62: A single finger shatters a dragon, and the sword seed is born.

Jiang Linfeng stood amidst the turbulent void, his dark green robes snapping in the chaotic astral winds. The cursed evil dragon—condensed from half of Ning Yudie's demonic blood, her Ice Soul Origin, and monstrous resentment—was tearing through the Chaos barrier he had established. At its core, a point of dark red light, like a venomous serpent's fang, struck with a viciousness that transcended spatial limits, lunging straight for Xi Youqin, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose sword body was on the verge of collapse inside the Thatched Cottage! Even more lethal was the bone-chilling Profound Yin Demonic Plague seeping from the rifts torn by the evil dragon, instantly sweeping through the entire Thatched Cottage!

The painful cries of his son! The blood coughed up by his wife! They were like two cold awls, ruthlessly gouging into the core of his perception!

A surge of unprecedented rage erupted—not a scorching heat, but a Chaos Tribulation Flame exploding at absolute zero! The last trace of gentleness in Jiang Linfeng's eyes was completely extinguished, replaced by a frigid coldness that could incinerate the heavens and judge all living spirits!

He watched indifferently as the curse core broke through the barrier, poised to pierce Xi Youqin's brow and curse her to death. He simply raised a single finger.

There was no brilliant divine light, no pressure that shook the galaxy.

It was merely a slender index finger.

But at the moment this finger was raised—

Crack!

The void where the Thatched Cottage was located let out an overburdened groan, like glass cracking inch by inch!

The river of time was cut in half by an invisible, mighty force!

The spatial structure was forcibly frozen by an overbearing will!

Flying dust solidified in the air.

The leaping hearth fire was frozen at the moment of burning.

The demonic light spreading in Xi Youqin's eyes, the crimson blood at the corner of Luo Yan's mouth, Jiang Xingyu's little face flushed red from extreme discomfort in the cradle as he waved his tiny fists... everything became a scene in this static painting.

Only the curse core shooting toward Xi Youqin's brow, carrying its obsession with destruction, continued along its trajectory. Yet, before Jiang Linfeng's raised index finger, it became incredibly slow and clear, as if the trajectory of fate itself had been stripped away and placed upon the judgment stand.

“One Thought.”

Jiang Linfeng opened his lips. His voice was not loud, but it sounded like the first chime of a Chaos great bell, carrying the supreme authority to dictate rules and annihilate all Laws.

“Void Silence.”

His index finger moved forward, tapping out with casual indifference.

Buzz!

An invisible ripple rippled out from his fingertip, spreading silently.

There was no earth-shaking collision, no ear-piercing explosion.

That curse core—capable of felling gods and demons, containing Ning Yudie's Origin demonic Soul and the ten-thousand-year cold baleful Qi of the Ice Soul Divine Palace—at the moment the ripple swept past—

It was as if it had been cast into the starting point of the Chaos Return to Ruins!

As if the very concept of its existence had been erased!

Poof... as light as a breeze passing over a candle flame.

That sinister, powerful, blood-red curse core, filled with the will for mutual destruction, failed to even make physical contact with the ripple before completely disintegrating and decomposing in silence. It turned into pure, harmless Chaos Origin Qi, with every trace of its existence thoroughly wiped away. It was as if it had been a hollow illusion that had never truly descended.

The Profound Yin Demonic Plague that had permeated the Thatched Cottage, carrying the power to extinguish life, vanished like frost under the morning sun as the ripples spread. The frozen space-time returned to its normal flow.

Thud!

The boiling demonic blood and destructive urges within Xi Youqin's body receded instantly. As if all her strength had been drained, she slumped completely onto the prayer mat, her eyes vacant and dull. Only the violent heaving of her chest and the hollow, lingering fear from the depths of her Soul remained. She hadn't even realized the curse had vanished; the feeling of despair from her Soul being dragged into an endless blood hell had already severely traumatized her mind.

In the corner, the color quickly returned to Luo Yan's pale face, and the blood at the corner of her mouth quietly faded. She immediately rushed to the cradle, tightly hugging Jiang Xingyu—who had just escaped his discomfort, regained his calm, and was letting out a small yawn—into her arms. Her cold fingertips trembled slightly from the lingering fear.

[Ding! Detected host activating Absolute Authority ‘One Thought Void Silence’! Successfully annihilated Divine-Grade curse (Ning Yudie Sacrifice-level)!]

[Hint: Current spatial barrier stability has decreased by 1% (due to forcibly annihilating a Law-level impact).]

[Hint: Host's ‘Deterrence’ effect has been achieved against Ning Yudie (Target's demonic Soul Origin has suffered severe backlash damage)!]

System prompts flashed through his mind.

Jiang Linfeng slowly withdrew the finger he had pointed into the void. The Chaos halo on his fingertip swirled before returning to silence. The frost on his face had not entirely dissipated. Ning Yudie's reckless and mad sacrificial curse had not only severely challenged his bottom line but had also nearly affected his Bloodline! Had he not mastered the essence of Chaos and been able to forcibly rewrite Laws for absolute annihilation, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

His gaze fell inside the barrier. Xi Youqin was slumped like soft mud. Her sword spirit body had undergone the curse's impact and the near-collapse just now; though her Origin was now forcibly stabilized, it had become extremely "pure," or rather... empty? Like a primitive sword domain at the dawn of Chaos, waiting to be reshaped and branded.

