265: Each has its own destiny

Lin Yuan's thoughts raced as he made an instantaneous decision:

"The opportunities of the Secret Realm are right before me; how can I let them slip away? As for this Divine-Grade territory..."

Lin Yuan's gaze swept over the token flowing with seven-colored light beside the divine seal on the back of his hand, appearing calm and composed.

"Once I have fully gathered the fortunes of the Secret Realm and return with great momentum, I will then choose that place where the ten thousand Daos converge and the Chaos gathers its spirit, and proceed with my plans slowly!"

At the core of the chaos origin spring, the violent energy turbulence had become docile under the suppression of Lin Yuan's Chaos Domain. The primordial chaos qi, pure to the point of near-liquefaction, flowed slowly around him like liquid starlight, emitting a primitive Dao charm reminiscent of the dawn of the Universe. To Lin Yuan, who possessed the Chaos Body, this power was the world's top-tier nourishing Saint Grade, far surpassing any Heaven And Earth Treasure.

Lin Yuan stood suspended directly above the spring eye, the seventh-tier chaos wings behind him fully extended. The devouring vortexes constantly rotating at the edges suddenly accelerated, emitting a low hum like the swallowing of an ancient giant beast. A massive, irresistible suction force erupted!

And while Lin Yuan was devouring the chaos origin spring like a whale, the other Prodigies also had their own opportunities!

In a rotting swamp shrouded in gray-green miasma, the Saint of Withered Glory stood upon a lotus pedestal of withered bones. He was surrounded by a group of strange beasts shaped like giant rotting treants, whose roots were like venomous pythons, spitting clouds of spores that corroded the Divine Soul.

"Life and death are impermanent; withered glory rotates!" the Saint of Withered Glory shouted low. His left hand, as withered as decayed wood, struck out a beam of deathly gray light, instantly causing the leaves of the treants in the lead to wither and their trunks to rot and crumble.

His right hand, however, bloomed with a shimmering green light, as a vibrant emerald beam shot into the body of another treant. That treant let out a painful shriek as its body grew and twisted uncontrollably. Countless new branches pierced through its decayed husk, and it finally exploded with a bang under the violent eruption of internal vitality, turning into a sky full of wood chips imbued with life!

The swamp beneath his feet also rotated between muddy dead ground and emerald grass under the influence of the Dao charm of life and death, disrupting the movements of the strange beasts. During the battle, he glanced at the invisible merit board in the void; Lin Yuan's eye-catching 12.86 million points hung high at the top, making his gaze grow deeper.

The Seven Absolute Sword Immortal was in a wasteland filled with broken ancient swords. The space here was extremely unstable, with countless remnants of shattered Sword Intent. She was being besieged by a group of strange beasts shaped like metal mantises, which were extremely fast and had hard shells.

"Seven Extremes Sword Domain, rise!" The young girl's eyes were as cold as swords. The seven ancient swords behind her hummed as they left their sheaths, instantly transforming into seven startling sword rainbows of different colors. They did not fight individually but instead instantly wove together into a profound and peerless sword Formation!

Under the shroud of the sword Formation, space seemed to be sliced into countless fragments. Those metal mantises charging at high speed were like crashing into an invisible sword net, and countless sparks and cracks instantly erupted on their hard shells. The seven sword lights were either as hot as lava, as bone-chilling as ice, as heavy as a mountain, or as swift as lightning... they cooperated seamlessly, each flash precisely piercing into the joints, compound eyes, and other weaknesses of the strange beasts.

A moment later, the sword Formation retracted, and the seven swords returned to their sheaths, leaving only a ground full of strange beast remains shimmering with metallic luster. she panted slightly, her sword heart sensing the ubiquitous chaotic Sword Intent, seemingly trying to analyze and absorb it.

Xuanyuan Wuji stood atop the ruined dome of a massive temple. Below, dozens of huge, bone-armored strange beasts resembling giant rhinos were roaring as they rammed against the temple's remaining pillars, trying to shake him down.

"How dare ants shake the heavenly might?" Xuanyuan Wuji's face was calm, and the nine-dragon patterns on his black imperial robes seemed to come alive. He did not draw his sword but simply slowly raised his right fist, and an imperial dragon might that suppressed the eight directions and ruled the stars erupted! He threw a punch!

Roar!

The fist energy transformed into a highly condensed, golden-bright giant dragon, diving down with a will that crushed everything! There were no fancy techniques, only pure, ultimate power and imperial majesty!

Boom! The leading, largest bone-armored rhino didn't even have time to wail before its hard bone armor and massive body were instantly pierced and shattered by the golden dragon punch! The violent shockwave swept out, knocking the other ramming beasts off balance, breaking their bones and tendons!

Dust filled the ruins, but that imperial figure stood tall and unyielding. His eyes were like lightning, scanning the depths of these ruins, seemingly searching for something.

Meanwhile, the Feather Transformation Realm Martial Artists holding low-level marks had already begun working together with one heart, striving to build their respective territories.

A Prodigy named Shi Yan, who held a level 2 mark, was teleported near a small black iron ore vein. The entrance to the vein was occupied by over a dozen Peak of the Feather Transformation Realm variant rock lizards. He fought a bloody battle, relying on a sharp giant axe and his preliminary understanding of the Dao of Earth to laboriously slay the lizards one by one, sustaining significant injuries himself.

He didn't bother tending to his wounds and immediately took out the "Lord's Token" split from the primal gold seal, pressing it onto a relatively flat piece of open ground at the entrance of the ore vein.

Buzz!

A faint light lit up, and a simple core stone house built of stacked rocks slowly took shape, with a circle of low stone walls automatically generating around it. Shi Yan looked at this simple "territory," but a strong light erupted in his eyes. He rushed into the mine and began digging frantically. "Black iron! With this, I can forge better weapons and tools! I can hold this place! Merit... I want to be on the merit board too!"

