C2194 The Appearance of the Blazing Flame
In the stone caves of Peak of Creation, Yu Yuan and Yuan Le were each engrossed in their tasks, careful not to encroach upon one another's work. Yuan Le's Blood Clones were diligently gathering the Secrets of Life, unfamiliar to him, paying no mind to whatever Yu Yuan was doing.
Crack!
It wasn't until the sound of crystals shattering echoed from deeper within the cave that one of Yuan Le's Blood Clones finally ceased its activity to observe. After a brief hesitation, the clone transformed into a streak of blood light, attempting to traverse the dense blood mist just as Yu Yuan had done, drawn by the noise originating from beyond the mist.
Silently, the Blood Clone that had become a ray of blood light dissipated within the mist, becoming one with it. The rest of Yuan Le's nearly one hundred Blood Clones momentarily halted their collection of the Secrets of Life. All of Yuan Le's Blood Clones cast a lingering gaze toward the blood mist.
Moments later, an even greater number of Yuan Le's Blood Clones materialized, moving with increased urgency in the area, desperately manipulating the blood-red lightning within the crystals. Yuan Le's actions were marked by a palpable sense of urgency.
...
At the summit.
As Zhiya voiced her doubts, Yuan Le, the Lord of Ruin, had the grand Beast God Temple suspended behind his neck. His face suddenly paled as if he sensed an impending horror. The supreme being, now in the form of a giant ape, clenched his teeth and withdrew an object from the Beast God Temple.
It was a drop of the Secular Bird Queen's Divine Blood!
The Divine Blood, brimming with death force and exuding a toxic scent, was consumed in one gulp. It tainted his tongue and corroded his flesh, causing his bones to fracture. Yet, amidst the torturous pain that bordered on self-mutilation, he let out a faint sigh of relief, as if he had narrowly avoided disaster.
"What are you afraid of?" Zhiya's voice carried a note of confusion.
Her massive phoenix form lingered around the Peak of Creation, not daring to venture too close to the summit. She was contemplating Yuan Le's actions, seeking to uncover the secrets that the Lord of Ruin was so cautiously guarding.
...
In the expansive cave behind the blood mist, Yu Yuan surged forward like a bolt of lightning, shattering crystal pillars in his wake. The stone cave sparkled with the spray of blood-colored light as the mist thickened, and the sinister eyes embedded in the cave walls watched his movements with a fierce intensity.
As the blood crystals continued to shatter, the Seven-Colored Divine Soil that had been pierced by them instantly lost its constraints. Dozens of differently sized pieces of Seven-Colored Divine Soil instinctively drew near to each other, clicking into place and reconnecting to form a complete mass of Seven-Colored Divine Soil. This expanse of Hallowed Ground, covering a hundred acres, was the original form of Mother Earth, the very root of the Primal Anima.
With a tearing sound, millions of earth meridians, like strands of rainbow-colored hair, spread across the Hallowed Ground in a mysterious and unfathomable pattern. If Taishi were to witness this miraculous display of earth veins, he would etch it deep into his primordial spirit, undoubtedly advancing his own realm.
Yu Yuan hovered in midair, gazing upon the sight, which made him feel slightly dizzy. He snorted to himself, thinking that if his real body were present, he would certainly use the true Soul Altar to imprint these billions of earth meridians and forge an additional layer on the stage.
"It was originally hundreds of acres in size!" the Light Spirit shrieked.
Clusters of intense light, representing him, were converging. Within the depths of this brilliance, numerous translucent crystals bore the imprints of the light magic he wielded.
Suddenly, the transparent crystals began to stack upon one another, transforming into a city brimming with a holy aura. It was, in fact, a City of Light! He had used the light magic to solidify a City of Light, within which he concealed his spirit and consciousness.
The city roared within the crimson cavern, desperately seeking a path to escape the Primal Blood. Disheartened, he maneuvered the City of Light, lamenting, "I just want to leave this place. The Origin Realm is not safe, nor is the Wasteland."
"This guy is even more vile!" he raged.
"The Primal Soul of the Abyss merely wants to enslave me, to ensure my undying loyalty, demanding that I dutifully surrender the secrets of light magic. But this creature in the cave nearly obliterated me!"
After drifting aimlessly in the air for a long time without finding an exit, he eventually floated back to Yu Yuan's side. It seemed that proximity to Yu Yuan was the only safety he could find.
"You're not so bad, after all. You took me to the land above the Abyss and used me merely as a source of light. When I wished to leave, you opened the door for me, and just now, you rescued me once more."
He extended an olive branch to Yu Yuan.
"Wasn't this expanse of Seven-Colored Divine Soil originally hundreds of acres?"
Yu Yuan, suspended in midair, mulled over these words and surveyed the area, only to discover that the Hallowed Ground, which had split and reformed, was continuing to diminish incrementally.
Within the Hallowed Ground, the rich essence of the earth was rapidly depleting.
New vibrant clouds materialized, and fresh seven-colored veins emerged, yet despite the resplendent divine light, the hundred acres of Hallowed Ground persisted in its contraction.
Mother Earth's spirit and awareness remained submerged within the nine layers of the Wellspring of Creation's wall, tirelessly striving to decipher the profound secrets of her Abyssal counterpart.
She was oblivious to her form being impaled by blood crystals, unaware that it had already undergone division.
