Shifting Phantoms of the Laws

With a roar, hordes of Aberrant Elf Race powerhouses charged toward the Gene Warriors in the Misfortune Wilderness.

At the same time, green flames surged and burned around Spark's body, spilling outward and spreading in every direction.

He had never forgotten his true objective — to corrupt the Land of Origin and devour its Cosmic Origin.

When the massive Spatial Rift appeared in the Misfortune Wilderness, similar rifts also emerged in the regions of the Land of Origin belonging to the Mechanical Race, the Elf Race, and the Beast Race.

Powerful War Gods led contingents of Battle Saints and lesser Aberrant powerhouses through the rifts, beginning to corrupt the Land of Origin.

In an instant, Aberrant flames blazed across the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin. In the areas where Spatial Rifts had opened, vast numbers of powerful Aberrant Feral Beasts spawned and began rampaging. Most Gene Warriors who had remained in those regions were besieged, and a great many were killed.

Sky-Mending City.

The mighty aura of a War God, mingled with a terrifyingly sinister presence, spread outward — and even the powerhouses within Sky-Mending City sensed it.

Numerous warriors looked up, gazing in alarm toward the source of the disturbance.

"What's going on? Did I just sense an Aberrant aura? Am I imagining things?"

"...I felt it too. And there's an incredibly powerful presence — is that... War God level?!"

"How is that possible?! How could such a terrifying Aberrant aura exist in the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin? How could there be an Aberrant War God this powerful?"

Shock and disbelief rippled through the crowd.

While everyone exchanged alarmed whispers, Ruoshui — standing beside Nuxing — was the first to react. Her head snapped up as she scanned the surroundings, her deep blue eyes seeming to contain surging tides.

She narrowed her gaze, a flash of cold light crossing it.

"People from an Aberration organization? The Heavenly Calamity Cult and Blood of Machinery have already been destroyed... Is this the Elf Race and the Beast Race?! How did they get here?!"

She glanced at Nuxing, who remained deep in his Laws comprehension and had noticed nothing, then pulled out a Communication Crystal.

The crystal flickered, and soon the image of a beautiful woman with long blue hair appeared.

"My Lady."

The woman greeted Ruoshui.

"Leave the Land of Origin. Notify Kro and Bu Chang — tell them to come in!"

The blue-haired woman looked at Ruoshui with some surprise, but asked no questions. She simply nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

The light on the Communication Crystal faded. Ruoshui dismissed it and gazed toward the Misfortune Wilderness, her eyes narrowing.

In the end, she chose not to go to the Aberrant zone herself.

Though clearing the Aberrant zone was critical, what mattered most right now was Lu Yuan — here in Sky-Mending City, deep in his Laws comprehension.

She worried this might be a diversionary tactic by the Aberration organizations. If she left and an Aberrant War God interrupted Lu Yuan's comprehension, the loss would be far greater.

She turned to look in the direction of Sky-Mending City's Training Hall, forcibly suppressing the urgency in her heart, and let out a quiet sigh.

*Yuan, you need to hurry.*

Though having his comprehension interrupted wouldn't physically harm Lu Yuan, how many times in a lifetime could one encounter such an opportunity?

If he could never again achieve such an ideal state of comprehension, then perhaps Stellar Laws would be forever beyond his reach.

Unless absolutely necessary, Ruoshui had no intention of disturbing his progress.

A sharp edge flickered through her eyes, and she pulled out the Communication Crystal once more. White light flashed, and this time a different blue-haired woman appeared.

"My Lady!"

"An Aberration organization has invaded the Land of Origin. Organize your forces and stand ready — someone will come to bring you in!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Also inside the Training Hall, Li Qinghe and her companions had been training diligently during this entire period.

Thanks to their abundant cultivation resources, over the three-plus years spent in the Land of Origin, Si Tingxue and Rebecca had already tempered their Sovereign Grade genes to perfection.

They had broken through to Battle King Rank long ago, and combined with their recent training, this pace of progress was hardly surprising.

Now they only needed to break their Gene Locks to become Battle Sovereigns.

The others were currently tempering Saint Grade genes.

Tempering Saint Grade genes was naturally far more difficult than Sovereign Grade, and none of them were Lu Yuan — they couldn't match his absurd cultivation speed.

Even with their current resources, breaking through would take a considerable amount of real-world time.

Perhaps a decade. Perhaps several decades. It might even take over a century.

And that was with their extraordinarily rich resources. After absorbing all manner of spirit fruits and spirit elixirs, their foundations were now rock-solid, and their cultivation speed was quite fast.

Without those advantages, it would take even longer.

At that moment, the terrifying Aberrant aura jolted all of them out of their training.

One by one, they left the Training Hall and gathered outside.

"Lingling, what happened?!"

Amy rushed over to Wang Lingling the moment she spotted her.

