Hua hua —
In the world shrouded in gray mist, a vast and boundless gray river, stretching as far as the eye could see, lay across the land. It seemed to transcend time and space, and each droplet of water splashing from it was like a world, born and extinguished in an instant.
"Boom—!"
A palm, clad in orange lightning, struck one of the droplets. The lightning flickered, like the wrath of world-ending thunder, engulfing the entire world and completely annihilating the droplet.
One droplet after another, in an instant, the figure wreathed in lightning, appearing god-like and demonic, extinguished each droplet. In his star-like eyes, a thoughtful expression appeared.
"I think I've grasped something. Let's do it again."
With a wave of his hand, the scene reset.
The might of time reflected the scene of the gray river, and within this terrifying river, strands of power leaked out, surpassing time itself and affecting tens of thousands of years into the future.
"The horror of the indescribable evil god, no matter how many times I try, it chills the heart."
Fang You sighed.
This scene was what they had witnessed after venturing deep into the cursed realm, in an ancient battlefield.
Time's reflection, droplets like a prison.
At that time, Chi Yan had to expend considerable effort to tear apart each splashing droplet. Seeing that space was no longer stagnant, he had quickly led them through space, away from that terrifying temporal reflection.
Now, he could easily shatter these temporal droplets, much stronger than Chi Yan had been back then.
"Just shattering a few droplets splashed by an evil god, and that too, the residual power from tens of thousands of years ago, what is there to be proud of?"
"However, personally witnessing and colliding with such a terrifying temporal phenomenon, I have gained a lot."
A phenomenon was, in essence, a silhouette of time, containing profound mysteries and temporal powers that were difficult for him to comprehend.
The gray river and splashing droplets in the temporal silhouette both contained profound temporal powers.
He used the Combat Tower to replicate this scene again and again, confronting it personally to understand the power contained within in the most profound way.
If observing the Time Obelisk was the highest form of theoretical learning, then this was an excellent practical learning method.
Other powerful beings, even if they had the opportunity to witness such temporal reflections, would be cautious and often avoid them, let alone immerse themselves in experiencing them repeatedly like he did.
At times, when he experienced a slight epiphany, he would immerse his mind completely, allowing the gray droplets to shatter his divine body while his consciousness detached from his physical form, continuing to revel in the wonder of enlightenment.
His approach was unique.
"The abilities of the Combat Tower seem to have many aspects yet to be explored."
"When the opportunity arises, I must witness more indescribable evil gods and temper myself using their great terrors."
However, he was too weak at the moment.
Even though the evil god had not yet awakened, Fang You did not dare to entertain the thought of being reckless in its presence.
If he were to venture deep into the cursed realm now, there would be no other ancient existences to share the burden for him.
Fang You practiced and experienced in the Combat Tower for several days, then observed the Time Obelisk, using his bullet time skill to practice the circulation of laws.
Under these unique conditions, he was like a sponge, constantly absorbing the mysteries of time-based laws, making rapid progress.
Currently, the circulation of laws was the law he devoted the most energy to.
Because of the existence of the Time Pavilion!
He needed to elevate his time-based laws to unlock the third ability of the Time Pavilion.
…
Inside the Combat Tower,
After dozens of simulated attempts, a jewel the size of a fingernail, with magnificent brilliance, slowly materialized from the tide of time and merged into a much larger, colossal gemstone beside it.
"The authority of circulation, I have condensed it to 40.1%, but my progress in the path of circulation is becoming slower and slower."
Stepping out of the Combat Tower and returning to reality, Fang You, with practiced ease, replenished the authority of circulation to its maximum limit within himself.
At this point, only three months had passed in real time since the Sacred Court was attacked.
A very short period.
For beings of high rank and above, whose lifespans were virtually endless, it was but a fleeting moment.
But for Fang You, it felt very long, because he had not endured three months, but 27 years. These 27 years, how had he lived through them? He had, of course, lived through them in immersive cultivation.
The longer he cultivated, the more times he spent within the Secret Realm of Ages, the more accustomed Fang You became to "long retreats."
During this period, he had long since refined the supreme treasure "Eternal Pure Land."
This was a world-type supreme treasure, possessing the power to create and connect worlds, and it could also provide growth buffs, shelter, favor, and other benefits.
"Favor" was akin to the world's will favoring someone, making them a child of destiny, possessing talent and luck far beyond others.
And the "favor" ability of the Eternal Pure Land was more than a thousand times stronger than that of ordinary worlds.
