"Yes."
"Spill the beans," Chu Yu urged on with interest.
It was a lousy feeling being hunted like that.
Killing the powerful old ancestor of the Heavenly Palace would ease his annoyance and frustration.
The life of a cultivator was not glamourous nor luxurious. It was paved with twists and turns of the fate, cruel and cold.
Everyone desired to stand atop all living spirits as the singular almighty existence. It was the unchanging truth.
Flower Chu's voice was still empty and lifeless but Chu Yu could sense her subtle changes.
She already seemed much less emotionless since he first met her.
"I can perform the Locking technique and freeze our opponent for a short while, but this technique will drain all of my energy leaving me weak and vulnerable."
She had sputtered out her plan mechanically but Chu Yu thought of it as some sort of progress.
It was much harder to teach an artificial intelligence than a laundry maid.
"Ok, let's charge out when the energy field stabilizes. You freeze the big guy and I hack him to pieces!"
After another hour, Chu Yu could still feel the whirlwind of energy out there.
To think of it, the destruction of a galaxy could set off a chain of reactive energy for hundreds of years!
But the process had been shortened by the intervention of the saints from the Heavenly Palace. They were anxious to find proof of Chu Yu's death.
The entire mass of stars was cooling down at a very fast rate.
They were trying to achieve an equilibrium.
The bunch of old saints were walking leisurely to the core of it all under the lead of the old ancestor.
"Haha, the little brat must be completely destroyed!"
"Oh mighty ancestor, you have managed to fold the vast space and made the stars rain down upon them, it is marvelous!"
"That brat is nothing in front of the old ancestor, insignificant like a speck of dust, haha!"
They were busy rejoicing the turn of events.
They had been so humiliated before and killing Chu Yu was like lifting a huge boulder off their chests.
Killing the brat also meant that greater glory laid ahead of them. The return to Earth… it was suddenly more foreseeable than ever.
If only they could wake the original ancestor who was deep in his slumber, things would look even more optimistic!
The riled-up bunch were beaming with hope and confidence.
There was a terrifying energy field at the core of the mess.
They hesitated as they approached it.
But it wasn't enough to rain on their parade.
How could Chu Yu and that red coated girl survive something like this?
The space fleet of the Heavenly Palace had arrived.
They were watching the spectacle of stars from afar, leaving them breathless and wide-eyed.
"My god… is this the entire galaxy? That energy field seems terrifying!"
"Our meters are all malfunctioning! It must be the radiating forces."
"Has our old ancestor beaten the pulp out of Chu Yu?"
"It must be the case! Look, they are all around! They must have caught up with him!"
Everyone was ecstatic, it was the happiest they had been in a long while.
Ji Yan Zi's eyes were still clouded with sorrow.
"Ji Feng would have been consoled to see this…"
She remembered a time before all the ambition and tension, she was on good terms with Ji Feng.
As an older brother, he had taken good care of his sister.
Treated her like his own blood.
All the squabbles and greed had made them forget their kinship.
Ji Yan Zi was full of guilt and regrets, recalling their good times as playmates when they were young.
Watching the spectacle before her had managed to lift her spirits a little.
She had a look of satisfaction plastered on her face, "Chu Yu that darn creature, are you finally dead? Good! Are you seeing this brother? Are you able to rest in peace now?".
Another tear rolled down her cheeks.
The King of the Heavenly Palace stood next to her, "Don't be sad anymore. All the sacrifices made were necessary and unavoidable. Your brother wouldn't be happy seeing you so broken.".
"Father!" She had lunged into his embrace and sobbed in his arms.
"You must be strong. You are the future of our legacy and you must continue to strive on."
"I am tired father, I am just a girl. Can we leave this monumental task to those who are capable?"
"You are my daughter! These are burdens you have to bear and responsibilities you have to carry!"
If Ji Yan Zi had heard this from her father earlier on, she would have been elated. Now, all she felt was weariness.
Even more so, a sense of fear and helplessness.
So what if Chu Yu was gone? There was still Yi!
Even if Yi's spirit had ceased to exist, who could guarantee that there won't be anyone like him?
There were still so many planets in the Solar System apart from Earth.
Who knew what kind of trouble they will encounter colonizing the other planets?
They had been so naïve.
The saints and the ancestor were getting ready to stabilize the energy field.
It would be interminable waiting if they chose to let nature take its course.
It would take millions of years for the energy to wear out by itself.
They casted a great sacred art towards the area.
Boom!
The particles had become even more agitated and active.
The burst of energy had distorted the virtual space in the area.
Laws governing time and space were no longer applicable.
It was affecting the space fleet!
The weaker ones were aging quickly!
Some of them died of old age immediately!
Some elders on the other hands regained their youth!
It was only an illusion.
The elders who had turned back their body clocks didn't regain their vitality.
The fleet was retreating hurriedly.
They kept millions of miles away to stay safe.
The old saints hadn't taken a single look at the fleet behind them.
The Heavenly Palace was an enormous organization, they had countless descendants and disciples.
They only paid attention to the brightest and the most promising youths.
"Again!"
They activated the sacred art again to suppress the force field.
Some of them pulled out magical objects to absorb the free energy bouncing around.
With a blink of an eye, half a month had passed by.
They had finally managed to balance the energy around the area to reach an equilibrium.
They wore a tired expression on their faces but their excitement couldn't be doused.
Chu Yu must have powerful objects on him, everyone knew that.
It would be a bountiful harvest if they could pocket his entire collection.
"It's alright now," the old ancestor sighed heavily, his face was ghostly white from the expansion of his energy.
He had just suppressed the energy field of collapsed stars after all.
He marched forward with confidence and ease.
It was a light-hearted atmosphere.
When they approached the borders of the area…
A bright red figure had charged out.
Boom!
An immense pressure suddenly exploded in the virtual space.
The old ancestor felt the weight of an entire universe bearing down on him.
It was a miracle to survive the impact!
Coughing out blood, he found himself frozen on the spot!
Another figure leapt forward arms with a glistening sword.
The old ancestor was flabbergasted, "How could it be?!".
The exhausted saints weren't given a chance to react.
Chu Yu had blindsided them completely.
Chu Yu swung his sword right at the neck of the frozen ancestor.
The old ancestor concentrated all his powers at that spot, bracing for impact.
His neck had transformed into impenetrable gold.
A loud metal clanging sound resonated into the surroundings.
Unfazed, Chu Yu stabbed at the ancestor's heart with his other blade.
He pierced right through the apex and gave a good twist.
PFFT!
The old ancestor was gurgling blood. His face was contorted into a horrifying expression.
His heart was blended into pieces. It was a critical blow to him, a trauma that he couldn't recover from.
With his concentration weakened, Chu Yu hacked at his neck again.
Krrrr!
The cranial lobe was taken down completely.
Chu Yu began swinging his blades and battering the body of the old ancestor, forcing his Divine Soul out.
Chu Yu started utilizing the Three Realms Technique.
An incredible magical energy flowed onto his sword and he chopped the divine soul.
The old ancestor's spirit was hacked into two.
There was no chance of recovery and his cultivation had come to an end.
Chu Yu conjured a thousand swords to slash the remains of the divine spirit until it was shredded into particles.
The old saints had just managed to react.
They were running towards him.
Chu Yu took a look at them and calmly kept the furnace and the frail Flower Chu before turning to leave.