Spacetime

Within the Great Dao of Chaos, Black Panther was shattered and killed on the spot. Like a man possessed, Li Hao charged madly toward Tianfang. At this moment, Sovereign Chunqiu looked thoroughly despondent and helpless. In truth, if there were any real way to deal with Tianfang, she would have been more than willing to act. But... it was impossible now. Although her clones were growing, they lacked sufficient energy. There was no way she could make them strong out of thin air. Black Panther had been linked to the Great Dao of Chaos, offering hope of siphoning chaos energy. But now that Black Panther was gone, Li Hao's schemes had come to nothing! All hope vanished in an instant. Right then, Li Hao let out a furious roar: "Chunqiu, don't just stand there dazed! Devour the myriad worlds to strengthen your clones! Have all the Sovereigns help you swallow the energy of the myriad worlds..." Chunqiu's heart stirred. That wasn't out of the question. She immediately flew toward the distance. Yet in that very split second, the surrounding space seemed locked down. Engaging Li Hao with one hand while obstructing Chunqiu with the other, the spatial Tianfang spoke with a detached look: "Earlier, you might have had a chance. It is too late now." Killing Black Panther had severed Li Hao's hopes and cast him into despair, which was precisely the outcome Tianfang had been waiting for. He had known long ago that Black Panther had slipped into the Great Dao of Chaos. A rank seven Sovereign merging into the Dao was something he could sense even in the heat of battle. Though Black Panther was exceptionally adept at concealment and Li Hao had manufactured numerous distractions for it, none of it had managed to hide from him. Seeing Li Hao's hysteria now, Tianfang's cold indifference gave way to a faint smile. *Despair is precisely what you need!* A man like Li Hao would never willingly merge unless pushed to utter despair. *Shatter every shred of your pride!* At this moment, the power of tribulation erupted frantically. Having absorbed the Tribulation World, Li Hao wielded the power of tribulation with terrifying might! Chunqiu attempted to break through the spatial barrier, but found herself powerless. Seeing the three men all suppressed, she felt a wave of futility. There was simply no winning this fight! Tianfang had not split into three, but into four! Another clone was stationed inside the Great Dao of Chaos. Black Panther's breakthrough had failed, and now the Silver Moon River connecting to the Great Dao of Chaos was violently trembling, seemingly on the verge of snapping. The Queen had indeed managed to siphon some chaos energy over, but it was a drop in the ocean! After all, she was only rank seven. Moreover, Tianfang's clone sat within the Dao itself, suppressing the power of myriad Daos. What the Queen could extract was a mere trickle, far from enough to satisfy countless clones. "Lingyue!" At that moment, Li Hao's voice turned icy: "Hold on a little longer! Keep the channel open!" With that, he glanced toward the Human King and Su Yu, barking, "Suppress his clones! Pin him down! As long as we buy enough time, Lingyue can help Chunqiu empower all her clones! Time is on our side!" Pin Tianfang down? In the distance, the Human King panted heavily, and Emperor Yu exhaled in ragged bursts. Even though the clones they faced were not as formidable as the one confronting Li Hao, Tianfang's peerless might made him an agonizing opponent. Suppressing him was nearly impossible, but stalling... there was still a sliver of hope for that. Still, relying on Queen Lingyue alone to draw Dao energy... how long would that take? Furthermore, there was another clone sitting inside the primal chaos source. Once that clone intervened and struck the Queen down, the connection with the Silver Moon River would be permanently severed. Tianfang said nothing. He merely watched Li Hao, continuously parrying his lethal strikes, then looked up at the Great Dao of Chaos. Deep within the Dao sat another of his clones: the Chaos Clone. That was his ultimate trump card. All four clones were stupendously strong. With one anchored in the Great Dao of Chaos, Li Hao and his companions would only grow weaker as the battle dragged on, while he could endlessly replenish himself with the primal chaos source. Strictly speaking, he had stood on invincible ground from the very start! That was the true reason for his boundless confidence. How could he not be confident? If all those rank nines had still been alive, mastering the Great Dao of Chaos might have proved challenging. But with their deaths, he was the sole rank nine left within it. Li Hao had severed ties with the Great Dao of Chaos the day he opened the heavens. As for that Queen... a mere rank seven cultivator, utterly frail. Why would he care about her? The power of tribulation enveloped Tianfang. Tianfang frowned slightly as he watched the frantic convergence of tribulation energy. The "Tribulation" divine character was summoning tribulation energy from all directions, conjuring countless bolts of lightning that even materialized