The entire morgue had been relocated to the west, and the war had temporarily ended.
At this point, the Astral Beast Domain had conquered ten weaves of the Outerverse, shocking both the Fifth Mainland and the Celestial Beast Empire.
Who in the Celestial Beast Empire had been able to penetrate so deep into the Outerverse?
Xu Qing was the first to do so.
Xu Qing was in high spirits as he looked to the west. He would be recorded in the annals of history as the only commander in the Celestial Beast Empire to reach Tyrannical Weave. No matter how many losses they had suffered in the previous battles, this moment of glory was enough to erase everything.
"Commander, why did we stop?
The Sixth Mainland has already been defeated. We can go deeper and reach the western weaves, "the Celestial Beast Emperor said excitedly. His name would also be recorded in the annals of history after participating in this war.
Many astral beasts wanted to go deeper and continue fighting, as everything had gone too smoothly.
However, Xu Qing shook his head with a solemn expression. "That's enough. There's no need to fight anymore."
The Celestial Beast Emperor did not understand. "Why?
Are you worried about the Sixth Mainland's Half-Ancestors? "
Xu Qing replied, "That's part of the reason. Although Half-Ancestors aren't too willing to interfere in the war, if we go too far, we'll attract their attention. Furthermore, we've already reached our limit. If we go any deeper, the Sixth Mainland will retaliate, and we'll be defeated."
As the commander, Xu Qing would not be fooled by appearances. Most importantly, this was enough for him. Their current accomplishments were enough to erase their previous decline.
He had never believed that the Astral Beast Domain could truly conquer these weaves. The Sixth Mainland was too powerful, and once the internal chaos ended and they reacted, they might not be able to stop them. Any random Half-Ancestor would be enough to slaughter them.
Beep beep beep!
Xu Qing's gadget beeped, and he raised his brows when he saw that it was Lu Yin.
"Congratulations, Commander Xu Qing. You've reached Tyrannical Weave and left your name in the annals of history. If you go any deeper, you'll reach the western weaves. The central weaves are completely different from the western weaves, so I'll congratulate you in advance." Lu Yin smiled.
Xu Qing replied, "Thank you for your concern, Alliance Leader Lu. I need to rest, and we'll talk later." He then hung up.
Lu Yin looked at his gadget, and Shui Chuanxiao said, "The Astral Beast Domain has stopped. They probably don't plan to attack. Xu Qing's smart."
Lu Yin laughed. "Yes, they're smart. They weren't tempted by the western weaves, but that's enough for us. The Sixth Mainland should've reacted as well. It's our turn to act.
Shui Chuanxiao looked at Lu Yin. "One trap after another. If I were Xu Qing, I wouldn't be able to break through this trap."
Lu Yin raised his head. "It has to join us. Otherwise, it won't be able to bear the losses when it returns to the Celestial Beast Empire. Now, it's our turn to make the decision." He then contacted someone. "Sword Valley Master, I have a suggestion …"
Not long after, Lu Yin put down his gadget and his gaze turned cold. "Go to war."
Following Lu Yin's command, the Great Eastern Alliance's fleet headed towards Flaxen Weave.
In the west, in Tyrannical Weave, Xu Qing was looking at a star chart and thinking about how to gradually retreat while facing the Sixth Mainland's counterattack without suffering too many losses. Every step he took was a new chapter in the history of the Celestial Beast Empire's invasion of the Outerverse, and he wanted to take the final step.
Suddenly, Yin Guai reported, "Commander, the Great Eastern Alliance is acting strangely."
Xu Qing was shocked. "What?"
The Great Eastern Alliance had halted the Astral Beast Domain's invasion of the Outerverse for two months.
However, they were not attacking the Astral Beast Domain, but rather occupying six planets in Flaxen Weave.
These six planets were evenly distributed along the Astral Beast Domain's path towards the west, and the distance between each planet was just enough for Yuan Shi and the others to quickly cross over to form a solid line of defense that would cut off the Astral Beast Domain's path back to the Primal Zone.
Xu Qing was informed of the Great Eastern Alliance's actions, and when he saw the six planets that the Great Eastern Alliance had occupied, his expression turned ugly. He immediately contacted Lu Yin. "Alliance Master Lu, you've violated the agreement."
Lu Yin was confused. "Violated the agreement?
When? "
Xu Qing was furious. "You've cut off the Astral Beast Domain's path of retreat. Are you going to join forces with the Sixth Mainland?"
Lu Yin smiled. "Commander Xu Qing, you've misunderstood. I'm not cutting off your path of retreat. This is just a normal military deployment. Flaxen Weave is also part of the eastern weave, so we don't need to discuss our deployment with you. Besides, our original agreement was that the Great Eastern Alliance would never act against you. Don't worry, I won't break this agreement unless you break it first."
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "Alliance Master Lu, your actions are despicable."
He had fallen for Lu Yin's verbal trap. Their original agreement was that the Great Eastern Alliance would not act against the Astral Beast Domain, but now that Lu Yin had cut off their path of retreat, they had to act if they wanted to return to the Primal Zone. Once they acted, Lu Yin would not be considered to have violated the agreement.
"Alliance Master Lu, the Sixth Mainland has a deep grudge with you. Why are you helping them?
Is it just because of racial prejudice? "Xu Qing suppressed his anger.
Lu Yin's lips curled up. "I reminded you that you could attack the western weave, but you didn't listen. I can only give you some encouragement, but I have no intention of helping the Sixth Mainland."
