C2020 Different Choices

"We are of the same root; why the rush to conflict?"

Han Miaoyuan clutched the Profound Dao Flag, his face etched with a myriad of emotions. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he led the way into Hellfire Mountain, making his way toward the Divine Soul Sect and their company.

The flames of Hellfire Mountain had subdued, as if gathering strength.

Yet, the Heaven and Earth Furnace remained suspended in the sky. Within its lidless depths, Mo Baichuan's Flame Crystal form was being meticulously sculpted.

As Han Miaoyuan passed the Heaven and Earth Furnace, he glanced down into its interior and murmured, "A new lifeform."

He then gracefully approached the members of the Divine Soul Sect.

"We should not be fighting amongst ourselves."

With a heavy sigh, Han Miaoyuan spoke with heartfelt sorrow, "Why must we do this? We are all from the Abyss, guided by it to take root in the vastness and respond to this world known as the Origin Realm. Why resort to such actions?"

"It was that cursed Titan Spinosaurus that brought our human race out of the Abyss, bestowing upon us a high civilization!"

"The Titan Spinosaurus, acting on the Origin Blood's command, invaded our Abyss and nearly obliterated our entire human race!"

"It survived, sinking into the heart of the vast ocean, enduring untold years before our human race could once again emerge! Shouldn't we honor its will and guidance by striking back at the Origin Realm?"

"And yet, you have repeatedly defied it, intent on destroying its millennia of effort!"

Han Miaoyuan's voice was thick with anger as he chastised.

"Our human race originated from... the Abyss?"

"That will, deep within the earth's core, is it the creator of our human race, also from the Abyss?"

"My heavens!"

"Senior Han would never speak without basis! This has to be the truth. A visit to the Abyss will confirm it!"

"I need some time to process this!"

"..."

Human cultivators remaining in the heavens and on earth watched Han Miaoyuan's every move intently, his astonishing revelations leaving them stunned.

Before his return, only a handful, like Han Qi, had an inkling of the truth.

The majority of the cultivators from the various sects were unaware of the human race's origins, viewing the Abyss as a realm of evil and the potential descent of Evil Gods as an imminent threat.

Han Miaoyuan elucidated the relationship between the Boundless Human Race and the Abyss with such clarity that it struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

Members of the Spirit Void Sect, Cold Yin Sect, Taiyuan Sect, Devil Palace, Cloud Water Sect, and even the Primordial Yang Sect and Profound Sky Sect were visibly stunned.

They were all struggling to come to terms with the revelation and its profound implications.

In contrast, the Divine Soul Sect, several Divine Kings, and members of the Devaputra Race such as Reid, Yuv Qian, as well as onlookers like the Chaos Roc, remained composed.

Yu Yuan had not intentionally kept the truth hidden. He had revealed it in the Perish Starfield beforehand to allow everyone time to digest the information and make informed decisions.

As a result, those who had returned from outer space were not thrown off balance by Han Miaoyuan's earth-shattering news. There were no disputes, no uproar, and no heated discussions.

"I must acknowledge that every word you've spoken is factual, without any falsehood or exaggeration," Yu Yuan responded coolly after Han Miaoyuan finished speaking. "The Human Race originated from the Abyss. I've witnessed it myself. Indeed, whether in the Abyss or among the Boundless Human Race, our existence is tied to it."

Yu Yuan's gaze dropped to the earth beneath him as he continued, "Knowing all this, why do you persist in your resistance? Shouldn't you be moved by its guidance, its commands, and its care for you? Shouldn't you feel compelled to reciprocate?"

Han Miaoyuan's tone turned icy as he retorted, "Without its presence, there would be no Human Race in the Abyss, nor any glory for the Boundless Human Race!"

"We are sentient beings, capable of emotion. We should draw close to it and remain in harmony with it, just as we would with our own mothers."

"Too negative!"

Han Miaoyuan's voice escalated suddenly.

"Back in the day, you were determined to recreate the Boundless Human Race in the Outer Star River! I cannot fathom why, when it granted you such immense power, made you the foremost among our people, and appointed you our leader, you would repeatedly choose to defy it."

The leader of the Profound Sky Sect, filled with righteous indignation, addressed Yu Yuan by his true name. The frustration and resentment that had built up over tens of thousands of years, along with his many confusions, seemed to be vented in a single utterance of "Grand Moon" and the ensuing tirade. His lean, towering figure, every sinew and muscle, had been forged in the abyss, endowing him with a strength comparable to the formidable warriors of the alien race. He, Lin Daoke, Qin Luo, and all who had ventured into the abyss, had undergone a profound transformation upon their return.

As he pointedly rebuked Yu Yuan, the chaotic and violent energies of the abyss within the Hellfire Mountain and the fissures nearby naturally coalesced around him. It was as if the consciousness of the Vast Ocean Core was acknowledging and supporting him in this manner. The confusion and questions that had long perplexed the Vast Ocean Core were now being articulated by Han Miaoyuan.

"I refuse to end up like Yuan Lianyao or Cao Jiaze. Nor do I wish to become like Grec," he declared.

Yu Yuan's gaze settled on Grec of the Blood Devil Clan, who looked on in shock.

