Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 292 The Peril of the Chaotic Origin Space

Just as the ancestors and lords reached an agreement and began to condense their clones, preparing to step into the rift leading to the outside of the Chaos Origin Space.

At the core of the Qiankun Land, atop that majestic altar suspended outside the Hunyuan Sphere.

Hu Yanbo was completely unaware of everything happening outside, his mind completely absorbed in his own cultivation.

The altar's faint light gently enveloped him along the patterns, without any outward manifestation of any unusual phenomena. However, the subtle patterns of cause and effect slowly flowed in the depths of his eyes. These eyes, which had long since merged completely with the pre-payment panel, were repaying the pre-payment of the late-stage God Emperor of the Great Dao of Cause and Effect at a speed far exceeding anything he had ever done before.

Because Hu Yanbo possesses the Great Dao of Hunyuan Cause and Effect, and his current mental processing speed is at the Lord level, even though the Great Dao of Cause and Effect can only grope forward in the dark at the God Emperor stage.

However, the way he pre-paid through the mysterious Pre-Payment Panel was unparalleled by any other major path.

Even so, the further one progresses in the Great Dao, the longer the cultivation time required to repay the advance payment becomes. In the past, the advance payment for the mid-stage God Emperor was repaid in just a few epochs, but once one enters the late-stage God Emperor, even with the time acceleration provided by Starlight, it would take hundreds of epochs to fully repay the debt.

Hu Yanbo had even secretly pondered that if he were to pre-draw upon the Great Dao of Cause and Effect to reach the Perfection of God Emperor, it would probably take tens of thousands of years to smooth over this karmic entanglement.

Unexpectedly, everything changed after stepping into this land of heaven and earth and standing on this altar.

He could clearly sense that the flow of the cause and effect patterns in the depths of his eyes was accelerating, becoming increasingly intertwined with the origin of the altar. The karmic debts that would normally take hundreds of centuries to repay under the accelerated time of the starlight were now being dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Hu Yanbo was overjoyed.

This land of heaven and earth truly lives up to its reputation; it is indeed a great opportunity that attracts all the top experts of the Hunyuan realm.

No wonder the greatest gift those ancestors and lords who stepped into this place received was a glimpse of the path to their own destiny.

Of course, the road ahead is ultimately just a vague direction. How to take a step and how to break through are still things they have to figure out on their own in the dark.

However, it should be noted that they are the ultimate life forms standing at the pinnacle of the Chaotic Origin Space. The fact that they can see the outline of the road ahead is already incredible enough, enough for them to spend countless eras to pursue and explore.

But I am different.

While others struggle to find their way forward, I have directly obtained a "shortcut" to the future—the speed of karmic retribution has skyrocketed. Karmic entanglements that would have taken hundreds of centuries to resolve are now gone in an instant, eliminating the need to spend a long time cultivating.

His path forward was already crystal clear. The pre-planned panel had already pointed out the direction for his advancement in the Great Dao of Cause and Effect, from the late stage of God Emperor to perfection, and then to higher levels, with a clear trajectory to follow for each step.

And this land of heaven and earth, this altar, is the greatest help that allows him to move swiftly along this predetermined path.

Outside, before the crack.

Hundreds of clones stepped into the dark rift at the same time. As soon as they crossed the boundary of the rift, they were enveloped by a strange power that far exceeded the power of Hunyuan. There was no energy impact, but there was a "rule zeroing state" that could dissolve all laws. This was the real Hunyuan space, a rule blind spot that even the ultimate life form of Hunyuan could not touch.

There was no trace of the passage of time, no mark of the existence of space, and even the supreme power upon which they depended for their existence began to dim and disintegrate the moment they stepped into this place.

The first to give way were the primordial avatars who possessed only a single supreme power.

Pu Cheng and Wu Gu under the Ice Peak camp, many ancestors in the Natural Chaos camp, and those lone ancestors, their auras began to decline rapidly as soon as their clones entered this void domain.

Those top progenitors who controlled two supreme powers were in a much better situation, with their disintegration speed significantly slowed down, but they still could not escape it—even the strongest sand boat was no exception.

The sandboat's clone, clad in a grey robe, was being eroded; the Infinite Serpent Ancestor's clone's scales were peeling away layer by layer; the brilliant light surrounding the Feather Emperor was rapidly dimming...

The scales of the Infinite Serpent Ancestor's avatar fell off, and countless cracks appeared on the surface of the strange cube-shaped body of the Demon Ruins, its edges beginning to crumble; the light surrounding the Feather Emperor dimmed rapidly...

Only the seven lords, led by Xingmang, remained completely unharmed in this domain of zero rules, showing no signs of collapse whatsoever.

