Following his gaze to the far end of the cave, he saw an object that resembled a spring.

Vast swathes of green light surged from it, flickering gently like innumerable dancing fireflies.

The green halo rippled softly, adding a strange touch of Vitality to the silent cave.

Occasionally, a mote of light would detach from the main cluster, drift into the distance, and silently pass through the barriers of earth and magma.

The green cluster of light gradually became transparent, impossible to perceive with the naked eye.

Hu Qi was no stranger to these things. In fact, he was extremely familiar with them, for they were the Light of the Soul.

Moreover, this green Light of the Soul was exceptionally pure, free of any impurities—the kind that had been thoroughly cleansed and was ready for reincarnation.

Now that Hu Qi’s perception had spread out to encompass nearly the entire Earth Star, he could naturally see the drifting Light of the Soul flowing toward all sorts of pregnant creatures—humans, various animals, insects, and so on.

Once the Light of the Soul entered their bodies, it signified that the life within had truly come alive.

’The Spirit Realm, the Sea of Sumeru, the birthplace of souls...’

Hu Qi’s eyes flickered.

This spring was the Spirit Realm Sea Eye.

Just as he had guessed, the Spirit Realm Sea Eye was located beneath the magma of the Valley of the Earth Abyss.

After he finished digesting Mother Earth, Hu Qi naturally obtained her memories and learned the location of the Spirit Realm Sea Eye.

Looking at the Spirit Realm Sea Eye, he didn’t approach. Instead, he spread his Power of the Heart and enveloped it.

In his perception, this so-called Spirit Realm Sea Eye was merely a deep pit, five or six meters in diameter and over ten meters deep.

The green motes of light within seemed to originate from another space.

Just then, a clear light suddenly appeared, taking the form of Xuanqing.

"You’re here!"

Hu Qi showed no great surprise at Xuanqing’s arrival.

On all of Earth Star, besides himself, the man before him was the strongest.

He hadn’t deliberately concealed his tracks.

It was only natural for the other man to find this place after realizing he had disappeared.

But this was the same Xuanqing who, just a few years ago, had been unfathomable, unbeatable, and like an Immortal God in his eyes.

Now, in his eyes, Xuanqing was fragile and weak. If he wished, he could kill him in an instant.

Xuanqing looked at Hu Qi. To his senses, the man before him was now like an unfathomable abyss.

The two of them had originally gotten along quite well.

But because of the incident with Ji Wuxing, a rift had grown between them. Xuanqing naturally understood this, but after some thought, he decided there were still things he had to ask.

He just no longer addressed Hu Qi as "young friend," and his attitude was much more respectful than before.

"Sir, Mother Earth is now..."

But before he could finish, Hu Qi cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Just as you saw. Mother Earth is dead. The catastrophe is over."

His tone was flat.

But the words sent a jolt through Xuanqing.

Although he had seen Mother Earth being devoured with his own eyes, whether such a being was truly dead was still open to question.

Now, with Hu Qi’s definitive answer, Xuanqing could finally relax.

"I thank you, Sir, for ridding the Human Race of the great menace that was Mother Earth!" Xuanqing tucked his hands into his sleeves and bowed respectfully to Hu Qi.

Hu Qi glanced at him and shook his head slightly.

"The catastrophe may be over, but for Secret Martial Artists, the true apocalypse is coming. This world is about to enter a period of Primordial Energy depletion. And unlike before, this time it won’t be temporary—it will be permanent."

Hearing this, Xuanqing was struck with horror.

"Sir, are you saying this world will enter a permanent age without martial arts?"

As an existence who had surpassed Refining God, and possessing the Divine Technique Heart Inference from his Inheritance Secret Martial Arts, Xuanqing was naturally able to perceive the subtle anomalies in the world.

But he had merely considered it another receding tide of Primordial Energy.

At most, it would recover after a few hundred or a thousand years.

Similar things had happened before, so it hadn’t drawn his attention.

But now, hearing what Hu Qi said, it seemed the world’s will was about to sever the connection between heaven and earth, completely cutting off the supply of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy.

Only with the existence of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy could a Secret Martial Artist open their Qi Vein Divine Treasure and step into the Qi Dao Grandmaster Realm.

Once Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy disappeared, it would be doomsday for Secret Martial Artists—no, for any Extraordinary being.

No matter how breathtakingly talented one might be, their achievements would be limited.

"That’s right. In as few as three to five years, ten at the most, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy in this world will vanish completely."

Hu Qi said flatly.

After he devoured Mother Earth, he had sensed a shift in the will of Earth Star.

He had been too busy digesting Mother Earth at the time to pay it much attention.

Only now that the digestion was complete did he realize the world’s anomaly.

When he used the Divine Technique of Heart Inference with his current power, what he could see was far beyond anything Xuanqing could.

The entire world held no secrets from him.

He could naturally see the future trajectory of the world.

Perhaps the world’s will had sensed the damage that the Extraordinary inflicted upon the world itself and was preparing to eradicate the problem at its root by sealing off all Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the world fell into a state of complete Primordial Energy depletion.

The potential consequences would be devastating for Secret Martial Artists. It meant their path forward would be completely severed.

At most, they could only reach the peak of a Martial Arts Family.

A Secret Martial Artist of that level would be like a monster to an ordinary person.

But against a well-prepared army, they would face certain death under a terrifying barrage of firepower.

Hu Qi didn’t explain any further.

Xuanqing also knew what would happen when the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy completely faded away.

After all, he himself was a being who had survived from the age of the Miwu Civilization to the present day.

And it was for this very reason that he understood the gravity of the situation.

After exchanging a few more words, Xuanqing took his leave.

Hu Qi paid him no mind, his gaze fixed on the Spirit Realm Sea Eye.

He did not choose to enter immediately. The inherited memories from the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent, along with the recently acquired memories of Mother Earth, made him clearly understand that the Sea of Sumeru was filled with all sorts of dangers.

Now that Mother Earth had been dealt with, nothing in this world could threaten him.

Furthermore, he had yet to convert all the Modification Points he had obtained into personal strength.

Even if he wanted to leave, there was no need to rush.

...

The room was dim, the lights unlit.

Moonlight, like water, streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, casting a layer of silvery frost on the floor.

Hu Qi sat cross-legged, recalling the memories he had obtained from Mother Earth.

As the mastermind behind the destruction of human civilization and the creator of the Black Blood Species, her memories were immense, as vast as a sea of smoke.

For any other Refining God Venerable, digesting these memories would have taken an immense amount of time.

But for Hu Qi, it was nothing special.

He had now mostly sorted through them.

Just as he’d expected, Mother Earth was not a native creature of the Earth Star World.