Desolate God "Bizhang"

The Taihuan Token Envoy's pig face showed a knowing, confident expression. "I told you before that this world is vastly different from the Tianhuang Ancient Continent. Their underlying structures are completely different, so most cultivation techniques and secret arts can't be practiced directly.

But every system has a loophole!

This world is built on the ten fundamental laws, which are also its basic cultivation paths. It's not as if the Tianhuang Ancient Continent has nothing that can be made to fit them. It all depends on whether the Supreme Rule is willing to turn a blind eye."

Jiang Yao fell silent. He'd heard the Messenger talk about how the Tianhuang Ancient Continent's cultivation paths were the Dao of Taiyi, Taishi, Taisu, Taiji, Xuanhuang, Causality, Nirvana, End of Dharma, Creation, and so on. It seemed there weren't any techniques based on a single Law Path, like metal, wood, water, fire, or earth.

"I thought long and hard, and finally found two techniques that could slip past the Supreme Rule. One is Xu Yuan Opening, which lies between reality and illusion. The other is Nine Transformations of the Desolate God.

"When the Tianhuang Ancient Continent first came into being, the Myriad Races and sects had yet to rise. Back then, the Tianhuang Ancient Continent was ruled by Desolate Beasts.

"There were forty-nine kinds of Desolate Beasts. Every kind was extraordinarily powerful and grew rapidly. Once they reached adulthood, they were at least True God Level beings!

"In that age, when the Myriad Races still lived in ignorance, these Desolate Beasts weren't merely shadows hanging over them. They were also revered as Desolate Gods for their unmatched power!

"Even the name Tianhuang Ancient Continent came from them."

The Messenger's face took on a nostalgic look as he continued. "Back then, as the Myriad Races first rose to prominence, they all looked to the Desolate Beasts as their teachers. The early cultivators treasured every divine ability and movement performed by a Desolate Beast, even the creatures' very forms. They studied and visualized them endlessly, creating techniques suited to themselves.

"Many peerless arts were born from that, some reaching the very pinnacle.

"The most dazzling of them all was Nine Transformations of the Desolate God!

"It could turn you into a Desolate Beast!

"You could even transform into as many as nine kinds of Desolate Beasts!"

Jiang Yao asked in surprise, "Turn into a Desolate Beast?"

"Exactly. The Desolate Beast you transform into can't wield power beyond your own level of cultivation, but what kind of beings are Desolate Beasts? Even with their power and cultivation restricted to a lower level, they're still invincible among their peers!

"Nine Transformations of the Desolate God was the most powerful combat technique of that era. Once mastered, it made you invincible among your peers!"

The Messenger's excitement ebbed, and his voice turned wistful. "Of course, that's all ancient history now. The Desolate Gods, once both feared and revered by the early cultivators, were later renamed Desolate Beasts.

"But in this world, if you can truly master Nine Transformations of the Desolate God, you'll have a path straight to the heavens!

"The main reason I chose it, though, is that some Desolate Beasts have innate abilities that resemble the single laws underpinning your world.

"Usually, information from the Tianhuang Ancient Continent either can't appear in this world or gets distorted. For instance, the information contained in Yan Script would be twisted by the Supreme Rule into meaningless trash.

"If a Desolate Beast tried to descend into this world, it would either fail or be distorted by the Supreme Rule. But if its innate power resonated with this world's underlying laws, there'd be a good chance the Supreme Rule would accept it and distort it into a form suited to this Source World.

"The first Desolate Beast I chose for you is the 'Bizhang' you visualized earlier."

Jiang Yao remembered the bird he'd managed to visualize only by using every last bit of his willpower. He couldn't help admiring it. No wonder it had felt so incomprehensibly profound. If it was at least True God Level as an adult, wasn't it even more noble than a naturally born Beast God?

If Nine Transformations of the Desolate God could let him turn into a divine beast like that, then the Messenger's claim about a "path straight to the heavens" wasn't an exaggeration.

The Messenger shook his head as he continued, "Bizhang is known as the Flame Sect and the Sun Essence. Its power is singular and fits this world's laws quite well. If it's successfully born here, the Supreme Rule might well distort it into a divine beast of the Law of Fire or the Law of Light.

"More importantly, most Desolate Beasts are far beyond your current level—even as hatchlings, before they've broken out of their eggs. You wouldn't be able to transform into them at all. Bizhang is one of the few Desolate Beasts whose hatchlings are relatively weak. At your Stellar Level, you can already begin cultivating it."

Jiang Yao was used to the pig constantly telling him he was too weak. A native might have taken offense. After all, reaching Stellar Level at such a young age was practically the mark of someone chosen by heaven.

But Jiang Yao knew that this world held more than just the Primal Universe. There was also the Universe Ocean, and the Origin Continent. Compared to the experts standing at the very peak, forget Stellar Level—even Immortal Gods were nothing but ants.

"But—"

Jiang Yao rolled his eyes. That pig loved leaving him hanging.

Sure enough.

"To cultivate Nine Transformations of the Desolate God, you'll need a great deal of treasure to support you, and it'll take a long time just to get started."

Jiang Yao said nothing, wearing an expression that clearly meant, "Please, go on."

The Messenger realized his little game hadn't gotten a rise out of Jiang Yao. His pig face looked a little awkward. "But with the Desolate Beast's Origin Blood Essence, you can get started quickly."

Jiang Yao asked cautiously, "Didn't you say before that the Taihuan Token inheritance came with no treasures, only cultivation techniques?"

The Messenger grinned smugly. "Heh heh. The Taihuan Token had no treasures, and Divine Lord Taihuan didn't bestow any before he fell. But that doesn't mean I don't have any.

"You're incredibly lucky, kid. When it comes to Desolate Beast Origin Blood Essence, I have plenty.

