In the deepest part of Mariana Trench, this place of absolute silence known as "Genesis Abyss", the concepts of time and space have become blurred here.
That "tick" sound that seemed to come from eternity was not an illusion.
It is like a pebble thrown into frozen time and space, instantly causing a chain of ripples.
"Gulu... Gulu..."
Centered on the huge black rock bound by countless chains and ancient runes, at the bottom of the deep sea, the sea water that should have been near absolute zero began to emit incredibly fine bubbles.
The temperature is soaring in a way that defies all laws of physics!
In just a few seconds, the surrounding seawater turned from freezing cold to boiling, forming a huge and rapidly rotating deep sea Uzumaki Clan.
The powerful suction distorted the light and tore at the seabed, emitting a low and terrifying roar, as if a giant beast that had slept for hundreds of millions of years was awakening deep in the earth's core.
Throne of Heaven, central control room.
The piercing siren broke the silence of the throne.
"Warning! The energy response of the T-0 deep sea node 'Black Tortoise' has increased sharply! The ambient temperature has exceeded the critical value! The integrity of the physical seal has dropped to 71%!"
Chiyo Saori's ice-blue pupils reflected a series of blood-red data streams.
That was the real-time image returned by her most sophisticated puppet "Abyss Eye" deployed across the continental shelf to monitor the flow of energy in the earth's veins.
The picture shook violently and was filled with the noise of electric current, but in the center of the boiling chaos, she could clearly see that the surface of the black rock with the huge word "Xuan" engraved on it was like dry land, with ferocious cracks like spider webs spreading out!
What made her heart sink even more was that an unprecedented chakra wavelength was escaping crazily from those cracks.
It's a power that... can't be defined.
It mixes the most primitive fear of Warring States Era dead souls, burns the deepest anger towards the living, and precipitates despair that cannot be reincarnated for thousands of years... Countless negative emotions, but are unified by a strange unified rhythm, like a legion singing a war hymn in unison, forming a contradictory collection of chaos and order.
"Didi... analysis failed. There is no known Kekkei Genkai, ninjutsu or Natural Energy in the database that matches it."
Chiyo Saori's fingertips were running across the light screen. What she was accessing was not the technological database given to her by Uchiha Xuan, but the ancient secrets that were stored deep in her soul and were passed down from generation to generation by the Puppet Master family.
Keywords: deep sea, seal, Warring States period, resentment...
A fragmentary record labeled "Forbidden Myth" suddenly popped up.
"At the end of the earth, in the abyss of the sea, there is Formless Spirit... It is the dispute of the Warring States Period, the gathering of resentments of thousands of war dead who are unwilling to dissipate. It is invisible and has no substance, does not enter reincarnation, and only retains the instinct of devouring... In the past, Sage of Six Paths·Hagoromo Otsutsuki worried that it would be a disaster, so they used Yin-Yang Release to peel off its shape, and used the power of the earth's core to suppress it at the bottom of Mariana Trench, setting up an eternal cage..."
Chiyo Saori's breathing became slightly disordered for the first time.
She suddenly turned around and faced the figure sitting high on the throne, her voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity. "Lord, the situation is out of control. We may have inadvertently... awakened something that should not exist in the world with the emotional energy sacrificed by the 'Tearsworn' people."
On the throne, Uchiha Xuan didn't even open his eyes.
His consciousness has long been overlooking the turmoil of the deep sea through the network of flames spread across the entire continent, just like a god observing a bonfire lit by his own hands.
Upon hearing Chiyo Saori's report, the corners of his mouth curled up in a playful manner, as if he had heard some interesting joke.
"Not a wake-up call."
He corrected softly, his voice filled with indifference and cruelty that understood everything.
"I... brought it food."
He did do it on purpose.
When constructing the "Fire Altar" psychic matrix, he deliberately left a tiny "backdoor" and mixed a trace of the insignificant but most domineering "Divine Erosion Flame" with the huge emotional heat into this leyline node.
For the sleeping "Formless Spirit", the huge spiritual energy full of regret and hope sacrificed by more than three hundred elite ninjas of the old era was an unprecedented feast.
And that trace of Divine Erosion Flame is the most deadly and alluring poison mixed in the delicacies.
When that collective body of resentment that had been sleeping for thousands of years instinctively opened its "mouth" and began to greedily devour this heavenly delicacy, the two inevitably intersected.
[Warning! Large-scale unknown spiritual body invasion detected!]
[Intrusion protocol has been triggered!
The target is trying to reversely analyze the host consciousness through the link of Divine Erosion Flame!]
[Warning! The spiritual link is established! The other party is snooping on your memory!]
The system's alarm sounded in Uchiha Xuan's sea of consciousness, but his consciousness remained intact and even opened a gap on his own initiative.
He is like a proud collector, showing off his dazzling "collection" to an uninvited guest.
In a corner of the sea of consciousness, light and shadow change.
There, hung the heads of Kage Level strong men of all ages that he had killed with his own hands, each one still retaining the reluctance and shock before death.
When the screen turned, there were images of countless villages reduced to ashes in Divine Erosion Flame, with wailing sounds and the sound of collapsing houses intertwined into a symphony of destruction.
Finally, the scene is fixed on the high platform of Hidden Leaf Village ruins.
The pink-haired girl, the symbol of "hope" in the old era, was kneeling at his feet with utmost piety, with only absolute surrender in her emerald green pupils.
These scenes are the heaviest sins for any ninja with a righteous heart.
But for that "Formless Spirit" composed of pure resentment, this... is simply the same kind of fragrance!
