Swallowed Star: Lord of the Wolf

Day and night turned, and in the blink of an eye, ten thousand years had passed.

In the context of the cosmic ocean, this equates to 3.65 million epochs, a period of time that even the strongest beings in the universe cannot ignore.

Xu Yang's miniature universe, with a diameter of 1000 billion light-years, frantically absorbed chaotic energy and condensed it into divine power, connecting with his true god heart to supply the growth of his divine body. At the same time, his chaotic-level radiant golden body was also continuously extracting chaotic energy to nourish his body.

In the original story, Luo Feng took nearly 12 billion days, which is more than one era (one billion days) in the Origin Continent, to grow his divine body to the limit of the Eternal True God, but Xu Yang only took more than three million days to complete it.

180 billion kilometers high!

It is more than five times the size of the infinite divine body with a length of 36 billion kilometers, and its divine power is more than a hundred times greater.

……

The Cosmic Sea, deep within Xu Yang's miniature universe, is a strange space where fragments of the Ten Great Laws flow, deliberately created out of nowhere.

There are no sun, moon, or stars here, only slowly flowing, faintly glowing threads of law, like the veins of the universe.

In the center of the space, two figures floated, along with a hazy figure of light sitting on a throne formed from chaotic energy—Xu Yang's divine power avatar.

"Concentrate your mind and visualize the energy flow nodes of the 'Sky Rift' rune diagram." Xu Yang's avatar's voice was majestic, as if resounding directly into the depths of your soul. "Yu Ji, your 'Star Evolution Rune' has been constructed up to the 3,600th one, so the foundation is considered solid. However, the 'Sky Rift' diagram relies on the instantaneous superposition of spatial tearing and energy bursts. Your current construction has energy nodes that are too scattered, and the explosive power is less than 50-60%. You need to sink your mind into that core 'Annihilation Point' and imagine your own divine power being compressed to the extreme and released in an instant."

Below, Yu Ji sat cross-legged, surrounded by countless tiny silver light spots. These light spots were painstakingly combining to form an incredibly complex three-dimensional secret pattern that seemed to be cutting through space itself.

Her brows were furrowed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, clearly indicating that she was under immense pressure.

Hearing Xu Yang's guidance, she took a deep breath, and the light spots around her suddenly collapsed inward, condensing into an extremely unstable light spot in the center of the secret pattern diagram.

"boom!"

With a faint crackling sound, the "Sky-Splitting" rune pattern instantly lit up with a blinding light, then flickered violently, almost collapsing. Yu Ji groaned, her face paling, but a hint of understanding appeared in her eyes.

"Yes, you're on the right track, but your control still needs refinement. Remember that feeling of the critical point between compression and explosion." Xu Yang nodded slightly.

“Father, I understand.” Yu Ji nodded firmly, her expression full of stubbornness.

Xu Yang remained silent, then turned his gaze to the other side.

Unlike Yu Ji's difficult situation, on the other side of the space, Cang Ya's figure was almost submerged in the dazzling secret patterns.

If Yu Ji is considered a genius, then Cang Ya is a genius among geniuses. Even though Xu Yang, as her father, has done his best, Yu Ji still cannot match Cang Ya in terms of progress in the Divine Power School.

Moreover, Cangya is the kind of player whose stamina increases with each passing moment. Initially, his progress was similar to Yuji's, but after they both crossed the first level, which is the threshold of 30,000 times the gene, Yuji's speed slowed down, while Cangya showed a trend of getting faster and faster.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple...

Countless runes, each with distinct attributes and functions, resembled intricate three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles, rapidly rotating, combining, and evolving around Cangya. Some runes ignited roaring flames, others drew flowing water, some constructed spatial barriers, and some even simulated faint signs of life… Their complexity and speed of evolution far surpassed that of Yuji by more than a hundred times!
Cangya's eyes were tightly closed, but it seemed as if a third, invisible eye was open between his brows, frantically analyzing and deducing the infinite variations of the secret rune chart. His aura was profound and agile, and his understanding of the secret rune chart had long surpassed the first level that Yuji was at, reaching a higher second level.

Xu Yang, in his avatar, looked at Cang Ya, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.

With just over three million epochs, and considering the ten-thousand-fold time acceleration, it's roughly three hundred billion epochs... Cangya's mastery of the Secret Rune Manual has reached nearly seventy thousand times!
This talent is nothing short of monstrous!
Even Xu Yang was impressed by some of the ingenious combinations.

