The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

It was a colorless wisp of Qi, which looked like a small pool in Zhao Qing's hand. It was tightly wrapped and sealed by a net of magic woven from billions of crystal-like Dao patterns. However, it inexplicably showed a tendency to flow in all directions and to every part of the world, and it flickered periodically, being born and dying.

With a slight thought, she clenched her fingers and instantly created a small grotto-heaven outside. A faint blue fluorescence continuously scattered across the domain wall a hundred feet away, and a hazy, clear light enveloped the air, yet spontaneously spread out a deep, dark, icy radiance.

It can be seen that the temperature of this wisp of energy is extremely low, almost absolute zero, but it is still very active.

In the next instant, Zhao Qing waved his sleeve, casually twisting and cutting off a large number of spatial lines, causing countless displacements and cracks to appear in the entire cave, intersecting with each other, like a piece of porcelain about to fall apart, giving people a dazzling and mesmerizing feeling.

Then, she released the restraints that were binding the Qi.

A dark ice flower slowly unfurled in the white void, revealing layers of gray that were about to solidify and disperse. Seven colors of brilliance rapidly climbed along the cracks, like hundreds of rainbows come to life, and pure spiritual light filled the thin layers of the cross-section.

Several crystalline little swords suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Qing, accelerated, and, carrying the turbulent currents of the void, slashed straight at the wall of the cave!
Silent tremors transmitted between the cracks, and the spatial strings snapped one by one. Theoretically, the cave would be completely torn apart and instantly destroyed, turning into thousands of fragments that flew outwards.

But when the fine ripples spread outward from the point of impact, emitting a faint whistling sound, they suddenly stirred up countless tiny triangular and hexagonal patterns, like scales and feathers, growing wildly at the edges of every crack, intertwining with each other, and in their flickering light, they gave rise to a sharp and orderly sense.

It forcibly tamed the chaotic and disorderly space, binding it into a clear and quiet geometric grid.

All the destructive power was diverted at the edges.

Destruction that is contained is like lightning sealed in amber.

The cracks stopped extending, the string stopped breaking, and the entire cave remained frozen in a critical state, on the verge of collapse.

Its outline began to blur slightly, and the colorful rainbow froze, as if it were wrapped in a very thin and transparent film of water, creating an insurmountable barrier between it and the outside world.

Zhao Qing's gaze fell on a certain section of the cave's barrier, which was so thin as to be almost transparent. Through it, one could even vaguely see the stardust floating in the void outside. But no matter how deep or dense the cracks were, or how thoroughly the spatial string was broken, the entire cave still maintained its precarious integrity.

"The Qi of Dingguang Cave has finally been refined! Just as I expected, it prefers to stay in specific 'edges' or 'gaps,' neither advancing nor retreating, perfectly positioned..."

She sighed softly, and with a wave of her hand, the mesh of scales was gently peeled off, turning into a transparent foil. The shocking cracks around it lost their support and instantly burst open, shattering the void and causing the universe to collapse.

Thousands of Dao patterns reappeared, encapsulating the Qi that was trying to get stuck in Zhao Qing's palm lines, gleaming with a dark, matte light.

"Try the 'Annihilation' resistance." With another thought, clusters of deep black snowflakes condensed from the void and fell silently, carrying with them the corrupting power that could reduce the vitality of one's life force to zero.

But the Qi remained completely unaffected, still faintly glowing.

This is the most natural outcome.

The Annihilation True Essence can drag various kinds of primordial energy into the abyss of annihilation. However, this kind of special attack has no effect on ordinary matter, as it cannot prevent electron transitions or mass-energy conversion.

Although it is called "Qi" and is classified as a strange primordial energy cultivated after birth, it is essentially closer to the topological defects of spacetime. It spans the order of the dual universes of light and darkness and can affect the light universe and ordinary matter without the help of a certain kind of dark force.

The fact that many mediums of dark power were shielded or disappeared does not affect its ability to exert its own properties, even though it already possesses its own "medium".

