The soul resides in the body, and consciousness resides in the soul. Without the soul, consciousness becomes a rootless duckweed.
Even for a Void Refinement cultivator, consciousness cannot persist for long once the soul is lost; it must rely on specialized items to maintain its existence. Merging one's consciousness into the laws of the Great Dao is an extremely dangerous undertaking. Even with a soul, one's consciousness could be shattered by the terrifying power of the Dao.
Yet, this was the very danger Meng Tianqi was now braving!
Although he was currently merged with the power he had summoned and controlled, which was enough to keep his consciousness from dissipating, once the energy called forth by his sacrifice was exhausted, he would have to find a way to "join with the Dao." He would have to truly grasp the Laws of Life and Death and ensure he could survive within them for an extended period.
Only then would it be possible for him to reshape his soul and body.
If he could achieve that, there would be no doubt about his breakthrough to the Unity stage after his rebirth, for merging one's consciousness purely into the Dao was even more difficult than reaching the Unity stage itself.
Even Unity stage cultivators, when merging their consciousness with the laws of the Dao, had to use their physical bodies and souls as anchors and shields. Otherwise, they still faced the risk of being completely assimilated or shattered by the laws.
This was one of the defining traits of the Unity stage: merging oneself with the laws of the Dao to maximize one's use of their power. The ability to manipulate the laws in this way was a level of force that a Void Refinement cultivator—who merely "borrowed" the power—could never hope to match.
"Whether I can merge with the Dao, I do not know. but using the power of life and death I've gained through sacrifice is enough to slaughter a batch of you bastards!"
Meng Tianqi felt the complete lack of barriers between his consciousness and the Laws of Life and Death. Instead of fear, he felt immense excitement and joy!
His cultivation of his body and foundation had always been built upon his understanding of the laws. During times when he lacked resources for cultivation, he would often forgo training entirely just to meditate on the laws. Throughout his cultivation career, the vast majority of his time had been spent interacting with Life and Death.
To him, the Laws of Life and Death were practically a second body.
But unfortunately, he had always felt a barrier between himself and the laws. Now, that barrier was gone!
Feeling the seamless, fluid integration with the laws, Meng Tianqi didn't think of terror, but of the joy of breaking through a lifelong obstacle. In this moment, countless points of confusion that had once been impossible to understand were resolved instantly!
The joy of seeing years of accumulation and doubt cleared in a single breath was the greatest of Meng Tianqi's life. In this instant, he even forgot his own life and death. If one hears the Dao in the morning, they can die at night without regret—this was exactly how he felt.
However, there was one thing he did not forget: using his final strength to offer a grand gift to the demons pursuing him! After all, this was power he had gained by sacrificing his body and soul. He couldn't just die for nothing!
But this did not conflict with his meditation! Because in this moment, as his lifelong doubts were cleared, his control over the Laws of Life and Death surged, and the power he had summoned through sacrifice became even more formidable!
"Life-Death Domain... Impermanence of Life and Death, Endless Samsara!"
The moment the ten demons drew near, Meng Tianqi unhesitatingly unleashed his newly realized ultimate attack!
Originally, his strongest attack was the Life-Death Millstone—creating a massive millstone within his domain to erupt with extreme destructive force through the clashing laws.
But in this moment, the Laws of Life and Death intertwined frantically. In a flash, his domain completely enveloped the ten Void Refinement demons! Infinite, omnipresent Life-Death Millstones erupted, carrying a pressure that seemed to echo the Unity stage!
The sheer horror of a top-tier Void Refinement expert sacrificing himself to launch an ultimate attack—especially one delivered after a massive breakthrough—was easy to imagine.
Indeed, when his domain and millstones enveloped them, an unprecedented fear rose in the hearts of the demons.
"How can he erupt with such a terrifying attack?"
"What move is this? Has this human sacrificed himself?"
"Even sacrificing himself shouldn't allow for such a move... Wait, this feels like joining with the Dao! But isn't that a power only Unity stage cultivators can wield?"
"Damn it, attack with everything! Otherwise, we all die here today!"
These Void Refinement demons were no simple characters, especially the five King-ranks. But precisely because of their strength, they could better appreciate the terror of this attack!
This was power that absolutely touched the realm of Unity!
In this moment, they didn't have a second to hesitate. They unleashed their power, bringing out every trump card they possessed! Life and death would be decided in this single instant. In the past, Meng Tianqi would have simply died, but if they couldn't endure this, they would be buried alongside him!
So, in that moment, every Void Refinement demon erupted with earth-shaking power. Powerful bodies and extreme, bizarre talents emerged one after another! Had this happened at any other time, it would have been enough to sweep through a vast region, and no one within the Void Refinement stage could have stopped them. Even the Little Stone Spirit would have had to retreat before such a lineup.
But within Meng Tianqi's domain, it didn't do much good!
The Life-Death Millstone was an attack without defense!
As the omnipresent millstones erupted, a voice that seemed to come from the depths of the Nine Netherworld thundered through every corner of the domain. Immediately after, the physical bodies of every demon began to wither frantically, turning into nothingness as they lost their vitality!
Of course, this vitality didn't just vanish; it served as fuel for the millstones, continuing to power the attacks against them!
In a single instant, the ten demons suffered devastating losses!
Following that, a series of earth-shaking explosions rang out as three holes were punched through Meng Tianqi's domain. Three figures flew out—they were three of the King-rank demons!
But they were in a wretched state. Over half of their life force had been drained by the millstones, and their bodies were being eroded by the power of death, decaying at a horrifying rate.
