C2172 Separated into Two Worlds

In the Otherworld, Yu Yuan lay sprawled on a crumbling skeletal altar, gazing up at the pitch-black sky. His once towering Divine Visage had been shattered, and in his original form, he found himself transported here by his own formidable power. Within his flesh and blood, a residual force persisted, relentlessly consuming his vitality.

Deep within his consciousness, a virulent green-black substance swirled like storm clouds, ravaging his mind. Immobilized, Yu Yuan fought against this pervasive corruption, depleting the strength housed within his acupoints, limbs, organs, and very soul. Yet, in this Otherworld, he was unable to draw even a whisper of energy.

This was a world long dead, its essence drained, void of any living creatures. It had lain in silence for eons.

A profound sense of sorrow and rage welled up within Yu Yuan, intensifying with each passing moment. He was certain of his past existence in a world of chaos, of his demise at the hands of the Primal Soul and darkness, and his subsequent resurrection by the same Primal Soul. Unknowingly, he had aided in the creation of seven layers of the Abyss, slaughtering other Primal Animas to empower the Primal Soul's dominion over the cosmic order. The Earth Spirit was merely one of the many Primal Animas extinguished.

A spokesperson? The ultimate vessel?

With a bitter laugh, Yu Yuan's mind seethed with thoughts, the flames of vengeance burning fiercely within him.

"Where are we?" Ballo of the Starborn and Brie of the Shadowkin emerged side by side from the Dragon Slaying Stage. They peered into the distance, where the skeletal remains of colossal creatures merged with Starshards, floating in the abyss of space, numerous and vast. These behemoths, more daunting than any cosmic giant beast, must have been formidable in battle before their extinction.

Regrettably, they were no more.

Fragments of suns, moons, and stars littered the landscape, devoid of any inherent power. As Ballo and Brie extended their senses and vital energy, they encountered only emptiness and stillness—no breeze, no rain, not even a stir in the air. Nearby, Yu Yuan's skin, exposed beyond his tattered garments, sporadically bore the telltale greenish-black marks of the insidious force at work.

The greenish-black spots covered Yu Yuan's entire body. Some were deepening, while others were being erased by Yu Yuan's power. Nevertheless, Yu Yuan was still frantically consuming his own strength.

"This is the Abyss of Death."

Yu Yuan rose slowly to a seated position.

His connection with the Solar Spirit had been severed, and the pitch-black canopy overhead was the dark realm he once knew—the Genesis Continent.

He had caught a fleeting glimpse of this place amidst the utter darkness. This place... it was his homeland, now destroyed.

It was also what had been referred to as the Abyss of Truth.

His remnant soul reached out, revealing the sight of unimaginably vast corpses. These were the Chaos Titans he remembered, intertwined with the shattered starry heavens and earth.

Above the fragmented celestial realms, grand palaces of various designs indicated that a highly advanced civilization had once thrived in this Abyss of Truth.

The expanse of the true Abyss likely rivaled the Origin Realm, yet his consciousness could only stretch a minuscule distance.

Within this span, there were innumerable fractured stars and worlds. There were at least a dozen nations of different intelligent life forms, the Lunar Meteorite depleted of moon energy, and crimson shards stripped of solar essence.

Weapons as large as mountains were embedded in the dust-covered stars. When his soul consciousness passed by, these colossal blades shattered, turning to dust.

Corroded over eons, the once star-slicing Divine Weapons, now devoid of their essence, had become mere shells, stripped of their formidable might.

"The Abyss?"

Ballo's expression was one of alarm, and he couldn't help but cast wary glances around, as though an Evil God of the Abyss might suddenly emerge.

"It shouldn't be this way."

Brie's forehead creased with wrinkles, and he appeared much older. "An Abyss like this cannot give rise to an Evil God. A world so utterly silent, devoid of any usable energy, cannot spawn such a powerful Evil God. Every world requires energy; it is the fundamental essence of the heavens, the earth, and all living beings."

He had astutely identified the crux of the matter.

This world was dead, as if the Maw of Oblivion had siphoned away all its strength. The Astral Domain lay empty and desolate, devoid of even a trace of cosmic energy.

"The Abyss you understand, with its seven layers stretching above the dark canopy of the sky, is not the true Abyss," Yu Yuan mused aloud. "This Abyss is the genuine one, as expansive as the Origin Realm itself. The beings and civilizations it birthed once surpassed both the Origin Realm and the Wasteland. Unfortunately, it has been destroyed, and all life within it has perished."

"The Origin Realm might well tread the same path and end up like this."

At these words, Ballo and Brie felt a shudder in their souls, their gaze lingering over the desolate expanse before them, the weight of the situation etching itself onto their expressions.

The thought of the Origin Realm succumbing to such a fate filled them with despair, sapping their sense of purpose and leaving them feeling utterly powerless.

With a thunderous crash, the bone altar beneath Yu Yuan crumbled shortly after he rose.

As a cloud of bone dust swirled around him, Yu Yuan landed on the parched earth, his neck and forehead marred by greenish-black spots that mirrored those on the Soul Altar.

Each spot represented the invasive power he had left behind, relentlessly ravaging Yu Yuan's life force and draining his Soul Power.

"He aims to deplete my strength, to have my flesh, spiritual energy, and Soul Power all consumed by this world. I cannot draw upon any other source of power here, and He... seems capable of infusing His power into these corrupting spots from afar."

Yu Yuan swiftly clarified his thoughts.

