Chapter Thirty: How Can an Ant Shake the Heavens and the Earth

The moonlight before his eyes grew hazy beneath the pitch-black gaze, and a cold wind swept by.
A world without light, shrouded in darkness, utterly lonely.
Endless sensation of danger!
Endless sensation of oppression!
Endless sensation of fear!
Like a tide of blackness, the dark aura relentlessly engulfed Tianming, with everything it touched withering and the very air solidifying.
“Damn it!” Blood-stained red teeth bared, Tianming curled up on the ground, making the most of his cloak.
Helpless!
But as those waves of darkness approached, the defense of a mere tenth-grade Foundation Establishment was no match; it was swiftly eroded, and the red robe finally succumbed under the unbearable weight...
Moments later, streams of decaying energy pierced through, like black blades ceaselessly slicing and corroding Tianming’s body...
In the darkness, Tianming’s entire body trembled, streaks of blood tainted by the dark aura seeped out, his tense body curled on the ground, nails digging into his palms, his expression wracked with agony.
Yet despite this, Tianming still raised his head, glaring fiercely at the shadow before him, his arm shielding his eyes, his gaze burning with indomitable fighting spirit, unshaken by fear of his physical plight.
Heh heh...
Seeing Tianming still full of fighting spirit, the hunched shadow shook his head with a cold laugh.
At such a young age, to maintain such composure in the face of mortal danger was commendable, yet in his eyes, Tianming was but a talented ant, and any effort would soon be in vain.
For he was the embodiment of the world’s dominion.
How could an ant ever shake the heavens?
“Give up, boy! Do you think your mere tenth-grade Qi Gathering can withstand me? Or are you hoping your fellow disciples will come to your rescue?” The hunched shadow stood unmoved, sneering with disdain.
To deal with a mere tenth-grade Qi Gathering youth, he could kill with a flick of his hand. Yet, orders from above demanded Tianming be captured alive if possible, which he found beneath him. But curiosity gnawed at him: why were those people willing to risk exposure to have him act?
He no longer cared to know, for lingering any longer would bring him no benefit.
At once, the hunched shadow morphed into a mass of dark energy, sweeping toward Tianming.
A massive chasm of dark energy formed, like clouds of black mist spreading from both sides...
Under the shroud of mist.
Pain beyond all limits instantly numbed Tianming to all movement around him, as if he had fallen into an abyss.
“...So this is death?”
Within a realm of darkness, Tianming gazed at his phantom-like body, his expression lost.
Disappointment with the world thundered in his heart, his confused soul adrift...
A moment passed.
Suddenly, an unprecedented feeling surged in Tianming’s heart, memories blooming like a carousel.
Painful memories left him regretful...
Happy memories drew him into longing...

