Chapter 421 : Volume Eleven: Tempering the Heart
Chapter 421: Volume Eleven: Tempering the Heart
Within a vast region, brilliant divine light illuminated every corner, causing space-time itself to collapse and twist into an enormous space-time labyrinth.
At the center of this twisted space-time labyrinth, at the source of the dazzling divine light, was a gigantic figure with eight clawed limbs. He possessed sixteen eyes, each a different color, observing multiple layers of space-time.
He was none other than Bafayu, one of the powerful existences ranked among the top thirty in the Infinite Chaotic Origin Space.
"Who killed one of my clansmen?"
Bafayu sensed it, and anger immediately surged within him. To any race, a World-Level Primordial Lifeform was considered a core member! They were individuals whom the Ancestors paid special attention to.
Following the connection, Bafayu looked across the endless distance.
In terms of mastery over the void alone, he ranked among the very top. With a single glance, he saw the place where his clansman had died. Standing there was a black-haired man dressed in black.
Bafayu's heart trembled.
"Luo Feng?"
Bafayu instantly calmed down.
"Why would he kill one of my clansmen?"
Bafayu was puzzled. His sixteen eyes observed that region from afar while simultaneously witnessing everything that had happened there in the past.
He clearly saw his clansman devouring the Source World Origin. During the process, Luo Feng had appeared. The instant Luo Feng descended, that World-Level Primordial Lifeform was annihilated.
"So because my clansman was devouring the Source World Origin, Luo Feng came and killed him?" Bafayu pondered. "But this is my clan's territory! These Source Worlds are food that belongs to my clan. Simply consuming our food brought about this calamity?"
"These Cultivator Lords all originated from Source Worlds! They care about every Source World... so they vented their anger upon my clansman?"
"But they've already occupied 3,600 World Clusters. They're still not satisfied?"
Bafayu knew very well that the Cultivator Lords had always been striving to expand their territory.
Beginning with only a single Lord, Yuan, the Cultivator Territory had continuously expanded as more Lords appeared! Now the newly advanced Lord, Luo Feng, possessed terrifying strength and had already joined the strongest ranks of the Infinite Chaotic Origin Space!
"They want to expand their territory once again?" Bafayu contemplated.
If one of his clansmen had been killed by another Ancestor or another World-Level Primordial Lifeform, Bafayu would never let the matter rest so easily!
However...
It had been done by Lord Luo Feng of the Cultivator Faction.
Bafayu simply pretended he had seen nothing.
There was no helping it. As a minor faction, Bafayu simply could not afford to provoke the Cultivator Faction!
"If the Cultivator Faction truly expands its territory, those with the biggest headache will be the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction and the Ice Peak Faction." Bafayu thought to himself. "I'd better stay far away."
...
"What audacity! Who dares kill one of my clansmen?"
Ancestor Thousand Eyes flew into a rage. He was a close friend of Annihilation Ancestor, one of the Nine Emperors, and also held considerable status within the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction. His race possessed only several dozen World-Level Primordial Lifeforms in total, and every one of them was extremely important to him.
Within the vast territory under his command also lived many World-Level Primordial Lifeforms from other races! If one of those died, Ancestor Thousand Eyes could remain calm. But this time, the one who had died belonged to his own race. Naturally, Ancestor Thousand Eyes was furious.
Following the connection, Ancestor Thousand Eyes immediately looked across the endless distance. He wanted to see exactly who dared kill one of his clansmen.
Then...
He saw the black-haired figure dressed in black.
The enraged Ancestor Thousand Eyes immediately calmed down.
"Luo Feng?"
Ancestor Thousand Eyes muttered, "These Cultivator Lords are becoming far too lawless!"
He lacked the courage to confront Luo Feng, so he immediately informed his good friend, Annihilation Ancestor.
The Nine Emperors were the highest ruling echelon of the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction.
...
Within a short period of time, Luo Feng's 3,916 clones killed approximately 3,000 World-Level Primordial Lifeforms—around 500 from various minor factions, around 800 from the Ice Peak Faction, and around 1,700 from the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction.
The minor factions all endured it silently. After all, losses of this magnitude had relatively little impact on them.
"What exactly is Luo Feng doing?"
Ice Peak Ancestor, who was on the Twentieth Layer of the Abyss of Destruction, had originally been waiting for Luo Feng to challenge him. Instead, he received news that Luo Feng's numerous clones had taken action throughout many territories, killing quite a number of World-Level Primordial Lifeforms.
