64: A whale swallows a vortex of stars, and the first cry of returning to the void resounds.

The core region of the Star Marrow Sea had now transformed into a graveyard of the heavens.

The platinum torrent of the Law and the deep blue light spears of the Star Sea's will were like two world-creating giant gods engaged in a frantic struggle. Every collision whipped up a destructive storm that swept through the Star Domain, evaporating liquid Star Dao Principles, crushing solidified Law runes into powder, and repeatedly tearing space apart only to force it back together. Massive Star Marrow crystal mountain ranges collapsed and were annihilated under the continuous bombardment of the platinum torrent, like jade divine mountains shattered by a Heavenly God's giant axe. The Star Sea wailed in fury, its majestic will becoming increasingly violent as its core region sustained damage!

The star dome ark, now a mere skeletal wreck, was tossed and battered like a withered leaf in a storm by wave after wave of destructive energy. Every impact was accompanied by the tooth-aching sound of twisting metal and the sight of hull fragments flying off. Damage levels had long since surpassed the 90% death line. On the core hull composed of nirvana star dome fragments, dark red lines representing the self-destruct mechanism flashed frantically, like the final heartbeat of a dying beast, liable to extinguish at any moment and turn everything into cosmic dust.

Inside the cabin, Chen Feng held Su Wanzhao tightly, using his own body as the final shield. The agonizing pain of broken bones had long since gone numb, and his Divine Soul felt as if it were being repeatedly forged in a furnace. Every impact from the energy aftershocks made his consciousness tremble on the brink of dissipation. Inside his Dantian, the Nascent Primal Fate Wheel Phantasm had dimmed to the extreme, its surface covered in hideous cracks, its solidity dropping to 38%, and its rotation nearly grinding to a halt. The wisp of starlight at its core was as weak as a firefly, yet it remained stubbornly connected to the frantically spinning star vortex core at Su Wanzhao's chest.

The Punishment Calamity imprint on his chest throbbed like a madman's war drum! The dark red Slaughter Dao Origin greedily absorbed the dissipated destructive energy from the outside—the annihilation of Order from the Law and the furious Dao principle fragments of the Star Sea—using them as poisonous nutrients to nourish the reviving malevolent Soul deep within the imprint! The erosion rate had soared to a terrifying +1.8% per two hours! The dark red patterns, like living vines, had not only covered Chen Feng's chest but had begun to spread toward his neck and arms. Wherever they passed, his flesh felt the searing pain of corrosion and a bone-deep, icy malice. The will of the Punishment Calamity remnant Soul laughed and roared, its revival progress breaking through 19%, turning into countless needles filled with thoughts of slaughter and destruction that frantically pierced Chen Feng's near-collapsing Divine Soul barriers: "Ant! Your shell! Your dao foundation! Shall ultimately become my nourishment! Guixu! Nirvana! The end of all Daos!"

"Get... out!" Chen Feng's eyes nearly split from the strain, his remaining will like a candle in the wind, desperately guarding the last bit of clarity in his Sea of Consciousness. The primal disk phantom flickered frantically in his Sea of Consciousness, attempting to mobilize the four-colored Origins to combat the erosion. However, the violence of the Chaos Fire Core, stimulated by the Slaughter Dao Origin, was like an escaped horse, instead impacting the stability of the disk and worsening the internal Chaos! Every collision with the Punishment Calamity's will sent tremors through his Divine Soul. What seeped from his seven orifices was no longer blood, but a luminous mist mixed with Soul Power fragments and dark red Evil Qi!

Meanwhile, Su Wanzhao was in an extremely bizarre state.

In the center of the charred hollow in her chest, the newborn star vortex core had expanded to the size of a fist! It spun frantically, emitting a dazzling starlight like a miniature stellar embryo! The majestic, ancient, yet fury-muddled Origin power of the Star Marrow Sea's core region was being devoured by this core like a black hole! The deep blue liquid Dao principle torrent was being drawn in like a giant whale drinking water, continuously crossing space and ignoring the violent energy storms to pour into that spinning vortex!

