Immortal Paladin

[POV: Ru Qiu]

The fringes of the Greater Universe breathed in silence, an endless expanse of black stretched thin against the distant shimmer of dying stars.

Ru Qiu stood at the threshold where the Hollowed World had torn itself open through the World Tree, his figure steady against the pull of the void. The Great Desert behind him were filled with many floating ships

“So, what’s next?” asked Jue Bu standing just behind him. “But I must say, I’m disappointed in you. Hey, you lost the bet, so you should play by the rules.”

“No,” said Ru Qiu.”

His appearance was no longer that of a woman. The silver flames had done their work without hesitation, devouring silk, softness, and illusion alike. What remained was sharp and deliberate. His dark robes drifted in the vacuum as though stirred by an unseen current, woven from quintessence that bent to his will. His shorter hair framed a face that had shed its prior mockery, replaced with something colder, more resolute.

“I swear that next time, I’m never going to do any bets with Da Wei…”

Behind him, the Player Covenant hovered in formation, their Soaring Dragon vessels aligned like a silent armada. The ships maintained position near the breach. Each cultivator aboard watched the unfolding chaos with sharpened focus, their strength coiled and ready.

From the fringes that surrounded the Hollowed World and could be observed through the tear in the World Tree, the beasts came.

Massive forms of gray, cloud-like matter twisted into existence, their limbs unfurling in grotesque configurations that defied symmetry. Teeth glistened within shapeless maws, and their presence distorted the surrounding space as if reality itself resisted them. Their hunger was not subtle. It radiated outward, a pressure that pressed against the soul.

Ru Qiu did not move immediately. He watched them spill into existence, measuring their number, their movement, their intent. When the first of them lunged forward, he raised his hand.

“Immortal Art: Defying the Heaven’s Decree.”

The declaration was calm, almost detached.

Black flames surged from his body, devouring the darkness around him before shifting into a brilliant silver. The transformation was instantaneous, violent in its purity. The flames did not simply burn. They consumed essence itself, unraveling the Void Beasts as they came into contact.

The first wave disintegrated mid-lunge, their forms collapsing into nothingness without resistance.

Ru Qiu stepped forward into the void.

Behind him, the distant sun warped, its golden light swallowed into blackness as if eclipsed by his presence. The shadow stretched unnaturally, framing him as he advanced through the swarm. Each motion of his hand released another torrent of silver fire, each strike precise and absolute.

The beasts recoiled, but they did not retreat.

They circled instead, their numbers swelling as more forced their way through the opening.

A surge of power flared from behind him.

Jue Bu moved into position, his crown igniting with a cold, radiant glow. The Hollow Star pulsed like a second heart above his brow as his voice cut through the void.

“Immortal Art: Reversal of Heaven and Earth.”

The space around the breach twisted instantly. The incoming Void Beasts, driven by instinct to overwhelm the opening, found their trajectories reversed. Their charges bent away, their momentum redirected into empty space. Confusion rippled through their ranks, their chaotic forms colliding and scattering under the inversion.

Ru Qiu exhaled slowly, the breath unnecessary yet habitual.

“Supremacy Trait of the Fallen.”

The quintessence within him inverted.

It did not flow outward as creation. It collapsed inward as destruction.

In his palm, a point of white light formed, impossibly dense, swallowing even the surrounding darkness. The void itself seemed to hesitate around it, as though uncertain how to exist in its presence.

Then it bloomed.

The supernova expanded in absolute silence, a sphere of annihilation that erased everything it touched. Void Beasts caught within its radius did not scream, did not resist, did not linger. They vanished, their existence overwritten by something that rejected their very nature.

The remaining creatures faltered.

For the first time, their advance broke.

They drifted back, their hunger dimmed by something unfamiliar.

Fear.

When the light receded, the battlefield cleared into a rare stillness. Only fragments of distorted essence lingered, dissolving into nothing as the void reclaimed its equilibrium.

Ru Qiu lowered his hand.

Behind him, movement stirred from the wound in the Hollowed World.

A Formation Gourd vessel emerged slowly, its surface etched with intricate patterns that pulsed with controlled energy. It slipped through the breach with precision, stabilizing itself in the vacuum as its systems activated.

