192: Chapter 192 Reversal of Fate, Advancement to the Cave Heaven

Lin Yue's consciousness drifted in the darkness.

Noisy, distant sounds echoed in his ears, as if separated by a thick layer of frosted glass.

"...Sect Master!"

"Quick! Blood-Stanching Pills! Heart-Protecting Pills! Bring them all!"

"It's no use. His Meridians are completely shattered, and his spiritual power is dissipating too fast. The Medicinal Pills won't even dissolve..."

"Senior Star Track! Please, think of something!"

It was Lin Cang's voice, thick with a sob.

There were also the voices of Immortal Master Qingluan, Sect Master Mo Chen, Little Star... many people's voices, anxious and desperate.

Lin Yue wanted to speak, to tell them not to panic.

But he didn't even have the strength to twitch his lips.

He could feel himself being carried and moved quickly. Beneath him was the soft fabric of a stretcher, and the thick scent of blood and the bitter aroma of Medicinal Pills swirled around his nose.

He must have been rescued and brought back to the second defensive line.

But... what was the point of being rescued?

He knew the condition of his body better than anyone.

The four sources of his star dragon nascent soul were out of balance, his Dao patterns were in conflict, and he was on the verge of collapse.

His Meridians were snapped inch by inch, and his spiritual power was leaking out frantically like a flood breaching a dam.

Most of his internal organs were shattered, and his life force was rapidly fading away.

Forget fighting again; whether he could even survive the day was a question.

And outside the defensive line...

Two terrifying auras at the Soul Transformation level were slowly approaching.

One was as scorching as lava, and the other was as cold as an abyss.

It was the remaining two commanders.

They didn't even need to act personally; with a single command, the remaining army of magical creatures could completely submerge the Human Race's defensive line, which was already at its limit.

Is it over?

For the first time, such a thought rose in Lin Yue's mind.

Perhaps... it really was over.

Exerting everything he had to slay a Spirit Transformation Commander was already a miracle.

But miracles wouldn't happen a second time.

"Master."

Just as Lin Yue's consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness.

A calm voice, seemingly eternal and unchanging, rang out from the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

It was Haotian.

The spirit of the Grotto-Heaven.

"Are you going to give up?"

Haotian's voice held no emotion, merely stating things calmly: "If you give up now, the Grotto-Heaven will gradually collapse due to the loss of its master, the World Tree will wither, the Spiritual Vein will dissipate, and everything will return to nothingness."

"The members of the Lin family whom you sent into the 'Seed Zone' will perish along with the Grotto-Heaven."

"The thousands of Disciples of the Luoxia Sect and the billions of lives in the Southern Border will all become food for the Spirit Devouring Clan."

"And you, the last successor of the Star Monarch, will disappear forever into the long river of history, carrying the shame of defeat."

"Is this the ending you want?"

Lin Yue remained silent.

Of course he didn't want that.

But... what else could be done?

"There is one more way."

Haotian said slowly: "A method with a success rate of less than ten percent, and if it fails, your soul and body will be destroyed, and the Grotto-Heaven will collapse on the spot."

"But if it succeeds."

"You will Breakthrough to Soul Transformation, and the Grotto-Heaven will be promoted to Level 13—a true 'Complete Small World'."

"At that time, you will possess the ability to briefly project the Grotto-Heaven into reality, covering a range of ten miles for a duration of one hundred breaths."

"Within those ten miles, you will be the Lord of the World."

Lin Yue's heart gave a sudden thud.

Soul Transformation?

Grotto-Heaven Level 13?

Projecting into reality, Lord of the World?

"What is the method?" he asked using the last of his Divine Sense.

"Using your shattered star dragon nascent soul as a guide, forcibly fuse the four Origins within the Grotto-Heaven that have not yet been fully balanced—Stars, Dragon Soul, Earth, and Space."

"Then use the Law of Time from the new world tree sapling as a bond to thoroughly... fuse them into one."

"This process is called 'Chaos Returning to One'."

