The First Level of True Meaning of Space, Taking Action

In the quiet room.

In this empty room, even time had lost all meaning.

Qie Qiong sat cross-legged at the center of the quiet room as the silver light around him grew brighter and brighter.

The light in the room began to flow strangely around Qie Qiong, like a stream circling him, forming a spatial illusion within three feet of his body.

This was the third level of the Myriad Existences Realm of Space. But as of today, that would soon no longer be the case.

Qie Qiong slowly opened his eyes. A brilliant silver light shone deep within his pupils.

He lightly brushed his fingertips through the air, and the void rippled like a water's surface, wave after wave spreading outward.

From this moment on, space was no longer intangible to him. It was tangible, an extension of his will.

Ten years. Ten years of painstaking cultivation!

He had advanced in his True Meaning of Space at a rate of almost one level every three years.

Today, he had finally mastered the complete True Meaning of Space. This was the foundation of his revenge.

As for the other laws, although he had only comprehended them casually over these ten years, he seemed to be the child of the True Meaning of Metal, having comprehended it to the peak of the third level. He was only one step away from breaking through to the Deity Heart Realm.

In contrast to Space and the True Meaning of Metal, the Law of Thunder had only reached the third level since he began comprehending it.

Although that was already very fast for an ordinary Transcendent, compared with his other two True Meanings, it was far too slow.

So slow that Qie Qiong wanted to give up. But for some reason, a voice in his heart kept telling him not to abandon the True Meaning of Thunder.

With his breakthrough in the True Meaning of Space, Qie Qiong immediately focused his mind on the "Golden Light" secret manual.

Over these ten years, he had long since found two secret techniques related to space.

After all, with only the first level of the True Meaning of Space, achieving what Qie Qiong wanted was practically impossible.

A realm could only let him wield his normal combat strength, but a secret technique could let him wield the full power of his True Meaning.

Just as the original work said, secret techniques were techniques for wielding Dou Qi!

It was like a sheet of paper. Roll it up slightly and use it as a rope, and it could only lift an object weighing a few pounds. Any heavier, and the paper would snap.

But cut the paper into hundreds of strips and weave them together like a braid, and it could even lift objects weighing dozens or hundreds of pounds.

The same material, arranged differently, could bear vastly different loads!

Qie Qiong had already chosen a body secret technique in "Golden Light": "Cosmic Body."

"Cosmic Body" was a supreme-grade space-type body secret technique. Its essence lay in drawing on Spatial Power and tempering the flesh and bones with it, gradually transforming an ordinary body into a Deity Body of Space better suited to the True Meaning of Space.

It was the preliminary version of the divine-level secret technique "Cosmic Body" in the "Golden Light" secret manual.

So it could also be called "Cosmic Body: Preliminary Version."

Even the Three Kingdoms' royal families could not possibly possess it.

The first level of "Cosmic Body" could raise the body to the peak of Saint Rank Transcendent.

The second level made the body Demigod Rank.

At the third level, the body could already rival a Deity's.

The requirement for cultivating "Cosmic Body" was complete True Meaning of Space. The three levels of the True Meaning of Space corresponded to the three levels of "Cosmic Body."

With his breakthrough in the True Meaning of Space, Qie Qiong could finally cultivate "Cosmic Body."

At a thought, the space in the quiet room—which had settled somewhat after his breakthrough—suddenly collapsed inward and gathered together.

Countless tiny points of spatial light, like a silver torrent of stars, surged madly into Qie Qiong's body.

In an instant, a hum rang through his body.

His flesh and blood were reshaped by Spatial Power, his bones transformed until they were as translucent as Jade Marrow, and a faint, hazy glow appeared on his skin.

Pain surged against Qie Qiong's will like a tide. It was caused by Spatial Power transforming his body.

After all, he was raising his physical body all at once from Initial Saint Rank to the peak of Saint Rank Transcendent.

But it was worth it. If he used Origin Stones to break through, there would indeed be no pain, but the middle stage alone would cost two million jin of Origin Stones. At the peak, even digging up all the Transcendent Worlds in the Cang Yun Material World would not be enough.

Although Qie Qiong's expression remained calm, the tension in his muscles and the sweat on his brow revealed his pain. After an unknown amount of time, the phenomena gradually faded, and the silver light receded.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and space settled with it.

He lightly clenched his fist, and ripples stirred in the air from the force of his physical strength.

The first level of "Cosmic Body" was complete!

From then on, his body alone could stand against Peak Saint Rank.

After successfully cultivating the body secret technique,

Qie Qiong began cultivating another supreme-grade True Meaning secret technique called "Space Phantom."

In Qie Qiong's view, this True Meaning secret technique had been created with the Void Realm Clone of the True Meaning of the Void Realm as a reference.

"Space Phantom" could create a Space Phantom with half the combat strength of the true body.

