30: Return to the Ruins

Paleness was still the Dominator color.

Time had lost its measure in this alternate dimension; only the faint, gradually synchronized breathing of the two people proved that life stubbornly persisted.

Li Ao leaned against the cold giant pillar, holding Medusa, who was still unconscious but whose breathing was stabilizing.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness taut like a drawn bowstring, fully urging the last trace of power from the Black Iron Hegemon Body, akin to digging for an undercurrent deep within a dry riverbed.

Every faint circulation of vital energy was accompanied by tearing pain

a warning of damaged Origin.

But he ignored it, holding only one thought in his mind: Recover! Grow stronger!

[System energy recovery 1.3%... Basic scanning function partially restarted... Detected host life signs stable, but Foundation severely damaged, Black Iron Hegemon Body Realm has fallen to the edge of the first level... Detected residual unknown spatial rule erosion, attempting analysis...]

The cold prompt sounds were intermittent, bringing a faint sense of direction. The System was also struggling to repair itself.

"Analyze the spatial structure, find weak points, and calculate an escape plan," Li Ao commanded mentally, simultaneously sinking more of his focus inward to observe the part of his energy faintly intertwined with Medusa's aura.

That was the trace left by the Origin vital energy and System energy he had transferred, after they struggled against the rule force of the breath of gui xu inside her body.

A profound realization welled up in his heart: rules were not untouchable, and power was not limited to the form of Qi alone.

The Physical Body forged by the Black Iron Hegemon Body was itself a Small World containing infinite power and rules!

Just as he was immersed in introspection and deduction, the delicate body in his arms moved slightly.

Li Ao immediately opened his eyes.

Medusa had awakened sometime unbeknownst to him; her eyes, which had recovered a little spirit but whose seven-colored brilliance was still dim, were quietly staring at him.

Her gaze was complex, devoid of its usual coldness and arrogance, and also lacking the fragility and confusion of her near-death state. Instead, it was a settled calm, carrying scrutiny and a hint of indescribable emotion.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, neither spoke.

Eventually, Medusa slightly averted her head, avoiding his overly direct gaze, her voice hoarse and weak from not having spoken for a long time: "...Let go of me."

Li Ao did not immediately release her, but instead carefully sensed the condition inside her body.

Her vitality was stable, and the strange rule erosion was temporarily suppressed. Although her Origin was still depleted, at least her life was no longer in danger.

Only then did he slowly release his arms.

Medusa tried to prop herself up to sit, but her body swayed due to weakness.

Li Ao instinctively reached out to help, but she had already used her hand to brace against the ground, steadying herself, though her slightly trembling arm revealed her struggle.

She sat leaning against another stone pillar, several feet away from Li Ao. She tidied her slightly disheveled robes, her gaze sweeping over the unchanging paleness of their surroundings before finally returning to Li Ao.

"You saved me," she stated, her tone flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"You saved me too," Li Ao replied, looking back at her, equally calm.

If she hadn't used her Origin in the end to resist the majority of the spatial storm, he would have been annihilated long ago.

Medusa fell silent for a moment, her seven-colored eyes flashing slightly: "The cost was great."

She was referring to her nearly exhausted Dou Zong Origin, and his equally severe damage to his Foundation.

"Worth it," Li Ao's reply was brief and certain.

Medusa fell silent again. Worth it? For what? For the exotic flame she hadn't yet obtained? Or for... something else?

She found that she was somewhat afraid to delve deeper into the thought.

In her centuries of life, she was accustomed to weighing pros and cons and making ruthless decisions, yet she had never encountered a situation where someone would save her regardless of the cost, even destroying his own Foundation.

This completely contradicted her understanding of "human nature."

She looked at Li Ao's face, which was pale yet still cold, hard, and resolute, and at the seemingly inextinguishable flame in his eyes. The frozen barrier in her heart loosened a few more degrees.

"What is this place?" She changed the subject, addressing the most pressing current issue.

"A detached fragment of space-time, or rather... a cage," Li Ao said, combining the fragmented information analyzed by the System with his own judgment. "The rules are incomplete, the energy is inert, and the so-called 'breath of gui xu' is likely a higher-level power of erasure.

The spatial core we previously bombarded might have been key to maintaining the stability of this fragment, but it also connects to the more dangerous 'Gui Xu'."

Medusa's pupils contracted slightly. Although she was a Dou Zong, her understanding of space and rules still remained at the level of the Fighting Qi Continent.

The "space-time fragment" and "Gui Xu" mentioned by Li Ao made her feel her own insignificance and lack of knowledge.

"How do we leave?"

"I don't know," Li Ao replied straightforwardly. "But waiting here for death is the only path to failure."

He struggled to his feet, ignoring his body's swaying, and walked toward the floating spatial core crystal, which was covered in cracks and whose internal stellar river had stagnated.

The crystal still emitted a faint white light, but the light carried an unstable tremor, as if it could be completely extinguished at any moment.

"It's about to fail," Li Ao said, gazing at the cracks on the crystal. "This space is also slowly collapsing."

Medusa also looked at the crystal, feeling the omnipresent silence and oppression around them, her heart chilled.

She tried to mobilize the minuscule amount of Qi within her body, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea.

"Your power... seems not entirely suppressed here?" She keenly noticed the fleeting, savage fluctuation of energy on Li Ao when he stood up

a power different from Qi.

Li Ao did not deny it: "My Cultivate System is different from Qi."

He didn't elaborate, instead saying, "The most urgent matter is to recover some strength quickly. Otherwise, we might not be so lucky during the next spatial tremor."

