C2213 The Great Fusion of the Mysteries
Had Mother Earth known that Zhiya would enter the Creation Pool and cause the scene unfolding before her, she would have never permitted Zhiya to approach the Creation Pool.
The Demon Phoenix Zhiya stirred an inexplicable hostility within him.
The King of the Desolate Realm, Yuen Bu, merely disgusted him; he felt no hostility or enmity. Yuen Bu was a supreme being created by the Origin Blood of this realm, and in his eyes, he stood on equal footing with the Origin Blood, which made Yuen Bu beneath his concern.
However, upon first laying eyes on Zhiya, he sensed something amiss, a premonition that she would become a significant threat in the future.
He had only recently awakened to his seven emotions and six desires, and his time in a physical body was short. He was still coming to terms with the flood of new thoughts and feelings.
He had intended to watch Zhiya perish in the Creation Pool, but when he saw the terrifying mass of flesh obediently extend its tendrils, he immediately sensed danger.
Yet, when he decided to intervene, he realized he was at a loss for how to proceed. Zhiya was inside the Creation Pool, and he had no desire to suffer another defeat by entering the pool's enchantments and barriers.
He had no choice but to wait outside.
"Hall Master!"
"Our new king!"
The Beast Gods, loyal to the Demon Palace and those who had recently pledged allegiance to Zhiya, were filled with awe.
The image of Zhiya, the Demon Phoenix, grew immensely grand, as if she had been mythologized in an instant.
Zhong Chichen's earlier remarks, along with the White Divine Tiger's explanation, led the Beast Gods to a terrifying realization: the mass of flesh and blood within the Creation Pool was perhaps the most fearsome anomaly between heaven and earth.
This entity surpassed their Founder and even the Origin Blood of the Origin Realm!
Could Zhiya truly have made contact with such a being?
The Beast Gods of the Desolate Realm were brimming with boundless anticipation for their new queen, believing that under her rule, all beings of the Desolate Realm would ascend to unprecedented heights of martial prowess.
"Lvliu."
The Sky Tiger, as majestic as a mountain, stepped on a cloud charged with a heaven-surging killing intent as it approached the Time Book from the deep purple sea of demonic energy.
"It's been a while."
Lvliu, a fellow Demon God, nodded in acknowledgment from a distance. Anticipating the Sky Tiger's purpose, he spoke up, "Our paths do not align, so we cannot scheme together. I am deeply indebted to the Desolate God, but I have no intention of submitting to Yuan Li as he did. As for the Hall Master, I apologize, but I prefer solitude and wish not to be entangled with the constraints of any sect."
The cloud beneath the Sky Tiger came to a silent halt.
Indeed, he had come to persuade Lvliu to rejoin the Demon Palace.
They were contemporaries, powerful members of their race during the vast expanse of time. Although he was slightly older, the difference in their ages was not significant.
Back then, the Origin was scarce, and the Demon Palace's share was limited. With Zhiya, the Qilin, and the Desolate God firmly holding the three seats, it was only through Zhiya's efforts that he managed to secure a supreme position.
Unless the Qilin perished or the Desolate God was destroyed, as long as he lived, there would be no opportunity for Lvliu.
Under the checks and balances of the heavenly laws of the vast expanse, without access to the Origin, Lvliu's combat prowess would never allow him to ascend to Demon God status.
Ultimately, Lvliu was swayed by the Divine Soul Sect to take a risk for a supreme divine seat.
The Sky Tiger, valuing the talents of his former kin, extended an invitation to Lvliu after Yuan Li's death and Zhiya's display of her formidable spirit.
"Are you sure you won't reconsider?"
"No, thank you."
"Very well, I respect your decision."
With a sense of loss, the Sky Tiger relinquished his efforts.
Lvliu, standing at the Time Book, gazed towards Yu Zhu at the Phoenix Shrine, who stood before the open gateway.
Yu Zhu, second only to the Demon Phoenix in Zhiya's ranks, inclined her head slightly towards Lvliu and said, "I will speak with Mother Earth and ensure she does not trouble you."
Lvliu smiled, initially intending to decline the offer.
Yet, as his gaze unintentionally fell upon Zhiya within the Creation Pool, he found himself changing his mind, "Then, I must express my gratitude to Miss Yu."
Within the final barrier surrounding the peculiar mass of blood and flesh, Zhiya's slender white finger pierced through the crimson membrane, reaching the space where the blood and flesh resided. The once dormant mass began to stir, seemingly roused by her touch.
Her finger, previously imperceptible within that space, swelled to an immense size under the sustained surge of the Demon Phoenix's power. It transformed into a totem pillar, resplendent like white jade, a pillar etched with the symbols of the Demon Race.
The totem pillar, crafted from her single finger, bore the ancient totems of thirty-six Demon Clans. The Black Snake, White Tiger, Golden Elephant, Qilin, Phoenix, Giant Ape—each totem was rendered with such vividness it seemed poised to break free from the pillar's confines.
This bore a striking resemblance to the Heaven Bearing Life Pillar that Yuen Bu had once refined, both harboring the essence of life force. Upon Yuen Bu's death, she seamlessly inherited the Heaven Bearing Life Pillar, delving into its mysteries and, with but a single finger, forged a totem pillar encompassing the thirty-six venerable Demon Clans.
The grand totem pillars stood as a testament to the zenith of the Demon Clans, representing the mightiest among them. The Naga claimed five, the Phoenix one, leaving thirty other ancient clans. Over the course of time, some had vanished, others remained powerful, and still others were supplanted by new factions.
