The Yuan Devouring Beast retracted its attack, its gaze shifting to the wine-red haired girl and the white-robed youth with a hint of apprehension.
Humans, it seemed, had no shortage of powerful individuals!
It didn't fear Yin Luoxi, yet according to the seating arrangement of this Salvation Organization, the wine-red haired girl was ranked last. All four humans present were at the High-rank Realm.
The white-robed youth, on the other hand, appeared to be the leader of this organization.
This organization, in turn, seemed to be the strongest human faction, even more so than the Wu Dong Empire.
The Yuan Devouring Beast paid no mind to human factions, and was completely unaware of the Salvation Organization, which had only been 'worldly' for a few years. It had vaguely heard some individuals mention it earlier but had paid it no attention.
Now, having been repelled, those hazy memories, which it hadn't paid much heed to, surged into its mind like a tide.
It looked again at the white-robed youth sitting serenely...
He leisurely sipped his tea, and the power of the laws, even as it blew towards him, dissipated into smoke before it could reach him.
The Yuan Devouring Beast could not comprehend it, only feeling profoundly shocked.
The white-robed youth was unfathomably deep!
It had already averted its gaze, staring intently at the tea, not daring to look elsewhere, acting as meek as a 250,000-ton child.
...
The Yuan Devouring Beast had backed down, disappointing many existences.
Old Devourer, are you even capable?
Charge bravely!
We will support you in spirit.
Some special lifeforms, ancient existences, harbored intentions of probing humanity. Perhaps they looked down on humans, perhaps they believed only those who met their standards of strength were qualified for cooperation, or perhaps... for various reasons, including those who simply sought amusement without reason. In any case, the Yuan Devouring Beast's probe satisfied many, though the outcome was somewhat unexpected.
A human expert had gained the upper hand in the confrontation of laws.
It was important to note that the Yuan Devouring Beast was no obscure figure; it was a powerhouse among the Ninth Realm, renowned within ancient circles.
And this wine-red haired girl was clearly just an 'ordinary' among the human experts.
Many ancient existences lacked a deep understanding of humans, their impressions limited to the surface—numerous, fertile, but very weak, with only a handful capable of reaching mythic status.
Only now did they realize that humans might not be as weak as they thought.
Since the downfall of the Kandra Empire, over tens of thousands of years, humanity had produced one strong individual after another. Furthermore, humans were quite united.
Their ancient gods were indeed far stronger than humans, but most of them were solitary wanderers.
The ancient existences were acutely aware of their own collective standing.
...
Yin Luoxi was also somewhat disappointed that a true battle hadn't ensued.
However, before departing, her mentor had already stated that a real confrontation was unlikely on this trip. Thinking about it again, she had already defeated the Yuan Devouring Beast and glared at it fiercely for a while with her eyes, which satisfied her.
Hands on her hips, humming a tune, she was as happy as a human cub.
Truly worthy of me, I've once again earned immense respect for humanity.
Yin Luoxi's performance was indeed commendable, and the purpose for bringing her on this trip had been achieved. Having her, an unknown young human girl, make a move had an even greater effect than if Fang You had acted directly.
Of course, Yin Luoxi's ability to surpass the Yuan Devouring Beast in mastery of laws didn't necessarily mean she could defeat this formidable High-rank in a real combat.
In a true fight, it might be a mere 40/60 split.
Yin Luoxi being the 40 percent.
There was a reason why ancient existences looked down on humans. Even when humans reached the High-rank Realm, and even if they refined their foundations to perfection, they still lagged behind these ancient beings who were born high-rank.
Human cultivation was like progressing from a teacup to a bucket, then to a pool, a pond, a lake.
Through continuous advancement, they transformed and elevated their life essence.
However, many ancient special lifeforms were inherently oceans.
They possessed tens or even hundreds of times the vitality and energy of humans at the same level.
The Yuan Devouring Beast possessed a physique comparable to a planet and wielded racial killing moves, ranking among the top of special lifeforms in terms of its fearsomeness.
At the same realm and with the same mastery of laws, a human High-rank would absolutely be no match for the Yuan Devouring Beast; they might even fall within a few dozen moves.
Naturally, Yin Luoxi's training in the legendary Stellar Forging Technique and Observation Method, along with her mastery of the god-demon level skill, the Gate of Infinity, which possessed the power to easily destroy planets, minimized this gap.
She might not be completely outmatched by the Yuan Devouring Beast.
If not for these advantages, her win rate wouldn't be 40/60, but rather 10/90 or even 0/100.
Mastery of laws did not represent everything.