Xu Qing understood. If the Astral Beast Domain had continued to attack the western weave, Lu Yin would not have acted. However, they had stopped, and Lu Yin had seen that they wanted to retreat. If they retreated, the Sixth Mainland would not suffer too many losses, and neither would the Astral Beast Domain. What was the point of this war?
Was it just to help Xu Qing erase the negative influence in the Celestial Beast Empire?
Was it just to help the Sixth Mainland shift its internal conflict?
Lu Yin had paid such a huge price, so how could he allow the Astral Beast Domain to retreat? If they retreated, the Great Eastern Alliance would have to face the Sixth Mainland. How would they defend the eastern weave?
Xu Qing was inwardly annoyed, as he had been too obvious. He should have taken things one step at a time, attacking the western weave on the surface while secretly retreating to the Primal Zone. Not only would that have reduced their losses, but it would also have been able to explain to the empire that the Great Eastern Alliance was preparing to join forces with the Sixth Mainland to ambush them. That would have been a perfect excuse, but he had failed because of his own carelessness.
"Alliance Master Lu, there is a principle that you should understand. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. If the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Mainland came to an agreement to retreat to the Primal Zone and not invade again for a thousand years, do you think the Sixth Mainland would agree?
Or rather, if we joined forces with the Sixth Mainland to wage war against the Great Eastern Alliance, would you be able to handle it? "Xu Qing threatened.
Lu Yin laughed. "As expected of the Celestial Beast Empire's commander. Your thoughts are bold. We just fought the Sixth Mainland to the death for two months, and now you're fantasizing about cooperating with them. Has the commander forgotten about my tribulation?
Don't forget that the Blood Ancestor met me. "
Xu Qing's expression changed, and his expression turned even uglier.
When Lu Yin had been undergoing his tribulation, the Blood Ancestor had appeared, and in Lu Yin's words, the Blood Ancestor had wanted to accept him as a disciple. Xu Qing was not the only one who knew about this, as the Sixth Mainland's Half-Progenitor Lan Xian also knew about this.
The Sixth Mainland did not force Lu Yin to hand over the eastern weave.
Under such circumstances, only an idiot would agree to have the Sixth Mainland cooperate with their enemy to deal with the Blood Ancestor's disciple. In any case, it did not matter if the Sixth Mainland cooperated with the Astral Beast Domain or the Great Eastern Alliance. If the Sixth Mainland wanted to take the eastern weave, they did not need to cooperate with the Astral Beast Domain.
The Astral Beast Domain was forced into a passive position.
At this moment, another giant beast reported that the Sixth Mainland had launched a counterattack. This time, the two Heavenly Imprints, Qing Hua Shangren and the Medicine Immortal, had appeared. Even though the Sixth Mainland was internally unstable and in turmoil, the two Heavenly Imprints were enough to make up for the many cultivators who had retreated from the battlefield.
The Astral Beast Domain was naturally able to deal with the situation at first, but as time passed, they could not stop the Sixth Mainland's endless reinforcements.
After all, this was the Outerverse and the Sixth Mainland's territory. Any random weave could send reinforcements, and a Half-Progenitor could appear at any time.
A few days later, Xu Qing looked back at the east, intending to retreat. If this continued, they would all die.
As the commander of the Celestial Beast Empire, who could fight against Shui Chuanxiao, Xu Qing would never fight a battle that he was not confident in. No matter what Lu Yin had said, he had already prepared for the worst.
The route to Flaxen Weave had been sealed, but there was another way to return. That way was in the Astral Wilderness.
The Astral Beast Domain had been trying to invade the Outerverse for countless years. Aside from the Primal Zone, they had also explored the Astral Wilderness. After so many years, they had finally found a way to use it.
They had originally planned to use this route to launch a surprise attack on the Outerverse's western weave, but they had been forced to use it.
"Alliance Master Lu, we've both won and lost in our battles. This war ends here, and I look forward to our next meeting on the battlefield."
Lu Yin frowned when he saw the message that Xu Qing had sent him.
"He's confident that he can return. After all, it's Xu Qing, and it's a taboo to venture in alone. He won't make such a mistake," Shui Chuanxiao said when he saw the message.
Lu Yin opened his star chart and looked from Tyrannical Weave to Armament Weave and then to Flaxen Weave. Suddenly, he looked at the Astral Wilderness. If there was anything that he could not control, it would be the Astral Wilderness.
The Astral Wilderness was a region that humans did not understand. Although many people had explored it over the years, it was not a suitable place for living. The star energy was thin, and there was no way to connect to the signal. There were also unpredictable dangers lurking around. Otherwise, how could humans have allowed such a region to exist?
This was true for both humans and astral beasts.
It seemed that the Celestial Beast Empire was ahead of the humans when it came to developing the Astral Beast Domain.
"Commander Shui, how big do you think the Astral Wilderness is?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.
Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. "No one knows."
"Does it belong to the Fifth Mainland?" Lu Yin asked.
Shui Chuanxiao fell silent, as he naturally did not know. He did not know as much as Lu Yin when it came to ancient secrets.
In ancient times, there had been six continents in the universe. Then, what about beyond those six continents?
Was it the Astral Wilderness?
Xu Qing was very decisive, and he left behind a few astral beasts to cover their retreat while he led most of them towards the Astral Wilderness.
The Astral Wilderness was unpredictable, and the Sixth Mainland was not willing to take the risk of chasing after them. They followed the route to Flaxen Weave. They wanted to clear out the Outerverse astral beasts, reclaim Ironblood Weave, and even attack the Primal Zone.