Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 192 The Four Great Geniuses
However, Lord Lanzang, being the teacher, still spoke up to offer some words of comfort.

"Benqi, why be so persistent? Even I am no match for Emperor Yan, no match for the Giant Axe, and even no match for Chaos. There are always people stronger than you in this world. Emperor Yan will one day encounter a stronger person than himself."

"Moreover, the restrictions haven't been broken and the treasure is still undetermined. Making a move now is exactly what they want. The Prison Clan is adept at winning in chaos. Are you trying to make things easier for other powerful individuals with your impulsive actions?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the Lord of the Ink Tablet not far away—sure enough, the giant beast was staring at the two of them, its pupils beneath its dark golden scales gleaming with calculating light.

Cao Benqi followed the gaze of the Lord of Lanzang and saw the expression on the Lord of Mohu's face, but he seemed somewhat unconvinced.

In his view, these universe masters were all worthless and fearless. He was not afraid of any of them in a one-on-one fight, and his teacher was far too cowardly.

With his divine body that is 90,000 kilometers high, he is not afraid of these four even if it is a war of attrition.

He gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, and stood with his halberd sheathed. However, the divine power around him was still restless, clearly not yet fully calmed down.

Seeing this, Lord Lanzang shook his head helplessly. Cao Benqi was already the Lord of the Universe, and he could no longer reprimand him as before.

……

Returning from the tomb, Zhou Heng's clone prepared to go back to the primordial universe. This treasure armor was still too precious, and it wasn't very reliable to use a tool-like clone like Zhou Heng's clone.

However, this time they came out aboard a tomb-like vessel.

The memory stone we obtained earlier contained the method for controlling this tomb ship.

Although this Tomb Ship is inferior to the True God-level Mechanical Treasure of Donghe, it is still a truly top-tier treasure. Its hull can be scaled at will between thousands and millions of kilometers, its defensive strength far exceeds that of the peak palace treasure, and its value even surpasses that of most cosmic wonders, second only to the strongest treasure.

Having just escaped the chaotic turbulence at the core of the spaceship, the ship suddenly trembled slightly, and the surrounding space abruptly became viscous.

Zhou Heng's clone looked out of the porthole and saw countless black stone pillars, thousands of light-years high, rising from the ground. The pillars were covered with twisted dark red patterns and emitted a powerful impact that could make the minds of ordinary universe masters tremble. This was the black-patterned stone pillar space on the outer perimeter of the spaceship.

Just as he was about to urge the warship to speed through this dangerous area, the chaotic air currents ahead suddenly surged violently, and five figures exuding a powerful aura blocked the middle of the channel.

“That is… the Tomb Ship!” The leading alien was covered in dark purple armor, with hundreds of crystalline spikes protruding from its surface. Each spike shimmered with a subtle light, resembling a cosmic crystal worm magnified billions of times. It was none other than the Sharp Crystal Lord of the Crystal Insect Clan.

Its compound eyes instantly lit up with scarlet light, locking onto the bronze hull. As its insect limbs rubbed against each other, they produced a grating sound like metal scraping: "You have a good opportunity! Such a treasure has a place to belong. I am willing to exchange it for a supreme treasure. Please part with it!"

His tone was full of fervent determination, clearly indicating that he was after the Tomb Ship itself.

Only two holy lands in the entire universe possess such treasures, which contain secrets that could drive even the strongest to madness, and may even hold clues to traversing reincarnation. For this reason alone, it is worth any effort for anyone to obtain them.

Before the words were finished, a giant shadow on the right, woven from countless dark green vines, spoke. The vines were as thick as ancient pythons and covered with hard barbs. It was the Poison Vine Master that had previously intercepted Zhou Heng's clone.

Its voice was like the friction of thousands of blades, rough and obscure: "Lord of Sharp Crystal, do not hoard it all! This warship may contain burial treasures from the tomb, how can you take them all by yourself!"

"Ha, a bunch of greedy bastards." A chilling voice came from a swirling cloud of blood-red mist on the left, and distorted phantoms of souls occasionally appeared in the mist.