"Most of the forty-nine kinds of Desolate Beasts from the Tianhuang Ancient Continent can be found in the Taihuan Sect's grounds."

Jiang Yao stared at him. Good grief. Was the Taihuan Sect some kind of beast-taming sect?

The Messenger had no idea what Jiang Yao was thinking and went on speaking to himself. "Or rather, most top-tier sects like the Taihuan Sect keep plenty of Desolate Beasts in their grounds.

"Desolate Beasts have plenty of uses. Surely the True Gods, True Lords, and Chaos Saints in the sect need a mount or two? How could they save face when visiting friends without a beast to ride?

"Some kinds of Desolate Beasts are especially suited to being mounts, so they're quite popular.

"And the Tianhuang Ancient Continent is fond of feasts. There are banquets large and small all the time. For a sect on the level of the Taihuan Sect, if a banquet they hosted didn't include a few signature dishes made from Desolate Beast innards, it would seem rather shabby. They'd never dare serve that to their guests."

Jiang Yao's mouth twitched. How had a mighty Desolate God turned into a beast on the menu in the very next breath? That was quite a fall.

"Of course, not every Desolate Beast tastes good. But the ones that don't have other uses. Some have materials that can be used in medicine or alchemy; others can be used to craft treasures.

"Some can't be used in medicine or treasure-making, but if they're beautiful, they can be kept as ornamental pets. That's a good way to save face when guests come calling, too."

Jiang Yao asked carefully, "And Bizhang is...?"

The Messenger sighed. "That bird is fairly lucky. It counts as an alchemy assistant. Since it's known as the 'Flame Sect' and the 'Sun Essence,' it can breathe flames to heat spirit-treasure cauldrons. It's a great help to disciples at lower cultivation levels who are learning alchemy."

That was all right, then. Bizhang was indeed lucky.

But Jiang Yao had only been listening for the novelty of it. He didn't particularly care about the Desolate Beasts' lot on the Tianhuang Ancient Continent. That place sounded like a world where True Gods roamed everywhere and Chaos Saints were as common as dogs.

A Desolate Beast that was just livestock on the Tianhuang Ancient Continent could still lord it over the Primal Universe and even the Universe Ocean. That was good enough.

With the Messenger's help, Jiang Yao quickly mastered the basics of Nine Transformations of the Desolate God using Bizhang's Origin Blood Essence.

On a desolate planet, something white, resembling a silkworm cocoon or perhaps the egg of some beast, lay hidden in a canyon.

Jiang Yao didn't know how long he'd been asleep. As soon as he woke, he found himself in a cramped darkness.

"Who am I?"

"I am..."

He'd even forgotten his own name.

"Hungry..."

Before long, only one thought remained.

Hunger!

Hunger drove him, making him desperate to break through the darkness and the force that bound him.

The force restraining him was like an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron, refusing to let him be born.

He attacked the barrier imprisoning him like a madman, striking it with his sharp beak and claws. The sound of each blow echoed through the darkness.

The force binding him filled him with anger and drove him mad, stirring up boundless savagery!

As Jiang Yao frantically attacked the darkness imprisoning him, far, far away, there was a space that words could not adequately describe.

Countless points of light drifted through it, each seemingly holding inconceivable power.

Suddenly, the seemingly aimless lights stirred, accelerating as they traced a profound, mysterious path.

Beyond the Primal Universe, amid the boundless chaotic currents, a towering old man sat atop an Azure Mountain Peak. He, too, opened his eyes and looked at the immense barrier that obscured half the Universe Ocean—the Primal Universe.

"Hmm? What is the Origin Will of the Original Universe up to now?"

The towering old man seemed able to see through the membrane wall and sense the Origin Land of the Universe. Something seemed to be happening there.

He and the Origin Will of the Original Universe, which was constantly on guard against him as if he were a thief, were old adversaries. He knew its every move well.

A being beside the old man, with a serpentine lower body and a human upper body, asked in confusion, "Teacher, what's wrong?"

The old man slowly shook his head. "This feeling... why does it seem familiar?"

He had personally experienced the cycle of the Primal Universe's Great Destruction and its rebirth. This latest disturbance from the Origin Will of the Original Universe gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"Could it be... the feeling when the cycle first began to nurture the naturally born Beast Gods?"

Within the Primal Universe, there was a seemingly endless, surging river of colorful light. Its upstream source was an immeasurably vast lake.

A towering figure with six arms and a humanoid form stirred from the darkness. His benevolent face seemed to pierce through infinite space and see the Origin Land of the Universe. He looked somewhat puzzled.

Then two more immense presences awoke.

"What's wrong with the Origin Will?"

"This feeling... it seems..."

"The feeling coming from the Origin Will seems to be... confusion?"

"The Origin Will is confused? What happened?"

It wasn't only the Three Ancestral Gods of the Ancestral God Sect. In the Five-Colored Aurora Lake and other parts of the Primal Universe, every Divine Envoy, Divine General, Beast God, Reserve Divine Envoy, Reserve Divine General, and Beast God Inheritor who had cultivated the Path of the Beast God felt a stirring from the source of their bloodline.

The higher their level, the sharper and clearer the feeling.

In the Core Land of the Ancestral God Sect, at the Thunder Beast God Temple.

"Can't even get a decent night's sleep. Has the Origin Will of the Original Universe gone haywire?"

A rumbling voice rang through the entire spacetime. Several mountain peaks in the boundless range were lifted up, revealing what lay beneath them.

A colossal Beast God with three hooves, wings, and a body covered in blue fur stood up. He looked up, displeased. "Could it be nurturing a naturally born Beast God?"

The Thunder Beast God grumbled in bewilderment, his face full of displeasure. "This cycle's nearly halfway over, isn't it? What's it playing at? A late-in-life birth?"