152: Refining the heart from the source, lotus blossoms from chaos
In the narrow space formed by seven-colored light, the Concepts of time and space seemed to blur. Ye Chen floated within it, his gaze immediately falling upon the pulsing emerald Origin ahead, which beat like a heart, and the slightly dimmed nine-orifice immortal lotus above it.
"The Secret Realm Origin core..." Ye Chen instantly understood his situation. At the final moment, the immortal lotus had used the Secret Realm's most fundamental power to move them together to this safest "atrium." Clearly, this sentient immortal lotus had also sensed Wu Meng's destructive threat and chose self-preservation, bringing along Ye Chen, who possessed the chaos ancestral talisman and seemed capable of invoking vitality.
At this moment, the roaring from the outside and Wu Meng's violent Tiangang Realm pressure faintly transmitted through even the seven-colored barrier, causing the entire Origin space to tremble slightly. Clearly, Wu Meng was frantically attacking the Secret Realm from outside, attempting to forcibly break this final layer of protection.
"I must recover as soon as possible and find a way to deal with this." Ye Chen suppressed the sense of urgency in his heart and scanned the pure and majestic Secret Realm Origin. This power contained the most primitive and exquisite vitality of flora and the spiritual rhythm of the earth; it was a supreme treasure for any cultivator, especially in his current state.
He no longer hesitated and sat cross-legged in the air, circulating the Chaos Myriad Transformation Art with all his might. Deep within his Qi Sea, the chaos ancestral talisman also seemed to sense the rich Origin vitality outside, trembling slightly and emitting waves of longing.
"Draw!"
With a thought from Ye Chen, a small wisp of emerald Origin Qi was drawn in by his Divine Thought and slowly merged into his body.
"Boom!"
Like parched earth receiving sweet rain, that incomparably pure vitality energy instantly flowed through his limbs and bones. The internal injuries and exhaustion from the previous series of fierce battles—especially from forcibly activating the Chaos Sword Domain and the Heaven-Cleaving Sword—were repaired and healed at an astonishing speed under the nourishment of this vitality. Not only that, this vitality resonated with the "life" aspect contained within his Chaos Gang Qi, giving him a deeper understanding of the Profound Truth of Chaos transforming and giving life to all things.
His cultivation, on the foundation of the Earth Fiend Realm Fourth Level Peak, began to steadily rise, making solid progress toward the threshold of the fifth level.
However, just as he was immersed in cultivation and recovery, a sudden change occurred!
From within that emerald Origin core, countless fine, twisted dark-green threads suddenly separated, like venomous snakes with lives of their own, following the wisp of drawn vitality and striking toward Ye Chen's Sea of Consciousness like lightning!
"Chi chi chi!"
These dark-green threads carried an extremely stubborn and sinister corrosive intent; they were actually a sliver of Tiangang Realm poison-fiend law power that had seeped in when the Witch Poison Sect Leader, Wu Meng, had previously attacked the Secret Realm's protection! They had hidden within the Origin and were now triggered by Ye Chen's drawing of it, intending to pollute his Divine Soul and turn him into a poison puppet!
"Heart Demon Poison Barrier?!"
Ye Chen's heart jolted, and he instantly became alert. This was not a simple energy attack but a law-based erosion aimed directly at his Dao Heart! Once it succeeded, the consequences would be unthinkable!
He immediately guarded his spiritual terrace, his Divine Sense power in the Sea of Consciousness forming layers of barriers in an attempt to block it. But those dark-green threads contained a Tiangang Realm law Concept and were incredibly overbearing; the Divine Sense barriers were actually rapidly corroded and penetrated by them!
The sinister poison-fiend intent was about to touch his Soul core!
At this critical moment—
"Buzz!"
The chaos ancestral talisman, which had been floating quietly in his Qi Sea, suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant light! An ancient, vast intent that seemed to originate from the beginning of the Universe's creation surged through his Meridians and straight into his Sea of Consciousness!
This intent was not a specific attack but a declaration of "existence," a manifestation of the "Great Dao." It represented the inclusiveness of Chaos, the Origin and end of all things, and the absolute essence that was neither good nor evil, neither pure nor defiled!
Before this pure Chaos intent, the dark-green poison-fiend law that had invaded his Sea of Consciousness seemed to have encountered a supreme sovereign; its arrogant aura was instantly suppressed! The law of "poison" it contained appeared so small and laughable before the Origin Great Dao of "Chaos," which encompassed and evolved all things!
"Under Chaos, all laws share the same source, and all evils return to silence!"
