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The Primal Soul of the Abyss was no longer content to remain confined within the mirror. It surged forth from the Altar of Shadows, which, like its Demonic Vessel, originated from the same dark powers.
As it manifested once again in the Abyss, the boundless darkness was pierced by lightning and thunder. The colossal Tree of Life, whose branches stretched to obscure the heavens, swayed wildly as if to celebrate its return.
Whoosh!
The distant Tree of Life, as meek as a kitten amidst the cataclysmic lightning, sped towards it.
Each verdant leaf of the Tree of Life bore a warm, welcoming smile, with blurry images that seemed to kneel and cheer in its honor.
Beneath the Genesis Continent, a myriad of hidden wonders and rules of the world stirred into action at its presence.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The parched, rigid earth let out rending noises, and mountains long buried in the annals of history began to rise incrementally.
Yu Yuan gazed from above, sensing that the vast Genesis Continent was brimming with life upon its return, as though an entity silent for eons had been reawakened.
After hundreds of thousands of years, it had at last come back to the Abyss, manifesting its divine presence on the Genesis Continent.
It stood atop the darkened mirror.
This form was the Demonic Vessel through which Yu Yuan ascended to the Undead Sovereign. It arrived empty-handed, bringing nothing from the Everlands.
Yet, the instant it set foot in this realm, it seemed to possess everything, becoming the ruler of the seven layers beneath the Abyss.
"From the moment I, from the moment we began to feel, please refrain from addressing me as 'it.'"
"Refer to me as 'He.'"
The Primal Soul, inhabiting Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel, stood atop the shadowy mirror, locking gazes with Yu Yuan above.
"I have returned."
In the vast expanse of the World of Darkness, the omnipresent Soul Power converged upon His form.
In the past, He had intervened in the fierce conflict between Yu Yuan and the Titan Spinosaurus. During the height of their battle, He had chosen to forcefully possess a body and descend.
Yu Yuan, at that time, faced two adversaries: Himself and the Titan Spinosaurus.
Yu Yuan's soul contested for the right to the Soul Altar, while his physical form grappled with the Titan Spinosaurus.
Before Yu Yuan had acquired the profound Secrets of Life from the Primal Blood, his physical form was less formidable than that of the Titan Spinosaurus. As his soul suffered erosion by that very being, Yu Yuan ultimately perished. The Soul Altar crumbled, and Yu Yuan reverted to his primal soul state, seamlessly integrating with it. Together with the Titan Spinosaurus, who believed itself to be returning triumphantly, Yu Yuan's primal soul journeyed to the Origin Realm.
Centuries passed, and Yu Yuan at last made his way back to the Genesis Continent through the Heart of the Everlands and its connection to this land. He had spent eons in the Genesis Continent, and it was here that his true roots lay.
"We too can possess emotions," he declared. Gazing upon the dark mirror beneath him and observing the Genesis Continent, he sensed the rich Soul Power from the depths of darkness and the seven tiers of the Abyss above. "For the first time, I can distinctly feel my affection for this place. I have longed for it and have often dreamed of returning."
As Yu Yuan spoke, the magnified Soul Altar, radiant and dazzling, came to a halt. Its power confined it, preventing it from sinking further. Within the mirror, dark as pitch, a slender silhouette emerged at his feet—a woman dressed in black. She was the Dark Anima from the depths of the Genesis Continent, the creator of Tan Xiaotian. Now, like a Light Spirit, she manifested a shadow with her dark power.
This shadow represented her spiritual wisdom, yet it was ephemeral, unable to leave the confines of the mirror. From within the Altar of Shadows, at the feet of the Primal Soul, she spoke, "The one above, on the seventh layer, has ensnared him."
"It matters not," the Primal Soul responded with serene assurance. "We had an understanding with him from the beginning. The realms above are his domain, while the world below shall forever be under my dominion."
With a resigned nod, the Dark Anima fell silent, offering no further words. Her gaze remained fixed on Yu Yuan, for in her eyes, no being, no matter how earth-shattering, held significance.
"You have always ridiculed us, claiming we are mere products of the cosmic order, devoid of sentient emotions, ignorant of passion and desire. Do you still hold that belief?" she inquired, her tone laced with a hint of amusement.
