C2096 The Shattered Earth

In the fifth layer of the Abyss, there were sixteen vast continents. Among them, the Blunt Armor Continent was home to the Horned Demon Abyss Tribe. Notably, this tribe had produced an Evil God. Tragically, their Evil God perished during an encounter with Beilstein, who had crossed into their realm wielding his Devil Soul.

The loss of the Evil God plunged the Horned Demon tribe into a state of despair, causing their morale to plummet. As the people from the Vast Ocean World wandered through the various layers of the Abyss, they appeared disinterested and paid little attention to the outside world.

Without their Evil God, the Horned Demon tribe struggled to maintain their footing in the Abyss, let alone harbor ambitions of conquering the starry expanse beyond. They clung to their own territory, pinning their hopes on the strength of their own champions, yearning for the emergence of a new Evil God to ascend with them to the higher levels of the Abyss.

Then, one fateful day, the Blunt Armor Continent began to tremble without warning. Mountains crumbled, and the once-solid earth gave way to muddy swamps. Many Horned Demon clansmen were swallowed by gaping fissures, crushed beneath falling rocks, or perished in the engulfing mire.

In a devastatingly brief span of time, the Horned Demon inhabitants of the Blunt Armor Continent faced near extinction. The land itself had seemingly transformed into a ravenous beast, annihilating the Horned Demons born of the Abyss Origin Soul with ruthless ferocity.

The remains of the deceased Horned Demons, along with the potent energy of the Abyss, were all absorbed by the Blunt Armor Continent. The once-immobile land began to ascend like a colossal floating stone toward the upper reaches of the Abyss.

This anomaly sent shockwaves through all the denizens of the Abyss. For as long as they could remember, the seven layers and 127 continents of the Abyss had remained unchanged, with no precedent for such continental shifts.

Yet, the horror unfolded once more. On the sixth layer of the Abyss, two more continents suffered the same fate as the Blunt Armor Continent. They eradicated the inhabitants of the Green Spiral, Fragrant Miasma, and Blood Fang Abyss Tribes, also rising toward the Abyssal heavens.

As the lands stirred, it was as if they were responding to a mysterious call, an urge to break free from the depths of the Abyss.

At the pinnacle of the abyss, Extreme Intelligence, Van Heqing, and Lu Hongpeng were in the realm where abyssal energy was at its most concentrated. They observed the Blunt Armor Continent drift from the fifth layer to the first layer, illuminated by the light of the abyss.

At this time, Extreme Intelligence had become the linchpin for the human factions within the abyss. Yet, he had been absent-minded lately, his spirit seemingly perpetually entangled in a struggle. In his consciousness, the image of Yu Yuan in the Gray Domain would sometimes surface, revealing Yu Yuan's ascended form. Occasionally, Yu Yuan would gaze at him and whisper softly. The familiarity was comforting; he felt inclined to obey Yu Yuan, to acknowledge him as his master. But deep within his heart, dissenting voices suggested otherwise.

Confused, Extreme Intelligence watched the Blunt Armor Continent rise from the abyss's fifth level, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

"Extreme Intelligence?"

"What's going on?"

"What should we do?"

The Unrestrained Stage cultivators from the Profound Sky Sect, Sword Sect, and Primordial Yang Sect, including Van Heqing and Lu Hongpeng, were all rattled by the anomaly in the abyss and looked to Extreme Intelligence for guidance.

"Let me inquire," said Extreme Intelligence, hesitating before attempting to reach out to the master he held in his mind, the occasionally perceived Yu Yuan.

...

At that moment, Lin Daoke was the sole figure remaining in the Sword Cave that had broken free from the abyss. With a swish and a flicker, brilliant, snow-white sword light continuously flashed in the depths of Lin Daoke's consciousness. Whenever a foreign thought or power tried to infiltrate, he would decisively cut it down with his Primordial Spirit Sword, maintaining the clarity of his sword heart.

He gazed upon his peers in the Sword Cave, including the exalted Van Heqing and Lu Hongpeng. After their ascension to the highest levels, he noticed that the soul imprints within the Primordial Spirit of these two Great Sword Immortals were unlike his own. These imprints were seamlessly integrated with Van Heqing and Lu Hongpeng's Primordial Spirit, indistinguishable from one another. Even Lin Daoke, not deeply versed in the intricacies of the soul, could not erase these marks from their minds without causing them harm.

Lin Daoke, who had dedicated his life to the art of the sword, possessed a singularly focused mind. His heart was as luminous and pure as his blade, enabling him to withstand the encroachment of the Abyss Origin Soul.

