bookbashuk Chapter 56 All Things Return to Nothingness
Chapter 56 All Things Return to Nothingness
Beyond the edge of the sea of blood, far from the reach of that crimson, filthy aura, Zhen Yuanzi found a relatively stable, desolate, and secluded valley with almost no spiritual energy.
This place is sparsely populated and devoid of birds and beasts, making it an ideal place for temporary seclusion.
Without hesitation, he summoned the Earth Book "Classic of Mountains and Seas." A flash of dark yellow light disappeared without causing much of a commotion. A Primordial Earth Array, relying on the veins of the primordial earth and drawing upon the power of the mountains and rivers within a radius of ten thousand miles, was quietly set up, completely concealing and protecting the entire valley and its interior space.
This formation is one with the earth, possessing astonishing defensive power. It can also obscure the secrets of heaven. Even an ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal passing by would find it extremely difficult to detect the slightest abnormality here unless they deliberately scan it repeatedly with their divine sense.
Sitting cross-legged at the most stable point in the center of the formation, Zhen Yuanzi calmed his mind, which had been slightly depleted from fighting against the Blood Sea environment for a long time, and once again took out the completely purified Devouring Origin.
It floats silently above the palm of your hand, like a drop of extreme darkness that slowly rotates and devours light, exuding a strange charm and oppressive feeling that attracts all things to the void and even makes your gaze seem to be sucked in.
"My Great Way is rooted in the earth. The way of the earth is to bear all things with virtue, to embrace all things, to nourish all living beings, and to return all things to their final resting place."
This law of devouring, though seemingly domineering and ruthless, shares a similar core concept with the earth's abilities of "returning to its source," "transforming external forces into nourishment," and "integrating all paths to replenish itself" upon closer examination. They are not entirely contradictory or incompatible!
With a firm Dao heart and a clear understanding, Zhen Yuanzi began to circulate his purest innate earth elemental essence, guiding the earth's mother energy to nourish new life, slowly and carefully guiding and refining the dark essence in his palm.
His magical power, at this moment, was like the finest and most resilient carving knife and ribbon, enveloping that mass of darkness and guiding the extremely pure devouring power within it. Thread by thread, strand by strand, like a stream flowing into a river, it slowly and firmly merged into his meridians, acupoints, flesh, bones, and even the deepest foundation of his Dao.
What he wants to do is not simply to add up power, but to fuse and sublimate at the level of laws, integrating the profound meaning of "devouring" into the framework of his own "earth".
In the initial stage, the two forces with very different natures inevitably repelled each other.
Although the devouring power was not guided by intelligence, its instincts were still strong. When it sensed the guidance of the external force, it immediately showed its domineering side and tried to absorb and assimilate Zhen Yuanzi's earth magic power in the opposite direction.
However, Zhen Yuanzi's foundation is so solid, his accumulation so profound, and the Way of the Earth is known for its stability, weight, and all-encompassing nature.
He used his vast and boundless magical power as a solid foundation, and his profound understanding and absolute control over the laws of his own Dao as the guiding principle.
Like an experienced animal tamer, guiding a wild and powerful dark river, with the ultimate goal of making it flow gently into its own vast and all-encompassing ocean.
This process is far more dangerous and difficult than refining a primordial spiritual treasure!
Because refining spiritual treasures is more about imprinting divine consciousness and controlling restrictions, while at this moment, he is transforming, reshaping, and enhancing his own fundamental source of Dao!
This is about opening up new tributaries on one's own great path, or even reconstructing part of the foundation of the path.
It is fraught with danger. A slight misstep could lead to one's own magical power being devoured and backfired, damage to one's foundation, or even conflict with the Great Dao, resulting in the calamity of death and the dissipation of one's Dao.
If it weren't for his unwavering Dao heart, which would never be eroded by countless eons, his profound understanding of the Dao of the Earth, and the Earth Book that stabilizes the earth's veins, the Apricot Yellow Banner that protects his primordial spirit, and the Pure White Lotus that cleanses away any potential minor conflicts and impurities, there would have been absolutely no chance of success.
In the primordial chaos, time seemed to lose its meaning, quietly flowing by in this valley completely concealed by the Primordial Earth Array, through countless seasons.
Zhen Yuanzi's aura constantly changed, sometimes as heavy as an ancient mountain, bearing the heavens and earth, exuding a reassuring grandeur and stability.
At other times, it becomes as deep and dark as a black hole in the underworld, as if it can devour light, sound, and even divine consciousness, emanating a chilling emptiness and deathly stillness.
Two completely different Daoist energies, which should have been in conflict with each other, constantly clashed, collided, honed, and merged within his body. Ultimately, under Zhen Yuanzi's powerful control and the support of his Daoist realm, they gradually reached a balance and even began to produce a kind of wonderful complementarity and resonance.
His expression shifted between solemn and calm, with glistening beads of sweat containing fragments of his own Dao principles seeping from his forehead, only to be instantly evaporated by the rising magical power within him.
