C2104 The Evolution of the Wheel

In the Perish Starfield, a mountain that had transcended its realm stood resolute amidst the shattered cosmos. The Divine Soul Sect's outpost beyond the heavens had vanished, and valuable meteorite fragments were drawn toward the mountain by the force of Mother Earth.

Chunks of debris settled upon the expansive summit, transforming into new peaks atop the mountain. Between these towering peaks, a radiant interplay of light shimmered like a rainbow.

Deep within the valleys of this world, the young beasts of the Desolate Realm were born. They drank from springs brimming with sweet vitality, their brittle bones hardening to the strength of gold metal, aglow with iridescent light.

The deceased Old Ape emerged from the Beast Temple, taking his place behind Yuan Li. The black goat, too, was resurrected by Yuan Li, reemerging as a woman in a black dress. Yet her spirit was subdued, and she had not regained her former glory as a Tenth Level Beast God.

The smilodon, bone snake, Earth Bear, black goat, and Desolate God—all five Beast Gods convened atop the mountain.

Whoosh! The grandeur of the Beast Temple resonated with the mountain's tremors.

Waves of spatial ripples emanated from the temple, cleaving the air with luminous fissures. Centered around the Beast Temple, the void itself seemed sliced by an invisible blade, leaving numerous spatial cracks in its wake.

Through these elongated, massive rifts, the magnetic energy of Mother Earth dissipated, sending out calls that traversed the void, beckoning the lands that had drifted from the abyss.

"There's a Devaputra intercepting," Yuan Li noted, as he cradled a miniature Shrouded Tower in his palm.

The iron-black tower was suffused with dazzling spatial light, serving as his eyes to the universe.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it.

Through the rift, the Shrouded Tower glimpsed an ocean of meteorites, teeming with Devaputras and pierced by piercing sword light.

"Lin Daoke!" The Old Ape, revitalized within the Beast Temple, cried out in astonishment upon seeing the sword light. "Lin Daoke, what brings you here?"

"I'm wondering the same," Yuan Li murmured, his brow furrowed in thought.

The King of Desolate Realm gazed upon the reborn Old Ape with a look of admiration. "Well done," he commended.

Now at ease, the Old Ape's spirit was considerably weakened post-resurrection, devoid of any imprint from the Origin Soul.

His new body felt superior to his previous form, possessing a vast and untapped potential. Yet, the Old Ape found something peculiar about his transformation...

With Yuen Bu's assistance, his once robust and thickly furred body had been reborn with sparser hair. His cheeks were now smooth to the touch.

The number of apertures within him had multiplied, each harboring endless enigmas.

As he stroked his cheek, a mirror materialized in his hand. Gazing at the youthful, vibrant reflection, he couldn't help but notice an increasing resemblance to a human.

After dying once, the Origin Blood deep within the mountains had modified his primal Life Seed.

The Ape Race was evolving towards the Human Race.

A wave of fear washed over him as he turned to Yuen Bu, his voice tinged with panic, "Patriarch, what about me?"

Yuen Bu anticipated his question, responding with a warm smile, "I've gathered life seeds from the Origin Realm and numerous races from the abyss. It will select and refine them. The favored one will naturally compensate for certain deficiencies upon rebirth, evolving in a more advantageous way."

"A more advantageous way? Could it be?" The Desolate God was bewildered.

"The Human Race, oh, no, they are now called the Protoss. Currently, they stand as the most advanced intelligent race across the Three Realms. It has long desired to implement certain adjustments and changes to them."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have maintained a human form for so long."

"Actually, both you and I only require minor adjustments to our skeletons. Our Ape Race shares many commonalities with the Protoss."

Yuen Bu soared from the mountain to the gaping rift. Peering through the Shrouded Tower, he could see far into the distance.

He hesitated, contemplating whether to dispatch a blood avatar to get a clearer picture of the situation.

"Be cautious; it could be a trap."

The weary Black Goat issued a calm warning, "After consuming Hao Ran's Origin Soul, the Devaputra began hunting alien beasts, indicating it has become a source for the Devaputra as well. Lin Daoke is of the Protoss, born of it, with no reason to oppose the Devaputra. Lin Daoke shouldn't resist it either."

Mentioning it again, the woman in the black dress, once the Black Goat, involuntarily shuddered.

The black goat recalled the scene of its defeat.

She hadn't been able to regain her Tenth Level strength, not due to a lack of bloodline energy, but because she was missing the accumulation of soul energy.