into a domain of lightning tribulations! In his final moments, the Lord of Tribulation had not been weak at all. Yet to Tianfang, he had not been overwhelmingly strong either. Of course, this was only one of his clones, and Li Hao's true self was no pushover. At this moment, treading on divine characters and piercing spatial boundaries, Li Hao unleashed a slaughterous might that was indeed difficult to handle. Meanwhile, the despair within Li Hao grew increasingly potent! Seeing that the Queen's extraction was painfully slow and that the Tianfang clone seated in the source seemed poised to strike, Li Hao roared, "Er Mao, replicate the Silver Moon River!" In the distance, Er Mao did not dally this time. Leaping up, Dao power flared around it as a distinct resonance rippled forth. It bolted straight toward the Silver Moon River! The Silver Moon River was governed by Qian Wuliang, who had now reached rank eight. Er Mao was also rank eight; having relinquished Li Hao's flesh and blood, it no longer possessed rank nine power. Still, while replicating the Silver Moon River was extraordinarily difficult, it was not impossible. In an instant, a similar river of Great Dao manifested near the Great Dao of Chaos. It linked to one of Chunqiu's clones on one end, while extending to drape over the Great Dao of Chaos on the other! Deep within the primal chaos source. Tianfang's clone, saturated with boundless vitality, raised an eyebrow slightly. *Er Mao... the Dao of Replication, the core Dao of Zhan. Truth be told, everything Zhan left behind is an exquisite masterpiece.* *Including Er Mao.* Even Great Daos could be replicated at will. As long as Er Mao was strong enough, there was nothing it couldn't replicate. As the second Silver Moon River manifested and adhered to the Great Dao of Chaos, the flow of chaos energy accelerated, pouring toward Chunqiu. Inside the primal chaos source, Tianfang's clone stirred slightly and stepped forward, preparing to walk out. Yet he hesitated for a moment. Li Hao was a man of endless deceit. Young as he was, even Tianfang had to acknowledge his inexhaustible array of tricks and contingency plans. Had it not been for him, no other rank nine would have detected Black Panther infiltrating the primal chaos source. Any other adversary would have met with disaster. Now, Tianfang pondered whether Li Hao had truly exhausted his bag of tricks or harbored an ulterior motive. Were his rage and despair genuine, or feigned? All four of his clones were formidable, but Li Hao's group was not weak either. Li Hao in particular had drawn upon the forces of despair and the will to survive, reshaping his physical body from the source of the myriad worlds and seizing the power of tribulation. Added to that was the Sword of Black Scales, which had devoured boundless desire from countless realms. Taken altogether, Li Hao's current combat power was by no means negligible. By holding the primal chaos source, Tianfang ensured the core remained secure. If he left now... might an unforeseen accident occur? After a split second of deliberation, the clone that had been about to step out suddenly halted. Smiling faintly, he remained stationed within the source ground, steadfast as a mountain. Although Er Mao's Dao of Replication was extraordinary, replication required energy. At Er Mao's current pace and the rate of chaos energy absorption, fully empowering all of Chunqiu's clones would take until the year of the monkey! Chunqiu might grow stronger, but only marginally so. Tianfang's primary concern was whether Li Hao had another scheme waiting in ambush if his clone abandoned the primal chaos source. The primal chaos source served as an energy reservoir, storing the power of the entire primal chaos. If this was lost... even with his supreme might, unexpected mishaps could occur. Having replicated a single Great Dao, Er Mao was thoroughly exhausted. It felt utterly helpless inside. Replicating one was fine, but replicating many... was beyond it. Manifesting a powerful rank eight Great Dao out of nothing was never an easy task. Panting with its tongue lolling out, Er Mao glanced toward the distant Li Hao. Then it looked up at Tianfang's clone stationed inside the primal chaos source. Having spent so much time around Li Hao, it understood his intentions to some degree. Li Hao was hoping to lure out the clone guarding the primal chaos source; otherwise, having it replicate Daos would only amount to a drop in the ocean. If it understood this, could Li Hao not? A man as exceptionally clever as him could not possibly fail to realize it! Panting, Er Mao racked its brains—a rare exertion for it. It usually disliked using its head because it was too tiring, a trait inherited from Cang Cat. Following Li Hao rarely required it to think, anyway. Yet now... Er Mao thought quickly. This couldn't continue. Tianfang was remarkably astute. Though he had hesitated and considered slaughtering the Queen and Er Mao, he had chosen not to move. Luring him out was going to be immensely difficult! "Big Cat!" Er Mao suddenly cried out! In the distance. A massive cat head manifested upon the long saber in the Human King's hands, looking identical to Er Mao, and asked curiously, "What?" The Human King cursed loudly, "We're in the middle of a fight!" *Why are you poking your head out now?!