Apocalypse: Why did you provoke her? She's a cultivator.

Chapter 163 There's no point in keeping it.
If she knew the upgrade requirements, could she make those requirements complete quickly?
Would this shorten the time frame and allow the world to upgrade sooner?
"What do you want to do?!" The ball of light instantly became alert, and the three-colored streams of light on its surface exploded, like a cat with its fur standing on end. "I'm telling you! The world's upgrade must proceed naturally!"

From the fission of laws to the fusion of origins, every step must be done according to the rhythm set by the Heavenly Dao, and absolutely no human intervention is allowed!
If you try to force an acceleration, or disrupt the process of the forces reaching equilibrium..."

Its voice suddenly rose, filled with terror: "The entire world will collapse due to the energy imbalance! At that time, heaven and earth will shatter, spiritual energy will be depleted, and all living beings, including me, will turn into nothingness! Completely disappear!"

Ye Qiumian lowered her eyes to look at the trembling ball of light in her palm, and the fierceness that had arisen from her eagerness subsided somewhat.

She naturally knew the consequences of forcibly interfering with the rules of the world; no cultivator could be indifferent to the concepts of cause and effect.

If one goes against the way of Heaven, one will eventually be devoured by Heaven and perish both in body and soul.

She just... desperately wanted to know if there was a faster way.

Ye Qiumian glanced at the ball of light, her tone returning to its usual indifference.

His tone, however, carried an unwavering firmness: "I won't interfere. I just want to know what the final conditions for upgrading are."

The light in the orb flickered a few times, and the clear voice weakened, carrying a clear hint of evasion: "I...I don't know. Only the Heavenly Dao of this world knows such core secrets. I am just...just a wisp of spiritual consciousness derived from the Heavenly Dao, and I have no authority to know these things."

"Ah."

A sneer escaped Ye Qiumian's lips, carrying undisguised mockery.

She looked down at the flickering light in her palm, her eyes sharp as knives.

It was as if one could directly penetrate that hazy halo and see through all the hidden guilt within.

"Don't know?" She slowly raised her finger, her fingertip lightly touching the spiritual energy shield, stirring up a circle of fine light patterns. "I think you do know, you just don't want to say."

The ball of light shrank abruptly, as if its secret had been exposed. Its voice suddenly rose, and it said with a fierce but weak tone, "I really don't know, don't make wild guesses!"

"Nonsense?" Ye Qiumian sneered, the chill in her voice almost tangible. "Of all things in this world, what else could know the movement of the world's origin, sense the process of upgrading, and even be trapped by me with my Mahayana cultivation without being harmed at its core... besides the Heavenly Dao of this world itself?"

She paused, her gaze fixed intently on the light: "You dare say you aren't?"

"I'm not!" The ball of light exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, bursting out with a ring of three-colored light, and denied it urgently, "I am merely a messenger of the Heavenly Dao! A manifestation of the laws! Not the Heavenly Dao itself!"

His vehement denial only confirmed Ye Qiumian's suspicions.

Ye Qiu Mian stopped arguing with it, her eyes darkened, and she tightened her grip on the spiritual energy shield.

The layer of spiritual energy that was originally just binding it instantly became as sharp as a blade, squeezing towards the core of the light cluster.

"Well--!"

The ball of light let out a painful groan, and the chaotic light twisted violently, as if it would be crushed by this force at any moment.

It could clearly sense that its connection with the origin of the world was about to be severed by this domineering spiritual energy.

That fear of imminent collapse instantly seized its consciousness.

“Since you are not,” Ye Qiumian’s voice was as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth, “then keeping you around seems to be of no use.”

"No, no, no!" The ball of light panicked completely.

The light flickered like a candle in the wind, all its previous stubbornness and vigilance vanished, leaving only desperate pleas for mercy.

"I...I was just joking, don't take it seriously! I admit, I am the Heavenly Dao of this world!"

I know the conditions for upgrading! Let me go first!

The tightening of the aura barrier stopped.

Ye Qiumian looked at the completely withered ball of light in her palm, its luster dimmed considerably, a hint of triumph flashing in her eyes, but no smile.

Trying to play these tricks on her is too naive.

The pressure of the aura shield eased slightly, and the ball of light was finally able to exhale smoothly, in that crisp sound.

Gone are the previous excuses; only genuine helplessness remains.

"The conditions for upgrading... are actually very simple."

It paused, its halo undulating slightly, as if it were organizing its words: "When this world split apart, two primal forces emerged. One is 'life,' which attaches itself to human ability users and can absorb the new spiritual energy between heaven and earth; the other is 'destruction,' which is hidden inside zombies and grows stronger by devouring life force."

"These two forces are two sides of the same coin, like yin and yang giving birth to each other." The voice of the Heavenly Dao deepened. "We must wait until the extreme of 'life' can bear the circulation of spiritual energy above level nine, and the end of 'destruction' can also give birth to a rule-based entity that surpasses the Zombie King."

Only when these two forces restrain each other like gears can the world's rules reach a balance.

At this point, its light swayed listlessly, its tone full of frustration: "But what about now? Human ability users are fighting fiercely among themselves. The Eastern Base and the Western Alliance have been fighting for three years over a special energy source. There are only a dozen or so ability users above level nine in total, and they are still wary of each other and unwilling to join forces to break through."

The situation is even worse with the zombies. The high-ranking zombie kings are only concerned with devouring their own kind and seizing territory; they have no interest in delving into the deeper rules.

"What can I do?" Tiandao's voice was tinged with grievance. "I can't just personally step in and force them to cultivate, can I?"

Now we can only watch as these two forces get stuck at the level nine bottleneck, and the world's upgrade progress bar seems to have frozen...

Ye Qiumian's fingertips twitched slightly, and her eyes deepened.

Two forces of life and death, the bottleneck of level nine, and the internal strife between humans and zombies...

She looked down at the ball of light in her palm that was still sighing, and a very faint smile appeared on her lips, carrying an undeniable meaning.

It seems that if the world is to upgrade faster, someone needs to give it a push.

The halo of light dimmed again, as if it had remembered something upsetting.

His rambling complaints were filled with resentment, and his voice even sounded a little like he was crying: "And another thing... Zheng Shuxue, the chosen one of destiny I finally selected, was such a good prospect."

She possesses healing and spatial abilities, and was originally the key to helping humanity break through to the ninth level.

And what happened? You just killed him without warning!

Speaking of Zheng Shuxue, the ball of light suddenly swelled up a size, and the flowing light on its surface throbbed as if it was trying its best to suppress its anger.

Its gaze toward Ye Qiumian was blatantly hostile.

But his gaze swept over the spiritual energy shield that was tightly wrapped around him, and Ye Qiu Mian's seemingly casual hand that could crush it at any moment.

That spark of anger vanished with a "poof," leaving only a stifling sense of frustration with nowhere to vent.

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