No one had expected that the truth behind this sudden continent-level war would be an alien invasion.
"Heavens, how could it be a Demon invasion!"
Upon learning the news, some could not help but cry out in alarm, their expressions and tones filled with terror and panic.
"Eh? Isn't it just the Demon Race? With Senior Bee and the others leading us, shouldn't there be a chance of winning? Is the Demon Race really that terrifying?"
Some cultivators, who knew little of the Demon Race, seemed somewhat dismissive.
"Terrifying? That is the Demon Race we are talking about! Have you ever seen those cruel, horrific demonic and evil practitioners?"
"Of course I have. Didn't they just release many images? To be honest, just thinking about them gives me goosebumps..."
As those cruel images surfaced in their minds, cold sweat broke out uncontrollably on some cultivators' skin. Their bodies felt a slight chill—a biological reaction to the presence of terror. Without having seen many similar horrific scenes, their psyche would have been unable to bear it. Many would be paralyzed with fear just looking at the images, let alone experiencing such scenes in person.
"Before the Demon Race, practitioners of that level are mere children's play!"
"What?"
"How is that possible?"
This single sentence instantly shocked those with only a surface-level understanding of the Demon Race, their eyes widening. Could it be? Was the Demon Race truly that horrific?
"How is it possible? Heh... do you think the Demon Race is just a slightly strange type of spirit beast? You are wrong!"
"The Demon Race cannot even be considered complete living beings. They are one of the most terrifying entities recorded in the history of the cultivation world, having once nearly brought it to total destruction!"
"You think they are just creatures slightly more eerie and dangerous than demonic beasts, and you imagine that if your cultivation is higher or your numbers are greater, you can win. But that is nothing more than a pipe dream. The Demon Race is a collection of all the wicked thoughts from across the myriad worlds!"
"Aside from their high-ranking members who possess a slight possibility of communication, the rest of the Demon Race are utterly insane. Their cunning, cruelty, and madness far exceed any cultivator you have ever met!"
"Beyond that, they possess the most bizarre forms and formidable vitality. Their bodies will undergo any manner of mutation for the sake of power. To this day, no living being knows how many forms the Demon Race has; even the Demon Race themselves do not know!"
"Every form of the Demon Race has its own unique, horrific methods. The position of their life core is also completely different. There is only one way to kill a Demon: you must repeatedly erase its life core multiple times."
"But before engaging, no one can be certain where the life core of the Demon you are facing is located, how many life cores it has, how many times it must be erased to kill it, or what level of power is required to destroy its life core in one go... A single mistake can result in you being completely slaughtered by the opponent!"
"Now, do you still think a race like that is easy to provoke?"
"And that isn't even the most terrifying part. The most horrifying thing is the Demon Race's hunger for the remains and souls of other beings. Some suspect that if the Demon Race does not invade other worlds, they will simply collapse and dissolve themselves. Thus, their desire for other living beings is far more intense than our desire for precious spiritual herbs!"
"They do not know fear. For any life they can kill, they will hunt and devour it at any cost. And for those they cannot defeat, they will use every means possible to stay dormant, waiting for the moment to deal a fatal strike..."
"They are the most terrifying and troublesome existence in the myriad worlds!"
As this knowledgeable cultivator unveiled a page of the Demon Race's horrific nature, everyone listening was stunned into silence, their bodies trembling slightly. An unstoppable chill swept through them, and panic and terror spread in an instant!
"How can there be such horrific creatures?"
The thought that every single member of the Demon Race was an existence more terrifying and powerful than a demonic cultivator caused a sense of powerlessness to spread. Could such a race truly be resisted by human power? Did their Star-Sea Continent truly have a chance of survival?
As information regarding the Demon Race spread, the entire Star-Sea Continent sank into extreme panic.
While the news caused the continent to fall into despair, Qi Ping was in his Natural Sanctuary within the Qingtian Domain, slowly calming the extreme killing intent that had resulted from the mass slaughter of cultivators.
