C2202 The Appearance of the Otherworld
Yuan Le held two alien beasts in high regard: the Direbear and the Ape he had brought back from the Origin Realm, a descendant of his own lineage. Sekou had perished, and now, his kin was being devoured by the Beast God. The black goat, smilodon, and Death Viper, once loyal to him, now lay prostrate behind Zhiya, bowing to the leader of the Phoenix Clan. Yuan Le's fury was undeniable.
"If you, Yuan Le, cannot properly occupy the throne, perhaps it's time to let me take your place," Zhiya sneered, her eyes narrowing in her human guise.
In the Great Marsh, the old Ape's bones lay shattered, its flesh torn and consumed by the Beast God, filling her with immense pleasure. "I have been too lenient, waiting this long to kill him."
For millennia, Untamed had been her adversary, and she was aware that upon learning of the existence of the Lord of Ruin, a kin of hers, he would inevitably pledge allegiance to Yuan Le. And indeed, that was the case.
Not slaying the Ape had been her contingency plan, a reserve for a time when she might suffer grave injuries, at which point she would summon the Phoenix Shrine from beyond to the Marsh, to annihilate the Ape and harvest its vital energy for healing. Now, with the Beast God Temple in her possession, Untamed had lost all worth.
"Zhiya, you dare to usurp me!" Yuan Le roared.
With a thunderous boom, the Bloody River encircling him converged in the void behind the giant ape, forming a blood-colored gateway bridging the ancient worlds. Within the Heaven Gate, time and space quaked, and the bloodline mysteries contorted in chaos, as if myriad imprisoned lives from Otherworlds were being released by his might.
"The Hundred Realms Blood Calamity!" The deep, ancient demonic chant reverberated unceasingly from the blood-colored gateway behind Yuan Le, channeling its power into his bestial form.
Imprisoned by Yuan Le, it was uncertain whether these beings hailed from the Wasteland or some other Otherworld. They appeared to be the subjects of a blood sacrifice. Their realms were shrouded in a horrific blood-red hue, with creatures dying in droves.
The exotic and peculiar Otherkin that perished were those Yuan Le had been tasked to eradicate. Having gathered their Life Seeds, he offered them to the Primal Blood of this realm.
Using his power, he sealed off those worlds teeming with life, leaving behind only the Mystic Gate that he alone could open. He let those bloody worlds evolve and occasionally stoked the flames, empowering their inhabitants with a deeper understanding of the bloodline rules. When he needed strength, he would perform a blood sacrifice on his 'blood warehouse,' seizing power in one fell swoop.
This was his Blood Fruit Garden, where the beings of the bloody world were the bountiful fruits he had cultivated. Now, as Yuan Le harvested these fruits, the Hundred Realms faced the great blood calamity!
Whoosh!
Droplets of blood-colored light escaped from the blood-colored Heaven Gate behind Yuan Le, sprinkling upon his bestial form. Yuan Le, already towering at tens of thousands of feet, grew nearly double in size. His colossal beastly form now dwarfed even the Peak of Creation, and his fearsome vital energy manifested as mythical beasts and birds, swirling around him in a majestic dance. The grandeur of the King of the Monsters was unmistakable!
"I am one who honors deep bonds," Yuan Le's voice thundered across the cosmos. His beastly eyes shimmered with nostalgia as he murmured, "Celestial Pillar of Life!"
Whoosh!
A Dark Tower appeared instantaneously, bringing with it a dark red stone pillar etched with the totem of the King of the Monsters. An ancient, wild aura emanated from the Celestial Pillar of Life, as if its presence had drawn all beings back to the dawn of the Wasteland. The fabric of space-time rippled and quaked, rendering the distant stars and earth primitive and decayed.
"My old companion, you've endured much over the years," Yuan Le said, his furry palm caressing the expanding Celestial Pillar of Life with tenderness, his beastly eyes brimming with memories and yearning. "Today, you will be stained with blood once more."
