C1213 A Selfinflicted Wound

The fiend, inhabiting the Starbeast, spoke with a grave and serious tone as he described the nature of the cosmic giant beasts to Yu Yuan. With his ancient knowledge, the fiend was well aware of the terrifying and ferocious creatures that reigned at the pinnacle of the food chain in the remote depths of the Star River.

He explained that the cosmic giant beasts, born at the dawn of time, were inherently vicious and gluttonous. From the moment of their creation, most cosmic giant beasts were endowed with one or more types of profound meanings and naturally wielded the rules and ultimate truths of the Way of Heaven.

The paths that humans and archdemons took to evolve their primordial spirits and transform into Dark Deities were innate to the giant beasts. Take, for instance, the intelligent life at the first level of the extraterrestrial realm, which was born with the Altar of Rebirth—a mark of true prodigies.

Altars of Rebirth with similar attributes could merge with one another. The Demon God Grec, for example, went to great lengths to assimilate the one within him. However, Altars of Rebirth with differing, opposing attributes could not blend.

The cosmic giant beasts were an exception. Each one, born at the inception of the cosmos, had the exquisite Way of Heaven etched into their very being. When one cosmic giant beast was slain by another, the victor could slowly refine and assimilate the vanquished's essence into its own. There was no issue of incompatible attributes among them.

Even the secular bird, which wielded the true essence of both death and regeneration—forces entirely distinct and opposing—could merge them into one. In ancient times, the decline of the cosmic giant beasts was due in part to their mutual slaughter, each seeking to strip away the exquisite Way of Heaven carried by the others since birth. The Titan Spinosaurus stood as the epitome of such beings, the most formidable among them.

The fiend candidly expressed that the cosmic giant beasts struggled to resist their innate feeding instincts. The Chronowyrm and frost wyrm housed within Yu Yuan's Dragon Slaying Stage, which contained the true essence of time and frost, were like an irresistible feast to the secular bird. Her primal hunger and longing could even shatter her sanity, leaving her unable to restrain herself—especially given her current emotional volatility.

Revealing the secrets of the cosmic giant beasts, the fiend urged Yu Yuan to distance himself from Chen Qinghuang as soon as possible to avoid the peril of being consumed.

After he finished speaking, Yu Yuan reflected deeply for a long time, his mood weighed down by the gravity of his thoughts.

Yu Yuan's mind wasn't on the dragon corpses that had been interred within the Dragon Slaying Stage for eons. When the fiend spoke of cosmic giant beasts battling each other to seize the innate exquisite Way of Heaven they possessed, Yu Yuan's first thought was of the Titan Spinosaurus's fledgling. This young creature was thriving, nourished by the dragon blood and dragon's breath from the corpses of fallen dragons.

Within the heart of this fledgling, Yu Yuan could sense the mysterious pathways of the Way of Heaven already in the process of refining and forming. These were the ultimate truths of destruction, regeneration, and death that the Old Titan Spinosaurus had carried and conquered.

A chilling thought began to take root in Yu Yuan's mind, shattering his composure. If the fiend had been truthful, and the instincts of the cosmic giant beast were indeed so fearsome, what other intentions might Chen Qinghuang harbor upon her successful awakening? Which would prevail—her instincts or her rationality?

Suddenly, Yu Yuan remembered the empress's instructions from long ago, advising him to conceal the Dragon Slaying Stage and the Baneblade, Bloodhell, within the little world of his acupoint, masking their presence to prevent detection and the tracing of his whereabouts. Had Chen Qinghuang already felt an intense compulsion toward the Dragon Slaying Stage and the Baneblade at that time?

Was hiding their aura within his acupoint a sign of her rational mind still in control? Was she concerned that the emanations from the Dragon Slaying Stage and the Baneblade would continuously tempt her, prompting her to make this suggestion in a moment of clarity?

Delving deeper into this train of thought, Yu Yuan considered Chen Qinghuang's intermittent awakenings and slumbers. Could it be that she was using sleep as a method to combat the increasingly uncontrollable cravings of her instincts? According to the fiend, the Baneblade and the dragon corpses within the Dragon Slaying Stage were her ultimate delights.

So, what of the young Titan Spinosaurus? For the slowly awakening secular bird, what significance did this young creature, marked with the profound Way of Heaven, hold?

Could her rationality truly withstand her instincts?

Yu Yuan's face was a mask of shifting emotions, plagued by the fiend's words, which stirred doubt and restlessness within him.

Somehow, his subconscious convinced him that the fiend wasn't deceiving him; the cosmic giant beast that roamed the extraterrestrial Star River indeed possessed such instincts.

"We need to get out of Kuvrepros first!"

Yu Yuan, his mind a whirl of unease, blurted out in frustration.

"I'll follow your lead."

The fiend, inhabiting the Starbeast, sighed in resignation but nodded in compliance.

Together, the man and the fiend quickly made their way back to the battered Voidfarer.

"Is everything okay? You've gone quite pale all of a sudden."

Elena, sensing that something was amiss, expressed her concern upon noticing Yu Yuan's somber demeanor.

"It's nothing. We should leave Kuvrepros as quickly as possible."

Yu Yuan feigned composure, his eyes unintentionally drifting to the slumbering Songbird Queen. Her ethereal beauty only deepened the bitterness in his heart.

"Do you also struggle to resist? The juvenile beast at the Dragon Slaying Stage, the Bloodhell, and even my transforming Altar of Rebirth must seem like a feast to you, don't they?"

He mused silently.

...

