As the Beast froze in terror, Ling Xuan reached within himself and pulled out a meridian shimmering with crimson flames intertwined with black streaks. A vortex materialized beside him. Ling Xuan casually tossed the meridian into the vortex, which promptly absorbed it and vanished.
"Alright, with that taken care of, let’s focus on you now," he said, turning his gaze towards the Beast.
The Beast clenched its thousands of fangs and lunged at Ling Xuan. A distorted vortex appeared to its left, while on its right, a finger manifested—something that both existed and didn’t, teetering between reality and illusion. These two forces fused together, creating an attack that embodied both the rules of change and the infinite probabilities surrounding existence.
.Ling Xuan watched calmly as the attack approached. In response, he gathered Qi into his right hand. Just as the fused vortex and finger closed in, he casually waved his hand.
Instantly, everything stopped.
The attack ceased in the truest sense—no Qi flowed, no rules governed it. It was as though the very concept of the attack had been erased from existence.
The vortex began to unravel and dissipate into nothingness. It had undergone a heightened state of Conceptual Heat Death, where even the potential for change was extinguished.
Watching the remnants vanish, Ling Xuan mused to himself, “Only took 330 meridians.”
The Beast was undoubtedly shocked by what it had just witnessed.
"Just how powerful has he become!" The thought rampaged through its mind as it struggled to comprehend.
Ling Xuan turned his gaze towards The Beast. "Don’t move, mate," he said. Although it sounded like a casual request, he had quite literally bound The Beast in place.
“I can’t kill you with my current strength, but enjoy your last few moments,” Ling Xuan continued, strolling towards the creature. Then, he stopped, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Actually, you know what? Screw it. I’ll just kill you right now.”
“But you said you didn’t have the power to—” The Beast started, only to be cut off.
“Yeah, yeah, I said that. But leaving you alive, even for a moment, is dangerous. I may be able to overpower you, but I need a few more meridians to finish the job completely. So, I’ll just borrow something,” Ling Xuan said, raising his hands.
“Borrow something? There’s no weapon or force in the world that can harm us!” The Beast scoffed.
“Is that so? Look up,” Ling Xuan smirked.
Confused, The Beast glanced upwards and saw only The Transcendent Sky.
“What are you trying to say? There’s nothing but The Transcendent Sky abov—” Its pupils suddenly dilated in realisation. “No! It’s impossible! You cannot manipulate The Transcendent Sky!”
“The Transcendent Sky is made of Qi, and my technique is designed to manipulate Qi. Xia Longwei, do you really not believe it?” Ling Xuan taunted.
Above, The Transcendent Sky began to churn, gathering in a single location above Ling Xuan’s hand. It spiralled down, forming a whirlpool that stretched to his palm.
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“Form! Blade of Transcendence!” Ling Xuan shouted.
The whirlpool congealed into a blade in his hand. It shimmered with a silver and gold hue, its surface undulating as if alive.
Without hesitation, Ling Xuan lunged at The Beast and, in one swift motion, severed the beastial humanoid head.
BOOM!
A massive, soundless explosion erupted as The Beast roared in agony, the decapitated head disintegrating along with the Blade of Transcendence. The head was erased from reality itself, taking one-third of Xia Longwei’s very existence with it.
“Ling Xuan!” The Beast’s remaining two heads roared in fury, causing the world to tremble. But Ling Xuan stood firm, undeterred.
“You’re strong, I’ll give you that. Just cutting one head took the entire force of The Transcendent Sky. Luckily, there are still two more left,” Ling Xuan grinned, lowering his hand and pointing towards The Endless Sea.
“Form! Blade of The Boundless!”
Immediately, The Endless Sea churned, forming a colossal whirlpool that condensed into a blade, which flew into Ling Xuan’s hand. The weapon resembled a katana, its surface glimmering with a green and blue hue.
Without a word, Ling Xuan swung the blade at The Beast’s Dragon head, severing it in one clean strike.
BOOM!
Just like before, The Beast howled in agony as the head tumbled down, disintegrating into nothingness along with The Blade of The Boundless.
Ling Xuan laughed as he watched The Beast writhe in pain. “See? Do you understand now why I brought you to this era? This is the only time when all three Primal Domains exist closest to each other!”
The Beast, now with just one head remaining, glared at Ling Xuan. “There is nothing left, Ling Xuan! You’ve used The Transcendent Sky and The Endless Sea! What will you wield now?”
“Nothing left, you say?” Ling Xuan’s eyes glinted with excitement as he gestured to himself. “Look at my meridians—they’ve reached 347! Which means I can finally draw it.”
Ling Xuan spread his hands wide.
“Form! Blade of The Void!”
Without hesitation, the Void responded, coalescing into a blade in Ling Xuan’s hand. The weapon materialised as a longsword, its surface shimmering with a purple hue.
“No! No! No! No! Ling Xuan! Don’t you dare!” The Beast’s remaining human head screamed, panic lacing its voice as it beheld the sword’s ominous form. But Ling Xuan merely steadied his grip, readying the blade.
“NO! NO! NO! NO! LING XUA—”
Before it could finish its desperate plea, Ling Xuan swung the blade, severing the head in one swift motion.
Everything fell silent.
There was no explosion, no dramatic shockwave—just an absolute, eerie stillness. Reality itself seemed to hold its breath as the decapitated head dissolved into nothingness, leaving no trace behind.
The Existence of Xia Longwei trembled, its form struggling against the inevitable dissolution. It lingered for a moment, its eyes locking onto Ling Xuan with a final, wrathful gaze.
And then, it too, faded into oblivion.
Ling Xuan stood amidst the desolation, his meridians greedily absorbing the last remnants of The Beast’s existence. With each passing moment, his power surged as the meridian count climbed higher and higher, until finally—
He reached 360.
The Dragon Pathway was completed at last.
Yet, there was no joy in his eyes, no triumph etched on his face. Only dullness.
Without the Void, there was nothing. No reality to hold meaning, no framework for time or space to exist within. Ling Xuan was all that remained—a solitary speck of Existence adrift in an endless abyss.
The battle, though seemingly inconsequential from their perspective, had wreaked havoc beyond comprehension. The shockwaves of their conflict had annihilated everything. The Future was obliterated, and the Laws governing all were shattered.
There was no Past. No Future. No Present.
Nothing.
Ling Xuan took a deep breath, his expression weary. He glanced around the formless emptiness and sighed.
“Let there be Light.”
With those words, everything began to take shape once more.