During his confrontation in the Ashlands, his opponent had wielded a demonform crafted from the Evil Temple and had control over the Eiwrone. Yet, it seemed he was unable to counter Yu Yuan, who possessed a seven-tiered Soul Altar.

Realizing he could not defeat Yu Yuan directly, He had cast Yu Yuan into the true Abyss to wage a war of attrition in this realm.

He could keep infusing power into the struggle, while Yu Yuan was unable to extract any strength from this lifeless world.

Defeat seemed inevitable, just a matter of time.

"This world contains the Tree of Life and the Thunder Spirit. I should search for them. And Bertain might descend here too, though it's uncertain if he can break through the Dark Anima's blockade and successfully arrive."

After a brief exchange with Ballo and Brie, Yu Yuan unleashed the Dragon Slaying Stage. They descended, and together they set off in search of the two entities.

The Abyss was infinite, and the established cosmic order lay in ruins, leaving all in utter stillness.

The Dragon Slaying Stage, unable to disturb the Void Rules, could only drift aimlessly, searching for a spark of life.

...

In the Origin Realm, amidst the Stellar Oblivion, a thick, ancient tome descended in a cascade of iridescent light.

Around the former stronghold of the Boulderdawn Sect, numerous corpses floated—alien beasts, Sky Fiend, Unbound cultivators, and mighty beings from the Abyss—all enveloped in a thick death aura.

"The Secular Bird Queen has been here."

Zhong Chichen was startled, recognizing the intense concentration of death force at the border of the Stellar Oblivion and the Wasteland, reminiscent of the disturbance caused by Chen Qinghuang in Zagreus.

He noticed several alien beasts, their bodies infused with death aura, seemingly evolving into Ghouls.

Hovering above the Book of Time, the Wellspring of Creation, which Yu Yuan had shifted here, contained a massive, enigmatic mass of flesh and blood. It began to stir once more, influenced by the deadly surroundings.

Zhong Chichen grunted, nearly plummeting into the Wellspring of Creation and becoming part of the grotesque mass.

With his fingers interlaced before his chest, he invoked the Book of Time's power, sealing himself within a different dimension, shielding himself from the Stellar Oblivion and resisting the allure of the flesh and blood.

"She must have departed from this place."

Yu Yuan marveled inwardly.

Once the Lord of Ruin, Yuan Le, withdrew the mountain, the natural divide between the two realms was restored.

Previously, only beings of immense dark life power, like the Dark Phoenix with its Phoenix Shrine, could traverse freely between the realms.

Unexpectedly, the Secular Bird Queen, too, had penetrated the inter-realm barrier, influenced by the alien death symbols.

"Our journey has been surprisingly smooth; I anticipated numerous obstacles." Zhong Chichen, massaging his forehead, speculated, "Yu Yuan, could it be that someone intentionally allowed you passage to the Wasteland?"

"Regardless, my path leads there."

Gazing at the Wellspring of Creation's pulsating flesh and blood, sensing the heart-pounding vital energy, he realized its potential. The energy within this mass exceeded that of the Primal Blood from both the Origin Realm and the Wasteland, and its Life Seeds concealed the profound Secrets of Life. He was determined to unravel these mysteries swiftly.

"Yu Yuan!"

A ghostly voice echoed through the Path of Undead in the Stellar Oblivion. Emerging from this spectral path, Youyu flew toward the Book of Time and called out, "Are you heading to the Wasteland?"

"Why have you come?" Yu Yuan asked with surprise.

"I can't make it on my own. I need your strength to help me reach the Wasteland." The Soul Stone embedded in Youyu's chest blazed with light, appearing to be an integral part of his Undead Sovereign form.

Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes and could discern ghostly figures within the Soul Stone.

Beyond the myriad spirits, there was a stream remarkably similar to the original Root of the Lunar Meridian, with souls drifting within. The Shadow Moon Essence gleamed like silvery pebbles settled at the riverbed.

Youyu intended not only to venture to the Wasteland but also to bring along the Primal Vitality through the Soul Stone.

"Is the Primal Vitality with you?" Yu Yuan exclaimed in astonishment.

"No, it has merely refined another Root of the Lunar Meridian," Youyu shook his head and explained, "It's still undecided. It sent me ahead to assess the situation in the Wasteland. This Root of the Lunar Meridian it has refined is part of itself. Should it perish in the Origin Realm, perhaps this Root could become its new form in the Wasteland."

"Of course, if the conditions in the Wasteland are favorable, it will follow after receiving my message," Youyu added.

"What's this?"

Youyu gazed at the pulsating mass of flesh within the Wellspring of Creation at Yu Yuan's feet, expressing his astonishment, "This flesh exudes a formidable magnetic field, wielding immense distorting power over any strong creature of flesh and blood. Luckily, it doesn't seem to affect me much."

"Have you truly decided to go to the Wasteland?" Yu Yuan inquired once more.

"It's a command from it, and a pact between us," Youyu affirmed.

"Very well, I'll escort you there."

The Wellspring of Creation detached itself from the Book of Time, and under Zhong Chichen's watchful eye, Yu Yuan, bearing the Wellspring of Creation, advanced toward the barrier separating the two realms.

With a tear, as the Wellspring of Creation breached the barrier, it siphoned a portion of the unique vital energy that isolated the two worlds, significantly weakening the seal that divided them.

Zhong Chichen was struck by a sudden realization. As a master of space-time and a tenth-level Dragon God, he might just have the ability to break through the barrier.

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