In the chaos, ever since the 3,000 Chaos Demon Gods had appeared, the vast world had changed with each passing day. Clusters of chaotic spiritual energy began appearing in many places, and faint images of Magic Treasures could be seen within some of them.
This was the period when Magic Treasures began to be nurtured on a large scale. Under the Great Dao Rhythms, different materials gathered vast amounts of spiritual energy, condensed laws, and naturally formed restrictions, giving rise to all kinds of Innate Treasures, and even Innate Supreme Treasures.
From the chaos until later generations, Magic Treasures were generally divided into the following ranks:
Chaos Spiritual Treasures—the Heaven-Opening Axe, the 36th-grade Chaos Green Lotus, and the Jade Disc.
Innate Supreme Treasures—the Chaos Bell, the Taiji Diagram, the Pangu Banner, and Qian Kun Ding.
Innate Spiritual Treasures—the Immortal Slaying Swords, the Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram, the River Diagram and Luo Book, the Red Embroidered Ball, the Mountain River Society Diagram, the Five Directions Spiritual Banners, the Heavenly Book, the Earthly Book, the Nether Book, and the 36 Sea-Calming Divine Beads...
Houtian Supreme Treasures—the Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Treasure Pagoda.
Houtian Spiritual Treasures—the Hollow Seal, the Monster Summoning Banner, the Hou Yi Bow, the Xing Tian Axe...
Of course, this classification was imperfect and only roughly divided Magic Treasures according to their properties. Among the Innate Spiritual Treasures were top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, such as the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, which was made up of five top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures and was no less powerful than an Innate Supreme Treasure. There were also top-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasures, such as the Hollow Seal, which could suppress the Human Race's destiny.
The distinction between Innate Supreme Treasures and Innate Spiritual Treasures, and between Houtian Supreme Treasures and Houtian Spiritual Treasures, was not based solely on the power of the Magic Treasure. The Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Treasure Pagoda, for example, could rival Innate Supreme Treasures like the Taiji Diagram. But Innate Spiritual Treasures had formed before the creation of the world, while Houtian Spiritual Treasures had formed afterward. Innate Spiritual Treasures could only be nurtured naturally, whereas Houtian Spiritual Treasures could be crafted, like the Monster Summoning Banner.
Innate Supreme Treasures and Innate Spiritual Treasures all had some ability to suppress destiny, to a greater or lesser degree. But only a very few Houtian Supreme Treasures and Houtian Spiritual Treasures could do so.
That was why cultivators often called Innate Supreme Treasures and Innate Spiritual Treasures treasures of destiny.
Of course, some Magic Treasures were no less powerful than Innate or Houtian Spiritual Treasures, yet had no spirituality at all. These were Magic Treasures of extreme power, taken to an extreme; they were generally known as Ultimate Dao Treasures.
Ultimate Dao Treasures generally existed for slaughter. Because they lacked spirituality, they could not be refined and could only exist as Battle Treasures. They could not be stored in the body and nurtured. Anyone could use one directly without first claiming it as their own, but there was also the danger of a Battle Treasure turning on its owner.
After Li Yi had devised his astonishing plan, he first fell into endless contemplation over how to resolve his intense instinct to evolve. He had found that this instinct was growing stronger and stronger, almost to the point of becoming uncontrollable. If he did not deal with it, it would cause major problems later.
Time passed uncounted in the chaos; a glance back, and millions of years had flown by. After prolonged deliberation and endless calculations, Li Yi decided to split his soul in two. He would leave the absolutely rational portion in his Main Body's Demon Body, while the other portion would remain in his clone. As for the clone's body, he would try to find an Innate Spiritual Root after the world was created.
In truth, Li Yi had chosen to split his soul in two only because he had no other choice. His instinct to evolve was growing ever stronger, and even the sealing technique he had comprehended from the Great Dao Rhythms was powerless against it. Otherwise, he would not have been in such a hurry to split his soul. After all, the soul was the most fundamental part of life. If the body was destroyed, it could still be remade, though the chances of evolving the body into an immortal body would be lower. But if the soul's origin was damaged, the chance of reaching the summit would be gone.
There was no need to be surprised that later generations could possess another's body and be reborn after suffering damage to their souls, or use great divine powers to gather spiritual energy, remake their bodies, and embark on the path of immortality once more, seeking the Dao and the truth. Although their souls had been injured, their origins had not been harmed. They could be repaired and nourished through various methods.
The soul's origin was innate and very difficult to replenish. It could only transform once when life underwent a leap or the soul was elevated. Even then, the increase was only slight.
To be honest, aside from suppressing his instinct to evolve, Li Yi had chosen to split his soul because an absolutely rational soul would give this peerless Demon Body better prospects. It would prevent him from suddenly losing control of his body and acting blindly without thinking.
Besides, to make better plans in the Primordial World in the future, Li Yi needed an absolutely calm mind. Underlying currents ran deep in the Primordial World, and danger lurked everywhere. One wrong step could lead to one mistake after another. Li Yi did not believe that being a Chaos Demon God meant he could do whatever he pleased.
