After everyone had left, the Heaven-Reaching Vine slowly closed the passage, enveloping Lu Sheng in its internal space.
Now, ten years have passed, and with the power of the Celestial Brilliance Star, the Heaven-Reaching Vine can barely cover one-tenth of the star’s surface.
Lu Sheng dialed Liu Yao’s number on his wristwatch.
Before long, Liu Yao’s image was projected in front of Lu Sheng.
"What’s wrong? Encountered some trouble?"
Liu Yao looked at Lu Sheng and smiled as she spoke.
Lu Sheng shook his head and asked directly, "Senior sister, I’ve heard that there are problems within the Ascension Factions? Could it be the Lord of the End..."
Lu Sheng’s eyes held a hint of seriousness.
Liu Yao was taken aback, and her smile faded slightly.
Liu Yao slowly said, "I am aware of the current actions of the Ascension Factions, but I find something quite strange, and it isn’t this."
As she spoke, a serious expression also appeared on Liu Yao’s face, "Actually, ever since the Lord of Ascension fell asleep, the Human Federation has always been wary of the Ascension Factions."
"After all, no one knows if the Lord of Ascension, after devouring the Doomsday Star, would still be the same Lord of Ascension upon reawakening."
"So, at regular intervals, the Human Federation leads inspections of the Ascenders within the Ascension Factions."
"Because of the special nature of the Mechanical Modifier System, if something were to happen to the Lord of Ascension, it would most significantly impact those ninth-level Ascenders within the Mechanical Modifier System."
"From top to bottom, inspecting the Ascenders within the Ascension Factions can indeed reveal some clues."
Listening to Liu Yao’s words, Lu Sheng nodded involuntarily. It was indeed a good method, but seeing Liu Yao’s grave expression, Lu Sheng also had a vague sense of something.
"This time, due to the strange situation within the Ascension Factions, the Human Federation has enlisted the help of Star River University and Daoran Sect to carry out a series of inspections on the Ascenders of the Ascension Factions."
"However, to my confusion, the inspections did not show that the Ascenders were influenced by the Lord of Ascension."
"Under the circumstances that the Ascenders weren’t influenced by the Lord of Ascension, and with the absence of external enemies, they still made these actions..."
"It’s rather perplexing to some extent."
"Unfortunately, the current situation of the Human Federation isn’t very favorable either. The Ascension Factions’ movements are strange, but given that nothing was found during the inspections, it’s difficult for the Human Federation to allocate resources to secretly monitor the Ascension Factions."
As she spoke, Liu Yao couldn’t help but shake her head.
"So, there’s no proof of the Lord of Ascension’s awakening. Despite the strangeness, these are the facts."
Lu Sheng, listening to Liu Yao’s words, fell into deep thought.
"The Ascension Factions... What is their true intention?"
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, as a different kind of brilliance flashed through his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the Forging Star System.
A massive Mechanical Star Body, with a size comparable to a star, stood in the vast Cosmic Void.
Even though the Mechanical Star Body simply floated there silently, it emanated an extremely terrifying energy, causing violent spatial turbulence around it.
Near this Mechanical Star Body, planets-sized Mechanical Stars stood still, resembling satellites surrounding a star.
These planet-sized Mechanical Stars were the Ascenders of the Ascension Factions.
At this moment, the eyes of these Ascenders slowly opened, filled entirely with fervent devotion.
"The great Lord of Ascension... will eventually spread His compassion throughout the entire universe!"
"The great Lord of Ascension... will allow us to abandon our mortal suffering and ascend mechanically!!"
"The great Lord of Ascension... will eventually lead us to embrace eternity!"
The Ascenders, their gazes burning with intensity, continuously chanted the name of the Lord of Ascension while looking at the massive Mechanical Star Body.
As more and more Ascenders chanted, the long-dormant Mechanical Star trembled ever so slightly.
Surging energy instantly erupted, and the violent spatial turbulence rampaged through the Cosmic Void, cracking it with ferocious fissures.
A pair of eyes slowly opened within the Mechanical Star Body.
Their gaze was like the brilliant sun, filled with sacred radiance, with golden patterns resembling the feathers of a Jinyu bird.
These eyes were charged with boundless compassion for all Mechanical Transformers and all living beings.
"How many eons have passed..."
A deep voice echoed from within the Mechanical Star Body, causing the entire Cosmic Void to tremble.
The eyes of each Mechanical Ascender around him burned with even more intense devotion.
"Do people regard me as the Lord of the End?"
"No... I have never been the Lord of the End, I am... the Lord of Ascension!"
"The Lord of the End awakened? No, it has always been... the Lord of Ascension!"
The deep voice continuously resonated from the Mechanical Star Body, a seeming response to the world, or perhaps... conveying something else.
He slowly gazed at the Ascenders floating beside him, the compassion in his eyes growing more profound.
In that moment, his gaze enveloped the entire Forging Star System.