Wu Yu now had no way to help Nangong Wei.
However, she was well and truly gone, and there was no hope.
However, he still shadowed the eternal phoenix tribe closely. Even if the slightest chance presented itself, he would take it.
He was waiting for a chance.
He had to follow them closely. Finding them again in the vastness of the Great Void Immortal Path would cost him a few years, or perhaps even longer.
It required exquisite patience.
He followed from afar, in the shadows. His eye was always on the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord, on her every expression and smile, her every action.
Sometimes, Wu Yu would mistake her for Nangong Wei. But he knew that she definitely was not her. Nangong Wei was as good as devoured and fused into her, a minuscule part of who she was.
Yet the more similar they were, the more unbearable it was for Wu Yu. His killing intent began to rise imperceptibly.
Wu Yu had once had his body stolen by the Ancient Emperor. Fortunately, he had managed to wrest it back. But Nangong Wei was not so lucky. She had been directly integrated.
"No matter what, I will definitely bring her back to life." This was the goal that Wu Yu had set for himself. To him, this was even more important than a Mark of an Immortal King!
He continued to follow the eternal phoenix tribe for more than a year, just waiting for his moment!
On this day, the eternal phoenix tribe was heading for another star. Suddenly, a blinding light cut past their flank, and they all hurriedly turned. It seemed like a star had exploded, and the explosion had lit up a very large region. Even from where they were, they could spot the commotion.
When they saw the huge explosion, the eternal phoenix tribe was a little divided. Many were discussing, but it was the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord who was decisive. "Full speed towards it. Such a huge commotion may well be a ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King!"
Wu Yu was thinking the same thing as well. Because back when the eternal phoenix tribe obtained an eighth-grade Mark of an Immortal King, the blue sea of fire was a huge disturbance. And now for a star to actually explode in such shocking fashion, it had to be of a higher grade, if it even was a Mark of an Immortal King.
After all, the greater the disturbance, the more people would be fighting over it. That was the interesting part of it all! At this time, probably all the elite immortals had noted the commotion here.
The entire eternal phoenix tribe made their decision, charging in that direction at full speed. Their luck was good, and the explosion was not considered particularly far from them. It was reachable, but those who reached it first would have the advantage. Therefore, it would be fairly difficult to get the Mark of an Immortal King.
Wu Yu naturally opened up his throttle too, and was able to keep up with them with difficulty. He was thinking, "If it is a ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King, then the test must be extremely grueling. Even with so many eternal phoenix tribe members, they might not be able to get it. There will definitely be some chaos. That might well be my chance."
They continued pressing forward at full speed, and only neared the site of the explosion after about a dozen days.
Many people who had started out closer must have arrived before them, flocking to the commotion.
When such a chance appeared, any who were in the vicinity would definitely come to try their luck.
Actually, on the day before, Wu Yu had already seen the light vanish from the explosion site. In its place was a pitch-black sphere, about half the size of the star. It was completely smooth and extremely durable. On the topmost portion, there was a black entrance, roughly 20 zhang in diameter. It was like a pinhole in comparison to the size of the sphere. Many of the eternal phoenixes would need to change to human form to enter.
Evidently, this sphere was an oddity in the Endless River of Stars, and oddities in the Endless River of Stars held Marks of an Immortal King. Therefore, when the eternal phoenix tribe arrived, there were already many people gathered round. They were currently fighting at the entrance. Apparently, some people had gone in and were trying to claim the black sphere for their own. Therefore, they had assigned defenders outside.
As the number of experts outside started to grow, their courage swelled accordingly. They were less afraid of offending the strong powers and wanted to join forces and fight their way in. They would bust the passageway open. There were a full thousand immortal lords outside now, while there were only a few dozen guarding the hole. Many of the immortal lords did not dare to take action yet, but as they fought, many were beginning to slip in. As the number of people slipping in grew, those who wished to claim the black sphere for themselves were starting to feel overwhelmed.
"This place was found by Zhao Yuanchen, son of an immortal emperor named Zhao Gongming, one of the 36 Heavenly Generals! This is the territory of the Zhao Immortal Tribe! It belongs to the Zhao Immortal Tribe! How dare you barge in impertinently! You're asking for death! We, the Zhao Immortal Tribe, will record the name of every last immortal lord who goes against us! When we go outside, we will spell death for you!"
