The distortions were intense, but they only lasted for a brief moment before everything returned to normal.
In the blink of an eye the grotesque feeling was gone, and everything returned to normal.
By now, Zeus-1 had calmly appeared on the asteroid that was being used as a transit point.
Lan Jue's brows furrowed. She fought back the discomfort she felt and circulated her energy. A cool feeling rose in her chest, and her body returned to normal.
Aside from the Paragons, Zeus's five Amazons all had different expressions on their faces. Lin Guo-guo seemed to be faring the best, while the others looked like they were in pain.
The oppressive feeling from the outside world was gone, and the universe was silent.
Lan Jue let out a long sigh. It was worth it to sacrifice an s-ranked interdimensional treasure. She'd been able to leave the battlefield in the face of danger and protect everyone. It was just as she'd expected.
She wondered how her father was doing.
Lan Jue was worried. Neither she nor Lan Qing had ever seen Jueti's true strength.
Jueti's strength was something they didn't normally see. They could only experience it in silence.
Whether it was before or now, Jueti's strength was unparalleled in their hearts.
"Relax, he'll be fine.
It's almost impossible for that guy out there to defeat him.
Even if he did, he'd still be able to escape.
Roxanne patted Lan Jue's shoulder. She spoke calmly.
Lan Jue turned her head to look at her. Although Roxanne's words were calm, Lan Jue could see the worry in her eyes.
But this wasn't the time for discouraging words.
He also believed his father would be fine.
The others were in a much better mood, especially the Wine Master. Their mission had been fruitful. Not only had they learned about the alien home worlds, but they'd also fought off a large number of aliens and escaped unscathed.
They'd also killed a number of enemies.
They'd also gained a large number of vital crystals.
The value of these things could not be simply measured by money.
"Jewelry Master, should we wait for Jueti to return?" The Wine Master asked Lan Jue.
Lan Jue nodded. "I think so too.
Our harvest this time isn't small, so the most important thing is to bring back the information we obtained.
We don't know the full extent of the alien home worlds' strength, but at least we've seen a lot of them.
We can also confirm that the aliens are afraid of our Disciplines. They aren't invincible.
However, there was another high-level alien that Pop said was on the same level as Pop's strength.
That means she's stronger than the Violet Princess we encountered last time.
Perhaps in the future, we'll need to be on guard against these high-level aliens. "
The Wine Master nodded in agreement. They'd all seen the power of Jueti's punch with their own eyes.
If the aliens were on the same level as he was, that meant they were as strong as he was. That was terrifying.
A creature of that caliber.
Most modern weaponry was useless against it. Whether it was infiltration or direct attack, it was destructive.
That was the level of destruction that could destroy a planet.
The Accountant had recovered from his previous dizziness.
He was the busiest of them all. He had to gather information, analyze it, and put it all together.
He was about to resume his work when his eyes, which were glued to the monitor, changed. "There's a powerful energy wave coming from the three main planets."
Everyone's faces changed.
Everyone's face fell. They were still in the Shattered Starfields.
But they were so far from the original home worlds.
Even the ship could feel the energy wave.
How strong was it?!
Roxanne, who'd been calm until now, was also taken aback. Did this energy wave come from Jueti? Or from the aliens?
Lan Jue turned his head to look at Roxanne. "Mother, father …" His question was obvious. Did Jueti possess enough power to send his own energy wave so far away?
Luo Xianni shook her head. "I don't know either. Maybe it's not just his power. But no matter what, it won't be a problem for him to return alive."
Lan Jue took a deep breath. He knew that Roxanne's words had a strong emotional component to them. It wasn't a rational assessment. But in this moment, they had no choice but to trust Roxanne's sentiments.
The others were just as somber. What kind of existence was Jueti?
He was humanity's strongest!
He was a pillar of strength against the aliens. If Jueti perished in this mission, it would be a devastating blow to humanity's Adepts.
None of them wanted to see that happen.
But there was nothing they could do. All they could do was wait for Jueti's return.
As the leader of this mission, Lan Jue did his best to remain calm. His hands were clenched into fists.
If he had come alone with Jueti, he would have sought out Jueti the moment something happened to Jueti. He would have shared life and death with his father.
But he had come with a mission, and he had so many companions with him. He couldn't let his own thoughts affect the whole team. He had to wait, and he couldn't wait too long. If Jue Di didn't return in time, then Lan Jue's only option was to return with the others. Getting the message back home was the most important thing.
However, he also believed that his father would definitely be able to turn the situation around.
This was faith, faith in humanity's strongest.
As time ticked by, everyone's emotions were calm but slightly anxious.
Suddenly, there was a flash of golden light. Before anyone could react, there was an extra person in the cockpit. It was Jueti.
"Dad!" Lan Jue was overjoyed to see him. She rushed to greet him.
Jueti looked normal, no different than before. But there was a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He nodded to Lan Jue. "Let's go. We're heading back." With that said, he turned and walked back to his cabin.
Lan Jue and Su Xiaosu nodded. Zeus -1 took to the skies, heading for the outskirts of the Shattered Starfields at top speed.
Lan Jue glanced at Roxanne. Roxanne was already chasing after Jueti.
Lan Jue hesitated. In the end, she didn't follow.
If Dad wanted to tell her, he'd tell her. If he didn't, he had his reasons.
"How did it go?" Roxanne whispered as she followed Jueti back to his cabin.
She was the most anxious of them all. She was the only one who knew Jueti's true condition.
Jueti shook his head. "It didn't work.
That alien was on the same level as me. If I could get its vital crystal, it would be a great help.
But he wasn't the strongest of them all.
Just as I was about to succeed, I sensed an aura stronger than his from the alien planet.
I had to leave. "
"Stronger than you?" Luo Xianni asked in surprise.
Jueti looked at her, his voice low. "We're not on the same level.
That's why I didn't tell them. It's best to keep it a secret for now. "
Roxanne was so shocked she couldn't speak. If even Jueti said they weren't on the same level, then how strong were they?
Did that mean they were like the gods of legend?
Jueti went on. "But it wasn't a complete loss. I learned a few things from the Violet Prince.
I'm almost certain they're mimicking humans for the sake of evolution.
The human body was the most suitable for evolution among all the known living beings in the universe.
That's why they want to learn from us.
And they learn quickly. Our language, our speech, our knowledge, our language, these high-order aliens are learning it all.
I strongly suspect that they definitely want to make us their targets. Not only do they want to plunder life energy, but they also want to learn from us better. They might even want to obtain our genes in the future and integrate them into their own genes to complete an even greater evolution. "
Roxanne's brows furrowed. "It looks like we can't avoid this war. It's going to be difficult."
She was a Nirvana-level Paragon, and was well aware of the destructive power of Paragons at their level.
How many weapons did humanity have to defend itself against something stronger than Jueti?
Jueti nodded. "We'll have to think about this carefully.
Now that we're facing them, we know how troublesome they are.
But it's an opportunity. "
The return trip was smooth. They encountered a few aliens, but they avoided Lin Guo-guo's psychic simulation in order to get back as quickly as possible.
They made it through the Shattered Starfields and back to the human world.
Lan Jue was the first to activate his communicator. The sooner he could get word back, the better it would be for humanity.
Naturally, he chose An Lun as his primary target.
An Lun had a strong communications network, and Lan Qing was the only person he could trust.
"You're back?"
Lan Qing appeared on the screen. His face was calm, but his eyes shone with joy.
The scariest thing about aliens was that they were unpredictable. That was why Lan Qing was concerned for their safety. Now that they were connected, it meant they were out of the Shattered Starfields.
(To be continued)