"Join you? Why don't you join me instead!"
Qi Yuan looked at Realm Lord Wukong before him, his expression calm.
Ahead of him, densely packed "gazes" each represented a mighty Yang God.
The sheer number of these Yang Gods far exceeded that of the Immortal Realm's Sixth Heaven.
An eerie smile curled on Realm Lord Wukong's lips. "Once, this self was just like you... but in the end, didn't I also turn into a shadow within Heitian?"
"What is Heitian?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Do you see those three thrones? As long as you get past us and reach those three thrones, perhaps you will know what Heitian truly is!" Realm Lord Wukong's voice was bizarre.
Countless pairs of eyes fixed on Qi Yuan at that moment.
Those gazes were cold, callous, fanatical, and obsessive.
Qi Yuan noticed countless black threads spreading through the darkness, embodying disorder and chaos.
He had a premonition: if he allowed those black threads to touch him, he too would turn into a being like Realm Lord Wukong, assimilated by Heitian to become part of Heitu.
However, the blazing white radiance radiating from the Mankind-Kindled Light kept those black threads at bay.
This spared Qi Yuan from assimilation.
Qi Yuan looked toward the three thrones.
All the Yang Gods were like fireflies, mere specks of starlight, but the three thrones seated deep in the darkness hung like blazing suns high in the celestial expanse.
[Three Phantoms of Heitian: Heaven-Opening Realm, the third tier of the Yang God realm. Thrones born from Heitu, devoid of wisdom, devoid of true spirits.]
Heaven-Opening Realm?
Qi Yuan felt an unnamable pressure.
In the third tier of the Yang God realm, the step from the Myriad Things Realm to the Heaven-Opening Realm was a formidable threshold.
The Heaven-Opening Realm meant one could create living beings and create worlds.
Yet, to reach the Three Phantoms of Heitian, he first had to pass this dense thicket of Yang Gods before him.
"Surrender. Cease your resistance. You cannot win," Realm Lord Wukong said, his voice stripped of sorrow and joy.
Qi Yuan's right brow twitched wildly—an omen that this battle would be perilously grim.
"Even if there were a one-in-ten-thousand chance you could overcome us and gain an audience before the three thrones, how could you fight those three thrones?"
"And even if you defeated those three thrones, how could you fight... Heitian?"
At this moment, countless Yang Gods spoke in unison, their voices vast, mechanical, and chillingly indifferent.
The mere sound of their voices caused Qi Yuan's powerful divine soul to involuntarily dim.
Had it been any other realm lord, their divine soul would have begun trembling in terror.
"A battle like this... I truly have never fought before. Ever since I formed my Stellar Golden Core, it's always been me ganging up on others. Who would have thought that today, I'd be the one besieged!"
Holding the Mankind-Kindled Light, Qi Yuan was likewise devoid of sorrow and joy, exuding a sacred and domineering majesty.
He swept his gaze across the dense horde of Yang Gods and realm lords, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
"Let me see... where my limits truly lie!"
Devouring Primordial Physique!
Dying Radiance!
Absolute Adaptation!
Tyrannical Strength!
At this moment, Qi Yuan unleashed his strongest form in this realm.
Under Absolute Adaptation, Qi Yuan charged like a tiger into a pride of lions, unleashing slaughter.
"Those who stand in my way shall die!"
He still possessed some tactical sense; bolstered by Dying Radiance, he did not bother defending against the realm lords' attacks, taking the blows head-on.
Instead, he turned his strikes upon the weak.
Qi Yuan was utterly fearless, and the Yang Gods of Heitian and Heitu knew no retreat.
Facing Qi Yuan's assault, three first-tier Yang Gods and two second-tier Yang Gods struck directly.
*Crack!*
In a single breath, the physical forms of five Yang Gods—beings who would have stood towering and formidable in the outside world—instantly shattered.
A massive surge of experience flooded in, granting Qi Yuan's strength a slight increase.
The Devouring Primordial Physique took effect at the same moment, devouring the five Yang Gods.
"Kill!"
A Myriad Things Realm lord's lightning rule crashed onto Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan's body stiffened; his flesh and blood trembled in indescribable agony.
"You cannot kill me! I will only become stronger!"
Qi Yuan accelerated to his absolute limit, swiftly dodging the Myriad Things Realm lords to exclusively hunt ordinary Yang Gods.
Right now, Qi Yuan only hoped his Dying Radiance and Absolute Adaptation would hold up well enough to allow him to slay enough Yang Gods, elevating his strength to a terrifying level.
If so, he might just have a sliver of hope to turn the tide.
"Kill!"
Trading wounds for kills, Qi Yuan struck down three more Yang Gods.
By now, ordinary Yang Gods were as fragile as paper in his eyes.
Only the realm-lord-level Yang Gods exerted immense pressure on him.
Countless attacks rained down upon Qi Yuan. Had it not been for Dying Radiance and Absolute Adaptation, he would have perished long ago.
After all, there were inconceivably many realm lords here.
