In the boundless deep space, a golden beam of light pierced the darkness, advancing at an extremely high speed.
"Kid, now that all the universes have merged into one, even you can't quickly find the exact location of our era... This cosmic upheaval is truly terrifying."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire couldn't recall how many times Ye Ling had used spatial jumps, but the distance to Earth and the Eastern Profound Continent was still immeasurable.
The current spacetime was too vast, too vast.
The former Inner and Outer Domains combined were merely a drop in the ocean within this immense spacetime.
Ye Ling said, "Indeed... The universe has become incredibly vast, and there are many more powerful beings. On the stretch we just traveled, I sensed hundreds of Chaos Sovereigns and Great Dao Immortal Lords... I wonder how many of them have been infiltrated by dark forces."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire said, "With your current strength, there's truly no need to worry about Chaos Sovereigns and Great Dao Immortal Lords. No matter how many come, they won't be your match. What you should be worried about now are those dark forces that have merged all spacetime together. They are the terrifying entities that can threaten your life, and you must not be careless in the slightest."
Ye Ling nodded, "Mm... I will be careful."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire said, "Let's continue on our way. We don't know how far the road ahead is. The sooner we return, the more at ease we can be."
"Alright! Then I'll speed up!"
Ye Ling responded, tore open space, and continued to teleport towards the center of the world.
Every time Ye Ling traversed spacetime, he crossed hundreds of billions of light-years.
Golden light flickered rapidly in the deep space.
Each flicker represented a spatial jump.
At the same time, at the edge of the cosmic barrier.
A large number of cultivators from outside the domain gathered, waiting for the cosmic barrier to shatter so they could rush to Earth and plunder the inheritance of creation.
Inside the cosmic barrier, on Earth, China, the headquarters of the Demonic Palace.
Cultivators from the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace and members of the Chaos Divine Race had arrived and were making preparations for the upcoming great battle. In the temporary war room.
Yue Qingning and Tai Yuan were discussing countermeasures with Ye You.
Yue Qingning looked at the images transmitted by scouts from outside the domain and frowned, "Currently, the forces outside the domain are led by the Underworld Palace and the Void Palace, with over a thousand outer domain forces of various sizes gathered. More than a million cultivators are preparing to attack, including no less than ten Chaos Sovereigns and Great Dao Immortal Lords. My Heavenly Clear Dao Palace and the Chaos Divine Race combined have less than ten thousand combatants. If the cosmic barrier breaks, I fear we won't be able to resist for long."
Tai Yuan said solemnly, "To overcome this crisis, relying on our two families alone is far from enough. We still need to rely on our own strength within the domain... However, cultivators within the domain have only just begun, and those who can be counted as combat power are at most ten thousand."
"The two of us combined are only twenty thousand. With such a vast disparity in strength, how can we fight against the million-strong army from outside the domain?"
At this point, Tai Yuan looked at Ye You, who had her eyes closed in the conference room, and asked, "Xiao You, can you contact your brother?"
Ye You opened her eyes and shook her head, "Still no. There's no news at all."
Tai Yuan frowned, "How can that be? The bloodline transmission technique of my race can ignore spatial distances and any shielding barriers, allowing blood relatives to transmit messages at any time. You and Emperor Ancestor are siblings, why can't you contact him?"
Ye You said, "I don't know either. Brother just said he was going to the Eastern Profound Continent, but I don't know what he's going there to do, and I don't know where he is now."
Yue Qingning said, "I've already sent people to search the Eastern Profound Continent, but Ye Ling's trace is nowhere to be found there. Even the Heavenly Dao of the Eastern Profound doesn't know where Ye Ling is. Could it be that Ye Ling is no longer in this spacetime?"
"Not in this spacetime?" Tai Yuan was stunned.
Yue Qingning said, "You saw the cosmic upheaval earlier, with golden runes filling the sky. Aren't those Ye Ling's signature techniques?"
"More importantly, the remnant evil race outside the domain also disappeared out of thin air. If we connect these events, I suspect Ye Ling is fighting the remnant evil race somewhere."
Hearing Yue Qingning's words, Tai Yuan nodded slightly and said, "Qingning, what you said makes some sense. If that's the case, Emperor Ancestor's situation is probably more difficult than ours. He probably won't be able to return in time."
"It seems... we have no reinforcements."
At this point, Tai Yuan's mood became even heavier.
Although the forces gathered outside the cosmic barrier were strong, they were still insignificant compared to the remnant evil race.
Moreover, the remnant evil race had the Lord of Remnant Evil, a creation god, among them. Even if Ye Ling was strong, Tai Yuan still didn't believe Ye Ling was a match for the remnant evil race.
Perhaps, Ye Ling was in grave danger.
Hearing Yue Qingning and Tai Yuan's words, Ye You also realized that her brother might be engaged in a dangerous battle. She couldn't help but rub her temples, feeling quite distressed.
Although her cultivation had progressed rapidly, her current cultivation was only at the Dao Lord level. In this battle, she could only barely serve as a combatant and couldn't play a decisive role at all.
This disaster was probably unavoidable.
The atmosphere in the conference room became increasingly oppressive.
Everyone present knew that this was a war that could not be won.
Yue Qingning sighed softly and said, "It seems we can't win this war. I suggest we retreat first and take some people away from the domain. With the protection of the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace and the Chaos Divine Race, those from outside the domain won't be able to completely wipe us out."
