Slaying the Four Great Powerhouses
The moment the Shadow Annihilation mist completely dissipated within the Yin-Yang Fish Totem, the last wisp of Void was forcibly dragged into the Chaos Realm by the Chaos Law chaos, churning violently like Cold Iron thrown into a furnace. The Void collided with the life force of the Chaos Realm, producing a sizzling sound. Each churning stirred up thousands of layers of energy waves, which crashed against the boundary barrier, causing the newly formed starry sky to tremble slightly.
The churning Void settled at the core of the first starry sky within the realm, transforming into billions of imperceptible stardust particles. As the stardust coalesced, it gave birth to a star formed from pure Void. The star was entirely black, reflecting no light, yet it could devour the surrounding Energy Particles, and even spacetime around it exhibited a distorted arc.
This star is undergoing its first "end"—the instant its Star Core collapses. Billions of streaks of azure-gold light burst forth from the collapse's center, tearing countless Rift through the collapsing darkness like sharp swords. The newborn Star Core emerging from these Rift is a hundred times brighter than before. Within the Star Core's rotational trajectory, the "rebirth" resilience infused by Ren Xiaoyao with his own Essence Blood is clearly imprinted. Even the frequency of the Star Core's pulsation is perfectly synchronized with the breathing of the Reverse Life Tree. With each pulsation of the Star Core, a new leaf unfolds from the newly sprouted vegetation within the realm.
The moment Ren Xiaoyao raised his hand to form a seal, the thirty-seventh branch of the Reverse Life Tree suddenly trembled violently. The half-black, half-green leaf on the branch detached and transformed into a stream of light, converging in the air with the remaining bone armor fragments of the Black Prison War Lord, the ashes of the ancient book of the Star-Eating Witch Venerable, and the Void mist of Shadow Annihilation. The instant the four forces collided, the resulting Energy Impact instantly annihilated the Asteroid Belt in the distance.
Four forces swirled three times above the Star Core fragment, each circle resonating with the Power of Principle of the surrounding Star Realms. Stars in the Star Realms changed their trajectories, as if paying tribute to the formation of the Seal Formation. Finally, it condensed into Four-Color Seal Formation red, blue, black, and white. The four-colored pillars of light suspended at the array's core pierced the sky, drawing away all the balancing forces of the surrounding Star Realms and transforming them into countless fine chains that wrapped around the remnants of the four powerful beings' origins. With each flash of the runes on the chains, the light of Nebula merged into them.
"Based on Primordial Chaos, secured by birth and death, the Four Extremes Seal, by decree!"
Ren Xiaoyao's voice boomed like thunder, causing the Star Core fragments to hum. The four-colored light pillars suddenly contracted, and a crystal the size of a walnut condensed at the point where the chains intertwined. The halo flowing on the surface of the crystal was the purest color of the Chaos Origin. The crystal floated in mid-air, and the fluctuations it emitted slowed down the flow of spacetime in the surrounding area by 30%.
On the crystal surface, the Dragon Head phantom of the Black Prison War Lord was frantically crashing against the light barrier. Each impact caused ripples to spread across the crystal, and where the ripples spread, the rocks on the Star Core fragments turned to dust. The blood serpent of the Star-Eating Witch Venerable was constantly disintegrating and reforming in the blue light, its eyes burning with undying resentment. Each reformation was three times thicker than the previous one. The mist of Shadow Annihilation twisted into countless painful faces, each face screaming silently. Although the screams were inaudible, they could cause tremors at the soul level. The remnant soul of the Dark Sky Walker was nailed firmly to the center by the ancient seal characters "Life and Death," and even the strength to struggle was being slowly drained away. The outline of the remnant soul became thinner at a visible speed.
With each flash of the runes, a wisp of dark imprint was peeled away, turning into wisps of green smoke that rose gently, nourishing the newly sprouted moss outside the crystal. This seal was not merely imprisonment, but a slow purification using balance as its blade, gradually eroding the malevolent energy within these Dark Origin. Nourished by the green smoke, the moss spread at a visible speed, weaving a green net around the crystal.
He stared at the crystal for a long time, then tapped it three times with his fingertips. Each tap contained a different Power of Principle. The first tap carried the Principle of "life," the second contained the mystery of "destruction," and the third was the pure fluctuation of the Chaos Origin.
