with that suggestion.
-----
Wei Wuyin currently had his feet and ankles dipped into a refreshingly clear blue freshwater lake. The Nexus War Flag floated beside him, emitting a faint glowing light, and within his right hand was a solid globe of white soul light.
"Fortunately, your quintessence wasn't damaged, but I did lose quite a bit of Neo-Dawn Heavenly-Chaos Pellets that I was preparing. Well, that's fine."
While he was speaking, the lights of annihilation flowed within his irises and pupils like a school of fishes. They seemed to wave in and out of his eyes as if infiltrating the void and returning profoundly.
"Sir, my cultivation base had dropped."
A weak voice echoed from the orb, belonging to none other than Zhan Jiangwen.
Wei Wuyin chuckled.
"It's fine. We'll reconstitute your cultivation base, and I'll even improve it a little. After all,"
He looked at his other hand which had a Saint Ring,
"my pockets aren't empty."
Within that Saint Ring were numerous other Saint Rings, and each contained mountains upon mountains of organized treasures ranging from the lowest qi-grade to Mystic-Heaven grade, and others of ancient, unknown origins and grades that needed to be explored.
After inspecting the abundant wealth, he grinned and looked into the sky of this tiny-sized planet.
"Now for the gathering of this galaxy's greatest forces. Let's see how that goes."