With a whoosh, a primal force, channeling through Grec's Tenth Level Great Demon God physique, surged forth as a crimson flood, shattering Grec's soul. Then, it claimed Grec's body for its own.

This "Grec" flexed his hands and twisted his neck, speaking as if he were Yu Yuan. "I am now Yu Yuan. Grec's body is fully at my disposal. I can use Grec's body to do anything I desire; he is like an extension of myself."

"And the entity beneath the earth can treat me just as I have treated Grec," he continued. "Moreover, it has indeed done so before!"

He paused there, leaving the words hanging in the air.

Grec, momentarily bewildered, soon realized that the force which had invaded his body had vanished as swiftly as it came.

Once ambitious to vie with Beilstein for the leadership of the Devaputra Race and eager to ally with the Asura King to annihilate the Divine Soul Sect, he now spoke with a forlorn tone, "I cannot even resist the Yang Meridian. My thoughts and deeds are all under its influence."

"Now..." Grec offered a bitter smile.

He could relate to Yu Yuan's current emotions more than anyone, having experienced them himself multiple times. He also came to an understanding of why Yu Yuan, who once nearly rivaled the Great Demon God Beilstein, had abruptly chosen a path of defiance.

Yu Yuan was in a struggle against his Creator!

His path of defiance was to free himself from the ever-present source spirit that could descend upon him at any moment, treating him as nothing more than a tool.

How arduous was this quest?

"Han Miaoyuan!"

Yu Yuan's voice rose sharply, "You're quite amusing, actually, because you lack the qualifications to be fully dominated by it. Only I, and Cao Jiaze, who have ascended to the highest echelons in the manner it desires, can wield the power it seeks after its descent."

"You, and you."

Yu Yuan's gaze, following his words, settled on Ji Hui.

"At best, you can heed its voice and teachings, venerating it as a deity. Indeed, it is your creator, the wellspring of your souls. Your philosophies and aspirations are rooted in its will. It seems there's no fault in choosing it as your guide."

"But I choose differently! I refuse to be eternally subservient, to one day abruptly lose my consciousness, to be a mere spectator in a corner of my own body, as it uses my form, my soul, my identity to fulfill its agenda."

"I will not be reduced to an instrument!"

Yu Yuan articulated his stance of resistance.

The Boundless Human Race, already bewildered by Han Miaoyuan's earth-shattering revelation, found themselves further perplexed by Yu Yuan's ensuing declarations.

Is it wrong to be devoted to the creator, to act in accordance with the soul's source will?

Is it wrong to defy the creator, seeking the true essence of freedom?

Who is right? Who is wrong?

"If it ceases to exist, if it perishes, then those born of it will also cease to be."

Han Miaoyuan stated emotionlessly, revealing a harsh truth, "Our souls stem from it, making it the foundation of all humanity. I am certain of one thing: the more potent it becomes, the more power it consumes, the greater the benefit to our entire race."

"This is all a result of your selfishness!"

"Since it fashioned you, enabling you to host its presence and elevated you to the stature of a Divine King, what does it matter if it acts through you?"

"You are its chosen spokesperson, and that is your responsibility! Your sacrifices allow it to amass greater strength, to refine more of the primal essence, which in turn allows the emergence of more exalted beings among our people, bolstering the collective might of the human race, empowering us to govern all life in the Origin Realm."

"All the humans born from it will inherit a higher civilization, allowing them to rise above the beings of the Origin Realm, the Abyss, and the Desolate Realm."

"What's wrong with that?"

Han Miaoyuan retorted with sarcasm.

"Taishi, you're nothing but a selfish creature! You were this way in the past, and tens of thousands of years later, you haven't changed one bit! You've truly disappointed me, and you've disappointed the Great Demon God Beilstein. He must have deceived you, representing the Devaputra and the original Origin Soul!"

"You've forsaken your own people, aligning yourself with the Devaputra. You are a heretic and an abomination to our human race!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Towering flames burst forth from the earth's fissures and the erupting volcanoes. The solar nuclei that remained after Yuan Lianyao's departure coalesced into miniature suns.

Suspended in the sky above Hellfire Mountain, numerous suns radiated light and heat, far surpassing their previous intensity.

Deep within the earth, the Extreme Flame, eternal guardian of the Origin Soul, seemed to roar back in fury.

Flames raged, a sea of fire emerged, and dancing fire sprites spread from the mountain range in every direction. The Extreme Flame sought to engulf the vast ocean with the world's most fearsome fiery energy.

The once azure ocean was rapidly transforming into an immense, blazing orb.

The profound laws that Taishi had imposed upon the land were incinerated to ash by the power of the Extreme Flame.

Empires, towns, villages, sects, enchanted places, the deep sea, and islands were gradually engulfed by the flames, reduced to ruins and ash.

Figures shot into the sky in terror, then watched the burning world below with complex emotions.

They were natives of Hao Ran, architects of human civilization, who had elevated the human race to the pinnacle of the Origin Realm. Yet now, amidst the dispute between Han Miaoyuan and Yu Yuan, Hao Ran began to consume itself, ignited by the clash of their convictions and ideologies.

​