"This way, at least a batch of seeds can be preserved."
Tai Yuan also nodded and said, "I agree with Qingning's proposal. My Chaos Divine Race's continent is quite vast and should be able to accommodate a billion refugees. How about you, Xiao You, select a group of beings from the three realms of Earth, and we'll retreat."
"Retreat..."
Hearing Yue Qingning and Tai Yuan's words, Ye You was still a little unwilling.
Let alone the entire domain universe, even on Earth, there were seven billion humans, not to mention the Immortal Realm and the Underworld Realm.
The beings that the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace and the Chaos Divine Race could protect were merely a drop in the bucket for the entire domain universe.
Moreover, if they retreated, it would be equivalent to completely surrendering their homeland.
However, Ye You also knew in her heart that the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace and the Chaos Divine Race were only here to support out of consideration for Ye Ling. Their willingness to provide protection was already the utmost kindness, and she couldn't force them to fight to the death for the domain universe.
Ye You sighed heavily and said to Yue Qingning and Tai Yuan, "It can only be this way. I will have the Demonic Palace provide a list to you two, and I hope you two can safely escort them to be resettled outside the domain. Ye You is extremely grateful."
Tai Yuan frowned and said, "Xiao You, from what you're saying, you're not leaving with us?"
Ye You replied, "Although I can't save the entire domain universe, I can still conduct guerrilla warfare on Earth. There are so many beings left in the three realms of Earth. My Demonic Palace will save as many as we can."
Tai Yuan immediately rejected, "No! You are Emperor Ancestor's sister, and we must ensure your safety. Others can stay, but you must leave with us!"
Ye You shook her head, "I can't leave... Currently, Brother's Demonic Palace still needs me to maintain its operations. If I leave, Earth will be completely lost."
Yue Qingning looked at Ye You's determined eyes, sighed slightly, and said to Tai Yuan, "Tai Yuan, don't waste your effort. This brother and sister are cast from the same mold. If Ye Ling were here, do you think Ye Ling would leave?"
"But..." Tai Yuan was speechless for a moment.
Yue Qingning then transmitted to Tai Yuan, "Don't insist either. I know you don't want your people to be lost in this war, and I don't want my disciples to die because of me. So, you take the disciples of my Heavenly Clear Dao Palace with you, and I will stay behind to help in my personal capacity."
"Although I can't turn the tide, I can ensure Ye You's safety."
Hearing Yue Qingning's transmission, Tai Yuan sighed heavily and said, "Fine, let it be this way. I'll go and formulate the retreat plan. Even with teleportation arrays, escorting and resettling a billion beings is no small matter."
Ye You stood up and bowed to Yue Qingning and Tai Yuan, "Ye You sincerely thanks you two for your help. I will go and make arrangements now and try to give you the list within an hour."
With that, Ye You quickly left the conference room and returned to the Demonic Palace to discuss the specific retreat list with Tian Zhu Xue Sha and others.
Seeing Ye You leave, Tai Yuan sighed heavily again and asked Yue Qingning, "Emperor Ancestor facing the remnant evil race alone is probably also in grave danger. The domain universe is already beyond saving. Is it worth it for you to risk your life and stay on Earth?"
For Tai Yuan, the most important person in the domain universe was Ye Ling. He led the Chaos Divine Race to support them under immense pressure, solely for Ye Ling.
But now that Ye Ling had confronted the remnant evil race prematurely and was in grave danger, coupled with the fact that over ten Chaos Sovereigns and Great Dao Immortal Lords from outside the domain were coveting Earth, Yue Qingning's active presence on Earth, in Tai Yuan's opinion, was no different from seeking death.
Regarding Tai Yuan's question, Yue Qingning said firmly, "I believe Ye Ling will surely overcome the danger. He will definitely appear at the critical moment. I'm staying... only because I don't want Ye Ling to return and find that Ye You has already perished."
"This would be extremely cruel to Ye Ling."
Hearing Yue Qingning's words, Tai Yuan sighed again and said to Yue Qingning, "You've gone so far for Ye Ling, I truly admire you... But by doing so much, will you truly receive a response from Ye Ling?"
Tai Yuan was not foolish; he naturally saw Yue Qingning's feelings for Ye Ling. But the situation was different now. Anyone outside the domain knew how powerful the remnant evil race was. Such a colossal entity was not something Ye Ling could contend with alone.
Yue Qingning's wishful waiting on Earth for Ye Ling's return, in Tai Yuan's opinion, was an extremely irrational approach.
However, Tai Yuan also knew that he couldn't persuade Yue Qingning, so he said, "I'm sorry, I am the patriarch of the Chaos Divine Race, and I have my own people to protect. I cannot stay and guard Earth with you this time."
Yue Qingning smiled at Tai Yuan, "Qingning will be grateful if you can help protect the disciples of the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace."
Tai Yuan said, "Don't worry... If anything happens to you, the Chaos Divine Race will surely protect the Heavenly Clear Dao Palace."
Yue Qingning: "Thank you."
Tai Yuan: "You're welcome. I'll go prepare for the retreat matters first."
With that, Tai Yuan also left the conference room to summon the members of the Chaos Divine Race and have them prepare large teleportation arrays for the subsequent escort and retreat of people.
After Tai Yuan also left, Yue Qingning's expression became lonely. She looked out the window at the sky and sighed, "Yes... Ye Ling, can you respond to me?"