The giant ape, perched atop the Peak of Creation, suddenly hoisted the Celestial Pillar of Life and hurled it toward the mountain. Mother Earth's countenance darkened ever so slightly. She realized that the moment the Celestial Pillar of Life reached Yuan Le's grasp, the formidable giant ape had already taken to the skies.
The geomagnetic force of Peak of Creation no longer affected Yuan Le!
As Yuan Le wielded the Celestial Pillar of Life, the scene of myriad beasts vying for it burst into life!
Roars and the rustling of movement filled the air!
Thousands of ninth-level beast kings, hundreds of tenth-level Beast Gods, and countless alien beasts of various ranks suddenly emerged in the Star River outside Peak of Creation, locked in fierce combat, each seeking a breakthrough in their bloodlines.
All the alien beasts and tribes that had once thrived in the Wasteland seemed to be revived by Yuan Le.
Mother Earth's deep brown eyes remained tranquil as she watched the Celestial Pillar of Life crash down onto the summit of Peak of Creation, as if it bore the destiny and vital energy of the entire Wasteland.
Such divine might of the cosmic order could only be wielded by Yuan Le, the Lord of Ruin.
Clang!
The summit erupted with billions of lightning bolts as the Celestial Pillar of Life struck, shattering millions of boulders.
A raw force, reaching deep into the earth, effortlessly shattered all rock layers, grinding the earth's essence and reducing the sunsilver-hard stones to dust.
This unstoppable force could obliterate the seven layers of the Abyss and entire star continents.
Not even the City of Light in the Origin Realm could withstand Yuan Le's strike.
"I didn't expect that..."
For the first time, Mother Earth showed a look of surprise.
She rose into the air, her gaze upon Yuan Le far more solemn than when she observed the Dark Phoenix Zhiya nestled in the wings of the Beast God Temple and Phoenix Shrine.
She was in perfect harmony with Peak of Creation; her consciousness, divine power, and vital energy permeated every inch of the mountain.
She understood better than anyone the ferocity of Yuan Le's strike.
It might well be the pinnacle of eleventh-level power!
"This is beyond my expectations."
She nodded slightly, her hands moving as if she were conducting the very fabric of the universe!
The millions of shattered stones, each spanning dozens of acres, that had been blasted by the Celestial Pillar of Life, now seemed like pebbles in the hands of a deity, rolling towards the starry sea beside Peak of Creation at her mere gesture.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Beast Gods and alien beasts, tangible or ethereal, yet possessing flesh and spirit, were impaled by the "little stones" he manipulated. With each alien beast's demise, a brilliant burst of bloody light vanished into the Celestial Pillar of Life.
"Do you wish to join the battle deep within the mountain?" He gazed at Yuan Le, who had once again hoisted the Celestial Pillar of Life, his expression a mix of amusement and disdain. "And that naive phoenix, do you intend to leave it to me? Yuan Le, you are not my creation, nor am I your protector. While I may not be fond of Yu Yuan, I despise you even more!"
As the giant ape wielded the Celestial Pillar of Life once more, the Peak of Creation glided through space. With a whoosh, the massive peak, larger than both the Everlands and Tyria, moved effortlessly as if weightless, instantly traversing millions of miles.
Back at the starting point, a furious Yuan Le swung the Celestial Pillar of Life, only to find nothingness beneath his feet—just the vast, dark expanse of the starry cosmos.
"I made a promise to Yu Yuan not to let anyone interfere with his struggle against the Primal Blood. My refusal to aid him does not equate to permission for your intrusion," Mother Earth stated calmly.
...
Elsewhere, within the Abyss of Truth. Yu Yuan's real body navigated the resplendent layers of the sealed walls, seeking the Mystic Gate to the Wasteland. Above him, the eight-tiered Soul Altar had taken shape, rotating gently and emitting an infinite divine glow.
Elements of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, and the celestial bodies of the sun, moon, and stars—the grand spectacle of the Eight Great Primal Anima's mysteries—seemed to recognize their inability to disturb his Soul Altar and thus steered clear of their own accord.
