C2195 Another Choice
"Hmm!"
The Direbear, with eyes as vast as celestial bodies, displayed a look of shock.
Yuan Le had painstakingly refined the Beast God Temple, which had launched a stealthy attack while he was distracted, sending him flying out of the Peak of Creation. This left Sekou both stunned and puzzled.
Sekou wasn't known for his sharp wit. Upon witnessing a blood-red waterfall, he failed to realize it was the work of the Primal Blood consciousness.
But as he glanced down, he noticed the streams that fed into the Wellspring of Creation, resembling the Root of the Solar Meridian, had abruptly halted.
They stopped right at the ninth and final layer of the barrier!
Just one more step, and the blood-red streams would touch the mysterious flesh and blood.
Yet, at that critical moment, they ceased.
Then, Sekou discovered that the Uxthar Tree had been reduced to sawdust on the ground.
Countless pebbles, rich with the earth's subtleties and energy, continued to surge towards the resplendent nine-layered barrier, recklessly craving its power.
"Yuan Le, something's not right," Sekou said, scratching his head as he warned, "Your clone that ventured deep into the cave needs to come out quickly. My connection with the Peak of Creation is weakening. The force that elevated me to the eleventh level seems to be losing its spiritual sense and power too rapidly."
"Also, I'm at a loss on how to refine it."
Wariness crept into Sekou's heart.
Boom! Bang!
As he spoke, the grand Beast God Temple, bathed in the dazzling demonic glow, continued its assault on Yuan Le.
The giant ape, once the ruler of the Wasteland, sovereign over its inhabitants, staggered under the blows of the Beast God Temple in the blood-drenched expanse of the Star River.
Yuan Le's skull and shoulders bore bones that shattered upon impact, only to heal swiftly.
Sizzle!
The spiritual sense of the world's Primal Blood formed a twisting, turbulent blood-red waterfall above Yuan Le's head.
It resembled a dire beast that had caught the scent of blood yet couldn't find its prey, appearing noticeably restless.
Yuan Le's true form, encircled by seven Bloody Rivers, remained silent despite the relentless barrage from the Beast God Temple, his furry hands tirelessly pulling and tugging.
The expansive Bloody River encircled his substantial waist like a sash. The chants of the alien beasts and the thoughts of the beast souls intertwined, forming spiritual pillars of support.
Yuan Le drew upon this to steady his mind, rendering the beast soul immovable. A silent laugh spread across his face, even as his mouth was smeared with blood.
A drop of green divine blood from the Secular Bird Queen melded with the membrane of his mouth. This minuscule droplet of divine blood had swelled into a sphere of death.
The sphere ceaselessly eroded his vibrant flesh, transforming it into a death force.
Abruptly, he ceased speaking. The green sphere, heavy with the scent of death, was tucked beneath his tongue.
Boom!
Yuan Le was once again struck by the Beast God Temple from high above, plummeting down to the Star River, but this time he managed to steady himself.
The distorted blood-colored waterfall continued to loom overhead, unable to descend upon him or take possession in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh!
The majestic purple phoenix gracefully folded its wings, transforming back into the human form of Zhiya.
Standing atop the towering Phoenix Shrine, she expressed her astonishment, "How intriguing, you're actually fighting amongst yourselves."
Watching the Beast God Temple repeatedly strike Yuan Le's true form, and the urgency of the blood-colored waterfall, Zhiya clearly understood the situation.
"Dark Phoenix!"
A jolt went through Yuan Le's heart as his eerie gaze settled on Zhiya.
"Apart from Yu Yuan and myself, there's another vessel ripe for possession."
As the blood-colored waterfall pursued Yuan Le's true form once more, unable to descend, Yuan Le spoke up, "Zhiya is an alien beast too. She has grasped the Secrets of Life and is privy to the numerous blood magic techniques within the Root of the Solar Meridian that you've refined."
"If you seek a corporeal body to manifest your power, she is an option worth considering."
With those words, Yuan Le cast a malevolent glance at the Dark Phoenix, Zhiya.
Her phoenix eyes grew icy.
Whoosh!
Beneath her, the Phoenix Shrine shimmered with a kaleidoscope of light, as the cosmic order unfolded across the void.
Suddenly, the blood-colored waterfall that had been hovering persistently above Yuan Le's head was stirred into action by his provocative suggestion.
The crimson waterfall surged directly toward Zhiya!
Deep within the cascade, the spiritual consciousness of the Primal Blood of this realm materialized numerous Life Seeds.
Each Life Seed transformed into a gracefully dancing phoenix.
Ice phoenixes, fire phoenixes, golden phoenixes, silver phoenixes, purple phoenixes.
The entire Phoenix Clan's Life Seeds were displayed within the crimson waterfall, creating a formidable barrier aimed at the very origin of Zhiya's life.
Beneath Zhiya's full chest, her Demon Heart abruptly ceased its rhythm.
Her blood circulation and the resonance with the bloodline rules were suppressed by the Phoenix Clan's origin, sealed at the source by the spiritual wisdom, causing Zhiya to experience a brief halt.
The waterfall, a manifestation of her own spiritual wisdom, poured over her head, filling the depths of her demon soul.
Zhiya was motionless against the backdrop of the cosmos.
Beneath her, the Dark Deities and Beast Gods concealed within the Phoenix Shrine suddenly found themselves disconnected from her.
The Phoenix Shrine was hermetically sealed, with neither doors nor windows ajar.
Despite sensing Zhiya's peril, the Beast Gods within, such as Yu Zhu and the Astral Tiger, were powerless to exert their strength or leave the confines of the Phoenix Shrine.
