97: Merging pupils at the top, then descending upon the vortex.
The wither and flourish void-evasion boat silently glided through the desolate Void Realm, steadily advancing toward the Bone Whirlpool Domain.
Inside the boat, Liu Qingtian was not idle. The perilous experience in the Flowing Fire Realm made him even more eager to increase his strength. The pair of stolen "Eye of Delusion Breaking" was undoubtedly the most important gain at the moment and had to be assimilated as quickly as possible.
Simply storing them or refining them into a Magic Treasure would not allow them to display their true value. The greatest peculiarity of these eyes lay in their Origin ability to "peer through falsehoods," and they could only be utilized to the maximum extent by deeply integrating them with his own sensory System.
Liu Qingtian pondered for a long time and finally made a bold decision—to embed and fuse this pair of Eye of Delusion Breaking onto his own main body!
The location he chose was the highest, straightest, and most perceptually acute main branch at the top of the Demon Willow's main body. He would embed one in the front and one in the back. In this way, he could achieve nearly omnidirectional visual insight; whether it was an enemy attacking from the front or danger lurking in the shadows behind him, none could escape his Dharma Eye.
He acted immediately upon thinking of it. With a thought, Liu Qingtian's massive Demon Willow body unfurled within the void-evasion boat. He carefully manipulated two of the most slender and flexible willow branches, like the most precise surgical instruments, to lift the two eyeballs that still retained a faint vitality.
The embedding process was not simple physical fixation; it required using his own Demonic Power as a guide and his Divine Sense as a needle to connect the eye's optic nerves with his sensory network, and then slowly refine and assimilate the residual marks and rejection belonging to Yan Hao within the eyeballs using his Wither and Flourish Dao charm.
This was a delicate and painful process. At the junction where the eyeballs fused with the willow branch, there was a constant stinging sensation, like tearing and regeneration, accompanied by a feeling of rejection as an alien object invaded his Origin. Liu Qingtian's tree soul was taut; he fully circulated the Primordial Ancient Wood Visualization Diagram, using the Concept of the Chaos Ancient Wood encompassing all things to forcefully suppress this discomfort, guiding his own Power of Vitality to slowly nourish and envelop the pair of eyeballs.
Time passed slowly. Under Liu Qingtian's relentless nourishment of his Origin and refinement by the Dao charm, the blood vessels on the surface of the two Eye of Delusion Breaking gradually faded, and their color became purer, like two strange gems embedded in a verdant willow branch. They began to tremble slightly, as if they had regained "life," and established a faint connection with Liu Qingtian's tree soul.
The moment the last trace of Yan Hao's mark was completely erased, Liu Qingtian felt his "vision" suddenly change!
The world, which he previously perceived mainly through Divine Sense, now had a completely different perspective. Through the two pupils embedded on his crown, he could see not only the material forms and energy flows, but also vaguely glimpse their deeper "essence"!
He looked at Wang Gou, who was dozing beside him. In the vision of the Eye of Delusion Breaking, Wang Gou's figure became more indistinct, seemingly pieced together from countless subtle, constantly twisting "feelings of non-existence." At his core, an ineffable, strange light of Law related to Karma and existence was hidden. This undoubtedly confirmed the special nature of Wang Gou's talent.
He then looked at the hull of the wither and flourish void-evasion boat. He could see the Demonic Power patterns that made up the hull, the trajectory of the Qi of Life and Death circulation, and even detect several extremely subtle nodes of energy blockage left over from previous battles.
"Truly miraculous!" Liu Qingtian praised silently. The ability of the Eye of Delusion Breaking far exceeded his expectations. It could not only enhance insight but also provide immeasurable assistance in Cultivation, Artifact Refining, and combat.
He tried overlaying the vision of the Eye of Delusion Breaking with his own Divine Sense perception, and immediately, a sense of almost "omnipresent" control flooded his mind. The energy particles in the surrounding Void Realm, subtle spatial ripples, and even fluctuations transmitted from distant stars became clearer than ever before.
"However, the consumption is also enormous." Liu Qingtian noticed that maintaining the active insight state of the Eye of Delusion Breaking rapidly consumed Divine Sense and Demonic Power. With his current Cultivation level, he could not sustain it for long. It could only be used as a trump card during critical moments.
With a thought, he temporarily deactivated the active effect of the Eye of Delusion Breaking. The peculiar "essence vision" disappeared, and normal perception returned. The two eyeballs also dimmed, becoming inconspicuous like ordinary ornaments.
"The initial Fusion was successful. In the future, I must continually nourish them with my own Dao charm so that I can command them effortlessly, and perhaps even develop deeper abilities." Liu Qingtian looked contentedly at the new "ornaments" on his crown. This adventure was worthwhile.
Just then, Wang Gou, who had seemed to be dozing, suddenly opened his eyes, tilted his head, and looked at the two willow branches on Liu Qingtian's crown that now had "beads," expressing his amazement:
"brother, your new look... it's quite unique! You'll have to be careful walking from now on, don't hit the door frame."
Liu Qingtian ignored his teasing, focused his mind, and began planning his actions upon reaching the Bone Whirlpool Domain. With this pair of Eye of Delusion Breaking, he would undoubtedly possess a greater advantage in that chaotic place.
