Chapter 282: Gazing

The collision of laws was silent and unnoticed.

Wang Zhize's remark, "You are illusion, destined to dissipate," was not an impact of energy but a fundamental denial of a "existence."

The chaotic Dao Pill that was wildly coalescing had its surface's billions of wailing soul shadows freeze instantly; the law chain forming its Core emitted an overburdened wail, and fine cracks spread across the pill like a spiderweb.

It, about to become a "mistake" concept, was to be utterly erased from this world.

However, at the very last instant of its disintegration.

A will descended.

It came neither from heaven nor earth, but from a deeper, older void.

That will was cold, indifferent, devoid of any emotion, like an eternal icy moon hanging over myriad realms, gazing down on the flickering lights of life and death below.

The will, like an invisible giant hand, gently pressed upon the soon-to-be shattered Dao Pill's phantom.

It was merely a press.

The law on the brink of collapse was forcibly stabilized in an instant, and the spreading cracks abruptly halted.

Though the Dao Pill did not shatter, it could not advance any further; its Core, shaken at its foundation by Wang Zhize's recent strike.

Wang Zhize's movement paused for a moment.

He lifted his gaze, those ancient‑well, still eyes seeming to pierce the Altar's dome, cross the endless void, and for an indescribable instant in a beyond‑words dimension, met the cold will eye‑to‑eye.

And in that moment of clash, the gluttonous feast on the other side also drew its curtain.

Crack… Bang…

Amid the teeth‑aching shattering sounds, the Lord's massive metallic body, ablaze with the spirit core's origin, was utterly crushed by the black‑golden vortex formed by Wang Zhitao.

The so‑called imperial law and the so‑called dragon vein divine power were as fragile as biscuits before the purest, most primal "Devouring" Dao.

Gurgle!

Wang Zhitao reshaped into human form and let out a satisfied, resonant belch.

Dark‑golden radiance streamed over his body, his aura swelling dramatically. Most of the devoured law fragments turned into nourishment for his growth, while a few granted him instinctive glimpses of "imperial law" and "dragon vein" basics.

He flicked his head, seemingly uninterested in those complex laws, merely savoring the taste of the recent feast.

At that moment, the cold will from the deep void, having stabilized the Dao Pill, made no further move.

It neither attacked nor withdrew.

It simply stared silently.

An indescribable pressure enveloped the entire Altar.

It was not the oppression of force, but an absolute overview from a higher life tier.

It was as if a three‑dimensional giant leaned down, intriguingly observing ants on a two‑dimensional sheet of paper.

In the distance, Li Hu and Zhang Mei could not even muster a thought of resistance.

Under that stare, their souls trembled instinctively, their consciousness nearly assimilated and erased by the immense indifference.

They felt so insignificant they were not even dust.

Wang Zhize withdrew his gaze from the void, a genuine solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He looked again at the crack‑filled Dao Pill and sensed a new change.

The Dao Pill was saved.

But it was also imprinted with a deeper seal by that will.

It became sturdier, harder to destroy outright.

At the same time, Wang Zhize felt that the invisible link between his "furnace core" and the Dao Pill, rather than breaking from the Lord's demise, was forcibly reinforced by the foreign will, becoming even… tighter.

It was as if a new, more resilient chain bound him and the "World Seed" together.

"Brother, what's that thing?"

Wang Zhitao licked his lips curiously and asked, his instinct telling him that the owner of that "gaze" tasted ten thousand times better than the iron lump he'd just devoured.

"A genuine 'World Lord.'"

Wang Zhize explained calmly.

"What you just ate was merely an alchemy apprentice it had chosen."

"Its goal was not immortality but to use this dynasty's dragon vein and countless souls to forge a 'seed of the world law,' then use me as the 'furnace core' to wedge a new world of its own into this realm."

Wang Zhitao's eyes lit up instantly, flashing with a naive yet cruel light.

"World Lord? Can it be eaten too?"

Wang Zhize gave him no answer.

Boom!

Deprived of power support, the sacrificial altar finally buckled under its weight, large‑scale collapse began, and countless boulders fell from the dome.

Wang Zhize simply raised his hand casually.

"I define: this place, stable."

In an instant, all the collapsed stones surged back, broken beams healed themselves, and the trembling Altar, under an invisible great force, restored to its original state, even sturdier than before.

He walked to the hovering Dao Pill.

He could clearly perceive that the "seed of the world law" inside the pill was slowly and steadily absorbing surrounding laws and vitality, attempting to mend its own cracks.

The threat remained unresolved.

Moreover, destroying it outright might instantly enrage that "World Lord," inviting unpredictable consequences.

For instance, with a single thought it could sacrifice the entire world.

Wang Zhize needed a more clever strategy.

He extended his hand, his fingertips tracing the primordial law of his tiny world, and gently brushed the space surrounding the Dao Pill.

"I define: this is a cage, isolated inside and out, eternally silent."

Buzz—

The space centered on the Dao Pill seemed to have been "cut" out of the whole world by an invisible hand, becoming an absolutely still gray zone.

Time, space, laws, energy—everything—are completely sealed here.

Temporarily isolate this malignant tumor from the world.

After completing all this, he finally turned and looked toward the already recovered Li Hu and Zhang Mei in the distance.

The shock on their faces had faded, replaced by a complex emotion.

There was anxiety about their own weakness, but more so, an unprecedented resolve.

They had witnessed firsthand what a war of gods is, and they now understood more deeply the terrifying nature of the enemy that Wang Zhize faces.

They no longer imagined fighting side by side with Wang Zhize, yet the flame in their hearts seeking revenge for their grandfather and for Wang Shan burned even hotter.

Even if they could only become the sharpest knife in the master's hand, cutting away the scum unworthy of the master's direct intervention, they were willing.

Wang Zhize could sense their shift in mindset, yet said nothing.

At that moment, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible summons.

It came from the sealed Dao Pill.

After being isolated, that "World Seed" began to transmit a deeper temptation to him via the reinforced "furnace core" connection.

Merge with me.

You will need no cultivation to ascend in a single step and become a god of the new world.

It is a trap, and also a bright scheme.

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Wang Zhize's mouth.

The borrowed divine seat is merely a more advanced puppet.

He slowly raised his hand, ignoring the futile temptation, and his gaze returned to the profound void, as if he could still feel that indifferent stare.

He was once a chess piece on the board, a pill guide in the alchemical furnace.

But now, everything is different.

He extended his finger, using his own law as ink, and on the void, he wrote, stroke by stroke, two ancient characters imbued with supreme will.

Those two characters seemed to be etched onto the fundamental rules of this world.

Hunter.