Li Yu sat in the silent, profound stillness of his cultivation chamber, the last vestiges of the demonic energy tempest settling within him. His breakthrough to the 7th level of Core Formation was stable, his Ocean of Qi vaster and more potent than ever before.
But with this new power came a new, urgent need for caution. He had just consumed the essence of dozens of demonic beings, a feast of corrupting energy that would have driven any other cultivator to madness or caused their body to explode. He needed to be certain there was no hidden price.
He began a meticulous double-check, a deep and thorough inspection of his entire being. First, his physical body. He scanned every inch of his flesh, bone, and sinew. The new strength was undeniable; his body felt tougher, more resilient, brimming with a vitality that hummed just beneath his skin.
The demonic qi that his soul-imbued cells had absorbed had not corrupted them, but rather seemed to have been tamed and integrated, adding a new layer of dark, resilient power to his already formidable physique. He found no growths, no decay, no signs of corruption.
Next, his mind and his emotions. He delved into his Sea of Consciousness, observing his thoughts and feelings with a detached, clinical eye. He searched for any trace of unnatural anger, bloodlust, or cruelty. He found nothing.
His mind was as clear as ever, his emotional state as calm and controlled as it had always been. The demonic energy had been a meal for his body and his cultivation, but it seemed to have left his spirit and his personality untouched. There didn't seem to be any negative effects, only time would tell if that was true or not but at the moment everything seemed good.
Finally, he observed the state of his core. The sight was stranger and more wondrous than ever before. The vast, opalescent sea of his Koi Qi churned gently, the source of his foundational power. Floating upon this vast ocean, completely separate and distinct, were two small islands of pure, high-level energy. One was a silent, black wisps of profound, Void Qi. The other was a gentle, verdant stream of pure Life Qi. They did not mix with his Koi Qi; they were contained, isolated phenomena within his core.
But the demonic qi was different. He watched, fascinated and wary, as the massive, swirling nebula of red-green energy did not form a separate island. Instead, it was actively mixing and intertwining with his Koi Qi. It was not a violent or chaotic process, but a smooth, symbiotic fusion.
Streams of opalescent Koi Qi would swirl into the demonic nebula, and tendrils of red-green demonic qi would snake out and weave themselves into the wider ocean. The two energies were becoming one, creating a new, hybrid spiritual energy that was both as boundless as the ocean and as ferociously potent as the demonic storm.
This discovery was interesting. It seemed his unique martial spirit could not only contain the corrupting energy of demons, but actively integrate it, fusing it with his own foundational power. The implications were staggering.
This new, hybrid qi felt significantly more powerful and dense than his Koi Qi alone. He didn't know what effects this fusion might have on him long-term, so he decided not to absorb any more demonic items for now. But the desire for more was a burning ember in his heart.
This line of thought sparked a new, even more audacious idea in his mind. He began to wonder about the fundamental nature of his martial spirit. For the longest time, he had been able to draw in spiritual energy directly from aquatic life.
Now, he had just proven that his spirit could absorb, contain, and even fuse with the refined qi from demonic sources.
He had to test it. The next time he ran into a living demon, he would have to see if he could absorb their energy directly, just as he did with fish in a river. If that was true, then the demonic plague that Theron had described in such terrifying terms would not just be a threat; it would be a buffet. The thought was both exhilarating and chilling. It would be a great help to him if that was true, a path to power that could weaken the threat while making himself even stronger.
He didn't think it would be able to though, he had tested it out before with beasts from different bloodlines like that of fire or earth. While he is able to eat pills based on fire attributed herbs he wasn't able to draw from fire based beasts directly.
The same was true since unlocking his Koi Qi, he was then able to draw from different sources in the environment, but not directly from living things with those same sources. Though the chances were slim, he would still test it to find out.
Feeling a need for perspective, and perhaps a bit of validation for his new strength, his first instinct was to find Khaos and request a test of his strength. He entered the Koi Sanctuary, his mind set. But as he materialized in the tranquil, boundless space, he saw Khaos and immediately halted his plan. Khaos was not in his human form.
He was in his true crab form, a being of primordial majesty and terror. He was not just sitting; he was surrounded by a faint, visible distortion, as if space itself was warping and bending around him as he contemplated the laws of the universe.
Li Yu, seeing Khaos like this, felt he had asked Khaos too much already in that last fight. He decided against asking for a sparring match, showing a new level of wisdom and respect for Khaos's boundaries.
He instead decided to make some small talk instead.
He approached respectfully, stopping a safe distance away. "Khaos," he began, his voice calm. "I wanted to thank you again for your help with the demon, Malek."
Khaos's massive, ancient eyes, which glowed with the faint light of distant, dying stars, slowly swiveled to focus on him. The spatial distortion around him vanished. His voice boomed in Li Yu's mind, not with spoken words, but with a direct, telepathic projection that was as cold and as vast as the void.
"If you have nothing of importance to say, little boy, then leave me alone. I was comprehending the Void Laws. It is a delicate process. Something you should be doing as well, if you have enough free time to be wasting my own with idle chatter."
Li Yu felt a chill run down his spine, but he also saw an opportunity. "My apologies, Khaos," he said with a respectful bow. "But you have brought up a point I do not understand. How… how does one approach comprehending the laws?"
Khaos was silent for a long moment, and Li Yu thought he might be ignored or suppressed. He was a colossal, primordial crab contemplating the secrets of the universe, and a tiny human was asking him for basic instruction.
Khaos stared at him for a long moment, a look of utter disbelief in his eyes, as if Li Yu had just asked him how to breathe. "How do you approach it?" he repeated, his tone mocking. "You ask such a stupid question. You do not 'approach' a law. You perceive it. You grasp it. You make it your own. It is a matter of perception, not of method. To ask for a method is to admit you are blind."
But then, a low, rumbling sound echoed in his mind, the telepathic equivalent of a deep, ancient sigh. "Listen, and listen well, for I will only say this once. Laws are the second ultimate power. The first one being the Dao. A law is a fundamental rule of the universe. To comprehend a law is to become its master, to be able to bend that rule of reality to your will. It is the path all cultivators must walk after they have mastered the manipulation of mere energy. You don't be stupid, and you comprehend the law. That will lead you to the Dao. The Dao is the ultimate power, the source of all things, the thing from which all laws are born. It's very simple."
Once again, Li Yu was dumbfounded. Simple? It was the most complex, abstract, and terrifyingly vast concept he had ever heard. He had been so focused on his cultivation level, his body and more recently his soul that he had never even truly considered what came next. Khaos was telling him that there were more levels above that, it wasn't all just internal, it was external as well. It was about something far, far greater.
He had to have strong internals and then master external powers to further strengthen himself and his techniques.
He just nodded his head, his mind a complete blank. He gave Khaos a final, deep bow of thanks.
"Now leave," Khaos commanded, and his great, stellar eyes closed once more. The spatial distortion immediately reappeared around him, and Li Yu knew he had been dismissed. He retreated from the Koi Sanctuary, his mind a chaotic storm.
Khaos's words, as arrogant and unhelpful as they were, had just kicked open a door to a new, higher level of existence, and he was staring into a blinding, infinite light. None of his techniques or those that he read called out a certain law or how to study and master it. Were their levels too low?
That was possible after all, he didn't even know there were so many continents before just recently.