309: Chapter 309 The Primordial Storm and the Guardian of the Source Core

Elder Wu Ya's body, trembling violently from extreme excitement and awe, appeared particularly hunched on the dark-gold deck, but a brilliant light, unprecedented in its intensity, erupted from his originally cloudy old eyes.

He had drifted through the Great Primordial Void for countless eons, witnessing the birth and death of countless Major Thousand Worlds, and had encountered innumerable cross-realm giants and void overlords. In the eyes of those people, his boundless ark was nothing more than a shelter that could be discarded at any time, or even a piece of fat to be plundered at will. Never before had there been an existence like the Youth in Green Robe before him, who not only possessed the absolute crushing strength to treat the Eternal Realm like weeds and super divine Domains like dust, but also possessed a composure and bearing that transcended all the entanglements of the myriad worlds.

Elder Wu Ya did not stand up; he remained in a kneeling posture, his cane carved from unknown divine wood placed respectfully by his side.

Elder Wu Ya's voice was stirred, filled with a Supreme fanaticism as if he could die content after hearing the Dao, as he shouted loudly, "This old man obeys your command. The ark will set sail immediately to pave the way for the Supreme. Even if the path ahead is a void abyss of eternal damnation, as long as the Supreme's carriage is here, this old man dares to steer the ship straight into it."

He abruptly lifted his head, his old face, which resembled withered tree bark, filled with determination. His hands rapidly formed ancient and complex Formation seals in front of his chest. These seals transformed into streaks of grey Law light, instantly sinking into the control core deep within the ark's deck.

"Rumble..."

Accompanied by an extremely low mechanical roar that seemed to span across ancient ages, the boundless ark—massive beyond words—slowly changed its course within the absolutely static Great Primordial Void.

The nine withered suns surrounding the ark, serving as the power source and defensive core, began to shed their ash-grey rock layers under Elder Wu Ya's reckless activation of Origin, revealing the dark-red residual stellar cores flowing like magma within. These nine suns began to rotate and revolve frantically around the ark in a peculiar Nine Palaces Formation.

A powerful force of spatial distortion gathered at the ark's bow, forcibly tearing open a faint channel leading to the unknown depths within this absolute void, where there was no concept of direction and no existence of matter.

The ark began to move.

In the rest area, the creatures of various races from different Major Thousand Worlds remained frozen in place like statues. Their strange faces were fixed with an unmaskable expression of extreme terror and awe. They had witnessed the Young Miss of the Heavens Light Divine Domain being instantly erased, felt the eternal strike of the Heavens Light Emperor from across the realms being effortlessly neutralized, and heard with their own ears the Youth in Green Robe decree the total annihilation of a super divine Domain with a single word.

In the eyes of these powerhouses from various realms, Zhou Wannian, sitting on that ordinary carved wooden chair, was no longer a Cultivator, but a walking universal catastrophe—a Supreme Creator who could completely erase their concept of existence at any moment.

No one dared to breathe loudly, and no one dared to move a step. They even forcibly suppressed the Cultivation Techniques operating within their bodies to the minimum, fearing that a slight fluctuation of power would attract the attention of the Supreme in Green Robe.

Zhou Wannian did not pay even a fraction of extra attention to these trembling ants around him.

He sat steadily on the wooden chair, his posture still leisurely and relaxed. After properly placing the half-jar of Primal Creation Brew into his inner universe, he leaned back casually against the chair, his deep gaze quietly watching the monotonous, bottomless absolute darkness outside through the distorted shield surrounding the ark.

The Great Primordial Void.

There was no up, down, left, or right here, and no past or future. There was only a terrifying deathly silence capable of assimilating all matter, all Laws, and all Souls into "nothingness."

If an ordinary flying boat dared to enter this place, even if equipped with the top-tier space jump Formations, it would lose its direction in an instant and eventually exhaust its energy during a long drift, becoming a piece of eternal space junk in this void.

But the boundless ark was different; it relied on the special magnetic field emitted by the nine withered suns to barely maintain a faint course in this dead land.