Haotian paused: "But the risk is immense. Your Nascent Soul is on the verge of collapse, the four Origins within the Grotto-Heaven are not fully stable, and the Law of Time has only just sprouted. Forcibly fusing them, even the slightest error will lead to the Origins running wild and the destruction of your soul and body."

"The success rate... according to deductions, is less than seven percent."

Seven percent.

A narrow escape from death.

No, it was ninety-three chances of death to seven chances of life.

"Master, do you want to gamble?"

For the first time, Haotian's voice carried a hint of... inquiry.

It was not human and had no feelings; it could only calculate pros and cons.

But at this moment, it gave the choice to Lin Yue himself.

Gamble?

Or not?

Lin Yue's consciousness struggled violently in the darkness.

If he gambled, he would most likely die immediately.

If he didn't, he would just be waiting for a slow death and would drag everyone down with him.

Then... why hesitate?

"Gamble."

Lin Yue's Divine Sense fluctuated weakly but was as firm as iron: "Tell me... what to do."

"As you wish."

Haotian's voice disappeared.

Immediately following.

An invisible, vast power, indescribable in scale, descended from the void, enveloping Lin Yue's broken body and his Nascent Soul that was about to collapse.

This power did not belong to spiritual power, nor to evil energy, nor to any known form of energy.

That was... the Origin Power of the Grotto-Heaven!

It was the vastness of the stars, the majesty of the dragon soul, the heaviness of the earth, the mystery of space, and... the flow of time.

Five Laws, five Origins, at this moment, were forcibly extracted and harmonized by Haotian, and then... poured into Lin Yue's body!

"Argh—!!!"

Lin Yue let out a silent roar.

Pain!

Indescribable pain!

It was as if every inch of flesh was being crushed and reorganized, every bone was being burned and forged, and every acupoint was being torn open and expanded.

Even more terrifying was the level of the Divine Soul.

The conflict of Dao patterns from the four unbalanced Origins was forcibly suppressed and blended by this external force.

The originally distinct silver-white of the stars, golden-yellow of the dragon soul, earthy-yellow of the earth, and silver-gray of space began to slowly... blend.

Like a knocked-over paint palette, the colors were chaotic, yet under some higher level of rules, they gradually trended toward... unity.

And in this process.

Lin Yue's consciousness was pulled into a strange "internal landscape."

It was a void where Chaos had not yet opened.

No light, no darkness, no up, down, left, or right, no time or space.

Only the most primitive, restless "energy."

These energies were divided into five streams, conflicting with and devouring each other, turning the entire void upside down.

"This is the state inside my body."

Lin Yue's "consciousness body" floated in the void, watching silently.

Those five streams of energy respectively corresponded to the five Origins.

The Star Origin was the most massive but not condensed enough.

The Dragon Soul Origin was the most violent, crashing around wildly.

The Earth Origin was the heaviest but moved slowly.

The Space Origin was the most profound but was elusive and unstable.

And the weakest, newly sprouted Time Origin, like a slender silver-gray thread, struggled to maintain itself amidst the chaotic energy tides, attempting to... link the other four together.

But it was too weak.

It couldn't link them at all.

Instead, it was being torn apart by the other four energy streams.

"So that's how it is."

Understanding dawned in Lin Yue's heart.

"The ultimate goal of balancing the four Origins is not to make them check and balance each other and coexist peacefully."

"But... to let them fuse into one."

"Just like this chaotic void, it was originally one, and only later did it differentiate into thousands of Laws."

"Divided, they are chaotic and in conflict."

"United, they... return to one in Chaos!"

The moment this thought arose.

In the internal void, that weak thread of time suddenly burst with light!

It wasn't that it was getting stronger.

It was that Lin Yue's "cognition" had given it... a brand new meaning.

It was no longer a link for connection.

But... the "primer" for Fusion!

Using time as the axis, it would "weave" the stars, dragon soul, earth, and space all together!

"I understand."

Lin Yue's consciousness body slowly opened its arms.

"Come."

"With my broken body as the furnace, and my Divine Soul as the fire—"

"Fuse!"

Buzz—!!!

In the internal void, the five violent energy streams seemed to hear a command and began to... frantically converge toward the center!

