Grassroots Beginnings

Initial stages were fraught with difficulties.

Qin Zhao first needed to take the [Gravity Space] Mystery as his core, simulating that powerful, controllable gravitational field. This was not simply applying gravity; it required forming a stable "domain" where the internal gravitational rules were dictated by him.

This single step alone consumed nearly a year of his time. He continuously adjusted his Origin Force output, altered the structure of the gravitational field, and failed time and again through repeated experiments. Sometimes the gravity would spiral out of control, wreaking havoc on the surrounding environment; other times the gravitational field structure would be unstable and collapse instantly.

After barely managing to stabilize the gravitational field, the next step was to integrate the [Pulse of the Earth]. He needed the gravitational field to be not static, but to possess a unique wave frequency, like the breathing of the earth itself. This fluctuation could not only disrupt the energy circulation and soul stability of those trapped within but also resonate with the subsequent material condensation, enhancing the prison's strength.

This step was even more exquisitely delicate. If the fluctuation was too fast, the gravitational field would easily disperse; if too slow, the effect would be poor. He needed to find that perfect balance point! To this end, Qin Zhao drew upon the exquisite control of vibrational force transmission from the Shockwave secret art, and also referenced the understanding of Earth Element condensation and structural stability from the Earth Pulse Guard, attempting to absorb the strengths of both secret arts to fine-tune and complete the gravitational field's fluctuations.

The process of comprehension was extremely tedious, and progress was excruciatingly slow. Often, a seemingly feasible concept would fail in actual execution due to energy conflicts, structural instability, or Law rejection, but Qin Zhao did not become discouraged.

The enhanced comprehension from the Emperor Flow Nectar, along with the more powerful soul deduction ability brought by the Midgod realm, allowed him to learn from every failure and adjust his direction. The imprint of the Law of Earth on his brow also let him perceive more clearly the degree of alignment between each energy combination and the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Two years passed amidst constant adjustments. Only when the gravitational field and the Pulse of the Earth were initially combined, forming a stable, constantly fluctuating Gravity Space, did Qin Zhao complete the construction of the basic framework.

The next step was the most critical—material condensation, building the cage.

He mobilized the [Earth Element] Mystery, drawing upon the Earth-type energy in the universe, attempting to condense and form solid "black stone" within the Gravity Space. However, problems came one after another. Within the powerful, fluctuating gravitational field, the condensation of Earth-type energy became extremely difficult. Often, just as it gathered, it would be torn apart by the gravity or shattered by the pulse fluctuations.

He hit another bottleneck. For an entire year, the stones he stably condensed within the Gravity Space could not even come close to achieving the effect of Soul Stones.

"It seems simple condensation won't work..." Qin Zhao paused his training and sank into contemplation. Soul Stones were not ordinary stones; they contained peculiar Law patterns and were seamlessly integrated with the entire gravitational space. Without a Soul Stone as a reference here, achieving the effect of Linley's Black Stone Prison was simply unrealistic.

"Law patterns... seamless integration..." A flash of inspiration struck Qin Zhao's mind. "Why must I first condense the material and then integrate it into the domain? Why can't the domain itself naturally give rise to the material? If so, I only need to add soul-based methods directly within the domain!"

He changed his approach. Instead of forcibly condensing earth and stone from the outside, he attempted to directly imprint the Law patterns of the [Earth Element] Mystery onto the already formed force field structure, which was a fusion of [Gravity Space] and [Pulse of the Earth]!

He would make the Law of Earth an inseparable part of this force field, allowing the force field itself to possess the attribute of "matter"! This would also lay a solid foundation for his next step—adding soul attacks within the force field!

This idea was extremely bold, and implementing it was even more difficult. Combining and nesting different Law runes at the microscopic level required a profound understanding of the essence of each Law, as well as powerful soul control.

These five years were the most mentally taxing for Qin Zhao. He barely slept or rested, with his main body and Earth God Clone collaborating in deduction, simulating billions of combinations in the Virtual Universe, and suffering countless failures in reality where Law rune conflicts caused the force field to explode, leaving him covered in dust and grime.

