C2189 The Hall Was Abnormally Chaotic
Zhiya's incendiary words sent shockwaves through the Beast Gods, and even Yu Yuan felt his heart jolt.
He halted his assault on Yuen Bu, as the surging blood energy around him came to an abrupt standstill. His mind's expansive Life Wheel, with its countless worlds flickering in and out of existence, fell into a deep hush.
Atop the mountain peak, the torrential blood energy seemed to freeze in response to Zhiya's pronouncement.
The woman in the black dress, transformed from a black goat, and the Old Ape, born from the vast expanse, regarded Zhiya with eyes that saw a devil of unimaginable terror.
How could she dare to speak such words?
The origin blood was the wellspring of life in the Desolate Realm, the Founder of every alien beast and intelligent race!
Her own Life Seed originated from this realm's origin blood; in a strict sense, she too was a child of the realm's origin blood.
Yet she dared to incite Yuen Bu to refine and assimilate the very origin blood that had granted her the highest sequence of life?
Her audacity was boundless.
Yuen Bu, in his true colossal ape form, stood bewildered on the mountain peak, as the Demon Phoenix Zhiya's seductive voice filled his ears.
He was still processing the earth-shattering revelations from the Light Origin Spirit, pondering how to aid the origin blood.
Zhiya's statement whipped through his mind like a tornado, unleashing a storm that battered his psyche with terror.
Yuen Bu, in his giant ape guise, gaped as dark red smoky plumes billowed from his mouth, transforming into explosive orbs of lightning before Yu Yuan's chest.
Yu Yuan braced himself and raised his arm in defense.
Boom!
The blast from Yuen Bu's blood energy shattered effortlessly at Yu Yuan's touch, scattering a shower of blood-lit sparks across the sky. Yu Yuan multitasked with a single thought.
Drops of his blood essence, shaped into spinning eyeballs, shot out from his chest in rapid succession.
Some targeted the Creation Pool, others headed for the Beast Temple, and a few landed just behind Yuen Bu's head.
Creation Peak's void was suddenly filled with bizarre dark red eyeballs, their crimson glow surveying the world from myriad perspectives.
He had just unlocked the power of the Eye of Life.
The life secrets known to the Origin Blood of this realm transformed into bolts of blood-red lightning that dissolved into his Yang God. He had already begun to absorb and contemplate them at the earliest opportunity.
Already an eleventh-level supreme being, he had crafted himself with the profound essence of another's Origin Blood, making his enlightenment a smooth process.
He refined the Eye of Life from his blood essence and sent it forth to probe the secrets of the universe. His first attempt was a success, and he applied his newfound knowledge immediately.
As Yuen Bu stood lost in thought, the dark red Eyes of Life had spread throughout every corner of Creation Peak.
One Eye of Life fixated on the Creation Pool, meticulously observing the withering Hannya Divine Tree, and the emaciated Earth Bear.
The Earth Bear was Yuen Bu's stalwart ally, but Yu Yuan was indifferent to its fate, just as he was to the demise of the Hannya Divine Tree.
What concerned him was his other self, trapped within the sealed barrier.
Whoosh!
A fist-sized Eye of Life seized the moment and darted towards the stone door left ajar by Zhiya.
The Eye of Life sought to stand in for him, to discern whether the Secular Bird Queen, imprisoned within the hazy interior of the Beast Temple, was alive or dead.
As the Eye of Life neared the threshold of the Beast Temple, the grand hall trembled violently.
Jolted from his reverie, Yu Yuan bellowed, summoning the Beast Temple's might to shut the stone door with a resounding crash.
Blood grooves etched deeply into the stone wall of the door allowed blood to flow, creating a life array that could permeate the sealed blood energy.
"The life forces you understand are the very ones I'm contemplating," he declared.
Yu Yuan's colossal Yang God form contracted abruptly. Before Yuen Bu could sense the danger, the immense Yu Yuan that had awed the Beast Gods vanished into thin air atop the mountain.
In an instant, Yu Yuan had become the Eye of Life soaring towards the Beast Temple.
"Open!"
The Eye of Life morphed into Yu Yuan, now the size of a man, his palms facing the sealed stone door, with patterns swirling outward.
Infinite strength emanated from the movement of his palms, stirring the cosmic river of stars.
With a crack, the solid rocks at the edge of Creation Peak split under the force of his palm patterns. Tumbling into the starry abyss, they formed a new microcosm.
The intricate, blood groove-like patterns on the stone door resonated with the lines on his palms. As he pushed outward, the stone door thundered, on the verge of swinging open.
"You should know that once I assimilated those blood-colored lightning bolts into my body, you stood no chance against me."
Creak!