The cultivation atmosphere in the Central Sacred Court was not very active, yet even so, it produced many demigods and high-ranking individuals, not unrelated to the favor of the Eternal Pure Land.
Favor, for beings like Fang You, had a very weak effect, but he still bestowed its power upon himself, An Jianyou, Hei Dao, and others.
Who knew if it might prove immensely useful one day?
"Favor, this involves the most mysterious path of fate."
"The path of fate is ethereal and elusive, a thousand times more difficult to even begin than space or time, but..."
He had already begun, and his attainment was not low.
He had a destiny with the path of fate.
However, the development and application of the Eternal Pure Land were more difficult than the Combat Tower and the Time Pavilion. He had pondered for twenty to thirty years, yet could only unleash a portion of its power.
It was only slightly better than how the former Sacred Court utilized the Eternal Pure Land.
"The greatest benefit is that I can artificially intervene, allowing the Eternal Pure Land to deliver more power to promote the evolution of the Yiduola Life Tree."
"If it can truly evolve..."
He was unsure, but his intuition told him it was possible.
He mused.
The authority of circulation flowed in his hand, emitting a mysterious and extraordinary halo.
It was far from complete, like a gemstone that was originally spherical, but had lost more than half of it, leaving a sense of regret and frustration.
So,
Fang You raised his other palm, and in his palm, an orange gemstone, carrying immeasurable might, appeared.
This gemstone was also incomplete, but it was incomplete in a very regular manner.
Exactly half.
50% of the authority of destruction!
"The path of time is indeed obscure and difficult to comprehend. I clearly invested more effort, yet my progress is far inferior to that of lightning arts."
The authority of destruction was the highest-ranked authority he wielded.
And not only that...
In his soul, he recalled his attempts in the Combat Tower not long ago.
Fang You showed a confident expression. Within Blue Star, he took a few steps, entering the boundless cosmic expanse. He was in a void, devoid of gray mist, energy, or mysterious factors, and even the omnipresent law patterns of heaven and earth seemed exceptionally faint, difficult to perceive without intense focus.
Only at the edge of the starry sky, a few scattered worlds of life, emitted a faint glow.
But at this moment, lightning suddenly appeared.
Without burning energy, without environmental foundations, in the pitch-black void, countless orange rays of light illuminated, encircling the figure standing in the emptiness.
Only half of the authority of destruction materialized before his forehead.
Infinite might radiated outwards.
"Authority of Destruction, condense for me... Condense!"
The rank of his authority of destruction had already condensed to 50% ten years ago. He had not continued to condense it, partly because he could not complete the authority in the Secret Realm of Ages, and partly because he wanted to accumulate strength for a single, decisive success.
The destruction laws of the entire void, the entire sea of stars, the entire universe, were subtly connected at this moment.
Mysterious particles gathered beside the hemispherical materialized authority, slowly converging.
The authority was condensing.
And!
He was not aiming to condense 1% or 2% of the authority's power; he wanted to seize the opportunity to directly complete the remaining 50%, pushing the authority of destruction to completion. He wanted to wield complete authority!
This confidence stemmed from his profound grasp of laws, his decades and centuries of arduous cultivation.
It also stemmed from the fact that he wielded complete authority of slaughter.
He possessed one complete authority.
He was a rank 10 being of complete authority!
But suddenly, Fang You frowned. As he condensed the authority, an invisible resistance emerged.
"Could it be that the other 50% of the authority of destruction is held by some root-level being?"
Authority is unique!
No matter how much stronger he became, he could not force it.
If the authority truly had an owner, he would have to seek another path. Other rank 10 beings encountering such a situation, stuck in an awkward middle ground, would be quite frustrated. If they wanted to pursue another path, it would require vast amounts of time. Rank 10 beings would also go mad.
Fang You, however, remained calm. He was already treading on several, a dozen, or even dozens of paths simultaneously. If the authority of destruction proved impossible, he would pursue annihilation, incineration, execution, and so on.
"But the invisible resistance doesn't seem that strong? If the authority were truly held by someone else, I shouldn't be able to budge it?"
He felt he could budge it.
He tried, and he budged it.
Several days later, the complete, magnificent authority, symbolizing the supreme power of destruction, appeared before him.
This was a treasure, a weapon. It was a symbol of reaching the pinnacle of a path and wielding supreme power.
At the same time, somewhere in the cursed realm.
An ancient rank 9 being known as the "Lord of Destruction" suddenly opened his eyes, feeling a sense of emptiness in his heart.
"Strange..."
…
While Fang You made rapid progress, the other core powerhouses of the Spark organization were also not idle.
