Calamity and Fortune

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Calamity and Fortune

Hearing what the Earthly Fiend Giant said, He Yu learned that the golden orb before him was called the Light of Taichu. Although he did not know exactly what it could do, he could tell it was no ordinary treasure. And since the Earthly Fiend Giant was a living being formed from the Source of Earthly Fiend, its body contained that source. He Yu was overjoyed. The Source of Earthly Fiend was a marvelous treasure!

The Source of Earthly Fiend was the foundation of the earth and could generate an endless supply of Earthly Baleful Qi. A living being that fused it into its body could attain an Earthly Fiend True Body, with power comparable to a Heavenly Immortal. But He Yu knew that fusing with the Source of Earthly Fiend meant following the path of the Wu Race—one that was even far inferior to theirs. After all, the Wu Race had the Pangu Bloodline. Still, when used properly, Earthly Baleful Qi was also an unparalleled treasure!

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

Cultivating the Earthly Fiend Profound Art required the Source of Earthly Fiend. In his previous life, Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong had cultivated the Earthly Fiend Profound Art and gained the ability to perform seventy-two transformations precisely because they had the Source of Earthly Fiend!

He Yu did not know all of this in detail, but he could still be certain that the Source of Earthly Fiend was a supreme treasure. He was also genuinely curious about the Light of Taichu before him. Judging by the Earthly Fiend Giant's manner, he clearly had to defeat it to obtain the light. Since a fight was inevitable either way, he might as well kill two birds with one stone: destroy the Earthly Fiend Giant and obtain both the Source of Earthly Fiend and the Light of Taichu.

"Roar!"

The Earthly Fiend Giant roared furiously, glaring at He Yu. Countless streams of Earthly Baleful Qi churned around its ten-foot-tall body, and an overwhelming might radiated from it, filling a three- to four-hundred-meter radius at the center of the Golden Radiance Region.

"What a powerful presence! It's at least at the early Nascent Soul stage, isn't it?" Sensing the pressure the Earthly Fiend Giant's presence exerted on him, He Yu immediately judged that it was one realm above him. He himself was at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, so the Earthly Fiend Giant had to be at the early Nascent Soul stage.

The gap of a single realm meant a difference in strength of at least threefold. An early Nascent Soul cultivator could easily toy with a late Golden Core cultivator. The Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages were especially separated by a vast chasm; the two were simply incomparable. Take He Yu, for example. Although he possessed twenty-five Demon Cores, against an early Nascent Soul cultivator, at best he could destroy its physical body. With its Nascent Soul escaping without a trace, he would have no way to catch it. But the Earthly Fiend Giant had no Nascent Soul, so with He Yu's strength, it posed no threat.

Seeing the Earthly Fiend Giant guarding the Light of Taichu and glaring at him, He Yu wasted no words. He swung his two enormous pincers, and demonic qi surged, forming a giant sword atop each one. Chilling light flowed along the blades, showing just how sharp they were. Each sword had been condensed from twelve Demon Cores, giving them tremendous power.

Rumble! The moment the two enormous swords appeared, the Earthly Fiend Giant felt an intense sense of danger. A vast wave of Earthly Baleful Qi surged forth like a mighty tide, crashing toward He Yu with astonishing force.

"Looks like I overestimated it. It's using Earthly Baleful Qi to attack without condensing it to increase its power. That means its strength is considerably diminished." Seeing the Earthly Fiend Giant's attack, which had tremendous momentum but little else, He Yu felt deeply disappointed. He had thought an early Nascent Soul opponent would let him enjoy a proper battle, but now it seemed unworthy of his full strength!

Bang! Whoosh!

With a thunderous crash, the Earthly Baleful Qi scattered in every direction. He Yu's sword moved so swiftly that its whistle only rang out after it had already cleaved through the qi.