The infusion of this majestic power caused the faint but real pulse of life in Su Wanzhao to become strong and powerful at an incredible speed! Beneath her pale skin, it felt as if billions of stars were flowing, emitting a warm, jade-like luster. However, this newborn power was too surging, too violent! Her body was like an overinflated balloon, and the blue star-vein-like cracks on her skin grew more numerous and deeper! Fine beads of blood seeped from the cracks, only to be instantly evaporated by the violent starlight! This was a sign that her dao foundation remnants could not withstand the Origin torrent—a cliff where rebirth and destruction were separated by a hair's breadth!

"Wanzhao! Control it!" Chen Feng roared, his blood-stained hands pressing firmly onto Su Wanzhao's shoulders. Ignoring the burning backlash of the violent Star Power, he recklessly channeled the last remaining starlight Origin from his Fate Wheel core into the spinning Star Vortex!

Buzz!

The Fate Wheel starlight acted like a stabilizing pillar, laboriously piercing into the center of the violent vortex. In an instant, Chen Feng felt as if he had fallen into a violent, boundless sea of rage composed of liquid stars! Billions of chaotic star Dao principle fragments, like frenzied beasts, tore at his thoughts. He gritted his teeth, turning his will into the toughest silk threads. Using the Fate Wheel starlight as a guide, he tightly bound the faint glimmer of newborn light deep within the star vortex core that represented Su Wanzhao's own ego!

"Wake up! Su Wanzhao! Control it! This is your power!" Chen Feng's will exploded like thunder within that violent sea of stars, attempting to awaken the consciousness slumbering deep within the core of power.

As if sensing the call and protection of the same-source Fate Wheel starlight, that faint glimmer of light suddenly pulsed! A resilient and unyielding will originating from Su Wanzhao herself, like a candle lit in a gale, began to laboriously awaken, attempting to understand, organize, and control this surging, heavenly power! The violent rotation of the star vortex core showed an extremely subtle... hesitation?

But at the very moment this fleeting opportunity for control appeared—

BOOM!!!

In the center of the Star Sea battlefield, another anomaly occurred!

The Star Marrow Sea Origin pillar that had been deadlocked with the Law torrent finally dimmed under the continuous erosion of the Immortal Court's order rules! At the bow of the leading Law Warship, the brightness of the energy vortex composed of Law runes rose to another level!

"Interference source energy level dropping! Execute final purification! Law, Overload Mode!" An icy, heartless announcement rang out.

Ssh—!

The platinum torrent's power surged, instantly overwhelming the deep blue light pillar. Like a red-hot knife through butter, it completely pierced and annihilated the remaining pillar! Its momentum unchecked, carrying a will to destroy all, it slammed into the core region of the Star Marrow crystal mountain range behind, which had already mostly collapsed!

Rumble—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying explosion! It was as if an ancient star had been detonated inside the Star Marrow Sea! Blinding white light swallowed everything! A destructive energy storm expanded in a sphere, instantly leveling the Star Marrow crystal mountain range for tens of thousands of miles! Countless massive crystal blocks were vaporized or flung away, crashing in all directions like a rain of apocalyptic meteor fire!

One of the Star Marrow crystal remnants, with a diameter comparable to a small star and burning with deep blue star flames, was flung like a stone from a catapult. Driven by the energy storm and carrying the terrifying kinetic energy to crush all things, it hurtled unerringly toward the tumbling star dome ark!

Its speed surpassed thought! The aura of death instantly froze Chen Feng's blood!

He couldn't dodge! He couldn't block! The energy contained in this remnant far exceeded the previous attacks of the Star Marrow Giant Whale! Once it hit, the star dome ark and the two of them would instantly be reduced to the most basic particles of the Universe!

At the critical moment, a desperate madness flashed in Chen Feng's eyes! He was almost ready to give up his resistance against the Punishment Calamity's will and recklessly detonate the chaotic Origins within his body in a final struggle!

However—

"Wooo—!!!"

A long, desolate whale cry that seemed to travel through the ancient primordial era sounded without warning amidst the violent energy storm!

