"Young Master, how has your strength grown to such a terrifying degree?" Du Rong looked at Du Bufan with boundless adoration, his gaze burning like a supernova, with a fervent intensity that seemed to ignite the surrounding air and cast an aura of profound reverence over the space around them. The rest of the crowd stared at him with blazing eyes, a tangled mix of curiosity and awe, as if gazing upon some mysterious entity that had shattered the very laws of the universe, every glance carrying the weight of sheer shock and wonder.
Du Bufan stood firm amidst their gazes like a towering peak. He lifted his chin slightly to gaze into the distance, his thoughts drifting back to that fateful encounter that had altered his destiny. "That fortuitous encounter was like a singularity in the long river of space and time," he thought to himself, a profound glint flashing in his eyes as if piercing through endless epochs with secrets from the deep cosmos. "I have shed my mortal shell and now hold the power to weave the threads of fate. I am no longer the one who can be bullied at whim." His voice was steady and powerful, every word imbued with a mysterious force. "Indeed, I met with a rare chance and reaped wondrous benefits far beyond the ordinary."
The twenty-four volumes of heavenly books unfolded in their minds as he described them. Each volume was like a brilliant, intricate microcosm of the vast universe, a crystallization of wisdom left behind by the Creator at the dawn of chaos. Their mysteries were as deep as cosmic black holes, and their power was as boundless as a big bang. They were the keys to unlocking the energies of the multiverse, granting him world-shattering might and the confidence to master his own destiny. This confidence was like a spacetime tunnel leading through the darkness to the shores of light, the very foundation of his rise in this cruel world.
"Let's put this aside for now. I am going into seclusion for a time. Once I emerge, I will explain everything in detail to you all! Father, I am heading back first," Du Bufan said, his figure flashing like lightning before vanishing instantly. He transformed into a dazzling streak of starlight intertwined with mysterious spiritual energy—a brilliant light trail that swept like a divine dragon's tail, radiating world-shattering momentum and a mysterious aura as it disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye. He left behind only a dreamlike, radiant nebula spinning leisurely in the air, as if proclaiming his extraordinary nature, every ripple of the nebula announcing the birth of a legend.
Du Tianxiong hurriedly nodded. "Go ahead, focus on your seclusion. Leave the rest to us." He looked in the direction where Du Bufan had vanished, his eyes filled with paternal love and anxiety, like a watcher gazing upon an eagle about to spread its wings for the vast sky—full of anticipation, yet fearful of injury.
After watching Du Bufan leave, Du Tianxiong turned to the other elders and asked with a solemn expression, "Everyone, how should we respond to the present situation?"
First Elder Du Tong furrowed his brow, his expression as grave as if he were bearing the weight of a thousand cosmoses, his wrinkles carved with deep worry. He spoke slowly, "Although the Sword Mystery Sect is only a second-rate sect within the Luyu Ancient Kingdom of the Southern Wasteland Domain, it boasts numerous Void Flight Realm experts, like stars scattered across its martial constellation. The spiritual techniques practiced by each of these experts are unique, and their spiritual fluctuations are as fierce as cosmic storms, capable of warping space and forming an impenetrable spiritual barrier that guards them like a cosmic wall. Furthermore, rumors say that the Sword Mystery Sect has a patriarch in the Tongxuan Realm who has been in seclusion for years. His strength is unfathomable—like a dark behemoth deep in the cosmos capable of bending the flow of space and time—and he cannot be underestimated."
"The Divine Martial Prince's Estate is a genuine first-rate faction with a profound heritage and formidable strength, falling no short of the imperial family of the Luyu Ancient Kingdom in the Southern Wasteland Domain; they are like a supergiant star in the universe. Rumors have it that the current Divine Martial Prince is on the verge of breaking through to the Return to Void Realm, a terrifying realm far beyond our comprehension. Legend has it that those who reach this realm can command the supreme laws of time and space, able to create or destroy star systems with a mere wave of their hand. He is like a combination of a cosmic creator and destroyer. If he breaks through, the Southern Wasteland Domain will be wiped out in a single thought of his, rewriting time and space and plunging everything back into chaos."