He was the Blood Shadow Lord of the Blood Shadow Clan, a vassal clan of the Skeleton Clan in the first cycle of reincarnation.

The blood mist around it surged violently, stirring up the surrounding chaotic air currents: "The Tomb Ship should belong to the strongest. Either offer up the ship and its treasures, or die and your soul will perish. Choose one!"

The other two alien universe lords also activated their powers—one was a Rockfire Clan powerhouse whose body was made of rock and lava. On his body, which was over ten thousand miles tall, earth fire flowed along the cracks in the rocks, steaming up heat waves that could melt stars.

The other was a powerful member of the Void Aquatic Clan, resembling a jellyfish. Its transparent tentacles, tens of thousands of kilometers long, swayed in the chaos, each wave causing ripples in the space, as if they could tear the void apart.

Each of the five harbored their own ulterior motives; some were eyeing the warship, while others coveted the treasures inside. Clearly, they were all prepared to forcibly seize them.

Zhou Heng's clone sat in front of the control panel, looking at the group of strangely shaped alien races, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Get lost." The word exploded like a thunderclap in the space of the black-patterned stone pillar. The moment the words fell, a pressure far exceeding the level of the Lord of the Universe suddenly spread out.

That was the unique imperial might of the Supreme Emperor, like the blazing sun of the heavens crushing the earth, causing the surrounding chaotic airflow to freeze instantly.

The five cosmic lords froze. The crystal spikes of the Sharp Crystal Lord stopped trembling, the vines of the Poison Ivy Lord drooped halfway, the blood mist of the Blood Shadow Lord stopped rolling, the earth fire flowing from the Rockfire Clan's powerhouses slowed down by half a beat, and the tentacles of the Void Water Clan also froze in mid-air.

They all frowned, their compound eyes, the eye spots in the gaps between the vines, and the light and shadow deep within the blood mist all revealing their doubts.

They are all renowned powerhouses in this region. If the person in front of them is not the strongest in the universe, what gives them the right to provoke him like this?

Seeing that the five people not only did not retreat, but instead subtly tightened the encirclement, and that the vines of the Poison Ivy Lord even quietly wriggled forward, as if trying to launch a sneak attack, Zhou Heng's clone completely lost patience.

As the hatch slowly opened, he stepped out the instant the bronze luster intertwined with the chaotic airflow.

With a clench of his right hand, a three-pointed, double-edged sword appeared out of thin air in his palm. As soon as it appeared, the surrounding airflow spontaneously swirled around the blade, and a faint rhythm of "Tao" spread out, causing even the black-patterned stone pillar to tremble slightly.

"Lord of the Void Blade!" The vines of the Lord of Poison Ivy suddenly tensed, the barbs standing upright, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

Having experienced the Life and Death Blade Technique of Zhou Heng's clone in the Annihilation Valley, it still feels lingering fear.

"The Lord of the Void Blade?" The Lord of the Sharp Crystal's compound eyes flickered, and the crystal spikes trembled slightly. "Is that the Lord of the Void Blade, who is known as one of the four supreme geniuses of the primordial universe era and who roamed the universe with his swordsmanship?"

"Even if you are the Lord of the Void Blade, you must leave the Tomb Ship behind today!"

The Blood Shadow Lord's voice grew increasingly chilling, and the crimson mist suddenly surged, transforming into a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky, slamming towards Zhou Heng's clone. Countless phantoms could be vaguely seen colliding and roaring within the mist, their force enough to crush galaxies. "I didn't take your life last time, yet you dare to come here to die!" Zhou Heng's clone's eyes flashed fiercely, completely ignoring the Blood Shadow Lord's attack, his gaze fixed intently on the Poison Ivy Lord.

Today, we can settle both old and new scores.

The supreme imperial might surged once more, and the rhythm of the black and white "Dao" instantly materialized, like an invisible shackle, firmly fixing the Poison Ivy Lord's vines in mid-air.