An epiphany rose in Ye Chen's heart. Following his intuition, he no longer tried to forcibly resist or expel that poison-fiend law. Instead, he operated the true meaning of the Chaos Myriad Transformation Art and guided that Origin intent from the chaos ancestral talisman to—like a mother embracing her child—encompass, decompose, and assimilate those dark-green poison-fiend threads!
"Zi zi..."
In the Sea of Consciousness, the originally fierce poison-fiend law struggled and twisted violently under the envelopment of the Chaos intent, but its essence was forcibly analyzed and understood. Ultimately, it turned into the most primal law fragments and merged into Ye Chen's understanding of "Chaos." His understanding of "poison" instantly reached an unprecedented height, even vaguely touching the threshold of a Tiangang Realm law!
This was not an increase in power but a leap in Dao realm and perception!
Having broken through the Heart Demon Poison Barrier, Ye Chen's Dao Heart became more crystal clear than ever before, and his connection with the chaos ancestral talisman grew a bit closer. He once again drew the emerald Origin from the outside; this time, there were no more obstacles.
Pure vitality energy surged into his body like a great river, not only repairing his injuries but also pushing against his cultivation Bottleneck.
"Crack!"
It was as if some shackles within his body had been broken. His aura suddenly surged, breaking through the barrier in one go and stepping into the Earthly Fiend Realm Fifth Level! And the momentum did not stop, stabilizing directly at the fifth level Middle Stage!
At the moment of his Breakthrough, the nine-orifice immortal lotus floating above the Secret Realm Origin seemed to sense the pure and Advanced Chaos aura within him, as well as the "purification" and "inclusiveness" traits he had shown when breaking the poison barrier. The lotus body trembled slightly.
From one of the lotus orifices, a lotus seed the size of a dragon's eye, crystal clear and seemingly swirling with seven-colored clouds inside, automatically detached and turned into a streak of light, flying toward Ye Chen.
Ye Chen subconsciously reached out to catch it. The lotus seed felt warm and moist in his hand, emitting an exotic fragrance that refreshed the Soul. A majestic yet gentle medicinal power was contained within it—it was precisely the nine-orifice immortal lotus seed, capable of purifying all poisons and stabilizing the Dao foundation!
The immortal lotus was sentient; this was a form of recognition and a gift for his help in resisting the external enemy and for possessing the Righteous Path Origin!
Ye Chen solemnly put away the lotus seed and looked again at the Secret Realm Origin and the immortal lotus above. A thought rose in his mind. The chaos ancestral talisman evolved all things and encompassed vitality; could it... produce a deeper level of Fusion with this Secret Realm Origin?
He tried to separate a wisp of Chaos Qi fused with his own will and slowly probed toward that emerald Origin.
There was no rejection, no resistance. The Secret Realm Origin seemed to have encountered a higher-level existence of the same source and actively accepted this wisp of Chaos Qi.
In an instant, Ye Chen's mind seemed to be connected with the entire Hundred Flowers Secret Realm! He "saw" Wu Meng outside, whose face was ashen as he frantically attacking the seven-colored barrier; he "saw" Su Miaojin, who was unconscious nearby with a weak aura; and he "saw" various parts of the Secret Realm, where spiritual flowers and exotic herbs were gradually withering because the Origin was being attacked, along with the wailing and trembling earth Spiritual Veins.
An epiphany surged into his heart.
He could not directly use the Secret Realm's power to confront the Tiangang Realm Wu Meng, but he could... guide it!
He used the chaos ancestral talisman as a bridge and his own mind as a guide to transfer a stream of pure Secret Realm Origin vitality across the space into the unconscious Su Miaojin's body.
Su Miaojin's pale face regained its color at a speed visible to the naked eye, and her withered aura began to steadily recover.
At the same time, Ye Chen locked his gaze on the enraged Wu Meng outside, and a risky plan took shape in his mind.
He needed to create an opportunity—one that would make Wu Meng reveal a flaw or allow Su Miaojin to escape safely.
He took a deep breath, sinking most of his mind into the connection with the Secret Realm Origin. He began to carefully guide the remaining protective power distributed throughout the Secret Realm, as well as the flora essence that had not yet been completely corroded... Outside the seven-colored barrier, Wu Meng struck the light shield again with a heavy punch containing law power, causing the shield to ripple violently, yet it remained resilient. His face was so dark it could drip water.
"You rat hiding your head and showing your tail! Let's see how long you can hold out!" he roared, but a trace of unease was spreading in his heart. The longer it dragged on, the more variables there would be.
And he did not notice that in the earth beneath his feet and the seemingly withered flora around him, an extremely subtle vitality was quietly flowing and gathering within the veins...