Chapter 565

That grasp tore through chaos, ripped open time and space, and lunged toward the Ninefold Venerable.

“What is this?” A sudden fear gripped the Venerable.

Even when faced with the collapse and destruction of tens of millions of light-years earlier, he had never felt such soul-deep terror.

He would be torn apart.

He would be shredded.

Thoughts like these surged in his mind.

Then came the confusion.

Who was it?

Who was attacking him?

At the very moment that grasp reached toward the Venerable, a thread of karmic connection linked him to its source.

In a flash of revelation, he saw an image—

Beyond countless layers of time and space.

A young man slowly withdrawing his right hand, with five lingering, sky-rending traces still etched into the void.

Standing beside the young man was Cang Yulong, the Stonefolk Clan member staring at him in complete shock.

The Venerable paid no mind to Cang Yulong. Through that brief karmic connection, his focus was locked entirely on the young man who had unleashed that world-tearing grasp.

“It’s you?”

The Venerable instantly realized—the one attacking him was also Lin Yuan. The two were causally linked—they were the same origin.

“The one fighting me wasn’t even your true body?”

He couldn’t believe it.

He could sense clearly that the young man standing next to Cang Yulong—whether in physical presence or soul pressure—far surpassed the Tai Chi Primordial Spirit he had been battling.

The next moment—

The world-rending grasp descended.

Rip—

That pure, overwhelming power effortlessly tore through the space-time defenses surrounding the Venerable, then through his skin, flesh, bones—even his internal universe.

Everything—body, soul, even will—

Was shredded without resistance under that grasp, unable to hold out even for a moment.

Whoosh—

Even as his body and soul were torn apart, a surge of vitality burst forth from within him, trying to regenerate.

But each time a part regenerated, it was torn apart again by the lingering sky-rending force.

So it repeated—until, in the midst of despair and unwillingness, the Venerable’s body, soul, and internal universe were completely destroyed.

Not far away.

The Tai Chi Primordial Spirit silently watched.

“My true body’s full-powered Tear the Sky… Its power does surpass the detonation of the ‘World’ divine art.”

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

The divine arts ‘World’ and ‘Tear the Sky’ were both offensive techniques, but ‘Tear the Sky’ was far purer.

The ‘World’ divine art had suppressive and sealing effects, but ‘Tear the Sky’ did not.

And when ‘World’ was detonated, its destructive force was dispersed across millions of light-years.

So in terms of pure destructive might, it couldn’t compare to ‘Tear the Sky’.

‘Tear the Sky’ focused all its power into that single grasp.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Just as the Venerable’s body, soul, and inner world were destroyed, nine auras reformed beside him, they merged again into the form of the Ninefold Venerable.

But now, compared to before, his aura and pressure had plummeted dramatically.

And this wasn’t like Lin Yuan’s temporary drop after detonating ‘World’—

This was a loss that would take countless years to recover from.

“Still alive?”

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow, though he wasn’t too surprised.

Chaos Venerables had formidable life-preservation methods. Lin Yuan, after all, was only at the Path-Clearing stage. Using the ‘Tear the Sky’ divine art could at most severely wound a Venerable.

As for killing one? That would be difficult—this was still just a newly advanced Chaos Venerable.

If Lin Yuan had reached the Chaos Realm himself, then using ‘Tear the Sky’ against someone on the same level...

Not just the Ninefold Venerable, even peak Chaos Venerables would be crushed beyond recovery.

Honestly, even reaching Dominance stage would suffice. Once his life essence advanced—

With his many inheritances and techniques trained to a high degree, just one ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp would almost guarantee the Venerable’s death.

At the very least, the body in front of him would be utterly destroyed.

“In that case, one more time.”

The Tai Chi Primordial Spirit stepped forward.

After a short rest, Lin Yuan had mostly recovered.

The depletion from detonating ‘World’ had fully been restored—his combat power was back to peak.

“You—”

The Ninefold Venerable, pale and weak, quickly said, “No need to continue. I admit defeat.”