Even Tan Xiaotian, who had ascended to the Eleventh Level, could not evade the pervasive influence of the Origin Soul and its ties to the Eternal Alliance, his mind too preoccupied with the secret arts of the soul.

The Great Demon God Beilstein, a master of the soul's deepest secrets, also found himself in a bitter struggle against the possibility of succumbing to the Origin Soul.

Yet, Lin Daoke, the Sword Sect Lord, with his unwavering resolve to transform his Primordial Spirit Sword into the Sword Origin Spirit, managed to fend off the increasingly powerful Abyss Origin Soul.

"Yu Yuan was correct," Lin Daoke mused, observing the human cultivators scattered throughout the various levels of the Abyss.

He slowly came to the realization that even the most exalted beings, such as Van Heqing, Lu Hongpeng, and Tianqi, seemed powerless against the Origin Soul, regardless of whether they possessed a Primordial Spirit.

The thoughts and consciousness of these individuals had been subtly altered, their souls eroded without their awareness.

Lin Daoke's thoughts turned to Ann Ziqing, Xuanli, and others like Tianqi, who appeared to be drawn by some call into the deepest darkness of the abyss.

"They must be seeking Yu Yuan."

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Daoke entrusted the sword cave to Van Heqing, Lu Hongpeng, and the Great Sword Immortals of their respective sects. He then plunged alone, sword in hand, toward the abyss's lowest depths.

"Ugh!" he grunted as he arrived at the fifth level and sensed an anomaly, halting his descent.

The seventh level was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, cut off from the light of the upper realms, with not a single glimmer penetrating the gloom.

Now, the darkness of the seventh level, like a sentient cloud, was billowing toward the sixth. Lin Daoke looked down to see a thick, curtain-like expanse of darkness, slowly drifting outward.

It seemed inevitable that the thirty-two continents of the sixth level would soon be engulfed by the dark.

Every member of the Abyss Tribe on this layer may never see the light again.

"Yu Yuan!"

In that moment, Lin Daoke saw Yu Yuan emerge from the pitch-black depths below, standing on the fifth level of the abyss, just like him.

"Eh, you actually..."

Yu Yuan, having been informed of the changes in the abyss through messages from Jianmu and the Thunder Source Spirit, had traveled from the Dark Domain.

Upon his arrival, he immediately detected the presence of that individual within the souls of the likes of Extreme Intelligence, Van Heqing, and Lu Hongpeng.

Knowing that individual's tendency to target the strongest first, Lin Daoke was likely the primary target.

What surprised him, however, was the purity of Lin Daoke's soul, completely untouched by the distorting mark left by that individual.

While the Darkness Supreme Tan Xiaotian had succumbed to the invasion, and the Great Demon God Beilstein was desperately resisting, Lin Daoke, the most straightforward and seemingly obtuse of all, remained unaffected.

"How did you manage that?" Yu Yuan inquired, intrigued.

"What?" Lin Daoke responded, taken aback.

"How did you fend off the force that sought to erode your soul and warp your consciousness?"

"With a single sword strike."

Yu Yuan fell silent.

After a pause, he spoke again, "What are you here to do? And what are your plans for the future?"

"I'm not versed in the intricacies of the soul, or else I could have eradicated the external forces within Van Heqing's and Little Lu's minds." Lin Daoke spoke frankly, "I came looking for you to see if you might have a solution."

Yu Yuan's eyes sparkled. "We can discuss this matter later."

Boom! Boom!

The fifth and fourth levels of the abyss were being upheaved by Mother Earth, driving the Abyss Tribe that dwelled there to flee towards the heavens.

Below, the endless darkness churned, relentlessly climbing upward.

The darkness seemed determined to once again envelop all the land of the Abyss, to prevent any land from Mother Earth from breaking free.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Yu Yuan uttered with a cold huff.

Simultaneously.

The Hannya Divine Tree, rooted atop the mountain nearing the Perish Starfield, suddenly shone with a brilliant green light.

The patterns within a verdant leaf vanished, and the divine light converged, forming a surface as reflective as a polished mirror.

Billions of miles away, Yu Yuan's true form utilized the Soul Altar within his sea of consciousness to cast a radiant glow upon the verdant leaf, transforming it into a reflective surface akin to a mirror.

His visage was cast within the leaf by means of his Soul Altar.

"Mother Earth!"

His heartfelt intentions penetrated the leaf, traveling through the Hannya Divine Tree rooted in the lofty mountains, reaching deep into the earth's core.

Within the heart of the mountain, the Origin Blood of the Desolate Realm and the slowly rousing Mother Earth were jolted by his presence.

"Let's strike a deal."

"It's Yu Yuan!"

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