C2035 The Only God in the Ashlands
The moment Yu Yuan grasped the stone, thousands of bloody lights surged into his palm. Each streak represented a bloodline rule he had mastered, including those from the Origin Realm's Solar Meridian—the source of the Life Seed that gave rise to a multitude of alien beasts.
"You can continue to wield your sword now," Yu Yuan said with a nonchalant smile, holding the stone and gesturing for Lin Daoke to proceed.
Lin Daoke hesitated, skeptical of the stone's power, fearing it would shatter upon touch and necessitate Yu Yuan's summoning of the Dragon Slaying Stage once more—a prospect he found rather bothersome.
"Oh, are you concerned it might not hold up?" Yu Yuan chuckled, tapping his head. The luminescent stone in his other hand revealed its boundless wonders, marked by his bloodline rules and enriched with his life force.
A burst of violet-gold light radiated from the stone, resonating with the rule of destruction. In a flash, the stone took on the essence of flesh and bone, transforming into a Titan Spinosaurus that soared across the realms, issuing a thunderous roar.
The roar sent a shiver through the adult little spinosaurus, triggering memories of its time at the Abyssal Gate. The dragon's cry echoed like the voice of an ancient ancestor from the Everlands, who had traversed the River of Time to reclaim his dominant power in the Ashlands.
The little spinosaurus eyed the stone with trepidation, as if witnessing the resurrection of an elder spinosaurus.
"Hmm!" exclaimed Zhong Chichen, Loong Jie, and the ninth-level giant dragons of Tyria, all jolted by the roar. Their dragon hearts throbbed irregularly.
A smile played at the corners of Yu Yuan's lips as the stone, once aglow with purple-gold light, darkened to an inky black. Billowing black smoke poured forth, swiftly enveloping the surroundings.
From within the thick, dark mists, a giant beast forged of black iron bellowed at Lin Daoke. The dark giant beast, lost to the River of Time and slain by the old spinosaurus, seemed to have been resurrected through the stone.
The moment the giant beast made its appearance, subtle shifts in expression were evident on the faces of the Secular Bird Queen, the Abyssal Leviathan, and the Abyssal Greater Basilisk.
The presence of this behemoth seemed to catalyze a transformation in the Ashlands, as if it were shifting into the Dark Realm.
"There's more."
Yu Yuan's smile grew even more radiant as the stone imbued with his life force continued to evolve.
The Frost Giant Beast, the Voidweaver, the Mirage of the Mind, the Sky Rock Giant Beast, and other giant beasts that had once roamed the Origin Realm, many of which had fallen to the Titan Spinosaurus, along with those that had met their demise at the hands of Yu Yuan, now seemed to be resurrected through the power of this diminutive stone.
"For me, my eleventh-level Solar Spirit harbors mysteries you could scarcely fathom."
The giant beasts appeared to suddenly withdraw into the stone, vanishing into the depths of the hidden place.
Whoosh!
The stone transformed into a massive purple blade, infused with the refined essence of all life, and effortlessly slashed towards Lin Daoke.
The Life Blade!
As the blade's radiance burst forth, Lin Daoke's flesh and blood body underwent a bizarre transformation.
His organs rapidly atrophied, his veins withered like dry branches, vitality and life force draining away. His blood seemed to dry up in an instant.
In that moment, Lin Daoke was reduced to a desiccated skeleton, a mere husk of skin and bone.
The blade's light had utterly eradicated the life force within him.
"This is the Ashlands, after all."
Yu Yuan shook his head as his other hand reached down towards the Sword Sect Master's celestial domain.
The heavens erupted with lightning and thunder, as dark clouds amassed cosmic energy, bringing with them storms, hail, frigid flames, unknown corrosive poisons, and the tangible cosmic order that effortlessly consumed Lin Daoke.
An eleventh-level Solar Spirit wields the power to weave together all bloodline rules, amplifying their strength manifold.
In the Ashlands, he could nearly stack the existing rules without limit.
Thus, in Lin Daoke's prison, lightning and ice intertwined, golden rules fused with dense stone, and toxic miasma clouds swirled within murky waters. A multitude of arcane and magic arts melded together, nearly filling the space occupied by Lin Daoke's body and seeping into his soul and flesh.
Boom!
Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit Body underwent another dramatic transformation, becoming a colossus that reached the heavens and trod upon the netherworld.
This colossus appeared to be enshrouded in an infinite swirl of vital energy, born from the primordial chaos at the dawn of creation, akin to a deity in its own right.
His head gently nudged the dome of the Ashlands, extending into the celestial expanse beyond. With a mere blink, he snatched several stars that were within close proximity.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In comparison to his massive form, these stars were mere pebbles. His hand, capable of enveloping the heavens, refined them, infusing golden, green, red, white, black, and other bloodline rules.
The five stars were transported from the true Origin Realm deep into the Ashlands, descending upon Lin Daoke's location.
Where thunder clashed with lightning, where torrential rain fell, hail wreaked havoc, and flames blazed, five Cosmic Orders converged upon the stars.
Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—these fundamental Cosmic Orders that pervaded the Ashlands and were basic to the external world now fused with the stars.
Abruptly, the stars transformed into the Star of Metal, Star of Wood, Star of Water, Star of Fire, and Star of Earth.
