C2101 An Unprecedented Precedent!

Yu Yuan, from his vantage point on the seventh level of the abyss, had witnessed the abrupt transformation in the skies above.

With a mere flicker of thought, he recognized that it was that individual who had commanded Andrea and the Great Demon God Saka to intercept those attempting to flee the abyss and rendezvous with the mountains.

At this juncture, Andrea likely had no recollection of her earlier pleas and admonitions to him.

Andrea, along with the ancient Devaputra Saka, Reid, and Yuv Qian, had succumbed to the same fate: their thoughts twisted and their wills subverted.

Yu Yuan, awaiting the descent of the Darkness Origin Spirit upon the Dragon Slash Platform, was suddenly struck by a headache.

His Yang God, alongside the Origin Blood Continent and the Dragon Slash Platform, was on the verge of stepping into the Dark Domain.

Within the Dark Domain, the Yang God had tasks to attend to and needed to remain vigilant against the encroaching darkness.

Thus, the Yang God could not afford to be absent.

Whoosh!

In that instant, the figure of Demon Master Tan Xiaotian ascended from the boundless depths of darkness.

Tan Xiaotian stood amidst the surging sea of darkness with ease, as if treading on solid ground.

Beneath the Demon Master's feet, the darkness seemed to conceal a tangible world, perhaps the wondrous Creation Land itself.

Regrettably, Yu Yuan's vision was too clouded to discern it clearly.

Tan Xiaotian's eyes, dark as ink, were like two black stars exuding an all-consuming darkness.

Upon his emergence, Yu Yuan instinctively cast his gaze in that direction.

Boom!

The mere act of locking eyes with him sent a jolt through Yu Yuan.

The malevolent thoughts buried deep within his psyche, the shadows of his inner demons, began to chaotically surge through his sea of consciousness, manifesting within his pristine six-tiered Soul Altar.

In an instant, his Soul Altar was tarnished with numerous impurities.

These impurities, stemming from his soul, represented his own negative emotions and inner demons.

Inextricably linked to his soul, these elements were indelible, an eternal part of him.

As long as he lived, negative emotions would inevitably surface at times, a unique trait of sentient beings.

No one was exempt from this truth.

Ordinarily, the miscellaneous and malevolent thoughts within the soul were kept at bay by his wisdom, seldom surfacing to cloud his judgment or decisions.

However, the presence of Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian and their ensuing eye contact had amplified these negative emotions to an overwhelming degree.

He found himself momentarily disoriented.

"Light Heart Refinement!"

Yu Yuan, having been through this before, quickly steadied his mind. The luminous plane within his consciousness once again radiated a dazzling divine light. The stray and malicious thoughts that had emerged in his sea of consciousness and on the Soul Altar were dissolved, and his negative emotions were once again subdued.

Yu Yuan instantly realized that Tan Xiaotian, shrouded in the darkness below, was no longer the same person. Deep within Tan Xiaotian's eye sockets, his pitch-black pupils shone like dark stars against the backdrop of a greenish-black Starfield. Tan Xiaotian had indeed fallen prey to the darkness.

Despite ascending to the Eleventh Level, Tan Xiaotian fought desperately to escape the grip of the Origin Soul. He resisted the constraints of the Darkness Origin Spirit and refused to be possessed by it. This resistance was a result of his influence and incitement.

Yet, Tan Xiaotian had ultimately reaped benefits from the Darkness Origin Spirit. Upon his advancement to the Eleventh Level, he willingly ventured into the Dark Domain with the intention of forging a kingdom of darkness to augment the power of the Darkness Origin Spirit.

Nevertheless, Tan Xiaotian made it abundantly clear that he did not wish to be seen as a mere puppet by the Darkness Origin Spirit, nor to have it descend upon him with its sentient will. To this end, Tan Xiaotian went as far as to sever a portion of his own origin, risking a confrontation with the mightiest Origin Soul.

But when only a single Origin Soul remained between heaven and earth, Tan Xiaotian still couldn't evade his fate. Corrupted, he was dispatched to the Creation Land by the vast expanse, and became host to the Darkness Origin Spirit that had created him. He had no say in the matter.

"You remain as you always were—stubborn and beyond reason," it said, using Tan Xiaotian's voice, which was unexpectedly gentle and mellifluous, sweet as honey.

It spoke in the ancient tongue of humanity, which bore slight differences from the languages of the humans in the vast expanses. This archaic language had originated in the darkness, the very first spoken by humankind.

