Lord of the Rending Stars

The 170th year within the Kunwu ruins.

Nearly a hundred years have passed since their first encounter with the armored dragon rhinoceros of the demon race. Qingyang, Jiuyu, and Bingfeng sat cross-legged on a floating rock platform, surrounded by a temporary barrier constructed by King Jiuyu using the laws of space, isolating them from the chaotic fluctuations of the laws of the outside world.

At the center of the platform, three fragments of chaos floated and rotated, exuding an ancient and profound aura.

"These are all the fragments of chaos we found in the outer region."

Qingyang opened his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting the shimmering light of the fragments. "There are three pieces in total, with attributes of water, fire, and fire respectively, which correspond perfectly to the directions of our three laws."

King Jiuyu grinned and said, "This thing is really awesome. I've been studying that fire-attribute fragment for twenty years, and my understanding of the fundamental laws of fire has improved faster than in the past thousand years. If only I had a few more..."

"greedy."

Bingfeng said calmly, his hair swaying slightly in the chaotic airflow, "The fragments of chaos are precious treasures from the secret realms of the primordial universe. We were lucky to find three on the outskirts. According to information from our predecessors, there should be more deeper inside, but the dangers also increase exponentially."

Qingyang nodded: "We have been resting here for three years, and our understanding of the laws and creation of secret techniques have reached a bottleneck. It's time to delve deeper into the 'Chaos Rift'."

"Chaos Rift" is the entrance to the inner region of Kunwu Ruins. It is a huge rift that stretches for hundreds of thousands of kilometers and is bottomless, with chaotic torrents of laws gushing out from it.

According to intelligence from the virtual universe, the inner domain not only has richer resources, but also harbors more dangers, including elite teams encountering powerful races such as the Demon Race, Crystal Race, and Prison Race, as well as crystal beasts and special life forms native to the Kunwu Ruins.

The three rose, collected the fragments of chaos, and transformed into three streaks of light, flying eastward. During their flight, King Jiuyu suddenly frowned: "There's a bloody smell, very fresh."

Qingyang and Bingfeng both became alert. In the Kunwu Ruins, the smell of blood often meant that a battle had just ended, and the victors might not have left yet.

"Go down and take a look, be on guard."

"Qingyang said in a low voice. The three of them landed on the devastated battlefield below. Broken crystal fragments and deep purple bloodstains were scattered on the ground, and the surrounding space was full of cracks, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had taken place.

Bingfeng crouched down, his fingertips touching the crystal fragments: "They are from the Crystal Clan, and at the King-level Immortal realm. The fragments still retain strong fluctuations of the laws of light and lightning."

"Crystal family?"

King Jiuyu's eyes narrowed. The Crystal Race are energy life forms in the universe, their bodies composed of highly condensed law crystals, skilled in soul attacks and secret techniques of law fusion. Unlike the Demon Race, whose physical bodies are formidable, the Crystal Race leans more towards the unpredictable and precise aspects of the law level.

Qingyang examined the battlefield traces: "It wasn't just the Crystal Clan. Judging from these claw marks and the way space was torn... there was also special life form involved. The Crystal Clan team was probably attacked, and there was more than one attacker."

He pointed to several irregular depressions in the ground: "This kind of destruction is not from any known race. It should be a special life form native to the Chaos Ruins, and its strength is at least at the peak of the King level."

Bingfeng suddenly straightened up, his silver eyes gazing into the distance: "The battle isn't over yet, or rather... it's just shifted. There are strong fluctuations of laws in the northwest direction; at least three King-level Immortal beings from different origins are fighting."

The three exchanged a glance, tacitly concealing their presence as they stealthily moved towards the source of the disturbance. Hundreds of kilometers away, in a shattered cluster of floating islands, a fierce battle raged.

Three powerful members of the Crystal Clan floated back to back, their bodies composed of pure blue, gold, and purple crystals, radiating a strong brilliance of laws.

They were surrounded by layers of crystalline barriers, but these barriers were riddled with cracks. Besieging them were two strange creatures. One was a three-headed, six-winged bird with a wingspan exceeding several thousand meters, each head spitting out wind blades and lightning attacks. The other resembled a giant serpent made of liquid metal, its body capable of freely transforming, sometimes into spikes to attack, sometimes into a giant net to envelop them.

"They are the 'Three-Headed Thunderbird' and the 'Thousand-Transformation Golden Python,' both special life forms recorded in the Kunwu Ruins, and their strength has reached the limit of the King-level."

Qingyang transmitted his voice, "Those three crystal races... the blue one is water and space dual-element, the gold one is light and lightning dual-element, and the purple one is light and time dual-element. What an exquisite combination, but it won't last much longer."

As he had said, the Crystal Clan, though powerful, was steadily losing ground under the combined attack of the two special life forms. The Three-Headed Thunderbird's Reincarnation Law attack continuously depleted the Crystal Barrier, while the Thousand-Transformation Golden Python sought opportunities to exploit weaknesses in its defenses. Suddenly, the purple Crystal Clan's body erupted with a deep, eerie light, and the flow of time around it abruptly slowed. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, it formed hand seals, and a dark purple ripple spread outwards.