Wang Lingling's lovely face still wore its gentle smile, though her eyes carried a hint of gravity. She glanced around.

"I'm not sure, but..."

She looked in the direction the aura was coming from, a flicker passing through her gaze.

"It feels like an Aberrant aura..."

Anastasia frowned. "Let's just ask someone."

She strode toward the roadside, where two Battle Sovereign powerhouses were hurrying past in hushed discussion. Without warning, a crushing pressure washed over them, making their breath catch in their throats.

The two looked up and found Anastasia standing before them. Surprise registered on their faces.

This Nightshade was clearly only at the Battle Sovereign level — the same rank as them. So why did it feel like they were facing a Battle Emperor... no, a Battle Saint?

*What in the world...?*

While the two stood frozen, Anastasia spoke in the imperious tone she normally kept hidden around Li Qinghe and the others.

"What's happening? Why is there such a dense Aberrant aura outside?"

One of the Battle Sovereigns answered instinctively.

"W-we heard that Aberration organizations from the Elf Race and Beast Race have invaded... P-presumably it's similar to the Heavenly Calamity Cult's invasion last time."

Only after the words left his mouth did the warrior come back to his senses. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyes were wide with alarm as he stared at the Nightshade before him.

Under such overwhelming pressure, he had simply... submitted on reflex.

*What kind of monster is she?*

Anastasia paid no attention to his reaction. Her brow furrowed slightly as her mind flashed back to the Aberrant rift they had encountered in Skywaste Forest.

If Lu Yuan hadn't been there that day, several of the Nightshade Race members in their group might have died before they could fight free of the encirclement.

And now there was another invasion?

From the Elf Race and Beast Race Aberration organizations, no less?

A cold glint passed through her eyes. She glanced at the nervous Battle Sovereign and said flatly:

"You may go."

The two warriors looked as though they'd been granted a pardon. They exhaled shakily, ducked their heads, and flew off at top speed, as if some terrifying monster were at their heels.

"Tasia, you scared them half to death."

Shuangyue leaned back with her arms crossed, a grin playing on her lips.

They had been watching the exchange and heard everything.

Anastasia turned back with a smile. "They're just too weak! Shuangyue, you all heard, right? It's an invasion like the Heavenly Calamity Cult's from last time. What should we do?"

Li Qinghe narrowed her eyes. "How about Yeye contacts Old Master Tianming? We can see if they're organizing a defense and lend a hand."

Their current strength was considerable. Apart from Si Tingxue and Rebecca, who were still at Battle King Rank, the rest had each inscribed a Saint Grade gene, giving them power that roughly approached the Battle Saint level. Perhaps they fell a touch short, but holding off a Battle Saint for a while was well within their capability.

And with all of them coordinating, even one or two Battle Saints could be brought down.

Yeye, her delicate features betraying no expression as usual, gave a slight nod.

"Alright."

Just as Yeye pulled out her Communication Crystal to contact the Tianming Sage, the stellar phantoms that had hung over Sky-Mending City — so constant that everyone had grown accustomed to them — suddenly rippled with change.

Stars within the phantoms exploded one after another, dissolving into stardust before spiraling back together, reforming into new stars and coalescing into galaxies.

A profound, mysterious aura radiated outward in every direction as the phantoms shifted and transformed.

The warriors inside Sky-Mending City, already on edge from the Aberration invasion, sensed the change and looked up at the stellar phantoms with bewildered alarm.

High above the city, Ruoshui naturally noticed at once. She stared at the phantoms overhead, and the color drained from her face.

"Damn it... Has he been affected by those Aberration organizations?!"

Her normally regal features were now locked in frigid fury.

If Lu Yuan's comprehension had truly been disrupted because of this, it would be the greatest loss not just for the Human Race — but for the entire universe.

Then, without warning, the faint starlight that had been flowing around Nuxing — who had been staring fixedly at the phantoms — erupted in a blinding surge.

But the explosion of starlight lasted only an instant. His face went white, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Tiny specks glimmered within the crimson spray like fragments of crushed stars, twinkling as they caught the light.

His complexion was ashen, yet excitement blazed across his face.

Ruoshui rushed to his side. "Nuxing! What happened? Are you alright?! How is the Laws comprehension going? Did something go wrong? Has Yuan's comprehension been interrupted?!"

Nuxing's expression was a strange mixture — elated laughter warring with bitter disappointment, his features shifting constantly between the two.

He blinked at Ruoshui's barrage of questions, then shook his head.

"Interrupted? No — how could it be?! He's about to succeed! He's on the verge of breaking through!!"

His face was alive with excitement. He looked up at the ever-shifting stellar phantoms, clenched his fists, and his entire body trembled.

Then a shadow of loss crossed his features, and he let out a sigh.

"It's a pity... I can no longer continue my own comprehension."