Beyond that was the astonishing figure in the Modification Point column: over 14,000.

Previously, he had earned over two thousand Modification Points for killing Shu Ming, and devouring Mother Earth alive had provided him with nearly twelve thousand.

’What a pity. If I could have kept her and farmed her, she would have provided far more Modification Points in the long run...’

The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it.

Mother Earth wasn’t actually weak. She possessed the power of a Middle Stage Apostle, equivalent to the Void Realm Second Stage: Manifestation of the Saint.

It was just that she was severely injured at the time and hadn’t fully recovered.

As for him, a combination of factors—his Inheritance Secret Martial Arts, his Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline, and more—made his strength far surpass others at the same level.

That was why he had been able to devour her so easily.

Even if he had to do it all over again, Hu Qi still wouldn’t have held back.

’Keeping someone of the same level around is just not worth the risk if things go south.’

Besides, transforming beings into the Black Blood Species required a huge investment of time and human lives, and she would never have willingly let him "farm" her.

It was far safer to just devour her and reap the one-time reward.

He would only consider such a thing if he possessed overwhelming power and ample time.

He glanced at his panel. Although he hadn’t upgraded his Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture, his strength was still steadily growing as the Mutation of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent progressed.

Since there was no immediate danger, Hu Qi didn’t plan to upgrade right away. He decided to wait a while.

Ever since he’d transmigrated, he had been constantly on edge with almost no time to rest. Now was the perfect opportunity to relax for a bit.

He wasn’t worried about whether the decline of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy would affect him.

Now that he had reached the Void Realm, he could transcend the world’s limitations. He could draw upon Void Power from the void to replenish himself, making him completely independent of the world’s constraints.

...

「Two years slipped by.」

With the deaths of Mother Earth and the Black Blood Species, the Sword of Damocles that had been hanging over the Earth Star Human Race vanished.

They no longer had to live in fear.

In the past, a significant number of people died each year because of the Black Blood Species.

However, to maintain public stability, the true death tolls were never released.

This was good news for everyone.

As more time passed since the death of Mother Earth and the eradication of the Black Blood Species, other Qi Dao Grandmasters began to notice an anomaly: the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy was growing thin.

Compared to those from Martial Arts Families, Qi Dao Grandmasters were more reliant on Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy.

After all, to replenish their True Essence Power, they had to absorb and convert the Primordial Energy of the world. Otherwise, their power would eventually be depleted.

This very connection was also the source of a Qi Dao Grandmaster’s power.

The unusual decline in Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy sent these Qi Dao Grandmasters into a panic.

However, this decline in Primordial Energy was the will of the world itself. There was no solution unless one was powerful enough to break through the world’s seals and reach the Void Realm.

Helpless, the Secret Martial Artists who had reached the level of a Qi Dao Grandmaster—powerful enough to have broken their Qi Vein Divine Treasure and draw Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy into their bodies—had no choice but to seal themselves away in seclusion.

In a short time, nearly all the masters of the mid- to high-level Schools went into seclusion, disappearing from public view.

The only ones still active were, for the most part, Secret Martial Artists from the Martial Arts Families.

This development gave some ambitious politicians ideas.

The Black Blood Species were gone, but Secret Martial Artists still remained.

Humanity is an incredibly contradictory species. When faced with an external enemy, they can unite with terrifying cohesiveness.

But once that enemy is gone, they turn on one another. Conflict and strife become inevitable.

In some of the smaller nations, after two years of recovery, the seeds of war were already beginning to sprout.

The Xia Federation, by contrast, remained relatively stable.

Thanks to Zhu Xi and the various Speakers, such conflicts were still being kept in check.

No matter how powerful conventional weapons were, or how large an army, they were nothing against a Qi Dao Grandmaster who could fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, or a Refining God Venerable who could use the Power of the Heart to casually annihilate a city from miles away.

Previously, even if these politicians had other ambitions, they wouldn’t have dared to act on them.

But now, things seemed different. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy was in sudden decline.

It felt like a prelude to another "Age of Ending Martial Arts."

However, because no one knew if this change was temporary or how long it would last, for the time being, no one dared to make a move.

After all, these Qi Dao Grandmasters and Refining God Venerables were only in seclusion; they weren’t dead.

...

「Outside Earth Star.」

In the vacuum of space, a silver comet streaked past, trailing a long, fiery tail. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The comet was called the "Centaur Comet," and on average, it was visible from Earth Star about once every three years.

