Lord of the Rending Stars

Qingyang's consciousness flowed between the three bodies, beginning to plan his next stage of cultivation.

"The human race's main body and the Yuanhua clone went to the outer battlefield to hone their skills, while the Shiying Beast's main body stayed in the Forging Star Pavilion to continue comprehending the laws of time and space, and the Youtian Kunpeng clone stayed in the Divine Kingdom to continue comprehending the laws."

Qingyang's arrangement allows him to break through in actual combat without hindering his progress in weapon crafting. More importantly, if an accident occurs on the outer battlefield, the loss would only be his human main body and his Yuanhua clone. Although the Yuanhua clone is precious, as long as the main body of the Youtian Kunpeng remains intact, it can be re-formed by consuming some energy and time.

Qingyang flipped his hand and took out several treasures. The True Radiance Blade, an ordinary, smoky gray supreme treasure battle blade, faintly emanated a pressure capable of collapsing space itself. The Black Flame Armor, a top-tier treasure armor bestowed upon him by his master, the Ancient God Venerable, was entirely jet black, its plates engraved with densely packed fire-law runes.

These two items are the equipment of the human race itself.

He then retrieved the Thunder Armor from the Yuanshi Refining Treasure Scroll's internal space. As soon as the suit of armor, deep purple in color and with layers of scales as deep as an abyss, appeared, countless purple arcs of electricity leaped across the surface of the armor plates, emitting a low rumble of thunder.

Qingyang gently stroked the armor plate, feeling the vast and abyss-like pressure of thunder. With his current strength, it was impossible for him to fully unleash the power of the Thunder Armor, but even if he could only unleash one percent, it would be enough for him to remain unharmed under the attack of a Universe Venerable.

Finally, his consciousness connected with the independent space deep within his soul, opened up by the Primordial Refining Treasure Scroll. The Sumeru Palace floated silently within it, its entire body a dark gold, its surface engraved with countless intricate patterns, each one exquisitely crafted.

This supreme palace, a treasure he currently possesses, is his most suitable trump card for survival. When faced with an invincible force, he can retreat into the Sumeru Palace, a place even a cosmic overlord would find difficult to breach in a short time.

As for the Demon Suppression City, Qingyang doesn't plan to use that incomplete, top-tier palace treasure for the time being. He understands better than anyone the principle that possessing a treasure is a crime, and exposing the Demon Suppression City before possessing sufficient strength will only bring about his death.

Qingyang's human avatar rose, donned his Black Flame Armor, slung the True Radiance Blade over his back, and stored his Yuanhua clone in his world ring. The Yuanhua clone, clad in Thunderclap Armor and carrying the Sumeru Palace, was ready for battle at any moment. Before departing, Qingyang sent a short message to the Ancient God Venerable in the virtual universe: "Master, this disciple wishes to hone his skills on the outer battlefield bordering the Human and Firefly races."

A moment later, the ancient god's reply came, consisting of only five words: "Good, but remember to be careful."

The spaceship transfer platform in the center of the holy city is flat and vast, large enough to accommodate hundreds of armies for inter-galactic deployment at the same time.

When Qingyang arrived, Bingfeng was already waiting by a ferry platform. The two exchanged a glance, and Bingfeng asked, "To the third battlefield where the two races meet?"

"I'm fine," Qingyang said with a smile. "Let's go."

Five years later, at the very edge of the human race's territory.

Qingyang looked around, only to be met with utter desolation. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless darkness and sparse, fragmented pieces of the continent.

These continental fragments varied in size, some as small as mountains, others comparable to small galaxies. They floated slowly in the darkness, their edges sharp as knives, occasionally colliding with each other and shattering silently. Each collision stirred up visible ripples in space, spreading in all directions.

Further away, several enormous spatial rifts could be vaguely seen stretching across the void, like wounds torn open by a giant beast, unable to heal for a long time. Chaotic spatial currents constantly surged from the rifts, tearing everything around them to pieces.

"This is the battlefield beyond our borders..."

Bingfeng's voice rang out beside Qingyang, carrying a rare hint of solemnity, "Indeed, it lives up to its reputation."

Qingyang remained silent, silently sensing the laws and environment of this starry sky. Unlike the orderly laws of the outside world, the laws here were chaotic and violent, especially the spatial laws, which greatly interfered with the accuracy of teleportation. A slight mistake could lead to being swept into a spatial rift.

"No wonder Brother Jiuyu said that we can only fight in the most primitive way here," Qingyang said softly. "In this environment, the blocking and strangulation of spatial laws will be weakened, and the accuracy of teleportation will be interfered with. Only the purest power and will can be the foundation."

Bingfeng nodded, about to speak, when a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly came from afar.

Both of them simultaneously became alert, their gazes turning towards the direction from which the fluctuations originated. Tens of millions of kilometers away, in an area densely populated with spatial fragments, a fierce battle was taking place.

Several silver-white human figures could be vaguely seen, fighting against dozens of blood-red, giant insect-like creatures. Among the human figures, the strongest was only at the peak of the King-Sealing stage, while among the fireworms besieging them, there were two beings at the peak of the King-Sealing stage.

"It's a human patrol squad," a cold glint flashed in Bingfeng's eyes, "and they're being besieged by the Fireworms."

Qingyang didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and gripped the hilt of the True Radiance Blade behind him.

"Save people!" Bingfeng uttered two words, and his figure transformed into a streak of ice-blue light, shooting towards the battlefield.

Qingyang followed closely behind, taking a step forward. The laws of space activated, and his figure flickered continuously in the void. Although the accuracy of his teleportation was severely affected, with his control over the laws of space, he could still teleport short distances.