"None of you will escape."
The spiritual sense of the Primal Blood emanated from the Eyes of Life embedded in the cave walls.
The multitude of Eyes of Life gradually morphed into springs of blood, with the Primal Blood amassing strength for an unknown purpose.
Suddenly, a blood spring ejected a figure—a youth with skin as clear as jade.
It was none other than the Snow Kid, Yu Han!
On Yu Han's neck, a necklace of Ice Shards transformed into thumb-sized blood crystals, his body surging with tumultuous vitality like a wild tide.
His physique was supremely refined, with each blood vessel and vein pulsating with intimidating blood-colored lightning.
He was an extraordinary being, forged by Yu Yuan with his own life force and the Dire Bear's lifeblood, later empowered by the extreme cold. He was a life form unlike any other.
Cast down to the Wasteland, his body was remolded and tempered by the realm's Primal Blood, infusing every fiber of his being with life essence, each piece of flesh and every bone imbued with the essence of this realm's Primal Blood.
Yu Yuan could clearly see his own soul, diminished and huddled at the back of his head, encased in a sphere of vital energy.
The spiritual sense that dominated his mind, a confluence of blood-red glimmers, indicated that the Primal Blood had successfully usurped his vessel.
"The journey to the Origin Realm turned Yuan Le, whom I had shaped with my own hands, into a rebel. It was you, Yu Yuan, who planted the seeds of treachery deep within his psyche."
The Primal Blood articulated through the body of Snow Kid, Yu Han.
"I also perceived a possibility. Since the being born of the Abyss could consume its kin in the Origin Realm, and since Mother Earth herself was once shattered and stripped of her earthly power, and since there exists a silent Primal Anima within the barrier of the Wellspring of Creation, it suggests that one can merge different attributes of the same kind."
"If he can do it, why can't I?"
The spiritual sense that had taken residence in Yu Han's body began to exhibit complex emotions, transcending its former state as an unfeeling automaton of rules.
"I have also envisioned the form of a perfect life!"
With its newfound emotional complexity, it gestured like presenting a treasure, pointing with Yu Han's fingers towards the rock wall overhead.
A blood crystal descended from the rock wall.
Within the blood crystal was a small figure, encased in ice, lacking real facial features as if it was still part of its imagination.
The Life Seed within the small figure was all too familiar to Yu Yuan.
Humans!
Or rather, the Gods!
"It's not as you think, not exactly the same."
As if reading Yu Yuan's thoughts, he shook his head and explained, "I have repeatedly evolved Yuan Le's Life Seed, constantly optimizing and adjusting it. After dozens of iterations, Yuan Le's life essence has evolved into this form."
"It bears a strong resemblance, indeed it does."
He was quite moved.
"The Primal Soul of the Abyss is not adept in the Secrets of Life and should not have been able to create such an advanced intelligent life. What truly allows your race to dazzle in the Abyss and shine brightly in the vastness of the Origin Realm is something else entirely."
"Incredible, quite the formidable entity."
He was full of admiration.
In the eyes of Yu Han, now host to his spiritual sense, the Wellspring of Creation was revealed, along with a peculiar mass of flesh and blood.
The subject of his admiration and reflection, the formidable entity he spoke of, was the Primal Blood eliminated by the Primal Soul of the Abyss.
Now, only this mass of flesh and blood remained.
"To think that such a peer, whom I admire, was defeated in the Abyss by the Primal Soul. If I continue to adhere to convention, if I don't innovate, how can I expect to triumph?"
"Yu Yuan, you are the architect of all this!"
"Ever since you allowed me to witness the Wellspring of Creation and the mass of flesh and blood, I began to falter, and that's when the malevolent thoughts took root," he accused Yu Yuan.
Whoosh!
The blood crystal that had dangled from above retracted to the dome of the cavern and vanished from sight.
"Regrettably, I can only infer the potential form of Yuan Le's Life Seed after numerous cycles of optimization and metamorphosis. Given my current power and insight into the Secrets of Life, I am still unable to bring him into existence."
"I require that mass of flesh and blood in the pool, as well as the crystallized wisdom of this predecessor, to forge my own divine race!"
"Should I succeed, Yuan Le's lineage, including the alien beasts of the Wasteland, are fated to become mere side characters!"
"..."
He laid out his grand vision, seemingly unconcerned with what Yu Yuan or the Light Spirit might think.
Deep within the chasm at the Peak of Creation.
The Uxthar Tree had perished, devoid of any spiritual sense. Its desiccated and cracked trunk slowly turned to ash.
It passed away in utter silence.
Beneath the earth, colorful pebbles continued to fall toward the Wellspring of Creation's protective barrier.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The spiritual sense of the Primal Blood of the Wasteland, manifesting as the Root of the Solar Meridian, halted just before reaching the eerie mass of flesh and blood.
Yuan Le shuddered involuntarily.
Boom!
The Beast God Temple, which he had commissioned to be crafted, spiraled out of control and struck the back of his head, propelling him away from the Peak of Creation.
"A filthy piece of flesh!"
A spiritual sense-formed blood-colored waterfall circled above Yuan Le's head as he stumbled and fell towards the Star River. Yet, it hesitated to descend, seemingly repelled by the scent of a drop of secular bird's blood.
He must possess an aversion to impurity.