Yu Yuan was acutely aware that Demon God Bertain and Lin Daoke had alleviated much of the burden he faced. His spiritual sense and remnant soul spread far and wide like the tide, yet he could not detect any scent associated with space-time.
After circling repeatedly, he began to doubt whether there was any connection between the nine-layered barrier and the Wellspring of Creation's walls.
With a whoosh, he halted before the vast expanse of the Genesis Continent, shrouded in darkness.
Currently, he stood at the first layer of the sealed barrier, just below the Genesis Continent. A mere breakthrough would carry him to his destination.
He was confident that this barrier could not thwart him.
Racing into the boundless darkness above was far simpler than descending into the Abyss of Truth.
The Genesis Continent and the sixty-four sunken lands shared a unique resonance with him, tantalizingly within reach.
"Just ascend, and I'll return to that shadowy realm, make my way to the Frostlands, and from there, reach the Origin Realm."
"Yet the Origin Realm is not my ultimate goal."
He wavered in his resolve.
Abruptly, at the base of the Genesis Continent's sealed barrier, a deep brown terrestrial energy began to coalesce.
An object in a distant world had established a link with the Genesis Continent, a connection that defied the constraints of the ninefold seal!
"The Wellspring of Creation!"
Yu Yuan's face lit up with realization.
He watched as the earthy brown energy transformed into a skyphenomena at the closest point to the Genesis Continent.
A mountain peak emerged!
An impossibly towering peak, seemingly encircled by stars, where a grand Beast God Temple should stand.
This skyphenomena was the Peak of Creation, and the "Wellspring of Creation" was there, its pond resonating with the Genesis Continent.
A tremor from the void emanated from the Peak of Creation, now shaped from the earth's energy. Yu Yuan captured it precisely, feeling a spiritual summons.
"Come forth!"
In the Abyss, the Dragon Slaying Stage upended Ballo and Brie, sending Yu Yiyi scrambling to safety.
The residual force of the stage burst forth as a beam of rainbow light, piercing through the nine layers of the sky's enchantments, straight into Yu Yuan's waiting hand.
Ballo and Brie watched in awe as Yu Yuan, upon the Dragon Slaying Stage, charged into a towering mountain.
Then, in an instant, both the mountain and the stage vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, the formidable Demon God Bertain and the Sword Sect Master Lin Daoke remained ensnared within the seal, desperately enduring.
"Has he returned?" Ballo asked, visibly startled, as he scratched his head in bewilderment. "Did he venture into that dark abyss, to the Origin Realm?"
"I can't make it out," Brie responded, shaking his head.
"No! That's not it. He's entered the mountain! That mountain is supposed to be in the Wasteland!" Yu Yiyi cried out in alarm.
"That's impossible. The mountain is an illusion, a refined manifestation of cosmic order and power!" Qi Yunhong also shook his head, equally unable to discern the truth. "He must have gone back to the Origin Realm."
...
"Wasteland!"
"Peak of Creation!"
A robust and joyful laughter echoed from the Wellspring of Creation at the mountain's summit.
Yu Yuan, alongside the Dragon Slaying Stage, appeared abruptly. He stood at the edge of the pool, just as his Solar Spirit had before.
"Yu Yuan, have you triumphed? How could it be so swift?"
The Light Spirit, silent for what seemed an eternity, couldn't contain its exclamation upon Yu Yuan's arrival.
The cry was abruptly cut off as the Light Spirit scrutinized Yu Yuan with a mix of suspicion and awe, its small white face slowly registering horror. "Your real body! Is this truly your real body?"
"The ability to traverse the void."
Mother Earth's attention was fixed on the Dragon Slaying Stage. She assumed Yu Yuan had penetrated the barriers between the Origin Realm and the Wasteland, arriving through the Dragon Slaying Stage.
She did not consider the Wellspring of Creation.
