C2019 Facing

Cao Jiaze's expectant gaze lingered on the Domain Channel, as if Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit would emerge at any moment. Deep within his mind, the Soul Pillar, standing tall like a mountain of the gods, suddenly emitted a faint glow. A shadowy green-black image began to deepen gradually.

Cao Jiaze's train of thought grew disjointed. He massaged his temples, pausing now and then as if deep in thought, or perhaps discerning something within the Soul Pillar.

Whoosh!

Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel soared from the Land of Quiescence, alighting upon Taishi's toppled bronze coffin. With a grave expression, he observed Cao Jiaze, whose behavior was erratic.

"Yu Yuan!" Cao Jiaze, in a daze, cried out in surprise as he caught sight of him. But upon realizing that this Yu Yuan was not the long-awaited Solar Spirit, he clutched his hair in despair, emitting a low growl like a cornered beast. "No, it's not your Solar Spirit. Why isn't it?!" he babbled, seemingly losing his grip on sanity.

His bizarre state left the God-Kings from Stellar Oblivion baffled and at a loss.

"What's happened to him?" they wondered.

Using Kaiya's technique, Xuanli, who had ascended without the aid of the Everlands Origin, touched his forehead, opening a Heavenly Eye to peer into Cao Jiaze's mind. Suddenly, Cao Jiaze's eyes turned a deep green-black, resembling two crystal orbs forged from the very essence of the Origin.

Xuanli saw nothing amiss, yet his own mind was breached. Beneath Cao Jiaze's gaze, every secret of his soul lay bare. The Heavenly Eye at Xuanli's brow burst, and blood trickled from his nose as he exclaimed in horror, "Who are you?"

"Yu..."

A moment later, the dark light in Cao Jiaze's eyes receded, replaced by a faint purple glimmer. In that instant, Cao Jiaze seemed to embody Kaiya, Sky Fiend High Priest Reid, and Youqian, with a purple fire smoldering in his eye sockets.

"Kill me, just kill me!" Cao Jiaze choked himself, desperately howling at Yu Yuan, pleading for death.

Boom!

Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel, brimming with Shadow Moon Essence, captured the image of Cao Jiaze's unsettling transformation onto his real body.

He was struck by a sense of déjà vu.

It seemed that, long ago, he had endured an ordeal similar to the one Cao Jiaze was facing now.

"You missed your chance. You shouldn't have hesitated."

Cao Jiaze quickly regained his composure, his expression dark and his eyes eerily intense as he spoke, "Wait for their return."

With those words, Cao Jiaze soared into the heavens, guided by his connection to the Mark of the Celestials, and headed straight for the Ebon Star's domain.

"Just now..."

Kaiya, who had briefly appeared before vanishing, spoke from within the Soulforge Pool deep underground, "For an instant, I sensed the presence of the Everlands Primal Soul within Cao Jiaze."

In the subterranean depths, this hybrid of human and Sky Fiend sat in the center of the pool.

The rocks split apart, and the earth gaped open.

Looking up from the pool, she locked eyes with Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel and declared with fervor, "Taishi, Taixu, Tianqi, Xuanli, and myself! Plus Youqian, who has ascended to Demon God status through the Sky Fiend path! Our existence and our individual breakthroughs are amplifying the power of the Everlands Primal Soul!"

"It stirred to life within Cao Jiaze!"

Kaiya was filled with elation.

Cao Jiaze, hands clasped around his own throat, pleaded with Yu Yuan. As Yu Yuan considered ending his life, Cao Jiaze's eyes emitted a faint purple glow.

That was the hue unique to the Everlands Primal Soul!

"It is certainly under heavy suppression and quite feeble, but it has not perished!" Kaiya exclaimed, as if glimpsing hope, "Moreover, whether it's the Primal Soul of the Abyss or our Everlands Primal Soul, they both require a suitable fleshly vessel to manifest their will."

"The woman named Yuan Lianyao who ventured into the Ashlands, she is needed by the Blazing Fire, just as the Primal Soul needs Cao Jiaze!"

Kaiya's voice rang out.

Yu Yuan's essence quivered as he pondered her words, reflecting, "Once, I was that vessel. Before Cao Jiaze, it was through my form that the entity from the Abyss made its presence known, wielding my body to display its might."