Such vast soul energy was beyond what Yuen Bu or the Beast Temple could provide her.

Her two goat horns were still shattered and had yet to regrow, leaving her bloodline at the Ninth Level.

"A trap, perhaps..."

Yuen Bu murmured, cautious not to make any sudden moves.

It was then that Yu Yuan's figure emerged once more from the same leaf of the Hannya Divine Tree.

Yuen Bu was startled and quickly engaged in conversation with the apparition of Yu Yuan to understand the situation.

...

Boom!

A deep crimson star, laden with Origin Blood and piercing cold, had traversed the vast distance and finally reached the Dark Domain.

With the star's appearance, the Dark Domain grew even more chilling.

Countless forces of extreme cold that only Jee Ningshuang could perceive swiftly blanketed the Dark Domain, altering its fundamental laws.

Atop the Dragon Slash Platform, Yu Yuan's expression grew somber.

Jee Ningshuang had emerged from the surface of the Origin Blood Continent, her gaze icy as she wielded the Starfrost Sword, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

In this moment, Jee Ningshuang appeared as the sovereign of the Dark Domain, the creator of this realm.

"She's been overtaken by the extreme cold."

The Secular Bird Queen spoke softly.

Yu Yuan, with a stern face, nodded in agreement, "It's apparent."

Jee Ningshuang had not ascended to the Eleventh Level, and her body was likely unable to withstand the full onslaught of the extreme cold, which left Yu Yuan quite displeased with her possession by the extreme cold.

Whoosh!

A deep red blood light burst forth from the Origin Blood Continent, bathing Jee Ningshuang in its glow.

As Jee Ningshuang soared on her sword, vibrant blood energy and the sound of clashing metal resonated within her. The Origin Blood had endowed her with the Metal Dao's power, fortifying her bones with the resilience of metal, while the crimson blood energy tirelessly mended her minor wounds.

All these layers of empowerment were for this very moment.

The purpose was to usher in the sentience of the extreme cold!

The force of extreme cold naturally subdued soul power, and by inhabiting Jee Ningshuang, it enabled her to manifest formidable abilities.

For instance, she was capable of mending the shattered ice barrier.

Yu Yuan peered intently.

He observed that the barrier, shattered by the combined forces of Abyss Wood and Devil Lord Tan Xiaotian, was already drawing in a thick concentration of Frost Energy, creating a dense white fog.

All that was needed was for Ji Ningshuang to pass through with her body and exert her power to reestablish the barrier between the Dark Domain and the darkness.

In the past, an Asura King had won the favor of the extreme cold, gaining its mighty power.

Already immensely powerful, the Asura King ascended to the Eleventh Level with this power, and upon its arrival, it sealed the entire cosmos.

The Asura King prevented the darkness from the abyss from easily penetrating our realm.

Yet, the Eleventh Level Asura King fell because of the extreme cold's descent.

Years later, the ice barrier forged by the extreme cold Asura King fractured, and it selected Ji Ningshuang to undertake the repairs.

"Don't interfere; that icy girl won't die."

When Yu Yuan was about to act, the Secular Bird Queen halted him with a gesture and shook her head, saying, "She'll survive because you're here, and because the barrier is fractured, not utterly destroyed. Even if she sustains grave injuries, the Origin Blood will heal her."

At that moment, the Origin Blood within the crimson star conveyed a similar message.

The extreme cold required Ji Ningshuang, and only with her power could the Dark Domain and the abyss be sealed off once more, preventing the infinite darkness from seeping through.

"If she's drained by the extreme cold, her potential exhausted like Cao Jiaze's tragic fate, don't expect me to hold back," Yu Yuan warned, his gaze fixed on the deep red star.

With a whoosh, the Dragon Slash Platform soared away, harnessing the power of the void within the Dark Domain, and swiftly reached the juncture of the two realms.

The white fog was impenetrably thick, filled with innumerable ice crystals waiting for Ji Ningshuang's arrival to solidify into a sealing barrier.

Yet, his Dragon Slash Platform had reached the destination ahead of Ji Ningshuang.

Before him lay the endless darkness, the deepest layer of the abyss.

He was aware that his true form lay within the boundless depths of darkness at that very moment.

Likewise, his Ghost God Body was shrouded in the darkness before him.

"Let's hold off for now. We should wait until the extreme cold has constructed the ice barrier, effectively separating the two worlds."

Upon the Dragon Slash Platform, the Secular Bird Queen noticed his attempt to rush into the darkness and intervened to halt him.

"..."