Even Yang Mei and Hongjun had not been particularly renowned before attaining the Primordial Realm. Many people had not even heard of them. This showed just how deep the waters of the Primordial World ran. One careless move could leave a person reduced to ashes.
Moreover, splitting his soul would let him cultivate the Dao more effectively through his clone. He could hardly cultivate while constantly burdened by such powerful desires. Thinking of this, Li Yi could not help but wonder if Hongjun had created the "Three Corpses Method" for this very reason.
However, Li Yi followed the path of an immortal body and enlightenment through the laws, so he had no connection to the "Three Corpses Method." Besides, it was not necessarily inferior to that method.
Once he had made up his mind, Li Yi immediately formed profound Hand Seals with both hands. Illusory images layered one over another between his hands, and their movements were impossible to make out. A single glance seemed to draw in all the viewer's attention, as though they contained a profound mystery and boundless beauty.
Before long, one Hand Seal after another gathered spiritual energy and took shape, illuminating the void. In one moment, lotus flowers appeared out of nowhere; in the next, sacred mountains formed, then gods, demons, and giant beasts... Endless visions appeared one after another, while faint, exalted divine music seemed to ring out. Truly, each Hand Seal contained a world, and each leaf a Tathagata.
After who knew how long, the space above Li Yi was filled with light. Countless overlapping visions formed a bizarre, fantastical primeval world. Then the entire world began to spin, and the myriad visions began to shrink. The world cycled between destruction and rebirth, slowly taking the shape of a Nine-Colored Pagoda. It radiated boundless holiness, surrounded by immortal energy and resounding with heavenly music. All evil was dispelled; it was eternal and noble.
This was a divine ability Li Yi had prepared for splitting his soul. After deciding to divide his soul in two, he had set out to create a divine ability specifically to protect it, in case anything went wrong.
Li Yi had been extraordinarily lucky. The Great Dao Rhythms had not yet vanished, and as he immersed himself in creating his divine ability, information about the soul within those rhythms was drawn to him. He continuously comprehended passages of information concerning the laws of the soul, and in the end, created the supreme divine ability known as the "Nine-Colored Pagoda."
The "Nine-Colored Pagoda" had nine levels, each a different color, and endless visions appeared within it. It could attack and defend. Most importantly, it could remain above the soul and protect it. Of course, if an attack on the soul exceeded its limit, the pagoda would collapse and need to be condensed anew.
Li Yi could proudly say that at the dawn of the Primordial World, the "Nine-Colored Pagoda" was unquestionably among the finest divine abilities. The mysteries of the soul were incredibly difficult to comprehend, let alone creating a divine ability that targeted it. This had been a chance encounter and a great blessing indeed.
After the "Nine-Colored Pagoda" had taken form, Li Yi spent some time preparing. His soul gradually began to change. Unnoticed, his originally purplish-golden soul divided into two sides.
The larger side accounted for roughly two-thirds of his soul. It was the absolutely rational portion and was silver-white. The other third belonged to his clone and was multicolored.
Suddenly, the "Nine-Colored Pagoda" hovering above Li Yi transformed into a dazzling stream of light. With a whoosh, it shot down through the top of his head and appeared above his soul.
The "Nine-Colored Pagoda" began to lower threads of light, enveloping his entire soul. The boundary between the two sides of his soul was now quite distinct. Everything was ready.
Li Yi gritted his teeth and formed a Hand Seal. A gap suddenly appeared between the two sides of his soul, then grew wider and wider, gradually splitting them apart.
By now, Li Yi was drenched in sweat. The veins bulged across his body, and he convulsed all over. The pain of splitting his soul was beyond description. He had been prepared, but the agony far exceeded his expectations. It was like countless little knives slowly cutting through the flesh of his entire body, as though his whole self were being forcibly split in two—yet he could not touch the pain.
The agony surged over him like waves, one after another, seeping outward from within in layer upon layer. Li Yi could only keep encouraging himself. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this...
Fortunately, the "Nine-Colored Pagoda" finally began to work. Threads of flowing light descended, keeping both sides of his soul intact so they would not break apart, while gradually easing the pain of the split and helping Li Yi endure.
When people were in pain, time always seemed to stretch out. To Li Yi, those agonizing days felt like an endless road of darkness, with no end in sight. The unbearable torment became eternal.
A thousand years, ten thousand years. Li Yi even began to feel that the countless eons since he had crossed over into the chaos had not been as long as this moment. It was a contradiction, yet it felt real.
After who knew how long, Li Yi had been in pain until he was numb. At last, the split was complete. A slightly larger silver-white primordial spirit infant and a slightly smaller multicolored one sat beneath the dazzling "Nine-Colored Pagoda." Li Yi had not yet fully regained consciousness.
After a long, long while, Li Yi finally came to. He formed a Hand Seal and sent out several Hand Seals, temporarily sealing the multicolored primordial spirit infant to nourish it, while letting the absolutely rational primordial spirit control the Demon Body.
Having done all this, Li Yi decided to sleep beneath the Dao Rhythms and nourish his newly split primordial spirits. He would carry out his plan when the world was created.
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