Gestation

As the humanoid phantom appeared, the golden liquid within the sea of consciousness was guided by a certain force, causing ripples to spread across the once-still, pond-like surface.

Immediately following, a vortex formed by golden mist emerged above the liquid, drawing the golden fluid into its rotation and shaping it into a swirling funnel.

At the center of this vortex, the humanoid phantom—reconstructed from golden Sanskrit characters—began to manifest the complex pathways of human blood vessels.

The golden liquid slowly traced these intricate routes to form a complete vascular structure, then shed its golden hue to turn blood-red, resembling actual veins and arteries.

Simultaneously, the golden liquid coated the phantom once more, hardening into golden bones before fading to the stark white of human skeletal remains.

Next, it condensed into internal organs, flesh, and skin, ultimately forming a brand-new body that looked exactly like Qi Tian.

As the vortex dissipated, only a small portion of the golden liquid in the sea of consciousness had been consumed, while Qi Tian's new body floated above the remaining pool.

"Finally, I can be a human again!"

Qi Tian looked at the body before him, his mood soaring. Ever since he had transmigrated, he had spent decades as a motionless Stone, a feeling that was stifling to the extreme.

The key was that his consciousness and telekinetic power could clearly manipulate objects to float; a single palm strike from his condensed consciousness could defeat Jin Shi and his two companions in their golden-body forms, and a casual punch could collapse mountains several kilometers high.

Yet, he had been unable to control his own body, not even able to use tools to lift himself.

Moreover, his ten-meter-tall stone form was so heavy that even the strongest among them, Jin Shi, had to transform into his golden-body state just to move him.

He was only fortunate that his consciousness covered the entire planet, allowing him to observe every change on it with a single thought, which kept him from going insane with boredom.

"The critical moment has arrived."

With a shift of his consciousness, Qi Tian instantly merged into the new body. The figure vanished from the sea of consciousness, overlapping and fusing with the stone statue in the outside world.

As the new body and the external stone statue merged, an incredibly strange golden crystal emerged within Qi Tian's sea of consciousness.

This crystal radiated a golden light and was faceted into exactly 10,081 sides, each etched with incredibly complex secret patterns that were fully integrated into the core.

Before Qi Tian could examine this glowing crystal core in detail, a golden hexahedral crystal appeared within it.

"Hm? Another crystal inside the Life Crystal Core? Is this some kind of nesting doll?"

Following the appearance of the first golden hexahedral core, Qi Tian felt a strange fluctuation radiating from it. Then came the second, the third, continuing until nine cores had appeared.

Guided by the strange fluctuations, eight of the cores began to orbit the first in a regular pattern, resembling a miniature galaxy.

The nine cores then slowly converged, compressing and fusing until they finally shattered into golden fragments, igniting golden flames that condensed into a scorching, circular fireball, much like a star.

After the first fireball appeared, more gradually followed, just as before, until there were nine in total.

The nine incredibly hot fireballs orbited one another along strange trajectories, forming a bizarre celestial structure.

As the golden liquid from the sea of consciousness continuously merged into them, the nine fireballs, gorging on the energy, expanded tenfold in an instant.

The nine fireballs trembled, pushing the largest micro-star among them to its absolute limit!

"Boom!"

The largest micro-star reached its limit and violently exploded.

Immediately after, eight more "boom" sounds rang out as the remaining eight micro-stars exploded simultaneously, transforming into countless stellar fragments.

The massive explosion generated a vast amount of nebulae, star clusters, dust, and tiny planets, forming a spiral galaxy with eight arms.

At the very core of the galaxy lay millions of tiny stars, with the first 'black hole' of the spiral galaxy at its center.

This tiny black hole slowly devoured surrounding objects, while in unreachable places, it generated wisps of pure power, and mist-like telekinetic energy manifested out of thin air around the galaxy.

"The changes within this sea of consciousness crystal... it's like the formation of a galaxy. Why does this scene feel so familiar?"

Qi Tian watched the Life Crystal Core, noticing that the changes were still ongoing. Following the same pattern as before, after the first micro-black hole appeared, eight more appeared in succession, distributed across the eight spiral arms.

By the time all eight black holes had fully manifested, the original pool of golden liquid in his sea of consciousness had been completely exhausted, absorbed entirely by the Life Crystal Core.

Qi Tian watched as the activity within the core ceased due to the depletion of the golden liquid, feeling a sense of disappointment. He sensed that if he had enough golden liquid, he could grow stronger rapidly.

"It seems the accumulation of faith is still far too little."

Meanwhile, in the depths of the boundless starry universe.

A towering palace, entirely blood-red, tore through space and suddenly descended into the silent Primal Universe, accompanied by a hundred billion kilometers of black fog that shrouded it within.

The palace was immense, radiating endless pressure, and above its gates were three incredibly complex characters written in secret patterns.

Inside the main hall at the center of the palace, a figure exuding an aura of endless slaughter sat upon a blood-colored throne.

He wore blood-red battle robes, a pair of golden curved horns grew from his head, and he wore a mask. A tail extended from his battle skirt, sweeping slightly.

"After several epochs of conquest in the Universe Ocean, the momentum for the identity of 'Blood Cloud Palace Master,' which I prepared for my third disciple, has been fully built."

The powerhouse on the blood-colored throne muttered to himself. He rested one elbow on the armrest, his hand curled into a fist supporting his chin, while his other hand rested on the opposite armrest, his index finger tapping rhythmically.

"Having killed another Universe Master, the reputation and strength have been established, but the pressure is still not enough. I should find a few weaker races and stir up some trouble."

The powerhouse on the blood-colored throne was none other than Zuoshanke. Having just returned to the Primal Universe from the Universe Ocean, he was preparing to continue tarnishing the reputation of the "Blood Cloud Palace Master" identity.

As he pondered, in a galaxy not far away, the will of the Primal Universe suddenly descended, only to vanish just as quickly.

"What a familiar feeling."

Zuoshanke's face was hidden behind his mask, his expression unreadable. Ever since his soul had reincarnated into this Primal Universe, the will of the Primal Universe had never ceased its vigilance against him.

Even upon entering the Primal Universe, he was constantly monitored, and any move would immediately trigger the descent of its ruthless, oppressive will.

Now, feeling the inexplicably descending Primal Universe origin will—and one that carried a warning tone at that—Zuoshanke could not help but feel curious.

The next moment, he controlled the Blood Cloud Palace to vanish from its spot, teleporting directly to the location where the Primal Universe origin will had appeared.