Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

In the Sirius Titan Realm, on Grand Sirius, a group of cultivators gathered around the lone silver and gold door that seemed to hold the sky above. Within this group were the cultivators that had taken the Earthly Beginning and Heavenly End Trials. Currently, the countless people that stood around were looking upwards with various expressions, a majority of which was amazement and curiosity.

However, amongst these individuals, the truly powerful cultivators that dominated the realm had solemn expressions and furrowed brows.

Above the door was a golden vortex the size of a small moon. It rotated with a gentleness but also contained horrifying spatial fluctuations that encompassed the entirety of the Sirius Titan Realm. These fluctuations caused rippling waves to surge about in the entire realm, even the worldships and realmships neighboring the planet was stalled by these ripples.

In the outer space of the Grand Sirius, there were countless, truly countless amounts of people standing about with the same awe as those on the ground.

"What is that?!" An awed divine beast in humanoid form exclaimed, yet no one answered. This question has been cycling through every single social circle and hierarchy of clans, families, or packs. No one could accurately make a guess, some assumed it was another realm invading, others believed it was a natural phenomenon of the myriad realms, and a few who were more informed realized that it was linked to the White Sirius Heavenly Monarch's penultimate trial.

Zhou Xiuhei, Syi, Shi Yan, and the other peak powerhouses of the realm had their own thoughts as well.

Zhou Xiuhei had an uglier expression than others as he looked at the depths of the golden vortex. Earlier, the spirit armament of Yan Zaizen had rushed away from his side and with a speed and decisiveness that bewildered him, and the spirit entered the golden vortex. When he tried to utilize his heavenly might to retrieve it, the ambient spatial ripples had shredded it into nothing.

He could only watch as it entered. This left a bitter taste in his mouth as he wasn't completely sure of the circumstances. His gaze turned towards the group that had exited the trials. When they exited, some were excited and others were dispirited. Obviously, those with dispirited expressions had results that were less than satisfactory. Yet, despite them completing their trials, they now had awed and curious expressions. And Yan Zaizen still hadn't exited.

This caused him to grow nervous and it mounted as the days passed. To die in the trials was impossible, so Yan Zaizen shouldn't have caused a mishap. When he understood what had happened during the first trial, he was skeptical. Could Yan Zaizen have truly broken a monument and become trapped in trials? It shouldn't be possible! Therefore, he threw that delusional idea into the trash.

This, however, only served to cause his nervousness to grow.

Shi Yan could see Zhou Xiuhei become visibly anxious as each minute passed. Knowing this old man who could dominate a sizable portion of the myriad realms, there was a faint trace of worry in his eyes. If Zhou Xiuhei were to do something reckless, it may lead to something he couldn't take back. With that in mind, he spoke, "Lord Xiuhei, this is a spatial formation of a grand scale. It's possible that, from its heavenly aura, it's an inter-heavenly spatial formation."

"..." Zhou Xiuhei's eyes constricted slight and his aura was riled. The surrounding cultivators felt a heavy pressure on their bodies and hearts, some even directly experienced lightheadedness and was rendered nearly unconsciousness. However, he didn't take action.

An inter-heavenly spatial formation was a special type of spatial formations that sent others to another heaven. However, there was more to it. The inside of an inter-heavenly spatial formation was, to put it simply, chaotic! Unless you were guided by a formless power established by a cultivator that could rival or was a peak-Heavenly Genesis expert, surviving was unlikely.

Even he, who cultivated an unbreakable body, had very little confidence in surviving while navigating it. This brought his mind to the spirit armament they had recklessly entered. Could she really survive?

"Since Yan Zaizen's armament had entered the spatial vortex, it's likely that Yan Zaizen was sent through it." Shi Yan calmly speculated. Tao and Bai Lufeng had drastic changes in their expressions after hearing that. Bai Lufeng and Tao didn't know the about the intimate detail of the dangers regarding an inter-heavenly formation, so when they heard this, they didn't hesitate.

BOOM! BOOM!!

Both of their auras skyrocketed to their limits. With no hesitation, they shot forth with tyrannical momentum. To them, Yan Zaizen was not only their savior, their brother, their young lord, but he could no longer be divided by a 'title'. Their bond was so much more than just that.

Shi Yan and Zhou Xiuhei were taken aback by their decisiveness. Before they could even react, the two were halfway towards the golden vortex. One could see that they were pushing their individual cultivation bases to the absolute limits!

"It's admirable but reckless," Shi Yan calmly stated before he disappeared like a ghost. When he reappeared, Tao and Bai Lufeng were held by the necks by his two hands. Their expressions were filled with confusion and restlessness. Bai Lufeng was even emitting faint traces of killing intent, but Tao was relatively calmer.

Only after Shi Yan explained the inter-heavenly spatial formation's dangers did they calm down. After learning that they wouldn't be able to traverse the inter-heavenly spatial formation, they could only hope that Yan Zaizen would return, if he did enter.

The vortex stayed in the sky for an entire year before vanishing. During this year, Wang Li had exited the trials. When he did, he searched for Yan Zaizen, but learned that he had yet to exit the trial. However, when the trial officially ended and the vortex above closed, Wang Li realized that Yan Zaizen had likely been sent elsewhere. In the trials, it was common for inheritance bestowers to give requirements or send their claimers to other realms.

This was similar to Lang Xue situation. When she claimed the key to her inheritance, she had to travel the vast myriad realms, complete a trial to obtain an inheritance deposit, and then return to claim the official inheritance. This was common amongst inheritance trials, and thus, many assumed this was the case, including Zhou Xiuhei and Shi Yan.

Bai Lufeng looked to the skies, "Be sure to come back soon, Young Lord." His eyes were crystal clear and there were faint traces of profundity that seemed to resonate with all souls.

Tao's eyes were closed, his lips moving but no words were emitted. He was releasing a somber aura that had a tinge of slicing determination. If one read his lips from beginning to end, they would read, "Brother, you went to sleep for three thousand years...regardless of how long you take, I'll be waiting to explore the myriad realms and more with you."

Lang Xue stood behind Tao, her expression was calm. To her, Yan Zaizen had indirectly dealt with her issue. The Yun Clan underwent an immediate decline after the death of their patriarch, the collapse in the dao of their most talented genius, and Zhou Xiuhei's actions brought about by the Patriarch's intentions. Tao had, with the help of others, claimed her freedom and the freedom of her family. With his confidence and earnest pursuit, she had fallen for this man she didn't even deign to put in her eyes before.

All of these things, her freedom, her husband, and her current life was given to her by Yan Zaizen one way or another.

She wished to thank him at least once.

Ma Xiuren was the most conflicted. Yan Zaizen had essentially mind-controlled her unintentionally, and she never felt any romantic feelings for him, but she did owe him. Because of him, her plan of having sufficient time to prepare was still met despite his premature arrival. Not only that, it lasted for three thousand years! This was a huge boon to her achievements obtained from the Earthly Beginning Trial. With this, she had sufficient confidence in growing her force from henceforth!

Now that he had suddenly vanished, she felt a complex array of emotions. She could only pray that he will one day return so that she may properly thank him.

Zhou Xiuhei and Shi Yan stood shoulder to shoulder in the vast outer space of their realm, their eyes looking at the endless space before them.

"He will return," Shi Yan calmly stated.

"I know," Zhou Xiuhei replied. To him, Yan Zaizen was more than just a cultivator that traveled the same path. He felt a sort of kinship that he had never experienced before, and he couldn't help but be worried. However, he believed that when Yan Zaizen did return, he would bring no small amount of awe!