He sat cross-legged in front of the crystal, closing his eyes once more.

The Black Iron Hegemon Body's Mind-Cultivation Technique circulated laboriously within his body. This time, he was no longer just mining his own vital energy; he was attempting to guide and refine the extremely faint spatial energy occasionally leaking from the crystal's cracks!

This was an extremely risky move! Spatial energy was violent and chaotic; a slight mistake would result in being torn apart by the spatial force!

But he had no choice! Conventional energy was unobtainable here; this leaking spatial energy was the only resource he could possibly utilize!

Medusa watched his almost self-destructive method of Cultivate, a flicker of emotion passing through her seven-colored eyes.

She also closed her eyes, remaining silent, fully guiding the thread of vitality Li Ao had transferred to her

carrying his aura

and attempting to communicate with the dormant blue fire lotus mark on her forehead. Even if she could only draw out a trace of the exotic flame's power, it would increase their chance of self-preservation.

Silence descended once more.

But this time, the silence was filled with the urgency of racing against time.

Fine, porcelain-crack-like blood marks began to appear on Li Ao's body surface

the price of forcibly containing and refining the spatial energy.

But he clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. Relying on the solid Foundation laid by the Black Iron Hegemon Body and the protection of that mysterious power, he forcefully tamed and integrated trace amounts of the violent spatial energy into himself!

[Ding! host successfully absorbed a trace amount of spatial energy! Black Iron Hegemon Body repair progress +0.1%! Detected special energy properties, beginning deduction of Black Iron Hegemon Body advancement direction...]

The System's prompt carried a faint hint of excitement.

Time flowed by, bit by bit.

Suddenly!

"Buzz—!"

The entire pale stone hall shook violently again! More intensely than any previous time!

The floating spatial core crystal emitted a piercing screech, and the cracks on its surface abruptly widened!

Countless silver, violent spatial currents burst forth from the cracks like an out-of-control Vicious Beast, frantically tearing apart everything around them!

"Be careful!"

Li Ao abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing and disappearing within them!

He had no time to think. His figure shot up, and he pulled Medusa, who was still trying to communicate with the exotic flame, back into his embrace. At the same time, the trace of Black Iron Hegemon Body power he had just recovered erupted, a dark iron sheen mixed with a sliver of silver light, forming a thin but tough protective shield that fiercely guarded both of them!

"Boom boom boom—!"

The spatial currents were like billions of invisible blades, frantically cutting into the protective shield!

The shield fluctuated violently, flickering erratically, emitting a groan of distress from being overwhelmed!

Medusa was tightly held in his arms, her cheek pressed against his firm but slightly trembling chest. She could clearly hear his heart pounding like a war drum and feel his power being consumed at an unprecedented rate just to maintain the shield!

The trace of power he had just recovered was being rapidly drained!

She looked up at his taut jawline, at his face, which had turned pale again from the extreme exhaustion, emotions surging in her seven-colored eyes.

She no longer hesitated. Her jade hand slammed onto the blue fire lotus mark on her forehead!

"By my remaining flame, ignite the Void Realm!"

With a clear shout, she forcibly squeezed out the last thread of power in her body connected to the Origin of the Green Lotus Core Flame!

A tiny, yet condensed to the extreme, blue fire lotus flew out from her forehead and merged into the protective shield Li Ao was holding up!

"Hiss—!"

Blue flame and silver light intertwined. The previously precarious shield seemed to be injected with a violent and scorching vitality, stabilizing instantly by several degrees! It temporarily blocked the spatial currents sweeping toward them!

Li Ao looked down, stunned, at the woman in his arms.

Her face instantly became as pale as gold foil, and her aura once again plummeted to rock bottom, even worse than before. Yet, her eyes burned with an unyielding determination similar to his own!

"You..." His throat was dry.

"Don't talk nonsense... hold on..." Medusa's voice was so faint it was barely audible. After speaking, she immediately fell unconscious again, slumping into his arms.

Li Ao looked at her utterly bloodless face, feeling the blue flame carrying her life force that had merged into the shield. An unprecedented hot current violently surged into his head!

"Ah ah ah ah—!"

He let out a roar like a wounded beast. The power within his body, which had been nearly depleted, seemed to be ignited by this roar, squeezing out its last potential!

The power of the Black Iron Hegemon Body, the trace of refined spatial energy, and the exotic flame power sacrificed by Medusa

these three forces were forcibly merged within him in a nearly destructive Fusion!

The shield's light intensified, forcefully carving out a short-lived safe zone amidst the chaotic spatial currents!

And just at this moment, the cracked spatial core crystal finally reached its limit!

"Crack... Boom!!!!!"

An earth-shattering loud noise!

The crystal completely shattered!

Endless silver light erupted once more, but this time, it was no longer pure destruction!

At the core of the shattered crystal, a tiny, constantly rotating black hole emitting a gentle suction abruptly appeared!

A spatial passage?!

A light of survival in desperation burst forth in Li Ao's eyes!

Without the slightest hesitation, he used his last bit of strength, tightly hugged the unconscious Medusa, and leaped toward the tiny black hole!

"Buzz—!"

The intense sensation of spatial tearing came again!

But in the final moment before leaping into the black hole, Li Ao looked back, taking a deep glance at this pale cage that was about to collapse completely.

Power... he needed to be stronger! Strong enough to ignore such a desperate situation! Strong enough to control his own destiny! Strong enough... to protect the woman in his arms who had shared life and death with him time and again!

In the next moment, silver light swallowed everything.