At the first level, he could cultivate one Space Phantom; at the second, three; at the third, nine.

In battle, Qie Qiong could hide in another space and control his phantom to fight. In that case, the phantom's combat strength would be equivalent to Qie Qiong's own.

If he let the phantom act on its own, it could only display half the true body's combat strength.

At a thought from Qie Qiong, the vast Demigod Dou Qi in his dantian's sea of qi, guided by the True Meaning of Space,

was projected and shaped into energy at the spatial node before him.

The space in front of him rippled like water, then gathered. It seemed as if an invisible pair of hands were folding space.

In the blink of an eye, a figure took shape, going from illusory to solid.

He was identical to Qie Qiong—the same face, the same silver robe, even the look in his eyes was uncannily lifelike.

He stood quietly before Qie Qiong, connected to his true body by thought. Qie Qiong raised a hand, and the phantom raised one too;

a wisp of aura containing the third level of the True Meaning of Metal breathed from Qie Qiong's fingertip, and the same aura gathered at the phantom's fingertip.

This was the power Qie Qiong had gained over the past ten years.

After completing his cultivation, Qie Qiong slowly rose to his feet, his bones ringing softly. A spatial illusion separated him from the real world by a thin layer. Now, unless someone's realm matched or greatly surpassed his own, it would be difficult for them to see him.

And only three people in the Cang Yun Material World could possibly match his realm.

As far as Qie Qiong knew, the three royal families were at their strongest in ten thousand years.

After all, their ancestors were three Transcendents who possessed a True Body Deity Heart.

And cultivating a True Body Deity Heart meant being only one step away from becoming a Deity.

But that single step was difficult to take. After all, there had been many Demigods who had condensed a True Body Deity Heart over the past ten thousand years, but none had ever become a Deity.

Everything in the quiet room finally settled, leaving only the layer of spatial illusion around him.

His gaze was calm as it pierced the thick stone walls and fell upon the heart of the towering, ice-cold palace deep within the sacred grounds.

His fingertip lightly traced the air, leaving behind a silver ripple that vanished in an instant.

"Royal family, you can pay a price first."

As he spoke, he looked outside at Prince Lei Xiao, who had come again.

In Qin Garden.

Prince Lei Xiao stood on the stone steps outside the pavilion, wearing his usual mild smile. His gaze swept over Lin Wantang in the pavilion and Qie Yunzhou beside her.

That secret technique could be used once every five years. Today marked the second time in these ten years.

"Madam Wantang, we'll have to trouble you again today." Lei Xiao's voice carried a trace of feeling. "The old ancestor is very satisfied with Madam's life-origin aura and specifically instructed me to express his gratitude on his behalf."

He casually cupped his hands in a perfunctory gesture, but greed stirred deep in his eyes.

If he had not known that nearly half of their standing in the Cang Yun Material World came from the old ancestor,

he would probably have snuck over to absorb the Life Origin long ago. After all, he also wanted to try the Origin of a Transcendent with the Mystery of Life.

Each time this Origin was extracted, it extended the life of his Demigod ancestor by several years. That showed just how precious it was.

"Your Highness is too kind." Lin Wantang's voice was weak, filled with deep exhaustion and numbness.

Although she had the Ocean World Stone to replenish her and was no longer draining the Life Origin she had left, she still had to pretend to be weak. After all, if they found out, it might not be only once every five years.

Lei Xiao said no more.

He raised his right hand, and a cluster of strange, dark-green runes quickly gathered at his fingertips.

As the runes turned, they gave off a soul-chilling suction force. Their green glow, like a shark that had smelled blood, locked onto the figure in the pavilion from afar.

Space seemed to twist slightly as the secret technique activated, and the life force in Qin Garden seemed to gather toward the runes.

"The old ancestor's lifespan still depends on Madam's continued care." Lei Xiao's hypocritical smile remained unchanged, but his gaze had turned cold and focused.

He activated the secret technique. The green glow suddenly swelled, and the powerful suction was about to become a tangible bridge and begin extracting.

Just as the dark-green runes were about to finish forming and absorb Lin Wantang's Origin,

at the critical moment,

"Buzz!"

Silver ripples appeared without warning in the space beside Lei Xiao's outstretched arm.

A palm made of solidified space emerged from within space and seized Lei Xiao's wrist.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

The swelling cluster of dark-green runic light suddenly stopped, frozen in midair, unable to move forward even a fraction.

Even the attraction between it and Lin Wantang was forcibly severed.

The hypocritical smile on Lei Xiao's face froze, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

He looked at the silver hand that had suddenly appeared around his wrist.

Then, before his eyes, the owner of that hand slowly took shape from countless tiny Space Fragments. In the blink of an eye, it had become indistinguishable from a real person.

He had Qie Qiong's exact face, and watched him with an indifferent gaze.

