C2359 She Had Been Here Before

"Hall Master, the Beast God Temple remains within the Stellar Phoenix. The alien beasts and the surviving members of the Beast God Temple from the Wasteland are all there as well," the Moonfang Tiger reported, glancing towards the Everlands intermittently.

The Everlands now felt alien to him, no longer resembling the world he once knew so well.

"Our homeland, after enduring relentless battles, is on the brink of collapse," the Astral Tiger lamented with a heavy sigh.

"Homeland..." Zhiya gazed at the Everlands, her expression a mix of emotions, and reflected, "Though our bloodline may have its roots in the Wasteland, our true homeland has always been the Everlands."

Astral Tiger and Yu Zhu nodded in agreement.

Now, apart from Yu Yuan and the Great Demon God Bertain, there were no signs of life in the Everlands. The departure of the blazing fire meant that the land was no longer engulfed in towering flames. The flames, resembling serpents of fire born from magma, continued to recede from the vast world of the Everlands.

The rampant lightning and thunder had retreated to their rightful Domain.

Yet, the Way of Heaven within the Everlands was in utter disarray, its magnetic fields bizarre and intricate. It was uncertain whether Yu Yuan and the Great Demon God Bertain had irreparably damaged the foundation of the Everlands.

Out of reverence for both Yu Yuan and the Everlands, everyone hesitated to tread upon this land, despite the absence of visible threats.

Beyond the Everlands, there was the vibrantly winged butterfly, the God of Oblivion Harris, the Death God Kurkova, and the mighty beings of the Origin Realm.

Still, no one dared to venture into the Everlands, choosing instead to wait passively for news.

The Abyssal Leviathan, the Titan Turtle, and the Starpierced, having left Zionidall, were once adrift in the vast Star Rivers. Sensing a profound shift in the cosmos, they too returned.

The trio of cosmic giant beasts converged around Ji Ningshuang and the Boulderdawn's stalwarts, eyeing Zhiya with veiled hostility, yet they refrained from taking any action against her.

Qin Luo, Zu Ann, and other primordial spirit masters remained cautious around Zhiya, fearful that in her frenzied state, she might lash out and claim their very essences.

In reality, these individuals were unaware that the savage creature Zhiya had been nurturing had already fled the Wasteland.

"Come here for a moment."

Zhiya, soaring toward the Phoenix Shrine, was on the verge of entering the sanctuary she had painstakingly crafted when Yu Yuan's voice unexpectedly reached her.

Standing before the hall bathed in a spectrum of radiant light, Zhiya's graceful figure tensed ever so slightly.

"Head to the Heart of the Everlands."

Yu Yuan's undeniable voice echoed within Zhiya's heart.

After a brief pause, Zhiya, not daring to defy Yu Yuan's command, acquiesced. She had the unsettling feeling that her heart and body ceased to be her own whenever Yu Yuan's voice resounded.

"Yu Zhu, accompany me to the Heart of the Everlands."

Amidst the shocked looks from the Astral Tiger and the other formidable beings, she took Yu Zhu's small hand and transformed into two deep purple streaks of mystical light, shooting toward the Everlands.

Shortly thereafter, the two streaks, now seemingly fused, descended upon the luminous Heart of the Everlands.

Bertain, the Great Demon God, stood contemplatively beside the dark pool.

Yu Yuan was seated in meditation within the pool, once the domain of the Primal Soul Nest, with the greenish-black essence barely reaching his seated waist.

Upon noticing Yu Zhu's arrival, Yu Yuan's face grew stern as he expressed his displeasure, "I did not instruct you to bring her along."

"The outside world is fraught with malevolence. I feared Yu Zhu might become a target of envy, possibly facing harm in my absence," Zhiya explained with a cool detachment.

The elder Demon God chuckled mockingly, "You are the one most envied. With everyone aware of her connection to Yu Yuan, who would dare lay a hand on her now?"

"It was my insistence to come with mother!"

Yu Zhu clung to Zhiya's hand, her youthful countenance marked by defiance and a protective stance toward Zhiya.

She was certainly not naive; she understood that Zhiya's insistence on her presence was a precaution against any harm Yu Yuan might intend.

"You've always been worth my affection."

A sliver of warmth escaped Zhiya's heart, as cold as an Ice Shard, and she gripped Yu Zhu's hand firmly in return.

At this juncture, Yu Zhu had become her steadfast support, emboldening her to converse with Yu Yuan, who was nearing the pinnacle of magical prowess within the Heart of the Everlands.

As one of the most exalted beings across the Three Realms, she was aware that even Bertain, the formidable Demon God returning from the Otherworld, would be no match for Yu Yuan.

She was also cognizant of another Yu Yuan in the Wasteland, equally fearsome and mighty. The one who truly compelled the Primal Soul of the Abyss to flee this realm and seek an alternative path in the Otherworld was not the Demon God Bertain, but the impeccable Yu Yuan.

"What do you wish to know?"

Zhiya steadied her nerves and feigned composure, initiating the conversation with a cool detachment.

"How did you manage to conceive that little Primal Beast? Moreover, how did you discern that it was a Primal Beast, and how did you know it required its source for sustenance?" Yu Yuan voiced his profound perplexity.