* *Boom!* The black-robed Tianfang erupted in an instant, forcing the Human King back step by step! The Human King was speechless with exasperation! *You foolish cat!* *Why the hell are you answering at a time like this?!* Er Mao yelled, "Give me the Heaven-Peeking Mirror!" Big Cat was taken aback, having no idea what Er Mao wanted it for. Although the Heaven-Peeking Mirror was an Emperor weapon, an artifact of that tier was of little use to anyone at this level. Even so, Big Cat couldn't be bothered to think. Opening its maw, it spewed out countless Emperor weapons. It loved collecting junk, which, while supreme treasures to ordinary folks, were hardly precious to people like them. They were virtually useless in a clash of this magnitude—even its beloved fishing rod had little effect here. In an instant, an avalanche of junk flew toward Er Mao. The black-robed Tianfang attempted to shatter them, but a strike from the Human King's saber intervened. Knowing these artifacts wouldn't do much, Tianfang remained somewhat wary of the core Dao Spirit of Battle Heaven nonetheless. Still, since they had already flown past, he didn't pursue them! Er Mao caught the dilapidated weapons in an instant. Right away, the Heaven-Peeking Mirror radiated a dazzling halo of light. Taking a closer look, Er Mao rejoiced. *Just as I thought!* Inside the Heaven-Peeking Mirror, little fish were swimming about. Crucially, these weren't ordinary fish—they were all like Dao Spirits. Big Cat loved keeping fish, and these fish had once been mighty experts forcibly transformed. Most had been Sovereigns, some of them considerably powerful. A portion of their Daos even pierced through the Great Dao of Chaos, though rather inconspicuously. Er Mao immediately scooped out every single fish. Knowing Big Cat's habits, it had been certain that Big Cat would keep all these little fish inside the Heaven-Peeking Mirror. And sure enough, it had! Instantly! Countless little fish appeared. Er Mao didn't care what they had originally been; it merged them all together in an instant. The little fish in its paws gradually fused into a spherical orb. Resembling... Time! Inside the primal chaos source, the eyes of Tianfang's clone snapped open! His footing trembled slightly as though he were witnessing something inconceivable. His expression shifted, and he moved to step out. A tremor of shock shook his heart. *Is that... Time?* *How is that possible?!* *Impossible!* At that very moment, a ring of light seemed to emerge around Er Mao's body, its eyes tinted with sorrow. "Teacher... I can only call on you..." In an instant, time seemed to reverse! The small star within its paws emanated a faint glow of Time, as if the river of time were flowing backward. Within the star, a faint, discernible silhouette gradually took shape. That figure... Caused Tianfang to momentarily lose his composure. It was him! Zhan! Er Mao, the core Dao of Zhan, had unexpectedly reconstructed a Time Star in an instant, reversing time to pull Zhan forth. How could that be? Time was unique! Li Hao could still wield it, so logically, Er Mao shouldn't have been able to. How could Er Mao do it as well? Tianfang was dazed. *Time isn't unique?!* *That's impossible!* As the phantom gradually materialized, Er Mao cried out in delight, "Teacher..." In truth, Zhan had never been overwhelmingly strong. At his peak, he had only been a rank six Sovereign. Yet Zhan's comprehension of the Dao had reached the absolute pinnacle. If allowed to absorb chaos energy without restraint, reaching rank nine with ease was well within his grasp. That was who Zhan was. More importantly, he was the true Lord of Time. If Zhan truly revived, stepped forth, and drew upon the power of the Great Dao, he could become a genuine peak powerhouse. The expression of Tianfang's clone shifted. Even the spatial clone's expression flickered. Li Hao glanced in that direction, his eyes gleaming, and suddenly laughed: "Good, good, good! Haven't you been waiting for the collision of Time and Space all along? I'll grant your wish! Now that Zhan has emerged, absorbing the power of countless Daos will surely push him to the peak of Time... Tianfang, you won't need us anymore! Let Zhan conduct your experiment with you!" Tianfang gazed at Zhan's phantom in the distance, his brow furrowed. Zhan was indeed the ideal candidate for the collision of Spacetime! Zhan alone would suffice. Li Hao barked, "Chunqiu, channel Dao power to Zhan! Let him reach rank nine at once and run this experiment of absolute spacetime with Tianfang!" "No..." At that moment, Tianfang murmured, shaking his head. "No... this shouldn't be. Time is unique. How could two cultivators wield Time simultaneously? If so, the power of Time would be divided..." Both Li Hao and Su Yu possessed some spatial power, but in comparison, it was trivial—merely the internal spatial paths formed when Li Hao opened the heavens. Yet