The clash between Immortal-level powerhouses erupted with world-shattering force, capable of annihilating entire star domains.
The moment Dicarro and the Bright Heavenly King engaged, both Xiaoyao and the Primordial Thunder Dragon, Leidi, immediately ceased their actions, focusing their entire attention on Dicarro and the Bright Heavenly King. This afforded Shi Yan a temporary reprieve from pressure.
Yet, Shi Yan remained exceedingly cautious, deploying nearly all his hidden strength, layering it around his divine body in preparation for any attack that might erupt at any second.
He understood the vast gulf in realm between himself and Xiaoyao. Should Xiaoyao abandon his decorum and launch a sudden, covert strike, an unprepared Shi Yan would be instantly obliterated.
Thus, while observing the battle, he kept a keen eye out, guarding against Xiaoyao in secret.
One spatial layer after another manifested from Dicarro’s body, only to be met by the Bright Heavenly King's assault of Light Elves, causing them to vanish in succession.
These spatial manifestations were the unfolding of Dicarro’s profound mysteries, linking distant star domains across the vast stellar sea, allowing Dicarro to traverse the ends of creation at will. His presence could not be tracked or pursued, rendering him as elusive and spectral as a phantom.
However, now those spaces were shattering, collapsing, and exploding, annihilated simultaneously with the Light Elves. Every time a spatial layer and a Light Elf perished, both Dicarro and the Bright Heavenly King shuddered profoundly. The impact, reminiscent of an apocalyptic arrival, brought countless storms to the Leixiao Star Domain. Unnoticed, these storms would spread, evolving into natural disasters on many of the domain's living stars over the next hundred or even thousand years.
The common mortals would never know that the calamities they called 'natural disasters' were merely the residual echoes of a duel between two Immortal beings centuries prior.
Such was their tragedy.
Shi Yan’s spirit convulsed as he silently turned his gaze to Dicarro, viewing him as a reflection of his own future.
Having cultivated the Mystery of Space himself, he knew that if he one day reached the Second Heaven of the Immortal Realm, he too could command the chaotic void domain, allowing his divine sense to cross star domains in an instant, his physical body wandering between the rifts of the void and the stellar sea.
The different spaces flickering across Dicarro’s physical form, and the wonderfully bizarre fluctuations of his profound mystery, offered Shi Yan a gateway.
A gate leading to the deepest subtleties of the Space Mystery!
“Dicarro!”
Suddenly, the Bright Heavenly King roared. He touched his brow and activated his sacrificial altar.
A brilliant sea of light abruptly surfaced above his head. This sea was boundless and vast, its radiance sacred and dazzling, representing the apex of light and containing the source subtleties of the Light Mystery.
This Sea of Light was the manifestation of the Bright Heavenly King’s Primal Realm, the ultimate expression of light, the very essence of power.
As the Sea of Light manifested, the vision of the lower-realm Shi Yan and Ouyang Luoshuang became a blur of brilliance; they could see nothing.
“Heavenly Gate!”
Dicarro frowned, forming intricate hand seals. Layer upon layer of Heavenly Gates materialized from his palms, overlapping like fleeting shadows cast by rapidly moving portals.
It was unknown where these Heavenly Gates led or what they connected to, but they emanated a primordial, untamed cosmic aura, revealing fluctuations of origin.
The Sea of Light descended, hovering above the Heavenly Gate. Countless streams of radiant light surged and rushed into the gate, vanishing within it, piercing towards Dicarro’s Sea of Consciousness… The Bright Heavenly King suddenly exhibited a trace of horror and bewilderment. He gazed deeply at the Heavenly Gate, his expression subtly transforming.
“Is that enough?” Dicarro showed a trace of ferocity for the first time, roaring deeply, “Before the Divine Lord fully recovers, the Divine Race poses no threat to me! I have always kept to myself; if you truly provoke me, I will invite the Void Domain River into the Ancient God Star Domain. Let’s see how many of your Divine Race’s Twelve Great Families can survive!”
Xiaoyao and Guangming’s complexions drastically changed.
They stared deeply at Dicarro, falling into a profound silence. The Bright Heavenly King then retracted the Sea of Light, his expression quickly returning to normal.
At that same moment, Shi Yan and Ouyang Luoshuang regained their sight and could once again observe their surroundings.
Everything appeared as it was.
“Dicarro, regarding the confrontation between the Divine Race and the Bloodthirsty lineage, can you guarantee your neutrality?” Guangming stared intently at Dicarro.
“I said, my involvement today is solely to awaken Leidi. That brat caused my old friend to awaken, and I owe him a favor, so I will protect him this once,” Dicarro snorted, adding, “This Leixiao Star Domain was established by Leidi in his early days, and it will not tolerate invasion by your Divine Race henceforth!”
“Minghao is your junior apprentice-brother. Before he joined the Bloodthirsty, he cultivated the Space Mystery alongside you. Do you show no regard for your shared sect?” Xiaoyao interjected suddenly.
Upon hearing this, Shi Yan’s eyes lit up sharply, and he couldn't help but look toward Dicarro.
He suddenly remembered Beluo, the Patriarch of the Shadow Race, who was at the Second Heaven of the Progenitor God realm and cultivated the Space Mystery. This individual… had his mind bound by Minghao’s Soul Control Mystery, and he had even been taught the Space Mystery by Minghao. Shi Yan’s body jolted; he suddenly realized, cursing his own dullness for not connecting Dicarro and Minghao’s relationship sooner.
“From the moment he rejoined the Bloodthirsty lineage and became the foremost of the Eight Followers, he ceased to be my junior apprentice-brother,” Dicarro’s eyes turned cold. “The demise of our Teacher is also linked to the Bloodthirsty. Since Minghao stands with my enemy, I naturally cannot align with him.”
