C2087 Backup Body
The Ape, having revealed his true form as a Dark Deity, gradually came to a halt in midair, his consciousness growing hazy. Visible to the naked eye, fine threads wrapped around his massive form, silently penetrating his skin and infiltrating the depths of his demon soul. These greenish-black threads transformed into numerous bizarre runes, filling his demon soul completely.
Within his demon soul, the primal imprints were as if being erased, vanishing swiftly. The Ape's demon soul frantically tried to submerge itself into the heart containing the "Life Keychain," but before it could escape the confines of the brain, it was largely obliterated.
The light of wisdom in his Demonic Eyes rapidly faded, leaving him devoid of any spiritual essence. Born in the Everlands, the Ape's demon soul bore a mark corresponding to the Primal Soul. When the two Primal Souls attempted to merge, the Ape, confronted by Cao Jiaze, failed to immerse his demon soul into the "Life Keychain" in time, leaving him unprotected and doomed to this fate. Thus, the Ape's soul was extinguished.
With a swoosh, countless tiny greenish-black runes emerged deep within Cao Jiaze's eyes, twinkling like myriad stars. His pupils, seemingly overwhelmed by the immense force, ruptured, oozing blood. He closed his eyes, making no attempt to wipe away the trickling blood.
In the realm of the Undead, where the black goat resided, a phantom soul sea materialized, engulfing the black goat's spirit along with the souls of all the ghosts and Undead. This soul sea vanished behind its tightly shut eyelids, nurturing the dark afflictions within its eyes.
It eradicated the black goat, a creature under Yuan Le's command skilled in the arts of Mind Magic pertaining to both Primal Soul and Primal Vitality, harnessing the Soul Power the black goat had gathered to replenish its own expended energy.
"Too weak," was the unspoken sentiment conveyed by its remaining eye.
Cao Jiaze, the newly ascended Primordial Spirit, was meticulously crafted by Han Miaoyuan, following its directives. The Spirit Magic that Cao Jiaze practiced was imparted to Han Miaoyuan by it and then subtly refined by Han Miaoyuan's "wisdom," enabling Cao Jiaze to pursue its cultivation.
From the outset, Cao Jiaze was merely one option for him, a contingency he had prepared for himself.
Regrettably, Cao Jiaze failed to reach the eleventh level. He wasn't an ideal vessel for possession and couldn't sustain the power that exceeded his former capabilities.
Cao Jiaze's display of power was constrained; his true strength could not be fully manifested in this manner.
"Though the beast soul is extinguished, you shall be reborn. I made that promise to you."
Yuan Le watched the Ape collapse. Noticing that the Dark Deity had lost interest in the Ape, Yuan Le activated the blood connection with the Beast God Temple, causing it to generate a powerful suction.
Once the Ape's soul was extinguished, its still massive body was drawn into the Beast God Temple.
Yuan Le intended to wait until his return to the Wasteland to use its power to stimulate the Ape's lifeblood, reviving it in the Wasteland free from the Primal Soul's control.
Unlike humans and alien beasts, the Ape's lifetime of experiences and memories were imprinted in its bloodline.
As the Ape's life force reignited, the glimmers of memory within the bloodline chain would be reawakened, allowing the Ape to recall all that had transpired.
Whoosh!
Ji Ningshuang found herself surrounded by a sphere of blood light within the blood-colored wall, which whisked her into the heart of the Primal Blood Continent, to a frigid location rather than leaving her exposed.
This was the proactive work of the Primal Blood and the intense cold.
Ji Ningshuang, a human born in the Everlands like the Ape, had an original imprint in her soul that also matched the Primal Soul.
If the Ape could not escape, and she remained exposed for too long, she too would find it hard to evade capture.
"Cao Jiaze is neither me nor Bertain. You chose him for your descent, yet you are so far removed from the Everlands."
Yu Yuan, in his crimson crystalline form, could distinctly sense that his real body was hovering over the Genesis Continent, confronting a projection of his inner darkness in the obsidian mirror.
He remained composed as he faced Cao Jiaze, speaking with tranquility, "You have yet to enslave Bertain. There was no need for such haste in coming here."
"This spare body you've prepared will meet its end here."
Yu Yuan declared, his voice laced with a threatening smile.
Cao Jiaze then turned his attention to the Secular Bird Queen.
Bathed in the glow of deep crimson light, Chen Qinghuang, whose wounds had nearly healed, met Cao Jiaze's gaze with an unflinching expression.
Chen Qinghuang stood her ground.
"I am not like that Ape. I am a cosmic giant beast by nature. Though I took on a human form and bore the mark of your soul, once I learned you had consumed it, I eradicated all related soul imprints upon my departure from the Ashlands."
"Had I not done so, would I not have suffered further injury?"
Perched atop a broken branch, Chen Qinghuang's vitality began to return.
Had she not removed the imprints tied to the Primal Soul, she would have been subject to control.
She acted with resolve.
As soon as she sensed the anomaly, realizing the two Primal Souls had fused, she used the flames of death to dissolve the soul imprints during her escape from the Ashlands.
By erasing these marks, she relinquished the ability to wield the soul powers she once controlled.
