Nie Tian’s soul was deeply shaken.
Countless drops of Blood Essence had condensed into the endless blood sea that held the treasure that was the profound truths of life.
A winding river contained the wonders of souls, with innumerable powerful spirits rising and sinking in it.
Another glorious long river recorded pieces of rich history, with its one end representing the past and its other end representing the future, loaded with the secrets of time.
A lofty pale-gray mountain peak that seemed to be made of nothing but bones stood on the opposite side of the blood sea of life. Wreathed in the light of death, it embodied the Dao of death.
Then, there was an area of darkness that devoured all light that shone into it and emanated the ultimate, most essential dark power.
The Sea of Life, the River of Souls, the River of Time, the Mountain of Death, and the Origin of Darkness…
These were only the wonders the Tree of Life told Nie Tian about.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
There were many more colorful clouds and dashing streaks of light that contained mighty power in this chaotic heaven and earth, which also seemed to contain unlimited wonders that were waiting to be discovered.
All of a sudden, Nie Tian had a feeling that he was losing his soul power at an alarming rate.
Before his soul wisp had left the blood sea, his consumption of soul power hadn’t been drastic. Therefore, he hadn’t felt exhausted.
However, now that he had been enveloped by the Tree of Life and carried out of the blood sea his life bloodline corresponded to, while he was shocked by the wondrous scenes around him, he also started consuming his soul power at an unprecedented speed.
The same went for the Tree of Life.
He could see that the emerald ward that enveloped him like a balloon was growing thinner and less stable.
Sensing his rapid soul power loss, he hastily asked, “Where in the world is this place? Why is that river here? Is that the Netherspirits’ so-called Nether River? Wasn’t it transformed from Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit’s sea of awareness after his demise? Also, what are the relationships between that Origin of Darkness and the Dark King, the Mountain of Death and the Bone Emperor?”
WHOOSH!
The spherical ward morphed from the Tree of Life’s soul shadow dove back into the endless blood sea.
Upon returning to the blood sea, the Tree of Life resumed its form as a small, emerald green tree.
Nie Tian’s drastic soul power consumption also stopped the moment his soul shadow sank into the blood sea.
This Sea of Life was the origin of his bloodline, his Blood Realm. Therefore, it was fairly safe for his soul wisp as long as it stayed within it. However, once it left it, he would consume his soul power dozens of times more quickly.
The Tree of Life took its time to answer his questions. “The chaotic heaven and earth you just saw is the Blood Realm of All Beings. The Nether River you talked about is called the River of Souls. As far as I know, this Sea of Life has been here since this chaotic heaven and earth came into existence. As for that River of Souls, River of Time, and Mountain of Death, since they’re not the origin of my bloodline, I’m not sure when they appeared.
“But I know that the so-called Nether River that runs through the Void World, the Spirit World, and the Mortal World is only a reflection of that River of Souls.
“It was a product of Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit’s residual will communicating with the River of Souls.
“When that River of Souls first appeared here, the Netherspirits didn’t even exist yet. Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit was only the first to ever unravel the mysteries of the River of Souls and win its acknowledgment. That was why he was able to transcend the limits of the tenth grade.
“The Dark King of the Devils grasped the ultimate profundity of the Origin of Darkness.
“And the Bone Emperor of the Bonedrudes derived the Dao of death from that Mountain of Death.
“The three of them managed to transcend the limits of tenth grade, and were considered the most extraordinary figures throughout the three worlds.”
Nie Tian was full of veneration after the Tree of Life explained the reason why the Dark King, the Bone Emperor, and Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit had been so powerful to him.
Nie Tian felt enlightened. “So the so-called Nether River wasn’t transformed from Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit’s sea of awareness, but rather a mysterious manifestation, or reflection, resulting from Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit’s residual will communicating with the River of Souls.”
But then, he seemed to come to a shocking realization as he suddenly said, “The first-generation of yourself fought a battle against Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit, which appeared to contribute to his death. If Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit unraveled the profound mysteries of the River of Souls and became a luminary that transcended the tenth grade, then doesn’t that mean you, the one who defeated him… have also transcended the tenth grade?!
