Hijacking the Timeline

As night fell, the sky filled with countless stars.

The battle for the bloodstone raged on.

The original canyon had been completely leveled, and the continuously radiating energy shockwaves had uprooted every plant in the vicinity.

The surrounding area, spanning several miles, was reduced to a barren wasteland, not a single stone left behind.

The various Domain Forces clashed like wild beasts over the prey, fighting fiercely for ownership of the bloodstone.

Having watched for most of the day, Feng Qi had lost count of the domain creatures that had perished in the process.

Despite the ongoing conflict, several Domain Forces had had opportunities to seize the bloodstone, only to be thwarted by others.

The battle had devolved into a senseless sacrifice of clansmen’s lives.

By this point, some Domain Forces had already chosen to withdraw.

For example, the Technology Research Institute, represented by Li Xingchen, had withdrawn after failing to secure the bloodstone in several rounds of combat.

Li Xingchen’s condition upon leaving was gruesome.

Nearly half of his body was missing, his mechanical components were shattered, and sparks still crackled from the exposed wires. A viscous energy fluid seeped from the wounds in his feet.

The Domain Forces that remained showed no signs of stopping.

Clearly, in their eyes, obtaining the bloodstone was worth any sacrifice of clansmen.

This demonstrated the immense value the bloodstone held in the hearts of these Domain Forces.

Indeed, this was the case.

According to existing intelligence, some of the Domain Powerhouses that the Domain Weakling Alliance served back then were among the Domain Forces that controlled portions of the bloodstone.

Their method of enslaving the Weak Domain Races was simple: a few small bloodstones derived from the bloodstone were enough to make the Weak Domain Races fight to the death for them.

Through Li Duo, he learned that each bloodstone could produce dozens of derived small bloodstones per hour, and the daily value of these derived small bloodstones was staggering.

He estimated that in its fully developed form, a bloodstone could produce over a thousand derived small bloodstones per hour, making it the ”money printer” of the spiritual energy world.

The bloodstone could not only enhance racial potential but also generate external profits.

Like the Holy Spirit Consciousness Repository, the bloodstone was a divine artifact that could elevate the potential of an entire race.

This was why he believed the Domain Forces would go so mad for it.

The battle continued into the night, with neither side yet gaining the upper hand.

There were several tense moments when the bloodstone was almost taken away.

Each time this happened, the various factions would instantly unite, using every means at their disposal to forcibly retain the domain creature attempting to flee, and then kill it.

The original canyon had been transformed into a massive crater, as if struck by a meteorite.

Spiritual energy surged violently within a several-kilometer radius, the air alternating between the scorching heat of a volcanic furnace and the bone-chilling cold of an arctic wasteland.

A war of this magnitude would have been an absolute catastrophe if it had occurred within a city.

Their battle unleashed waves of energy shockwaves.

Every few seconds, a white circular shockwave would erupt from the crater and spread outward.

The area within several kilometers had become a no-man’s-land, with all vegetation and native animals obliterated by the shockwaves radiating from the fierce battle.

Even the clouds in the sky had been scattered by the towering energy shockwaves, leaving a cloudless expanse under a night sky ablaze with stars.

Standing at a distance, Feng Qi didn’t dare approach the crater, fearing he might be caught in the shockwaves.

As the crater continued to deepen, he chose to extend his mental energy to continue observing the battle through mental perception.

The world perceived through his mental energy was remarkably clear.

But Feng Qi soon sensed something was wrong.

He discovered that his mental energy was once again acting erratically. As he approached the combat zone, it began uncontrollably devouring the residual mental consciousness of the dead domain creatures.

His mental energy surged rapidly as a result.

However, this state was beyond his control, and the devoured mental energy was extremely impure, as if a new, discordant element had been forcibly grafted onto his original mental energy.

Through his consciousness, he could see his sea of consciousness being flooded with massive amounts of mental energy of various colors.

The originally pale golden sea of consciousness became mottled and stained by these diverse hues.

As his mental strength continued to climb, the stinging pain in his physical body resurfaced.

This time, the pain felt more visceral than ever, as if the connection between his mental energy and his flesh was gradually being severed by the increasing mental strength.

If his body could no longer contain the mental energy, it might tear apart and the mental energy would become independent.

From there, only two outcomes remained.

If his consciousness followed the mental energy, he would undoubtedly become a pure mental energy lifeform.

If his consciousness didn’t follow the mental energy, he would undoubtedly die instantly. The portion of mental energy that detached would be like a severed organ, completely severed from its source.

