A Man on the Verge of Death

Jiang Yao's body suddenly jerked, and he came to.

He was greeted by the crowd's concerned, even fervent gazes.

Jiang Yao noticed that the scene around the ship was a simulation of the Dark Universe. It seemed they had switched to another ship and had already entered the Dark Universe.

Meng Yi, the tall, bearded Old Patriarch of the Yanhe Lineage, stared at his face. Along with his delight, there was a hint of disbelief in his expression.

"How are you feeling?"

Jiang Yao gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Not great. Things were desperate back there. I nearly burned my soul to force my Bloodline Divine Ability to erupt and drive that Moyun Vine back. By the time I recalled the ability, the ancient will within it had already dissipated. The ability collapsed, and I'll have to nurture it again."

Prose was alarmed, and worry appeared on Kuman's face as well.

Meng Yi furrowed his brow slightly. What Jiang Yao said hadn't surprised him. To cross an entire major level and injure and repel a plant lifeform that was notoriously difficult to deal with, he would have had to pay some price. Anything else would have defied all reason.

But the collapse of a Bloodline Divine Ability was no small matter for the Lingtong Race. It was practically like losing half one's life.

Fortunately, Jiang Yao was not yet three hundred years old, and the source of his bloodline had not closed. He could spend time nurturing it anew within his eyes, but doing so would consume a great deal of his life force, and even his soul.

He was already badly injured, too. This ordeal had dealt Jiang Yao a major blow.

Of course, whether or not Jiang Yao's potential had been greatly diminished, he was still a treasure to the Lingtong Race. And as for talk of forcing his ability to erupt or burning his soul—Meng Yi had never heard of anyone in the clan at Stellar Level One crossing an entire major level and gravely injuring an opponent by pushing their Bloodline Divine Ability to its limits. The opponent being a plant lifeform made it even more unbelievable.

He could burn himself from head to toe and still never manage it. If Bloodline Divine Abilities had that kind of power, the Lingtong Race wouldn't have been locked in an even struggle with Yinhu Island for tens of thousands of eras.

Meng Yi's expression turned fierce. "Damn it! Damn it! I reported this assassination attempt to the Main Sect at the first opportunity. The World Lord Elders currently in charge at the Sacred Land are furious, and the Ancestor must have heard by now. Even if this doesn't lead to war with Yinhu Island, they'll have to pay a heavy price!

"Don't worry. You'll be compensated."

Meng Yi said this partly because he was truly enraged and partly to reassure Jiang Yao.

Though the Two Great Holy Lands had agreed that breaking their rules would mean starting a war between the Sacred Lands, that was still just a threat. The two Sacred Lands had indeed gone to war in the past, but Meng Yi had spent several eras in the Main Sect. In his view, the odds of this incident leading to war between them were low.

And Jiang Yao's loss was truly regrettable. Bloodline Divine Abilities were crucial to Spirit Readers of the Lingtong Race. There were plenty of examples in history of dazzling geniuses whose Bloodline Divine Abilities collapsed. Even after nurturing them anew, those geniuses had lost their brilliance and faded into obscurity.

It was especially devastating to suffer a setback like this just as a young genius was surging upward. It could do immense damage to their potential.

Along with his relief and elation, Meng Yi was also deeply pained. Jiang Yao was the most promising genius to emerge from his Yanhe Lineage since its split from the Main Sect. Otherwise, he wouldn't have personally come to escort him, much less swallowed his pride and borrowed the Wushen Thorn from a World Lord Elder he was on good terms with. Any harm to Jiang Yao's future felt like a piece of his own flesh being torn away.

But Jiang Yao had no time to worry about Meng Yi and the others—about their heartache, concern, envy, admiration, or schadenfreude.

Of what he had just said, only the claims that he had "forced his ability to erupt" and "burned his soul" were true.

And even those had been for the sake of dealing with Bizhang's will.

Jiang Yao had learned firsthand what it meant to have a trump card that took both sides down.

