78: Star Seed Metamorphosis, Punishment and Annihilation

Dead silence.

The heavy, leaden aura of the Source of Annihilation in the Cosmic Graveyard seemed ready to completely swallow Chen Feng’s final roar.

Ahead, the tear in the Void Realm, ripped open by the shadow of the xingtians will axe, pulsed with dark red blood light of the Path of Slaughter, like a foul tumor writhing and eroding in the cold darkness, exuding malice that froze the Divine Soul.

Where the starlit figure had vanished, only pure nothingness remained; even the residual energy fluctuations had been greedily licked clean by that blood light of the Path of Slaughter.

“Senior...” Chen Feng knelt halfway in the indentation of the cold metal megastructure wreckage, his throat bobbing as he swallowed not just the metallic-tasting blood, but also a heavy sense of powerlessness and sorrow.

Zhang Shouzhuo, a name that had shrouded so many of his encounters like a mist, had just appeared for a fleeting moment, only to vanish completely in this way... all to save him?

Deep within his Dantian, the gray, decaying aura of the tribulation imprint, like a hyena that had caught the scent of blood, became abnormally active, stimulated by the “annihilation” of Zhang Shouzhuo’s starlit Incarnation by the axe shadow.

A cold, erosive sensation surged wildly up his spine, rushing straight into his Sea of Consciousness!

The cold number of the Resurrection Degree jumped wildly in Chen Feng’s consciousness—28.3%... 28.7%... 29.0%! He was just one step away from the 30% critical point of the lu dao true body projection!

The xingtians will, filled with resentment and glee, shrieked within his Divine Soul like a maggot in the bone: “Heh heh heh... those who block me shall all turn to dust! You are next! This vessel will eventually carry my Path of Slaughter and trample this graveyard of ten thousand worlds!”

Excruciating pain! It was not just the cold, agonizing pain of the imprint eroding his Divine Soul, but also the terrible backlash from forcibly driving the Star Dome Eternal Burning Violet Flame to resist the axe shadow!

His Meridians felt as if they were being repeatedly pierced by countless red-hot steel needles, and the violet flame fate wheel within his Dantian had dimmed to the extreme, its rotation sluggish, its solidification barely maintained on the edge of 51%, with every weak rotation bringing tearing pain.

The Star Dome Barrier had only 3% of its faint violet light remaining, flickering unsteadily as if it would extinguish completely the next moment.

[Warning: xingtians will erosion accelerating! Resurrection Degree 29.0%! The lu dao true body projection critical point is approaching! Star Dome Barrier is on the verge of collapse! If the guixu fate wheel solidification falls below 50%, it will trigger Origin collapse!] The System’s cold alarm sounded like a funeral bell, one urgent chime after another.

The shadow of death had never gripped his throat so heavily. Beset by troubles from within and without, he was on the brink of despair!

However, right in this desperate situation, with both inner and outer turmoil, and his Divine Soul and body suffering extreme pain, a completely different, overwhelming, and irresistible vitality erupted from the deepest part of his Dantian!

It was the star seed!

The silent star seed, under the continuous traction of the inheritance seal’s core starlight and the frantic stimulation of the xingtians will of the Path of Slaughter, finally broke free from the shackles of silence and began its final metamorphosis!

Hum—!!!

Chen Feng’s entire Dantian and Qi Sea were trembling violently! A torrent of starlight, indescribable in its purity and vastness, exploded outward with the star seed as its core!

This light was no longer a gentle protection, but carried a resolute will of breaking through to establish something new, of rising from the dead! It instantly penetrated Chen Feng’s broken Meridians, pierced through his body, and rendered his entire being into a silver-blue cocoon of light!

Inside the cocoon of light, Chen Feng clearly “saw” that the star seed, which carried the final will of Su Wanzhao, suddenly had its fine surface cracks expand! It was not shattering, but being pushed open by the massive power gestating within, like an eggshell!

From within the cracks, it was not pure light that flowed out, but a strange substance like a liquid galaxy! This substance rapidly condensed and took shape—

A diamond-shaped crystal, roughly the size of a fist and flowing with a deep starry blue luster throughout, replaced the original star seed and hovered above the guixu fate wheel!

The surface of the crystal was as smooth as a mirror, but inside, it seemed to contain a miniature, eternally rotating Star Vortex Universe, with countless tiny stars born and dying within it, exuding an ancient, vast, and all-encompassing aura!

[star seed metamorphosis complete! Form: guixu star core (nascent state)!]

