The smile on Huang's face grew even more intense upon hearing the news from the vanguard. He bowed again to Xu Wu Jue and requested, "Palace Master, please allow me to lead the troops to capture Ye You this time. Ye Ling and I have a personal vendetta to settle."
Xu Wu Jue nodded, "Granted. Take my Black and White Guardians with you. Both of them possess the strength of an Great Immortal Lord, and their combat power is sufficient."
"Furthermore, I will notify the Underworld Palace to assist you. After all, the Shadow Hall, supported by the Underworld Palace, was also destroyed by Ye Ling. They also wish to eliminate Ye Ling as soon as possible."
Huang smiled slightly and bowed to Xu Wu Jue, "Thank you, Palace Master, for your fulfillment. I shall depart now!"
As his words fell, Huang vanished from his spot.
In the vastness of outer space... another batch of powerhouses from the Xu Wu Palace breached the cosmic barrier and headed for Earth.
Concurrently, deep within the void, separated by billions of light-years across inner and outer realms, Ye Ling continued to teleport, searching for Earth's coordinates.
The World-Ending Spirit Fire continued its incessant chatter, "It's too vast… the world is too vast now, and there are signs of contamination by dark forces everywhere! Kid… that dark force has permeated all spacetime. The consequences are truly as the Lord of Heresy said, more severe than when their Heresy clan was still around. Should we really not have killed the Lord of Heresy?"
Ye Ling retorted, "Stop boosting the Lord of Heresy's morale and dampening ours. If he hadn't died, you and I would never have had the chance to roam these myriad universes. No matter how bizarre those dark forces are, in my opinion, they are less troublesome than the Lord of Heresy."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire grumbled, "You were only able to kill the Lord of Heresy by taking advantage of his weakened state. Your own strength wasn't at the level of a Creation God, yet that dark force is something even the Lord of Heresy feared. You were powerless against the Lord of Heresy before, so how can you be so confident now against the dark forces?"
"Aren't you truly afraid that this dark force will spiral out of control?"
"The Lord of Heresy was the second Creation God we've killed. Why shouldn't we be confident? Moreover, my cultivation back then was merely at the Ancestor Emperor level. Now we are Free Immortals, the era is entirely different."
Ye Ling's retort left the World-Ending Spirit Fire speechless.
Indeed, counting them, they had killed two Creation Gods, including Gui Que and the Lord of Heresy. Although neither of them was killed at their peak, they were both genuine Creation Gods!
Someone who was not a Creation God yet could slay two Creation Gods… throughout history, the World-Ending Spirit Fire couldn't find a second person besides Ye Ling.
With that thought, the World-Ending Spirit Fire conceded, "Alright, alright, I admit you are very strong now, okay? But I'm just reminding you to be careful of those dark forces, lest you yourself become contaminated."
Ye Ling replied, "I have this under control. I will also address these issues later. However, the most pressing matter is to return to Earth. I'm a bit worried about that place."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire consoled, "Don't rush, kid. The inner universe is protected by the cosmic barrier. Even if all spacetime is now tainted by dark forces, that cosmic barrier is no ordinary thing; it won't be so easily breached…"
Mid-sentence, the World-Ending Spirit Fire suddenly sensed a distress signal from the cosmic barrier, and its remaining words were choked off, "This… the cosmic barrier is sending us a distress signal?"
Ye Ling also sensed the distress signal from the cosmic barrier, his expression instantly becoming grave and anxious, "It seems the cosmic barrier is truly in trouble. We need to hurry back!"
The World-Ending Spirit Fire quickly regained its composure and said, "Don't rush, kid. The fact that we can receive the cosmic barrier's message means we are not far from the inner universe. Calm yourself first, and carefully search with your divine soul. Once you confirm the coordinates of the inner universe, we'll teleport there directly!"
"Mmm…"
Ye Ling took a deep breath to calm himself, then released his divine soul to search for the coordinates of the inner universe.
At this moment, on Earth, in China, at Kunlun Mountain.
Ye You and Yue Qing Ning were intercepted by cultivators from the Xu Wu Palace.
