Misfortune and Fortune

Chapter 27: Misfortune and Fortune

Upon hearing the Earthly Fiend Giant's words, He Yu realized the golden orb before him was called the Light of Taichu. Although he did not know its specific function, he sensed it was no ordinary object. Furthermore, since the Earthly Fiend Giant was a creature formed from the Source of Earthly Fiend, its body contained the source itself—a realization that filled He Yu with immense joy. The Source of Earthly Fiend was a treasure indeed!

The Source of Earthly Fiend was the foundation of the earth, capable of spontaneously generating endless Earthly Baleful Qi. If a living being fused it into their body, they could achieve the True Body of the Earthly Fiend, with power comparable to a Celestial Immortal. However, He Yu knew that once one fused with the Source of Earthly Fiend, they would be walking the path of the Wu Race—or perhaps something even less, as the Wu Race possessed the bloodline of Pangu. Yet, if utilized correctly, Earthly Baleful Qi was still a supreme treasure!

In the cultivation of the myriad worlds, the Source of Earthly Fiend could form the earth itself!

Cultivating the Earthly Fiend Profound Art required the Source of Earthly Fiend above all else. In his past life, Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong had cultivated the Earthly Fiend Profound Art, possessing the seventy-two transformations precisely because they had the Source of Earthly Fiend!

Although He Yu did not understand all the details, he was certain the Source of Earthly Fiend was a supreme treasure. He was also genuinely curious about the Light of Taichu before him. Judging by the giant's behavior, it was clear that to obtain it, he would have to defeat the creature. Since a battle was inevitable either way, he might as well kill two birds with one stone: destroy the Earthly Fiend Giant to claim both the Source of Earthly Fiend and the Light of Taichu.

"Roar!"

The Earthly Fiend Giant let out an angry bellow, its eyes fixed firmly on He Yu. Countless wisps of Earthly Baleful Qi churned and surged around its three-zhang-tall frame, emitting a tyrannical, peerless pressure that saturated the three-to-four-hundred-meter radius at the center of the Golden Radiance Region.

What powerful pressure! It's at least equal to the early stage of the Primordial Spirit! Sensing the suppression from the giant's aura, He Yu immediately judged it to be one realm higher than his own. He was at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, while the Earthly Fiend Giant was naturally at the early Primordial Spirit stage.

A difference of one realm meant a disparity in strength of more than threefold. The early Primordial Spirit stage was enough to slaughter the late Golden Core stage; the gap between the Primordial Spirit and the Golden Core was a massive chasm, incomparable in nature. Take He Yu, for instance: despite possessing twenty-five Demon Cores, if he faced an early Primordial Spirit, he could at most destroy the opponent's physical body. Without a physical form, the Primordial Spirit could escape and vanish, making it impossible to hunt down. However, this Earthly Fiend Giant had no Primordial Spirit, so with He Yu's strength, he had nothing to fear.

Seeing the Earthly Fiend Giant guarding the Light of Taichu and staring him down, He Yu did not dally. He swung his pair of giant pincers, and as his demon energy surged, two massive swords formed upon them. The blades shimmered with a cold, piercing light, clearly sharp beyond measure. These two swords were each condensed from twelve Demon Cores, possessing immense power.

Boom! The moment the two giant swords appeared, the Earthly Fiend Giant felt a sense of intense crisis. Immediately, a massive wave of Earthly Baleful Qi, carrying astonishing momentum, slammed toward He Yu like a surging tide.

It seems I overestimated it. Using Earthly Baleful Qi to attack without condensing it to increase its power—its strength is significantly reduced. Seeing the giant's attack, while grand in scale, He Yu felt deeply disappointed. He had expected an opponent at the early Primordial Spirit stage to provide a good, hard-fought battle, but now it seemed it wasn't even worth him going all out!

Bang! Whoosh!

