Chapter 479: Casual Cultivation...

"The problem isn’t simply that the formation is weakening," he finally explained. "Its rate of deterioration is increasing. Every damaged section places additional pressure on the remaining structure, and that pressure accelerates the degradation of the other sections."

Camilla’s brows furrowed. "So it’s a chain reaction?"

"Something similar."

Stan’s gaze remained fixed on the projection.

"If nothing changes, the formation won’t simply weaken until it stops functioning. Once enough critical pathways fail, the remaining structure will begin collapsing much faster."

Camilla stared at Earth.

For the first time, she understood why Stan’s expression had become so serious.

"Can you repair it?"

Stan finally looked at her. "Not yet..."

The answer was straightforward.

However, Camilla could hear the meaning behind those two words. He had not said that it was impossible. He had said that he could not do it yet.

She studied him for several seconds before turning her attention back to the formation.

"You intend to repair it?"

"Eventually."

Stan had already asked the system for a book or some kind of information that could help him understand how to repair the formation. Unfortunately, ever since he had made the request, the system had done nothing but display a loading panel.

Hopefully, it would eventually provide him with what he needed.

Either way, repairing a formation that spanned an entire planet was not going to be easy. His current realm was still far too low compared to that of the Void Sovereign, and the gap between them was difficult to even comprehend.

Still, Stan’s cultivation speed had been astonishingly fast.

He had already reached the peak tier of his current realm and was now standing at the threshold of the next major realm.

"You say that as though repairing a formation spanning an entire planet is an easy thing..."

A faint smile appeared on Stan’s face.

"It isn’t," he admitted. "But I’ll try."

He turned away from the projection and walked toward the center of the chamber. "That’s precisely why I need to understand the Void Sovereign’s inheritance first. If I want to repair something created by an existence whose mastery of the Void far exceeds mine, then understanding the foundation upon which this formation was built is the first step."

Camilla slowly nodded as she looked around the chamber, her gaze lingering on the enormous formation that dominated the center of the room.

The intricate array of ancient runes and spatial markings continued to circulate with a faint, almost imperceptible glow, while the energy within the chamber remained unusually dense.

"So that’s why you brought me here."

"Partly."

The simple response caused Camilla’s eyes to narrow slightly. She turned her attention back to Stan, studying his expression as though trying to determine what he was deliberately leaving unsaid.

There was something about the way he had answered that made it clear the formation wasn’t the only reason he had brought her here.

"Partly?" she repeated, a faint note of curiosity entering her voice.

Stan stopped walking and glanced back at her. His expression remained calm, almost indifferent, as though what he was about to say were nothing particularly important.

"I also wanted you and the others to know what is waiting outside."

Camilla’s expression became slightly more serious.

Stan continued.

"I can delay it but when this formation inevitably detoriates completely and the people of new terra are finally able to return to Earth, make sure they understand one thing."

His gaze shifted toward the enormous formation.

"There are enemies from outside this world who have already set their sights on Earth."

A brief silence followed.

"They’re watching us. And sooner or later, they’ll come."

Camilla’s eyes narrowed. "So you want Earth to prepare for them."

"Exactly."

Stan turned fully toward her.

"Earth can’t afford to remain divided when that happens. Once the formation collapses and everyone is able to return, the different factions need to put aside their differences and unite against the enemies beyond Earth."

His voice remained calm, but there was an unmistakable weight behind his words.

"If they continue fighting among themselves, they’ll only make Earth easier to conquer."

Camilla remained silent for several seconds, absorbing everything he had said.

Then, slowly, she nodded.

"I’m learning a lot..." she murmured.

Camilla walked toward him and eventually sat down a short distance away. Her crimson eyes remained fixed on him, carrying an unmistakable sense of curiosity.

"You’ve accumulated too many secrets, Stan. Every time I think I’ve understood you, another one appears. You possess a place like this, and now you’re studying the formation protecting an entire planet. I want to see what you actually do when you cultivate here, I’m curious."

Stan chuckled softly. "So that’s what this is about."

"Exactly."

Camilla rested her chin against one hand as she looked at him with an amused expression "I want to see you cultivate in the chaotic Qi ."

Stan looked at her for several seconds before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Then watch."

Camilla’s expression immediately became attentive.

Stan slowly closed his eyes.

The atmosphere within the chamber changed almost instantly.

The casual feeling that had surrounded him disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming sense of stillness. His breathing gradually slowed until it became almost imperceptible, while the surrounding space began responding to his presence.

Camilla’s eyes narrowed.

She had expected cultivation to involve meditation, energy circulation, and perhaps some kind of breathing technique.

She had not expected the Void itself to respond.

The darkness surrounding them began to ripple.

Tiny distortions appeared in the air around Stan’s body, each one resembling a miniature fracture in reality. They did not spread violently. Instead, they formed in perfect synchronization with his breathing, appearing whenever he inhaled and disappearing whenever he exhaled.

Camilla’s expression slowly changed.

She had seen powerful cultivators absorb energy before.

This was different. Stan wasn’t simply absorbing the energy surrounding him.

He was drawing upon the fundamental properties of space itself.

The Void Sovereign’s inheritance had begun to reveal its true nature.

---

The formation control room gradually dimmed as the surrounding lights faded into darkness, leaving the enormous projection suspended above the chamber as the primary source of illumination.

Earth continued its silent rotation at the center of the display, its blue surface illuminated against the darkness of space.

Seven ancient anchor nodes remained positioned around the planet, each one connected to the others through countless lines of intricate formation patterns. Their faint radiance pulsed at irregular intervals, a subtle reminder that the enormous formation protecting Earth was far from stable.

Stan closed his eyes and slowly adjusted his breathing until his thoughts became completely still.

With each deliberate breath, the Void Sovereign Sutra began circulating through his body. At first, there was no visible change. The chamber remained quiet, and the enormous quantity of Qi surrounding him appeared completely unaffected. Then, gradually, something began to shift.

The Qi inside the chamber started moving.

It did not surge toward Stan like a torrent, nor did it gather around him with the overwhelming force of an ordinary cultivation technique. Instead, it flowed naturally, almost peacefully, like an invisible river responding to a gravitational force that existed beyond ordinary perception.

Strands of Qi began drifting toward him from every direction before quietly entering his body through his pores. The process was so smooth that there was almost no disturbance in the surrounding air.

Once inside his body, the Qi followed the pathways of his meridians and gradually converged toward his Dantian. However, instead of simply accumulating there, the Void Sovereign Sutra immediately began refining it. Ordinary Qi was stripped of its impurities and transformed into something purer. That purer energy was compressed again, becoming denser and more concentrated until it gradually took on an almost transparent quality.

The change was subtle, but the difference in quality was enormous.