Gale World fell faster and more smoothly than imagined.
Gu Nan never even got a chance to attack. Instead, he found another difference between the Myriad Heavens Universe and the World of Gods while observing from the sidelines.
There was no doubt that this wasn't the first time cultivators from Extreme Sword Heaven had invaded another plane, so Gu Nan was able to learn valuable information from their overall invasion strategy.
In this regard, the Myriad Heavens Universe was quite different from the World of Gods.
People from the Myriad Heavens Universe were all about "targeting the leader." They headed straight for the target plane's powerful cultivators in order to destroy the enemy's forces as quickly as possible.
But it was different in the World of Gods. There, the highest-priority targets were apostles, followed by the fanatics.
The reason behind this difference lies in a single word—faith.
The source of power that gods obtained through their Divine Kingdom was the faith of their Divine Kingdom's inhabitants, while Star Rulers were more like Gu Nan—they just needed the inhabitants' power.
So he was bound to make strategic adjustments to any future Divine Kingdom Wars to target this point.
After all, the ultimate goal of a Divine Kingdom War was still to kill the enemy Star Ruler or god. Attacking their plane was just a way to weaken their power.
Observing this battle allowed Gu Nan to figure out the differences between the two sides' Divine Kingdom Wars, so he was still quite satisfied.
The only unsatisfying thing was that from beginning to end, Qiao Deyu never appeared.
While they didn't experience any surprises during the entire invasion, Qiao Deyu's failure to show himself could be considered the biggest surprise.
"He actually didn't come out. What should we do now?" Qu Hongye returned to Gu Nan, looking as if she'd just gone out for a stroll.
The entire invasion didn't even last one week. It was indeed no different from going on vacation.
Gu Nan was silent for a while, then asked Gao Xiaowen beside him, "Did you find Qiao Deyu's whereabouts yet?"
"Not yet. Our people are stepping up their investigations…" Gao Xiaowen wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and quickly reported.
The fact that Qiao Deyu never showed himself really was strange. After all, no matter how one looked at this, he had no reason to hide.
The destruction of his astral world would greatly weaken his power, returning him to the level of a normal Star Ruler overnight.
But if Qiao Deyu didn't show himself because he was biding his time for a sneak attack, Qu Hongye even ended up using herself as bait and still failed to lure him out.
If there was still a slim chance that Qiao Deyu could take advantage of the chaos to kill Qu Hongye right now, then his chances would drop to zero after Xue Ren returned.
So what exactly was Qiao Deyu planning?
"Found him." Zhang Hui, the old Daoist, walked in from the door and said to the group, "Someone found Qiao Deyu's traces in the Void Ruins."
"So he was in the Void Ruins!" Gao Xiaowen exclaimed in sudden realization, "No wonder he didn't come back even when his astral world was destroyed—it was simply impossible for him to leave!"
There were many strange places in the Myriad Heavens Universe. Some were formed naturally, while others were special zones created by ancient cataclysms.
The Void Ruins belonged to the latter category. It was the ruins of the ancient Void Grotto Heaven.
Void Grotto Heaven was one of the Thirteen Heavens, and it was also a rather legendary plane.
Void Grotto Heaven had an extremely long history, having already been one of the largest planes in the Myriad Heavens since ancient times. Furthermore, it always remained within the ranks of the Thirteen Heavens and never fell out of that level.
But it wasn't all smooth-sailing. Void Grotto Heaven also experienced several major cataclysms.
During one of those cataclysms, a piece of the astral world even broke off and landed outside Void Grotto Heaven, forming today's Void Ruins.
Many people knew the location of the Void Ruins, but it was so mysterious and treacherous that even people from Void Grotto Heaven didn't dare to casually enter and explore.
Nobody expected Qiao Deyu to actually appear in the Void Ruins.
"He went in of his own accord?" Gu Nan raised his eyebrows. To think that Qiao Deyu would still be in the mood to go treasure hunting after starting a blood feud. This really was odd.