with Time... Zhan was the originator, and Li Hao was the master. If they met, a catastrophic upheaval might ensue! Tianfang looked at Li Hao, then back at Zhan's phantom, his eyes flickering. Which one should he keep? Zhan... was merely summoned by Er Mao. Was it truly Zhan? He didn't know, and had no way of judging right now. He had mastered myriad Daos, yet Time was the only one he had never comprehended; otherwise, none of this would have been necessary. The next instant, the Tianfang clone inside the primal chaos source finally moved. He began descending along the Great Dao of Chaos. Li Hao's expression twisted. With a roar, he sent the power of tribulation surging upward along the Great Dao of Chaos, barking coldly, "Don't you dare!" Then he snapped, "Chunqiu, what are you waiting for?!" Chunqiu hesitated, but seeing no better alternative, she swiftly flew toward Er Mao. Still somewhat uncertain, she channeled her Dao power toward Er Mao's side. Er Mao looked back at Chunqiu... Catching its gaze, Chunqiu felt puzzled. There was something complex in Er Mao's eyes. It seemed as if it wanted to say something, but swallowed the words in the end. Within the Great Dao of Chaos, tribulation energy surged upward like wildfire. Outside, the three men engaged Tianfang's clones in a bitter struggle. Li Hao was caught in a grueling dilemma, fighting the spatial Tianfang while simultaneously directing the tribulation energy. It was agonizingly difficult! *Crack!* Bloody gashes appeared across his body, carved directly by space itself, blood gushing freely. The spatial Tianfang shook his head slightly. Even with the power of tribulation, matching me alone was difficult. Dividing your strength now makes it utterly impossible! In a flash, he knocked Li Hao back. Meanwhile, within the Great Dao of Chaos, the Chaos Clone delivered a light punch, echoing like the resonance of myriad Daos. The surging tribulation energy below was largely shattered in an instant! Stamping his foot down, the Chaos Clone suppressed the tribulation energy, marching steadily from the depths of the Great Dao of Chaos straight toward Er Mao. Before Er Mao, the phantom wavered. The Chaos Clone was already closing in on the Queen's position. Her face went deathly pale! It was over! The power of tribulation couldn't stop this clone. The moment he descended, she would be the first to die. What should she do? Flee? Fleeing now might still give her a chance, but doing so would forfeit every hope. Without chaos energy being drawn... even if Er Mao materialized Zhan, Zhan couldn't possibly grow powerful out of thin air without an energy source! Right at that moment, Li Hao roared fiercely, "We can't let his clone step out! Are you two still not going to risk your lives?!" In the distance, both the Human King and Emperor Yu sighed softly. *You only know how to push us—what about you?* *Truly... there's no helping it.* In that split second, darkness energy erupted wildly within the Human King. The impurities of heaven and earth surged into his body as if the impurities of the entire primal chaos had been drained in an instant! The long saber formed by Big Cat suddenly swelled into a colossal, orb-like blade. Big Cat's face materialized upon it, looking pained. It was originally the source of Xinwu—or rather, the source of darkness. Forcibly swallowing the surrounding source of darkness and all impurities brought it immense discomfort. Even the black-robed Tianfang opposite him seemed to have some energy drained away, causing the Human King's aura to skyrocket! Without a word of waste, his flesh suddenly collapsed, transforming into a cage! Like a cage! *Within the square inch!* The surrounding space was completely isolated in an instant—this was the Human King's internal world method. His flesh and blood hardened into an impregnable prison. His face pale, no longer joking or cursing, he trapped the black-robed Tianfang within, thrusting that colossal saber straight toward him! ... On the other side. The pages of the Tome of Civilization in Emperor Yu's hand began to flutter down and shatter one after another, as if evolving myriad worlds. His figure grew ethereal, slipping between life and death. A great seal suddenly manifested in his hand! It was none other than the Human Sovereign's Seal once held by the Human Sovereign of the myriad worlds. An aura of the sovereign path rose, and order was abruptly established all around, dispersing boundless power of rules! In the blink of an eye, a world manifested—the realm of myriad worlds. The seal slammed down toward the white-robed Tianfang! Mountains and rivers descended like a brand, woven from countless divine characters, threatening to grind the white-robed Tianfang to dust. Across the Great Dao of Chaos, vast amounts of chaos energy were drawn by Tianfang's clones. The clone inside the chaos shuddered slightly, losing some energy, though the impact was negligible. Paying it no heed, he pressed forward toward the Queen and Er Mao, the Tribulation divine character underfoot firmly suppressed. Seeing things reach this point, all the living beings