The deaths of around 800 World-Level Primordial Lifeforms did not concern Ice Peak Ancestor.
After all, more than ninety percent of those World-Level Primordial Lifeforms were not descendants of Ancestors! For a race to produce an Ancestor was simply too difficult.
Throughout the Infinite Chaotic Origin Space, there were over thirty thousand races possessing World-Level Primordial Lifeforms!
Yet there were only a little more than two hundred Ancestors!
"He isn't targeting only the Ice Peak Faction, but every World-Level Primordial Lifeform acting against Source Worlds."
With only a brief investigation, Ice Peak Ancestor understood everything.
"These Lords all care deeply about those Source Worlds."
Ice Peak Ancestor felt rather irritated.
Whenever a Cultivator Lord appeared, their strength immediately stabilized within the top twenty. Moreover, every one of them was Undying and Indestructible.
Among the top twenty, the Cultivator Faction alone occupied eight positions!
Fortunately, the Cultivator Lords had little desire for resources and did not frantically seize every available resource. That was also why relations between the Ice Peak Faction and the Cultivator Faction had previously been quite good.
However, as the Cultivator Faction continued growing stronger and more Lords appeared, the Ice Peak Faction had begun to feel increasing pressure.
"The Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction possesses the largest territory. Let them fight the Cultivator Faction."
Ice Peak Ancestor silently watched.
He could endure.
...
"They killed nearly 1,700 of our World-Level Primordial Lifeforms?"
"They all encountered Luo Feng's clones while acting against Source Worlds?"
After learning of the situation, Infinite Serpent Ancestor also felt rather irritated.
"These Cultivator Lords kill whenever they please! They even frequently interfere with Source Worlds outside their own territory."
Infinite Serpent Ancestor had encountered this sort of thing many times before.
For example, Star Light Lord and Momang Lord frequently guided talented cultivators away from countless Source Worlds outside the Cultivator Territory. Whenever they did so, it was also common for them to casually kill World-Level Primordial Lifeforms acting against those Source Worlds.
One had to understand...
The Cultivator Faction had collected the bloodlines of every single World-Level Primordial Lifeform race!
All thirty thousand-plus races.
A complete one hundred percent collection!
Moreover, this achievement had primarily been accomplished by Star Light Lord.
In order to collect those bloodlines, Star Light Lord had once slaughtered so extensively that every World-Level Primordial Lifeform throughout the Infinite Chaotic Origin Space had fallen into panic!
Especially those races possessing only a single World-Level Primordial Lifeform!
Their terror had been even greater!
"This Cultivator Faction will eventually become a great calamity!"
Last time, Infinite Serpent Ancestor had finally succeeded in pushing the entire faction into launching a large-scale war.
Yet with Luo Feng's breakthrough...
The war had ended.
Now they had merely killed this many World-Level Primordial Lifeforms?
That was nowhere near enough to trigger another large-scale war!
After all, small-scale conflicts between opposing factions occurred regularly under normal circumstances.
"Luo Feng's strength is already comparable to Star Light and Shazhou. Even if more than a hundred Ancestors from our side joined forces, I have no confidence we could defeat the entire Cultivator Faction."
Infinite Serpent Ancestor felt rather troubled.
"Unless... unless we join forces with the Ice Peak Faction."
Infinite Serpent Ancestor immediately rejected the idea.
In terms of hostility, the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction had even greater conflicts with the Ice Peak Faction!
The Cultivator Faction cared only about Source Worlds. They placed far less importance on other resources.
The Ice Peak Faction, however, competed for every resource needed by Naturally Born Primordial Lifeforms!
The hatred between those two sides had continued for endless ages!
Within the territory of the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction.
The black-haired Luo Feng stood within the void, looking toward a Source World ahead. Within his vision, the history of that Source World and all of its past suffering unfolded one scene after another.
He saw that this Source World had once flourished, filled with countless forms of life and countless races struggling for supremacy.
Just like his own home Source World, humanoid races had also appeared there, along with many other races. They were all native inhabitants of that Source World. Their cultivation systems continuously influenced and borrowed from one another as they slowly advanced through exploration.
Among them, Chaos Realm experts had once been born!
But afterward...
A World-Level Primordial Lifeform had arrived...
"They're all dead. Every living being in this Source World has been wiped out."
Luo Feng looked into the Source World's past.
After becoming a Lord, Luo Feng had long been capable of seeing beyond the Cultivator Territory at a glance. He could see the countless Source Worlds throughout territories ruled by other factions, and he could also see the suffering those Source Worlds had endured.