With the first tap, a vibrant green leaf fell from the Reverse Life Tree, transforming into a barrier outside the crystal that isolated all auras. Even the passage of time slowed down here; a moment within the barrier was equivalent to an hour outside. With the second tap, a towering Mysterious Yellow Stone Wall rose from the depths of the Star Core fragment. The wall was covered with protective runes, which flickered and formed an indestructible barrier, firmly protecting the crystal. With the third tap, the nascent spiritual Spiritual Qi of the Chaos Realm surged in like a tide, weaving a thick cocoon of Spiritual Qi around the crystal. Within Spiritual Qi cocoon, countless tiny Life Factors were being nurtured; these elements would one day become the guardian spirits protecting the seal.
"This realm is not yet complete; you shall rest for now."
As Ren Xiaoyao turned and walked towards the Chaos Realm, the sealing crystal behind him, drawn by the Mysterious Yellow Stone Wall, sank thousands of feet deep into the Star Core fragment. Only four-colored array patterns remained on the surface, faintly visible among the green grass. Dewdrops from the tips of the grass blades dripped slowly along the patterns, spreading out tiny ripples of Spiritual Qi on the array patterns, as if pouring life force into an eternal cage. From the soil around the array patterns, tender shoots bearing Rune Imprint began to sprout.
Three days is but a fleeting moment in the flow of the Star Realms, but for the Chaos Realm, it is already a cycle of growth for all things. On the nascent continent within the realm, mountains rise, rivers meander, and even small creatures that can run appear, their fur carrying a faint Spiritual Qi glow.
When the coastline of the first continent in the Chaos Realm finally stabilized, and the nascent tides began to rise and fall according to the phases of the moon, even giving birth to the first tiny creatures adapted to the Principle of the realm, the Star Core fragments suddenly trembled violently. The tremors came from the depths of the earth's core, carrying a destructive power that caused layers of rock on the surface to peel away.
The four-colored array patterns on the ground shattered like Glazed Ice crushed by a tremendous force, emitting a crisp sound. The fragments of the array patterns rose into the air and reformed into four ferocious phantoms in the black wind—the seal on which the hope of purification was placed had actually collapsed at this moment! The black wind carried the fragments, and wherever it blew, fine scratches were carved into the void.
The Black Prison War Lord's bone armor reassembled in the black mist. This time, the bone armor was covered with vine-like cracks, and the Black Blood seeping from the cracks carried a pungent stench, corroding the vine marks at a visible speed and making a "sizzling" sound. Each scale of the bone armor was engraved with Destruction Runes, and as the runes flashed, the surrounding temperature plummeted by a thousand degrees.
"Balance? It's nothing but a self-deceiving shackle!"
As the Dragon Head Skull skull's jaws opened and closed, the Ethereal Blue Ghost Fire became a hundred times more violent than before. Within the flames, one could even see scenes of countless galaxies being destroyed. In the Destruction Map on the axe's face, newly added twisted runes pulsed at an eerie frequency, as if mocking Ren Xiaoyao's naivety. With each pulse of the ghostly flames, a distant star was extinguished.
"I will make you watch with your own eyes how your Chaos Realm turns into stardust under the Battle Axe —just like the three hundred Star Realms I shattered back then!"
The moment he stepped out, the Star Core rock beneath his feet melted away like tofu, revealing a bottomless black Rift. From within the Rift came the faint wails of countless creatures, the pain and despair contained in those wails enough to shake the resolve of even the most resolute. Black magma also churned within the Rift, devouring all energy wherever it passed.
The ancient book of the Star-Eating Witch Venerable was restored from the ashes. The sound of the pages turning was like countless bones rubbing together, harsh and unpleasant. The Blood Characters on the pages transformed into swimming blood snakes, each snake with a miniature Seal Formation embedded at its seven-inch mark, clearly Law Fragments forcibly plundered from the seal. The black aura emanating from the ancient book shrouded the surrounding stars in a layer of gray.
"I have comprehended the true meaning of ' Life and Death are of the Same Origin ' within the seal!"
As his withered fingers traced the cover, the black energy seeping from between them eroded honeycomb-like holes in the void. Within these holes, glimpses of other Star Realms could be vaguely seen. "Life is for being corrupted, and death is the ultimate destiny!" The holes continued to expand, as if they were about to devour the entire starry sky.
The Dark River once again traversed the starry sky. This time, countless miniature Seal Formation floated in the river, constantly devouring the surrounding Spiritual Qi and transforming it into Dark Energy. The once clear river surface had become pitch black, and even the nascent sunlight of the Chaos Realm was swallowed up, leaving only a pale halo. For every inch the river flowed, a Nebula turned into dust.
