C1574 The Decision to Seek the Dao

Xuanli candidly recounted his experiences within the Realm passageway and shared his personal feelings. Despite any dissatisfaction or sarcasm, he always held a deep trust for his comrades from his past life, never doubting them for a moment.

Youyu listened intently before furrowing his brow in thought. Abruptly, he requested, "Show me your soul."

"Okay," Xuanli agreed with a slight nod. In front of Youyu, he lifted all self-imposed restrictions, and a soul whirlpool the size of a fingernail materialized on his forehead.

"Allow me to examine it thoroughly," Youyu said.

His grayish-white finger touched Xuanli's forehead, penetrating the tiny whirlpool and reaching into the deepest part of Xuanli's soul. As the first to ascend to a ghostly existence in the vast history of the cosmos, Youyu was virtually the spokesperson for the source of Yin Meridians. Once Xuanli opened up to him, Youyu could effortlessly uncover all of Xuanli's concealed secrets.

With a series of whooshing sounds, innumerable pale lightning bolts shot out from Youyu's finger, unfurling across Xuanli's soul. Xuanli's memories from two lifetimes, the secret arts he had mastered, the Spiritual Spells he had practiced, his strategic calculations, his numerous adventures beyond the heavens, and even his knowledge of the Blood God Cult were laid bare before Youyu, without a single detail hidden. Only with Youyu did he share such complete trust to allow such vulnerability.

The moment was fleeting...

Youyu withdrew his finger, his usually impassive face now showing a mix of gravity and puzzlement. "Strange, it's this part that's missing..."

Musing to himself, Youyu didn't wait for Xuanli to inquire further before asking, "What do you know about the Divine Throne, the primal essence energy of Haoxuan, and the enigmatic Geocentric Fire?"

Xuanli shook his head in bewilderment. "I'm completely clueless."

"That's to be expected," Youyu said, taking a deep breath and fixing a deep gaze on his old friend. "Your primary soul is missing a piece. The missing piece contains the answers to the questions I just posed. You, who once ascended to the highest echelons and possessed a Divine Throne, have memories of this aspect imprinted in your primary soul, even after reincarnation."

"The moment I awakened you in the Outland Star River, those memories stirred as well. You had once sensed that entity with the Divine Throne you refined. I also shared its secrets with you, yet now you claim to have no recollection whatsoever."

Youyu elongated his voice, asserting with conviction, "The memories etched into that small shard of your soul, stripped away by the unstable Origin Realm Gate, pertain precisely to this matter."

"Stripped away, not imprinted?" Xuanli's expression grew icy.

"Yes, stripped away, not imprinted," Youyu confirmed.

Xuanli fell silent. As a former leader of the Ghost Wizard Sect, he was well aware of the distinction between the two. An imprint would merely take a portion of his primary soul's memories. It wouldn't substantially affect or harm him; his soul would remain whole, merely having its memories duplicated.

But stripping was an entirely different matter. If one were to consider the main soul as a mystical painting, then stripping would be akin to tearing off a small piece of that canvas, leaving his soul incomplete. With an incomplete soul, how could he aspire to the highest echelons of power?

"In the past, if you had lost a fragment of your soul, I might have been powerless to help. But now, I have the means to repair it, to help you reclaim those lost memories."

Youyu's voice brimmed with pride as he tilted his head slightly, as if gazing toward Horror Land. "The process will be somewhat arduous and will demand a significant amount of my energy. However, you needn't worry. If I can't retrieve it from the Origin Realm Gate, I assure you I'll mend the gap."

"I promise it won't interfere with your quest for the divine seat."

Youyu first allayed his concerns, then furrowed his brow in contemplation. From the accounts of Zu Ann, Han Miaoyuan, and Yu Yuan, he had gleaned the formidable nature of the Origin Realm God. This entity, once dwelling in the Abyss, possessed not only an immensely powerful soul but was also versed in the arcane arts of space.

This extraordinary being had stealthily severed a portion of Xuanli's soul memories during his passage through the yet-unstable Origin Realm Gate. If Xuanli had been cautious of him, he would never have disclosed this incident. It would have been even less likely for him to permit Youyu to peruse his soul's inner sanctum freely.

Had it not been for this trust, no one would have discovered that the secret harbored within the fragment of Xuanli's soul was intertwined with the vast Divine Throne, the primal energy of the Origin Essence, and the mysteries beneath the Geocentric Fire.

"Youyu suddenly grasped the gravity of the situation. Was someone delving into the mysteries of the Boundless Underground, seeking what the Origin Realm God desired? In an instant, wielding the formidable power of the Horror Land's ruler, he established a direct line to Tianzang.

"Pass a message to Tianqi and the Ruins Divine King. The Ghost Wizard Sect's Youyu and Xuanli request an audience with both Divine Kings. And ensure Yan Qiling, master of spatial forces, is present in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area," he declared his intentions.

Within the hallowed confines of the forbidden area, a congregation was deep in conversation, pondering the benefits Lvliu's ascension to godhood would bring to the Divine Soul Sect. They also contemplated the deeper implications of Taishi's recent decisions.