Perhaps it was time to actively seek out some "Opportunities" instead of passively waiting. For instance, the Ancient Ruins that Lin Feng had mentioned, deep within the Bone Whirlpool Domain, possibly related to the myriad manifestations star disk fragment... The wither and flourish void-evasion boat sliced through the Void Realm, carrying Liu Qingtian, whose strength had advanced again, and the mysterious Wang Gou, steadily sailing toward that broader and more dangerous stage. After several months of Void Realm travel, crossing several desolate Star Domains, the wither and flourish void-evasion boat finally reached its destination—the periphery of the Bone Whirlpool Domain.
It was still that boundless, slowly rotating massive "whirlpool," composed of countless world fragments, star remnants, gigantic corpses, and various debris. Chaotic Laws, intertwined Evil Qi, and various dangerous Void Realm traps formed the eternal theme of this region.
Compared to the last time he came to explore the Star Remains Secret Realm, the Bone Whirlpool Domain seemed a bit livelier now. In the Void Realm, more streaks of Escape Light could be seen coming and going, including large merchant fleets, mercenary groups brimming with Evil Qi, and lone powerful individuals. Clearly, although the commotion surrounding the Star Remains Secret Realm had passed, the Bone Whirlpool Domain's appeal as a resource treasure trove and transportation hub on the edge of the Myriad Realms Battlefield had not diminished.
Liu Qingtian controlled the void-evasion boat, skillfully avoiding several obvious energy turbulence zones and entering the periphery of the Domain along a relatively safe path. He did not head toward the area where the Secret Realm entrance was located last time, as it was crowded and possibly watched by spies from the Yunlan Sect or other enemies.
His target was a region deeper in the Domain known as the "Abandoned Graveyard." According to the scattered information previously provided by Lin Feng and rumors he had gathered through other channels, it was the final battlefield of a great ancient war, burying countless powerful individuals and leaving behind many treasures. The environment was also extremely harsh, with fragile spatial structures and pervasive danger, meaning ordinary Cultivators dared not venture deep. But precisely because of this, it was more likely to retain undiscovered Ancient Ruins.
"Tsk tsk, this place is still such a mess, just looking at it gives me a headache." Wang Gou curled his lips as he looked at the bizarre and perilous scene outside the window.
Liu Qingtian ignored him, fully activating the Eye of Delusion Breaking and combining it with his own Divine Sense to carefully inspect the path ahead. With the aid of the Eye of Delusion Breaking, he could more clearly see hidden spatial fissures, energy traps, and certain Void Realm creatures skilled in stealth, thus avoiding many difficulties.
Several days later, the wither and flourish void-evasion boat arrived at the edge of the "Abandoned Graveyard."
The scene here was even more dilapidated and silent. Gigantic skeletons lay sprawled like mountain ranges; some flickered with faint divine light, while others had long since turned to stone.
Fragments of broken Magic Treasures were scattered everywhere, some still retaining astonishing energy fluctuations. The Void Realm was filled with thick, palpable resentment and Evil Qi, forming various strange mental illusions that attempted to corrode the minds of intruders.
Liu Qingtian circulated the Primordial Ancient Wood Visualization Diagram; his tree soul remained stable and unaffected by these negative emotions. He put away the void-evasion boat, manifested his main body, and rooted himself on a relatively stable gigantic skull. Wang Gou also jumped down, looking around curiously.
"brother, what kind of treasures could this ghost place possibly have? Nothing but bones and rocks." Wang Gou kicked the toe bone of some unknown creature beneath his foot.
Liu Qingtian did not reply. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed. Besides the dense aura of death and chaotic Laws, he was trying to sense something else—the myriad manifestations star disk fragment.
He mobilized the star key in his Sea of Consciousness, emitting faint stellar fluctuations, like casting a stone to test the waters, hoping to trigger a resonance from any potential star disk fragments.
Initially, there was no reaction. Just as Liu Qingtian thought the rumors were false or the fragments were buried too deep, his star key between his brows, and the two Eye of Delusion Breaking on his crown, simultaneously transmitted an extremely faint yet exceptionally clear tremor!
This tremor did not originate from sight or Divine Sense; it was more like a calling from his Origin! The direction pointed toward the deeper parts of the Abandoned Graveyard, an area shrouded in dense, deathly silent mist!
"There's a response!" Liu Qingtian's tree eyes lit up! Although the signal was weak, it was unmistakable! A myriad manifestations star disk fragment was highly likely to exist there!
However, through the Eye of Delusion Breaking, he simultaneously saw that the spatial structure of the deathly silent mist area was extremely unstable, covered in fine spatial cracks, and permeated by a heart-palpitating dark aura that seemed capable of devouring all light, clearly concealing immense danger.
"It seems it won't be too smooth." Liu Qingtian thought to himself. But he did not retreat; Opportunity always coexists with risk.
He glanced at Wang Gou and said, "There is something I need ahead, but it is very dangerous. Stick close to me and maintain stealth."
When Wang Gou heard there was excitement, he immediately perked up: "Dangerous? I love dangerous things! brother, don't worry, I guarantee no one will find us!"
Liu Qingtian nodded and said no more. He set his direction, completely retracted his aura, and moved silently between the massive skeletons and ruins like a nimble green python, cautiously sneaking toward the direction from which the resonance came.
Wang Gou followed closely like his shadow, his sense of presence minimized to the extreme, as if he had truly merged into the desolate background.
One man and one willow once again delved deep into the perilous Bone Whirlpool Domain, aiming directly for the potential star disk fragment. And awaiting them, besides Opportunity, were inevitably unknown challenges and killing intent.