Translator: CinderTL
"Starquake!?"
Zuo Cheng, Su Fang, and True Monarch Huang Tian were momentarily baffled by Yu Jin's words.
But Yu Jin, who had finally grasped the truth, slammed the Golden Crow Battleship's control stick forward with all his might.
"Full speed ahead! Maximum acceleration to escape this star system!"
At his command, the Golden Crow Battleship, which had been heading toward the Star Gate, executed a sharp turn and began accelerating, preparing to make a complete escape.
To flee this star system, where the Star Gate was located!
But just as the Golden Crow Battleship completed its turn and was about to unleash its full power, a visible surge of energy erupted from the Star Gate, which had already been trembling violently and emitting intense Spatial Ripples.
Inside the Star Gate, it was as if a white dwarf star had appeared. Its blinding white light distorted the Void, sweeping outward in all directions with terrifying speed, exceeding even the limits of space and time.
The Golden Crow Battleship, which had been accelerating at full throttle, seemed to be struck by some kind of interference. All its engines shut down instantly.
Faintly, Li Chunjun's Divine Sense seemed to sense a mournful cry of pain emanating from the warship.
It was the anguished cry of a Seventh-Rank lifeform.
And for a Seventh-Rank lifeform to cry out in such agony...
"It's too late!"
Uncontrollable fear flashed in Yu Jin's eyes.
Even the widely knowledgeable Zuo Cheng, True Monarch Huang Tian, and Su Fang finally realized what was happening. Fear spread across their faces as well.
"Cosmic Quake!"
Cosmic Quake!?
Li Chunjun quickly retrieved information about this phenomenon from his memory.
In simple terms, a Cosmic Quake was like an earthquake...
But on a cosmic scale!
Rumble! Rumble!
Silent rumbling sounds continuously emanated from the Star Gate's location.
Visible Spatial Ripples surged forth from the blinding white light within the Star Gate—a manifestation of condensed Spatial Energy.
After this torrent of Spatial Energy had been sustained for a certain period, it finally breached the Star Gate's capacity.
With a groan of unbearable strain, the Star Gate, which had taken thirty-two years to build and cost millions, tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of Spirit Crystals, finally collapsed amidst the distorted space.
At that very instant, the blinding white energy that had been sealed within the Star Gate erupted violently.
This release of energy defied comparison or description by any Mystical Power or Qi.
The hundred-mile-high wreckage of the Star Gate was instantly torn to shreds and ground to dust by this torrent of blinding white spatial energy.
The Star Gate itself, along with all the Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, Nascent Soul True Lords, and Core Formation Cultivators in the vicinity, vanished without a trace.
Even Ouyang Lian, the Primordial Spirit True Monarch who had just fled toward the Star Gate, believing it would lead him out of the Blue Star Minor Realm, was annihilated.
"High-Intensity Cosmic Shockwave!"
A terrified operator's shout echoed from the Golden Crow Battleship.
"Descend toward the Blue Star Minor Realm! Use the Golden Crow Battleship as a vessel to harness all the Dao Rhythm the realm can muster to withstand the shockwave!"
Yu Jin's order followed immediately.
Flee?
There was no escape!
No warship, no matter how fast, could outrun the spreading cosmic storm.
Using the Blue Star Minor Realm as a shield and relying on the Golden Crow Battleship's Tier 7 warship capabilities was the only way to survive.
"How could a Cosmic Quake of this magnitude possibly exist!?"
True Monarch Huang Tian's eyes were filled with disbelief.
"It could be a Divine Race conspiracy, or... it could be related to the structure of this region of space where the Blue Star Minor Realm is located," Zuo Cheng said, his expression grim. "According to our intelligence, this area of space originally held no value. It was just an ordinary Lesser World that even Nascent Soul True Lords wouldn't bother with. It was only after a massive Cosmic Quake that the structure of this space changed, placing it precisely at a newly formed spatial node."
This shift in the Blue Star's cosmic position was what had attracted the Nine Immortal Sects to establish Branch Sects and construct Star Gates here.
"You mean..." Su Fang's pupils contracted. "The previous Cosmic Quake was merely a prelude to this grander one? Is the true shockwave only arriving now?"
"Most likely."
Zuo Cheng said, "After all, this section of the starry sky lies within a 'Starquake Belt'! In recorded history, a Starquake has occurred roughly every few tens of thousands of years!"
"Damn it! How could the Starry Sky Group have made such a massive oversight!?" True Monarch Huang Tian was both shocked and furious.
"This Cosmic Quake may have some natural causes, but other factors are likely at play. Don't underestimate the Starry Sky Group's technology. If Blue Star wasn't suitable for a Star Gate, they should have been able to detect it." Su Fang frowned deeply.
"We certainly trust the Starry Sky Group's technology! But don't forget, the Profound Yellow Great World has only been integrated into the Human Race system for a short time. The Azure Sea Domain was originally controlled by the Taixu Sword Sect, and the Taixu Sword Sect's integration into the Immortal Alliance system and the Human Race's influence has only been a thousand years!" Zuo Cheng said gravely. "In such a short time, how could they possibly have a complete understanding of the starry sky structure of all the Realm Regions surrounding the Profound Yellow Great World?"
"Both factors are at play. Don't forget, the Azure Sea Domain was still a Divine Race Realm Region a thousand years ago, and remnants of the Divine Race still linger to this day."
At this moment, Yu Jin, who was piloting the Golden Crow Battleship, spoke again. "The most likely scenario is that the previous Cosmic Quake and this current one were both meticulously planned by Divine Race forces. Their goal is to use a series of minor quakes to trigger an unprecedented Great Stellar Quake!"
