Chapter 345: Devouring a World, the Fall of the Honghu

In the dim, vast space-time,

amidst the surging tides, an Innate Divine Dragon of unimaginable size lay coiled.

His dragon body wrapped around a world that resembled a giant egg, cradling it in his embrace, while one foreclaw reached inside through a gap, looking much like someone reaching into an earthen jar.

Handling it with such ease, it gave one the impression that Fang Longye actually didn't need to go to such trouble for the Honghu Realm, spending several years and racking his brains; he could have simply gone straight for it.

This Honghu Realm is called a Middle Thousand World, yet now it appears to be nothing more than a silver-plated pewter spear! Unfortunately, this is merely an illusion.

Although the entire process might look like it started with a bang and ended with a whimper, giving the illusion that Fang Longye didn't need to put in so much effort beforehand.

In reality, had he not done a massive amount of work beforehand, how could he have so easily made the Honghu Realm so ripe for the picking?

To say nothing else, why didn't he just embrace the Honghu Realm from the very beginning?

It was because the Honghu Realm was like a hedgehog before; he simply couldn't do what he is doing now.

But now, the "thorns" on this "hedgehog" of a Honghu Realm have all been plucked clean, which is what allowed Fang Longye to easily take it into his embrace.

Acting recklessly, taking whatever he pleases—and right now, it is time to enjoy the fruits of victory!

Ignoring the now feeble struggles and resistance of the Honghu Realm, the dragon claw that Fang Longye had extended inside continued to expand, heading toward the interior of the world.

Breaking through layer upon layer of obstacles, slowly and firmly.

At this moment, the Honghu Realm had long since become incomparably weak under his calculations; no matter how the world itself resisted or counterattacked against his dragon claw, it was to no avail.

The power carried by the dragon claw naturally seeped into the Honghu Realm, spreading in wisps and strands, entangling and colliding with the laws and spiritual aura of the Honghu Realm itself.

In an instant, strange phenomena appeared frequently within the Honghu Realm; this world, which had already suddenly encountered disasters and constant calamities, once again ushered in a transformation of heaven and earth.

Or rather, a true collapse of heaven and earth.

……

Within the Honghu Realm,

already full of disaster and death due to this operation of Fang Longye's, it was almost on the verge of decay, and the signs of the end of the world were chilling.

Suddenly, the sky, which had been a dark, bruised blue, abruptly cleared, and Dragon Qi roared across the sky, connecting heaven and earth in a golden radiance.

Then, it spread rapidly, dispelling the dark, mottled blue from the heavens and earth.

Indescribable, divine, and colorful brilliance permeated the air, hanging down unknown lines that swept across the world.

"What is this?"

"What happened?"

"Could it be that an unknown great figure is saving the world?"

"……"

At this time, the few living beings who had luckily survived in the world could not help but exclaim at this phenomenon, whether in bewilderment or weeping with joy, ……

and so on.

However,

they soon realized they had thought too much.

As this phenomenon appeared, every living creature that was still alive heard a strange cry from the void, tyrannical and overbearing, making one feel as if they were facing the might of Heaven.

Upon hearing this strange cry, a sense of anger, disgust, and deep-seated hatred rose in their hearts for no reason.

This was a hatred that came from their bloodline, incomparably intense, and completely carved into their bones.

It was because this world was transformed from the remains of a Phoenix Species Honghu, and the living beings it nurtured naturally carried its bloodline to a greater or lesser extent.

Even those races that seemed completely unrelated to feathered creatures were no exception.

Especially the Heavenly Clan, which was born inheriting the Honghu bloodline, a true descendant of the Phoenix Species.

Although these descendants of the Phoenix Species were already more than a hundred thousand miles removed from a true Phoenix.

In short, the living beings of the Honghu Realm, whether they were of the Heavenly Clan or not, were completely incompatible with the Aura of the Dragon Clan.

And under the influence of the Honghu Realm, this incompatibility and the hatred from the depths of their bloodlines were infinitely magnified.

Unfortunately, it had long been of no use.

Although the living beings still remaining in the Honghu Realm were each and every one of them relatively powerful existences, with even a few Golden Immortals among them.

But in front of Fang Longye, they were truly as light as a feather, not worth mentioning.

A moment later, under the angry glares of the remaining beings of this realm, the sky above suddenly collapsed, as if a gap had been punched through from the outside.

Immediately, a vast and peerless sharp claw reached in, tens of thousands of miles in size, and it continued to expand, covering everything.

It was unimaginably large; even the entire Honghu Realm appeared exceptionally tiny under this monstrous sharp claw, as if it could be casually pinched and handled.

These remaining beings of the Honghu Realm could no longer care about their anger, and one by one, they became terrified and panicked.

"What is this?"

"Is this the enemy from outside the world that the Qionghua Heavenly Emperor spoke of before? How can it be so terrifying!"

"Heavens, what kind of existence is this? With my bloodline of an Innate Spirit, I can only feel as humble as an ant in front of him?"

If the previous phenomenon only made these beings anxious and uneasy, then this sky-covering sharp claw made them fall into absolute despair.

