Dark Tentacles, First Trial of Spatial Law

On Greenland's ice fields, the cold wind howled, yet it was far less chilling than the icy malice spilling from the purple rift.

Several dark purple energy tentacles, like venomous serpents from the abyss, relentlessly pursued Lin Ye. They ignored physical inertia, twisting and changing direction wildly through the air. Every lunge carried corrosive energy and a strange force that disrupted the mind.

Lin Ye turned into a streak of lightning, dodging at extreme speed through the confined airspace, leaving a string of afterimages behind him. The tentacles missed and lashed against the ice field, instantly freezing and corroding vast pits that emitted black smoke. Their power was terrifying.

"A fusion of pure negative energy and psychic attacks?" Lin Ye calmly analyzed as he dodged, his mind network fully tracking the tentacles' energy paths and weaknesses. "Physical attacks may have limited effect."

He experimentally waved a hand and fired a high-voltage lightning spear!

Sizzle!

The lightning spear struck a tentacle precisely, exploding in a blinding burst of lightning! The tentacle shuddered violently. The area it had been hit became noticeably more insubstantial, and it let out an even sharper shriek. Yet it did not dissipate. Instead, it lunged forward even more frantically!

"Effective, but highly resistant!" Lin Ye's gaze sharpened. These things were far more troublesome than the Chitauri.

More tentacles surged from the rift, seemingly endless. They no longer merely attacked Lin Ye, instead spreading outward in every direction, as if trying to take root here and completely contaminate and assimilate this space!

He could not let them spread!

Lin Ye stopped holding back. [Thor Form] activated instantly!

Boom!!!

Vast thunderous power erupted from his body like a tsunami! His figure seemed to grow taller, and the leaping arcs around him were no longer mere electricity, but nearly liquid, dazzling lightning energy! Every strand of his hair stood on end. Like Thor descending upon the world, his overwhelming aura instantly blanketed the entire airspace!

"One Hundred Million Volts: Thunder Net Annihilation!"

He held his hands in the air, and endless lightning power gushed forth. Rather than scattering into separate attacks, it rapidly wove itself into an enormous, intricate lightning net that covered the entire rift zone! Every node of the net flickered intensely, radiating an aura of destruction!

The spreading tentacles slammed headlong into the lightning net!

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

Like a hot knife through butter! The instant the dark purple tentacles touched the supremely radiant and forceful lightning net, they let out agonized screams and were rapidly purified and dissolved by the highly condensed lightning energy! For a moment, it seemed as if purple-black energy rain was falling before the rift!

The being behind the rift seemed enraged. The rift twisted and swelled violently as more, thicker tentacles surged out in a frenzy, fearlessly battering the lightning net. They even began merging together, forming even more horrifying giant tentacles in an attempt to tear the net apart by force!

"Hmph! Let's see how many you can send out!" Lin Ye snorted, maintaining the lightning net with all his strength while continuously unleashing lightning to purify and wear them down.

This was a battle of attrition between energies!

However, the rift was connected to an unknown dimension, and the energy behind it seemed inexhaustible. Lin Ye's lightning power was strong, but sustaining such high-intensity output placed a considerable burden on him as well. [Thor Form] was powerful, but it could not be maintained for long.

"This can't continue." Lin Ye's thoughts raced. "I have to close the rift, or at least seal it temporarily!"

He thought of the reward he had just received—[Destruction Law Insight (Beginner)].

Although it was only beginner-level, it had become the key to breaking the deadlock! While maintaining the lightning net, he immersed his mind in sensing the spatial rift ahead.

In his "eyes," the rift was no longer merely an outlet for surging energy. It was more like a fragile spatial wound that had been forcibly torn open, its edges filled with unstable spatial turbulence and dimensional fragments.

"Stabilize it... or... smooth it over..." The thought arose naturally.

He tried guiding a thread of lightning energy infused with his spatial insight toward the edge of the rift like the finest surgical scalpel.

Sizzle... A peculiar feedback came through! His energy did not trigger an explosion. Instead, like a welding torch, it began extremely slowly "ironing out" those restless spatial fragments, trying to return them to their original order!

It worked! But it was far too slow! At this rate, his power would be depleted before he could even mend one-tenth of it!

[Ding! Detected that the host is using Spatial Law to attempt repairing a spatial rift. Progress is slow.]

[Auxiliary choice triggered:]

[Option One: Forcefully inject a massive amount of lightning energy and violently destroy the rift's structure. Risk: May trigger large-scale spatial collapse and affect the real world. Reward: [Destruction Law Insight (Minor)].]

[Option Two: Guide precisely, combining the electromagnetic properties of lightning energy with Spatial Law to create temporary spatial anchors. Temporarily "nail down" the rift, preventing it from expanding or releasing energy. Reward: [Spatial Stabilization Technique (Beginner)].]

[Option Three: Call potential allies, such as the sensed Kamar-Taj sorcerers, to seal it together. Reward: [Kamar-Taj Favorability]. Risk: Exposes the host's location and some abilities.]

"Option Two!" Lin Ye made his decision instantly. Option One was too risky, while Option Three was both unnecessary and too slow.

