Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 126 unveils the final act: The Ultimate Formation of the Primordial Spirit Weapon.

The combat power of the eleventh level in the Purgatory Abyss World is comparable to that of an ordinary ninth-level World Lord.

Comparing a ninth-level Domain Lord to a ninth-level World Lord, even though Laujars has remained at the ninth-level Domain Lord for a very long time, and even with the added bonus of life gene multiplier and high law compatibility, he would still be considered a super genius in the outside world.

With the help of a small battle formation composed of a hundred nobles, Laujars was comparable to a true peak world lord, a powerful being recognized by the fundamental laws.

However... back when Hunzhen first entered the Abyss of Purgatory and broke through to the ninth level of Domain Lord, his full power could rival that of an ordinary ninth-level Domain Lord.

Approximately three hundred years have passed since then.

Hunzhen's current strength is beyond description; it is no longer "completely different from before."

The power of the laws increases by five levels based on the number of levels in the Heavenly Bridge, resulting in an increase in strength of approximately one hundred times.

The amplitude of the telekinetic energy has reached its current limit, increasing from 400 to 2000, which is 5 times that when it first entered the abyss.

During the nearly one hundred years of total war, by acquiring some of the life cores of the Black Demon Clan, and with the core reserves of the Silver Demon Clan in hand, the Demon Bloodline has reached the pinnacle of advanced Demon Bloodline.

The gene multiplier has doubled again, but it has been diluted too much from the original high multiplier, so the increase is not significant.

The Law multiplier doubled again, and the Blood Luo Power was activated again in Demon Form, bringing the Law Synergy to a peak of 13 times, which is more than 6 times that when he first entered the Abyss.

With a power increase of thousands of times, and all abilities unleashed, even an immortal being could put up a fight. (Note: Chapter 13 mentions a huge difference between an ordinary ninth-tier World Lord and a peak ninth-tier World Lord recognized by the fundamental laws; here, I'm using a secondary setting to calculate a tenfold difference.)

To rival an immortal being as a domain lord is truly worthy of the title of a genius who emerges only once in countless eras.

His understanding of the laws is undoubtedly at the level of a top genius among realm lords.

Among these, based on the degree of difficulty and rarity of the upgrade, a 20-fold increase in mental power amplitude for an ordinary world master is considered a mid-to-high-level opportunity for a world master.

The Bloodlust Power of a Black Warrior is even rarer than the Amplification of Psychic Power, belonging to the top-tier opportunities.

The superior, top-tier Time-Space Demon bloodline brings even greater compatibility with laws and a higher gene multiplier, making it an exceptional opportunity.

As for the Life Source Fruit, it brings dozens of times the gene multiplier and a unique Life Source talent. Not only does it belong to the extra strength multiplier zone, but its multiplication multiplier is also the highest. The gene multiplier plus the Life Source burst directly increases combat power by 370 times. Comparing the combat power of a special life form to an ordinary life form, it is undoubtedly a heaven-defying opportunity.

The first three opportunities allow Hunzhen to reach the peak of the Realm Lord level, comparable to a relatively weak Immortal Army Lord.

This last opportunity, however, would allow him to directly rival a king at the realm lord level.

It was also the material basis and true reliance that allowed him to dare to seize the lives of special beings.

With these four enhancements, Hunzhen was no match for the arrogant Abyss royals.

Unless he's extremely unlucky, even without relying on his advanced knowledge from simulations, he's now 90% confident he can escape alive.

Moreover, in the simulations that followed over the next few years, he never had a single instance where things didn't go smoothly.

It seems that the Silver Demon King needed much longer than expected to fully digest the Black Demon King's life essence and complete his transformation, and therefore did not join the army that was pursuing Hunzhen and the other two.

The further away from the depths, the thinner the abyss power of the military formation becomes.

Without the blessing of the power of the abyss, even the army formations of the abyss world cannot completely condense the power of all their soldiers into a single force, let alone unleash a combat power hundreds or thousands of times greater.

As the spaceship continued its escape to the upper levels, the resistance they encountered gradually decreased.

