Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Primal Tenfold Talent

In the vast universe, within the territory of the demon race.

In the heart of this territory, endless colorful mists surge year-round.

Deep within the mist, a beautiful, enormous island floats silently.

On the island sits an incomparably luxurious palace.

At this moment, the main gate of the palace was wide open.

A figure that blended seamlessly into the darkness quietly appeared, and then slowly walked towards the main hall.

The demon guards on either side, each wielding a giant axe and standing nine zhang tall, sensed the aura of a Venerable One emanating from him. Instead of stopping him, they all bowed and watched him enter the hall.

"Shadowbringer, pays homage to the great Lord of Dreams."

Upon entering the main hall, the figure hidden in the darkness stopped and bowed deeply toward the purple-gold throne at the top of the hall, his voice respectful and deep, revealing an undisguised awe.

On the throne in the main hall, there was a huge, silvery-white snake shadow.

The enormous silver serpent head was raised high, its vertical pupils like cold stars hanging in the sky, indifferently looking down below.

The starry sky around it seemed to be completely distorted into a vortex, and even the light seemed to be completely swallowed up.

"Lord of the Netherworld, I need you to do something, do you know that?" The silver serpent spoke slowly, its voice like the clash of metal.

"I understand," Venerable Mingyou replied respectfully.

"Speak your mind if you have any thoughts." The silver serpent's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, its voice calm and even, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority.

"It is my honor that the Lord of Dreams has chosen me."

Venerable Netherworld slowly straightened up. His well-defined profile could be vaguely seen in the black mist. "Moreover, I possess the ability to create clones. As a member of the Shadow Clan, I am also skilled in assassination and soul control. I will certainly not fail in my mission this time."

The silver serpent nodded slightly. "You lost everything in this mission, but your clan will compensate you."

"Thank you, Lord of Illusions," Venerable Netherworld said respectfully.

Venerable Mingyou bowed again, his face still respectful and obedient, showing no sign of anything amiss, but in his heart there was some sorrow.

He knew better than anyone that the Shadow Clan was merely a subordinate clan of the Demon Clan.

The entire clan has only five Universe Venerables. The strongest among them barely touches the threshold of a Universe Overlord, and their strength is far from enough to contend with the top forces in the universe. Only by relying on the Demon Clan can they gain a foothold in the vast universe.

As a cosmic venerable being, he actually had to abandon his clones and venture deep into the human race's territory to assassinate a mere 'cosmic-level' little guy!

For Venerable Mingyou, losing a avatar of a cosmic Venerable would come at a great cost in terms of the enormous divine power required to restore it.

What frustrated him even more was that the reward promised by the Lord of Dreams was barely enough to compensate for the loss of his clone.

This means that his assassination attempt was almost entirely in vain, yielding no additional gains whatsoever.

Moreover, venturing deep into human territory would certainly require carrying some basic weapons and treasures, all of which would have to be paid for by him personally.

Despite his heart being filled with resentment and bitterness, Venerable Mingyou dared not show it in the slightest.

The Lord of Dreams is an ancient being among the demon race who has survived for countless eons.

His strength is unfathomable; he is the strongest being second only to the "Demon Ancestor," and stands at the very top of the power pyramid throughout the entire universe.

Before them, the Shadow Clan was no different from ants, and had no right to disobey orders.

The enormous silver serpent head slowly lowered, looking down at the bowing Netherworld Venerable below. Its voice was icy, "You're quite good, but I need to remind you... you'd better control Meng Jingrong's soul! Once his soul is controlled, then humanity's possibility of reversing time and resurrecting him will be completely eliminated."

"This human, Meng Jingrong, must have had some very special experiences. Even you might not be able to completely enslave his soul." The silver serpent's voice seemed to resonate in the mind of the Netherworld Venerable. "If you can't control his soul, just kill him."

Such a genius must have had some special experiences, some of which may be completely lost after death.

"Yes," Venerable Mingyou replied respectfully.

Venerable Mingyou slowly bowed and retreated, his figure gradually blending into the shadows of the main hall, silently withdrawing from the main hall.

After he left, the Lord of Dreams' enormous silver serpent body slowly writhed and slid down from the purple-gold throne, its huge serpent head raised high, gazing at the boundless starry sea outside the palace.

To it, the countless stars were nothing more than tiny specks of light, and the vast universe was clearly tangible before it.

"What a pity..."

The Lord of Dreams sighed inwardly, "The spies planted among the human race ultimately have too low an authority; they simply cannot find out 'Xi Yue's' exact login coordinates in the virtual universe."

The Lord of Illusions knew that Xi Yue's teacher, the Divine Envoy Feng Wu, held a position among the human race comparable to a cosmic venerable.

To find Xi Yue's whereabouts, one would need at least the authority of a cosmic overlord, and their spies planted among the human race are far from reaching that level.

"The human race is simply too powerful!"

Recalling that white-robed figure among the human race, who traversed the vast universe and was invincible, the Lord of Illusions' enormous silver serpent body trembled slightly involuntarily.

It was a fear that came from the depths of the soul, an instinctive awe of absolute power.

"However, more than seven thousand years ago, a strange and unpredictable celestial phenomenon occurred within the human realm..."

