27: Chaos returns to nothingness! Old Zhong... can't hold it in any longer!

"Ants of the Lower Realm! Stealing the Star Origin! Refining a forbidden Dao pill! Your crimes are unforgivable!"

"Hand over the Medicinal Pill! Hand over the medicine king token! Hand over the... Dao Fetus!"

"Otherwise... I will exterminate your nine clans! Remove your Star Domain from existence!"

A voice like a decree from the Heavenly Dao, carrying a vast pressure a hundred times more terrifying than before, crashed down! This time, it was no longer a Patrol Envoy!

It was... a true Old Ancestor-level existence from the Tianyan Dynasty!

The voice seemed to come from the depths of the starry sky, every word containing a supreme will capable of crushing stars and reshaping the heavens and earth!

The space of the entire Qingyun Sect was wailing!

The ground cracked! Mountains collapsed! The sect-protecting array shattered instantly as if it were made of paper!

Countless Disciples didn't even have time to scream before being crushed into powder by that terrifying pressure! Blood mist filled the air! It was like the arrival of doomsday!

In the Cold Plum Courtyard!

Pfft—!

Jiang Linfeng felt as if he had been struck by ten thousand stars! His body hunched over violently!

The barrier of his Source Spirit Body, which was running frantically, was crushed instantly! The Invincible Domain shattered like a bubble!

He felt as if his Soul was about to be torn apart! His bones broke inch by inch!

Blood sprayed from his seven orifices like a fountain! He was like a fish pinned to a chopping board!

Unable to move! Only his consciousness struggled amidst endless pain and despair!

"Hus... Husband..." Luo Yan couldn't even make a sound!

She curled up on the ground, her lower abdomen in agonizing pain!

The fetal Origin, which had just stabilized after taking the star conception spirit pill, was violently disturbed under this terrifying pressure!

The newly Awakened "Star Dao Body prototype" and "Child of Nature" talent were like candles in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment!

Fresh blood stained her skirt, a shocking sight!

"Yaner... child..." Jiang Linfeng's eyes were splitting! He let out a silent roar in his heart! He wanted to move! He wanted to protect his wife and child!

But his body felt as if it were being suppressed by billions of divine mountains! He couldn't even lift a finger!

His Source Spirit Body roared frantically within him, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree! The gap was too great!

This was... a power that transcended the limits of his cognition! It was a true... Dominator of the starry sky!

"Hmph! Stubborn and unyielding!" That cold voice carried a hint of impatience! A giant palm, condensed from pure starlight and covering the sky, slowly reached out from the star warship!

Within the palm, stars flickered and died, and Laws circulated! It carried a terrifying will to crush everything and seize everything!

Towards the Cold Plum Courtyard! Towards Jiang Linfeng and Luo Yan! It grabbed down fiercely!

This palm! It was called "Star Picking"! But its power... far exceeded that of the Tianyan Patrol Envoy by a hundred times! It was enough to pick real stars! To wipe out a Star Domain!

It was over! Completely over!

Jiang Linfeng felt cold inside! Despair flooded him like a cold tide! Where was Old Man Zhong...? Where was he?! Could he... still block this?!

Just as the giant star palm that covered the sky was about to fall, and the Cold Plum Courtyard along with everything inside was about to turn into cosmic dust—

"Sigh..."

A long, weary sigh, as if it had traveled through endless years, sounded in the dead, silent world.

The sigh was not loud, but it clearly drowned out the roar of the giant star palm! Drowned out the wailing of space!

Drowned out the fear of death! Like a stabilizing needle, it instantly froze the heaven and earth that were about to collapse!

Behold!

Deep in the Medicine Garden, on the large stone where Old Man Zhong often sat.

The hunched figure holding a purple clay teapot slowly stood up.

He was still wearing that greasy gray robe, but at this moment, the aura on his body... had changed!

It was no longer lazy! No longer murky!

But a kind of... indescribable... ancientness! Vicissitudes! As if it came from the beginning of the Universe! Embracing everything! And... annihilating everything!

He slowly raised his head, his murky eyes looking at the giant star palm that covered the sky, looking at the huge warship suspended in the starry sky, looking at the pair of cold star eyes in the depths of the warship.

"Xing Yun... you old brat... you're still so shameless..."

Old Man Zhong's voice was hoarse, but it carried a calmness that pierced through the ages, "Stealing things... stealing from me, this old man?"

Deep in the star warship, those cold star eyes shrank suddenly! Like two stars suddenly extinguished! Filled with unbelievable horror!

"You... you are... Chaos Medicine Venerable?! You... you are actually still alive?! How is this possible?!"

Chaos Medicine Venerable?!

This name, like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens! Exploded in the depths of every survivor's Soul!

Those old antiques of the Qingyun Sect were so scared that their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering! Chaos Medicine Venerable! That was a legendary existence!

A forbidden figure from the same era as the first Imperial Lord of the Tianyan Dynasty! Long gone in the river of history!

He actually... had been hiding in the Qingyun Sect all this time?! And... was still a sweeping Menial Worker?!

