C2082 Birds and Beasts Scatter
In the Gray Domain, Yu Yuan, now the Undead Sovereign, had barely settled into the Heart of Vast Water when the Evil God Temple ceased its quaking. Concurrently, the Devil Souls within Reid and Yuv Qian underwent a transformation. The specters pursuing Han Qi abruptly returned to this realm, summoned by an enigmatic signal.
Within the ancient vine tree, the will emanating from the Origin Soul sensed dire developments. As a high-level Origin Spirit, the anomalies within the Devaputra and the Evil God Temple divulged an abundance of information.
Crucially, upon ascending to the Eleventh Level and entering the Heart of Vast Water, Yu Yuan acutely perceived an invisible gaze scrutinizing him, dissecting the dominion he wielded. Cao Jiaze, whose body had been overtaken, gazed up at Yu Yuan from the depths, establishing an instinctive connection.
Compelled by this sensation, the ancient vine tree, now his vessel, commanded the Grim River, the invading forces of Dark Mountain, and the myriad of souls and specters traversing the path of the undead—including Matina, Wagner, and Youyu—to retreat to the Demon Realm, to the world he had refined.
In his domain, those entities born of his power, those that had grown formidable through him, would find some measure of safety. He, too, required time in the depths of the Demon Realm to contemplate his response to the impending chaos.
Before long, all the powers that had emerged from the Demon Realm withdrew through a murky passageway back to their origin.
Zhong Chichen, the Chaos Roc, and others were left questioning the nature of the unfolding events.
"It has perished."
As the ancient vine tree vanished, it whispered this revelation through the rustling of its leaves, sending ripples through the souls that heard it. Yet, those who listened remained in the dark, unaware of the specifics or the identity of the deceased.
Then, a piercing phoenix screech shattered the silence. Zhiya was the first to grasp the gravity of the calamity.
The prolonged conflict between the Secular Bird Queen and the Demon Phoenix Zhiya came to an abrupt halt. The vast purple phoenix, with its colossal wings that once eclipsed the heavens, now bore feathers matted with decaying flesh and bone. She continued to wither under the onslaught of death's power, parts of her wings transformed into purple-golden skeletal frames, utterly devoid of life.
The Secular Bird Queen, in her green Divine Bird form, fared no better, her body riddled with gaping wounds, still oozing blood.
Their epic struggle, which had defied death itself, concluded without resolution—defying all reason.
"Return to my shrine!"
Zhiya commanded, positioning herself at the entrance of the Phoenix Shrine, and gestured for the Sky Tiger, the iron-wing bird, and the Beast Gods to make their way back to the sanctuary.
Only Yu Zhu lingered, her gaze fixed on the now extinguished expanse of the Gray Domain and the spot where Yu Yuan had fallen.
Yu Zhu's concern for Yu Yuan's safety weighed heavily on her, with a torrent of unspoken words held back by the urgency of the moment.
"He won't die, not completely at least," Zhiya declared, before the grand Phoenix Shrine took to the skies, departing the Gray Domain.
"I will take you to the Desolate Realm. The abyss and the Origin Realm are on the brink of unification. Only in the Desolate Realm can we withstand the evil that devours its own kind," Zhiya stated, her tone grave.
She reverted to her woeful human form and, with faltering steps, made her way into the Phoenix Shrine.
As soon as she entered, the legendary and enigmatic Phoenix Shrine soared away from the shattered Gray Domain.
Meanwhile, in the Dark Wing Starfield, the alien beasts that lacked the credentials to accompany the Phoenix Shrine to the Gray Domain received her message. They were already quietly preparing to depart this realm alongside the Phoenix Shrine that beckoned them.
The Origin Realm was no longer their sanctuary; they were compelled to embark on a new odyssey.
...
Chi!
Zhong Chichen's divine sense, probing the energy vortex and the spatial forces that had slipped into it, met with no response.
He had sensed several of the thirty-six stagnant energy vortices with his power, all to no avail.
He instantly grew wary, avoiding the energy vortices for fear of an unforeseen mishap.
Nearly all the human race's supreme beings from the vast expanse had been cast into the abyss by the Evil God Temple's guardians, joining Yu Yuan in the struggle against Yuen Bu's true form.
The remaining guardians were primarily extraterrestrial beings and Starry Behemoths like Zhong Chichen, Loong Jie, and the spinosaurus.
"The Origin Soul of the vast expanse has been smelted by the evil emerging from the abyss."
The Secular Bird Queen, equally disheveled, perched on a branch of the Hannya Divine Tree, harvesting the life force of plants to mend her wounds, unconcerned whether her actions might harm the Hannya Divine Tree or push it beyond its limits.
Plop!
The branches she perched upon continually snapped due to her relentless harvesting.
With each break, she selected a new branch, draining it of its vegetative energy to prevent her divine blood from seeping from her wounds.
The Divine Tree, rooted in the Muddy Divine Soil, drew upon its full might to collect the powers of the starry heavens, compensating for its losses.
The Secular Bird Queen abruptly declared, "We're leaving."
Members of the Dark Elfkind and the Winged Race had all converged, settling upon the Muddy Divine Soil.
Disinterested in the power struggles within the Gray Domain and knowing they could not partake, the most prudent course of action was to depart at the earliest opportunity.
