Chapter 548: Chapter 454: Wandering Celestial Essence, Immortal King Cave Heaven

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The sound of a heartbeat was incessant, accompanied by suffocating terror and majesty.

It was an indescribable feeling, a fear rooted in the essence of life itself, toward an incomprehensible higher power.

"What... what is this?"

Everyone’s scalp tingled, and Fatty Tiger shrank his neck, hiding behind Zhang Kui, looking at the sky with terrified eyes and asked.

Zhang Kui gazed at the crowd and, without unnecessary words, said in a deep voice: "It’s the resurrection of Immortal King Chi Chong from Unattainable Heaven."

"Immortal King resurrected?!"

Everyone gasped in shock.

Of course, Zhang Kui didn’t tell them more, not deliberately concealing, but fearing to bring about greater panic and despair.

Imagine, he had already witnessed the Blood God’s fierce might on the Desolate Ancient Battlefield, and that was just a half-step Starry Sky Dominator, which left him defenseless; a true Starry Sky Evil God would be even more terrifying.

And according to the Divine Fiend calculated in the Immortal King Tower, the Longevity Immortal Monarch had slain numerous Starry Sky Evil Gods, an Immortal King of the same level as Chi Chong would obviously not be much different.

Now, thousands of years after death and revival, Immortal King Chi Chong has laid down an astonishing plan, artificially creating two Starry Sky Dominators to devour, perhaps achieving even greater heights.

Zhang Kui could hardly imagine.

Suddenly, his expression changed, ascending to the sky in an instant.

The high-ranking immortals of the Divine Dynasty followed suit, their expressions changed at the sight of the earth below, and Elder Huayan even exclaimed: 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"How could it be?!"

In their eyes, in city after city beneath the Spirit Mountain, countless people had lost their sanity, crying out miserably, kneeling on the ground, and continuously bowing, the scene eerie and horrific.

"The divine soul of mundane beings cannot withstand it."

Zhang Kui frowned deeply, immediately identifying the cause, unable to suppress his anger, in this chaotic and terrifying world, wishing not to kneel, why is it so difficult!

Thinking of this, Zhang Kui immediately formed a spell, simultaneously saying in a deep voice:

"Tai Shi, Crisis Resolution Skill, operate the All Heaven Star Array!"

"As you command!"

The Tai Shi Golden Body instantly expanded, transforming into a colossal shadow, formed the spell simultaneously with Zhang Kui, and the entire Celestial Essence Star Realm instantly became peaceful, with the pounding heartbeat gradually fading away and disappearing.

Meanwhile, the All Heaven Star Array outside the Celestial Essence Star Realm slowly rotated, boundless starlight spreading, the Kunlun Mountain divine light shining tens of thousands of miles, and the silver lotus encapsulating the Star Realm emitted a brilliant light.

Zhang Kui couldn’t comprehend the power of Immortal King Chi Chong, but the Crisis Resolution Skill could dispel all negative states, and combined with the protection of the All Heaven Star Array, he finally held it off.

In the vast Spirit Mountain City, the populace stood up in a daze, with lingering fears and traces of terror in their eyes.

Next, Zhang Kui’s voice came from above in the sky:

"Except for the immortal level, all mortal beings must enter the Divine Path Dream Realm to avoid calamity."

The Kaiyuan Divine Dynasty thrived amid crisis, perhaps still young in strength, but unrivaled in unity; upon hearing Zhang Kui’s words, they asked no more, abandoning their tasks and rushing home, sitting cross-legged before the Divine Court Bell statue, closed their eyes, and entered the Divine Path Dream Realm.

In a short time, all bustling cities fell into silence.

The high-ranking members of the Divine Dynasty heaved a sigh of relief; the Divine Path Dream Realm was not just a virtual illusion, but linked to the true form of the Divine Court Bell, hidden in Kunlun Mountain, protected by the Celestial Essence Star Realm’s grand array, essentially an independent world.

The divine souls of the Divine Dynasty’s populace were protected by it; unless the entire Star Realm was thoroughly breached, there would be no widespread death.

The Starry Sky Evil God had the power to bewitch people’s hearts, and as long as ordinary beings were enveloped by its power, they would become devoted believers; Zhang Kui had long been aware and guarded against this.

Whether through the divine protection skill of the Divine Path or the Divine Path Dream Realm, he intended to evade it, but who would have thought that even without encountering the Evil God, a more terrifying Immortal King would arise.