Anxiety gripped them as they were forcibly confined, left only to speculate about the misfortune that had befallen Zhiya.
After a short while.
Zhiya, with her eyes closed and still in human form, gestured toward the Beast God Temple.
The colossal Beast God Temple contracted abruptly, and like Yuan Le before her, she held the now miniature temple in her hand, assuming the role of its sovereign.
Countless bloodline patterns emerged on the temple walls, intertwining with Zhiya's own.
Yuan Le's face turned rigid.
His true form revealed, he observed Zhiya, tiny as an ant, and the even tinier Beast God Temple, and a sense of unease washed over him.
Everything had gone too smoothly!
In Yuan Le's projections, Zhiya, who had not been endowed with the complete Secrets of Life and had not been crafted into a supreme being, had never undergone possession by him.
Her first descent should not have been this effortless, nor should the possession have been completed in the blink of an eye.
Zhiya was the alien beast king, second only to him in the Three Realms, and she was on the cusp of the eleventh level. When she resisted the possession by the Primal Blood of this realm, her defiance was sure to cause an uproar.
Though Zhiya was destined to be possessed, she would undoubtedly stir up a massive disturbance, buying him the time he needed.
Before he was ready, before even opening her eyes, Zhiya had seized control of the Beast God Temple.
He felt as though Zhiya had taken his place, becoming the new Lord of Ruin.
"You can't wield the power of the Beast God Temple!"
Yuan Le exclaimed, his voice tinged with jealousy and bitterness.
He had devoted endless years to gathering rare magic items from the various astral domains of the Wasteland and even from the Origin Realm to construct the Beast God Temple—a symbol of the supreme power of the Wasteland.
No one understood the significance of the Beast God Temple and the astonishing secrets it held better than he did.
The Beast God Temple had the power to resurrect Beast Gods with lifeblood, to traverse the void, to transform into a Divine Weapon, and to harness the vital energy stored in the Origin Realm.
Yuan Le had never imagined he would lose the Beast God Temple.
He had thought that the connection between him and the Beast God Temple was only severed temporarily, and that he would eventually reclaim it.
But now...
Boom!
With a thunderous noise, the once diminutive Beast God Temple expanded a billionfold!
The images of both living and departed Beast Gods materialized on the walls of the Beast God Temple, now as vast as the Peak of Creation. Each Beast God appeared to have returned to their prime.
Several Beast Gods turned their roars towards Yuan Le!
Wails and roars filled the air, powerful enough to shatter the world, breaking apart the seven expansive Bloody Rivers that encircled his waist until they vanished.
The alien beasts of the Astral Domain, which had been chanting his true name to bolster the power of his beast soul, were scattered by the Beast Gods' bellowing. The roars extinguished the bloody glow within Yuan Le's hair.
His consciousness blurred, Yuan Le found himself unable to distinguish whether the force he felt was his own or Zhiya's.
Why did the Beast God Temple exhibit even more terrifying power after he possessed Zhiya than when he first possessed himself? Yuan Le was puzzled.
Deep within the cave shrouded in a blood mist.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Yuan Le's clones, which had collected the blood crystals and their blood-colored lightning, were engulfed by a force, instantly transforming into clouds of blood-colored smoke.
The blood-colored smoke merged with the crimson walls, becoming part of the cave's vital energy.
Yuan Le's clones were no more.
In the deepest part of the cave, the spiritual sense that had taken over Snow Kid Yu Han had just unveiled his grand ambitions when his expression suddenly turned grave.
"This phoenix dares to defy me!"
Under Yu Yuan's astonished gaze, the spiritual sense possessing Snow Kid Yu Han vanished within the cave.
The heart of Peak of Creation fell into eerie silence.
On the crimson walls, the sinister Eyes of Life continued to watch Yu Yuan, observing his every move.
"Should we leave now?"
The voice of the Light Spirit timidly emerged from the City of Light, refined by the cosmic order, "If Mother Earth doesn't care, then neither should we."
"Hold on a moment."
Yu Yuan, in his Solar Spirit Body, gently descended onto the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, which was less than a hundred acres and floated in midair.
"You!" The Light Spirit exclaimed in shock, "You want to consume it as well?"
"It's not about consuming. I'm reflecting, and I suddenly realize..."
Upon landing on the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, Yu Yuan's face took on a puzzled look as he spoke as if in a trance, "I remember now. I once used my real body and a piece of Seven-Colored Divine Soil to forge a Soul Altar. My real body is currently trapped in the true Abyss."
"But I want to try something!"
Suddenly, he lay flat on the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, his Solar Spirit Body expanding as the life-affirming bloodlines within him radiated light.
Before long, his Solar Spirit Body completely enveloped the Seven-Colored Divine Soil.
The Hallowed Ground, symbolic of Mother Earth's original form, became like a bed, and his radiant, ruby-like Solar Spirit Body lay upon it.
His remnant soul consciousness delved into the Seven-Colored Divine Soil, seeking out Mother Earth's spiritual sense.
His consciousness, now a delicate web of soul threads, merged with Mother Earth's spiritual sense, waiting in silence.
After a brief pause, his remnant soul consciousness intertwined with the essence of the earth spirit, then slowly began to dissipate.
It dissipated into the nine splendid layers of the sealing barrier.
When Mother Earth engaged in the exchange of rules with her counterparts in the Abyss, she had to offer the intricate mysteries of the earth she had comprehended, along with the dense vital energy of the earth.
The portions she relinquished, which included the soul threads refined by Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, were integrated into the sealing barrier.
Yu Yuan's refined soul threads, within the enigmatic nine-layer barrier, instantly connected with his real body and the Soul Altar within his Mindscape!