After recalling Bizhang's will, Jiang Yao hadn't passed out from the effort, as Meng Yi and the others assumed. That was when he had begun to pour all his will and focus into his body and fight for his life.

After Bizhang's will devoured a several-kilometer-long vine from the Universe-level Moyun Vine, its power had indeed increased greatly.

On top of that, it was furious and resentful at being dragged away from its feast by Jiang Yao. Bizhang's will immediately turned its attention on him.

Jiang Yao had truly drawn on the power of Xu Yuan Space and the Domain he had only recently awakened, combining his genetic Origin Energy, physical strength, spiritual power, and consciousness. He had resonated with the space of the universe and burned his soul. On top of all that, Bajie, the Messenger inside the Taihuan Token, had occasionally answered his calls and somehow injected strength into his already exhausted will.

That was the only way he had finally managed to lock Bizhang's will back inside Xu Yuan Space. But this time, Jiang Yao could clearly feel it struggling with even greater force from within its confinement.

Until he had improved his own strength enough, he was determined not to release all of Bizhang's will again. He would be staying at the Main Sect's Sacred Land for a while, so he shouldn't run into any more danger.

Naturally, there was a reason Nine Transformations of the Desolate God was both painful and pleasurable for him.

After going through this ordeal, he had reaped a great deal.

First was his will. His struggle against Bizhang's will had been no less than a life-or-death battle. It had not only strengthened his genes, but also tempered his will.

Though he had no specific point of comparison, Bajie believed that his will now exceeded the limits of the Stellar level and had reached the Universe level.

The next benefit had not been a physical transformation, but a gain in Law Comprehension.

Bizhang had been able to leave a Moyun Vine an entire major level above it utterly helpless through will alone. It had done so by relying on the two Origin Laws of Fire and Light. As the darling of both Laws, Bizhang could marshal immense cosmic energy through its will alone and instinctively unleash tremendously powerful Law might.

Jiang Yao had experienced firsthand how Bizhang wielded the Laws and used their profundities. He still couldn't make sense of it all, but his comprehension of the Laws had improved greatly.

The Origin Law of Fire had even crossed the threshold into Law Comprehension. He and Bajie had originally estimated it would take him several more years.

Though Bizhang seemed to have been granted authority over the two Origin Laws of Fire and Light, it still favored one over the other. It was clearly more skilled with, and more closely attuned to, the Origin Law of Fire.

Jiang Yao's sensitivity to the fluctuations of the Origin Laws had also followed Bizhang's lead. The fluctuations of the Law of Fire were easiest for him to sense, followed by those of Light. The fluctuations of the Law of Space were much more indistinct, while those of the Law of Time were the most elusive.

There had naturally been a physical transformation, too, but the extent of the evolution was nowhere near as great as the leap his body had made the first time he became Bizhang and then reverted to his original form.

The reason Jiang Yao had claimed he'd forced himself to fight the Moyun Vine until his Bloodline Divine Ability collapsed was that he was about to reach the Sacred Land. He didn't know exactly how the Sacred Land would train him, but he would certainly be expected to demonstrate his Bloodline Divine Ability in the Virtual Universe.

Yet with Bizhang's will sealed inside Xu Yuan Space, the Virtual Universe couldn't manifest Xu Yuan Space.

He also suspected that even if Bizhang's will were not in Xu Yuan Space, the Virtual Universe might still be unable to manifest Bizhang. After all, it was only Bizhang's will, not an actual divine ability or secret technique.

To Jiang Yao, the value of Bizhang's will lay in how it could help him cultivate and grow stronger in reality. It was a trump card that could bring both sides down.

He certainly couldn't rely on it in the Virtual Universe.

But he didn't need Bizhang to appear in the Virtual Universe. With his comprehension of the Laws alone, he was confident he could handle the battles there.

And as he continued to clash with Bizhang's will, his comprehension of the two Origin Laws of Fire and Light would only grow stronger.