Hearing this, the other elders turned as pale as paper, their eyes filled with terror as if facing the cosmic apocalypse, and they cried out in unison, "What? The Return to Void Realm? Our Luyu Ancient Kingdom in the Southern Wasteland Domain hasn't produced such an peerless expert in five hundred years! If he breaks through, it will trigger a cosmic-level extinction event. The entire Luyu Ancient Kingdom of the Southern Wasteland Domain will be sucked into a spacetime turbulence, stars will fall out of order, and all creation will plunge into chaos and destruction. It's a picture of the end of the world."
"Moreover, the Divine Martial Guards of the Divine Martial Prince's Estate are the undisputed number one army in the Southern Wasteland Domain. They wear divine armor forged from stellar cores, shining with starlight like cosmic battle armor laden with the power of the stars. Wielding divine artifacts capable of slicing through space and time, every single soldier has undergone special spiritual baptism and possesses the ability to manipulate local space, allowing them to teleport during battle like cosmic ghosts, one man matching a hundred. Whether it is the Sword Mystery Sect or the Divine Martial Prince's Estate, whichever side strikes is beyond our ability to resist. Before them, we are mere ants. Right now, our only lifeline lies with Du Bufan. He is our last ray of hope, our sole reliance as we struggle to survive in troubled times." The others nodded, their faces bitter, shrouded in the gloom of doom like cosmic dust drifting through their hearts.
"Tell me, what kind of strength does Du Bufan actually possess right now?" the First Elder asked with a deep gaze, as if trying to pierce through space and time to uncover the truth.
All eyes turned to Du Tianxiong. Hesitating for a moment, Du Tianxiong said solemnly, "He killed Wang Weisuan in just two moves. Wang Weisuan was a top expert of the Sword Mystery Sect, possessing a spiritual barrier capable of bending light—like a strange cosmic space where light loses its way—along with attack methods that could trigger minor spatial storms, swallowing everything like a miniature black hole. Based on this, Fan'er should possess a strength around the Fifth Layer of Tongxuan Realm, and his attacks possess the trait of breaking through spatial limits to strike directly at the soul, like cosmic rays piercing obstacles to reach the deepest depths of the soul." The others nodded one after another, their eyes still holding lingering shock at Du Bufan's superhuman strength—a reverence for mighty power that stemmed from the depths of their souls, binding their hearts like cosmic gravity.
"If Du Bufan can reach the Return to Void Realm during this seclusion, our Du Family's crisis can be resolved, and we can carve out a path to survival in this desperate situation, much like finding an orbit on the edge of a black hole—a glimmer of light in the darkness." A flash of anticipation appeared in the First Elder's eyes, like the last star of hope in the dark cosmos: though its light was faint, it was unimaginably precious, carrying the family's desperate yearning for survival.
"The Return to Void Realm?" the others smiled bitterly. To them, this realm was like a fantastical dream at the edge of the universe—untouched in the Southern Wasteland Domain for five hundred years, a legend sealed away by the dust of time. Though they pinned their hopes on Du Bufan, those hopes were far too faint, like waiting for a meteor to strike the Earth, unable to solve their immediate crisis. Their hope was like a flickering candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.
"Sigh, have all family members return during this time and guard Du Bufan's seclusion!" the First Elder proposed, his voice firm and powerful, carrying an unquestionable resolve like the sacred command of cosmic supreme laws, echoing through everyone's hearts like the lingering rumble of a big bang.
"That's right, we must not let Du Bufan's seclusion be disturbed in the slightest! He is the light of hope for our family, the beacon guiding us forward in the dark universe! He is our direction and guide, our only coordinate in a world of chaos," another elder chimed in, his eyes full of determination as if preparing to fight the dark forces to the bitter end, burning with the unyielding glow of a star.
"I only hope Du Bufan can end his seclusion within a month. Any longer, and countless variables may arise—as terrifying as a spacetime turbulence. By then, we will be powerless to bear it!" Du Tianxiong furrowed his brow and said anxiously, his eyes filled with fear of the unknown space and time, as if he could see the tragic scene of the family being torn apart in a spatial vortex, a horrifying picture unfurling before his eyes that plunged his heart into an icy cellar.