[Status: Star Vortex Universe prototype | Core of Protective Will | Source of Annihilation Affinity (Elementary)]

The moment the metamorphosis was complete, a suction force, vast beyond imagination, erupted from within this newly born guixu star core! The target was none other than the ubiquitous, suffocatingly heavy Source of Annihilation in this Cosmic Graveyard!

Boom!

Around Chen Feng, the aura of the Source of Annihilation, which had originally been as solidified as lead and heavy enough to almost crush him, instantly began to boil! Like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, it surged frantically toward his Dantian!

This power was cold, dead, and carried the will to end all things; its vastness far exceeded any energy Chen Feng had absorbed before!

“Ugh!” Chen Feng groaned, his body trembling violently. This Source of Annihilation, forcibly swallowed, rushed into his already collapsing Meridians like billions of cold, bone-scraping steel knives!

The pain was far beyond before! A layer of grayish-white ice crystals instantly formed on his skin, and even his exhaled breath carried dead, white frost!

Inside his Dantian, the newly born guixu star core shone brightly, and the rotation speed of the core Star Vortex Universe increased sharply, like a high-efficiency furnace, forcibly decomposing and transforming the surging, massive Source of Annihilation!

A portion was absorbed by the star core itself, strengthening its core Star Vortex; another portion was refined into an extremely pure torrent of energy with the characteristics of cold starlight, which was violently injected into the dim, dying violet flame fate wheel below!

Sizzle—!

Like a red-hot iron block plunged into ice water! The purple Guixu Tribulation Fire on the guixu fate wheel, flickering and on the verge of extinguishing, not only was not doused the moment it touched this cold torrent of starlight, but instead seemed to be injected with brand-new, even purer fuel!

Boom!

The dim violet flames surged upward! The color became deeper, more restrained, and even took on a hint of cold, starry blue luster!

The flames were no longer violently rising, but presented a strange, stable state, like the core of a star eternally burning in the deep space of the Universe!

The rotation speed of the fate wheel noticeably increased, and the cracks on its surface began to slowly heal under the combined action of the starlight and violet flames! The solidification degree, from the precarious 51%, began to climb back—51.5%... 52%—slowly but firmly!

[Guixu Tribulation Fire Status: Star Dome Eternal Burning Flame (Stable State) | Solidification Improved!]

[guixu fate wheel solidification: 52% | Recovering!]

“Annihilation... is also firewood...” Zhang Shouzhuo’s final words exploded like thunder in Chen Feng’s chaotic consciousness! He instantly understood! This Cosmic Graveyard, regarded as a dead zone for life, was actually a supreme treasure trove for the metamorphosed guixu star core! This heavy Source of Annihilation was precisely the best fuel to ignite and stabilize the Star Dome Eternal Burning Violet Flame and repair the fate wheel!

The cold, erosive sensation of the tribulation imprint, under the washing of this overwhelming, newly born star core power that had fused with the Source of Annihilation, encountered its nemesis and emitted a harsh “sizzling” sound of melting away! The gray, decaying aura of the imprint was forcibly suppressed and purified! The frantic upward momentum of the Resurrection Degree was, for the first time, forcefully checked! 29.0%... 28.9%... 28.8%!

“No—!!” The xingtians will let out a roar of extreme rage, “Stealing Annihilation! Profaning the Path of Slaughter! Ant, you deserve to die!”

The tribulation imprint, entrenched deep within Chen Feng’s Divine Soul, under the suppression of the star core power, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, frantic counterattack! The gray, decaying will of the Path of Slaughter was no longer satisfied with erosion; instead, it condensed into countless tiny, barbed dark red chains, like billions of venomous snakes, violently stabbing toward the newly born guixu star core that radiated pure starlight! It wanted to directly pollute the source of this power! To interrupt this fatal metamorphosis and recovery!

Ssh, ssh, ssh—!

The dark red chains collided violently with the starlight shield flowing around the guixu star core! The harsh sound of corrosion made one’s scalp tingle! The starlight flowing on the surface of the star core dimmed for an instant, and the rotation of the core Star Vortex also showed a trace of sluggishness! The gray, decaying aura of the tribulation imprint, like the foulest venom, attempted to infiltrate it!

Excruciating pain! The pain of his Divine Soul being torn apart swept over him again! Chen Feng’s vision went black, and the solidification of the fate wheel, which had just recovered, also stalled.

“Get out!” Chen Feng let out a beast-like roar in the depths of his consciousness! A strong will to protect—to protect himself, to protect the newly born star core, to protect the hope of Su Wanzhao’s Nirvana within it—erupted like a volcano!

Hum!

At his chest, the starlight imprint left by Su Wanzhao erupted with unprecedented, brilliant light! This pure and resilient will to protect resonated at the most fundamental level with the newly born guixu star core!

