Sanaa led Billy and a few others into the sky.
At the same time, nearly a hundred people emerged from several palaces below and joined Sanaa. All of them were of Heavenly Realm cultivation, led by a white-haired elder who was an eighth-rank Heavenly Emperor Realm expert.
The square gradually quieted down.
“Everyone, time is of the essence, so I’ll keep this brief,” Sanaa said loudly, her voice enhanced by true energy to reach everyone.
“First, anyone below Heavenly Venerable Realm should stay behind. Going would be futile and unnecessarily dangerous.”
“Second, this mission is perilous, and survival is uncertain. Be mentally prepared and settle any affairs before we leave. You have fifteen minutes.”
The square buzzed with activity again.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. Sanaa spoke again, “Time’s up. Those above Heavenly Venerable Realm who are willing to go, come forward!”
As she finished, numerous figures rose into the sky, around four to five thousand, as Billy had estimated.
“On behalf of the Heaven Alliance, I thank you all!” Sanaa bowed deeply to the crowd.
“Miss Sanaa, you’re welcome. Defending against invaders is our duty!” the Lord of Azure Profound City replied loudly.
“Mr. Rutledge is right. It’s our duty. Let’s not waste time and depart!” another elder added.
“Alright!” Sanaa took out a storage ring and released its contents above everyone.
“In the storage ring are Heaven Alliance tokens. Take one and wear it to identify allies in the Shattered Realm.”
Everyone complied, including Billy and his group, who took a token each and attached it to their chests. The tokens were semi-transparent with glowing ‘Heaven Alliance’ inscriptions.
“Let’s go!” Sanaa said to Billy after a moment.
She sent a stream of information to Billy’s mind, detailing the general location of the Shattered Realm.
Billy nodded and summoned the Chaos Compass, expanding it to hundreds of feet wide and inputting the location information.
Many were curious about the Chaos Compass as it enveloped the four to five thousand people in a beam of light.
Although Heavenly Realm City was far from the Shattered Realm, the Chaos Compass made the journey in just a few moments.
Once they arrived, everyone looked around. They were in an endless star domain, similar to other places but with noticeably lower spiritual energy and a pervasive oppressive aura.
“Miss Sanaa, is this the Shattered Realm?” Stout asked.
“In a way,” Sanaa nodded. “The Shattered Realm refers to a vast star domain stretching millions of miles from here to the Shattered Realm barrier.”
“And what is the Shattered Realm barrier?” Stout asked, puzzled.
“The Shattered Realm barrier is a type of Universe Barrier,” Sanaa explained as they moved forward.
“The barrier is much larger and sturdier than star domain barriers. Our universe is just one among countless others. The ninth-tier star domain is closest to other universes.”
“So, you can think of the Shattered Realm barrier as our universe’s boundary, beyond which lie other universes.”
“Our so-called another realm forces are essentially beings from neighboring universes.”
Billy and his group began to understand.
Indeed, there were endless universes beyond their own. But for now, understanding their own universe was challenging enough.
“Miss Sanaa, can beings from other universes cross the Shattered Realm barrier into ours?” Night Orchid asked.
“Originally, no,” Sanaa continued. “The barrier was much stronger at the universe’s formation, impenetrable by any being.”
“But over billions of years, parts of the barrier have weakened, making crossing possible.”
“Millions of years ago, powerful beings from another realm forces created several passageways through weak points.”
“In recent millennia, these forces have invaded our universe multiple times.”
“Miss Sanaa, does Heaven Alliance have a base in the Shattered Realm?” Frostblade asked.
“Yes,” Sanaa nodded. “Our base is at a relatively weak point in the barrier, which is where we’re headed.”
After about fifteen minutes of travel, a loud noise came from ahead. A massive black hole appeared in mid-air, releasing dark matter.
A figure was thrown back thousands of feet by the impact but survived with only a fraction of their strength remaining.
A white-robed man had attacked; his aura indicated he was a third-rank Heavenly Emperor Realm expert.
“Miss Sanaa, it’s Hassan Acosta!” an elder from Heaven Alliance said as he rushed to help the injured man.
The white-robed man saw the large group and was visibly shocked before trying to flee.
But he didn’t get far before being obliterated by a punch from the eighth-rank Heavenly Emperor Realm elder, leaving no trace of his soul.
“Hassan Acosta, are you alright?” Sanaa asked as she approached.
“Miss Sanaa, you’re finally here!” Hassan Acosta interrupted her. “Don’t worry about me. There’s still fighting ahead. Heaven Alliance is in a dire situation!”
“Everyone, move at full speed!” Sanaa ordered urgently.