Xiaoyao and Guangming scrutinized him, their expressions hesitant.
They knew that Dicarro and Minghao’s teacher had once been the most remarkable figure in the stellar sea, the progenitor of the Space Mystery. This man had taken only two students in his entire life: Dicarro and Minghao. When the Bloodthirsty first emerged, carving bloody trails across the vast stellar sea, countless powerhouses sought to suppress them.
Dicarro’s teacher had been the most formidable among them.
Tragically, this individual became the most dazzling stepping stone for the Bloodthirsty’s ascendancy, slain by them. Following his death, the Bloodthirsty instantly became synonymous with the strongest force in the stellar sea, and for many years thereafter, no one dared oppose them.
After his teacher’s death, Dicarro endured in silent seclusion, cultivating fiercely. Minghao, seeking vengeance against the Bloodthirsty, ultimately…
Ultimately, Minghao’s quest for revenge failed. Paradoxically, he became the chief of the Eight Followers, receiving the Soul Control Mystery from the Bloodthirsty, transforming into the most potent force within the Bloodthirsty organization, aiding their consolidation of control over myriad star domains in secret.
The secret behind how the Bloodthirsty managed to persuade Minghao remains an unsolved enigma to this day; no one knows the underlying mechanism.
Dicarro did not know either.
Perhaps only Minghao himself knew why the one who sought vengeance ended up becoming the leader of the Eight Followers through such a bizarre turn of events.
“Very well, we shall grant you this consideration,” the Bright Heavenly King mused for a moment, then decisively stated, “Henceforth, our Divine Race will not encroach upon the Leixiao Star Domain. We will also spare that brat today. We hope your words hold true, and you will remain aloof when we battle the Bloodthirsty.”
He looked at Xiaoyao. “What say you?”
Xiaoyao’s gaze was grim. His eyes scanned Shi Yan for a few seconds, then he suddenly let out a dark chuckle. “He is only at the Progenitor God realm; killing him would be effortless. If he can escape this time, he cannot escape the future. Securing Dicarro’s non-interference is certainly worth it.”
“Dicarro, I hope you remember the death of your teacher!” Guangming snorted, then turned and strode away, covering billions of miles in a single step, vanishing in an instant.
“Let’s go,” Xiaoyao chuckled lightly, departing alongside Ouyang Luoshuang.
Ouyang Luoshuang, whose slender body stood on the Moon Crystal Stone, suddenly turned back and gave Shi Yan a deep look. The complex, unreadable emotion in her eyes caused a subtle ripple in Shi Yan’s heart.
Xiaoyao and Guangming had arrived aggressively, intending to kill Shi Yan and severely injure Dicarro. However, when they discovered that Leidi had been resurrected and had also attained the Second Heaven of the Immortal Realm, they realized their primary objectives were now highly unlikely to be achieved.
The battle between the Bright Heavenly King and Dicarro allowed Guangming to gauge that Dicarro’s combat prowess was in no way inferior to his own, immediately sparking a new line of thought.
Dicarro perceived his intention and decisively declared his future neutrality in the conflict between the Bloodthirsty and the Divine Race. This declaration of stance was precisely what Guangming desired, leading to a swift resolution.
The two had come radiating immense killing intent. Although they failed to kill Shi Yan, they measured Dicarro’s true strength, learned of Leidi’s revival, and coerced Dicarro into promising non-intervention. For Guangming and Xiaoyao, this outcome was neither good nor bad; it was acceptable.
As for the survival of the Leixiao Star Domain and Shi Yan, in their view, it was far less important than securing Dicarro’s attitude.
“You were actually fellow apprentices under the same master as Minghao,” Shi Yan murmured strangely after Xiaoyao and Guangming departed.
Dicarro snorted coldly and glared at him. “You saved Leidi, and I saved you. Now, we are even. If you see Minghao, please tell him not to disturb my tranquility again!”
“When the Bloodthirsty killed your teacher, you should have joined the Divine Race to eradicate the Bloodthirsty lineage? I find it strange that you remain uninvolved. While I can understand why you wouldn't help the Bloodthirsty, why wouldn't you side with the Divine Race?” Shi Yan asked gravely.
“You are too garrulous.”
A sharp gleam flashed in Dicarro’s eyes, followed by a subtle release of divine power that coalesced into a spatial cage, completely enveloping Shi Yan.
A door suddenly split open.
Shi Yan was forcefully thrust through it by Dicarro. When he blinked his eyes open, he found himself on the Divine Grace Star.
Suspended amidst the vast, endless sea of clouds, Shi Yan looked up at the sky, his brow deeply furrowed.
Too many ambiguities swirled in his mind: Minghao was clearly seeking vengeance against the Bloodthirsty, yet he mysteriously became the chief of the Eight Followers. Dicarro chose neutrality instead of avenging his master by eliminating the Bloodthirsty, nor did he align with the Divine Race. What was he thinking?
He escaped Xiaoyao this time because of Dicarro. Was Dicarro’s intervention truly about saving the Primordial Thunder Dragon Leidi, or was it because of Minghao?
He pondered endlessly but could find no satisfactory answer. He felt that the entanglement between Minghao and Dicarro must be far more intricate than Xiaoyao and Guangming suggested, their complex history potentially exceeding his imagination.
A streak of azure electric light flashed by.
The Sacred Beast Azure Dragon suddenly manifested, frowning. “Where is Leidi?”
“Leidi is with Dicarro; they should still be in the Leixiao Star Domain. He has awakened and is already loudly claiming he wants to continue his contest with you for the position of the Great Demon Race Patriarch,” Shi Yan replied calmly.
The Azure Dragon chuckled softly. “I’ll wait for him.”