With the Heavenly Civilization talent being recited, Ye Chen's white hair whipped wildly against the wind, his eyes blazing with an overwhelming, chilling murderous intent. He roared, "Annihilate!" The innate power of the Heavenly Scripture Civilization was infused into this single word, and at the tip of the Sky Crystal Battle Blade, a strange, ancient golden character slowly materialized. Spinning, it tore toward the Electromagnetic Beast!
The sheer oppressive might of the word "Annihilate," carrying a surging, tearing force, enveloped the Electromagnetic Beast head-on, violently shredding and obliterating the surrounding electromagnetic waves.
When Ye Chen felt he was ten zhang from the Electromagnetic Beast, his entire body felt as if he had stepped into a cage of needles; every inch of his skin screamed in agonizing pain, like billions of sharp pins piercing his flesh. If not for his unyielding will, bolstered by the "Courage" enhancement from the Epic Civilization, he might have already suffered a mental collapse and fled.
Amidst this stabbing agony, large patches of Ye Chen's skin sloughed off and died. The life force within him churned furiously, rapidly generating new flesh and blood, restoring his body to wholeness. However, his vitality drained away like flowing water; in mere seconds, tens of thousands of years of lifespan were consumed!
"Die!!"
Ye Chen gritted his teeth and swung down with all his might.
Boom!!
The entire neck of the Electromagnetic Beast was struck by the Sky Crystal Battle Blade, sparking a shower of electromagnetic flares. Fine, purple scales—seemingly indestructible—covered the beast's neck, and only after grinding against the blade for a fraction of a second did they finally crack open.
Swish~
As the Sky Crystal Battle Blade cleaved through the Electromagnetic Beast’s body, sharp electromagnetic waves sprayed out like vital fluid. Ye Chen failed to dodge completely; a stray wave grazed the back of his hand. It instantly burned like searing fire, causing the skin there to necrosis immediately. Worse, the wave penetrated inward, frantically ravaging the living essence of his internal tissue.
Ye Chen felt a surge of alarm. He rapidly mobilized his internal energy, gathering it to surround and extinguish the intrusion, even as he violently retreated, unwilling to linger near the beast.
After instantly pulling back a thousand zhang, Ye Chen didn't dare inspect his wounds. He looked up at the Electromagnetic Beast and saw its neck severed; only a thin thread of skin and scales held the head attached. Just as Ye Chen prepared to launch another assault, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The surrounding electromagnetic waves surged madly towards the beast, coalescing at its neck wound, rapidly knitting the laceration shut. The head, which had been hanging precariously, snapped back into place—vibrant and vigorous, showing no sign of injury.
Ye Chen inwardly started. "Inside the electromagnetic storm zone, this Electromagnetic Beast is in its element. This thing is literally formed from concentrated electromagnetic waves that absorbed the essence of heaven and earth and the spiritual energy of the mountains to gain sentience and thought. To destroy one within this storm zone, one must achieve instant annihilation!"
"However, with my current strength, killing it without activating Blood God Mode is still far from achievable..." Ye Chen tightened his grip on the battle blade, his jaw tight. Gazing at the beast as it shook its head, regained its composure, and prepared to strike, he decisively chose avoidance. He pulled open a Rune Space with his palm and plunged inside.
Back within the Rune Space, Ye Chen knew the situation was critical. He quickly approached the old man of the Green Rune race and urgently demanded, "The extracted genes?"
The old Green Rune man saw the profound solemnity etched on Ye Chen's face after just one outing and felt a jolt in his heart. He stammered, "They are in your cultivation chamber; I have already prepared everything."
Ye Chen immediately proceeded to the cultivation chamber. Upon entering, he saw nine green vials arranged on the table before the alloy bed, each containing a small sample of genetic cells.
Whoosh!
Ye Chen teleported onto the alloy bed. Before even settling in, he seized a gene cell marked with the Ancient Zither Civilization and, through the Naji Style, drew it into his body for refinement.
During the refinement process, waves of tearing pain radiated from within him. Ye Chen grit his teeth and endured, deliberately refraining from using the "Courage" enhancement, forcing himself through purely by willpower.
Time flowed...
One by one, the talents of various civilizations were seized and forcibly melted into his core. As he cultivated, Ye Chen increasingly grasped the profound and mysterious power of the Myriad Heavens God-Melting Art. Such a secret manual was far more tyrannical and terrifying than the Heavenly Dao Scripture!
Forcibly seizing the talents of other races!
To defy the heavens—what an overwhelmingly dominant method!
"If Wanren Xiong from back then still existed today, perhaps none of the formidable experts in the ancient world could stand against him..." Ye Chen murmured to himself, realizing such a powerhouse had fallen during the last Great Sage War. He wondered just how fierce that conflict must have been...
Two days later, Ye Chen had seized and absorbed all nine gene cells, which included cells taken from the arm of Emperor Jinshan. Upon consuming this specific lineage, Ye Chen felt his physical constitution improve slightly, nearly pushing him across the threshold into God Emperor status!
His current physique was at the pinnacle bottleneck of peak Divine Spirit, needing only one final step to achieve God Emperorhood!
