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--- Chapter 471 ---
"Where are we?" Xu Deming's voice reverberated, warped and echoing as they nosedived into a blinding, kaleidoscopic abyss.
Hanlong Nuji couldn't feel her physical body, yet she intuitively knew she remained entirely unharmed within this bizarre realm. Her gaze wandered across the shifting currents, trying to comprehend the sheer wonder of their surroundings.
"I think we are passing through the void," she noted confidently.
"Not the true void... we are currently in the gap between dimensions," Han Yuan replied, throwing the dragon lady an amused glance. "Our goal is an alternate universe of the Douluo Plane, the exact original timeline where Brother Xu was born."
"I am currently using his very existential frequency as an anchor to plant ourselves firmly within that specific reality."
"We are chained and pulled to that very world now."
"Wait... why is your movement not limited and much smoother than ours?" Hanlong Nuji realized that while Han Yuan lacked a solid physical vessel, his soul glided through the kaleidoscopic realm like a fish cutting through calm water.
Han Yuan merely smiled, offering no direct explanation. 'My soul is rather special. To me, an environment like this is no different than home.'
He wasn't lying. The innate, raw power of his World-Devouring Kunpeng bloodline allowed him to traverse and actively thrive in these harsh extra-dimensional conditions.
He could feel his soul being actively nourished by the ambient temporal storms, growing tangibly stronger with every passing second simply by existing within the myriad kaleidoscopic currents.
Deep within his intangible chest, the horrifying elemental laws of Space, Void, Destruction, and Devouring unique to the World-Devouring Kunpeng were slowly brewing, crystallizing into a tangible core.
Unexpectedly, a violent wave of extreme suction swept over Han Yuan, Xu Deming, and Hanlong Nuji. The gravitational pull forced them past several flashing universes that whirled by like the rapidly flipping pages of a massive book.
"W-What was that..." Xu Deming muttered, his mind going full numb. The sheer, raw volume of information his internal processing core had tried to decipher from those fleeting, passing images was too overwhelming, even for his modified mind to handle.
"Hmm..." Hanlong Nuji frowned deeply, feeling a headache. Even with her immense divine perception, she hadn't been able to see past the blurring illusion of those flipping pages. Everything had happened far too quickly for her senses to register the true nature of what lay beyond the planar veil.
Meanwhile, Han Yuan narrowed his silver eyes in awe. Thanks to his Eyes of Truth working at maximum capacity, he had briefly caught the secrets of the multiverse hidden beneath the cosmic layers.
Unfortunately, realizing fast that he couldn't possibly digest such world-breaking information all at once, he skillfully sealed the knowledge away in the deepest recesses of his mind.
[The transfer... is nearly complete.]
The monotonous, mechanical voice echoed within Han Yuan's head, acting as a grounding tremor that instantly stabilized his fluctuating spiritual energy.
[Please prepare for imminent landing!]
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dimensional boundary.
The Douluo Federation, the supreme governing body founded upon the Douluo Continent after the ancient Sun Moon Empire had conquered the lands, forcing the old noble sovereignties to flee across the vast oceans to distant continents.
At this exact moment, deep within the hidden, heavily fortified sanctuary of the Brilliant Amethyst Peak, a secret assembly of prominent figures gathered inside a dim, grand hall.
Every individual present wore an identical, unexpressive white-black mask paired with an amethyst-purple robe. Their collective, solemn gazes were fixed entirely on a massive projection flickering in the center of the room.
"It is still a failure..." One of the masked figures uttered, his voice heavy with defeat. "The Douluo Star is completely locked from the inside out."
"We cannot launch a single long-range recon satellite without it being magically obliterated the exact millisecond it makes contact with outer space."
"This planet... someone or something... has trapped us here," Another one snarled, slamming his fist onto the council table. "They are forcing us into a corner, waiting for us to either be slaughtered by the Abyss Plane or wipe them out ourselves, just so that they can swoop in and reap all benefits!"
"But why?! Why must all of us be forced... to suffer like this?!" The third masked figure growled in agonizing frustration, his voice trembling under the weight of immense fury.
"Six thousand... three hundred... fucking years!"
"We have been fighting the endless waves of the Abyss Plane ever since its first catastrophic descent upon the Endless Mountains for that damned long!"
"We have sacrificed millions of lives... countless generations of our best and brightest..."
"And yet, we still haven't discovered a viable way out."
Another masked figure chimed in, his tone full of grave dissatisfaction and anger. "The Planar-Crossing Device... completely blocked."
"The Star-Leaping Spaceships... blocked."
