Chapter 402 - 380: A Sensation in the Desolate Realm, Monuments and Statues for Jiang Qiu

As this thought crossed her mind, Snow lifted her head to meet Jiang Qiu’s gaze. Her sparkling eyes reflected his, like a pond and a lake mirroring one another, a connection that seemed to pierce right to the soul. "I want to fuse with you even more, Senior Brother."

The vast majority of her soul already belonged to Jiang Qiu. All that was left was a tiny, hidden part that even she wasn’t aware of, but this didn’t prevent them from attempting a deeper Fusion.

’If I want it, it can happen...’

’Huh? Where did that thought come from?’

Raising a delicate eyebrow, Snow gradually realized that her own thoughts were now deeply intertwined with Jiang Qiu’s. The uniqueness of My Dao was beginning to manifest—a cultivation centered on one’s personal will, projecting outward!

As long as they were willing to undergo Fusion and share their abilities, the compatibility between their souls and bodies would grow ever higher, eventually reaching the point where a single will could control two bodies.

In other words, repeated Fusion would improve Jiang Qiu’s control over Snow’s body, making him increasingly experienced. In battle, their enemies would effectively face two Jiang Qius with comparable strength and abilities.

This would undoubtedly catch their enemies completely off guard. After all, who would ever suspect that the Dragon Maiden, an individual with her own personality, was also an extension of Jiang Qiu’s combat strength?

However, the intensity and resource consumption of this Fusion would be nothing like undergoing a tribulation. It would be a repetitive cycle of deep integration and withdrawal, continuing until they found that Fusion could no longer enhance their connection...

"Mm," Jiang Qiu smiled faintly. He casually brushed a shimmering strand of Snow’s hair from her cheek while wrapping an arm around her waist. "Let’s go. Time to leave the Desolate Realm."

"Okay. Whatever you say, Senior Brother."

With her sweet reply, in a flash, the sky over the entire Celestial Star Oasis City plunged into darkness. Countless passersby looked up, stunned. "What’s going on? Why did the sky go dark?"

"Holy shit, space-time fluctuations! Someone broke through Celestial Star Oasis City’s Space-Time Law restrictions and just teleported away from inside the city!"

"Shit, to break through restrictions of this level... they have to be at the Harmonization Realm at minimum!"

"That’s insane! Teleporting is one thing, but did they have to turn out the lights? It was such a massive celestial phenomenon; if you hadn’t said anything, I’d have thought it was a natural disaster!"

"What if it really is one?"

"Holy shit, now there’s thunder!"

RUMBLE—

In an instant, dark clouds swarmed the heavens. It wasn’t just the intangible space-time fluctuations that blotted out the starlight; the very Laws of the entire Desolate Realm were responding in kind.

Celestial Star, who had just been taking inventory in the Celestial Star Bank, instantly teleported outside. For him, the Space-Time Imprisonment within Oasis City was practically nonexistent. But now, the rumbling thunder also treated that imprisonment as if it were nothing.

He frowned deeply as he saw two figures in an embrace take flight not far away. With a single motion, they tore open the void and charged into its endless expanse. He vaguely recognized one of the figures, and his pupils contracted. "What? Jiang Qiu!"

This unprecedented cognitive dissonance shocked him to his core, like watching a colossal waterfall flow in reverse. The sheer impact of it made his scalp tingle.

To break through the Space-Time Imprisonment arranged within Celestial Star Oasis City, one needed an extremely profound understanding of the Space-Time Law and pressure on par with the Harmonization Realm.

Although he still couldn’t determine Jiang Qiu’s true Realm, this rolling thunder didn’t seem like something a Harmonization Realm expert could produce. And that phenomenon, the one that plunged the world into darkness in a single instant—even he would find it difficult to handle with ease!

’Ordinary Fusion Realm experts couldn’t accomplish any of this. It would take a truly skilled Harmonization Realm master to pull it off. When did Jiang Qiu gain access to such methods?’

’Wait a minute. If he’s this strong, then those Treasures of Heaven and Earth he gave me...’

Suddenly recalling a few things, an incredibly bold guess formed in Celestial Star’s mind. As Jiang Qiu disappeared, the daylight returned, and Celestial Star Oasis City erupted into a clamor. Everyone was speculating about which mighty expert had just traversed the void. "Holy shit, holy shit! A void-traversal that cool has to be a Harmonization Realm super-expert! Who was that? So damn slick!"

"Did anyone get a recording? I think I saw a shadow for a split second. Anyone manage to capture an image?"

