Chapter 1018: 26: The Great Cosmic Catastrophe (Subscribe Please)

Chapter 1018: Chapter 26: The Great Cosmic Catastrophe (Subscribe Please)

“This is a catastrophe!”

Lin Yuan quietly felt the terrifying waves surging toward him like a tide.

The feud between the two Chaos Great Saints had caused this universe to step early into demise.

If not for Lin Yuan, the number of survivors among humanity’s civilization might not even reach one in a million.

But it wasn’t limited to Lin Yuan’s home universe—along the path of battle between the Nine Phoenix Great Saint and the Shadow Demon Great Saint, countless universes had prematurely fallen into ruin.

To the living beings within these universes, including Twelfth-layer extremes, this was undoubtedly a calamity—an unstoppable disaster that could only be endured passively.

Such was the power of the Chaos Great Saints, apex existences of the Chaos Void, whose every action could twist the fate of countless sentient beings.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Lin Yuan immediately contacted Xuanyuan Supreme and nine other Supremes.

Swish, swish, swish!

Nine figures appeared in turn. Humanity’s civilization had largely completed its migration over two centuries ago, and the nine Supremes had been constantly awaiting the arrival of calamity.

“Galaxy, you’ve told us to prepare…”

Xuanyuan Supreme looked at Lin Yuan, speaking in a low voice.

Their spatiotemporal fusion comprehension remained at the Sixth Realm, and they could not sense the tide-like terrifying fluctuation Lin Yuan was faintly aware of.

“It’s almost here.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

These words engendered mixed emotions in the hearts of the nine Supremes.

For years, they had heard from Lin Yuan that their homeland universe would suffer premature collapse due to the battles of the Chaos Great Saints.

Yet even Lin Yuan could not pinpoint the timing for certain, as the combat trajectories of the two Great Saints were only roughly predictable and subject to sudden redirection.

This uncertainty had kept alive a sliver of hope in the nine Supremes’ hearts, deeply bonded to the universe they called their homeland.

But Lin Yuan’s prompt for preparation now implied the impact was imminent, making the catastrophe an inevitable truth.

As time ticked on,

Two extremes of destructive energies neared the home universe—no longer sensed solely by Lin Yuan but also by Twelfth-layer powerhouses scattered throughout.

“The universe is collapsing?”

Alien beings at the Twelfth-layer grew nervous. Save for anomalies like Lin Yuan, the collapse of a universe was akin to a harrowing brush with oblivion.

Moreover, the premature arrival—half a Cosmic Era early—meant these Twelfth-layer beings had lost crucial time for advancing their strength, further lowering their odds of survival.

“The saints’ duel…”

Within Robber Clan territory, two extremes huddled in a wooden hut, trying to make sense of the overwhelming energy waves.

“Even as Chaos Great Saints, they can only cause premature collapse, not erase a universe entirely. If we stay within the ancestral house, we won’t face danger.”

The two Robber Clan extremes whispered to themselves.

Neither the Great Saint-level forces nor His Majesty Xuan Huang dared leave the universe entirely, having arranged contingency measures inside its domain.

This was due to the universe being shielded by Chaos Rules. Not even supreme Great Saints could leave an indelible mark upon it.

…

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged under the starry sky, now acutely attuned to the ruinous impact wave wrapping around him.

This destructive power was composed of two forces—constantly entangled and colliding, annihilating everything within the Chaos Void.

Even something as vast as the cosmic starry skies suffered permanent, irreparable damage as the force swept through, beginning its demise.

Observing closely, Lin Yuan noticed one force was fiery red, fueled by infinite chaos to produce what he recognized as the Chaos Flame.

This Chaos Flame differed entirely from the one wielded by Lord Qingfen in the Origin World.

Lord Qingfen’s flames were pure destruction and incendiary might, whereas this Chaos Flame was brimming with vitality, imbued with the essence of renewal.

“Nine Phoenix Great Saint?”

Lin Yuan speculated silently. Though he hadn’t seen the battles firsthand, he was confident this energy hailed from Nine Phoenix Great Saint.

The Nine Phoenix Great Saint had ascended to Great Saint through mastery of the Chaos Flame.

The opposing force entangled with the flame took the form of utter darkness—a vast shadow swallowing existence into silent death.

“Shadow Demon Great Saint?”

Lin Yuan’s thoughts raced, certain this shadow-power belonged to the Shadow Demon Great Saint—the only rival capable of stalemating the Nine Phoenix.

Boom!

The two wholly different forces collided and spread outward, unleashing chaotic ripples across the void.

Endless swathes of emptiness were ravaged and decimated.