By now, all mundane beings had entered the Divine Path Dream Realm, including the prodigies, leaving only the immortals to stand guard within the Celestial Essence Star Realm.

Streams of light came from the heavens, landing densely on the plains, numbering close to three thousand. These were the immortal levels of the Kaiyuan Divine Dynasty, including veteran elder humans, once fearsome figures of the Forbidden Land, and others who had gradually joined after venturing into the starry sky.

All the immortals remained silent, their gazes full of gravitas as they looked at Zhang Kui.

From the receipt of the current intel to the retreat to the Celestial Essence Star Realm, to the surprise of observing the examination and operation of the Star Realm’s core, everyone felt a sense of foreboding; that terrifying heartbeat confirmed the worst-case scenario had already occurred.

Zhang Kui looked around, and said in a solemn tone: "Everyone, I believe you’ve all guessed that we are being forced to abandon the Longevity Star Realm."

"No one wants to leave their homeland to wander the Endless Void, but the scenario you witnessed just now was a power insurmountable for us."

"No one knows if the resurrected Immortal King is good or evil, but based on his methods, he is also someone lofty, treating all life as mere grains to be consumed—everyone... proceed according to plan."

All the immortals bowed in unison: "As the sect leader commands!"

After speaking, they turned into streams of light and left in different directions.

Living in this dark and chaotic cosmic jungle, you could never predict what emergency might arise or from which shadowy corner danger might emerge; thus, Zhang Kui planned various contingencies with the collective strength of the immortals, among which the emergency evacuation of the Celestial Essence Star Realm was one.

With all mortal beings taking refuge in the Divine Path Dream Realm from disaster, the vast Celestial Essence Star Realm had only immortals active. They were clearly tasked, with some maintaining various grand arrays, some guarding the Divine Path at Kunlun Mountain, and others flew out to the sky, piloting starships patrolling the orbit.

Zhang Kui went to the top of Kunlun Mountain, with the Tai Shi Golden Body standing beside him, a grand star map appearing with a wave of the hand, as the enhanced Stargazing Disc constantly monitored anomalies in the nearby Star Zone.

As night fell, a large bright moon wandered through the sea of clouds, visibly seen over the Moon Sea, where the Moon Palace Array resided.

Although it was densely packed with tall buildings, Zhang Kui knew that before returning, the supplies there had already been cleared out.

"The bright moon is no longer my homeland..."

Zhang Kui sighed imperceptibly, then his gaze sharpened: "Tai Shi, activate the Star Realm’s core, depart from the Celestial Essence Star Zone!"

Rumble!

Brilliant divine light shot up from Kunlun Mountain, with silver flames wreathing the sky, igniting the starry sky, and the surrounding Asurian Stardown Array also operated simultaneously.

If viewed from afar, the Celestial Essence Star Realm resembled a colossal silver lotus blooming in the dark starry night, its radiance not to be overlooked.

Accompanied by the thunderous rumbling of space, the Celestial Essence Star Realm gradually departed its orbit, with visible ripples emanating outward.

A Star Zone was a complexly interconnected system, where the celestial bodies seemed unrelated, yet gravitational forces intricately balanced them; once disrupted, a chain reaction would ensue.

The first affected was the Moon Palace, with a buzzing vibration, and the Moon Sea Array flickered uncertainly, gradually veering off course.

In the distance, Thundercloud Star seemed to sense something, with dark clouds swirling rapidly and colossal thunder striking more densely than ever.

Rumble!

Finally, the Celestial Essence Star Realm completely left its orbit, the gigantic silver lotus surrounded by divine light, hauling a glowing tail spanning thousands of kilometers, slowly moving away.

The moon in the sky grew smaller, the Moon Palace upon it was formally abandoned, and without maintenance, its grand array would extinguish within a century, while its densely packed skyscrapers, if still standing a hundred years later, might become relics explored by other races.

At that moment, all the immortals looked up simultaneously, quietly observing everything...

......

Desolate Ancient Battlefield.

The area surrounding the Skeleton Star had wholly turned chaotic, black lightning flashing as the gigantic heartbeat quickened.

If Zhang Kui were still present, he would’ve surely felt fortunate for his decisions, for under the Skeleton Star’s influence, the mysterious and unknown region suspected to host the Immortal King Cave Heaven in the Eastern Star Realm also began experiencing disturbances...