Those who wished to claim the black sphere for themselves were the Zhao Immortal Tribe. Clearly, the one stiffening their backs was the famous Zhao Gongming! Wu Yu had seen him before in the Sublime Gracious Divine Region. Although he was just the lowest tier of immortal emperor, he was still someone important! The Zhao Immortal Tribe was a fairly mighty group within the sky palaces.
Of course, this situation indicated that the Zhao Immortal Tribe had yet to obtain the Mark of an Immortal King within; otherwise, these people would not be defending so desperately.
"Rubbish! Everyone is qualified to contest in the Great Void Immortal Path. If it's just the influential people bullying the others, why the hell would we come in? Getting a Mark of an Immortal King depends on your own strength. My immortal brethren, isn't that right?"
"Exactly!"
"Let's all go in! See if they can stop us!"
As the ranks of immortal lords continued to swell, the thousand-strong crowd was prepared to rush in. As for the Zhao Immortal Tribe, they were clearly outmatched against such a fierce attack. They had even suffered deaths. After all, the situation was extremely chaotic, and it was hard to know who you were even fighting.
Suddenly, someone called out, "It's the eternal phoenix tribe! They're here!"
As expected, seeing the might of the eternal phoenix continent, they rushed the entrance, bent on showing the Zhao Immortal Tribe no mercy.
"Out of the way!"
When the eternal phoenix tribe arrived, the Zhao Immortal Tribe could hold on no longer. Their barricade was burted apart, and the few hundred eternal phoenixes in human form very quickly charged into the black sphere.
Closely following that, many of the immortal lords entered, pushing and shoving each other. The Zhao Immortal Tribe had been scattered and were completely foiled. They could only watch in frustration. Their mission had failed, and they should return quickly to bolster Zhao Yuanchen's strength.
"Back!"
Outside, the Zhao Immortal Tribe defenders also headed into the black sphere.
Wu Yu blended into the crowd and entered as well.
The eternal phoenix tribe would definitely all enter the black sphere, and Wu Yu had no need to fear that they would leave suddenly and he would lose their trail.
Besides, the All Amalgamating Cat had already locked on to their auras. If they were not too far away, Wu Yu could definitely find them.
It looked like close to 2,000 immortal lords had filled up the black sphere. Although this was a drop in the ocean compared to the 100 million immortal lords who had entered, it was still a fairly large number. There were many competitors, and the number would only continue to increase as long as the black sphere was not sealed off!
Wu Yu's only goal was to use the chaotic environment to get close to the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord. Something might present itself.
When he entered, a strong blast of wind dashed him against the inner wall of the black sphere!
Of course, this was the same for the others. Even many of the eternal phoenixes were also thrown off by this tremendous gust.
Wu Yu was almost dazed by the impact.
When he refocused, he saw that there was a barely visible space in the black sphere. Within the black sphere, a powerful whirlwind howled, battering all who entered, and smashing them against the inner walls of the sphere. The mad wind was torturous to bear.
And at the center of the sphere, there was a platform, a black platform which floated in the midst of the sphere. It was obvious that only the platform was unaffected, and there was a squad of people currently standing on it. They were "safe".
Many of the people were being buffeted and thrown about the sphere. Those on the windless, peaceful platform were the Zhao Immortal Tribe, led by Zhao Yuanchen.
Before Wu Yu entered, many of the immortal lords were already streaming towards the platform. How could there be a Mark of an Immortal King in the midst of this tempest? Within the black sphere, it was only too clear that if there was a test, it must be to stand on the platform and not to be thrown about at the mercy of the gust.
Therefore, the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord gave an order when the eternal phoenix tribe entered. Although she was not the strongest, she was the highest ranked. All of the eternal phoenix tribe members banded together and charged towards the platform.
Of course, basically all of the immortals who had entered had chosen a similar course of action. Everyone longed for the safety of that platform.
On the platform, more than 100 Zhao Immortal Tribe members were setting immortal designs and fighting off those who were charging forth. But clearly, they were hard-pressed against the sheer weight of numbers.
In the center was a predator-looking young man who was physically huge. He suddenly said, "Join forces with the eternal phoenix tribe. No one else is to be let in."