In fact, special primordial energies such as fangqi and primordial magnetic rays, even when tainted by the annihilation method, will not completely sink and disappear; their material aspect can still remain.

Simply put, the Qi will degrade into ordinary light waves.

The Void Qi, through its ingenious leak-free closed-loop structure, encloses its primordial energy aspect on the inside, completely eliminating the need for contact with the isolated Annihilation True Essence, thus rendering it immune to its effects.

In principle, annihilation and transformation are essentially equivalent.

This means that it can serve as a powerful tool to significantly intervene in any battle below the sixth level of Qi cultivation.

However, whether in the main world or here, there are few instances of using or refining Void Qi in the Six Qi and Nine Realms. Almost no one is paying attention to developing this method. What is the reason for this?

Firstly, the refining process is extremely difficult and unpredictable; secondly, its operation requires unique methods.

The alchemy method created by Emperor You was a continuation of his theory of the solvent of heaven and earth.

First, a certain amount of void primordial matter is mined, and a small amount of natal vital energy is injected as the initial seed crystal. Then, it is placed in various solvents of heaven and earth, and repeatedly dissolved, crystallized, reacted, and purified in different law environments, changing and adding new properties. Finally, it is stabilized by repeatedly refining earth, fire, wind, and water.

This is like a chemical reaction. After each reaction step, the concentration of the law, and the adjustment of details are in place, through disassembly, reconstruction, and sublimation, at the end of the synthesis path, there is hope to obtain a product, a special ordered structure that exists independently of space, "precipitated" from the void.

That is the "empty qi" that is inscribed with the imprint of the laws and knowledge.

In the incredibly complex process of reaction refinement, this void is shaped into a corresponding, self-consistent, closed structure.

Under the cover of chaos and disorder, countless strange and invisible topological invariants are condensed, locked, and entangled, like billions of tightly twisted strings, causing them to break away from the continuity of the background space and transform into an independent, movable "enclave of order".

The difficulty in refining Qi lies not in the ingenuity of a single step, but in the difficulty of replicating the entire process.

No two people have the same innate energy, and no environmental parameter can be completely copied. Even the slightest difference in the concentration, solvent ratio, and timing of each step can be magnified to the extreme, leading to failure.

In fact, the solution environment also includes factors such as temperature, magnetic field, and gravity, which can sometimes play a regulatory role.

Therefore, Emperor You could only control the formula he created.

It can be described as a black-box alchemy process involving exhaustive trial and error.

If you try to copy it exactly as it is, there is absolutely no chance of success.

Before reaching the pinnacle of the Six Qi Realm and being able to easily perform "Refining the Dao into Emptiness," the refining of Void Qi relies more on luck.

Only with miraculous intuition, the assistance of the realm of fate and cause and effect, and a subtle talent that can perceive certain ineffable properties in the recipe, can one barely increase the probability of success on the first attempt.

Once successfully refined, all parameters were memorized, and it can be reproduced reliably in the future. It can be produced by consuming mana and Daoist essence.

The difficulty lies in doing it the first time.

Even Zhao Qing, after deeply comprehending this method, noticed the correlation between the void qi and the topology of spacetime. Relying on mathematical error correction tools such as defect medium, density of states curves, and mapping groups, she avoided countless detours and has only managed to refine one type of "fixed light cave qi" for the time being.

The "Nine Netherworld Suppressing Qi" and "Dragon Fighting Tai Zhao Qi" created by Emperor You have not yet had time to slowly calculate, converge, and fit them.

However, in terms of quality and grade, Dingguang Dongque Qi is definitely the best among the initial stage of empty Qi, almost at the middle level.

It already involves some profound changes in the time dimension.

Specifically, it can not only fix the cracks in space, but also the waves of time and the light and shadow of fate.

It could also be called a treasure for suppressing bad luck.

"Where there is a gap, there is air; where there is air, there is light."

"The essence of this Dingguang Dongque Qi is to find the only balance point between existence and non-existence, between fragmentation and wholeness, between existence and nothingness, and to become that balance point." Zhao Qing murmured to himself, "This is static protection, but there are still signs of dynamic protection."

