The golden flame floated silently before Han Feng.
Small.
Calm.
Without releasing destructive pressure.
But its mere presence caused the surrounding space to stabilize immediately. Dimensional distortions vanished near it like mist touched by the light of dawn.
Han Feng watched in silence.
His heart pounded heavily.
Because he could feel:
that flame did not belong to the Gu World.
Nor to the energy of the fissures.
Not even to the chaos coming from the other side.
It was something superior.
Purmer.
Closer to an absolute law than a technique.
The Celestial Diagram spun madly within him as the golden lines shone ever more intensely.
The girl behind him could barely breathe under the increasing pressure in the sky.
Above the Central Region, the gigantic black hand continued slowly piercing the barrier between universes.
Every inch it advanced made the entire world tremble.
Oceans churned.
Mountains crumbled.
Gu Beasts fled in panic.
Even the world's natural qi was collapsing.
The Gu Immortals attacked relentlessly.
Ancient formations covered the skies.
Runes the size of cities appeared in the air.
But it all seemed futile.
The black hand simply advanced.
Indifferent.
As if completely ignoring the power of the Gu World.
And then—
something worse happened.
CRAAAAAAACK!!
New cracks began to appear in other regions of the world.
Not just in the Central Region.
In the Northern Region.
In the Eastern Region.
Even in the sky of the Southern Region.
The entire world began to fail simultaneously.
Terror had finally truly spread.
In the City of Black Crows, cultivators ran through the streets as fissures appeared between buildings. People vanished instantly upon touching certain spatial distortions.
Some went mad immediately.
Others began to murmur incomprehensible words as their bodies were slowly corrupted by dimensional energy.
Chaos had begun.
On an ancient mountain in the Central Region, dozens of elders watched the shattered sky with pale faces.
—The world barrier has collapsed…
—That's impossible…
—No… this goes beyond our eras.
An old man with completely white hair slowly closed his eyes.
His cultivation was so profound that the space around him trembled slightly.
Even so…
there was fear in his expression.
—We are not witnessing an invasion.
Silence filled the hall.
Then the old man continued:
"We are witnessing the birth of a new era."
While the world plunged into chaos, Han Feng stood still, observing the small golden flame before him.
His Celestial Diagram vibrated as never before.
The golden lines already occupied more than half of the entire diagram.
And now…
the fissure within it had become stable.
Like a small inner portal.
Han Feng could sense something on the other side.
A different sky.
Different laws.
An energy completely distinct from the primordial essence of the Gu World.
Then—
the golden flame moved.
It slowly entered Han Feng's hand.
At the instant of contact—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
His consciousness exploded.
The world disappeared.
And Han Feng was pulled back into the void between universes.
But this time…
there was no silence.
The entire cosmos was trembling. Cracks pierced the infinite darkness as fragments of destroyed worlds floated through the void like ruins forgotten by time.
The two presences remained there.
Distant.
But ever closer.
The silent figure remained motionless among the dead stars.
Calm.
Profound.
Like someone carrying the weight of countless ages alone.
On the other side of the void…
the second presence observed.
Cruel.
Cold.
Dominating.
Like a will capable of defying the very heavens without hesitation.
And now…
the space between the two was getting smaller.
Much smaller.
Han Feng felt his soul tremble.
Because he realized:
the universes were literally bringing those two existences closer together.
Then—
the silent figure moved for the first time.
One step.
Just one.
The entire void froze.
Currents of karma surged through the cosmos like endless rivers.
The cracks around them began to partially stabilize.
Han Feng felt his heart race. Then the other presence responded.
The void darkened.
Countless black cracks appeared around her as a monstrous pressure crushed everything.
Like an absolute will refusing to be restrained.
The two auras collided.
No attacks.
No techniques.
Just presence.
And that was enough to make universes tremble.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Han Feng almost lost consciousness.
His entire body felt like it was about to shatter just from witnessing that.
Then—
the two existences finally spoke directly to each other.
The calm voice echoed first.
Deep as eternity.
"Your path… destroys heavens."
The void was silent for a moment.
Then came the response.
Cold.
Indifferent.
"And his carries the weight of countless dead."
The cosmos cracked.
Han Feng felt his soul tremble violently.
Even separated by universes…
the two could already partially understand each other's essence.
Then—
the eyes of the two existences moved simultaneously.
And looked at Han Feng.
His heart almost stopped.
Because at that instant…
he perceived something terrifying.
They both understood.
They understood that he was the central point of convergence.
The variable between worlds.
The Celestial Diagram within him began to spin violently.
The golden fissure expanded instantly.
And then—
something pierced through.
Not completely.
Just a fragment.
A golden rune emerged within Han Feng's consciousness.
Ancient.
Unknown.
But carrying an absurd aura.
The instant it appeared—
the chaos around it stabilized.
The nearby cracks disappeared.
Even the void seemed to momentarily calm down.
The calm voice spoke again.
"Protect your mind."
But soon after—
the second presence smiled.
Han Feng didn't see the face.
But he felt it.
He felt that cold, monstrous intent piercing the void.
"Interesting… so it was you."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The connection completely exploded.
Han Feng opened his eyes violently.
His entire body trembled.
The sky above the Gu World was in complete chaos now.
Cracks covered half the firmament.
The gigantic black hand had already pierced almost to the wrist.
The Gu Immortals were retreating.
Mountains floated in collapse.
The entire world seemed on the brink of destruction.
And then—
the golden eye in the sky…
moved again.
This time slowly.
As if it had finally made a decision.
Han Feng felt the Celestial Diagram freeze.
The small golden rune within his consciousness glowed.
And an absurd feeling surged in his mind.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
Then the sky opened.
Not a fissure.
Not a crack.
But a colossal opening spanning the universes.
And something began to descend from it.
A gigantic golden door.