This was Qie Qiong's Space Phantom.

"You worthless thing, how dare you stop me?!" After his brief shock, the secret art was forcibly interrupted, instantly shattering all of Lei Xiao's prior disguises.

In an instant, the Peak Saint Rank Thunder Battle Qi within him erupted, trying to shake off the Phantom Body's hand.

Purple lightning snakes coiled around his arm, crackling, but the hand of space remained utterly still. Instead, silver light flowed across it, swallowing the Dou Qi he had unleashed into the invisible expanse of space without stirring even a ripple.

At this, Lei Xiao's astonishment instantly turned to terror.

His strength couldn't break free? From someone newly Transcendent, who had been confined in the Sacred Land for ten years without any resources or experience?

"Outrageous!" Lei Xiao's eyes were bloodshot, like a beast with its tail stepped on. His voice was shrill. "Qie Qiong, you dare lay hands on me, the prince? Do you know how noble my bloodline is? If you dare so much as touch a hair on my head, your entire Qie Clan will pay for what you've done."

At some point, Qie Qiong had appeared silently in front of Lei Xiao.

His gaze was even colder, as if he were looking at a lifeless object.

Lei Xiao stared at the Qie Qiong who had suddenly appeared before him in person, and for a moment, he lost himself.

To him, these two Qie Qiongs seemed indistinguishable, and neither had the feel of a normal Saint Rank Transcendent clone.

Lei Xiao's eyes were filled with shock. How could this be? Was the person before him the same Qie Qiong who had just "broken through" to Transcendent ten years ago, as weak as an ant in his eyes?

The power of these two men who had appeared in an instant, casually restraining his full-force strike... This was absolutely not the kind of power one could possess after only ten years of closed-door cultivation in the Sacred Land!

He couldn't even understand how Qie Qiong had appeared in front of him.

He wanted to ask something else, to demand where this power had come from, but he felt as if he couldn't even make a sound.

"Finished?" Qie Qiong's voice held not a trace of emotion. "Then die."

As the words fell, he lightly swept the fingertips of his right hand, hanging at his side, across empty space.

There was only a barely perceptible silver line, thin as paper, as if space itself had been cut open by the sharpest blade. It ignored the Demigod Rank protective armor that had activated automatically on Lei Xiao's body.

The silver line ran straight down from the center of Lei Xiao's brow, splitting him in two.

The whole process was so fast that the frozen horror and confusion on Lei Xiao's face had no time to change at all.

He couldn't even sense what had happened.

The next moment.

"Shh."

Lei Xiao's body split in two with extreme smoothness along that silver line.

The cut surfaces were smooth as mirrors, without a drop of blood spilling out. All the blood and foreign matter had been completely annihilated into nothingness the instant Space Cutting took effect.

Qie Qiong waved his hand, and Lei Xiao's corpse completely disintegrated into tiny atoms.

The Peak Saint Rank prince, Lei Xiao—the most beloved bloodline descendant of the empire's Demigod ancestor—had vanished from this world completely.

Even the Demigod artifact he wore had not escaped.

In the pavilion, Lin Wantang and Qie Yunzhou looked at each other in silence. Although they could imagine how powerful Qie Qiong would be after comprehending True Meaning of Space, they had not expected him to be this powerful.

One had to know that Prince Lei Xiao had become the royal family's Demigod's most beloved junior for reasons beyond his bloodline.

He also had a fearsome cultivation talent. He was a holder of Grade Four True Meaning's first stage, and it was said that in a few years, he would become a Demigod.

What's more, he had just been wearing a Demigod artifact. They hadn't expected him to fail to withstand even a casual strike from Qie Qiong.

Just as Qie Qiong was about to say something,

"Crack!"

A deafening boom rang out without warning above Thunder Sacred Land.

The sound wasn't thunder. It came from the central palace at the very heart of the Sacred Land.

Immediately afterward, an enormous pillar of blazing white lightning burst skyward from the top of the central palace, carrying a furious aura that seemed bent on destroying everything.

The pillar tore through the firmament, as if it were about to shatter the spatial wall of this Transcendent world.

Terrifying pressure swept down, covering every corner of the Sacred Land!

In an instant, the sky seemed to lose all its color, leaving only the dazzling pillar of blazing white lightning.

Across the entire Thunder Sacred Land, billions of living beings, Transcendent or mortal, all prostrated themselves involuntarily at that moment, except for those at Demigod Rank and Saint Rank Transcendent.

A furious roar, like billions of thunderclaps exploding at once, rang out across the entire Sacred Land world:

"Who? Who dares kill my Lei Clan's prized child?!"

Qie Qiong stood in the pavilion in Qin Garden,

and kept that mighty pressure outside the Qie Residence. He raised his head and calmly faced the source of the pillar of lightning, the corner of his mouth slowly curling into a cold smile.

It was time to collect a little interest.