The relentless momentum of the charge, so fierce until now, finally showed a slight sign of slowing; the astonishing power born of Jun Mo Xie’s surging fury was gradually being depleted!
But just then, countless streams of crystalline, dazzling energy, tinged with a hint of violet light, suddenly manifested. From where this force originated, no one knew, but they rushed headlong into the Hongjun Tower World, plunging directly into the seventh layer, perfectly merging with the torrents from the previous six layers, together launching a combined assault upon the seventh layer…
In the next instant, the entire Hongjun Tower shuddered violently. The vast lightning power within the seventh layer reached its absolute zenith during this tremor, transforming resistance into formidable propulsion. Mingling with the surging might accumulated since the first layer, and all the amassed power from the first seven layers of the Hongjun Tower World, this immense force thunderously charged toward the eighth layer!
Maximum impact! Barrier breach!
Under the support of this unprecedented influx of colossal external energy, the barrier of the eighth layer began to give way…
The very next moment, a blinding flash of brilliant light erupted from the eighth layer. Mei Xueyan and the other two felt a deafening roar within their minds, a sensation as if their very souls were collapsing under an avalanche. With faint cries, they successively lost consciousness, the phenomenon affecting even Mei Xueyan, whose cultivation was infinitely close to the Quasi-Saint level.
And the entire space of the Hongjun Tower fell into an uncanny silence following this instant…
Within Jun Mo Xie’s Dantian, the nascent small world formed by the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong suddenly vibrated violently. The dim, heavy colors hanging in the air shifted abruptly, appearing to churn and writhe in agitation…
With a booming sound, the power of the Five Elements Wind and Thunder violently surged in, then shot straight up toward the zenith.
A dull thud echoed, and the entirety of the small world instantaneously expanded tenfold, then a hundredfold, continuing to swell without cease!
In the heavens, fierce winds howled, the clouds whipped across the sky in turmoil, and brilliant starlight abruptly streamed in, only to vanish immediately, scattering into specks of colorful light across the void. The next moment, countless twinkling stars abruptly materialized on the distant horizon, constantly arranging and recombining into various shapes before dissolving without a trace—for a blazing red sun now hung high in the sky! With the ascending sun bathing everything in light, the stars naturally had to retreat!
On the ground, mountains rose from the earth one after another, followed by rivers and valleys.
The entire firmament darkened again. All things in heaven and earth, the myriad aspects of the cosmos, flashed into existence, transformed, and evolved, finally culminating in a gigantic figure of Jun Mo Xie, his head touching the azure sky, his feet planted on the earth, stretching thousands of miles high. He suddenly raised a hand and thrust the entire firmament higher still!
Pushing it into an even more boundless, vast, and unknown expanse!
Then, this small world settled into tranquility, as peaceful and serene as any ordinary realm.
The sky was clear and blue, the earth was broad and generous, the high mountains stood tall, and the streams gurgled melodiously.
This was clearly a world that had achieved complete perfection!
Except for the absence of flora, fauna, birds, beasts, humans, and all other natural life and vital breath, this realm was utterly indistinguishable from any continent suitable for human habitation!
Simultaneously, Jun Mo Xie felt the anomaly of this transformation: the moment the bottleneck of the eighth layer of the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong was unexpectedly shattered, in that fleeting instant of abstraction, Jun Mo Xie suddenly experienced a strange sensation: all the power within his body seemed, for that moment, no longer his own. Yet, he clearly felt that all the power of this heaven and earth was obeying his command, submitting to his direction unconditionally!
The surging power that had previously filled his body rushed in a torrent into the small world within his Dantian. In mere moments, it flowed back into himself like a tide, now mingled with a heaven-and-earth power so immense it defied description!
Facing this overwhelming force, Jun Mo Xie felt that his current Quasi-Saint cultivation was as insignificant as a drop in the ocean. Jun Mo Xie had assumed he would surely be unable to withstand such a massive reflux of power—the notion of exploding from his own might sounded laughable, yet it might happen to him in the very next second.
But inexplicably, his meridians, at this moment, transformed into bottomless abysses, capable of containing and accepting everything, calmly absorbing and dissolving this indescribable, surging might!
Throughout the entire process, there was not the slightest hint of discomfort! Furthermore, Jun Mo Xie vaguely sensed that his meridians were nowhere near saturated; they were still far from the supposed threshold of their limit. It seemed that even a thousand times this power could be completely absorbed without the slightest strain!
This was an utterly inconceivable feeling, yet Young Master Jun found himself trusting it implicitly…
A thought stirred in Jun Mo Xie’s heart, and he inexplicably grasped a sudden insight: this power was the very power he had gained from cultivating the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong! The spiritual energy of heaven and earth he obtained from each layer of the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong was exponentially greater than the basic power left behind by the Hongjun Tower!