Inside his Dantian, the Star Dome Eternal Burning Violet Flame fate wheel, which had just stabilized, seemed to be injected with a new Soul!

The violet-blue flames roared and surged! It was no longer just simple defense, but carried a will of active purification and suppression, turning into countless burning violet flame chains that wrapped in reverse around those dark red Path of Slaughter chains stabbing at the star core!

At the same time, inside the guixu star core, that nascent Star Vortex Universe suddenly contracted, and then erupted with even more brilliant starlight!

Countless tiny, silver runes condensed from pure star dome laws emerged like stars from the surface of the star core and instantly attached themselves to the violet flame chains!

[Star Dome Barrier · Tribulation Lock of Annihilation]!

Violet flames as the bone, star runes as the blade!

Crack! Crack!

Piercing sounds of shattering rang out densely within Chen Feng’s Dantian! Those dark red Path of Slaughter chains condensed by the tribulation imprint, under the wrapping, cutting, and burning of the Tribulation Lock of Annihilation burning with star-rune violet flames, encountered their natural enemy and shattered and disintegrated inch by inch! The gray, decaying aura of the Path of Slaughter was ignited by the violet flames and purified by the star runes, emitting shrill shrieks as it rapidly turned into nothingness!

The tribulation imprint itself, like a venomous snake scalded by a branding iron, suddenly shrank back into the depths of his Divine Soul, its gray light flickering violently, its aura instantly wilting! The Resurrection Degree value plummeted like an avalanche—28.5%... 28.0%... 27.5%... 27.0%!

“Ahhh—!!” The xingtians will let out a roar of pain and disbelief, “Star Dome... Tribulation Lock?! Impossible! This power... should not exist in the world!!”

The counterattack was successful! The perfect combination of the new strength brought by the star core metamorphosis and the will to protect had, for the first time in a direct confrontation, severely damaged the xingtians will imprint!

Chen Feng’s pressure suddenly decreased, and the churning Qi and blood in his body calmed slightly. He panted heavily as the dead, icy crystals on his skin began to slowly melt and be absorbed during the process of the star core continuously transforming the Source of Annihilation. The violet light of the Star Dome Barrier stabilized at around 5%, and the fate wheel solidification climbed back to 53% and tended toward stability.

However, the crisis had not been resolved. The tribulation imprint was only temporarily damaged and retreated; its root was deeply planted in his Divine Soul, like a lurking tumor. And what made him even more tense was—

Inside his Dantian, the newly born guixu star core, after successfully transforming the Source of Annihilation and repelling the counterattack of the xingtians will imprint, had a faint yet incomparably clear spiritual fluctuation deep within its core Star Vortex Universe, which was slowly rotating; it was like a newborn heartbeat, becoming stronger and clearer!

Thump... thump... thump...

That fluctuation carried a sense of familiarity that made Chen Feng’s Soul palpitate—warm, resilient, like a star that never extinguished in the darkness.

It was Su Wanzhao! Her will was accelerating its recovery in the core of this newly born star core!

“Wanzhao...” Chen Feng’s heart surged, all his pain and exhaustion seemingly dispelled by more than half at this moment. He subconsciously looked at his palm; the inheritance seal was still warm and moist, and its core purple starlight seemed to have sensed the awakening of the star core, flickering in synchronization with that “heartbeat”-like spiritual fluctuation, conveying a gentle, guiding power.

Just then!

Hum—!

A faint but exceptionally clear pulling force came from below without warning. It did not come from the inheritance seal, but from... deep within this huge, cold, and dead metal megastructure wreckage beneath him!

This pulling force was extremely special; it did not act on his body or energy, but directly on the newly born guixu star core in his Dantian!

Under this pull, the rotation speed of the Star Vortex Universe at the core of the star core slightly accelerated, creating an even stronger resonance with the spiritual fluctuation of Su Wanzhao’s recovery!

Chen Feng lowered his head abruptly, his gaze penetrating the thick cosmic dust and solidified lava traces on the surface of the metal wreckage, locking onto the cold metal ground beneath his feet. On the edge of the impact indentation from earlier, a few extremely ancient, half-covered-by-dust markings, under the reflection of the faint light from the guixu star core, faintly revealed an extremely dim... starlight luster that was almost about to dissipate completely?

The direction of those markings, the residual, extremely weak breath of star Laws... actually had a hint of the same Origin as the starlight imprint of Su Wanzhao on his chest, and the aura emitted by Zhang Shouzhuo’s starlit Incarnation!

A thought split Chen Feng’s chaotic thoughts like lightning!

This metal megastructure wreckage floating in the Cosmic Graveyard, huge enough to be comparable to a star... could it be...