Following the Phoenix Shrine, the enigmatic Muddy Divine Soil, too, embarked on a journey beyond the galaxy.
Shortly thereafter.
The Muddy Divine Soil, as if catching a wave of fluctuation, detected the presence of Yu Yuan.
Whoosh!
Now beyond the Gray Domain, the Muddy Divine Soil amassed a formidable starry energy to sustain the Hannya Divine Tree, keeping it vibrant and thriving.
In the shadowy expanse of space, the dark Muddy Divine Soil began to radiate a peculiar glow, as if intently sensing some force.
Its anomaly alerted both Chen Qinghuang and the Hannya Divine Tree.
The clansmen of the Winged Race and Dark Elfkind, witnessing the radiant earth beneath them, sensed that something extraordinary was unfolding.
Two distinct presences were gradually discerned by the Muddy Divine Soil; one stemmed from the abyss, belonging to Yu Yuan's true form.
The other presence was astonishingly a mountain encircled by stars.
The Muddy Divine Soil, suspended in the void, quivered once more, both it and the Hannya Divine Tree rooted within felt a surge of malevolence.
This hostility originated from the vast expanse!
"Move out!"
The Secular Bird Queen withdrew her colossal form, her exquisite features set in a frosty determination as she commanded, "Leave the Gray Domain immediately! The farther from the vast expanse, the better!"
Roar!
The old lizard, now a true Abyss Goanna transformed by the abyssal forces, suddenly received a directive.
This command emanated from the Origin Soul deep within the vast expanse!
Momentarily taken aback, the old lizard launched from the Tia Main Planet. In his primordial Starry Behemoth guise, he pursued the Secular Bird Queen and the Muddy Divine Soil.
In the unfathomable darkness at the very bottom of the Abyss, Yu Yuan darted through the shadows like lightning, heading toward the towering form of the Abyss Wood. Abruptly, he came to a halt.
Within the depths of his consciousness, images of the Muddy Divine Soil fleeing the Gray Domain, the Hannya Divine Tree, and the Secular Bird Queen surfaced. The aura emanating from the Muddy Divine Soil struck a chord of familiarity within him, sending a jolt through his body.
That peculiar Muddy Divine Soil carried the essence of a departed high-level Origin Spirit and the scent of Mother Earth! There was a connection between them. Just as the Yang Meridian's source was the released Origin Blood of the Desolate Realm and the Yin Meridian's source was the released Origin Soul, the Muddy Divine Soil had been cleaved from Mother Earth herself.
Mother Earth, having fallen in the Abyss, had left behind a contingency. Yet, this safeguard was not left in the Abyss; it was cast into the Origin Realm, transforming into the enigmatic Muddy Divine Soil.
This dusky Divine Soil, existing alongside the Hannya Divine Tree, was later seized by the exalted Titan Spinosaurus and discarded in the Gray Domain. The ancient lizard had agreed to Arthurs's terms, venturing into the Gray Domain from the Starry Border, all for the Muddy Divine Soil.
The Hannya Divine Tree of the Origin Realm had grown within the Muddy Divine Soil, and over the eons, they had become one. The very land where Mother Earth once dwelled gave birth to the Abyss Wood.
While the Muddy Divine Soil may not currently be considered an Earth Spirit, its origins from a high-level Earth Spirit imbue it with boundless potential.
Lost in contemplation, Yu Yuan came to a standstill before the Abyss Wood that had receded from the Dark Domain and returned to the endless dark. The leaves, saturated with dark energy and turned black, gazed upon Yu Yuan with an eerie presence.
The Abyss Wood was awash with fear of him.
With a rustle, another source spirit of lightning quivered within the trunk of the Abyss Wood.
"I have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine," Yu Yuan declared, his palms open and facing upward as he gazed at the immense Abyss Wood and watched as the leaves swiftly shed their dark energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Deep within the shadows, an immense and endless stream of soul energy poured into his "Soul Altar". His consciousness absorbed the soul energy like a sponge soaking up water.
The top tier of the green jade platform drew in the thick soul energy and suddenly began to shine brightly.
A luminescent green leaf and a small orb of lightning descended into the palms of his left and right hands, respectively.
The instant the verdant leaf and the lightning orb touched his palms, two new platforms materialized deep within his mind.
They corresponded to the Spirit of Plants and the source spirit of lightning housed within the Abyss Wood.
These two source spirits from the darkness did not dare to resist his demands.
They willingly relinquished control of the laws of flora and the essence of lightning, which then became the laws and profound secrets within the two new levels of his mind's platform.
His "Soul Altar" expanded from four to six levels in an instant.
However, the newest two levels were only freshly marked with the laws and had not yet solidified, requiring more time to stabilize.
Back when he was the Abyss Lord, he had already possessed these two platforms.
Due to his downfall and the havoc wreaked by the mightiest source spirit, his "Soul Altar" had fragmented.
Now, with the Abyss Wood and its resident source spirit of lightning, he was refining what was rightfully his once more.
The Abyss Wood and its source spirit of lightning harbored a fear of him as profound as their fear of the mightiest source spirit.
"You've made a wise choice, understanding that the outcome of our struggle is uncertain and hedging your bets on both sides."
Yu Yuan nodded, pleased with their prudence.
