Chapter 461: Just a Little More Time, Anyone Else?

Yao Qiuyue stared at the clone for a long while.

However, no matter how many times she called out, the crimson eyes remained dim, and the figure continued sitting motionlessly in the air.

Yao Qiuyue’s expression gradually became complicated.

She had clearly sensed that fleeting trace of spirituality. Although it had disappeared almost immediately, she was certain that it was not an illusion.

Perhaps Tian Yongheng had finally regained some connection with his clone, completed his breakthrough, or was gradually recovering from whatever prevented him from responding.

Yao Qiuyue took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in her heart.

Regardless of what had happened, she could only wait a little longer.

If Tian Yongheng truly needed time, then she would give him that time.

After all, there was nothing else she could do for the time being.

She had to trust that the strongest being in the Lower Realm would eventually return.

At that moment, a faint tremor suddenly came from her Storage Ring.

Yao Qiuyue froze before hurriedly retrieving a Communication Jade.

Under ordinary circumstances, a Communication Jade was used to communicate with other cultivators across vast distances, allowing them to exchange information through a specially established network.

However, during the Cleansing, it had become far more important.

The supreme prodigies of the Lower Realm had established a communication network connecting their respective Communication Jades, allowing them to coordinate their movements and share information across the battlefield at all times.

As the older generation of powerhouses continued to fall, this network had become one of the few remaining means through which the younger generation could maintain contact.

The jade trembled again.

Yao Qiuyue looked down at it, her fingers trembling slightly as she activated it.

Immediately, a hoarse voice transmission emerged from within.

“Yao Qiuyue… have you reached the Eternal Peak?”

Wang Daoyun!

His voice was accompanied by faint sounds of explosions, clashing weapons, and the void being torn apart in the distance.

Even through the Communication Jade, Yao Qiuyue could sense how dire his circumstances were.

For a moment, she did not know how to respond.

What was she supposed to say?

That she had reached the Eternal Peak, only to discover that Tian Yongheng’s clone was unresponsive?

That the strongest being in the Lower Realm might be unable to help them, and the final hope everyone had placed their faith in might not even be aware of the catastrophe unfolding around him?

She could not bring herself to say those words.

After a brief silence, Yao Qiuyue finally spoke.

“We need to drag this out for a little longer.”

Her voice was quiet, but she forced herself to speak with as much conviction as possible.

“Just a little more time.”

Silence followed briefly before Wang Daoyun’s hoarse voice sounded again.

“…Understood.”

The Communication Jade gradually dimmed.

However, Yao Qiuyue’s words did not reach just Wang Daoyun.

The Communication Jade was connected to every supreme prodigy who was fighting against the Cleansing.

The moment she spoke, her voice was transmitted through the network, reaching the ears of all the great geniuses of the current generation scattered across the battlefield.

For a brief moment, the sounds of fighting seemed to grow distant.

Lu Qingfeng, whose body was covered in wounds, raised his head.

Yan Jingfei, who stood beside him with an exhausted expression, momentarily stopped moving.

Jian Qi tightened his grip around his sword, Ying Qingshuang’s seven black swords trembled faintly around her body, and Sun Hao’s half awakened Heaven Dominating Violent Sword Body seemed to have reacted.

Even Liu Ruoxue, who was trying to escape from a Upper Realm Half Immortal, paused for the briefest instant.

They all heard those words, but no one asked whether Tian Yongheng had already emerged from seclusion or whether Yao Qiuyue had truly managed to contact him.

By this point, the older generation had almost completely fallen.

The ancient powerhouses who had once protected the Lower Realm were either dead, severely injured, or suppressed beneath the might of the Lightning Tribulation Divine Deity.

The remaining cultivators could barely protect themselves, much less change the outcome of the Cleansing.

They were still fighting, still resisting even when victory had become nothing more than an impossible dream, but how long could they continue?

How much time could they truly buy?

Yet, the moment they heard Yao Qiuyue’s words, an inexplicable thought emerged within their hearts.

If that person from the Eternal Peak was truly about to emerge and just needed a little more time…

Then perhaps not all hope was lost yet.

Unlike the older generation, they all believed in him much more.

Because he was also one of them.

An impossible existence who had produced miracle after miracle, comparable to that legendary being from over a billion years ago.

At this moment, he had become their final hope, and if that hope had not yet disappeared, they were willing to fight for it, even if they had to pay with their lives.

…

At that moment, on the main battlefield of the Central Continent.

The Demon Suppression Great Daoist had fallen.

The Upper Realm Perfect Half Immortal he had killed had already been reduced to nothingness, leaving behind no corpse, soul, or trace of his former existence.

For a brief moment, the surviving cultivators of the Lower Realm experienced a surge of emotions.

An ancient powerhouse had sacrificed his life to kill an enemy who stood at the same cultivation realm.

It was indeed an extraordinary feat, but it had not changed the overall situation.

The Upper Realm army was still overwhelmingly powerful.

The Lightning Tribulation Divine Deity stood above the battlefield, suppressing Zhu Dong, Su Yanlan, and Tian Yun with an almost effortless display of authority, and the countless cultivators who had gathered behind him continued to look down upon the Lower Realm with the same indifference as before.

Just then, a figure slowly stepped forward from among the Upper Realm army.

It was a woman wearing a pale golden robe, and her long hair were tied behind her head with a jade ornament.

Her appearance was beautiful, but her expression was cold and indifferent.

A faint aura belonging to a Perfect Half Immortal surrounded her body.

She glanced at the place where the Demon Suppression Great Daoist had disappeared before shifting her gaze towards the remaining cultivators of the Lower Realm.

There was a trace of impatience in her eyes as she slowly raised her chin.

“Is there anyone else?”