"Disintegrate!"
The platinum Beast God True Form dissolved into a vast tide of divine power. In midair, only a palm-sized bronze mirror and an eyeball that seemed to contain an endless starry sky remained floating.
These were Shi Yan's two Supreme Treasures: the Peak Soul Supreme Treasure, Clear Heart Mirror, and the top-tier Domain Supreme Treasure, Starlight River.
The vast divine power swirled like a vortex at the Universe Origin, with a heart at its center—the "True God Heart" of Shi Yan.
"After becoming a True God, the soul no longer fuses with the Divine Body. Instead, it hides within the True God Heart, which can also connect with the Miniature Universe... So burning the Divine Body doesn't damage the soul. Even with only ten percent of his divine power, a True God can still exert a hundred percent of his strength..."
As Shi Yan sensed the resonance between the True God Heart and the Miniature Universe, he gained a deeper understanding of this entirely new level of life.
"Restore!"
The vast swirl of divine power quickly condensed in midair. Flesh, bones, skin, and more took shape in rapid succession, and soon a platinum Strange Beast resembling a lizard appeared in the air.
The newly formed Divine Body looked no different from before, but its divine power was a hundred times purer. Its quantity, however, had barely changed—it was only twice as much as before.
After all, Shi Yan's Divine Body Gene was only 21,000 times. He could hardly expect the good fortune of having his Divine Body increase tenfold, as happened to those with Divine Body Genes exceeding 30,000 times.
"What a pity. Just imagine the divine power contained in a True God Heart a thousand times stronger, like the one the future Galaxy Overlord had." Shi Yan couldn't help feeling envious, but his Miniature Universe was already established. He would never have that opportunity now.
"It's time to build the universe."
Shi Yan turned his gaze toward the Universe Origin. As it was his own Miniature Universe, he could see every part of it at a glance.
The structure of a universe was the most crucial step along the path of cultivation.
The Divine Power Path and the Law Path only determined the fundamental differences between experts of the same level, but the structure of a Miniature Universe determined an expert's ultimate potential.
"With the right structure, I can still cultivate into..." The Supreme Rules prevented him from speaking the rest of the sentence, but they couldn't restrain his resolve.
"Origin of One, Hundred Thousand Heavens..."
This was the true standard answer, the method used to structure the Primal Universe—and unquestionably the most supreme universe structure.
It was also the only universe-structuring method described in detail in Swallowed Star.
As a Natural Beast God, Shi Yan was naturally close to the Primal Universe Origin. He had even been born from it, and thanks to this innate advantage, he had a vague impression of the Primal Universe Origin.
The descriptions in the original story, the impressions from his time in the womb, his natural affinity for the Universe Origin, and the fact that his Miniature Universe was only the standard diameter of 100 million light-years—
These advantages meant that although Shi Yan's realm and willpower were far inferior to Luo Feng's when he broke through to True God, he still dared to try this method.
"Let's begin."
Shi Yan took a deep breath, and the Chaos Airflow filling the Miniature Universe immediately began to stir.
"Rise!"
At Shi Yan's thought, all the Chaos Airflow throughout the boundless space of the Miniature Universe erupted into motion.
Under the control of his will, the Chaos Airflow split into a hundred thousand portions. One plane after another took shape, rapidly consuming the Chaos Airflow.
"The first step is the Hundred Thousand Heavens."
In the space of a few breaths, a hundred thousand planes quickly formed. Some were large and others small, and they were faintly connected, revolving around one another until they seemed to form a whole.
At the same time, a hundred thousand planets appeared at the Miniature Universe Origin. Linked together, they were almost identical to the hundred thousand planes.
At this point, the Miniature Universe's structure already rivaled many in the Origin Continent. But...
"Though the Hundred Thousand Heavens are connected and form a stable whole, there's no true core to govern everything. The universe's power can't be efficiently gathered. If it's struck from outside, the lack of a core will still make it less stable..."
With the entire situation under his control, Shi Yan understood every detail of the Miniature Universe. He grasped the situation and felt more confident about its coming evolution.
"Origin of One!"
His will descended upon the hundred thousand planes. Shi Yan manipulated them, trying to make them begin revolving around the Origin Land of the Universe.
"Move...!"
Shi Yan's face flushed red as every muscle in his body tensed. Clearly, the strain was immense.
His willpower was at the peak of the True God level, nowhere near the Eternal Grade willpower Luo Feng had possessed when he broke through to True God.
Still, although the universe structure of the Origin of One and the Hundred Thousand Heavens was the most supreme, it was ultimately a True God's Miniature Universe structure. It didn't require Eternal Grade willpower to complete. Even so, it was undeniably more likely to fail with True God-level willpower.
Fortunately, Shi Yan had been born from the Primal Universe Origin and had personally experienced some of the intricacies of the Primal Universe's workings. Those insights could ease the strain on his will considerably.
In an instant, the hundred thousand planes began to revolve together around the Universe Origin, like a rusted machine starting up. Shi Yan's willpower was somewhat lacking, and his control wasn't precise enough. Nearly half the planes collided with one another. Some fragile planes shattered on the spot, while others near the edge were flung straight into the Universe Membrane and smashed to pieces.