"Record my ass! Forget about it, us Dao Entry Realm cultivators couldn’t even see a shadow. It’s hard to say if what you saw was even a person. I bet it was just a beam of light and you’re mistaken!"

"Hush, don’t talk nonsense. I’m at the Fusion Realm, an Elder of the Celestial Eye Race. I was able to make out a vague silhouette. It was indeed a senior carrying his partner as he traversed the void. And he felt very young!"

"The hell? Listen to yourself. How can you ’clearly see’ a ’vague silhouette’? If you couldn’t see, then stop talking crap. I am at the Peak of Fusion Realm and possess a Secret Technique for observing all things. I saw it clearly. It appeared to be a young man carrying his partner, leaving Celestial Star Oasis City, likely to traverse a great distance through the void..."

"Damn it, how is what you said any different from what I said? You dare to pick a fight with me!"

"Yeah? You got a problem?"

The crowd started to bicker, and the web forums erupted in tandem. All sorts of theories emerged, but no one questioned that the individual was, at the very least, a supreme expert at the Peak of Fusion Realm.

In truth, most people believed the person was at the Harmonization Realm. After all, such a feat was practically impossible for anyone at the Fusion Realm. It was common knowledge that beneath the Harmonization Realm, all beings were but ants—the chasm between realms was easily distinguishable.

The key issue, however, was that no one had sensed the distinct aura of a Harmonization Realm expert. Instead, they felt something akin to the Peak of Fusion Realm, which was baffling. So, they settled on a far more conservative estimate.

Besides, the appearance of a Harmonization Realm being was always major news. Though the Desolate Realm was prosperous, with countless races and deep, complex relationships, the truly top-tier races were few and far between.

Within the Desolate Realm, the immensely powerful Soul Race ranked among the top five. Their strength was unquestionable. Thanks to their unique racial Talent, one could say they were invincible in the Desolate Realm.

However, the few races ranked above them possessed Harmonization Realm masters, so the Soul Race knew better than to pick a fight.

To be frank, the entire Desolate Realm had no more than three permanent Harmonization Realm residents. Over the past several thousand years, the number of visiting Harmonization Realm masters could be counted on one hand. After all, not every Harmonization Realm expert was as approachable as Celestial Star, who even handled certain matters personally.

Jiang Qiu’s departure instantly ignited a firestorm of discussion across the web. Some even speculated that a superpower from Primordial was making a move. Some joker even cooked up a story: the Soul Race had posted an enormous bounty on the Dark Web, a Harmonization Realm super-expert had accepted it to eliminate the first-layer Spirit Body Realm Jiang Qiu, and the mission was now complete.

And that was that. The matter was resolved, the Soul Race withdrew the bounty, and the expert took his leave.

Perfectly logical, and utterly laughable.

This continued until Celestial Star, unable to stand the rampant speculation, personally went to the Soul Race Oasis City to take a look. He was dumbfounded. ’The Soul Race... is gone?’

With his Harmonization Realm Cultivation, a single glance was enough to take in the entire Soul Race Oasis City. But there wasn’t the slightest trace of life. Even their Treasure Vault had been picked clean. Connecting this with the Treasures of Heaven and Earth Jiang Qiu had given him, the answer was practically screaming at him.

’Jiang Qiu annihilated the Soul Race!’

*Hiss*— Reaching this conclusion, Celestial Star drew in a sharp breath. ’This is no simple matter.’

He realized he hadn’t seen through Jiang Qiu in the slightest. ’What kind of first-layer Spirit Body Realm cultivator could accomplish such a thing? If he’s not at the Harmonization Realm, it would be absolutely impossible to wipe out the Soul Race!’

’In fact, even if I were to annihilate the Soul Race myself, it would take considerable effort. More importantly, how could I possibly wipe them out so silently and completely?’

’Two billion people, vanished without a trace!’

The terrifying image of the young man surfaced in his mind, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue. "It seems that the next time I encounter Jiang Qiu, I must treat him as a top-tier client. And he called me ’senior’? This is clearly a case of a master toying with mortals. That fifty-match winning streak was a foregone conclusion!"

He returned to the Celestial Star Arena. Before long, the news of the Soul Race’s annihilation once again sent shockwaves through the Desolate Realm. The tide of public opinion turned toward Jiang Qiu, and the Celestial Star Arena’s public declaration of support for him caused an even greater tremor.

The races that had previously questioned Jiang Qiu collectively pissed their pants in fear. They worked through the night to erect monuments and statues in his honor, inscribed with the words: "Our race’s Saint Heir was fortunate enough to die at the hands of His Excellency, Jiang Qiu."