of primal chaos watching the battle sighed inwardly. It wasn't working! It still wasn't enough. No matter what methods they brought out or how fiercely they risked their lives, every one of Tianfang's four clones was overwhelmingly powerful—none weaker than Li Hao's group, and in fact even stronger. A battle like this was utterly despair-inducing. There wasn't a shred of hope in sight! Chunqiu continued pumping in Dao power, anxious yet helpless. The absorption on Er Mao's end was far too sluggish; the phantom barely grew stronger at all. This shattered Chunqiu's hopes. If she couldn't do it, this so-called Zhan couldn't either. It was nothing like what she had imagined; he hadn't siphoned vast quantities of Dao power in an instant. Hearing everyone praise Zhan, she had assumed that if he truly emerged, reaching rank nine in a heartbeat would be entirely natural. Instead... he was just a hollow shell? Chunqiu ground her teeth. *He's really just a useless display!* *What a waste of all my expectations!* *You're not even as good as me!* ... Li Hao also wore a look of helplessness. The spatial Tianfang continued suppressing him, but suddenly frowned and glanced toward Er Mao, his eyes flickering. Although this Zhan had absorbed some Dao power, he remained frail. He had not displayed the might Tianfang had envisioned... Tianfang had conversed with Zhan in the past. In his heart, he had always felt that when it came to comprehending the Dao, Zhan was perhaps the only truly peerless one. Hence, he harbored a degree of wariness toward Zhan. And perhaps... an indescribable sentiment. Fear? Or envy? He couldn't say! So the moment Er Mao summoned Zhan, he felt things slipping out of control. He wanted to achieve absolute spacetime, yet he also wanted everything under his absolute dominion! He was accustomed to controlling the board. Li Hao and the others had remained within his grasp, unable to stir up any real waves even now. Yet Zhan's appearance threatened to shatter all of that. That was why his Chaos Clone had intervened. Only... Chunqiu was a rank nine, after all. Having infused Dao power for so long, Zhan's silhouette had barely coalesced... Something was wrong! Right then, Li Hao sneered, "You fell for it!" *Hm?* *There really is a trick?* Even as the spatial clone thought this, a star materialized behind Li Hao—it too seemed to represent the Dao of Time, and upon it stood another phantom! Its aura was vastly more powerful than the one on Er Mao's side! In the blink of an eye, it seemed poised to climb into rank nine, while Li Hao's own aura plummeted rapidly. Staggering backward, he sneered at Tianfang: "Since I cannot defeat you and refuse to let the Human King and the others be merged, why shouldn't I merge myself into Zhan? Let everyone have hope, and leave despair to me!" Tianfang's aura flared with immense power! *So that was your plan?!* Li Hao was the one truly summoning Zhan; Er Mao had merely been a decoy! Tianfang's aura surged dramatically, while the Chaos Clone within the Great Dao of Chaos weakened by an equal measure. *I knew something was off. With Li Hao's cunning, it shouldn't have been that simple!* *I guessed right!* *Still, Li Hao was too naive.* "The Time Star has appeared... excellent..." The spatial Tianfang's aura swelled instantly, a smile gracing his face. *Everything still cannot escape my grasp. Before an absolute gap in strength, your myriad schemes remain futile!* Yet at that very moment... Within the Great Dao of Chaos, the suppressed power of tribulation suddenly transformed into a world. The "Tribulation" divine character manifested instantly, and deep within it... seemed to lurk a dog! The moment he seized the Tribulation World, Li Hao had never fully refined it. Instead, he had handed it to Black Panther, allowing it to anchor a vast amount of its spirit within. The Black Panther crushed within the Great Dao of Chaos had been its physical body and a portion of its spirituality. Yet Black Panther had long ceased to have a true physical body. Its flesh had been destroyed ages ago, merged into the Silver Moon world, and its later body had merely been forged by taking over a chaos beast. Losing it meant nothing; it had long existed between the ethereal and the real, just like Heaven's Will. At this moment, the "Tribulation" divine character morphed into Black Panther. Containing the peak power of Tribulation's world-creation, it fell short of Tianfang's true self and Li Hao's peak combat power, yet the difference was not insurmountable. In a single flash, the divine character opened its maw and clamped down silently onto the primal chaos source clone. Having just had a portion of his power siphoned by the spatial clone, the source clone had an entire leg bitten clean off in an instant! It all occurred in the blink of an eye! Astonishingly fast! Black Panther's eyes were dark and cold, like a hound stalking through the shadows. When its body had been pulverized earlier, it had immediately understood why Li Hao had told it to merge so much of its spirit into the Tribulation World. Having severed the clone's leg in one