But facing Lei Dong's Eye of Samsara, these residual consciousnesses, severed from the Chaos Spiritual Qi and the Origin Essence, were not the peerless experts who had managed, either by luck or by strength, to evade the Eye of Samsara back then.

They were now merely lingering obsessions, overflowing with resentment and malice. Their physical forms had already collapsed and exploded, utterly pulverized, and even their consciousnesses were completely worn away by that world-shattering force. All that remained were mere vestiges of malevolence.

The drawing power of Lei Dong's Eye of Samsara sucked them in as they instinctively tried to flee, pulling them into the vortex, shattering them one by one, turning them into nothingness, granting them true release.

What astonished Lei Dong was that from those resentments, he could barely refine a trace of the Chaos Origin Essence. This truly surprised him beyond measure, as the Chaos Origin Essence was precisely what he lacked the most. Although the amount refined from each malevolent consciousness was minuscule—only a trace, a wisp—far less than that from a complete expert’s soul, these resentments were numerous, appearing as an endless, surging ocean. In the Sea of Chaos, the countless resentments stirring up the Void Tides were innumerable.

In that brief moment of devouring just now, Lei Dong had consumed no fewer than several dozen resentments, large and small. Overjoyed!

Temporarily storing the excess Chaos Spiritual Qi and Origin Essence in his Sea of Qi, Lei Dong opened his mouth and inhaled again, absorbing vast amounts of Chaos Spiritual Qi and resentments. Furthermore, within this endless Sea of Chaos, there were even traces of the natural Chaos Origin Essence. However, all those Origin Essences had been tainted by the resentment and malice. For the Supremes, spending immense effort and time to purge the pollution from those scant traces of Chaos Origin Essence was simply not worth the trouble.

Supremes would occasionally venture into the Sea of Chaos, hoping to chance upon a complete Chaos Origin Essence. This was not impossible within this domain. Over long stretches of time, the resentment lingering within some Origin Essences would gradually dissipate amidst the turbulent washing, eventually condensing into a complete and pure Chaos Origin Essence. Yet, the probability of this occurring was minuscule, and the Sea of Chaos was unimaginably vast. Even spending a million or ten million years might not yield a single piece. Demon Emperor Yan Chixing, however, was exceptionally fortunate to have obtained two—one used to perfect the Chaos Soul-Devouring Pagoda, and the other gifted to Ji Ziyan, without which how could Ji Ziyan have cultivated to the Quasi-Saint level?

Moreover, even Supremes, lingering too long in the Sea of Chaos, could not avoid accumulating bothersome resentment and malice, and would face various dangers. But for Lei Dong, these things were like an infinite treasure trove. Any resentment or malice could be instantly shredded by the Eye of Samsara's grinding force.

Not only that, Lei Dong was temporarily safe. Neither he nor the Azure Dragon Emperor feared the Void Tides in the Sea of Chaos anymore, as both could continuously devour the abundant Chaos Spiritual Qi everywhere, rapidly converting it into Chaos True Essence to replenish their expenditure. As long as they could barely withstand the initial onslaught and avoid being instantly killed, they could swim freely in this ocean like fish, unrestrained. After several decades here, the Azure Dragon Emperor still hadn't caught up to Lei Dong. In this environment, their situations were similar, making pursuit impossible. Their only difference was that Lei Dong’s absorption remained untainted, while the Azure Dragon Emperor’s descent into demonic influence grew more severe the further he went. Fortunately, he was already somewhat mad to begin with and didn't mind accumulating more ailments.

Ji Ziyan and Ji Shuangshuang, after several attempts at persuasion, seeing Lei Dong go his own way while seemingly unaffected by the corrosive stimuli of resentment, gradually fell silent, accepting in their hearts the reality that Lei Dong was an anomaly.

Day after day, year after year, one pursuing and the other fleeing, they roamed back and forth within the Sea of Chaos. A thousand years flashed by. Travel here, of course, could not compare to that in the Boundless Void. Though a millennium had passed, the distance covered was far less than in the preceding decades. Even so, they had explored a significant portion of the Sea of Chaos—at least one percent of the periphery, traversing it repeatedly. Lei Dong was self-aware enough to know that the deeper regions were far more violent, so he dared only linger near the edges.

A thousand years was enough to exhaust even a Supreme, yet these two freaks persevered. The Azure Dragon Emperor’s aura grew stronger and increasingly violent. Lei Dong’s aura also intensified, but he became progressively calmer and more collected. This thousand-year chase had brought immense benefits to Lei Dong. During this period, he devoured countless amounts of Chaos Spiritual Qi, constantly replenishing his reserves, and using the surplus to temper his being. The significant drain required to maintain the Chaos Indestructible Shield and high-speed travel meant Lei Dong was perpetually engaged in frantic cultivation. His rate of advancement was many times faster than during normal closed-door retreats. His meridians, body, and soul were tempered and grown daily, pushing him steadily toward the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm, stepping firmly toward the Supreme realm.

