The Secret of Evolution

Di Kun and Zhou Jun strolled through the Blessed Land of the Creation Green Lotus. The surroundings were silent and still, save for the soft rustle of leaves stirred by the breeze. Neither spoke, each immersed in his own thoughts.

Di Kun lowered his head, his brows faintly furrowed as though wrestling with some difficult problem. The image of the Primordial Life Tree kept surfacing in his mind, and he tried to discern from its form and aura what it lacked. His fingers lightly traced patterns in the air, as if deducing some mysterious formation.

Zhou Jun did not disturb Di Kun. Instead, his gaze was drawn to the trees around them. Each possessed a different form—some tall and straight, others graceful and delicate—and every one radiated a distinctive aura. In particular, the trees originally created with Three Lights Divine Water gleamed with faint starlight, much like the legendary Star Trees.

Zhou Jun mused to himself. If these trees were planted among the stars, could they enhance the stars' origins? After all, these trees seemed capable of absorbing the power of the sun, moon, and stars. Rumor had it that Star Trees grew upon Ziwei Star. If he could plant these trees and allow them to evolve naturally, perhaps they might develop some wondrous connection with the Star Trees. They might even, through the power of stellar origins, evolve the Great Formation of the Stars on their own.

At that thought, Zhou Jun's eyes lit up. It was as though he saw a magnificent vision unfurling before him. Yet realizing it would be no easy matter; it required further study and exploration.

Zhou Jun sank into thought, countless possibilities surfacing in his mind. He began to consider why this period fascinated him so deeply. Perhaps it was because he had been witnessing the process through which the lives brought out from here developed and evolved. The transformations of life held him utterly enthralled, for these lives continuously evolved according to differences in their environments and lands.

Compared to the Innate Races of the Primordial World, these lives displayed unique qualities. The Innate Races of the Primordial World seemed already fixed in form, their appearances and abilities largely set in stone. Yet these lives that had been brought forth possessed far greater malleability. According to different environments and geographical conditions, they could develop all manner of new traits and abilities.

Zhou Jun realized that this capacity for evolution was something possessed by many living beings in later generations. By adapting to their environment and evolving continuously, they could reach a level comparable to the Innate Races of the Primordial World, or even become entirely new forms of life. Yet the current Primordial World Beings lacked such an ability. At most, they could strengthen their own origins, but they could not undergo a true transformation.

The discovery astonished Zhou Jun, for he had never noticed this before. He began to reexamine the lives within the Primordial World and consider the reason behind this difference. Perhaps the rules and environment of the Primordial World were too stable, restricting the evolution of living beings to a certain extent.

Perhaps it was because the first lives had all been nurtured by Pangu that they possessed transcendence but no concept of evolution. It was like when the Demon Race later migrated to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and nearly suffered extermination, precisely because they could not adapt to the new environment through evolution.

Then when exactly had life begun to evolve? Was it Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate? Zhou Jun pondered in secret, yet felt that did not seem right. After all, Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate only occurred because they possessed Dragon Race bloodlines; they did not truly evolve into another creature or form.

Zhou Jun continued thinking and suddenly recalled the process of a snake becoming a python, a python becoming a flood dragon, and ultimately becoming a dragon. Did that count as evolution? Yet after careful thought, he realized it was not true evolution either. Rather, it was more like degeneration caused by environmental factors, which was why they had to evolve step by step.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Zhou Jun. The fog shrouding his heart instantly scattered, and he could not help but exclaim, "So that's how it is!"

In his thoughts, he realized that evolution was not achieved in one leap. There had first been degeneration, and only then had the concept of evolution emerged. But what had caused that degeneration?

Zhou Jun looked around, his gaze settling on the surrounding environment. Innate Spiritual Energy permeated this place, and its rich abundance gave him an unprecedented sense of freshness and comfort. At that moment, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind.

"That's it!" he said excitedly. "Spiritual Energy! Degeneration appeared in later generations because Innate Spiritual Energy was lost. In that era, there was only Acquired Spiritual Energy. By the end, even Spiritual Energy had vanished entirely, and the world entered the Age of Dharma's End."

Zhou Jun continued to think. He realized that powerful beings required equally powerful energy to sustain their existence. Yet when energy could no longer meet their needs, death was their only fate. To avoid extinction, the descendants of those beings had no choice but to degenerate in order to adapt to environmental changes.

Their bodies weakened because of degeneration, but to survive, they had no choice but to change. Those changes accumulated over time, ultimately giving rise to evolution.

Excitement surged within Zhou Jun. He felt as though he had uncovered an important secret concerning evolution. This discovery deepened his understanding of the world by another layer and provided more inspiration and material for his creations.