bite, Black Panther struck out with its paw. In an instant, the entire Great Dao of Chaos shuddered violently like crashing waves as Black Panther unleashed a lightning-fast strike! Resembling... nine-fold overlapping waves! A majestic momentum surged from within Black Panther, stacking countless strands of tribulation energy together. With a sickening crunch, the dog's paw shattered the clone's lower torso completely! Vast vitality gushed forth. Black Panther opened its maw and swallowed it whole. Below, Chunqiu's expression shifted as boundless vitality and Dao power poured into her body, routed through the Silver Moon River and transmitted to her almost instantaneously. It happened too fast! The spatial Tianfang's face altered slightly as he threw a punch at Li Hao. Prepared well in advance, Li Hao instantly transmuted countless flesh and blood into sword intent, executing a slash. A river manifested beneath him—not of Great Daos, but woven entirely of flesh and blood. This river surged violently, instantly painting the surrounding space a bloody crimson. Tianfang's fist shattered the sword intent and slammed into the crimson wall. The barrier rattled violently as countless chunks of flesh burst apart. Concealed behind the wall, Li Hao coughed up blood and retreated continuously, his face ashen! Looking up toward the heavens, Black Panther was ruthlessly ferocious. Biting down once more, it severed the primal chaos source clone entirely! Without looking back, it charged straight toward the depths of primal chaos! It was going to bite the true primal chaos source to pieces! "Hmph!" Sensing that his other clone had been nearly devoured by Black Panther, the spatial Tianfang snorted coldly. Deep within primal chaos, the primal chaos source began to throb violently! *Thump!* *Thump!* The sound of a beating heart echoed out. In that moment, the heart deep within seemed to come alive again. Black Panther had already arrived and clamped down with its jaws... but with a deafening bang, just like with Chaos that day, its teeth... shattered! Disbelief filled Black Panther's eyes! *Impossible!* Li Hao had made so many preparations, and it had even ambushed Tianfang's clone guarding the source. It thought this time would be different from Chaos's attempt, especially after refining the Tribulation World—surely it could bite through this primal chaos source. Yet the seemingly defenseless primal chaos source had withstood its razor-sharp teeth! It had shattered its teeth entirely! Everyone witnessed this scene. Li Hao exhaled, sighing softly. He had anticipated this, yet hadn't expected it to truly be sturdy to such an absurd degree. The fact that Long Zhan had managed to swallow a tiny piece that day was practically miraculous. The Human King and Emperor Yu looked up, looks of regret washing over their faces. It had failed! Having refined the Tribulation World, Black Panther was practically a top-tier existence, yet even an existence like this had failed. The primal chaos source was simply durable beyond measure! The spatial Tianfang chuckled. "The primal chaos source gave birth to and nurtured the entire primal chaos. My clone was merely cultivating there, not guarding it. Li Hao, you were mistaken!" *Did you think my clone was there to protect the primal chaos source?* *No.* *It was simply the most suitable place to cultivate.* He had been reluctant to step out because staying there allowed him to absorb more chaos energy to supply his clones—not because the primal chaos source would be left open to being devoured the moment he departed. Long Zhan had succeeded in swallowing a trace back then only because he had been a dragon soul, not a physical body! A dragon soul was the purest form of spiritual and willful energy. What Black Panther wielded was tribulation energy, an innate power of the Great Dao of Chaos itself. How could that harm the primal chaos source? ... Deep within the primal chaos. Disappointment and dejection showed in Black Panther's eyes. Li Hao had exerted so much effort to ensure success, yet it still wasn't enough! It had failed! Even snapping its teeth had failed to leave a single scratch upon this heart of primal chaos. At that moment, Black Panther recalled what had happened with Long Zhan. Its eyes flickered. Leaping up, it flew toward the primal chaos source once more. An imposing momentum, like an indomitable will, manifested above its head. *"Woof!"* A bark echoed in all directions. If the power of tribulation wouldn't work, then... it would try force! *Force like a hound!* A dark shadow streaked past, pouncing instantly onto the primal chaos source. Joy flared within Black Panther—it seemed to be working! The hound of force opened its maw and bit down onto the source! This time... a faint cracking sound rang out. *Crunch...