Ye Ling stood before the cosmic barrier, feeling the immense power contained within it.
That power, if fully unleashed, could easily devour the entire universe!
Even Ye Ling felt a tremor of apprehension in its presence.
He was unsure if he could reverse the flow of time for the cosmic barrier with all his might!
However, he was the only one capable of repairing it. Behind him were countless civilizations, trillions of lives. If he gave up now, not only Xiao You and Earth, but perhaps the entire universe would fall, becoming playthings for extraterrestrial forces!
Therefore, even knowing it might be impossible, Ye Ling had to try.
"No matter what, I'll give it my all!"
Ye Ling gritted his teeth, conjuring numerous runes and affixing them to the cosmic barrier. The River of the Great Dao manifested around him!
An extremely dense aura of laws filled the long-abandoned prison.
The moment Ye Ling used the runes to strengthen and reverse the time of the cosmic barrier, more than half of his internal spiritual energy was drained by the barrier, and his black hair turned white!
This was just the beginning, and the spiritual energy stored within Ye Ling was already dwindling, forcing him to draw upon his life essence.
However, it was too late for Ye Ling to stop. All he could do was go all out, repairing the cosmic barrier before his life essence was completely depleted.
"Who is repairing the cosmic barrier?"
At this moment, an angry voice faintly echoed from outside the cosmic barrier: "If you don't want to die! Stop immediately!"
Hearing the furious roar, Ye Ling's lips curved slightly: "It seems those fellows outside paid a heavy price to open the cosmic barrier. If I repair this, I should be able to buy a considerable period of peace..."
"I hope that during this time, Xiao You can grow up and protect herself..."
Ye Ling murmured. His once heroic face was now etched with numerous wrinkles, his hair had turned completely white, and he looked incredibly aged.
The power of the runes far exceeded his imagination. Using them was like using a lever, prying open the immense cosmic barrier with minimal force!
But the price Ye Ling had to pay was his own life.
As the law of time took effect, the cosmic barrier's time began to reverse, and the cracks on the barrier started to shrink continuously.
The extraterrestrial beings, seeing the cosmic barrier being repaired, became furious and cursed.
Ye Ling could even feel countless attacks bombarding the cosmic barrier, attempting to blast it open!
However, no matter how powerful the attacks were, they couldn't shake the cosmic barrier in the slightest.
And after truly feeling the frenzied attacks from the extraterrestrial forces, Ye Ling's understanding of the cosmic barrier's importance deepened.
Without this shield protecting the universe, all beings within it would likely be at the mercy of extraterrestrial forces, utterly defenseless.
"Who is ruining my good deed? State your name!"
"I spent billions of years of cultivation to open this gap, you better stop!"
"No matter who you are! If you stop, I promise to bestow upon you billions of years of cultivation and help you ascend to the supreme realm!"
"Bastard! Stop it! I'll kill you!!!"
The voices of the extraterrestrial powerhouses became increasingly hysterical, and ripples of light appeared on the cosmic barrier.
Merely by observing the fluctuations of the cosmic barrier, Ye Ling could imagine the impact it was enduring.
However, Ye Ling's consciousness was already extremely weak, his body hunched over, and he was extremely frail. He no longer had the energy to mock the extraterrestrial powerhouses.
The runes affixed to the cosmic barrier began to fade, their power almost depleted.
But there was still a millimeter-sized hole in the cosmic barrier...
"Just a little more... damn it..."
Ye Ling struggled to maintain the law of time. His vision blurred, and he saw double.
The extraterrestrial powerhouse outside the cosmic barrier seemed to sense Ye Ling's exhaustion and let out a hearty laugh: "Hahaha! I wondered who dared to interfere, turns out it's just some inexperienced greenhorn!"
"With your meager cultivation, how can you possibly stop me? Everyone, attack! Blast open this barrier!"
"What if I sacrifice billions of years of my cultivation again? I will blast open this barrier today!"
The extraterrestrial powerhouse laughed and sacrificed his power again, striking the cosmic barrier!
Under the impact of the extraterrestrial powerhouse, the cosmic barrier, which was on the verge of complete repair, began to slowly widen again!
"Damn it... these scoundrels!"
Seeing the cosmic barrier cracking again, Ye Ling gritted his teeth.
But now, his life essence was depleted. To push further would mean his soul would be scattered, and he had no ability to stop the invasion of the extraterrestrial powerhouses...
Although the cosmic barrier was leaning towards Ye Ling, allowing him to offset billions of years of life force with ten thousand years of his own, he couldn't withstand the sheer number of people outside. Ye Ling's leverage, however strong, had its limits on his life essence...
The extraterrestrial powerhouses were now determined to wear Ye Ling down, and both sides had reached a critical point.
If either side retreated now, they would suffer a complete defeat, and all their efforts would be in vain!
"Boss!!!"
At this moment, a blood-soaked Xue Sha rushed into the prison from outside the Void of Annihilation. Seeing Ye Ling's state, he exclaimed: "Boss, what are you doing?"
"Xue, Xue Sha?"
Ye Ling's hearing was already impaired. He asked Xue Sha with difficulty, "Why are you back? Where is that dragon-headed man?"
Xue Sha placed his palms on Ye Ling's back, unhesitatingly channeling his power to Ye Ling, and said quickly, "Those two dragon-headed men are being held back by Chi Gui. I came back to see you... Damn it! What is this thing? It's draining so much life essence?"
The moment Xue Sha channeled his power to Ye Ling, his arms began to rust.
He too couldn't withstand the consumption!
Ye Ling gritted his teeth, "Fool, get away from me quickly!!!"
Xue Sha realized Ye Ling was risking his life and gritted his teeth, "Boss, I've already said it, I must die before you. Now that we're in danger, how can I abandon you?"
Xue Sha's eyes focused, and he shouted, "Dao Fa Bing Jie!!!"
As his voice fell, Xue Sha transformed back into his demonic blade form. Cracks appeared on the blade, and an immense power surged into Ye Ling, causing the wrinkles on Ye Ling's face to lessen significantly!
"Xue Sha! Stop it!"
Seeing Xue Sha about to sacrifice himself, Ye Ling's eyes instantly turned red, and he roared fiercely, "You damned thing, are you not listening to my orders anymore?"
Xue Sha chuckled, "Hehe! Boss, you don't even have the strength to move now, how can you stop me?"
"No matter what you say today, I will not back down..."
"You bestowed life upon me, granted me honor. Now that you are in trouble, how can I stand idly by?"
"Boss, sacrifice me to repair the cosmic barrier... Later, you can reforge a demonic blade and call it Xue..."
"This way, I will still live on in your heart."
"If that happens, I will be content."
"Boss... Goodbye..."
"Xue Sha!!! You bastard! Stop it for me!!!"
Amidst Ye Ling's hoarse roars, more and more cracks appeared on the demonic blade, and dazzling light burst forth. The wrinkles on Ye Ling's face lessened, and his white hair turned black again.
Xue Sha replenished more than half of Ye Ling's life essence!