Chapter 598. The Black Altar, Is Earth About to Fall?

Once the towering mountain vanished, everything it had concealed came into view.

Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian looked ahead with solemn expressions.

Not far away stood a black altar, emitting every wisp of mist. The darkness of the mist was unlike anything natural. Not the slightest glimmer of light could penetrate it.

Anyone who stared for too long would feel as though they were being drawn into its depths.

More importantly, the altar emanated a strange and mysterious power. It was this force that had overturned the laws of the surrounding world.

It was unmistakably the work of the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons.

The altar could alter the laws of the world within a limited range. Even Lu Yuan could feel it suppressing his power.

He frowned. "Were there altars like this on the Celestial Star?"

If there had been, then perhaps they could destroy this one and cut off the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons' path of descent.

"No. My father and I once purged the power of the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons from the Celestial Star, but we never saw anything like this. It must have been prepared specifically for Earth and the Milky Way Starfield."

Light flickered in Jiang Ningxian's eyes as she studied the black altar, trying to see through it.

She searched through everything she knew in her mind but found nothing that could explain what it was.

"Let me test it first."

After a moment's thought, Lu Yuan stepped forward.

Jiang Ningxian wanted to stop him; she was wary of the potential. Yet given his cultivation, she doubted he would face any real danger, so she held her tongue and nodded.

Lu Yuan slowly approached the black altar and released his divine sense.

Strands of radiance surged around him, as though draping him in a golden feather robe.

He first tried to probe the altar with his divine sense, but the moment it made contact, the connection vanished without a trace. The altar seemed to devour everything he sent toward it.

Mysterious. Perhaps it does not belong to this world, Lu Yuan thought. He withdrew his divine sense and abandoned the attempt.

His vital qi surged outward. Since entering the Celestial Seat Immortal Realm, it had changed from pure gold to a majestic blend of gold and crimson, carrying enough force to crush mountains and rivers and shake the world. Even then, Lu Yuan had yet to reveal his full strength.

Once he had gathered enough power, Lu Yuan extended his palm.

Overwhelming force crashed into the black altar.

Rumble!

A tremendous roar erupted, shattering the surrounding landscape, yet the black altar remained unchanged.

The dense black mist continued spreading as though nothing had happened.

"It didn't work." Jiang Ningxian's brows furrowed tightly. "Should we try again and see whether anything changes?"

She was now certain that the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons would use the black altar to descend.

If they could damage it, everything that followed would be far easier.

Lu Yuan shook his head.

"There's no need. This material does not belong to our world, and I know nothing of its origins. I can't destroy it. Besides, the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons have spent so long preparing this. How could they allow it to be destroyed so easily? I fear even a Supreme Immortal would be unable to do it."

The altar's reaction had already given Lu Yuan his answer. Even the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token would be useless, so there was no reason to waste any more effort.

Lu Yuan sighed. "Let's go. We'll look elsewhere."

Lu Yuan suspected that no one in the universe could damage the altar. All they could do was continue investigating and see whether another solution presented itself.

Jiang Ningxian understood what he meant and nodded.

The two passed through a void passage and traveled to several other places tainted by the power of the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons.

They found dozens of such altars across the Hengduan Mountains, Shennongjia, and other famous mountains and great rivers. Not one could be destroyed.

This proved that the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons would descend through them.

"They've occupied the famous mountains and great rivers so they can use them to overturn the laws of the entire planet. It's the same thing they did to the Celestial Star." Jiang Ningxian's expression grew increasingly grave.

Worst of all, they knew exactly where the problem lay but could do nothing about it.

If the laws around all those places were overturned, would Earth fall before the battle even began?

"It's not that simple," Lu Yuan countered. "The most important sites are Mount Tai and Mount Kunlun, but neither has shown any abnormalities."

Whether before the Awakening or after it, those two places were immensely important. Any plan to overturn Earth's laws should have included Mount Tai and Mount Kunlun, yet neither had been touched.

"Then what do you think is happening?" Jiang Ningxian asked.

Lu Yuan smiled faintly. "Think about how much effort it took the Outer Cosmos beings to enter the Milky Way Starfield and descend upon Earth. Even you had to suppress your cultivation completely."

He continued, "Since the ancient sages knew of the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons long ago, perhaps they had been guarding against this move from the beginning. Some of our concerns may be unnecessary. For now, we need only wait for them to descend."

Lu Yuan had been considering this possibility for some time.

Mount Tai and Mount Kunlun were so important, yet they were not part of the Extracosmic Heavenly Demons' plan.

Even the Eternals and the Ji Clan had never shown any interest in those two places.

There were only two possibilities: either they considered those places unimportant, or they had no way to affect them. The first was impossible, leaving only the second.