"Time Stop followed by Soul Annihilation Wave! What a ruthless move!" King Jiuyu exclaimed. Wherever the ripples passed, space seemed to freeze. One of the three-headed Thunderbirds slowed its movements by a fraction of a second, struck by the purple ripples, and immediately let out a mournful cry. The light on that head quickly dimmed. But in that instant, the Thousand-Transformation Golden Python's body suddenly exploded, transforming into thousands of golden needles that shot towards the Crystal Clan from all directions. These needles ignored the crystal barrier, piercing right through it!

"It's a materialized soul attack! This golden python has actually mastered such a bizarre secret technique; it must be an innate secret technique of its own!"

A cold glint flashed in Bingfeng's eyes. The three Crystal Clan members groaned simultaneously, fine cracks appearing on their bodies. Their souls had been severely damaged, and their defenses collapsed instantly. The three-headed Wind and Thunder Bird seized the opportunity, its other two heads simultaneously unleashing a combined attack of wind and thunder, completely engulfing the three Crystal Clan members.

After the explosion, only some broken crystals and two floating objects remained on the spot: a fist-sized fragment of chaos and a strange fruit radiating seven-colored light. The two special life forms exchanged a glance and simultaneously pounced on the spoils.

At that very moment, "Make your move!"

Qingyang gave a low shout. Three figures burst forth from their concealed state, each unleashing their secret techniques. Their target wasn't the special life form, but rather the two spoils of war!

Qingyang transformed into a beam of light, instantly appearing beside the fragment of chaos and reaching out to grab it. King Jiuyu charged towards the seven-colored fruit, his fist enveloped in highly compressed flames. Bingfeng didn't contest the item; instead, he pressed his hands to the ground, unleashing a burst of extreme cold that froze the entire area, restricting the movements of the two special beings.

"roar!"

The three-headed wind and thunder birds roared angrily, their three heads turning towards Qingyang simultaneously, spewing out torrents of various laws.

"Well done!" Qingyang neither dodged nor evaded, his Heavenly Flame Blade flashing, drawing a perfect circle in front of him. The space within the circle twisted and folded, drawing in the three torrents of laws, then, "Here you go!" The circle reversed, reflecting the absorbed law attacks back with even greater force!

This is a new secret technique called "Mirror Reversal Wheel" that Qingyang comprehended in the Chaotic Ruins. It is specifically designed to deal with complex attacks involving multiple laws. If the enemy's attack does not exceed the rebound limit, Qingyang can use the mysteries of space to guide the counterattack.

Caught off guard, the three-headed Thunderbird was hit squarely by its own attack, all three heads were injured at the same time, and its massive body was sent flying backward.

On the other side, King Jiuyu had already seized the Seven-Colored Fruit, but the giant golden net transformed from the Thousand-Transformation Golden Python descended upon him. Every thread in the giant net contained a soul attack; once caught in it, even an immortal god would suffer soul damage.

"Flame God Transformation!" King Jiuyu roared, his entire body transforming into flames—not ordinary flames, but a special state containing the laws of fire.

Under the giant golden net, the parts that came into contact with the flames sizzled and were gradually burned and melted! The Thousand-Transformation Golden Python was in pain and withdrew the giant net to rebuild its body, but King Jiuyu had already escaped and reunited with Bingfeng.

"Got it, let's get out of here!"

Qingyang transmitted his voice. The three of them, without lingering in battle, transformed into streaks of light and sped towards the Chaos Rift. Two special life forms pursued them angrily, but the ice peaks along the way laid out layers of icy barriers, slowing their progress. A quarter of an hour later, the three escaped their pursuit and hid in a naturally formed spatial interlayer.

"That was close."

King Jiuyu was panting, the seven-colored fruit floating in his palm. "This fruit... has such a strong life force, I've never seen anything like it before."

Bingfeng accepted the fruit, a hint of surprise flashing in his silver eyes: "This is the 'Seven Aperture Exquisite Fruit,' a rare treasure in the universe that can greatly enhance soul strength and improve genetic level. In the treasure trove of the Virtual Universe Company, this one is worth no less than an ordinary domain-level treasure."

"A common-domain type of rare treasure?"

King Jiuyu gasped; his entire fortune amounted to less than a few dozen treasure points. Qingyang, on the other hand, focused on the fragment of chaos. This fragment was larger than any he had obtained before, and the laws flowing within it were far more complex and profound.

"This fragment...contains fluctuations of eight fundamental laws simultaneously. Although they are all very weak, they are intertwined and form a miniature law cycle."

Qingyang was immersed in contemplation, thinking, "If I can understand this cycle, perhaps I can reach a higher level of law fusion..."

Suddenly, his expression changed: "Oh no, there's a tracking mark! This fragment of chaos has been marked with a soul!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a cold mental fluctuation came from outside the spatial interlayer: "Humans, hand over the fragments of Chaos and the Seven Aperture Exquisite Fruit, and I will spare your lives."

The three rushed out of the mezzanine and saw three figures floating outside. They were the three Immortal Crystal Clan members who had been besieged by the special life form earlier! But their current state was very strange. Although their bodies were covered with cracks, golden light flowed from the cracks. Their auras not only did not weaken, but were even stronger than before.