In the beginning, the nobles could pose a huge threat to Hunzhen by gathering an army of 100,000 nobles or tens of millions of lower races.

Gradually, however, this military formation could only hinder Hunzhen.

Moreover, with the expansion of numbers, the bloated structure of the legion became increasingly unsuitable for pursuing Hunzhen and his two scattered soldiers.

While they were still not completely out of the encirclement, things were fine, as the various legions could use each other's strength to encircle them, and the drawbacks were not yet obvious.

However, once the spaceship broke through the encirclement and reached the eighth level of the abyss, it became extremely difficult to have a large force to encircle and suppress it.

Basically, you can only rely on sheer luck to succeed.

In the eyes of Hunzhen, who possesses advanced knowledge, things that require "luck" are clearly areas where he has an advantage.

The Abyss Royal Family had no choice but to deploy their most elite troops to intercept Hunzhen and his companion.

But even tens of thousands of Abyss elites are no match for Hunzhen now.

The strongest squad, comprised of dozens of royal bloodlines from two major royal families, planned to use their massive size to exhaust Hunzhen's power, keep him occupied, and take the opportunity to destroy their spaceship, while waiting for the main force to arrive and launch a joint attack on Hunzhen.

Hunzhen, however, had already seen through their plan and wiped out this elite force in an instant with lightning speed, eliminating any possibility of escape failure.

That battle truly made the Abyss Royal Family realize for the first time the ultimate level of individual martial prowess below the level of a god.

Eight years have passed in the blink of an eye.

They thus broke through the encirclement and suppression of countless abyssal royal families and arrived at the first level of the abyss.

If their spaceship hadn't been damaged during the attack and hadn't had to pause its flight multiple times for repairs, they would have escaped even faster.

"Phew... That was thrilling! I've never experienced such an exciting adventure before, Honjin."

Looking at the empty sky behind him with no pursuers, Xingluo wiped away non-existent cold sweat and gave Hunzhen a bright smile.

Hunzhen simply rolled his eyes indifferently.

Back when they were on the third level of the abyss, they had completely shaken off their pursuers.

Xingluo's sigh at this moment seemed a bit like overacting.

Receiving no response, Xingluo felt no embarrassment whatsoever. His face was filled with unprecedented excitement. He activated the spaceship's external view, looked up at the sky, and his eyes gleamed with exhilaration.

"Finally, finally I can escape this cage..."

Xingluo seemed to have already imagined the scene beyond the sky, his face filled with childlike longing.

His genuine expression, however, was enigmatic.

Countless years have passed, and apart from the Abyss Royal Family being unable to leave due to the constraints of the Purgatory Abyss's will, in reality, many people from lower races have crossed that dangerous area above the sky, which is comparable to a great void, through various means.

Without exception, they were all easily killed by a single thought from the Star Prison Demon Lord who guarded the abyss.

They may seem to have gained freedom, but it is only for a moment before their lives are taken away.

Like a mayfly that lives only a day.

"As for Xingluo..."

As the spaceship gradually ascended, Hunzhen, with his ability to see the future, already knew that in just one second, they would attract the attack of the outermost defensive mechanism of the Abyss Will.

Hunzhen gazed at Xingluo, who had shed his researcher's coat and was now as innocent as a child.

In that final second, Xingluo, who was originally only at the ninth level of the cosmic realm, saw his life force rise at an incredible speed.

Domain Lord level, first tier, second tier, third tier...

Whenever Xingluo's aura changes, a figure in the Abyss of Purgatory dissipates like smoke.

From the first to the seventeenth level of the abyss, similar things happen on almost every level.

The first layer has the largest quantity.

At the very end of that second, Xingluo's aura surged to the ninth level of the Domain Lord realm and continued its ascent towards an even deeper realm...

That is a forbidden domain in the abyss of purgatory—the realm of the Lord.

As energy surged within Xingluo and his inner world underwent transformation, the spaceship simultaneously ascended to a high vantage point in the sky, which was considered a no-fly zone by the will of the abyss.

"I want to intercept him and prevent him from flying out" and "I want to stop him and prevent him from breaking through"—with the Abyss Will, which is not the intelligence of a fully formed intelligent life form, a momentary conflict naturally arises when the two situations occur simultaneously on the same goal.

