Innate Spiritual Root, Talisman Gathers Life

An ice-cold gaze, like a bone-attached sore, locked tightly onto Xuan Fu's true body. The fear originating from the depths of his soul caused even his rune patterns to contract violently. This aura was too strange—it lacked the ferociousness of a Demon God, lacked the wildness of the Sky-Opening, yet carried an indifference that disregarded everything and controlled life and death, as if in its eyes, he was nothing more than an ant that could be crushed at any moment.

Xuan Fu dared not make the slightest move, not even casually turn his Spiritual Sense. He could only compress his own aura to the extreme, achieving a Perfect Fusion with the surrounding Chaos Qi Masses. He could feel that the gaze came from deep within the Chaos, an extremely distant place, yet it could precisely capture his traces. Clearly, the strength of this entity far surpassed the owner of the mysterious claw from before.

"Hongjun? Or some other, more ancient existence?"

One thought after another flashed through his Spiritual Sense, but he quickly suppressed them. Now was not the time to guess the entity's identity; how to break free from the lock-on was the priority. He quietly activated the Space Rune, adjusting his escape trajectory to be completely consistent with the flow of Chaos Streams, like dust drifting with the wind, leaving no trace of deliberate action.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of li away, Kongming Demon God and the Yellow Earth Demon God seemed to have also sensed this Mysterious Aura. Their battle abruptly stopped, and they both looked into the depths of the Chaos, their eyes filled with wariness and terror. The Yellow Earth Demon God spoke hoarsely, "This... what aura is this?"

Kongming Demon God's sinister gaze flickered uncertainly, and he shook his head. "I don't know, but it's definitely not an existence we can provoke. This place is not suitable to stay. We leave!"

As the words fell, Kongming Demon God no longer lingered in battle. He turned into a streak of pitch-black light, fleeing towards the edge of the Chaos. The Yellow Earth Demon God dared not stay either, and Followed closely behind. The two Demon Gods vanished into the Chaos Turbulence in an instant.

His heart stirred. It seemed the deterrent power of this mysterious existence was so great that even a Demon God like Kongming couldn't bear it. He didn't take the opportunity to follow and scavenge; instead, he lurked even more cautiously—the departure of the two Demon Gods might cause the mysterious entity to focus its attention even more on him, this "little ant."

As expected, shortly after the two Demon Gods fled, that ice-cold gaze seemed to grow even sharper, as if piercing through the obstruction of the Chaos Qi Masses, stabbing directly at his rune body. He knew the entity was slowly approaching. Although its speed wasn't fast, each movement caused subtle fluctuations in the surrounding Chaos Space—the rhythm of the Great Dao's operation, something no ordinary Demon God could achieve.

He couldn't wait any longer!

Xuan Fu made an immediate decision, activating the Space Folding and escape power while fusing the three Origin Powers of Fire, Wood, and Space, condensing a three-colored barrier on his body's surface. He fled towards the direction where he had previously discovered the Innate Spiritual Root. He knew that place held the Chaos Crystal and the Hidden Void Burning Array he had set up. Perhaps, by borrowing the power of the array and the crystal, he could temporarily shake off the entity's lock.

His form shuttled at extreme speed through the Chaos Turbulence, his Spiritual Sense firmly locked onto the Chaos Crystal ahead. That ice-cold gaze followed relentlessly, like a shadow that couldn't be shaken off. The entity's speed seemed slow, but it could always predict his escape trajectory. No matter how he changed direction, he couldn't increase the distance.

Just when he was only a thousand zhang away from the Chaos Crystal, Xuan Fu suddenly felt a violent fluctuation in the space behind him. That mysterious entity seemed to have lost patience and launched an attack!

An invisible pressure instantly descended, causing Xuan Fu's three-colored barrier to tremble violently, as if it were about to be crushed by this force. His Spiritual Sense became chaotic, and his escape speed involuntarily slowed down.

"Fight it out!"

Xuan Fu gritted his teeth (rune patterns tightened), abruptly mobilized the Origin Power within his body. The three-colored barrier instantly expanded, and at the same time, he changed his escape direction. Instead of charging towards the Chaos Crystal, he rushed into a patch of even more violent Chaos Turbulence beside it. He was betting that the entity, wary of the residual Sky-Opening Axe Light, wouldn't dare to venture deep into this turbulent area.

This gamble succeeded.

The moment he rushed into the turbulence, the invisible pressure behind him vanished abruptly, and that ice-cold gaze also faded away, as if it had never existed. Xuan Fu Sighed in Relief, but dared not relax in the slightest. He continued shuttling through the turbulence until he confirmed the entity wasn't pursuing, then slowed down and flew towards the direction of the Chaos Crystal.