He had a clear feeling that whether he became Bizhang and then reverted to his original form, or released Bizhang's will to strengthen his body, the ultimate aim seemed to be to transform his human body into a Special Lifeform exceptionally attuned to the two Laws of Fire and Light.

In a magnificent God Kingdom, a towering mountain rose from the endless golden sea, encircled by vast mountain ranges. It pierced the clouds from the middle of the boundless ocean.

This was where the master of the God Kingdom rested, as well as its forbidden zone. Normally, only World Lord powerhouses could enter and pay their respects to the mighty Immortal God.

Yet at that moment, a young man with an aura only at the Stellar level was climbing the steps, leaving afterimages in his wake as if no one could stop him.

Before long, the young man walked straight into the magnificent palace without announcing himself, under the envious gazes of the guards along the way.

The two guards at the palace entrance exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with emotion. They spoke to each other through telepathic transmission.

"I only started taking my turn on Divine Mountain a year ago. Was that Abbott just now?"

"Heh. Who else could it be? What other Stellar-level cultivator gets treatment like that?"

"When I was at the Stellar level, I was considered Yinhu Island's greatest genius, but I never dreamed the God Lord would take me as a disciple."

"He crossed the threshold of the Origin Law at the Stellar level. He's practically guaranteed a spot in the Guluo Secret Realm of the Xuanshang Universe Country. He's the trump card for our Yinhu Island in this Genius Tournament. How could you compare? Even among the God Lord's living disciples, he's probably second only to that one."

The young man, Ling Hui, knelt before a Divine Power Clone that radiated golden light and whose face was impossible to make out.

"The Genius Tournament begins in three hundred years. You should be cultivating Law techniques at the bottom of Yinhu Lake. Why have you come here? Is something the matter?"

The voice was lofty, neither pleased nor displeased.

The young man remained kneeling and spoke clearly. "Teacher, I beg you to forgive Teacher Mo Hong!"

"Oh?"

The young man's voice was somewhat tense. "This disciple heard that Teacher Mo Hong violated the agreement between the Two Great Holy Lands and secretly sent people to assassinate a genius of the Lingtong Race. I dare not argue with that. I only ask you to consider that Teacher Mo Hong acted out of devotion to Yinhu Island and concern for me, and in his eagerness, tried to eliminate a young enemy before he could grow. He took a risk for that reason. Please forgive him."

"Devotion to Yinhu Island?"

The lofty voice gave a soft snort, and the young man's face paled slightly. But a moment later, the voice softened.

"Get up. Mo Hong did commit a crime, but he was the one who found you and trained you as his disciple. The strong whom Yinhu Island cultivates are not meant to be devoid of all feeling. You remembered your bond as teacher and student and came to plead for him even after he committed a grave mistake. That proves you are a loyal and devoted person.

"I won't be angry. I'm pleased.

"Rest assured. It was Mo Hong's good fortune to have raised a disciple like you. For your sake, I won't punish him. I'll offer the Jiuyuan Sacred Land sufficient compensation. This won't lead to war."

Only then did the young man rise. He looked almost unable to believe it. He had come to plead for leniency, hoping merely to lessen the punishment for Teacher Mo Hong and his faction. He had never imagined this outcome: the God Lord valued him so highly that he had no intention of punishing Teacher Mo Hong at all.

A wave of gratitude filled the young man's face.

The lofty voice laughed. "Just keep training hard. That will be thanks enough. Go back."

After the young man left the palace, another magnificent voice rang out. "Teacher, Jiuyuan will probably demand a great deal this time. Even if Mo Hong was the Little Junior Brother's teacher, he committed such a grave crime. We shouldn't let him off so easily."

The Immortal God called Teacher gave a soft laugh, his tone strange. "Give Jiuyuan whatever they ask for this time. He's a man on the verge of death, after all. Before long, we'll take back ten times, a hundred times as much."