190: The Yuanquan Dispute
Relying on his subtle perception of energy flow and 'intentional' guidance, Liu Qingtian moved with difficulty through the Chaos. The feeling was like navigating a small boat blindfolded in a stormy sea; each 'paddle stroke' required incredibly precise calculation and instinctive foresight, otherwise, he would immediately be thrown into an unknown situation by the chaotic space-time and sense of direction.
The closer he got to the active energy region, the denser the surrounding Chaos Qi became, and the more Law fragments it contained. At times, it was scorching like the sun, at times icy like a prison, at times heavy as a mountain, and at times light as the wind.
These fragments bombarded his Domain and Demonic Soul in a disorderly manner, bringing immense pressure, but also allowing his comprehension of various basic Laws to subtly improve through passive endurance. The Myriad Phenomena Origin he had fused within his body quietly absorbed these scattered Law rhythms like a thirsty sponge.
After an unknown amount of 'time' had passed, the chaotic mist before him suddenly thinned. A strange sight entered his 'perception'—it was a relatively 'calm' Chaos Void, at the center of which was a 'spring eye' about a hundred zhang in circumference.
The spring eye was not composed of water, but rather of Chaos energy so dense it was almost liquefied, emanating a soft white light. The energy slowly rotated and surged like a living thing, with pure vital energy light spots constantly rising from the spring eye, scattering into the surrounding Chaos like fireflies. Around the spring eye, the chaotic Laws seemed to have become much more docile, and the sense of space-time distortion also weakened.
"Primal Spring of Chaos!" Liu Qingtian's heart stirred; it was one of the Opportunities mentioned by the Palace-Attired Woman. This Primordial Spring contained the most primordial and peaceful Chaos power, possessing unparalleled efficacy for healing, consolidating one's Foundation, and even comprehending the Chaos Dao, far surpassing the wisp of Chaos Origin Qi he had just absorbed.
However, Opportunity often coexists with danger.
Around that Primal Spring of Chaos, dozens of grey shadows of varying sizes floated, precisely the Chaos creatures he had encountered before. They slowly circled the Primordial Spring like beasts guarding their nest, greedily absorbing the pure energy emanating from the spring eye.
Among them, three shadows were exceptionally large, and the energy fluctuations they emitted far exceeded the others, almost reaching the Late Stage Star Shattering Realm, and carrying an even more ancient and chaotic aura.
Liu Qingtian's arrival immediately alerted these Chaos creatures. The two closest smaller grey shadows let out an invisible shriek, turning into two grey lines first, and charging straight at him in a way that ignored conventional spatial trajectories!
"Hmph, seeking death!" Liu Qingtian's eyes turned cold. He needed the Primordial Spring's energy to harmonize the power within his body and consolidate his cultivation, so he was determined to get it. These Chaos creatures blocking him could only be killed!
With previous experience, he no longer tried to resist with his Domain or use large-scale attacks. His figure twisted strangely in the Chaos, as if conforming to some invisible turbulence, narrowly avoiding the first grey shadow's pounce. At the same time, the black hole power in his left eye slightly spun, and the Karma nebula in his right eye flickered, instantly locking onto the core of the second grey shadow.
"Nihility Karma Thorn!"
Black light reappeared, precisely striking!
Poof!
The grey shadow was annihilated in response, leaving behind a wisp of Chaos Origin. Liu Qingtian didn't even look, his Demonic Essence swept out, sucking the Origin into his body, his movements flowing smoothly.
The first grey shadow that missed its target turned back again, its body stretching and transforming into countless grey needles, enveloping him.
This time, Liu Qingtian did not dodge. He took a deep breath, and the Myriad Phenomena Origin fused within his body circulated and harmonized at an unprecedented speed. He slowly raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers. In his palm, it was no longer a single black hole devouring power, but a miniature, constantly evolving scene of birth and destruction—stars being born and dying, plants withering and flourishing in Reincarnation, the Myriad Phenomena Return to Void devouring all things, space-time distorting and fluctuating, Karma threads intertwining... It was precisely the nascent forms of the various powers he had fused, initially interwoven in an extremely forced but truly existing manner!
"Myriad Phenomena… Return to Void Palm!"
He struck out with his palm, without an earth-shattering momentum, but wherever the palm wind passed, the Chaos seemed to be forcibly 'assimilated'. The grey needles that shot towards him first stagnated upon touching the palm wind, then their contained energy and structure were rapidly decomposed, stripped away by the multiple Law powers within the palm wind, and finally returned to nothingness, as if they had never existed.
The palm wind's momentum did not diminish, striking the main body of that grey shadow.
The grey shadow couldn't even shriek; its entire form silently dissipated as if erased by an eraser, leaving behind a wisp of Chaos Origin slightly larger than before.
Although this palm strike was far from achieving true 'Myriad Phenomena Unification', merely roughly blending multiple powers together and relying on their inherent hierarchical suppression, its power already far exceeded the superposition of single Divine Abilities! Moreover, the consumption and control of power were much more efficient than simultaneously operating multiple Divine Abilities before!
"It's effective!" Liu Qingtian felt invigorated. Under the pressure of this Chaos Secret Realm, he was forced to begin integrating his powers, finally touching the threshold of 'Unification'.
However, his swift resolution of the two grey shadows completely startled all the Chaos creatures around the Primordial Spring!
Hiss—!
