C2193 The Battle of Wits and Courage
Upon uttering those words, Yuan Le, whose form was conjured from the Secrets of Life, came to a sudden halt.
Inside the cavernous belly of the mountain, the rock walls took on a sinister scarlet hue, with numerous blood lines hidden within them occasionally surfacing.
The stalactite-like blood crystals were sharply pointed, glinting with a frosty sheen.
Peering deeper into the cave, Yu Yuan noticed a thick blood mist swirling about, suggesting the presence of some terrifying threat lurking further within, secretly watching him and Yuan Le.
Hiss hiss!
Within Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit body, the blood-colored lightning he had previously refined and absorbed became more active in the confines of the cave.
The minuscule spiritual sense of the Primal Blood within him communicated like mosquitoes shrunk to a fraction of their size.
Yu Yuan avoided interacting with the tiny specks of blood light, not probing or acknowledging them, feigning ignorance.
Without the spiritual sense gathering or delving into his mind, his thoughts remained private.
The slight stir of the spiritual sense was merely a reaction to his words, trying to discern how he had come to know the truth.
Simultaneously.
Yu Yuan's Eye of Life, positioned in the void of the Peak of Creation, shifted its strategy upon witnessing Yuan Le's real body.
The giant ape, towering in the Star River, was encircled by seven expansive Bloody Rivers, each emanating a blend of Solar Meridian and Lunar Meridian scents from their depths.
The chanting of his true name by the alien beast echoed through the depths of the seven Bloody Rivers.
The Beast God Temple vibrated, unleashing infinite bloody light that crashed against the Dark Phoenix's outstretched wings.
The enigmatic Phoenix Shrine transformed into a piece of exquisite purple divine armor, encasing the Dark Phoenix's vital areas in beauty.
Her wings became gleaming violet-gold blades, which, as she dove, sliced through the Star River's void, cleaving the bloody light emanating from the Beast God Temple.
Yuan Le, with a malicious grin, was poised to close in but abruptly retreated a step.
A single step spanned millions of miles across the Star River, whisking him back to the Peak of Creation.
Yuan Le's gaze flickered, betraying his uncertainty.
Thunderous rumbles echoed as massive meteorites, each spanning tens of millions of acres, were set in motion by Sekou, a supreme being of the eleventh level. Launched from the vicinity of the Peak of Creation, they formed an expansive sea of meteorites that engulfed the soaring phoenix.
Zhiya beat her wings, unleashing a torrential downpour of violet gold light. Each drop of this rain was the essence of the Titan Spinosaurus, the very core of Sunsilver power.
Specks of violet gold light cascaded down like countless blades, slashing through the void.
In the midst of a cataclysmic uproar, the meteorite sea, manipulated by the Direbear, disintegrated into a haze of dust.
Zhiya ascended from the cloud of debris, her slender phoenix eyes, sharp and cold as ice, fixed on the giant ape that had retreated to the Peak of Creation. She questioned, "This isn't your true power. You shouldn't have fallen back to the summit."
She sensed Yuan Le's disquiet.
Yuan Le, who had vowed to unleash the full might of the Lord of Ruin, now seemed to have a fissure in his mental defenses, his mind burdened with heavy concerns during the fight.
Yuan Le's real body remained mute.
"Ridiculous!" bellowed his Blood Clone within the cave.
Undeterred, he continued to absorb the unfamiliar Secrets of Life from the blood crystal, indifferent to the world around him.
The Blood Clone, a division of his real body, underwent a sudden transformation following Yu Yuan's arrival and his words.
Swiftly, nearly a hundred Yuan Les emerged from the Blood Clone, weaving through the caverns within the Peak of Creation.
Outside, Yuan Le, having invoked the form of the giant ape, stood upon the Peak of Creation with the grandeur of the Beast God Temple floating behind him, its halls radiating infinite light and demon energy.
Sekou, the Direbear, was partially buried in the pit with the other half of his body behind him.
"Yu Yuan has gone in!" Sekou murmured to him. "The cave wasn't opened by me; I don't know how he got in. Be cautious!"
Yuan Le gave a slight nod with his real body. As nearly a hundred Yuan Les emerged in the cave, his vitality abruptly ebbed away.
Deep within the cavern's belly, the sound of boiling blood echoed ominously.
As soon as the noise began, Yuan Le, who was in the external void, was once again suffused with an immense surge of vital energy.
His moment of weakness was fleeting.
Inside the cave, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit gazed in astonishment toward the area shrouded in thick blood fog.
"It's not your real body that's gathering vital energy from this cave, but the Beast God Temple you've devotedly constructed following its directives."
"The Beast God Temple first collects the vital energy, then channels it into your real body, which in turn distributes it to your Blood Clones."
Yu Yuan had discerned every detail.
Yuan Le, occupied within the cave, did not answer him, focusing instead on capturing the unfamiliar Secrets of Life around him and relaying them to his real body.
Clearly, Yuan Le had been paying close attention to Yu Yuan's words.
"The Secrets of Life that you and I have uncovered are actually quite different," Yu Yuan said, maintaining his composure.
He scrutinized the scene and noticed that many of the Secrets of Life within the blood-colored lightning harvested by Yuan Le's clones had already been assimilated into his physique.
What felt alien to Yu Yuan was overlooked by Yuan Le, indicating that Yuan Le had long since incorporated it into his own flesh.
"Yu Yuan, save me!"
The plea of the Light Spirit's consciousness emanated from the deepest recesses of the cave, its voice reverberating off the walls.
A dazzling orb of light materialized amidst the dense blood mist, its voice filled with urgency, "I..."
The Light Spirit's consciousness was fragmented and sporadic.
