C2054
The Dark Phoenix's words cut like a knife.
Tan Xiaotian's face was clouded with gloom as the Divine Visage of the Dark Overlord he had conjured was pierced by blinding light, forcing it back to its original form.
His Dark Divine Robe, meticulously refined on the Genesis Continent, was riddled with holes and failed to conceal his frame.
His lean body, once sustained by the power of the Abyss coursing through his bones and veins, was now being ravaged by it as if it were a lethal toxin devouring his flesh.
His soul was tormented by whispers, bringing on an excruciating headache.
The prayer mat he had dubbed "Shadowsky" had suffered grave damage as well; even the dark magic woven within it had been shattered by the overwhelming force of light.
His Divine Artifact, his physical form, and his very soul had all sustained varying degrees of damage.
In that moment, as Tan Xiaotian endured the Dark Phoenix's biting mockery and gazed at the sky, where the leaves shone like mirrors, he realized that the Tree of Life, along with the Thunder Spirit it harbored, had been stripped of its essence, violating the recent pact he had forged.
The formation of that agreement hinged on a condition he had overlooked.
He was to submit wholly to the Primal Soul of the Abyss.
Should he dare to defy this, he would forfeit the support of the Primal Soul as a Demon Lord, a Dark Overlord, and be cast out by the Abyss itself.
"You..."
He attempted to reach out to the Dark Anima within the Dark Realm, seeking its guidance.
To his dismay, he was met with silence; the Dark Anima did not heed his call.
Tan Xiaotian felt a profound sense of abandonment.
Light and Darkness are intertwined, each the antithesis of the other.
Yet both must submit to its will. Should Darkness rebel, it would only empower the Light Spirit to intensify its might and quell the Darkness.
The reverse is true as well.
Neither the Light Spirit nor the Dark Anima dared to defy it, both bound to follow its commands. Tan Xiaotian, fashioned by the Dark Anima, was no exception.
In a sudden flash of insight, Tan Xiaotian grasped the Dark Anima's perspective and understood the reason behind its sigh when he had severed his own essence.
"Do you regret it?"
The Dark Phoenix let out a cold laugh, yet she withdrew the rolling demon energy she had unleashed, choosing not to strike at that moment.
She allowed Tan Xiaotian a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking, "If your eleventh level suffers further blows, you'll face a decline. Once that happens, you, Tan Xiaotian, without your origin, will die."
"They say a Dark Overlord can be created once, and indeed, a second can be made."
"A rebellious Dark Overlord can simply be destroyed and replaced."
Zhiya delivered these chilling truths.
"Any regrets?"
Tan Xiaotian paused, then smiled and shook his head. "I considered the consequences when I severed my origin. It cannot come to the Dark Realm, nor does it have a body of flesh and blood. What's there to regret?"
"Who's to say I'm bound to die?"
As he said this, he sent a silent plea to the Dark Anima in the Genesis Continent.
"I know you're scared, aware of your fear of it, afraid to defy its will. No matter, since I, Tan Xiaotian, ascended to the eleventh level with your aid, I'll help you grow stronger as long as you don't try to possess me."
"I'll keep expanding the Dark Realm for you! Don't worry about me; I have the strength to defend myself. I refuse to believe it can dominate all creatures and oddities across the Three Realms!"
Thick dark energy, too dense to dissipate, poured from his body, repairing his ragged cape.
With a whoosh, the boundless Darkland expanded from Tan Xiaotian, merging with the dark energy of the Dark Realm, weaving new rules of dark magic.
The cushion he named "Shadowsky" swelled with his power, integrating with his Divine Domain.
"Yu Yuan is truly formidable."
Yuan Le stroked his fuzzy cheek, casting a sidelong glance at the Dark Phoenix, who had pulled back her power, and said with a smile, "The Ashlands are sealed, and the creature deep within the Everlands has begun its grand scheme. Zhiya, do you still intend to squander time in the Dark Realm over my Blood Clone?"
Zhiya responded with an icy voice, "My Phoenix Shrine awaits at the gateway to the Ashlands. Just open the door, and I can cross over."
Yuan Le nodded in understanding. "Ah, that explains it."
The once solid ice field had broken apart, leaving numerous large ice rocks drifting in every direction. Within the Dark Tower, the Untamed, alongside Rat God Panot, stood together.
The Untamed's eyelids began to twitch violently, and veins bulged on his forehead.
"Who is it?" Yuan Le asked, his brow furrowing.
"Yu Yuan."
The Untamed seemed disoriented as he murmured, "Or perhaps... it. I saw multiple images of Yu Yuan converging in the deep recesses of the Everlands."
"It, along with Yu Yuan, is trying to take control of my soul!"
The Untamed's forehead contorted as he clawed open fresh wounds with his fingers, on the verge of succumbing to madness once more.
Yuan Le commanded sternly, "Extract the demon soul and let it descend into the Life Keychain to counter its will."
The Untamed hastened to comply.
His demon soul and the memories of his spirit flowed from his brain to his heart. Once the demon soul entered the heart, interwoven with the bloodline crystal chain, it surged into the tree-shaped Life Keychain. Only then did the Ape begin to find peace, ceasing to harm himself.