"They burned part of their divine bodies to forcibly enhance their aura," Bingfeng whispered. "Moreover, they have some kind of external force supporting them; look at that golden light."

Qingyang looked closely and found that each of the three crystal clans had a small golden fragment embedded in its core. The fragments exuded a sacred and ancient aura, which was completely out of place in the chaotic ruins.

"Words are useless, let's fight," the purple crystal race said coldly. "Time Law, Slowing Domain, go!" A ghostly light spread, and the three immediately felt the flow of time around them slow down, their movements becoming sluggish. The golden crystal race followed closely behind, raising its hands high, condensing a sun composed purely of light and lightning: "Holy Light Thunder Punishment!"

The blue crystal race pressed their hands to the ground, and countless ice crystals condensed from the void, transforming into a sky full of ice arrows: "Extreme Cold Storm!"

Triple attacks, three laws, yet perfectly fused together to form a three-dimensional killing formation. This is the Crystal Clan's unique "Law Resonance Battle Formation." When three Crystal Clan members join forces, their power is not simply additive, but increases exponentially!

"We can't tough it out!"

King Jiuyu shouted, "Qingyang, you try to deal with the Time Domain, I will break its light! Bingfeng, you freeze its water."

The three instantly divided their tasks. King Jiuyu soared into the sky, transforming into a crimson meteor, crashing into the radiant sun. He didn't use a wide-range attack, but instead concentrated all his power at his fingertip: "Flame Emperor Finger!"

The highly compressed laws of fire penetrated the outer defenses of the Light and Thunder Sun, striking its core directly. The internal balance of the Light and Thunder Sun was disrupted, causing it to explode prematurely, but most of its power was channeled into the sky by the Nine-Universe King.

Bingfeng pressed his hands down, and the ice arrows condensing in the air suddenly reversed, attacking the blue crystal race. Not only that, he also activated the already active water law within the Chaos Relic Realm, forming a swirling icy vortex around the blue crystal race: "Mirror Reflection Vortex!"

Caught off guard, the Blue Crystal Clan was trapped by both their own attack and the icy vortex. Qingyang was facing the most troublesome Time Domain. The Law of Time is a superior law; even a mere slowing effect is enough to put an opponent at a complete disadvantage.

But he didn't back down; instead, he closed his eyes. After more than a century of studying the fragments of chaos, his greatest gain wasn't an improvement in the Law of Fire, but rather a vague understanding of the connection between space and time. In the Chaos Ruins, a place where laws are active, the boundaries between space and time are far more blurred than in the outside world...

"Found it."

Qingyang opened his eyes, his pupils reflecting countless interwoven threads of law. He saw the trajectory of the time domain, and the nodes of law that controlled the flow of time.

He extended his right hand and gently flicked his fingers. There was no earth-shattering roar, only subtle ripples spreading outwards. Wherever the ripples passed, the trajectory of time was disrupted, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, shattering the reflection. The slowing effect vanished.

"That's impossible!"

The purple crystal race was shocked. "You are a King-level Immortal who specializes in the laws of space, how could you possibly interfere with the realm of time?"

Qingyang's face was pale. The previous wave of attacks, which seemed easy, had actually consumed 30% of his strength.

But he forced himself not to show it, and pointed his battle sword: "Nothing is impossible. In the Kunwu Ruins, all laws have flaws, and it's our turn to fight back."

Jiuyu and Bingfeng instantly understood each other. Qingyang and Jiuyu's fire, and Bingfeng's water, the two laws began to resonate in the special environment of Kunwu Ruins.

"Fire melts ice, water and fire form an ice lotus."

The lotus flower slowly rotated, emanating a chilling aura. The three crystal beings' expressions changed drastically; they sensed a deadly threat. The fusion of two lower-level laws with the spatial law had already touched the threshold of a cosmic-level secret technique!

"withdraw!"

The purple crystal race acted decisively, burning more of their divine bodies to use time acceleration to escape. But it was too late. The two-colored lotus exploded, not outwards, but inwards, forming a miniature black hole. The black hole's suction force wasn't at the physical level, but at the level of laws.

"No!" The three crystal beings cried out in horror as they discovered that the power of law within their bodies was uncontrollably draining away, being frantically devoured by the miniature black hole. They tried to resist, but this only accelerated the loss of their power. Ten breaths later, the black hole vanished. Only three dim crystalline shells remained; the souls and most of the divine bodies of the three crystal beings had been swallowed and annihilated by the black hole.

Qingyang and the other two were panting heavily. The exertion of this move far exceeded their expectations, almost draining half of their divine bodies. "Did...we succeed?" King Jiuyu's voice was hoarse.

Bingfeng nodded with difficulty, his silver hair seemingly losing much of its luster: "But we've also temporarily lost our fighting ability. We must find a place to hide and recover immediately, as the battle's aftershocks will definitely attract other beings."

Qingyang struggled to put away the spatial ring left behind by the Crystal Clan, and then picked up the fragment of chaos that had been marked.

"Let's go to the edge of the Chaos Rift. The laws there are chaotic and can conceal our presence."