Without further concern for Yuan Le, who was still amassing the Secrets of Life, Yu Yuan advanced with his Solar Spirit, effortlessly gliding through the thick blood fog to reach the inner sanctum of the cave.
Crossing the blood mist, the minute spiritual sense within his Primal Blood stirred to life, more vibrant than ever.
It was this subtle spiritual sense in his Primal Blood that enabled him to traverse the blood fog smoothly, propelling him into another realm within the Heavenly Passage!
His view suddenly expanded.
Blood-red stalactites hung down, piercing into the heart of intense light sources. The blood crystals, like leeches, feasted on the blinding light within.
Each beam of blinding light represented the light magic wielded by the Light Spirit, the culmination of eons of accumulated wisdom.
At this moment, the crystallizations of wisdom were being absorbed by the Primal Blood of the Wasteland, preparing to merge with the blood crystals within itself.
He also noticed behind the cave, numerous blood crystals, sharp as swords, were embedded in the center of chunks of Seven-Colored Divine Soil.
It appeared as though a massive piece of Seven-Colored Divine Soil had been shattered by the blood crystals. They pierced into different fragments of the Divine Soil, capturing their delicate essence.
Yu Yuan found it odd that as the energy drained from the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, a multitude of colorful clouds began to form.
These emerging clouds seemed to be the arcane knowledge that Mother Earth had recently grasped.
Mother Earth was still in the midst of an exchange with the Nine Walls of the Wellspring of Creation. After making a certain sacrifice, Mother Earth acquired the profound power of a similar nature that it sought.
Yet, the blood crystals embedded in the Seven-Colored Divine Soil were also amassing the cosmic order overseen by the Primal Anima.
Seizing the moment when Mother Earth's spirituality waned, the Primal Blood of the Wasteland struck at the other two allied Primal Animas within its controlled cave.
It was indifferent to Yuan Le intercepting a portion of the Secrets of Life it had gleaned after creating him.
It did not object to Yuan Le growing stronger.
Its spiritual sense remained intact. Regardless of Yuan Le's strength, it could always use its spiritual sense to forcefully take possession of him when necessary!
It was unable to possess Yuan Le, whose body housed a seven-tiered Soul Altar, so it had dispersed its consciousness into billions of fragments.
Yuan Le, on the other hand, had been possessed countless times.
Regardless of Yuan Le's willingness, as long as its spiritual sense persisted, he could never escape!
Thus, Yuan Le's nearly a hundred clones gathering the unfamiliar Secrets of Life in the cave was permitted to occur tacitly.
Yuan Le, who believed he was in control, was never free from its grasp. In the end, all of Yuan Le's actions would serve to its advantage.
"A pack of the same breed!"
Yu Yuan sneered from deep within the cave.
When the Light Spirit detected something amiss with the Wellspring of Creation, it broke free from its influence by connecting with its real body. It immediately sought to awaken the Primal Blood of the Wasteland and sent word to Mother Earth and the Uxthar Tree, hoping that all three could break free as it had.
The Primal Blood of the Wasteland remained uncorrupted, aware that both Mother Earth and the Uxthar Tree had succumbed.
It offered no assistance, failing to support the three Primal Animas it had allied with. Instead, it seized the moment to refine Mother Earth and strip away the crystallized intelligence of the Light Spirit.
"Amalgamating Primal Animas of the same attribute is straightforward, but merging those of differing attributes is not as easy as you might think."
"A Primal Soul birthed from the Abyss is beyond your comparison. Even it must resort to alternative methods. And here you are, intending to engulf Primal Animas of varying attributes with crystals branded with the Secrets of Life. You're overestimating your capabilities."
Boom!
The cavern shook as the sanguine patterns on the crimson rock walls coalesced into indifferent eyeballs.
Countless Eyes of Life, born from the Primal Blood's power, gazed at Yu Yuan from every direction.
Most would be petrified, their courage shattered by fear.
"How did you know I was still here?"
The consciousness of the Primal Blood, like a tide in the deep sea, echoed throughout the cave adorned with blood crystals. The myriad sinister Eyes of Life were all fixated on Yu Yuan's reflection.
Within Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, amidst the blood-colored lightning, a tiny spark of blood light began to stir.
The blood light suddenly commenced devouring Yu Yuan's life essence, growing stronger by consuming his Solar Spirit.
"I lack a corporeal body to utilize. I intended to act against you through that giant ape. Yet, you entered willingly, greedily drawing in my power, affording me the opportunity to strangle your existence without a real body."
Countless blood lights within Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit swelled into tumors, pulsating like hearts tainted with malevolence.
The growths consumed Yu Yuan's vitality at an accelerated rate.
"If only I had known."
Yu Yuan softly closed his eyes. Within the brain of his Solar Spirit, which bore the Secrets of Life from both realms, an ethereal expanse materialized.
A seven-tiered crystalline Soul Altar emerged, casting divine light upon his every limb.
The divine light, embodying several supreme rules, wielded the might of a Divine Weapon capable of cleaving through both the ethereal and the corporeal.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All the tumors that had swelled from the consciousness of the Primal Blood burst in an instant, like blood bags rupturing.
Yu Yuan let out a hearty laugh as he hammered down with his hands, shattering the blood crystals. He was the first to rescue the Light Spirit, refining the strong light of the cosmic order's rule.
"Mother Earth."
After some contemplation, Yu Yuan spoke again, "I have shattered you before, letting you perish in the illusory depths of the Abyss. I have also aided in your rebirth."
"I will assist you once more. This time, I hope that when you awaken, you will not repay my kindness with ingratitude."
Crack! Crack!
Yu Yuan also snapped the blood crystals embedded in the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, rescuing Mother Earth, whose spiritual sense had been deeply ensnared in the Wellspring of Creation.
