C2177 The Second Death Spring
Yu Yuan, the Yang God of the Desolate Realm, had reached into the Creation Pool with one hand, only to have his arm manifest in the abyss.
He couldn't possibly fail to recognize his own limb.
The emergence of the colossal arm startled Brie and Barol, who feared an otherworldly visitor might be bursting through from another realm.
"Your hand?"
Barol's face was a picture of astonishment after Yu Yuan's explanation.
"Without a doubt, it's my hand."
The hand paused after breaching two layers of seals, refraining from any further reckless advances. It serenely awaited the convergence of divine radiance, attuning to the flow of enigmatic patterns.
Yu Yuan, present in the abyss, was aware of his Yang God's presence in the Desolate Realm, yet the Yang God in the Desolate Realm was oblivious to his true self's disappearance in the Gray Domain, now beneath the shroud of darkness in the abyss.
He was also unaware of the profound connection between the Creation Pool, under the Yang God's control, and the nine layers of seals obscuring the abyss.
The massive arm and hand subtly stirred, disrupting the shimmering light and altering the myriad intricate patterns.
"Your hand has reached from the Desolate Realm to here?" Brie exclaimed, astounded.
Whoosh!
Above the onlookers, under the pitch-black firmament, the nine layers of seals suddenly unleashed an immense suppressive force.
The secret talisman and unknown patterns flying toward Yu Yuan's titanic hand burst forth with dazzling splendor.
Suns emerged, moons were crafted by the talisman, and a galaxy of condensed stars materialized within the two layers of seals, revealing many wonders.
The sun, moon, and stars seemed to fill the barriers, casting their glow upon the shadowy abyss.
This radiance outshone even the Light Origin Spirit, its brilliance undimmed by the encompassing darkness.
The spirit of the vegetation within the tree erupted in bizarre cries.
"The fundamental truth of plants and trees that I was born understanding!"
The tree, its branches withered and leaves yellowed, unleashed sharp bursts of emerald light. This light, wrapped in ethereal azure lightning, soared toward the resplendent canopy.
The wood spirit was invigorated by the patterns converging upon Yu Yuan's immense hand.
Unconcerned with the celestial bodies or the blinding divine glow, it focused solely on the force intimately tied to its essence, and thus was suddenly roused.
Sizzle, sizzle!
In Brie's eyes, the crystal light, brimming with the grand Dao of flora, blossomed into infinite botanical mysteries. It seemed as though Brie's very bloodline was on the verge of transcendence.
The chieftain of the Dark Elfkind had long known that the Hannya Tree, progenitor of their race, originated from this very tree.
Gazing into the crystal light's verdant glow, he felt as if he were witnessing the ultimate secrets of nature, yearning to etch them into his memory and weave them into his bloodline's core.
Boom!
The emerald crystal light, along with the azure lightning entwined within, was shattered by an immense pressure before it could graze the abyssal heavens.
The tree's vast foliage, already yellowing, burst into dust as a result of the desperate attempt.
The Jianmu tree wilted instantly.
Qi Yunhong, perched upon a trunk, cried out, "If you can't break through, stop trying over and over—it's causing harm!"
"Those patterns! The vegetal patterns! They must belong to another Origin Soul like mine!"
The Origin Soul's shriek echoed from the Soul Altar within Yu Yuan's brow, conveying its excitement to him.
He and the Origin Soul had struck the nine layers of seals multiple times to no avail, failing to breach even the first layer, never triggering such anomalies.
In contrast, Yu Yuan of the Desolate Realm, with his hand extended from another realm, had induced a marvel of nature, prompting the seals to manifest repeatedly.
Thus, he discovered the concealed Great Dao of Grass and Wood within the nine layers of seals!
As the spirit of all vegetation, if there was a Great Dao of Grass and Wood unknown to him, it surely stemmed from another Origin Soul akin to his own.
Origin Souls were not singular entities.
Above, the Mother Earth resided within the seven layers of the false abyss, while the Desolate Realm was home to the Spirit of Mother Earth. Likewise, Origin Blood and Origin Soul were not unique.
He was not so vain as to consider himself the sole and supreme entity.
"Yu Yuan! If I can obtain those vegetal patterns and refine them successfully, my rank will surge forward. The most straightforward and rapid advancement for an Origin Soul is through the amalgamation with its kin!"
The spirit of the flora did not conceal its longing as it exclaimed, "If I can advance and become a high-level Origin Soul, perhaps I can escape that fellow and achieve true freedom!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The resplendent divine radiance from the nine seals morphed at times into the sun, moon, and stars, at others into a golden mountain, a deep blue sea, the solid earth, or clouds of fierce flames.
The divine light gravitated towards the hand, alive and revealing enigmatic symbols of the Dao.
"Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, the sun, moon, and stars, all governed by the soul's power!"
Yu Yuan, within the Abyss World, beheld many marvels. The clamor of the wood spirit's power, combined with his contemplation of this spectacle, triggered a surge of memories.
He faintly recalled that in the nascent Abyss World, eight Origin Souls—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, the sun, moon, and stars—collaborated to forge the world.
The now shattered and silent Abyss had given birth to these eight Origin Souls, bringing forth all things in existence.
They were the essential pillars of a world's creation.