Facing the negative side effects of devouring external mental energy, Feng Qi resolutely chose to ignore them.

To him, growing stronger was an unmitigated good.

Trading lifespan for power? A bargain he couldn’t refuse.

As long as his body could endure, all other problems were trivial.

The stinging pain from the mental energy’s rejection by his body? He could withstand it easily.

He had experienced far worse.

Take the biochemical modification from the previous timeline, for example.

That was true hell—a dual torment of body and soul that made each day feel like living in the abyss.

Even the rune modification process was several times more agonizing than this stinging sensation.

As his mental strength increased, the mental energy tendrils extending from his body surged in volume, spawning even more tendrils.

This surge in power also expanded his mental perception range.

This level of power increase was practically a cheat.

He was utterly impressed by Lin Ran, who had managed to develop such a perverse art magic.

The only drawback? It was a complete drain on his lifespan.

He didn’t mind. A normal person would never be able to cultivate such a technique.

Perhaps one day his mental energy would surpass his physical strength, allowing him to sever his body and ascend in a breakthrough.

This thought suddenly reminded him of Mo Fei’s frequent mention of ”mechanical immortality.”

Compared to that, the Spiritual Immortality technique, when cultivated to its peak, might truly achieve spiritual immortality.

While lost in thought, he didn’t forget to observe the Lord of the Mist’s condition.

At this moment, the Lord of the Mist was clearly still in a phase of endurance, and he had no idea what opportunity the entity was waiting for.

However, its refusal to retreat proved its continued confidence in itself.

Simultaneously, he discovered a peculiar characteristic of the Lord of the Mist’s abilities.

The mist sword in his hand, once it inflicted even a minor wound on an enemy, could continuously drain Qi and Blood Power from their bodies.

After careful observation with his mental energy, he realized that tiny gray mist particles attached themselves to wounds struck by the mist sword.

These particles remained connected to the Lord of the Mist, and under its control, they drained Qi and Blood Power from the target’s body, then transmitted it to the Lord of the Mist.

This ability played a crucial role in the Lord of the Mist’s ability to endure this long.

The Lord of the Mist’s injuries healed rapidly after absorbing the enemy’s Qi and Blood Power, allowing it to maintain its full combat strength.

Moreover, it discovered that the Lord of the Mist possessed curse-type abilities.

Curse-type abilities constituted a major category in the current human classification of domain creature abilities.

However, the catalog only described the characteristics of such abilities; human cultivation studies had yet to unravel their detailed mechanisms.

All they knew was that curses were special abilities that inflicted prolonged negative states on their targets, and humans afflicted by domain creature curses typically met tragic ends.

The records were filled with such cases:

gradual bodily decay leading to death continuous depletion of Qi and Blood Power until death gradual failure of bodily functions mental derangement causing brain death * gradual petrification until the body turned completely to stone

The negative effects of curses were varied and troublesome for front-line soldiers.

Currently, effective countermeasures were limited.

However, one method was clearly capable of nullifying curses: a sufficiently robust physical body.

Against a terrifyingly strong physique like Mu Qing’s, any curse proved ineffective. Any cursed seal would instantly be ignited by the surging Qi and Blood Power, vanishing into nothingness.

The Lord of the Mist’s curse ability leaned towards the ”draining” type, meaning it dealt damage to opponents while simultaneously empowering himself.

Every target struck by his cursed seals would manifest blood-red marks. Their qi blood would then surge uncontrollably, gushing from their pores to converge on the Lord of the Mist, where he would absorb it.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the Lord of the Mist a ”blood-sucking machine” on the battlefield, making him incredibly resilient in prolonged engagements. He could sustain himself by devouring the enemy’s Qi and Blood Power.

Feng Qi watched the Lord of the Mist’s unconventional tactics with wide-eyed astonishment. While other domain creatures grew increasingly fatigued with each battle, the Lord of the Mist seemed to become more invigorated with every fight.

Upon closer observation, Feng Qi noticed that the Lord of the Mist avoided challenging powerful opponents, instead preying on the weak. If he became the target of a strong adversary, he would swiftly retreat and select a new target to hunt.

Initially, Feng Qi had assumed the Lord of the Mist was in a precarious situation. But after carefully examining him with his mental perception, he realized that while others were engaged in a bloody battle, the Lord of the Mist was more like a player leveling up in the chaos, gaining experience at an incredible rate.