The sense of familiarity he had detected from Cao Jiaze now made sense to him.

Take the Primal Anima, akin to Blazing Fire or Primal Soul, which lacks a corporeal body. It is an embodiment of the Cosmic Order, endowed with spiritual sense.

Such transcendent beings require a chosen spokesperson to manifest their power.

At pivotal times, they can directly inhabit the spokesperson's body, demonstrating their presence in an even more extraordinary fashion.

Blazing Fire did just that, infusing part of its spirit into Yuan Lianyao, acting through her form.

The Primal Soul, whether from the Everlands or the dominant one from the Abyss, necessitated a similar approach.

In the early days of humanity's ascent, he became the divine representative of the Primal Soul from the Everlands.

He was both the spokesperson and, at times, the chosen vessel for descent, with his soul suppressed by the other, moving through his body.

This form of possession stripped him of all control, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.

Such a descent was brutally utilitarian, treating him as a mere instrument, much like the mightiest of humans wield their tools.

"We should have killed him," Kaiya mused, stroking her chin in the Soulforge Pool. "Had I realized sooner, we could have eliminated Cao Jiaze as the Everlands Primal Soul awoke, saving us considerable effort later."

As they conversed, the Abyssal Leviathan, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, and Reid, the High Priest of the Sky Fiend, emerged from the Domain Channel.

"Let's hold off on the Solar Spirit for now. The entity underground, along with Blazing Fire, is baiting the Solar Spirit to intervene," Kaiya interjected abruptly.

With a whoosh, a sword light of utmost purity pierced the sky above Skyreach Peak and came to a halt within the Star River of the extraterrestrial realm.

"Lin Daoke has returned!"

"The Master of the Sword Sect!"

The emergence of the sword light sparked jubilation among those stationed in the Everlands and on the moon.

"The mightiest of the Gods."

In the depths of the Land of Terror, Samantha, whose body was as desiccated as deadwood and riddled with fine wounds, began to heal after being freed from the sword light orb by Jihui's flagpole thrust.

She warily eyed Yu Yuan, who commanded the Dragon Slaying Stage, and after a moment's hesitation, she swiftly dove into the flag of the Wraithbanner.

Jihui, with his profound understanding of spatial enigmas, had ensured that even after the loss of the ghosts, an independent space-time within the flag remained intact.

Samantha vanished in an instant.

The Wraithbanner billowed, its base anchored deep in the earth while the other end, like Lin Daoke's sword light, pierced through the heavens, swallowing the starry energy with its vast expanse.

"Where has the sun gone—the one I could control?" Qin Luo's voice, filled with astonishment, followed the trail of the sword light from the direction of Skyreach Peak.

Soon after, Zu Ann, Van Heqing, and Han Miaoyuan emerged from the Abyss.

They were swiftly enveloped by Han Miaoyuan's Banner of Duality and made their way toward the Fireheart Mountains.

"We should join them," Taishi's voice emanated from the bronze coffin.

Subsequently, the mightiest of the human race from the Everlands, along with the fearless extraterrestrial onlookers, converged on the Fireheart Mountains.

In no time at all, a congregation of formidable figures materialized around the mountain range.

The Cosmic Crucible, now uncovered, radiated light and warmth from the heart of the mountains.

Han Miaoyuan, Lin Daoke, Qin Luo, and other exalted beings like Van Heqing, Lu Hongpeng, Cao Ji, and Wuran assembled at one end of the range.

Yu Yuan, Youyu, Taishi, Kaiya, Taixu, Xuanli, and others took their positions at the opposite end.

With an unspoken agreement, none dared to venture into the Fireheart Mountains or the domain of the blazing fire.

The Abyssal Leviathan, the Titan Spinosaurus, and other powerful entities of the Otherkin lingered just beyond the Everlands, in the celestial expanse of the Star River.

They showed no urgency in taking a stand, pausing in the Star River shortly after passing through the Domain Channel.

With the wall now shattered, they could clearly observe every move of the Everlands' champions and, if necessary, descend directly into the fray.

The stage was set for an imminent clash.

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