C2137 A Few More Glances

Yu Yiyi steered the Evil Cauldron, drifting without purpose through the Gray Domain.

Recently ascended to the highest echelon, she seemed to be listlessly meandering, having lost both direction and ambition. She roamed the varied stars of the Gray Domain, yet she engaged in no conversation with others.

Whether it was the Tia Main Planet, the Heaven Opening Flare Star, or other stars inhabited by Evil Gods or the Abyss Tribe, she explored each one.

The Evil Gods, along with the Devaputra from other realms, would bow respectfully in her presence.

They all recognized her identity.

Yu Yiyi paused at a small star once concealed by the ground beetle, now claimed by the Silver Moon Sect, and gazed down curiously from above.

Her appearance startled Duan Yisheng, Lau Ying, and several other practitioners of the Silver Moon Sect, all of notable rank.

"Miss Yu," Duan Yisheng called out, clearing his throat and gesturing for her to join them below.

She acknowledged him with a subtle nod, remaining silent as she continued on her way atop the Evil Cauldron.

While the ground beetle, Chaos Roc, spinosaurus, and others had departed, Lau Ying and her companions stayed behind.

"Why has she become so peculiar?" Lau Ying, having ascended to the Unrestrained Stage, her eyes sparkling with clarity, pondered aloud. "Qin Luo, Zu Ann, and Old Tan—they all seem different since reaching the pinnacle."

Duan Yisheng shot her a stern look, cautioning, "Don't spout nonsense!"

"I'm serious!" Lau Ying retorted, her lips pursed. "Old Tan used to be so kind to me. Ever since he advanced using the Moon's Great Dao, he's barely acknowledged me."

"Master..." Lau Ying whispered, her eyes darting around nervously. "The High Priest Reid of the Devaputra Race, Yuv Qian, and many from the Sword Sect—don't their actions strike you as odd?"

"Back on the Tia Main Planet, I even heard talk of the Abyss's malevolence seeping into the Boundless Sea."

Lau Ying murmured under her breath.

Duan Yisheng's face darkened as he sharply interjected, "Enough with the wild speculation! Extreme Wisdom, Zu Ann, Lu Hongpeng, and all the exalted ones who've emerged from the Abyss have confirmed that our Protoss's roots are there! There's no such thing as an Evil Abyss. The Devaputra Race simply misunderstood before!"

Lau Ying pursed her lips dismissively. "I just don't believe it."

Those with lower cultivation levels weren't given much attention. Their spiritual consciousness remained unaltered, allowing them to preserve their true selves.

Duan Yisheng was among them.

Regrettably, the current trend was the unification of the Divine Soul Sect, the Devaputra Race, and the Evil God. Any dissenters risked severe punishment from the highest echelons within their sects.

Practitioners who had ventured into the Abyss and witnessed the lowest echelons of their kind confirmed that the Boundless Human Race was indeed the Divine Soul Sect of the Abyss.

Following this ideological shift, members of the Silver Moon Sect, the Babel Chamber of Commerce, and the Ancient Desolate Sect, who had once staunchly supported Yu Yuan and the Divine Soul Sect, also began to see the reality of their situation.

Yet within their ranks, some juniors, like Lau Ying, harbored doubts.

Duan Yisheng was acutely aware that Lau Ying's skepticism was problematic.

He was already contemplating ways to eliminate her doubts.

Many, like him, who had not been corrupted in spirit, had resigned themselves to their fate.

"Focus on your cultivation and quit entertaining wild thoughts!"

...

Guided by an innate calling, Yu Yiyi moved through the Gray Domain as if she were the eyes of another.

The Devaputra, the Evil God, and the mighty of the Protoss sects harbored no suspicion of her.

As a supreme being with distinctly black and blue eyes, she was clearly integrated with a primal force.

The deeper the hue, the stronger her bond with the source.

Unlike Lu Hongpeng and Van Heqing, supreme masters of the Sword Sect, whose Primordial Spirits were tinged greenish-black deep within their consciousness, their eyes did not reflect this transformation.

Yu Yiyi's eyes were her Devil Soul, her very essence.

She drifted through the Gray Domain, deliberately avoiding the Boundless Human Race, content to observe from a distance without descending into their midst.

One day, after making another round through the Gray Domain, she returned to the outer reaches of space near the Boundless Human Race and materialized next to High Priest Reid.

This venerable Devaputra, manifesting as a gaunt elder, was brooding over the slowly swirling "spring eye," vigilant for any anomalies within.

