C2031 Abyss Wood

Samantha's hand gracefully descended toward the pool brimming with lightning and thunder. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if she were on the cusp of her own advancement.

"Once I break through to the Eleventh Level and become a transcendent being like Beilstein or a Titan spinosaurus, what will I have to fear from Yu Yuan's Yang God?" Samantha mused internally.

Previously, she had been ensnared by Yu Yuan's sword through the Sky Opening Array on the Dragon Slash Platform. If not for her shrewd escape, she might never have made it out alive.

Regardless of Yu Yuan's reverence and protective instincts toward her, her thoughts were consumed by a desire for vengeance.

She had taken refuge within the Soul Summoning Flag, following Yu Yuan's advice that the flag would manifest in the Gray Domain, where the cultivator Qi Yunhong was likely to be found.

Yu Yuan's brilliant strategy had just been revealed to her—flawless and without omission.

If she could integrate the residual power within the Thunder Divine Pool, she stood a great chance of breaking her current constraints and ascending to become one of the mightiest beings between heaven and earth.

A hint of joy played at the corners of her mouth as her hand neared the pool, almost as if she were grasping the key to the Eleventh Level.

Meanwhile, Qi Yunhong stood tall, feeling the resonance of every bolt of lightning and peal of thunder within the Thunder Divine Pool, yet feeling utterly powerless.

A consciousness within the pool was jubilantly welcoming Samantha, eager for their union.

He could sense it distinctly.

This consciousness, once eternally suppressed by the Great Demon God Beilstein in the Starry Forbidden Ground, sensed a call from the abyssal depths through Samantha.

It was as if an eye, in the pitch-black void where no light could penetrate, was peering out through Samantha.

Their impending fusion was a homecoming; the consciousness had endured millennia in the Starry Forbidden Ground as if it had been waiting for this very moment.

Qi Yunhong had been cast aside by it, deemed worthless.

"Yu Yuan!" Qi Yunhong cried out in desperation.

Here in the Gray Domain, the realm dominated by Yu Yuan, the Eleventh Level Yang God himself was present. Qi Yunhong pinned all his hopes on Yu Yuan.

Qi Yunhong was convinced that if anyone could rescue him and thwart Samantha, it would be none other than Yu Yuan.

The surge of lightning within Samantha was a natural nemesis to the Outland Devaputra. Andrea, still trapped in her human form, hesitated, knowing all too well that even with the full might of the Devil Soul at her disposal, she stood no chance against Samantha.

The Devil Soul, when confronted with Samantha's mastery of lightning, not only lacked any advantage but was also likely to be severely constrained.

"Don't worry, you're not going to die."

Yu Yuan emerged from a heap of shattered, fiery crystals. Under his feet, the Heaven and Earth Furnace was busy forging Yuan Lianyao's flesh and blood, alongside the flame knife and the now unsettling presence of Yu Yiyi, whom he momentarily set aside.

He cast a glance at Qi Yunhong and sensed a palpable sense of anticipation emanating from the Thunder Divine Pool.

"I didn't agree," Yu Yuan stated, opening his palm.

In the starry sky where the Thunder Divine Pool resided, a dense network of void laws emerged, akin to the dark red patterns on his palm, and began to gently envelop the pool.

Qi Yunhong felt a wave of relief wash over him.

The gap between the pool and Samantha's hand, which should have been a mere stone's throw away, suddenly seemed to stretch into infinity.

Samantha's hand was poised to reach into the electrified pool and extract the missing essence of the thunder source, fusing it into the depths of her soul. Yet, space itself seemed to stretch and elongate, frustratingly out of reach.

Samantha exerted all her strength, but her withered arm simply couldn't make contact with the Thunder Divine Pool.

Crackle!

Inside the pool, a cluster of lightning, equally anxious, surged upward.

This lightning, resonating with Samantha's intent, sought to break free from the confines of the pool and merge with her soul.

Regrettably, the void laws encasing the pool created an impenetrable seal.

The lightning clashed against the interwoven net of void laws, struggling in vain to escape its bonds.

Driven to exasperation, Samantha couldn't help but scream, "Master Supreme Intellect!"

"Alas," sighed Supreme Intellect, as he directed the tip of the Soul Summoning Flag towards the pool.

Zhong Chichen, who had been biding his time, couldn't help but smile at the movement of the flagpole. "Let's not forget, I've been in the Gray Domain all along, a realm forged by the ancestral bloodline of the Nagas."

He cast the Time Book into the fray, the ancient and weighty tome transforming into a colossal shield within the void.

The Soul Summoning Flag, like a piercing lance, struck down upon a massive golden square brick. Despite a shower of sparks, the golden brick remained unscathed.

"Loong Jie!"

Extreme Intelligence let out a cold snort and, beneath the Time Book, Loong Jie supported the heavens with his dragon claw.

Rustle! Rustle!

The Hannya Divine Tree, with its lush foliage, alongside the Muddy Divine Soil, soared toward the six wings of the Secular Bird Queen. Its leaves, as lustrous as fine jade, shimmered with a dazzling brilliance.

The divine tree was calling out to the Secular Bird Queen.

Whoosh!

Chen Qinghuang, with her three heads and six arms, emerged from the closed wings, stepping barefoot onto a verdant leaf.

The instant her feet touched the leaf, she gleaned all the information from the Hannya Divine Tree.

"Yu Yuan!"

Her gaze sharp as a blade, she pierced the air with an icy chill, declaring, "Samantha was nurtured by an ancient tree known as Abyss Wood. The Thunder Source Spirit resides within the Abyss Wood. Hannya, once deceived by Arthurs, had encountered the Abyss Wood in the illusory Origin Realm."