“If Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit, the Dark King, and the Bone Emperor won the acknowledgment of the River of Souls, the Origin of Darkness, and the Mountain of Death respectively, then you must have won the acknowledgment of this Sea of Life!”
A light of enlightenment seemed to flash across Nie Tian’s wisp of soul.
“You’re right.” The Tree of Life responded. “Only by transcending the limits of the tenth grade can we leave our own Blood Realms to see what this place is really like. For example, if it weren’t for my help, you couldn’t have left the Sea of Life to see the entirety of this chaotic heaven and earth just now.
“The Dark King emerged from the Origin of Darkness; Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit came out of the River of Souls; The Bone Emperor stepped out of the Mountain of Death. Like me, all three of them charged out of their own Blood Realms and discovered that there were also other Blood Realms in this mysterious place.
“I’ve consumed a significant amount of power to show you the truth. I’ve got to return to my true self now.”
After answering Nie Tian’s questions, the Tree of Life’s emerald green soul shadow gradually grew blurry, as if it were going to dissipate into the blood sea soon.
Apparently, even for it, it was extremely consuming to leave the origin of its bloodline to see the rest of this mysterious place.
Not to mention, it had had to take Nie Tian’s soul shadow with it.
“Wait! I still have many questions!” Nie Tian let out a soul call.
The Tree of Life’s soul awareness became intermittent as it said, “My true self is in the Floragrims’ ancestral land in the Spirit World. Come and find me if you want to know more. Also, don’t be so eager to explore the origin of life. Your bloodline grade and strength don’t allow you to do that yet. Be patient. It won’t be very long before you can reach the magnetic field of life at the heart of this blood sea.
“Just remember: you’ll have to reach the tenth grade to reach the heart of this blood sea. And you’ll have to transcend the tenth grade to leave this blood sea to explore this place where everything started.”
Finally, the Tree of Life’s soul shadow vanished completely.
Floating in the blood sea, Nie Tian sensed the fluctuations coming from the depths of the sea, and decided to take the Tree of Life’s advice and stop pursuing the origin of this blood sea with all his heart.
Instead, he focused on capturing the beams of light that shot across from time to time, and imprinting his soul wisp with as much profound knowledge and truths about life power as possible.
…
In the Realm of Falling Snow.
Even though Nie Tian’s true self was sitting in the lotus position, completely motionless, he managed to absorb the flesh power that continued to fall from the starry river.
All of that flesh power was from the outsiders from the Void World and the Spirit World killed by the Ripper Behemoth. After their bodies exploded, along with their flesh aura seas, their dissipating flesh power would be channeled by Nie Tian’s life bloodline and fly towards him.
ROAR!
Floating in front of the Realm of Falling Snow, the Ripper Behemoth that looked like an enormous centipede continued to stimulate its bloodline, slash the void with its feet, mix its bloodline power with the destructive light it channeled from unknown parts of the starry river, and deal the outsider grand monarchs heavy blows.
It didn’t matter whether it was the grand monarchs from the Spirit World, who had witnessed the Ripper Behemoth’s devastating might, or the grand monarchs that had only come from the Void World recently. All of them finally understood how terrifying Star Behemoths actually were now.
“The Behemoth Crawlers! Release the Behemoth Crawlers!” A grand monarch from the Void World cried at the top of his lungs towards Grand Monarch Thousand Spirits’ sub-soul.
However, Grand Monarch Thousand Spirits’ sub-soul looked somewhat hesitant as he glanced at Nie Tian’s flame doppelgänger from time to time.
At that moment, an ear-piercing sharp voice echoed from within a spatial rift. “Thousand Spirits! Release the Behemoth Crawlers!”
Immediately afterwards, a female Netherspirit that seemed to have just arrived in the Mortal World through the portal in the Seven Stars Realm Sea appeared.
“Hmm?!” Grand Monarch Thousand Spirits’ sub-soul gasped upon seeing her.
As opposed to how they usually behaved, the five evil gods that had been tamed by Nie Tian started talking among themselves upon seeing this Netherspirit.
