Chapter 173: Entering the core of the universe

An ethereal resonance suddenly echoed through the consciousness of every living being belonging to the various universal factions within the universal battlefield. It passed through spatial boundaries and soul defenses alike, reaching everyone without exception.

"A galactic realm abyssal has entered the battlefield. Universal space will need time to accommodate beings of that realm. Exercise caution."

There was no thunderous reverberation or divine pressure accompanying the announcement. Yet Victor could sense something faint within the message, a distinct trace of sentience. This was not a cold, mechanical directive from an automated system. Someone, or something, had deliberately issued the warning.

"Looks like this universal consciousness is growing rapidly," Victor thought, narrowing his violet eyes as he examined the fading ripples of the announcement.

His thoughts soon returned to the more immediate concern. The arrival of a single galactic realm existence was enough to alter the balance of power in the region. If the abyssal command had managed to establish a passage capable of stabilizing a being of that level, then more galactic realm entities would inevitably follow once the crimson portal’s surrounding laws finished adapting.

Victor was confident that he could fight a single galactic realm existence with his current strength and mastery of laws. But if several appeared at once, the outcome would be far less certain.

"Let us focus on the task at hand. If a galactic realm being really appears before me, I will deal with him then."

With that thought, his figure faded into the layers of folded space, heading toward his next designated target zone.

His objective had not changed. He needed to accumulate one quadrillion evolution points to complete the next major evolution of his eternal body cultivation. Once his eternal body reached the stage where it could connect directly with the fundamental laws of existence, his ability to survive would undergo a qualitative transformation.

As long as the primary law remained intact within the universe, he would be able to regenerate and revive whenever his physical body was destroyed. Of course, that process would cost him a portion of his accumulated strength and a small part of his soul origin.

It was practically functional immortality.

Provided he did not somehow manage to die every three days just for amusement.

Victor’s ambitions extended far beyond the battlefield. After reaching the tenth stage of eternal body cultivation, he planned to leave the war zone temporarily and search for the ancient sanctuary where his master had originally discovered the supreme body technique.

The final two stages of the eternal body art were his true goal. According to the records left behind by his master, reaching those legendary levels would allow the physical body to transcend the concepts of space, time, fate, karma, creation, and destruction.

At that point, external laws and cosmic restrictions would no longer be able to affect his life.

Absolute freedom from the limitations of the universe.

Of course, Victor was not arrogant enough to believe that such a transformation would be easy. The final two stages would almost certainly require him to reach an unimaginably high realm of existence first.

Three days passed in the desolate crimson expanse of the universal battlefield.

During that time, the newly arrived galactic abyssal made no attempt to attack the defensive strongholds. He remained hidden somewhere within the central sector, presumably stabilizing his presence and adapting to the laws of the universe.

Victor, meanwhile, continued moving from one abyssal zone to another, slaughtering countless lower and mid-tier abyssals scattered across the battlefield.

After seventy-two hours of relentless hunting, his accumulated evolution points had surpassed seven hundred trillion, gaining a staggering number of 300 trilion in 3 days.

But his progress was beginning to slow.

For reasons he could not fully understand, the powerful abyssal lords and high-tier leaders had almost entirely withdrawn from the outer sectors. Their forward bases had been abandoned, and many of them had retreated into deep subterranean hideouts or concealed dimensional pockets.

The battlefield was still filled with abyssals, but the valuable targets had become increasingly difficult to find.

Without those high-tier existences, Victor’s evolution point accumulation had reached an unexpected bottleneck.

Outside the universal battlefield, within the peaceful confines of Victor’s private residence, the heavy wooden door of the quiet chamber slowly opened.

Victor stepped into the hallway.

Three days and three nights of uninterrupted dual cultivation had finally come to an end.

Inside the chamber, Diana lay peacefully upon the soft silk bedding. A faint, contented smile rested on her beautiful face, and her breathing was slow and steady.

Her aura had undergone a remarkable transformation during their time together.

The energy flowing through her body had become far more profound, and her foundation had advanced by an entire major realm. She now radiated the majestic pressure of a true elemental sovereign, standing at the exact same realm as Victor.

Victor looked down at his sleeping wife.

For a brief moment, the usual coldness in his expression softened. There was no calculation in his eyes, no trace of the overwhelming ambition that normally occupied his thoughts.

Only genuine warmth.

A moment later, that warmth faded, replaced by his familiar calm resolve.

"It is time to visit the ancient races. I would like to see how those old lineages actually lived."

His gaze turned toward the distant horizon beyond the atmosphere.

"Astrion, be prepared for a fight. We might need to clash with a few immortals if circumstances demand it."

