Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 20 Ling Xuan, Congratulations on Your Fortune (Two Chapters Combined, 5000 words)
Using the force of the recoil, Ling Xuan flipped in the air, flames surging around him. He gripped the three-pointed double-edged sword tightly with both hands and, like a bolt of crimson-gold lightning, slashed down towards the giant bear's neck.

The giant bear raised its head, opening its gaping maw large enough to swallow a city. Dense, earthy-yellow energy gathered in its mouth, forming a sphere of earth a hundred meters in diameter. With an aura that could crush the heavens, it crashed towards Ling Xuan.

The earthen ball collided with the fiery blade with a loud "boom," and the energy surge spread like a tsunami.

Flames intertwined with earthy yellow light, heat waves and dust blotted out the sky, purple moss within a kilometer radius was instantly vaporized, and glowing vines were reduced to ashes in the energy storm.

As the light dimmed, Ling Xuan landed steadily on the ground, and a deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on the giant bear's neck, with blood flowing like a waterfall.

The giant bear was completely enraged. Its blood-red eyes were filled with killing intent, and the earth elemental energy around its body frantically condensed, transforming into nine materialized earth bears that coiled around its massive, mountain-like body.

"Those with thick skin and tough flesh can try this move of mine." Ling Xuan said calmly, casually putting the three-pointed double-edged sword into his world ring.

He slowly raised his right hand, flipped it over, and in an instant, the laws of heaven and earth trembled violently. The entire cloud layer was as if torn apart by an invisible giant hand, revealing the dark and deep void.

A massive black hand, thousands of meters long, descended from the center, radiating a chilling aura of power.

"Void Mahamudra!"

The handprint, as black as ink, blotted out the sky and slammed down on the giant bear with overwhelming force.

Sensing this earth-shattering blow, the giant bear roared to the sky, and the nine earth bears roared in unison, rushing towards the giant handprint in the void.

Rumbling--

The impact sounded like the collapse of heaven and earth. The nine ferocious earth bears shattered into pieces under the giant handprint, turning into dust that filled the sky.

The power of the giant handprint remained undiminished, continuing to press down on the giant bear.

The giant bear struggled to raise its arms, trying to block the fatal blow, but its resistance seemed so insignificant in the face of this earth-shattering power.

With a mournful cry, the giant bear's massive body was smashed into a pulp, blood and bits of flesh splattering all over the ground, a truly shocking scene.

"This Void Handprint is indeed powerful. With my stellar-level power, I could easily kill a cosmic-level monster."

He has only cultivated the Heaven-Covering Technique to the fourth level, which is not enough to increase his combat power.

He just used the Void Great Handprint with his stellar-level power.

"It has the form but not the substance; the Great Emperor's killing techniques are far more powerful than this." In the original core world, the Void Mirror deity sneered.

Ling Xuan scratched his head, a simple and honest smile on his face. He didn't argue at all, but instead respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Please don't hesitate to give me your guidance, senior."

"Of course I'll teach you. Otherwise, as the Emperor's only successor, if you use the Void Secret Technique terribly, it will damage the Emperor's reputation."

Under the guidance of the Void Mirror deity, Ling Xuan began a month-long seclusion to comprehend the truth.

During this month, Ling Xuan was like a tireless warrior, traversing various parts of the secret realm by day, hunting down mission targets and collecting rare materials; at night, he immersed himself in the enlightenment of the "Void Scripture," constantly trying to comprehend the laws of space with the help of the Void Mirror.

Puff helps him pilot the spaceship to explore secret realms, waking him up when they encounter something good, and preventing the probe from encountering powerful beings in advance.

On this day, Happy Puff found something good again. "Master, Master, I found a Spirit Crystal Core!"

Ling Xuan quickly finished his cultivation and strode out of the cultivation room.

Puff projects a simulated scene from the outside world. In the scene, deep in a valley entwined with vines, a spirit crystal core the size of a millstone floats in the void. The runes flowing on its surface resemble a cascading galaxy, and the faint halo it emits dyes the entire valley into a hazy purple mist.

"This is a good thing! This must be the most valuable item we've found on this trip!" Ling Xuan's eyes burned with excitement, and his breathing became rapid.

Puff unfolded the life fluctuation map of the detector: "Master, but there are many demonic beasts lurking around, and there may be some danger. There are several cosmic-level demonic beasts around, and a human domain lord is rushing this way."

"They didn't spot us, did they?" Ling Xuan asked, staring at the data.

"Don't worry, Master. The Crimson Flame is no ordinary D9-class spaceship. Its detectors are also extremely advanced. Puff is confident that she can block the other party's signal." Puff patted her chest, her tone confident.

"That's good."

Like a fallen withered leaf, the Crimson Flame silently landed in a large crater at the edge of the valley.

The moment the hatch opened, damp air carrying the scent of humus rushed in. Ling Xuan took a deep breath and, after confirming that there were no demonic beasts around, stepped out of the hatch.

The closer you get to the depths of the valley, the heavier the air becomes.

The dewdrops condensing on the vines shimmered with an eerie purple light under the glow of the spiritual crystal core, moving undulating without wind, their rustling sounds interspersed with the subtle grinding of bones.

Ling Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. He felt that something was wrong. Where there were treasures, there would be ferocious beasts guarding them, but this place was eerily quiet.

He gripped the Vulcan Blade in his hand, ready to strike at any moment, while simultaneously communicating with the Void Mirror within the Origin Core.

As he rounded a moss-covered boulder, the sight before him made him gasp – the Spirit Crystal Core was just thirty meters ahead, suspended on a naturally formed stone platform, its faint halo spreading like ripples, coating the surrounding vines with a dreamlike hue.

However, before he could take the next step, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled slightly.

Alarm bells rang in Ling Xuan's mind, and he wanted to retreat, but it was too late.

With a deafening roar, the ground bulged violently, and a gigantic maw covered in sharp teeth burst forth from the earth. Its dark blue scales gleamed with a cold metallic light, and its bony spurs crackled with eerie blue lightning.

The gaping maw emitted a nauseating stench, and Ling Xuan could even see the writhing chunks of flesh inside the giant lizard's throat.

"Holy crap!" Ling Xuan's pupils shrank sharply, and he instantly activated the Great Void Technique, disappearing into the void like an ink droplet merging into water.

The monitor lizard's teeth grazed his clothes and bit down, the powerful bite force carving a deep trench in the ground, sending stones flying.

Ling Xuan traversed the void rapidly, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and cold sweat trickling down his back.

When he reappeared thousands of meters away, the detector on his arm flashed red light wildly, and a piercing alarm sounded—it was actually a world lord-level monster!

"How could this be..." Ling Xuan muttered to himself, his back instantly soaked in cold sweat. Memories flooded back like a tide, the sudden attack during his coming-of-age ceremony was exactly the same as this moment.

The monsters approached them without warning, and were only detected by the detectors after they launched their attacks.

"Master, I'm sorry." A soft, tearful voice rang out. Puff's eyes reddened, her ears drooped, and her tail hung limply behind her. "It's because Puff couldn't detect it. Puff is so useless..."

Ling Xuan reached out and ruffled her hair, laughing, "Silly girl, it's not your fault that this monster can block detection. I think there must be some secret behind it."

At this moment, the monster that had just been there also noticed Ling Xuan, its cold pupils filled with killing intent.

"Let's go." Ling Xuan quickly returned to the Crimson Flame, preparing to pilot it away.

"Roar~" The speed of the Lord-level monster was extremely fast. In an instant, it crossed the short distance. Its blood-red maw opened, ready to swallow the entire spaceship in one gulp.

"Master, what should we do? The Crimson Flame is no match for this monster's speed."

"You beast, since you're courting death, don't blame me for being impolite." Ling Xuan was furious when he saw that the other party wouldn't let him go unless he killed him.

"Please, senior, make a move." He communicated with the Void Mirror within his primordial core.

In an instant, the entire world seemed to be manipulated by an invisible giant hand, and all the light instantly twisted and bent, converging towards where Ling Xuan was.

The once azure sky was instantly shrouded in darkness, within which lightning bolts danced wildly like serpents. These were no ordinary lightning bolts; each one carried an ancient and weathered aura.

