Lin Feng stood within the heart of the Silent Star Crevice, the newly named Siku—the Infant Chronos Dragon—cuddled in the crook of his arm. The creature's chaotic power, an amalgamation of nascent Space and Time Laws, was barely contained, a cosmic whirlpool threatening to erupt. Lin Feng's immediate priority was not the Jade, but maintaining the intricate, perfect stability required to keep Siku from dissolving the cavern and everyone in it.
He channeled his entire concentration into his supreme technique: Void Sovereign Nexus. This wasn't merely a Domain; it was a perfect, internal, miniature Law-based universe. He forced his Six-Law Crucible—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Void—to cycle in a continuous, frictionless loop, creating an aura of absolute harmony around Siku. The Infant Chronos, terrified of its own chaotic instability, clung to the Nexus, purring a low, resonant frequency that paradoxically stabilized the surrounding spatial fluctuations.
This is the true test of the Six-Law Crucible, Lin Feng thought, his focus so intense his temporal perception slowed, granting him an agonizing awareness of the microseconds ticking by. One imperfection in the harmony, one weakness in the Wood Core, and Siku's Time Law will flare, collapsing my Domain.
The presence of the Astral Jade Vein, glowing with faint, pure silver light 30 feet away, was the sole reason they risked this strain. The Jade was the key to Wanying's long-term stability and their collective ascension.
Xia Qingwu was the first to move, her face a mask of intense concentration. She knew the greatest danger was the temporal backlash caused by Siku's presence.
She ignored the Jade and began setting up a complex, triple-layered defensive array around their immediate location. Her fire was not used for attack, but for precision. She melted tiny, specially prepared runic catalysts into the stone floor, tracing a continuous circle that throbbed with controlled, crimson energy.
"Phoenix Seal: Temporal Mitigation Array!" she commanded softly.
The array activated, not as a shield, but as a chronological buffer. It established a small zone where the flow of time, though still distorted, was prevented from accelerating or decelerating wildly. This provided the necessary stable framework for Wanying's and Lin Feng's precision work.
"Temporal stability is at seventy percent," Xia Qingwu reported, wiping a sheen of sweat from her brow. "It will hold long enough for the extraction, but not for a protracted battle."
Yin Xiu, meanwhile, transformed into her optimal state: pure, shimmering shadow. She was the group's eyes and instant defense. Her mission was to constantly monitor the cavern walls and the air, watching for unnatural spatial folding.
"The fourth corner is collapsing and reforming every twenty seconds," Yin Xiu hissed, her voice a barely audible ripple of sound. "A Dimensional Shear is forming near the ceiling. We have maybe three minutes before the natural chaos of the Crevice overcomes Siku's stabilization field."
Yin Xiu deployed her skill: Shadow Veil Displacement. She didn't move; she prepared. A thin, invisible sheet of illusionary Qi wrapped around each member of the group. If a dimensional collapse occurred, the veil would grant them a split second of displacement—a spatial trick that might prevent instant obliteration.
With the temporal and spatial environment barely stabilized, it was Wanying's turn for the first crucial step: preparing the Astral Jade for cutting. The Jade was partially embedded in the rock, and attempting to physically wrench it out would cause immense internal structural damage, ruin its purity, and likely trigger a catastrophic reaction with the surrounding spatial Qi.
"I need to cut the molecular connection between the Jade and the matrix without vibration," Wanying stated, her silver eyes focusing on the metallic shimmer of the vein.
She stepped forward, channeling the absolute, crystalline purity of her lineage. The temperature around her dropped instantly, even within Xia Qingwu's heat-shielded array. This was not the chaotic discharge from Chapter 19, but controlled, focused power.
"Ice Empress: Absolute Stillness!"
A cone of silvery-blue energy, so cold it was invisible, flowed from her hand and gently encased the exposed portion of the Astral Jade. The effect was astonishing: the very vibration of the Jade—the subtle energy pulse that linked it to the rock matrix—slowed to a near stop.
"The bond is slowed," Wanying reported, breathing heavily. "Feng, Qingwu, now! The cut must be clean, focused, and immediate."
Lin Feng did not move his support arm from Siku. Instead, he channeled his Void-Metal Core into his left index finger—the most structurally sound and precise element in his Crucible.
"Void Essence Cutter!"
A thin, razor-sharp line of pure, Void-infused Metal Qi extended from his finger. It was the ultimate refinement of the Void Cutter Finger, utilizing the stabilizing hardness of the Metal Law. Lin Feng slowly, meticulously guided the Void Essence Cutter toward the base of the frozen Jade.
Simultaneously, Xia Qingwu launched her own precision tool, a stream of focused, pure Phoenix Fire that acted as a high-temperature sterilizer, preventing the cutter from picking up any of the Crevice's destabilizing spatial Qi.
The Void Essence Cutter made contact.
Screeeeech.
The sound was agonizingly high-pitched. The Astral Jade was infinitely tougher than anticipated. Wanying's Absolute Stillness slowed the vibration, but the structural density of the Heavenly material was immense.
Lin Feng pushed his Void-Metal Core to its limit. He was fighting a geological formation of near-Heavenly grade. Sweat poured from his brow.
Then, Siku whimpered. The pressure Lin Feng was exerting on his Void Sovereign Nexus caused a micro-ripple in the harmony.
In that instant, the Dimensional Shear Yin Xiu had warned of collapsed. The cavern ceiling, twenty feet above them, began to fold instantly, descending upon their position in a silent, unstoppable wave of spatial compression.
"Dimensional Collapse! Above!" Yin Xiu screamed, instantly snapping her Shadow Veil Displacement into action, throwing a protective field over Lin Feng and Wanying.
The sheer chaotic power of the Crevice had won the first round. Lin Feng was split between maintaining Siku's stability and protecting his allies from obliteration. The Astral Jade remained stubbornly embedded in the rock.