But none of this affected Shi Yan. He continued to push with all his strength, guiding tens of thousands of planes through the final step.
"Once the Origin of One forms, the shattered planes will quickly recover on their own." Shi Yan remained unmoved, his will completely focused.
"Rumble..."
Planes continued to collide and collapse, and the strain on Shi Yan's will grew heavier. If his will buckled under the pressure and he fainted, the consequences would range from a failed attempt to form the Origin of One and a missed chance at Chaos Evolution, to the collapse of the Miniature Universe.
Neither outcome was something Shi Yan could accept.
"Hold on!"
Shi Yan roared, the veins bulging all over his body.
At last, driven by his will, a vast vortex slowly formed at the center of the hundred thousand spaces, enveloping the Origin Land of the Universe.
As the vortex took over the remaining tens of thousands of spaces, the strain on Shi Yan's will sharply decreased.
"Phew..."
Shi Yan let out a long breath and guided the Miniature Universe through the final stages of its formation.
At the Universe Origin, a void vortex also appeared at the center of the tens of thousands of planets that mirrored the planes.
With the formation of the Origin of One, the universe began to revolve, and the tens of thousands of planes that had been destroyed swiftly recovered. In mere moments, both the planes and the planets at the Origin that mirrored them were once again restored to a hundred thousand.
"Success!"
Shi Yan evaporated the sweat covering his body, unable to suppress his excitement.
"Though the Law Path means my combat strength is destined to be mediocre among those at the same level, still..." Shi Yan took in his Miniature Universe. "With this universe, my foundation is secure."
This kind of Miniature Universe structure could, without exaggeration, support him in becoming a God King.
Of course, having the potential didn't mean he was certain to become a God King. Whether Shi Yan could reach that level still depended on himself.
With the completion of the Origin of One and the Hundred Thousand Heavens, divine power began pouring out of the void at the center of the Universe Origin.
If anyone had been outside the Miniature Universe at that moment, they would have seen the boundless Chaos Airflow around it being continuously absorbed. It became divine power at the Universe Origin, then passed through the True God Heart and into Shi Yan's Divine Body.
Since Shi Yan had relatively little divine power—only about twice as much as an ordinary True God's—the terrifying suction of the Origin of One restored it rapidly. Shi Yan estimated that it would take only half a day to replenish the half he had lost.
"Heh... My reserves aren't great, but at least I replenish them pretty quickly." Shi Yan smiled wryly.
Meanwhile, the completed Miniature Universe began its Chaos Evolution.
The Chaos Law manifested, followed by the Ten Great Laws of Time, Space, Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Thunder. Various Fusion Laws appeared among them from time to time.
Shi Yan stared intently at the laws as they manifested one after another.
Chaos Evolution was the process by which the Chaos Law broke down into all kinds of fundamental laws and Fusion Laws. Simply put, it was the process of going from "one" to "ten thousand."
During Chaos Evolution, almost any law cultivated by an expert could manifest. It could also help a True God draw connections and come into contact with other related Fusion Laws.
For countless True Gods, three Reincarnation Eras of cultivation were worth less than these brief moments of Chaos Evolution.
Shi Yan watched, utterly entranced, as his realm rapidly advanced. He had already comprehended a Sixth-Order Secret Technique, and he quickly reached the peak of the Sixth Order before breaking through to the Seventh Order.
But just then, Shi Yan suddenly felt the Miniature Universe tremble slightly.
"Hm?"
Shi Yan was both shocked and angry. The importance of a Miniature Universe to a True God went without saying. He quickly sent a sliver of his consciousness outside and discovered someone repeatedly attacking his Miniature Universe.
"Monster Beast Progenitor?"
Shi Yan seethed with anger. The opportunity to witness Chaos Evolution was incredibly precious to any expert, and Monster Beast Progenitor had obviously come to disrupt his cultivation.
The Origin Will and the Supreme Rules protected experts from interference while they were breaking through to True God. Strictly speaking, however, once the Miniature Universe's structure was complete, the breakthrough was considered finished.
The subsequent comprehension of Chaos Evolution fell under the category of "consolidating one's realm" after the breakthrough, and the Supreme Rules wouldn't protect him.
Monster Beast Progenitor had clearly been waiting outside his Miniature Universe. The moment the Supreme Rules and the Origin Will withdrew, he had attacked to disrupt Shi Yan's cultivation and stop him from fully comprehending Chaos Evolution.
After all, Shi Yan's God Kingdom's location had been exposed. Given the God Kingdom coordinates in the Primal Universe, it was easy to infer where his Miniature Universe would be once it was expelled from the Primal Universe.
"Damn the Monster Race." Shi Yan spat a curse, then sent a sliver of his will to reinforce the Origin of One and stabilize the Miniature Universe.
Soon, the Miniature Universe stopped trembling, and Shi Yan once again focused all his attention on comprehending Chaos Evolution. But with a sliver of his will still reinforcing the Miniature Universe, his comprehension was inevitably affected to some extent.
Before long, as the laws governing the Miniature Universe's operation gradually took shape, the Chaos Law faded from view, and there was nothing left to comprehend.
"Chaos Evolution really is remarkably effective." Silver radiance flowed around Shi Yan, lending him an air of mystery...
Before you continue