148: Chapter 148 Annihilation of the Origin

Chen Mo did not rashly touch it with his hand. Instead, with a thought, his Inner World transformed into an invisible giant hand, carefully reaching out to grab the crimson crystal.

The crystal offered no resistance, nor did it trigger any Restriction. It was easily captured by the Inner World and steadily pulled back.

There were no obstacles throughout the entire process, nor were there any danger warnings.

Chen Mo's racing heart settled slightly. He did not linger any longer, wrapping the crystal in his power and quickly flying toward the surface of the sun.

Along the way, his Mental Perception repeatedly scanned the crystal, and the more he investigated, the more shocked he became.

The energy structure inside the crystal was extremely complex, with a level far exceeding his current understanding.

With his current perception, he could only understand the surface and could not see through its essence.

Only after returning to the safe zone on the sun's surface did Chen Mo stop.

He deactivated his Constant Source Body state and extended his palm, cradling the crimson crystal in his hand.

The moment the crystal made contact with the Hengyuan Force on his body's surface, a sudden change occurred.

Chen Mo felt a sudden warmth in his palm as an extremely pure power of Origin surged up his arm and into his body. Like a spark falling into an ocean of oil, it instantly swept through all the Hengyuan Force in his body.

He could clearly feel that the "quality" of his Hengyuan Force was rapidly improving, and his Origin Foundation was constantly thickening. In particular, the power of annihilation contained within it was strengthening at an astonishing speed.

A true "Annihilation Origin" was slowly being born within his Hengyuan Force.

It was like the Origin suppression of the stellar energy lifeform, Jin, but its level was hundreds of times higher than Jin's Jinyang Origin.

“As expected of a Universe-grade Heaven And Earth Treasure!”

Chen Mo's heart surged with excitement, but he forced himself to suppress the joy.

He knew very well that this crimson crystal was likely a supreme treasure nurtured jointly by the spirit source and the stellar Origin during the cataclysmic changes of the Spiritual Energy Revival. The probability of its birth was extremely low, making it a true cosmic treasure.

A treasure of this level would likely be considered a supreme treasure even in the eyes of Fifth-Rank and Sixth-Rank powerhouses.

He had actually picked up such a colossal Opportunity in the core of the sun.

Without the slightest hesitation,

Chen Mo immediately sat cross-legged, fully expanding his Inner World to envelop both himself and the crystal.

Since he had confirmed there was no danger, he would absorb it directly!

With a thought, his Hengyuan Force wrapped around the crystal, and he began to slowly absorb the Origin power within.

The majestic and pure crimson energy was like rivers rushing into the sea, continuously surging into his body.

This power was extremely gentle yet incomparably powerful. Wherever it passed, his cells, Meridians, Hengyuan Force, and mental sea were all being comprehensively tempered and sublimated.

The most core change occurred in the deepest depths of his Hengyuan Force's Origin.

Strands of dark red Annihilation Origin power were slowly merging into his Hengyuan Force, becoming a part of the energy itself. This was a qualitative leap on an essential level.

Time flew by during the absorption process.

One day, five days, ten days...

Half a month later.

The crimson crystal, which was originally the size of a fist, had turned dull and lusterless, finally turning into a puff of ash and dispersing completely.

At the same time,

Boom—!

Chen Mo, sitting cross-legged on the surface of the sun, suddenly erupted with an extremely blinding pure white light from his entire body.

A terrifyingly extreme power of annihilation spread outward with him as the center. Wherever it passed, violent plasma and tumbling waves of flame...

Even the matter on the star's surface silently dissipated the moment it touched the white light, turning directly into the purest nothingness.

A massive blank area with a diameter of several thousand kilometers appeared on the star's surface.

The power of annihilation was revealing its prominence for the first time.

Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes.

Two beams of pure white light shot out from his eyes, piercing straight through the tens of millions of kilometers thick corona and into deep space.

He could clearly feel that the power within his body had undergone a qualitative leap.

Summoning the system panel once again, the number in the combat power column had quietly changed.

[Combat Power: 100,323]

Fifth-Rank.

His combat power had crossed the 100,000 mark, officially stepping into the Ranks of Fifth-Rank cosmic lifeforms.

Chen Mo clenched his fist. Pure white Hengyuan Force flickered at his fingertips, while the power of annihilation remained hidden and unreleased.

This Breakthrough was more than a full year ahead of his original deductions.

