C2259 The Promise Was Quickly Fulfilled
The instant his eyes snapped open, the Undead Sovereign's battered form began to mend with astonishing speed.
Swoosh!
Pure, icy soul energy surged through the wounds like ghostly white lightning, visibly stitching the flesh back together.
Youyu and Beilstein had focused their efforts on resolving his soul's afflictions, paying little heed to the physical injuries.
Now, bathed in a verdant radiance, a potent and unfamiliar life force burgeoned within him.
Gashes deep enough to expose bone smoothed over in mere moments.
Before the onlookers could gasp in awe, Yu Yuan, who had been lying prostrate before the Death Spring, righted himself.
Transitioning from a supine position, he sat up and then rose to his feet with deliberate grace.
Deep within his eye sockets, the enigmatic shape of the Reincarnation Furnace flickered into existence.
For a fleeting second, Yu Yuan seemed to embody the dominion over the Demon Realm, becoming the sanctuary for the souls of countless spirits, the very source of Youyu and Yu Zhu's essence.
This transformation left Youyu, Yu Zhu, and the Great Demon God Beilstein visibly moved.
The heart stone, once clutched by the Origin Realm God, Arthurs, had stilled. The Grim River, tinged with a sanguine hue, began to flow once more, reviving all the spirits, Ghost Kings, and phantoms bound by Arthurs's power.
Matina, Luo Yue, and other such spirits snapped awake, their eyes seething with fury at Arthurs.
The Yin Meridians, having once communed with the Death God of the Nether Domain, surged with renewed urgency.
"Yu Yuan!"
It was then that Yuan Lianyao, the Light Origin Spirit within the Light Star, could no longer contain her exclamation.
"I'm alright now," Yu Yuan replied, his expression detached.
"Your esteemed senior brother, that haughty rainbow dragon, has been ensnared in a trap set by beings on the other side of the Spring," Beilstein conveyed with a hint of nonchalance, his Devil Soul lingering in this realm.
Yu Yuan was at a loss for words.
Beilstein had always referred to Zhong Chichen dismissively as a foolish dragon, never once acknowledging him as a valued senior brother.
The Great Demon God had never publicly recognized Zhong Chichen as his disciple.
Yet, in the wake of Zhong Chichen's abduction by an entity versed in the mysteries of the void, Beilstein now referred to him as Yu Yuan's esteemed senior brother.
"I understand," Yu Yuan said with a slight nod. "This body retains memories of events that occurred after entering the Gal Starfield. However, after it was possessed, all memories from the other side were erased by the possessor."
Having offered a brief explanation, Yu Yuan drifted to the edge of the Death Spring, standing where Zhong Chichen had previously been.
"Be cautious," Chen Qinghuang warned as she stepped forward and paused at the brink of the Spring. A terrifying aura of death laced with destruction emanated from her perfectly contoured body. The presence of numerous destructive powers she had already mastered indicated that her realm had solidified since ascending to supremacy. She had learned to infuse the power of death back into her body, reinforcing her own strength.
"The Yin Meridian within the heart stone made contact with Kurkova. Through Arthurs, it expressed a desire to visit the Nether Domain but was rejected for being incomplete," Chen Qinghuang shared, a revelation she had gleaned from the deathly aura but had kept to herself until now.
Youyu's expression immediately darkened. Yu Zhu, her spirit hovering in the Phoenix Shrine, was also taken aback as she gazed at the heart stone's grey river, representing the Yin Meridian. They had not anticipated that the Yin Meridian, a fragment of the Demon Area's origin soul, would seek out foreign malevolent entities—only to be turned away.
"Hand it over," Yu Yuan demanded abruptly, extending his hand toward Arthurs for the heart stone.
Arthurs, lips pursed in a cold smirk, was about to retort with a sneer when Yu Yuan cut him off, "The Death God behind you seeks a direct conversation with me, which suggests a favor or negotiation is in order. My senior brother, Zhong Chichen, has been taken by another of your powerful allies, but we'll set that aside for now."
"The heart stone's Yin Meridian was outright rejected in its attempt to enter the Nether Domain, indicating she has no need for this Divine Stone. It's you, Arthurs, who does."
Yu Yuan spoke calmly, his hand still outstretched, "If you're willing to have a proper discussion with me, then hand over the item." It was clear that his words were not meant for Arthurs alone.
As Arthurs was about to speak again, he suddenly froze, bowing his head in a posture of attentive listening. Kurkova, the Death God standing behind him, was clearly speaking to him. Sensing her telepathic message, he had no choice but to listen obediently.
"Arthurs," Yu Yuan said, his eyebrows arching slightly, a proud glint in his eyes. "Remember this: from the moment I awoke and recalled my standing in the Abyss, you have always been beneath me. You, Arthurs, also hail from the Abyss. But from the moment I became the Abyss Lord, I have been, and always will be, its master."
