229: Invitation

Power.

Unprecedented power, like a breached torrent of the Universe, washed over every inch of Li Dong's Divine Soul and Physical Body.

Devour, digest, transform.

When the Boss's massive, twisted core was completely crushed by the Eternal Prison and turned into the purest Origin energy, Li Dong felt as if he had merged with the entire Void Realm in an instant.

Every cell was singing, every thought was cheering. The barrier of the Mahayana Late Stage was easily pierced like thin paper, his cultivation soaring all the way to the Mahayana Peak.

Even above that Peak, he vaguely touched upon a more profound, ineffable Realm. If he wanted to, it seemed he could take that step at any moment and completely transcend the Heaven and Earth Law of this world.

Is this the feeling of being omnipotent?

With a single thought, the Law followed. With a wave of his hand, he could reshape the stars.

He had never experienced such pure power.

Just then, the will of the True Lord, which had always been high above, observing everything with indifference, descended once more.

This time, it was neither a warning nor a probe.

You have proven your worth, little bug.

The voice carried no emotion, like a pre-programmed sequence, sounding directly in the deepest part of Li Dong's consciousness.

Your power is worth recovering. Come, merge with me and become a part of me. You will gain true eternity and have the honor of witnessing the final... destination of all things.

The ultimate temptation.

For any creature chasing power and craving immortality, this was an irresistible gift. To become a part of that ultimate existence of the Universe, overlooking the birth and death of all worlds, was in itself the supreme glory.

However, Li Dong just listened quietly.

Feeling the surging power within him that was almost overflowing, a surge of indescribable fatigue rose in his heart.

This fatigue did not stem from the thrilling life-and-death battle he had just fought.

Rather, it stemmed from a kind of... disgust.

An instinctive disgust for this endless, meaningless devouring and destruction.

He thought of the Demon Suppression Division Cultivators who had turned to ashes to protect the capital, his close friend Cang Qiong who had used his life to smash open the Door of Despair for him, and the countless creatures on this land struggling to survive.

Were their sacrifices, their protection, their love and hate, merely energy worth recovering in the eyes of this True Lord?

Your eternity?

Li Dong finally spoke, his voice low but carrying a coldness capable of freezing the Law.

It is nothing more than a larger, more boring prison. I disdain to attend your feast of death.

He felt an unprecedented sense of loneliness.

He felt as if he were standing next to a giant dining table, having just swatted away a fly that was gnawing on the food, while the owner of the table was inviting him with interest, wanting to swallow him, this interesting Variable, as well.

How absurd.

Meanwhile.

The world Li Dong protected was undergoing earth-shattering changes.

As the Boss's core was completely annihilated and the straw rooted deep in the world's Origin was completely removed, the whole world seemed to have shed a shackle that had been heavy for thousands of years.

The haze and resentment over the capital dissipated in just a few breaths. The long-lost sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone onto the devastated land.

The depleted Spiritual Vein became full again, like a dried-up riverbed receiving rain from heaven. The murky Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was rapidly purified, and strands of even purer, seven-colored Spiritual Qi emerged from deep within the earth like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Mountains and rivers revived, plants and trees were reborn.

Above the ruins of the Demon Suppression Tower, the surviving Demon Suppression Division Cultivators were the first to feel this change.

Spiritual Qi! It's Spiritual Qi! Clean Spiritual Qi is back!

We won... we won!

An old, one-armed Cultivator knelt on the ground, feeling the warm sunlight on his face and the fresh air, tears streaming down his cloudy eyes.

The despair that had been suppressed for a century was released at this moment.

The ecstasy of surviving the disaster turned into earth-shattering cheers that resounded through the sky.

They knew their leader, Li Dong, had succeeded.

This world was saved!

At the top of the tower, Lin Yue stood against the wind. She did not cheer like the others. She just looked into the depths of the Void Realm, quietly feeling all of this.

She could feel that the shadow that had clung to this world like a lingering disease for a century had indeed completely dissipated.

But at the same time, she also keenly perceived that in the deeper parts of the Void Realm, a more grand, profound, and heart-palpitating silence had replaced the previous clamor.

That was not peace, but a more terrifying beast that had temporarily withdrawn its gaze after a full meal.

Lin Yue suddenly understood.

Li Dong had saved this world, but his battle had perhaps only just begun.

She clenched her fists, her eyes devoid of confusion, leaving only an unprecedented firmness.

Become stronger. Must become stronger.

Not just to protect this world that had survived the disaster, but also to one day be qualified to stand by that person's side.

Even if it were just to hand him a blade.

Deep in the Void Realm, in Li Dong's consciousness space. After rejecting the True Lord's invitation, the ancient stone slab's light gradually receded.

It did not instill any grand principles into Li Dong again, but instead projected broken, fleeting images into his Sea of Consciousness.

It was a Star Domain covered in crystal technology, where a warrior in silver-white armor, holding a particle light spear, pinned a Boss shaped like a giant fungus to the planet's core. But the next second, the True Lord's will descended, and the warrior, along with his civilization, was recovered.

It was a plane where magic elements were boiling, where a Magic God chanting ancient spells banished a Boss skilled in mental pollution into the endless dimensions. But the moment he was exhausted, the True Lord's tentacles reached out from the dimensional rift, dragging him into eternal darkness.

There were also other Variables who, after defeating the Boss of their respective worlds, did not choose to fight but disappeared into the depths of the vast Universe, their whereabouts unknown.

Success, Fusion, destruction, escape... scene after scene, like a pre-written script, played out continuously in different Universes.

So... I am not the first, Li Dong muttered to himself, and in all likelihood, I will not be the last.

These images were like an ancient prophecy, revealing the possible fate of all Variables. It also made him realize more clearly how thorny his future path would be.

Hum—after completely digesting the Boss, the Eternal Prison within his body underwent a shocking transformation.

It was no longer just a tool for devouring and decomposing. At its core, a faint strand of Law, which was of the same Origin as the True Lord, was successfully simulated and parsed.

Li Dong's heart stirred. He felt that he could now use this upgraded Eternal Prison to establish an extremely secret connection with the True Lord's main body, far away in the infinite Void Realm.

He could not use this connection to severely damage the other party, but he could, like the most insignificant parasite, continuously and extremely slowly steal a sliver of power from that massive body.

This was a sustained bloodletting.

Although for an existence like the True Lord, this loss might not even count as a mosquito bite. But, this represented a possibility. A possibility... to reverse the roles of prey and hunter!

Li Dong looked up at the vast Star Map that had manifested due to the True Lord's will, filled with countless points of light. Each point of light was a world being gnawed upon. Behind each point of light was a sucker similar to the Boss.

The True Lord intended to use this scene to display its power and vastness, to intimidate or tempt Li Dong. But it did not know that in Li Dong's eyes, this Star Map had already turned into something else. A... hunting list.

He took a deep breath, and the fatigue from the depths of his Soul was replaced by an even colder and firmer will. The mission to protect his homeland was complete. But the new war had only just begun.

The time for rest is over.

His gaze fell on the point of light closest to him on the Star Map.

You are very generous, True Lord, even pointing out the direction for me. Then, as a return gift... the real hunt begins now.

As his words fell, his figure, without the slightest hesitation, turned into a stream of light and merged directly into the endless Void Realm, speeding towards the first targeted objective.