Within, three figures stood at the core.

Nongmin worked without pause, his hands weaving formation lines that extended outward like threads of light. Zai Ai monitored the expanding array, her gaze sharp as she adjusted its structure with practiced efficiency. Sikao Biaoji anchored the entire construct, his presence stabilizing the volatile energies that threatened to collapse under their own complexity.

Piece by piece, the satellite formation array began to take shape.

Lines of quintessence stretched across the void, connecting nodes into a growing network that shimmered faintly against the darkness. It was not merely a structure. It was a path.

A bridge.

Ru Qiu watched in silence as it expanded, his figure unmoving against the infinite backdrop. T

…

..

.

[POV: Nongmin]

The formation disk expanded beneath Nongmin’s command like a mechanical star unfolding in the void, each segment locking into place with deliberate precision. Lines of quintessence threaded through its structure, forming layered circuits that pulsed in quiet synchronization. He stood at the core of the Formation Gourd vessel, hands moving in controlled patterns, his mind running through calculations that had long since surpassed instinct and entered something closer to inevitability.

He had seen this before.

Not in this scale, not in this refinement, but the memory of Da Wei’s reckless departure lingered clearly in his thoughts. The prototype had been crude, dangerously unstable, and far too reliant on the absurd resilience of a single individual. Nongmin had allowed it anyway, fully aware that if anyone could survive a collapsing warp lattice, it would be that man. The fact that the device had held together long enough to function had been less a success of engineering and more an anomaly he had quietly refused to rely on again.

This version carried none of that hesitation.

The disk stretched wide, its surface resembling an enormous celestial ring flattened into a layered construct. Pathways for vessels were embedded within its structure, guiding trajectories into a singular alignment point. Once activated, the warp formation would not simply transport. It would accelerate, propelling anything within its corridor across vast stretches of space with violent efficiency.

Even so, the flaws remained.

Nongmin’s gaze shifted across the outer edges of the array, where faint distortions hinted at its limitations. Without proper spatial anchoring, the disk could drift. Without a stable path, even the smallest obstruction could send a vessel spiraling off course, lost somewhere within the indifferent vastness. That was why this was only the beginning.

More disks would follow.

They would form a chain.

A controlled pathway across the fringes.

Ru Qiu’s presence approached from outside the vessel, his figure visible through the translucent barrier as he hovered beside the construct. Even in stillness, he carried a pressure that subtly warped the surrounding space.

“How fares the warp array, Nongmin?”

Nongmin did not stop his work as he responded. His tone remained even, threaded with quiet certainty.

“We can begin deployment. The first vessels are ready to depart for the Underworld. Each one carries a Guardian trained in Greater Universe navigation methods. Their survival rate should remain stable under current conditions.”

His fingers adjusted a sequence, reinforcing a rotational node within the disk before continuing.

“It is not perfect. We lack a Star Map, which limits precision. However, divination serves as a substitute. It is inefficient, but functional. The range of this disk is also constrained, so additional arrays must be constructed at fixed intervals. Preferably anchored to stable spatial points or celestial orbits that can be consistently tracked.”

Ru Qiu listened without interruption before giving a small nod.

“I will accompany the first vessel.”

Before Nongmin could respond, Zai Ai’s voice cut in, her tone measured yet edged with concern.

“I advise against that.”

She stood near one of the auxiliary control arrays, her gaze fixed on the external readings rather than Ru Qiu himself.

“Our observations over the past year indicate an escalation in Void Beast activity. Their behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. More importantly, new variants have begun to appear.”

Sikao Biaoji leaned forward, squinting toward the distant void beyond the disk’s perimeter. His usual composure slipped into something more blunt as he spoke.

“What in flower tarnation is that supposed to—”

His words halted mid-thought.

The sensors reacted first.

Then the void followed.

Something moved.

At first, it resembled a distant bloom, a soft expansion of yellow against the darkness. Then it twisted, unfolding into something far less benign. Petal-like appendages spread outward in layered spirals, each one edged with a faint shimmer that suggested both fragility and lethal precision. At its center, a serpentine body coiled and uncoiled, its draconic form partially obscured by the shifting floral mass.