With a light tap of his feet, he teleported like a ghost to the Lord of Poison Ivy. He slashed down with his three-pointed double-edged sword, the trajectory of which was exactly the yin-yang dividing line of the Tai Chi diagram, carrying the Daoist rhyme of "birth and death".

The Poison Ivy Lord's vines struggled frantically, its barbs tearing through the chaotic air currents, but it could never break free from the shackles of the "Dao".

The moment the blade touched the vine, there was no loud noise or strange phenomenon. The vine, which was strong enough to withstand the attack of a top-tier treasure, instantly turned into specks of green light and dissipated into chaos, just like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.

In the blink of an eye, the giant shadow made of countless vines vanished completely, leaving not a trace.

"Lord of Poison Ivy!" Upon seeing this, Lord of Sharp Crystals' compound eyes shrank sharply, and hundreds of crystal spikes suddenly detached from his carapace, shooting towards Zhou Heng's clone like a torrential rain. Each crystal spike carried the speed of tearing through space, blocking his evasion routes from different angles.

The Rockfire Clan expert also launched an attack at the same time, clenching his fists and smashing them down on Zhou Heng's clone. Before the fists even arrived, the rolling heat wave distorted the surrounding space. The Blood Shadow Lord's crimson giant hand attacked again, aiming straight for his back. The tentacles of the Void Water Clan expert wrapped around him from below, trying to drag him into the depths of chaos.

The four attacks arrived simultaneously, stirring the airflow within the space of the black-patterned stone pillar like boiling water, causing even the distant black stone pillar to tremble slightly.

Zhou Heng's clone remained unfazed, the three-pointed double-edged sword spinning rapidly in his hand. The rhythm of the "Dao" in black and white formed an invisible barrier, blocking all the incoming crystal spikes, heat waves, giant hands, and tentacles.

"Life and Death Blade Technique: Reincarnation!" he shouted, and the blade suddenly burst forth with dazzling light. Black and white blade energy spread out in concentric circles—the first circle of blade energy collided with the crystal spikes, instantly turning them into dust; the second circle of blade energy slashed at the fist of the Rockfire Clan expert, and the fist, which was wrapped in lava, was forced to retreat repeatedly by the blade energy, and even the earth fire on the surface of the rock dimmed a bit; the third circle of blade energy tore apart the blood-red giant hand, and the mist instantly collapsed; the fourth circle of blade energy severed the tentacles of the Void Water Clan, and the transparent tentacles disappeared without a trace in the air.

After forcing four people back with a single move, Zhou Heng's clone did not stop.

He set his sights on the Lord of Blood Shadows, and in a flash, he appeared in front of the blood mist, thrusting out his three-pointed double-edged sword.

The blade, imbued with the rhythm of the "Tao," pierced directly through the blood mist's defenses and penetrated its core.

The black and white air currents exploded instantly in the blood mist, like ink drops thrown into water, instantly swallowing all the mist. The Blood Shadow Lord didn't even have time to scream before he completely disappeared.

After dealing with the Blood Shadow Lord, he turned to look at the Rockfire Clan expert.

Seeing that things were not going well, the latter turned around and tried to escape, but Zhou Heng's clone had already teleported behind him and slashed horizontally with his blade.

A pure white blade of light instantly locked onto the body of the Rockfire Clan expert. As the blade sliced ​​through, the massive rock body was instantly reduced to rubble and vanished into the chaos, as if sliced ​​into tofu.

The powerful Void Water Clan member was terrified, his tentacles thrashing wildly as he tried to escape, but he was entangled by the rhythm of the black and white "Dao".

With a casual wave of his sword, Zhou Heng's clone caused the Void Water Clan expert to vanish completely.

In the end, only the Lord of Sharp Crystal remained, his compound eyes filled with fear, and he turned to flee.

The avatar of Zhou Heng would not give it a chance. The supreme imperial might spread again, freezing its figure in mid-air.