"Cangya." Xu Yang's avatar's voice carried a hint of approval, "Your 'All Streams Return to the Source Diagram' is a brilliant concept. It combines the resilience of water, the weight of earth, and the sharpness of metal through a vortex structure, attempting to simulate the pressure at the beginning of the universe, and thus continue to delve into the third level. The idea is excellent."

Cangya slowly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with the trajectories of countless stars in motion, his eyes terrifyingly deep.

He bowed respectfully to Xu Yang's avatar: "Thank you for your guidance, Master. This disciple simply... felt that this was the right way to try it."

“The idea is correct.” Xu Yang’s tone shifted, becoming serious. “But that’s where your problem lies. Your deductive reasoning and conceptualization abilities are sufficient to support your attempt to reach the third level, but… you’re missing the most crucial element—practice.”

Cangya's eyes dimmed slightly.

Xu Yang's avatar continued, "The third level of the Divine Power School requires much more than just simple requirements. The superposition of secret patterns or the fusion of attributes are merely the basics. Moreover, one must perfectly and seamlessly integrate one's understanding of the laws of the universe, and even the imprint of one's will, into the basic structure of each divine power particle, making it a true manifestation of the 'Tao'! This requires a massive amount of reckless attempts, failures, and more attempts... It requires finding that one unique path that belongs to you amidst endless failures."

He looked at Cangya, his gaze seemingly piercing through everything: "...Back then, my rapid breakthrough largely depended on that massive Nether Sea Avatar. The Nether Sea Avatar could support my endless attempts and creations. Billions of failures left the main body unscathed. But you..."

Xu Yang's avatar shook his head slightly: "Your talent is no less than others, and in some aspects even surpasses them. However, you only have one divine body and lack the secret techniques for creating talent. You cannot pave the way with a massive number of attempts and withstand billions of failures. The 'All Streams Return to the Source Diagram' you deduced is ingenious, but you cannot conduct enough actual construction and energy detonation tests under different combinations in a short period of time. You need to carefully control each attempt because the backlash from failure will directly affect your only divine body. This greatly limits your breakthrough speed and has also stuck you at this crucial moment."

Cangya remained silent, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

Xu Yang's words struck a nerve. Back when he was still a Realm Lord and had the chance to use the Body Seizure Technique, he conservatively chose to keep his original body, deviating from the path Xu Yang had laid out for him for the first time.

It wasn't obvious before, but now he's starting to regret it.

The creation talent of the Netherworld Avatar is not very useful in combat or other aspects. Even the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds only uses it to reproduce his race and offspring. But now we realize how great an advantage this talent is in the cultivation of the divine power school!
Cangya slowly loosened his clenched fists, his knuckles turning white from the force before gradually regaining their color. A trace of regret, like a subtle electric current, swept through the depths of his heart, but was immediately crushed by his powerful will.

There's no going back!

Cangya's resolve suddenly hardened, like tempered divine steel: "I chose this path! I'll walk it even if I have to crawl!"

"If you lack talent, make up for it with perseverance! If you don't have enough time, make up for it with a hundred or a thousand times more mental deduction! If the control requirement is high? Then hone your control to the extreme, one attempt is worth a billion times in the Nether Sea!"

"I refuse to believe that without the talent of creating clones, one cannot reach the peak! If my teacher could reach this point through his own willpower, so can I, Cangya!"

A fierce flame of unyielding belief burned brightly in his eyes, dispelling the previous gloom. He looked at Xu Yang's avatar, his gaze sharp and full of fighting spirit once more: "Teacher, I understand! There are no shortcuts, so let's use the most arduous method, taking one step at a time. Please continue to guide me in refining the 'All Streams Return to Their Source Diagram'!"

Xu Yang, in his avatar, looked at the rekindled, more solid flame in Cang Ya's eyes and felt gratified.

Just as he was about to speak, his divine avatar suddenly trembled slightly, as if sensing something, and turned its gaze to the outside of this simulated space, to the boundary of the miniature universe.

"Hmm?" Xu Yang raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his expression. "He actually came in person?"

Beyond the miniature universe lies the Void Sea.

This once empty and desolate cosmic sea now presents an unprecedented scene of "prosperity".

With Xu Yang's small universe, which has a diameter of hundreds of billions of light-years and exudes a majestic aura, as its core, countless beings come and go in the vast void around it.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Every now and then, streaks of light flashed across the void.

