Chapter 266 - Chaos

1 second.

That's how long his soul's exposure to the Chaos lasted, just a minuscule second that would barely ever make a difference in a normal person's life, yet for him, it felt like a hundred lifetimes.

The first thing he saw was emptiness. A space so vast that he knew by instinct that even with a trillion years to explore he would never be able to reach its boundry, if it even had one.

The only things populating this place were mysterious atoms which he was unable to identify. An incalculable number of atoms, all moving faster than the speed of light, in completely random directions but never coming into contact with one another, never colliding.

It was a system of perfect harmony, of order. It was....beautiful!

Time did not exist here, or rather, it never existed nor would it ever in the future. Time was a construct created by the feeble minded to bring meaning to their limited lifespans.

1 second could be equal to a million years, and a million years shorter than the smallest measurable unit of time.

His eyes were attracted to a single atom out of all the others. This one in specific, it was different.

In this unimaginable expanse of space, a small ripple appeared around the atom, sending out wave after of energy.

As he gazed at the atom, his vision blurred and the distance between him and the atom shortened. One second he was looking at it from god know's how far, the next second he was next to it. His body continuously shrinking.

When he stopped shrinking, the atom looked like a sun. So vast and majestic that he couldn't even see it completely.

He reached out his hand and passed through its black surface, appearing in yet another space. In this space was a single spark, flickering in the dark, about to be put out any second.

Compared to the space outside, this was just as big with no boundary in sight. The only inhabitant of this space was the flickering ball of flame.

He looked at the flame and once again found himself standing in front of it. But only after standing next to it did he realize the stupendous amount of energy it was giving off.

It was a small ball of fire, dirt and white light, all swirling around in a circle, always chasing one another but never being able to catch up.

It stayed like this for eons. But when there was no time, how could eons have passed? Might as well have been a second.

But then something changed.

Hao Xuan felt movement next to him but could see nothing there, yet he could feel it, a presence. Something he wasn't supposed to see.

***

*Crack*

The cocoon covering his body shook once, letting out an invisible wave. This wave passed through the dozens of formations placed around the room, didn't even alert Jin Wang who was sitting not too far from him.

They spread out faster and faster, passing the kingdom of Mei, the Jia, the Empire overlooking them, the continent of Tertium, and then the entire beast world.

They passed through everything, nothing could halt their advance for even an instant.

The view zoomed out, Seven Planets orbiting one another, dozens of suns and moons between them. Each of these planets bigger than the last, with three of them watching over the other four from the outskirts.

One by one the invisible waves reached each of these planets, and then passed through them like they were never there.

But a few seconds after they had passed, several hundred pairs of eyes opened up from the three planets at the periphery of this boundless solar system.

They peered inward, staring at the four planets but not being to tell where the wave originated from.

"Another has awakened...the primordial spark has been seen once again."

One pair of vertical black eyes looked at the others, with intrigue, curiosity, and perhaps even amusement.

"It is still far too early to assume so. Far...far too early," another golden pair of bestial eyes replied before disappearing.

"This generation has quite a few worthy ones..."

"Haha...it will be fun. This one won't be the last either."

"We need more warriors, the next war will soon begin."

"There is still time, we can still make it.....hopefully...."

"The inner sanctum must be protected. I can feel the dark one's power growing."

*Sigh*

"It cannot be helped. We are broken beings."

"No, we are flawless! They are the 'imperfect ones'."

"If only it was so..."

It seemed like the beings that those eyes belonged to hadn't talked to one another in a long time. They continued their bickering through space and time like it was the most normal thing in the world.

A pair of brown eyes that looked the most like a human's looked at another similar pair.

"Did you hear about the attacks?"

"I did. Begin preparations. The seventh Armada shall take lead. The outer tribes are getting restless, attacking the farming planes."

"I will send my disciples, one of them recently broke through. Tell the gatekeepers to open the portal. It is time to remind them of their positions in the food chain."

".....alright."

***

*Crack*

Another crack appeared in the cocoon. Jin Wang stood up and stared at the wooden tank with squinted eyes.

Inside, Hao Xuan abruptly opened his eyes. His body was floating in the liquid, looking much different from how he first went in.

One by one the meridians on his arms and legs started glowing bright enough that they could be seen from the outside.

All four energies started moving vigorously, making their way to the last meridian on his forehead. If they were like trickling streams before, now they resembled flowing rivulets coming together.

The meridian on his forehead was starting to light up as well. But this one was shimmering with a black light, much brighter than the others.

Hao Xuan felt the incoming energies and quickly closed his eyes to concentrate and guide them according to the glaive manual.

*Bang*

*Bang*

The energies collided with the thick scab-like walls of the last meridian, making him wince from pain.

Mr. Hyde's voice echoed in his mind once again.

"Open the last door, and let it bathe in the spiritual energy."

Hao Xuan listened to him and his consciousness appeared in his Mind Palace. The entire palace was shaking and all of his 'severs' were standing around the podium, waiting for him.

"Master!"

Ensis, Monk, and Bo got down on one knee as soon as they say him. Black and White wiggled their tails and looked at Hao Xuan expectantly. If they had hands they would be outstretched, asking to be carried.

Hao Xuan smiled at them and waved at Ensis, Monk, and Bo to get up. Zhurong was sleeping once again on top of the podium.

Hao Xuan ignored him and walked up to the door in the middle.

This was the door to his soul. It was already open slightly so with just a push it burst open at once. A bright blue light shone, which blinded everyone other than Hao Xuan himself.

As soon as he opened the door, the spiritual energy from the Low-Grade Spirit stone pulsed in response.

Wave after wave of thick spiritual energy poured out and into the cocoon. Some of it went into his meridians while over 90% of it went straight to his mind palace and into the middle door.

Hao Xuan closed his eyes in ecstasy. It felt like his insides were being washed over with cold water in a hot summers day. There really was no other way to describe it.

He could feel his soul becoming stronger and stronger, it was an exponential increase in strength and ability. It felt like he was blind his whole life and now he could see for the first time.

The four energies continued their collision, making cracks in the meridian wall, but it was still not enough. At this rate it would take weeks to breakthrough.

After Hao Xuan was done feeling the changes in his soul, he focused back on the meridian. It was still shimmering with a soft wavering black light.

"Conjure the last energy, only it can break through."

Hyde provided another important bit of guidance.

Hao Xuan recalled the images he saw in that small swirling black cloud, and what he understood from them.

"Order and Chaos go hand in hand. They are the two sides of the same coin. As everything has a beginning and an end, they always have these two states. The Chaos is the beginning and the end, while order is what comes in between."

The corner of his lips arched up into a resplendent smile, before parting.

"Where there is order, there WILL be Chaos!"

*BOOM*

It exploded. As soon as he uttered the last line, the meridian wall exploded like a grenade and a black energy rushed out, connecting the five meridians together. Their density increased and thickened, turning into fast flowing streams.

With a loud pop, his entire body shone with a bright golden light as he took his first step into the Spirit Realm.

The merdians flooded every part of his body with these energies, strengthening it even more. But the black energy moved randomly, not following the same path as the other energies.

This energy was different. Where the others were different colored liquids, this one was like plasma. It was a completely different state of matter, one that was never normally seen. It's form alternated between a liquid and a gas as it moved in and around his body regardless. It could move independently of the meridians, as if the laws of physics had no effect on it.

It could leave his body in the shape of a cloud of black gas and return to it in an instant.

Under normal circumstances, this was not possible. Once the Qi had left the cultivators body, there was no way to recall it, but the Chaos was an exception.

And how could it not be? It was...Chaos..