Zhou Wannian's long, fair fingers tapped gently on the edge of the wooden table, producing a rhythmic light sound.

Zhou Wannian spoke in a steady tone, inquiring, "Old man, since you have made this Grandmist Source Core your lifelong goal, you must have some understanding of the conditions deep within this void. How much longer is the voyage from here to the location of that Source Core?"

Elder Wu Ya, who had been standing respectfully behind and to the side of Zhou Wannian, hurriedly took a step forward with his hunched body upon hearing this inquiry.

Elder Wu Ya's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of uncertain hesitation as he replied submissively, "Reporting to the Supreme. In this Great Primordial Void, the concepts of time and space have already completely collapsed. This old man can only judge the approximate direction of the Source Core based on a faint strand of Karma guidance recorded in the ark's core. If we follow the ark's current sailing speed and encounter no obstructions from void tides or the remains of ancient gods and demons, we will need to drift in this void for... three Grandmist Eons."

Three Grandmist Eons.

This was a terrifying span of time long enough for countless Major Thousand Worlds to experience birth, prosperity, decline, and eventually total silence. For ordinary powerhouses of the Creation Realm, this was equivalent to a period of desperate years that could never be endured to the end.

But on Zhou Wannian's face, not a hint of haste or impatience could be seen.

In his eyes, deep as an ancient well, not even a ripple of emotion arose. For him, who possessed one hundred and eight time dao patterns within his body and had completely mastered his own absolute timeline, there was no essential difference between ten million years and a single instant in the outside world.

Zhou Wannian commented in an easygoing tone, "Three Grandmist Eons isn't too long. I can use this quiet time to further refine the flow of Laws in my inner universe until they are perfectly smooth. Just focus on steering the ship; there's no need to worry about me."

Hearing this, Elder Wu Ya felt a deep sense of awe surge in his heart again. He bowed deeply and then retreated to the side, concentrating fully on controlling the ark's course.

Time, in this Great Primordial Void, lost its original meaning of measuring all things.

The ark glided steadily through the endless darkness. The creatures of various races in the rest area, after experiencing their initial extreme fear, gradually adapted to this eerie tranquility. They still did not dare to approach the area where Zhou Wannian was, but they began to venture into extremely weak exchanges using their Divine Sense in distant corners.

Throughout this process, Zhou Wannian remained with his eyes closed, resting his mind as if he had completely merged with this ark and this void.

His Great Five Elements Illusory World Art operated within his body in an endless cycle along an incredibly profound trajectory.

The massive continent evolved from the grandmist mother earth, after absorbing the mellow earth Qi of the Primal Creation Brew, became increasingly indestructible, with every inch of soil emitting an Origin Aura that suppressed the eternal ages. The black ocean formed from the great sea true water whipped up huge waves at the edge of the continent; every crash of the waves would completely wash away the insignificant Law Impurities within the inner universe.

The golden mineral veins constructed from primal geng metal divine iron were like ancient golden dragons lying dormant deep within the earth, emitting an invincible and sharp Qi that maintained the absolute stability of the entire inner universe's spatial structure. The dark sun transformed from the nine nether earth core lotus hung high in the sky of the inner universe, its burning Nether Fire that could incinerate the void providing an inexhaustible and pure Origin of Fire for this world.

And at the very center of the inner universe, the sky-eclipsing chaos jianmu had grown to an unimaginable degree. Its thick trunk supported the heaven and earth of the inner universe, and countless new emerald leaves stretched out in the void. Every sway would scatter the divine light of creation throughout the sky, perfectly fusing the five extreme Origin powers of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.

One hundred and eight time dao patterns were hidden deep in the void of the inner universe, transforming into a river of time exclusive to this world. This river flowed quietly, unaffected by the external Great Primordial Void, providing an absolute guarantee of order for the evolution of all things in the inner universe.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Perhaps it was an instant in the outside world, or perhaps it was a long half-Grandmist Eon.

