127: Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump, stealing from the boundary and breaking through the realm.
After a hundred years of demonic hunting, Liu Qingtian's demonic thoughts had spread like a spiderweb to numerous Minor Thousand Worlds within his perception range. He not only plundered Origin, but also searched through memory fragments of countless worlds for any information that might help him Break Through to the Profound Void Realm.
Finally, in a forgotten corner of a Star Domain, he locked onto a special target — the “Qingming Realm”.
This was a Minor Thousand Worlds on the verge of advancement. The Spiritual Qi within it was undergoing qualitative changes, the Laws were becoming perfected, and the world's fetal membrane was continuously thickening, subtly emitting the magnificent Dao charm only found in Middle Thousand Worlds. Based on the knowledge Liu Qingtian had plundered, the Qingming Realm's advancement would occur within this century, or perhaps even sooner!
A Middle Thousand Worlds that had just advanced!
To Liu Qingtian, this was the only light in the darkness.
He was stuck at the Peak of the Sea Overturning Realm, not due to insufficient accumulation, but because he was plagued by Heart Demons and his dao foundation was defiled, making him dare not trigger the Profound Void Lightning Tribulation. That Lightning Tribulation was not merely an energy test; it was also the Heavenly Dao's reckoning of a Cultivator's Dao Heart and Karma. With his monstrous Karma from slaughtering billions of beings and stealing the Origin of countless worlds, once he triggered the Profound Void Tribulation, what would descend would likely be the legendary “Nine Heavens Annihilation Divine Lightning” or the “myriad sins soul-devouring demonic thunder,” whose power would be enough to instantly obliterate an existence like him, leaving no trace.
Ordinary methods simply could not overcome this tribulation.
However, the Origin of a newly advanced Middle Thousand Worlds contained a glimmer of hope!
A newly advanced Middle Thousand Worlds' Origin is not only vast and pure, but also contains a trace of the Innate creation Qi of “breaking and then establishing,” and “transforming from mortal to immortal” from the world's advancement, along with relatively pure nascent Laws. If one could forcibly devour its core Origin at the very moment the world has just completed its advancement, when the Heavenly Dao's will is most active but not yet completely stable, there is a minuscule chance to use that “newborn” power to “cleanse” one's defiled dao foundation to some extent, deceive the heavenly secrets, weaken the power of the Lightning Tribulation, and even possibly use the vast Origin to forcibly withstand the Lightning Tribulation!
This was a huge gamble! The success rate was pitifully low, and the process was extremely perilous. Not only would he face the world's instinctive rejection and counterattack during its advancement, but he would also immediately face the possibly weakened, yet still terrifying, Profound Void Lightning Tribulation after devouring.
But Liu Qingtian had no choice. This was the only possibly viable method for Breakthrough he found after analyzing countless plundered memories.
“Luo Jiuxuan...” He silently chanted the name, a deep dread and twisted hatred flashing in his dark red Demonic Pupils. He knew the gap between himself and the other party. The reason Luo Jiuxuan didn't need such trouble, and could even wantonly devour the Primordial Realm without worrying about Karma, was because his future was that of an Eighth Realm Supreme! His very existence was a closed Karma loop; past, present, and future Karma could all be easily erased or exempted by his supreme Realm. That was the privilege of standing at the apex of the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms.
And what about himself? According to the information he perceived when his future self manifested, his future, after countless struggles through Reincarnation, was merely the Peak of the Seventh Realm — the Samsara Realm! Seemingly only one Realm away from the Eighth Realm, it was in fact the essential difference between mortal and saint, ant and firmament! If the future Luo Jiuxuan (Eighth Realm or higher) wanted to kill him, he wouldn't even need to blow a breath; a single thought, transcending time and space, could instantly turn an existence like him, a Samsara Realm Cultivator, into dust, leaving no room to struggle.
Fortunately, his future self seemed to have touched the edge of the Eighth Realm after countless Reincarnations. But this required time; it required his current “past self” to Break Through numerous obstacles, survive, and become stronger, in order to provide more “variables” and accumulation for his future self.
The Qingming Realm before him was the opportunity he had to seize!
However, a Middle Thousand Worlds on the verge of advancement, like a ripe flat peach, could not fail to attract the covetousness of other existences. In the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms, Cultivators like him who were stuck at a Bottleneck, or those who specialized in finding world Origin to Cultivate evil techniques, and even some special Starry Sky Behemoths, might be attracted.
He had to wait for the rabbit, to prevent others from picking the peach!
Liu Qingtian restrained the monstrous Devilish Qi around him, and his massive Sea Overturning demonic body transformed into an almost imperceptible dark shadow, merging into the shadowy layer of the Star Domain where the Qingming Realm was located. Like the most patient hunter, he raised his perception to the extreme, firmly locking onto every change in the Qingming Realm.
The myriad bone patterns on his torso glowed faintly, concealing his aura; the eyes in the myriad demonic leaf grotto-heavens were half-open, half-closed, monitoring all energy flows in the surrounding Star Domain; the vengeful spirit willow was carefully put away by him, lest its towering resentment alert others.
Time passed little by little. The Qingming Realm's advancement process was a bit slower than expected, but the Dao charm it emitted grew stronger, and the fluctuations of the Realm wall became more intense.
During this period, there were indeed a few waves of
A team of three Early Stage Sea Overturning Realm Cultivators, a starry sky exploration team, seemed to have discovered the anomaly here and attempted to approach and investigate. Liu Qingtian didn't even show himself; he merely activated the myriad eyed demonic leaves from afar, and countless gazes containing Heart Demon curses and destructive intentions crossed the Void Realm. The three Sea Overturning Realm Cultivators couldn't even let out a scream before their Divine Souls were disoriented, their dao foundations crumbled, and they exploded into a dazzling yet brief bloody fireworks display in the starry sky. Their Soul fragments and essence were drawn by an invisible force, merging into Liu Qingtian's demonic body.
There was also a “Star Devouring Worm” that roamed the starry sky, feeding on asteroids, which was attracted by the Qingming Realm's advancing aura. This worm was enormous in size, with thick skin and flesh, comparable to a Middle Stage Sea Overturning Realm Cultivator. Liu Qingtian directly manifested a portion of his demonic body, and the vengeful spirit willow lashed out like a venomous Dragon. Billions of vengeful spirits wailed as they coiled around it, instantly draining its immense life force and Soul, leaving only a shriveled worm skin floating in the Void Realm.
These interludes did not affect Liu Qingtian's patience. He waited silently, like a cold meteorite.
Finally, one day after decades of lurking—
Buzz!!!
An indescribably grand fluctuation erupted from within the Qingming Realm!
The entire world's fetal membrane burst forth with brilliant azure light, and the Spiritual Qi inside surged and underwent qualitative changes like a tsunami! Chains of Law appeared out of thin air, becoming more complex and solid! The world's volume seemed to be expanding in his perception.
The advancement had begun!
Liu Qingtian's dark red Demonic Pupils suddenly lit up, like two lanterns of Hell.
He knew that the most crucial moment was approaching. The instant the advancement was complete, when the Origin of the newborn Middle Thousand Worlds completely condensed, and the Heavenly Dao's will was most joyous and most “busy” stabilizing itself, that would be his best opportunity to strike!
He slowly mobilized the monstrous Demonic Essence accumulated over a century; the myriad bones on his torso groaned under the strain, and the myriad eyes in the demonic leaf grotto-heavens fully opened, locking onto the position where the Qingming Realm's core Origin was about to manifest.
The hunt was about to begin. And what would follow would be the Profound Void Demonic Tribulation, a near-certain death!