"I have also stated that among all beings, it is I, a Primal Anima, who harbors the greatest potential for emotion. I am the wellspring of souls, and with this persistent aspiration within me, I shall acquire all that I desire upon my transcendence and ascension."
"Including the seven emotions and six desires."
He gazed at his hands, squinting as he delved into the sensation.
"It's truly a peculiar feeling."
After a moment, he lifted his head and challenged, "Now that I've become like you, do you still insist on defying me, on being my adversary at every turn?"
Yu Yuan remained silent.
His words had stirred a flood of memories.
Yu Yuan slowly remembered the harsh, cutting remarks he had made during their exchanges, back when he was powerful enough to disregard him, when he had attempted to take possession of him.
A being like him, a Primal Anima, devoid of the emotions of living creatures, was nothing more than an object with spiritual wisdom... a lifeless thing.
A Primal Anima without emotions, no matter how exalted, was nothing but a cold, heartless instrument.
He would never allow a bunch of "instruments" to dominate the fate of the world!
He refused to let these alien beings wreak havoc upon the earth, which is why he had risen up, wielding the power of the Lord of the Abyss and the Primal Soul that had created him, to resist.
For a considerable time, he had been the victor.
Had the Titan Spinosaurus not arrived, had that battle not ensued, had the Primal Soul not intervened, he would still be the de facto ruler of the Seven Abyss.
The Titan Spinosaurus should have remained in the Abyss, never to return to the Origin Realm.
The Titan Spinosaurus, believing itself victorious, had actually sustained grave injuries.
The ancient Spinosaurus, aware of his and the Primal Soul's might, could not be certain of his demise. Hence, the Titan Spinosaurus constructed the Abyssal Gate to seal off two realms.
The sealed ones were him and the Primal Soul.
Regrettably, the Titan Spinosaurus was outmatched by the pair, unaware that they resided within it.
"Do you seek to reclaim what you've crafted?"
He spoke once more.
The Altar of Shadows emerged slowly from the vast pit where the Evil Temple once stood, yet it remained beneath his feet.
As the Heaven's Dais detached from the pit, the female silhouette, a manifestation of dark consciousness and spirituality, vanished abruptly.
It seemed that this shadow could not exist apart from its roots in the Genesis Continent.
The dais, once Yu Yuan's, could be borrowed there, but once it floated away, he could no longer project his consciousness or spirituality within it to form a shadow.
"Do you recall how the Altar of Shadows on this level, forged in darkness, was offered to you at my behest? It was through the darkness and our Eternal Alliance that I reluctantly made it so," the Primal Soul said, a light smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"This Altar of Shadows wasn't conquered by you; it was a gift from me."
His face bore a look of scorn and detachment.
"Is it truly yours? What makes you think it should be reclaimed by you and assimilated into your power?"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the Soul Power of darkness flowed into the Undead Sovereign's Demonic Vessel, the purest dark energy was channeled into the Altar of Shadows beneath his feet. This altar surpassed Tan Xiaotian's Shadowsky by several magnitudes.
With the frenzied convergence of dark energy, the Altar of Shadows, which was once a part of Yu Yuan's Soul Altar, slowly unveiled other profound mysteries of the rule.
The rules he had discerned and absorbed were branded onto the vastness of the Everlands. The numerous laws connected to Primal Blood, Primal Vitality, space, earth, and lightning were laid out across the darkened surface.
A new world, crafted from this Altar of Shadows, was thus born of his doing.
In the unseen darkness, life began to take shape. Lands, mountains, and rivers were gradually forming, and within these emerging races, the bloodlines and souls would be imbued with the power of darkness, marked indelibly by the essence of the Dark Anima.
They would become subjects of the Dark Anima, venerating the darkness as the True God and evolving through the generations.
When they emerged from the World of Darkness, they would carry the influence of the Dark Anima into other realms.
The deeds Tan Xiaotian pledged to accomplish were effortlessly realized under his formidable power.
The Dark Anima would gain the strength to break through and ascend to a higher echelon of Primal Anima, thanks to the new world within the altar.
This was the promise he had once made.
He stood by his word, and upon gaining sufficient power and capability, he fulfilled his promise to his ally.
He was true to his word.
