Yan Zaizen and Yri flashed through the Dusk Zone. The two were flying through the air at maximum speeds. At times, Yan Zaizen would stretch his fingers and attempt to poke through the spatial void, hoping to penetrate it, but alas, it remained impregnable.
Yri would occasionally glance towards Yan Zaizen, her body emanating grey-colored temporal might. It seemed as if her body was moving through the river of time. At times, it seemed as if she was behind or ahead.
"What just happened?" She asked with a solemn expression. The event just before was abrupt and strange. According to Yan Zaizen, others were trying to simultaneously restrict and penetrate space, which caused that rippling spatial feedback that could unravel an individual's entirety.
Yan Zaizen helplessly sighed after his umpteenth attempt to enter the spatial void failed. His eyes were calm, radiating peerless confidence. If it wasn't for his Dao, his mind would crumble from the Non-Entity's Prophetic Instinct screaming at him of a looming deadly crisis. It was almost as if a banshee was beside his ear shrieking a single word: "RUN!"
"As I said before, too many individuals were forcefully penetrating the spatial lock from the outside. Something was trying to prevent them from entering, but they penetrated through," Yan Zaizen calmly said.
Yri already understood this point, "I know. I meant, why?"
Yan Zaizen frowned, his eyes radiating a baleful intent. Could it be due to his Non-Entity Body? Could they have learned of it and desired to take it from him? This was his only true conclusion. The issue was...he didn't know how they were tracking him.
He could feel the instincts within him increase in intensity, not decrease. That meant his fleeing attempt hadn't done anything but delayed the situation. The Non-Verse was a powerful existence that could regard the world. It knew all and saw all. Even within the entire Heavenly Origin Grounds. As long as there was no negative interference, it could issue him a warning.
The only issue is that, while it can warn, it couldn't communicate too in-depth. He speculated that his body might be of the Non-Entity, but his soul lacked that quality. Therefore, it was incapable of doing anything but tingling his physical senses.
Coming to this conclusion, he felt even more pressed.
He looked towards Yri and calmly said, "There's people after me. Likely for my body. If you separate from me, you'll have a chance to survive."
Yri gazed back at Yan Zaizen. Her eyes lit up with a grey brilliance. "Sure. Take me here and now, and I'll leave." While she sounded like she was joking, her tone was serious to the pinnacle. If Yan Zaizen were to dual cultivate with her to obtain the Dao Heart, she would depart instantly.
Yan Zaizen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Until you do so, you can only pray that you can escape me," Yri said, no longer bothering to ask any more questions. She pressed ahead with a swiftness.
Yan Zaizen sighed. Yri was such a devoted enigma.
He shook off those thoughts as he contemplated a way to escape. He didn't know who was chasing him or how strong they were, but if they came, they must belong to hegemonic forces of the various regions, like the Oneuli Empire. In fact, there were definitely more than two factions.
At least one sealed space to prevent others from entering or exiting the spatial void, and one penetrated that lock.
"Should I stand and fight?" His options were limited. However, he wouldn't rely on that option unless all others were exhausted. For now, he needed to find another spatial gateway to the thirty-three heavens. If he could penetrate it and bring Yri along, he could then enter Hell.
For now, he'll see if this route worked.
-----
Traveling behind Yan Zaizen and Yri were several skyships, and at the forefront of this chase was a silver skyship rippling with spatial might. On the bow of the skyship was an elderly man, thin in body, wearing a loose robe, and had an unfathomably deep gaze. It was as if all of space were trapped within his eyes.
He had silver wings sprouting from his back. They weren't angelic, but demonic. They seemed like thin bat wings from hell, yet their silver shine brought a brilliance to it that made one gawk at the sight.
The other crew members were like the old man, possessing silver wings. However, their wings were all noticeably smaller in size, while the old man's wingspan reached twenty meters in height. They were currently furled, and if they were to be revealed, who knew how long they'd stretch.
A young woman arrived beside the old man, her beauty was astonishing as her black hair with silver highlights brought out her jade-like pale skin and black eyes. "Master Qiankun," she said with a tone suffused with the utmost respect and reverence.
The old man spoke in a withered voice, "The 'Key' is quite fast. To think it could resist and leave that area of spatial rebound. It must be something special."
The young woman was named Qian Li, and she said, "Master Qiankun, the other Celestials have tried to impede our advancement. If we obtain the 'Key' first, wouldn't we struggle to retain it?" Her words were tinged with worry and uncertainty.
The old man remained looking ahead, "You're wrong."
"Wrong?" The young woman was confused.
"Our goal isn't to obtain the 'Key', it is to befriend it." The old man's wizened voice and calm tone caused the young woman to frown in confusion.
To befriend it?
While they had this conversation, on the crimson and black skyship that housed that imperial figure, another conversation was being held.
"Your Majesty, will Master Qiankun actually lead us to the 'Key'? He is a Celestial, after all." A young man, strapping and handsome, wore a crown and regal attire. He seemed like a prince from legends, valiant and befitting.
The middle-aged man with his emperor robe coldly laughed, "Yes. Despite being a Celestial, he's long since been abandoned. He wants nothing more than for the 'Key' to stay out of the Celestials reach. If that wasn't the case, why else would all these hegemonic rulers of their regions follow him without hesitation?
"If it wasn't for him, we would've all been trapped in the spatial void, restricted by the Celestials. It was him who allowed all of us to enter." The middle-aged man, Emperor Bloodfire, said calmly.
The young man, Crown Prince Crimsonblaze, was somewhat startled. He pondered deeply before his eyes brightened with a light of realization.
"He wants to use us to fight against the Celestials!" The Crown Prince exclaimed.
Emperor Bloodfire looked towards this son of his and shook his head in disappointment, "If only it was that simple."
-----
On one of the worldships, there was a world of light, endless and bright. A feminine figure that seemed to originate from the source of all light was standing before a gigantic mirror. This mirror exceeded a thousand meters in height and was circular. The mirror didn't reflect the image before it, but seemed to reveal a different image.
It was of a young man with black hair and amber-gold eyes flying swiftly beside a young woman with grey hair. They were incredibly fast, yet the mirror continued to reveal their actions. They were unable to escape it.
"The 'Key' is finally before us." The woman immersed in boundless light said, her voice echoing infinitely in the distance, as if it traveled at the speed of light instead of sound.
"Praise the light!" The voices of billions emerged simultaneously. Directly behind her figure was billions of individuals, of varying cultivation bases, and yet they were emitting waves of unified belief. The most shocking aspect was that...they were all Celestials!
A figure adorned in heavy armor emanating a dimmer light than the woman arrived before her. He kneeled. "Light Sovereign Queen, we've received a message from Master Qiankun."
The woman didn't turn her gaze from the mirror. "What is it?"
"He said that we should halt our advance," the figure relayed.
"...Halt." She said, her orders rippling endlessly. No one dared to question her word as they worked to halt the gigantic planet-sized worldship that housed billions. In the outside world, the three worldships that had arrived and were hastily following the skyship underwent a change in formation. One of them slowed down until they reached a complete stop.
The other two didn't cease their pursuit, blazing a devastating pathway ahead. Similar to the worldship with a realm of light within, the others had billions of celestials as well. They too received Master Qiankun's advice, yet refused to halt.
For them, they couldn't trust the simple words of an old, forgotten, disgrace of a celestial!
The chase will continue!