Starforce Warriors-Chapter 1025: Stationed To Guard

Li Xiaofei saw that at some unknown point, Old Tan's body had become covered in what looked like dust and drifting willow fluff. He looked like an ancient relic abandoned for thousands of years, his entire figure wrapped in layers of ash, until only a vague human shape could be seen.

Upon closer inspection, even Old Tan’s face was the same. Countless fine, gray filaments were emerging from the pores of his skin like strands of cobwebs and dispersing into the air like floating spores.

The spores scattered into the air with every step he took.

Did Old Tan turn into some kind of monster?

Li Xiaofei looked down at himself. A faint layer of dim, mite-like dust had also begun to cling to his skin. The air was filled with floating particles, resembling the kind of dust one might see under a microscope.

"This is how it is here," Old Tan said as he walked forward. "The Land of Annihilation is filled with Oblivion Force, an energy that can destroy everything."

A realization dawned upon Li Xiaofei, So this is the true form of Oblivion Force?

Old Tan continued, "This place is completely different from the real world and the Realm of Ruins. Oblivion seeps through every gap. The first time I came here, I was terrified. I thought I’d turned into a thousand-year-old corpse... You could also call this the Land of Truth."

The Land of Truth?

Li Xiaofei circulated a wisp of his Immortal Force and the strange residue on his body vanished instantly. After a moment of sensing his surroundings, he found that his strength and condition hadn’t been significantly affected in this eerie environment. But there was an ever-present, subtle sense of dread gnawing at his senses.

Old Tan warned, "Don’t let your guard down. This place is full of hidden dangers. We also can’t linger too long, or we’ll be assimilated and completely transformed into part of the Land of Truth. We will be trapped forever, unable to escape."

Li Xiaofei replied, "I feel fine so far."

Old Tan paused mid-step, then said, "Right, I almost forgot that you’ve already achieved the Dao."

Li Xiaofei reached out and placed a hand on Old Tan’s back. With a gentle sweep of Immortal Emperor energy, he brushed the dust off Old Tan’s body.

Old Tan immediately looked much more at ease. He had consumed ten years’ worth of peaches for the sake of this day. The energy stored in his body was enough to help him resist the Oblivion Force within this dimension.

"Back then, I stumbled into this place by accident. If I hadn’t encountered Holy Emperor Sun Fei, I would have long since been corrupted and died," said Old Tan.

Holy Emperor Sun Fei, one of the five Immortal Emperors of the human race, was considered the most low-key and mysterious among the five. It was said that he had been the first human to become an Immortal Emperor.

He attained the Dao earliest of all and was extraordinarily powerful. If he hadn’t held the line during the initial invasion of the Reapers, the humans of Earth might have been completely wiped out. The remaining four Immortal Emperors might never have emerged.

Li Xiaofei had heard stories of Holy Emperor Sun Fei and held great respect for him.

"Is Sun Fei really stationed here in the Land of Annihilation?" he asked curiously.

Old Tan replied, "To be precise, aside from Sword Immortal Lin Beichen, the other four Immortal Emperors are all stationed in the Land of Annihilation."

So that was the truth. It was the first time Li Xiaofei had heard this. At first, he had assumed the Immortal Emperors of the human race were guarding the frontline of the Star Battlefield, protecting the human legions in their stand against the Reapers.

Later, he came to understand that the Star Battlefield was not where humanity had concentrated its true strength. It was important, but not the place where the fate of the war would be decided. The battles between humanity and the Reapers in the Star Battlefield were merely conventional warfare.

Afterward, Li Xiaofei guessed that the four remaining Immortal Emperors might be stationed in the Ancestor Court galaxy or within the Realm of Ruins. But he had only seen Sword Immortal Lin Beichen in the Realm of Ruins.

He had always wondered what the other Immortal Emperors were doing. Now the answer was in front of him. But what exactly were these Emperors fighting against, here in the Land of Annihilation?

Old Tan continued leading Li Xiaofei forward. He looked far more at ease with the support of Li Xiaofei’s Emperor-level energy. The Land of Annihilation was much larger than Li Xiaofei had imagined. The Reapers believed it to be the core of the Realm of Ruins.

A sudden image surfaced in Li Xiaofei’s mind. On Earth, the first marine creature had crawled out of the ocean and stepped onto land in a distant prehistoric era, giving rise to the flourishing biodiversity of terrestrial life.

He began to wonder, Could the lifeforms of the universe today have undergone a similar process? Had they escaped from the Land of Annihilation and then evolved over time?

His thoughts drifted to the unsettling murals in the secret facility Li Anxin had discovered in the home of the ascended Reaper clan. Three types of beings had emerged from the chaos that birthed the progenitors. Humans, beasts, and lastly—a monstrous creature that had devoured the corpse of its mother.

The Land of Annihilation seemed to resemble that chaotic birthplace depicted in the murals. He began to ponder the hidden meanings those ancient paintings had conveyed.

Dozens of days passed. Old Tan led Li Xiaofei onward, crossing an unfathomable distance. Li Xiaofei began to suspect that, had this journey taken place in the observable cosmos, the two of them might have already reached the very edge of the universe.

They encountered no signs of life along the way. Yet according to Old Tan, the Land of Annihilation was not entirely lifeless. There were living beings here, but they were not the same as the Oblivions found in the Realm of Ruins. They were far more terrifying and just extremely rare. Encounters were uncommon, but should one appear, it would spell absolute disaster.

Old Tan had once witnessed such an event with his own eyes. He had watched a battle between Holy Emperor Sun Fei and one of these Oblivions. Even with Sun Fei’s overwhelming strength, the fight had dragged on for years before he finally succeeded in slaying the beast, which had been as massive as a whale. But even Sun Fei had paid a price for that victory.

"The four Immortal Emperors are stationed in the Land of Annihilation to exterminate Oblivions." Old Tan explained, "They prevent them from escaping the Land of Annihilation, entering the Realm of Ruins, and then invading the starry universe.

"The hunt has never stopped, but it's impossible to wipe them all out even with the strength of Immortal Emperors. Oblivion cannot be truly destroyed. The Land of Annihilation follows an irreversible law. Whenever one Oblivion dies, another is born. Their numbers remain constant."

Li Xiaofei asked, "You’ve never shared this information with Little Aunt or the others, have you?"

His aunt and the rest clearly did not understand much about the Land of Annihilation. Even Hua Xiangrong, Li Lan, and Priestess Qin didn’t seem to know much about it.

Old Tan replied, "These memories only surfaced after I entered the Land of Annihilation. Maybe I had known all along, but once I left, I would forget everything. I don’t know if it’s a rule of heaven and earth, or the doing of Holy Emperor Sun Fei."

Li Xiaofei was startled, Can that even happen?

He thought deeply about it and leaned toward the former explanation. Not even the disciples of the Ancestor of Wisdom from the Ancestor Court seemed to know any of this.

There might only be two people in both the starry universe and the Realm of Ruins who possessed this knowledge. But neither of them had ever spoken a word about it.