This moment of hesitation was the perfect opportunity, according to Star Luo theory, to receive the least amount of suppression from the will of the abyss.

Once this threshold is crossed, even the will of the abyss cannot suppress his breakthrough to the realm lord level; it can only forcibly kill him.

If it were an ordinary target, the will of the abyss could easily accomplish this.

But Xingluo is clearly not among the "ordinary".

Right at this moment.

Hunzhen, who should have been stunned by the change in Xingluo's aura and the sudden arrival of the terrifying pressure from the Abyss's will, calmly raised his index finger at Xingluo.

Having reached this level, Hunzhen possesses countless secret techniques and ultimate moves.

However, if we're talking about the most powerful move among those that can be executed instantly, it's still exactly the same as the one he used when he first entered the abyss.

"I hereby grant you—your destined death!"

Hunzhen's voice was extremely cold and stern.

Even an ordinary immortal would probably not be able to find a perfect opportunity to interrupt a domain lord's breakthrough to world lord.

But through his foresight, Hunzhen easily captured this fleeting moment.

Through simulated inheritance, Hunzhen's destined source of power was depleted twice, followed by the rapid succession of his fastest killing move, which erupted twice at almost the same time.

Black flames instantly ignited on Xingluo's body.

This deadly move, powerful enough to kill an entire legion bound by the Nightmare Soul Devourer, only caused Xingluo's body to stiffen for a moment.

But it was precisely at this split second that the evolution of his inner world came to a halt.

It was just a matter of a fraction more time, but now all our efforts have been in vain.

Xingluo failed to break through and instead suffered a huge backlash, with his aura dropping by nearly 30%.

The next moment, the Abyss Will, finally regaining its senses, directly entered Xingluo's inner world. In addition, there were aftershocks that directly affected reality, crushing and exploding the spaceship that Xingluo had poured his heart and soul into.

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Amidst the deafening roar, flames and smoke surged across the sky.

Two figures stood in mid-air, facing each other a hundred meters apart.

Xingluo's aura appeared to have returned to normal at first glance, but a dark phantom face kept appearing and disappearing on his face, as if he was half-possessed by an evil spirit, which looked very strange.

He looked at Hunzhen, his face still bearing the same peaceful smile as when they had met before, and asked, "When did you find out?"

Hunzhen answered calmly and truthfully, "Eight years ago."

"Back then?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Xingluo's eyes.

However, he thought that Hunzhen had become suspicious because of the precise landing point after the Soul Heart Jade shattered.

In reality, it was through simulation that Hunzhen directly witnessed the scene of today's changes.

He had already seen it that day...

In the eighth year, just as he was about to break through the Abyss of Purgatory, Xingluo regained his strength as a ninth-level Domain Lord and, while fighting against the will of the Abyss, broke through to the first level of World Lord.

Xingluo broke free of the abyss's shackles and finally escaped his cage. He kidnapped you, attempting to use you as leverage to negotiate with the Star Prison Demon Lord.

The Star Prison Demon Lord killed you instantly.

[This simulation has ended]

Hunzhen severed his lingering memories, took a deep breath, and asked in a low voice, "And you, when did you start targeting me?"

"At the beginning."

Xingluo made no attempt to hide his feelings, answering as if he were chatting with a friend rather than facing an enemy who had blocked his path.

"At the beginning?"

A flicker of shock crossed Hunzhen's eyes: "When exactly did you start planning this identity?"

Xingluo saw through Hunzhen's thoughts, smiled faintly, and said, "You've misunderstood. Hunzhen, do you think I foresaw your arrival and deliberately ambushed you in Black Rock City? You're really overthinking it. I don't have such supernatural powers."

"But... even without Star Luo, there will be Silver Luo and Bronze Luo."

Xingluo looked meaningfully at the land below, on the first level of the abyss: "On the first level of the abyss, there are thousands of main cities, each with an avatar of mine. Each of them is no different from a real person, living according to a pre-set trajectory. Your encounter with me is a coincidence, but it is not a coincidence either."

