「Sixteen days later, within a great marsh.」

BOOM! A sudden, earth-shattering explosion erupted. A hillock in the Great Marsh abruptly collapsed. The ground caved in over an area several dozen feet wide, and enormous boulders tumbled into the newly formed crater.

Dust filled the air as the earth cracked and split.

A slender figure sat cross-legged in the center of the collapsed area. With eyes closed, he was enveloped in a layer of silver flame.

This Flame erupted from the figure’s forty-eight thousand pores. Like silvery frost and white lightning, it emanated from within, shrouding his entire body. An occasional spark of silver fire would shoot out, seeming to revert all matter it touched back to its origin, transforming it into the purest Chaos Primordial Qi.

RUMBLE!

The ground trembled!

Just then, a boulder weighing several thousand pounds fell from the edge of the collapse overhead.

The figure’s eyes snapped open. The next moment, he shot upward like a silver Sharp Blade. An unparalleled silver light flashed, and in an instant, the descending boulder exploded into pieces.

RUMBLE!

A shower of shattered rock rained down.

A black-clad figure flashed into view, landing atop the ruins.

Qin Feng opened his eyes, a hint of joy in their depths. The aura around him was now surging with power; it was several times stronger than it had been sixteen days ago.

Every inch of his exposed skin shimmered with an indescribable, crystalline luster. It was as if every bit of his flesh and blood had been forged from Vitality and Creation itself.

His black hair cascaded over his shoulders, each strand gleaming as if made of crystal. They pulsed with a terrifying aura—a single strand could slice through a Divine Weapon.

An ethereal and refined Spiritual Radiance emanated from him, making him look impossibly handsome and spirited.

Qin Feng closed his eyes and slowly retracted his aura. The energy that set him apart from others vanished completely.

Dressed in a Black Robe with his hair dancing in the wind, his features were handsome and refined. When he opened his eyes, a silver glint, so sharp it seemed capable of shattering the Void, flashed within them.

He lifted a hand. With a slight movement, the air boomed.

His body flickered, creating sonic booms. He moved like a flash of silver lightning, a Sharp Blade that parted the air. If one focused their vision, they could see the air itself being violently split in two by his indescribably fast figure.

At this moment, Qin Feng’s physical body was so formidable that it was in no way inferior to some Spirit Swords!

His strength was as immense as a Wilderness Fierce Beast, on par with any top-tier Barbaric Beast.

His body had undergone a cataclysmic transformation.

’The Eight Desolates Undying Profound Technique truly is profound. Although I’ve only mastered the first layer, my physique has reached an unbelievable Realm. My bones, meridians, organs, and even my skin have all undergone the ultimate refinement!’

His gaze turned cold. Qin Feng raised his hand, his palm like a sword as it sliced through the air. He clenched his fingers into a fist and threw a punch. A reef more than a hundred feet away instantly shattered into dust.

Excitement filled his eyes, but as he lowered his head to look at the Honglian on his palm, his brow furrowed again.

The vast reserves of pure Essence within the Red Lotus Mark had been completely depleted.

Recalling the process of cultivating the Eight Desolates Undying Profound Technique, Qin Feng’s expression shifted. The memory of his bones, flesh, and meridians dissolving and regenerating countless times still made his heart pound.

Calming himself, Qin Feng looked inward. Inside his Dantian, what seemed like a great furnace had formed. A silvery-white flame, bright as frost and snow, burned fiercely.

The supreme Essence Fire.

This Flame burned using his body’s Qi and Blood as fuel, and it contained the Power of Creation.

In the center of his Dantian, a small, silver sphere floated like a Heaven and Earth Divine Embryo, with nine orifices and eight apertures, gestating endless Profound Mysteries.

This was the Seed of Heaven and Earth that Qin Feng had nurtured.

The Seed of Heaven and Earth was wreathed in a blood-red, savage aura, carrying with it strange energies of slaughter, ferocity, misfortune, and calamity.

It strongly resembled Qin Feng’s Lifebound Star, the Fallen God Star.

The Seed of Heaven and Earth contains a Martial Artist’s Origin Path.

Normally, Qin Feng should have nurtured a Water Attribute Seed of Heaven and Earth, as he walked the Water Origin Path. However, at the critical juncture of his seclusion—while comprehending and refining the Seed of Heaven and Earth—the Lifebound Star Mark in his mind began to act up.