"Do not worry, master. I have been craving a proper fight for a very long time."

Astrion’s voice carried a hint of excitement.

His tiny, cat-like form materialized upon Victor’s shoulder, his red eyes gleaming as his tail flicked back and forth.

Before leaving, he sent a subtle mental message toward Diana, informing her that he would return after handling his errands. He did not want to disturb her recovery, so he left the message near her pillow and allowed her to continue sleeping.

The next instant, his figure dissolved into the ambient light.

When he reappeared, he was already in the absolute vacuum of space, far above the planet’s orbit.

According to Astrion, the absolute core region of the universe was completely isolated from the outer star systems by a barrier of cosmic proportions.

The barrier had existed for countless epochs. It was so profound that no cultivator below the immortal realm could even perceive its existence, let alone locate its entrance.

To ordinary beings, the heart of the universe was nothing more than an unreachable region of empty space.

But to the higher entities, it was the true center of the cosmos.

And those who lived there had no interest in allowing ordinary cultivators to enter.

"Master, shall we barge through directly, or would you prefer to sneak past the perimeter?"

Victor folded his arms.

"Is it actually possible to sneak past a barrier of that scale?"

"Although the barrier was originally cast by a cosmic realm being, it is still possible to bypass its main detection array."

Astrion paused for a moment before continuing.

"Just cast a chaos ball forward when I give you the signal. That should be enough to create a temporary opening."

"Should be enough?"

"Master, you wound me. I am an immortal, not some unreliable street magician."

Victor gave him a sideways glance.

"Your confidence is not particularly reassuring."

Astrion ignored the remark.

"I expect those eight ancient guardians will still detect our entry. But aside from those old monsters, no one else in the core region should be capable of sensing our arrival."

"You really need to break through to the cosmic realm as soon as possible," Victor said coldly.

"I dislike relying on the goodwill of unknown entities. What if those eight cosmic beings harbor hidden motives toward us?"

Astrion’s expression turned thoughtful.

"That is certainly possible. But if they wanted to kill us, they could have done so long ago."

"That does not make me trust them."

"Fair enough."

The two continued through the pitch-black void.

Astrion activated his spatial movement technique, ferrying them through hyperspace at a speed exceeding one hundred times the velocity of light. The surrounding star systems blurred into pale streaks of energy as they crossed vast cosmic distances in mere heartbeats.

Before long, their rapid movement came to a halt.

They were surrounded by nothing but darkness.

"Master, we have arrived at the primary perimeter," Astrion announced.

Victor extended his perception toward the empty void ahead.

"I see nothing. Can I not simply force my way straight through?"

"No."

Astrion’s answer came immediately.

"The barrier is designed around an infinite spatial loop. If you try to force your way through without neutralizing the primary array, you will become trapped in an endless maze of overlapping space."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"An endless maze?"

"Yes. You could fly forward for your entire life and still never arrive anywhere. The moment you turn around and exit, you would find yourself exactly where you started."

Victor stared into the darkness.

"That sounds inconvenient."

"It is a rather effective defense."

"So should I fire the chaos ball now?"

"You can throw it."

Victor extended one finger.

A dense sphere of condensed chaos energy materialized at its tip. It was no larger than a marble, but the power compressed inside it was enough to annihilate an ordinary star system.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the sphere drifting into the empty void.

The instant it moved forward, Astrion injected a strand of his own immortal energy into the attack.

The chaos ball expanded.

Violet, swirling energy spread outward, forming a vortex that distorted the surrounding space. For a fraction of a second, the true form of the barrier manifested in the void.

It was colossal.

A transparent energy grid stretched across countless light-years, its intricate patterns overlapping in layers that seemed to extend beyond the limits of perception.

The chaos energy struck the structure.

A small, precise circular opening began to form.

The barrier resisted at first, but Astrion’s immortal energy guided the chaos through its defensive layers, dissolving the outer lining without disturbing the deeper formations.

"Now," Astrion said.

Victor did not hesitate.

Silver light enveloped both him and Astrion.

The two figures vanished into the temporary opening just as the barrier’s recovery mechanisms began to activate.

A second later, the breach closed completely.

The cosmic wall returned to its original state, leaving no visible trace of their entry.

But the disturbance had not gone unnoticed.

Deep within the absolute core region of the universe, an ancient existence had already sensed the intrusion.

In the absolute core of the universe,

One of the guardians slowly opened his eyes.

"The messiah has officially entered the core region."

"Should we send a delegation to receive him properly?"

The figure beside him did not move.

After a brief silence, the leader of the eight guardians replied.

"There is no need."

His voice was ancient and unhurried.

"He seems to carry quite a few grievances with him."

"Let him finish settling those matters first."