The stars, each with a singular attribute, underwent a transformation as the cosmic order within altered their very substance, perfectly melding the mysteries of Sunsilver, wood, water, fire, and earth with the celestial bodies.
The stars spun, swiftly encircling Lin Daoke's diminutive form, creating an immense cosmic boundary.
With this boundary established, even the mightiest and most exalted in the Ashlands felt a profound sense of awe.
Escape was an impossibility for them within this enclosure!
At this moment, Yu Yuan wielded the power to pluck stars and moons from the heavens, bending the laws of reality to his will.
Within the Ashlands, Yu Yuan was the divine architect, the supreme creator of heaven and earth, wielding omnipotent force beyond their wildest dreams.
Compared to him, the Secular Bird Queen, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, the adult little spinosaurus, and the Abyssal Leviathan—all formidable beasts—paled into insignificance.
His presence made the Ashlands seem unbearably cramped, as though a mere stretch of his limbs could shatter the realm.
To all who witnessed, it was clear that only by tearing through the Ashlands could he find space vast enough—in the boundless Origin Realm, the Abyss, or the Wasteland—to fully unleash his might.
In other worlds, his reckless actions would lead to their collapse and extinction.
All life would perish.
Lin Daoke's Primordial Spirit Sword, though influential among the myriad Divine Swords and Spirit Swords of the cosmos, paled in comparison to him at this moment.
"Such power truly makes one... invincible in this world."
Above the Tyria Main Planet, as well as throughout the Ashlands, whether they were human cultivators, warriors of the Otherkin, Sky Fiends, or alien beasts, all were stunned by Yu Yuan.
They couldn't discern whether Yu Yuan, who seemed ready to burst the Ashlands apart, was an illusion or reality.
He effortlessly shattered the Ashlands' barrier and hauled stars from the Origin Realm, refining them into a singular star. In the depths of their souls and within their very flesh, Yu Yuan was perceived as the supreme deity, the master of heaven and earth.
It was as though the primordial chaos had been stirred into existence by his rise, lifting the heavens and pressing down the Star River of the Nine Underworlds.
Every living creature that gazed upon him was struck by their own insignificance, feeling as insignificant as ants, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.
Without him lifting a finger, without him doing anything at all, it seemed only natural for the beings of the Origin Realm to bow in worship.
To know him, to see him, to sense him was to acknowledge him as the True God.
No exceptions.
"Lin Daoke, you must first break through this Five Elements Great Restriction," he declared.
His voice, vast and unending, echoed to the very edges of the Ashlands, compelling all living creatures to listen.
For his voice penetrated directly into their Mindscape and hearts.
There was no escaping it.
With a mere thought from Yu Yuan, his eyes glowed dark red like the sun and moon, casting light across the dusky Ashlands.
The radiant light transcended all barriers and veils, showering down upon countless stars and the Tyria Main Planet.
The light even pierced through the deep caverns of Eiwrone, reaching out to distant worlds.
Those from beyond, like the Shadowkin's Awkwafina, the clansmen of the Voidweavers, and the formidable entities of the Abyss, were all quaking in fear.
Qin Luo, Zu Ann, Lu Hongpeng, Van Heqing, and exalted beings like Wuran all lapsed into silence.
Zu Ann chuckled nervously, shaking his head, at a loss for words.
The blood, veins, and organs within Wuran's body seemed to have been solidified by this overwhelming force. It was only after he bit down hard on his tongue that he managed to claw back some semblance of spiritual wisdom.
"Mr. Han, Mr. Han."
Wuran's voice was rough, laden with fear and a sense of helplessness, mirroring his current state of mind.
He, Qin Luo, Zu Ann, and everyone else were aware that Yu Yuan's display of power was primarily aimed at Lin Daoke; they were merely collateral damage.
Yet, Yu Yuan's fearsome presence engulfed the Ashlands, his form too immense for even this realm to contain. It made them question how the Titan Spinosaurus of old could have ever possessed such might.
If the Titan Spinosaurus had been as ferocious and unrestrained as Yu Yuan, how could the Great Demon God Bertain have possibly stood against him?
"They've all missed one crucial detail. Our bloodline's source, our exalted ancestor, met his end in the Everlands. Back then, the Everlands were under Bertain's rule. He could only defeat our ancestor, who was weakened by the Abyss, with the aid of the Primal Soul from beneath the earth."
"And here we stand, in the Ashlands, the very domain he forged!"
Zhong Chichen's smile was wide as he pointed at the disconcerted Wuran, Cao Ji, and Lu Hongpeng, laughing scornfully.
"In the Ashlands, Yu Yuan, at the eleventh level of the Solar Spirit, is akin to our supreme ancestor, battling in his own hallowed ground."
"I cannot fathom any being from the Origin Realm, the Wasteland, or the Abyss daring to challenge Yu Yuan here in the Ashlands."
"Even if the Lord of Ruin, Yuan Le, were to come here and openly reveal himself in the Ashlands, he would be destined for defeat!"
Zhong Chichen was convinced of this fact.
"You two."
In Yu Yuan's gaze, the reflections of Wuran and Cao Ji materialized to his left and right.
The two supreme beings, each with their own Origin, were suddenly gripped by an icy dread, a premonition of impending doom washing over them.