It advanced without hesitation.

Around it, lesser Void Beasts gathered, drawn into its orbit like debris caught in a gravitational pull. Their movements synchronized in unsettling harmony, no longer chaotic but directed.

The formation disk continued to hum beneath Nongmin, its structure stable, its purpose unchanged. Yet the equation had shifted. Variables had been introduced that did not belong to any prior model he had constructed.

Outside, Ru Qiu turned toward the approaching anomaly, his expression unreadable.

“I will clear a path.”

…

..

.

[POV: Ren Xun]

Ren Xun stood at the edge of the Soaring Dragon vessel, his gaze fixed on the descending world before them. Radiant Losten hung in the sky like a second sun dimmed by solemn purpose, its luminous surface breaking through layers of darkened atmosphere as it lowered itself toward the barren land below. The magic surrounding it shimmered in vast concentric waves, stabilizing its descent while resisting the corruption that saturated the ground beneath.

The land awaiting it was restless.

Dark creatures crawled across its surface in endless numbers, their forms twisted by resentment and decay. The undead surged in uneven tides, drawn instinctively to the approaching world as though compelled by something older than thought. Beneath the vessel, players clashed against them in scattered formations, their abilities flashing in bursts of color against the gloom.

Joana Luminara stood beside him, her presence radiant yet controlled, strands of divine light weaving around her fingers as she cast spell after spell with effortless precision. Each motion erased clusters of undead, her power not explosive but constant, like a steady tide washing filth from a shore. She did not look strained. She did not look uncertain.

Tian En stood on his other side, her aged figure unmoving except for the single hand she held over a glowing formation. Characters spiraled around her palm in shifting layers, each symbol locking into place as members of the Four Pillars mirrored her actions across the vessel. Their synchronization was exact, forming a lattice of control that extended outward to guide the descending world.

Her voice came without urgency, as though she were reciting a memory rather than witnessing a transformation.

“This land once belonged to a prosperous civilization from the Greater Universe.”

Ren Xun did not turn to her, but he listened.

“They came here not as refugees, but as conquerors. Their intent was to carve dominion, to expand their rule into the Hollowed World.”

Below them, a surge of undead pressed forward, only to be scattered by a wave of divine light from Joana.

“They were met by the Cleanse,” Tian En continued, her tone unchanged. “The Heavenly Temple led it. According to the records I have studied, most descending realms shared the same ambition. Subjugation rather than survival.”

The formation beneath her hand pulsed brighter as Radiant Losten descended further, its shadow swallowing more of the land.

“Those who perished were not simply erased. Many were taken to Losten, remade by the Origin King, added to his forces. The undead below us are what remains of those who refused. Their resentment has endured.”

Ren Xun exhaled slowly, his eyes tracing the movement of the descending world.

“What are you trying to say?”

Tian En’s gaze remained forward.

“Do not deny that the Cleanse brought stability.”

Joana’s response came immediately, sharp and unyielding.

“Genocide is wrong.”

Her spells did not falter as she spoke, each cast precise, each strike deliberate.

“It erased any chance for dialogue. That possibility died with those people. The Holy Emperor himself said as much.”

A cluster of undead disintegrated under her light, leaving only drifting ash.

“And for every soul lost, another was forced into Losten, turned into a tool for war. My people live under the weight of that.”

The air between them tightened, not with power, but with memory.

Ren Xun stepped in before the silence could deepen.

“Enough.”

His voice was calm, but it carried authority that neither ignored.

“What’s done cannot be undone. We stand on the same side now, whether we agree with the past or not.”

Tian En lowered her gaze slightly, the glow of the formation reflecting in her eyes.

“I spoke out of turn.”

The admission came without resistance.

“The Heavenly Temple has committed acts that cannot be justified. Not only against her people, but many others. The Four Pillars seek to change that. We ask for the chance to do so.”

Joana did not respond immediately, though the faint tension in her expression remained.

Ren Xun did not wait for further exchange.

He moved.