"No," Zhang Hui, however, said, "we couldn't find any trace of him at the entrance to the Void Ruins, so he was most likely pulled directly inside."
While speaking, Zhang Hui also explained the special characteristics of the Void Ruins.
The Void Ruins was a very special place. The law of space inside was different from the outside, forming a unique set of laws.
Legend has it that the Void Ruins was a place where one can never leave after entering, but this wasn't entirely accurate.
The Void Ruins wouldn't stop anyone from entering or leaving. If someone wanted to, they could even take a stroll inside twice every day and still be on time for dinner after returning home.
But the peculiarity of the Void Ruins was that many things inside would leave a mark on the cultivator, and these marks would be triggered randomly. Once the mark was triggered, the cultivator would immediately be sent back inside the Void Ruins.
But this time, it wouldn't be so easy for the cultivator to leave. They must first deal with the event that triggered the mark, or else they would remain trapped inside forever.
Not even a Star Ruler like Qiao Deyu was immune to the laws that teleported people back inside. This was indeed frightening.
"How interesting." Gu Nan couldn't help revealing a slight smile after learning about this set of laws.
However, his eyes continued to read the rest of the document and unexpectedly found a familiar name in the information—Lou Wanying, the youth that Lu Wen was painstakingly raising.
The person who triggered the mark and pulled Qiao Deyu back inside the Void Ruins was none other than Lou Wanying.
Gu Nan's eyes narrowed slightly. To say that this was a coincidence—he didn't really believe that.
But if it wasn't a coincidence… Then who had the ability to set it all up? Qu Hongye's level wasn't high enough where she'd be able to know the situation in the Void Ruins, so Xue Ren was probably the only one who could have her "accidentally" find Qiao Deyu.
Gu Nan also recalled Xue Ren's extremely normal smile when "entrusting" Qu Hongye to him, and then… he set the documents aside.
"Since Qiao Deyu is in the Void Ruins, let's wait for him to return," Gu Nan said casually, his gaze falling to the distant sky. "It shouldn't take long."
...
As expected, not long after the destruction of Gale World, all the major newspapers suddenly published a piece that triggered a lively discussion throughout the entire Myriad Heavens Universe.
A huge alteration occurred in the Void Ruins—the emergence of the ancient Void Grotto Heaven's inheritance had already led to the deaths of six Star Rulers. And now, the ancient Void Grotto Heaven's inheritance fell into the hands of a person named Lou Wanying.
"Lou Wanying! It's him again!" Countless similar exclamations resounded throughout the Myriad Heavens.
Counting the previous Time Arena, Lou Wanying's name entered the eyes of all major powers for the second time.
But while the rest of the world was lamenting this turn of events, Lou Wanying himself was accompanying his two companions in Extreme Sword Heaven, making their way towards the Sword Sect's mountain gate.
Lou Wanying was a little different from when Gu Nan last saw him. The old him still looked a little young and inexperienced, but now he seemed mature and calm. He wore a light green Daoist robe and possessed an extraordinary bearing.
His two companions also weren't ordinary. One of them had a pair of wings on his back and two strange horns on his head. He looked wild and headstrong.
The other was a plain-clothed young girl with a longsword strapped to her back. She was holding a corpse in her hand—it was none other than Qiao Deyu.
"Who are you?" The disciple guarding the Sword Sect's mountain gate asked in a heavy voice—no matter how he looked at it, these three didn't seem like guests.
The young girl looked cold and detached as she gently placed Qiao Deyu's corpse on the ground and unsheathed the longsword from her back. "Senior Qiao died for me, so I will shoulder his grudge."
As soon as her words fell, a cut instantly appeared on the guard disciple's neck, and his body collapsed to the ground.
The young lady stepped forth and walked towards the mountaintop step by step. Lou Wanying glanced at the dead disciple. His expression looked a bit uncomfortable, but he could only sigh helplessly in the end.
The wild man with two wings on his back, however, shouted to the crowd that had gathered, "Listen up, you people!"
"Our Boss Yin Qing is destined to become the strongest swordsman in the Myriad Heavens!"