These thirty-six ancient clans were known for their potential to birth Demon Gods or having had Demon Gods arise from their ranks. Lesser clans, whose offspring were born with dormant intellects, required successive breakthroughs in their bloodlines to eventually awaken to sudden, profound sapience.
With the decline of the Naga, the Demon Palace emerged as the emblem of the Demon Clans, and Zhiya assumed leadership over them all. She crafted thirty-six totem pillars and devised the Ancient Fey Formation, using it to subdue the Chaos Roc beneath the Ember Waters.
At this moment, she had harnessed the essence of thirty-six totem pillars with a segment of jade that she had shaped with her fingertip!
Tentacles, as fierce as pythons and serpents, emerged from the bizarre five-colored flesh, coiling around the white jade totem pillar that she had formed with her finger.
The tentacles constricted around the totem pillar as though they sought to meld into it and become an integral part of the totem.
Sizzle sizzle!
Invisible to the onlookers, dark lightning and elusive Life Seeds, bound by the python and serpent tentacles, streamed from the mass of flesh into the white jade totem pillar.
Zhiya's smile deepened.
Her features, each beautiful on its own, had previously combined to form a slightly awkward and unnatural visage. Now, they underwent a stunning transformation.
It was as if a universally acclaimed goddess of beauty had expertly reconfigured her facial features.
By subtly altering the spacing between her features, her once unnatural face appeared largely unchanged, yet it had been utterly transformed.
Her face, once exquisitely crafted, suddenly took on a natural ease, no longer bearing any hint of affectation.
It radiated a sense of being effortlessly perfect!
Unexpectedly, by inserting a fragment of her finger into the totem pillar and manipulating the tentacles, the first transformation to occur was to her own face!
"This is the manifestation of the Dao's essence!"
Zhong Chichen squinted, observing intently. A sudden realization dawned upon him, and he declared with reverence, "The Demon Phoenix has received an incredible blessing!"
"What?" Lvliu exclaimed, bewildered.
"The life and blood laws that she has been pondering are now fusing together, gradually forming a unified whole." Zhong Chichen's face was etched with gravity as he inhaled deeply and marveled, "It's truly beyond belief."
Loong Jie scratched his head, "Colorful Patriarch, I'm lost."
"Our common ancestor, after descending into the vastness, harnessed the laws of life from the primal blood, which then cascaded as a torrential blood rain across the heavens and earth. This blood transformed into our Naga lineage. The flesh and blood of the Demonic Beasts, consumed by the original beasts, allowed them to evolve into Demon Beasts, granting them the potential to ascend to the status of Demon Gods."
"However, the complete laws of life established by our ancestor became fragmented after his death."
"The Demon Phoenix has collected an extensive array of bloodline laws, integrating those of our Naga clan and thirty other ancient demonic races. Yet, it remains incomplete."
"She is inherently flawed."
"She has been hunting Starry Behemoths beyond the skies, attempting to fill the gaps in the laws of life. She has even enlisted the help of the Blood God Cult and various alien beast tribes from outer space to seek out the laws of life from the Desolate Realm."
"Sadly, the life and bloodline secrets she has acquired have never formed a complete system."
"Her approach is haphazard, her demands unceasing, leading her own path to become increasingly convoluted. Despite exhausting her strength and intellect to devise a unifying solution, she has never succeeded."
"This incompleteness and imperfection are also evident in her form. When she takes on a human shape and crafts a body for herself, it seems passable. However, her attempts at refining her facial features fall short of natural perfection, resulting in an unnatural appearance."
"The true unnatural aspect is her law of life, for she is essentially a hodgepodge."
"But now..."
Zhong Chichen spoke with a grave tone, ensuring only Loong Jie and Lvliu could hear.
"She has flawlessly integrated the bloodlines of the thirty-six ancient Demon Clans she captured, the essence of the Starry Behemoths of the Origin Realm, and the profound bloodline mysteries of formidable alien beasts within her!"
"Through that twisted mass of flesh and blood, she has achieved transcendence and a breakthrough!"
"She now stands alongside Yuen Bu and Yu Yuan as an Eleventh Level Yang God, a supreme entity on this grand bloodline path. Her accomplishments will undoubtedly surpass Yuen Bu's, and as for Yu Yuan... it's hard to say."
Zhong Chichen was filled with awe.
Lvliu, a fellow member of the Demon Clan, felt a renewed sense of reverence for the Demon Phoenix after hearing Zhong Chichen's remarks.
Regardless, Zhiya and he were both native to the vast expanse of their homeland.
The emergence of such a miraculous figure within the Demon Clan instilled in him, a descendant, a mixture of pride and aspiration.
Deep within the caverns of Creation Peak.
The last vestige of spiritual consciousness from the Origin Blood of this realm was finally eradicated by Yu Yuan.
As the Origin Blood faded away, a spiritual consciousness of Mother Earth materialized on a dark red rock wall.
"The Demon Phoenix Zhiya has entered the Creation Pool and is now touching the flesh orb."
Mother Earth, taking the form of a Dao figure, maintained an ethereal human shape, projecting herself onto the rock wall.
She focused intently on the Tree of Life, feeling Yu Yuan's aura slowly reviving. Observing the branches, sharp as bloodied swords, retracting into the trunk, she said, "You need to take action immediately."
"Should I enter the Creation Pool and vie with Zhiya for the flesh orb?" Yu Yuan's laughter echoed from within the trunk.