The three-pointed double-edged sword slashed through the air, and a black and white sword aura swept across like a rainbow. The armor of the Sharp Crystal Lord, along with its crystal spikes, instantly turned into light spots and dissipated.

In just a few breaths, all five cosmic lords perished, leaving not a trace behind.

Zhou Heng's clone sheathed his sword and stood there. The black and white "Dao" rhythm flowing around his body slowly subsided, receding into his body like a tide. Along with it, the overwhelming imperial might that crushed the universe also gradually subsided.

Only the chaotic air currents around them, still churning and swirling, continued to tell the story of the fleeting yet thrilling battle that had just taken place. The lingering traces of the "Dao" in the air gave this space an invisible sense of oppression.

He raised his eyes and scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the powerful figures from various races who had just rushed over but were now deliberately slowing down and pretending to be passing by.

These figures were either hidden in the chaotic air currents or lurking behind black stone pillars, their eyes filled with fear and a sense of luck, and none of them dared to meet his gaze.

Zhou Heng's clone curled his lips into a cold smile, snorted, and ignored the group of opportunistic individuals. He turned and stepped back into the Tomb Ship.

The hatch slowly closed, and the bronze hull glowed with a faint light. Like an arrow released from a bow, it broke through the chaos and sped towards the direction of the primordial universe, leaving only a fading streak of light behind.

Only after the aura of the Tomb Ship completely disappeared into the space of the black-patterned stone pillar did the powerful figures from various races dare to slowly appear. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and many of them subconsciously swallowed hard, their faces still showing lingering fear.

"Luckily we were far away, and the battle was over by the time we arrived. Otherwise, if that terrifying blade of light had struck, we would have been the ones who died!" A cosmic lord from the Northern Frontier Alliance of the Primal Universe, clad in silver armor, spoke first, his voice filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

“Indeed! Those five have lost their minds. They even dared to stop the Lord of the Void Blade. Do they really think the four top geniuses of the Primordial Universe are easy to mess with?” Another Universe Lord from the First Cycle Era, surrounded by ancient runes, nodded repeatedly, his tone full of agreement. “If it were the Flame Emperor, given his temperament, I’m afraid their entire race would have been uprooted!”

As soon as these words were spoken, a chorus of agreement arose from the crowd, but dissenting voices also emerged.

A powerful figure from the Nine Domains Alliance of the Primal Universe frowned, his tone tinged with disbelief: "Is it really that bad? No matter how strong the Flame Emperor is, he's merely a Universe Lord. Even if his combat power rivals that of the strongest in the universe, could he really cross realms and annihilate the strongest in the universe? Let alone wipe out an entire race? That's too exaggerated."

"Exaggeration? You're still too young, you haven't seen enough top geniuses!" The powerful figure from the first reincarnation era shook his head, his eyes filled with the certainty of someone who had been there before. "An existence like the Flame Emperor has already surpassed the conventional limits of potential. You think he's just a universe master now, but how terrifying is his growth rate?"
He was the ruler of the universe for five thousand years, and now, after only a few epochs, he can already rival the strongest being in the universe. Once he truly breaks through that barrier, annihilating the strongest being in the universe will be a piece of cake, and what's impossible about exterminating an entire race?

The Northern Frontier Alliance expert who had spoken earlier pondered, "Speaking of which, the Void Blade Master's swordplay in that battle was both sharp and steady, with no gaps in his offense and defense. His aura was so overwhelming that we could hardly breathe. This level of strength should be among the top of the four geniuses, right?"

"It's hard to say." A powerful figure from the Second Cycle Era, covered in golden scales, shook his head and slowly spoke, "The Void Blade Master's combat strength is indeed formidable, but Emperor Yan Lingxuan's Heavenly Eye should not be underestimated. Back then, in the Water Domain, he defeated the Eternal True Gods of the three True Lords of the Divine Eye Clan with a single blow, which is probably even stronger than the Void Blade Master. Moreover, Emperor Yan also possesses a supreme treasure. If it were a life-or-death battle, the outcome would be unpredictable."

(End of this chapter)