Chapter 807 Return to Northguard City
“The Celestial Maiden Galaxy lies just ahead. It seems I still have some distance to travel.”
With that, Kael entered his Inner Cosmos.
A short while later, he dragged the Goshawk Patriarch outside and forced him to serve as a mount. Kael himself remained inside the Inner Cosmos, refining Immortal Spirit Liquid.
Strictly speaking, his need for it was no longer as urgent as it had once been. However, Immortal Spirit Liquid could rapidly restore his Origin Power, so there was no harm in producing more.
Time passed slowly. To an expert of Kael’s level, a year went by in the blink of an eye.
By then, he had already crossed the Celestial Maiden Galaxy and entered the Northguard Galaxy.
His Astral Compass began flashing incessantly.
Kael’s features hardened. He immediately sent a strand of Origin Power into it.
“Kael, you finally decided to return to the Northguard Galaxy. Have you made your decision?” Faron’s voice came through the Astral Compass.
“All right. I agree.”
“What?” Faron paused, caught off guard. “You agreed that easily?”
“Haven’t you been trying to bring me to Northguard City all this time? Is there a problem?”
“Oh. It seems all the humans I slaughtered while you were away finally awakened your sense of responsibility.”
Faron had settled on an explanation that hardly explained anything at all.
“What?” Kael demanded. “You truly killed three thousand human cultivators every day for all these years?”
“Of course. When I give my word, I keep it. I said I would kill three thousand a day, so three thousand died every day—often more, but never fewer. How else was I supposed to force you to submit?”
“Fine. Wait for me in Northguard City. I’m on my way.”
Kael ended the connection and put away his Astral Compass. After several spatial shifts, he headed toward the nearest planet equipped with a stellar teleportation array.
...
In Northguard City, Faron stared at the darkened Astral Compass, his brow deeply furrowed.
“You appear troubled.”
An aged voice came from behind him.
Faron turned and found a white-haired old man standing there.
It was Malachar Tuo.
Only a few decades had passed since Faron had last seen him, yet Malachar had aged considerably.
“City Lord, Kael agreed far too readily. Could the rumors be true?”
“It makes no difference.” Malachar appeared unconcerned.
“For the sake of Immortal Spirit Liquid, I would still imprison Kael and force him to refine it for me even if he had formed an alliance with the Machine Race. I have no other choice. Once I advance to the Real Deity Realm, what could the Machine Race possibly do to me?”
Malachar raised his head toward the sky.
“There is another possibility,” a voice said. “Kael may have already reached the Eternal Realm.”
Elowen Tuo and Everett Tuo flew over side by side.
“Elowen, you are only a Stellar Realm cultivator. You have no idea how difficult it is to enter the Eternal Realm,” Malachar said with an indulgent smile.
“Of every hundred Galactic Realm cultivators who attempt the breakthrough, ninety-five perish when the self-devouring process begins. Of the five who survive, perhaps one will successfully reach the Eternal Realm. Do you truly think it is so easy?”
Elowen and Everett were the most gifted members of his direct bloodline, so Malachar had always devoted considerable attention to their development.
“Nothing is certain, Great-Grandfather,” Everett said. “When I first met Kael, he was only a Stellar Realm cultivator. By our fourth meeting, he had already reached the Galactic Realm. That alone proves there is something unusual about him.”
“Oh?”
Malachar considered the possibility.
“It seems that boy is hiding quite a few secrets. No matter. I have no interest in the others. All I care about is his Immortal Spirit Liquid. It is vastly superior to Lesser Immortal Spirit Liquid. I never imagined someone from the Lower Realm could refine the pure Immortal Spirit Liquid found in the Ascendant Realm.”
He took a jade bottle from inside his robes.
It contained a single drop of Immortal Spirit Liquid refined by Kael. Malachar had gone to considerable lengths to obtain it, yet he couldn’t bring himself to consume it.
He held the bottle beneath his nose and savored its fragrance for a long moment before finally putting it away.
“Pass down my command. Deploy the Solar Apex Firmament Array throughout Northguard City. Once Kael enters the city’s territory, he must not be allowed to leave under any circumstances.”
“Yes, City Lord!”
Faron immediately flew toward the Council of Elders.
The array compass was under the joint custody of all the elders. It could only be retrieved after each of them performed the appropriate spell art.
On a planet near Northguard City, the stellar teleportation array suddenly activated on its own.
The Shadow Race cultivators guarding it were startled and immediately went on alert.
White light flashed.
Kael appeared at the center of the array with his hands clasped behind his back.
He took a single step and appeared directly in front of one of the Shadow cultivators, their noses almost touching.
“Ah!”
The cultivator stumbled back several steps, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
“K-Kael?”
Kael’s reputation had already spread throughout the surrounding galaxies.
Northguard City bordered Sunlance Academy’s territory, and its people had received reliable confirmation that Vice Dean Valerius had indeed died at Kael’s hands.
“Am I truly that frightening?” Kael asked, arching an eyebrow.
“L-Lord Lin, why didn’t you teleport directly to the central array?”
Even the way the cultivator addressed him had changed, becoming far more respectful.
Kael gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. Rather than explain, he rose into the air and flew toward Northguard City.
Several hours later, he summoned the Machine Race vessel and entered it. The ship hurtled toward Northguard City at full speed.
Every barren planet unfortunate enough to lie in its path was pierced straight through.
A month later, Kael finally arrived at the edge of Northguard City’s territory.
He knew the cultivators guarding the teleportation array must have already reported his movements. All he needed to do was wait.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, figures began appearing in the distance.
Malachar Tuo, the Lord of Northguard City, arrived first.
Faron and the other three Deputy City Lords followed.
Elowen and Everett were the last to arrive.
“Elowen was right. You truly have reached the Eternal Realm.” Malachar carefully examined Kael from head to toe. “No wonder you dared enter Northguard City so openly.”
Even when Kael had still been in the Galactic Realm, he had possessed the ability to kill Eternal Realm cultivators.
Now that Kael had become an Eternal himself, even Malachar wasn’t completely confident that he could capture him alive.
Killing Kael would be even less worthwhile. Malachar wanted his alchemy, not his corpse.
“City Lord Tuo, it has been many years,” Kael said with deliberate insolence. “You’ve aged remarkably quickly.”
“Don’t worry. One day, you will look just as I do.”
Malachar showed no anger.
“I assume you didn’t come to Northguard City because you finally decided to become my chief alchemist.”
“Correct. Unfortunately, there’s no prize for the right answer.” Kael cast a pointed glance at Faron. “In fact, if your people refuse to meet my demands, some of you may die.”
Faron’s jaw tightened. Despite himself, he retreated half a step.
“Very well. State your demands first, and then I will state mine. We can see whether there is room for cooperation.”
Malachar cared about nothing else. His thoughts revolved around one thing alone—Immortal Spirit Liquid.
“I want you to send people throughout Northguard City’s territory and relocate every human to Skyfire Planet,” Kael said calmly. “Not a single human may be harmed or lost during the relocation.”
Faron and the other Deputy City Lords exchanged glances, then laughed derisively.