He was already gravely wounded—if the battle continued, it wouldn’t be a sparring match anymore, but a life-and-death fight, a desperate clash of final trump cards.

And for what?

For a Chaos Great Saint-level inheritance space? Risking his life against a fellow Venerable?

Even the Venerable had to reconsider—and especially in this situation, even if he risked everything, he’d probably still lose.

Just facing Lin Yuan’s Tai Chi Primordial Spirit had already pushed him near his limit. Now the true body, clearly stronger, was lurking nearby and could strike again at any time.

The odds of victory were slim.

And even if he did lose in a real death match, the Venerable wouldn’t truly die—he had hidden contingency plans elsewhere. If his true body perished, he could revive from one of them.

But all the resources and weapons on this body? Those would be lost for good.

And Lin Yuan certainly wouldn’t return them.

“You admit defeat?”

Lin Yuan immediately halted. He had no desire to force a Chaos Venerable into desperation—who knew what hidden methods the Venerable might still have?

More importantly, this was the Myriad Phenomena Void Domain, which housed other Chaos Venerables—many of whom were watching their battle closely.

If it had just been a spar, and neither side had taken serious damage, the others wouldn’t care.

But if Lin Yuan had been badly injured—

As a foreign Venerable, he couldn’t be sure that local Venerables wouldn’t intervene.

And who knew if the Ninefold Venerable had friends? If another Venerable joined in when the fight turned deadly, then what?

One-on-one, with all cards on the table—true body and Primordial Spirit both in play—Lin Yuan was confident he could overpower this newly advanced Venerable.

But one against two?

Too many variables.

So—

The moment the Venerable admitted defeat, Lin Yuan had no intention of continuing.

He’d achieved his goal: completely subduing the Ninefold Venerable.

Even if the Venerable remained resentful afterward, he’d have to think twice before challenging Lin Yuan again.

Far away in the layers of time-space, Lin Yuan’s true body turned and left.

For a peak twelfth-rank chaos treasure like the Chaos Tree, and a Chaos Great Saint-level inheritance space—

Lin Yuan had concluded that relying only on the Tai Chi Primordial Spirit wasn’t secure enough.

So the true body had come as well, hiding in the shadows to observe.

After watching the Venerable survive the ‘World’ detonation, the true body struck, unleashing the ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp.

The full force of his true body and Primordial Spirit—it was riskier, but after confirming the value of that inheritance space, Lin Yuan deemed it worth it.

Now that the duel was over, there was no reason for his true body to stay.

“How interesting.”

Lin Yuan cast one last glance at Cang Yulong.

With his true body present, Lin Yuan finally detected the hidden consciousness fluctuation inside Cang Yulong.

“A backup from some Great Saint?”

He thought of the mysterious inheritance space.

It clearly came from a Great Saint. Cang Yulong had once entered it—

He must’ve gained something inside.

Only after Lin Yuan’s true body fully vanished, did Cang Yulong’s scrambled mind begin to settle.

“That was also Senior?”

He collected himself and asked mentally.

The presence of Lin Yuan’s true body had been overwhelming, especially that ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp—even though its power was fully restrained, not aimed at Cang Yulong at all—

He still felt his soul tremble, as if just watching it would tear him apart.

“Of course it was.”

Finally, the childish voice that had fallen silent spoke again: “You little brat—what kind of luck did your Stonefolk Clan stumble into, to have ties with such a powerhouse?”

It sighed with emotion. Though it had dared not speak earlier, for fear Lin Yuan would notice, it had witnessed that grasp.

Such pure, absolute destruction—even it had been startled.

“That technique… It’s not a skill—it’s more like an innate divine power. Could this powerhouse be one of those wonder-born lifeforms, birthed by the Chaos Void itself? Born with such a killing ability?”

The voice speculated inwardly.

The mysteries contained within the ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp were such that even a Great Saint might not be able to replicate it.

Yet Lin Yuan, clearly not at the Great Saint level, could use it.