Yu Yiyi's recent peculiar actions hadn't escaped Reid's notice, though he remained unconcerned.

Upon observing Yu Yiyi transfixed by the swirling "spring eye," he took the opportunity to explain, "A pole with unknown symbols, emanating a dense aura of death, emerged from there not long ago. I've placed it in the temple within the vast sea."

The darkness in the depths of Yu Yiyi's eyes was intense, nearly a match for the Devil Soul within Reid himself.

He regarded Yu Yiyi, who had ascended to the highest echelons through her cauldron soul, as a kindred spirit—a fellow Great Demon God.

As a peerless entity, Yu Yiyi was entitled to converse with him.

With time to spare, he divulged the inner workings of their realm.

Yu Yiyi gazed at him solemnly, then turned her attention back to the enigmatic "spring eye." The black in her eyes lightened as the green deepened.

After a while, Yu Yiyi inquired softly, "Lord Beilstein, what's the situation in the temple?"

"The elder patriarch is pondering some issues and hasn't yet reached clarity," Reid replied, his demeanor unchanged while dark green flames flickered in the depths of his eyes, mirroring Yu Yiyi's own. "He's overthought the nature of the soul's origin, entangling himself in the process."

He offered a serene smile. "However, there's no cause for concern. The temple's guardian has assured us that our shared source holds the patriarch's condition in high regard and is currently aiding him in untangling his thoughts."

"Soon enough, I'm confident the patriarch will emerge from his introspection, ready to lead us once more."

"I share your sentiment," Yu Yiyi nodded, then fell silent.

She continued her journey aboard the Evil Cauldron, traversing the Tia Main Planet.

Eventually, she ventured into the Origin Realm through the portals of the Heaven Opening Flare Star.

There, in the Perish Starfield—once the stronghold of the Divine Soul Sect—she witnessed the demise of Rebecca, matriarch of the Banshee Clan, at the hands of the rising Great Demon God, Yuv Qian, alongside the Green Incubus and several Evil Gods.

The Banshee Clan's last elite forces, seeking refuge in the Desolate Realm, were nearly wiped out.

Yuv Qian greeted her with unexpected warmth, his laughter echoing as he engaged in conversation with her.

She couldn't help but give Green Incubus a few extra glances.

Green Incubus, a Ninth Level Demon God, had not undergone a transformation like Yuv Qian. The tremor in his devil soul suggested something might have penetrated his very essence.

After a thorough search yielded no abnormalities, Green Incubus dismissed the sensation as a mere figment of his imagination.

Amidst their laughter and conversation, they left a contingent of Evil Gods to stand guard, ready to ensnare any desperate alien beasts and the formidable beings from various tribes seeking entry into the Desolate Realm.

Yu Yiyi and Yuv Qian, accompanied by Green Incubus and a group of Devaputras, made their way toward the Gray Domain.

...

On the outskirts of the Cold Domain lay the Still Starfield, a world of sparse stellar energy, also a victim of the Secular Bird Queen's frenzy that led to its destruction.

It was situated not too far from the Oblivion Starfield and the Serene Starfield.

Now, at the edge of the Still Starfield, a crystalline mountain range had emerged at the boundary of space.

The mountain, appearing out of nowhere, was mirror-smooth and transparent, revealing a glimpse of another realm.

Forged by Jee Ningshuang, it served as the portal to the Cold Domain, a crossing over to the other side.

The location where the ice mountain stood, at the edge of the galaxy, was a mystery; it certainly wasn't the Desolate Realm.

The Still Starfield and the Perish Starfield occupied diametrically opposite locations within the Origin Realm.

In front of the icy mountain, a luminescent Divine Stone hovered.

Seated atop the Divine Stone in a meditative pose was Yu Yuan, his formidable soul consciousness traversing the universe.

He communicated with the elusive entities he could detect, wielding his power to sway them.

His soul, fragmented into myriad parts, wandered across various galaxies, subtly influencing the thoughts of diverse sentient beings.

He was exercising the divine powers he had previously mastered.

Beside him were Ann Ziqing, free from the taint of the Origin Soul, Jee Ningshuang, the Secular Bird Queen, Xuanli, and the Chaos Roc.

And this ice mountain stood as the gateway for the mightiest of the alien races from the Origin Realm.

He suddenly turned his gaze to Chen Qinghuang, his expression slowly taking on a grave seriousness. He murmured to himself, "An unknown... a symbol of death, or perhaps it emerges from the spring."

Chen Qinghuang immediately met his gaze.

​