This is undoubtedly a severe test of willpower, magical power, and Dao realm.
I don't know how many years have passed, perhaps as long as a single cycle, or perhaps time has accelerated in some state of sudden enlightenment.
At a certain moment, as if in the beginning of chaos, yin and yang were separated, Zhen Yuanzi suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed for who knows how long!
Deep within the pupil of the left eye, it seems as if countless mountains and rivers are rising and falling, enacting the supreme truth of bearing and nurturing.
Within his right pupil, however, lay an extreme darkness that could devour all light, seemingly capable of shredding even the line of sight, swirling and vanishing, embodying the ultimate mystery of return to nothingness and devouring.
The two strange phenomena gradually subsided and eventually returned to calm, but deep in their eyes, the Daoist charm that blended the earth's weight and the swallowing depths was forever imprinted.
It worked!
That pure and flawless Chaos Devouring Origin has been completely refined by him and perfectly integrated into his own Innate Earth Guarding Great Dao System!
From then on, his Way of the Earth not only included the original and wonderful uses of the earth such as bearing, stabilizing, nurturing, storing, and regulating, but also added a supreme mystery of "devouring and transforming".
He can use the earth as a foundation to devour external forces, enemy magic, and even the violent energy between heaven and earth, and absorb them into his own earth veins. They can be transformed into life force to nourish all things, into supreme gravity to suppress enemies, or into replenish his own consumption.
His understanding and control of the Devouring Dao, due to the integration of this Chaos Origin, leaped to an extremely profound level. Although he still mainly relied on the Earth Dao, his understanding and application of the Devouring Law alone was second only to the Earth Dao, which he had cultivated for countless eons as his foundation!
This is equivalent to opening up a powerful auxiliary path with unlimited potential next to one's main path!
Moreover, after completely merging with and devouring the origin, and understanding its core mystery of "dividing into countless forms, all being the original body, and absorbing endless nourishment into one body", a powerful and practical divine ability was naturally comprehended and mastered by him, as if water had flowed into a channel.
This supernatural power can be called the technique of "Returning All Thoughts to Nothingness" or "Dividing the Original Spirit"!
Its core lies in the ability to generate a varying number of split thoughts by reversing the application of the Devouring Law and with the support of one's own powerful primordial spirit!
Each wisp of spirit contains a trace of his original spiritual consciousness, the Dao of the earth, and the ability to devour. Theoretically, they can all be regarded as extensions of the "original body," capable of acting, thinking, cultivating independently, and even using some of the original body's supernatural powers and spells.
The most mysterious thing is that the main body can instantly perceive all that the divided spirit sees, hears, thinks, and feels, without any delay.
Moreover, as long as one of his fragmented spirits remains intact, he can use that fragmented spirit as the core to spend time and resources to reshape his Dao body and primordial spirit. This cannot be considered a true fall; it is an unparalleled method for preserving life, exploring, and planning.
However, this supernatural power also has its natural limitations. The more divine thoughts are divided, the weaker the strength and intelligence of each divided spirit will be.
If only one main spirit is separated, it may possess 70-80% of the strength of the original body, almost indistinguishable from the original body; if ten spirits are separated, each spirit may only have 30-40% of the strength and intelligence left.
If one were to manifest in countless forms and spread throughout the primordial world, each of these divine manifestations would likely possess only basic instincts and meager magical power, primarily used for large-scale exploration, transmitting messages, or executing extremely simple and fixed commands, unable to engage in complex thinking or confront powerful enemies.
The process of differentiation and recapture also requires a lot of mental energy and magical power.
"Wonderful! This harvest is a truly unexpected delight, far exceeding our expectations!"
As Zhen Yuanzi experienced the earth-shaking changes within himself and the new, strategically valuable supernatural power he had acquired, even his usually calm and unwavering Dao heart couldn't help but feel a surge of heartfelt joy.
Although the initial goal of this trip—the two killing swords of Yuan Tu and A Bi—has not yet been found.
However, the gains from refining and devouring the source are in no way inferior to obtaining a top-tier offensive spiritual treasure, whether in terms of improving one's own cultivation or enhancing one's ability to protect oneself and explore. In some aspects, such as supplementing one's own Great Dao and expanding future potential, it is even better!
He slowly suppressed the strange phenomena that occasionally appeared around him, completely concealing the newly born earth energy that had incorporated the devouring properties, returning to his original state.
With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the innate earth formation that had enveloped the valley, and his gaze once again turned toward the direction of the unsettling aura of blood and filth that faintly emanated from the distant horizon—the Netherworld Blood Sea.
Now, with his strength greatly increased, his adaptability to the Netherworld has improved due to the integration of the devoured source, and he also possesses the "Return of All Thoughts to Nothingness" technique, which allows him to divide his divine thoughts for safer and more efficient exploration...
Perhaps it's time to revisit the mysterious and unpredictable Sea of Blood with a completely new attitude and strategy, in order to find the true whereabouts of the Styx Ancestor and the Yuan Tu Abi Killing Sword.