Dynamic means that it can easily pass through "walls", ignore most seemingly impenetrable defenses, and seep in through those tiny and imperceptible gaps, and then recombine on the other side.

Whether it's spatial confinement, legal barriers, or even the boundaries of certain blessed lands, as long as there are "boundaries," there will naturally be "gaps" through which Qi can reside and pass—because this world itself is composed of countless orderly little worlds pieced together, and there must be gaps at the points where they are pieced together.

It only needs to glide silently along the seam between everything and the void to penetrate everything, delivering offensive means to the enemy's front and inside, directly to the opponent's vitals.

It can even find those "gaps" that have disappeared in the flow of time.

Within the time gap of the fixed light cave qi position, unless it is a truly flawless barrier that has never had any cracks since its inception and does not even have any potential structural dislocations, it will be impossible to penetrate.

It is both the strongest spear and the strongest shield.

Of course, this "strongest" is definitely limited by the evaluation of realm.

According to the corresponding levels of heaven and earth, the seemingly indistinguishable chaotic void energy can also be divided into many levels.

However, generally speaking, even if one has mastered such profound methods of "refining the Dao to enter the void" and can interfere with the separation and formation of the chaotic void, the main tendency is still to guide the void to nurture some kind of innate spiritual treasure or innate spiritual root, and to harvest these obviously valuable things, rather than to painstakingly refine the void qi.

After expending so much effort, all we got was a chaotic mess of order?

Even Emperor You himself had experimented with the Nirvana Flower, the one that had been passed down to Tian Liang, several times before turning to the path of Void Qi.

The reason for choosing emptiness and qi is simple—it is to use it as a key step and a necessity in the cultivation method, to further break free from one's imitation and dependence on the external universe, and to push the shaping and expression of personal will to a deeper level.

Shun asked his minister, "Can the Way be attained or possessed?"

He said, "Your body is not your own; how can you claim to possess the Way of the Husband!"

Shun said, “My body does not belong to me; who then belongs to me?”

He said, “This is the form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth; life is not yours to possess, it is the harmony entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth; nature and destiny are not yours to possess, they are the compliance entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth; offspring are not yours to possess, they are the molting entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore, you do not know where you are going, you do not know what you are holding onto, and you do not know what you are tasting when you eat. This is the strong Yang energy of Heaven and Earth, how can you possibly possess it?”

A person's body, life, nature, and even descendants are nothing more than things temporarily entrusted to you by heaven and earth.

You have never truly owned yourself.

If one doesn't even belong to oneself, then there's no question of belonging to the Tao!
Even though it has opened up its inner universe and seems to have achieved great independence, and seems to be steadily walking on a development path that is on par with the macrocosm, it still imitates and comprehends too many external laws and principles. The primordial energy and laws it has created are still the same repetitive thousands of combinations that do not deviate from the transformation and evolution of destiny.

It is essentially a miniature bonsai transplanted from the vast universe.

Highly similar genetic makeup and highly homologous underlying architecture mean that when the inner universe faces the outer universe, it remains a "shell" that can be easily pried open, interfered with, and contained.

Every gentle breeze from the outside world could be the cause of a cataclysmic upheaval within.

Cultivators believe they have control over heaven and earth, but in reality, heaven and earth are merely using them to enact a script they have already written.

We are all puppets on strings, only the strings are so long that we mistake them for freedom.

To truly sever the "blood ties" between them, the Void Qi is the key to breaking down the barriers in the Three Steps of Sealing Heaven!

From this perspective, the "departure" of the ancient saints of the Heavenly Evolution Realm was likely not a true death from the end of their lifespan, but rather a price paid for transcendence. Reaching a certain level, it became difficult to continue manifesting in the mortal world. Zhao Qing's current realm is actually far from being ready to encounter this method. Being too far ahead prevents him from truly utilizing its wonders.

Using several different talismans to create a unique vessel for supernatural powers, as Emperor You did, can only be considered a relatively inferior method.

