Chapter 1951: Immortal Yuan Tide

She finally understood that everything Xu Yang had told her was absolutely correct. This group of people was truly terrifying.

"Will all my previous efforts come to an end today? My strength is far from enough to contend with experts of this caliber. If I am to fall like this, I will truly be unwilling."

This was the most desperate and helpless moment in the Empress's life. Just as she thought her life was about to end, Xu Yang's figure slowly appeared at the edge of her vision.

As only Xu Yang's silhouette remained in the Empress's sight, she even felt the flow of spatiotemporal laws around her change. Time and everything before her began to slow, yet only Xu Yang's movements remained unaffected.

The cohesion of power behind the dozen or so golden-robed believers was reduced to its extreme. By the time her five senses returned to normal, all the dark power that had been locked onto her had transferred to Xu Yang.

This was because Xu Yang had, at some unknown point, activated his tenth external Heavenly Eye above his head. An unimaginably terrifying devouring force surged wildly around him. All the formidable power that had belonged to those individuals was completely absorbed by Xu Yang's Heavenly Eye.

The sudden crisis vanished as quickly as it appeared. Yet, this instantaneous shift in the situation made the Empress truly realize just how terrifying Xu Yang's strength was.

As a mere bystander, even a Martial God-level expert like the Empress was frightened to such an extent. As the master who orchestrated all these changes, the height Xu Yang stood at was simply beyond the current Empress's ability to even gaze upon. At that moment, the Empress was speechless, utterly awestruck by Xu Yang's prowess.

When she fully recovered her senses, the dozen or so golden-robed believers around them, who were also Martial God-level experts, simultaneously began to burn intensely. Their life force was refined into the purest elemental cores by Xu Yang in a very short time.

"My heavens, how did you do that? Why couldn't the Martial God-level techniques they unleashed break free from that black hole-like vortex you created!"

Xu Yang smiled, then turned to look at the Empress.

"Don't inquire about these things. Even if I were to explain it in meticulous detail, you wouldn't be able to grasp the principles behind it.

You only need to understand that I'm not doing this solely to help you, but to resolve the conflicts between the two great empires. It's also to help you, the ruler of the Starscar Empire, see the true nature of the Ancient Martial God Way.

Sometimes, relying too heavily on your so-called intelligence system is not the right approach. Always trust your own eyes and judgment; answers obtained from others may not necessarily be the true answers."

Xu Yang's words taught the Empress a profound lesson. She finally began to understand that this world was far less straightforward than she had imagined. Not all the rules of the game were within her control.

Thanks to Xu Yang and the Empress's triumphant return, the entire confrontation did not result in any severe consequences. It's likely that the invading disciples of the dark forces, even as they fell, never expected Xu Yang to suddenly appear at such a critical juncture, completely disrupting all their original plans.

A few hours later, the darkness gradually dispersed, and the first rays of dawn illuminated the land. Inside her tent, the Empress personally poured wine for Xu Yang.

As the leader of the Starscar Empire, she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Xu Yang. Originally, other high-ranking elders from the Starlight Empire were also invited, but Xu Yang personally requested not to meet with them. The Empress had no choice but to host Xu Yang alone, thanking him for his assistance on her personal behalf.

"In any case, I truly didn't understand you well enough before, nor did I understand this world. Now that I know of the existence of these dark forces, I will certainly be much more careful in the future."

Xu Yang took the wine glass from the Empress and drained its contents. However, his expression was not as relaxed as one might expect; instead, he looked at the Empress with a solemn face.

"Actually, the ambition of the dark forces extends far beyond this. Although I thwarted their plan this time, I believe they will launch large-scale massacres against other factions in the shortest possible time.

Having failed to complete their large-scale life force absorption, they will absolutely not give up. These war puppets can be continuously manufactured over time, even if we manage to slay hundreds of their disciples today.

Before long, a new batch of potentially even stronger disciples could emerge. Merely relying on slaughter won't fundamentally stop the advent of this catastrophe."

Hearing Xu Yang's words, the Empress instead showed a curious expression.

"Do you perhaps have an entirely new plan?"

Xu Yang sighed and spoke to the Empress with utmost seriousness.

"I do have some thoughts on that front, but to be honest, I truly have no clear direction right now."

As he spoke, Xu Yang took out all three purple jade crystals from his hand and presented them to the Empress.

"The most significant secrets concerning the master behind the dark force disciples are all sealed within these purple jade crystals. However, I haven't gathered all the crystals yet, nor do I know how to extract the power from them."

The Empress carefully examined the three crystals, her expression changing repeatedly.

"I seem to recall seeing something similar to these in my memory, somewhere."

Xu Yang immediately became excited upon hearing the Empress's words.

"Didn't you say you've never encountered any dark force disciples? Theoretically, these purple jade crystals can only be held by priest-level experts of the dark forces, or appear in true forbidden zones within the empire."

Hearing this, the Empress gently waved her palm and presented Xu Yang with an intricately drawn parchment map.

"Within our Starscar Empire's territory, there are no so-called 'forbidden life zones.' However, the place marked on this parchment map is considered the most unique area near the Starscar Empire, named Immortal Essence Tide!

I once heard my Imperial Grandfather mention that countless years ago, this place was within the domain of the Ancient Martial Gods, where the most powerful Martial God experts secluded themselves.

According to legends from that era, an ancient divine weapon once appeared here, capable of shaking the entire Ancient Martial God Way. This attracted countless brilliant Martial Gods of that time, who ventured there in search of treasure.

However, something happened later, and this place became a burial ground that struck terror into the hearts of everyone in the Ancient Martial God Way region.

Afterward, it transformed into a true forbidden land, with few Martial God-level experts daring to enter. Originally, it wasn't a vast ocean either.

It became what it is today after enduring immense geological changes over time. When I was a child, I was full of curiosity about this world and begged my Imperial Grandfather more than once to take me there to explore.

However, my memories from that time are quite blurry, and my Imperial Grandfather didn't go too deep when he finally took me there.

But the thing I mentioned, which is very similar to these crystals, must have appeared there."