And the Sword Heart seed within her, which had just sprouted a hint of green, was now dim, yet it hadn't been extinguished. Instead, it revealed a resilient embryonic form that had settled after its Nirvana.

Now was the time!

Jiang Linfeng returned to the Thatched Cottage in a single step. Ignoring Luo Yan's concerned gaze, he walked straight toward the weak and dazed Xi Youqin.

Without the slightest hesitation, he leaned down. His fingertip, carrying Chaos True Essence and the refined will of supreme sword principles, pressed heavily through her thin clothing onto her smooth, flat lower abdomen at the Dantian—the most fragile spot after the recent Origin upheaval!

“Ah—!”

Xi Youqin let out a distorted cry of pain, her body twitching violently as if her Soul had been pierced by this finger! A domineering yet supreme energy of creation and destruction surged into her "cleansed" sea of sword spirit origin!

This power was no longer the previous "combing" or "nourishing," but carried absolute "reshaping" and "branding"!

Intense pain swept through her remaining consciousness like crashing waves.

Jiang Linfeng's spiritual sense fully penetrated her Origin core. In the center of that sea of sword spirit origin, which had become chaotic and primitive due to the curse's impact, a trembling green speck of light floated. That was the last bit of her "Sword Heart" core, which had been on the verge of scattering but was forcibly gathered.

“Condense! With my Chaos as the foundation! With your unyielding will as the seed!” Jiang Linfeng's voice was like a Chaos decree. Under the forced guidance of the Chaos power at his fingertip, all the remaining sword spirit origin in Xi Youqin's body uncontrollably and frantically converged and compressed toward that green speck of light!

Xi Youqin felt as if her entire internal body was being torn apart, crushed, and then forcibly fused back together! Her Dantian had become the center of a terrifying energy vortex, the pain boundless.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

As the Origin frantically condensed, a piercing cyan-gold light suddenly lit up deep within Xi Youqin's flat lower abdomen, inside her Dantian!

The light grew brighter and brighter, gradually outlining a profound and complex pattern—it was a budding Sword Lotus mark! The petals were just beginning to bloom, its roots were planted in Chaos, and the lotus heart was the green speck of light from her unyielding Sword Heart! The entire mark radiated a paradoxical unity of primordial Chaos and sharp Sword Intent!

[Ding! Detected host is reshaping the Origin for the target (Xi Youqin)!]

[Target's ‘Innate Sword Spirit Body’ potential has been deeply stimulated!]

[New Physique condensing... Chaos Sword Lotus Fetus (Embryo)! With host's Chaos Origin as the foundation and target's unyielding Sword Heart as the seed!]

[Chaos Sword Lotus Fetus traits (Initial): Chaos as the Basis (compatible with all energies), Sword Lotus Nurturing Heart (greatly accelerates Sword Heart growth), Mark of the Master (core is branded with the host's aura)!]

When that cyan-gold Sword Lotus mark completely solidified in her lower abdomen's Dantian and slowly faded away—

The intense pain in Xi Youqin's body receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of "heaviness" and "fullness." It was as if a pulsing Chaos sword star had appeared deep in her abdomen; it was both gentle and domineering, closely linked to her remaining consciousness. A deep sense of dependence, a sense of belonging from the very Origin of life, and a sense of being completely filled, firmly controlled, and unable to resist... a sense of surrender wrapped around her like vines. That newborn Sword Heart seemed to let out a satisfied hum.

Her dilated pupils refocused, reflecting the figure of the man close at hand. It was no longer fear and struggle, but a thick, inseparable daze, exhaustion, and the weakness of being completely conquered. She wanted to struggle, but her body was too heavy to obey; even that newly sprouted stubborn will sank deep into the Chaos mark in her Dantian, which contained both destruction and rebirth. Where he had touched her abdomen, a faint, burning mark belonging to him remained, carrying a bone-deep sense of possession.

Jiang Linfeng felt the brand-new Origin fluctuations within her and the planted Chaos Sword Lotus Fetus mark. A trace of satisfaction from having things under control finally crossed his eyes. This girl was like a piece of peerless unpolished jade; only by undergoing such complete destruction and reshaping, and being branded with his exclusive mark, could she bloom with true radiance and become the sharpest "sword" on his future path.

He withdrew his finger and stood up, turning his gaze to Luo Yan, who was tightly holding Jiang Xingyu, and said calmly: “It is over.”

Luo Yan looked at the spot on Xi Youqin's lower abdomen where the last trace of cyan-gold light had faded, then looked up at Jiang Linfeng's deep, calm eyes. She nodded gently and silently pressed her cheek against her son's warm, soft face, saying no more. In her arms, Jiang Xingyu seemed to feel his mother's stabilizing emotions; his little mouth twitched as he slept even more soundly.

Inside the Thatched Cottage, there was a post-disaster silence. Only the occasional crackle of the hearth fire and Xi Youqin's faint, almost inaudible breathing—carrying a strange lingering charm—echoed softly in the quiet space. Her consciousness sank into a dreamscape constructed by that Chaos Sword Lotus, a dream of absolute dominance and control.