Whispers of a Remnant Soul Reveal a Conspiracy; Origin Chains Show Their First Signs

When Chen Fan arrived at the Chaos Node, the once-crystalline Chaos Origin Core had already been wrapped in a layer of viscous black mist. He pressed the Chaos Seal against the node's surface, and the power of the Nine Meridians seeped into the core along the seal's patterns. Countless fragmented whispers suddenly exploded in his mind—remnant shards of the Will of the Heavenly Dao's consciousness, like countless threads entwining the origin.

"Fusion of myriad arts... all is illusion... the unification of origins... is the true path..."

Within the whispers, Chen Fan saw a horrifying vision: whenever countless cultivators fused their qi and blood with spiritual energy, tiny "Origin Seeds" would be born within their bodies. These seeds would grow as the cultivators advanced, eventually devouring their hosts' consciousness completely and transforming them into "Origin Puppets" without any sense of self. The turbid Chaos current was merely "nourishment" that fostered the seeds.

"So that's how it is." Chen Fan abruptly withdrew his hand, his palm already scorched by the black mist. "It isn't destroying fusion—it's exploiting it. The Origin Resonance created by the fusion of myriad arts is precisely the key to activating these seeds."

He circulated the power of Chaos to disperse the black mist from his palm, only to discover that before vanishing, the mist had traced half of a bizarre pattern upon the ground. This pattern was utterly different from the origin runes on the nine martial seals. Instead, it carried the coercive air of a "contract," as though it were weaving a vast net over the entire world.

Meanwhile, within the Myriad Arts Academy's library, Su Muxue was leafing through the Origin Secret Record left behind by an ancient Martial Immortal. The beast-hide scroll tucked between its pages suddenly glimmered, and the words upon it began to rearrange themselves, revealing a passage that had been deliberately erased: "The Heavenly Dao was not born knowing order. Rather, it bound the Nine Origins with 'Origin Chains,' forcibly decreeing the superiority and inferiority of spirit roots. When the chains break, the remnant souls scatter; when scattered, they seek a chance to be reforged—using the resonance of myriad arts as fire and cultivators' origins as nails, reforging the chains to assimilate all living beings."

"Origin Chains..." Su Muxue's pupils contracted sharply. The Evil Suppressing Jade Pendant suddenly shook violently, and patterns similar to those Chen Fan had seen emerged across its surface. "The impurities within the turbid Chaos current aren't products of failed fusion at all—they're 'chain fragments' condensed from the Heavenly Dao's remnant soul!"

She immediately rushed out of the library, only to see that the turbid Chaos current on the training grounds had split into countless wisps of black mist. Like swimming serpents, they burrowed toward the disciples of the Fusion Academy. Lin Xiaohu was exerting himself to activate the Soul Suppressing Seal, pale violet light forming a barrier around the disciples, yet the black mist could penetrate the barrier and cling to their foreheads—where marks identical to the chain patterns were faintly appearing.

"Miss Su, there's something wrong with this black mist!" Lin Xiaohu's voice was weary, and the Soul Suppressing Power was being depleted far faster than before. "It's eroding the disciples' consciousness. I can feel it—they're forgetting their own names, forgetting why they began cultivating!"

Su Muxue hastily hurled the Evil Suppressing Jade Pendant into the air. Its radiance surged, forming an enormous curtain of light that enveloped the entire academy. The black mist hissed as it struck the light curtain and was forced from the disciples' foreheads. Yet rather than dispersing, it gathered outside the barrier into a blurred human face—the outline of the Will of the Heavenly Dao.

"You... seek to shatter order..." the face rasped. "The fusion of myriad arts... merely paves the way... for me to reforge the chains... Once all nine origin nodes are assimilated... all living beings shall become my puppets..."

Before the words had faded, Chen Fan suddenly appeared beside the curtain of light. He held a black crystal taken from the Chaos Node, its chain patterns pulsing continuously. "Its target isn't merely the academy—it's the Nine Great Origin Nodes! This crystal is a 'Chain Core.' As long as nine cores are embedded into the nodes, the Origin Chains will be fully reforged."

He pressed the crystal against the Evil Suppressing Jade Pendant. The shockwave unleashed by their collision instantly scattered the black-mist face. But in the direction of the distant earth-vein node, a pillar of black light suddenly rose. Then black light flared from the lightning, life, and other nodes in succession—clearly, Chain Cores had already been embedded in some of the nodes.

"It's accelerating its plan!" Lin Xiaohu said urgently. "You removed the core of the Chaos Node, so it'll definitely move against the other nodes!"

Chen Fan gazed at the black patterns gradually taking shape in the sky and suddenly recalled the ancient Martial Immortal Shennong's charge: "All things share one origin; all living beings breathe as one." "Its conspiracy has a fatal flaw. The Origin Chains require 'assimilation,' not 'devouring.' That means it cannot directly control the new origins produced after fusion. As long as we find a way to counter assimilation, we can sever the chains completely."

Su Muxue suddenly pointed at the Origin Secret Record. "It records the power of salvation through 'intersubjectivity'—when cultivators forge bonds with one another through genuine feelings, their origins produce a unique kind of 'resonant impurity.' This impurity can isolate the erosion of the Heavenly Dao's remnant soul. Just as the Martial Immortal Shennong once nourished the Life Origin with a compassionate heart, allowing the Life Seal to gain the strength to resist the Heavenly Dao!"

A flash of insight gleamed in Chen Fan's eyes. He raised the Chaos Seal and Soul Suppressing Seal at the same time, the two powers intertwining in his palm. "Xiaohu, use your Soul Suppressing Power to link the minds of every disciple. Miss Su, use the Evil Suppressing Jade Pendant to guide their qi, blood, and spiritual energy. What we need to do is not stop fusion, but make fusion itself into the power that counters the chains!"