Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

Deep within the Valley of Sinking Souls lies an absolute stillness, where even the deathly aura seems to have solidified.

The gloomy fog was cold and viscous, swallowing all sound and light. Wang Cheng carried Yu Changsheng, whose life force flickered like a candle in the wind, and held Chen Xueqing, who was unconscious and had only a faint breath of life left, tightly in his arms. Every step he took was on decaying bones and cold rocks, making a heart-palpitating cracking sound.

Behind them, the aftershocks of the Cleansers' destruction still echoed in the valley. Although the terrifying amethyst energy storm had subsided, the remaining destructive will was like an invisible poisonous thorn, constantly eroding this already hopeless land.

"cough……"

Yu Changsheng lay on Wang Cheng's back, his body convulsing violently, thick black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, mixed with fine, crystalline gray particles.

His face had a deathly bluish-gray hue, and the veins under his skin bulged out like withered tree roots, turning an ominous dark purple.

On its back, the dark mark that combined the Eternal Night Evil Beast Mark, the Annihilation Sword Intent of the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword, fragments of the Mons Blue Amethyst, and the Purifier's energy was now like a greedy and broken vortex, frantically devouring the dense, impenetrable death aura around it.

Each time it devoured something, the light of the mark flickered, and Yu Changsheng's body convulsed. The cracks on his body surface resembled cracked porcelain, from which a chaotic gray mist seeped out.

"Brother Yu! Hold on!" Wang Cheng's voice was hoarse, filled with exhaustion and fear. His own injuries were also severe, and his spiritual energy had long been exhausted; he was only holding on by sheer willpower.

He dared not stop. At the valley entrance, although the "Ghost Eye" had retreated, the Qingzhou Shadow Guards and the even more terrifying Abyss Clan could descend at any moment.

He had to find a relatively safe corner, one where the deathly atmosphere was even stronger; this was the only "nourishment" Yu Changsheng could currently "absorb".

Finally, he stopped in a natural hollow formed by the decaying ribs of a massive, unidentified beast. The concentration of death energy here was astonishingly high, almost liquefied, and the cave walls were covered with a thick layer of foul-smelling moss. Wang Cheng carefully set Yu Changsheng and Chen Xueqing down.

On Chen Xueqing's chest, the emerald green rune formed from the colorful star deer had dimmed to the extreme, like a candle flickering in the wind, yet it still stubbornly protected the last vestige of life in the core of her soul, forming a strange and fragile balance with the dark mark on Yu Changsheng's back that was frantically devouring death energy.

Wang Cheng checked on the two men's condition, and his heart sank to the bottom. Yu Changsheng's body was like a furnace on the verge of exploding.

The dark origin of the Eternal Night Evil Beast, the amethyst annihilation power of Monslan, the destructive energy of the Sweeper, the death energy of the Soul-Sinking Valley, the fragments of the life law left behind by the Colorful Star Deer, and the sword intent of the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword... These energies, which should have conflicted and annihilated each other, were forcibly blended together by Yu Changsheng's indomitable will and driven by the forbidden technique "Return of All Beasts to One: Chaos Guidance," forming a primitive, violent, chaotic gray mist full of destruction and new life.

This gray mist is the foundation of Yu Changsheng's power, yet it is also tearing him apart from within.

"Old Huang...Brother Lin...Colorful Star Deer..."

Looking at the dying Yu Changsheng, Wang Cheng was overcome with grief, remembering his fallen comrades. But his eyes quickly hardened with determination. "No! We can't give up! Brother Yu, you must survive and get Miss Chen out of here! Caixinglu... Yongye... your sacrifices cannot be in vain!"

His gaze fell on the unstable, rotating vortex of dark markings on Yu Changsheng's back. A crazy idea took shape in his mind: since this marking could devour death energy and even absorb the attack energy of the Cleansers to temporarily form a protective shield, could it actively "summon" and "draw in" those beings that had already dissipated but whose essence was closely connected to Yu Changsheng?
Those companions who burned everything for him—his spirit beasts?!

This idea is extremely dangerous.

Although the mark of the Eternal Night Evil Beast is still there, the Golden-Winged Roc, the Crimson Purgatory Dragon, and the Black Tortoise have long since dissipated after unleashing their last bit of power, and the Colorful Star Deer has completely turned into a stone statue with its spiritual energy exhausted.

Forcing communication might not attract remnant spirits, but rather an even more terrifying chaotic will in the dead void, or directly detonate the already unstable chaotic energy within Yu Changsheng's body.

But Wang Cheng had no other choice.

Using conventional methods, neither Yu Changsheng nor Chen Xueqing could last an hour.

"Brother Yu, I'm so sorry! If I survive, I'll apologize to you again!"