A demon race universe lord, covered in scales and with a ferocious appearance, piloted a flying shuttle, flew out of his divine kingdom, quickly approached the exit of Xu Yang's small universe, handed over a token, and left with the approval of the small universe's will.

There were also True Gods exuding powerful auras who flew in from the distant void, entering Xu Yang's miniature universe with satisfied expressions.

Furthermore, beings of different races were moving and interacting, creating a lively scene unlike any other in the cosmic ocean.

This place has become a veritable holy land for the cosmic sea monster faction.

Many universe masters who felt hopeless about breaking through to true godhood but met the 'immigration' criteria submitted reports and successfully moved into Xu Yang's miniature universe.

Amidst this bustling scene, a small, seemingly ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated black boat silently appeared at the edge of Xu Yang's microcosm.

On the small boat sat an old man dressed in ordinary linen robes.

His face was ancient and his eyes were deep and weathered, as if he had witnessed the birth and death of the universe.

It is indeed the mountain dweller!
His appearance caused no energy fluctuations, as if he had merged into the void itself.

"In such a short time, such a powerful aura has already been gathered..." The Mountain-Sitting Guest murmured to himself, his voice barely audible, "The aura of this miniature universe... is much stronger and more refined than when I sensed it last time. Gu You, just how far have you progressed?"

He hadn't been back to the Origin Continent for a long time, and those three mortal enemies from the Food Kingdom were probably still high and mighty.

With a silent sigh, the Mountain Dweller waved his hand gently, and the dilapidated boat beneath him transformed into a streak of light almost invisible to the naked eye.

Deep within a miniature universe, in the space of secret patterns.

Xu Yang, sensing that the Mountain-Sitting Guest had entered, said to Yu Ji and Cangya, "That's all for today. Yu Ji, continue to refine the basic compression node control of the 'Sky-Splitting Diagram,' and try three thousand energy bursts with different compression rates... Cangya, you can try introducing the 'moment of eternity' conception of the time law into the core vortex structure of your 'All Streams Return to the Source Diagram,' creating a relative stagnation of time at the limit of compression, which might increase the pressure..."

"I will transmit the detailed simulation model to your virtual network later. Now, an old friend has come to visit."

“Yes, Father (Teacher)!” Yu Ji and Cangya replied respectfully.

Xu Yang's avatar slowly faded and disappeared into this secret pattern space.

The next moment, his divine avatar appeared in a tranquil starry sky in the core region of the miniature universe.

Not far away, a dilapidated black boat floated silently. An old man in hemp clothing, known as the Mountain Hermit, stood with his hands behind his back at the bow, gazing at the simulated starry sky within the miniature universe, which was far closer to the origin of chaos than the original universe.

The primordial universe was too reserved and secretive, hiding everything, unlike my own small universe where I could do whatever I wanted.

"Honorable guest, I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you sooner." Xu Yang's avatar materialized into a clear figure, smiling.

The Mountain Guest turned around and looked at Xu Yang's avatar. A hint of undisguised astonishment flashed in the depths of his eyes, which seemed to contain the entire cycle of the universe.

Even though he was once a god-king, he didn't have the ability to discern Xu Yang's true strength from an avatar evolved from a wisp of divine power.

But he could see Xu Yang's demeanor!

The last time they met was not long after Xu Yang first arrived on the Origin Continent.

At that time, Xu Yang was already the number one person in the Cosmic Sea with an extremely strong will. However, in the eyes of beings like Zuo Shan Ke, behind that extremely strong will, one could still vaguely detect a trace of caution, solemnity, and even a trace of deep worry that he unconsciously revealed after first arriving in a strange and vast world and witnessing dangers and vastness far beyond the imagination of the Cosmic Sea.

It is awe of the unknown, prudence towards the road ahead, and the instinctive reaction of the strong when facing a more vast world.

But at this moment——

The figure before me, formed from the embodiment of divine power, still looked the same, but its overall aura had undergone a complete transformation.

The worry and solemnity that once lingered have vanished without a trace.

Instead, there is a calm and confident demeanor, as steady as a towering mountain!
He stood there with a perfectly timed smile on his lips, his gaze peaceful and profound, like the night sky that embraces the stars, devoid of any confusion or apprehension.

This confidence is not a boastful display, but rather stems from an absolute certainty rooted in a strong inner foundation. It is a composure that naturally emerges after weathering storms and establishing a firm foothold.

It was as if he had obtained some extraordinary protective charm on the Origin Continent. (End of Chapter)