"Madman!"
"He's a gods-damned madman!"
The three King-rank demons looked back at the domain that had nearly swallowed them, their eyes filled with uncontrollable fear! Who could have imagined that ten Void Refinement demons—five of them top-tier kings—would be nearly wiped out by a single man!
Now, as the activity within the domain slowly ceased, the fate of the seven demons who hadn't escaped was obvious. Even those who had escaped were unimaginably wounded!
Before they pursued Meng Tianqi, they truly hadn't expected that seven out of their group of ten would fall! The remaining three were heavily injured, their strength less than half of what it was at their peak. With their current injuries, recovery would be extremely difficult. How to completely erode the power of death from their bodies was a very thorny problem.
However, to their relief, after that eruption of power, the Life-Death Domain shrank rapidly, and Meng Tianqi's aura faded away. This meant he no longer had any strength left to fight, or had already perished after his sacrifice.
As the domain completely vanished, the situation inside was revealed. Seven withered demon corpses fell from the sky, devoid of any life force. They were covered in a layer of deathly energy that made the scalps of the three survivors crawl. If they touched that energy, their wounds would surely worsen!
But to their horror, Meng Tianqi's power hadn't completely vanished. A small Life-Death Millstone remained in the air, containing the dense life force taken from the demons and a trace of Meng Tianqi's aura!
However, this remaining millstone had no intention of attacking them. With a flicker, it vanished into the void and departed.
Facing this, the three King-rank demons looked at each other and chose not to pursue. Instead, they left in the opposite direction!
Although they knew they had a high chance of completely obliterating Meng Tianqi if they pursued him, it was also possible that one of them might fall in the process! That was a risk they were absolutely unwilling to take.
Being "fearless of death" only applied to low-level demons driven by higher-ups. How could high-level demons like them throw their lives away? They could swarm a prey as hunters, but they would never sacrifice themselves!
Many of them had climbed up from the bottom of the demonic ranks; they were the most fearful of death and the most cunning. They possessed the ultimate evil and excelled at striking like venomous snakes. But under no circumstances—unless they were being controlled—would they choose self-sacrifice.
To live, and then to devour everything that could be devoured—that was their most primal desire! This was the status quo for the entire demonic high command.
So, faced with a battle they weren't certain of winning, they turned and left without hesitation. This Star-Sea World was too strange; none of the cultivation worlds they had encountered before were like this.
On the other side, Meng Tianqi hadn't truly died, but he was close.
Originally, if he had used the small millstone he was hiding in to launch one final attack, he had some certainty of killing another demon, but he didn't do it.
He had already chosen the path of righteousness, and he believed that from this point on, the rest could be left to the others in the Star-Sea. Now, he needed to take a gamble for himself!
He needed to use this last bit of precious time to comprehend and merge with the Laws of Life and Death! This millstone wouldn't last long. Within that time, he had to ensure he could survive within the laws for a long period; only then would he have a chance at rebirth!
But that thought only flashed for an instant, for Meng Tianqi was already completely entranced!
"So this is the true Law of Life and Death!"
His final consciousness hid in a corner of the void, fully experiencing the joy of being integrated and intertwined with the Great Dao. Every doubt and question that had troubled him for countless years was suddenly cleared!
"So that's it... so that's it!"
The feeling of confusion melting away and lifelong pursuits being realized was truly magnificent.
Even though he knew that once the power of the millstone could no longer withstand the erosion of the laws, he would be completely assimilated and perish, wasn't this what he had always wanted to try?
Coincidentally, this entranced state was the best way to save himself. Without sufficient control over the laws, it was impossible to withstand the erosion of the Great Dao.
As time passed, his hiding place became smaller and smaller. Eventually, it could no longer hold out and collapsed entirely.
In an instant, the law energy where he was boiling over. Meng Tianqi was forced to merge his consciousness into the Laws of Life and Death.
At the moment his consciousness merged, he felt as if he had entered a dream palace. Everything was familiar and beloved, things he had spent his whole life pursuing.
But at the same time, this palace was twisting frantically. The things he loved most were also attacking and devouring him!
In this moment, Meng Tianqi was like a small boat in a massive tsunami—small and helpless. No one but himself could help him. This was the first time he had truly seen the full Laws of Life and Death; they were far more powerful and vast than he had imagined. He had thought he grasped seventy or eighty percent of them, but now he saw how laughable that thought was.
He was still so far from truly controlling their power!
"What a charming place. It's a pity... I'll never have the chance to see it again."
Meng Tianqi never stopped his steps of comprehension and exploration, but with his consciousness fading and weakening, he knew he didn't have much time left! He had underestimated the Laws of Life and Death and overestimated himself!
No wonder it was said that only the Unity stage could truly begin to use the power of the Dao; anything before that was just child's play!
"Forget it. To be able to truly glimpse this hall of the Great Dao before I die... I haven't come in vain!"
As his consciousness neared total blurriness, Meng Tianqi finally sighed. There was helplessness in that sigh, but also satisfaction and a trace of regret for his unfinished mission.
Before the end, he thought of the Star-Sea World that had changed so much under Qi Ping's leadership. A sense of peace and relief appeared in his consciousness. This world might not just rot away; perhaps it would see the light one day.
After that final thought, Meng Tianqi lost the ability to think. His understanding of the laws was being devoured by the laws themselves, like a hungry wolf.
But in this moment of extreme crisis, an unimaginable Power of Creation descended upon his nearly dissipated consciousness...