Venix had once felt his consciousness split in two.

  At that time, his head spun as if the world were whirling beyond his control, and his body resisted every movement, incapable of adapting to the chaos unfolding within.

  Now, the consciousness of the Seed of Chaos had been divided into hundreds of tiny fragments!

  Venix couldn’t begin to fathom what it would feel like to shatter one’s consciousness into hundreds of pieces.

  Yet, the voice of Venix from the future rang out, commanding and resolute, "That’s still not enough. We must divide it further—into thousands, even tens of thousands of fragments!"

  After all, the Seed of Chaos was no ordinary entity. With boundless experience and immense mental fortitude, its strength was formidable.

  "This is our body," declared Venix from the future with unshakable certainty. "We are like gods navigating the ocean of our own soul and consciousness—nothing can stand in our way."

  The concept of soul and consciousness was a complex and mysterious one. Even for the Primecore, delving into the soul of an Awaken was fraught with danger if done recklessly.

  "Are you sure the Seed of Chaos won’t kill us? I mean, won’t it kill me?" Venix asked, his voice trembling even as his hands moved swiftly to divide the Seed of Chaos’s consciousness further.

  "It’s impossible for it to kill you," Venix from the future replied with a sinister smile. "Essentially, it cannot kill you. It’s more about controlling the soul and consciousness of your body but never fully erasing you."

  "Why?" Venix frowned, finding it hard to wrap his head around the idea.

  "Because that entity seeks to seize something from this universe," answered Venix from the future, his expression cold and focused as he continued splitting the Seed of Chaos’s consciousness into hundreds of fragments.

  Satisfied with his progress, Venix from the future continued, his eyes gleaming with intent, "Only someone born and living within this universe can claim that thing."

  Hearing this, Venix furrowed his brow, his thoughts swirling as the revelation felt immense and incomprehensible.

  Venix from the future paused briefly before adding, "Because the Seed of Chaos isn’t from this universe!"

  Boom!

  The consciousness bubble of the Seed of Chaos trembled violently, as though struggling to bear the weight of this truth.

  "Not from this universe?" Venix choked, his throat dry as the enormity of the information sank into his awareness.

  "That’s correct," affirmed Venix from the future, smiling with satisfaction at the outcome. "An outsider cannot directly enter this universe. Therefore, that entity had to transform itself into a Seed Origin and manipulate someone native to this universe."

  In the next instant, Venix felt a fraction of control over his True Origin returning to him.

  "You! How can you possibly do this!?" The voice of the Seed of Chaos resounded in Venix’s mind.

  Venix remained silent, his focus unwavering as he continued fragmenting the Seed of Chaos’s consciousness.

  From the future, Venix laughed maniacally. His sinister laughter filled the space as he delighted in the sight of consciousness bubbles shattering into countless pieces.

  Gradually, the tables turned as the Seed of Chaos’s consciousness began to weaken.

  "Stay here and keep destroying its consciousness bubbles!" Venix from the future shouted.

  Venix nodded, swiftly withdrawing part of his own consciousness, ceasing his partial control over his True Origin body.

  The Seed of Chaos perceived that Venix had retreated into his sea of consciousness without reclaiming his True Origin body.

  This had been a trap meticulously laid by the Seed of Chaos! Had Venix reasserted control over his body, it would have allowed the Seed of Chaos to counterattack and restore its fragmented consciousness.

  "This child is unusual!" the Seed of Chaos muttered through clenched teeth.

  Left with no choice, the Seed of Chaos relinquished its control over Venix’s body and fully entered the sea of consciousness!

  Previously, the Seed of Chaos had held the upper hand by dwelling in the sea of consciousness, where its strength was far superior to Venix’s control over his own body.

  Although powerful, the Seed of Chaos was neither omnipotent nor invincible. Its advantage lay in its vast knowledge and countless techniques unknown to its adversaries.

  The Seed of Chaos had never anticipated this outcome. After all, entering the Sea of Consciousness was supposed to be impossible for Venix!

  In truth, Venix himself didn’t know how he had entered his own Sea of Consciousness—it had simply happened. Even Grandmaster Orion was unaware of the existence of a secondary sea of consciousness within one’s Astral Body, let alone how to access it.

  And the sole explanation was that it had been orchestrated by Venix from the future!