Wang Cheng let out a low growl, a ruthless glint in his eyes. He sat cross-legged behind Yu Changsheng, pressing his hands hard against the edge of the dark mark on Yu Changsheng's back!
"Ugh—!" The intense pain caused Yu Changsheng, who was unconscious, to arch his body violently and let out a beast-like roar.

Wang Cheng felt as if his hands were pressed against the boundary between a red-hot iron and millennia-old ice. The violent suction force instantly tore at his spiritual power and life force, while a terrifying chaotic will assaulted his sea of ​​consciousness. Illusions appeared before his eyes—endless darkness, collapsing stars, roaring beasts, shattered sword shadows...

"Order it for me!"

Wang Cheng bit his tongue, forcibly gathering his last bit of mental energy. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his sea of ​​consciousness and the weakness caused by the frantic draining of his spiritual power, he thrust all his mental will into the core of the raging dark mark vortex like a sharp cone!

His will struggled to transmit a thought, a call, amidst the chaotic currents:
"Return! Fight for your lord! Eternal Night... Golden Roc... Crimson Dragon... Black Tortoise... Colorful Star... Return! This is the summons of the Source Lord! The pull of Chaos!"

This is not some kind of magic technique, but rather Wang Cheng using himself as a bridge and Yu Changsheng's chaotic gray mist containing the concept of "all beasts returning to one" as a medium to issue the most primitive and original call to the possible residual imprints that may exist in the dark!
He was gambling, gambling on the bond between these pets and Yu Changsheng that transcended the contract of life and death, gambling that their spirituality was not completely annihilated, but rather integrated into some kind of law, or scattered in the energy of heaven and earth that fought and destroyed together with them!

Om-!
The rotation of the dark mark suddenly intensified!
The deathly aura deep within the Soul-Sinking Valley seemed to receive some kind of command, surging wildly towards this small hollow, forming a visible gray-black vortex that poured into the mark. Yu Changsheng's body was completely enveloped by the gray-black deathly aura and the chaotic gray mist overflowing from within him, like a giant cocoon.

At the same time, a sudden change occurred!
The mark itself was the first to respond.

A deep, fierce roar, yet filled with endless weariness and longing, resounded deep within Yu Changsheng's soul.

The phantom of the Eternal Night Evil Beast struggled to coalesce in the chaotic gray mist. Although it was extremely illusory, only a pair of eyes burning with dark flames remained relatively clear.

It was originally the core of the mark, and now, stimulated by the massive death energy and chaotic energy, its remaining will was forcibly awakened, becoming the "anchor point".

Immediately afterward, a clear, resonant sword cry ripped through the deathly silence! The sword spirit of the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword, now integrated with the mark, suddenly became active. The destructive sword intent manifested within the gray mist, not as a physical sword, but as a sharp, unyielding edge of will, like a guiding lighthouse. It had once been Yu Changsheng's weapon, and had even returned on its own from the Swamp of Despair, merging with the mark. Now, it had become a "blade" stabilizing chaos and paving the way!
The dim emerald green rune on Chen Xueqing's chest seemed to be touched by the violent energy tide and the beast roar from the depths of her soul, and suddenly burst out with the last trace of weak but pure life radiance!

This radiance was not an attack, but rather like a gentle stream, flowing willingly towards the dark mark on Yu Changsheng's back. This was the final, primal imprint of the Colorful Star Deer, containing its unwavering devotion to its master and its utmost dedication to life!
When this life energy came into contact with the deathly aura and chaotic gray mist of the Soul Valley, which were of almost the same origin, it was not annihilated, but rather a wonderful resonance occurred—the extreme of death contained the budding of life!
Click... Click...

From within the giant gray-black cocoon enveloping Yu Changsheng, a sickening cracking sound emanated. It wasn't Yu Changsheng's body shattering, but rather the violent, chaotic energy undergoing a dramatic transformation under the roar of the Eternal Night Will, the sharpness of the Purple Spirit Sword Intent, the harmonization of the Colorful Star's Life Light, and Wang Cheng's reckless guidance and call!

"With death as soil...with souls as seeds...with chaos as the furnace...all spirits...return to the source!"

A vague yet grand idea, not from Yu Changsheng or Wang Cheng, seemed to resonate within the giant cocoon, a result of countless sacrifices and obsessions catalyzing the energy laws of this world.

On the surface of the giant cocoon, a gray, chaotic mist began to settle and condense, not solidifying into a shell, but rather collapsing and gestating inward. An indescribable, heavy pulsation, like a heartbeat, emanated from within the cocoon.

Boom...boom...boom...