The number of realm lords in the Zhou Universe did not even amount to a tenth of those in Heitian and Heitu.
He was not facing the terrifying powerhouses of a single universe, but of ten or more!
The slaughter raged on.
The war erupted.
Blood flowed endlessly.
Yet the blood that flowed was Qi Yuan's.
He had not engaged in such high-intensity combat in who knew how long.
However, his spoils were abundant. With massive amounts of experience coupled with the Devouring Primordial Physique, his strength continuously rose.
*Boom!*
A terrifying surge of black water struck Qi Yuan's body.
Half of his face corroded, and his divine soul abruptly dimmed.
This black water rule could corrode everything in existence, submerging all things.
Absolute Adaptation!
Devouring Primordial Physique!
Dying Radiance!
His mighty foundations resisted the black water rule.
"Wait..."
Suddenly, Qi Yuan froze.
"My consciousness... is dissolving."
This dissolution was not caused by Heitian invading and transforming him into Heitu, but by the dual effects of Absolute Adaptation and the Devouring Primordial Physique.
Absolute Adaptation represented the pinnacle of adaptation and survival.
Facing the onslaught of these realm lords, even with his invulnerability cheat, Qi Yuan could not truly lock his health indefinitely.
The attacks were simply too fierce, too relentless.
Absolute Adaptation was adapting to these attacks, transforming Qi Yuan, dissolving his consciousness, and reshaping him into... a machine that knew only how to slaughter.
Only thus could he survive better.
*So that's it. Even if I don't fear pain and don't care about injuries, my consciousness still holds back my physical body!*
Qi Yuan came to a sudden realization.
The wounds were real. Even if he paid them no heed and could endure them, they would still instinctively affect him, slowing down his offensive efficiency.
*In that case... so what if I have no consciousness?*
Absolute Adaptation!
Devouring Primordial Physique!
Having no consciousness meant that no matter how horrific the injuries, they could not hinder his combat.
As long as a sliver of true spirit's light was preserved in the end, perhaps... there would still be a slim chance of survival.
"Kill!"
"Devour!"
The slaughter continued, blood staining Heitian... but it was Qi Yuan's blood.
The more Yang Gods he killed, the more Qi Yuan dissolved, his consciousness growing increasingly blurred and muddled.
He became like a mindless, devouring colossus, avoiding the strong and devouring the weak.
***
"We failed."
A look of grief and sorrow marked Sheng Nü's face.
"Why did it fail?"
The Yang God of the Tian Clan coughed up blood in excruciating agony.
Three months had passed since Qi Yuan stepped into Heitian.
No one had expected that Qi Yuan would truly delay the rate at which the terrifying bubble engulfed the Divine Wood Universe.
Having gained breathing room, the Divine Wood Universe did not hesitate to seek a way out of the predicament.
It was then that an avatar of the Void Realm Lord of the Zhou Universe descended.
He stated: "If you gather eight pieces of Mankind-Kindled Light, the Divine Wood Universe will have a sliver of hope."
Those words had brought joy to all the Ancestral Gods, along with confusion.
In just a few centuries, they had forged seven pieces of Mankind-Kindled Light. By all accounts, the final piece should have been forged swiftly.
Yet, unexpectedly, even after pooling all the strength of the Divine Wood Universe... the eighth piece of Mankind-Kindled Light simply could not be crafted.
Countless implement masters had stepped forward one after another to sacrifice their lives, including divine-grade implement masters. Even three Ancestral God-grade implement masters had chosen to sacrifice themselves just to witness the birth of this Mankind-Kindled Light.
And yet... the eighth piece of Mankind-Kindled Light never succeeded.
Failure!
Failure!
Continuous failure!
"How can this impasse be resolved?" Sheng Nü said, her tone filled with bitterness.
In total, the Divine Wood Universe had only five Ancestral God-grade implement masters.
Now, three had already sacrificed themselves to forge the Mankind-Kindled Light.
Of the remaining two, one was the youngest, Sheng Nü, and the other was the oldest, Qi Yu.
The other Ancestral God-grade implement masters had chosen death, leaving the two of them to oversee the forging of the Mankind-Kindled Light.
"Why did it fail? There was clearly... not a single mistake!" The senile Qi Yu wore an expression of deep suffering.
Under normal circumstances, having a divine-grade implement master preside over the forging of Mankind-Kindled Light was more than enough.
Qi Yu had participated in forging the Mankind-Kindled Light three times, and every attempt had succeeded.
Yet this time, no matter what they did, it would not succeed, even costing the lives of three Ancestral God-grade implement masters, not to mention ordinary implement masters numbering in the hundreds of millions.
Yuan remained silent, lost in thought.
The other Ancestral Gods were also agitated with emotion.
"Lord Qi Yuan is holding off the hordes alone in Heitian, while we in the rear... cannot even forge a single Mankind-Kindled Light? What nonsense! How can this be right!" As the hot-tempered bearded man spoke, tears began streaming down his face.
"Useless! We are all useless!"
"What's the use of complaining? Right now we should be thinking about how to forge it!"
