High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 444: Chapter 282: Crisis Lifted

The clone whispered a word.

After confirming the signal from the Jade Pendant was weakened by the planet’s ley lines and the vast distance, its figure flickered and passed through the lingering channel of the world projection, returning to Blue Star.

Upon returning to the main body, the clone transformed into a stream of light and merged into his sea of consciousness.

Li Wen stood at the boundary, his gaze piercing through the world projection.

He took one last look at the vast, dead domain—once a grave threat to Blue Star, but now something he had no choice but to abandon.

”What a pity... but it must be done,” he whispered, all hesitation gone.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the colossal golden form of his Primordial Spirit, ninety thousand *zhang* tall, suddenly opened its eyes. The vast, boundless power of his Primordial Spirit instantly roared to life.

Li Wen raised his hand, pointing two fingers like a sword. From a distance, he aimed at the core of the massive world projection that stretched across the sky.

”Shatter!”

RUMBLE—!!!

A beam of indescribably brilliant and destructive dark-gold light shot from his finger, containing the ultimate concept of all creation returning to nothingness and all Laws being annihilated.

Tearing through space, it slammed viciously into the core node of the world projection.

Like a punctured bubble, or a collapsing firmament.

The massive, stable world projection, built with the immeasurable blood, sweat, and resources of the Demon Race...

...under the full force of this attack from Li Wen, an expert at the Peak of Saint Realm, let out a sky-shattering cry of agony.

The colossal curtain of light was instantly webbed with cracks. Then, amidst a billion blinding rays, it violently disintegrated.

Shards of space scattered like a torrential downpour, churning the entire boundary region into a raging tide of energy.

This apocalyptic scene instantly startled everyone on Blue Star.

Countless people looked up at the violently churning, phantasmagorical sky, the panic they had just suppressed seizing their hearts once more.

”Fellow people of Blue Star!” Li Wen’s vast yet gentle spiritual message, like warm sunlight, instantly soothed their panic, reaching every corner of the planet.

”This is Li Wen. The Demon Race has been completely exterminated, but the Demon Realm’s very foundation has been tainted by their Demon Techniques. It has become a source of immense, latent danger.

To ensure Blue Star’s everlasting peace, I have decided to abandon the Demon Realm and sever all ties to it!

I will also destroy every remaining Stargate on Blue Star, eliminating this threat for good!”

Upon hearing Li Wen’s message, the people’s confusion instantly vanished.

They didn’t give much thought to what would happen to the Demon Realm.

After all, they were just lucky to be alive.

With that said, Li Wen wasted no more time. His figure flashed across Blue Star.

The ruins outside Changning City, the depths of the East Sea, the ancient mountain ruins...

One after another, the Stargates—once used by the Demon Race as beachheads for their invasion, so resilient that even Venerables were powerless against them—were now as fragile as paper before the power of Li Wen’s Primordial Spirit.

He used no fancy techniques, simply mobilizing his immense Primordial Spirit power.

He shaped it into an invisible hammer of Law and brought it crashing down upon the core structure of each Stargate, again and again.

BANG! CRACK! BOOM!

It made no difference whether they were massive Stargates, dozens of meters high and capable of admitting Titled Kings, or smaller gates merely ten-odd meters tall.

Under the assault of his Primordial Spirit, which was at the Peak of the Saint Realm, they all groaned as if unable to bear the strain.

Their core runes shattered inch by inch, and the immense spatial energy within them spiraled out of control.

The entire structure of each gate, as if detonated from within, disintegrated into countless fragments before turning to dust and vanishing completely from the world.

In a matter of moments, Li Wen had utterly obliterated every Stargate on Blue Star’s surface with decisive, lightning-fast strikes.

And as the Stargates on Blue Star were destroyed, their counterparts across the Demon Realm...

...as if tugged by an unseen force, simultaneously and silently crumbled into dust that scattered on the wind.

With this, Li Wen had personally severed the last thread of physical and spatial connection between Blue Star and the Demon Realm.

The two worlds were now completely cut off from one another, isolated on opposite ends of the vast cosmos, never to intersect again.

...

「Meanwhile, on the distant Earth Spirit Star.」

The ghostly blue Soul Fire dancing in Ashes’s eye sockets suddenly flared violently, like a candle flame in a gale.

He clearly sensed that the location of the critically important paired Jade Pendant had shifted drastically, traversing an immense distance through space.

’This direction... The Demon Realm?!’ Ashes’s skeletal fingers dug into the armrest of his throne, producing a grating shriek of sound.

He could feel the Jade Pendant coming to a halt somewhere deep within the Demon Realm, and then... it went completely still, utterly silent.

’...They found it? Fast work.’

The Soul Fire in Ashes’s eyes flickered, a maelstrom of rage, indignation, and a sliver of helplessness swirling within.

Without the continuous, real-time tracking signal from the paired Jade Pendant, on a cosmic scale so vast it was measured in millions of light-years...

...finding the exact planet of his brother’s killer...

...was hundreds of millions of times more difficult than finding a needle in an ocean.

An ocean, at least, has shores. But the universe... Not even the fabled Tier Nine Star Lords, nor even the immortal gods, could ever perceive its full extent or know its boundaries.

What hope did he, a mere Tier Three Star Lord, have?

The flames of vengeance blazed in the depths of Ashes’s soul, threatening to burn his sanity to cinders.