Stars merged into the dragon soul, the dragon soul seeped into the earth, the earth bore space, and space flowed with time.

The five-colored lights intertwined and rotated, eventually turning into a constantly collapsing and expanding... chaotic light sphere!

Inside the light sphere, Laws were being born, rules were being constructed, and a miniature, complete "world embryonic form" was slowly taking shape!

And on the outside.

Inside the temporary emergency treatment tent at the second defensive line.

The Star Track Pavilion Master and the others watched the scene before them in stunned silence.

Lin Yue, who was lying on the stretcher, suddenly erupted with a blinding five-colored light!

The light soared into the sky, piercing through the tent and shooting straight into the clouds!

Immediately following.

With Lin Yue as the center, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a ten-mile radius began to frantically spiral back and surge into his body!

No, it wasn't just Spiritual Qi.

Even starlight, earth vein energy, and even... spatial ripples were being forcibly extracted!

His body slowly floated up within the light.

The terrifying wound on his chest healed and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His shattered Meridians were reconnected and became even wider and tougher.

His broken internal organs were reborn, emitting a vibrant life force.

Most astonishingly—

At the position of his Dantian, a mass of chaotic-colored light was slowly condensing and expanding.

Within that light, one could vaguely see stars revolving, dragon shadows circling, the earth's heaviness, space folding, and time... slowly flowing.

"This is..."

The Star Track Pavilion Master's pupils shrank, his voice trembling with excitement: "Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation... Grotto-Heaven promotion?!"

"He actually... broke through... in such a desperate situation?!"

As if to confirm his words.

Buzz—!!!

A vast pressure that made heaven and earth lose their color... burst forth from Lin Yue's body!

Early Spirit Transformation Stage!

No, more than that!

Peak of Early Spirit Transformation Stage!

Half-step... Mid stage Soul Transformation!

And on a level invisible to everyone.

Inside the Grotto-Heaven.

The world was undergoing a dramatic change.

The area was expanding frantically, from three thousand square kilometers to... ten thousand square kilometers!

The new world tree sapling grew wildly, reaching the same height as the main tree in an instant, the two trees standing side by side with their branches and leaves intertwined.

The main tree controlled the stars, earth, and space.

The secondary tree governed time.

The two trees shared the same root, and all five Laws were complete.

The upper limit of the time pool's flow rate was unlocked from one hundred times to... five hundred times!

And at the core of the Grotto-Heaven.

Haotian's phantom slowly solidified, and it looked up at the "sky."

Where the boundary barrier of the Grotto-Heaven used to be, it now seemed transparent and lofty, vaguely resonating with the real Heavenly Dao outside.

"The Complete Small World... it's done."

Haotian whispered to itself, a hint of... human-like relief showing in its eyes for the first time.

"Master."

"Welcome to... the new Realm."

Outside.

The light gradually faded.

Lin Yue slowly opened his eyes.

In his eyes, chaotic-colored light swirled, as deep as the starry sky, yet seemingly containing an ancient power like the creation of heaven and earth.

He looked down at his body, which was as good as new and even more powerful.

Then, he raised his hand and made a grasping motion.

With a thought.

Buzz—!

With him as the center, the scene within a ten-mile radius... suddenly changed!

The original tents, defensive lines, Cultivators, and magical creatures...

All disappeared.

Replacing them was a night sky filled with brilliant starlight, beneath his feet was a thick and solid earth, the air flowed with pure spiritual energy, the spatial structure was as stable as a mountain, and the flow of time... was vaguely half a beat slower than the outside world.

Grotto-Heaven Projection—deployed!

Within ten miles, I am the Lord of the World!

The corner of Lin Yue's mouth curled into a cold arc.

He looked outside the defensive line at the two figures of the Soul Transformation commanders that were approaching. His voice was calm, yet it spread across the entire battlefield: "Just now..."

"Who was it that said they wanted to eat my flesh and soul?"

As his voice fell.

He took a step forward.

His figure disappeared within the world projection.

When he reappeared, he was already above the head of the Thousand-Legged Humanoid Commander!