Innate divine power seemed the only plausible explanation.

These were natural abilities, innate and instinctive.

One couldn’t understand their underlying rules or structure—but simply knew how to wield them.

“A wonder-born being this adept at offense… If he reaches the Great Saint realm, he might become a Supreme Saint.”

It thought further.

Chaos Great Saints and Supreme Saints were both at Chaos Perfection stage, but the Supreme Saints far surpassed their peers in offensive power.

“Ah… I really don’t know.”

Cang Yulong replied honestly.

Even in its prime, the Stonefolk Clan had only ever produced one Dominance-stage ancestor—

And that figure had vanished more than ten cosmic eras ago. Even the soul lamp left behind had gone out.

As for being related to a Venerable?

If not for Lin Yuan’s clear integrity, Cang Yulong wouldn’t have believed it at all.

“Right—what happened with Senior’s duel against the Ninefold Venerable?”

The thought suddenly struck him.

He’d been so overwhelmed by the presence of Lin Yuan’s true body that he had completely forgotten to ask about the outcome of the duel outside the secret realm.

He recalled the last update from the childish voice—

That the Ninefold Venerable had withstood one of Lin Yuan’s killer moves and was about to counterattack.

“A duel?”

The voice sounded a bit surprised. “What do you think that appearance of your clan’s senior was for?”

“Huh?”

Cang Yulong blinked.

He only remembered Lin Yuan’s true body reaching toward the battlefield once, then leaving.

“It’s over. The Ninefold Venerable was heavily injured—probably admitted defeat.”

The childish voice stated plainly. It hadn’t heard the surrender, but based on Lin Yuan’s departure and the absence of further battle fluctuations outside the Ninefold Secret Realm,

It had inferred the result.

“That one grasp from Senior made the Ninefold Venerable surrender?”

Cang Yulong took a deep breath, in disbelief.

Though he’d sensed how terrifying Lin Yuan’s true body was, to him, Venerables and Great Saints were equally beyond comprehension—unfathomable.

“Your level and strength are still too low to truly grasp the power behind that grasp.”

The voice sighed. “But that’s a good thing.”

“A good thing?”

Cang Yulong thought for a moment and seemed to understand.

Across the Myriad Phenomena Void Domain, in one Chaos Continent and elite secret realm after another—

Many Chaos Venerables were gravely watching the battlefield outside the Ninefold Secret Realm.

“The Ninefold Venerable admitted defeat?”

“That grasp… its power was terrifying.”

“If he hadn’t surrendered, he would’ve had to fight to the death—and probably still die.”

The Venerables conversed. As peers in the same Void Domain, they had ways of staying in contact and could speak in real time.

Even across dozens or hundreds of Void Domains, Venerables could remain connected—

Though the farther the distance, the greater the cost.

Within a single domain, communication was virtually free.

“The Ninefold Venerable probably still had backup cards—but no need to keep fighting. That mysterious Venerable felt the same.”

“Indeed. That Venerable is terrifying. Even I would have to tank that grasp head-on—no chance of dodging.”

“Heh, if it were me, I’d merge into time-space and dilute that grasp. Even if I got injured, I wouldn’t be as bad off as the Ninefold Venerable.”

“Hahaha, he’s good at attacking, but his defense and survival skills are lacking—not nimble enough.”

The Venerables began analyzing the fight, imagining themselves in the Ninefold Venerable’s place, thinking about how they’d have handled Lin Yuan’s ‘Sky-Rend’ grasp.

Venerables rarely fought. Even when they sparred, they rarely used their trump cards.

After all, if everyone knew your trump card, it wasn’t a trump card anymore.

But the Ninefold Venerable and Lin Yuan had clearly gone all out, teetering on the edge of life and death and unleashing all their ultimate techniques—

Giving the other Venerables a real show.

Especially that ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp from Lin Yuan—a move none of them had seen before.

Naturally, they discussed how they might block it.

Of course, none of them knew—

Their strategies were meaningless.

