C1686 Phoenix Ashes
With a crack, the land beneath the divine tree split open, revealing multicolored rocks amidst a haze of mist and a pungent, acidic poison. In moments, the vibrant facade faded, exposing the land's true form—a dark, sodden terrain. The once vivid colors were merely a facade, a disguise for the unseemly land beneath.
The mist and foul poison, tinged with the essence of the Chaos Serpent, parted ways with the colorful stones, leaving behind the land's unadorned state. This inconspicuous, marshy land, adrift in the Ashlands, was shrouded in an air of mystery.
"Ah!" Yu Yuan observed closely, noticing that the cosmic energy of the Ashlands was being drawn into the damp earth, merging with the Phoenix Ashes. Swiftly, it transformed into a refined plant essence. This process echoed that of the Everlands and Dragon Slaying Stage, where external psionic powers were absorbed, purified, and converted into divine force.
The modest-looking wetlands had the remarkable ability to attract various psionic powers from the outside world and transmute them into a singular plant essence. This land was tailor-made for the Uxthar Tree! It provided the nascent divine tree with a bounty of plant essence, fostering its robust growth and enabling it to regenerate from a single seed. It was no surprise that the newborn Uxthar Tree had taken root upon it.
"It's called Phoenix Ashes. From the outset, it and the Uxthar Tree were one and the same," Chen Qinghuang's cool voice interjected. Her eyes, gleaming beneath the beaded curtain, held a hint of nostalgia. "At his peak, that old fellow ravaged the Uxthar Tree's domain, seizing the Phoenix Ashes and secreting them away in his treasury. The colorful coating on the Phoenix Ashes was his doing—he found it aesthetically pleasing."
She referred disdainfully to the Titan Spinosaurus as 'that old fellow,' her tone betraying her contempt for the Old Titan's taste in decor. To her, the dark gray land was beautiful in its simplicity, requiring no additional ornamentation. The Old Titan had adorned it with a garish array of colors, which she found discordant and unappealing. Perhaps her distaste for the Old Titan himself extended to anything vibrant or flamboyant.
The Butterfly and Zhong Chichen were just two of the individuals she found irritating at a mere glance.
"A treasury?" Yu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.
"The Ashlands are his treasure trove," Chen Qinghuang clarified.
With a hint of sarcasm and her fair chin exposed, she continued, "The Chaos Serpent, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, and the Mirage of the Mind, among others. Throughout history, countless formidable beings have ventured into the Ashlands, each one seeking the treasures he left behind."
"Yet, he was a master at concealing things. Despite the years that have passed, the rare treasures he secreted away in the Ashlands have never been fully unearthed."
"And now, his descendants have arrived."
The queen succinctly unveiled the truth.
A spark of realization lit up Yu Yuan's thoughts. It dawned on him that the vast Ashlands were indeed the Old Titan Spinosaurus's treasury!
The arrival of cosmic giant beasts, the emergence of the Origin Deity, Grec's appearance, and the sightings of President Lyi all pointed to immense treasures buried within the Ashlands.
The Titan Spinosaurus, a dominant force across the Star River, must have had discerning taste; the items it treasured were certainly no ordinary finds.
The Phoenix Ashes were originally known as the Uxthar Tree, callously claimed by him and discarded in his treasury. In line with his aesthetic preferences, he even added a multicolored coating to disguise it.
"The Divine Tree, nourished solely by the Phoenix Ashes, grew untainted and has always remained lucid," the queen explained with a wistful sigh. "In Brugeth, the Origin Gate to the Spirit World swiftly transformed into the Maw of Oblivion, engulfing various energies before funneling them into the tree. Its previous growth was marred by chaotic and polluted forces; it would have been surprising if it hadn't become corrupt."
"The corrupted one was slain by Taishi and Han Miaoyuan in the Everlands. This new one, fortuitously rooted in the Phoenix Ashes, I hope it will emerge in its purest form."
The queen, whose insights pierced the veil of the Everlands' mysteries, spoke with unexpected tenderness of the nascent Divine Tree.
*Gurgle!*
Amidst her words, Yu Yuan detected an odd noise emanating from the young creature's body.
In a flash, he understood what the elusive young beast was up to – it was covertly digesting the Voidweaver!
The butterfly, having perished under the Heaven-Opening Sword Array and the Chronospatial Lock, was torn asunder, its remains eagerly devoured and settled within the predator's stomach.
The Voidweaver, an ancient adult giant beast, was being assimilated, its vital energy and the intricate secrets of space magic transforming into the creature's own strength.
As it digested the Voidweaver, it also had the capacity to aid itself, even controlling the Phoenix Ashes and frightening the Chaos Serpent into retreat.
It had grievously wounded an elder of the Shadowkin!
Yu Yuan instinctively wanted to glimpse its lair, yet he immediately sensed the vigilant gaze of the Origin Deity from above.
Thus, Yu Yuan restrained himself and instead turned his attention to the Origin Deity.
"Will you simply wait? Wait for Eiwrone to gradually consume the Ashlands' energy?" Yu Yuan initiated the conversation.
