Chaos Resonance

Cheng Xi's consciousness, after integrating that speck of azure light imbued with supreme Dao rhythm from Lord Tongtian, felt as if it were forcibly elevated above the nine heavens' gale! His Dao heart, on the verge of collapse, instantly stabilized. The gray light of his primordial Chaos core surged, and his Break Delusion Reverse Intent Sword Intent let out an unprecedented hum! More importantly, his perception was infinitely magnified, piercing through the cave heaven's stone walls and crossing boundless void. He "saw" with unparalleled clarity—

Within the Pangu Hall's projected space, the fierce collision of those two terrifying wills!

The will belonging to the imprint of Pangu's essence blood, vast, majestic, desolate, carrying the weight of creation and a trace of deep, sorrowful sigh: "Tribulation... rises... not... my... wish..."

Opposing it was a chaotic will originating from the depths of Yan Lingji's bloodline! It was violent, greedy, filled with extreme hatred for all order and life, like an ancient beast crawling from an endless abyss, letting out a roar suffused with the stench of sulfur and blood: "Pangu... will?! It... hasn't... completely perished?! This woman... I shall have!"

These two wills, equally ancient and vast, yet diametrically opposed in nature, clashed violently with Yan Lingji's frail body as the battlefield! Her body was like shattered glass, instantly covered in a spiderweb of cracks, dark golden flames mixed with blood erupting! Her soul wailed, her consciousness sinking into boundless darkness.

Boom—!

This will-shock that transcended space, like two destructive stars colliding in the dark side of the Primordial Era, generated invisible ripples that pierced through layers of dimensions, striking the formless, intangible, yet omnipresent—Heavenly Dao Shackles net that enveloped the entire Primordial Era!

Buzz!

Throughout the entire Primordial world, whether it was the Heavenly Court in the nine heavens, the Sea of Blood in the depths of the underworld, or the bustling cities of the mortal realm, all great cultivators above the Golden Immortal realm felt an unprovoked, extremely subtle yet heart-palpitating tremor! It was as if a fundamental string maintaining the world's operation had been lightly... plucked by an invisible hand!

The Heavenly Dao Shackles, due to this clash of wills from the ancient layers of Chaos, had shown a trace of imperceptible—loosening!

Dao contention? The Heavenly Dao Shackles loosening?

Cheng Xi's mind trembled violently. His elevated consciousness captured this world-shattering scene, and a thunderous thought, like the lightning at the dawn of Chaos, exploded in the depths of his soul:

"Could it be that this outer demon... is not aligned with the Heavenly Dao that imprisons the Primordial Era?! Are they also... 'tribulations' for breaking the deadlock?!"

As this thought arose, the primordial Chaos core in his soul erupted with unprecedented gray light! This light was no longer just a "reef" protecting itself, but transformed into an invisible bridge. Following the guidance of the azure light from Lord Tongtian, it pierced through the barriers of endless time and space, fiercely connecting to Yan Lingji, who was on the verge of shattering and whose consciousness was sinking, within the Pangu Hall's projected space!

Buzz!

The gray light of the Chaos core was not pure energy, but an information torrent containing the essence of "variables"! It ignored the Pangu purification power and the chaotic outer demon will raging within Yan Lingji, acting like the most precise scalpel. It instantly anchored itself deep within her bloodline origin, at that point that had not yet been completely contaminated, the purest—Zhurong Fire Witch Origin!

"Yan Lingji! Wake up!"

Cheng Xi's intent, carrying the Chaos core's persistence in "breaking the deadlock," its enlightenment of "variables," and its yearning for a sliver of hope, struck Yan Lingji's sinking dark consciousness like thunder that pierced through time and space!

Rumble!

Yan Lingji, on the verge of complete destruction, amidst the endless darkness and tearing pain, seemed to see a gray light tearing through the eternal night! Within the light, there was no concrete form, yet it contained a familiarity that made her soul tremble—it was Cheng Xi! It was his decisiveness when he activated the sword sheath amidst the Secluded Valley's corpse tide, it was his unyielding roar of "Sword, come!" under Mount Li's Ghost Claw, and even more so, it was the lonely lamp he lit for her, pointing towards life, using his own Chaos core as a guide!

"I... am not a pawn!"

Cheng Xi's intent echoed in her consciousness like a great bell.

"Neither are you! Your fire is the firewood to burn away the shackles, not flames to destroy yourself! Guard your origin! With fire... burn away the filth!"