Because Lin Yuan, who unleashed that grasp, wasn’t a Chaos Venerable like them—

He was merely a Path-Clearing being.

The divine art ‘Tear the Sky’ represented pure offensive might. And this was only its effect at Path-Clearing stage.

Once Lin Yuan reached Dominance or Chaos?

To withstand that grasp, only peak Chaos Realm—or perhaps a Great Saint—would stand a chance.

Without sufficient realm, all techniques were empty talk.

“Well, the duel’s over. The Ninefold Venerable conceded, and that mysterious Venerable has left.”

“Sigh… No more excitement to watch.”

“The Ninefold Venerable really suffered. With the injuries he took, he won’t recover for at least a couple of cosmic eras.”

The Venerables cast one last look at the Ninefold Secret Realm before shifting their attention elsewhere.

None of them had any intention of targeting Lin Yuan. As for stopping him?

That grasp had clearly come from Lin Yuan’s true body or avatar.

None of them could lock onto it. What use would confronting the Tai Chi Primordial Spirit be?

Unless Lin Yuan really fought the Ninefold Venerable to the death, no Venerable from the region would get involved.

It had only been a duel. And since the Venerable himself agreed to it, no one else would interfere.

“I lost.”

Outside the Ninefold Secret Realm, the Venerable stared at Lin Yuan’s vanishing form, a look of quiet resignation on his face.

It had been his own choice to surrender—and he accepted it. That final grasp had brought him face-to-face with death.

Had he not yielded, he truly might have died.

“This duel cost me dearly.” He began tallying the losses.

First, the mysterious inheritance space was gone. Even if he’d won, he would’ve only received some replicable inheritances.

But some was better than none.

Now, there was no hope of that at all.

Second, his power had gone out of control during the duel, causing catastrophic destruction across millions of light-years, even damaging the outer areas of his lair, the Ninefold Secret Realm.

And lastly, his own injuries—under that ‘Tear the Sky’ grasp—would take an enormous amount of time to recover from.

As a newly advanced Venerable, having risen from Dominance stage to Chaos, his status and power had soared.

He was riding high, and then he stumbled across a mysterious inheritance space.

He had thought his path would be smooth from here on out—

Straight into the Great Saint realm.

But this was the result.

“Forget it, forget it.”

“I lost. It’s just some Great Saint inheritances. Even getting them wouldn’t guarantee becoming a Great Saint.”

He calmed his heart. After all, no matter how many inheritances one had, becoming a Great Saint was never certain.

If it were, ancient Great Saint forces wouldn’t have declined.

To become a Great Saint, it ultimately depended on oneself. External help meant little.

Even a Great Saint personally guiding someone daily wouldn’t make much difference for a Venerable trying to break through.

Both were in the Chaos Realm—there was a limit to how much one could help the other.

“This battle made me realize… My killer moves and secret arts still have many flaws.”

The Venerable reflected—then his eyes lit up with renewed determination.

“Once I fix those flaws, next time we fight—who wins and who loses may not be so certain.”

A new fighting spirit surged within him. Though he still didn’t know who Lin Yuan was or which Void Domain he came from, a powerhouse like that couldn’t remain unknown for long. He’d find out eventually—and when he did, he’d challenge him again.

Deep within the layered time-space.

Cang Yulong stood respectfully.

Lin Yuan’s Tai Chi Primordial Spirit appeared, hands behind his back, looking at Cang Yulong.

“Thank you, Senior.”

Cang Yulong bowed nervously and expressed his gratitude.

Though Lin Yuan had acted for his own reasons, he hadn’t needed to save the entire Stonefolk Clan—or fight the Ninefold Venerable for them.

He could’ve simply said it wasn’t possible. Cang Yulong had never demanded he save them all.

“Mm.”

Lin Yuan nodded, then spoke words that made Cang Yulong’s expression change drastically:

“How long do you plan on hiding?”

...

20 chapters ahead on patreon: /David_Lord