The boundless ark, which had been sailing steadily, suddenly experienced a violent jolt. This jolting did not come from an internal mechanical failure, but felt like a small boat sailing on a calm lake being suddenly caught in a terrifying level-twelve hurricane.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz."

The nine withered suns surrounding the ark emitted ear-piercing roars of being overburdened. The dark-red light on their surfaces began to flicker violently, as if they would extinguish at any moment. The transparent spatial shield was instantly covered with dense, terrifying cracks like a spider web.

Elder Wu Ya's originally calm face instantly turned as pale as paper. The veins on the back of his hand gripping the divine wood cane bulged, and his cloudy eyes stared fixedly at the endless darkness directly ahead of the ark.

Elder Wu Ya's voice was hoarse, revealing an unmaskable despair and fear as he screamed in terror, "Not good! It's a Grandmist Silence Tide! How is this possible? This old man clearly avoided all the tide eruption nodes; how could we encounter a death tribulation of this scale here?"

Hearing the three words "Grandmist Silence Tide," the creatures of various races in the rest area were all so frightened that they collapsed on the deck, some even letting out shrill wails.

In this Great Primordial Void, the most terrifying natural disaster was not the occasionally wandering remains of ancient gods and demons, but this kind of Silence Tide that followed no rules.

This was a world-ending storm formed by the ultimate resentment and destruction Origin produced after the total collapse and destruction of countless Major Thousand Worlds, continuously gathering and compressing in the Grandmist Void. Wherever this tide passed, no matter how solid the matter or how high-dimensional the Law, it would be instantly assimilated into the most basic nothingness. Let alone this tattered boundless ark, even a true powerhouse of the Eternal Realm, if caught deep within it, would end up with their Dao Fruit collapsing and their form and spirit completely destroyed.

At this moment, in the direct path of the ark, a grey-black storm wall that spanned an unknown number of hundreds of millions of miles appeared within the originally pure darkness.

This storm wall was sweeping toward the ark at a terrifying speed that transcended cognition. Within the storm, one could faintly hear the wailing of countless worlds and see the twisted phantoms of billions of living beings struggling in despair before their destruction.

That extreme sense of oppression, enough to erase all concepts of existence, even bypassed the shield that was on the verge of shattering and acted directly on the depths of the Divine Soul of every living being on the deck.

"We can't hold it anymore. The shield energy is being drained frantically. The Nine Yang Grand Formation is about to collapse."

The several mechanical Puppets controlling the Formation emitted desperate electronic alarms. Subsequently, their bodies emitted black smoke under this terrifying pressure, and their core Formations short-circuited and burned out on the spot.

Just at this critical moment, as all the living beings on the ship closed their eyes to wait for death, and Elder Wu Ya also prepared to close his eyes and offer his neck for slaughter.

On that carved wooden chair, Zhou Wannian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened them slowly.

In those deep eyes of his, there was not the slightest trace of panic or fear; they remained as calm as still water. He looked at the Grandmist Silence Tide ahead, which blotted out the sky and was enough to destroy countless Universes, and his brow only twitched ever so slightly.

Zhou Wannian's voice was steady, carrying a hint of displeasure at having his quiet cultivation disturbed, as he spoke indifferently.

Zhou Wannian commented coldly, "To think I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep; the wind in this Great Primordial Void is a bit too noisy."

He did not stand up from that comfortable wooden chair, nor did he sacrifice any earth-shattering defensive Magic Treasure.

He simply raised his right hand in a very ordinary manner, slightly bent his index finger, and gave a plain, gentle flick toward the crack-filled transparent shield in front of the ark.

Ding.

A crisp and pleasant sound, like water dripping through stone, rang out abruptly in this violent, desperate situation.

Accompanying this seemingly insignificant flick.

The flawless inner universe rules of the Great Five Elements Illusory World Art, which formed a world of their own, crashed through the constraints of Zhou Wannian's Physical Body at this moment and descended directly onto the perimeter of the boundless ark.