After effortlessly breaking through the Earthly Baleful Qi, He Yu did not linger. His massive form flashed forward, reaching the Earthly Fiend Giant before it could launch a second attack. The other giant sword, already poised to strike, swept through the air in a streak of blue light and passed through the Earthly Fiend Giant's neck.

Decapitation!

He Yu cleanly severed the Earthly Fiend Giant's head with a single strike. Before he could even feel pleased, a sudden change occurred. The severed head scattered into a great cloud of Earthly Baleful Qi, which then descended and rejoined the stump of the Earthly Fiend Giant's neck. In an instant, it was restored as before, its presence undiminished. Clearly, He Yu's sword had done it no harm.

"The Source of Earthly Fiend?" Seeing this, He Yu understood. As long as the Earthly Fiend Giant had the Source of Earthly Fiend within it, it was practically immortal unless he damaged the source itself!

After all, it was a living being formed from Earthly Baleful Qi, with no flesh and blood to bind it. It could disperse and gather at will, fly without a trace, change size, and transform in countless ways... As long as its source remained intact, the Earthly Fiend Giant was truly terrifying.

Roar!

While He Yu was marveling at the Earthly Fiend Giant, it had already transformed into a cloud of black smoke and swept toward him. Vast amounts of Earthly Baleful Qi gathered from all directions, surrounding him completely. He had nowhere to dodge.

Seeing this, he understood the Earthly Fiend Giant's intentions. It wanted to absorb and refine him outright?

"Hmph! You're asking for death! I was going to play with you, but now I'll end you!" Seeing the Earthly Fiend Giant try to wrap around and refine him, He Yu felt a little worried. If Earthly Baleful Qi entered his body, he would be in serious trouble. He wouldn't even need to wait for the Great Beast Calamity!

The Earthly Fiend Giant was, after all, at the early Nascent Soul stage. If it managed to wrap him up and refine him, He Yu could not be sure he could withstand all that Earthly Baleful Qi. If only a little entered his body, he could still force it out through cultivation; if too much did, he would become an Earthly Fiend body. The danger was far too great. He Yu immediately resolved to kill the Earthly Fiend Giant. For him, killing it was actually quite simple!

A strike of consciousness!

The reason the Earthly Fiend Giant could live as an independent being was that it possessed a sliver of newly awakened consciousness. That sliver was its greatest weakness. As long as he destroyed its consciousness, the Earthly Fiend Giant would immediately revert to the Source of Earthly Fiend.

He had originally intended to use the Earthly Fiend Giant to test his strength, but now that he was about to be in danger, He Yu had lost all interest in playing around. His own safety was what mattered most.

He Yu's consciousness was more than twice as powerful as that of an ordinary late Golden Core cultivator. This was not only because he possessed twenty-five Golden Cores, but also because he carried the consciousness of two living beings: He Yu from his previous life and the River Crab in this life. Although the River Crab's consciousness was only a tiny sliver, it was still the consciousness of a living being. After fusing with and devouring the River Crab's consciousness, He Yu's strength had surged by an entire multiple. At the same late Golden Core stage, his consciousness was twice as powerful as that of other demons, and with the boost from his many Demon Cores, it was truly terrifying!

Boom! Bang!

An invisible torrent of consciousness crashed toward the Earthly Fiend Giant, instantly annihilating its consciousness. The gap was simply too great—like that between a dinosaur and a kitten. Under He Yu's terrifying consciousness, the Earthly Fiend Giant's tiny spark of awareness could not even last a single breath.

Once the Earthly Fiend Giant's consciousness was annihilated, the surging Earthly Baleful Qi that had been rushing to envelop He Yu began gathering back into the Source of Earthly Fiend. The inky darkness around him gradually faded, eventually condensing into a black orb of Earthly Fiend Qi that floated before the Light of Taichu. The Source of Earthly Fiend orb was about three times larger than the Light of Taichu, and the Earthly Baleful Qi within it was so abundant it was downright astonishing.

Looking at the Source of Earthly Fiend before him, He Yu began to worry. How was he supposed to take possession of it?

