40: Ascension from the brink of despair, the realm of chaos

The whisper of the Lord of Annihilation's Incarnation, like the collective curse of billions of lost Souls, bored into everyone's Sea of Consciousness, eroding their will and magnifying the deepest fears and despair in their hearts. The giant dark palm, completely condensed from the Law of Annihilation, had not yet fully fallen, but its pure 'Ending' Concept had already caused space to freeze and time to lag, even light seemed to be swallowed up.

Mo Yuan's Demon Blade Domain emitted an overburdened cracking sound, Su Zhiqing's Glazed Sword Domain's light dimmed sharply, Fuzi's Buddhist Pure Land was covered in cracks, the Elf Race Woman's Nature Domain withered and died, and the Giant Clan Warrior's Vitality Domain almost evaporated—all the Prodigies' Realm Lord Domains appeared so fragile and pathetic before this absolute 'nothingness'!

The gap in strength was fundamental; it was a crushing defeat at the level of the 'Dao'!

'The light of ants dares to contend with the Eternal Night?' the Nirvana Incarnation declared indifferently. The giant dark palm accelerated its downward pressure, intending to completely erase these last bits of struggling 'existence'.

Lin Fan bore the brunt of it! His Primordial Chaos Domain shook violently, its edges constantly collapsing and annihilating. Under the wash of pure Annihilation force, the hazy Chaos airflow also became sluggish and dim. He felt his own 'world' being forcibly decomposed, and along with it, his will, his memories, and the very Concept of his existence began to blur and waver.

'Give up... return to nothingness, and find eternal peace,' the seductive whisper sounded again.

"No!!!" Just as his consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by the darkness, the epoch imprint deep within Lin Fan's Divine Soul erupted with unprecedentedly brilliant light! Scenes of countless ancient sages fighting bloody battles, mending the heavens with their bodies, and choosing death over submission flashed like a revolving lantern! The Tomb Keeper's final entrustment, the Primordial Void Dragon's expectant gaze, the trusting looks of all his comrades—Zi Linger, Ethereal Moon, Mo Yuan, and Su Zhiqing—the Lin family, his father, Xia Qingyue... everything he wanted to protect was deeply engraved in the depths of his Soul like a brand!

"My Dao is to protect! To transcend! To pioneer! How can I be annihilated here?!"

"Chaos is not just about inclusion, but more about creation and rebirth!"

A flash of inspiration! In the midst of despair, Lin Fan had a flash of inspiration! He suddenly abandoned the idea of simply using the Primordial Chaos Domain to resist Annihilation. Instead, he poured all his mind, all his strength, even the pure space Origin contained in the primordial void dragon crystal he had just obtained, and the potential of the Innate Chaos Qi in his body into the star pagoda that was constantly humming and longing to erupt in his Sea of Consciousness!

"star pagoda! Help me! With Chaos as the foundation and the Primordial Void as the guide, incorporate the will of the war souls of the Myriad Worlds to reopen Heaven and Earth!"

He let out a cry that originated from the very source of his life!

"Buzz!" The star pagoda seemed to respond to its new master's call, erupting with the most blazing and vast starlight since Lin Fan had obtained it! From the cracks on the pagoda's body that had been mostly repaired by the primordial void dragon pearl, countless beams of light containing the Law of Space and Stellar Origin shot out! At the same time, the Innate Chaos Qi in Lin Fan's body burned and expanded at an unprecedented speed, turning into the most primordial Primal Chaos Mother Qi and merging with the brilliance of the star pagoda!

Furthermore, phantoms of war souls emerged from Lin Fan's body—those were the ancient heroic spirits that had just merged into his Origin! They roared silently together, unreservedly pouring their remaining Unyielding Battle Intent and beliefs of protection into this all-out strike!

Chaos, stars, Primordial Void, and war souls! Under Lin Fan's reckless activation and the star pagoda's integration, these four supreme and strongest forces merged forcibly in an unprecedented way!

"Rumble!" Lin Fan's Primordial Chaos Domain, which was originally only two hundred zhang, underwent an earth-shattering transformation at this moment! The Domain boundaries expanded crazily. The hazy Chaos airflow was no longer simply flowing but began to evolve! Clear qi rose, vaguely turning into a misty sky where miniature stellar phantoms began to light up; turbid qi sank, condensing into a thick earth where earth, water, fire, and wind were initially stabilized! The power of the primordial void dragon crystal became the framework of space, supporting this newborn world, while the will of countless war souls became the world's first 'rules' and 'spirit'!

A more complete and realistic Chaos Domain—though it only expanded to a thousand zhang, it seemed to possess a preliminary world—was boldly deployed with Lin Fan as the center!

This was no longer a simple Domain, but the projection and manifestation of the 'Inner World' that could only be initially touched at the Realm Lord Middle Stage! It was the concretization of his own 'Dao'!

Lin Fan's aura surged crazily at this moment, instantly breaking through the barrier of the Realm Lord Early Stage and boldly stepping into the Realm Lord Middle Stage! His understanding of the Dao of Chaos reached a completely new level!

"Chaos Domain, Opening Heaven and Earth! Suppress!" Chaos opened and stars were born and destroyed within Lin Fan's eyes. He held his hands up as if lifting the entire newborn Chaos Domain, and boldly met the crushing giant palm of Annihilation!

This time, the collision was no longer a silent annihilation!

"Dong!" It was like the first chime of the Universe's bell struck by the hammer of creation! An indescribably terrifying roar erupted! The Chaos Domain and the giant palm of Annihilation collided head-on!