Even so, this "lesser" talisman is extremely difficult to forge. Although it is several levels simpler than refining Void Qi itself, its core challenges are almost impossible for outsiders to imitate unless they are the creators themselves. One must know the complete formula for Void Qi and be proficient in all the legal domains involved.

Void Qi is not a magic weapon or artifact in the traditional sense.

As a man-made giant primordial energy particle, it is in a pure, blank, and unadorned state, and has no concept of recognizing a master.

Moreover, it is completely unaffected by conventional spiritual refinement.

Even if you forge it yourself, it doesn't mean you can control it at will.

When a chemical reaction produces a crystal, if you call its name, will it respond? And when a particle is produced by a collider, can it recognize any of the new particles?

The Dharma talisman solves this problem: it regards the empty Qi as the blank state of Alaya consciousness, and then injects pure and undefiled consciousness and karmic defilement into it, writing recognition instructions and operating rules into it, which is equivalent to having the memories of reincarnations, shaping the conditioned consciousness, and making it a kind of semi-independent empty life with "instinct".

This is pretty much the method of creating an avatar outside the body.

Essentially, it is not much different from the cocooning of the Nine-Death Silkworm and the Dragon Clan.

However, to complete the process of adjusting the talisman to match the reverse process of refining the void energy, it certainly cannot be done merely by instinctively applying the cocooning technique. At least a very deep level of mastery is required.

"Besides Dingguang, there are also Jieguang and Yuanguang..."

Zhao Qing gathered his thoughts and did not continue to push the plan forward.

Having achieved the goal of establishing a firm foundation, we can proceed with the rest gradually.

She absorbed the void energy into her heart, used the divine abode's fortune to perfect the corresponding talisman, and then flicked her finger lightly. A complete "Dingguang Cave Qi Refining Method," which included all annotations and deduction paths, transformed into a purple light and shot out, transmitting to the moon's surface.

Shortly after, Emperor You's reply arrived.

"You've succeeded in refining it?" His divine sense traveled through the void, his tone unusually fluctuating, showing surprise and sigh, revealing a sense of frustration similar to that of Ye Chen's failed magic sword technique.

"It's done."

Zhao Qing said, "It's half a month earlier than expected."

"..." Emperor You remained silent for a while.

"So this is the mathematical analysis of my kind of Qi refining system?" When he transmitted his voice again, his tone changed again: "Deformation method, manifold curvature, partition function, renormalization group... You can actually transform chaotic intuition into such a rigorous deductive framework, almost removing most of the 'luck'!"

But the remaining half is still out of reach for most people.

“I’ll compile a crash course for you later,” Zhao Qing added.

"...Thank you for your trouble." After a pause, Emperor You continued:
"The Sun Abyss Demonstration is tentatively scheduled for three months from now. Seventeen peak eighth-realm cultivators and two half-step ninth-realm cultivators from the Mist-shrouded Belt have confirmed their attendance, mainly those from Youjiao who have few clan constraints. News has also come back from the depths of Tianlan that a divinely controlled force has already sent a formal inquiry letter..."

"However, considering the long distance and the excessive energy consumption of acceleration, they are all scheduled for the second batch, that is, six years later."

“No rush. We don’t need to aim for a large number in the first batch; let’s establish our reputation first,” Zhao Qing replied leisurely. “I’ve also secured some business, selling over thirty spots, but they’re scheduled for the fourth or fifth batch.”

The Frosty Universe and the Desolate Sea Frontier that she developed using the Sword Realm Seeds certainly don't only include a corner of the Mirage Soul Clusters trillions of miles away; there are also many closer regions, but overall they still seem extremely distant.

To save on travel expenses, we had to drive slowly to get here.

Although we arrived late, the spots have already been allocated, which can help with the initial publicity and increase our momentum.

This makes it clear to everyone that the Riyuan Dharma Talk is not a fleeting scam, but a grand event that is meant to be held for a long time.