"You might just pass as one of my subordinates."
At these words, Arthurs's face twisted with rage. Yu Yuan, however, paid him no heed and continued his taunts in front of everyone, including Kurkova, the Death God behind him.
"The founders and creators of the seven layers of the Abyss sit at the same level as me. Since I became their equal, and even after my death, none have truly surpassed me."
"After my death, the Evil God Temple will still recognize me as its master, not you, Arthurs, nor any other Evil God."
"You, Arthurs, have never been worthy of a direct conversation with me!"
"Hand it over!" Yu Yuan demanded, extending his hand.
All beings around the Death Spring fell silent, witnessing the great anger and impatience of Arthurs, who had proclaimed himself the "Origin Realm God" following Yu Yuan's fall. Yet, it was clear that the Death God of the Nether Domain was keeping him in check.
Kurkova, the Death God, seemed to affirm Yu Yuan's statements.
Thus, Arthurs, without looking at Yu Yuan or the others, tossed the heart stone he had snatched from Youyu.
"I shall take my leave," he declared.
Unable to face the others, Arthurs vanished into the depths of the Death Spring, returning to the Nether Domain. Shortly thereafter, a gray shadow, pulsing with a deadly aura, materialized where Arthurs had disappeared. This was the true manifestation of the Death God, Kurkova.
"Hold on a moment," Yu Yuan addressed the shadow.
Clutching the heart stone, the reanimated form of the Undead Sovereign acted as a conduit, linking the stone to another realm.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Emerald ghost flames emerged from Yu Yuan's palm, seeping into the Divine Stone and coursing toward the Grim River, the very essence of the Yin meridian.
Within these ghostly flames resided the soul of an old crone, offering another set of profound Soul Laws.
These Soul Laws, once etched into the sixth tier of Yu Yuan's Soul Altar, were replicated and transferred to the Yin Vein within the heart stone.
Only by fully integrating with the Yin Vein could it continue its metamorphosis and evolve into a new Origin Soul!
This was the commitment Yu Yuan had made to himself.
Yu Yuan had not anticipated fulfilling his promise so swiftly, nor could he have foreseen the events that were yet to unfold.
In the Myriad Spirit Restriction.
Distinct yet intertwined auras, separate from that of the Abyss Origin Soul's, surged toward Yu Yuan's Soul Altar.
The influx of Soul Power tirelessly bolstered the fusion of the sixth and seventh tiers of the Soul Altar!
When Yu Yuan, through the Soul Altar, sensed his body in the Gal Starfield and reclaimed the heart stone, he refined a new copy of the profound secrets of the Soul Altar and infused it into the source of the Yin Vein.
Numerous unassimilated, mysterious gray glimmers that had appeared out of nowhere were now stirred within the restriction.
These glimmers held vague memories—some tied to the ecosystem of the Nether Domain, others to inconsequential experiences.
The memories veiled within the light held no connection to the grand path of the Soul Altar, nor did they offer any deep revelations.
They were merely reflections of the Origin Soul's past awakenings, contemplations on the state of the Nether Domain, and images from when the Undead Ruler roamed beyond the heavens.
For Yu Yuan, in the process of refining the strongest Origin Soul in the Nether Domain, these unrelated memories were nothing more than refuse and residue.
The Origin Soul, while consuming another, had carelessly scattered these worthless remnants into the Myriad Spirit Restriction.
Memories devoid of soul essence or the profound mysteries of the soul were left to fade into oblivion within the Myriad Spirit Restriction.
The fragmented memories that once belonged to the Origin Soul were drawn to Yu Yuan's Soul Altar and slipped inside.
They didn't linger in Yu Yuan's Soul Altar, nor did they leave any trace; they went straight to the source of the Yin Meridian.
The Yin Meridian within the heart stone, upon receiving these memories, embarked on a new chapter!
On the journey to transform into the Origin Soul, the Yin Meridian took a crucial step forward.
"Here are your belongings; keep them safe."
After a moment, Yu Yuan handed the heart stone back to Youyu and, after some thought, added, "This heart stone could evolve into a new realm akin to Dark Mountain. It has the potential to house thousands of souls and spirits and might even give rise to a new Dark Mountain."
The Yin Meridian inside the heart stone, now laden with an abundance of memories, entered a chaotic slumber.
It required time to integrate and assimilate them.
"Now we can have our discussion."
Yu Yuan, now shrouded in an aura of mystery, addressed the grey silhouette representing the Death God, Kurkova, with directness, "In the Desolate Realm, we're still fiercely combating her. Meanwhile, she has focused her power in the Demon Realm of the Origin Realm, devouring a high-level being similar to herself."
"What would you like to know?"
