174: Ten years to break through, stellar remnants
Inside the quiet room, time seemed to lose all meaning.
Liu Qingtian sat cross-legged, his Devilish Qi interweaving, conflicting, yet strangely fusing with the vast vitality emanating from the drop of "Ten Thousand Year Azure Void Marrow." The emerald-green Power of Vitality, like the most skillful craftsman, continuously repaired his damaged Physical Body and internal organs, especially the wound on his right shoulder, which had been eroded by the Nirvana Dao Force of Guixu. The gray Power of Annihilation slowly dissolved like melting ice under the washing of the Sea of Vitality.
However, this process was not smooth sailing. The Nirvana Dao Force was extremely high-level and unusually stubborn; often, when a trace was expelled, it would seep out from a deeper place when his Demonic Essence circulated. Liu Qingtian had to divert most of his focus to use the Wither and Flourish Annihilation Intent he had comprehended to resist and wear it down, like fighting a brutal, cellular-level war.
Just as he had swallowed the Azure Void Marrow and entered full meditation for less than half an hour, the space in the quiet room subtly fluctuated, and the cold voice of the Palace-Attired Woman sounded directly in his Sea of Consciousness, devoid of any emotion:
"We just received news that the twenty-seven Core Disciples who went to stop Luo Jiuxuan... have all perished, their Divine Souls completely extinguished."
Liu Qingtian's mind trembled violently, and the Demonic Essence circulating around him nearly went out of control! He forcefully suppressed the surging Qi and blood, opening his Demonic Pupils, which flashed with a hint of complexity.
All of them... dead?
Although he had anticipated it, hearing the news firsthand still sent a chill through him. These were dozens of young Prodigies with Stellar Remnant Level combat power, the elite under this Immortal King, beings with limitless futures. Yet, before Luo Jiuxuan, they were so fragile that they couldn't even buy a little extra time.
He could even imagine the scene: black robes of annihilation, spear shadows crisscrossing, the high-spirited Prodigies continuously vanishing like brilliant fireworks under the absolute disparity in power.
"This Venerable One understands." Liu Qingtian suppressed his emotions, his voice returning to coldness. The deaths of those people had nothing to do with him; in fact, they died because of him, but he felt no gratitude or guilt, only a deeper craving for power and wariness toward Luo Jiuxuan's terrifying strength.
"Take care of yourself and recover quickly." The woman's voice vanished, and the quiet room returned to silence.
Liu Qingtian closed his eyes, no longer thinking about the outside disturbances, casting aside all distracting thoughts, and wholeheartedly dedicating himself to healing and Cultivation.
Time passed year by year.
Under the nearly Heaven-Defying vitality nourishment of the Ten Thousand Year Azure Void Marrow, the injuries to his Physical Body healed at an astonishing speed. The terrifying hole in his right shoulder was long filled with new flesh and blood, his bones reshaped, and having undergone the erosion of Nirvana Dao Force and the washing of the Power of Vitality, they became even tougher than before, faintly shimmering with a strange gray-green interwoven luster.
Although the process of expelling the Nirvana Dao Force was painful and slow, it also gave him a deeper understanding of the essence of the Power of Annihilation. His Wither and Flourish Star Annihilation Domain became more condensed and profound after continuously fighting and absorbing that trace of high-level Annihilation Intent, and the True Intent of "Guixu Termination" seemed to have grown slightly stronger.
At the same time, he did not abandon his deduction of the embryonic form of the Space-Time Karma Law. Reflecting calmly on the brief but extremely perilous exchange with Luo Jiuxuan, especially the extreme use of space-time during his desperate escape, gave him a new realization regarding this profound Law.
The paradoxical power within his body, brought about by the Mortal Transformation and fused with Demonic Essence, Karma (merit), and Space-Time Karma, slowly and steadily integrated and grew during this period of high pressure and post-life-or-death crisis, becoming a unique and powerful foundation in his power system.
In the eighth year, he completely expelled the last trace of Nirvana Dao Force, his injuries fully recovered, and his state returned to the Peak. He was even stronger than before the injury, and the purity of his Demonic Essence had increased by one grade.