At that thought, Zhou Jun narrowed his eyes slightly, as though contemplating something important.

"Then my previous plan simply won't work," he murmured. "Since there is no concept of evolution, even if I successfully open up the Abyss, the beings born there from the corpses of Chaos Gods and Demons would merely be Innate Beings. There would be no possibility of evolution at all."

Zhou Jun's brows drew tightly together as he continued his analysis. "That would completely lock their transformations in place. Like the Dragon Race, they could only breed with countless races to produce new species. Yet the descendants produced in that manner could not be considered wholly new races—at most, they would be offshoots."

Thinking of this, Zhou Jun secretly let out a breath of relief. Good thing I didn't act rashly. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The Abyss represents temptation and depravity. Without the possibility of evolution, those fallen beings would likely find it difficult to fully adapt to the Abyss's environment. Perhaps in the end, they would perish on their own because they could not adapt!

Zhou Jun thought thankfully, Good thing Di Kun began acting first. And precisely because these beings exist, the current Primordial World now has the possibility of evolution. In that case, the Abyss and underground world I envisioned can be fully realized!

Having thought it through, Zhou Jun's mood brightened. He raised his head, and his eyes happened to meet Di Kun's. Di Kun stared at Zhou Jun, seemingly observing his reaction. When Zhou Jun came back to himself, Di Kun asked, "What do you think the Primordial Life Tree is lacking?"

Hearing Di Kun's question, Zhou Jun did not answer at once. Instead, he fell into thought. He recalled all the discussions about the Primordial Life Tree from his previous life as he considered Di Kun's question.

"First, the factors you considered before were all correct," Zhou Jun said slowly. "The Primordial Life Tree can nurture the Elf race, which means it possesses a certain degree of intelligence. It simply cannot take form."

He paused, then continued his analysis. "Since that is the case, we must ensure it lacks the ability to take form. Generally speaking, spiritual roots pursue their own evolution. Even when they bear fruit, it is instinctive, not for the purpose of nurturing other lifeforms. Yet you have only added the origin of a spiritual root, so what it nurtures is still merely fruit. Although it contains our blood, that is more like a catalyst."

Zhou Jun took a deep breath and concluded, "Therefore, I think you should not dwell too much on the appearance of the Primordial Life Tree. You should consider how to make its fruit capable of nurturing elves. That is the key."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jun turned his gaze toward the Creation Green Lotus in the Lotus Pond and said thoughtfully, "Hmm... I suddenly have an idea. Perhaps you could try using the Creation Green Lotus to solve this problem."

Upon hearing this, Di Kun muttered, "The Creation Green Lotus? Why?" He was somewhat confused by Zhou Jun's suggestion and could not understand the reasoning behind it.

Seeing Di Kun's bewildered expression, Zhou Jun scratched his head and explained, "I can't really explain the exact reason. It's just a feeling. I always feel that what you're missing may be hidden within the Creation Green Lotus. After all, the Creation Green Lotus inherited its legacy from the Chaos Green Lotus! And think about it—the Chaos Green Lotus has another extremely important trait..."

Zhou Jun's voice gradually lowered. He and Di Kun exchanged a look, and suddenly, as though their hearts were linked, the two shouted in unison, "The Chaos Green Lotus nurtured Pangu!"

Di Kun awoke as if from a dream. He realized that his previous train of thought had gone straight into a dead end. He had only thought that the Primordial Life Tree was a tree, so he had focused entirely on making it nurture elves. Yet he had overlooked one crucial fact—the fruit of the Primordial Life Tree was the key to nurturing elves.

Thus, Di Kun now understood that the Primordial Life Tree he needed to shape should have borne fruit from the very beginning. Only then could he create a true ancient tree capable of nurturing elves.

Having understood this, Di Kun felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart. Without hesitation, he turned and left, returning to the Lotus Pond with light steps. The moment he arrived, he immediately threw himself into a new round of creation, as though he had forgotten everything around him.

At the same time, Zhou Jun slowly walked to the edge of the Lotus Pond. He quietly gazed at that enormous Creation Green Lotus, his eyes holding an indescribable depth of contemplation. What mysteries did this green lotus truly contain? Zhou Jun wondered to himself.

After a while, Zhou Jun seemed to reach a decision. With great care, he put away several third-grade and sixth-grade Creation Green Lotuses. However, he did not touch the ninth-grade or twelfth-grade Creation Green Lotuses, merely taking some lotus seeds from them.

Zhou Jun held the lotus seeds in his palm and examined them closely. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something important, and his eyes flashed. Immediately afterward, he turned without hesitation and hurried out of the Creation Blessed Land, as though some urgent matter awaited him.