The Heart of Heaven-Piercing, within my Self-Space.
Ye Ling concealed all his aura with runes, hiding himself behind a fragment of space to evade the search of the watcher's eyes.
Upon seeing those eyes, Ye Ling realized something was wrong. He then, taking advantage of the Self-Space's collapse and the ensuing chaos, desperately masked his aura and concealed himself within the spatial fragments.
However, the watcher seemed to be targeting Ye Ling directly. Its eyes continuously scanned the shattered Self-Space, searching for Ye Ling's whereabouts.
Although Ye Ling could still barely evade the watcher’s search with the aid of runes, given the watcher's thorough searching method, it was only a matter of time before Ye Ling was found.
"Damn it... why is there a watcher inside the Heart of Heaven-Piercing?"
Seeing that the entire Self-Space was sealed by the watcher's power, Ye Ling couldn't help but curse.
He had come to save Xiao Mao Mao and the Ten Thousand Poisons Beast, and to obtain the Seed of Origin. Now, he hadn't even seen a trace of Xiao Mao Mao, the Seed of Origin he was close to obtaining had been intercepted by the watcher, and he himself had been pushed to a desperate situation by the watcher.
Under these circumstances, Ye Ling didn't know whether to consider himself unlucky or utterly unlucky.
"No, continuing to stay here is a dead end. I need to find a way to leave here, at least return to my own body!"
Ye Ling was currently only in a soul state, his strength less than half of his peak. Even if he could use the Devouring Domain and the Ink Between, their effects would be diminished.
In this state, if he were discovered by the watcher, he wouldn't even have the ability to resist and would be erased by the watcher!
Having made his decision, Ye Ling, risking discovery, used the Ink Between in conjunction with the runes to transform himself into a shattered spatial fragment. He then, mimicking the drift of other spatial fragments in the void, searched for an opening in the Self-Space.
Fortunately, the two abilities, runes and Ink Between, could cooperate perfectly. Ye Ling not only concealed his aura but also modified his soul attributes. The watcher's gaze swept over the transformed spatial fragment several times without detecting Ye Ling.
"Where is he?"
The watcher searched the Self-Space but found no trace of Ye Ling, beginning to suspect that Ye Ling had already escaped this Self-Space.
"Could he have escaped?"
The watcher muttered, then lifted the seal on the Self-Space and left it himself.
Ye Ling, transformed into a spatial fragment, saw the watcher leave but did not flee immediately, instead drifting aimlessly with other spatial fragments.
Ye Ling had dealt with the watcher several times and knew its suspicious nature. If he rushed to leave the Self-Space now, he might be caught red-handed by the watcher!
As expected, half an hour after the watcher's eyes disappeared, they opened again within the Self-Space, scanning the entire shattered space.
"Indeed, he escaped... I still need to search within the Heart of Heaven-Piercing..."
The watcher found no anomalies within the Self-Space, resealed the shattered Self-Space with its power, and left the place, searching for Ye Ling within the Heart of Heaven-Piercing.
Seeing that the watcher was about to seal the Self-Space again after leaving, Ye Ling couldn't help but curse the watcher as cunning in his heart. However, he was helpless about it and could only maintain his spatial fragment state, searching for a way to leave within the Self-Space.
"I shouldn't have completely killed the will of the Seed of Origin before. If I can find the will of the Seed of Origin now and inherit the power of the Origin Upper Realm, I might still have a chance to get out."
Ye Ling muttered, heading downwards in the shattered space, searching for the power of the Seed of Origin.
However, after the watcher appeared, its powerful energy instantly permeated the entire Self-Space and replaced all the power of the Seed of Origin. Ye Ling searched the shattered Self-Space for a long time but could not find even a trace of the Seed of Origin's power.
"This watcher is too thorough... leaving no chance at all. I wonder what the situation is outside now?"
Ye Ling sighed in disappointment after his fruitless search within the Self-Space, filled with deep worry.
Within this space, Ye Ling had no sense of time. How much time had passed outside? What was the situation with Tian Xing and the others now?
In this silent Self-Space, Ye Ling's will was also rapidly being worn down. Without hope in sight, Ye Ling himself didn't know how long he could hold on.
However, just as Ye Ling was drifting aimlessly within the Self-Space, becoming somewhat despairing, he suddenly felt something unusual.
"No, that feeling just now was..."
Ye Ling suddenly caught the unsettling gaze, his heart tightening. His divine sense scanned his surroundings but found nothing.
"An illusion?"
"No... it couldn't be an illusion!" Ye Ling ruled out the option of "illusion" and began to analyze.
"Something must have been secretly watching me just now... If it were the watcher, I would be dead by now, so that gaze definitely wasn't the watcher!"
"That gaze made me uneasy, so it couldn't be Xiao Mao Mao or the Ten Thousand Poisons Beast... nor could it be Tian Xing and the others coming to find me... Eliminating all these possibilities, that unsettling gaze can only be the consciousness of the Seed of Origin!"
Upon thinking of this, Ye Ling's mind suddenly flashed with inspiration!
"That's right! This gaze is very likely from the consciousness of the Seed of Origin. Within the Self-Space, it also possesses my abilities, meaning it can also rely on runes and Ink Between to hide its aura and evade the watcher's search!"
"If that's the case, then the competition between me and the consciousness of the Seed of Origin is not over. It must be hiding in the dark, looking for an opportunity to replace me when my will is weak, and then it will contend with the watcher!"
The consciousness of the Seed of Origin was created by Good and Evil. Its desire to possess Ye Ling was merely to survive, not that it was allied with the watcher. Therefore, the consciousness of the Seed of Origin's current plan must be to possess Ye Ling and then confront the watcher.
If this were the case, it would mean that the consciousness of the Seed of Origin still possessed some special power that could contend with the watcher!
"It seems that the consciousness of the Seed of Origin is my way out of this predicament..."
Having figured this out, Ye Ling continued to pretend not to have noticed the consciousness of the Seed of Origin, drifting aimlessly in the shattered Self-Space, searching for the power of the Seed of Origin.
At the same time, to lure the consciousness of the Seed of Origin into his trap, Ye Ling acted increasingly agitated and despairing, his will being severely eroded.
Ye Ling's soul grew weaker and weaker.
And the consciousness of the Seed of Origin, hiding in the darkness and waiting for an opportunity, gradually revealed its fangs as it saw Ye Ling's will nearing its end.
The consciousness of the Seed of Origin, also transformed into a spatial fragment, stared at Ye Ling ahead and sneered, "Ye Ling... your desire to survive is only this much."
"Your future path, I will take it for you!"
With that, the consciousness of the Seed of Origin transformed into a beam of light and stealthily attacked Ye Ling!