Chapter 163: The True Terror of Nebulae and the Chaotic Divine Body

Where is this?

Lu Xun stood on the dome platform of the space fortress, the night wind fluttering his robes.

He raised his head and, together with the cultivators beside him, gazed at the awe‑inspiring starry sky.

The starry sky here is extremely brilliant,

Countless stars sparkled on the heavenly canopy, each radiating a different hue—deep blue, crimson purple, lustrous white, scarlet...

What's even more astonishing is that countless flowing, radiant stellar lights link these stars, like celestial garlands tossed offhand by a god, weaving a dazzling net of light in the void.

Thus the starry sky becomes dreamlike and illusory.

"It must be inside a nebula; otherwise the starry sky wouldn't be so splendid."

Yuan Zhen guessed.

"Inside the nebula!"

Lu Xun had a similar guess.

By now, Lan Xing has already passed through many nodes.

Most of these nodes on the Starry Sky Ancient Road lie within some nebulae.

Using old-era scientific terminology, a nebula is a diffuse celestial body composed of gas, dust, plasma, and high‑energy particles.

Its size spans from several light‑years to hundreds of light‑years.

It is the cradle of stars and planets.

Like the famous Pillars of Creation in the universe.

It stands like three pillars in the universe, each pillar reaching five light‑years high and containing thousands of newborn stars.

In the early days of the High Martial Era, Lan Xing once visited there.

There, it turned out to be also a node of the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

The reason the nodes of the Starry Sky Ancient Road are nebulae is that their interiors preserve the primordial environment of the universe's birth, containing abundant dark energy.

Meanwhile, in other places the vastness of space makes dark energy extraordinarily diffuse.

Like in the binary star system where Lan Xing previously stayed, the dark energy concentrated throughout the entire system might still be less than a cubic meter.

Because the amount is too small, the experts of Lan Xing have no interest in gathering it.

"It's so dark, there aren't even any stars."

"Be content; the stars inside a nebula are unstable, and if Lan Xing appeared near a star, that would be disaster."

Many cultivators chatted while observing their surroundings.

The advantage of being in space is thus demonstrated.

One can directly observe the external environment with the eyes, unlike humans on Lan Xing's surface who can only watch videos online.

Where Lan Xing appears, there are no stars nearby.

At this moment, Lan Xing continues to advance through space.

Since there are no nearby stars, there is no gravitational source, so Lan Xing's speed hasn't slowed much.

All around is darkness.

If viewed from a few thousand light‑years away with a telescope, the nebula is very splendid and bright.

But inside the nebula, especially far from stars, although the starry sky looks splendid, little light is obtained.

There's nothing to be done; the cosmic scale is simply too vast.

Distances are routinely measured in light‑years.

One light‑year is a full 9.46 trillion kilometers.

Not billions.

It's trillions!

Once, the Sun of the Solar System, if viewed from a Pluto‑like planet at the system's edge, would appear about as bright as a matchstick seen from a hundred meters away at night.

That distance is only a few billion kilometers, let alone distances measured in light‑years.

"There's nothing, so it shouldn't be that fast yet."

Lu Xun used several kinds of ocular divine abilities to observe the surroundings, but found nothing.

The universe's scale is too great; even with a ten‑thousand‑li eye, Lu Xun couldn't see much.

He knew it wasn't that fast yet.

The Rainbow Bridge usually appears some time after Lan Xing reaches a node.

So far, this time has been relatively smooth; although they encountered a terrifying dark beast tide, they didn't suffer a major catastrophe right after entering the dark universe.

Once, as soon as Lan Xing emerged from the dark universe, it encountered a supernova explosion and nearly perished.

"The Dark Energy Tide is coming soon; everyone, pay attention to absorb it!"

Fu Xue's voice rang out.

After speaking, she flew off the space fortress to a higher place.

"Everyone, spread out; absorb as much as you can."

Yuan Zhen said.

Many cultivators began to disperse.

Every time Lan Xing enters a node of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, a Dark Energy Tide occurs.

This is actually Lan Xing absorbing dark energy itself.

The cultivators on Lan Xing can also take the opportunity to absorb dark energy.

Even, one can use some cheating methods to gather dark energy.

For example, this space fortress has large amounts of specialized equipment opened, in order to seize the chance to gather a wave of dark energy.

Such behavior shouldn't be overdone; it's best not to do it personally, otherwise it's easy to be targeted by the Heavenly Dao, and later encountering things like heavenly tribulations will be troublesome.