* It was as though a tiny sliver of flesh had been bitten away. A minute notch appeared atop the heart, and a trace of source energy instantly merged into Black Panther's body. Yet Black Panther kept none of it for itself. Instead, it transmitted it all back to the Silver Moon world, which instantly channeled the energy into Chunqiu's clones! In a single instant, Chunqiu felt at least a thousand clones grow significantly stronger. There was no need to elevate their realm or comprehension; they were all her. In an instant, a thousand clones materialized and merged into her body. Her power surged dramatically! Ecstasy bloomed on her face! *Did it work?!* Yet the next second, a wretched yelp rang out. *Boom!* A thunderous roar reverberated through the entire primal chaos! *Thump, thump, thump...* As if provoked, the heart began beating with ferocious intensity. In that moment of throbbing, the heavens fell and the earth cracked, sending tremors through the primal chaos. Even Li Hao and the others stumbled, while elsewhere, mountains collapsed and worlds quaked! It was as though that single bite had inflicted genuine pain upon the heart. The immense backlash nearly pulverized Black Panther's force, yet the hound gritted its teeth and snapped its jaws shut once more, biting down upon the primal chaos source a second time! Only at this moment did Tianfang's voice carry true emotion for the first time—a trace of genuine wrath: "Li Hao, enough! The primal chaos source is the anchor that consolidates the entire primal chaos. If it suffers excessive depletion and truly shatters... this primal chaos will collapse into absolute extinction!" Only now was he genuinely infuriated. Before this, no matter how much they struggled or counterattacked, even when Black Panther ambushed his clone, he hadn't lost his temper. But seeing that heart throbbing violently, pitted with small gouges left by Black Panther, he was incensed! In an instant, the black-robed and white-robed Tianfangs vanished as though they had never existed, fusing into the spatial Tianfang in the blink of an eye. He would no longer maintain his clones! With three clones merging into one, his aura skyrocketed, returning once more to his prior, terrifying state—powerful beyond belief. Under this unified state, the turbulent Great Dao of Chaos ceased to lose its energy. Ignoring Li Hao, Tianfang vanished, reappearing deep within the Great Dao of Chaos in a flash. Li Hao's face shifted dramatically as he charged forward, shouting, "Black Panther, run!" Tianfang was going to intercept Black Panther. Li Hao, Fang Ping, Su Yu, and Chunqiu all plunged into the Great Dao of Chaos in an instant. Yet Black Panther did not retreat. Instead, it tore into the source with frenzied madness! Bite after bite, boundless Dao power and source energy were devoured like blood, instantly channeled into Chunqiu's body. Behind them, Chunqiu felt herself growing continuously stronger! She looked on in shock. *This dog... is also a demon.* *How can it be so ferocious?!* Black Panther let out muffled, guttural growls. It knew with absolute clarity that only by seizing more source energy could Chunqiu grow stronger and Tianfang be weakened. Otherwise, none of them stood a chance of defeating him. *"Awoo..."* A protective growl resounded as Black Panther lay sprawled atop the violently throbbing heart, like the most vicious of great demons, taking bite after bite until the heart was riddled with gouges. Tianfang's figure flickered repeatedly, materializing near Black Panther in the blink of an eye. "What a wretched beast!" Tianfang was thoroughly enraged now. Looking at the primal chaos source bitten into a mangled, pitted mess by this dog, with immense vitality and Dao power draining away, his calm vanished into fury as he hurled a punch straight at Black Panther! He felt he shouldn't have allowed himself to be provoked by a mere dog, yet the primal chaos source was the very foundation of his supremacy. Even if he shouldn't be angry, he could not hold it back! He had assumed that no matter how strong the dog was, it could never bite through the primal chaos source. Who would have guessed it was a dog capable of wielding force?! Otherwise, like Chaos back then, it should have been utterly incapable of shaking the primal chaos source. And now that he had arrived, the dog didn't even run! A fist silhouette materialized, bearing down directly on Black Panther's true form—the "Tribulation" divine character holding all of its spirit. If this divine character shattered, Black Panther would truly die. It wouldn't be like before, where only a fraction of its spirituality was destroyed. Tianfang struck with absolute intent to kill, showing no mercy whatsoever. Black Panther paid it no heed. It had only one thought in mind: keep biting! The more it bit, the weaker Tianfang became, the stronger Chunqiu grew, and the safer Li Hao would be! It had been nothing more than a stray dog in the mortal realm. Without Li Hao, it might have ended up in a dog meat shop long ago. Without Li Hao, it might have starved to death on the streets. Without Li Hao... even if a normal dog had survived, it would have reached the end of its lifespan by now. In its eyes, Li Hao was always its master—not the King of Silver Moon, not the Marquis of Silver Moon, not the Lord of Time, just its master. A dog was supposed to protect its master. Even if it was beaten to death today, it