Invisible Soul screeches swept over like a tide. The remaining dozens of grey shadows, including the three exceptionally powerful ones, simultaneously turned their 'direction', their cold malice materializing, firmly locking onto Liu Qingtian.
The next moment, dozens of grey shadows, like a pack of wolves hunting, launched a frenzied siege from all directions, following various inconceivable trajectories! The three powerful grey shadows were hidden within the group, waiting for an Opportunity to strike, placing immense pressure on Liu Qingtian.
Liu Qingtian's expression was extremely grave. He let out a long roar, pushing the initially integrated 'Myriad Phenomena Return to Void' intent to its limit. His palms flew, sometimes transforming into fingers, sometimes clenching into fists to strike. His figure constantly flickered and twisted in the Chaos; each movement defied logic, and each strike fused multiple Law powers, engaging in fierce combat with the sky-filling grey shadows.
The Withered and Flourishing Nihility Domain was compressed to three zhang around his body, struggling to resist attacks from all directions. The Domain wall was constantly being dissolved and regenerated. Nihility Karma Thorns were like deadly vipers, precisely killing ordinary grey shadows that approached. The Myriad Phenomena Return to Void Palm was responsible for clearing swaths of attacks and dealing with the stronger individuals.
Wisps of Chaos Origin Qi were absorbed into his body, rapidly refined, replenishing consumption, and harmonizing the Myriad Phenomena Origin within his body, which had become restless again due to high-intensity operation.
This was an arduous war of attrition. Scars began to appear on Liu Qingtian's body, marks left by the erosion of Chaos energy after powerful grey shadows broke through his defense, healing slowly. His Demonic Essence was rapidly depleting, and his mind was highly strained, not daring to relax in the slightest.
But under this extreme pressure, his use of 'Myriad Phenomena Return to Void' also became increasingly proficient. From the initial rough blending, he gradually became able to fine-tune the proportion of different Law powers in his palm strike according to the opponent's characteristics—for those with strong energy attacks, he increased the proportion of Myriad Phenomena Return to Void devouring; for those with stable structures, he enhanced the sharpness of Nihility destruction; for those with strange speeds, he used space-time power to interfere... He was like a toddler learning to walk, rapidly growing and exploring the nascent form of his own Dao in life-and-death combat.
After an unknown period of fierce fighting, he had cleared most of the ordinary grey shadows, but the three powerful grey shadows remained troublesome. They seemed to possess a certain degree of intelligence, cooperating tacitly, never clashing head-on with Liu Qingtian, always using environmental advantages and numbers to harass and ambush.
Liu Qingtian gasped for breath, his body covered in wounds, and his Demonic Essence largely depleted. He knew he couldn't drag this out any longer.
His gaze locked onto the most sinister and cunning of the three powerful grey shadows. It was this one that had interfered multiple times just as he was about to succeed, causing him to fail.
"I'll start with you!"
A fierce glint flashed in Liu Qingtian's eyes. He completely disregarded the attacks launched by the other two grey shadows from the side and rear, frantically pouring most of his remaining Demonic Essence and Soul Power into his eyes and right palm!
The black hole in his left eye spun madly, stirring the surrounding Chaos, creating a powerful binding force field!
The Karma nebula in his right eye rapidly deduced, countless threads spreading out, instantly entangling the core of the target grey shadow, temporarily severing and shielding its energy connection with the surrounding environment!
At the same time, on his right palm, the Myriad Phenomena Origin gathered and compressed with unprecedented coordination, evolving into a clearer, more stable miniature Myriad Phenomena Return to Void scene!
"Myriad Phenomena Unification… Nihility!"
He took a step, his figure ignoring the spatial Chaos, appearing before the target grey shadow as if teleporting. A palm strike, imbued with all his life's comprehension, heavily slammed down!
The grey shadow let out a terrified shriek, desperately twisting and struggling, but under the black hole force field's restraint and Karma isolation, its movements were delayed for an instant.
It was this instant!
The palm landed.
There was no sound, no burst of light.
That powerful grey shadow, along with a small area of surrounding Chaos space, was completely annihilated as if wiped away by an invisible large hand, turning into nothingness, leaving only a fist-sized, incomparably pure, almost liquefied mass of Chaos Origin!
The other two powerful grey shadows that rushed over had their attacks land on Liu Qingtian's Domain, making him stumble and spit out a mouthful of blood, but their movements also stiffened for a moment due to their companion's instant annihilation.
Liu Qingtian endured his injuries, sweeping his Demonic Essence to grab the precious, essence-like mass of Primal Spring of Chaos Origin. Without even looking at the other two grey shadows, he used the force of their attacks to shoot backward like a meteor, heading straight for the Primal Spring of Chaos!
He needed the Primordial Spring's energy to heal his wounds and consolidate the results of this initial integration!
Amidst the furious shrieks of the other two powerful grey shadows, Liu Qingtian's figure plunged into the hundred-zhang Primal Spring of Chaos, which glowed with a soft white light!
The Withered and Flourishing Nihility Domain was compressed to three zhang around his body, struggling to resist attacks from all directions. The Domain wall was constantly being dissolved and regenerated. Nihility Karma Thorns were like deadly vipers, precisely killing ordinary grey shadows that approached. The Myriad Phenomena Return to Void Palm was responsible for clearing swaths of attacks and dealing with the stronger individuals.