"What a shame. If you had tried this method before, you might have succeeded.

However, now that I’ve entered the Void Realm, to think you could still bind me like this... it’s utterly absurd."

Hu Qi scoffed.

The moment he finished speaking, the light around him flared, and a massive serpent’s maw materialized at his back.

Wisps of the Power of Fortune, like a faint golden mist, seeped from Hu Qi’s body and streamed into the serpent’s maw behind him.

In moments, it had vanished completely.

The Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent, also known as the Snake of Destruction, could traverse the Sea of Sumeru as an adult. It was a hegemon of the Spirit Realm, capable of devouring entire worlds.

And the Power of Fortune, to be blunt, was merely a byproduct of a world’s source. To such a creature, it was utterly insignificant.

The power of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent’s Talent was directly proportional to Hu Qi’s own strength.

With Hu Qi’s power now at the Void Realm, his Spirit Devouring Talent had grown even more terrifying.

It devoured this freely delivered offering of the Power of Fortune, converting it into its own nourishment.

The moment this portion of fortune was devoured and assimilated, the entity behind it seemed to realize its scheme had failed. It had completely lost contact with that sliver of the Power of Fortune.

The sky, once a brilliant, cloudless blue, was suddenly besieged by dark, ominous clouds surging in from all directions.

They churned like a stormy sea, gathering and pressing ever lower.

All of Anshan City was shrouded in a suffocating gloom. The sun was completely blotted out, and a sense of unease permeated the air.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning, sharp as a sword, pierced the grim canopy, momentarily illuminating the cloud-shrouded land below.

The flash was blinding, carrying an astounding power, and the subsequent crack of thunder sounded like the roar of a Celestial God.

The colossal peal of thunder reverberated through Anshan City, making windows rattle in their frames.

People stopped in their tracks, staring up at the sudden, staggering sight. Their faces were a mixture of awe and bewilderment, completely unaware of what was happening.

Back in his room, Hu Qi felt the sensation of an unseen gaze fixed upon him.

He snorted.

An illusory serpent’s body coiled behind him, its black and gold scales glinting.

In that instant, the dark clouds blanketing the area completely disintegrated.

Faintly, a resentful roar—as if formed from the cries of countless humans and beasts—echoed in Hu Qi’s ears before vanishing without a trace.

Hu Qi, of course, knew what it was: the world will of Earth Star.

"Idiot!"

Hu Qi sneered.

’Now I see why Earth Star became a ranch for the Black Blood Species to farm humans.’

’From my perspective, the behavioral logic of this world will is no different from that of a complete moron.’

’Mother Earth is about to awaken, yet this world will is still scheming against me. And now, just because I devoured a tiny bit of its fortune, it wants to unleash Celestial Punishment on me.’

’It’s... stupendously foolish.’

’Of course, it’s also possible that after the destruction of countless civilizations, the world will has been weakened for some reason.’

’But whatever the reason, I have no obligation to stand by and watch it act out in front of me.’

HUMMM!

Just then, a tremor ran through the room.

The massive floor-to-ceiling window began to creak, its reflection trembling slightly.

Outside, the distant skyscrapers swayed gently, like reeds in the wind.

CRASH!

A glass on a nearby table slid off the edge from the shaking and shattered on the floor, sending shards and water flying.

It left a dark stain on the carpet.

Hu Qi’s expression flickered. He took a single step, his figure vanishing from the window and reappearing on the street below in Anshan City.

He watched the panicking civilians scatter in terror.

He lifted his foot and stomped lightly. An inexplicable ripple spread from his body into the earth, instantly neutralizing the tremors emanating from deep below.

’So, it’s finally waking up?’

A strange light flashed in Hu Qi’s eyes.

His gaze seemed to pierce through thousands of kilometers of rock, peering at a scene somewhere in the Inner Earth World.

He didn’t act immediately, however.

Instead, he summoned his panel.

————

[Skill: Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture (Void Realm Chapter: Second Layer) △ Main Life Map: Taiyu Serpent Life Map]

...

[Modification Points: 1327 (85%)]

Thanks to devouring Ji Wuxing and the accumulation of the past two days...

...his Modification Points had once again surpassed the thousand-point mark.

"Crimson, upgrade! Modify the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture to the Void Realm Chapter, Third Layer!"

As he spoke, the familiar sensation of enhancement washed over him once more.

The light that had faded from Hu Qi’s body flared up again.

The light was blinding.

...

Since Hu Qi hadn’t made any effort to hide...

...this scene was quickly witnessed by several ordinary people.

"Oh my god, look! What is that?"

"It must be Earth Light! My grandma told me that Earth Light appears right before an earthquake."

"What are you talking about, Earth Light? That’s clearly a human figure! I think it has to be some powerful Secret Martial Artist. Maybe it’s the Speaker from the Shexin Sect!"

In the past, these ordinary people might have thought it was an Immortal or some other supernatural being.

But after more than two years of the Xia Federation’s efforts to educate the public about Secret Martial Artists...

...most ordinary people had a basic understanding of these Extraordinary individuals.

Even so, some people who witnessed the scene couldn’t help but drop to their knees and kowtow, muttering prayers for the safety of their families.

...