One hundred and eight clusters of time dao patterns erupted with a golden divine light that was blinding to the extreme. This divine light did not transform into any offensive Divine Ability, but instead merged directly into the space surrounding the ark.

Great Perfection Space Law, Great Perfection Time Reversal, Great Perfection Five Elements Disintegration and Assimilation.

Three Supreme inner universe Laws formed a transparent Wall of Sighs in front of the ark that was invisible to the naked eye, yet exuded an absolutely unshakable majesty.

An incredible scene of despair truly played out in the deepest parts of this Great Primordial Void.

The moment the Grandmist Silence Tide, which carried the power to destroy countless Major Thousand Worlds and was said to be able to return everything to zero, slammed into that transparent Wall of Sighs.

No deafening energy explosion occurred, nor was there any dazzling display of light.

It was like a violent ocean wave slamming into a perfect reef that had been washed by the ages.

Starting from the very front in contact with the Wall of Sighs, the violent and peerless destruction Origin had its destructive process forcibly reversed under the washing of Time Reversal. The resentment and Death Qi generated by the destruction of those worlds were like withered snow encountering a fierce fire in the face of the Five Elements Disintegration and Assimilation Laws, instantly decomposed into the purest and most primitive Grandmist initial energy.

This Wall of Sighs was like a bottomless, abyssal maw.

The world-ending storm, from which even those in the Eternal Realm would shy away, not only failed to shake the ark in the slightest, but the massive energy contained within it was being swallowed and absorbed by Zhou Wannian's inner universe at an incomprehensible speed.

This was a pure dimensional crushing.

You attack with the embers of destroyed Major Thousand Worlds, and I shall use a flawless, real Major Thousand World to swallow them as nourishment.

In just over a dozen breaths of time.

The aggressive Grandmist Silence Tide, which spanned hundreds of millions of miles, was completely wiped from the void as if by an invisible giant hand, disappearing without a trace.

The absolute silence and darkness returned once again to the surroundings of the boundless ark.

Only the extremely heavy breathing of the living beings of various races on the ark's deck, along with the slight humming of the nine depleted suns due to the sudden reduction in pressure, reminded everyone that the world-ending disaster just now had truly happened.

Elder Wu Ya's cloudy old eyes bulged as he stared fixedly at the once-again empty void ahead, not even noticing when the divine wood cane in his hand dropped onto the deck.

He had lived for millions of epochs, and this was the first time he had seen someone resolve a Grandmist Silence Tide so casually—even while sitting in a chair and moving a finger—and even go so far as to literally eat it.

This was no longer a mere Cultivator; this was simply the personified Dominator of the Great Primordial Void itself.

Zhou Wannian slowly withdrew his right hand, feeling the Law foundations of his inner universe become even more solid after swallowing that massive energy, a satisfied curve hooking the corner of his mouth.

He turned his head and looked at Elder Wu Ya, who was already as dumbstruck as a wooden chicken.

Zhou Wannian's tone was easygoing, carrying a natural relaxation as he instructed plainly, "The wind has stopped; the ship can continue. If you encounter such tides coming to deliver nourishment again in the future, there's no need for alarm; just sail straight through."

Elder Wu Ya's whole body shuddered violently, and he fell to his knees again with a thud. He didn't even have the strength left to kowtow and could only respond with the most respectful, trembling voice.

Elder Wu Ya shouted with an agitated voice, "The Supreme's decree shall be obeyed. The ark will proceed at full speed."

After this small interlude, the boundless ark once again embarked on its long and tedious voyage through the void.

And Zhou Wannian closed his eyes once more, immersing himself in the deep deduction and polishing of his inner universe Laws.

Time flew by like a shuttle. In this Great Primordial Void, which had no concept of time, the passage of time seemed to become an unperceivable illusion.

It was unknown exactly how long had passed—perhaps one Grandmist epoch, perhaps three.

In front of the boundless ark, which had been in absolute darkness, an extremely faint and unusual light finally appeared.