  The Seed of Chaos promptly abandoned its control over Venix’s True Origin and fully immersed itself in the sea of consciousness.

  Simultaneously, Venix’s True Origin, which had appeared as the Seed of Chaos, reverted to its original form.

  Venix’s physical body outside went limp, motionless, confusing everyone around him.

  The Seed of Chaos descended, landing in the sea of consciousness.

  "The guest has arrived! Proceed with the next step!" Venix from the future shouted upon seeing the Seed of Chaos’s presence.

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  Venix immediately focused all his efforts, attempting to control the Seed of Chaos’s fragmented consciousness bubbles.

  After all, this was his own body! And the Seed of Chaos wasn’t at its peak, meaning their strengths were now evenly matched.

  What set the Seed of Chaos apart was its unique invulnerability and its vast repository of origin techniques and knowledge.

  Armed with this understanding, Venix realized that the Seed of Chaos was not an all-powerful, unbeatable entity!

  In the physical world, if the Seed of Chaos had access to its true form, defeating it would be nearly impossible.

  But in the sea of his own soul and consciousness, the Seed of Chaos was nothing more than vulnerable prey!

  Neither the Seed of Chaos nor even Grandmaster Orion had anticipated this, for their knowledge of such matters was woefully limited.

  With all his might, Venix took control of the Seed of Chaos’s consciousness waves and burst them like popping bubbles!

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The sound of explosions echoed repeatedly, and with each burst, the Seed of Chaos’s form trembled as though it were physically struck.

  Venix gritted his teeth, determined to dominate even more of the Seed of Chaos’s fragmented consciousness.

  Meanwhile, Venix from the future approached the Seed of Chaos and mercilessly struck its face!

  "This is for Ronan!" he shouted, his voice seething with hatred.

  "This is for Ronan’s sister, Nina!" Venix roared again, delivering another blow to the Seed of Chaos with unrelenting fury.

  Hearing the cries, Venix felt compelled to listen further.

  But he had a critical task at hand: destroying the Seed of Chaos’s fragmented consciousness bubbles.

  Venix from the future continued to call out names, his fists and feet pummeling the Seed of Chaos without mercy.

  The Seed of Chaos’s choice to fully retreat into the sea of consciousness had been the right one. But at the same time, it would also serve as its grave, now that Venix understood the truth!

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  More consciousness bubbles burst, and the Seed of Chaos’s face grew increasingly tormented.

  "Who... Who are you really!? How do you know techniques like this!?" the Seed of Chaos roared, its voice filled with rage.

  The technique it referred to was the one that fragmented its consciousness into thousands—no, tens of thousands—of tiny pieces!

  This technique was immensely powerful, something even the Seed of Chaos had never encountered before.

  "After being trapped in this world for tens of thousands of years... Could it really be that I achieved nothing?" Future Venix laughed cruelly, relentlessly beating the now-defenseless Seed of Chaos.

  The Seed of Chaos wanted to flee and regain control of Venix's body immediately. However, doing so would mean his consciousness and essence would be swiftly defeated by Venix!

  With Venix shattering the bubbles of his consciousness and Future Venix pummeling his corporeal form, the situation was entirely in Venix's favor, leaving the Seed of Chaos with no opportunity to counterattack.

  Rage boiled within the Seed of Chaos.

  He had calculated every possible variable, even subtly guiding Venix to obtain the True Origin and setting all of Venix's plans in motion.

  The Seed of Chaos had been supremely confident in his ability to seize control of Venix's body. He knew that while he was powerful, he was not invincible.

  Future Venix's earlier guess had been accurate: the Seed of Chaos's greatest strength in such situations lay in his advanced knowledge and techniques.

  If the Seed of Chaos were to face the Vulture, bonded to the Astral Bond and receiving the Origin Blessing, he would stand no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

  Thus, when Venix was killed and the Seed of Chaos had been fully resurrected, he became aware of everything about both the Virtual World and the real world.

  At that time, fully taking over Venix's body had been impossible due to the forced nature of his awakening, which had exacted a certain cost.

  After analyzing Venix's situation thoroughly, the Seed of Chaos had realized that a direct battle would yield no positive results. Furthermore, the Vulture's unique ability to absorb parts of the Seed of Chaos rendered his regenerative powers insignificant.

  So, the Seed of Chaos had shifted his focus to overtaking the Vulture's consciousness—a far easier task.