Seeing this, Lu Xun also flew up into the sky.

Absorbing Dark Energy is what he's best at.

"So many people."

At this moment, Lu Xun discovered that a large number of cultivators either flew on their own or rode flying boats, airships, and various other tools capable of reaching space, flying into the high altitude.

Probably more than half of the cultivators on Lan Xing's surface have come.

Naturally, not all of these cultivators have come to the space fortress where Lu Xun is.

He saw this using his far-sight.

"You fought so fiercely earlier, yet you didn't come to help; now you've shown up instead, right?"

Lu Xun was somewhat speechless.

Although there are many cultivators on Lan Xing, not all of them follow orders.

Therefore, all countries have introduced a merit system; the higher the merit, the more privileges one enjoys, and various welfare benefits are excellent.

"Lu Xun, where are you? My teacher brought me up to heaven to absorb Dark Energy."

Chu Youqing sent a message.

She also came up to heaven.

I don't know if Murong Wan has come.

"Good student, where are you? I, as your master, have been looking for you for half a day."

Fei Tai'a also sent a message.

It looks like Fei Tai'a is preparing to bring Lu Xun up to heaven to absorb Dark Energy.

Whenever a Dark Energy Tide arrives, in space one can be close to the water and get the moon first, absorbing more Dark Energy.

Once Dark Energy reaches the ground, it becomes much less.

As soon as Dark Energy enters Lan Xing's atmosphere, it begins to be absorbed by Lan Xing, becoming ever less.

At such times, cultivators who can reach heaven naturally gain more benefits.

Those cultivators who were already miserable will become even more miserable.

Otherwise, how to say it,

this world,

money only flows to those who are not lacking money.

hardship will be left to those who always endure hardship.

Lu Xun replied to Fei Tai'a's message.

Fei Tai'a still doesn't know that Lu Xun was brought to the space fortress by Fu Xue.

"Brother Xun, I've gone up to heaven, wahaha, this relative of mine is really awesome."

Li Buffan also sent a message to show off.

Well,

This isn't because your relative is awesome.

It's because your shabbily dressed parents are awesome.

"Here they come!"

The Dark Energy Tide has arrived.

In space, all cultivators are seizing the time to absorb, absorbing as much as they can.

At this moment, one can just absorb without refining, first storing it in the body.

As for how much can be stored, it depends on the cultivator themselves.

When storage is full, refining later is not too late.

Practicing during a Dark Energy Tide directly saves Dark Energy.

No matter how much is saved, it is still saved.

Moreover, using such a Dark Energy Tide can actually be used for realm breakthroughs.

Especially for cultivators who are short on resources, this free Dark Energy should not be wasted.

"Why is there no Dark Energy?"

Not far from Lu Xun, a cultivator wondered.

The Dark Energy Tide has arrived, yet he somehow didn't absorb any.

"Am I that powerful?"

Lu Xun was somewhat surprised.

Could he be too powerful?

Upon absorption, he directly sucked the Dark Energy clean from a surrounding area, causing cultivators nearby to get nothing.

After realizing this, Lu Xun quietly changed position and flew to a desolate area.

Space is vast, so there's enough room.

Then he went all out absorbing.

"I'm screwed by heaven."

This absorption made Lu Xun realize he is truly formidable.

Before, when he used Dark Energy to replenish, he was already quite formidable.

Now, just absorbing without refining is what's truly formidable.

However much Dark Energy is around, it was directly sucked into Lu Xun's body.

Normally, as soon as the Dark Energy is fully absorbed, it disappears.

But now, within the Dark Energy Tide, Dark Energy flows in endlessly.

This means Lu Xun can absorb it freely.

「No good, if this continues my meridians and dantian won't be able to hold much more; I should first refine some。」

With Lu Xun's absorption speed, the inside of his body will soon be unable to hold more.

Lu Xun prepared to refine them, turning them into spiritual power and true qi, just in time to replenish his recent consumption.

At this moment, an accident occurred.

His body produced a feeling of hunger.

And right after the feeling of hunger arose, the Dark Energy inside Lu Xun's body instantly disappeared.

「Huh? 」

Lu Xun was surprised.

Where did the Dark Energy go?

Soon, he knew.

These Dark Energies should have been absorbed by his body.

But after absorbing the Dark Energy, Lu Xun's body did not give birth to spiritual power, true qi, or any other power.

Lu Xun pondered for a moment, then decided to continue absorbing to see what happens.

He began absorbing Dark Energy again.

Not long after, the inside of his body could no longer hold more.

