The instant he was locked onto by that Nine Nether Source brimming with venomous resentment and deathly stillness, Xuanwei felt as though even the core of his immortal qi was about to freeze! It was an opposition and rejection originating from the very level of life itself, far more terrifying than when he had faced the Demonic Beasts before!
"Not good! We've alerted the big thing inside!" Bixiao also sensed that heart-palpitating fluctuation. She held the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors before her, her pretty face taut.
Qiongxiao swiftly expanded the Spirit Purifying Pearl's protective barrier to its limit, her tone urgent. "We can't stay here! That source is extremely condensed. It is absolutely not something we can confront head-on. Retreat at once!"
Suppressing the dread in his heart, Xuanwei made a prompt decision. "Go!"
The three of them did not hesitate, transforming into three streaks of escaping light as they sped back along the path they had come from!
However, they had barely flown a hundred li when the sea below suddenly churned as if it were boiling! Countless demonized sea beasts surged forth like a tide, madly blocking their path! Even more terrifyingly, the gray-black mist around the archipelago roiled violently. A massive black tentacle, formed purely from Nine Nether demonic qi and spanning heaven and earth, lashed at the three of them as though it had crossed space itself, carrying horrifying power capable of corroding the void and devouring life!
The energy level emanating from that tentacle had already surpassed that of a Mysterious Immortal and entered the Golden Immortal realm! Though it was merely an energy construct rather than its true body, it was still far beyond what the three of them could withstand!
"Careful!" Yunxiao's warning seemed to come from across a vast distance. The golden light of the Primal Chaos Golden Dipper attempted to descend across space and block it, but the black tentacle was too fast and its demonic qi too overwhelming. The golden light was forcefully kept at bay!
As the destructive tentacle was about to descend, Bixiao and Qiongxiao turned pale, already prepared to fight desperately!
At that critical moment, a trace of resolve flashed through Xuanwei's eyes!
He abruptly poured his immortal power, Wutu Source, Wood Element Vitality, and the power of the Chaos Bead within his sea of consciousness into the Chaos Domain he had only recently comprehended, holding nothing back!
"Chaos Domain, expand to the limit! Freeze!"
Buzz—!!!
The Chaos Domain, originally only thirty meters in diameter, was forcibly stretched by him to a range of three hundred meters! Within the domain, Chaos Qi roiled at an unprecedented density, its laws warped to the extreme, as though it had become an independent miniature world of chaos. It forcibly stood before the massive black tentacle!
Boom!!!
The black tentacle slammed viciously into the Chaos Domain!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a teeth-grating, bizarre sound of laws and energy annihilating one another! The Chaos Domain shook violently, its light flickering erratically. Chaos Qi at its edges was continuously eroded and dispersed by the demonic qi, only to be swiftly replenished by Xuanwei's source!
Xuanwei gave a muffled groan. His immortal qi body fluctuated violently, and his energy level plummeted like floodwaters bursting through a dam! Yet he gritted his teeth and held on, pouring the immense vitality of the Remnant Seed of Jianmu into the domain as well. That blue-yellow vitality merged with Chaos Qi, unexpectedly neutralizing and purifying the corrosion of the Nine Nether demonic qi to a certain extent!
[Chaos Domain operating under overload! Energy rapidly depleting!] [High-concentration Nine Nether Source corrosion detected! Jianmu vitality and Chaos Qi have fused, producing unknown resistance!] [Warning! Host source is about to be overdrawn!]
"Go! I can't hold on much longer!" Xuanwei roared in thought, illusory "blood" already spilling from the corner of his mouth on the spiritual level.
Bixiao and Qiongxiao's hearts twisted in agony at the sight, but they knew this was not the time to hesitate. Bixiao used the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors to clear the way, slaying the demonic creatures in their path. Qiongxiao's Dragon Binding Rope wrapped around Xuanwei, and the three became a single combined streak of escaping light, frantically breaking out while the Chaos Domain temporarily held back the black tentacle!
The black tentacle seemed enraged by the Chaos Domain's stubborn resistance and assaulted it even more violently, its demonic qi soaring to the heavens. Xuanwei felt his consciousness growing hazy, his immortal qi body covered in cracks, as though it would collapse completely at any moment.
Just as he was about to exhaust himself completely, a sudden change occurred!
The Chaos Domain he was desperately maintaining seemed to reach some critical point during its extreme confrontation with the pure Nine Nether Source! At the core of the domain, the Chaos Bead fragment suddenly trembled. A nearly imperceptible spiritual gleam, containing the supreme true meaning of escape, flashed from deep within the bead and vanished!
Immediately afterward, enlightenment struck Xuanwei. A passage of obscure scripture, seemingly pointing directly to the source of the Great Dao, flowed like a clear spring through his nearly dried-up heart:
"When the Great Dao is abandoned, there arise benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom appears, there arises great hypocrisy... Cast away sainthood and discard wisdom, and the people will benefit a hundredfold... Reveal simplicity and embrace the uncarved block, reduce selfishness and lessen desire..."
This was not any known mystical Daoist art. Its meaning was older and more primal, carrying profound insight and compassion toward civilization, order, and all living beings themselves!
At the same time, at the edge of his Chaos Domain, within the area fiercely clashing and annihilating with the Nine Nether demonic qi, a faint, almost undetectable spark of mysterious yellow light suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was warm and resilient!
Though the spark was tiny, it radiated a power utterly different from immortal spiritual qi and Chaos Qi! It was neither dazzling nor domineering, yet it carried the unyielding will to pass the flame onward, to rise from insignificance, and to struggle against adversity even in the depths of despair!
The instant the Mysterious Yellow Spark appeared, the violent Nine Nether demonic qi tentacle abruptly stalled as though it had encountered its natural nemesis. Its corrosive advance visibly slowed, and it even seemed to reveal a feeling of... disgust and fear?!