Yin Luoxi was exceptionally talented in comprehending laws and had been observing the Fire Stele for many years. Her mastery of laws was even slightly higher than An Jianyou's, yet she had never defeated An Jianyou.
This was telling.
"Yin Luoxi's mastery of the Burning Law is excellent; it won't be long before she reaches Master-level."
Fang You took another sip of tea.
The teacup was not large, but the tea within seemed inexhaustible. This was no ordinary tea either; it could be considered a legendary resource, possessing great flavor.
The wealth of the most ancient existences was indeed vast.
He subtly observed the distance, noting the several most ancient existences, and felt that a certain gaze was occasionally falling upon him.
His recent display had intimidated many ancient existences, but it had no effect on these few most ancient ones.
Of course, these few were relatively friendly towards humans.
Their seating arrangement next to the Yuan Devouring Beast was clearly deliberate.
It satisfied the probing desires of certain individuals.
Humans, in turn, seized this opportunity to display their might.
Only a bruised Yuan Devouring Beast world was achieved.
The Yuan Devouring Beast being injured, and Yin Luoxi's eyes inflicting several wounds upon it, seemed to have vanished as if it never happened.
In an atmosphere of apparent harmony, the Ancient Alliance officially commenced.
First came the customary long-winded speeches; even ancient existences were not exempt. The speaker was the Lord of Stars, who seemed to be quite sociable and well-connected, adept at warming up the atmosphere, unlike an ancient being standing at the pinnacle of the strange realm.
Following this, the Lord of Stars presented some exhilarating combat achievements.
Their glorious record of defeating the servants of the Evil God faction in the past.
They had killed over 10 tenth-realm involvers and countless ninth-realm servants.
These were not mere boasts; the Lord of Stars used starlight to rewind time, recreating fragments of scenes. One could see terrifying figures perishing under the shroud of sunlight, moon halos, and nebulae. The battles waged caused the laws of heaven and earth to become chaotic and devastated, and the clash of terrifying energies shattered entire great domains.
Many ancient existences swallowed saliva.
When faced with irresistible power, their emotions and reactions were akin to those of mortals.
Astonishment, shock, excitement.
The fear of the Evil God faction gradually dissipated.
This was the Lord of Stars' objective.
Of course, the sheer number of servants in the Evil God faction was also a cause for concern.
"I have heard that unspeakable Evil Gods can directly promote their followers and servants, enabling them to directly ascend to the High-rank, or even the Tenth Realm?"
An ancient existence inquired.
The Lord of Stars nodded slightly, "Indeed. Of course, in the mystical system, gifts and prices are always in balance. Even if unspeakable Evil Gods wish to promote their followers, there are limitations."
"Moreover, the power of servants promoted by Evil Gods is ultimately not their own; most of them are weaker than those of the same rank."
"The limitations are even greater when an Evil God wishes to promote a servant to the Tenth Realm. Most of you present should know that authority is unique. An Evil God can forcibly elevate their subordinates, but they cannot divide their own authority."
The tenth-realm involvers of the Evil God faction were, to be precise, 'pseudo-tenth realm.'
They were stronger than half-step tenth-realm beings, but still significantly weaker than true tenth-realm entities.
However, tenth-realm involvers could borrow some authority from their respective Evil Gods, and when truly calculated, the gap between them and beings of origin was not that large.
Fang You suddenly understood.
"No wonder I felt that the pressure from the Lord of Souls and the Lord of the Underworld, the two beings I encountered back then, wasn't strong enough. It turns out they were merely pseudo-tenth realm."
"However, the difference between a weak tenth-realm and a strong tenth-realm must also be vast."
"Because the Tenth Realm is the endpoint of the mystical system, but its ultimate limit remains unknown."
The combat achievements of the Lord of Stars and others were indeed inspiring.
Many powerful beings had never imagined that, in this era where they were being persecuted by the Evil God faction, some would actively launch offensives to intercept Evil God servants.
The Lord of Stars, the Divine Venerable Great Sun, and the Moon Lord were indeed top-tier existences among the ancient gods.
Seeing this, the Lord of Stars nodded with satisfaction. He paused, then slowly stated the objective of the alliance.
—To venture deep into the Middle Strange Realm and discover the true form of the unspeakable Evil Gods.
"Back then, the extraterrestrial Evil Gods appeared very suddenly. We had almost no resistance to pollution and defilement, and old friends were quickly severely injured or perished."
"I myself once confronted the Twisted Black River, but my understanding of it was minimal."
Saying he confronted it was, ahem, the Lord of Stars embellishing his own deeds.
In reality, he had merely probed it with a single move from across several star systems. If the Twisted Black River had truly pursued him relentlessly, he would likely have perished and might not have even returned for a second life.