She made the choice to let go.
It was because her soul was clear and pure that the Primal Blood of this realm generously bestowed a stream of life essence, aiding in her recovery and enabling her to vanquish the Lizard from the Abyss.
Cao Jiaze simply nodded, offering no words.
The previously closed, bleeding eye now opened, its fractured pupil no longer visible.
"Earth."
Using the body of Cao Jiaze, it spoke for the first time.
Gazing upon the quivering mountain, it radiated an odd vibration, attempting to beguile the Earth Spirit.
It persuaded the Earth Spirit, allied with the Primal Blood of the Wasteland but of a lesser rank, to break away from the Primal Blood and pledge allegiance to it.
In its eyes emerged a vision of an expansive continent, its hues mirroring those of the Phoenix Ashes.
This land harbored the dismembered Mother Earth and the Tree of Life, concealed within the Star River.
Mother Earth was fragmented by Yu Yuan, her pieces strewn across the seven layers of the Abyss.
Yet, the arcane rules she had once grasped were largely seized by him.
It was these very secrets, etched into the fabric of the Everlands, that enabled a prodigy like Taishi to emerge upon awakening.
He lured the nascent Earth Spirits within the mountains, those at odds with the Phoenix Ashes, to pledge their allegiance to him.
In return, he promised to aid these Earth Spirits in refining the Phoenix Ashes and to share with them the secrets he held.
"You're going through with this right in front of me, as if I'm of no consequence?" Yuan Le sneered with a twisted smile.
Boom!
His blood ape form towered before the Beast God Temple, while the surviving Beast Gods, the smilodon and the Death Viper, hastily retreated into the sanctuary.
The Beast God Temple trembled intensely as Yuan Le, in his colossal ape form, stood atop the mountain, his chest acupoints swelling visibly.
Within these bulging acupoints, it was as if Beast Gods were seated, each one a source of power at his command. Yuan Le and the Beast God Temple had become one; his vitality surged, casting a demonic cloud and vital energy over the mountain.
He conjured a blood-red barrier that engulfed both the mountain and the stars above.
Enshrouded in a dense blood mist, the mountain and its circling stars were obscured.
Rising higher within the mist, the massive blood ape extended a hand toward the Lizard that had somehow appeared behind him.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
From the depths of Yuan Le's palm, hundreds of thick, sinewy tendrils shot out, as menacing as pythons and dragons, entwining the Lizard from the Abyss.
The roars of nearly a hundred Beast Gods echoed from the tendrils, gnawing at the Lizard's massive form, severing its tail into segments.
The Starborne Lizard, a top-five contender among the cosmic giant beasts, had positioned itself behind the mountain on its command.
Yet, upon Yuan Le's revelation of his true form, the Lizard was swiftly and grievously wounded, teetering on the brink of death.
Yuan Le, the Lord of Ruin, was the most exceptional being born from the Primal Blood in his world. Relying on the Beast God Temple, he had yet to experience the descent of the Primal Blood's will, but his fearsome combat prowess was already evident.
"I can tell this human, Cao Jiaz, cannot withstand your power!" Yuan Le bared his teeth in a hearty laugh. As the Lord of Ruin, he had been possessed by the Primal Blood of the Wasteland multiple times and intimately understood the sensation of being graced by the will of a Primal Anima. Even he sometimes felt an unbearable pain, so what of the newcomer, Jiaze?
"I'm eager to witness the might of the most powerful Primal Anima in the Abyss! Let's see if you can truly sway the tide of battle with such a youngster!" The Heaven-Shattering Hammer, once on the ground, now in the grasp of Yuan Le's giant ape form, was hurled at the old Lizard. The sky was pierced, creating a colossal hole.
Countless dazzling lights wove intricate and profound bloodline rules at the edge of the massive hole. The old Lizard's body, which spanned thousands of miles, was reduced to a blur of blood and flesh under the hammer's blow. All that remained was shrinking and vanishing within the vast aperture.
The immense hole was akin to Yuan Le's maw, devouring the blood and flesh of all creation. In an instant, the old Lizard from the Abyss vanished into the rift in the heavens, consumed entirely, leaving not even a trace of bone behind.
With a thunderous roar, the Beast God Temple trembled amidst the blood mist, as if a deceased Beast God had been resurrected. The old Lizard, seemingly lost to the void, had in fact been devoured by the Beast God Temple. Merged with a few drops of life essence, it brought back a fallen Beast God to life.
Each resurrected Beast God would bolster Yuan Le's strength from their designated seats. Yuan Le's boundless vital energy was drawn either from the Primal Blood within the mountains or gained from the Beast God Temple. His desire to create Beast Gods and push past the limits of their numbers in the Wasteland was also an effort to surpass his own limits of power.
"I will shatter one of its forms. Please refrain from intervening."
The Heaven-Shattering Hammer in Yuan Le's grasp descended once again, aiming for the crown of Cao Jiaze's head. A notion materialized before Yu Yuan, "As the Earth Spirit refines the Phoenix Ashes amidst the mountains, I trust you will simply observe."
Yu Yuan gave a subtle nod.