According to his original deductions, he would have needed to thoroughly temper his Hengyuan Force to the blue-white stage to truly touch the threshold of the Fifth-Rank.

But this crimson crystal had forcibly advanced this process by more than a year.

While still in the pure white stage, relying on the boost from the Annihilation Origin, he directly shattered the ceiling of the Fourth-Rank and stepped into the Fifth-Rank.

“So... this is the Fifth-Rank.”

Chen Mo murmured softly, his eyes filled with comprehension.

Previously standing at the limit of the Fourth-Rank, he had always felt he was just one step away from the Fifth-Rank. But only after truly making the Breakthrough did he realize that this was far from a single step; it was simply an insurmountable chasm.

No matter how strong the Fourth-Rank was, it was only "borrowing" power, relying on matter and energy to fight.

The Fifth-Rank, however, was true "control" over power. One's own power could be imposed on the outside world, and the power of Origin could annihilate all things.

With just a casual strike now, he could completely annihilate a planet with a diameter of tens of thousands of kilometers, erasing it from the Universe.

This was the true, grand power of a Fifth-Rank lifeform.

And the greatest harvest of this Opportunity was not the increase in his combat power value, but that strand of completely formed "Annihilation Origin".

The improvement of all other powers and attributes combined did not even equal one-ten-thousandth of this.

With this power of Origin, his Hengyuan Force possessed a suppression capability at the Origin level. Within the same Rank, almost no one could stand against him.

Over the next few days, Chen Mo was in no hurry to leave.

He remained seated on the surface of the sun, familiarizing himself with his skyrocketing power and refining his brand-new Hengyuan Force and Annihilation Origin.

Only when his control over his power returned to its Peak did he stop cultivating.

“That should do it.”

Chen Mo stood up.

With a shift of his body, he transformed into a beam of pure white light, hurtling toward the Blue Star.

After breaking through to Fifth-Rank combat power, his flight speed welcomed a qualitative leap.

Under the full mobilization of his Hengyuan Force, his speed soared all the way, finally stabilizing at 99.99% of the speed of light.

Infinitely close, yet forever unable to reach it.

There seemed to be an invisible barrier ahead; no matter how he mobilized his power, he could not take half a step further.

The speed of light cannot be exceeded.

This was an underlying rule of the Universe, one that even a Fifth-Rank cosmic lifeform could not shake.

Chen Mo understood clearly.

The power of the Fifth-Rank was not yet enough to touch the Law of Space. To truly achieve faster-than-light travel, one either had to rely on wormhole technology or reach a higher Realm to master space itself.

As for those cosmic lifeforms born with the ability to traverse space, such as the Luojia Void Kun, it was essentially an instinct that came with their racial talent, not true mastery of space.

The thought flashed past, and he did not dwell on it too much.

One must take things one step at a time.

Flying at near-light speed, a journey that would originally take over two hours was completed in just fifteen minutes.

When the familiar blue-and-white planet reappeared in his field of vision,

Chen Mo slowed down, passed through the atmosphere, and landed directly in the Chairman's office of the Han City Federation Building.

After taking his seat, he opened his terminal, and a dense crowd of unread messages popped up.

The most eye-catching was a report sent by Minister Li Long:

[Chairman, the state-level tournaments of the First Federal Evolver Fighting Championship have all concluded, and the champions of each division in the twelve major states have been decided. The Federal Finals will officially open on November 2nd. Please review the tournament schedule.]

Another message came from the Family group chat, sent by Chen Ting, sounding somewhat depressed:

[Xiao Mo, I was stopped at the round of 16 in the state tournament. The opponent was too strong, with a force exertion amplification of 4.2 times. I couldn't beat them at all...]

Followed by a dejected emoji.

Looking at it, a smile tugged at the corner of Chen Mo's mouth.

With a light tap of his finger, he replied: [It's okay. Accumulate experience and fight again next time.]

Putting down the terminal, Chen Mo walked to the French window and looked out at the bustling city.

His trip to the sun had yielded harvests far beyond his imagination.

He slowly raised his right hand. A pure white light lingered around his fingertips, and a trace of imperceptible power of annihilation quietly flowed.

The Fifth-Rank had been reached.

Next would be to steadily consolidate his Foundation, continue refining his Inner World and Annihilation Origin, and move toward a higher Realm.

And he also knew very well that this was just a new beginning.

The Hunting Fleet in the dark, the upcoming Regional Genius Tournament, and the countless unknowns and crises in the vast Universe... were all waiting for him ahead.