On that sharp claw, every scale was filled with coldness and destruction; it was an indescribable supremacy.

"Where is the Qionghua Heavenly Emperor?"

"The Heavenly Court was struck by a lightning calamity earlier; could it be that the Qionghua Heavenly Emperor has already met with disaster and fallen?"

Clearly, these remaining beings did not yet know what kind of unknown identity their so-called Qionghua Heavenly Emperor possessed.

Even at a time like this, they were still thinking of the Qionghua Heavenly Emperor, this avatar of Fang Longye, to save the world!

Of course, this was also because the Honghu Realm had suddenly encountered changes, and there had been no time to reveal the true identity of the Qionghua Heavenly Emperor, whom they sincerely revered, to the beings within the realm.

Boom— Fang Longye's dragon claw continued downward, sweeping across the entire world, and he immediately took into his possession all the treasures that could be directly collected.

For instance, that Second Generation Xun Wood he had been longing for, the various Spirit Treasures collected by his avatar, the various divine materials within the Honghu Realm's Heavenly Court, ……

and so on, too numerous to list.

He scoured this Middle Thousand World for all kinds of collections and treasures.

Afterward, this heaven-supporting giant claw vanished, leaving behind only a devastated Honghu Realm.

Empty and desolate, a scene of utter ruin.

However, these surviving living beings felt no joy at having escaped a calamity; instead, each of them felt a heavy heart, their complexions looking extremely ugly.

This was only because their hearts were beating with unease, a warning from the world itself, signaling that this Calamity was not yet over.

……

Within the space-time tide.

Fang Longye's dragon body coiled, his entire being radiating peerless divine light, suppressing everything.

He held the Honghu Realm tightly in his embrace, his own Great Dao condensed into one, continuously permeating into this Middle Thousand World.

Although the various treasures inside the Honghu Realm had been completely looted by Fang Longye, it did not mean it had no further use.

It was, after all, a Middle Thousand World.

If he were to devour it and seize the creation of a realm, Fang Longye's Inner World would definitely enter the Middle Thousand World stage directly.

It was not that the world origin of this Honghu Realm was particularly profound or that the energy it contained was extraordinary; the key lay in the various Dharmas covered within the Honghu Realm.

Even if one were to truly weigh it, the various Dharmas contained within the Honghu Realm were not the most important thing.

What truly played a decisive role in the advancement of Fang Longye's Inner World, and what was most important, was nothing else but the evolutionary trajectory of the Honghu Realm as a Middle Thousand World, and the unique world structure of a Middle Thousand World.

This was what Fang Longye's Inner World was in short supply of. The advancement of a world's level was not that simple. It was not as if you could reach a 100% advancement just by meeting a certain standard.

If it were truly that easy,

the path of the Inner World would have long since flourished in the world!

Many people did not choose to cultivate the path of the Inner World, and it was not just because this path was very resource-intensive—that was a shortcoming that wasn't really a shortcoming.

The advancement of an Inner World required considering many things: whether the world structure was reasonable, the steps of evolution and advancement, ……and so on and so forth.

Moreover, the risks were not small; if one were slightly careless or took a wrong step, it would collapse and fail.

Once an advancement failed, the light outcome was the Inner World suffering heavy damage, implicating the cultivator themselves; the heavy outcome was the Inner World collapsing, leading directly to death.

Even if one were lucky enough not to die when the Inner World collapsed, one would still face a situation where everything was lost.

Although,

the advancement method Fang Longye chose was to re-derive Chaos and re-open the world, which was in harmony with the Dao in the dark, naturally allowing him to re-open a new Inner World.

He did not need to face such risks like those cultivators who followed the evolutionary advancement route. After all, the risk he took with this approach was even greater than theirs.

But only when you understand more yourself can you have more certainty, and only then will the foundation of the Inner World be more solid.

Therefore, Fang Longye still valued the evolutionary trajectory of the Honghu Realm from its birth to the present, as well as the unique world structure of a Middle Thousand World.

As for what energy or what Dharmas, they were secondary to Fang Longye.

His Inner World contained quite a few high-level goods that he had not yet been able to digest.

Things like fragments of the Heavenly Membrane of a Great Thousand World, or the remains of beings above the Great Luo, and so on—which one of these was not more precious than a Middle Thousand World? But precisely because they were high-level goods, they were still too high-level for him at present, making them very difficult to digest or to seize the creation within them.

Take that Nine-Bend Yellow River Array Diagram fragment, for example; as a Heavenly Membrane of a Great Thousand World, even if it were just a fragment, who would believe it did not contain the mysteries of a Middle Thousand World's advancement and evolution?

But clearly,

Fang Longye could see it for now, but could not eat it.

Currently, he had barely refined less than 30% of it; it was not that he had gained nothing regarding those mysteries, but they simply did not form a system.

And the Honghu Realm, as a Middle Thousand World, was neither too high nor too low in this regard, making it just right.