Yu Yuan forcefully pried the stone door open with the imprint of his palm.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered another one of Yuen Bu's blood clones lying in the middle of the hall, shrouded in the stench of death and encircled by the laws of death and poison.
The sound of birds chirping emanated from the bones of Yuen Bu's blood-soaked clone.
Chen Qinghuang was nowhere to be found in the hall!
Her presence was absent, yet her deathly aura still permeated the vacant space, entwining around the pillars of stark white bones and gnawing away at the flesh that once adorned them.
The hall's interior bore a striking resemblance to the Evil Cauldron, with numerous grooves carved out.
Each groove cradled a vessel crafted from the Beast God's skeleton, holding a drop of the Beast God's blood, intended for resurrection post-mortem.
At that moment, it appeared that some of the Beast God vessels had also been contaminated with the aura of death.
The sight before him signaled to Yu Yuan that something was amiss. He refrained from entering the hall rashly, choosing instead to linger by the stone door.
Could it be that Yuen Bu had been defeated?
Yu Yuan pondered in silence, his mood turning somber as he pieced together the anomalies within the Beast Temple.
Deep within the thick purple sea of demonic energy, Zhiya, seated calmly on a chair, spoke once more: "The Origin Spirit is a fusion of energy, Dao laws, and spirituality. The source blood of this realm, housed within Creation Peak, brims with an immense power of flesh and blood, encompassing all laws connected to the lifeblood of this world's inhabitants."
"At any other time, you would be unable to refine it, as long as its spirituality remains intact."
"Now, with its spirituality submerged in that pool, unable to even approach you, what remains is a vast reservoir of energy and the Dao laws it harbors. This presents the perfect opportunity for you."
Zhiya continued to seduce Yuen Bu with her words.
Yuen Bu, now in human form, paused before the open stone door, silently observing Yu Yuan's retreating figure and heeding Zhiya's alluring speech.
He now understood that Yu Yuan, who had likewise received the life secrets of the realm's Origin Blood, was already privy to the scene within the hall.
In the hall, the image that had been a blur to Zhiya and the Light Origin Spirit was clear to Yu Yuan and himself.
Yuen Bu's face was clouded with darkness as he stood unmoving. "What are you all spacing out for? Little Tree, the Earth Bear is on its last legs!"
The Light Origin Spirit, from within the resplendent celestial body, called out in distress, "The Nine-layered Barrier in the pool is sapping Little Tree's vitality, trading it for the unique Dao Laws that Little Tree has discerned. If Little Tree can break free, as long as it survives, it can grow and transform once more. Little Tree has also accessed the more profound wisdom of vegetation sealed within."
Silence followed.
The Light Origin Spirit informed them that there was an exchange between the Nine-layered Barrier and the world's Origin Spirits. As an Origin Spirit grasps the Barrier's power, its spiritual consciousness risks being ensnared, steadily depleting its energy and relinquishing the Dao Laws it has understood. In return, the Origin Spirit seeks to acquire the intricate laws imprinted within the Barrier.
Should the Origin Spirit maintain its consciousness and escape the Barrier, it can integrate the acquired Dao Laws into its being. Take the Hannya Divine Tree, for instance; if it can reclaim its consciousness, even after expending ninety percent of its essence, it can regather its strength. The deeper mysteries of vegetation it has gained from the Barrier could lead to a profound metamorphosis, potentially allowing it to become a true wood Origin Spirit like the Creation Wood, or even ascend to the level of an intermediate Origin Spirit.
The fear, however, is that if it fails to recover its consciousness, it will perish within the Barrier, and all its energy, Dao Laws, and consciousness will simply augment the Barrier's power.
"The Great Demon God Beilstein and Lin Daoke of the Sword Sect are also trapped within the Barrier. Yu Yuan, your true self inside has informed me that they have fallen from an endless abyss," stated the Light Origin Spirit with a clear tone.
"Why don't you go and refine it?" Zhiya, turning her back to the Demon Phoenix and gazing at Yu Yuan's back, asked in a deep voice after the Light Origin Spirit reiterated the stakes involved.
Neither the black goat nor the Old Ape, who hailed from the vast expanse, could ascertain the intended recipient of her question.
The two Beast Gods reflected for a moment and had an epiphany that both Yu Yuan's Yang God and the Demon Phoenix Zhiya, who was equally adept in the intricacies of life and bloodlines, were indeed worthy of seizing the chance to refine the source blood.
Seizing the spiritual consciousness of the Origin Blood, they immersed themselves within the Nine-Layered Barrier, claiming its principles and energy as their own!
For some unknown reason, after Yuen Bu posed his question, the two Beast Gods, unsure of whom he was inquiring about, suddenly experienced a premonition.
Yuen Bu's steadfast loyalty to them had subtly begun to shift.