This bizarre difference instantly horrified all the clones.

Is this the biggest difference between supreme power and the Great Dao of Chaos?

Although they are both ultimate life forms within the Hunyuan World, in their battles, the progenitors who wield supreme power are indeed slightly weaker than the lords who have mastered the complete Hunyuan Great Dao, but at most they will be defeated, and there will be no danger to their lives.

If it's just this much of a difference, then it's perfectly acceptable.

But once they stepped out of the Hunyuan Space, they didn't expect that this was the real beginning of the gap.

The supreme power upon which the ancestors relied for their existence was ultimately just a part of some primordial Dao.

Take Luo Feng's Hunyuan Shengmie Dao as an example. His Shengmie Dao is based on life and secondary on destruction.

This allows him to quickly master the Blood Crane Territory's origin by simply comprehending the origin and then comprehending the power of blood—the power of blood originally belongs to the system of the Chaotic Origin Path of Life and Death, and is a branch of power derived from the Great Dao of Life and Death.

For Luo Feng, who has mastered the complete Chaos Origin Path of Life and Death, deducing this branch of power is a piece of cake.

Luo Feng, however, did not use the power of blood he had comprehended, because the power of the blood was only 60% of the power of the Chaos Origin Life and Death Dao. If he used it, his combat power would decrease instead of increase.

Conversely, it would be extremely difficult for the progenitor who wielded the power of blood to comprehend the complete primordial cycle of birth and death from the perspective of this power of blood.

Especially the Primordial Ancestors of the Primordial Chaos, who are born with powerful supreme strength, rely entirely on deciphering the Dao principles contained within their own life cores on their cultivation path. They only need to slowly comprehend these principles through battles and quiet recuperation to gradually improve.

However, the principles beyond the life core, such as the core meridians of life and destruction required to replenish the life and destruction path from the power of blood, are far too difficult for them to calm down and deduce and piece together. They are used to being born strong and not having to bother to explore. It is far less easy than fighting and cultivating freely.

This is why, among the progenitors, only the strongest, Sand Boat, was closest to the Chaos Origin Destruction Path; the other progenitors were far behind.

The Ice Peak Ancestor, the Infinite Serpent Ancestor, and other ancestors all cast their own light upon the unharmed Starlight, Yuan, and the other seven lords, their expressions complex.

As leaders of the two major camps, the Ice Peak Ancestor and the Infinite Serpent Ancestor asked together, "Starlight, Yuan, only your seven avatars are unharmed here. Do you wish to continue exploring beyond this Chaotic Origin Space?"

Xingmang and Yuan exchanged a glance, then turned to look at the other lords, including Wulan, Jin, and Moman, and they all shook their heads.

"No need."

"Even though we are curious about the world outside this Hunyuan Space, the cultivators within the Hunyuan Space cannot function without us in charge."

It should be understood that the total energy of the ultimate life form of Hunyuan is fixed. If one insists on splitting off a clone to explore this void of rules, the energy of the main body left in the Hunyuan space will be insufficient, which will greatly weaken one's overall combat power.

If everyone is short, that's one thing, but it's clearly going to make the seven lords short, which is unacceptable.

Moreover, neither the seven lords nor the numerous ancestors present spoke of it. But everyone knew perfectly well what to do next!

If this crack continues to widen, it could allow the void rules to flow into the primordial space along the crack.

Apart from the lords, all other life will be completely annihilated by the rules; no one can escape.

This deadly crisis weighed heavily on the hearts of every progenitor, causing all the powerful to feel an almost suffocating pressure.

To resist this rule of returning to zero, one must master the complete Great Dao of Chaos.

To truly grasp the Great Dao of Chaos, the first hurdle is to completely abandon the life core and achieve true immortality, thus breaking free from the innate constraints of the life core.

If one hasn't even deciphered or transcended one's own life core, then to presume to study the grander and more complete Primordial Chaos Dao is simply a pipe dream.

Not only were the progenitors filled with anxiety, but the seven great lords, including Xingmang and Yuan, also looked very solemn.

Their sense of crisis wasn't because they had separated themselves and remained unharmed in the void of rules. Their true selves were naturally even less afraid of the erosion of the zeroing rules. Even if the cracks widened completely, they would still be safe and sound, and could still roam freely in the primordial space and even the void.

But what they were worried about was the entire cultivation community.

Whether it's Xingmang who cultivates the Chaotic Origin Spacetime Dao, Yuan who wields the Chaotic Origin Rules Dao, or Wulan with his enormous body.

Even Jin, who was once a member of the Destruction Demon Clan, harbors a protective heart deep within.