The mist Shadow Annihilation was ten times denser than before, and within it emerged countless illusory images of Ren Xiaoyao: some were offering the Chaos Realm to the Dark Sky Walker, their faces full of fawning smiles; some knelt and begged for mercy before the Black Prison War Lord's Battle Axe, their eyes filled with fear; and some were personally plucking the last leaf of the Reverse Life Tree, their expressions as cold as ice. The aura of each illusory figure was exactly the same as Ren Xiaoyao's, even the fluctuations of their Principle were identical.
"Look, these are all your futures."
The voice, identical to Ren Xiaoyao's, was seductive, seemingly reaching the depths of the soul. A hand emerging from the mist perfectly overlapped with Ren Xiaoyao's, even the lines on the palms were identical. "Give up the balance, Void is the only eternity—you and I are of the same origin, why deceive yourselves?" As the hand drew near, a ripple stirred in Ren Xiaoyao's sea of consciousness.
As the last figure rose, the nascent stars of the Chaos Realm suddenly dimmed, as if their light had been blocked by an invisible hand. The temperature of the entire Star Realms plummeted, and even the light seemed to be frozen in mid-air.
The Dark Sky Walker's body was made of branches from the Reverse Life Tree, with fragments of Star Core forming his flesh. Half-black, half-green leaves were embedded between his brows, and the ancient seal characters for "Life and Death" were being forcibly reversed by him with his Origin Power: when the character "Death" lit up, the vegetation of the Chaos Realm withered at a visible speed, turning into ashes; when the character "Life" lit up, dark vines with bared fangs sprouted from the withered parts, with twisted remains of living beings hanging on the vines. With each breath he took, the life force of an entire Star Realms was drained away.
"Ren Xiaoyao, you used balance to nurture new life, and I will use your new life to forge a world-destroying weapon."
As he raised his hand, the leaf between his brows transformed into a longsword with black and white stripes. On the blade, the souls saved by Ren Xiaoyao were being pierced by countless Dark Runes, emitting heart-wrenching howls. "This ' Reverse Life Sword,' every inch of it is imbued with your Dao Path —tell me, wouldn't it be interesting to use it to shatter the Chaos Realm?" The moment the longsword was drawn, the surrounding Principle groaned in pain.
The four powerful figures surrounded Ren Xiaoyao in Four Symbols formation. The Black Prison War Lord's Battle Axe cleaved open a dark Space Cracks, from which shattered stars continuously fell. The Dark River of the Star-Eating Witch Venerable corroded even light, turning it into black dust. The Shadow Annihilation Mist gradually seeped into Ren Xiaoyao's consciousness, attempting to stir up the negative emotions deep within him. The Dark Sky Walker's Reverse Life Sword hung above the Chaos Realm, its Sword Hum cry causing the continents within to continuously crack, and a pungent black gas gushing from the fissures. The four forces resonated with each other, forming a perfect dark Closed Loop.
As the Dark Sky Curtain of four intertwined forces pressed down, the creatures of the Chaos Realm let out desperate wails. These wails resonated with the Dark Energy within the curtain, transforming into countless black lightning bolts that slammed into the nascent Spirit Vein within the realm. With each strike, a group of creatures perished in agony, their souls utterly torn apart.
Ren Xiaoyao gazed at the constantly crumbling Chaos Realm, feeling the Black and White Qi clashing again within his body, and suddenly smiled. That smile shone brightly in the darkness, like an inextinguishable lamp.
This laughter was unlike its previous composure; it carried a Jade and Stone Shattered determination to destroy everything, as if it wanted to shatter all the darkness. "I originally intended to spare your remnant souls to see if you could find new life in balance... It seems that some darkness is destined to only return to Annihilation." The Power of Principle contained in the laughter caused the Dark Sky Curtain to tremble slightly.
He slammed both palms down on his dantian, and the illusory image of the Chaos Cauldron shattered with a deafening roar. The sound of the cauldron breaking echoed throughout the entire Star Realms, even causing distant Nebula to tremble. The light of the Nebula flickered, as if paying tribute to this earth-shattering scene.
The instant the cauldron shattered, countless black and white streaks of light shot into the sky. Within these streaks of light were not only the Chaos Origin, but also the "birth and death" Principle accumulated over countless years of cultivation. Each streak of light contained the World-Destroying Power. Wherever the streaks of light passed, the Dark Energy retreated, revealing a clear starry sky.