"Alive?" Old Man Zhong sneered, taking a slow sip from his teapot, "Just half-dead... I wanted to find a quiet place... to end my remaining years..."

"But it's a pity... there are always those who don't have eyes... disturbing my peace..."

His murky gaze swept over the messy and heavily damaged Qingyun Sect below, then fell on the dying Jiang Linfeng and Luo Yan in the Cold Plum Courtyard, a hint of imperceptible... heartache and... determination flashed in his eyes!

"Xing Yun... you... have crossed the line!" Old Man Zhong's voice turned cold suddenly!

An indescribable, terrifying aura, as if it could freeze time and space and annihilate all things, slowly awakened from his hunched body!

Hum—!!!

The whole world! No! It was the entire Star Domain! Trembled violently at this moment!

Space was like fragile glass, covered in spiderweb-like cracks! Time seemed to be frozen!

And it seemed to be accelerating away! Chaotic! Disordered! All Laws were disintegrating! Returning to... Chaos!

"Chaos Return to Ruins?! You... are you crazy?!" Xing Yun's voice carried panic for the first time! "Your Lifespan is coming to an end! Forcing the Origin! You will definitely die!"

"Die?" Old Man Zhong's mouth curled into a desolate smile, "This old man... should have died a long time ago..."

"Before I die... dragging you to the grave with me... isn't a loss..."

Before he finished speaking!

Old Man Zhong took a sudden step forward!

Boom—!!!

His hunched back straightened instantly! Like a spine supporting the heavens and earth!

The greasy gray robe fluttered without wind! Hunting and snapping! His white hair danced wildly!

His murky eyes shot out Chaos divine light that pierced the galaxy!

An indescribable, terrifying aura, as if it could swallow the heavens and worlds and let everything return to nothingness, erupted suddenly! Sweeping across the eight wildernesses and six directions!

"Chaos... Return to Ruins!"

Old Man Zhong whispered! His withered hands slowly raised! Palms facing each other!

A gray Chaos cyclone, as if containing the birth and death of the Universe and the end of all things, condensed between his palms! The cyclone rotated!

Silent! Yet emitting the ultimate annihilation power that made stars dim and Laws wail!

The giant star palm covering the sky! The moment it touched the edge of this Chaos cyclone!

Like ice meeting the blazing sun! Silently... dissolved! Annihilated! Not even a trace was left!

"No—!!!" Old Ancestor Xing Yun let out a terrified roar! He felt it! That was the true aura of death! Enough to grind away his eternal Star Dao Body!

"Quick! Activate the Star Dome Barrier! Maximum power!!"

Old Ancestor Xing Yun roared frantically! The star warship erupted with unprecedented light!

Countless star runes lit up! Forming layers of extremely thick starlight barriers around the warship!

Trying to block that terrifying Chaos cyclone!

However!

In front of Chaos Return to Ruins! All defenses! Were futile!

The Chaos cyclone rotated slowly! It silently hit the layered starlight barriers!

Chirp—

There was no earth-shattering explosion!

No devastating impact!

Only... silent annihilation!

The starlight barrier was like a bubble thrown into a black hole! Layer by layer! Piece by piece! Silently disappeared! Swallowed by Chaos! Returned to nothingness!

"No—!!!" Old Ancestor Xing Yun's desperate roar resounded through the starry sky!

He watched helplessly as the Chaos cyclone, like the sigh of the Grim Reaper, pierced through the final defense!

Moving slowly towards the core of the warship! Towards him...

"Old Ancestor! Run quickly!!" Inside the warship, several powerful Tianyan Royal Elders were splitting their eyes! Burning their Origin frantically! Trying to buy a glimmer of life for Old Ancestor Xing Yun!

"Run?" Old Man Zhong's murky eyes flashed with mockery, "Where to run?"

His withered fingers pointed gently at the huge star warship...!

Hum—!!!

The Chaos cyclone accelerated suddenly! Expanded instantly! Turning into a boundless ocean of Chaos!

Swallowing the entire star warship... along with everything inside! Completely!

No screams! No explosions! No light!

Only... eternal silence! Eternal darkness! Eternal... nothingness!

The Tianyan Dynasty! Old Ancestor Xing Yun! Along with that ancient warship capable of roaming the Star Domain!

Under Chaos Return to Ruins! Completely returned to nothingness! As if they had never existed!

The terrifying pressure covering the entire Star Domain receded like a tide!

The broken space slowly healed!

The chaotic time resumed its flow!

Only the lingering, Soul-trembling Chaos aura silently told of the earth-shattering scene just now!

The surviving Disciples and Elders of the Qingyun Sect stood in place, as if petrified!

Their brains were blank! Staring blankly at the starry sky that had returned to silence!

Looking at the... old man who was still hunched, holding a teapot, and standing on the big stone!

Chaos Medicine Venerable! Old Man Zhong! He... he erased an Old Ancestor of the Tianyan Dynasty?! Wiped out a star warship?!

This... this was simply a myth! A legend!

In the Cold Plum Courtyard.

The terrifying pressure on Jiang Linfeng disappeared instantly!

He spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood! His body regained freedom! Ignoring his own injuries, he scrambled to Luo Yan's side!

"Yaner! Yaner! How are you?!"

Luo Yan's face was as pale as paper, her breath weak, but the child in her womb... the aura of the Star Dao Body prototype, though weak, existed stubbornly!

The medicinal power of the star conception spirit pill protected a trace of her Origin at the last moment!

"Hus... Husband... the child... the child is still here..." Luo Yan opened her eyes weakly, tears falling.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Jiang Linfeng hugged her tightly, his Source Spirit Body running desperately, warm spiritual power pouring frantically into her body, nourishing her and the fetus's damaged Origin!

At the same time, he suddenly raised his head, looking towards the Medicine Garden! Looking at the figure who... saved them all!

On the big stone in the Medicine Garden.

Old Man Zhong was still holding the teapot, but at this moment, his hunched back seemed even more bent!

The hair that was originally gray was now gray and withered like dead grass!

The wrinkles on his face were as deep as gullies! In his murky eyes, the divine light was dim!

His aura... was weak to the extreme! Like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment!

He forced the use of Chaos Return to Ruins! Burning his last Origin! His Lifespan... was exhausted!

"Old Zhong!" Jiang Linfeng felt a sharp pain in his heart! Holding Luo Yan, he stumbled out of the Cold Plum Courtyard and knelt before Old Man Zhong! Tears blurred his vision! "Old Zhong! You..."

"Cough, cough..." Old Man Zhong coughed violently, every cough sounding like he was coughing out his Soul!

He struggled to lift his withered hand, pointing at Luo Yan in Jiang Linfeng's arms, then pointing at the fragment of the medicine king token in his hand, his voice hoarse and weak:

"Little... little guy... take good care of... your wife... and... the baby..."

"The... medicine king token... is not... complete... go... go to the Central Domain... Medicine King Valley... find... find the rest..."

"This old man... cannot... cannot hold it anymore... from now on... rely on... rely on yourself..."

His murky gaze looked into the depths of the vast starry sky, as if he saw something, and a desolate smile struggled to form on his lips:

"Heh... old friends... don't be anxious... this old man... is coming... to find you... now..."

Before he finished speaking!

Hum!

The purple clay teapot in Old Man Zhong's arms silently... turned into powder!

His hunched body, like a sand sculpture, slowly... weathered... dissipated...

No earth-shattering vision!

No tragic farewell!

Only... a breeze blew by...

Taking away the last traces of a generation of legends...

"Old Zhong—!!!"

Jiang Linfeng let out a heart-wrenching roar! Tears streamed down his face!

He held the warm fragment of the medicine king token tightly in his hand, feeling the faint aura remaining on it, his heart filled with endless grief and... a heavy sense of responsibility!

Old Man Zhong... was gone!

To save them! He burned his last Origin!

"Husband..." Luo Yan grabbed Jiang Linfeng's hand weakly, tears in her eyes.

Jiang Linfeng took a deep breath, forcing down the grief in his heart! He wiped away his tears, his eyes becoming unprecedentedly firm and cold!

He picked up Luo Yan, his gaze sweeping over the messy and heavily damaged Qingyun Sect, and then looked at the vast, boundless starry sky!

Tianyan Dynasty! Remove the Star Domain from existence? Exterminate the nine clans?!

Good! Very good!

This blood feud! I, Jiang Linfeng, have noted it down!

Old Zhong's last wish! Yaner and the child! I, Jiang Linfeng... will surely protect them with my life!

"From today on!" Jiang Linfeng's voice was cold and firm, resounding through the entire ruins of the Qingyun Sect, "I, Jiang Linfeng! Take over the Qingyun Sect!"

"Rebuild the mountain gate! Save the wounded!"

"All Disciples and Elders! Listen to my command!"

"Injuring my wife and child! Killing my benefactor! This hatred... is irreconcilable!"

"Tianyan Dynasty... I, Jiang Linfeng... will surely destroy it!"

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty and... cold killing intent!

His Source Spirit Body operated spontaneously! The aura of the third level of the Zhaoshen Realm erupted!

Mixed with the ancient aura of the medicine king token and a trace of the remaining Chaos Dao charm!

Causing all the survivors' hearts and minds to shake! They bowed their heads involuntarily!

"Obey... Sect Master's decree!" Chen Qingyang was the first to react, supporting his injuries, and knelt on one knee!

Immediately after, the surviving Grand Elders, deacons, and Disciples... knelt down one after another!

Their voices carried the fortune of surviving a disaster and a... trace of confusion and... hope for the future!

Jiang Linfeng said no more! He held Luo Yan and walked towards the Pill Room! There... were the purple bronze pill furnace!

There were the earth fire flame heart! There were Elder Situ's Alchemy insights! And even more... the source spirit medicine canon left by Old Man Zhong!

Become stronger! Become stronger at all costs!

Alchemy! Cultivating spirit medicine! Improving strength!

Central Domain Medicine King Valley! He must go!

Tianyan Dynasty! He must destroy it!

A new journey! Starts from this moment!

The path of invincibility! Is destined to be stained with blood!