Liang Yu didn''t respond, but I could feel her unease. The weight of my words lingered between us like a shadow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Surprisingly, YuYu remained silent, though her eyes betrayed a deep understanding. She knew there were parts of me that would always remain beyond her reach, dark ces in my soul that only Du Shen inhabited.


    As we prepared to move, Meng Hao stepped up beside me, his usual cocky grin stered on his face. "Good thing I''m with you," he said, his tone light. "I didn''t want to deal with that mess over there." clearly hinting at the Fire Lord if we left those two together, the entire would be on our asses the first minute.


    I smiled back, grateful for his presence. Meng Hao was unpredictable, a walking disaster at times, but there was no one else I''d rather have at my side when things went south. He was like a ma for chaos and all sort of struggle and problems, but his luck—his infuriating ability to survive anything—made him invaluable. Law might have incredible luck, but Meng Hao?


    He was the embodiment of survival, no matter how dire the circumstances, he is after all, to me, the Main Character.


    Before we split, I reached into my holding bag and pulled out a series of small objects, scattering them across the ground. As they hit the earth, hundreds of tiny metallic spheres rolled out, skittering in every direction like a swarm of insects. Each one unfurled into a small spider-like form, their legs twitching as they scurried away, vanishing into the surroundingndscape.


    "What are those?" Liang Yu asked, watching them curiously.


    "Scouts," I exined. "They''re too small to be noticed, even by the Rakshasa. They''ll map the area and send data back to our bracelets. We''ll have a real-timeyout of the terrain before we even set foot in it."


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    Master Rain nodded approvingly. "Smart. We''ll need every advantage we can get."


    "Right," Dao Shen chimed in, stepping forward. "But what happens if we run into trouble?"


    I met his gaze, my expression serious. "We avoid fighting at all costs. If you''re forced to engage, eliminate the threat quickly and disappear. We can''t afford to alert the entire to our presence. Not yet."


    Everyone nodded in agreement, their faces set with determination.


    With that, we set out into the wilderness of Srous, each team moving in silence, the weight of the mission pressing down on us with every step.


    ****


    Not far from Srous, in the cold expanse of space, a group of cultivators floated in a loose formation, their cloaks billowing slightly in the stillness. The emptiness around them was filled with an unsettling quiet, broken only by their hushed voices.


    Each cultivator possessed immense power—most of them at the Origin Shattering Stage, their auras barely contained, while the leader among them stood apart, his Qi denser, more concentrated. He was at the Heaven Stage, his presencemanding respect without the need for words.


    "Get the information to headquarters," the Heaven Stage cultivator said, his voice firm and unyielding. "We can''t afford to waste time."


    One of the Origin Shattering cultivators, a younger man with a hesitant expression, dared to question him. "But… it''s not confirmed yet. We only detected it for a split second. It could have just been debris from the wreckage," he said, ncing nervously at the others, seeking some support.


    The Heaven Stage cultivator''s eyes narrowed. "I don''t care if it''s not confirmed," he snapped. "I''d rather be overly cautious than regretful. If that vessel belongs to an enemy, they could breach the barrier, and once that happens, we''ll have those fiends swarming us. The God Killing Formation might not be enough to hold them back if it gets damaged."


    His tone left no room for argument. The other cultivators remained silent, the weight of his words pressing down on them like the gravity of a copsing star.


    "I''ll go," one of the other Origin Shattering cultivators said, stepping forward with a shrug. "I''ll head back to HQ, but don''t expect them to listen to me. If it''s not a confirmed threat, the Elders won''t waste resources on something they consider minor."


    "Doesn''t matter. We need to inform them. If anything happens and we didn''t report it, we''ll be the ones they me." The Heaven Stage cultivator''s stern gaze swept over the group. "Better to cover all our bases than to risk the consequences of silence."


    The Origin Shattering cultivator sighed, a resigned look crossing his face. "Alright then, I''ll head out. See youter," he said, turning away from the group and propelling himself into the void.


    Moving through space without the constraints of gravity, the cultivator''s speed increased rapidly. The vast distances between stars ands, which would take ordinary beings lifetimes to traverse, were nothing for someone at his level. His body cut through the void, leaving a faint ripple of Qi in his wake as he sped toward his destination.


    Despite his cultivation, the journey took him several days. Days of traveling through the silent vacuum, where only the faint flicker of distant stars apanied him. His destination was a small asteroid far from Srous, a remote outpost that housed one of the Confederation Alliance''s bases.


    As he approached, the asteroid came into view. It was muchrger than it appeared from a distance, with a sprawlingplex built across its surface. The city-like structure was a hive of activity, with cultivators moving about their business in the narrow streets between the buildings.


    White gs adorned with golden writing fluttered above the structures, a symbol of the Confederation Alliance, and at the center of it all stood thergest building—an imposing ten-story tower that loomed over the rest of the outpost.


    The Origin Shattering cultivatornded gracefully on the asteroid''s surface, his arrival drawing the attention of several other cultivators. Two guards, dressed in white robes marked with the same golden writing as the g, quickly intercepted him.


    "Tao Ya," one of them said, recognizing the neer. "What brings you back here? And where''s the rest of your group?"


    "I had to leave first," Tao Ya replied, his expression serious. "I need to speak with one of the alliance leaders. We might have a situation on our hands."