POP!!
Space shattered like a mirror, breaking into pieces all around.
The Emperor's figure reappeared in the skies above the Mu Continent.
"Hmph!"
"So, I was played."
The Manta Ray, which appeared to be a Herrscher's symbiotic beast, had no intention of facing Lu Xing head-on.
Its sole purpose in appearing was to maintain that domain, which had pulled the Emperor in and briefly contained him. Using the great Manta Ray as a medium, a Herrscher's Authority unknown to Lu Xing had temporarily separated him from the world.
It was very obvious.
The flow of time there was not consistent with reality.
The domain had trapped the Emperor for fifteen seconds. During the entanglement, after wasting three opportunities to attack, Lu Xing finally realized the great Manta Ray's true purpose and directly drove his Subspace Lances at maximum output, shattering the beautiful domain.
And when he reappeared over the Mu Continent...
As expected.
The fallen members of the Flame-Chasers had already been rescued by Elysia. The faint traces of Honkai Beast aura remaining at the scene were identical to that of the great Manta Ray he had just fought.
"..."
"So be it."
The Second Plan fell short of complete success.
But it couldn't be considered a loss either. Elysia could not leave Dr. Mei's side. The top combatants of the Flame-Chasers, whether from taking the drug or from heavy injuries, were for various reasons unable to return to the battlefield for a long time.
And...
BOOM!
A golden-red flame ignited in his palm.
Kevin had lost the Judgement of Shamash, which was undoubtedly equivalent to severing one of his arms. And Lu Xing, having obtained the Core of the Herrscher of Flame, had seen his mastery of power rise to a new level.
What was a slight pity.
Was not obtaining the "Eighth Key of God: Yudu Chen."
Since he already possessed the Authority of Sentience, Lu Xing's need for "Yudu Chen" wasn't particularly strong, but the item was still very dangerous in the hands of the Flame-Chasers—
[Sword God of Taixu]
That was one of the few skills that could actually injure him.
To ensure he could recover his state as quickly as possible, Lu Xing hadn't tried to snatch "Yudu Chen" from Su. Looking back now, that was probably one of only two missteps in this battle.
"It doesn't matter."
No need for regrets, no room for remorse.
With time like this, it was better to consider how to look forward.
Swoosh!
The spinning halo once again dispersed.
The one hundred and twenty-eight Subspace Lances flew back to surround the gigantic rift.
The Abyss Cannon was completely scrapped, the long-stockpiled quantum energy was completely exhausted. The Mu Continent had already lost all means of resistance.
Therefore—
WHOOSH!!!
The gigantic Honkai energy rift.
Its birth was not simple. This was the product of Lu Xing gathering all the medium-sized rifts he could sense on Earth—both fully formed and still in their embryonic state—and fusing them with two Great Rifts.
That's right.
Two Great Rifts.
Besides the one used by his legion, Lu Xing had also "intercepted (strikethrough, requisitioned)" a second Great Rift.
Normally.
The existence of a Great Rift was often closely related to the appearance of a Herrscher.
The fact that the Ninth Herrscher had yet to appear was inextricably linked to the Emperor "requisitioning" this Great Rift.
Lu Xing did not trust Herrschers.
While their power was undeniable, their personalities... if possible, Lu Xing did not want to release them. That would only increase the difficulty of executing his plans and would likely have no positive effect.
Even now.
The reason Lu Xing had summoned the gigantic rift here was not to use the half-sealed rift energy to bring forth a Herrscher.
WHOOSH!!!
A tidal wave of Honkai energy surged from the rift!
Laced within it were countless threads of golden Honkai energy, carrying with them the Authority of Rock... under the dual influence of the Emperor's control and the attraction of his Honkai Crystal, they all converged into the Emperor's body!
The Emperor, who had just absorbed the Core of the Herrscher of Flame.
His vast aura once again began to climb!
"Ninth Herrscher."
On the seventh face of the dodecahedron, a new pattern was rapidly taking shape!
"Your Authority..."
"I'll take it from here."
[Detection complete, zzt (scratched out). Detected that the wielder is fusing with a 'Herrscher Core'.]
[Based on the type of Herrscher Core, you have unlocked a new skill: [Gravity Control].]
[Based on the type of Herrscher Core, you have unlocked a new skill: [Mimic Black Hole].]
Feeling the surging power within his body.
"The Third Plan..."
"Is going even more smoothly than imagined."
The Emperor's [Imaginary Link] was already very "wide," and the existence of Honkai energy rifts had many similarities to [Imaginary Link].
Relying on this ability.
Not only could Lu Xing control the movement of Honkai energy rifts, but now he could also combine and break them down at will.
It was for this reason.
That Lu Xing had attempted to seal the energy output of the Great Rift and directly "requisition" this power when needed.
As it turned out.
The attempt was very successful.
There was no need to activate his "backup plan": if he couldn't successfully absorb this Authority, he would have had to release the Herrscher of Rock and "enlighten" it... which would have been a last resort.
After all, this Authority was closely related to the goal of "Plan One."
Now, it seemed.
There was no need for that.
The "Honkai Crystal" within Lu Xing's body, which could accommodate more than one Herrscher Authority, was an existence of a 'higher order' than a Herrscher Core. In the birthplace of the Herrscher, he could absorb its Authority and power in advance, making them a direct part of himself... Considering that even Otto in a later era could "bear" a Herrscher's Authority, Lu Xing believed he should be able to do the same.
The Authority of the Ninth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Rock, had been absorbed into Lu Xing's body.
On another level, his existence was now equivalent to the Herrscher of Rock.
And the Authority of the Herrscher of Rock...
Supported by the Honkai energy of the gigantic rift and relying on the power of [Mimic Black Hole], Lu Xing was quite confident in his ability to "sink the continent."
Black.
An utterly pure black.
A blackness that seemed to want to devour everything was slowly born from the center of a singularity as the Emperor's arm sliced through the air.
[Mimic Black Hole]
At Lu Xing's current level, this move was far from being like a real black hole, possessing the power to devour light and celestial bodies whole. But precisely because its power was not that strong, Lu Xing could completely control it with his own energy.
VMMMM!
Gravity collapsed, the singularity expanded.
The slowly rotating sphere of pure black twisted the surrounding scenery.
Everything except the Emperor was rapidly flowing and contracting towards the sphere, no, towards the void at its center.
And just as the [Mimic Black Hole] was about to fully form—
BOOM!!!
The Eye of the Abyss, the great hope of the Mu Continent...
Exploded.