These streams of light did not attack the four powerful figures, but instead, like migratory birds returning to their nests, they all merged into the Chaos Realm. Instantly, a cyan-gold barrier solidified at the edge of the shattered continent. The runes flowing on the barrier were the evolution of the words "birth and death." The newly born beings were surrounded by a light Principle, which isolated all the Dark Energy from the outside. The stars in the starry sky within the realm suddenly accelerated their rotation, and the trajectory of the stars was clearly a magnified "Realm Suppression -suppressing" array pattern. At the center of the array pattern, the star transformed from Void was bursting with unprecedented light, illuminating the entire Chaos Realm. With each flicker of the barrier, a shattered continent began to repair itself.
"Use my realm as the furnace, and my Dao as the fire, and burn!"
The moment Ren Xiaoyao pointed his fingers at the Black Prison War Lord, a towering Cyan Flame rose from the Chaos Realm. The life force contained within the Cyan Flame was enough to revive withered stars. The light of the Cyan Flame pierced the darkness, burning a huge hole in the sky.
The moment the Cyan Flame pierced through the void, it transformed into countless phantom images of beings wielding light blades. These phantom images were the remnants of the will of the three hundred Star Realms destroyed by the Black Prison War Lord. Their eyes burned with the flames of revenge as they roared and charged towards the Black Prison War Lord. Each phantom image carried the memories and power of its previous life, and its moves were filled with hatred for darkness.
They roared as they pounced on the Bone Armor Giant. The light blades struck the Battle Axe with a piercing clang, and the scenes of galactic destruction in the Destruction Map began to reverse: the devoured stars regained their light, the shattered Planets reformed, and even the long-extinguished Civilization Sparks rekindled in the blue light, radiating new life. With each strike of the light blades, a Destruction Runes was peeled off the Battle Axe.
"No! My Destruction Laws!"
The Black Prison War Lord's Dragon Head Skull let out a shrill roar, its voice filled with unbelievable terror. Its Battle Axe shattered inch by inch in the blue light, and with each fragment that fell to the ground, a new star was born in the distance. The starlight pierced through his bone armor, sizzling and burning his black body, emitting a pungent smell of burning. His bone armor became transparent at a visible speed, revealing the violent Dark Energy within.
The starlight pierced through his bone armor, sizzling as it burned his black body. Green vines sprouted from the gaps in the bone armor, wrapping around his limbs at a visible speed. The small white flowers blooming on the vines were the most common flowers in the Star Realms he had destroyed. With each coil of the vines, the power of the Black Prison War Lord weakened.
As the last wisp of black mist dissipated, the Ethereal Blue Ghost Fire in his Dragon Head's eye sockets transformed into two points of starlight. In the image of the sacred mountain reflected in the image, the young warrior knelt on one knee facing the rising sun, his eyes filled with unwavering faith. This was how he looked before he fell into darkness, Star Realms. After the starlight dissipated, only a patch of pure energy remained, merging into the land of the Chaos Realm.
The Dark River of the Star-Eating Witch Venerable was forcibly absorbed by the newly formed land of the Chaos Realm. The land absorbed the river water like a sponge, and the blood snakes in the river water turned into black fertilizer that nourished the vegetation when they came into contact with the land. Only a sliver of blue light between his brows rose into the starry sky, which was his remaining trace of benevolence. As the land absorbed the river water, new mountains continued to rise, covered with lush green vegetation.
The blood on the ancient book's cover was vaporized by the Cyan Flame, revealing yellowed pages that did not contain secrets of destruction, but rather an unfinished manuscript of Life Magic from his youth. The edges of the manuscript still bore traces of his spiritual blood-drawn illustrations of plants and trees, each stroke brimming with a love for life. The words on the manuscript shimmered in the blue light, as if telling a forgotten story.
"No! My Corrosive Laws!"
His screams were swallowed by the earth, growing weaker and weaker. His withered body turned into Black Soil in the blue light, and tender shoots sprouted from the Black Soil, quickly growing into strange flowers. The runes on the petals were evolving on their own, depicting the process of life's birth—this time, there was no destruction, only pure growth, and even the air became fresher. The fragrance emitted as the flowers bloomed added a touch of vitality to the surrounding starry sky.