[Unknown energy reaction detected! Attribute analysis: Humanity's Fortune (weak embryonic form)! Characteristics: Fire of Civilization, flame passed onward, suppresses evil and wards off all arts!] [Source inference: The host forcibly activated the Chaos Bead's source. Combined with Jianmu vitality, the host's anomalous soul, and unwavering will to resist the demonic domain, under extreme pressure he accidentally touched upon and drew forth the future fortune projection of the human race hidden within the Primordial World... an infinitesimal incarnation!]
Humanity's Fortune?! A projection of the human race's future fortune?!
Amid extreme pain and daze, Xuanwei caught the system's earth-shattering notification, and stormy waves rose in his heart!
The human race! At this time, the humans of the Primordial World were still in their ignorant infancy, incomparably weak and far from becoming the protagonists of heaven and earth! Yet their future civilization fortune of "passing the flame onward" and "unceasing self-improvement" had actually been accidentally drawn forth by him in the form of a faint embryonic trace?!
Moreover, this trace of fortune clearly suppressed Nine Nether demonic qi!
Though the spark was pitifully weak and could go out at any moment, what it represented and the opportunity it brought allowed Xuanwei to see a ray of dawn amid his desperate predicament!
He desperately gathered the last shred of his will and guided that Mysterious Yellow Spark. Rather than attacking the enormous demonic qi tentacle, he had it remain firmly at the core of the Chaos Domain like a beacon, protecting his source consciousness, which was on the verge of extinction!
"Roar—!"
The Nine Nether Source deep within the archipelago seemed exceptionally enraged by this sudden aura that made it intensely uncomfortable, and the demonic qi tentacle pressed down viciously once more!
Crack!
The Chaos Domain finally could bear no more. Like shattered glass, it broke apart inch by inch!
Xuanwei spat out a mouthful of "spiritual qi," his consciousness completely falling into darkness as his immortal qi body plummeted downward like a kite with its string cut.
"Junior Brother Xuanwei!"
Bixiao and Qiongxiao cried out in grief and rushed forward without hesitation to catch him.
Yet the anticipated fatal pursuit from the demonic qi tentacle never came. After shattering the Chaos Domain, the tentacle seemed deeply wary of the Mysterious Yellow Spark that still flickered stubbornly. Or perhaps it had sensed the threat of the true Primal Chaos Golden Dipper drawing ever closer from the direction of Three Immortal Island. After remaining locked in midair for a moment, it let out an unwilling roar and slowly withdrew into the gray-black mist.
The crisis was temporarily over.
Holding the unconscious Xuanwei, whose source had grown dim, Bixiao and Qiongxiao did not dare linger for even a moment. They drove their escaping light with all their strength and fled desperately toward Three Immortal Island.
After they departed, deep within that deathly archipelago, a pair of enormous eyes formed entirely from Nine Nether demonic fire slowly opened within the mist. Filled with venomous resentment and greed, they stared fixedly in the direction Xuanwei had vanished, especially at the faint Mysterious Yellow Spark that had flashed over him at the end.
"Chaos... vitality... and that nauseating... feeble flame... anomaly... must... devour..."
A low demonic thought filled with malice echoed through the mist.
Three Immortal Island, Immortal Nourishing Pool.
Xuanwei was once again immersed in the milky-white pool water. This time, his injuries were even more severe than before. His source was nearly exhausted, his immortal qi body covered in cracks. Only a faint Mysterious Yellow Spark flickered stubbornly at his very core, preserving the last vestige of his life.
Yunxiao personally acted, using the Primal Chaos Golden Dipper replica to stabilize his dispersing source before guiding the Immortal Nourishing Pool water and a tiny amount of Three Lights Divine Water with her great power to nourish his wounded body. Bixiao and Qiongxiao stood guard at the side, their faces filled with worry.
"Elder Sister, Junior Brother Xuanwei..." Bixiao looked at Xuanwei's miserable state, her eyes reddening slightly.
Yunxiao's beautiful brows were tightly furrowed, and unprecedented gravity filled her cool gaze. "His source has been overdrawn too severely, and he was struck by Golden Immortal-level Nine Nether demonic intent. It is already a great fortune that his spiritual consciousness has not been extinguished... And besides..."
Her gaze fell upon that Mysterious Yellow Spark, uncertainty flashing through her eyes.
"This power within him... it is neither immortal nor demonic, neither chaos nor the five elements. Its essence... seems faintly connected to the thread of fortune our teacher once mentioned, belonging to the future protagonists of heaven and earth... How did he manage to draw it forth?"
At that moment, Xuanwei's weak source resonated strangely with the Mysterious Yellow Spark under the nourishment of the Immortal Nourishing Pool and the Primal Chaos Golden Dipper. The spark gave a tiny pulse, and an almost imperceptible thought carrying warmth and protection quietly spread outward, brushing over the San Xiao sisters standing by the pool.
In an instant, the Dao hearts of the three sisters seemed to be stirred by that weak yet resilient thought.
Bixiao felt much of the restlessness in her heart soothed.
A trace of understanding and gentleness flashed through Qiongxiao's eyes.
Even Yunxiao, cool and detached as she was, felt the faintest ripple in her Dao heart. Her gaze toward Xuanwei became even more complicated and inscrutable.
Meanwhile, Xuanwei's consciousness, still unconscious, sank into a strange illusion.
He seemed to see countless frail figures gathered around a tiny bonfire in an endless dark wilderness. With ferocious beasts watching from all sides and wind and rain threatening to overwhelm them, they arduously passed that small spark from one to another, shouting, struggling, and pressing onward...
That bonfire was exactly the same as the Mysterious Yellow Spark guarding the depths of his source.
Before you continue