"My form within the Abyss grows stronger, and I shall gain the power to shatter the Abyssal Gate. Then, as a multitude of Abyssal beings surge forth, chaos will reign, and nothing will be beyond my reach," the Origin Deity replied, his frail appearance belying his composure. His focus remained on the Secular Bird Queen, indicating he would not act unless she attempted to claim the Phoenix Ashes and then withdrew from the Ashlands.
The Ashlands were on the brink of vanishing into the void, the process accelerating with each passing moment.
The secrets of the Ashlands, like the Phoenix Ashes, would inevitably fall into his grasp. Once the transformation was complete, nothing could hide from his reach.
He had ample reason and confidence to wait patiently.
The young beast's deep dragon cry echoed once more, audible only within Yu Yuan's mind, a private audience to the creature's distress.
Yu Yuan understood the urgency, the young beast's fear that the Origin Deity's plans might come to fruition.
The young beast could not afford to wait.
And so...
With a swift motion, Taixu, in his youthful form, was pulled through the connection of vital energy to Yu Yuan, arriving directly at the Dragon Slaying Stage from Eiwrone.
Taixu, looking bewildered, found himself standing atop the Dragon Slaying Stage, uncertain of his next move.
In Yu Yuan's absence, he could indeed pinpoint Yu Yuan's whereabouts through the Altar of Rebirth within him.
Despite both being in the Ashlands, Yu Yuan's location and Eiwrone were clearly at opposite ends of the Ashlands, separated by a starry expanse that was likely millions of miles wide.
Lacking knowledge of space magic and without the Dragon Slaying Stage at his disposal, he couldn't have made the journey on his own.
Yet, he was suddenly yanked by a force into a fissure of streaming light. When he regained his footing, he found himself standing on the Dragon Slaying Stage, with Yu Yuan beside him.
Before him stood the Chaos Serpent, its form featuring a snake's head at both its head and tail.
"Asa..." Taixu addressed the massive serpent, his voice quivering, his eyes tinged red and filled with an unusual depth of emotion.
The empress watched Taixu curiously.
The elder of the Shadowkin, who had summoned the lingering shadows to her side, also regarded him with an inexplicable gaze upon hearing his utterance of "Asa."
"Asa, Asa, it's me..."
The head at the tail end of the Chaos Serpent, which just moments before had glared with a chilling and deadly light, was now brimming with bewilderment and uncertainty. It was as if a soul, long sealed away, had been startled awake from its hidden recesses, struggling to break free and seize control of this serpent head to glimpse the world outside.
It yearned to see if the one calling out "Asa" was indeed the familiar figure from its past.
"I'm Taixu. I have a body now; I'm no longer just a drifting specter."
Taixu lifted his hand and waved vigorously, eager for the Chaos Serpent's head to see clearly. "Do you remember? You used to say I was just a lost soul, that I could never return home. But I've finally made it back. I've returned to my hometown and reunited with some old friends."
"I now have flesh and a body to house my soul. Isn't that something you wanted to see?"
"I've come! I've finally come to see you. Please, look closely."
God-King Taixu, renowned throughout the Star River, appeared as youthful as his visage suggested—like a tender young man.
He resembled an earnest youth who, after years apart, had stumbled upon a childhood companion, eager to present his finest self for her to see.
The other head of the Chaos Serpent slowly opened its vast maw, angling it towards Taixu.
The eyes of this serpent head were icy and unforgiving, seething with venom and rage.
It seemed as if she resented Taixu for disturbing her peace of mind.
Taixu paid no attention to one of the snakeheads, focusing instead on the other, which was struggling and on the verge of releasing another soul. He calmly approached it.
"You're on a path to self-destruction," the Shadowkin elder cackled ominously. "To think someone is naive enough to believe they can use past affections to reclaim the Chaos Serpent!"
"What you're trying to reclaim is her soul fragment that plummeted into the Origin Realm. You truly dare to indulge in such a fanciful notion!"
The Chaos Serpent, possessing its own spiritual wisdom, had its soul fragment deeply ensnared within the Origin Realm. Even if Taixu managed to stir it, logic dictated it was impossible for it to return.
Unless the Origin Deity permitted it.
"I'd like to see that."
With a subtle nod from the Origin Deity, the Chaos Serpent roaming the Origin Realm encountered no obstacles. Like a young creature obediently approaching Taixu, the deity proactively delivered the soul of the Chaos Serpent.
In a moment, the other part of the Chaos Serpent's soul, which had been lost in the Origin Realm for an extended period, was restored.
"Ah Xu!"
Upon seeing its other head spew a venomous deluge at Taixu, the snakehead let out a piercing shriek.
At the sound of the scream, a bizarre spectacle unfolded before everyone's eyes.
The two heads of the Chaos Serpent, due to Taixu's presence, began to collide and viciously bite each other in midair.
"This is her usual form, and it's from this that she derives her name of calamity," the empress remarked without a trace of emotion.
She appeared to have witnessed such scenes numerous times before, and found nothing unusual about it.
