"Am I dead? So be it, then!"
"So this is the world after death. But shouldn't my true soul enter samsara? If I can still enter reincarnation..."
Bearing his final regrets, Meng Tianqi reached the moment of total assimilation and imminent death—only to find that his consciousness was recovering once more.
He already knew that in such a state, there was no way to turn back the tide. He should have been dead. But he soon realized something was wrong.
"Wait... I'm still within the Laws of Life and Death!?"
"And my consciousness has recovered?"
As he felt his consciousness strengthening, he was utterly shocked. He hadn't expected to recover, for such a thing was nearly impossible.
"Unless... it's the Power of Creation!"
"Of course!"
Sensing the power within his consciousness, he immediately understood. Only the mysterious Power of Creation could have brought him back. Though he had never seen it, he recognized it; with his law comprehension at this level, his understanding of the world's mysterious powers had deepened significantly.
As the mysterious Power of Creation poured into his consciousness and the location where he had nearly perished, the energy from the collapsed millstone began to slowly condense.
Even more miraculously, this special Life-Death Millstone—formed from his sacrifice and the devouring of numerous Void Refinement demons—began to take on the scent of flesh and soul under the influence of the Power of Creation.
"This is? My flesh and soul are reconsolidating?"
Feeling that power closely linked to him, Meng Tianqi was utterly stunned! Having experienced the loss of his soul and body, he truly understood what it meant to possess them. They were the foundation of a cultivator; without them, one was like a bubble in the ocean, liable to be crushed by any stray wave.
And now, his body was back!
"And it seems not only back, but stronger!"
Meng Tianqi knew his former body too well. His highest talent was merely a high-grade Wood Spirit Root and a peak-grade Yin Spirit Root. While decent for ordinary cultivators, it was among the worst among the Void Refinement experts of the Star-Sea.
He had climbed up step by step because he had found a Life-Death Remnant Seal in his youth, and combined with his own affinity, he had taken the rare path of Life and Death. But that seal wasn't anything extraordinary; it was just a Soul Transformation stage item. Once he reached that stage, it lost all utility.
What truly allowed him to rise was his immense comprehension, absolute focus, and unwavering Dao-heart.
The Dao of Life and Death could only be mastered by those who had experienced both and held reverence for life and death. Ordinary cultivators couldn't even find the threshold.
With these traits, he had risen to become a legend who changed an entire region by himself, sweeping through enemies and overturning the darkness over his head. In a way, his legend was no less impressive than Qi Ping's early feats in the Qingtian Domain.
But now, he felt that his new body was completely different!
His roots were still wood and yin, but they had reached the Heaven-grade! Moreover, his constitution had undergone an even more exaggerated change. An aura of extreme affinity with the Laws of Life and Death radiated from his new form, along with immense vitality and pressure. This powerful physique seemed somewhat similar to those of the Void Refinement demons.
The only difference was that his body held no demonic aura; it was shaped and tempered by the power of life and death.
"What constitution is this?"
Meng Tianqi was thoroughly shocked. Though he had never seen such a constitution, given the powerful aura it radiated, he was certain it was no inferior to most special physiques he knew of, and likely rivaled the very best!
He had never imagined he would one day possess a body so perfectly suited to his path. But now, he had not only returned from the brink of death but had gained a powerful body he hadn't even dared to dream of!
The moment his body finished reshaping, his consciousness felt a powerful pull. He didn't hesitate to follow that pull back into his own frame.
As soon as he returned, a feeling of immense power shook him.
"This power..."
A supreme foundation and a perfect affinity with his Dao!
The moment he opened his eyes, a terrifying pressure swept across the heavens and earth, as if a god of life and death had awakened! The Laws of Life and Death spontaneously manifested in every inch of the surrounding space.
Law Resonance Phenomenon!
This was a phenomenon that only Unity stage cultivators should be able to manifest, yet it was now directly controlled by Meng Tianqi! His time spent merged with the laws, though not enough to let him gallop through them, had resulted in a massive leap in his comprehension.
"Life-Death Domain... Infinite Millstone!"
At his thought, the power he had previously only been able to unleash by sacrificing his soul and body now erupted effortlessly. Furthermore, its power was even greater, and his control over it had vastly improved.
The only drawback was the massive consumption. Even opening it for a moment caused the spiritual power in his body to drain like a breached dam. At this rate, a single move would likely consume over half his energy and inflict significant strain on his body. This was clearly a forbidden technique that shouldn't be mastered by a Void Refinement cultivator.
"But it's enough! The physical shackles that once restricted me are gone. A wide, smooth road now lies before me!"
To the current Meng Tianqi, the Unity stage was within reach!
However, he didn't make the breakthrough yet. Instead, he summoned the Void-Aether Fish, preparing to strike across the Void Refinement battlefield at top speed. Once he successfully reached the Unity stage, he would be teleported to the Unity battlefield, and the Void Refinement battlefield would be lost!
"The Unity battlefield... Star-Emperor, Old Qi, wait for me! I'm coming!"
Thinking of the Saint-grade demons he had glimpsed before the battlefield opened, he couldn't help but feel a chill. That was not a level of power they could currently match.
Had it not been for the fact that Bai Liyun had become a demon cultivator of the True Demon Realm and only needed a trace of demonic nature to be reborn, they wouldn't have dared to let him enter the Unity battlefield. To enter was to be crushed; it was a place that even "hell" was too kind a description for. The demons of that stage were a force they had originally decided to give up on, planning instead to use the Star-Sea Nine Domains as a base for a protracted war.