After some time, three dazzling streaks of starlight descended like shooting stars, landing in a verdant area.

Gheirat, holding a Starbeast's eyeball, grunted, "Come forth."

From the mire, another eyeball, slightly smaller and muddied, levitated into the air.

Within this eyeball flowed a vivid, toxic river, concealing a fraction of his devil soul.

"Great Sage, this is the fiend who has been imprisoned beneath Zekrica for many years," Gheirat explained with reverence. "When I first discovered Zekrica, I overlooked him. I released numerous Starbeasts there to breed. The most powerful one fell prey to his machinations and was devoured, its flesh and body assimilated by him."

Beru nodded thoughtfully.

As a Starfallen Oracle of the Starborn, he was well aware that the Starbeast eyeball in Gheirat's possession came from a rare ninth level Starbeast. Such a creature could be deemed a beast king, as no tenth level Starbeast had ever emerged within the ranks of their kind.

Gheirat had fashioned the beast king's eyeball into a holy weapon, which could detect the presence of Starbeasts not only within the Kuvrepros but also across other Star Rivers and Domains where these creatures dwelled. Even in death, if a Starbeast's eyeball was acquired and consecrated, it retained the miraculous ability to perceive the extraordinary.

The fiend hiding here had no intention of concealing itself, making it all the more susceptible to discovery. "I've been waiting for you to arrive," it said, its voice a deep, eerie chuckle. Only a seventh of the devil soul had merged with the eyeball. "You're quite fortunate to still be alive. Gheirat, I'm relieved it's you who came, not Xu Jingyao, wielder of the Flame Spear, nor a high-ranking cultivator from the Sunlit Order."

The fiend had painstakingly left behind a portion of its devil soul, unwilling to submit to Yu Yuan's control. It feared Yu Yuan, and even more so the secular bird, which could erupt into a frenzy at any moment. Since Yu Yuan forbade its departure, the fiend had resorted to this desperate strategy, hoping to collaborate with whoever arrived first—offering to betray Yu Yuan in exchange for an alliance.

Had Xu Jingyao and his group been the ones to come, the fiend would have divulged that Yu Yuan had slain a prominent cultivator of the Sunlit Order, uncovering their schemes against Leo. It would have detailed the peculiar bond between the secular bird and Yu Yuan, compelling a pledge from them.

But with Gheirat's arrival, the fiend altered its narrative, aiming to reveal Xu Jingyao's plot. "The Flame Spear, Xu Jingyao?" Gheirat responded, puzzled.

"After Tianxin of the Sunlit Order passed away, the Flame Spear found a new master—a young successor who has yet to formally venture into the extraterrestrial Star River," Beru informed him. Having traveled to the Everlands, Beru had gathered a wealth of information. "Xu Jingyao is formidable. His stature within the Sunlit Order is on par with Leo's."

Gheirat's expression shifted subtly. "Has he come?" Beru inquired with curiosity.

"Well, it's like this..." Gheirat began, as the fiend inside the Starbeast's eye briefly outlined Xu Jingyao's initial scheme.

Beru and Gheirat broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing the fiend's concise explanation of Xu Jingyao's plot. They pondered whether, without the unforeseen intervention of the secular bird, they might have already been ensnared in Zekrica at this very moment. Would they not have walked right into Xu Jingyao's trap, only to be ambushed and slain by a secretly infiltrating human cultivator?

The pair turned their gaze toward Leo, silently ruminating on the name 'Xu Jingyao,' a chill flickering in their eyes. "I know the precise location of Yu Yuan and the secular bird," the fiend sneered from within its ocular prison. "Because my other self is still with them! The secular bird hasn't fully recovered; you still have a chance to kill her, but you're short on manpower."

"I want you to help me kill Yu Yuan. I want the Baneblade he wields!" the fiend demanded. "I lack the power to control anything else, so I won't ask for more."

The fiend's boastful monologue hung in the air as Beru and Leo exchanged awkward glances, neither speaking for a long while. A silent understanding passed between them; this long-imprisoned fiend likely had no idea of their numerous past interactions with Yu Yuan. Nor was it aware that Yu Yuan had solved the very issue of longevity that had plagued Beru for years.

"The Terra Fiends of the Everlands are indeed deceitful and thankless creatures," Gheirat scoffed with disdain. "I bet you managed to escape Zekrica with Yu Yuan's aid. Shouldn't you be thankful to your liberator?"

"Silence! He is Nie Qingtian's hand-chosen disciple. I was first imprisoned by the Thunder Sect, then Nie Qingtian severed the continent, banishing me to the extraterrestrial void to continue my confinement. I despise Nie Qingtian!" the fiend bellowed.

"Nie Qingtian!" they exclaimed in unison, stunned. "Zekrica is connected to Nie Qingtian!"

The revelation sent shockwaves through the three Starborn powerhouses. "Gheirat, let's imprison him again. He's well accustomed to it by now," Beru declared, his voice laced with revulsion. "We don't need your so-called guidance. From your current position, I can already track the trajectory of the fiend and the secular bird."

Beru glanced at the fiend with disdain, snorted, and said, "We don't need your guidance. From your current location, I've already deduced their trajectory and that of the secular bird."

After a brief pause, Beru added, "Since it's directed towards the Wingkind's Astral Domain, it's clearly a friendly overture from Yu Yuan."

Gheirat nodded and replied, "Great Sage, I've found a way to get in touch with Yu Yuan."

"Is there another eye within the Starbeast he's taken over?" Beru realized.

Gheirat grinned, "Exactly."

"Well, then we owe him our thanks."

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