With a loud crash, the Earthly Baleful Qi scattered and dissipated. The speed of He Yu's sword was so great that the sound of the blade whistling only rang out after it had already shattered the baleful qi.

Having easily broken through the attack, He Yu did not pause. His massive figure flashed, and before the Earthly Fiend Giant could launch a second wave, he arrived before it. The other giant sword, already primed, traced a cyan arc and swept across the giant's neck.

Decapitation!

He successfully severed the Earthly Fiend Giant's head, but before He Yu could celebrate, a drastic change occurred. The severed head dissolved into a large mass of Earthly Baleful Qi, which then descended and reconnected with the giant's neck, instantly restoring it to its original state. Its aura remained completely undiminished; clearly, He Yu's strike had caused the giant no harm.

The Source of Earthly Fiend? Seeing this, He Yu understood. With the source within it, as long as he didn't damage the source itself, the Earthly Fiend Giant was practically immortal!

After all, it was a creature formed of Earthly Baleful Qi—without the constraints of flesh and blood, it could gather and disperse at will, fly without a trace, grow or shrink, and change into a thousand forms... As long as the source remained intact, the Earthly Fiend Giant was truly terrifying.

Roar!

Just as He Yu was marveling at the giant, it transformed into a plume of black smoke and enveloped him. The massive Earthly Baleful Qi gathered from all directions to wrap around him, leaving He Yu with nowhere to hide.

Seeing this, he understood the giant's intent: it actually wanted to absorb and refine him directly?

"Hmph! You're courting death! I wanted to play with you for a while, but now I'll let you perish!" Seeing the giant's attempt to envelop and refine him, He Yu felt a twinge of worry. If the Earthly Baleful Qi entered his body, he would be in dire straits—he wouldn't even need to wait for the Great Beast Calamity!

The Earthly Fiend Giant possessed the strength of an early Primordial Spirit, after all. If it succeeded in enveloping and refining him, He Yu could not guarantee he could resist all the baleful qi. If even a little entered his body, he might be able to force it out with effort, but if too much entered, he would become an Earthly Fiend body—it was simply too dangerous. He Yu immediately resolved to destroy the giant. In truth, for He Yu, destroying it was quite simple!

Consciousness Strike!

The reason the Earthly Fiend Giant could exist as a sentient being was precisely because it possessed a sliver of nascent consciousness. This consciousness was its greatest weakness; once destroyed, the giant would immediately revert into the Source of Earthly Fiend.

He had intended to use the giant to test his skills, but now that he was facing a crisis, he lost all desire for play. His own safety was paramount.

He Yu's consciousness was more than twice as powerful as that of a typical late Golden Core cultivator. This was not only due to his twenty-five Golden Cores but also because he possessed the consciousness of two beings: the He Yu of his past life and the River Crab of this one. Although the River Crab's consciousness was but a tiny sliver, it was still a living soul. After merging and devouring the River Crab's consciousness, his rate of growth had doubled. For the same late Golden Core stage, He Yu's consciousness was twice as strong as other demons, and with the amplification from his numerous Demon Cores, it was truly terrifying!

Boom! Bang!

His consciousness formed an invisible torrent that crashed into the Earthly Fiend Giant, instantly annihilating its consciousness. The disparity was simply too great—like a dinosaur against a kitten. Under He Yu's terrifying consciousness, the giant's sliver of awareness didn't even last a single breath.

As the giant's consciousness was extinguished, the surging Earthly Baleful Qi that had been enveloping He Yu began to be drawn back by the Source of Earthly Fiend. The pitch-black darkness gradually faded, eventually forming a black orb of Earthly Fiend floating before the Light of Taichu. The orb of the Source of Earthly Fiend was about three times larger than the Light of Taichu, and the density of the Earthly Baleful Qi within it had reached a shocking level.

Looking at the Source of Earthly Fiend before him, He Yu felt a sense of frustration. How was he supposed to collect it?

