Night of Despair

On the back of the star, there was a small red asteroid.

The surface of the asteroid was filled with meteor craters, illuminated by the golden starlight.

Except for the giant star, the sky was a pitch-black starry expanse.

Without atmospheric protection, the radiation intensity of the sunlight here was hundreds of times that of a Mining Star.

Swish!

A white figure silently appeared above the asteroid.

The figure was dressed in a white Daoist robe, holding a snow-white sword, looking down at the surface of the star.

The figure was none other than Yu Xuezi from Wanxue Palace.

"The Night Pool..." His Divine Sense scanned, and soon locked onto a meteor crater mountain range on the side of the star.

In the shadows within the mountain range, four massive black shadows were lying low, guarding an oval pool made of black crystal.

From the pool, a huge amount of black mist continuously surged out, with a hint of purple light flickering within.

"It really is a special Night Pool..." Yu Xuezi's expression changed slightly. From those four monsters, he vaguely sensed a strange danger.

It wasn't the power of the four monsters that posed a threat, but...

The other aura they carried was the terrifying aura of the Unconscious Bodies....

"How can there be Unconscious Bodies here!? Has the Black Disaster spread this quickly?"

Yu Xuezi's expression grew serious.

Thinking for a moment, he flew towards the direction of the Night Pool.

The next second, the four massive black shadows, like mountains, looked up in this direction.

Boom!

A white light exploded above the Night Pool, instantly covering the four black shadows.

Yu Xuezi released a piercing white light from his entire body and plummeted down like a meteor.

The terrifying immortal power disintegrated and destroyed the four massive black beasts in less than two seconds.

Along with the Night Pool, which also exploded and turned into countless black mists, dispersing.

Yu Xuezi retracted his immortal power, looked down, confirmed the destruction was thorough, and was about to turn and leave.

But immediately, his brow furrowed, noticing a pitch-black hole in the depth of the crater where the Night Pool was located, floating in the air and emanating a deep, unknown cold aura.

He pondered for a moment and quickly approached.

"This is...?"

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*

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The sky grew dark.

In the Black Black Spirit Safety House on the Mining Star.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged in meditation, his body emitting a faint golden light.

It was the invisible halo naturally emitted by the Golden Core, gathering all his Essence Qi and energy.

He was cultivating and waiting, waiting for the last moment of trait fusion.

After multiple fusions, he had realized that simple Mortal Martial fusion did not bring much improvement. He had to consider changing the current situation and practice a higher level Martial Arts Cultivation Technique.

At this moment, there was still more than half an hour until the countdown.

Yu Hong concentrated and calmed his mind, cultivating the Qingwei Heart Technique while slowly waiting.

"Little Junior Brother, come to Wanxue Palace quickly! Something has happened!!" Suddenly, Bai Sheng's voice transmission sounded in his ear.

Yu Hong was stunned, then his complexion immediately became solemn. He got up and flashed to the door, opening it and stepping out.

Locking the door, he moved his mind, instantly disappearing from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of the gate of Wanxue Palace.

Following Bai Sheng's aura as a locator, Yu Hong flashed again, directly appearing in a square white side hall.

Inside the hall, Bai Sheng and Hei Ying were already there, but Quan He had not arrived yet, probably still on the way.

Yu Hong had just steadied himself when he saw that Master Yu Xuezi, looking pale, was sitting quietly on a White Jade Meditation Mat in the center, surrounded by layers of Golden Light Array rotating around him.

"What happened!?" He vaguely guessed the situation.

"Master is injured!" Bai Sheng said seriously, "I was patrolling the palace, checking various arrays, when I suddenly saw Master descending from the sky, rushing in here silently to start healing."

Yu Hong nodded and carefully examined Yu Xuezi. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a subtle issue.

There was an extremely dense Black Disaster Red Value aura lingering on Yu Xuezi.

He was very familiar with the Black Disaster Red Value. After all, they had been fighting against it from the beginning, using various tools for a long time.

At this moment, he immediately identified the crux of the problem.

"Wait a moment. Don't be hasty." Bai Sheng said in a deep voice from the side, "Master's condition should be stable now. Let's each wait a bit."

"Mm." Yu Hong nodded.

Soon, Quan He arrived too. Seeing this scene, his expression quickly became serious.

The four of them sat around, meditating and cultivating, quietly waiting.

About ten minutes later.

The Golden Light Array around Yu Xuezi slowly dissipated.

He weakly opened his eyes and took a breath.

"I was careless. I went to investigate that strange Night Pool and didn't expect to be ambushed by experts from the Heavenly Sun Sect. Although I repelled them in time, I got a bit injured."

He looked at the four of them. "You don't need to worry. This is just overexertion; I had to kill them more than ten times to drive them away."

"Is it an Immortal Realm cultivator?!" Bai Sheng asked in a deep voice.

"It should correspond to the Ascension Period realm. The Immortal Realm is not so easy to enter our sect's star domain array. Mainly, the experts of the Heavenly Sun Sect attracted an unconscious body, a powerful Ascension Period unconscious body that can revive in an instant," Yu Xuezi said helplessly.

After a pause, he continued.

"Fortunately, we managed to repel it, otherwise...."

Rumble!

