29: Zhang Xingyue's First Appearance Draws Attention from All Realms
The fall of the Annihilation Lord released a massive amount of energy and Law fragments.
Liu Qingtian devoured it all like a glutton, his Wither and Flourish Domain running, expanding, and solidifying at an unprecedented speed.
Although he did not lead that brief and terrifying battle himself, observing it at close range and absorbing the lingering combat energy gave him an intuitive understanding of higher-level power. In particular, the final strike of the burying netherworld, which contained absolute annihilation, left its Law essence deeply imprinted within his tree soul.
His strength skyrocketed, driven by this immense influx of resources, and his comprehension of the Law of Life and Death broke through Bottleneck after Bottleneck.
His willow leaf grotto-heaven trembled violently as its internal space expanded madly. The Qi of Life and Death nearly turned into liquid, and at the very center, a faint glimmer of Chaos light, containing the Concept of creation and destruction, was vaguely about to be born!
However, just as he was immersed in the pleasure of his growing strength, a sudden change occurred!
Through the two root imprints connecting to other realms—the Jade Dream Realm and the Bone Abyss—a violent tremor arrived at almost the exact same time!
It was not a transfer of energy, nor a flow of information, but a... grand palpitation, as if the Origin of an entire world had been triggered and set into resonance by some external force!
From the Jade Dream Realm came a massive tide of countless prayers, calls, and the Power of the Stars! From the Bone Abyss came a deathly tremor as that ancient existence was thoroughly alarmed, letting out a low growl filled with uncertainty!
The source that had triggered the Origin of these two great worlds was none other than Liu Qingtian himself! More accurately, it was his willow leaf grotto-heaven, which was undergoing rapid transformation and attempting to gestate that glimmer of Chaos light!
It was as if his grotto-heaven, born from stealing the Origin of the two great worlds, had inadvertently met some ancient and grand condition at the very moment it was about to give birth to a certain "core," triggering a Law mechanism that existed in the unseen void!
Hum—!
Liu Qingtian's tree soul shook violently. He felt his consciousness being forcibly pulled away, elevated infinitely, piercing through the barrier of the Sumeru Spirit Realm, as if standing above the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms!
He saw that in the endless Void Realm, the stars, which had originally been moving along their own trajectories, suddenly began to shine with an incomparably brilliant light and started to move and converge slowly in a profoundly mysterious pattern! Countless starlight intertwined, as if drawing a gigantic star map!
The center of the star map pointed vaguely toward the Sumeru Spirit Realm, countless light-years away—it pointed toward... his location!
At the same time, a cold, vast, and emotionless message, like a declaration of Law, resonated directly within the depths of his tree soul, and also echoed within the consciousness of all beings in the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms who had reached a certain level:
【 Star orbits intersect, the temporal order changes. 】
【 The old covenant shall begin, the new star key shall be established. 】
【 The Key Holder may glimpse the secret of the star disk and knock upon the Gatekeeper's door. 】
【 The star key—has condensed in the 'Sumeru Spirit Realm · Borderland of Ten Thousand Beasts'. 】
The message was brief, yet it was like dropping an ice cube into a boiling wok, instantly causing an unimaginable wave of Chaos throughout the entire Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms!
Liu Qingtian snapped back to reality and found that the phenomenon had vanished. However, he could clearly feel that the glimmer of Chaos light at the core of his willow leaf grotto-heaven had not successfully gestated but had instead transformed into an extremely tiny, complex imprint that radiated endless starlight and contained some kind of supreme authority!
This imprint rotated slowly, tightly connected to his tree soul, as if it had become a part of him.
The star key!
He had actually... inexplicably become the holder of this so-called "star key"?!
"It's over..." Even with Liu Qingtian's firm resolve, his tree soul couldn't help but sink. This was by no means an Opportunity; it was a hot potato, a death warrant!
Sure enough, the next moment, through the two root imprints, he felt "gazes" of extreme complexity coming from the two other realms!
From the Jade Dream Realm, what came was no longer the previous Chaos or plea for help, but a collective fluctuation of intent mixed with shock, greed, desire, and a hint of awe, as if countless powerful beings had simultaneously cast their consciousness in this direction.
Deep within the Bone Abyss, the whispers of that ancient existence were filled with rage and cold killing intent. It seemed extremely dissatisfied that its "backyard" had not only been drained of energy but had also caused such a massive commotion. A terrifying death storm was brewing deep within the Abyss, as if it might surge through the imprint at any moment!
And these were only the two realms directly connected to him!
One could only imagine how many eyes and terrifying beings in the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Realms were currently casting their gaze toward the Sumeru Spirit Realm, toward this Borderland!
Lin Feng's warning still rang in his ears—find the star disk fragment, find the Gatekeeper node! And this "star key" was clearly the most crucial link of all!
A man who flaunts his wealth invites theft! Especially when his "treasure" was shining so conspicuously!
Almost simultaneously, through his underground roots, he sensed countless powerful auras rushing madly toward the Borderland from all directions of the Sumeru Spirit Realm, like sharks smelling blood!
Among them were several auras that made even him feel palpitations, far exceeding the Wutian Realm! It was likely that the Golden Body Realm old monsters from the surrounding great territories had been alarmed!
In the direction of the Earth Spirit Sect, the long-dormant Earth Rock Great Formation roared to life, its light shooting into the sky. Clearly, it had entered the highest state of alert. A powerful Divine Sense, however, swept toward the Borderland without any attempt at concealment, filled with suspicion and greed—it was the Sect Master Yue Shan, who had been stuck at the Great Perfection of the Heaven Comprehension Realm!
Deep within the Black Fiend Abyss, the sound of ancient horns became incredibly urgent, as if gathering an army. A massive amount of Yin Fiend Death Qi was condensing at the bottom of the abyss, seemingly attracted by the aura of the star key as well!
A great tribulation! This was the true great tribulation!
Liu Qingtian's tree soul was icy cold to the extreme, yet all his branches calmed down abnormally.
Escape was no longer possible; retreat meant only destruction.
Since the storm began because of me, then... let us fight!
He frantically activated the "Spiritual Ripple" vortex, accelerating the refinement of the recently absorbed Annihilation Lord energy to consolidate his Domain. At the same time, a willow branch gently rested upon the zang youming great halberd beside him.
"Old friend," his intent transmitted over, "this time, I'm afraid we really have to fight to the death side by side."
The body of the zang youming great halberd trembled imperceptibly, and the newly born Halberd Spirit sent back a weak but exceptionally firm killing intent.
The star key imprint rotated slowly within his grotto-heaven, radiating an alluring starlight.
The Myriad Heavens focused, and ten thousand enemies were about to arrive.
The Borderland forbidden zone faced the greatest crisis since its inception, or was it... an Opportunity for transformation?