C1941 The Replacement of Life

"There is a life force, a collector of bloodlines."

Yu Yuan, sitting upright, whispered softly at the tranquil Abyssal Gate.

He was closely monitoring Aihoyari, ready to refine vital energy and dispatch it to the Dragon Slaying Stage at a moment's notice.

The belt of Panot, the Rat God, the deeds he had performed, and the healing of Soderis suddenly triggered a connection in his mind.

Before being favored by Primal Blood, there was only a man-made Altar of Rebirth, born from the Abyssal Leviathan.

This rudimentary Altar of Rebirth relied heavily on the collection of lifeblood with each transformation.

Be it the demons of the Everlands, the extraterrestrial alien beasts, or the Otherkin.

The stronger the lifeblood, the better it was.

Previously, the Titan Spinosaurus, graced by Primal Blood, had hunted its kin among the giant beasts, cannibalizing their bloodlines, seemingly another way of amassing lifeblood.

"Collecting..."

Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit gazed at the colorful sea beneath him, at the clusters of blood-red shadows.

Each cluster of blood-red light signified a cosmic giant beast that had perished, a variation of bloodline.

The dark hound, this world's name for the cosmic giant beast, was the first product of Primal Blood.

Then, would the second generation not be the intelligent races like the Starborn, Dawnbringers, Shadowkin, and enchantresses?

The initial Primal Blood had also created something akin to the Root of the Solar Meridian, scattering its Life Seeds throughout the nascent Origin Realm.

These Life Seeds took root in the various astral domains of the Origin Realm, growing into cosmic giant beasts.

Born from Life Seeds, the cosmic giant beasts broke through their own limits through growth and evolution.

The diverse blood magic of cosmic giant beasts, passed down through generations, might not have been a gift from Primal Blood.

It was the brilliance that species naturally radiated as they ascended and adapted to harsh environments.

Primal Blood seemed to crave this brilliance.

In the beginning, this world had only cosmic giant beasts, no other foes.

The giant beasts could only grow and strengthen through combat, slaughter, and devouring one another.

Yet, they nearly brought ruin to the Origin Realm.

Once the Origin Realm was destroyed, the very foundation that supported all living beings would cease to exist. This was certainly not the intention of the Primal Blood.

Thus, the Primal Blood selected the Titan Spinosaurus, endowing it with a complete life sequence, making it immensely powerful and enabling it to collect the matured first-generation bloodlines.

As the Titan Spinosaurus slew its kin and refined new blood magic within the heart of the giant beast, this magic was naturally imprinted into the Primal Blood.

Over time, the Primal Blood transformed its first creations through evolution, amassing numerous bloodlines. After making adjustments, these were condensed into the next generation of Life Seeds.

Subsequently, races like the Starborn, Dawnbringers, Shura, enchantresses, and Stoneborn came into existence.

This second generation was more intelligent and shared similar bloodlines with the giant beasts, yet they were not immortal.

Without immortality, they would perish after tens of thousands of years, their breath of life extinguished, naturally limiting their power.

This made it exceedingly rare for beings like the Titan Spinosaurus or the Secular Bird Queen to emerge—eternal and immensely powerful anomalies.

Sometimes, longevity alone could foster greater strength, with endless time allowing for monumental breakthroughs.

Currently, Beast Gods from the Wasteland, such as Panot, appeared to be engaged in similar endeavors.

Yet, there were distinctions.

The Primal Blood from the Wasteland had reached into this world, seeking to harvest the lifeblood of the intelligent life spawned from the second batch of Primal Blood's Life Seeds.

This seemed to be a method for the Primal Blood to transcend its own limits.

"I understand."

...

In Aihoyari.

"Spiritual Arts, unraveling the threads."

Within the depths of the swirling blood mist, invisible soul threads were ensnared by Yu Yuan's arcane, funneling into his consciousness.

He was unraveling the residual memories of a ninth-level Greater Rat.

Flecks of memory glimmered, reassembled by his mind, as if he had directly experienced the Rat God Panot's command to the rat hordes to assault the three Voidfarer warships.

He witnessed the demise of several unfamiliar Solar Spirits.