Before his words had fallen, the Wanxue Palace suddenly shook violently a few times.

Everyone's expression changed as they urgently sensed outside the palace.

At this moment, outside the palace, the massive black tide that was continuously burning began to press down despite the death and injury.

Among them, faint figures draped in black robes with deathly pale skin floated over the mining star.

Each of these black-robed people had a black sun pattern on their foreheads.

"The Heavenly Sun Sect! These persistent enemies have caught up!" Yu Xuezi's face slightly changed.

"But don't worry, with the sect's grand array, they can't come down."

"But we also can't get out," Hei Ying said coldly.

"We are just an ordinary mining star, why would we attract trouble from the Heavenly Sun Sect? This group of opportunists never act without profit. There aren't enough living beings here for them to devour and replenish their knowledge. If they suffer too much loss, it would be counterproductive for them. What is going on?!" Yu Xuezi couldn't understand.

Only Yu Hong seemed to have thought of something and had some guesses.

But knowing the real situation of Wanxue Palace that Yu Xuezi reacted to, he knew it was useless to say anything now. He decided to call the Corrupt Traveler elder later to ask about the situation.

"Everyone, don't run around during this time. Stay hidden in Wanxue Palace. Although we are not afraid of them coming down, the black disaster's strongest point is various infiltrations. I need time to heal, only then can I exert the full power of the sect's grand array. So be patient!" Yu Xuezi advised.

Next, he assigned a few cautionary tasks and then continued laying down the Golden Light Array, resuming his healing process.

Yu Hong wanted to give the Recovery Necklace to his master, so when the others dispersed for cultivation, he took off the necklace and walked towards Yu Xuezi alone.

"It's useless." Suddenly, the voice of the Corrupt Traveler sounded in his ear. "This treasure only works for you, it's useless for anyone else."

"Elder?" Yu Hong paused in his tracks, asking softly.

"It's me. If you have time, come here," the Corrupt Traveler continued.

At the next moment, a black directional arrow appeared in front of him, floating in mid-air.

Yu Hong glanced at his master Yu Xuezi, seeing that he was still meditating and healing with no reaction. Only then did he follow the arrow and turn to leave.

Passing through several Taoist Palaces, soon, he saw the Corrupt Traveler with a massive tumor on his back in a corridor outside a row of washrooms.

The Corrupt Traveler was examining a large black arm emerging from a crack in the corridor wall.

The black arm groped around wildly, occasionally being slapped or hit by the Corrupt Traveler.

He seemed to be having a lot of fun.

"Elder," Yu Hong said in a deep voice, stopping a few meters away.

"Want to go and see the real mining star, the real Wanxue Palace?" The Corrupt Traveler turned around and looked at Yu Hong.

His black hair covered his eyes, only the lower half of his face with a strange smile could be seen.

"Is it possible?" Yu Hong trembled and asked again.

"Others can't, but you can," the Corrupt Traveler replied.

"Alright!" Yu Hong nodded without hesitation.

"Very well." The Corrupt Traveler's smile widened. He turned around and pointed at the wall.

Hiss!

A black hole as tall as a person suddenly opened on the smooth white wall.

"Come in." He took the lead and stepped into it.

The black hole remained, waiting for Yu Hong to enter.

Yu Hong took a deep breath and stepped into it.

Swish!

The darkness before his eyes flashed and was gone, followed by a dim white light.

A large gray and white ruin appeared before him.

Some broken plaques were buried under collapsed walls, with only the parts exposed above the ground barely recognizable as some side halls of Wanxue Palace.

This kind of ruin stretched continuously in front of Yu Hong until it reached the end of his vision, densely packed.

The Corrupt Traveler stood beside him on the left.

"Look back," he reminded.

Yu Hong slowly turned his head, his pupils constricting instantly.

Behind him, a hundred meters away in the gray and white ruins, was a grotesque figure in a black robe with disheveled hair. Their legs were made of countless black roots.

The figure had its back to him, raising a hand to resist the endless black tide monsters ahead.

The black tide monsters here included countless three-headed giants of an inky green color, massive decaying black dragons with six eyes and black wings, and warriors with eight arms resembling hideous Asuras.

Each type released a terrorizing red value far exceeding the war level.

"These are the Holy Wolf Legion, the army under the Black Disaster Night Mother Tree's Holy Tower faction," the Corrupt Traveler explained. "They want to destroy the Red Sky Fruit."

Yu Hong understood instantly. His gaze turned to the emaciated figure standing alone against the army.

"Who is that? Able to single-handedly block such a terrifying large army."

"He is called Feng Xuezi," the Corrupt Traveler smiled. "More accurately, he is your senior uncle."

"Senior uncle...." Yu Hong squinted, instantly connecting many things together.

"The force of the Heavenly Sun Sect you were dealing with was actually just a bit that accidentally leaked from here. The battle here has been going on for several days already," the Corrupt Traveler explained. "Letting you come in to see the situation here is to make you understand that the Red Sky Fruit brings greater hope, as well as greater pressure from those attempting to destroy that hope. If we maintained the previous slow demise, no one would care. But... Feng Xuezi does not accept this fate!"

"Because of your appearance, he does not accept it!" The Corrupt Traveler patted Yu Hong's shoulder.