Returning to the side of the Chaos Crystal, Xuan Fu slipped into the Hidden Void Burning Array and began to regulate his breathing and recover. The life-and-death chase just now had nearly exhausted his Origin Power, and even his rune patterns had become somewhat dim. He took out the Life Origin of the Innate Spiritual Root he had previously Stripped Away and slowly integrated it into himself. Emerald green energy flows spread along his rune patterns, bringing a warm vitality, and the damaged runes began to repair quickly.

After recovering, Xuan Fu's gaze fell upon the Innate Spiritual Root not far away. After the recent upheaval, the aura of this spiritual root was even weaker. Its three leaves had turned yellow, clearly suffering considerable damage. Yet it still grew tenaciously, emitting a faint Life Power, like a single firefly in the darkness.

A trace of reluctance arose in Xuan Fu's heart, but he quickly suppressed it. In the Chaos, the law of the jungle prevailed. If he didn't collect the root's Origin, it would sooner or later be taken by another Demon God, and even the root itself might be destroyed. What he could do was to preserve the root's vitality as much as possible, only collecting a portion of its Origin, giving it a chance to continue growing.

He set up another layer of Stealth Talisman array, isolating the spiritual root from the outside world, then cautiously approached. This time, with no mysterious powerhouse interfering and no Demon God spying, he could finally collect the Origin with peace of mind.

He extended an invisible hand condensed from runes, gently touching the root's leaves. The rune patterns slowly revolved, gently guiding the Life Origin within the root to flow out. Unlike the forceful Stripping Away before, this time he used a "guiding" method, ensuring the purity of the Origin while avoiding too much damage to the root.

The emerald Life Origin flowed like a trickling stream, continuously pouring into Xuan Fu's true body. He could feel his runes undergoing subtle changes. The originally sharp Space and Fire attribute patterns gained a touch of warm vitality. The three Origin Powers intertwined, nourishing each other, forming a wondrous balance.

The volume of the rune expanded again, reaching the size of a thumb. Its cyan-gold surface shimmered with flowing light, emitting a faint spiritual glow. His Spiritual Sense also surged, its coverage expanding from a thousand li to over three thousand li, making his perception of the surrounding environment much sharper.

More importantly, the framework for Wood attribute runes within his Talisman Arts system had formally taken shape. He could clearly feel that, by borrowing the Wood attribute Origin, he could condense auxiliary talismans like "Life Talisman" and "Healing Talisman." In the perilous Chaos, this was undoubtedly an extra life-saving trump card.

Just as he had collected about one-third of the Life Origin and was about to stop, the spiritual root suddenly trembled violently. Its three leaves spun rapidly, emitting a strong green light that enveloped Xuan Fu's rune.

Xuan Fu was startled, thinking the root was about to counterattack. He was about to flee, but then realized the green light held no malice. Instead, it carried a pure stream of consciousness, pouring into his Spiritual Sense.

This was a segment of insight regarding the "Great Dao of Life," originating from the Innate Spiritual Root's instinctual inheritance. Although incomplete, it contained the core essence of life's birth, growth, and reproduction, far more precious than mere Life Origin.

Xuan Fu was overjoyed. He immediately stopped collecting Origin and focused entirely on digesting this insight. The mysteries of the Great Dao of Life mutually corroborated with his Talisman Arts, elevating his understanding of Wood attribute runes to a new level. He understood that vitality could not only be used for healing and recovery but also for promotion and evolution, and could even be combined with other attribute runes to create even more powerful Talisman Arts.

After digesting this insight, Xuan Fu bowed slightly to the Innate Spiritual Root, expressing his thanks. He didn't collect any more Origin. Instead, he activated his rune power, setting up a protective talisman array around the root, isolating it from the Chaos Turbulence and providing it with a relatively safe environment to grow.

After doing all this, Xuan Fu turned and left.

By now, the influence of the Sky-Opening Axe Light in the Chaos had gradually weakened. The Pure and Turbid Energies began to separate, and the embryonic form of the world was taking shape. Chaos Streams became relatively stable, no longer as violent as before. However, following this, more Demon Gods appeared—those who had survived the Sky-Opening calamity began roaming the Chaos, competing for the remaining Origin and Innate Spiritual Treasures.

Xuan Fu knew deeply that the Chaos Era was about to end, and the Primordial Era was about to begin. He had to increase his strength and accumulate enough Origin and resources before the Primordial World took shape. Otherwise, in the upcoming Three Clans Hegemony and the disputes of the great kalpas, it would be difficult for him to find a foothold.

