After reading all of Saaruk's memories, the unknown Eternal withdrew its glowing string from his body and fell silent.
"It's been so long since I last experienced excitement. I must speak with this mortal who stirred such an emotion within me," said the unknown Eternal.
"!!!"
Saaruk's eyes widened with disbelief at the unknown Eternal's words.
"B-But Saaruk has already killed that mortal!"
The unknown Eternal responded, "You left before you could confirm the mortal's death, didn't you?"
"That's correct, but there's no way he could've survived twenty percent of Saaruk's power! It's simply impossible!"
Saaruk refused to believe that Yuan had survived his attack, especially after he'd sacrificed a portion of his own strength to ensure the mortal's destruction.
"Impossible, you say? That mortal has already defied logic and done the impossible multiple times. Even if there's only a slight chance that the mortal is alive, I'm willing to bet on that chance. After all, it's not like there's anything else for me to do right now."
"..."
Saaruk was speechless.
"I was going to punish you for destroying my resources, but since you have made such an exciting discovery, I'll forgive you this time," said the unknown Eternal.
Saaruk sighed in relief after hearing this. There were very few things—enough to count with one hand—that Eternals feared in this universe, and this unknown Eternal was one of them.
As for the reason, it was pretty simple. This unknown Eternal possessed such overwhelming strength that it could instill fear in other Eternals.
"Saaruk is grateful," he said.
The unknown Eternal no longer spoke, almost as if they'd left. Sure enough, Saaruk could feel the unknown Eternal's presence getting further and further away.
While one might assume that the unknown Eternal could reach Yuan's location swiftly, in truth, it would take many years to traverse such an immense distance, even with its prowess and the Power of the Void. The only reason Saaruk had found Yuan so quickly was because he'd already been nearby, and the only reason he returned to his true body so fast was due to being in his ethereal form.
As for the unknown Eternal, Saaruk could tell that they were traveling with their true body.
Meanwhile, after Saaruk had left, Yuan poured all of his power into defending against Saaruk's attack, which contained 20 percent of his true prowess.
Unfortunately, there was simply no way he could completely defend it, and the most he could do was weaken it and hope for the best. As for trying to avoid it… the attack was as massive as a star, making evasion impossible unless his Power of the Void reached a certain level that allowed him to travel through the void.
Right before the attack reached him, Yuan activated the Robes of Destruction's ability.
<Dragon of Destruction's Ultimate Chaos activated>
When Saaruk's attack finally struck, the Robes of Destruction absorbed as much of the energy as it could. Afterward, the unthinkable happened.
Despite being said to be indestructible, it shredded into countless pieces and was reduced to nothing.
<Robes of Destruction have been destroyed>
Although the treasure was said to be indestructible by the system, it was a system that did not take into account Eternals, godly beings with unfathomable prowess.
However, even though the Robes of Destruction were destroyed beyond repair, it still managed to do its job, absorbing as much of Saaruk's attack as it could, even rebounding what it absorbed as it was destroyed.
Because of the Robes of Destruction, Saaruk's attack was weakened even further.
But even with that, Saaruk's attack remained immensely powerful and still a threat to Yuan's life.
Suddenly, Number One Under Heaven trembled, and Zi Xuan's spirit emerged from it.
Without uttering a word, she swung her arm at Saaruk's attack and unleashed a powerful aura that was similar to Supreme Sword Aura but was clearly different at the same time.
The sword energy clashed with Saaruk's attack and managed to endure for a full second before being destroyed.
After unleashing her attack, Zi Xuan quietly returned to Number One Under Heaven and immediately went into a deep slumber after exhausting all of her energy.
Although Zi Xuan couldn't stop Saaruk's attack, she managed to weaken it some more.
After Zi Xuan disappeared, Dragon God's Vengeance appeared of its own will, and Goddess Yeyou emerged from it.
She cast a quick glance at Yuan before turning toward Saaruk's attack, her mouth opening wide. In the next instant, a radiant beam erupted forth, piercing through Saaruk's assault like a needle tearing through silk.