Xingluo's casual statement sent a chill down Hunzhen's spine.

Regardless of how a mere domain lord like Xingluo could so precisely control thousands of avatars, allowing them to live like ordinary people.

Assuming Xingluo wasn't lying, wouldn't that mean that any "visitor from outer space" would be caught off guard?

Every move they made was under their watchful eye.

Did Xingluo secretly manipulate the countless members of the Virtual Universe Company who came to the Abyss of Purgatory for training missions and ultimately perished?

However, from his God's perspective, there were many simulations in which Xingluo acted as a mere bystander from beginning to end, doing nothing, and even only helping him from start to finish. How could this be?

Hunzhen still had many questions to ask.

But he knew that even though Xingluo was currently suppressed by the will of the abyss and suffered from the backlash of his failed breakthrough, making him less than one-hundredth of his strength, once Xingluo recovered, crushing him would be an easy task.

Nothing else—

Hunzhen gave up asking questions, revealed his demon form, activated the power of Blood Luo, and suddenly ten thousand primordial spirit weapons appeared all over his body, covering the sky and the earth.

Whoosh.

At the same time, a giant silver shadow suddenly appeared.

Compared to eight years ago, this deity now has additional dark gold patterns on its exterior.

Those were figures he had seen countless times over the past eight years through his vision of the future.

—The Silver Demon King is none other than Xingluo's clone. This fact is self-evident.

Almost instantly, Hunzhen was hit by the Silver Ghost King's punch and sent flying over a hundred kilometers away.

His breath plummeted to rock bottom, and he was on the verge of death.

At the same moment, at the cost of severe injury and near death, Hunzhen had fully activated the divine weapon worth tens of thousands of yuan.

"rain?"

Xingluo suddenly frowned and spoke softly.

One by one, the primordial spirit weapons disintegrated and dissipated.

Instead, the once empty sky was now filled with thousands upon thousands of raindrops, each shimmering with a lustrous glow.

These raindrops seemed to slow down thousands of times; you could feel them falling, yet their speed was almost as if they were still.

They are mysteriously connected to each other, forming a vast domain covering tens of thousands of kilometers.

A realm where time and space are frozen.

pat.

The moment Xingluo noticed the raindrops, countless raindrops had already struck him and the Silver Ghost King's clone.

Xingluo's pupils shrank instantly.

The raindrops, which seem as light as nothing, feel as heavy as stars when they fall on you.

No matter how he manipulated the power of the spatial laws, the raindrops seemed to be permanently attached to his body, impossible to shake off.

In other words, both Xingluo's main body and his clones are incredibly powerful. If it were an ordinary peak-level world lord, they would probably have to prostrate themselves on the ground and declare their submission.

Even with his strength, he could not ignore such immense pressure.

This is not simply neutrality or spatial pressure, but rather the heavy pressure of spacetime.

Just as Xingluo was marveling at this strange move that was somewhat similar to the Lost Color Domain, a figure covered in blood-stained robes broke through the rain curtain, completely unaffected by the sealing power of the raindrops, and quickly approached.

Although Hunzhen was dressed in a disheveled state, his serious injuries had somehow healed.

He looked at Xingluo with an extremely calm gaze and said in a deep voice, "This is the final form of the Primordial Spirit Weapon - even the immortal bows down."

"Next is..."

He reached out and swept it up as if he were grabbing countless slivers of light that had pierced the dark sky and fallen into the rain, and condensing them into a single beam.

"The eighth level of the Primordial Divine Weapon - The Annihilation of the Thousand Stars of the Universe

The light collided with numerous raindrops, reflected countless times, magnified and split hundreds and thousands of times, illuminating the eternally dark sky of the abyss.

To finish the Abyss arc around chapter 50 as promised to readers, I rushed the writing, cutting all the planned side plots. The transitions might not be as smooth, and the failed possession plot twist felt abrupt. However, the necessary foreshadowing was actually planted and mentioned earlier (it just wasn't highlighted, so it might not have been noticed). I can only say I lack the ability to achieve both perfection; I apologize to those who found it uncomfortable.

(End of this chapter)