"Red Leaf, also known as the 'Demon Star' you've heard of, sent a message saying he'll be observing from afar near Mars..."

Emperor You added, "When I broke through to the next realm, I was alone in the depths of the void, suffering from a lack of vitality. It was thanks to his help that I am where I am today."

"But the subsequent negotiations and tribute payments were also handled by his subordinates, who acted as agents to extract taxes and bleed people dry."

"Now, he has put forward a new proposal, saying that with the flourishing of cultivation in the inner region, our realm may be able to overcome the slump within tens of thousands of years and accumulate several batches of considerable combat power. Then, it is not impossible to make a move against that strange Yang Great Thousand World that sweeps across the edge of the Silent Sea 8.6 years later. There is no need to avoid it; we can directly intercept and ambush it and plunder it on a large scale!"

"In other words, you and I are to lead troops to join the attack, acting as a detachment, and the spoils will be distributed according to merit?" Zhao Qing said.

"If you agree, we can immediately reduce the tribute by 70%," Emperor You said calmly. "But the enemy's situation is unclear, making it difficult to make a decision. The reduction in tribute is a sweet offer, but no one knows how sharp the hook hidden beneath it is."

"Although the other side is just a world under the jurisdiction of a red dwarf star, and not many planets have been observed, the red dwarf star that flew by 70,000 years ago was truly ferocious and launched a fierce counterattack, causing the fall of more than a dozen ninth-realm beings. The intensity of the war ranks among the highest in the last hundred million years. The slightest mistake could lead to a repeat of the same mistake."

"Last time, that red dwarf star, accompanied by its brown dwarf companion, cut in from a non-ecliptic plane and hurtled towards the desolate wilderness. The numerous permanent fortifications that had been pre-positioned near the ecliptic plane were completely rendered ineffective, as it directly breached the outer perimeter from the weakest point of defense..."

"What's even more troublesome is that it governs ten rocky planets, which are only a few million miles apart. They are closely connected by a star array, sharing vital energy and laws. If you attack one point, all ten planets will respond; if you strike the head, the tails will respond; if you strike the tail, the head will respond. The synergistic effect is extremely strong!"

"Under the crossfire, even though the extraterrestrial warriors surrounded and ultimately defeated the Armored Coffin Clan, they also suffered heavy losses."

"This one, which will be 86,000 years from now, is said to be several levels weaker. However, the closest distance it flew by was 1.85 light-years, more than three times that of the last one! The long journey of more than 30 trillion miles has stretched the logistics line too long. Even with the help of void tunnels for transportation, the losses must be staggering. It is an extremely heavy burden!"

"All our supplies, bases, and reserve troops have to be transported by the fleet from the edge of the Silent Sea. The length of any one of these transport lines is equivalent to the entire depth of the last battle!"

"And the other side has its own star behind it."

Zhao Qing added the most crucial sentence.

“Exactly,” the Nether Emperor said in a deep voice. “A red dwarf star, no matter how dim, is still a genuine star. Its stellar will is the enemy’s strongest support! Although stars are normally autistic and won’t take the initiative to attack, just having to withstand that home-field advantage and fight against a well-rested elite force…”

He didn't continue, but his meaning was self-evident.

Zhao Qing also did a quick calculation.

The law field of a red dwarf star covers an area of ​​about one billion miles, but its planets usually orbit much closer, often within thirty million miles, making it both compact and efficient, and convenient for transportation.

In reality, the vast majority of battles against red dwarfs outside the region have to suffer this hidden loss and win only by overwhelming the enemy with superior combat power.

As for hoping that there are no native cultivators on the other side at all? The probability is actually very low. On tidally locked planets, which are almost 100% likely to exist, some incredibly adaptable and tenacious species are always born at their terminator, embarking on the path of cultivation together with the Protoss.

“1.85 light-years, that distance, the extraterrestrials originally intended to cease hostilities and let it go, right?” She pondered for a moment and asked, “I vaguely heard that a white dwarf star would pass by in more than 30,000 years, and that would be the next target? Why isn’t it mentioned now?”

