The moment the black-scaled claw reached out of the Space Rift, it stirred up an icy, bone-chilling current. The surrounding Chaos Space seemed to freeze, solidifying in an instant. The Space Veins on that claw were entirely different from those of Kongming Demon God—more complex and profound. Every vein seemed like a miniature Space Rift, radiating pressure capable of devouring everything.
The Chaos rubble concealing Xuan Fu shook violently. If he had not promptly activated the newly refined Space Origin and condensed a thin Space Barrier over his surface, he would likely have already been crushed by that pressure. He held his breath tightly, not daring to let even a trace of Spiritual Sense leak out. He could only peer through the cracks in the rubble and greedily observe the claw's movements.
This was a far more profound application of the Space Dao than Kongming Demon God had displayed! Before the claw even touched the Innate Spiritual Root, the surrounding space began collapsing inward, forming an invisible gravitational field that firmly locked onto the Three-Leaf Spiritual Root. The root seemed to sense the danger. Its three emerald leaves trembled rapidly, and the Life Origin they released suddenly surged, forming a pale-green protective barrier over its surface.
"Buzz—"
The protective barrier collided with the spatial gravitational field, producing a deep hum. Pale-green light and black Space Rifts intertwined, forming a strange curtain of light. The surrounding Chaos Stream was drawn in by this force and began spinning wildly, forming a huge vortex.
Xuan Fu could clearly feel that although the Spiritual Root's Life Origin was pure, it was nowhere near a match for the claw's master. Under the pressure of the spatial gravitational field, the protective barrier was visibly dimming. The leaves of the Three-Leaf Spiritual Root had also begun to yellow slightly, clearly unable to hold out much longer.
At that moment, a hoarse, low voice came from within the Space Rift, like metal scraping against stone. "A mere Innate Spiritual Root dares struggle before the Venerable One?"
As the voice fell, the black claw suddenly exerted force, and the spatial gravitational field instantly strengthened several times. With a crisp crack, the Spiritual Root's protective barrier shattered. Its three leaves trembled violently, as if they might fall off at any moment.
Xuan Fu grew anxious. The Life Origin of this Innate Spiritual Root was crucial to him. If the mysterious powerhouse took it, who knew how many years he would have to wait before encountering such pure Life Origin again? Yet he also knew that with his current strength, he could not possibly stand against this mysterious powerhouse. Acting rashly would be no different from throwing an egg at a rock.
His Spiritual Sense raced, and Xuan Fu soon reached a decision. He did not choose to fight for it by force. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the nearby Chaos Turbulence. There, several wisps of Chaos Fiend Spirit drawn by the earlier energy fluctuations hovered hesitantly. They were clearly tempted by the Spiritual Root's Life Origin, yet wary of the mysterious powerhouse's pressure.
A barely perceptible curve formed at the corner of Xuan Fu's mouth. He activated the Space Runes, disguising his aura as a wisp of dispersing Life Origin and sending it drifting toward the several wisps of Chaos Fiend Spirit. At the same time, he circulated the Fire Origin, mixing a faint fire-attributed fluctuation into the disguised aura, like the Spiritual Root's final struggle before death.
The Chaos Fiend Spirits already possessed little intelligence. Drawn by this aura, they instantly grew violent. No longer fearing the mysterious powerhouse's pressure, they shrieked and charged toward the Innate Spiritual Root, their target aimed directly at that wisp of "dispersing Life Origin."
This scene happened to be noticed by the mysterious powerhouse within the Space Rift.
"Wretches courting death!"
A hoarse roar rang out. The black claw split off a thread of power and struck toward the Chaos Fiend Spirits. The invisible Power of Space slapped down like it was swatting flies, instantly pounding the several wisps of fiend spirits into dust. Yet that brief delay gave the Spiritual Root a chance to catch its breath—and gave Xuan Fu an opportunity.
The instant the mysterious powerhouse's attention was diverted to the fiend spirits, Xuan Fu activated the Space Folding Power, transforming into a blue-gold streak of light that shot toward the Innate Spiritual Root like an arrow loosed from a bow. He had no intention of greedily taking the entire root. The moment he drew near, he extended an invisible hand condensed from runes, accurately seized one of the outermost leaves, and smoothly stripped out a wisp of the purest Life Origin.
The instant he succeeded, Xuan Fu turned without hesitation and activated his spatial escape power, fleeing toward the densest region of the Chaos Turbulence. His movements were as fast as lightning. The entire process took no more than a few breaths. By the time the mysterious powerhouse reacted, he had already vanished into the raging turbulence.
"Seeking death!"