This cry did not come from the material world but vibrated directly on the level of Dao principles! It carried an unspeakable sense of antiquity, vastness, and... a hint of offended majesty!

In the Star Marrow crystal ruins ahead of Chen Feng that had not yet been completely destroyed, the liquid Star Dao Principles suddenly bulged upward, forming a protrusion even more massive and terrifying than before! Then, the protrusion shattered!

Crash—!!!

A giant wave of starlight, more than ten times larger than the waves stirred by the previous Star Marrow Giant Whale, soared into the sky! At the crest of the wave, a shadow so massive it defied description broke through the boiling Star Marrow "sea water" and appeared formidably!

It was still an Ancient Star Marrow Whale! But its size was more than a hundred times larger than the one they had encountered before! Its body was no longer pure deep blue but presented a dark gold base color like the beginning of Chaos. The star patterns flowing on its surface were no longer mere veins but entire rotating ancient star charts containing the secrets of life and death! Most Soul-shaking of all was its head; the dark gold star core fragment serving as its "forehead" was the size of a small planet! The surface of the fragment was covered in profound, natural Dao patterns, emitting a supreme pressure that could cut through time and space and suppress all Daos! Its single eye, burning with icy star flames like two massive stellar furnaces, instantly locked onto the burning Star Marrow crystal remnant hurtling toward the star dome ark. Its gaze even pierced through the chaotic energy storm to land on the frantically spinning star vortex core at Su Wanzhao's chest!

The moment this gargantuan creature appeared, the entire boiling Star Marrow Sea actually experienced a moment of stagnation! Even the rampaging energy storm and the aftershocks of the Immortal Court's Law were momentarily halted!

The Ancient Star Marrow Whale! This was by no means a guardian beast that acted on instinct like the previous one, but one of the true Dominators of this Primal Star Marrow Sea! It was an ancient existence that had lived for untold eons, its body having merged with the Star Sea's Origin!

Within its single eye, the icy star flames flickered violently, reflecting the star vortex core on Su Wanzhao's chest. In that gaze, the pure greed and destruction of the previous guardian beast were gone, replaced by a deep scrutiny that seemed able to pierce through time, and... a hint of unspeakable, complex emotion—there was confusion, reminiscence, and even a trace of... imperceptible reverence?

Just as the burning Star Marrow crystal remnant was about to strike the star dome ark, the Ancient Star Marrow Whale's massive head tilted slightly.

Whoosh—!

It did not attack; it merely opened its abyss-like giant maw.

An irresistible, gentle yet overwhelmingly massive suction instantly enveloped the star dome ark and the massive incoming remnant!

Chen Feng felt the scene before him spin frantically. The violent energy storm, the destructive platinum light flow, the boiling liquid Star Dao Principles... everything instantly receded and blurred! An all-encompassing stellar power gently wrapped around the broken hull, like a mother's hand picking up a tired infant. The star dome ark, along with that massive burning remnant, was gently yet irresistibly... sucked into the bottomless maw of the Ancient Star Marrow Whale!

Darkness descended instantly.

It was not absolute darkness; a gentle, deep blue halo like a flowing river of stars drifted around them. Beneath them was an indescribable, jade-warm dark gold "ground" that emitted a reassuring, ancient aura. The violent external energy storms, the icy killing intent of the Immortal Court's Law, the frantic erosion of the Punishment Calamity imprint... all external fatal threats were actually forcibly isolated and weakened by more than half within this singular "Internal Stomach Space" by an invisible, older, and more majestic stellar Dao principle power!

The broken hull of the star dome ark finally stopped its fatal tumbling, coming to a quiet rest on this dark gold "ground" like a stranded seashell. The hull damage miraculously stabilized at 91%, and the self-destruct flashing of the nirvana star dome fragments temporarily subsided. The frantically throbbing Punishment Calamity imprint on Chen Feng's chest felt like a hot iron plunged into ice water; its manic erosion was suppressed by a gentle yet peerless stellar power, its spreading speed plummeting to +0.5% per two hours! The will of the Punishment Calamity remnant Soul let out an unwilling roar, but under the suppression of that ancient Star Sea Will, it was like a caged beast fruitlessly striking an invisible barrier, its revival progress stuck at 19.5%!