Scales shimmered faintly along his arm as he extended his hand, activating the formation he had long prepared. It spread outward in invisible layers, embedding itself into the surrounding space like roots seeking purchase. The air itself seemed to shift, responding to his will.

He raised two fingers to his lips and released a sharp whistle.

From four distant directions, dragons emerged.

Each one carried an aura of authority, their massive forms weaving through the sky with controlled grace. They circled the descending world, their movements deliberate as they aligned themselves with the unseen currents beneath reality. Their power reached downward, connecting with the dragon veins buried deep within the Hollowed World.

The reaction was immediate.

The land trembled in acknowledgment.

Radiant Losten continued its descent, guided now not only by magic, but by the ancient pathways that defined the world itself. The dragons moved in harmony, directing the flow of energy, ensuring that the merging would not tear the land apart.

The surface met.

There was no catastrophic collision.

No tidal destruction.

Instead, the world unfolded.

Segments of Radiant Losten spread outward like seeds carried by wind, embedding themselves into the terrain. Light and land intertwined, forming new layers that settled seamlessly into place. The dragon veins accepted the addition, their flow stabilizing as the foreign world became part of the greater whole.

The undead below faltered, their advance disrupted as the land itself shifted beneath them.

Ren Xun lowered his hand.

“Our work is done.”

The words had barely settled when a sudden force struck the deck behind them.

A Guardian landed with urgency, his armor marked by the strain of rapid travel. He did not waste time on formalities.

“The Player Covenant has begun their departure to the Greater Universe,” he reported, his voice tight with urgency. “However, they have encountered escalating resistance. Entire worlds have begun appearing along their route. It is not random. It appears to be a coordinated invasion effort on a massive scale. They are requesting immediate reinforcements.”

…

..

.

[POV: Ru Qiu]

The void settled into a fragile stillness after the last of the Void Beasts dissolved under Ru Qiu’s flames. Fragments of their distorted essence faded into nothing, leaving behind only the faint ripples of what had once been a battlefield. He remained where he was, suspended in the endless dark, his robes drifting slightly as the residual energy around him calmed.

Behind him, the Formation Gourd vessel completed its preparations.

Its surface shimmered as the warp array activated, layers of formation lines folding inward before releasing in a controlled burst. The vessel vanished cleanly, slipping into its designated path with its stealth systems engaged. A handful of Guardians on Soaring Dragon vessels followed in precise intervals, acting as Nongmin’s escort detail, leaving Ru Qiu alone.

Without warning, space itself distorted.

Dozens of planetary masses emerged.

Each one carried weight, presence, and intent, their trajectories aligned toward the Hollowed World. Their surfaces varied wildly, some fractured and barren, others pulsing with unfamiliar energies, but all of them moved with unified purpose.

Ru Qiu’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Before he could act, a figure manifested in front of him.

The ghost did not arrive subtly. It formed from a dense concentration of yin energy, coalescing into the shape of a man clad in spectral armor that bore the marks of countless battles. His presence was heavy, layered with authority that suggested both rank and experience.

“I am War’s most devoted General, Chen Shun of the Underworld’s Seventh Layer,” the ghost declared, his voice carrying a commanding echo through the void. “State your name, warrior.”

Ru Qiu regarded him briefly, the interruption noted but not entertained beyond necessity.

“I am Ru Qiu, the Heavenly—”

“Then you are small fry,” Chen Shun cut in without hesitation.

The dismissal came with casual certainty.

“I have heard of a warrior named Da Wei. Bring him to—”

The rest never came.

White ignited.

Ru Qiu did not raise his voice. He did not shift his stance. His power simply manifested.

The supernova bloomed at point-blank range, swallowing the ghost entirely. Layers of immortality unraveled in rapid succession, each one collapsing under the pressure of inverted quintessence. The spectral armor cracked, dissolved, and vanished as the essence holding Chen Shun together was stripped apart.

“A rude insect like you doesn’t deserve to know my name.”

…

..

.

[POV: Saber]

The Soaring Dragon vessel tore through the threshold of the Hollowed World Tree, its hull shuddering slightly as it broke past the final layer of resistance. Beyond it, the vast expanse of outer space opened without restraint, gravity loosening its hold as the ship surged forward into the unknown.