Lin Yuan’s senses heightened, his Seventh Realm mastery of spatiotemporal fusion enabling him to detect a neighboring universe away from his homeland.

This neighboring universe had already been engulfed by the two forces.

Crash.

The universe began collapsing at its origin, with the River of Time drying up at breakneck speed, leaving its inhabitants defenseless and terrified.

“Ahhhh…”

“Collapse? Our universe wasn’t supposed to falter so soon—how could this happen?”

“Our tribes haven’t even migrated yet!”

…

Twelfth-layer extremes in the crumbling universe sensed the calamity a dozen breaths ahead but could only stash treasures within their inner worlds—their tribes could only meet the collapse head-on.

Entire clans perished in an instant, obliterated so fast they couldn’t feel pain before vanishing.

Crash! Boom!

The universe continued imploding—a process proportional to its colossal scale—as it churned toward inevitable collapse.

“Fewer than ten Twelfth-layer survivors will emerge here,”

Lin Yuan faintly sensed, arriving at this conclusion.

The difference between preparation and unawareness was stark, especially for beings beneath Twelfth-layer strength.

Foreknowledge allowed weaker beings refuge within the ultimate’s inner worlds, offering some chance of survival.

In external collapse, even the sturdiest could fall to the River of Time’s drying currents—an assured death for any tethered fundamentally to its flow.

Lin Yuan sat gazing at the progressively crumbling nearest universe, his heart void of joy or sorrow.

“Chaos Great Saints’ strength is beyond what I can contend with. Their unique powers shaped by Chaos Rules are unimaginable.”

“I wonder what my Chaos Yin Yang Taiji Power would manifest as—could it rival their Chaos Flame and Chaos Shadow?”

Lin Yuan pondered.

…

Amid the spread of overwhelming forces, two figures stood tall at the center of their battle.

The two resembled black holes, radiating terror that shattered the Chaos Void.

“Nine Phoenix, now that we’re both Great Saints, why must we fight without end?”

The male figure on the right, draped in endless shadow, spoke to his counterpart.

“No end?”

“Shadow Demon, you slaughtered my kin to extinction. Even if it kills me, I will destroy you.”

Nine Phoenix Great Saint, a cold-faced woman, stared daggers at Shadow Demon Great Saint, her eyes brimming with hatred.

Born of the Chaos Void’s phenomena, she had been accompanied by eight kin of a similar nature.

For untold eons, Nine Phoenix Great Saint shared life with these siblings—until Shadow Demon arrived.

In those days, Shadow Demon lacked the status of a Great Saint, being merely a Chaos Venerable. To use the kin’s flesh as cultivation material, he massacred all eight siblings.

Nine Phoenix narrowly escaped with her kin’s aid.

Thus began their eternal vendetta.

Years passed as both ascended to the rank of Great Saints.

Combat between Chaos Venerables entailed a degree of exhaustion, making their confrontations intermittent.

But as Great Saints, armed with Chaos Rule-derived power, they now fought without limits—drawing endless resources from the Chaos Void itself.

“Kill me?”

“The Chaos Flame you wield lacks the means for destruction. You cannot end me.”

Shadow Demon Great Saint spoke with resignation. Nine Phoenix Great Saint was unable to harm him, yet neither could he bring her defeat.

The regenerative Chaos Flame she wielded solidified her as near-immortal in combat—a fact even a coalition of Great Saints couldn’t easily counter.

“Unable to kill you? Then I’ll drag you down.”

Nine Phoenix’s words were frost-edged and resolute.

She could spend eternity locked in pursuit with Shadow Demon Great Saint.

“Nine Phoenix, you madwoman!”

Shadow Demon’s voice dropped low—dragged into endless conflict? This willingness to forsake advancement solely to hinder him—what else could it be but insanity?

Buzz!

Though engaging in conversation, the pair traded blows countless times in fleeting instants before vanishing into the void.

The lingering power from their clashes rippled outward, its chaos continuing to devour entire universes prematurely.

…

“It’s here.”

Lin Yuan tuned into the moment—the two forces had arrived, triggering a deafening cry from the home universe’s origin source as spacetime warped toward collapse.

The collapse began from the universe’s edges, spreading gradually inward until it folded into chaos once more, heralding the birth of a new universe expanding forth.

Lin Yuan’s expression turned solemn. Confident as he was in surviving the collapse, he dared not dismiss its challenges lightly.

Boom!

The outskirts of the universe began disintegrating swiftly.

And at the very instant the collapse initiated—

“Hmm?”

Lin Yuan’s pupils contracted as he detected an unimaginable deviation.