"Hannya's downfall wasn't due to Arthurs, but rather her contact with the Abyss Wood."

A fierce look flashed across Chen Qinghuang's brow.

"Abyss Wood..."

Upon hearing these words, Yu Yuan, whose true form was in another realm, felt an inexplicable familiarity, as though he recognized the tree's origins.

"Don't let Samantha obtain anything from the Thunder Divine Pool; she might use it to ascend. Moreover, the Thunder Source Spirit associated with the Abyss Wood could potentially obliterate Beilstein's soul with its return."

Chen Qinghuang, having received a wealth of information from the Hannya Divine Tree in a brief span, shared it selflessly.

Andrea let out a startled cry.

Not far from Tia Main Planet, she stepped out from the space-time archway crafted by Zhong Chichen, her presence vibrant.

"Senior Brother!"

Andrea's voice echoed deep within Yu Yuan's soul, laden with entreaty, "Let Samantha perish! Ensure that what lies within the Thunder Divine Pool remains in the Origin Realm forever!"

For the first time, Andrea, who had been eager to compete with Yu Yuan since learning of him, earnestly called out "Senior Brother" within the depths of his soul, voicing her plea.

She sensed the truth in the Secular Bird Queen's words.

Should the thunderous power sealed within the Origin Realm by her father be refined through Samantha, this being wrought by the Abyss Wood could potentially surge to the Eleventh Level.

The Origin of Thunder, which had been residing with the Abyss Wood, was absent from the Origin Realm. Should this missing power be restored, she might stand a chance to join forces with the Guardian of the Evil God Temple and dissolve her father's Devil Soul.

Once Samantha ascended to the Eleventh Level, she and all the Devaputras of the Origin Realm would find themselves at a significant disadvantage.

Her father's life could be at stake as well.

"I promise you."

Yu Yuan gave a barely perceptible nod. Within moments, he materialized above Samantha's head.

Gazing down at the astonished visitors from the abyss, he declared, "You haven't even reached the Eleventh Level, yet you dare to show yourself in the Gray Domain? You are neither the spiritual consciousness of Extreme Flame nor an origin. Do you truly believe you can forge the path to the Eleventh Level right under my watch?"

"Absurd!"

With that, he stomped down on Samantha.

Boom!

Beneath his feet, the crimson sky unfurled. The bloodline of the alien beast he had mastered, the laws of the bloodline refined from the Yang meridian source, and the secrets of life granted by the origin blood were all etched into the expanse in an instant.

In Samantha's eyes, a world capable of crushing all life loomed overhead.

As if the limitless power of the Gray Domain surged into this bloody world, she found herself utterly powerless to resist, her wooden form splintering apart.

Amidst the shower of splinters, Samantha realized her body had been reduced to ashes, and her soul was now clasped within a hand amidst a cluster of lightning.

"To ascend to the Eleventh Level and reclaim the lost fragment of the Thunder Origin Spirit, you should not have ventured into the Gray Domain."

Surrounded by a cloud of ash, Yu Yuan clutched a sphere of lightning, poised to cast it into the Thunder Divine Pool to realize Qi Yunhong's ambitions.

Qi Yunhong watched with bated breath, eager with anticipation.

He believed that upon receiving this lightning, he would gain strength akin to Samantha's, and perhaps in time, even surpass her, achieving the Eleventh Level she sought.

"Don't."

Chen Qinghuang spoke with a cool detachment, "If it enters the Thunder Divine Pool, the distant Thunder Origin Spirit in the Abyss can still wield its influence due to the shattered Abyss Gate. If the essence of thunder merges with the spiritual consciousness it left in the Thunder Divine Pool, it will become whole within the Abyss."

Yu Yuan was taken aback.

Qi Yunhong's spirits plummeted. He waved his hand dismissively and said, "Never mind, just handle it yourself."

He was too apprehensive to take on the lightning power, fearing that the so-called source spirit of lightning might warp his thoughts, turning him into a puppet like Samantha, and setting him against Yu Yuan.

"Leave it to me. My father has a specific place for sealing its power."

Andrea gracefully approached, riding atop the Soul Transformation Pool from the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, and stopped before Yu Yuan. Gazing at the orb of lightning that Yu Yuan had extracted following Samantha's demise, she explained, "The Soul Transformation Pool, combined with Taishi's coffin, can contain it for some time. We'll make sure it's sent away."

The 'special place' she mentioned was the Starry Forbidden Ground, previously used by the Great Demon God Beilstein to seal the lightning's power.

"Alright."

Yu Yuan tossed Samantha's "heart of lightning" into the Soul Transformation Pool, and Taishi's bronze coffin at the bottom of the pool manifested just in time.

"I'll take care of this first."

Andrea wasted no time. With a swift gesture, she pulled Qi Yunhong down from the sky. "You're coming too! The force within your Thunder Divine Pool has become very dangerous. It can't be allowed to roam freely with you!"

Andrea was determined to prevent any unforeseen incidents involving her father in the Abyss, so she tolerated no oversights.

"Take care."

As Taishi relinquished the coffin and the bronze coffin and Soul Transformation Pool began to ascend together, he couldn't help but offer a word of caution.

"Don't worry, I'll return shortly."

The Soul Transformation Pool and the bronze coffin accelerated towards the Tia Main Planet.

"Senior Brother, thank you."

Andrea's voice echoed once more in the depths of Yu Yuan's soul, now with an undertone of ease, "Honestly, ever since I learned that your human race originated from the Abyss, I've been wary of you. I always feared that you would drift away from us, that you would embrace the Extreme Intelligence."

"It's truly unexpected that you've managed to stay true to your core and identity up to this point."

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