The Divine Realm was the largest of the 8 Sectors. Its reach spanned hundreds of thousands of inhabitable worlds, and even more uninhabited areas. Even if a 4th class spent his entire life flying from one end of the Divine Realm to the other, he might not be able to see every inch of it.
However, the Divine Realm wasn't as disconnected as it seemed. Not only was every world connected by spatial gates, but even within those worlds, the major cities and metropolises were connected the same way. Aside from this, every sector of the Grand Heaven Boundary besides the Human Domain had a long-distance teleportation array connecting them together,
Somewhere within that plethora of worlds was a small world called Dawn World. Just like any other world, Dawn World was home to a plethora of influences and powers that ruled it. Among these was the Eclipse Sect.
Currently, a group of disciples and an elder wearing the sect's signature half-moon/half-sun emblem on their robes were exploring the periphery of a desolate mountain range a few tens of thousands of kilometers away from the sect.
"Elder Jue, are the reports true? Is there a new heavenly material in the Great Desolate?" An excited disciple questioned with sparkling eyes.
The surrounding disciples nodded in agreement, looking to the elder. He smiled lightly as he saw their childlike behavior.
"Mm, it should be true. Not long ago, a group of wanderers saw a divine light shining from the skies. This phenomenon can only signal the birth of some heavenly material."
The disciples conversed fervently after hearing his words. For some of them, this was their first excursion outside the sect. To think they'd be able to participate in something so major!
At this time, a silvery voice snaked through the crowd, making itself heard by all those present despite its soft tone. "Elder, there seems to be something in the sky."
The one who spoke was a veiled woman. Even the elder had to pay respects to this woman despite his higher cultivation. But he didn't mind this. That woman's status was truly special.
"Princess, allow this old man to check. We can proceed after making sure there is no danger." The elder said fawningly. Without much thought, he spread his senses into the sky.
The second he did, his face paled and he withdrew it instantly!
"Everyone retreat!" He shouted. His mana wrapped around those that were too weak to follow his movements and rushed backward as fast as possible!
As the group retreated, the sky above them was lit up with a red and orange glow. Flames spread through the clouds, burning all things to ashes!
The source of these flames became obvious only moments later. From the breach in the clouds, an unknown object shot towards the ground like a meteor! It moved faster than anyone present could register and in the next moment…
BOOOOOOOM!
It crashed into the Great Desolate!
A shockwave of power spread maddeningly. Everywhere it went, mountains were crushed and the heavens were sundered. In only a few seconds, the once lively mountain range became a dreary plain filled with destruction.
The Eclipse Sect disciples watched in shock from many thousands of kilometers away. They were lucky they'd only been at the mountain range's periphery, otherwise, they'd have been caught in the blast as well.
The elder shakily looked at the destruction, his thoughts chaotic. He was a 4th class, so he had extreme trust in his senses. It was just…the object he saw within the flames couldn't have been a person, could it?
At this time, the veiled woman spoke once more. In her eyes, one could clearly see a fiery curiosity that wouldn't easily be sated.
"Elder, can we take a look?" She asked quietly.
"Impossible," the elder immediately refused. "That object came from the starry sky, and while it may be a rare treasure, it could be an equally terrifying danger. I can't risk the princess' life for such a chance."
"There is no need to worry. I have checked the area and didn't sense any danger. Besides, I only want to take a look. We can stay far away from the actual impact location." The princess said convincingly.
The surrounding disciples immediately piped up to agree with the princess. After all, they were the young heroes of the sect. They didn't want to leave a lucky chance if it was right in front of their noses.
Against the fervent crowd, the elder couldn't do anything. He was a practitioner too. How could he deny these young geniuses their experience? He could only make sure that no harm came to them in the worst-case scenario.
Sighing, he slowly nodded his head. "Fine, but don't stray too far from the group, and if I order you to retreat, obey without fail."
The disciples let out a cheer, smilingly rushing into the now-destroyed Great Desolate. Their minds were filled with curiosity: just what kind of treasure could cause so much destruction?
However, contrary to their expectations, even after searching for hours they couldn't find anything special. Until…
"Elder Jue! Elder Jue! Over here!" A disciple called through a sound transmission talisman. His voice was somewhat panicked.
Thinking there was an emergency, the elder rushed over immediately. But to his surprise, the disciple wasn't injured at all. In fact, he looked no different than he did when they left the sect!
"Why did you call me over?" Elder Jue questioned. He didn't like others wasting his time. In response, the disciple could only shakily point to the ground below. He couldn't make out any words.
Elder Jue followed the disciple's finger, his gaze landing on two figures, a man and a woman, submerged in the debris.
"Hm? You called me over just to look at some corpses? Useless!" Elder Jue spat. He was supposed to be protecting the princess, not handling some weak disciple's trauma!
But the disciple wasn't done yet. He shook his head fiercely and spoke, "those two…are still breathing."
"What?!" Elder Jue exclaimed in shock. Before, in his indifference, he didn't scan the bodies with his awareness. Now that he did, he could truly feel life fluctuations from these two people!
'How did they survive the explosion?' He thought to himself. As his senses mulled over them, he could understand that they weren't too strong. Their survival could only be called a miracle.
"Bring them with us."
At some point, the princess had arrived too. With her curious personality, she naturally followed Elder Jue after seeing him rush away.
She'd been a troublemaker since she was a child. Even now, at 18 years old, she didn't lose this trait. Seeing these two strangers, she intuitively felt that they'd provide her with a degree of fun that was worthwhile.
Concerning the princess' antics, Elder Jue truly couldn't do anything. Her status was leagues above his. He was at most worthy of serving as her protector.
His gaze turned back to the two bodies on the floor. In the end, he could only sigh. Luckily, these people didn't seem too strong. At least, Elder Jue would be able to suppress them in case of emergency.
Realizing this, he wrapped the two in his mana and brought them up, placing them in the Eclipse Sect's spirit ship and ending this small interlude in their trip.
The group stayed in the former Great Desolate for many more hours in search of heavenly materials, but sadly, they found none. Even the Desolate Ice Fruit that they were originally searching for was missing, most likely destroyed in the explosion.
With downcast expressions, the disciples boarded the spirit ship once more. After this largely uneventful outing, it was time for them to return to the sect.
