Chapter 691: Consciousnesses Gather

Under the influence of the Return to the Origin technique, the injuries Liora had just sustained were used as fuel to improve her strength.

A moment later, when her "old" self was gone and her "new" self walked out of its broken shell, her aura had become significantly stronger.

In a rather strange way, it had become more complete.

Liora knew why that was.

She immediately checked the Cosmic Sea inside her body, wanting to see the result.

The sea was slightly dim. Many worlds had perished under the attack of the Supreme Laws, while the Law Stars had also suffered greatly.

Despite this, the Cosmic Sea did not seem any weaker. If anything, it had become even stronger compared to when it was complete.

The Predation Law, acting as the sea’s cornerstone, had obtained a trace of the Supreme Laws’ power, allowing it to take another step forward.

Its nature had changed, growing even closer to the Supreme Laws.

Likewise, the River of Time had become wider.

A layer of protection now enveloped the dimension it stood on.

If anyone other than Liora tried to approach it, they would be directly struck down by both the illusory river and the Predation Law that governed everything.

Even a being on the same level as Liora would suffer greatly if they attempted to manipulate time within the Cosmic Sea.

Having confirmed this, Liora nodded in satisfaction.

"It was worth taking the risk to provoke the Supreme Laws and use their punishment as fuel for Return to the Origin."

"The benefits are quite substantial..."

Of course, Liora understood that her success was related to her own caution and understanding of the situation.

Had she decided to borrow more power from her past selves and reach Rank 13, she would have struggled to survive the punishment of the Supreme Laws.

Power at the pinnacle of Rank 12 was the most she could reasonably sustain at the moment. Anything more and she would be in danger.

Thankfully, this level of strength was already enough for her.

The Divine Emperor’s backup inside the ancient city’s core was dead.

His soul fragments were absorbed by the Cosmic Sea and the System, used as nourishment by both.

However, Liora did not rush to search through his memories.

Not only because she knew she was unlikely to find much in them, but also because she had something else to deal with first.

Liora raised her head. Her eyes met the towering stone statue that was still coursing with her own demonic energy.

Then, she took a step forward and directly took action. Her power spread to the last portion of the statue.

With the Divine Emperor’s death, she faced even less obstruction.

Moments later, a thunderous roar echoed inside her mind.

Her perception quickly spread.

The formations of the city’s buildings began to operate autonomously upon sensing her will, erupting with a terrifying brilliance.

For a moment, it seemed as though the ancient city had come alive.

And Liora, having refined its core, now possessed complete control over it...

--

The events of the ancient city were complicated.

They involved several powerhouses and countless conspiracies.

Aside from the people involved, Liora, no one could know what had actually happened, including Alpha and Elaouthr, who had accompanied her throughout this time, as well as the Divine Emperor’s clone.

Yet this did not mean that people were not paying attention to the ancient city. It was the opposite.

As news of the Emperors’ deaths and the appearance of the fake Divine Emperor spread, all the civilizations ordered their members to escape the city before it was too late.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, several oppressive consciousnesses descended upon the extraterrestrial battlefield.

Each was enough to shake the entire extraterrestrial battlefield.

When gathered together, the very fabric of the Cosmic Universe seemed to be shattering bit by bit.

A thunderous roar echoed as the consciousnesses collided in the air.

None of them backed down, maintaining a delicate balance for several seconds.

It was only then that a voice rang out, interrupting the awkward silence.

"Hehe. It’s been a long time since we last met. This is a happy occasion. There is no reason to fight," a melodious voice echoed, soft enough to tug at every being’s heartstrings.

The other consciousnesses, however, remained unaffected by the soul attack.

"Hive!" One of their owners shouted furiously, as though offended by her behavior.

In response, the so-called Hive merely chuckled, making the other party even more furious.

Just when the two were about to clash, however, one of the other consciousnesses gently separated them.

"Alright. Hive is right. Now is not the time to fight among ourselves."

"I believe you should have learned about the changes in the extraterrestrial battlefield."

"We should start thinking about how to deal with the aftermath rather than wasting our time."

Unfortunately, although this person advocated for peace, the others were not as motivated to maintain the apparent harmony.

"Haha!"

"If we want to talk about the changes in the battlefield, we’ll have to question Mechanical. He should be more knowledgeable than any of us regarding what happened in the ancient city."

"After all, it was he who cooperated with the practitioners from the past Era. Perhaps what is currently happening is part of their agreement."

Over the course of their conversation, the titles of the consciousnesses’ owners were slowly revealed.

Hive. Mechanical. Ruler. Sovereign.

They all appeared random, without any particular structure.

However, if a high-Ranked Awakener were here to listen to them, they would be able to connect these titles with people only found in legends.

Zerg Hive. Mechanical Emperor. Human Ruler. Demon Sovereign.

The apex beings at the top of each of the Apex Civilizations. All rumored to stand at Rank 13!

Unbeknownst to everyone, these mythical beings, whom few people believed actually existed, had gathered—even in the form of consciousness.

Their goal for coming here? To deal with the changes in the extraterrestrial battlefield and the ancient city.