He shot to his feet, a low, venomous hiss escaping his hollow rib cage, like the grinding of ancient glaciers:

”No matter what corner of the cosmos you hide in... no matter how many ages it takes... I will find you and make you pay in blood for my brother, Bone-Eroding!”

The cold vow echoed through the desolate cavern, filled with infinite hatred and obsession, before finally fading into the silent darkness.

...

「Blue Star.」

As the last spatial ripple faded where the world projection had collapsed...

...the sense of crisis that had clung to the very core of his sea of consciousness like a maggot to bone, receded like the tide and vanished without a trace.

He hovered silently at the apex of the heavens, savoring the hard-won tranquility.

Blue Star’s sky was once again clear. Sunlight streamed down unimpeded, as if the world-ending shadow had never fallen.

”Phew...”

Space was torn apart, and the three Venerables—Ye Qin, Xingxuan, and Gu He—appeared at Li Wen’s side almost at the same instant.

They gazed at the spot where the entrance to the Demon Realm projection had collapsed into nothingness, their faces a mixture of complex, unreadable emotions.

”It’s over...” Venerable Ye Qin let out a long sigh. His voice held both relief and a hint of subtle regret. ”A world rich in resources, now completely cut off. A shame about all those precious minerals and rare materials...”

Venerable Xingxuan nodded slightly and added,

”A pity, indeed. Occupying the Demon Realm would have been a massive boon to the development of the Human Race. However,”

her tone shifted, becoming exceptionally firm,

”compared to the threat of a terrifying Star Lord-level enemy potentially arriving, abandoning the Demon Realm was the wisest possible choice. As long as the green mountains remain, we’ll never lack for firewood.”

Venerable Gu He stroked his beard. ”Precisely. Severing the connection to preserve Blue Star is what’s most fundamental.”

”You’re right, Seniors,” Li Wen’s calm voice rang out.

He turned to face the three pillars of the Human Race who had fought alongside him. ”Besides, that ominous sense of crisis from the Jade Pendant... it truly vanished after I destroyed the Stargates and severed the connection between our worlds.”

At his words, the three Venerables’ spirits lifted.

A glint flashed in Venerable Ye Qin’s eyes:

”It’s gone? Excellent! When one’s Primordial Spirit Realm reaches your level—the Peak of the 9th Layer—their Spiritual Sense becomes profound enough to faintly perceive fortune and calamity.

Legend says that great masters with even more profound Primordial Spirit Realms can rely on their Spiritual Sense alone to seek good fortune, avoid calamity, and turn disaster into opportunity. Your intuition is the most reliable proof we could ask for!”

Xingxuan and Gu He nodded in profound agreement, the heavy weight on their hearts finally lifting.

For a moment, a palpable sense of relief spread among the four of them.

Li Wen gazed out at the boundless starry sky, his eyes deep and profound, as if piercing through layers of nebulae to glimpse a more distant future.

”The crisis may be averted for now,” Li Wen’s voice held an undeniable resolve, ”but I must depart as soon as possible.”

The three Venerables were not surprised to hear this, but their expressions grew more solemn.

Li Wen continued to explain, ”Blue Star is no longer a place I can remain for long.

Before, when my cultivation was at a lower level, Blue Star’s accumulated energy was enough to support my breakthroughs. As long as my saber arts and my comprehension of the Primordial Spirit were sufficient, there was ample energy to help me advance.

However, as my cultivation has advanced—especially after I broke through to the Saint Realm—the amount of energy required for each subsequent advancement has grown exponentially.”

He paused, a hint of resignation in his voice. ”After countless eons, Blue Star’s resources have been all but consumed. The planet is nearly barren.

Although the ambient Spiritual Energy on Blue Star is recovering now, to me, it’s just a drop in the ocean.

If I wish to continue advancing at a rapid pace and pursue higher realms, my only option is to venture into the vast, resource-rich cosmos.”

Venerable Ye Qin nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with understanding and support:

”We understand, Junior Brother. Your reasoning is sound. You personally put an end to the Demon Race’s devastating scourge, and the Human Race of Blue Star has been met with an unprecedented dawn of peace.

With your talent and potential, remaining confined to this little cradle would be a waste of your peerless gifts.

The three of us old timers support you wholeheartedly!”

Venerable Xingxuan also smiled. ”Indeed. A fledgling must eventually leave the nest and soar. Without the threat of the Demon Race, Blue Star can be at peace again.

Go and seek your path without worry. Go and pursue the highest realms! Blue Star will always be your home, your steadfast anchor.”

Venerable Gu He clapped his hands. ”Go! Go and witness the splendor of the Star River! Go and meet the prodigies of the universe’s myriad races! Your journey lies across the sea of stars!”

Their words were powerful and resonant, filled with boundless hope for Li Wen’s future and their unconditional trust in him.

After discussing the future reconstruction and defense of Blue Star at length to ensure all was in order, Li Wen gave the three Venerables a solemn bow. ”I leave Blue Star in your care, Seniors.”

The three of them returned the bow with equal gravity. ”Rest assured!”

Bidding the three Venerables farewell, Li Wen’s figure shimmered. Space rippled, and in the next instant, he appeared in the sky above the Li Manor in Changning City.

The familiar courtyard, the warm lamplight, and the beloved figures of his family, looking up in anticipation.

He reined in his immense aura—an aura powerful enough to shake the Star River—and gently descended.

A new journey was already taking shape in his mind, but for now, this was a precious moment to spend with his family.