With each heartbeat, the deathly aura of the Soul-Sinking Valley trembled, stirring Wang Cheng's heartstrings as well. He could sense that the violent, destructive aura within the cocoon was weakening, replaced by a deeper, more ancient aura, seemingly encompassing the beginning and end of all things… the primordial aura!
"Did it work? Really...can it really work?"

Wang Cheng was pale, his hands still pressed tightly against the calluses, his spiritual power and life force almost completely drained, but a flame of hope burned in his eyes.

at this time--

"Pop!" A soft sound, like a bubble bursting, came from inside the cocoon.

Immediately afterwards, a small claw covered with fine gray scales suddenly pierced out from the cocoon of gray mist! The scales were neither the pure black of the Eternal Night Evil Beast nor the crimson of the Crimson Purgatory Dragon, but a chaotic gray, with a very faint purple halo flowing along the edges of the scales, and a trace of almost imperceptible destruction sword intent lingering around the claw tip.

The little paws seemed a bit bewildered as they waved for a moment, then tore hard!
"Tsk-!"

A crack was forcibly torn open in the resilient cocoon of chaotic gray mist.

A tiny head emerged. Its appearance was strange and mysterious: the main body of the head was covered with a ferocious bone armor outline like that of the Eternal Night Evil Beast, but the bone armor was gray in color; instead of horns, there were two tender, velvety antler-like protrusions on the top of the head, shimmering with a warm, emerald green light—clearly the legacy of the Colorful Star Deer!
Its eyes were not fully open yet, and the light shining through the slits of its eyes was that of a deep darkness that seemed to devour everything in its left eye, and a bright, constantly flickering purple star in its right eye.

On its relatively slender back, along the spine, grow several gray feathers that stand upright like swords, with sharp silver light flowing around their edges—this is the manifestation of the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword's annihilating sword intent!
It turned its head in confusion, its faint life force intertwined with the terrifying aura of chaotic origin.

When its "gaze" fell on the unconscious Yu Changsheng, a sense of closeness originating from the deepest part of its bloodline and soul made it let out a soft whimper, like a young animal whimpering, and struggled to completely crawl out of the cocoon.

It stood on Yu Changsheng's chest, no bigger than a house cat, yet it exuded a chilling primordial pressure. It embodied too many characteristics: the darkness and devouring power of the eternal night, the life and protection of the colorful star, the destruction and thunder of the amethyst, the sharpness and indomitable spirit of the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword... It was a product of chaos, the embodiment of the unity of all beasts!

"Roar..." It lowered its head and gently rubbed its forehead, which was covered in fine scales and had a cool touch, against Yu Changsheng's cold cheek.

At the same time, a pure and gentle chaotic source force, with the quality of encompassing all things, flowed out from its small body like a trickle, actively injecting into Yu Changsheng's dried-up and broken meridians and origin!
wow——

It was like rain after a long drought!
The raging, chaotic, and mutually destructive residual energy within Yu Changsheng's body miraculously began to calm, merge, and submit under the gentle yet supreme chaotic source power! The terrifying cracks on his body surface healed and disappeared at a visible speed, his deathly gray skin began to regain a faint trace of color, and his breathing, which was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, finally became slightly more steady and powerful.

Wang Cheng stared in disbelief, tears welling in his eyes: "It's done...it really is...Brother Yu...your new partner...it...it's saving you!"

He could clearly sense that Yu Changsheng's life force was being gently but firmly pulled back from the bottom of the valley by this chaotic source force.

However, the cost also became apparent.

With the birth of the Chaos Source Beast larva and its active output of source power to save its master, the light of the emerald green rune on Chen Xueqing's chest went out completely, as if the last drop of lamp oil had been burned out!
Without the life-sustaining power of the Rainbow Deer, her already weak breath suddenly ceased, and her body grew cold at a visible speed!

"Miss Chen!" Wang Cheng exclaimed in shock.

Almost simultaneously, the Chaos Origin Beast cub nestled on Yu Changsheng's chest also sensed Chen Xueqing's life force fading. It seemed somewhat confused, tilting its head to look at Chen Xueqing.

The pair of emerald green antlers on her head glowed slightly, emanating an extremely faint yet incredibly pure life force that attempted to envelop Chen Xueqing.

But this wisp of life was too weak, like a drop in the ocean, utterly incapable of stopping the overwhelming deathly intent.

The Chaos Origin Beast cub let out a low cry, sounding somewhat anxious. It instinctively tried to share more of its Chaos Origin Power with Chen Xueqing.

Although this source energy encompasses all things, it is not a dedicated life energy, and its effect on repairing the fundamental soul damage caused by the Soul Burning Secret Technique is negligible. Chen Xueqing's body remained cold.

at this time--

"Cough...cough cough cough..." A violent cough interrupted the Chaos Source Beast's efforts and Wang Cheng's despair.

Yu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. (End of Chapter)