A female Prodigy named Liu Qing from a certain top-tier Sect descended into a gloomy valley. Inside the valley were densely packed nests of variant shadow wolves. She was skilled in the Dao of Wood and Formations.

She did not choose to force her way into the core, but instead used the terrain and the Formation Plates she carried to set up layers of vine traps and illusory arrays on the outskirts of the valley. Using the Formations to divide the wolf pack, she then used sharp wood spike techniques and poison vine techniques to strangle the isolated shadow wolves one by one. Every time she cleared an area, she planted special "Guardian Spirit Vine" seeds at key nodes, injecting mana to accelerate their growth.

After the outer wolf pack was mostly cleared, she finally approached the core nest. Facing the wolf king and elite guards protecting the nest, she activated the "Green Wood Dragon-Trapping Formation" she had prepared in advance, temporarily trapping the wolf king while concentrating her firepower to slay the guards. After a tragic and fierce struggle, the wolf king was executed. She immediately pressed the Lord's Token onto a huge piece of obsidian at the core of the nest.

Light flashed, and a "Tree Fortress" built of tough spirit wood and vines, emitting vibrant life, rose from the ground, automatically connecting with the vine traps she had set on the outskirts to form a preliminary defense system. At the core of the Tree Fortress, a fragment representing the "shadow wolf Nest Core" was condensing. Liu Qing's face was pale but excited, and she immediately began guiding the Tree Fortress to absorb the surrounding plant essence for self-repair and growth.

The era's Prodigy from the Cangqiong Imperial Dynasty, Heavenly Emperor Cang, descended onto the edge of a vast plain, with huge star craters visible in the distance. The strange beasts he faced were even more terrifying: swarms of "Stardust Beetles" capable of manipulating star fragments.

He was in no hurry to establish a territory core. Instead, relying on his formidable strength, he first swept through several nearby powerful groups of strange beasts, collecting several shimmering "Star Core Fragments" and a rare "Space Stabilization Crystal."

"This place shall be the foundation of my Star Fortress!" He selected a high-ground area near a massive crater. He took out the Lord's Token and simultaneously threw the precious Materials he had collected into it.

Boom!

A building phantom far more magnificent than Liu Qing's Tree Fortress emerged! The foundation was composed of massive star fragments, the walls flowed with liquid starlight, and a high tower was condensing at the core, with a miniature galaxy faintly rotating at the top! This was remarkably the prototype of a Star City-level territory core building—the foundation stone of the "Energy Gathering Tower"! Although it would still require a massive amount of resources and merit to be fully completed, its starting point far exceeded that of ordinary territories. Heavenly Emperor Cang looked at this grand foundation that had begun to take shape, stars swirling in his eyes, already beginning to plan his future territory's map.

A level 6 mark holder named Yan Lie from a remote Profound Realm killed a lava behemoth guarding the "Earth Core Flame Essence" in a life-or-death struggle while exploring a scorching cavern. When he used his Lord's Token to absorb the lava behemoth's core and the Earth Core Flame Essence, a notification from the Heavenly Dao sounded:

【Congratulations to Lord "Yan Lie" for successfully clearing the special resource point 'Molten Heart', obtaining the territory core building fragment 'Heart of the Forge', and Awakening the Lord Talent—SSS-grade · Molten Dominator!】

"SSS-grade? Molten Dominator?!" Yan Lie was stunned at first, then wild joy surged in his heart! He felt a majestic, scorching energy pour into his body, perfectly fusing with his Dao of Fire! All fire elements within a hundred-mile radius were cheering and jumping, submitting to him! He gave an experimental wave of his hand, and a hill-like rock in front of him was instantly melted into crimson lava by invisible high temperatures!

"Hahahaha! The heavens do not wish me dead! Molten Dominator! Controlling all fires, melting all things! With this talent, I, Yan Lie, will surely have a place in this New God Realm!" He laughed like a madman, shouting at the sky. His previous fatigue and injuries seemed to vanish, his eyes burning with unprecedented ambition and fighting spirit. He immediately began using his newly acquired talent to guide the lava to construct his lava fortress, with an efficiency far exceeding others.

Su Yao of the Temple of Life was teleported to the core of an endless forest that was vibrant with life yet full of hidden dangers. Relying on her powerful Dao of Life, she calmed the violent plant-type strange beasts, purified the contaminated forest land, and established a territory named the Life Sanctuary beside a "Life Tree Sapling" that emitted a thick aura of life.

When she successfully connected the sanctuary core with the sapling and purified the contamination in the surrounding area, the Heavenly Dao prompted:

【Congratulations to Lord "Su Yao" for successfully stabilizing the Star Continent-level natural node 'Emerald Dream', the territory has obtained the prototype of the 'ancient tree of life', and awakened the Lord Talent—SSS-grade · Natural Resonance!】

"Natural Resonance?" A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Su Yao's beautiful face. She closed her eyes and instantly felt her perception extend infinitely! She seemed to be able to hear the whispers of every blade of grass and tree, feel the pulse of the earth, and even slightly influence the weather and plant growth! The forest within a thousand-mile radius was no longer an obstacle but her eyes, ears, and barrier! With a thought, the vines around the sanctuary automatically wove into a sturdy wall, and exotic flowers and plants grew rapidly, emitting hallucinogenic fragrances and paralyzing toxins.

"Thank you for the blessing of the Goddess of Life!" Su Yao whispered piously, her face blooming with a holy and joyful radiance. With this talent, her construction of the Temple of Life, cultivation of spiritual plants, healing of allies, and even fighting against strange beasts would all be twice as effective with half the effort. She immediately began to try and communicate more deeply with this forest, searching for more sources of life and precious spiritual seeds.