[Choice confirmed. Relevant knowledge and techniques are being transmitted into the mind.]

Lin Ye felt a flash of inspiration and immediately changed strategies. He no longer tried to stitch the rift shut. Instead, he formed one mysterious temporary rune after another out of lightning energy between his hands—spatial anchors!

He precisely drove these lightning runes into the empty spatial nodes around the rift! With every rune that landed, the space in that area became noticeably more stable, and the rift's twisting and expansion slowed accordingly!

After several lightning runes fell into place, the rift's expansion was forcibly halted! The number and speed of the tentacles pouring out also noticeably weakened!

"Success!" Lin Ye's spirits rose. He increased his output, and more lightning runes hammered themselves around the spatial rift like nails!

While Lin Ye struggled to stabilize the rift.

Kamar-Taj.

The Orb of Agamotto floating before The Ancient One clearly displayed the scene above Greenland. When she saw that Lin Ye had not only resisted the dark tentacles but had even begun stabilizing the rift with a method she had never seen before, one that combined lightning with spatial techniques, a hint of surprise appeared on her usually placid face.

"Using thunderous power to command space... an interesting application." She murmured softly. "Crude, but effective."

The hand she had raised, ready to draw a circle and open a portal, slowly lowered.

"Perhaps... there is no need to intervene so quickly. Let us see how far this 'Thunder' can go."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had also detected the abnormal energy clash above Greenland and the gradually stabilizing spatial readings. However, they had no way to intervene in a conflict of this level. They could only watch anxiously from afar while urgently discussing every possible contingency plan.

Lin Ye gave it everything he had, forming a total of thirty-six lightning spatial anchors. At last, he temporarily "nailed" that terrifying purple rift in place, preventing it from expanding. The dark tentacles emerging from it also became sparse, their power greatly reduced.

But a powerful wave of exhaustion washed over him. [Thor Form] could no longer be maintained, and the lightning around him dimmed considerably.

Though the rift had been temporarily stabilized, it had not vanished. It still hung in the sky like an ugly scar, wisps of dark energy continuing to seep out. The threat had not been fundamentally removed.

"Is this all I can do?" Lin Ye frowned. His understanding of space was still too shallow.

Just then, another change occurred!

The being behind the rift seemed to have fallen into extreme fury after being forcibly obstructed! An immensely greater and more terrifying will suddenly surged from the depths of the rift!

It was not a physical attack, but a purely psychic assault! Carrying endless chaos, greed, and destructive desire, it crashed into Lin Ye's consciousness like towering waves!

Lin Ye grunted. It felt as though his mind had been struck by a heavy hammer. Even with his enhanced mind and [Mental Resistance], he was instantly overwhelmed by dizziness and piercing pain, his body swaying in midair!

What terrifying mental power!

Taking advantage of the moment, the rift began fluctuating violently again. The lightning spatial anchors that had just been placed flickered erratically, as if on the verge of collapse!

At that critical moment—

Hum!

A dazzling, intricate magical formation made entirely of golden energy abruptly appeared directly before the rift!

The formation slowly rotated, radiating a righteous, peaceful, yet incomparably resilient power. Like the gentlest pair of hands, it softly smoothed out the wrinkles in space and blocked the terrifying psychic assault.

Then, a bald figure clad in yellow sorcerer's robes silently appeared in the air not far from Lin Ye.

It was The Ancient One.

She glanced at the somewhat battered Lin Ye, then at the restless rift. Her hands formed seals at lightning speed as phantoms of golden Shields of Seraphim and Vishanti's Sacred Swords emerged around her.

"An incursion from the Dark Dimension..." The Ancient One's voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "Leave this to me. You have done well to stop it for now."

Lin Ye sighed in relief. Finally, a professional had arrived. He nodded without forcing himself further, slowly retreating some distance to recover his strength while closely watching The Ancient One's methods—this was an excellent chance to learn authentic Kamar-Taj spatial magic!

The Ancient One did not use the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone. Instead, she relied purely on her formidable magical cultivation and understanding of space. Her hands traced intricate circles, golden sparks scattering everywhere as the powerful force of Spatial Law began forcibly smoothing and stitching the rift shut!

Her methods were over a hundred times more refined than Lin Ye's, and incredibly efficient. The rift visibly shrank and closed at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.

The being behind the rift let out an unwilling roar, but before The Ancient One, Earth's guardian, its power seemed greatly restricted. Finally, after a venomous shriek, the rift vanished completely. The sky returned to normal, leaving behind only lingering cold magic and faint spatial ripples.

The Ancient One gently exhaled, and the golden light around her receded. She turned to Lin Ye, her gaze carrying scrutiny and a hint of curiosity.

"Unknown powerhouse, thank you for your efforts in protecting Earth." The Ancient One spoke slowly. "I sense that your power does not originate from Vishanti or any other known dimension, yet it is equally powerful and... unique."

Lin Ye also withdrew his lightning and nodded slightly. "Just doing my part. I don't like this kind of mess showing up on my doorstep either."

The two hovered above the ice field, falling into brief silence. Earth's current guardian and a newly risen powerhouse of mysterious origin had formally met for the first time.

The atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

(End of Chapter Sixteen)