Chapter 318: Reforming the Origin Pattern Barrier

Deep within the Genesis Pond, Zhou Yuan gazed at the net-like Spirit Rune barrier that trapped the thousand-zhang water beast, a glint in his eyes. He realized that dealing with this beast wasn't entirely impossible.

However, Zhou Yuan had no intention of fighting it head-on. With his current strength, he clearly wouldn't be a match for the thousand-zhang water beast, even though it was already heavily wounded.

"Perhaps I can make use of this Spirit Rune barrier," Zhou Yuan mused.

To a certain extent, the Spirit Rune barrier before him could inflict significant damage on the thousand-zhang water beast. However, the barrier only had binding power and lacked any offensive capabilities. Otherwise, the water beast wouldn't be having such an easy time and would still have the energy to violently tear at the barrier.

"If I could somehow modify this barrier to give it offensive power, it should be able to deal a significant blow to the thousand-zhang water beast," Zhou Yuan murmured to himself.

However, if these words were heard by other skilled Spirit Rune practitioners, they would likely scoff in disbelief. This was because a Spirit Rune barrier, much like a complex machine, was intricately balanced. Even a slight alteration could cause the entire structure to instantly collapse.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to modify a Spirit Rune barrier. However, doing so would require a complete understanding of every part of the barrier, enabling one to clearly perceive the flow of Genesis Qi within it. Even Ye Ge, with all his Spirit Rune mastery, would probably lack the confidence to achieve such a feat.

"Others might not be able to... but perhaps I can try?" Zhou Yuan chuckled softly. Deep within his pupils, ancient light patterns emerged—it was the Boundary Breaking Saint Rune.

With the activation of the Boundary Breaking Saint Rune, Zhou Yuan could clearly see the Spirit Rune barrier transform before his eyes. Every flow and pattern of Genesis Qi within it became incredibly clear to him. In just a moment, he understood the operational trajectory of the Spirit Rune barrier.

"Remarkable! This Spirit Rune barrier is composed of eighteen 4th-grade Spirit Runes, over eighty 3rd-grade Spirit Runes, and hundreds of lower-grade ones..." Zhou Yuan exclaimed in admiration. It truly lived up to its 4th-grade classification; it was extraordinary. He wondered how long Ye Ge had spent preparing it.

After observing for a while, he began to form some ideas. However, the Spirit Rune barrier had been set up by Ye Ge, and his spirit energy lingered within it. If Zhou Yuan wanted to modify it, he would first need to clear out this residual spirit energy. Otherwise, if Ye Ge sensed the alterations, a mere thought from his spirit could destroy the barrier, nullifying Zhou Yuan's efforts to modify it. Therefore, he needed to find a way to block Ye Ge's spiritual connection to the barrier.

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, then looked up again. His Genesis Qi carried his voice through the seawater, directly reaching Yaoyao's ears. She was currently above the surface, engaged in an intriguing Spirit Rune duel with Ye Ge.

"Sister Yaoyao, could you interfere with that guy's spiritual senses for a bit?"

Yaoyao's Spirit Rune brush paused slightly. Her eyes swept towards the depths of the Genesis Pond, and then her rosy lips curled into a faint smile, as if she had already figured out Zhou Yuan's intentions.

"Not bad. He's finally using his brain," she murmured to herself.

Suddenly, a brilliant spiritual light erupted from her smooth forehead, and a spiritual shockwave silently swept towards Ye Ge. This was a spiritual attack.

Ye Ge immediately sensed it, his heart clenching. While spiritual attacks might not appear as grand as Genesis Qi clashes, they were far more perilous. A single mistake could shatter one's spirit, leaving them vulnerable and helpless. Thus, he immediately activated the spiritual power from his glabella, letting it radiate outwards to form a thick spiritual shield in front of him.

A subtle hum echoed in the air as an invisible ripple spread out. If any living creature were caught within this impact zone, their spirit might even be shattered. However, even with the spiritual shield, Ye Ge's spirit still buzzed momentarily from the impact, and its operations became sluggish.

"Her spirit... it's actually this powerful!"

This latest impact made Ye Ge's expression even graver. From previous spiritual clashes, he felt that Yaoyao's spirit was as unfathomable as the Genesis Pond beneath them. Consequently, he retracted his spiritual power and focused entirely on confronting her, no longer having the presence of mind to pay attention to the Spirit Rune barrier deep within the Genesis Pond.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Genesis Pond, a smile appeared on Zhou Yuan's face. Thanks to the Boundary Breaking Saint Rune, he could see that Ye Ge's spirit energy within the Spirit Rune barrier was gradually fading. This indicated that Ye Ge's control over the Spirit Rune barrier was weakening.

"Time to act!"