Ahem, however, times change. Since the great upheaval in the strange realm, he had been studying the mystical system. He was also one of the earliest ancient gods to convert to the mystical system. Now, not only was his power far greater than before, but he also possessed extremely strong resistance to defilement.
He admitted that the unspeakable Evil Gods might be stronger than him.
But as both were tenth-realm beings, would he, the Lord of Stars, be unable to withstand the impact of defilement? Absolutely not.
Moon Lord: (￢_￢)
She glanced at the Lord of Stars, said nothing, and quietly shifted her gaze to a certain figure in the distance.
"Our goal for this trip is to find and understand the unspeakable Evil Gods. If we can find any weaknesses, it would be even better."
"Of course, we must not be careless on this journey; even a sleeping Evil God possesses terrifying power. However, according to the guidance of the stars, Evil Gods cannot change their location when they are asleep. Therefore, it is most appropriate for us to conduct a preliminary probe now."
But how to probe, and how to venture deep into the Middle Strange Realm, was the key point for the alliance to discuss.
Many ancient existences attended the alliance, but they were only showing respect to the Divine Venerable Great Sun and the Moon Lord. They had never promised to enter the Middle Strange Realm together.
Although they knew the crisis in the strange realm was imminent, if the plan was too dangerous, with a life-or-death chance, most would still refuse.
The Lord of Stars... clearly understood this.
Therefore, he, or rather, they, had presented a mature plan.
Participants would not rush into the Middle Strange Realm en masse, but would form their own teams and explore independently.
They would not impose any restrictions on this.
Of course, the Lord of Stars also knew that restrictions would be impossible. Most High-rank beings were egocentric and arrogant; it was already good enough if they could work together towards the same goal. Expecting them to obey orders and arrangements? Absolutely impossible.
Hence, the plan for this operation was quite loose and crude.
Ridiculously crude.
Everyone would agree on a time to enter the Middle Strange Realm together for exploration, and all gathered intelligence would be shared.
That was all.
These two points would be notarized by a formal ceremony. However, the binding power of notarization on Ninth Realm existences was not very high.
Wasn't the plan too simplistic?
Upon closer thought, it wasn't.
Having the powerful beings who stepped into the Middle Strange Realm disperse could prevent internal conflicts among their own ranks, allow for the acquisition of more intelligence, and simultaneously enable mutual assistance in times of crisis.
"Perhaps, these teams are not just explorers, but also bait."
"The meaning of these teams' existence is to divert the attention of the Evil God faction, allowing the core team to delve deeper into the Middle Strange Realm and scout the unspeakable Evil Gods."
Fang You mused.
Many powerful beings realized this too, and upon reflection, it seemed not bad.
They were already somewhat hesitant to face the Evil Gods directly.
After further discussion on some details among the powerful beings, the alliance was declared concluded.
The corporeal forms of the descending existences transformed into points of light and dissipated in the Land of the Other Shore.
The Moon Lord watched, and a white-robed figure, as she softly muttered, "Tenth Realm? But the power of authority is still a bit weak."
...
The time for venturing deep into the Middle Strange Realm was set for two weeks later.
Quite rushed.
But there was no alternative; if the High-ranks followed their usual habits and prepared for ten or eight years before entering, the strange realm would already be doomed.
Two weeks would suffice for the powerful beings to prepare treasures, especially those that could save their lives.
"Venturing deep into the Middle Strange Realm is extremely dangerous."
"Especially since our Salvation Organization's experts are only at the Ninth Realm."
Yin Luoxi, Xidina, Xing Jinglei, Chi Yan, and others were remarkably excited, seemingly oblivious to the concept of danger.
Only An Jianyou worried.
As expected, aside from him, only Sister An in the organization was a normal person.
"This venture into the Middle Strange Realm is likely to encounter a considerable number of High-rank beings, and even Tenth Realm entities."
"The personnel for this expedition must be carefully considered, and all sorts of life-saving items and treasures must be sufficiently prepared."
"The most important thing is strength."
Although two weeks was a bit short, it was enough for the Years Secret Realm to open more than ten times.
And after entering the Middle Strange Realm, there would inevitably be many opportunities to obtain Divine Sources.
With this thought, Mentor Fang glanced at the remaining 11 Divine Sources in the organization. Gritting his teeth, he granted Yin Luoxi and the others access to the second level of authority.
He himself also adjusted his state, choosing a day to enter with the Law Stele.
Time flowed.
Time flew by.
The world outside the secret realm only experienced one sunset and sunrise, but for Fang You...
"If we include the time within the secret realms and dungeons, I am now... a hundred-year-old youth."