There was no way the battle would be decided in a short time.

Yu Hong had already seen that Lu Yuan's strength was terrifyingly great. Even for Yu Heng, a Ranker of the Eternals, defeating Lu Yuan would likely require paying a tremendous price.

Under such circumstances, Yu Hong thought of a simpler method.

He would use another group of people as leverage. Since Lu Yuan had brought those people with him, they had to be important. That meant they could serve as hostages.

Once he made up his mind, Yu Hong did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately issued an order.

"Move. Come with me and seize those people."

He gave the command to the Spirit Clan members beside him, while his sharp eyes fixed on Zhu Qingyu and the others in the distance.

The Spirit Clan was the subordinate clan of the Eternals. They would obey any order. Moreover, because of Ling Que's death, these people also bore a grudge against Lu Yuan. If they could find a way to kill him and eliminate him altogether, then nothing could be better.

Buzz.

In the next instant, under Yu Hong's lead, they moved at once.

The Celestials and other Outer Cosmos beings watching from afar noticed immediately. They exchanged glances, and all understood at once what Yu Hong intended to do. Their own hearts immediately began to stir as well.

The Eternals had already made trouble for Lu Yuan, and the one acting was even a Lesser Sage. If they chose to help now, perhaps they could truly kill the human Lu Yuan.

One had to know that ever since their descent, they had all wanted Lu Yuan dead. If he died, then they would no longer need to live under his suppression.

They could roam this world as they pleased, instead of like before, when every action had to be taken with constant hesitation. And yet the beings of the various Outer Cosmos races were still somewhat hesitant.

The reason was simple. Lu Yuan's strength had already left too deep an impression down into their very bones.

Boom!

At that moment, another loud blast rang out, making everyone raise their heads.

High in the sky, two figures were clashing without cease.

Yu Heng stood upon the void, the halo behind his head blazing with incomparable brilliance. Chains of Divine Judgment shook around him one after another, radiating a power so great it seemed absolute. Every move he made carried immense pressure, causing the surrounding void to tremble as though it could not endure it.

The Eternals truly were powerful. Whether in terms of bloodline or combat strength, they were terrifying.

Opposite him, Lu Yuan's expression was grave. Purple lightning roared around his body. The Great Sun's Furnace continued to rumble as well.

In the next instant, the two sides collided once more.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The mountains below shook violently, and some of the mountain faces split apart directly. And that was only the aftershock.

If one were standing at the center of the battlefield itself, there were likely very few present who could endure it.

This was a battle between Lesser Sages. And both Lu Yuan and Yu Heng belonged among the ranks of true prodigies.

Boom!

Their fists collided.

Lu Yuan's expression did not change, but all the golden vital qi in him converged together and erupted like a hundred thousand volcanoes.

Yu Heng, on the other hand, began retreating. Even the halo behind his head dimmed slightly, and cracks appeared across his hand as blood seeped from them.

This left him deeply shaken; in that clash just now, he had actually come out a step weaker.

"As expected, impressive methods," Yu Heng said coldly, raising his hand once more.

Chain after chain of Divine Judgment emerged, numbering in the tens of thousands. It was as if they were going to blot out the entire sky directly, while the halo behind his head once again radiated boundless light.

"I admit that you are very strong, and perhaps you still have yet to utilize your true strength. I am the same. But unfortunately, you will not live to see that moment," Yu Heng spoke again, then cast a glance downward.

By now, Yu Heng already knew that Yu Hong had taken people to deal with those humans. This would inevitably throw Lu Yuan off balance. That was why he had deliberately spoken those words first so that he could strike when the opportunity revealed itself.

Sure enough, Lu Yuan lowered his head. He discovered that Zhu Qingyu and the others had already been surrounded.

At the same time, other Outer Cosmos beings also seemed eager to move.

This is the moment.

The instant Yu Heng saw Lu Yuan's attention split, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He mobilized the surrounding Chains of Divine Judgment and attacked directly. He knew very well that this strike alone could not pose much threat to Lu Yuan.

But that did not matter. As long as he could hold Lu Yuan off for a moment, then once Yu Hong succeeded, everything that followed would fall into their hands.

Yu Heng did not believe Lu Yuan would disregard the lives of his own subordinates.

Yet Lu Yuan did not even speak. Facing the tens of thousands of Chains of Divine Judgment, he hesitated not at all and directly stirred the immense power within him. At the same time, the Great Sun's Furnace behind him shook violently, intertwining completely with his golden vital qi.

Boom!

In an instant, an even greater power erupted from him. At this very moment, Lu Yuan no longer chose to hold back. He began to truly reveal his full strength.

Golden vital qi surged like an ocean, rolling forward without cease and causing the entire space to tremble continuously.

Ahead of him, those tens of thousands of Chains of Divine Judgment shattered inch by inch under that overwhelming might. In a short span of time, they were all ground away.

And Lu Yuan's move had only just begun. He stepped forward directly and in the next instant, he appeared before Yu Heng.

There was not the slightest flourish in his movements. He simply threw a punch.

Boom!

That single punch made even heaven and earth tremble, rumbling without cease.

Yu Heng had thought Lu Yuan would be distracted. He had never imagined that Lu Yuan would completely disregard the humans below. He could only hastily bring forth his own methods to try to block the punch.

But unfortunately, it was already too late. At this moment, Lu Yuan had finally displayed his true combat strength.

After that one punch, Yu Heng retreated without cease. The light around him dimmed completely, and a thread of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He stared at Lu Yuan in utter disbelief; he could not understand.

"You... do you really not care at all about the lives of your own people?"

He could already see that if they truly fought head-on, he was no match for Lu Yuan.

That only made it stranger. For the sake of defeating him, was Lu Yuan really willing to ignore even the safety of the people he had brought?

From a distance, Lu Yuan finally said, "A few underhanded schemers... Naturally there will be someone to deal with them."

His tone remained as calm as ever, without the slightest trace of emotion.

How could he not know what Yu Hong and the others intended to do? And precisely because he knew, he had chosen not to pay them any mind.

The moment those words were spoken, Yu Heng became even more puzzled, still unable to understand. But then, very quickly, realization struck him, and shock appeared on his face.

Back then, the human Lu Yuan had acted more than once to protect the living beings of this world. So it was absolutely impossible for him to simply let his own people come to harm.

If he was ignoring it now, then there could only be one reason.

Someone was there to protect them.

At this thought, Yu Heng could not help lowering his head to look below.

At this moment, Yu Hong had already led his people in surrounding Zhu Qingyu and the others completely, sealing off the surrounding. They looked down from above, each of them radiating immense pressure, their eyes cold to the extreme and entirely devoid of emotion.

But right at that moment, Jiang Haokong, who had been standing off to one side all this time, finally stepped forward slowly and said in a crisp voice, "It's about time I stretched my muscles a little!"