「Meanwhile.」

The earthquake wasn’t just limited to Anshan City.

The entire planet of Earth Star was shaking.

Fortunately, the tremors didn’t last long before subsiding.

It only caused some walls to crack and a few buildings to collapse; casualties were minimal.

To the average person, it seemed like a normal natural disaster.

Only those in positions of power, or the incredibly strong Secret Martial Artists, knew that the situation was far from simple.

Every member of a Martial Arts Family who had opened their Essence Element Divine Treasure, unless they were in the middle of a battle, stopped what they were doing.

Their unique intuition, a trait of Martial Arts Families, was blaring with warnings, as if something terrible was about to occur.

However, their strength was insufficient for them to know exactly what was happening.

Only a few Qi Dao Grandmasters had a faint, dreadful suspicion.

...

「Golden Buddha Temple.」

The temple grounds were vast, the atmosphere solemn and dignified.

Its vermilion walls were tall and imposing.

Fa Ji hurried along, quickly arriving before a great hall.

He pushed the great doors open. Inside, incense smoke curled lazily toward the ceiling, and a statue of the Buddha looked on with solemn compassion.

Below it, a gaunt figure in a red kasaya sat silently cross-legged on a prayer cushion.

"Master, just now..."

Fa Ji began to speak but was immediately cut off.

"I am already aware of the situation! We cannot interfere, nor do we have the power to. However, there are other things we can do. Pass down the order: all disciples of the Golden Buddha Temple are to proceed to the surrounding cities and stand guard. If they see any Black Blood Species or any signs of rioting, they are to kill on sight!"

Wang Jing spoke from his cross-legged position, his back still to Fa Ji.

"Yes, Master!"

Fa Ji opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but in the end, he suppressed the urge and left.

Wang Jing paid Fa Ji’s departure no mind.

He merely glanced up at the majestic Buddha statue and sighed softly.

’So this is Mother Earth? Truly terrifying. Just a sliver of her aura makes my skin crawl.’

’Thankfully, that great one is here. Otherwise, I fear I would have met my end today.’

’Amitabha... I pray the Buddha protects us and allows us to survive this crisis...’

...

The Golden Buddha Temple was just one example.

At Thunder Gate and Mengyu Pavilion, they too had detected the strange disturbance in the world.

Faced with this situation, ordinary people and Secret Martial Artists below the Qi Dao Grandmaster realm could only feel panic, unaware of the true cause.

Only those who had opened their Qi Vein Divine Treasure and become Qi Dao Grandmasters could perceive the violent fluctuations in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy.

As for Refining God Venerables like Lei Bao and Meng Ke, they were keenly aware of the truth.

Compared to ordinary Secret Martial Artists, their senses were far more acute, and they had detected the terrifying aura emanating from deep within the earth.

In that moment, they had never felt so utterly weak and powerless.

They could only place all their hopes in Hu Qi.

The only thing they could do was dispatch their disciples to maintain order in their respective regions.

With Mother Earth awakening...

...the Black Blood Species hidden and lurking throughout the world would surely be unable to resist revealing themselves, seizing the opportunity to hunt for "blood food" with abandon.

...

「Inner Earth World. The air reeked of sulfur and gushed with heat as sparks flew.」

The few remaining Food Masters, led by Shu Ming, stood at the edge of the Valley of the Earth Abyss, watching the lava flow below.

From their palms, crimson spheres condensed from countless "blood food" victims dropped into the molten rock.

Within the lava, a twisted, dark shadow writhed ceaselessly.

"That man somehow obtained a Secret Martial Art. Over in the Cangmo Realm, while we were away, he gathered a group of ’blood food’ and foolishly tried to rebel against our rule."

At that moment, a ten-meter-tall Food Master in a black robe let out a savage laugh.

As he spoke...

...his massive hand grabbed a Young Man whose limbs were twisted and broken, his body covered in blood.

If Hu Qi had been there, he would have recognized the captive as the man he had met in the Cangmo Realm during his second trip to the Inner Earth World.

Perhaps thanks to the dense Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy and the abundance of Spiritual Materials and Treasure Medicine in the Inner Earth World...

...the man had not only mastered the Secret Martial Arts Hu Qi had given him but had even reached the peak of the Martial Arts Family realm.

In that time, he had even built a resistance to fight the Black Blood Species, hoping to save the humans who were being farmed like livestock.

Unfortunately for him, the Inner Earth World was not the surface.

Although Hu Qi had killed Sha Kong, the Food Master of the Cangmo Realm, there were still many Middle Black Blood Species in the area.

The Young Man’s actions quickly drew the attention of these Middle Black Blood Species. He was crippled, captured, and somehow ended up in the hands of this particular Food Master.

"You... you monsters...! Sooner or later, the Human Race will... slaughter every last one of you! Every single one! HAHAHA...!"

Even with his limbs broken and his mouth full of blood, the Young Man still roared with laughter.

But he was cut off mid-laugh.

Enraged by his words, the Food Master clenched its hand.

With immense force, the Young Man was instantly reduced to a bloody pulp and casually tossed into the lava below.

"Enough. Lady Earth is about to awaken. We will soon be able to wash away this disgrace!"

Shu Ming spoke from the side, her voice heavy.