A jet-black bronze mirror covered with ancient Dao patterns slowly floated out from Ling Xuan's body.

The mirror is simple and unadorned, covered with obscure and difficult-to-understand runes. These runes seem to be alive, each containing the profound truths of the void.

The moment the Void Mirror appeared, an ancient, vast, and boundless aura surged and spread out. Wherever it went, space crumbled like fragile paper, revealing bottomless, pitch-black spatial rifts. Endless void turbulence roared out from within, but as it approached the Void Mirror, it was tamed by a mysterious force, slowly rotating around the ancient mirror to form a huge vortex composed of void power.

This is the supreme imperial might, a terrifying power that forces all things in the world to prostrate themselves in worship.

Under such terrifying pressure, the world lord-level demon beast trembled violently, its hard scales stood up, and golden-red blood seeped from the gaps.

It mustered all its strength and let out a dying roar, the sound waves rolling, but when it touched the imperial might emanating from the Void Mirror, it was as if it had hit an invisible wall of bronze and iron, instantly twisting and dissipating, leaving only a strange whimper in the air.

The Void Mirror hummed three times, the sound seemingly coming from the beginning of chaos, each sound carrying the power of creation.

"Kid, watch closely. I'll only use it once. This is the true Void Great Handprint." The runes on the mirror shone brightly, and mysterious Void runes detached from the mirror, rapidly condensing and intertwining in mid-air with an extremely profound trajectory.

In the blink of an eye, the outline of a gigantic hand that blots out the sky took shape in the void.

Runes flickered on this palm, each rune like a miniature universe, containing endless stellar power and void laws. It was the Void Emperor's supreme divine power that swept across the past, present, and future—the Void Great Handprint.

"What...what kind of power is this!" Puff's voice was filled with shock and awe, her pink ears trembling violently with fear.

Although she didn't know anything about the Void Emperor, the terrifying scene before her made her instinctively sense the dreadfulness of this power, as if everything in the world would be reduced to dust in the face of it.

The giant handprint in the void, carrying a world-destroying force, slammed down fiercely towards the world lord-level demon beast.

Wherever it passed, space was completely distorted, and the flow of time became chaotic. Everything lost its original order under the power of this giant hand.

The monster struggled frantically, summoning every last bit of strength in its body to try and erect a thick shield of world power to resist. Its eyes were filled with terror and despair, and it roared repeatedly, but all its efforts were in vain.

Before the Void Handprint, the shield that the demon beast had condensed with all its strength was as fragile as paper and was instantly pierced.

The giant handprint struck the demonic beast without any resistance, and a muffled, deafening roar was heard, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing. This sound surpassed all other sounds in the world, causing the very souls of the entire world to tremble.

The monster's massive body was slammed down from the sky, embedding itself deeply into the earth with unstoppable force, creating a bottomless, enormous crater.

Around the crater, the land was cracked in a spiderweb pattern, with fissures stretching to the horizon, as if to tear the entire world apart.

Dust filled the sky and lingered for a long time, shrouding the entire battlefield in chaos.

When the dust finally settled, the monster lay at the bottom of the pit, lifeless.

Its massive body was covered with terrifying cracks, so deep that the bone was visible, as if it had been cut by countless sharp blades at the same time.

Blood gushed out, flowing into a river and turning the surrounding land into a sea of ​​blood. The stench of blood lingered in the air for a long time.

"Speaking of which, your world is quite peculiar, as it has allowed me to remain awake for so long," the deity of the Void Mirror murmured.

"If the Great Emperor could also be in this world, he might really be able to reach the pinnacle of immortality. Time in that world is far too precious."

"Don't worry, senior. A new emperor will soon rise in this world to inherit the great emperor's ultimate techniques, which will also prolong the life of the great emperor," Ling Xuan said.

The Void Mirror remained silent, transforming into a stream of light and returning to Ling Xuan's Sea of ​​Bitterness.

"Uh~ Did I just say something wrong?" Ling Xuan turned around and asked his intelligent life form, Puff.

"Master, the way you comfort people seems a bit like you're taking advantage and then acting innocent," Puff cautiously probed.

"How dare you defy me, Puff!" Ling Xuan 'angrily' flipped his hand and suppressed the poor little Puff under the evil void handprint.