At that crucial moment, the Lifebound Star Mark transformed into a streak of silver light and forcibly merged with the Seed of Heaven and Earth.

The end result was this glittering, silver Seed of Heaven and Earth, wreathed in an ominous, bloodthirsty aura.

This was more like the Star Origin Path!

This Star Attribute Seed of Heaven and Earth radiated an aura of disaster, misfortune, bad luck, slaughter, and all sorts of terrifying energies.

However, Qin Feng could feel that his original Water Attribute power hadn’t vanished. Instead, it had fused with this new aura.

Moreover, Qin Feng could sense that as this strange Seed of Heaven and Earth was nurtured, his connection to the Fallen God Star in the Star River had suddenly grown much stronger.

Vaguely, Qin Feng had a feeling that if he could break through to the Condensing Vein Realm, an unexpected surprise might await him.

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Feng shook his head. Even with his vast knowledge, he couldn’t tell if this change was good or bad. What he could be sure of, however, was that this Seed of Heaven and Earth had far more potential than an ordinary Upper Grade seed.

A flicker of joy appeared as Qin Feng mused, ’The next and final step is to comprehend the three great Profound Mysteries to Perfection, mature the Seed of Heaven and Earth, and finally merge it into my body to break through to the Condensing Vein Realm!’

’But comprehending the three great Profound Mysteries will take more than a day!’

Sighing at the thought, Qin Feng shook his head.

’Hm? Someone’s coming!’

Just then, Qin Feng’s ears twitched, and a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

His gaze swept the surroundings. With a flash, Qin Feng’s body transformed into a black fish, melting into the vast expanse of water and sky.

PSHH! The dark figure merged with the water’s surface like a single drop falling into the ocean, without making the slightest ripple.

Mist rose from the Great Marsh, shrouding it in vapor and clouds. It was a place of perennial tranquility.

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar thundered from half a mile away.

The entire sky seemed to vibrate.

A few dozen breaths later, a streak of light frantically fled in this direction. Its extreme speed tore through the void, making it look like a long, white shooting star.

It was a young woman in a white palace-style dress with a cold and aloof beauty. Her pretty, icy face was deathly pale, her hair bun was in disarray, and her cloud-like tresses were scattered over her shoulders.

The aura flowing from her body revealed her to be an expert of the Second Secret Realm of Meridian Condensation.

The aura she exuded was exceptionally powerful, far surpassing that of an ordinary expert at the Second Secret Realm of Meridian Condensation!

At this moment, she looked utterly disheveled.

Several hundred yards behind the young woman, a jet-black energy suddenly shot into the sky. It moved faster than a Thunderbolt. One or two breaths later, a black gust of wind appeared a hundred yards away, from which a strange, mysterious figure in a black robe gazed coldly at the fleeing woman.

His triangular eyes held a lecherous and venomous glint. He moved at a leisurely pace, like a viper toying with prey it had already cornered, tormenting her step by step.

He raised a hand. A black wind howled, and a beam of black light shattered the void, instantly striking the fleeing white-robed woman in the back of her shoulder.

PSHH!

Her white dress was stained with blood. With a loud bang, the young woman fell like a cannonball, crashing right into the cave where Qin Feng had been in seclusion.

BANG!

Dust flew up as the ground shook.

The young woman lay prone on the ground, unable to get up for a long moment.

She was clearly heavily injured and had lost the ability to resist.

"Little Human Race girl, you’re too weak. The so-called prodigies of your Human Race are pathetically weak in the eyes of us experts from the Barbaric Wilderness. Don’t even think about struggling. I told you that you couldn’t escape. If you’re smart, you’ll obediently submit to me and become my slave girl. I might even make an exception and spare your life!"

A terrifying aura appeared. The black wind flashed, and in the next moment, a bizarre-looking young man in a black robe stood on the ground.

What was frightening was his appearance: he had the torso of a man and the tail of a snake. His face was covered in yellowish-brown scales, his pupils were vertical slits of emerald green, and a head full of writhing snakes spilled out from under his drooping hood.

Beneath the water, Qin Feng’s pupils constricted slightly. ’The Celestial Snake Clan, one of the Twelve Strong Clans of the Demon God Temple?’