Saber stood at the forefront, her blonde hair trailing behind her in the shifting currents of energy that replaced wind in the void. Her posture was firm, her presence steady as she looked ahead at the unfolding battlefield.

“We have our marching orders, my fellow players,” she declared, her voice carrying across the deck. “It’s time to eat up!”

A wave of excitement answered her immediately.

“Finally, something worth grinding!”

“Yo, those planets are loot boxes, I’m calling it now!”

“First kill’s mine, don’t you dare steal it!”

“Let’s go! Speedrun the Greater Universe!”

Laughter and shouts overlapped, the chaotic energy of the players filling the vessel as more ships burst through the opening behind them.

Ivan stood nearby, his massive frame impossible to miss even among the crowd. He threw his head back with a booming laugh, the sound carrying as heavily as his presence.

“Ha ha ha ha! The others are missing out on all this fun,” he said, gripping his axe with clear anticipation. “Man, are those planets?”

Saber glanced toward the incoming masses, her expression sharpening slightly.

“Don’t be like that. They have their own legacy quests to deal with,” she replied before adding, “I’m more surprised Fanny decided to dip. Lady Fanarys, Lord Arthur, stay close to the players.”

Fanarys let out a small scoff, her stance relaxed despite the scale of the conflict ahead.

“Voice of Arthur, we are not fragile glass,” she said. “We are demigods. There is nothing here to fear.”

Saber exhaled lightly, a hint of exasperation slipping through.

“Please just call me Saber. It avoids confusion.”

Arthur’s voice followed, calm and assured.

“Do not concern yourself with us, Saber. While we may not share the same resurrection privileges as the players, we are far from defenseless. There are also… contingencies.”

More ships poured into the void, forming loose formations as they attempted to organize against the incoming threat. Above them, a distant but overwhelming presence marked Ru Qiu’s position, his power clashing against an unseen opponent.

The players did not wait.

They surged forward.

Warp engines ignited recklessly as ships blinked across short distances, closing in on the approaching planetary bodies with aggressive intent. There was little hesitation, little concern for perfect formation. They adapted mid-motion, their strategies forming in real time as chaos became their advantage.

This was their first step into the Greater Universe.

And they treated it like a battlefield meant to be conquered.

Enemy forces revealed themselves quickly.

Soldiers poured from the planetary masses, their cultivation levels uniformly high. Ninth Realm fighters formed the bulk, with Tenth Realm elites interspersed among them. Above them, Ascended Souls moved with authority, their presence dominating sections of the battlefield as they directed the flow of combat.

By comparison, the players were uneven.

Their strongest stood at the Ninth Realm, while the majority hovered between the Seventh and Eighth.

It did not matter.

They advanced anyway.

Ivan roared with laughter as he leapt from the deck, his axe cleaving through an enemy soldier with brutal force. Music blasted from around him, heavy metal thundering into the void as though reality itself had agreed to accommodate it.

Saber moved with precision, her voice cutting through the chaos.

“Do not hold back on consumables! Protect the NPCs, they are our spearhead! Let them deal damage and keep them alive at all costs!”

Her orders spread quickly, players adjusting their tactics as support items flared into use. Shields, buffs, and healing effects layered over Fanarys and Arthur as the two advanced into the thickest clusters of enemies above them.

They did not disappoint.

Fanarys moved like a streak of light, her attacks tearing through defenses with overwhelming force and flame. Arthur followed with calculated precision, his swordsmanship landing exactly where they would destabilize even the strongest opponents.

An Ascended Soul turned to face them.

It did not last long.

Under their combined assault, the entity staggered, its composure breaking as their power pushed beyond expected limits. A final coordinated strike shattered its defenses, dispersing its form into fragments of fading essence.

The players erupted instantly.

“Ascended down!”

“Let’s go! That’s how it’s done!”

“Buff them, buff them, keep them going!”

“NPC carry is real!”

The battle intensified, the void filling with motion, light, and destruction as both sides escalated without restraint.

And at the center of it all, the players pressed forward, their laughter and chaos carving a path into a war far larger than themselves.