Yue Qing Ning shielded Ye You behind her, her expression icy as she stared at the Xu Wu Palace cultivators led by Huang, and said coldly, "If you still wish to keep your lives, retreat quickly. Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no mercy!"
Huang clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at Yue Qing Ning, "Palace Master Yue, I think it is you who should not resist stubbornly… The forces invading the inner universe this time number in the thousands, with no less than ten Chaos Lords and Great Immortal Lords. As the Palace Master of the Tian Qing Dao Palace, you are not standing with us, but rather speaking for the people of the inner universe. Is that not somewhat irrational?"
Yue Qing Ning retorted coldly, "How I conduct myself is not for a good-for-nothing like you to comment on!"
"Die for me!"
With a fierce shout, Yue Qing Ning unleashed a palm strike towards Huang. The terrifying power directly caused the surrounding space to collapse!
However, Huang simply stood his ground, smiling as he watched Yue Qing Ning attack him, showing no intention of dodging.
Boom!
Just as Yue Qing Ning was about to strike Huang, two Great Immortal Lord auras erupted from behind him. The two Great Immortal powers collided with Yue Qing Ning's Chaos Qi Source, directly repelling her!
"Sister Qing Ning!" Ye You exclaimed in alarm upon seeing Yue Qing Ning being pushed back.
"I'm fine!"
Yue Qing Ning managed to stop herself, her gaze fixed on Huang. She saw two shadowy figures, one black and one white, appear before him.
"Xu Wu Jue's Black and White Guardians…"
Upon seeing the two shadows, Yue Qing Ning's expression turned grave.
The Xu Wu Palace was a renowned force in the outer realms, far surpassing the Tian Qing Dao Palace in strength. And Xu Wu Jue's Black and White Guardians were even more famous in the outer realms!
The Palace Master of the Xu Wu Palace, Xu Wu Jue, rarely made a move, and not many in the outer realms knew his true strength. However, Xu Wu Jue's Black and White Guardians were different. They had been helping the Xu Wu Palace expand its territory, slaughtering countless sects in the outer realms.
Once, a Chaos Lord, unable to stand the Xu Wu Palace's rampant aggression, invited three of his friends of the same cultivation level to intercept the Black and White Guardians.
As a result, those four, joining forces, all perished at the hands of the Black and White Guardians!
Since then, the fame of the Xu Wu Palace's Black and White Guardians had spread throughout the outer realms, and few dared to provoke them.
Seeing that Huang had even brought the Black and White Guardians to capture Ye You, Yue Qing Ning's heart grew heavier. She transmitted a message to Ye You, "Xiao You, the opponents we face are not something we can contend with. Furthermore, other powerhouses from the outer realms may be arriving. Therefore, we should not engage in a prolonged battle. Wait for my signal, and escape immediately!"
Ye You quickly asked, "What about you, Sister Qing Ning?"
Yue Qing Ning replied, "Their target is you. As long as you leave, they cannot do anything to me. You don't need to worry about my safety."
"On the contrary, the Xu Wu Palace wants to capture you, clearly intending to use you to threaten Ye Ling. And Ye Ling is the only hope for the inner universe now. If he is threatened, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
Hearing Yue Qing Ning's words, Ye You understood the crux of the matter and did not hesitate. He transmitted back, "Then I'll count on you, Sister Qing Ning. We'll meet at the Eastern Profound Continent!"
With that, Ye You activated the power bestowed upon him by Tai Yuan and directly tore open space, vanishing into the void.
Seeing Ye You about to escape, the Black and White Guardians immediately tore open space, preparing to pursue him.
However, before they could enter the void, Yue Qing Ning unleashed a sword strike, blocking them!
Yue Qing Ning held her sword with one hand and smiled at the Black and White Guardians, "Gentlemen, your opponent is me. Perhaps you shouldn't run around…"
Huang's eyes grew more mocking as he saw Yue Qing Ning take her stance, sneering, "A futile struggle…"
"In this inner universe, none of you can escape!"
As Huang finished speaking, two Chaos Lords from the Underworld Palace suddenly appeared behind Yue Qing Ning, directly unleashing their Chaos Qi Source to restrain her.
The Black and White Guardians, without even glancing at Yue Qing Ning, both vanished into the void, pursuing Ye You!