Following the silence of the Abyss of Truth, even the seven illusory layers of the Abyss and the Origin Realm were connected by a portal. Despite Zhiya's partial memories revealing the secrets of the existence of the Chaos Titan, she should not have possessed the capability to create a Life Seed for a little Primal Beast.

The existence of the little Primal Beast that Zhiya had brought forth remained an enigma to Yu Yuan.

"Has it journeyed to the other side?"

Zhiya countered with a question of her own.

Yu Yuan gave a slight nod and elaborated, "My Solar Spirit Body and I briefly communicated across the River of Time. I discovered several Chaos Titans there, likely having traversed from our world. The little Primal Beast you nurtured thrives there, growing stronger through its hunts."

A tranquil expression crossed Zhiya's phoenix eyes as she whispered softly, "As long as it's unharmed, I will never perish."

"Explain how you created it," Yu Yuan demanded with a hint of impatience, his tone brusque. "Don't provoke me. I have the means to extract your memories directly from your mind and heart!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

A wild glint flickered in Zhiya's eyes once more.

"Enough, let's not waste any more time. Just tell us the origins of that little Primal Beast!" Bertain interjected, attempting to defuse the tension.

"You might find this hard to believe," Zhiya began, taking a deep breath to steady herself before she continued with a hint of awkwardness. "What if I told you that I received a revelation in a dream, as if I had been touched by divine grace, and that I learned the mysteries of the Primal Beast and obtained its life sequence? Would you believe that?"

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Zhiya's expression turned frosty. "I knew you wouldn't believe me! That's exactly why I didn't tell you the truth when you first asked. I couldn't believe it myself!"

"I never imagined that I would fall into a deep slumber while immersed in the Bloodline Revelation. In that state, I saw a vague figure surrounded by a golden aura."

"It might have been a woman, but I can't be sure. Nevertheless, it was this golden figure that revealed to me the secrets of the Primal Beast and bestowed upon me a unique life sequence."

Zhiya's answer was nothing short of astonishing.

Yu Yuan's expression was steely, and Yu Zhu was equally shocked, suspecting that her mother was deliberately evading Yu Yuan's questions.

In her eyes, Zhiya was nearly invincible. Who in the Abyss, Origin Realm, or Wasteland could induce her to dream during her enlightenment, let alone reveal the method to breed a Primal Beast?

"I believe you. It's precisely because it's so preposterous that I'm inclined to take your word for it."

Surprisingly, after a lengthy silence, Bertain, the Great Demon God, spoke up, "There's no one in the Origin Realm, Wasteland, or the desolate Abyss who fits that description. However, there's someone who comes to mind who could. Her name is Stephanie, known as the God of Destiny elsewhere."

"It must have been her who gave you the special life sequence, enabling you to nurture the young Primal Beast."

"Stephanie visited my world," Bertain mused, his mood darkening. "She's responsible for creating a little Primal Beast that feeds on the essence of the Everlands, and it has even consumed Yuan Le and the little spinosaurus."

"What is she planning?"

Among the myriad worlds of the Otherworld, the only deity the Old Demon truly revered and feared was Stephanie, the God of Destiny.

Although Heesters, the God of Time, outranked him, he harbored no awe.

He was confident that, in time, he would eclipse Heesters.

Only the enigmatic God of Destiny, Stephanie, who first liberated herself from the shackles of the Primal Anima, who pioneered the refining of Primal Anima to establish the divine system, instilled in him a profound sense of uncertainty and reverence.

The old demon had not anticipated that Stephanie had once visited the Origin Realm and had secretly communicated with Zhiya.

Even more astonishing was the revelation that the ferocious and formidable Primal Beast had been conceived under the guidance of the Dark Phoenix.

...

In the Wasteland.

Yu Yuan's colossal form, crafted from the merging of multicolored flesh, sprawled in the deep reaches of the cosmos, howling through the expansive Star River.

A "hump" had emerged on his back, which upon closer examination, revealed itself to be the Peak of Creation.

As Yu Yuan's roar echoed, each Astral Domain of the Wasteland passed by. His pervasive consciousness, like a tempest, swept through the Star River, seeking the hidden secrets of this realm.

He was curious to discover if there were any remnants of the God of Destruction, Galuba, any stone effigies, or any intact passages.

The Secular Bird Queen had once disturbed the God of Destruction, Galuba, from the Otherworld by utilizing a stone statue, an act that had caught his attention.

Yu Yuan aspired to replicate this event.

Yet, after scouring each Astral Domain, he detected no anomalies, no regions with spatial irregularities that might connect to the Otherworld.

Then, one day, his formidable body reached an Astral Domain where life still persisted.

"It's him! He has come! The fearsome Endbringer! The Destroyer!"

Across the starry expanse of the Astral Domain, the surviving alien beasts and the mighty Otherkin of the Wasteland gazed up at Yu Yuan's vibrant form, nearly eclipsing the vast Star River. Overwhelmed by his crushing presence, they unleashed cries of utter despair.

The beings that had been cowering in this Astral Domain, living in constant dread of impending doom, were struck with a sense of inevitable catastrophe.

Yu Yuan's arrival seemed to foretell the consumption and obliteration of the remaining Astral Domains.

To the surviving denizens of the Wasteland, Yu Yuan, with his immense, colorful form, became the very embodiment of the Destroyer.

Suddenly, Yu Yuan's expansive consciousness detected the presence of the Secular Bird Queen among them.

"..."