In the ninth year, he began to assault the barrier of the Star Shattering Realm, Middle Stage. The vast Demonic Essence surged within him like a roaring Star River. The Myriad World Roots danced wildly, absorbing the massive Spiritual Qi gathered by the Formation in the quiet room. The phantom of the vengeful spirit willow swayed, and the screams of billions of vengeful spirits transformed into the purest Soul Power, feeding back into his body. The skeletons branded onto the Myriad Skeleton Demonic Body glowed in unison, providing tremendous blood Qi and a predatory understanding of various Laws.
The tenth year.
"Boom—!!!"
Inside the quiet room, it was as if a Stellar body was born and then annihilated! Unrivaled demonic might soared into the sky; if not for the Restriction laid down by the Immortal King, it would likely have alarmed the entire Great World!
Liu Qingtian suddenly opened his eyes. Within his Demonic Pupils, stars were born and died in his left eye, while Karma rose and fell in his right! His aura climbed steadily like a volcanic eruption, instantly breaking through that solid barrier!
Star Shattering Realm, Middle Stage!
Moreover, he was not merely a newcomer to this Realm; the condensation and vastness of his aura immediately stabilized him at a level approaching the Peak of the Middle Stage!
He slowly raised his hand, feeling the surging power within his body—it was a qualitative leap. If before, his full burst of power barely touched the threshold of the Stellar Level, now, he clearly perceived that his power level had firmly reached the Stellar Remnant Level!
This meant he now possessed the terrifying destructive power capable of destroying Stellar Remnants like White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars!
"Finally... I have reached this level." Liu Qingtian clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force. He recalled the scene where Luo Jiuxuan crushed the Insect Mother; at that time, Luo Jiuxuan displayed precisely this level of power, perhaps even slightly stronger.
"Moreover... I seem to have glimpsed a shred of hope for further advancement." He looked inward, sensing the Origin that had fused various paradoxical powers, as well as the nascent Space-Time Karma Law, which was leveraging deeper Universe Laws in a unique way.
"If I continue down this path, perhaps... even before I Breakthrough to the Star Plucking Realm, I have hope of prematurely touching the threshold of... Black Hole Level combat power!" This thought burned in his heart like wildfire.
Yes, the moment he saw Luo Jiuxuan, relying on the mutual induction of their Demonic Techniques and his understanding of the Dao of Annihilation, he already realized they were in the same major Realm—Star Shattering Realm! Luo Jiuxuan's Realm was not far above his; rather, the Chaos Annihilation Dao he Cultivated was too unique and too overbearing!
That was a strange path that traded his own flesh and blood for ultimate combat power! Every time a portion of flesh and blood was shed, a piece of Dao Bone would condense, and his combat power would soar! When all his flesh and blood were shed, transforming him into a complete Chaos Annihilation Dao Bone, that would be the moment of his success and Perfection, directly stepping into the Peak of the Star River Realm!
"Currently, only the flesh and blood of his left hand have vanished, making him equivalent to, at most, the Star Shattering Realm, Middle Stage... yet his combat power is already directly approaching the Black Hole Level!" Liu Qingtian once again felt that despair-inducing gap. Both were Stellar Remnant Level, yet Luo Jiuxuan could unleash power close to the Black Hole Level. The mystery behind this far surpassed the ordinary.
But this time, besides wariness, a fiercely burning Battle Intent surged within Liu Qingtian's heart.
"You can trade Dao Bone for combat power, and I can fuse the Myriad Daos into myself! Black Hole Level... is not your exclusive patent!"
He rose to his feet. The surging Stellar Remnant Level demonic might around him was restrained but caused the space in the entire quiet room to tremble slightly. Ten years of silence and accumulation had allowed him to complete a crucial transformation.
It was time to complete that transaction.
His gaze fell upon the Ancient Scroll that had been dormant for a long time. His Divine Sense probed it, and detailed information about the Nether Ghost Realm and the item that needed to be retrieved surged into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide.
The danger was undeniable. But this was also an opportunity to temper himself and increase his strength more quickly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he took a step and left the quiet room that had sheltered him for ten years.
A new journey was about to begin. And this time, carrying the Power of the Stellar Remnant, his goal was directed straight at the unreachable Black Hole Level, and... the slim possibility of confronting that Nemesis again in the future!