Before the rat horde retreated from the three warships, Yu Ying, Tan Yuan, Zheng Luanjie, Qi Lingyu, and others were still alive, having not been killed by the rats.

The ninth-level Greater Rats held many secrets. Yu Yuan confirmed his suspicions through the deceased Greater Rats.

Panot, the leader, had given orders to persist in the chase but not to breach the three Voidfarers, to prevent those without hope from choosing to fight to the death instead of fleeing.

New to the Origin Realm, Panot was not acquainted with the local conditions and unaware of which nearby Astral Domains were home to diverse and numerous creatures.

His goal was to drive the Silverscale Tribe, Skyreach Consortium, and Forgeroses into the next flourishing Astral Domain. This would serve as a foothold for his planned invasion of a second world, where he intended to gather more lifeblood from various races.

With a crack, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, as large as a gleaming silver star with platinum-like scales, savored the remnants of the dark hound.

The Otherworld's Beast God gradually vanished into the gaping maw of the Lizard, whose body dwarfed its own.

As the Lizard's mouth opened, its razor-sharp teeth acted like a meat grinder, reducing the dark hound to shreds amid a cacophony of explosive sounds.

A sea of blood, composed of countless points of bloody light, materialized within the Lizard's mouth. Each point seemed to encapsulate the dark hound's bloodline mysteries, its life's power, and a wealth of memories—all of which were devoured in one gulp by the Lizard.

The sea of blood descended into the Lizard's belly, where it was assimilated into the heart of the giant beast.

The Lizard, in its frenzied state, had platinum scales that suddenly flexed, oozing a filthy flame-like fluid, seemingly its method of purging waste.

Even in its frenzy, the Lizard exhaled scorching vitality, its rage unabated by the dark hound's demise, leaving it in an irrational state of fury.

In the Wasteland, the dark hound symbolized misfortune and disaster, as well as a world of harsh and relentless flames.

The Lizard's innate blood magic had been consumed by its inherent giant beast talent upon its death. In a state of frenzy after its offspring were massacred, the Lizard, still emanating abyssal power, became increasingly deranged following its consumption of the Dark Hound. The Lizard let out another roar, turning its gaze toward the Hawk God and the Rat God Panot. The chaotic and violent cosmic energy swirling around him formed an "Abyss," generating a bizarre gravitational pull. Countless stones, remnants of alien beasts, cosmic debris, dust, and blood all surged toward the Lizard's force field. Every non-soul entity was drawn in by the Lizard's force field. It was as though he had transformed himself into a "Maw of Oblivion"! As he digested the Dark Hound and refined its flesh and blood, his frenzied state caused unforeseen effects.

"Lord Panot!"

"Sir Soderis!"

From a distance, the lower-tier Starbeasts and Galehounds, unable to resist the pull, cried out in terror as they were drawn toward the Lizard. The Cosmic Giant Beast of the Origin Realm, having slain the Dark Hound, now exhibited even more ferocious power. They were powerless to stop it. "Is this the true might of the Cosmic Giant Beasts of the Origin Realm?" Panot, momentarily stunned, his eyes the size of green beans, exclaimed in astonishment, "Soderis, do you now recognize your true self?" The Hawk God issued a mournful cry. What more could he say? The ferocity and strength of the Abyssal Greater Basilisk far exceeded his expectations. Had he known it would come to this, he would have unleashed the Dark Tower at the first opportunity.

"Then, shall I take command of the Dark Tower?" Panot proposed suddenly. Soderis could only nod in agreement. "Long live our king!" Rat God Panot called out to the Dark Tower, hidden in the distance, using the ancient tongue of the beasts. Almost instantly, the Dark Tower, which had been concealed from Yu Yuan's Dragon Slaying Stage for an extended period, reemerged. Below the towering black structure, a silver pond shimmered, revealing an Onyx Altar. "Go!" Panot unbuckled his belt, pressing down on the clasp, and flung it toward the Dark Tower. As if responding to the proclamation "Long live our king," the belt formed a blood bond with the Dark Tower, bypassing Yu Yuan's interception and reaching its destination in a flash.

The belt, fastened to its buckle, rested upon the elevated Onyx Altar, serving as an additional energy source for the Dark Tower.

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