The Chaos Domain shook violently, and the newborn phantoms of heaven and earth flickered, as if they would return to Chaos at any moment. But the giant palm of Annihilation was no longer invincible! When the darkness at the edge of the palm touched the Chaos Domain—which was evolving earth, water, fire, and wind, shimmering with stars, and flowing with the will of war souls—it was actually blocked for the first time! That pure 'Ending' force was forcibly neutralized and ground away by the multiple composite Concepts of 'creation', 'vitality', 'order', and 'resistance' contained within the Chaos Domain!

"What?! You can actually evolve a world?!" Within the Nirvana Incarnation's previously indifferent thoughts, a clear emotional fluctuation called 'shock' finally appeared! "How can someone who hasn't reached the Late-stage World Lord touch the secrets of the world?! What kind of monster are you?!"

It could not understand how someone who had just broken through to the Realm Lord Middle Stage could display the power of a 'World Projection', which could only be initially controlled at the Late-stage World Lord or even the Peak! This defied all common sense!

"I am the one who will send you back to annihilation!" Lin Fan's long hair danced wildly, and golden blood constantly seeped from the corners of his mouth. Maintaining the Chaos Domain against the giant palm of Annihilation placed an unimaginably huge burden on him, burning his Origin every second. But the light in his eyes was more brilliant than ever before!

He felt it—he felt the clarity and firmness of his own 'Dao'! He felt the potential and vastness of his Inner World!

"Everyone! Help me!" Lin Fan roared. Without needing further words, Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and the others understood instantly! One after another, they no longer used their remaining Domain and Origin forces for defense, but turned them into the purest torrents of energy, unreservedly pouring them into Lin Fan's Chaos Domain!

With the supplement of everyone's power, the originally tottering Chaos Domain stabilized once more, and the newborn phantoms of heaven and earth even became a bit more solid! Combining everyone's strength to resist Annihilation!

"Delusional!" The Nirvana Incarnation was completely enraged. The power of the giant dark palm increased again, and the Law of Annihilation surged like a tide, intending to completely crush this embryonic world that dared to challenge the ultimate rules, along with its master!

Both sides fell into the most brutal tug-of-war! Energy was being consumed crazily, and wills were clashing fiercely!

Cracks began to appear on Lin Fan's body, golden blood flowed like a stream, and his Divine Soul felt as if it were being burned in purgatory. But he held on desperately; the Chaos Domain was his Dao and his root—it must not break!

At this critical juncture, Lin Fan had a flash of inspiration and triggered that one-time use item in the System Space—the war god talisman!

"war god talisman, activate!" A wild and peerless ancient will, born purely for battle, instantly merged into Lin Fan's body and mind! His combat instincts, reaction speed, and explosive power instantly soared to an inconceivable level! All pain and fatigue seemed to be isolated, leaving only the most extreme battle and destruction in his eyes!

"Open for me!" Lin Fan let out a roar like a primordial war god. Burning with the war god's power, he compressed all the strength of the Chaos Domain to the limit, turning it into a hazy phantom of the Chaos Heaven-Opening Axe—one that seemed capable of severing Karma and destroying eternity—and hacked it down fiercely toward the center of the giant palm of Annihilation!

"Crack—!!!" A crisp sound rang out, as if the Great Dao itself had snapped!

The seemingly indestructible giant palm of Annihilation was actually split open with a huge crack by this phantom of the Chaos Heaven-Opening Axe, which concentrated everything Lin Fan had, merged everyone's power, and was blessed with the war god's will!

Endless Annihilation Qi vented out crazily from the crack!

"Ah!" The Nirvana Incarnation let out a hiss of pain and rage. Its entire dark silhouette twisted violently, and its aura instantly withered by more than half! The split giant palm collapsed with a bang, turning into dark air currents drifting across the sky!

Success! By gathering everyone's strength, Lin Fan had actually managed to wound the Lord of Annihilation's Incarnation!

However, the price was also enormous. As the effect of the war god talisman vanished, Lin Fan felt as if all his strength had been drained. The Chaos Domain instantly collapsed, his body fell from the sky like a meteor, and his consciousness sank into darkness. Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and the others also fell one after another due to exhaustion, their auras weakened to the extreme.

The wounded Nirvana Incarnation cast a venomous glance at the falling, unconscious Lin Fan, then swept its gaze over the defenseless people below. Its dark outline fluctuated, seemingly wanting to forcibly reconsolidate, but in the end, it turned into a streak of black light and, like a wounded beast, roared and fled into the depths of the battlefield, disappearing from sight. It was badly injured and needed time to recover.

The basin returned to a dead silence once more.

The surviving Prodigies, either sitting or lying down, looked at the unconscious Lin Fan with eyes full of the relief of surviving a disaster and an indelible sense of shock.

They knew that if Lin Fan hadn't made a Breakthrough on the spot today, evolved the Chaos Domain, and finally wounded the Nirvana Incarnation, everyone would have perished here.

After this battle, Lin Fan's name would no longer be limited to that of a rising star in the circle of Prodigies. He was now Realm Lord Lin Fan, someone who truly possessed the qualifications to shake the All Heavens and resist the darkness!

When he woke up again, he would surely lead them toward an even more magnificent future.

And this scarred Myriad Worlds Battlefield also welcomed a temporary respite. But everyone understood that the war with Annihilation was far from over. The true storm might have only just begun brewing.