Due to the gravitational pull of its star, it continuously orbited the sun in a specific elliptical path.

The comet’s speed was immense and highly variable, changing depending on its position in orbit.

Typically, as it neared the sun, its speed could reach tens of kilometers per second—more than a hundred times the speed of sound.

And yet, hurtling along at this terrifying velocity, a figure stood upon the surface of what the people of Earth Star called the "Centaur Comet."

An invisible force field seemed to surround him, shielding him from the harsh environment so that he remained completely unaffected.

’It seems that in this world, there are no other living beings besides those on Earth Star...’

Hu Qi murmured to himself.

He glanced at the comet beneath his feet. It was covered in grayish-brown rock and glass-like crystals, the material of which was, remarkably, diamond.

This was likely the result of instantaneous high temperatures and pressures from various celestial collisions and impacts, which had converted carbon elements into a diamond structure.

From Mother Earth’s memories, he knew that the concept of a "world" varied greatly.

Some worlds were vast, spanning several Star Realms or even an entire universe. Others were small, consisting of only a single planet or perhaps just one city.

During this period, Hu Qi had explored this particular world and discovered that the Earth Star World itself was only about the size of a small solar system.

Besides the lifeless Moon Star and the blazing hot Sun Star, there were a few other planets.

However, they were only about a tenth of the size of Earth Star, with no traces of life or oxygen.

Clearly, Earth Star was the center of this world.

But that was to be expected. If Earth Star weren’t the center of this world, a Celestial Fate Person wouldn’t have been born here, nor would Mother Earth have appeared.

Hu Qi crouched down, placing his palm on the comet’s surface.

Space faintly rippled.

SUDDENLY, the speeding comet froze in place. It hung there silently, like a scene in a frozen painting.

Its once brilliant, flowing tail was now also motionless, every single particle of dust rendered perfectly clear.

It was a transition from rapid motion to absolute stillness, as if its immense kinetic energy had vanished in an instant.

The next moment, the comet’s originally elliptical and uneven surface began to ripple like water.

The core of diamond and rock seemed to turn into soft clay, and in an instant, it reformed into a perfect sphere.

Then it transformed into a Phoenix soaring on outstretched wings, then elongated into a giant serpent.

After a few more transformations, the comet returned to its original shape.

The frozen comet began to move once more.

It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

Hu Qi looked at his panel.

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

Since he had plenty of time and no pressure, he wasn’t in a rush. He had spent the last two years raising his Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture to the Sixth Layer of the Void Realm Chapter, which was the Second Realm: Manifestation of the Saint.

According to the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture, upon reaching the Manifestation of the Saint realm, one’s Power of the Heart underwent another transformation.

He could now infuse his Martial Arts Will into the omnipresent molecules, controlling them as effortlessly as his own limbs. They had become an extension of his body.

This was a true Domain.

By manipulating molecules, he could even recombine and rearrange the various molecules in his surroundings.

He now possessed the ability to change the very essence of matter, and even create things from the void to a certain extent.

For example, he could combine molecules in the air—such as nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide—into specific structures to create entirely new materials.

Furthermore, he could precisely control the properties and functions of molecules on a microscopic level.

For instance, by adjusting a molecule’s electronic structure, he could give it specific optical, electrical, or magnetic properties, allowing him to create items with special functions.

This was all simple in theory, but putting it into practice was no small feat.

It not only required an immense reserve of knowledge but also incredible precision. The slightest deviation could cause the created object to collapse.

Fortunately, because Hu Qi had absorbed and devoured Nuo Star, the Celestial Fate Person from the Noki Civilization, he possessed the latter’s vast memories. Combined with his powerful Divine Soul from being in the Void Realm and the practice he had put in, altering or even creating some objects wasn’t overly difficult for him.

However, there were many limitations to this ability.

For instance, the matter and energy in the universe are finite, so he couldn’t create objects without limit.

He also had to consider the constraints of physical laws, like the laws of thermodynamics, which could restrict the process of creating matter from the void.

However, if he could master the manipulation of atoms, these would no longer be problems.

To put it plainly, all matter in the universe is ultimately composed of atoms. By directly manipulating atoms, one could construct any substance imaginable—which would be equivalent to being a true god.

Unfortunately, reaching that stage was exceedingly difficult. While he could now observe things on an atomic level, it was limited to just that—observation.

He was completely unable to manipulate atoms with the same freedom he had over molecules.

Perhaps he would only be able to take that step after condensing his Divinity and becoming a True God.