"Forget it, let me figure out what this Light of Taichu is first! As for the Source of Earthly Fiend? I'll deal with it later." Having no proper method for the time being, He Yu set the Source of Earthly Fiend aside and began to study the Light of Taichu. Since it could make the Earthly Fiend Giant so eager and nervous, it certainly couldn't be simple.

As a sliver of his consciousness entered the Light of Taichu, He Yu prepared to study it carefully. Unexpectedly, the moment his consciousness entered, a massive stream of information surged into his mind along the connection. The information was like a vast, boundless ocean, unimaginably immense. He Yu felt his mind shake, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, He Yu slowly opened his eyes. Before him were still the orb of the Source of Earthly Fiend and the Light of Taichu. However, his mind was now filled with a thousand thoughts, and he gazed at the Light of Taichu with complex emotions.

He had fully digested the information in his mind and now understood what the Light of Taichu was.

The Radiance of the Era!

The Light of Taichu was the radiance of the Primordial World's first era, and it was the very source that allowed the Primordial World to remain bright even without the sun, moon, or stars!

Through the information, He Yu learned that this Light of Taichu was a level higher than the Taiqing Immortal Light, Yuqing Immortal Light, and Shangqing Immortal Light of the Three Pure Ones. It was second only to the Primordial Spiritual Light of innate deities like Hongjun and Luo Hou, making it a supreme treasure. However, when the Great Beast Era arrived, the power of heaven and earth would inevitably destroy the Light of Taichu. If he wanted to claim it, he would have to face the power of heaven and earth. Although the information indicated that this time the power of heaven and earth would only be at the level of a late-stage Loose Immortal, for him, it was still an unreachable height.

Did all three eras before the emergence of the Heavenly Dao possess an Era Light? He Yu carefully examined the information in his mind. He needed to understand the Light of Taichu to decide if it was worth the risk.

"What? Such a thing exists?" After finishing his check, He Yu couldn't help but cry out in shock. He then looked at the Light of Taichu with fervor as some of the information he had accessed surfaced.

The beginning of the Primordial World possessed the Light of Taichu; the Great Beast Era possessed the Light of Taishi; the Fierce Beast Era possessed the Light of Taixuan. Each of the three Era Lights was second only to the innate deities, yet the three combined were no weaker than the Primordial Spiritual Light of an innate deity. What excited He Yu most was that the Light of Taichu could restore damaged consciousness and form a Primordial Avatar.

These two functions made him unwilling to give it up no matter what. He was cultivating twenty-five Demon Cores; achieving twenty-five Primordial Spirits was essentially a fantasy. But with the Light of Taichu, it would be a simple matter—a few divisions of his soul and consciousness would suffice.

As for the Primordial Avatar, it was also sharp and terrifying; when cultivated to the peak, it could possess the power of an entire era!

What excited He Yu even more was that once all three Era Lights were gathered, not only could he form three avatars, but he could also unite his thoughts of the past, present, and future, truly returning to the origin. It was far sharper than the "Three-Life Buddha" technique of the two Western Sages.

The Source of Earthly Fiend? It's perfect for cultivating the Primordial Avatar! The dilemma of the Source of Earthly Fiend was now resolved. Using it to cultivate the Primordial Avatar would be enough to fly across the firmament and search for the Source of Heavenly Dipper. Once he combined the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend within himself, the Primordial Avatar would at least possess the cultivation of a Loose Immortal. He could even use the Heavenly Stellar Qi to reinforce his crab shell—it was killing two birds with one stone.

Using the Source of Earthly Fiend to sense the Source of Heavenly Dipper would not be difficult!

At this moment, He Yu was filled with absolute confidence in surviving this Great Beast Calamity. The power of heaven and earth could resist the aura of Gods and Devils; he only needed to face the power of heaven and earth itself. With a Primordial Avatar at the Loose Immortal realm plus his own strength, He Yu did not believe he would be unable to withstand this power of heaven and earth.