King Lanchen guided him a few times during this period, mainly on techniques for stable nesting of Law runes and how to use the authority granted by the acknowledgment of the Law of Earth to better draw upon the power of the Law of Earth Origin to aid structural stability.

Finally, in the eighth year since he began his attempts, a turning point appeared.

During one experiment, when specific Earth Element runes successfully embedded into several key nodes of the fluctuating gravitational field, the entire force field shuddered violently. It was no longer an intangible force field but took on a metallic luster like black obsidian! A dense, heavy, all-sealing aura spread out. Within the force field's range, space seemed to solidify, and invisible barriers naturally formed.

Although this layer of "material barrier" was still very unstable and collapsed after only a few seconds, the direction was correct!

Over the next two years, Qin Zhao continuously refined this structure, strengthened the stability of the rune nesting, and adjusted the energy output. He even began attempting to integrate a sliver of his understanding of the "Teleportation" Mystery of the Law of Space, not for teleportation itself, but to use the stabilizing effect of the Space Law on structures, making the internal space of this Black Stone Prison more resilient and harder to break by force.

In the tenth year, within Qin Zhao's exclusive training ground on the Thick Earth Continent.

He floated in midair, his gaze sharp. As his mind moved, the Midgod Earth Divine Power within him and his Spiritual Force operated in concert, drawing upon the Law of Earth Origin in the universe.

"Wuum—"

A strange, dark yellow domain suddenly expanded outward from him, instantly enveloping an area a thousand meters in radius! Within the domain, the light dimmed, the air stagnated, and an incomparably heavy pressure was born out of nothing, as if countless great mountains were pressing down on the body. This pressure was not constant but fluctuated with a peculiar rhythm, like the heartbeat of the earth, shaking one's blood and qi and causing the soul to waver.

Even more astonishing was that at the edge of this dark yellow domain, a layer of solid walls, like black crystal, materialized out of thin air! Complex, earthy-yellow Law patterns flowed across the walls, perfectly merging with the entire fluctuating gravitational field, completely sealing and isolating the entire area!

The Black Stone Prison was complete!

Although it was only a rough creation with many aspects needing improvement—such as expansion speed, energy consumption, and binding power against stronger enemies—its core framework had been established. It perfectly combined the powerful binding of Gravity Space, the dual soul-and-matter attacks of the Pulse of the Earth, and the material sealing formed by the Earth Element.

Qin Zhao could sense that this self-created "Black Stone Prison" far surpassed any secret art he had previously cultivated in terms of trapping and weakening enemies.

Though it was far from perfect, consuming enormous energy, having a limited duration, and being less effective against opponents with extremely strong soul will, and being worlds apart from Linley's Black Stone Prison that could trap and kill Highgods, it indeed possessed powerful binding, oppressive, and internal attack capabilities. This marked a solid first step on Qin Zhao's path of self-creating secret arts.

"Ten years of hard work, finally not wasted," he murmured to himself. "This prototype 'Black Stone Prison,' in terms of binding and oppressive power, far surpasses any method I've seen before. If unleashed suddenly, I'm afraid no one at the Universe Level could break free, and it could even greatly restrict Domain Lord-level experts."

And this was just the beginning. The Black Stone Prison had enormous room for improvement. For example, how to integrate the "Force of Life" Mystery—whether to transform it into nourishment and recovery for himself or into life erosion against his enemies? How to better combine it with the Law of Space to create an effect similar to "Space Lockdown"? These were all directions he needed to explore in the future.

But regardless, possessing a self-created binding secret art with immense potential enriched his combat methods and bolstered his confidence.

"Next, I should focus my main efforts on soul-based methods."

Qin Zhao was well aware that the Black Stone Prison was only half complete at this point. Without the suppression of soul-based methods, it would be impossible to achieve the kind of overwhelming annihilation of multiple enemies like Linley! Therefore, to unleash the true power of the Black Stone Prison, this soul method had to be perfected!