Shadow's Touch and the Salted Fish's Flip

Inside the villa, time seemed to be infected by Ling Ye's languid pose, flowing slowly and thickly. Su Wanqing placed the empty Chaos Green Lotus pot back in the corner, gazing at the few remaining golden droplets on the pot's surface, her mind still in a daze. Washing her feet and then watering the flowers, yet the flowers became even more mystical... what was happening to this world?

She subconsciously rubbed her forehead, where a subtle sensation (and psychological trauma) lingered from being gently patted by a foot still carrying "essence." The immense power within her, forcibly refined and settled, flowed gently, bringing an unprecedented sense of security. But the moment she thought about the source of this power, she felt so complex she wanted to claw at the walls.

Ling Ye had no interest in the tempest raging within the female CEO's heart, not even bothering to glance at the foot basin that had just "served its purpose." He adjusted his position on the sofa, trying to find a more perfect angle for his lethargy. He frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with the current level of comfort.

"Tsk, this sofa... too soft, it makes my back sag," he muttered disdainfully, as if the multi-million dollar top-tier genuine leather sofa beneath him was a discarded burlap sack from the street.

Su Wanqing: "..." She was beyond words.

Just as Ling Ye was considering whether to grab that half-piece of "steamed bun" from the corner to prop up his waist--

Deep underground.

That cold, bizarre energy, composed of pure shadow, like the most cunning viper, finally and cautiously pierced through the last few meters of dense rock strata and reinforced concrete, silently reaching out to... directly beneath the load-bearing pillar, the deeply buried Primordial Anchor Fragment!

"Sss..."

A faint contact sound, perceptible only to the shadow energy itself.

Success!

The owner of the shadow eyes, the being hidden in an unknown dimension beneath the earth, felt a surge of ecstasy! It sensed it! The ancient and incomplete spatial power contained within that fragment! Although suppressed by an even more terrifying and heavy force (it instinctively avoided thinking about the source of that power), its essence remained active, like a caged beast yearning to break free!

As long as... as long as it could establish a connection with this fragment, even just the shallowest resonance, it could use it as a springboard, gradually infiltrate, and finally... steal it! Seize this "keyhole" to return to the primordial era!

Ecstasy drowned out its last shred of caution. The shadow energy, like a vine finding a crack, began to more boldly entwine and infiltrate the anchor fragment, forcibly pinned by the aura of the "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain," attempting to imprint its will and establish an initial link.

All its attention was focused on this fragment, completely ignoring... in the deeper soil beside it, a few drops that had just seeped down, still emitting a faint chaotic starlight and the aura of the Breathing Soil... golden "essence"!

Those few drops of "foot-washing water" residue, the moment they came into contact with the shadow energy, seemed to trigger some mechanism, and flickered ever so faintly...

On the sofa, Ling Ye, still troubled by the sofa's softness, didn't even open his closed eyes. He merely clicked his tongue impatiently, as if swatting away a fly.

"Noisy."

One word, uttered lightly, almost sleepily.

However, the instant this word left his lips--

The "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain," which he had casually flicked into the shadow of the island counter, the profound and distorted patterns on its surface, flickered ever so slightly! So faint that even Su Wanqing, standing nearby, didn't notice!

An intangible yet indescribably heavy "constant" will, like a triggered automatic defense mechanism, instantly traversed space along some mysterious connection and precisely "smashed" onto the anchor fragment in the depths of the earth being touched by the shadow energy!

Not an attack! Not suppression!

But... like stamping to confirm ownership... deepening its "imprint" once more!

"Pfft--!"

Deep underground, the patch of shadow energy was struck by an invisible giant hammer, imbued with the weight of the entire starry sky! The energy tendrils it had painstakingly constructed in an attempt to link with the fragment couldn't even last for a ten-thousandth of a blink under the crushing pressure of this absolute "constant" will. They instantly... shattered! Annihilated!

Even more terrifying, that "constant" will, like a leech, followed the trajectory of the shadow energy's approach, ignoring spatial barriers, and instantly backlashed!

"Ughhhh--!!!"

A silent scream, far more piercing, more agonizing, filled with boundless horror and destruction than the death of the "Shadow Thorn" before, erupted violently in that unknown shadow dimension underground!

Those massive shadow eyes were like being thrown into purgatorial fire, instantly covered in countless cracks! The pure shadow energy that formed the eyes twisted, boiled, and evaporated madly! A terrifying power that seemed capable of crushing the soul into absolute "stillness" violently surged into its core Origin!

"Who?! What existence is this?!" The shadow entity let out a desperate and frantic soul-shriek. It felt like an ant trying to shake Mount Tai, instantly crushed into dust by an incomprehensible, irresistible absolute power!

It poured all its remaining strength into frantically severing all contact with the surface, like a gecko shedding its tail. It even self-detonated part of its Origin to barely block that terrifying backlash from its core!

The vast shadow dimension trembled violently, as if on the verge of collapse. Those shattered eyes rapidly dimmed, shrank, and finally completely vanished into the endless darkness, leaving behind only countless scattered shadow energies and a soul echo filled with extreme fear and malice:

"Rules... Controller...?!"

In the villa living room.

Ling Ye comfortably rolled over on the sofa, changing from a lying down to a side-lying position, seemingly having finally found a relatively satisfactory pose. He clicked his tongue and muttered something dreamily:

"Mmm... this way... more comfortable..."

As if that "noisy" remark and the subsequent underground upheaval were merely to drive away a bothersome mosquito so he could sleep more comfortably.

Su Wanqing was completely unaware of the terrifying confrontation deep underground, which was enough to bring an ancient shadow entity to the brink of destruction. She merely saw Ling Ye roll over and seem to fall into a deeper sleep. She breathed a sigh of relief, carefully nudging the Chaos Green Lotus pot further into the corner, trying to make it less conspicuous, lest it "offend" the great boss again.

However, as she moved the pot, her peripheral vision seemed to catch a glimpse of the pitch-black short stick lying flat in the corner of the island counter. It seemed to... move ever so slightly? As if displeased at being ignored, it adjusted its prone position?

Su Wanqing blinked sharply, then looked again. The short stick still lay quietly in the shadow, showing no abnormalities.

An illusion?

She shook her head, thinking she must be too nervous and hallucinating. How could a stick move on its own?

She thought no more of it, tiptoed to the other side of the sofa, keeping as far away from Ling Ye as possible, and curled up in a corner, hugging her knees, trying to process the morning's events, which were more magical and bizarre than her entire life of over twenty years combined.

The sunlight outside was just right, and the Ancient Orchid in the courtyard, watered with "foot-washing water," was even more mystical and fragrant.

Inside the villa, an eerie silence fell for a moment.

Only from the command vehicle in the distance, on the monitoring screen, did the line representing the underground energy field, which had just experienced a violent shockwave like a silent nuclear explosion, now lie completely still and flat, silently narrating some thrilling truth.

The technician looked at the motionless line, then at the target figure sleeping on his side on the screen. He silently recorded a line in the experiment log:

[Observation Record: Target suspected to possess a highly automated, rule-level passive defense and counterattack mechanism. Trigger conditions unknown, counterattack form unknown, power level: world-ending. Recommendation: Absolutely prohibit any form of active contact or probing. Target in hibernation state may be even more dangerous.]

After writing, he exchanged a look with Lei Bao beside him, seeing the same despair and deep helplessness in each other's eyes.

This shift... was impossible to monitor.