C2071 I Was Surrounded
In the heart of the Abyss lies a mystery so profound that it eludes even my perception. The layers upon layers of the Abyss share a remarkable resemblance to our current schematics."
"Yet, the Abyss extends beyond our reach, more ancient and vast than anything we've known."
Each time Yuan Le spoke of the Abyss, his deep-seated apprehension was palpable.
His trepidation surpassed that for the Origin Realm; the darkness below the Abyss and the Primal Soul that birthed humanity filled him with unease.
His reverence for the Abyss, evident in his words, left the Beast Gods utterly astonished.
For an individual as self-assured as Yuan Le, not even his discussions of the Titan Spinosaurus or Demon God Bertain carried such gravity or revealed such profound concern.
Could the Abyss truly be as fearsome as he described?
"You're rather astute."
With a meaningful glance, Tan Xiaotian addressed the Lord of Ruin, "Deep within that darkness, I ascended to the eleventh level. Yet, the extent of my senses only grazes a minuscule fraction of that realm."
"Not even the entity that bestowed upon me the ultimate dark magic has fully explored its own domain."
With that, Tan Xiaotian inhaled sharply, his gaze drifting to the silhouette of Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan's figure loomed like a blood-red firmament, his presence as towering as the starlit mountain, both reaching equal heights.
Tan Xiaotian mused that Yu Yuan's knowledge of the Dark Domain within the Genesis Continent must surpass both his and Yuan Le's.
After all, Yu Yuan is revered as the Lord of the Abyss.
Tan Xiaotian was convinced that the seventy-seven continents of the Abyss were but a fraction of its entirety.
For at the deepest core of the Abyss lay the Genesis Continent.
The level of the Abyss that housed the Genesis Continent was eternally veiled in shadow, yet even the Dark Anima confessed to not fully grasping its vastness.
This defied all logic.
The Genesis Continent harbored the Dark Anima, creator of the human Primal Soul, within its enigmatic terrain.
The Evil Temple stood there as well.
Beyond the Genesis Continent, what secrets did the infinite darkness conceal?
Were there other levels beneath the shroud of darkness?
The more Tan Xiaotian pondered, the more his disquiet mirrored Yuan Le's—a sense that perhaps even the Dark Anima was merely a captive within its own expanse.
It was unaware of the deeper intricacies and the true expanse of the Abyss.
"Yu Yuan, they are stripping away the earth's secrets that I have deciphered."
Taishi, gazing up at the colossal bear perched upon the star, caught the scent of the Primal Anima in the mountains and exclaimed with excitement, "Primal Anima! The Primal Anima that resonates with me has been in the Wasteland all along, hidden deep within a mountain!"
A longing suddenly overtook Taishi.
Having learned through Cardo, Tan Xiaotian, and the fire phoenix about the existence of Primal Animas born from the initial chaos, he knew that finding the corresponding Primal Anima and obtaining the ultimate rule it bestowed could potentially elevate him to the eleventh level.
Witnessing Tan Xiaotian's success, aware of Cardo's relentless quest, and observing Yuan Lianyao's transformation, how could he not be inspired?
Yet, in the Origin Realm, there were no traces of an Earth Spirit, and he was uncertain if such a Primal Anima even existed.
Now that he had discovered its presence and felt it vividly, he naturally entertained some fantasies.
"The cosmic order within you does not originate from the Origin Realm. Your quest, perhaps, lies somewhere within the Abyss," Yu Yuan declared abruptly.
He had come to understand that the Lord of the Abyss, his former title, was indeed linked to the Genesis Continent.
When the mightiest Primal Anima left the Abyss using the Titan Spinosaurus and descended into the heart of the Everlands, it began to transform the Everlands into a new "Genesis Continent."
The rebirth of the human race in the Everlands marked a new beginning for him.
The Everlands, now considered a new "Genesis Continent," also corresponded to his role as the Lord of the Abyss.
In the boundless darkness, there existed the Tree of Life and the Thunder Spirit.
Given this, it was possible that another Earth Spirit existed.
The Direbear, Sekou, had once visited the Origin Realm shortly after the Titan Spinosaurus had perished, and before the emergence of humankind.
At that time, the Origin Realm had also come into being, but it did not present Sekou with a cosmic order that felt innovative or fresh.
The current Taishi stirred an inexplicable excitement within Sekou, and the Earth Spirit was equally invigorated. What did this signify? It meant that the cosmic order within Taishi's body was awakening due to the influence of the Primal Soul from the Abyss!
Primal Anima is not singular in nature. The Primal Soul exists in the Abyss, and the Origin Realm possesses it as well. Since Primal Blood has appeared in both realms, it stands to reason that if the Earth Spirit exists in the Wasteland, the Abyss could certainly harbor one too. The Abyss, after all, is not a collection of stars, but a vast expanse of land.
All signs point to the existence of an Earth Spirit in the Abyss, potentially of a higher caliber than the one that gave rise to Sekou, the Direbear! Yet, Yu Yuan's memories hold no knowledge of such an Earth Spirit. Neither Jihui nor the Evil Gods of the Abyss seem to be aware of its existence.
"The Abyss."
"The deepest darkness!"
"That's where we must go!"
Sekou, the simple-minded Direbear, suddenly bared a sinister smile, revealing his curved and menacing bear teeth. Yuan Le had ignited his fighting spirit, and through Taishi, Sekou glimpsed the possibility of advancement, quickly setting his sights on a definitive goal.
With a whoosh, he unfurled his bear paw, and beneath it, Taishi, who had been standing at his feet, was now cradled in his palm. A gravitational force a thousand times stronger than normal emanated from his paw, and even Taishi, a master of this force, was compelled to bow under its ferocity.
