Chapter 2: Parting!
"To the Great Thousand World, back to our homeland!"
"Homeland? Do we even still have a homeland? Is this the will of the Saint Demon Emperor?"
Seeing the bitterness in Jiang Yun's eyes, Jiang Hong felt a pang in his heart. He couldn't bear to meet that gaze and turned his eyes away, speaking resolutely, "We will have one. The place where our clansmen are is our homeland!"
"The Saint Demon Emperor's intention is for you to go to the Great Thousand World and grow. There are still a hundred years until the forty-ninth cycle of the 'Great Thousand Transformation Demon Array'."
"I'll go."
Jiang Yun replied with resolute determination, a blazing flame burning in his eyes. He had been in this world for six years now, and he deeply understood that in this world, strength was the very foundation upon which he stood.
In previous years, he hadn't known what schemes the Saint Demon Emperor had for him, forbidding him from cultivating. Now, it seemed everything was for the 'Heavenly Evil God'—the Saint Demon Emperor wanted to plant a chess piece in the Great Thousand World.
Compared to a Heavenly Sovereign who could potentially rise to the upper echelons of the Great Thousand World, a Demon Emperor of the Xie Ling Clan seemed far less important.
As for how a young child like Jiang Yun would survive in the Great Thousand World, that was not within the scope of his consideration. In the end, he was merely an idle chess piece. If it succeeded, all the better; if it failed, they lost nothing.
The Extraterrestrial Evil Race had been plotting for tens of thousands of years and did not place much weight on Jiang Yun as a chess piece at all. They had long since set everything in place.
Jiang Hong rose, clasping his hands behind his back, and gazed at the dim sky outside the library. His voice was filled with desolation. "This world is very cruel. When you go to the Great Thousand World, do not come back..."
As he spoke, Jiang Hong took out a pendant and hung it around Jiang Yun's neck. It was a tower-shaped pendant, seven tiers tall, ordinary and unremarkable in every way. Jiang Yun did not know what it was, but since it was from his grandfather, he solemnly tucked it away, hiding it beneath his collar.
"This tower, no matter what happens, never take it off."
Having said this, without waiting for Jiang Yun's reply, Jiang Hong swept his sleeve, tearing open a pitch-black spatial rift. In an instant, the library returned to its former tranquility.
This was a dark space. In the dim and gloomy world, jet-black, python-like bolts of destructive thunder occasionally fell from the sky.
Jiang Yun saw hundreds of people like him around. Among them were not only his clansmen but also many captured humans from the Great Thousand World who had undergone 'baptism,' and even members of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race themselves.
Clearly, the Saint Demon Emperor would not arrange only Jiang Yun as a chess piece. Weak ants were everywhere. If it could increase the odds of rescuing the Heavenly Evil God by even a fraction, the Saint Demon Emperor would not care whether the Great Thousand World discovered them or about the consequences.
A hollow, numb emotion was visible on every face. They did not know what task they were to undertake. They only knew they were being sent to the Great Thousand World, and for these people, who were utterly helpless, discovery by the Great Thousand World's forces meant certain death.
Only those who survived would be qualified to learn of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race's plan and receive their support.
"It's about time!"
A demonic figure slowly materialized. He sat there quietly cross-legged, terrifying demonic energy overflowing all around him. When those dreadful bolts of destructive thunder came within a hundred zhang of the demonic energy, they corroded rapidly, evaporating into nothingness.
Jiang Yun followed the sound and looked over, only to see the sky and earth there in a shattered state. Silver-white destructive storms raged across the heavens and earth. The storms seemed endless, devoid of any substance, like a region of pure void.
At that level of power, apart from a Heavenly Sovereign, anyone of other cultivation who entered would meet no fate other than death.
As if sensing Jiang Yun's rigid body, Jiang Hong gently squeezed the hand he was holding and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Grandpa will protect you!"
Feeling the strength in that palm, Jiang Yun slowly calmed himself, his eyes blinking as he gazed at the space-time storm.
The territories of the Great Thousand World and the Extraterrestrial Evil Race were connected. However, if members of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race entered, they would be discovered very easily. This time, they intended to use the power of the space-time storm to scatter these people across every corner of the Great Thousand World.
The most ideal locations were the various lower planes, where the Great Thousand World's influence was weaker and suitable for these individuals to develop.
"Time to set out!"
Along with a grand voice, Jiang Yun then saw a giant hand stretch across the sky. A vast wave of soul power briefly flashed through his mind.
It was an imprint bearing a mysterious rune. Before it, it was as if nothing could remain secret. Just as it was about to settle deep into his soul, black and white flames suddenly erupted from within Jiang Yun's body, blocking the rune outside.
"Oh?"
A puzzled voice sounded. The demonic figure turned his head to look, seeing through the flames within Jiang Yun's body in a single glance. Gazing at Jiang Yun, he chuckled sinisterly. "So you're that famed genius the Xie Ling Clan has been buzzing about!"
"This junior Jiang Yun pays respects to the Demon Emperor!" The other's laughter made all the hairs on Jiang Yun's body stand on end. Those eyes, which seemed to pierce straight through a person's heart, made Jiang Yun extremely uncomfortable.
"Youxin Demon Emperor!" Seeing Jiang Yun's discomfort, Jiang Hong spoke in a deep voice, stepping forward to shield Jiang Yun behind him. A terrifying divine light erupted from his pair of murky eyes as he coldly regarded the demonic figure.
"Humph!" The Youxin Demon Emperor snorted coldly, looking coldly at Jiang Hong. He said icily, "I didn't expect you to already be an Immortal-grade Heavenly Sovereign. What a remarkable Xie Ling Clan!"
His tone was filled with contempt and arrogance. He came from the Heart Demon Clan, one of the thirty-two major clans, and even among those thirty-two, the Heart Demon Clan ranked quite highly. He indeed had the capital to be arrogant.
"The perfect bloodline of the Xie Ling Clan?" He shot Jiang Yun a disdainful glance, then ignored him. With the Saint Demon Emperor's methods in place, there was no need to worry about any issue with Jiang Yun. The Saint Demon Emperor held absolute authority within the Extraterrestrial Evil Race.
"Rumble—"
Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted in the distance. From within the far-off space-time storm, a colossal boom shook the heavens and the earth, even causing the ground to tremble.
As the tremendous sound reverberated, the originally wildly raging space-time storm actually, at this moment, gradually began to slow down, becoming, unusually, somewhat gentler.
"Go, Yun'er. Once you've gone to the other side, do not come back!"
As these words fell, Jiang Yun immediately felt his body grow light. In the next instant, a streak of cyan light shot over with a howl, directly enveloping him tightly within it.
Jiang Yun looked back. He saw the reluctant Jiang Hong. He also saw one being after another being tossed in, among them his own clansmen.
Not everyone was as fortunate as Jiang Yun, with a Heavenly Sovereign personally acting to escort him safely. For the majority, once they entered the space-time storm, their fragile barriers were instantly torn apart by the space-time turbulence.
An incomparably brutal scene unfolded before his eyes. Everywhere, there were corpses and bones; everywhere, there was a mist of blood. Many people did not even have a chance to struggle before the power of space-time crushed them to pieces.
'I will definitely return. I must change the fate of the Xie Ling Clan!'
Watching with his own eyes as his clansmen were expended like worthless weeds, Jiang Yun roared in his heart. At this moment, he understood his path.
"Boom—"
The cyan streak of light, like a great dragon, roared as it carried Jiang Yun charging into the silver space-time storm. Very quickly, that speck of green vanished completely within the boundless silver.
(End of Chapter)