Even Qi Ping had not expected the negative backlash of [Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things] to be so potent.
When those cultivators were slaughtered in massive numbers, countless chaotic intents of killing and furious emotions erupted from Qi Ping's foundation. These emotions originated from the power of his foundation itself, not from Qi Ping's own mind.
When he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage and condensed the foundation of Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things, he gained the enhancement of the power of all living beings, granting him a level of power that far exceeded his realm. This was the source of his transcendent strength as a Nascent Soul cultivator. With his foundation fully unleashed and leveraging spatial power, he was capable of battling Void Refinement cultivators!
This power primarily came from the phenomenon of [Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things] condensed in his foundation. It was a power that transcended his actual realm, much like a Nascent Soul-stage pureblood dragon utilizing its bloodline to unleash the strongest innate divine ability of the Ancestral Dragon.
However, Qi Ping was not consuming bloodline, but the phenomenon of his own foundation—one condensed by leveraging the power of an Earth Immortal Druid and the life-force of the Qingtian Domain.
This time, the vast majority of the killing intent and emotions on his body were erupting from this phenomenon. This fury could enhance his combat power during battle, but if it wasn't cleared, it would have a significant impact on Qi Ping himself—at the very least, his cultivation and comprehension would be unable to proceed.
'Sigh, one can only say that there is gain and there is loss. Compared to the benefits it brings, such a slight negative side effect, though troublesome, is not unacceptable.'
He had carved out this path of cultivation himself, and he naturally had to bear the consequences as he walked it.
'However, it isn't entirely accurate to describe it as a negative effect. These are simply the emotions naturally born when a large number of living beings perish. This is perhaps a type of rule—one of the fundamental rules of the world.'
'The strength of the heavens and earth is inextricably linked to the living beings within them. Therefore, one could say that living beings are the core of the heavens and earth, and the primary purpose of a powerful world is to provide a place suitable for the survival and growth of those beings...'
As Qi Ping reflected on the recent events, he contemplated his understanding of this world. Gradually, he gained a deeper insight into the path he walked and his current foundation.
'Therefore, as long as the living beings of a world continue to grow stronger, the world itself will become more powerful under that influence. Thus, the structure of a world itself has no real limits, so long as it can support the growth of life...'
'In that case, no matter how simple a world's structure is, it is not an issue as long as life can flourish and multiply within it. For example, a world could be a single vast ocean containing only one type of aquatic spiritual plant and one type of fish that eats that plant—that would be enough to constitute a world!'
'It is just that such a world would be too singular and weak. If a world wants to become stronger, it must accommodate more, stronger, and more complex and stable living environments!'
'Because once the living environment collapses and living beings perish in massive numbers, the world itself will face a massive crisis—the negative emotions produced by the deaths of those beings. If too many perish, it might even lead to a drastic weakening or collapse of power...'
'It is precisely because of this that anything that destroys the stability of the living environment—anything that causes the ecological chain to collapse—is loathed by the world. Entities like the Demon Insect King, which directly lead to the collapse of the ecological chain, or those who conduct large-scale slaughters...'
'In other words, this isn't a negative effect or a mistake in the path of cultivation. Rather, it is a fundamental rule of the world. It doesn't care about good or evil; specific actions naturally lead to specific consequences.'
'All methods and systems of cultivation are ultimately just ways of utilizing power! Power itself is profound and mysterious, but its basic rules are not impossible to grasp.'
'For instance, a sword cultivator practices the Dao of the Sword. Their strength depends on how much power they can leverage. Whether it is the enhancement of spiritual energy or the deepening of their understanding of the sword, both serve to increase the power they can wield. And the strength of the Law of the Sword depends on the comprehension of every sword cultivator in the world; they all become the foundation for the growth of the Law of the Sword.'
'The Laws of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements are different from the Law of the Sword. Because they are fundamental laws, their strength is inherently fixed and related to the world itself. When fundamental laws and ten thousand other laws intertwine, they achieve various forms of power.'