would bite this primal chaos source to pieces! "How dare you!" From behind, Li Hao let out an earth-shattering roar! A terrifying surge of Time power erupted, as if reversing the flow of time itself. In an instant, that Time power collided with the spatial power. With a thunderous boom, Tianfang's fist imprint dissipated, and Tianfang spun around abruptly! Snorting coldly, a genuine star surfaced at the center of Li Hao's brow, radiating boundless Time power, connected to every cell of his flesh and blood. Reaching out, Li Hao grasped Chunqiu. Startled, she landed beside him. Though remarkably strong now, she offered no resistance, only looking at Li Hao in bewilderment. Even now, she was at a loss as to what she should do. Seeing Li Hao's piercing, icy gaze, she even felt a flicker of dread. Then Li Hao's voice transmitted directly into her ears: "Take me, the Human King, and Su Yu into your clones. The three of us will inhabit three bodies, with you acting as the core. Do you still remember our joint effort when we walked into the past that day?" Chunqiu's heart shuddered! She remembered! *Yet Li Hao had taken charge back then. Why did he want me to lead today?* She had never imagined that Li Hao would make her the core of this battle rather than himself. Why? "The Human King is overbearing, Su Yu is insane, and I refuse to be controlled. If any one of the three of us tries to merge the others, disaster will follow. Tianfang understands nothing of human nature. When three wills diverge, a so-called fusion is a joke! Unless two of us are killed completely, we need someone to balance us out. I have been strengthening you all along precisely for this moment—to harmonize the power of us three. Your clones are true ancient bodies, originating from a single source. Only you can balance our powers..." Chunqiu was dazed. *Am I really that important?!* The next instant, three clones manifested. Li Hao stepped straight into one. Over on the other side, without even exchanging a word with Li Hao, the Human King and Emperor Yu seemed to understand his intent immediately, plunging into one clone each. Countless clones emerged, each inhabited by a Sovereign. As Li Hao unleashed the power of Time, all the clones suddenly became fully linked, connecting everyone like a Myriad Heavens Dao Arena. Li Hao's voice echoed in the ears of every Sovereign: "Follow my commands in all actions! Slaying Tianfang is not impossible! Chunqiu... it's all up to you!" *Up to me for what?!* Before she could finish the thought, Li Hao's bark rang in her ears: "Charge!" In an instant, they traversed the Great Dao of Chaos, appearing right before Tianfang. Tianfang stared blankly for a second, then burst out laughing. Looking at Chunqiu, then at Black Panther still tearing away in the distance, he smiled: "Such a sudden fusion... could this be considered an accidental success?" He laughed! He laughed with genuine delight. Although it differed from what he had anticipated, did this not mean that the power of Time was finally unified? "I never imagined... that in the end, it would be Chunqiu who merged the power of you three... Li Hao, are you afraid to face me yourself?" Li Hao's voice resounded: "Tianfang, you'd better look after yourself first!" "Hahaha! Good, very good..." Tianfang laughed uproariously. Suddenly, before Black Panther, the primal chaos source began to shrink violently. Boundless Dao power drained from the entire primal chaos source, pouring directly into Tianfang's body. Even as he siphoned the source, Black Panther tore at it with savage madness, snatching away Dao power! At this moment, the entire primal chaos shuddered uncontrollably! Not only that, the life sources of countless worlds seemed to be extinguishing, as if the entire primal chaos were plunging into a state of total extinction. A manic gleam surfaced in Tianfang's eyes. *Fine by me!* *Extinction is extinction. If it leads to absolute spacetime, there is nothing wrong with that. And if it ends in failure, why should I care about whether others live or die?* *Crack!* At that moment, the colossal primal chaos source seemed to stop beating entirely. The entire primal chaos fell eerily silent. Even the Great Dao of Chaos began to collapse, unable to sustain itself. Two silhouettes stood clear. Black Panther tumbled downward, landing beside a shattered, battered heart that had now split completely apart. Tianfang's aura grew increasingly terrifying. Meanwhile, vast chaos energy poured into Chunqiu's body, linking more and more clones together in an instant. Chunqiu felt a rush of excitement mingled with deep unease. *Can I really do this?* *To hell with it!* With Li Hao's voice ringing in her ears once more, she pushed all doubts aside. *Perhaps... today, I really can slay Tianfang!* *Boom!* A tremendous power erupted in an instant, met directly by an overwhelmingly formidable burst of spatial power from the opposite side! The entire primal chaos seemed to freeze in that split second. At this moment, the true battle finally commenced. The power of Time and the power of Space twisted even primal chaos itself.