The power of the galaxy is ethereal, even the gods struggle to grasp its existence.
In a corner of the vast void, a pearl-like ocean emanated a dazzling light. Surrounding it were massive, inky black floating mountains, their entire bodies a dark black, as if cast from black iron.
In the void, the most prevalent thing was eternal silence.
And just then, a burst of dazzling waves suddenly rose from the pearly ocean, followed by a shadow that swiftly shot out.
Soaring into the air, the figure looked down, a trace of confusion on their face.
"Alas, my Nirvana power is insufficient. I thought I was dead."
Recalling the previous battle, Ming Qi was still terrified of the speed of the pearly halo. Even with his eighth-level Martial God strength, he had no chance to react. With that kind of speed, perhaps only a Supreme Master could possibly rival it.
Ming Qi had initially believed himself doomed, but at the crucial moment, he suddenly remembered he still had a Nirvana Talisman. This Talisman could only be used once, and he'd kept it for emergencies, so it was perfectly timed for use.
The moment he escaped the Milky Way's power, Ming Qi rapidly expanded his consciousness, attempting to locate the pearly halo. After searching for a moment, he couldn't find it. However, not far away, he could still sense a faint trace of Eternal Silence's presence.
"Could it have been dispersed by Eternal Silence?"
Ming Qi was puzzled, but the absence of the pearly halo was certainly a relief. He had already found the Milky Way's power; he only needed one last step to complete it!
Thinking of this, Ming Qi looked down at the pearly ocean below.
Though it resembled an ocean, the pearly expanse beneath wasn't a true ocean, but rather a blend of reality and illusion. Ming Qi couldn't determine its true nature, only vaguely sensing its mystery.
After observing it for a while, Ming Qi began to worry. How could he remove this thing? Taking away the entire Galaxy Power was unrealistic. If the Galaxy Power could be taken away so easily, it wouldn't be called the Galaxy Power anymore. If he only wanted to take a small portion, where would he begin?
Ming Qi looked at it for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. Remembering his previous experience inside, which felt like being in the ocean, he lowered his head and tried to scoop it up with his hands. However, he was horrified to find that no matter how hard he tried, it simply flowed out through the cracks between his fingers.
This was a real problem. After all the trouble he'd found the Galaxy Power, only to find he couldn't take it away.
"No, I have to think of a way!"
The Galaxy Power wasn't aggressive, so Ming Qi simply immersed himself in it, frowning and thinking.
An ordinary container couldn't hold it, so he tried to wrap it with divine power. The result was the same: divine power couldn't contain it at all, and the Galaxy Power seeped out easily.
In desperation, Ming Qi opened the Book of Life and Death, beginning with the Power of Samsara and working his way up to the Power of Nirvana. Finally, he discovered that within the power of Nirvana, the Galactic Power could be stored.
Having discovered the storage method, Ming Qi immediately set to work. Unaware of the amount of Galactic Power required to repair the Origin of the Desolate World, he unleashed a vast swathe of Nirvana Power, enveloping a dozen multi-cubic water spheres before tossing them into the Divine Diagram's spatial space.
After completing this, Ming Qi flew out of the Galactic Power and gazed back into the air.
The Galactic Power was boundless; what he had taken was likely less than a fraction of the total.
After pondering for a moment, Ming Qi activated a spatial array and returned.
Just then, a deep, distant voice echoed in his ears.
"Mortal being, if you take away the power of the Galaxy, you will upset the balance of the world. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Hmm?"
Ming Qi was stunned. The voice was coming from an indistinguishable direction, seemingly near or far away. But then he thought, only the power of the Galaxy could make such a sound at this time.
"If I do this, what will the consequences be?"
Ming Qi asked tentatively. He wanted to restore the origin of Tianhuang, which also meant disrupting the balance of the world.
"I don't know that either, but I can tell you that although the change you've made now is only a tiny one, it will have a lasting impact until one day it brings about irreversible disaster."
Ming Qi didn't answer. The voice's description was similar to the butterfly effect on Earth: a very long process.
After a moment's hesitation, Ming Qi nodded and said, "I will go and repair my hometown..."
"Even immortals and gods possessing eternal power cannot escape the shackles of fate. If you are acting in this way because of fate, then I have no reason to stop you. However, I hope you won't tell anyone about this place..."
"I won't."
Ming Qi responded and stepped into the spatial formation.
The Galaxy Power is crucial to the balance of the world, but it cannot control the past or the future. This was something Ming Qi realized only upon his departure. He had always believed that the Galaxy Power was the most powerful being in the world, but now it seemed otherwise.
The Galaxy Power's words suddenly gave Ming Qi a bad feeling. He had always overlooked something crucial: fate. Until today, when he heard from the Galaxy Power about the shackles of fate, he suddenly realized that there truly was a force controlling his entire journey, compelling him to follow a predetermined path, undeniably, until his death.
The power of fate is the most elusive thing in the universe. There are countless great ways, but he had never heard of the concept of fate. Even the Four Supremes of the Free and Unrestrained Realm might find it difficult to grasp.
The joy of finding the power of the galaxy accelerated Ming Qi's return journey, but a hidden worry about fate also made him ponder. He even began to question why he had come this far, or what fate intended for him.
But he ultimately couldn't figure it out. The power of fate was too ethereal, even more mysterious than the power of the galaxy. The power of the galaxy, as the origin of the world, was ultimately tangible and visible, but fate, no one could see!
Ming Qi chose a nearly straight route for his return. After a long journey through the void, he finally returned to the vast world of Tianhuang.
Nearly two hundred years had passed, and upon once again setting foot on this desolate land, Ming Qi felt a surge of regret. He had once been an insignificant mountain village boy in Tianhuang, yet now he had become a god who could save the world.
His increased strength allowed him to quickly sense the source of Tianhuang's origin. Honglian was right; Tianhuang's source was scarcely left and extremely weakened. Fortunately, an invisible barrier isolated it from the outside world, which was why Tianhuang was completely desolate.
Having sensed the source of the world, Ming Qi quickly approached.
The source was buried deep underground. His only task was to find a place to connect to it and then use the power of the Milky Way to repair it.
A moment later, Ming Qi arrived at a vast, deep canyon. As he descended rapidly, he suddenly felt a sharp palpitation in his heart. This feeling was familiar; it was the foreshadowing of impending danger!