"Observational error".

Emperor You replied, "The void turbulence interfered with the observation. After repeated calculations, we found that it would not actually pass by our solar system; it would just brush past us. It was a false alarm. This is old news from a thousand years ago."

"Thus, there was a gap of tens of thousands of years, and this red dwarf star once again fell into the eyes of those warmongers."

"Avoid war and recuperate? Wars aren't always initiated by the outer realms. Seeing our retreat, they're highly likely to take advantage of the situation to plunder in small groups! How can we tolerate losing face and suffering heavy losses of comets and civilians? If we don't even dare to fight a small realm, wouldn't we lose our courage?"

"The vast realm spans sixty trillion miles, boasts trillions of soldiers, and is filled with outstanding generals. It has been preparing for war for a long time. If it dares not even touch a solitary red dwarf star, how will it deter the villains in the future? How will it awe all around?"

Ultimately, the issue isn't whether to fight or not, but how to fight, how fiercely to fight, and what the outcome should be.

"Oh, right," he brought up another trivial matter, "the Chaos Heavenly Capital Extinction Cannon, this top-tier technique, has already been given to you and me in advance."

"It's one of the largest defensive fortifications in the Outer Realms and a powerful offensive weapon, as well as a mainstream multi-node support-type ranged attack spell for team battles... You can spend some time practicing it when you have time, and make sure to dazzle those guys when the time comes!"

A streak of light pierced through the void and stopped about a foot in front of Zhao Qing, transforming into a slowly rotating cluster of dark crystals.

Zhao Qing received the document and browsed through it for a while.

In general, she could tell that this "Chaotic Heavenly Capital Extinction Cannon" was a secret technique focused on overwhelming people with its sheer size and unleashing a torrent of violent firepower in an instant. Its specific effect was similar to the Starfire Comet Tail Sword on the side of the Chaotic Void, and its theoretical range was ridiculously long, reaching up to thousands of light-years.

Thousands of light-years away, a distance comparable to a medium-sized gamma-ray burst!

Although it is almost impossible for a single person to reach this level, as it mainly relies on node coordination and the amplification of countless magic arrays, this is undoubtedly the first top-tier outer realm cultivation technique that Zhao Qing has come into contact with, and it involves many areas that she has not yet studied in depth, making its value immeasurable.

That's quite generous.

I am currently studying the Dao of Chaos and urgently need to compare myself with various profound techniques, so I have presented you with this generous gift!
Although she will have been back for who knows how long by then, Ding Ning will most likely have broken through to the Ninth Realm and filled the gap, so there is no need to mention it further.

Speaking of which, Zhao Qing also knew a little about the origin of this technique.

It actually comes from the strongest enemy encountered in the history of the solar system, or rather, the most vengeful enemy.

Before we begin, we need to clarify one fact.

It can be basically confirmed that the cultivation world in the solar system is at a superior level compared to the vast majority of the "different solar worlds":
Only 7% of stars are larger than the Sun, and their lifespans are shorter, so they rarely have the time to nurture advanced civilizations. Stars smaller than the Sun lack vitality, have less matter in their protoplanetary disks, and are like shallow waters that cannot support dragons.

In fact, if we add the rare conditions of being moderately seeded by supernovae and aiding in the birth of differentiated planetesimals, the early solar system's environment would rank among the top 10% even among G-type stars.

Based on comprehensive evaluation, this puts them in the top 0.5%!
Although it is far from being a small overlord on the edge of the Orion Arm, it can at least be called a first-class major world!

This is a fact repeatedly verified by the irrefutable and illustrious achievements of past wars:
In its numerous expeditions over billions of years, the extraterrestrial coalition has annihilated all non-celestial beings on more than a dozen red and orange dwarf stars, and wiped out all cultivation groups belonging to nearly a thousand brown dwarf stars and rogue planets! The value of this is absolutely genuine!

But why has there never been interstellar colonization or large-scale territorial expansion during such a long period of time?

The answer is simple: because it yields zero or even negative returns.

...(End of this chapter)