C1994 The Truth of the Human Race
The luminous expanse of land that had emerged beneath the fractured Abyssal Gate ceased its ascent.
Its rise halted, likely because with the destruction of the Abyssal Gate, the land's radiant energy was no longer needed to collide with it.
Consequently, the brilliance of the land began to swiftly retract.
The light it had previously emitted was exponentially more intense than the glow it cast upon the Abyss in normal times.
Moreover, it had expanded and pierced upward with the sole purpose of shattering the Abyssal Gate alongside Cardo.
Once the gate was broken, the land ceased its strenuous efforts.
However, the destruction of the Abyssal Gate was ultimately due to Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, which had harnessed the residual power of the Old Titan Spinosaurus.
It wasn't shattered by the combined forces of Cardo and Yu Yuan.
Now, as the dazzling light receded, allowing people's eyes to adjust, they could gaze upon it from a lofty perspective.
The land, comparable in size to Tyria, was a non-spherical plane adorned with endless rivers, lakes, islands, and smaller landmasses.
On the periphery of this world, the smaller plains were dotted with buildings of bizarre and unusual shapes.
At the very heart, occupying a third of the world's area, stood palaces and temples reminiscent of ancient human nations that seemed to have endured for eons.
Yu Yuan, Taishi, and Reid, the High Priest of the Sky Fiend, all felt a deep sense of familiarity.
Yet, eerily, there was no sign of human life.
It appeared as though the humans who had once inhabited those architectural realms had long since perished for reasons unknown.
Only in the domain of Jihui, supported by robust stone columns, stood the flesh-and-blood God-King Jihui on a green stone plaza.
Accompanying him were several scantily clad Human Race youths.
With only rough animal hides covering their waists and crude utensils of pottery and bone in hand, they looked up towards the sky with trepidation beside Jihui.
The sky above seemed to be the Abyss's forbidden zone, concealing unspeakable horrors.
Legend had it that only the Evil God could reach and survive in the skies above the first layer of the Abyss.
These youths, having recently embarked on the path of cultivation under Jihui's tutelage, were the finest prospects he had meticulously chosen.
Among them was Yu Yuan, the Lunar Spirit, who had descended to the Abyss's lowest depths and encountered the robust youth who addressed Jihui as the "Great Priest."
The continent, valleys, forests, and the depths beneath the earth all harbored mysterious magic items and rare treasures, awaiting discovery and extraction by those daring enough to seek them out. The reserves of these Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were astonishingly vast, surpassing those of the Everlands and rivaling the main planet of Tyria.
"Human Race!" Taishi gasped, unable to maintain his composure any longer, his voice rising in astonishment. His gaze swept across the edge of the continent below before settling on Jihui, where he spotted a group of young humans.
It was reminiscent of Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit journey to the Abyss, where he encountered villages using fences to fend off monsters in the deepest layer of that dark realm. The sight of humans emerging from such a place had left a profound impact on him, one that was difficult to reconcile with.
Had he not witnessed it himself, even Jihui's presence and detailed explanations, aided by various spells of illumination, would not have convinced him of the Abyss's true stories. He would have dismissed it as a fabrication, unable to believe that humans could dwell in the Abyss.
But now, with the Abyssal Gate freshly shattered and the immense continent below still tethered to the Abyss, numerous young humans stood right beside Jihui. Although Jihui's current form was different from the one Taishi had once known, he was unmistakably human.
The very purpose of the Abyssal Gate was to prevent the passage of flesh and blood—it was an immutable rule. So how did Jihui's human form come to be? And where did these dozens of young humans originate from? Taishi's thoughts were in disarray.
"Human... Human race?" High Priest Reid and Cardo of the Dawnbringers exchanged bewildered glances, their minds as scrambled as Taishi's.
Nearby, three Dark Towers floated. Yuan Le, who had initially appeared as a giant ape, had subtly shifted into the form of an aged Ape. The now diminutive Yuan Le fiddled with the smoke tube favored by the Untamed, before tucking it at his waist, seemingly at a loss for its use.
With the Abyssal Gate in ruins and the energy fragments eagerly claimed by Yu Yuan and himself, Yuan Le's urgency to enter the Dark Towers had dissipated.
Although his haul was modest, he had indeed reaped a reward. Moreover, an even greater treasure and a priceless gem awaited him below, ready for the taking.
Scratching his head, he peered down at the motionless land beneath him, observing Jihui and the young humans with a sense of puzzlement and bewilderment.
Humans in the Abyss?
"This world is truly wondrous, brimming with secrets waiting to be unearthed. How fascinating!" Yuan Le marveled, his tone reflecting the curiosity and amazement of an outsider. He leaned forward, peering eagerly into the depths below, anticipating the unfolding changes.
"Uh."
Cardo's eyes flickered with excitement, her face lighting up with joy as she suddenly descended into a secluded valley below.
In that valley, every stone, mountain, and blade of grass shimmered with light. Strange Light Spirits emerged, as if greeting her arrival.
As she touched down, the sources of light and Light Spirits converged on her, merging into her being.
Like Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit absorbing the bloodline mysteries of the giant beast, she, in the radiant valley, was now receiving the inheritance of the Light Spirit, the essence of light she had long been missing.
Cardo's face was a picture of devotion, nearly overcome with tears of happiness.
For countless years she had searched and waited, yearning to find the Light Spirit, to obtain her own origin spirit like Bertain and the old Titan Spinosaurus, and to be endowed with deeper Light Profound Meanings.
But there had been no progress, no results, and disappointment had turned to despair.
Just when she was on the brink of giving up, thinking hope was forever lost, the shattering of the Abyssal Gate revealed to her this luminous land.
She had found the Light Spirit!