This call from the Chaos variable, carrying a peculiar power that shattered predetermined fate, instantly ignited the almost extinguished fire of survival in the deepest part of Yan Lingji's soul!

"Ah—!!!"

In the Pangu Hall projection, Yan Lingji's shattered body suddenly arched, letting out a piercing shriek mixed with extreme pain and unyielding will! The dark golden patterns flashing wildly beneath her skin suddenly paused! That purest wisp of pure white Witch Fire from the depths of her bloodline, protected and guided by the gray light of the Chaos core, as if injected with a powerful stimulant, fiercely broke free from the contaminated core!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The pure white flames, carrying the ancient aura of burning the eight directions, stubbornly burned in the gap between the dark golden chaotic flames and the Pangu purification power! It no longer resisted Pangu's purification, but instead actively guided that vast power, transforming it into a furnace fire to burn away its own filth! At the same time, it fiercely repelled the corrosive will of the chaotic outer demon!

"Insignificant ant! How dare you!!!" The chaotic will let out a roar of shock and rage! It felt threatened! That wisp of gray light from the Chaos core, like a poisonous thorn inserted into its scheme of corruption, prevented it from polluting and controlling without restraint!

The will of Pangu Hall also seemed to sense this subtle change. The vast purification power was no longer indiscriminate crushing, but had gained a trace of precise guidance, focusing more on the core imprint of the chaotic will! The light of the Twelve Ancestral Witches' origins, especially Zhurong's crimson glow, transmitted a trace of... imperceptible recognition and support to the pure white flame within Yan Lingji!

Success!

Within the Biyou Cave Heaven, Cheng Xi's consciousness trembled violently! Through the connection of the Chaos core, he clearly felt the revival and growth of the pure Witch Fire within Yan Lingji, felt the shock and rage of the chaotic will and the subtle shift of Pangu's will! A peculiar resonance was established between him and Yan Lingji through this invisible bridge. His Chaos core's gray light and Yan Lingji's pure Witch Fire seemed to draw upon each other's characteristics in their resonance—the "chaotic variable" of Chaos injected sharpness to break the deadlock into the Witch Fire, while the "burning away filth" of the Witch Fire added a purifying intensity to the Chaos core!

On the lotus platform, Lord Tongtian's eternal figure finally moved slightly. He slowly retracted the sword finger he had pointed towards Pangu Hall, and the residual Sky-Severing Sword Intent on his fingertip slowly dissipated. His eyes, reflecting the desolation of ages, fell upon Cheng Xi below, whose physical body was trembling violently by the spiritual pool while his consciousness resonated fiercely with a distant location. On his face, which was as calm as an ancient well, a rare trace of... extreme, faint praise appeared?

"Using the Chaos core as a bridge, guiding the Witch Clan's origin fire... transforming the tribulation of the outer demon into an opportunity for tempering..." Lord Tongtian's voice directly echoed in Cheng Xi's elevated consciousness, his tone plain yet carrying a profundity that saw through the secrets of heaven, "Did you... see it? This, is 'tribulation'! It is also... the source of 'variables'!"

"The Heavenly Dao Shackles are not monolithic. Where tribulation energy surges, that is the opportunity for the shackles to loosen! Outer demons covet, Heavenly Dao suppresses, Ancestral Witches revive, Human Dao awakens... all sorts of karmic entanglements, a Great Tribulation is about to begin! This tribulation is destruction, and it is also... the only path to transcendence for the Primordial Era!"

"Your Chaos is the greatest 'anomaly' within this tribulation! Your will is... the first spark of firewood to ignite this fire that breaks the deadlock!"

Lord Tongtian's words were like a sudden enlightenment, instantly illuminating the vast and chaotic chessboard before Cheng Xi! The loosening of the Heavenly Dao Shackles was not accidental, but the inevitable result of multiple parties vying, and the accumulation of tribulation energy! The outer demons were a tribulation, and also a knife to break open the Heavenly Dao's iron curtain! And he, carrying the Chaos core, was the hand holding the knife, and also the spark that ignited the prairie fire!

Boom!

Cheng Xi's consciousness sublimated in enlightenment! That wisp of Break Delusion Reverse Intent Sword Intent completely transformed. On the sword's edge, the gray light of Chaos and the pure white of Witch Fire shone in alternation, carrying the supreme sharpness to sever fate and burn away shackles! He suddenly looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the Biyou Cave Heaven, towards the—Heavenly Dao net that enveloped everything in the unseen! The net's threads were still stern, but at the nodes where the wills had collided moments ago, a crack, so fine it was almost invisible, was quietly appearing!