The Hongjun Tower had only preserved the fundamental power necessary for his survival and protection; all other strength had been withdrawn. Now, having cultivated step-by-step to the eighth layer, the accumulated power had undoubtedly reached a terrifying realm unimaginable to any other being!
And the Hongjun Tower had clearly been waiting for this critical juncture!
At this precise moment, in the instant of breakthrough, it was to completely finalize the Creation of Heaven and Earth and perfect the structure of the Cosmos right there on the eighth layer!
The next moment, Jun Mo Xie felt himself walking step by step through the starry void. Ahead, the Hongjun Tower shone with intense brilliance, waiting silently for his arrival.
Jun Mo Xie entered the first layer of the Hongjun Tower and began to walk slowly upward.
The second layer, the third layer…
The seventh layer!
At the very center of the seventh layer, myriad rays of colorful light suddenly appeared. The light swiftly coalesced into substance, forming a series of magnificent, radiant steps leading directly to Jun Mo Xie’s feet.
Jun Mo Xie was surprised by his own lack of astonishment; he calmly ascended step by measured step.
One step, two steps… After eight steps, Jun Mo Xie stood before a portal.
There was actually no physical door before him, yet Jun Mo Xie distinctly felt the presence of two great gates, which were slowly swinging open.
Those two ethereal gates finally opened to their maximum extent, and Jun Mo Xie looked up into the space beyond.
At a glance, the interior appeared hollow and empty, containing nothing at all, yet Jun Mo Xie felt he already knew something vital. He walked in calmly.
He walked to the center and stood still.
On the tower walls surrounding him, countless images suddenly appeared on all sides.
If anyone else were present, they would surely find it bizarre, for there was nothing there, no pictures, just an utterly empty space!
But Jun Mo Xie knew they were there because he could see with absolute clarity that none of it was illusion.
Those countless strange and fantastic scenes seemed to depict the struggles of one individual from childhood to maturity.
And all the life forms depicted were grotesquely shaped, clearly not the conventional human form we know.
Jun Mo Xie did not know what species these beings were, nor what race they belonged to, but the moment these images appeared, he knew without doubt that this being was the first master of the Hongjun Tower!
He, unprecedentedly, created the first heaven and earth!
As Jun Mo Xie finished viewing the last picture, those scenes vanished, replaced by another long corridor of images…
“This must be the journey of the second master of the Hongjun Tower,” Jun Mo Xie murmured. “So that is how it is.”
“So the so-called Heaven and Earth is not unique. And the Universe is not the only existing entity!” Jun Mo Xie mused silently. “What we perceive as Heaven and Earth might merely be a game.”
It was only with the fifth master of the Hongjun Tower that Jun Mo Xie finally saw a relatively normal human life form. This person wore wide robes, possessed a handsome face, and experienced a life replete with wonders…
In the end, this person also created his own derived Heaven and Earth, his own cosmos.
The final image showed this young man standing in the vast sky, looking down upon the world he had created, saying, “My name is Xuan. My life has been filled with mysteries; let this world be called the ‘Xuanxuan World.’”
Jun Mo Xie saw clearly that within this Xuanxuan World, one particular planet was identical to the Xuanxuan Continent where he currently resided.
“So this Xuanxuan Continent is only a part of that Xuanxuan World!” Jun Mo Xie laughed freely. “It turns out I was merely living in a world created by someone else…”
Just as the sentiment passed, the scene shifted again, and another strangely shaped humanoid appeared—the sixth master of the Hongjun Tower.
It wasn't until the eighth generation that Jun Mo Xie finally saw a familiar scene: a formidable, broad-shouldered warrior who also created a world. After the creation was complete, Jun Mo Xie’s eyes suddenly misted over…
The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers—those were indelible imprints already carved into his very soul…
The name of this giant was Pangu.
After witnessing Pangu’s journey, the sequence moved to Jun Mo Xie himself, watching his previous life transform into a soul that leaped across countless eons to arrive on this Xuanxuan Continent. Jun Mo Xie was overwhelmed with emotion. He hadn’t expected that he would turn out to be so significant…
Jun Mo Xie, the ninth successor of the Hongjun Tower!
But why had he never seen Hongjun? The first master didn't appear to be Hongjun either?! Just as this question arose in Jun Mo Xie’s mind, he immediately received the answer, which surfaced automatically in his consciousness: Although Hongjun had obtained this Tower, by the time he acquired it, he had already achieved the Great Dao and thus did not cultivate the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong.
The Hongjun Tower was originally named the Kai Tian Pagoda; it was only after Hongjun obtained it and, lacking the need to cultivate the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong, imprinted his divine consciousness upon it, that it eventually came to be called Hongjun’s…
Following that, came the glorious journey of Jun Mo Xie’s current life… Standing outside himself, observing every segment of his growth, Jun Mo Xie couldn't help but wear a knowing smile…
Until the very end, when the Illusionary Palace shattered, and he appeared within this Tower…
The images ceased at this point.