The distance of tens of millions of kilometers was traversed in just a dozen breaths as the two traveled at full speed.

The battlefield was even more devastating than what could be seen from afar. The human patrol consisted of seven people, led by the 'Iron Feather King,' a peak-level King, while the other six ranged from peak-level Marquis to high-level King. They stood back-to-back in a circle, desperately resisting the siege of dozens of Fireworms.

Iron Feather King was covered in blood, and most of his pair of silver-white wings were broken off, but he still gritted his teeth and activated a G9-level psychic weapon, which transformed into thousands of silver needles in an attempt to block the attack of the two peak-level fire worms.

However, the two fireworms were clearly experienced, constantly changing their attack rhythm from left to right, each strike taking away a portion of Iron Feather King's divine body. The other six human immortals were also in dire straits under the siege of dozens of Marquis and King-level fireworms.

"Hold on! We've already called for reinforcements!"

Iron Feather King roared, but he knew in his heart that reinforcements would not arrive for at least half an hour. And in their current state, he had no idea whether they could hold out for half an hour.

Just then, a beam of icy blue light descended from the sky, freezing a peak-level firefly that was pouncing on Iron Feather King in mid-air.

"Nine Transformations of the Frozen Abyss - Eternal Ice Coffin!"

Ice Peak's figure stepped out from the light, his hands forming a seal. A coffin entirely composed of laws appeared out of thin air, sealing the bewildered fireworm within. Inside the coffin, time seemed to stand still, space completely solidified. The peak-level King-level fireworm didn't even have time to struggle before losing consciousness.

The other peak-level fire worm sensed the danger, let out a sharp screech, and exerted force with its hundreds of hooves at the same time, trying to escape.

But a flash of light was even faster.

Qingyang's figure appeared above it, drawing his True Radiance Blade. The blade was devoid of light, yet it carried a terrifying pressure capable of collapsing space itself. He didn't employ any elaborate sword techniques; he simply slashed down with a single, unadorned strike.

This strike was purely a crushing display of power.

"Pfft!"

The hard shell of that hundreds-of-meters-long, peak-level King-level fireworm was torn apart like paper, and the blade cleaved from its head to its tail, completely annihilating its body.

With a single strike, the Firefly, at the peak of his Kinghood, fell!

The battlefield fell silent instantly. The remaining dozens of fireworms stared wide-eyed at the single eye, looking at the scene in disbelief. Two leaders at the peak of the King-level realm, one frozen in ice, the other killed with a single strike—what kind of power was this?

"Invincible in the title of King!"

Iron Feather King blurted out, his eyes filled with shock.

Qingyang ignored the fireflies, simply standing with his sword drawn, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield. Under his gaze, even the fireflies of the initial ranks of Marquis and King took a step back in unison.

"Ice Peak, let's finish this quickly," Qingyang said calmly.

Bingfeng nodded, his body radiating an intense chill. He raised a finger, and the Eternal Ice Coffin, which sealed another peak-level King-level fire worm, suddenly contracted inward, the terrifying squeezing force crushing the fire worm's divine body inch by inch.

"Click"

The ice coffin shattered, and along with the fireflies inside, it turned into countless ice crystals that scattered across the sky.

With the two peak-level King-level fireflies fallen, the remaining fireflies lost all will to fight, let out a chaotic hiss, and scattered and fled.

Qingyang and Bingfeng did not give chase, watching the fireflies disappear into the dark starry sky.

Iron Feather King, accompanied by six surviving human immortals, stepped forward and bowed deeply: "Iron Feather, thank you both for saving our lives!"

Qingyang glanced at Tieyu Wang and asked, "How did your patrol team get surrounded here? Isn't this area under human control?"

Iron Feather King's expression hardened, and he lowered his voice, "My lord, you may not know this, but recently the Firefly Clan's activities in the Third Battlefield have suddenly become more frequent. In the past, they only harassed the perimeter, but in the past few months, they have penetrated into our human-controlled territory several times. Our squad was ambushed by them during a routine patrol."

"An ambush?" Bingfeng frowned. "You mean, it was premeditated?"

Iron Feather King shook his head. "It can't be definitively determined to be an ambush. As far as I know, other patrol routes in the Third Battlefield have also encountered similar attacks. And each time it was an elite squad, specifically targeting our human race's King-level combat power."

Qingyang and Bingfeng exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in each other's eyes.

The Fireworms' sudden change of strategy and large-scale invasion of human-controlled territory suggests more than just simple friction. Either something has happened within the Fireworms themselves, or someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"Let's go back to the front-line base first," Qingyang said in a deep voice. "This is not the place to talk."

Iron Feather King nodded hurriedly and led the way with his six comrades whose divine bodies were severely damaged.

The group teleported in a small area towards the human front-line base of the third battlefield. On the way, Qingyang learned more from Tieyu Wang.

The Third Battlefield is the most intense battlefield at the border between the Human Race and the Firefly Race. The two sides have been locked in a stalemate here for countless eras, with interlocking battle lines and large and small battles breaking out every day.

The human race established a permanent frontline base called "Zhenhuo City" on the edge of the battlefield, which was guarded by three powerful beings at the level of Cosmic Venerables on a rotating basis.

"Which cosmic venerable one is currently in charge?" Qingyang asked.

"It is Venerable Cangyin," Iron Feather King replied, "but..."

"Just what?"

Iron Feather King hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's just that Venerable Cangyin seems to be troubled by something recently, and hasn't appeared for hundreds of years."

Qingyang nodded slightly and did not ask any further questions.