Furthermore, the Chaos Origin Essence he acquired was innumerable. Thanks to the contributions of countless resentments, Lei Dong could accumulate one piece of Chaos Origin Essence every few months. While this pace wasn't as fast as having Void Integration-stage experts constantly feeding him, in truth, such experts were rare in this world. Following the great calamities, the total number of Void Integration-stage experts across the Three Realms could certainly not exceed a thousand. Even if there were a thousand, how much would Lei Dong gain from devouring all of them?

However, in this mere millennium, Lei Dong had collected no less than three thousand pieces of Chaos Origin Essence from this Sea of Chaos. Out of annoyance toward Ji Ziyan and her mother, and only out of a desire to protect their lives for his master, Yan Chixing, Lei Dong refrained from gifting them the Origin Essence for their cultivation, absorbing it all himself. Imagine, if three thousand pieces of Chaos Origin Essence were gradually devoured and assimilated by Lei Dong—what terrifying heights would his innate aptitude and potential reach? Although further along, each piece of Chaos Origin Essence yielded less incremental growth to his aptitude and potential, the sheer quantity made up for it. It was absolutely certain that purely based on innate aptitude and potential now, Lei Dong far surpassed any Supreme in the Three Realms. Since the beginning of this current era of creation, even all the Three Realm Supremes combined could never have gathered the equivalent of three thousand pieces of Chaos Origin Essence.

This was a miracle, Lei Dong's miracle. The Sea of Chaos, coupled with the Eye of Samsara, allowed Lei Dong to create a miracle. The only slight regret was that at his current level of devouring Chaos Origin Essence, absorbing each piece yielded almost no significant change to his aptitude anymore; if there was any change, it was likely only an infinitesimal degree. But Lei Dong continued to devour it. Not only was it for current survival, but he also needed it to save his wife and child. He knew almost nothing about the true power of the Matriarch of All Life, that ancient monster; to increase his chances of success, he had to make himself stronger. Lei Dong certainly did not want to fail at the most crucial moment due to being just a tiny bit short on strength, leading to irreversible loss and lifelong regret.

As Lei Dong continued to evolve, strengthen, and adapt, he decided to venture deeper. His current strength had almost reached an absolute bottleneck; breaking through would likely not be achievable in a short time simply through massive influxes of Chaos Spiritual Qi and Essence. He set his sights on the legendary Heart of Chaos. No longer willing to circle the perimeter, Lei Dong headed directly toward the Heart of Chaos. Beyond the absolute progress in cultivation and strength, Lei Dong's Ghost Shadow Escape Technique and Chaos Indestructible Shield were also undergoing continuous tempering, advancing by leaps and bounds. Imagine, a thousand years of constant, non-stop tempering in such an extremely harsh environment naturally made them far superior to when he first entered. At this point, Lei Dong's Chaos Indestructible Shield could last for at least the time it takes an incense stick to burn down even without replenishing True Essence, and the Ghost Shadow Escape Technique allowed him to swim like a fish amidst the rampant, savage Sea of Chaos. His Chaos Art was also constantly honed, gradually maturing and becoming fully integrated. It was likely the first time in history that two such rare freaks had so thoroughly played with and teased a forbidden zone of the Supremes.

Ji Ziyan and her daughter, constantly swept along by the anomalies of Lei Dong and the Azure Dragon Emperor, had grown numb to their antics. Fortunately, their cultivation was not weak, and they were not ordinary mortals; otherwise, remaining stationary for a thousand years would have worn them down to death.

Because they stopped circling and began heading into the deeper parts of the Sea of Chaos, various dangers suddenly arose: the increasingly brutal Void Tides, Chaos Vortices, and spatial turbulence, along with temporal fragments. Most significantly, a powerful form of resentment appeared—the lingering obsession of Great Experts from countless past generations, likely the fixation of beings at least at the Quasi-Saint level. In the Sea of Chaos, these resentments had actually cultivated into Chaos Resentful Spirits, hovering like monstrous beasts within the Void Tides. The moment they sensed any living being entering, they would immediately shriek and pounce, ready for a fight to the death.

Lei Dong's strength was considerable, so he wasn't overly fearful of these things; after some entanglement, he could always dispatch and devour them, gaining considerable benefit. However, occasionally, an exceptionally formidable one would appear, nearly causing Lei Dong a great loss, forcing him to flee in disarray. It was no wonder that even Supreme-level experts stood a high chance of danger here—it wasn't just due to the tides and vortices, but also the extremely powerful Chaos Resentful Spirits. Those Chaos Resentful Spirits might have been peerless experts or even fallen Supremes in their previous lives, or perhaps they were inherently weak but grew stronger continuously within the Sea of Chaos.

The Azure Dragon Emperor also encountered trouble; two powerful Chaos Resentful Spirits had entangled him.

...To be continued.