Lu Xun did not refine it, but instead tried to absorb it with his body.

Sure enough, soon the feeling of hunger reappeared.

All the Dark Energy dissipated completely once again.

Lu Xun continued absorbing and continued observing.

After continuing like this for over an hour, he finally figured everything out.

All of this is related to the physique he possesses, the Chaos Divine Body.

「Chaos Divine Body... is it really that powerful? 」

Lu Xun murmured softly.

Through inner vision, he made a discovery.

These Dark Energies actually entered a cell inside his body.

Yes, it's a cell.

This made Lu Xun think of the scene when the Chaos Divine Body was activated.

When the Chaos Divine Body was activated,

the inside of his body seemed to turn into a expanse of chaos.

When heaven and earth first opened, the blood surged like the Milky Way flowing backward, and billions of cells exploded into the nebula of the primordial chaos.

One after another, universes leapt forth from the chaos.

Those were not universes, but individual cells.

The cells inside his body all seemed to become tiny universes.

Although Lu Xun thought this scene was awesome, he had not yet realized its true awesomeness.

Now, he knows.

His cells actually turned into something like micro-universes.

A tiny cell can actually absorb so much Dark Energy.

Where did these Dark Energies go?

After holding it for so long, it's still not full.

If this cell were filled with Dark Energy, what changes would occur?

Lu Xun still doesn't know these.

「Finally full. 」

After another hour, Lu Xun finally felt that the cell was full of Dark Energy.

Because it stopped absorbing.

Lu Xun observed it for a while and found that it hadn't changed at all.

「Can other cells do the same? 」

Lu Xun gave it a try.

Then he discovered that not only that cell, but other cells could also absorb Dark Energy.

「System, what's going on? 」

Lu Xun decided to seek help from the System.

【Host, don't panic; this is one of the wonders of the Chaos Divine Body: each cell of the Chaos Divine Body is like a micro-universe, and the more Dark Energy they absorb, the stronger the host's body becomes.】

「What if I fill all my cells with Dark Energy? 」

Lu Xun asked again.

【The host's body will become comparable to the body of immortals and gods, and can also drive the evolution of the Chaos Divine Body.】

Wow.

Comparable to the body of immortals and gods!

That's awesome.

Moreover, according to the system, the Chaos Divine Body can still evolve?

That's right,

When Lu Xun bound with Murong Wan, she was the first.

Only a tenfold return.

If Murong Wan were bound later, getting a several‑fold return, wouldn't that be even more powerful?

Of course, what has already happened has no room for 'ifs' or suppositions.

Since they're already bound, Lu Xun has no regrets.

Back then, if he hadn't bound with Murong Wan, Lu Xun might have faded into obscurity, and it's not certain he could have ended up with Chu Youqing.

Lu Xun has gotten into Upper Purity North, yet Chu Youqing's parents still oppose it so strongly.

If Lu Xun can't open his meridians, even if Chu Youqing insists, this likely won't come to pass.

Just her imitating her mother, having Lu Xun get her pregnant, still might not succeed.

Back then, Chu Yuping was a yellow‑haired delinquent, but at least he'd opened his meridians and stepped onto the cultivation path.

Lu Xun can't even open his meridians; Murong Yan would never agree.

There's no chance with Chu Youqing.

If Lu Xun doesn't want a random match, he could marry a decent woman, but then he'd tragically end up bound to a woman who has nothing.

That's what true tragedy is.

What good is it to bind someone who has nothing, if he still can't open his meridians?

The system was just abolished.

So, Lu Xun binding with Murong Wan right from the start is actually the optimal solution.

No matter how you put it, after filling his cells with Dark Energy, Lu Xun's body becomes nearly indestructible even to immortals and gods—this point is terrifying beyond words.

Of course, this difficulty is immense.

The human body has tens of trillions of cells.

The specific number is 40–60 trillion.

Each cell requires a large amount of Dark Energy to be filled.

Even if Lu Xun uses up all the few hundred cubic units of Dark Energy he has, he still can't fill many cells.

However, what Lu Xun needs to fill isn't all the cells in his body, but only those special cells, which are far fewer in number.

These special cells can be called Chaos Cells.

Anyway, the Dark Energy available now is free.

Might as well not fill them if we're not going to.

As for the Dark Energy in his hand, Lu Xun naturally doesn't intend to use it to fill the Chaos Cells.

This can't be rushed; it has to be done slowly.

"Again!"

Lu Xun, as if injected with chicken blood, frantically absorbs Dark Energy.