From these memories, it felt a purer and more extreme "evil" than the resentment it had accumulated for thousands of years!
This is a "same kind" who understands destruction better and enjoys despair more than himself!
Even... a natural "leader"!
In the chaotic consciousness of "Formless Spirit", for the first time, a clear idea arose - fusion!
Merge with him!
Become a part of him and together drag this world into the abyss of eternal pain!
It is no longer satisfied with the superficial prying, but without hesitation devotes all the negative energy it has accumulated over the past thousands of years, turning it into a raging spiritual torrent, following the link, rushing crazily towards the core of the sea of consciousness of Uchiha Xuan!
It thought this was a grand merger.
However, the moment it invaded the core area, it saw a pair of eyes.
A pair of Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.
In those eyes, there was no ecstasy, no acceptance, only... coldness and banter, like looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
"Finally came in."
Uchiha Xuan's cold voice exploded in its chaotic collection of consciousness.
[Everything returns to ruins·Backlash protocol--Start!]
[Use the host as a container for forced devouring!]
"Boom--!!!"
At the bottom of the deep sea, the sealed black rock exploded!
An indescribable jet-black energy body broke free from all restraints and turned into a twisted, vaguely human-shaped black lightning. It tore through the 10,000-meter-deep sea water and shot straight into the sky with overwhelming resentment. Its target was the sky fortress suspended above the stratosphere - Throne of Heaven!
"All units! Activate the A-level soul defense matrix! Intercept the target at all costs!"
Chiyo Saori reacted immediately.
Hundreds of "Burial Shadow" puppets with black bodies and huge scythes flew out from all over the fortress, forming an airtight line of defense.
However, the moment the pitch-black figure came into contact with it, a strange scene happened.
The black human figure was like a phantom, directly penetrating those Puppet Legion made of the hardest alloy and with the addition of powerful Sealing Jutsu.
"Zila--"
The Burial Shadow puppet that was penetrated, the Sealing Jutsu pattern on the body instantly dimmed, as if its soul had been sucked away, and it fell helplessly from a high altitude, emitting black smoke.
Intangible and qualityless! Specializes in the soul!
This thing cannot be blocked by physical attacks or conventional ninjutsu!
In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black figure had broken through all defense lines and approached the central throne of Throne of Heaven!
The terrifying essence Kamui it exuded made the entire metal structure of the fortress groan under its load.
Chiyo Saori felt as if his soul had been hit hard and could hardly stand.
But the moment it rushed into the 100-meter range of the throne, it seemed to have hit an invisible wall and suddenly froze in mid-air.
On the throne, Uchiha Xuan slowly raised his head.
There were no pupils or whites in his eyes, only a rolling, burning pure black flame.
He looked at the group that represented all the negative emotions of Warring States Era, and the cruel arc at the corner of his mouth expanded to the extreme.
"You want to eat me?"
His voice was not loud, but it clearly overwhelmed the roars of thousands of dead souls.
"But you... are tonight's sacrifice."
The moment the words fell, Uchiha Xuan suddenly opened his mouth.
There are no earth-shattering ninjutsu and no gorgeous and dazzling special effects.
It's just a simple inhalation movement, as if about to yawn.
"Hoo--!"
An irresistible terrifying suction force from above the dimension erupted from his mouth!
That arrogant pitch-black figure sent out its first and last scream of fear since its birth.
Its huge body was like a punctured balloon or smoke rolled up by a tornado. It was stretched and twisted uncontrollably, and finally turned into a thin black line, which was all sucked into the body by Uchiha Xuan!
The whole process only takes three seconds.
Between heaven and earth, there is Return to Silence silence.
After a while, Uchiha Xuan burped expressionlessly, as if he just had a late-night snack.
He leaned forward slightly, opened his mouth and spit out an irregular crystal that was the size of a walnut and had a dark gray color throughout.
Inside the crystal, countless distorted and painful human faces could be vaguely seen, wailing and struggling silently, and finally fell into deathly silence.
[Ding! "Formless Spirit" has been swallowed.]
[Successfully peeling off and purifying the core concept-"Pain Gene Template" has been generated.]
Uchiha Xuan picked up the crystal casually and threw it accurately into the "Fire Altar" furnace that had just been built not far away and was connected to Naka River Stone Stele.
"Boom!"
The furnace that was originally burning dark red Divine Erosion Flame, the moment it came into contact with this crystal, the flame shrank suddenly, and then erupted into a pale white flame that reached the sky!
The white light was cold, holy, and filled with an indescribable strangeness, making the entire central control room and even half of the night sky look like daylight.
Chiyo Saori endured the stinging feeling in his soul, stepped forward, and asked in a low voice, "Master, what did it say at the last moment when it was devoured?"
Uchiha Xuan closed his eyes, seeming to recollect the last wails and despair of thousands of dead souls that flooded into his mind at that moment.
He spoke calmly.
"It says... I'm more of a monster than it is."
Just as he finished speaking, far away on the other side of the continent, under the ruins of the long-forgotten desert temple Land of Wind.
A huge War Fan Blade was inserted deep into the ground and had long been broken. On its mottled blade, a line of brand new small characters, as if freshly carved with blood, slowly emerged in the darkness, and then slowly disappeared.
"Those who kill gods will eventually be killed by gods."
Throne of Heaven, in the central control room, the pale white flame is still rolling and jumping silently in the furnace, as if it is gestating something new and unknown.
Uchiha Xuan's eyes were staring at it calmly, no one knew what he was thinking.