The mysterious powerhouse was consumed by rage. The black claw suddenly reached toward the direction Xuan Fu had fled. The Space Rift expanded instantly, and countless tiny Space Blades chased after Xuan Fu. Wherever they passed, the Chaos Stream was sliced into countless fragments.
Xuan Fu's heart tightened, and he dared not stop for even a moment. He pushed both his spatial escape and Space Folding Power to their limits, his figure flashing repeatedly through the turbulence as he dodged the pursuing Space Blades like a ghost. At the same time, he merged the Life Origin he had just stripped out into himself. The Wood Attribute Veins on the surface of his runes instantly lit up, intertwining with the fire-attributed and space-attributed veins to form a Tri-Color Barrier that barely resisted the spatial pressure behind him.
This wisp of Life Origin truly had wondrous uses. Not only had it given his runes an additional trace of gentle vitality, it had also greatly strengthened their resilience, allowing his Spiritual Sense to remain completely undisturbed beneath the impact of the spatial pressure.
But the mysterious powerhouse was simply too strong. Even after Xuan Fu fled into the turbulence, he remained firmly locked onto by the opponent's Spiritual Sense. The Space Blades behind him grew denser and even began predicting his escape path, forcing him into one perilous situation after another.
Xuan Fu knew that if this continued, he would be caught sooner or later. He had to find a way to escape the opponent's lock-on, or he would undoubtedly die today.
His Spiritual Sense raced, and his gaze fell upon a huge Chaos Crystal not far ahead. The crystal was roughly several dozen zhang in size, its surface covered in thick Space Veins. It had clearly existed for billions of years and was incomparably hard; even the aftershock of the Sky-Opening Axe Light had failed to destroy it completely.
A bold idea began to form in his mind.
He did not change direction. Instead, he accelerated toward the huge Chaos Crystal. The instant he approached it, he suddenly altered his escape trajectory and circled around to the crystal's rear. At the same time, he activated all his Origin Power and rapidly carved into the crystal's surface.
He would use the Chaos Crystal's hardness and spatial properties to set up a temporary talisman array!
The rune patterns began moving frantically. Fire Origin, Space Origin, and Life Origin surged out simultaneously, transforming into streaks of blue-gold, crimson, and emerald light that intertwined across the crystal's surface. Xuan Fu had no time to carve a complicated array. He could only fuse the three rune powers he was most skilled in—concealment, defense, and counterattack—into the simple yet practical Hidden Void Burning Array.
The blue-gold spatial runes formed the array foundation, linking the array to the Chaos Crystal's Space Veins and borrowing the crystal's power to conceal the aura within the array. The crimson Fire Origin became the array core, containing the violent power of Yanhuang Demon God's Origin. Once triggered, it would erupt. The emerald Life Origin stabilized the array formation, preventing the Chaos Turbulence from tearing it apart.
The entire carving process took no more than two breaths. The instant Xuan Fu completed the final vein, the Space Blades behind him had already reached him.
Without hesitation, Xuan Fu fled into the array and activated it at the same time.
"Buzz—"
The instant the array activated, the Space Veins on the Chaos Crystal resonated with the array's Space Runes. Xuan Fu's aura vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared. The pursuing Space Blades struck the crystal, producing loud clangs as sparks flew, yet they failed to damage the crystal in the slightest, much less detect the array's existence.
A moment later, the black claw reached the crystal. The mysterious powerhouse's Spiritual Sense repeatedly searched around it, yet could not find any trace of Xuan Fu. He could sense that Xuan Fu's aura was nearby, but some force had concealed it perfectly, preventing even his spatial perception from penetrating it.
"Hmph. You wretched rat hiding your head and showing your tail—do you think this is enough to escape the Venerable One?"
A hoarse, cold snort rang out. The black claw suddenly struck the Chaos Crystal. The enormous force made the crystal shake violently, and the array on its surface rippled with it. Within the array, Xuan Fu felt tremendous pressure, and the rune patterns nearly collapsed.
But he had prepared for this. He activated the Life Origin to stabilize the array continuously while quietly accumulating the power of the Fire Origin. Once the array was broken, he would immediately launch a counterattack and flee in the chaos.
The black claw struck dozens of times in succession. The Chaos Crystal was battered until it seemed ready to collapse, and numerous cracks appeared across its surface. Yet the array stubbornly held on with the crystal's support and the Life Origin's stabilization. The mysterious powerhouse seemed to sense the crystal's hardness and the array's strangeness, and was unwilling to waste time here. After all, the Innate Spiritual Root was still waiting for him to collect it.
"Wretched rat, the next time the Venerable One encounters you, I will scatter your soul!"
After leaving behind this threat, the black claw slowly withdrew into the Space Rift. The rift closed along with it, and the surrounding spatial pressure gradually dissipated.
