Endless Void currents roared and surged outside the Small Bronze Coffin, the colorful spacetime tunnel seemingly without end.
On the shimmering, colorful barrier of the passage, fragmented images of stars and distorted imprints of the Great Dao occasionally appeared, as if telling of the remoteness and mystery of traversing the endless sea of stars.
Inside the coffin, Li Qingshan lay quietly, feeling the familiar, vast Daoist rhythm used to traverse the sea of stars, his mind as still as a deep well.
The interior of this mysterious Small Bronze Coffin is a world of its own, isolated from all the noise of the outside world. Only the ancient totems engraved on the coffin walls glow faintly, flickering as if they were breathing.
The road ahead is unknown, but he is no longer the dying man who struggled in the demonic calamity and had only a remnant of his spirit left.
Through the Fortune of the Golden Lotus and the Divine Spring, he completed the second stage of the Eight-Nine Profound Art, achieving the pinnacle of the God Emperor.
Furthermore, Indestructible Divine Embryo was formed within his body, forging an unprecedentedly powerful foundation.
The Small Bronze Coffin clearly held no ill intentions towards him.
Moreover, he possessed the power of the Immortal Platform Second Layer Peak, and had the mysterious blood droplet that, though seemingly "ordinary," had already merged into his body. No matter where he went, he was confident in facing the challenge.
The journey through the time tunnel felt both Eternal and fleeting.
Here, the concept of time becomes blurred; only the ceaseless Void currents of the void speak of the distance traversed.
After an unknown amount of time, this smooth shuttling stopped.
At a certain moment, the coffin suddenly trembled, and the originally stable and flowing ancient Daoist aura rapidly declined and dimmed like the receding tide!
The once radiant passageway barrier began to distort and blur violently, as if the energy supporting its existence was being instantly drained!
Fine cracks began to appear around the passage, disintegrating inch by inch like shattered glass.
"The energy is depleted?"
The moment this thought flashed through Li Qingshan's mind, an even more violent jolt followed.
The Small Bronze Coffin was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, losing all power and control, and was forcibly thrown out of its high-speed running state.
It spun and tumbled wildly in the Void, like a burning meteor, hurtling rapidly toward the edge of a desolate and barren star field that it perceived as such!
The descent seemed endless.
The Small Bronze Coffin, rubbing against the atmosphere, produced a blinding flash of light, tracing a poignant trail across the dim sky.
The vibrations transmitted through the coffin walls grew increasingly intense, as if the entire coffin was groaning under unbearable pressure.
"Boom!!!"
Finally, a deep, eerie roar, as if the earth were absorbing its power, resounded and shook the entire mountain range.
Contrary to expectations Small Bronze Coffin did not create a huge crater. Instead, it stood firmly atop a majestic mountain peak, resembling a giant tortoise, in a way that defied logic, as if it were inlaid there.
The mountain peak is entirely grayish-brown, with mottled rocks, exuding an ancient and weathered aura. Its tortoise-like head is slightly raised, gazing at the sky, as if maintaining a certain vigilant posture even in its slumber.
Strangely, the giant tortoise-shaped mountain trembled slightly the instant the coffin made contact with the mountain.
A deep, muffled sound, seemingly from ancient times, came from inside the mountain, as if a colossal beast, slumbering beneath it, had been startled by the sudden impact.
But soon, everything returned to deathly silence, with only the mournful sound of the mountain wind blowing through the dry vegetation.
However, the fall was not the end; the real transformation had only just begun!
It seems to be to compensate for the enormous energy consumed in traversing the sea of stars, or perhaps it is triggered by some unknown mechanism within the system itself.
After only a few breaths of silence, the ancient, blurred totems on the walls of the Small Bronze Coffin, which recorded the history of a lost era, suddenly lit up!
This time, the light was not the sacred radiance that appeared when the drop of blood appeared before, but a deep, greedy, dark light that seemed to devour all light!
"Buzz!!!"
An invisible yet terrifying pressure, powerful enough to make even God King tremble, suddenly erupted from the center of the Small Bronze Coffin!
A massive, visible energy vortex instantly formed and expanded at an astonishing speed, covering a vast area of millions of miles in the blink of an eye!
In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color, and the world was thrown into chaos!
Visibly, the rich primordial energy that originally flowed between heaven and earth was forcibly torn apart and extracted, turning into streams of milky white energy that surged into the vortex;
High above, the essence of the sun, moon, and stars was twisted and drawn, cascading down towards the small coffin like a reversed Milky Way;
The spiritual energy surging from the depths of the earth and the vitality contained within the mountains, rivers, and vegetation all seemed to have received a supreme summons, rushing wildly toward the coffin that was only ten feet long!
Twisted, colorful torrents of energy formed in the sky, intertwining and colliding, emitting deafening roars.
Ultimately, they merged into a huge funnel-shaped vortex, with its lower end firmly locked onto the Small Bronze Coffin.
The entire sky darkened, as if even the light itself could not escape this terrifying, devouring force.
This devouring power is incredibly domineering, targeting not only the essence of heaven and earth, but also all living beings that contain energy!
Just then, a group of about ten Immortal God were passing through this region in a panic.
Their armor was tattered, their expressions terrified, and their bodies stained with blood; they were clearly fleeing for their lives, trying to escape the despairing "divine punishment" behind them.
The group's cultivation levels varied, ranging from ordinary Fifth Rank cultivators and Sixth Rank True Immortal to experts at the Immortal God level. The leader was an old man whose aura had reached the peak of the Immortal God and who was holding Broken Sword.
However, before they had flown very far, their expressions changed drastically, and their bodies seemed to sink into an invisible quagmire, unable to move forward even an inch!