Tianzang felt a jolt as he received Youyu's command and promptly relayed it.

The Oracle Divine King, momentarily pausing his hearty meal, glanced at the Ruins Divine King's shadow within the stone column and nodded in agreement, "We welcome them."

Elsewhere, Yu Yuan's Yin God materialized on Medicine God Island within the Crack Archipelago, where Xia Nan, Yinn Xueqi, and a host of alchemists skilled in pharmacology had assembled. His carefully laid plans were unfolding.

Observing the sect disciples, whose cultivation might be lacking but who were as devoted as any herb-obsessed sage, Yu Yuan saw a reflection of his former self.

The Dark Wing Starfield, with its verdant forests, was an ideal haven for nurturing spiritual herbs. The Dark Elfkind and Lulu were already contributing to the effort.

With these knowledgeable alchemists at the helm, Yu Yuan was confident that soon the Dark Wing Starfield would blossom with an abundance of exotic flora.

Soon, the harvested herbs and superior spiritual materials would make their way to the Plover Realm or back to the Boundless Great World, where alchemists would craft them into high-grade pellets.

"If you're prepared, head to Babel Island and then on to the Desolate Swamp," he instructed, his Yin God surveying the anticipative yet slightly anxious crowd.

Abruptly, he sensed an anomaly emanating from Yuan Yang Island nearby.

"Just proceed directly; I've arranged everything. There will be no issues. Whether within the Boundless World or traversing the Outer Star River, your passage will be unobstructed."

After uttering those words, his Yin God rose and set a direct course for Primordial Yang Island.

"Yu, Yu Yuan!"

The practitioners on Primordial Yang Island saw his clearly manifested Yin God and their expressions shifted subtly.

"I'm here for Mo Baichuan. I know he's present!" Yu Yuan declared.

A cultivator at the Middle Period stage of the Yang God gave a nod, his face etched with complexity. He sighed and beckoned, "Follow me."

Those cultivators who once strutted with pride, claiming their place in the upper sect, now bore somber looks.

Their gazes darted away when they met Yu Yuan's eyes.

Lee Tianxin was dead, and the Sect Master, Yuwen Hao, had also perished in the Outer Star River not long ago. They might not have known the full story, but they were aware that the Primordial Yang Sect's days were waning.

Without a paramount expert to anchor them, the sect, now demoted to the lower echelons, dared not contemplate their future prospects.

In the past, had Yuwen Hao and Lee Tianxin been alive, Yu Yuan's audacious approach as a mere Yin God would have been met with immediate hostility.

But now...

The sect was weakened, and Yu Yuan was not only eligible to attend that council but had also been personally invited by Han Miaoyuan!

What did this imply?

Thus, the senior cultivators of Primordial Yang Sect on the island could do nothing but watch as Yu Yuan was courteously escorted by a presiding elder towards a mountain that trembled incessantly.

At the mountain's base.

"Bai, you..."

Yu Yuan's voice faltered upon laying eyes on Mo Baichuan.

It hadn't been long since Mo Baichuan had departed from the Ascension Mountain Range.

Yet in such a brief span, Yu Yuan was confronted with the sight of nine peculiar cavities within Mo Baichuan's body.

The nine orifices Mo Baichuan had forged, once brimming with the fiery might of the Sun Essence Fire, now resembled nine gaping wounds, oozing blood near his lower dantian.

And within Mo Baichuan's spiritual sea, an inexplicably feeble Heavenly Soul had emerged.

Given his level of cultivation, his Heavenly Soul should have long since evolved into a Yang God.

The resurgence of the Heavenly Soul in his sea of consciousness was a grim testament to the fragmentation of his Yang God. The contingencies he had put in place had precipitated the return of his Heavenly Soul.

Mo Baichuan, on the verge of reaching the Peak of the Unrestrained Stage, had suffered a rapid decline, plummeting two levels to become a practitioner of the Soul Wandering Stage.

Stripped of his Yang God, Mo Baichuan's fall to the Soul Wandering Stage was undeniably dire news for the Primordial Yang Sect.

"My Yang God has been reduced to ashes at the edge of the Geocentric Fire."

Sitting with a straight back, Mo Baichuan lifted his head, his expression eerily serene, devoid of any trace of sorrow.

"You're alive, that's what matters. I once helped Xie Binn reforge his Yang God; your case should be easier. Bai, since you've already realized the futility and tested it yourself, why not abandon that route?" Yu Yuan suggested.

"No."

Mo Baichuan shook his head, his demeanor unflinching, his gaze resolute. "I've had an epiphany. I will rebuild my Yang God using the Geocentric Fire. My recent failure was due to the materials for forging the Yang God being entirely composed of crystallized solar energy, which starkly conflicts with the Geocentric Fire."

"Just let it go," Yu Yuan said with a wry smile.

"Return home. My mind is made up, and no one can change it," Mo Baichuan dismissed him.

"Can I assist you in any way?" Yu Yuan inquired.

Mo Baichuan was about to decline, but he paused, reconsidering.

After a moment of contemplation, he nodded affirmatively, "Yes, there is."

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