He stared at the screen.
Boldly displayed were the words: "Total Energy Release: Level 15, Average Energy Release: Level 9."
Once the energy release level reached Level 11, it would meet the Void Refining standard!
Level 15!
This was the destructive power of a Great Power who had already manifested their Dharma Idol unleashing their full might!
"If we can't hold it, then we destroy it!"
Yu Jin's voice was heavy with despair. "The Divine Race's true goal... is highly likely to be using the spatial turbulence created by the Cosmic Quake to obliterate and bury the entire Azure Sea Domain!"
"Obliterate and bury the entire Azure Sea Domain!?"
The True Monarchs present felt their scalps prickle at Yu Jin's words.
The Azure Sea Domain was vast beyond comprehension!
Using Li Chunjun's understanding of distance, it spanned over a million light-years in both directions!
Within it, there were tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of Lesser Worlds like Blue Star, each with its own civilization!
Yet the Divine Race had been secretly plotting all along, intending to trigger an unprecedentedly massive Cosmic Quake to obliterate the entire Azure Sea Domain...
To bury hundreds of thousands of civilizations, and countless billions of lives, along with it!?
Though they found it hard to believe, even horrifying, the current situation seemed to confirm Yu Jin's claim.
Yu Jin's explanation seemed the most plausible.
"Let's just hope the energy released by this Great Stellar Quake is limited, and the final destruction won't be too severe."
Fear flickered in Yu Jin's eyes. "And I pray our Golden Crow Battleship can withstand the spatial impact generated by the Starquake!"
The Golden Crow Battleship, moving at incredible speed, swiftly arrived at the Blue Star Minor Realm and quickly anchored itself within.
Dozens of True Monarchs aboard the warship worked in unison, activating the Golden Crow's power. A mysterious substance from the Blue Star Minor Realm began to continuously spew into the Void.
At first glance, it appeared as if the Blue Star Minor Realm's magnetic field was shielding it from harmful radiation from the outside.
In reality, however, the accumulated Dao Rhythm and Spatial Laws of the Blue Star Minor Realm were colliding and canceling each other out, thus mitigating the impact of Spatial Turbulence on the realm's inhabitants.
Though this Dao Resonance Barrier managed to withstand the onslaught of spatial forces, no one present felt any sense of relief.
The energy readings displayed on the Golden Crow Battleship's detectors sent shivers down everyone's spines.
"Total Energy Release: Level 16, Average Energy Release: Level 9!"
"Total Energy Release: Level 17, Average Energy Release: Level 10!"
"Total Energy Release: Level 18, Average Energy Release: Level 10!"
Almost every few moments, the numerical values would refresh.
Outside, a torrent of pure white energy formed distortions that filled every corner of their vision.
The entire starry sky resembled a vibrant oil painting, a kaleidoscope of colors that was both beautiful and terrifying.
"When the Average Energy Release exceeds Level 11, the Void Refining level, it will surpass the Lesser World's capacity. At that point... the Blue Star Minor Realm will collapse. Without this Lesser Thousand World barrier, the Golden Crow Battleship won't last long either. We'll all die. Yet, we can't do anything to stop it."
Yu Jin said bitterly.
Zuo Cheng, Huang Tian, Su Fang, and the others felt the same helplessness.
Before this cosmic disaster, what were they—mere Primordial Spirit True Monarchs—but insignificant specks?
All they could do was pray that the Starquake's energy level wouldn't rise further.
But the Starquake's energy level wouldn't heed their prayers.
Soon...
"Total Energy Release: Level 19! Average Energy Release: Level 10!"
Although the Average Energy Release remained at Level 10, the barrier surrounding the Blue Star Minor Realm was clearly on the verge of collapse, as if it might shatter completely at any moment.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look! Look up at the sky!"
"In the sky?!"
Li Chunjun, Huang Tian, Su Fang, and everyone else looked up simultaneously.
In the sky...
Something was disappearing.
It was...
The stars!
The starry sky!
Huang Tian, Su Fang, Yu Jin, and Zuo Cheng were somewhat prepared, but Li Chunjun, who had grown up in the Azure Star Minor Realm, clearly recognized that everything he knew and recognized—every star and every constellation—was vanishing, collapsing, and being destroyed.
Starquake! Starquake!
The starry sky was undergoing a massive earthquake!
Even earthquakes on the ground could cause continents to shift, seas to transform into deserts, and the world to be turned upside down.
But a Starquake in the starry sky...
That meant the sun and moon would change places, and the stars would shift in their orbits!
"In the face of such a catastrophe, it doesn't matter if you're a Primordial Spirit, a Nascent Soul, a Core Formation, or a Qi Refining cultivator. It doesn't matter where you are. If you're within the range of the Cosmic Quake and have no protection, everyone will die."
Zuo Cheng's face turned pale.
"It doesn't matter if we die, but Li Chunjun... he's a future Void Refining Great Power!"
True Monarch Huang Tian's eyes were filled with regret.
"A future Void Refining cultivator is useless now," Yu Jin said, his expression somber. "Unless he achieves Void Refining right now, he could naturally repel the spatial turbulence caused by this Cosmic Quake with the power of Void Refining. But..."
"Beep! Beep!"
Before he could finish, the Golden Crow Battleship's emergency alarm blared.
"Total Energy Release: Level 20! Average Energy Release: Level 11!"
The spatial turbulence impact on the Azure Star Minor Realm had reached Void Refining level!
Instantly...
Aurora filled the sky!
The Dao Resonance Barrier, already strained like a planet's magnetic field, held for only a few breaths before beginning to collapse!
(End of the Chapter)
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