In the deepest reaches of the Northern Border's barren asteroid belt.
Inside an unremarkable dark-red Star Core, long since eaten through by Chaos Qi.
Zhou Ming had carved out a temporary hiding place there.
At the center of the Star Core, an immense vortex of Fortune slowly turned.
And at the heart of that vortex sat a figure in green, cross-legged.
It was Zhou Ming.
He had been in seclusion here for nearly a thousand years.
During that millennium, he had "visited" the Rebel-Slaying Alliance leaders who had offended him most, one by one.
Hongchu called it "targeted poverty relief."
Except it worked in reverse.
Crack—
An exceedingly faint yet unmistakable sound of breaking came from within Zhou Ming.
It was as though a glacier frozen for hundreds of millions of years had finally split under the warm spring sun.
Not far away, Hongchu, Cangxuan, Taichu, and Houtu all snapped to attention and looked over.
Behind them stood Qianling and six other fellow cultivators from the Eternal Dao Realm who had been rescued later.
The eleven formed a circle around Zhou Ming, guarding him at its center.
"Is he about to make it?" Excitement and anticipation shone in Hongchu's eyes.
He could feel Zhou Ming's aura undergoing an earth-shaking change.
It was like a giant bound fast by countless iron chains, finally about to break the last and strongest restraint.
Cangxuan's expression was far graver.
He watched Zhou Ming closely, quietly circulating his Law as he kept guard against everything around them.
He knew this was the crucial moment.
"Crack... crack, crack..."
The breaking sounds grew faster and louder.
They rattled on inside Zhou Ming like beans popping in a pan.
They were the sounds of the Primordial Universe's deepest Rule Shackles breaking apart inch by inch!
Ever since they