The red-haired elder's chilling voice was as harsh and piercing as crystal diamond scraping, drilling straight into the depths of every listener's soul—a twisted, invasive force warping their minds, the exclusive heart-force of a Cosmos Union powerhouse. This red-haired elder was an existence far above reach: a true Cosmos Union cultivator!
A Void Rift cultivator can roam freely across star systems.
But a Cosmos Union powerhouse usually reigns as an overlord above multiple star systems.
"This is bad..."
"We're doomed..."
Inside the Subspace Flyer, everyone's faces turned deathly pale.
A death sentence from a Cosmos Union cultivator—no one can escape alive.
This starkly highlighted the difference between Ancient Kingdoms and star-system empires. Starlight- or Stellar Palace-tier imperial citizens only know that Void Rift is invincible, unaware of the true majesty of Cosmos Union. Yet Ancient Kingdom natives of the same realm vaguely grasp the concept of Cosmos Union, and have even heard rumors of the tier above: Return-to-Cosmos.
Finch Huang included.
Though she was only at Third-Order Starlight, her years of wandering across the Yarlowe Sector had greatly expanded her horizons.
"Cosmos Union!"
In that suffocating instant, Finch Huang's thoughts raced; she considered countless possibilities.
A Cosmos Union cultivator can tear open space and traverse Subspace—no wonder Subspace had such a deep, gaping void. It seemed certain death awaited her today; her master, Andrew Han, was light-years away... Even if her master arrived in person, he might not be able to change her fate.
This is a Cosmos Union!
Andrew Han is only at Fifth-Stage Void Rift. Even if he wields Cosmos Union-level combat power, how could he compare to a true Cosmos Union existence?
At this, Finch Huang felt a wave of relief.
Thankfully, her master couldn't come—otherwise, she would have dragged Andrew Han into danger with her. She would have died with regret, unable to rest in peace. She had crossed star sectors to seek reunion, not to cause trouble, much less to bring disaster. As long as her master was safe, her heart was at ease; life and death mattered little.
"Hm?"
The red-haired elder cast a sidelong glance at Finch Huang.
As a Cosmos Union cultivator, he could sense the rapid changes in Finch Huang's emotions—from fear to calm—as if she wasn't afraid of him at all.
They had been dragged out of normal space, like a lone leaf adrift on a boundless sea of death.
The starry sky was vast, endless and hopeless—who knew where they were now? Even if Finch Huang’s mysterious Master had the power to save them, it was meaningless: first, there wasn’t enough time, and second, the distance was simply too great.
It was like searching for a needle in the cosmic ocean, with only three minutes left before the time limit—a deep, bottomless despair.
A situation with no chance of survival.
That sense of hopelessness slowly swallowed Soraya Stine, the peak Fusion Tier cultivator.
“What a pity.”
Finch Huang stayed silent, bowing her head with a bitter smile. She only felt sorry for Soraya; her interstellar romance, just beginning to blossom, was shattered by this senseless calamity.
On the other side—
Liam Yuan, the red-haired elder, rummaged madly through the vast remains of the Stellar Palace-tier cultivators.
“Nothing? Still nothing?”
“Where’s the Celestial Ancient Jade?”
Liam Yuan was clearly growing frantic, his temper flaring like thunder: “How can I not find it? Impossible—something must have gone wrong.”
He was truly furious now.
A deafening roar swept through the flyer, a wave of power so overwhelming it felt as if a world-ending storm had descended.
The tempest raged, air currents whipped violently, and in the blink of an eye, countless mortals died, Fusion Tier cultivators were gravely wounded, and every Starlight-tier passenger coughed up blood. And this was just the faintest leak of Liam Yuan’s aura.
Finch Huang gritted her teeth so hard that blood seeped from her pristine white teeth.
Bracing herself against the storm, Finch reached out, her hand trembling but resolute, and grabbed Soraya Stine.
In that instant, darkness reigned, the storm howled, and Soraya nearly flew across the cabin—if she’d hit the wall, she would have been smashed into a pile of bloody slush. Thankfully, Finch had grabbed her, and Soraya looked at Finch with deep gratitude.
Moments later, calm returned.
The storm dissipated, the lights flickered back on, but the walls of the flyer were splattered with mangled flesh and blood—a terror beyond words, the silent screams of the dead echoing through the dust of the world.