Saaruk's attack dispersed like mist for a fleeting moment before reforming, but its strength had drastically weakened. What once carried the might to annihilate even a Cultivation God with ease was now weak enough for Yuan to defend against it.
"Thank you all," Yuan said as Dragon Goddess Yeyou disappeared alongside the Dragon God's Vengeance.
Now that Saaruk's attack was weak enough, Yuan faced it with what little Eternal Essence he had left before leaving the rest for his physique to deal with.
<Eternal Constitution(Incomplete) activated>
<Eternal Constitution(Incomplete) has refined Saaruk's Essence>
<Through Saaruk's Essence refinement, your understanding of Eternal Essence has improved drastically>
In the midst of blocking the attack with his bare body after exhausting his Eternal Essence, Yuan actually started to refine the attack, turning it into his own power.
Since he'd already refined Saaruk's powers once, he was able to do so again with much more ease.
Some time later, Saaruk's attack had vanished, and Yuan drifted motionlessly through the void, his body battered and bare. Every inch of him ached, and even the slightest movement felt impossible.
"Young Master! Are you okay?!" Feng Yuxiang emerged from his Dantian and immediately began applying medicine to his body, pouring various expensive elixirs all over his body.
Xiao Hua also appeared and started transferring spiritual energy into his body.
"I'm fine," he said calmly. "My body isn't injured, just drained. I pushed myself past my limits and exhausted too much Eternal Essence. It's not something medicine can heal. Give me some time, and I'll be able to move again soon."
"Okay…" Feng Yuxiang nodded with teary eyes.
Yuan fell silent, his gaze drifting into the endless void, eyes distant as if searching for something beyond its darkness.
"I am still too weak," he suddenly mumbled. "You're not weak!" Xiao Hua said.
"She's right, Young Master. There is nobody at your cultivation who could hope to accomplish what you can. You can even defeat God Ascension cultivators despite only being in the True Immortal realm."
Yuan let out a hollow chuckle. "Cultivation? Such things are meaningless before the Eternals. My true enemies aren't cultivators. They're the Eternals themselves. So what does it matter how many cultivators I can defeat if I can't overcome them?"
"Don't beat yourself so much, Yuan." Lan Yingying said. "I know you've experienced many reincarnations, but you're currently still young and have a lot of room to improve."
Yuan smiled faintly. "I know. I'm just lamenting my own failures. I've been trying to take things slowly, even though I know time isn't on my side. Forget Saaruk—those Eternals I put to sleep before will awaken soon enough and resume their attempt to destroy our world."
"What about the Absolute Power? Although I don't know anything about it, doesn't it protect the Nine Heavens from the Eternals?" Feng Yuxiang asked.
"I don't know much about the Absolute Power either. However, while it may restrain the Eternals from wielding their power, it cannot suppress their influence. Take the Celestial Emperor, for instance. The second Celestial Emperor once served the Eternals, carrying out their will in their stead." Yuan sighed.
"Although I was able to stop him before he could do any damage, there are probably many more out there doing their bidding."
"Then what should we do?" Xiao Hua asked.
"While we can stop them, it'll only delay the inevitable unless we can take care of the core problem—the Eternals themselves."
After a moment of silence, Yuan declared, "I am no longer going to take things slowly and will try to regain my strength as fast as possible."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Starry Sky, Saaruk sensed that his essence had been absorbed.
"This feeling! That mortal ant is still alive!" His body trembled in anger. He wanted to return to kill Yuan immediately, but with the unknown Eternal already making their way to Yuan, it would be impossible for him to reach Yuan before them.
Moreover, even if he somehow managed to reach Yuan first, he would definitely incur the unknown Eternal's wrath if he killed Yuan while knowing that they were interested in him.
That said, he had no intention of giving up.
After pondering for a moment, Saaruk remembered something and thought of an idea to deal with Yuan without incurring the unknown Eternal's wrath.
"That's right! Those Eternals trying to acquire the Absolute Power are using the mortals to do their bidding! This Mighty Saaruk can do the same and let them slaughter that wretch in his stead!!"
Even though it meant he wouldn't personally deliver the killing blow, Saaruk no longer cared. All that mattered now was seeing Yuan dead.