Survival after the catastrophe! Chen Feng collapsed onto the cold deck, gasping for breath. Every breath pulled at the broken bones throughout his body, causing heart-piercing pain, but his heart was filled with a sense of relief that bordered on exhaustion. He struggled to look at Su Wanzhao in his arms.

He saw that the star vortex core at Su Wanzhao's chest had significantly slowed its rotation after entering this strange space! The gentle, pure, and more easily absorbed stellar Origin aura flowing within the Ancient Star Marrow Whale's internal space was like the most nourishing nectar, continuously and automatically merging into that Star Vortex. The violent infusion had stopped, replaced by gentle nourishment. Under the nourishment of the gentle Origin, the newborn star vortex core's light became restrained and its rotation stabilized. Although its volume no longer expanded, the glimmer of light at its center representing Su Wanzhao's ego became brighter and more stable than ever before! The blue cracks on her body's surface were slowly mending at a visible rate under the flow of the gentle starlight! That strong and powerful pulse of stellar life became clearer and more stable, like a sleeping giant about to awaken!

"Wanzhao..." Chen Feng's voice was hoarse, trembling with the relief of survival. Carefully, he channeled the last bit of Fate Wheel starlight into the stabilized star vortex core, like adding the final bit of fuel to a newborn flame.

Buzz...

The star vortex core trembled slightly as if in response. Su Wanzhao's long eyelashes flickered ever so slightly the moment Chen Feng channeled the starlight! Like the wings of a sleeping butterfly about to break from its cocoon!

However, before Chen Feng could savor this glimmer of hope in their desperate situation, an unprecedented throb originating from the deepest part of his dao foundation suddenly seized him!

Inside his Dantian, the cracked and lightless Nascent Primal Fate Wheel Phantasm, after being isolated from the external fatal threats and sensing the pure and ancient stellar Origin aura flowing within the Ancient Star Marrow Whale's internal space, actually began to vibrate extremely weakly of its own accord! The wisp of starlight at the disk's core greedily absorbed the surrounding gentle star Dao principle motes, like parched land meeting sweet rain.

But that was not the key.

The key was that under the nourishment of this pure and ancient stellar Origin, the moment the Fate Wheel core's starlight was replenished, a point of "darkness"—deeper and more ancient than the starlight, as if it could contain the end of all things—suddenly lit up deep within the chaotic base of the Fate Wheel Phantom! That was the guixu xuanhuang origin point, which merged darkness and xuanhuang fragments and represented the "Guixu" Concept!

Simultaneously, deep within Chen Feng's Sea of Consciousness, the primal disk phantom that had been on the verge of dissipating was also drawn by some force, actually producing an extremely weak resonance with the Fate Wheel Phantom in his Dantian! On the disk, the area representing the Guixu Primordial Yellow glowed with an unprecedentedly intense dark light!

An unspeakable "craving," a sense of "hunger" originating from the very source of life, erupted from the deepest part of Chen Feng's dao foundation like a beast awakened from billions of years of slumber! The target of this "craving" was not the majestic life Origin of the Star Marrow Sea, but... the dark gold "ground" beneath his feet—the solidified star core fragments within the Ancient Star Marrow Whale that contained endless Nirvana and Guixu Dao principles!

This feeling was so strong and so overbearing that Chen Feng's fingers curled uncontrollably, his fingertips digging deep into his palms. His gaze was fixed on the dark gold glowing "ground" beneath him, and a low growl like a wild animal escaped his throat.

The guixu xuanhuang origin point... was craving! Craving to devour and merge with... the even older and more primordial... Nirvana Star Core power within this Ancient Whale!

The Ancient Star Marrow Whale's single eye, as massive as a star, slowly turned in the darkness of its interior. Deep within the icy star flames, it reflected the near-manic Guixu Flame ignited in the eyes of the tiny human on the deck. A long, low sigh that seemed to come from the end of time echoed silently within this quiet Star Sea Guixu.