Every time, Luo Feng felt both anger and frustration. His reason told him that only by becoming even stronger could the situation truly be changed. In the past, he had never been willing to watch for too long.
Because it was simply too tragic.
Whether it was the countless living beings within...
Or the Source World itself...
Everything was merely food.
The strength of the Eight Lords was still insufficient to change any of this.
So they could not bear to keep watching.
But now...
Luo Feng continued watching.
He even observed the histories of those Source Worlds, carefully examining every single tragedy.
As one miserable scene after another entered Luo Feng's heart, the killing intent within him continuously rose, and the flames of his fury burned hotter and hotter!
It was as though Luo Feng were forging a divine weapon.
The continuously accumulating killing intent and fury were tempering his heart.
"My Heart of Destruction still isn't strong enough!"
Within the hidden space-time of the Abyss of Destruction—Destruction Mountain—the first time Luo Feng touched Destruction Mountain, he had been assaulted by endless killing intent and hatred. Countless memories had also flooded into his mind, as though he had personally experienced everything.
That experience had deeply stimulated Luo Feng, filling him with overwhelming killing intent.
It was as though he had become one suffering victim after another, enduring endless despair and becoming filled with boundless hatred toward the Naturally Born Primordial Lifeforms!
At that moment...
Luo Feng had realized...
He had found a path for forging his Heart of Destruction!
His Heart of Destruction truly was not strong enough!
After all, he had become one of the highest-level lifeforms within the Infinite Chaotic Origin Space, an Undying and Indestructible Lord! He had reversed the course of the war for the Cultivator Faction and protected the 3,600 World Clusters. Most importantly...
Within his home Source World, every friend and loved one he cared about could now be revived from the River of Space-Time.
Everything within his home Source World was what Luo Feng treasured most.
Now that they could all be revived, Luo Feng was incomparably joyful.
With such happiness filling his heart, naturally, his Heart of Destruction was no longer so intense.
As for the countless Source Worlds beyond the Cultivator Territory...
He had ultimately remained only an observer!
An observer might feel anger, but that was far from enough to forge a true Heart of Destruction.
Only at the moment he touched Destruction Mountain—
When it felt as though he had personally experienced everything—
Was Luo Feng truly shaken.
"The Origin Continent Source World is the place most important to me. It is the place I would protect with my life."
"But beyond the Origin Continent Source World... what difference is there between all the other Source Worlds? They too are homes to living beings."
"My strength simply isn't sufficient. I cannot protect the countless Source Worlds beyond our territory."
"In the future, if my strength remains insufficient, even the 3,600 World Clusters could be completely destroyed!"
Luo Feng understood this clearly.
Not long ago, had he not broken through, the Naturally Born Chaotic Origin Faction might truly have achieved its objective and completely crushed the entire Cultivator Territory.
"If the 3,600 World Clusters were destroyed, could my home Source World survive alone?"
The Infinite Chaotic Origin Space had never been a place of peace.
The Cultivator Faction was also competing against the other factions.
Those factions possessed far more Ancestors.
Among them, equally powerful supreme experts could also arise.
Every faction competed!
If one failed to advance, one would fall behind!
If he became satisfied with his current strength, then one day in the future, what if some supreme expert gained control over a Highest-Level Mysterious Land and, possessing invincible power, flattened the Cultivator Territory, destroying every Lord's home Source World?
Even if he himself remained Undying and Indestructible, so what?
If his home Source World were destroyed...
If every loved one and friend perished...
That would become endless torment for him.
"With blood and fire, destroy every enemy."
"Only through endless destruction can the lives of my people be protected."
Luo Feng's 3,916 clones traveled through different territories, observing one Source World after another and witnessing everything that had happened throughout history.
Those countless scenes of suffering told Luo Feng—
If his Heart of Destruction was not resolute enough, then he would never be able to protect what he wished to protect!
The countless hardships endured by those Source Worlds throughout endless ages...
Luo Feng carefully observed every single one, engraving every tragedy into his heart.
Each tragedy became another piece of firewood, causing the flames within Luo Feng's heart to burn hotter and hotter.
Those flames continuously tempered Luo Feng's Heart of Destruction.
Meanwhile, within the hidden space-time of Destruction Mountain, Luo Feng had also sent down an incarnation.
The incarnation sat cross-legged beside Destruction Mountain.
From time to time, he would reach out and touch the mountain, experiencing that endless killing intent and hatred.
It was as though he became one innocent soul after another who had died with boundless grievances...
Personally reliving everything they had once endured.
(End of Chapter)