Anger flashed in Taishi's eyes. He had intended to approach the bear and commune with the Earth Spirit, but sensing malice, he swiftly summoned his Divine Transcendence. A towering Divine Visage, nearly ten thousand feet tall and resembling granite, emerged in Sekou's palm, bathed in a halo of blood-red light. Against the odds, Taishi rose to his feet.
Once Taishi revealed his Divine Transcendence, he seemed like a tiny mountain of building blocks in Sekou's grasp. Before anyone realized it, Sekou's imposing bear form had filled the entire star. The star could not support his grandeur, and without hesitation, he stepped beyond the star of the black goat to stand atop the mountain's peak.
Sekou, in his full glory, dwarfed even Yuan Le, who had yet to show his true form, and the Beast God Temple itself seemed minuscule in comparison.
Atop the mountain peak, the colossal bear held Taishi, whose Divine Transcendence had manifested, in one hand. In the ancient tongue of beasts, it grumbled, "You're just showing off."
The mountain beneath it quaked, and a raw, overpowering force surged through its other arm.
Taishi, nearly ten thousand feet tall, was firmly grasped by the bear's hand, unable to escape.
With its other hand, the bear struck Taishi's Divine Transcendence!
Like the time Yu Yuan crushed the Ape in the Marsh, the bear's mighty palm shattered Taishi's Divine Transcendence as if it were a statue crafted from jade, suddenly crumbling to pieces.
Puff!
In an instant, Taishi's blood stained the starry sky.
The blood he coughed up fell upon the mountain's summit, absorbed as if by a sponge.
In that moment, Taishi's divine form was dismantled, his blood, bones, and sinews consumed and decomposed by the power of the Earth Spirit.
Clearly, Sekou wasn't the only one intrigued by Taishi; the Earth Spirit within the mountain also took a keen interest.
It sought to trace back to the origins of Taishi's cosmic order through him, to determine whether another Earth Spirit existed in the endless darkness of the Abyss.
Should such a spirit exist, and should it merge with Taishi, it would surely ascend from its nascent stage to an intermediate one.
Perhaps even to an advanced stage!
Should it reach the intermediate level, Sekou's chances of breaking through to the eleventh level would be as promising as Tan Xiaotian's.
And if it could reach the advanced level, Sekou would instantly transform into the eleventh level, facing no hindrance whatsoever.
Moreover, it could craft an Astral Domain uniquely its own, spawn life, and form a sanctuary akin to the Beast God Temple, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Primal Blood it had allied with.
"Taishi!"
Yu Yuan's thunderous roar echoed across the heavens and through the desolate Star River.
He had not anticipated that this seemingly docile bear, after being stirred by Yuan Le, would bare its ferocious teeth and decisively strike at Taishi.
As Taishi's Divine Transcendence was invoked, Yu Yuan was already racing toward the towering mountain, yet he didn't make it in time.
The Earth Spirit unleashed its power, and with a mighty palm strike from Sekou, Taishi's Divine Transcendence was shattered, inflicting severe damage on Taishi.
"Yu Yuan, this Direbear is even more formidable than he claimed," Tan Xiaotian warned, "Atop that mountain, a compatible Primal Anima aids him, granting him a battle prowess on par with the eleventh level."
Yu Yuan ignored the warning.
Taishi's dire predicament caused Yu Yuan to lose his composure. He recklessly charged toward the mountain, heading straight into a trap set by numerous Beast Gods.
Over a hundred Beast Gods were present, including the Direbear, Yuan Le, and two Primal Animas.
Yu Yuan had only been attacking from the periphery using the Dragon Slaying Stage, which allowed him to retreat with ease even if he encountered setbacks.
However, should he venture into the mountain and into the range shrouded by the demonic clouds and mist, moving among the stars, he would surely face the onslaught of all the Beast Gods.
Tan Xiaotian was beginning to realize that the mountain, stars, and Beast Gods were interconnected!
Since Yu Yuan and he had arrived, aside from the Ape, not a single Beast God had departed.
This was clearly a naturally occurring, intricately mysterious formation!
This array far exceeded the Nine Palaces Array, the Soulforge Matrix, and the Heaven-Opening Sword Array of the Everlands.
If the mountain, teeming with numerous Beast Gods and stars, was indeed the vast formation Tan Xiaotian suspected, with Yuan Le, the Direbear, and two Primal Animas, along with over a hundred Beast Gods, then Yu Yuan, a Solar Spirit of the eleventh level, and he, the Dark Overlord, would likely face grave danger if they were to fall into it!
Tan Xiaotian, sensing trouble, offered a warning.
Regrettably, Yu Yuan, driven to distraction by Taishi's plight, paid no heed.
Boom!
Yu Yuan, who stood with the cosmos above and the abyss below, still stepped into that realm.
"Fool!"
"He dares to enter?"
"In the domain we crafted, in the world we shaped, he dares to intrude?"
The black goat, the smilodon, the Death Viper, and various Beast Gods were all stirred up due to Yu Yuan's intrusion.
The Ape, who had previously plummeted into the depths, soared back from the abyss's dark recesses to enter the fifth star beneath the mountain peak, a place Yuan Le had crafted specifically for him.
"Tan Xiaotian, it's time for you to go. Stop peering into the depths," Untamed said, reverting to his human form resembling an old man. He produced his smoke tube, lit it, and drew in a deep breath of smoke.
"Considering the advice you've given me repeatedly, I'll offer you some in return. Don't let your preferences sway you. If Yu Yuan truly is the so-called Lord of the Abyss, you should be prepared to witness his downfall."
"His death would grant you absolute freedom, releasing you from any allegiance. Without him, you, Tan Xiaotian, might very well become the new Lord of the Abyss," the Ape earnestly counseled.