"What exactly is the eighth piece of Mankind-Kindled Light? What is missing?"
"Is there some kind of restrictive condition?"
The Ancestral Gods clamored with discussion, yet none could provide an answer.
Everything they knew about the Mankind-Kindled Light came from that Yang God of the Tian Clan.
And that Yang God... did not know much about it either.
Yuan's gaze shifted before he finally gritted his teeth and said, "I will go request an audience with the Void Realm Lord."
Right at that moment, an imposing, illusory figure descended.
He stood in the firmament, yet simultaneously directly before everyone from every direction.
No matter where one stood, He was directly in front of them.
"The Mankind-Kindled Light... is no ordinary curious treasure of light."
"A curious treasure of light is a treasure of rules."
"Whereas the Mankind-Kindled Light... is forged from the primordial rules that construct a universe."
"I have analyzed the Divine Wood through the Void Paradise for ten thousand years. The Divine Wood Universe was formed from eight primordial rules: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, lightning, rain, and cloud.
"Now, seven kinds of Mankind-Kindled Light have gathered; only water is lacking."
"As long as you find the final water, the eighth Mankind-Kindled Light will be forged."
"When all eight pieces of Mankind-Kindled Light gather, perhaps... there will be a sliver of hope."
A chill ran through the hearts of all the Ancestral Gods.
Yuan stepped forward. "May I ask the Void Realm Lord, where... is the water?"
The Void Realm Lord's voice was ethereal. "I do not know either."
Everyone exchanged glances.
Where was the water representing the primordial rule? How could they capture it, and how could they forge it into the eighth Mankind-Kindled Light? None of them knew.
"Lord Realm Lord, how much longer can Lord Qi Yuan hold out... within Heitian?" Yuan asked once more.
Everyone's hearts seized violently.
They also wanted to know how Realm Lord Qi Yuan was faring right now.
How perilous, how brutal must the battle within Heitian be?
The Void Realm Lord raised His head and looked toward the Void Sea.
His gaze fell upon the continuously expanding bubble, and a rare look of emotion surfaced in His eyes.
"Even I would be assimilated within an instant upon entering Heitian. That he has endured for so long... is already a miracle."
"From my observation... his true spirit has dimmed to less than one-ten-thousandth. Perhaps... it could be extinguished in the snap of a finger," the Void Realm Lord lamented.
In the Heaven-Opening Realm, He had traversed one hundred and eight thousand three hundred and twenty-seven epochs.
He had witnessed the reboot and destruction of universes more than a hundred thousand times.
Yet this was the first time He had ever encountered someone as unique as Qi Yuan.
"At any moment?" Hearing this, the other Ancestral Gods fell into despair.
This meant that Qi Yuan could succumb and perish at any time.
If they did not forge the eighth piece of Mankind-Kindled Light before Qi Yuan fell and unite it with the other seven, then... even if the eighth piece were created, it would be utterly useless.
"Void Realm Lord, what exactly is Heitian?" Yuan asked.
The Void Realm Lord narrowed His eyes, His voice profound. "Where Heitian resides, all those beneath Heitian cannot conceive of its existence."
The meaning of this statement was simple.
In a world where Heitian existed, mortals could not imagine what Heitian was.
It was as if a dog stood before you, but your consciousness was blocked, so you would only know it as Wangcai without ever connecting it to the concept of a dog.
Such was Heitian's nature.
"So no matter how we think about it, it is impossible for us to know what Heitian is?" Yuan said, feeling somewhat indignant.
This sensation of having one's consciousness blocked was deeply unsettling.
Generally speaking, secrets were formidable because they were hidden and unknowable.
Once all information about them became known, they could potentially be overcome.
Yet now, this secret came with a mental block.
This meant that wherever the secret existed, no one could know it.
The Void Realm Lord held up three fingers. "I can take the living beings of three worlds away from the Divine Wood."
The Divine Wood Universe had long been infiltrated by Heitian.
Even a being like the Void Realm Lord, who was merely half a step away from breaking through to a higher level, could only protect the living beings of three realms.
"Thank you, Void Realm Lord!" Yuan bowed solemnly.
At the very least, even if the Divine Wood Universe was destroyed, some living beings... would still have a place to take refuge.
***
Within Heitian.
Three thrones sat high in the celestial expanse, their gazes mechanical, devoid of sorrow and joy.
Below, the battle was exceptionally brutal.
This slaughter was like a millstone grinding flesh.
The Qi Yuan of before had now nearly lost all his consciousness, reduced to something barely recognizable as human.
Seven pieces of Mankind-Kindled Light had transformed into halos of rules, coiling around him.
Meanwhile, he was a cluster of blood-red radiance, resembling a red hole draped in seven halos, devouring everything before him, devouring all things in the world.
The three thrones observed Qi Yuan, their expressions placid.
"His essence... is very strange."
"Never has there been a living being in this world capable of devouring Heitu."
"He bears some resemblance to Heitian."
"He... is about to open the heavens."
Chapter 561