It conversed with ease, without any hint of awkwardness, as though it had long since mastered the language. Following its words, both Yu Yuan and Lin Daoke wore peculiar expressions.

The Origin Soul, embodying a certain rule and order, possessed wisdom and spirit, yet it lacked both a body and a soul.

The Origin Soul is merely a fusion of intelligence and the profound mysteries of laws—a fact well-known to both Yu Yuan and Lin Daoke. Origin Spirits, lacking both a body and a soul, are not typical living entities and thus do not possess gender distinctions. When they imbue their spiritual consciousness into a male host, they manifest as male. Conversely, when they inhabit a female host, they manifest as female—historically, without exception. Yet now, an anomaly has occurred.

The Darkness Origin Spirit has taken residence within the body of Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian. Speaking through Tan Xiaotian's corporeal form, the voice that emerged was unmistakably feminine. But that wasn't all. While the body and face remained unmistakably Tan Xiaotian's, with no alteration to his height or features, his visage—once handsomely devilish—had softened considerably. The contours of his face appeared subtly refined, shedding some of its former severity.

Typically, an Origin Spirit is indifferent to such minutiae and never alters the host's appearance. This one, however, was distinctly different. It appeared dissatisfied with Tan Xiaotian's gender and, after taking over his body, attempted to present itself in a feminine form. In all of Yu Yuan's lifetimes of memories, including his tenure as the Abyss Lord, he had never encountered such a precedent. This Darkness Origin Spirit was exceptionally unique, seemingly intent on emulating the emotions of sentient beings.

A faint crackling sound reached Yu Yuan's ears. The source was the Blunt Armor Continent. At Andrea's behest, an ancient Devaputra named Saka, with his peculiar body forged from meteoric essence, had infiltrated the Blunt Armor Continent. Now, Saka was dismembering it, causing it to fracture into numerous shards.

The Devaputra inhabiting Tan Xiaotian's body curled its lips into a chilling smile, albeit one that seemed somewhat forced. "If you dare to leave, the sixth and fifth layers of the abyss will be engulfed by my power. I need a suitable body to wield my true strength," it declared, clearly aware of the unfolding events in the Origin Realm above.

Andrea, Saka, and a host of Devaputras had long since converged in the Origin Realm bordering the abyss, poised to obliterate each landmass as it broke away from the abyssal depths.

The individual in question would never permit Mother Earth to swiftly assimilate the fragmented power and grow stronger.

"Mr. Lin."

Yu Yuan called out gently.

"Hmm!"

Lin Daoke was jolted awake as if from a deep sleep.

The gaze of the Sword Sect Lord finally shifted away from Tan Xiaotian, and he pursed his lips, shaking his head as he mumbled to himself, "Such an odd fellow..."

He found it difficult to come to terms with Tan Xiaotian's transformation after the Origin Spirit had taken hold of him.

"Please ascend and ensure that the lands that have departed the abyss do so in one piece. And, oh yes, do not kill Andrea from the Outland Devaputra."

Yu Yuan made his request known.

"Andrea, Shehun..."

Lin Daoke furrowed his brow and murmured, "She won't be easy to take down."

"You must promise me, for Van Heqing, Little Lu, and the others..."

Lin Daoke was unaware of where the departed lands would end up or with whom Yu Yuan had struck a deal. He simply voiced his conditions.

"I'll do everything within my power!" Yu Yuan assured with a nod.

"Understood."

In an instant, Lin Daoke transformed into a beam of sword light, shooting towards the heavens, swiftly crossing the seven layers of the abyss.

Under the watchful eyes of the wise, Van Heqing, and the other formidable beings, Lin Daoke's sword light outpaced all the lands that were drifting away.

He made his way to the Blunt Armor Continent.

"Yet another has been swayed by your words. Your talent for influencing hearts stems from it. Yu Yuan, you and it are meant to be unified, just as I am with Tan Xiaotian."

The Darkness Origin Spirit, having possessed the Demon Master, reached into the darkness and pulled out the cushion known as the "Heaven of Darkness."

"Disobedient ones, I shall use this expanse of darkness to obscure your light."

It then cast its gaze upon the land at the summit of the abyss, peering through all barriers and stone as if to behold the Light Origin Spirit. "I intend to use the darkness as a shade, enveloping this beacon of light."

"Block it!"

"Someone block it!"

"I must flee!"

...