She also realized, with a sudden clarity, that her corresponding Light Spirit was like the Primal Soul in the vast Everlands and the Primal Blood in the Primal Blood Continent, right in this magical world beneath her feet.
And this world, astonishingly, had always stood tall in the skies of the Abyss, on the first layer of the Abyss World.
It was this world, and its light, that had become the beacon of the Abyss, illuminating the Abyss World and bringing light to the creatures of the Abyss!
"The Abyss was devoid of light, shrouded in an eternal, unending darkness," Jihui explained to the young initiates, whose potential was just beginning to emerge. "Your forebears fought their way up from the blood-soaked battlegrounds at the very bottom of the Abyss. They grew stronger with each step, enduring untold hardships to reach the uppermost layer and become the sovereigns of the Abyss."
"Moreover, they brought an unprecedented light to the entire world of the Abyss!"
Jihui exclaimed suddenly.
"From the day they illuminated the Abyss, all its creatures revered them as Gods! It was then that humans in the Abyss ascended to the status of Gods. The mightiest among them... came to be known as the God-King!"
Jihui looked up sharply, locking eyes with the God-King Taishi, who had been listening intently with his head bowed. He smiled and asked, "Now, do you understand?"
Taishi's brow furrowed as he lapsed into silence.
After a moment, Taishi reluctantly averted his gaze, searching for Yu Yuan's two figures.
Finally, he turned to Yu Yuan's real body and inquired, "You're aware of this, aren't you?"
Kaiya, the Soul-Capturing, was well aware that Yu Yuan had wandered the Abyss as a Lunar Spirit, and Taishi knew it too.
Yet, since Yu Yuan's return, he had not elaborated on his experiences in the Abyss during their conversations.
He appeared deeply reluctant to discuss it.
Out of trust for Yu Yuan, a trust that had lasted for millennia, Taishi refrained from probing further.
Unexpectedly, after the shattering of the Abyssal Gate, the first landmass to emerge, bathed in light, was populated by humans.
Could it be that the Abyssal Gate had been suppressing humans since its creation?
The gate was the work of the Old Titan Spinosaurus, a being of supreme power who had perished in the Everlands.
If the Abyssal Gate was indeed meant to suppress humans, then Yu Yuan's recent guardianship and suppression efforts were directed at his own people?
A torrent of doubts flooded Taishi's mind, leading him to question Yu Yuan, his once-trusted guide, for the first time.
"I've seen it myself at the depths of the Abyss, where many mysteries elude comprehension," Yu Yuan's real body, under Taishi's scrutinizing gaze, offered an explanation. "There are humans like us living at the very bottom, enduring a life devoid of light. They lack the knowledge of cultivation and are unable to harness the Abyss's power within themselves, reportedly due to the loss of a rare treasure."
"Jihui claims that the Titan Spinosaurus took this object from the Abyss, and it has since fallen into our world, now residing at the Heart of the Everlands. That is all I know."
Yu Yuan spoke with a solemn tone.
"An Abyssal Treasure? Lost in the Everlands?"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three figures, shaped from vital energy, materialized beneath the Dark Tower at the Onyx Altar as Yuan Le finished speaking.
These three blood shadows were manifestations of Yuan Le's energy.
As he took his place at the center of the Onyx Altar within the Dark Tower, the three magic items he had crafted seemed to come alive.
Similarly, the three blood shadows appeared to be endowed with corporeal forms.
Two of the Dark Towers, along with their corresponding blood shadows, immediately began to sink.
The Dark Towers did not emerge on the illuminated land but instead bypassed it, descending into the deeper realms below the Abyss, vanishing without a trace.
The third Dark Tower approached Yuan Le's feet. Yuan Le, whose essence was housed within the Ape, stood side by side with his blood shadow.
"Yu Yuan, is it?"
He did not gaze upon Yu Yuan's real body, but instead at his Solar Spirit. "You know, I've already gathered some of the blood seeds from the creatures of your world. The Life Seeds of the mighty ones, torn apart by the Beast God and me during the initial conflict in the Stellar Oblivion, I've taken them back with me."
"As for the Abyss and its lifeforms, both my patron and I are entirely unfamiliar with them."
"Now that the Abyssal Gate has shattered, I've allocated a fraction of my power to venture into the Abyss in search of the Life Seeds we both covet."
Yuan Le said, his tone light and cheerful.
He seemed unfazed by Yu Yuan, having ascended to the eleventh level through the residual bloodline mysteries of the giant beast.
Even among those at the eleventh level, there are disparities in strength, and he was confident in his superiority.
It was indeed regrettable that he hadn't managed to execute his scheme within the Secret Realm of Time, nor had he succeeded in luring Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit away in haste to acquire the bloodline mysteries left by the Titan Spinosaurus.
Yet, the fracture of the Abyssal Gate had still allowed him to fulfill his objective.
"Now that the gate lies in ruins, I'm quite eager to see how you'll navigate the dynamics of your relationships."
While two Dark Towers sank into the Abyss, this particular Dark Tower began to ascend slowly, as if intending to withdraw and leave the ensuing chaos to be resolved by the inhabitants of this world.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit opened his eyes, and in his hand materialized a Baneblade known as Bloodhell.
The blood-red veins within the Baneblade began to glow and sparkle, their light revealing a bloody world woven with currents of blood-hued lightning, invisible to the uninitiated.
The void surrounding the Dark Tower was abruptly saturated with a blood-red hue.
"Without revealing your real body, you won't leave here unscathed today."
As his words echoed, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit materialized within the Crimson Realm. Both his Solar Spirit and Yuan Le, along with the Dark Tower, were consumed by the bloody world that had arisen from his presence.
Those watching from below saw only a massive, churning blood cloud that shrouded Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit and Yuan Le, obscuring everything else from view.