Zhou Yuan rubbed his hands together, gripping the Heavenly Yuan Brush. The Boundary Breaking Saint Rune in the depths of his eyes slowly rotated, exuding an aura of mystery. He slowly lowered the tip of his brush, touching it to the net-like barrier.

Upon contact, the net-like barrier immediately rippled, and the Genesis Qi within it stirred, showing faint signs of agitation. However, Zhou Yuan's expression remained calm. His brush tip moved rapidly, drawing intricate patterns, and the spiritual light from his glabella pulsed as spirit energy flowed out along the brush.

A complex Spirit Rune gradually took shape. The moment it was completed, Zhou Yuan flicked his brush tip, integrating the rune into the Spirit Rune barrier. The instant the Spirit Rune integrated, the barrier trembled violently, as if on the verge of collapse. However, Zhou Yuan swiftly controlled the rune, guiding it to align with the barrier's Genesis Qi flow, gradually integrating it and neutralizing the barrier's rejection.

With his initial attempt successful, Zhou Yuan continued, integrating one Spirit Rune after another into the barrier.

"Water Hardening Rune!""Golden Jade Rune!""Profound Iron Counter-Armor Rune!""Iron Wall Rune!"

After integrating these Spirit Runes into the barrier, they remained dormant, not immediately activating.

Once the final Spirit Rune was integrated, Zhou Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his forehead. He then smiled as he looked at the inside of the barrier. At that moment, the thousand-zhang water beast roared, its massive body fiercely charging towards the barrier. Violent Genesis Qi gathered above its head, a collision force powerful enough to shatter even a mountain. If left unchecked, this single impact would be enough to destroy the barrier.

However, upon seeing this, Zhou Yuan didn't try to stop it. Instead, he chuckled softly, watching with keen interest as the thousand-zhang water beast slammed into the watery net. The seawater in the Genesis Pond was violently torn apart by the force of the impact.

In the blink of an eye, the thousand-zhang water beast charged towards the net. Instinctively, it felt that this time, the net-like barrier would surely break. However, just as it was about to collide, Zhou Yuan's spiritual power at his glabella stirred, and the Spirit Runes he had integrated into the barrier suddenly erupted. The entire Spirit Rune barrier trembled violently.

The net-like barrier transformed; its openings gradually vanished, replaced by a solid curtain of water. However, this water curtain displayed a golden-jade hue, with layers of light shimmering upon it, seemingly transforming into an indestructible water wall!

The thousand-zhang water beast ultimately slammed hard into the water wall. At that instant, an earth-shattering sound seemed to echo, and a terrifying shockwave spread out. The sea within tens of thousands of feet erupted with towering waves.

*Crack!*

The Spirit Rune barrier finally reached its limit at that moment, shattering with a cracking sound. The violent shockwave raged, even sending Zhou Yuan sprawling backward in a disheveled state. Although his body was covered by Profound Python Scales, they continuously shattered, indicating the sheer destructive power of the impact.

This commotion immediately reached the surface of the sea. The two intensely fighting parties were startled. They quickly separated, their gazes filled with surprise and doubt, turning towards the depths of the Genesis Pond. And they immediately saw the shattered Spirit Rune barrier.

Both Kong Sheng and Li Qingchan's expressions changed slightly.

"The Spirit Rune barrier shattered... the thousand-zhang water beast escaped!" Kong Sheng's face darkened. This meant his efforts this time would be in vain.

Li Qingchan was also momentarily stunned, then let out a soft sigh. As expected, this time it was a lose-lose situation for both sides.

"The person you placed your hopes on seems rather incompetent, Junior Sister Qingchan. In future conflicts of this magnitude, perhaps it's best not to bring such people out to embarrass yourselves," Kong Sheng said indifferently, his words laced with cold mockery.

Li Qingchan's delicate brows furrowed, but she ignored him. The Genesis Qi fluctuations around her gradually subsided. Since the thousand-zhang water beast had already escaped, there was no longer any need to continue fighting. Both she and Kong Sheng would have to return empty-handed from this trip to the Genesis Pond.

Li Qingchan glanced into the depths of the Genesis Pond. She could see Zhou Yuan, who had been sent stumbling backward by the shockwave, and she sighed inwardly, smiling self-deprecatingly. After all, he was only at the 2nd Layer of the Initial Qi stage. Placing hope in him was indeed a bit absurd.

As she sighed inwardly, the turbulent waters in the depths of the Genesis Pond gradually calmed. Li Qingchan's beautiful eyes casually swept across the scene, but in the next instant, they suddenly widened, and a profound disbelief appeared on her pretty face.

Because she saw that where the Spirit Rune barrier had exploded, the thousand-zhang water beast was indeed gone, but a Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal, about half a zhang in size, floated silently in the seawater.

Li Qingchan's jade-like hand instinctively covered her mouth, her heart surging with immense shock. The thousand-zhang water beast... it was actually killed?!