Chapter 1460: Saint's Arrival

Warnings were simultaneously received from three sub-spaces. Holy Race powerhouses suddenly intruded into these three sub-spaces. Fortunately, Zhou Yuan and his companions had maintained constant vigilance and set up numerous detection mechanisms. Therefore, the moment these Holy Race powerhouses intruded, eradication teams immediately rushed to the scene.

The first contact battle then erupted. The outcome was quickly determined: the intruders were swiftly annihilated. Their numbers were not large, and their strength was merely at the initial stage of the Law Domain realm, so they posed little threat. The timely elimination by the Cangxuan Heaven forces also prevented them from successfully pinpointing the spatial coordinates of their location.

However, this did not significantly relax Zhou Yuan and his companions. They understood that these were merely Holy Race reconnaissance teams, and their appearance here indicated that the Holy Race’s main army was already approaching. Subsequently, the calm of the past half-year would be utterly shattered. The scent of blood was in the air, and a rain of blood was imminent.

Just as Zhou Yuan had expected, almost every few days thereafter, alerts of intruding Holy Race powerhouses would be received, keeping everyone on edge. Initially, the defensive forces in the various sub-spaces managed well. However, as time passed, waves of intruding Holy Race powerhouses rapidly increased in both number and strength. Consequently, defenses in all areas quickly felt the pressure.

The flames of war were continuously ignited in the outer sub-spaces. Casualties also began to appear in these fierce battles, but no one paid too much attention to this, because this was war. As defenders, Cangxuan Heaven was not far behind them. They fully understood what a horrific catastrophe Cangxuan Heaven would face if the Holy Race army managed to forge a path from the sub-spaces into it. Everything they cherished would be utterly destroyed. Therefore, even if it meant giving their all now, they had to block the Holy Race’s advance outside Cangxuan Heaven.

In the oceanic sub-space, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged atop a sea island. Before him, a spiderweb-like light screen unfolded. At this moment, within the foremost defensive line, numerous light points continuously flickered red. These red lights indicated that these sub-spaces were currently being invaded by Holy Race powerhouses. Currently, his forces were putting all their effort into intercepting and annihilating the intruders.

A month had passed since the Holy Race forces first appeared. Throughout this month, the Holy Race’s incursions had not ceased for a moment. Countless fierce battles had erupted within the sub-spaces of the outermost defensive line, and one Law Domain after another, after unleashing their final radiance, dimmed into oblivion. It was like an exceptionally magnificent fireworks display.

Zhou Yuan gazed at the flickering red dots on the light screen, his expression somewhat heavy. During this period, his side had already lost five Law Domain powerhouses. They were all newly promoted Law Domains within Cangxuan Heaven. Yet, after finally achieving their long-held aspirations, they ultimately perished here. But Zhou Yuan knew this was not the time for sorrow. Such casualties would continue to occur; even some faces he was once familiar with might fall here. This was war, incredibly cruel, and it would not change based on any individual’s will. The most crucial task now was to stall the Holy Race’s advance here. Only by doing so would the sacrifices not be in vain.

“If you’re already this grim now, what will you do later?” a voice came from behind. Zhan Zhu stood behind Zhou Yuan, carrying his crimson gourd on his back. His gaze was also fixed on the red light points representing the foremost defensive line.

Zhou Yuan sighed softly and said, “What else can we do? We can only adapt to circumstances as they arise.” He, of course, knew what Zhan Zhu meant. Even though the battle was already fierce, this was merely the Holy Race’s probing, as their Saints had not yet entered the fray. They were clearly gathering information. Once they determined the situation here, their Saints would likely make their move, and that would be the truly most dangerous moment.

Zhan Zhu stroked his chin and asked, “How much longer do you think until their Saints enter the fray?”

Zhou Yuan slowly replied, “No more than two months.”

“On our side of the defense line, besides you and me, there are eight other Saints…” Zhan Zhu’s expression grew more serious as he continued, “If the Holy Race truly dispatches Saints by then, frankly, we might be a bit understaffed here.”

Zhou Yuan could only give a bitter smile in response and said, “Even if it’s not enough, there’s nothing we can do. It’s not just us here; the two Great Venerables, Wanzu and Zixiao, are also facing Holy Race attacks. They absolutely have no spare forces to spare for us. As for other Heavens, the reports indicate the intensity of the battles there is even greater than ours, so they also cannot spare any extra Saints for support.”

Saints are not common. Even with the accumulated strength of the All-Heavens over many years, they still seemed somewhat inadequate when facing the Holy Race’s massive invasion. Now, even one more Saint would make their defensive line more secure. Unfortunately, Saints do not simply appear out of thin air. Ultimately, Cangxuan Heaven’s foundation was indeed weaker. Currently, all the Saints here, apart from Zhou Yuan himself, were dispatched by the Return to Ruin Divine Hall. Not a single one was native to Cangxuan Heaven. The Return to Ruin Divine Hall also had other Heavens to defend, and it was unlikely to assign too many Saints to Cangxuan Heaven. Otherwise, Saints belonging to other Heavens would become disgruntled. After all, while they all belonged to the All-Heavens, absolute fairness could not be achieved when dealing with one’s own Heaven versus others. Zhou Yuan understood this point.

“In the past, with the Primal Chaos Saint Slaying Grand Formation protecting us, we never truly realized how powerful the Holy Race was,” Zhan Zhu said with some emotion. “Now that we are forced into direct confrontation, we finally understand why those old fellows in the Return to Ruin Divine Hall are so extremely wary of the Holy Race.”

In previous years, although the Holy Race was always eyeing them covetously, Zhan Zhu himself had never truly felt any substantial threat. Especially with the All-Heavens having recovered much of their strength in recent years, this had led some new Saints, who had not experienced the ancient world-destroying war, to a misconception: perhaps the All-Heavens were not necessarily weaker than the Holy Race. But now, with the war truly unleashed, they were finally beginning to experience the suffocating pressure exerted by the Holy Race.

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, “Ultimately, it goes back to that ancient world-destroying war. The Saint God directly shook the foundations of the All-Heavens, and even after all these years, the All-Heavens have still not fully recovered to their peak.”

From the scattered fragments of information passed down from ancient times, one could grasp the horror of that world-destroying war. At that time, countless Saints of the All-Heavens perished at the hands of the Saint God. In the final moments, had the Saint God not acted with such ruthlessness, which finally alerted the lingering will of the Ancestral Dragon, it is likely that the Holy Race would have long since dominated the Genesis World, enslaving all races.

Zhan Zhu nodded. The mere thought of that Saint God left even a free-spirited person like him speechless, and he thus fell silent for a moment.

Zhou Yuan, meanwhile, turned his gaze back to the outermost circle of red light points on the screen. “Next, we’ll see when their Saints make their move.”

Over the next two months, the Holy Race’s attacks were relentless, continuously infiltrating the outermost sub-spaces. Zhou Yuan’s side continuously mobilized teams to encircle and eliminate them. Grueling blood battles ensued, filling the very air in those outer sub-spaces with the stench of blood. Those sub-spaces had become veritable meat grinders.

When the two months of stalemate passed, it was exactly as Zhou Yuan had expected. The Holy Race’s Saints began to enter the fray. This marked the point when the Holy Race’s offensive finally began to bare its sharpest fangs. They intended to use the power of their Saints to utterly tear apart the All-Heavens’ defensive lines.