"Forget it. I should first figure out what this Light of Taichu is. I'll deal with the Source of Earthly Fiend later." He Yu had no suitable way to handle it for the moment, so he set the Source of Earthly Fiend aside and began studying the Light of Taichu. The Earthly Fiend Giant had been so eager and anxious to obtain it. Surely the Light of Taichu was no ordinary thing.

A sliver of consciousness entered the Light of Taichu. He Yu was just about to examine it carefully when, as soon as his consciousness entered, an immense stream of information surged along the connection and poured into his mind. The information was as vast as an ocean, far beyond anything he could imagine. He Yu felt his mind shake; his vision went black, and he fainted.

After who knew how long, He Yu slowly opened his eyes. The Source of Earthly Fiend orb and the Light of Taichu were still before him, but his thoughts now churned with countless complexities as he stared at the Light of Taichu.

He had completely 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 first era of the Primordial World. It was also the source of the light that illuminated the Primordial World, which now had neither sun, moon, nor stars!

From the information in his mind, He Yu learned that the Light of Taichu was a level above the Taiqing Immortal Light, Yuqing Immortal Light, and Shangqing Immortal Light of the Three Pure Ones. It was surpassed only by the Primordial Spiritual Light of Innate Deities such as Hongjun and Luo Hou, making it an unparalleled treasure. But when the Era of Giant Beasts arrived, Heaven and Earth would surely destroy the Light of Taichu. If he took it, he would have to face the Power of Heaven and Earth. The information indicated that this time, the Power of Heaven and Earth would be only at the late Loose Immortal stage, but even that was far beyond his reach at present!

"Before the Heavenly Dao appeared, did all three eras possess their own Radiance of the Era?" He Yu carefully searched through the information in his mind. He needed to understand the Light of Taichu and consider whether it was worth obtaining.

"What? Such a thing exists?" After finishing his search through the information in his mind, He Yu could not help crying out. Then he gazed fervently at the Light of Taichu as the information he had uncovered surfaced in his mind.

At the dawn of the Primordial World, there was the Light of Taichu. The Era of Giant Beasts had the Light of Taishi, and the Era of Ferocious Beasts had the Light of Taixuan. All three Radiances of the Era were surpassed only by the Innate Deities. Yet combined, they were no weaker than the Primordial Spiritual Light of the Innate Deities. What excited He Yu was that the Light of Taichu could restore damaged consciousness and create a Primordial Avatar.

Those two abilities made He Yu unwilling to give it up, no matter what. He had cultivated twenty-five Demon Cores, but forming twenty-five Nascent Souls was practically a pipe dream. With the Light of Taichu, though, it would be as easy as pie; splitting his soul and consciousness a few times would be enough.

The Primordial Avatar was just as sharp and terrifying. At the pinnacle of cultivation, it could possess the power of an entire era!

What excited He Yu even more was that if he gathered all three Radiances of the Era, he could not only create three avatars, but also unite the thoughts of his past, present, and future selves, truly returning to his origin. It would be far more formidable than the Two Sages of the West's Buddha of the Three Times.

"The Source of Earthly Fiend? I can use it to cultivate a Primordial Avatar!" He Yu's problem with the Source of Earthly Fiend was now solved. Using it to cultivate a Primordial Avatar would be enough for the avatar to fly across Cangqiong and search for the Source of Heavenly Dipper. Once it combined the forces of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend, the Primordial Avatar would have at least Loose Immortal cultivation. He could also use Heavenly Stellar Qi to strengthen his crab shell—a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

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

He Yu was now brimming with confidence about surviving this Great Beast Calamity. The Power of Heaven and Earth could withstand the aura of the gods and demons; all he had to do was face the Power of Heaven and Earth. With a Primordial Avatar at the Loose Immortal stage alongside himself, He Yu could not believe they would be unable to withstand this Power of Heaven and Earth.