"Master is a tyrant." Little Puff said with tears in her eyes, as Ling Xuan kneaded and squeezed her.

After suppressing the puff, Ling Xuan returned to the valley and took away the spirit essence crystal core.

The sheer power of Void Mirror's attack had already scared away all the competitors in the vicinity.

Once the supreme imperial might was unleashed, no creature dared to approach and test it.

Even the human lords who had previously approached this area quickly left in their spaceships.

He couldn't comprehend the imposing aura they had just displayed.

After retrieving the spirit essence crystal core, Ling Xuan came out again to collect the monster's corpse.

"What is this?" Ling Xuan pulled out a world ring from the corpse of the world lord-level demon beast.

This ring is a space that spans over a thousand kilometers in length and width.

The ring also contains many treasures, including a relatively advanced but somewhat outdated detector.

It's considered high-end because this detector can effectively shield life fluctuations and signals when life is dormant, making it undetectable even by the detectors of the Crimson Flame.

"Outdated" means that the model is too old, and once it is used, a violent energy fluctuation will occur, and the detector will no longer be able to conceal its presence.

It's probably because the materials used were quite precious, but the technology was too primitive.

Ling Xuan glanced at the map and found that the location of the monster was not far from the Ancient God Temple, less than 100 million kilometers away.

"So that's how it is. That beast tide was the work of this beast. He was really cautious, managing not to show himself during the tide. Otherwise, he would definitely not have escaped the death of the immortal elders."

Not only are the corpses of world lord-level demonic beasts extremely valuable, but they also possess a wealth of materials that can be used to craft precious weapons and armor.

Even its meat is highly nutritious, and there are plenty of people buying it.

"Finally, there are still many treasures and materials inside this monster's world ring. They are probably relics left behind by a powerful figure who fell during the ancient war, and were not cleaned up by the human race."

He put the world ring on his hand and thought, "It's nice, it fits perfectly."

"Puff, continue searching this secret realm. I still have a few cosmic-level monsters to kill," Ling Xuan ordered, then continued to inspect his spoils.

That spiritual crystal core was very large, a full square meter, enough for ten people to use.

Ling Xuan took a deep breath and carefully cut a palm-sized piece of crystal from the edge of the crystal core using the Fire God's Absolute Blade.

As soon as I held the crystal, a warm yet powerful force flowed through my palm, as if I were grasping a burst of energy.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, humbly clasped his hands together, and held the crystal core in his palms. He then used his genetic energy to stimulate the surface of the crystal core, allowing its energy to flow along with his own genetic energy.

The crystal core instantly melted into liquid and merged with Ling Xuan's genetic energy, flowing into his body.

But the next second, shortly after the liquid entered Ling Xuan's body, it was expelled and turned back into a small 'spiritual essence crystal core'.

"What's going on?" Ling Xuan asked in confusion, "It can't be absorbed?"

I was absolutely certain that there was nothing wrong with the steps I just took, so where did things go wrong?

Filled with questions, Ling Xuan decided to seek help from outside the venue and sent an email to the temple envoy to ask what was going on.

A short while later, the temple messenger's call request came through.

Ling Xuan chose to accept.

"Ling Xuan, congratulations on your fortune."

As soon as the call connected, he heard a congratulatory message, which startled Ling Xuan.

Fortunately, the temple messenger did not leave any man behind like the old brigade commander had done, sending the rest to him instead.

“Although this spiritual essence crystal core is peculiar, it is not rare in the universe, otherwise our race would not have been able to control it for so long,” the temple envoy explained. “It has an upper limit to its effectiveness. Once it exceeds the upper limit, it cannot be improved. You are in this situation now.”

"I see," Ling Xuan said, suddenly realizing. "Then can I sell it for money?"

"Of course you can, but these spirit essence crystals are extremely precious. You can leave some for your family, and the rest must be sold to your clan first."

Ling Xuan nodded. "Of course, but I don't plan to sell it for the time being."

"Okay, just tell me when you want to sell." The temple messenger hung up the phone.

"Master, we've discovered three cosmic-level monsters," Puff reported.

"Set off."

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(End of this chapter)