"What's going on? My divine power is draining away! It's out of control!"
A Sixth Rank True Immortal cried out in terror as the divine light around him dimmed at a visible speed.
"No! Help me! I can't move! Something is draining my life force!"
The other female Immortal God paled; she felt her soul trembling, as if it were being forcibly torn from her body.
The leading elder Immortal God immortal, turned around in horror, his pupils shrinking as he looked at the Small Bronze Coffin atop the giant tortoise-shaped mountain peak.
"It's that coffin! It's the culprit! Quick!"
However, before he could finish his warning, the piercing scream abruptly stopped.
The protective divine light surrounding everyone shattered one after another like fragile bubbles, shattering their cultivation, surging life essence, and even condensed divine soul power.
They were all forcibly drawn out by an irresistible force, transforming into streams of light of various colors, yet all filled with an aura of despair, which flew into the Small Bronze Coffin like moths to a flame.
In just a few breaths, this group of Immortal God, who were originally fleeing for their lives, completely vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
The area being devoured is still expanding rapidly.
The rolling mountains trembled slightly, rocks tumbled down, and the sparse vegetation withered and turned yellow at a visible speed, eventually turning into ashes and disappearing with the wind.
The rivers on the surface dried up rapidly, revealing cracked riverbeds;
Several hidden springs in the mountain streams dried up instantly, leaving only hardened soil at their source.
The light in the entire area became unusually dim and distorted, as if even the "light" itself had been partially swallowed up, shrouding the world in an eerie gloom.
In just half a day, this vast mountain range, which was originally desolate but still full of life and flowing with the essence of heaven and earth, was transformed.
It has been transformed into an absolute forbidden zone where energy is scarce, lifelessness reigns, and even the fundamental laws have become chaotic!
Any Immortal God who steps into this place will feel that their own Dao Fruit is unstable and their divine power is stagnant, as if they may be assimilated and devoured by this world at any time.
The majestic mountain peak, shaped like a giant tortoise and bearing the Small Bronze Coffin, was also not spared in the process.
Inside the mountain peak, a vast and powerful demonic energy, accumulated over countless millennia and seemingly connected to the earth's veins, was forcibly stirred by the invisible vortex.
Like a floodgate being opened, strands of it were extracted and flowed into that terrifying torrent of energy.
This power was so vast and pure that if it were to fully erupt, it would be enough to shake the stars and overturn mountains and rivers. But at this moment, most of it was silently swallowed up, without even causing a great ripple.
The dormant consciousness within the mountain peak, as vast as a star's core, seemed to tremble slightly, conveying a sense of unease at being forcibly plundered and an instinctive will to resist.
But this will was like a stone thrown into the ocean, instantly swallowed up by the all-consuming whirlpool.
Ultimately, that consciousness could only helplessly sink into silence, its aura visibly weakening by more than half.
They fell into a deeper, more imperceptible state of dormancy, as if only in this way could they avoid being completely drained.
The Small Bronze Coffin was like a bottomless abyss that could never be filled, greedily swallowing and absorbing everything.
The dark light emanating from the coffin grew stronger and stronger, and the ancient totems seemed to truly come alive under its influence.
It flickered like breathing, or seemed like countless tiny tentacles wriggling and sucking, emitting a chilling aura.
I don't know how much time has passed; it could be a day, or it could be several days.
When the last bit of energy that can be drawn within a radius of millions of miles is gone, whether it be the essence of heaven and earth, the essence of plants and trees, or the spiritual energy of the earth's veins.
Even the remaining, unclaimed soul energy was completely devoured, leaving behind a terrifying vortex that seemed poised to destroy everything.
It stopped abruptly, just as abruptly as it had appeared.
The dark light rapidly receded, returning entirely to the coffin.
The Small Bronze Coffin has returned to its original simple, dark, and cold appearance, covered with the mottled marks of time, standing quietly atop the tortoise-shaped mountain.
Immediately afterwards, with a barely perceptible sliding sound, the Bronze Coffin silently slid open to one side, revealing the deep darkness inside.
Dao Body was gently "sent out" by a soft force, drifting down like a falling leaf, and finally landing steadily on the cracked, lifeless, and desolate ground.
It was Li Qingshan.
His feet touched the ground, his posture upright like a pine tree, without even stirring up a speck of dust.
Almost the instant he left the coffin, the Small Bronze Coffin emitted a satisfied and deep hum, like that of a wild beast after a hearty meal.
Immediately, the coffin shone with a bright blue light, becoming hazy and illusory. With a "whoosh," it transformed into an incredibly swift blue streak, easily tearing apart the surrounding spatial barrier, which was still fragile and not yet fully restored.
They vanished in an instant, disappearing into some unknown corner of the myriad realms, leaving no trace.
Li Qingshan stood still, his gaze calm, and did not immediately try to trace the path of the disappearing small coffin.
For him, the mysterious coffin had completed its mission, transporting him from the other side of the starry sea to his familiar place. Fate brings things together and fate separates them; forcing it is futile.
His gaze swept across the surroundings like a cold lightning bolt, and his brows furrowed slightly.
The ground beneath my feet was a chilling expanse of gray desolation and deathly silence.
The soil, which should have been hard and thick, was now covered with countless deep, jagged cracks, like the open mouth of a giant beast, ready to devour everything.
There was no trace of vitality or life flowing in the air, nor any hint of the growth of plants; only the emptiness and desolation of a world withered and its essence completely drained.
What's even more unsettling is that the space is permeated with extremely chaotic and malicious fluctuations, remnants of energy violently plundered. Ordinary Immortal God would probably find it difficult to even maintain the stability of their own divine power here.
"Such domineering devouring power!"
He muttered to himself, his voice unusually clear in the deathly silence.