He discerned the direction and flew towards the area in the Chaos with the densest Origin Aura. There, there were bound to be numerous Innate Spiritual Treasure fragments and Origin Fragments left from fallen Demon Gods—an excellent place to enhance his strength.

During his flight, Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense continuously expanded, staying alert to his surroundings. He encountered many low-level Demon Gods. Most of these Demon Gods were severely injured, their auras chaotic. Upon seeing Xuan Fu, they either ignored him or tried to ambush him, but he easily dealt with them using his Talisman Arts, Stripping Away a wisp of their Origin in the process.

As he collected more and more Origin, Xuan Fu's Talisman Arts rapidly improved. He classified and refined Origin Powers of different attributes, integrating them into the corresponding rune patterns. The light of his rune body grew increasingly bright, and his Spiritual Sense became more powerful.

Just as he was about to reach the Origin-rich area, his Spiritual Sense suddenly caught a familiar aura.

It was the aura of Yanhuang Demon God!

Xuan Fu was stunned. Hadn't Yanhuang Demon God already disintegrated in the Sky-Opening Axe Light? How could his aura still exist? He traced the aura and saw, not far ahead in a layer of Chaos Qi, a mass of fiery red Origin Power slowly condensing, vaguely forming the phantom of Yanhuang Demon God.

Clearly, Yanhuang Demon God hadn't completely fallen. Relying on a wisp of remnant soul, he had barely managed to condense a portion of his Origin and was trying to recover.

Xuan Fu's gaze (Spiritual Sense fluctuation) became complicated. Yanhuang Demon God was the source of the first wisp of Fire Origin he had collected, holding special significance for him. But in the Chaos, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Although Yanhuang Demon God was severely injured, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. If he were allowed to recover, he might not be grateful to Xuan Fu; instead, he might seek revenge for having his Origin Stripped Away before.

Just as Xuan Fu hesitated whether to strike and completely obliterate Yanhuang Demon God's remnant soul, the phantom of Yanhuang Demon God suddenly opened its eyes. Its fiery red gaze precisely locked onto his position.

"It's you!"

A hoarse roar sounded. The phantom of Yanhuang Demon God trembled violently, Emitting a powerful Killing Intent. Clearly, he recognized the wisp of Fire Origin on Xuan Fu that originated from him.

Xuan Fu's heart tightened. He knew a great battle was inevitable. He didn't choose to flee. Instead, he activated all three Origin Powers simultaneously. The rune's surface shimmered with flowing light, and the rune patterns of the Hidden Void Burning Array rapidly circulated on his body's surface, preparing for battle.

The phantom of Yanhuang Demon God roared in anger, transforming into a fiery red streak of light, charging towards Xuan Fu. Although it was only a phantom condensed from a remnant soul, the Fire Origin it contained was still violent. Wherever it passed, Chaos Streams were incinerated, forming a long tunnel of flames.

Xuan Fu took a deep breath (rune expanded). He didn't fight head-on. Instead, he activated the Space Folding power, his form constantly flickering within the flame tunnel. At the same time, he pushed his Fire Origin to the extreme, condensing a layer of fiery red barrier on his body's surface, immunizing himself against some of the flame damage.

He was waiting for the right moment, waiting for the moment when Yanhuang Demon God's Origin Power was exhausted.

Just as the two were locked in fierce battle, and the aura of Yanhuang Demon God's phantom was gradually weakening, Xuan Fu suddenly felt the surrounding Chaos Space begin to warp once again.

An icy, familiar aura surged from all directions, enveloping both him and the phantom of Yanhuang Demon God.

It was Kongming Demon God!

Xuan Fu's heart jolted. He hadn't expected Kongming Demon God to return after leaving, and to appear at this exact moment.

Kongming Demon God's figure emerged from the Chaos Stream, his sinister gaze sweeping over Xuan Fu and Yanhuang Demon God's phantom. The energy gap at the corner of his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Two wounded ants—perfect to take down together!"

As the words fell, Kongming Demon God activated the Power of Space, sending countless tiny Space Blades shooting toward Xuan Fu and Yanhuang Demon God's phantom.

Caught between two fronts—Yanhuang Demon God's frenzied counterattack ahead and Kongming Demon God's lethal ambush behind—Xuan Fu's situation instantly became precarious.

And just then, the edge of his Spiritual Sense once again caught that Ice-Cold gaze.

That mysterious aura from the depths of chaos had actually followed him here!