The Life Keychain, a boon from Yuan Le, was imbued with the power of the Wasteland's Primal Blood, and it was sufficiently remote from both the Dark Realm and the Ashlands.
With no origin in his mind, the Untamed was gradually able to rid himself of the invasive power's influence.
"Now, describe the vision you just witnessed," Yuan Le urged.
"Yu Yuan appeared to be encased within a crystal sphere, with a flaming pool beneath and a dark blue sea floating above. Deep within the sea, there was a phantom of Yu Yuan, and on either side of the pool stood two more figures of him," the Ape recounted, his voice taking on a trance-like quality. "It seemed as though they were all attempting to sway me."
Yuan Le listened intently, nodding frequently and encouraging him to continue.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A powerful light began to coalesce among the leaves in the sky, as if a new force of light was gathering through them to shine down upon Tan Xiaotian.
Tan Xiaotian's gaze was icy as he watched the sky, observing the leaves as they captured the light.
Tan Xiaotian did not receive a response from the Dark Anima, but he could hear the "shushing" of the other leaves of the Tree of Life, prompting him to proactively integrate the essence into himself. By reuniting with the primal essence and remaining compliant, he could maintain his status as an eleventh-level Dark Overlord. This was the benevolent counsel of the Tree of Life.
Tan Xiaotian looked up and sneered, "What I've expelled, I will not reclaim." The Dark Realm he inhabited had become one with the Shadowsky, and a third of all the dark energy present had surged towards him. He decided to temporarily set aside the expansion of his dominion, channeling the bulk of the dark energy into himself to withstand the onslaught of the light forces and to confront the second wave of retribution from the mightiest Primal Anima.
Intense beams of light and power surged from the highest lands of the Abyss toward the Holy Temple, where they were absorbed by its pillars and then channeled to the Tree of Life within the Dark Realm. It was at this moment that Bertain, the Great Demon God of the Origin Realm, bellowed with laughter from within the obsidian pillar. "This path is closed!" Bertain suddenly exclaimed. The light that had been shot from the continent below and swallowed by the Holy Temple failed to reach the Tree of Life in the Dark Realm. The radiant leaves remained suspended, yet no strong light shone down.
Tan Xiaotian braced for the worst, ready to sacrifice the Dark Realm, but the anticipated blast of light never came.
...
The Heart of the Everlands.
Yu Yuan's eleventh-level Solar Spirit transformed into a series of dangling red crystals, with blood-colored lightning flickering within them. Within the crystal sphere, some new bloodline rules appeared to be wiped clean. Yu Yuan's real body watched his Solar Spirit, a playful smile dancing in his eyes.
Yuan Lianyao, who was possessed by the blazing fire, sensed an anomaly and stared in astonishment at the crystal sphere capable of imprinting bloodlines and the Secrets of Life. She gazed at what she believed to be the Heart of the Everlands.
"Can you actually resist?" Blazing fire was incredulous.
From the moment Yu Yuan's eleventh-level Solar Spirit entered the Heart of the Everlands, it had been as if a fly trapped in amber, unable to move or even think.
The crystal ball seared the bloodline mysteries into his very being, intertwining the evolutionary essence of the cosmic giant beast with the form of lightning rules.
Suddenly, the Solar Spirit Body underwent a transformation, resisting the engulfment of the Heart of the Everlands' rules, catching Blazing Fire completely off guard.
Unknown to Yu Yuan, as his dominant soul metamorphosed, numerous sealed Soul Powers were reawakened, triggering the resurgence of hidden memories, allowing Yu Yuan to recall a multitude of past events.
These memories, all previously pondered by him, were strategies devised to counter the Primal Soul of the Abyss.
He had anticipated an event like today's.
The strongest Primal Anima, sealed within the depths of his soul, doomed him to a tragic fate of endless reincarnations, each life exploited by the Primal Anima.
Yet, each awakening, each cycle dominated by the Primal Soul, inadvertently provided him with invaluable experience.
Rip! Rip!
Streams of blood-red energy burst forth from Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit Body, transforming into cosmic giant beasts that vanished into the River of Time, seeking their corresponding bloodline rules within the crystal ball.
Yu Yuan's crystalline Solar Spirit Body continued to morph, increasingly resembling a giant dragon.
Violet-gold scales adorned its back, with sharp spines protruding, broad and keen dragon wings unfurled, and its claws glinted with an indestructible chill.
This was the Titan Spinosaurus, born from the transformation of his Solar Spirit Body.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Heart of the Everlands, forged from the Titan Spinosaurus's heart and the most enigmatic soul crystal, resonated with Yu Yuan's new form.
With the resonance established, the foundational rules of the Ashlands trembled, intimately linked with the Everlands.
Wail! Roar!
Within the depths of the crystal ball, it seemed as though cosmic giant beasts emerged, engaging in ferocious battles.
Boom! Boom!
The land quaked, and mountains swayed. Even Eiwrone shook with intense vigor, undergoing a miraculous transformation.
Above the Soul Altar, within the soul sea, Yu Yuan slowly shook his head.