Yet, they had been assimilated by the Abyss's Origin Soul, perishing within, their consciousness and spirit dissipated, leaving only their residual energy to form the eight seals.
Their forces were evenly distributed across the seals, all under the sway of the Origin Soul.
Together with the true Abyss Origin Soul, these eight Origin Souls constituted the ninefold seals of the void.
With each seal disturbed, their lingering power would manifest, and profound truths would emerge.
"It can't be broken."
Yu Yuan had an epiphany.
He realized that only by mastering the complete esoteric wisdom bestowed by the eight great Origin Spirits could he hope to unlock the nine seals and escape the Abyss.
His "Soul Altar" comprised seven layers: grass, thunder, ice, light, Origin Soul, Origin Blood, and Origin Soul.
Yet, the ultimate secrets shared with the eight great Origin Spirits were limited to grass and Origin Soul.
He had only touched upon the mysteries of water, fire, earth, metal, sun, moon, and stars, but these were incomplete, not granted by the respective Origin Spirits.
He was currently unable to break through the nine layers of seals.
Only by finding a missing Origin Spirit of the same attribute and receiving the ultimate and complete Profound Meaning from it, would he stand a chance of unlocking the seals.
...
In the Desolate Realm, Yu Yuan's hand submerged in the Creation Pool witnessed the convergence of iridescent light and the transformation of mysterious patterns. They solidified into representations of the sun, moon, stars, and the elements of metal, water, fire, earth, and more.
"Eight ultimate paths and the complete Dao Laws of the eight Origin Spirits!"
Yu Yuan gained some insight.
He shook his head, realizing that to break through the nine layers of seals of the Creation Pool was beyond him. Not even his true form, let alone his Yang God, could accomplish such a feat.
"Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—the Origin Spirit of the wood element is already in my possession. For fire, I could possibly harness the Geocentric Fire, and for earth, I might seek assistance from Mother Earth once more. Yet, the metal and water Origin Spirits may not even exist in the Origin Realm or the Desolate Realm. And then there are the sun, moon, and stars—three additional Origin Spirits."
He pondered in silence.
...
Days later, in another Starfield shrouded in the aura of death, the drifting Creation Pool suddenly caught the fierce attention of a watchful presence.
"Yu Yuan!"
"Sky Tiger!"
Wielding the Skyshatter Hammer, the Old Ape, in his Demon God form, had eyes ablaze with towering rage.
Beneath him, a lake of blood bubbled ominously.
As the bubbles burst, they transformed into a dense, blood-red mist that infused into his Demon Body, allowing him to sift through memories.
"Cough! Cough!"
The Old Ape coughed up foul blood.
The blood-red mist that had merged with his Demon Body was laced with the deathly power left by the Secular Bird Queen, a force far more potent than he had anticipated, ravaging his organs.
Unable to purge it, he mixed the lethal force with the tainted blood and expelled it.
From the fresh blood of the alien beasts, not yet coagulated, he witnessed the apocalyptic vision of the Secular Bird Queen, and saw every alien beast perish in mere moments.
"You've unleashed the madness of the Secular Bird!"
The Old Ape, spitting blood in his fury, charged at the Sky Tiger. "Bai, I once held you in high regard! I don't fault you for siding with the Demon Phoenix, but you are a Beast God like me, with the blood of beasts flowing through your veins! By bringing that relentless, inhumane, and world-destroying Secular Bird into the Desolate Realm, you've crossed a line I cannot tolerate!"
The towering Ape's rage was thunderous. The Skyshatter Hammer, like a colossal star, ripped through the void and plummeted down.
"Desolate Lord, please hear me out!"
The Sky Tiger's face was etched with distress. As the Skyshatter Hammer shattered the void, descending through the myriad spiderweb-like spatial fissures, he pleaded, "Even though we stand on opposite sides, I've always revered you. It's not as you perceive."
In this silent Starfield, there were many apes akin to the Desolate God, still evolving, on the brink of taking human form.
This place was a testing ground for Yuen Li and the Desolate God, aiming to breed a superior race of apes.
Additionally, some of the Desolate God's progeny, resurrected by his own blood, were rekindling their life force within those stars, preparing to make their return to the world at a destined moment.
With the arrival of the Secular Bird Queen, this star was met with death, and all life perished.
"Cough, cough!"
The Old Ape, having hurled the Skyshatter Hammer, coughed with increasing severity. A potent surge of deathly energy burst forth from his heart.
With a thunderous crash, the Skyshatter Hammer struck the earth before the Creation Pool, vanishing into the subterranean depths.
He was now too weak to wield the Skyshatter Hammer any longer.
Puff!
The Old Ape's chest burst open, his Life Keychain, shaped like the Tree of Life, exploded, and a tiny vortex of death emerged.
As the vortex spun gently, the Old Ape's once mighty blood energy was engulfed by the breath of death.
His vibrant life force was shockingly transforming into deathly essence!
Yu Yuan's face turned pale.
The tiny death vortex bore a striking resemblance to the Death Spring in the Gray Domain. The Old Ape, having inadvertently ingested the blood mist laced with death energy, appeared to have been marked by an enigmatic presence from another realm.
The Old Ape possessed formidable strength, and with the Demon Heart's Life Keychain, he had achieved immortality.
Consequently, he harnessed the power necessary to forge a new Death Spring.