Through this process of absorption and seizure, Ye Chen learned that Emperor Jinshan belonged to a Gold Civilization governed by the Jinshan Empire—a noble civilization within that empire, just as the nobles of the Blazing God Empire were people of the Fire Civilization.
Feeling the eighteen streams of energy swirling in his mind, Ye Chen experienced a sense of power unlike any before. After carefully meditating on them, he rose and exited the Rune Ship.
The moment he opened the Rune Space and darted out, Ye Chen noticed the pervasive electromagnetic waves outside were several times stronger than before, causing his brow to furrow. After stabilizing his stance, he swiftly scanned his surroundings. The sight made his pupils contract: near a small hillock, two Electromagnetic Beasts were crouched—one large, one small. The smaller one was unmistakably the same beast he had fought earlier!
These two beasts instantly spotted Ye Chen appearing out of thin air. The small one scrambled to its feet with a clumsy roll, baring its teeth at Ye Chen, its gaze filled with fury and savagery. Purple lightning flickered among the hairs on its body, and a furious aura saturated the surrounding several kilometers.
Sensing the killing intent in the air, Ye Chen’s frown deepened. He flipped his hand, drawing the Sky Crystal Battle Blade, and activated the Blazing Mystery Canon and the Nine Palaces Secret Manual, rapidly unleashing the talents of the various civilizations within him.
"Hate Heaven Civilization!"
"Epic Civilization!"
"Ancient Zither Civilization!"
Ye Chen became a convergence of diverse, potent auras. Seeing the two beasts prepare to charge, he swiftly cast two Auras of Sorrow upon them.
Given Ye Chen's current state of mind at the Origin Peak Realm, few beings could resist the talent auras he imposed. If these beasts possessed souls and could wage mental assaults, he would have slain them a hundred times over already!
In less than a second, Ye Chen consecutively activated over ten civilization talents. As the tenth talent, the Gold Civilization, manifested, his muscles suddenly felt a wave of ease, and his consciousness seemed to detach from his body. All the sounds in the world suddenly vanished.
The charging Electromagnetic Beasts slowed their movements.
Time seemed to stall.
Ye Chen could only hear his own heartbeat, which began subtly and grew steadily deafening. He suddenly felt as if he could see the back of his own head. The ten spheres of light energy in his mind spontaneously gathered, merging into a wondrous state. This energy seeped out from the back of his skull, forming a circular disk of light, resembling the halo of wisdom in Buddhist realms.
Ye Chen stood motionless while ethereal, melodious celestial music echoed in the space around him. Every inch of his skin radiated a crystalline glow; his entire being appeared indescribably grand and dignified, as if he held heaven and earth in his hands, suggesting the entire world should orbit around his body.
Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes—eyes as clear as water yet as deep as pitch, possessing a quality that drew onlookers in. The two nearby Electromagnetic Beasts suddenly became uneasy, whining low roars of warning but daring not to attack.
The wind howled, sharp and biting.
Ye Chen slowly raised his hand.
Brilliant, crystalline light slowly emerged from his palm.
It was a stream of silvery light, imbued with an indescribable atmosphere of majesty, as if it had become the sole light in existence, held gently in Ye Chen’s grasp.
"Is this the Light of Civilization?..."
Ye Chen murmured softly. According to the records of the Myriad Heavens God-Melting Art, cultivating each new layer would allow the gathered civilizations to merge and give birth to the Light of Civilization!
The first layer, combining ten civilizations, produced the first layer of the Light of Civilization. The second layer, combining one hundred civilizations, would produce the second layer of the Light of Civilization.
"As recorded in the Myriad Heavens God-Melting Art, the Light of Civilization is the origin of all things in this world, the most formidable power, and the nemesis of the Great Dark World. It surpasses all energies in existence! It is ranked above ghostly qi, Demigod Force, Divine Power, Chaos Qi, Cosmic Qi, and the Power of Faith!"
Ye Chen examined the Light of Civilization in his hand, clearly sensing how vast, profound, deep, and immense this energy was, as if all energies and matter in the world should kneel in reverence before it!
After studying it for a moment, Ye Chen turned his gaze to the two Electromagnetic Beasts, cold killing intent flashing in his eyes. He darted forward like lightning and swung his hand out fiercely.
Whoosh!
The Light of Civilization shot forth like a meteor, striking the head of the large Electromagnetic Beast. The creature trembled violently; in the presence of this light, it offered no resistance, allowing the energy to impact its vital point. Brain matter burst forth, not blood, but thick, viscous electromagnetic waves!
As these waves flowed out, they did not harm the Light of Civilization in the slightest; they were immediately purified.
Ye Chen was profoundly shocked. He knew the Light of Civilization was overwhelmingly powerful, but he never expected it could purify the very substance that everyone feared—electromagnetic waves. This was terrifyingly absolute!
Without dwelling on it, with a mere thought, Ye Chen redirected the Light of Civilization towards the smaller beast. Terror filled the small beast’s eyes; facing the Light of Civilization, it showed both reverence and dread, ultimately offering no resistance as the light smashed its head, causing it to collapse and die. (To be continued)