Xuan Fu remained hidden within the array for another three Chaos hours. Only after confirming that the mysterious powerhouse had completely departed did he dare crawl out of the array. His rune body trembled slightly, and his Spiritual Sense was heavily depleted. The series of actions just now had nearly exhausted all the Origin Power he had accumulated recently.
Yet excitement filled his face.
This time, he had not only successfully stripped out the Innate Spiritual Root's Life Origin, but had also used the crisis to successfully create his first practical talisman array, the "Hidden Void Burning Array." More importantly, he had gained many new insights from the Space Dao of the mysterious powerhouse and Kongming Demon God.
He did not linger. He immediately fled into the Chaos Turbulence, found a relatively safe corner, and began refining that wisp of Life Origin. The emerald Origin Power merged into his runes, nourishing one another with the fire-attributed and space-attributed powers. The patterns on the surface of his runes became rounder and more intricate, while his Spiritual Sense grew considerably stronger.
After finishing the refinement, Xuan Fu felt that his talisman path had taken another step toward completion. He could not only set up simple talisman arrays, but also fuse and employ Origin Powers of different attributes. In the Chaos, this undoubtedly gave him an additional guarantee of survival.
He sorted through his gains, then determined his direction and continued fleeing toward the edge of the Chaos. The influence of the Sky-Opening Axe Light was still ongoing, and the central region of the Chaos was growing increasingly dangerous. Only by escaping to the outskirts could he gain a chance to catch his breath.
Just as he fled across a relatively calm layer of Chaos Qi, his Spiritual Sense suddenly caught a familiar aura.
It was the aura of Kongming Demon God!
Xuan Fu's heart tightened, and he immediately restrained his aura, hiding himself within a Chaos Qi Mass. He followed the aura and investigated. Several tens of thousands of li away, Kongming Demon God was facing off against another demon god covered in yellow earth-colored scales. That Yellow Earth Demon God was enormous, standing like a mountain and radiating a heavy earth-attributed Origin Aura. It was clearly another formidable Chaos Demon God.
The Chaos Stream between the two churned violently. They had evidently just experienced a fierce battle and were currently locked in a stalemate.
Xuan Fu carefully observed with his Spiritual Sense and discovered that Kongming Demon God's aura was much weaker than before. The Space Veins on his surface had also dimmed somewhat, clearly indicating that he had been injured in the earlier battle. The Yellow Earth Demon God was not much better. Quite a few of his scales had fallen off, and his aura was in complete disarray.
At that moment, Kongming Demon God suddenly moved. He fiercely activated the Power of Space, transforming into a pitch-black streak of light that attacked the Yellow Earth Demon God's opening. The Yellow Earth Demon God roared. A thick earth-attributed barrier surfaced over his body as he simultaneously swung a fist carrying the power to shatter mountains and split rocks toward Kongming Demon God.
"Bang!"
A violent collision rang out. The Power of Space and earth-attributed power crashed into each other, forming enormous energy ripples. Kongming Demon God was shaken back repeatedly, black Origin Power spilling from the corner of his mouth. The Yellow Earth Demon God was not unscathed either. Cracks appeared in his earth-attributed barrier, and his massive body staggered.
Xuan Fu's eyes lit up.
This was an excellent opportunity to profit from their losses! Whether Kongming Demon God or the Yellow Earth Demon God, both were seriously injured. If he could take the chance to strip out a wisp of their Origin, it would greatly aid the growth of his talisman path.
But he did not act rashly. Even injured, the two demon gods were still far stronger than him. The slightest misstep could bring disaster upon himself.
He patiently hid within the Qi Mass, like the most patient hunter, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The battle between Kongming Demon God and the Yellow Earth Demon God erupted once more, growing increasingly fierce. Their Origin Power continued to drain, and their openings grew more numerous. Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense remained tightly locked onto the two of them, the rune patterns moving rapidly as he prepared to attack at any moment.
Just as the two were locked in fierce battle, their Origin Power more than half depleted and both on the verge of mutual destruction, Xuan Fu suddenly felt an icy gaze firmly lock onto him from somewhere in the depths of the Chaos.
This gaze did not come from Kongming Demon God or the Yellow Earth Demon God. It came from an even more distant and mysterious existence. That aura was cold and eerie, carrying an indifference that looked down upon all living beings. It caused an instinctive fear to rise from the depths of Xuan Fu's soul through his rune body.
The Chaos Qi Mass trembled violently. Xuan Fu no longer dared to investigate recklessly with his Spiritual Sense and could only curl up tightly in the depths of the Qi Mass, his heart filled with doubt and alarm.
Who exactly was this existence that had locked onto him? When had the other party discovered him? And what purpose did they have?
Before you continue