With Jin's strength, he ranked among the top twenty in the Hunyuan Space. If he hadn't wanted to help the cultivators, he could have lived a carefree and leisurely life.

Clearly, none of the lords were selfish.

They knew very well that if that day came and the rift completely spiraled out of control, and the rule of zero swept through the entire Chaos Origin Space, leaving only the eight lords alive to watch the Chaos Origin Space turn into nothingness, what would be the point of having an immortal body and top-notch combat power?

The feeling of being alone between heaven and earth, unattached yet endlessly lonely, is far more agonizing than death and annihilation.

Therefore, therefore————

All the powerful figures present remained silent, none of them uttering a word, yet they understood each other implicitly.

It's not that we're unwilling to discuss solutions, or that we don't want to work together to maintain stability; rather, everyone understands that there's only one way to resolve this crisis at its root:

Ordinary ancestors must decipher the life core to achieve true immortality;

The ancestor, who was already immortal and indestructible, wanted to break free from the shackles of supreme power and master the complete Great Dao of Chaos.

Even the lords must take another step forward to ensure the survival of the entire cultivator camp.

While there are many paths to becoming stronger, the path of peace, joy, meditation, and enlightenment is so slow it is almost despairing.

Countless ages have passed in the blink of an eye, and one's cultivation level may not improve even a fraction of an inch, unable to keep up with the speed at which the cracks expand.

"Let's go back first," Xingmang said slowly.

"Let's go back!" The ancestors nodded.

Therefore, only through battle can one achieve the fastest path to transformation.

Just like the epic battle between the progenitor and the lord, the weak progenitor was either completely eliminated in the battle or forced to unleash his potential on the brink of life and death, and rapidly became stronger.

Even the most outstanding progenitors constantly break through in life-and-death clashes, like the Endless Ancestor, who is only one step away from comprehending his own life core.

Only by eliminating the weak and forging the strong in a life-or-death struggle, allowing the ultimate life forms in the entire Hunyuan Space to undergo a collective leap, can there be a glimmer of hope to resist this world-ending crisis.

This is cruel, but it is also the most realistic.

The ancestors said no more, turned and left, their figures quickly disappearing into the void.

This impending battle is destined to engulf every progenitor, whether they are powerful figures under a faction or lone top-tier beings. Almost no one can escape it—either they will break through in the life-or-death clash or be completely annihilated in the battle. This is the fastest way out they can think of to seek survival.

Under Xingmang's guidance, the seven lords, including Xingmang, Yuan, Wulan, and Jin, headed towards the original land.

Everyone remained silent throughout the journey.

This silence did not stem from fear of battle, after all, they were already immortal lords, in control of the complete Chaos Origin Great Dao, and could escape safely even if they were trapped in a desperate situation.

Their silence was because Huyanbo was still in seclusion in the Qiankun Land.

Of the original eight lords, only seven remain. This may seem like just one less person, but it represents a significant loss for the entire cultivator camp.

Previously, the eight lords working together were enough to steadily contend with the Ice Peak Faction and the Natural Chaos Faction;

But now that they've lost their general Hu Yanbo, they're likely to return to the state of being suppressed by the two major camps, and be controlled at every turn.

The Infinite Serpent clan, in particular, has always been greedy and has never stopped coveting the Origin Worlds, eager to seize as many Origin Worlds as possible and expand their own power.

"It's alright, we are all immortal, even if we get into a tug-of-war, our lives will be in no danger." Yuan broke the silence first.

"Moreover, since the battle is said to be initiated by default, those guys who enter the Eternal Land probably won't actually participate in the war."

"They will most likely just spar and hone their skills against each other in private, and won't actually get involved in the battle between factions."

"What we really need to be wary of are those progenitors who have not yet achieved immortality. They are eager to decipher the life core and break free from their shackles, and they will most likely go crazy and seek to fight us."

"They know in their hearts that only in the face of life and death can they most quickly discover their own shortcomings and break through their bottlenecks."

"If they continue to deliberately suppress us, it will be meaningless to them."

"After all, their primary goal is to first break through to the level of immortality, and only then can they master the Great Dao of Chaos and resist that world-destroying crisis."

Everyone nodded, and the seriousness between their brows eased slightly.

Even without Huyan Bo, and even if they might be suppressed again, as lords who wield the complete Chaos Origin Great Dao and possess immortal bodies, they still have the confidence to face anything.

However, they still had a lingering concern for Huyan Boyi, the newly appointed lord of the Qiankun Land. He was currently in seclusion, completely unaware of the crisis outside and the predicament of his faction, nor did he know that his seclusion had subtly changed the landscape of the entire lord faction.

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