Once he devoured the Honghu Realm and his Inner World advanced to the scale of a Middle Thousand World, he imagined it would be much easier to refine those high-level goods.

By then,

it would continue to advance by leaps and bounds just like now~

……

Just like that, Fang Longye picked up the entire Honghu Realm, channeled his supreme power, and his own Great Dao permeated into it, thread by thread, continuously connecting.

Expanding, expanding, and expanding again, covering this Middle Thousand World in an inconceivable way.

Not knowing how much time had passed,

if one were to look from the outside, one would discover that fine, dense, bright golden veins had emerged on the current Honghu Realm, filling it with Fang Longye's Great Dao.

Such a sight was like tree roots, or like veins appearing in flesh and blood, very conspicuous.

"Very good! The timing is right~"

Now, after his permeation and refinement, the Honghu Realm had completely lost its power to resist and was beyond saving.

Just like a chef cooking a meal, the ingredients had been prepared perfectly and had become a delicious dish.

It was time to savor and consume it! Within the Honghu Realm,

amidst the devastation, the remaining living beings were feeling anxious and uneasy due to the world's warning.

Suddenly, the sky, which had fallen into darkness, erupted with starlight; the invisible star-light of spiritual opportunity gathered together, condensing into an Innate Yuan Dragon Image.

The dragon head was held high, its breath turning into clouds, accompanied by wind, rain, thunder, and lightning; its scales were extremely magnificent, glowing with flaming brilliance, and its four giant claws seemed capable of tearing the firmament apart.

No, not seemed, but truly and certainly.

Following its high-pitched dragon roar, all the surviving living beings in this realm heard the mournful, weak cries of the Honghu Realm in their ears.

As living beings nurtured by this realm, they naturally could not help but feel sorrow along with the world.

It was just that,

the moment sorrow arose in their hearts, they discovered in terror that the tottering world had completely cracked open, becoming fragmented.

They even saw that scene in the universe outside the heavens that was incomparably shocking to the heart—

A terrifying creature that could not be described in words was actually holding their world in its embrace, opening its bloody maw, and gnawing at it! ……

It was Fang Longye, who, after preparing the Honghu Realm in his embrace, immediately channeled his power, and the bright golden veins spreading across the world tightened instantly, like a fishing net.

However, it was not like a fisherman pulling up a net, but rather like an elastic fishing net constantly tightening, slicing the Honghu Realm apart.

Of course, this slicing did not tear it completely into fragments, but rather turned the original whole into something temporarily resembling stacked building blocks.

Each fragment still maintained a connection to the others; this was to ensure that the various information contained within the Honghu Realm would not be lost during this process.

As for why he did not swallow the Honghu Realm in one gulp? It was simply because he could not. Regardless of how vulnerable the Honghu Realm appeared in the hands of Fang Longye, or even being held in his grasp, it was, after all, a Middle Thousand World.

It still possessed the mass and essence it ought to have.

Neither the true form of Fang Longye nor his Inner World could swallow it in one gulp.

If he truly swallowed it, he would only suffer from indigestion.

If his Inner World had not been stuffed with so many high-grade items, perhaps there might have been a possibility of pulling off a "snake swallowing an elephant."

With the body of a Small Thousand World, swallowing an entire Middle Thousand World in one bite.

Unfortunately,

his current Inner World could be described as packed to the brim, with most of its power unable to be mobilized.

Therefore,

Fang Longye had no choice but to spend the effort to process it, breaking the whole into parts.

Roar— With a dragon's chant, Fang Longye shook his dragon head, opened his blood-red maw, and actually began to directly devour the Honghu Realm that had been divided into small pieces.

It was truly incomparably ferocious—world fragments were swallowed into his belly one after another, and then transformed within his belly into a kind of mysterious power, surging like a spring.

This mysterious and vast power first circulated through his true form, thoroughly tempering his innate dragon body.

Then, the majority of it submerged into his Inner World, allowing the Inner World to gain significant growth.

As he ate,

Fang Longye noticed the surviving living beings within the Honghu Realm fragments, who were like ants.

"What a waste!"

Thinking of the myriad living beings that had just fallen into his belly along with the world fragments, Fang Longye came to his senses and cursed himself in his heart for being too wasteful—these living beings were all existences that had survived until the end during the collapse of the Honghu Realm; each one had at least the cultivation of a True Immortal, and there were even several Golden Immortals among them.

As a result, quite a few had fallen into his belly.

But the key was that for him now, devouring these living beings provided no benefit to his cultivation at all; it did not even count as a snack.

The best approach would be to refine them into pills, either to sell or to use as rewards for his subordinates.

In short, anything would be better than the current situation.

Thinking of this, he immediately cast out a bronze Treasure Pot, which was the 'Refining Immortal Pot', and refined all the living beings still remaining in the Honghu Realm into pills.

He did not even spare the Corpse remains of the billions of living beings who had perished in the disaster earlier; as long as they had not been destroyed, he collected them all into the pot.

Even the smallest ant is still meat! Afterwards, he then focused his mind and continued to feast.

He happily began to eat his big meal. (End of chapter)