The mist of Shadow Annihilation had nowhere to hide under the starry sky of the Chaos Realm. The unbalanced phantoms of Ren Xiaoyao were purified one by one by the starlight, turning into specks of light and dissipating, revealing the true form of Shadow Annihilation: a wisp of pure Void that had never experienced "life". The Void twisted and turned in the starlight, trying to find a crack to escape.
"You can't understand... Void is..."
His words dissipated in the starry sky, for in the Chaos Realm, every star was undergoing a complete cycle of "birth-growth-aging-end-rebirth." The "existence" contained within this cycle was precisely Void feared most, enough to completely dissolve it. The light of the stars intertwined into a giant net, firmly trapping the Void in its center.
As the last wisp of mist was assimilated by starlight, a bright moon rose in the Chaos Realm. Between the moon's waxing and waning, the transformation between "existence" and "non-existence" was clearly visible—when the moon was full, countless points of light flew out from it, transforming into fireflies and illuminating the entire night sky; when the moon waned, the fireflies returned to the moon, restoring tranquility to the night sky, perfectly illustrating the true meaning of symbiosis. Moonlight bathed the earth, allowing newborn creatures to sleep peacefully.
Faced with the Dark Sky Walker's Reverse Life Sword, Ren Xiaoyao simply raised his hand and grasped the blade. The sharpness of the blade could not cause any harm in his palm. Black and White Qi flowed on his palm, blocking all the Dark Energy of the blade.
The wails of the souls on the sword blade transformed into pure points of light in his palm, flowing down his arm and into the Chaos Realm. Within the realm, the withered plants instantly regained life, sprouting tender green buds. The buds were still adorned with glistening dewdrops, refracting a rainbow of colors.
"You say that Life and Death are of the Same Origin, yet you only know how to use birth to nourish death."
Ren Xiaoyao's voice pierced through the Sword Hum, causing the Dark Sky Walker to retreat repeatedly. The Power of Principle contained in his voice shook his mind. "Today I will show you that true life and death is only achieved when darkness is completely extinguished." His voice echoed in the starry sky, allowing all living beings who heard it to feel a firm and unwavering power.
The Black and White Qi in his palm flowed upwards along the blade, and wherever it passed, the Dark Runes on the Reverse Life Sword collapsed and dissipated into harmless specks of light. The color of the blade changed from alternating black and white to pure cyan-gold at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Dark Sky Walker's body peeled away inch by inch amidst the two energies: its skeleton, with branches as its bones, transformed into new branches of the Reverse Life Tree, blooming with pure white flowers that emitted a faint fragrance; its body, with Star Core fragments as its flesh, merged into the land of the Chaos Realm, causing new mountains to rise from the ground, covered with lush green vegetation; the half-black, half-green leaf between its brows drifted back to the Reverse Life Tree. This time, the two characters "Birth and Death" on the leaf finally flowed in balance. When the character "Birth" lit up, nine new leaves appeared on the tree; when the character "Death" lit up, nine old leaves transformed into points of light, landing precisely on the nascent Spirit Vein of the Chaos Realm, nourishing this land that had endured countless vicissitudes. With each white flower blooming on the new branches, a fragmented Principle was completed within the realm.
The moment the four powerful figures vanished completely, azure-gold spiritual Spiritual Qi surged from the cracks in the Chaos Realm. Wherever this Spiritual Qi passed, new continents began to take shape, mountains and rivers were reshaped, and clear springs emerged from dried-up riverbeds. Fish bearing the marks of Principle swam in these springs, creating a vibrant scene of life. Even the air was filled with tiny Spiritual Energy Particles; inhaling a single breath allowed one to feel the pulse of life.
Newborn beings, wielding stone axes, built a city on the ruins. Nourished by Spiritual Qi, the city's outline grew clearer and clearer. The city walls were constructed of vibrant bluestone, and the city gates were carved with patterns of Reverse Life Tree. On Stone Tablet in the center of the city, Ren Xiaoyao used his finger as a brush to inscribe the Principle: "Balance is not indulgence; when destruction is necessary, destruction is necessary, only then can life continue." Each word shimmered with golden light, imprinting the True Intention of the Principle deep into the souls of every being.
Ren Xiaoyao gazed at the realm that had returned to stability, his fingertips brushing against the new leaves of the Reverse Life Tree. The dewdrops on the leaves were crystal clear, reflecting the scene of all things growing within the realm. A faint golden light flowed through the veins of the new leaves, the mark of the fusion of the Principle "birth and death".