Yet, Feng Qi felt that this was the true Lord of the Mist he had come to know.

He was cunning and strategic, never taking unnecessary risks.

The fact that he could endure for a millennium to lay the groundwork for the future revealed just how terrifying he was.

Such an enemy was commonly known as an ”old yinbi”—a sly and calculating schemer. [1]

One could imagine that if he had followed the Reality Line, constantly growing stronger without gathering any intelligence, he might have become invincible in his time. Yet, 1,500 years later, he would still lose to the Lord of the Mist.

The outcome would be the tragic end of humanity’s extinction, leaving him alone to survive.

”The formation is complete. I hope the Lord of the Mist you mentioned can escape on his own, so we don’t have to take any risks for him.”

As Qin Shikong’s voice echoed in his ear, Feng Qi noticed golden patterns materializing beneath his feet. The formation pulsed with light, and a golden pillar shot skyward before rapidly fading, entering stealth mode.

After a brief exchange, both turned their gaze toward the center of the battle.

During the long wait, a crimson sun rose in the east.

It was six in the morning, yet the clashes between the various Domain Forces remained fierce.

He couldn’t guess how long this battle would last.

He knew that if the battle continued, Mu Qing would inevitably come to support them once she completed her mission and returned to Dawn Manor to assess the situation.

Once she arrived, the situation would become much more manageable.

He wasn’t sure if Mu Qing could defeat so many Domain Powerhouses in battle, but he was certain that no one would be able to stop her if she decided to leave.

If Mu Qing were that easy to kill, she wouldn’t have become the Great Demon King of History; she would have been assassinated by the Domain Forces long ago.

”Not good, the situation has changed,” Qin Shikong suddenly exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts.

Hearing this, he immediately followed Qin Shikong’s gaze upward.

In the sky, a massive, pitch-black hand tore through space. With a single gesture, a black veil rapidly spread and descended, enveloping everything.

In an instant, the sky was completely obscured by the veil, and even their area was caught in its shadow.

Seeing this, Qin Shikong immediately tapped the Eight Trigrams Plate and looked up at the sky.

As he was puzzled, Qin Shikong grabbed the still-spinning Eight Trigrams Plate, then turned to him with a bitter expression and said:

”I’ve roughly deduced the fate line of the entity above. It’s not entirely clear, but its destiny is exceptionally strong. If I’m not mistaken, this is a super domain creature.”

Hearing this, Feng Qi’s expression turned grave.

Super domain creatures referred to Dragon-Tier (Level 4) domain creatures.

Such creatures were exceedingly rare, with the only recorded instance being the semi-ethereal island lifeform in the ocean.

Historically, few creatures had ever been classified as Dragon-Tier super domain creatures.

Little Black was one of them.

Of course, this was merely an evaluation. Given the limited contact Future People had with Little Black, a precise assessment remained elusive.

Based on Feng Qi’s understanding of Little Black, its abilities clearly surpassed the Dragon-Tier.

At least, none of its currently known abilities posed any threat to Little Black.

Physical invulnerability and energy immunity alone made Little Black invincible against any opponent.

In Feng Qi’s opinion, defeating a Dragon-Tier creature would be trivial for Little Black—a mere matter of time.

Moreover, Little Black possessed an unknown third ultimate form, its true upper limit remaining a complete mystery.

The power of Dragon-Tier creatures was truly terrifying.

The standard for a Dragon-Tier evaluation was that such a creature, using only its own strength, could destroy a human city.

This demonstrated their immense power.

When Qin Shikong said the domain creature overhead might be Dragon-Tier, he immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

This super domain creature was clearly trying to seal off the area.

If it succeeded, all life within the enveloped region would likely perish.

But it was too late to escape. The black veil descended at that moment.

With a deafening roar, the black shroud enveloped the entire area, completely isolating it from the outside world.

The Domain Powerhouses, who had been vying for the bloodstone, clearly sensed the impending crisis. They simultaneously ceased their struggle, their expressions grave as they gazed upward at the sky.

TL/N:

[1]

Lǎo (老): Literally ”old,” but used here to mean ”experienced,” ”veteran,” or ”hardcore.”

Yīn (阴): This is the core of the word. It means ”hidden,” ”shadowy,” ”sinister,” or ”backstabbing.” It’s the same Yin as in Yin and Yang.

Bī (逼): A vulgar suffix (similar to ”jerk” or ”bastard” in this context) used to categorize a person.

(End of the Chapter)