"Even when we attempt the most straightforward measure of sending an orbital satellite to monitor the surrounding deep space, it is immediately shot down."
"Someone is deliberately keeping us in captivity, treating humanity like nothing more than cattle in a slaughterhouse."
"The Spirit Beast race has already been pushed to the absolute brink of total extinction, and we, the human race, are destined to follow that same path very soon."
The leading masked figure at the head of the long table finally spoke, his commanding presence immediately calming the rising tide of anger. "We desperately need a breakthrough."
"A singular key to smash this thousands-year-old stalemate."
"We need a wild card."
Turning his head slowly, he fixed his shady gaze on a lone masked figure who sat leaning silently against his high-backed seat, isolated from the rest of the frantic council.
"Tianxing... perform your divination."
Feeling the heavy, expectant gazes of his resistance members locking onto him, the mysterious figure known as Heavenly Star let out a slow breath and nodded heavily. "Understood."
Tianxing was a peak Title Douluo powerhouse secretly nurtured by the highest echelons of the Federation.
His martial soul was incredibly rare and even heaven-defying: a mystical, cosmic starry bead capable of peering directly into the hidden luck, fortune, and destiny of an entire world.
He possessed the unique ability to divine the exact probability of future events. However, the price for enacting such a heaven-defying act was devastating; every single divination cost him a full tenth of his natural lifespan.
Throughout his long service to the Federation, he had already performed this dangerous ritual eight times.
This would mark his ninth attempt, meaning that after today, he would have only one single divination left before his life force completely withered away.
Though the Federation had spared no expense, utilizing the most precious heavenly resources and life-extending medicines to keep him alive, the fundamental toll of defying the heavens was a debt that no medicine could ever truly repay.
"Bead of Heaven and Earth Governing Stars, activate!"
The dying, masked figure performed his divine skill. The scene within the hidden room rapidly shifted, blurred, and expanded into the vast scenery of an endless universe, teeming with starry rivers.
Tianxing's eyes glowed with brilliant light as he caught a fleeting glimpse of three blinding stars hurtling toward the Douluo Plane, breaking through its impenetrable barrier without any resistance.
Yet, the moment he tried to observe these stars even closer, his core trembled, and he coughed up a heavy mouthful of blood.
Cough!
"Tianxing!" The other masked figures lunged forward, worriedly catching their dying companion.
"The key... The key is here..." Tianxing pulled up his mask slightly, wiping the dark crimson from his lips.
He laughed happily, "Hahaha, I will perform the last divination. To look for clues."
"After that... Everyone... I leave the rest to you guys."
"Tianxing..." The masked figures were overcome with a flood of emotions, but deep sorrow was the most prominent. They had watched Tianxing grow from anonymity to the pillar he was today.
Tianxing smiled weakly, his eyes reflecting the dying embers of his life force. "For a better future of this world, I, Tianxing, will gladly contribute my life to it."
"Bead of Heaven and Earth Governing Stars! Star Reader!"
BOOOOOOOOOM!!
The simulated universe within the room violently exploded. Forced by the sheer speed of his soul's final burning, everyone could finally see exactly what Tianxing saw.
Three blinding stars tearing into the atmosphere of the Douluo Star before scattering in entirely different directions. They manifested as a Jet-Black Star, an Azure Blue Star, and a Terrifying Silver Star.
"The black star connects to the Sun and Moon..." Tianxing's voice echoed through the hall, sounding weak, grave, yet profoundly solemn. "The blue star remains slumbering, undisturbed, unless an apocalypse happens..."
"But the Silver Star... shall bring us to the brightest future. He's the key to our breakthrough!"
"And I... Tianxing, have nothing to regret!"
As his final words rang out, Tianxing used the last remainder of his soul force to project an image of the entity hidden within the silver star.
The projection crystallized into a handsome, silver-haired young man with matching, piercing silver eyes. Strikingly, a magnificent, stylized silver whale tattoo covered half of his chest.
With that final expenditure, Tianxing heaved his last breath and closed his eyes, leaving the grand room in a state of dead silence.
The leading masked figure lowered his head, praying that Tianxing would rest in peace, knowing that his sacrifice would be forever etched into their hearts in the glorious future that awaited them.
"Everyone..." The leader whispered, his voice cutting through the silence of the room. "Tianxing has paid the ultimate price for us. It is time for us to do the remaining job."
"Keep everything that transpired here strictly confidential. Don't let Spirit Pagoda, Tang Sect, Blood God Army, and especially Shrek Academy know about this."
"More importantly, mobilize every ounce of our manpower to locate this young man—the key to our freedom."
"No... the key to the Douluo Star's future and peace!"