"This crack... is the chance for life!" Cheng Xi's intent was incredibly firm.

Mount Li, deep within Yinyu, behind the bronze gate.

The enormous underground cavern had been artificially excavated to resemble the belly of a demon god, filled with a dense smell of sulfur and blood. Viscous, dark red Dragon Vein Earth Energy was being forcibly extracted and gathered at the center of a massive altar built from countless pale white skeletons. The surface of the altar was carved with wriggling, bizarre runes, through which flowed turbid black blood.

At the top of the altar, instead of a divine statue, floated a pulsating, house-sized—dark golden giant egg! The eggshell was covered with ferocious scale patterns, and a heavy, evil heartbeat emanated from within. With each pulse, it greedily devoured the Dragon Vein Earth Energy surging from below and the wailing souls and blood essence around the altar!

Lu Buwei, in his luxurious Prime Minister's robes, was now stained with specks of black and red dirt. He stood below the altar, his face appearing exceptionally sinister in the reflection of the eerie green phosphorescence. Beside him stood a figure completely shrouded in a wide black robe, revealing only a pair of eyes burning with eerie green flames. It was the demonic person who had used the Corpse Fiend Ghost Claw by the riverbank that day! The black-robed figure exuded a nauseating aura of decay and malevolence, more solid and powerful than before.

"Useless!" Lu Buwei's voice was as cold as ice, filled with suppressed rage. "You couldn't even capture two injured and dying juniors! And you even alerted the River God? If not for the 'Blood River Escape Talisman' bestowed by the Holy Lord, how could you have escaped?!"

The black-robed demonic person's body trembled almost imperceptibly, a flicker of fear flashing in his eerie green eyes. He said in a hoarse voice, "Prime Minister, please calm your anger! It is not that your subordinate is incompetent! That Cheng Xi possessed a strange treasure, and at the last moment, he actually triggered an imprint of Lord Tongtian's Sword Intent, breaking through space and escaping! As for that witch... her bloodline is peculiar, it seems... it seems to have awakened some extremely ancient existence..." He recalled the clash of the two terrifying wills that pierced through space, still feeling lingering fear.

Lu Buwei's eyes sharpened, and he was about to reprimand him.

Suddenly!

Buzz—!

The entire enormous underground cavern violently shook! The pulsating dark golden giant egg on the altar let out a piercing shriek! The scale patterns on the eggshell writhed wildly, as if subjected to some intense stimulation! The turbid blood flowing around the altar flashed violently, the speed of extracting Dragon Vein Earth Energy suddenly increased, but it appeared abnormally chaotic!

"What's going on?!" Lu Buwei and the black-robed Demonic Person's expressions changed simultaneously.

"The earth脉... the Dragon Vein Earth Energy is in turmoil!" the black-robed Demonic Person exclaimed, sensing it with uncertainty. "No! It's the entire... the entire world's 'qi'... it's as if... as if something... stirred it?" He couldn't accurately describe the feeling, as if the iron law that bound everything in the unseen world had a minuscule... looseness?

Lu Buwei abruptly looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the thick mountain rock, aiming for the depths of the firmament. Although he wasn't a top-tier cultivator, as the Prime Minister of Great Qin, wielding immense power, he possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to the subtle shifts in the Human Dao's destiny and even the grand trends of heaven and earth. In that very instant, he felt that the invisible "shackle" on him, connecting his prime ministerial authority with the Heavenly Dao's order, seemed to have... ever so slightly... loosened? The feeling was fleeting, yet it sent shivers down his spine!

"Holy Lord! Is it the Holy Lord's power?" the black-robed Demonic Person looked at the giant egg on the altar with fervent reverence.

The piercing shriek from the giant egg gradually subsided, but its throbbing became more vigorous, as if it were greedily absorbing the... somewhat more primordial "tribulation qi" that had escaped into the world due to that subtle looseness.

Lu Buwei's eyes flickered, his sinister face a mixture of surprise and greed. He slowly raised his hand, feeling the fleeting "looseness" at his fingertips, and a wild thought uncontrollably sprouted:

"The Heavenly Dao... also has loopholes? Is this looseness... a sign of the Holy Lord's imminent success? Or... the prelude to a greater storm?"

He looked at the increasingly vigorous dark golden egg throbbing on the altar, then towards the direction of Xianyang City, beyond Yinyu, and a cold, resolute curve slowly formed on his lips.

"Whatever it is... no one can obstruct my path! Ying Zheng... Cheng Xi... your death day... has arrived!"