Thinking of the terror of those Saint-grade demons, his heart grew even more anxious. There was no time; he had to finish this quickly!
He hadn't had the strength before, but now that he had the chance, he wouldn't stand by. If the Star-Sea World was to survive after its coordinates had been exposed, they had to ensure as many people lived as possible. So, Meng Tianqi had decided to sweep through the Void Refinement battlefield as fast as possible, using the Laws of Life and Death to devour enough power to reach Unity.
These demons were now the best resource packs for his laws. The roles of hunter and prey had reversed!
With his rebirth and his physical transformation, the Void Refinement battlefield held no more suspense for him. There was no demon left in this sector that could threaten him unless a double-digit number of King-rank demons surrounded him—which was now impossible. This demonic force was unusual, but it wouldn't have that many kings.
Indeed, after his breakthrough, the moment his millstones appeared, every demon he met was crushed into dust and instantly transformed into his own power.
This was one of the advantages cultivators had over demons. Demons didn't have "cultivation talent" in the human sense; they only had devouring and bloodlines.
The Demon Nests of the Demon Realm produced endless demons, who then grew stronger by devouring their own kind or everything in the worlds they invaded. Through devouring and the influence of their bloodlines, they would develop different innate divine abilities and physical forms.
Some powerful forms and powers could be fixed by the Demon Nest, giving newborn demons a high chance of awakening those powers. These were powers that had been carefully selected and solidified after devouring countless races. Some powers had never appeared before and were related to what was devoured. For example, if the demons devoured a world and race skilled in solar power, they might develop sun-related divine abilities.
Particularly after completely occupying a world and devouring its entire spirituality, there was a high probability that the Demon Nest would produce a new demon race with terrifying new talents.
But because of this method of growth, demons generally didn't experience the massive gap between cultivation rank and law comprehension that humans did.
For instance, Meng Tianqi—at the Void Refinement stage, he had achieved the Law Resonance only possible at the Unity stage!
Once they faced such an enemy who transcended their limits, the demons would be at a massive disadvantage in the World-Domain Battlefield—unless there was a demon in that sector whose divine ability power was also comparable to the Unity stage. But the probability of that was extremely low, far lower than a human cultivator transcending their rank.
Even if such a demon appeared, it would likely be in the Saint-grade demon battlefield of the Unity stage. The Unity and Mahayana stages were where the most terrifying demonic foundations lay, containing demons that could make the entire universe tremble! The Void Refinement demons were many, but they were far from representative of the demonic race's true strength.
The cultivation world's terror came from countless years of accumulated civilization and knowledge, combined with unique talents to produce existences that transcended their limits—this was a specialized advantage of the cultivation civilization, where generations of heritage pushed individuals to the extreme.
In the other two sectors, after the Little Stone Spirit slew the Void-Devouring Fiend, the battle held no more suspense. It quickly hunted down numerous demons. As the demons died, the world nodes belonging to the Demon Realm began to emerge.
At this point, the outcome was decided. The Demon Realm's world nodes were quickly shattered by the Little Stone Spirit. One Void Refinement battlefield was finally won!
However, in Ji Qingyue's sector, she encountered trouble once again.
After hiding and recovering from her wounds, she began her path of slaughter, protected by her Myriad Laws Floating Cup domain. Originally, with the amplification of the Myriad Law Celestial Physique to her concealment arts, she could have stayed hidden until the end of the battle, but she didn't do so.
If it were just about staying alive, she had already lived long enough. The two times she had nearly fallen into Qi Deviation were because she had harbored a death wish.
When one is a low-level cultivator, they seek longevity. But once they truly gain a long life, they realize that without a powerful Dao-heart to support them, they will eventually collapse. Such examples were common in the cultivation world. Only after truly experiencing it did one know how boring living a long life could be. Sometimes, death was a relief.
Only a sufficiently strong Dao-heart and a deep obsession with the path of immortality could support a cultivator in moving forward and breaking their limits.
Ji Qingyue had once been the most talented Void Refinement cultivator in the Star-Sea, but her Dao-heart's stability was nearly at the bottom. This problem had plagued her for countless years.
But things were different now. she had a strong enough obsession and a clear goal, which was the foundation of her relentless progress.
To just "survive" held no meaning for her.
"Sweeping across this entire Void Refinement battlefield is only the first step of my return to the Star-Sea. If I can't even do this, I shouldn't think about what comes after."
"The Star-Sea World gave me the rare Myriad Law Celestial Physique and let me wander in confusion for countless years; perhaps it was all for this day."
"It is time to return to heaven and earth."
Ji Qingyue suddenly had an enlightenment. This was perhaps the first step of her "joining with the Dao," rather than just relying on her powerful talent to soar. A physique had its limits; only a powerful true soul could pilot the great ship of the physical body through the endless, crashing waves of the Dao.
It was for this reason that even though she had found the path to Unity, she still chose to risk battle.
Initially, her slaughter went smoothly. With the near-total lack of weaknesses afforded by her physique, she swept through every demon she met—until she encountered a bizarre demon composed of blue lines.
A terrifying, lethal crisis she had never felt before suddenly erupted in Ji Qingyue's heart!