  And without Venix going through all of this, it would have been impossible for him to obtain the True Origin, making Venix far less valuable to the Seed of Chaos.

  In essence, the Seed of Chaos had gambled with a 99% chance of victory.

  Yet with Future Venix's presence, that negligible 1% had destroyed his odds of winning, reducing them to nearly zero.

  "You... You're not the Venix of this timeline!" the Seed of Chaos roared, finally realizing Future Venix's identity as another blow struck his jaw.

  "So what if I'm not?" Future Venix sneered, unleashing the rage he had bottled up for countless years.

  The Seed of Chaos gritted his teeth, glaring at Future Venix. "How could you possibly enter this universe's River of Time!?" he spat, fury dripping from every word.

  "Do you think I'm foolish enough to tell you?" Future Venix smirked coldly. "I know you can't die. Even if we defeat you here and kill you, you'll simply be reborn!"

  Boom!

  Future Venix unleashed his full strength, delivering a devastating blow to the Seed of Chaos's abdomen.

  The bubbles of consciousness belonging to the Seed of Chaos were now reduced to a mere 10%. Meanwhile, Venix's bubbles had dwindled to just 5%, leaving the entire consciousness realm almost empty of any fragments.

  The Seed of Chaos knew the situation was dire, and any chance of turning the tide was practically nonexistent. Nearly all of his strength had been spent invading Venix's consciousness like a virus, leaving him unable to utilize other techniques in this state.

  His expression was grim; it was undeniable that he had failed.

  "I admit it," the Seed of Chaos said with a twisted smile. "I've lost today. But I will return in the future to torment everyone close to you!"

  Moments later, his form disappeared, his consciousness retreating to reclaim control of Venix's body.

  "This is bad!" Future Venix's face turned pale with concern.

  Meanwhile, Venix, still focused on destroying the bubbles of consciousness, felt a wave of confusion.

  "Quick, reclaim your body! I'll handle the remaining bubbles of the Seed of Chaos!" Future Venix shouted urgently. "He's going to kill your body in the Virtual World! Your bodies in the Virtual and Real Worlds have become one. If you die in the Virtual World, you'll die in the Real World too!"

  Venix's face contorted in alarm. "You said he wouldn't dare kill me!"

  "The situation has changed!" Future Venix wore a conflicted expression. "Victory is within our grasp; there's no way he can turn the tables now. So for his final move, if we both perish, it'll end in a stalemate. He might survive, but you'll be utterly destroyed!"

  Venix cursed Future Venix in his heart, frustrated at how unreliable even his future self seemed to be. Without delay, he focused on reclaiming his body.

  In the next instant, Venix felt his control over the True Origin returning. However, it was only partial control—he could only move half of his body.

  "Too late!" The right side of Venix's face twisted into a cruel grin. "This self-destruct technique cannot be stopped!"

  The left side of Venix's face tensed, sensing impending disaster.

  His True Origin body was now absorbing all available energy around it. Venix could even feel his soul being drawn in, transforming into a source of power!

  In a desperate attempt, Venix tried to halt the process, willing his True Origin to cease the absorption.

  Despite his efforts, the True Origin body refused to stop, continuing to compress the energy into a dense core.

  If this continued, Venix feared that his True Origin would soon explode, obliterating both his soul and body from within.

  Just as despair began to set in, a figure suddenly appeared before him.

  "I am here."

  Venix lifted his head, recognizing the figure as the Soul Body of Orion, the Grandmaster he had encountered before.

  "Grandmaster..." Venix uttered stiffly, unable to believe that Grandmaster Orion had entered his soul.

  "How did you enter this boy's soul!?" the Seed of Chaos roared, his face flushed with rage and confusion.

  He had already fortified Venix's soul, making it impervious to invasion by any Primecore's Soul Body!

  Grandmaster Orion's Soul Body touched Venix's True Origin. A surge of immense power flowed into the True Origin, temporarily halting the energy absorption.

  "The technique I taught Venix grants my Soul Body access for a full year," Orion explained, working diligently to dissolve the dense core of energy. "I trusted that this would be useful against you in the future, and it seems my timing was perfect."

  "I'll kill you!" the Seed of Chaos bellowed, his voice reverberating through the soul's realm with fury.

  "Goodbye," Orion said softly as he shattered the dense core, transforming it back into liquid energy.