At their level, daily tasks were already few.
Most people had only two types of missions: hunting high-ranking eldritch beings, and guarding a certain area.
Guarding missions did not hinder their cultivation. While their true bodies were stationed in the City of Burning Flames, Sacred Court, and other places, they could still use their avatars to comprehend laws and hone their skills.
Hunting high-ranking eldritch beings naturally did not involve high-ranking powerhouses randomly searching. Instead, they would depart only after other mythical beings discovered clues, pursuing nine-star eldritch beings.
The number of high-ranking powerhouses in the Spark organization was still relatively small, with only Chi Yan having advanced to rank 10.
Others still lacked considerable accumulation.
The Divine Demon Body Refining and the Myriad Worlds Scripture were also being slowly imparted... progress was not rapid.
However, the organization still produced new rank 9 powerhouses from time to time. Xiao Huan, whom Fang You had high hopes for, finally opened the door to high rank and soon after, condensed "Shards of the Authority of Traverse" with her profound comprehension of laws.
Xiao Huan's combat power directly entered the top tier of high-ranking beings.
Her talent in the path of space was unparalleled.
But the talent of others was also not bad.
An Jianyou had initially condensed the "Authority of the Underworld." Her authority's power was still not strong, but her combat strength was more reflected in her nurturing of eldritch beings.
Now, many of the eldritch beings in An Jianyou's household possessed considerable comprehension of laws.
Hei Dao's situation was similar; he traversed various regions of the cursed realm, gathering more and more heroic souls.
"Liu Feng and Wei Bao's progress in the authority of laws has slowed down considerably."
"On the other hand, Liu Shang's progress has been incredibly rapid, thanks to the crimson-level skill 'Life Tree' and the power of the Yiduola Life Tree."
"Currently, the authority of vitality wielded by Liu Shang has entered the fragmented level, her power surging."
The stronger the authority, the easier it was to forge a divine body of laws.
He mused whether he should elevate Liu Shang's cultivation sequence, but Liu Shang was merely a life-type high-ranking being who watered flowers and trees daily.
…
In the Sacred Court, tall buildings stood on the land, and flying vehicles could be seen piercing the sky everywhere.
In just a few months, the prosperity here had recovered to pre-disaster levels, even exceeding them. The Sacred Court no longer operated under a closed-door policy, and instead, waves of passionate cultivation fervor had erupted.
However, the undercurrents surging within it had never ceased.
There were individuals from the Sacred Court, as well as visitors from the outside.
An old man wearing a dark green robe and a long brown beard had been in the Luoxia Province for several days.
He was not a member of the Sacred Court, nor even human.
He was a great and ancient high-ranking being. He had many names, some of which he could no longer recall, but one honored name symbolized his power—the Lord of Ten Thousand Beards.
He was quite famous among the ancient ones.
The Lord of Ten Thousand Beards gazed in the direction of the First Province, a hint of fervor hidden in his pupils.
"Yiduola Life Tree..."
"If I could obtain this Life Tree, it would no longer be difficult for me to advance to rank 10 and wield authority."
"The Forest Goddess of that year had a similar rank to me. The reason she was able to advance was because she was always by the side of the Yiduola Life Tree."
"However..."
He craved it, his heart burned with desire, yet he was also apprehensive.
This was the Human Sacred Court, possessing not only superweapons capable of killing high-ranking beings, but also...
"I am not afraid of superweapons, but that mysterious Spark mentor..."
The Lord of Ten Thousand Beards had to admit that he was intimidated.
He considered himself confident of escaping from an ordinary rank 10 being, but if the opponent was the Spark mentor, his confidence would be halved.
"However, I have no intention of interacting with this human supreme being, and the Sacred Court is not the main headquarters of the Spark organization. It is almost impossible for that mentor to be here."
This was also why he dared to set foot on the land of the Sacred Court.
And after a few days of cautious probing, the Lord of Ten Thousand Beards' confidence had greatly increased.
"The Spark organization can at most station one or two high-ranking beings here for defense, but as long as that mentor is not present, it is not so easy for other high-ranking beings to discover me."
Even if he were discovered, he, the Lord of Ten Thousand Beards, would not feel the slightest fear.
He would leave the Sacred Court at the fastest speed and escape into the vast gray mist. Let alone the Spark mentor, even great beings like the Moon Lord and the Sun Sovereign could not find his trace in the vast gray mist.
Plan complete.
The Lord of Ten Thousand Beards stroked his beard and revealed a confident smile.