Endless joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness finally faded into nothingness.
At this moment, Tianming’s bewildered soul lay dormant in the darkness, his whole body wrapped in endless dark aura, as if the world no longer held his presence.
Hiss!
Meanwhile, as Suoyang Can pondered the identity of the mysterious dark sorcerer, he was stunned by the sudden surge of black aura.
With wary eyes, he glanced at the hunched shadow, feeling as if he stood at the gates of hell.
“...I never thought even that one would submit to the Dark Demon Clan.” His brows furrowed, and Suoyang Can finally recalled something.
His eyes widened in shock, thankful for his earlier choices; otherwise, this scene would have played out upon him. He looked at Tianming with deep sympathy, though Tianming’s transformation from first to tenth grade startled him, it was of no consequence.
A sinister voice drew Suoyang Can’s attention back to the hunched shadow, filling him with reverence.
“Submit and live, resist and perish!”
The hunched shadow’s wicked laughter echoed above Sky Lake. If one listened closely, they’d notice the laughter vanished mysteriously outside the lake, as if sealed within its own space.
Swish!
Just as the crisis reached its peak, a golden light suddenly burst from Tianming’s body, shocking both the shadow and Suoyang Can.
“Ah!”
The oppressive force vanished in an instant; power surpassing all limits rebounded, unleashing Tianming’s boundless potential.
Power without pigment!
The world seemed to dissolve into nothingness; Tianming’s mind had never been so clear. If he could see himself from the outside, he would notice a layer of faint silver radiance enveloping his whole body.
At the intersection of this glow, golden light fused, and a vast, ethereal golden immortal shadow floated above Tianming.
A tremendous golden-silver shield instantly enveloped Tianming’s frail form.
The wind howled, thunder rolled.
An unprecedented aura radiated from Tianming, and apart from the brilliance within the golden-silver shield, everything within six miles lost its color.
“Hmph!”
Seeing this, the hunched shadow refused to yield, sending waves of black ripples from beneath his feet...
The dark aura surged like deep water, becoming a vast tide of darkness, battering Tianming’s golden-silver shield like three thousand waves.
Golden light illuminated the earth, darkness corroded the golden rays.
At this moment, they were evenly matched.
Hmm?
Between these polar forces, if one could see the shadow clearly, they’d find his face filled with shock and dread.
“...Is this... the Hidden Heaven Machine?”
The familiar power left the shadow dazed—how could it be here?
“No, it’s not him!” After a moment’s thought, the shadow’s chilling voice sounded again.
If his cultivation were at the tenth grade of Spirit Silence, he would be utterly outmatched, for that one had already stepped into the Golden Core realm. He instantly regretted not eliminating Tianming sooner!

He never expected the boy to possess the blessing of that one’s power. Though it was only a phantom of energy, it was imbued with the rules of heaven and earth; while lacking the force of the Golden Core, it was still beyond his ability to defeat.
“What?” Suoyang Can stood by, utterly incredulous.
Just as Suoyang Can thought it was all over, the eruption of golden light blurred his vision.
What kind of power was this, capable of changing the world itself?
Caught between two extreme forces, Suoyang Can trembled in his corner, buffeted by waves of overwhelming pull rushing past him.
...
On a city street elsewhere.
An old man with white hair sat on the ground, leaning on a dark cane, his deep eyes flashing as he scrutinized the passing crowds...
Heavens can be divined, earth can be divined, nothing is beyond calculation, past causes and future effects!
A worn cloth covered with items for divination lay before him; perhaps the bold words drew attention, causing passersby to glance curiously...
Upon seeing the large characters, doubts arose—who could claim to divine the heavens and earth? Yet the stench soon drove them away.
“Miss, please wait, I see darkness on your brow—surely bloodshed looms. Let me take a look?”
As a fair-skinned woman in a white dress passed by, the old man quickly rubbed his dirty hands on his grimy clothes, then reached out his callused hand, trying to grasp her delicate arm.
Hmm?
The old man seemed to sense something; his filthy hand instantly withdrew, his cane trembled, his eyes flickered like stars, and returned to their original state.
At the same time, an intense energy spread invisibly around, a gale swept through, and the surrounding cultivators quickly shielded their heads, cursing the heavens as chaos erupted...
The wind’s gust left the woman unsettled, causing her to hastily lower her head and guard the view beneath her white dress.
“...You!”
As the old man’s words fell, she felt her body losing control, but just as he was about to touch her, the wind swept by, dissolving that sensation in an eerie manner.
“Hmph!” Unable to make sense of it, the woman could only snort coldly.
Her small fists clenched tightly, her autumn-water eyes glared at the old man in anger.
Though the white-haired elder failed to take advantage, the woman still glared at him with resentment, but seeing him sitting with eyes shut, she could only let it go.
“What just happened?”
“I only saw an old man trying to take advantage, then nothing!”
“Yes, I’ve never encountered such a strong wind—even as a seventh-grade Foundation Establishment, I couldn’t stand firm.”
“Heh, the scenery just now was quite something...”
“You could keep your eyes open?”
“...Shh... best not to speak...”
On the street, voices rich with implication sounded, the conversation drifting toward unspeakable directions. As the woman recalled the elder’s words, she suddenly sensed something, her face flushing, fists clenched in anger as she quickly left the unlucky place.