'Laws like the Dao of the Sword belong to a type of Derivative Law—a different level of development of power built upon the fundamental laws. Thus, their intensity can continue to increase, and in extreme combinations, they can far exceed the fundamental laws themselves.'
'That is to say, depending on which path one chooses to comprehend, the upper limit of their power is entirely different. A person who reaches the pinnacle of the Law of the Sword might be able to easily kill someone who walks the path of the bow—unless that archer can realize other laws and elevate the Dao of the Bow to a level transcending the sword.'
'The path of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements is the foundation, but that doesn't mean the foundation is stronger than derivative laws. Its true advantage lies in a powerful root and the ability to derive all laws.'
'Comprenhending the Laws of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements provides a powerful foundation using basic law power, allowing one to naturally leverage combinations of several laws for great power. But that is merely the most basic application; it holds many other developmental possibilities. For example, using the path of the sword to unleash the power of a Yin-Yang and Five-Element foundation would definitely allow for greater strength than a sword cultivator with an ordinary foundation!'
If there was a world dedicated solely to the sword, with countless cultivators contributing to it, it would definitely be possible to develop that Law of the Sword to an unprecedented level.
'In that case, my previous method of using the Yin-Yang and Five-Element foundation as a base to leverage spatial Law power was correct. However, it was too crude. Ultimately, spatial laws are just one of the basic rules of the world; they cannot truly unleash the power of the Yin-Yang and Five-Element foundation.'
'What can truly unleash the power of my foundation is a method that combines the power of basic laws like Yin-Yang, the Five Elements, and Space to the absolute extreme... for example, a sword technique that merges time, space, and the Five Elements.'
'However, the way of the sword does not align with my Dao-heart, so I should not practice it. In that case, what type of path or derivative rule can completely unleash the power of my entire foundation?'
Qi Ping thought about this question for a long time but could not find a complete answer.
In his past cultivation, he had only been doing two things: one was comprehending the fundamental laws of this world, believing that such an approach was undoubtedly correct for his path. The other was utilizing any power that could enhance himself—be it the power of an Earth Immortal Druid or the power granted by the world's blessings. These experiences had greatly enhanced his understanding of the essence of power.
His ability to gradually comprehend the fundamental logic of the world was inextricably linked to these experiences.
'Right, the fundamental logic of the world... reshaping the world...'
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Qi Ping's mind. He suddenly understood what his Derivative Dao was. Was the [Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things] he had realized not his Derivative Dao—a "Sword Dao" unique to himself?
Furthermore, his derivative path was outrageously strong, allowing him to possess the means to counter Void Refinement cultivators while still in the Nascent Soul stage.
It was just that because this Derivative Dao of Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things was so powerful, Qi Ping had always thought he had stepped onto a completely different path. But now he realized: how was it a completely different path? His foundation was not fundamentally different from other cultivators; it was just that under the convenience of his Earth Immortal Druid power, his foundation had been cultivated to a level far beyond others.
That foundation that seemed to make him completely unique—Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things—was merely the Derivative Law he had realized under various special conditions!
But this Derivative Law was too powerful. Even now, Qi Ping could only utilize its power; he had only realized a part of it. To completely understand this Derivative Law, he needed to comprehend even more.
It was much like some dragons who could use the Ancestral Dragon's innate divine abilities through their bloodline, yet could not fully control or understand them!
'So that's how it is!'
In this moment, Qi Ping completely clarified his future path of cultivation.
'The Derivative Law of Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things is too powerful. Truly realizing it is a long and difficult journey. Therefore, for the next step, if I want to enhance my own power, I must still start with my foundation.'
'Thus, only one way remains for me to increase my power at the fastest speed: contract and make up for the final Wood-attribute talent, making the Five-Element foundation completely perfect and flawless. Then, before the arrival of the Demon Race, I must reach the Soul Transformation realm as quickly as possible!'