The Lord of Illusions recalled the terrifying celestial phenomenon: "The endless starry sky trembled violently, countless stars collapsed and were annihilated, and the laws of heaven and earth in many star regions overflowed directly. That terrifying energy fluctuation that destroyed the world lasted for seven days and even affected the territories of other peak races in the surrounding area."

"Our clan's divine generals within the Ancestral God Sect have been investigating the origin of that strange phenomenon, but to this day, they remain completely clueless and have found no trace of it... This matter can only be discussed further once the Demon Ancestor returns from the Cosmic Sea..."

The silver serpent's head gazed intently in the direction of the human race, its vertical pupils flashing with a complex and enigmatic light.

......

Trial Space No. 0738553

The Path to Heaven, the Third Heaven, the Azure Wilderness World.

This secret realm, shrouded in dense miasma and filled with ancient trees, harbors unknown dangers at every turn.

Cang Tu's figure appeared out of thin air, surrounded by faint spatial fluctuations, and stepped out of the teleportation channel.

His gaze was sharp as a hawk's as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Only after confirming that there were no hidden dangers in the surroundings did he look down at the screen on the arm guard.

Cang Tu didn't check the world information or the walkthrough immediately; instead, he opened the Ascending Heaven Road leaderboard.

The names and scores on the list are arranged like stars.

No. 1 Xi Yue (Yuan Chen Universe Kingdom) and Meng Jingrong (Yan Long Universe Kingdom), points: 111 111 100 00 (tied for first place)

No. 3 Luo Chen (Yuan Chen Universe Kingdom), Points: 172,600

No. 4 Wuman (Wilderness Universe Kingdom), Points: 199,800

No. 5 Cao Xuanzhi (Yan Shen Universe Kingdom), Points: 197,400

No. 6 Yun Muqing (Lanshan Universe Kingdom), Points: 196,300

......

No. 12 Cang Tu (Yanlong Universe Kingdom), Points: 175,000

Cang Tu had anticipated the two freaks who were tied for first place, so it wasn't surprising.

The gap in strength between the two sides is too vast, so there is naturally no possibility of catching up.

But when his gaze settled on the third-ranked Luo Chen, his calm emotions suddenly surged, and his mentality almost shattered.

In the past day, he passed two trials: the Star Remains Body Refining Prison and the Demonic Sound Shattering God Corridor.

Unexpectedly, Luo Chen has widened the gap to such a great extent!

Cang Tu took a deep breath, quickly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind, and swiftly switched to the information interface of the third heaven.

Having fallen so far behind, he couldn't afford to waste a single second.

......

The Path to Heaven, the Eighth Heaven: Yuan Yu's Remains.

There are no stars here, no trace of the passage of time, only a vast and boundless primordial chaos, like the original state before the universe was created and before all things were born.

Meng Jingrong floated quietly in the void, calmly surveying this unfamiliar territory.

Suddenly, from the depths of the endless chaotic energy, a figure in white robes slowly materialized.

He was slender, his clothes fluttering, and he wore a gentle smile, as if he had seen through the vicissitudes of the universe.

"Young man, you are excellent to have made it to this level!" A white-robed man walked over with a smile in the chaotic void.

He didn't emit any aura, yet he instantly calmed Meng Jingrong's mind, as if a homeless child had returned to the harbor where life began.

"This hurdle is not difficult; just take one of my sword strikes."

The man in white robes still smiled, and a semi-transparent longsword slowly appeared in his palm.

The sword's blade was shrouded in faint, strange light patterns, without any sharp edge. Yet, upon closer inspection, it seemed to contain the most profound and mysterious laws of the primordial universe.

"Please!" Meng Jingrong smiled slightly, without a trace of fear in his eyes.

The Divine Rift appeared beneath his feet, while the Divine Universe and Divine Rock floated in front of him, forming two indestructible defensive barriers.

From a purely defensive standpoint, the Pan God Weapon, which embodies the Earth and Void Laws, is superior to the Yu God Weapon.

Although the Xuan Yu Laughing Plate is a flying weapon, its accompanying armor exceeds the level of conventional cosmic armor, so it cannot be used in the trial space.

"Buzz—"

The man in white robes raised his hand, and his long sword slowly slashed down into the void in front of him.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no violently overflowing energy, and not even any obvious cracks appeared in the void. It was as if it had just been casually drawn, nothing special.

But just as the translucent sword shadow swept across the void, Meng Jingrong felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his soul sank, and in a dizzying moment, he was instantly pulled by an invisible force and swept into a boundless, chaotic illusion.

Within the illusion, the chaotic scene dissipated, and the white-robed figure vanished without a trace.

Only countless fragments of laws roared across the sky. The ten fundamental laws of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, space, and time were intertwined in chaos and raged violently, resembling the apocalyptic scene of a universe collapsing.

Each fragment carried a sharp edge capable of annihilating everything. As it sliced ​​through the void, it left behind fine cracks. Everything around it was constantly twisted and annihilated under the impact of the laws.

"not good!"

Meng Jingrong's heart tightened, and a sharp pain shot through his soul.

His soul realm is still at the Marquis level. If he were to reach the King level, he might be able to withstand this sword strike.

In the critical moment, Meng Jingrong immediately activated the Soul Suppressing Tower, a secret soul technique, in an attempt to withstand the impact of the violent law fragments.

However, the power of the laws in the illusion was too violent. As soon as the Soul Suppressing Tower came into contact with it, it was covered with fine cracks and seemed to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment.