Chapter 831 Bloodbath in Starhound Valley
Kael no longer had any reason to hold back.
He formed a hand seal, and the sword array contracted inward.
The Starhound cultivators were driven toward the center of the canyon. Before long, they were packed together so tightly that they could barely move without climbing over one another.
Kael then altered the sword array’s structure.
Any attack launched from within would be neutralized by the formation. The humans outside, however, could strike those trapped inside without resistance.
“Josiah, have the humans attack together. Exterminate every Starhound cultivator inside.”
Kael drew upon all his Origin Power to maintain the sword array.
“Fellow humans, what are you waiting for?”
Josiah attacked first, sending a slash of Sword Qi toward the formation.
The instant it passed through the array’s outer boundary, its power increased tenfold.
The attack swept through the trapped Starhounds and cut more than a hundred of them apart.
“Kill them!”
The other humans surrounded the sword array.
Streams of Sword Qi poured through the formation, each growing ten times stronger as it crossed the boundary. Soon, countless attacks were crisscrossing throughout the canyon.
The shriek of Sword Qi tearing through the air mingled with the Starhounds’ howls, curses, and screams.
Blood soaked into the earth, staining the gray ruins of Starhound Valley a vivid red.
Kael stood at the edge of the canyon with his hands clasped behind his back, his features impassive as the fierce winds whipped his green robe around him.
Meanwhile, the number of Eternal Points on his status panel continued to climb.
Higher.
And higher.
Roughly six hours later, the sounds within Starhound Valley gradually faded. Only the Sword Qi remained, still lashing through the corpses.
Kael checked his Eternal Points.
[Eternal Points: 59.369]
Despite killing every high-ranking Starhound cultivator, he had earned only slightly more than he would have received for killing a single Eternal Realm expert. Worse, the entire process had taken more than four months.
In terms of efficiency alone, it had hardly been worthwhile.
But how many Eternal Realm cultivators were there in the entire Blood Jade Galaxy for Kael to kill?
It seemed he would have to continue relying on this cumbersome method to accumulate Eternal Points.
“Go. Feed.”
Kael released all his Golden Beetles.
The swarm descended upon the blood-soaked canyon like a dark cloud and began devouring the Starhound remains.
Several reckless humans also rushed into the ruins. They searched the corpses for spatial artifacts, hoping to find valuable treasures within.
“Josiah, you and your two companions should remain in the Starhound Galaxy,” Kael said. “The humans here need you. Now that the Starhound leadership has been eliminated, no one from their race can threaten three Planetary Realm cultivators like you.”
“But the Starhounds aren’t the only race in this galaxy,” Josiah protested. “Some of the other races have Stellar Realm and even Galactic Realm cultivators.”
He seized Kael’s sleeve with both hands and clung to it as though it were his last hope of survival.
“They have all seen what happened to the Starhounds. None of them will dare persecute humanity again. Farewell, Josiah.”
Kael drew Rook, Adrian, and the others into his Inner Cosmos.
“But—”
Josiah tried to stop him, but Kael had already stepped into the center of the teleportation array.
Light surged through the formation.
A moment later, Kael vanished from the Starhound homeworld.
...
More than forty Eternal Realm cultivators had gathered on the Machine Race homeworld.
Hadrian occupied one of the highest seats.
“Is the Broodmother truly unwilling to send anyone to discuss how we should deal with humanity?”
Hadrian turned toward the man seated beside him.
“I sent an envoy to the Insect homeworld, but the Broodmother appears to have no interest in the matter. She refused to send even one of her Celestial-grade insect soldiers.”
The speaker was Mordren Yuan, Patriarch of the Heavenlight Race—one of the five most powerful races in the entire Blood Jade Galaxy.
His cultivation had reached the terrifying Great Circle of the Eternal Realm.
The Insect Race might have been beyond the Machine Race’s ability to destroy, but even they regarded the Heavenlight Race with deep caution.
Hadrian scoffed.
“I expected as much from the Broodmother. She probably still intends to complete her Immortal Spirit Liquid transaction with Kael. We can ignore her for now. Our first objective should be the human homeworld.
“We will surround the planet without attacking, then establish a grand formation around the entire world. When Kael returns to save his people, we will trap him inside and force him to refine Immortal Spirit Liquid for us. What do you think?”
“An excellent plan,” Mordren replied. “Before coming here, I placed every human in the Heavenlight Galaxy inside my Inner Cosmos. If Kael’s strength surpasses our expectations and he somehow turns the situation around, I can use those countless human lives against him.”
“With your strength, why resort to such measures?” Hadrian asked. “Only you and Corbin Ye have reached the Great Circle of the Eternal Realm in the entire Blood Jade Galaxy. The two of you are practically invincible.”
Hadrian refused to submit even to the Broodmother. Her methods of infestation were numerous, but they posed little threat to the Machine Race.
Mordren was different.
If he truly set his mind on destroying the Machine Race, there was a seventy-percent chance that the race would be exterminated and only a thirty-percent chance that its survivors would escape and scatter throughout the galaxy.
“From the moment I first gained consciousness, I have lived by one absolute rule,” Mordren said. “Always prepare another contingency, and never rely on brute force when intelligence will serve you better. That is the highest form of cultivation.
“If you answer every enemy with violence, then no matter how powerful you become, can you truly fight the entire Blood Jade Galaxy alone?”
He stroked his graying beard, the knowing smile of an old schemer on his lips.
“I have learned something today,” Hadrian said. “Then there is no reason to delay. Shall we begin preparing the campaign and send an advance team to locate and test the defenses of the human homeworld?”
“Yes. We should learn exactly what Kael left behind before committing our main force.”
...
Light surged around Kael as he appeared in the White Tiger Galaxy, which bordered the Starhound Galaxy.
Its name made it clear that the White Tiger Race held absolute power throughout the region.
Kael’s vessel descended onto a planet equipped with a teleportation array.
Rather than entering the formation immediately, he spread his Spiritual Sense across the entire world.
Approximately one hundred billion humans lived on the planet. Most had been forced into the filthiest and most exhausting forms of labor.
Kael’s Spiritual Sense soon settled upon a family of White Tiger cultivators.
Their cultivation was not particularly impressive. The strongest among them were merely two Deity Transformation Realm tiger cultivators.
Their way of life, however, was outrageously extravagant.
“Eat,” the Deity Transformation tiger said to his eldest son. “This human spent more than fifty years working in our mines. He died last night, so there was no reason to let the body go to waste.”
Seven members of the family sat around the table. Both parents had reached the Deity Transformation Realm, while even the weakest of their five children had reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
“I heard the laborers brought from the eastern continent are stronger,” another young tiger said. “Can we have one of them prepared next?”
“Not yet,” his father replied. “Make them work until their bodies can no longer endure it. There is no reason to waste useful livestock.”
He had no idea that a transparent figure had appeared inside the room and was now watching his family of seven in silence.
More than forty human servants stood around the table.
They watched the tiger cultivators feast upon the remains of one of their fellow humans. Terror was plain on their faces, yet none dared intervene.
“What are you staring at?” the Deity Transformation tiger demanded, turning toward one of the servants. “Go to the labor camp and bring back the man who collapsed this morning.”
“Yes.”
The human servant’s features had gone numb. He stumbled out of the room.
A short while later, he returned with a gaunt, middle-aged human laborer. Heavy shackles bound the man’s wrists and ankles.