It was a light that could not be described by any known color. It contained all the colors in the world, yet seemed to have stripped away the essence of all color, presenting a strange halo that was pure to the extreme and reached directly to the Origin of the Great Dao.

As the ark continued to approach, that halo grew larger and larger in everyone's sight, eventually filling the entire field of vision ahead.

In the center of this indescribably grand halo, there were no concrete planetary outlines or any magnificent buildings. There was only a giant vortex formed by the intertwining and wrapping of countless Law chains representing the concepts of 'existence' and 'non-existence'.

This vortex rotated slowly, and with each rotation, it spat out countless miniature Universe bubbles from its depths. These bubbles drifted in the void; some expanded rapidly and evolved into new Major Thousand Worlds, while others shattered in an instant, turning into the dust of the void.

This was the absolute center of the Great Primordial Void.

The birthplace of all Major Thousand Worlds and the final destination of all Universes.

The Grandmist Source Core.

When the boundless ark sailed into the edge of that strange halo, the nine depleted suns surrounding the ark, which had struggled to hold on for countless epochs, seemed to have finally exhausted their last bit of Origin, extinguishing and turning into dust silently at the same time.

The transparent shield protecting the ark also completely collapsed along with them.

A terrifying power of assimilation, enough to instantly assimilate any Eternal Realm powerhouse into a primitive concept, poured out from the Grandmist Source Core and acted directly on the deck of the ark.

The living beings of various races in the resting area didn't even have time to scream before their bodies began to blur under this power, as if they were being forcibly erased from the concept of existence by this void.

Elder Wu Ya also showed a face of despair. His hunched body began to gradually become transparent. He knew that this ark, after all, could not withstand the pressure of the Source Core.

But just at the moment when all the living beings on the ship were about to be completely assimilated.

Zhou Wannian slowly stood up from that carved wooden chair.

He paid no mind to the disappearing living beings, nor did he go to protect this ark that was on the verge of disintegration.

He simply took a step forward in a very ordinary manner.

As he took this step, the flawless inner universe rules of the Great Five Elements Illusory World Art were released without reservation.

A dimensional barrier with a translucent glazed texture instantly enveloped his entire person. This barrier forcibly propped up an absolute Domain of his own within that terrifying power of assimilation.

Zhou Wannian stood with his hands behind his back, his Green Robes fluttering.

He did not look back at the rapidly disintegrating boundless ark, nor did he look at the living beings turning into nothingness.

Stepping onto that strange halo, he walked unhurriedly toward the depths of the Grandmist Source Core, which represented the beginning and end of all things, as if he were taking a stroll in a courtyard.

Just as his figure was about to disappear into that giant vortex.

Three massive phantoms without physical forms, composed entirely of pure primitive Law code, slowly emerged from the depths of the Source Core and blocked his path.

These three phantoms had no facial features or emotional fluctuations. They were the personified rules naturally bred by this Grandmist Source Core and the oldest watchers of this Forbidden Ground.

The Source Core Watchers.

A grand, cold voice devoid of any breath of life rang out directly in Zhou Wannian's Sea of Consciousness.

The emotionless voice of the Source Core Watchers declared, "Defined existence, withdraw. This undefined Source Core does not allow any individual with already established exact Laws to set foot here. Forcible intruders will face absolute erasure of their concept."

This warning left no room for negotiation. This was the Universe's bottom-level firewall refusing the intrusion of a foreign body.

Faced with this kind of primal rejection enough to make any living being feel despair.

Zhou Wannian stopped his footsteps.

He slightly raised his chin, his eyes deep as an ancient well looking at those three massive phantoms formed by primitive Laws, a very easygoing yet endlessly overbearing faint smile hooking the corner of his mouth.

Zhou Wannian's tone was steady, as if he were declaring an irreversible truth, as he spoke calmly.

Zhou Wannian said indifferently, "Defined? Undefined? My Universe is defined by me. You watchdogs, cobbled together from some primitive dregs, are not worthy of blocking my path."