Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

The depths of his eyes were no longer pure black or purple lightning, but rather a murky gray that seemed to have witnessed the birth and death of the universe.

In that grayness, a trace of clarity and sharpness belonging to "Yu Changsheng" is struggling to gather and revive.

The first thing he felt was the faint but warm life force flowing in his chest. Looking down, he saw the chaotic little beast anxiously nuzzling his chin, exuding a familiar yet strange aura.

The feeling of being connected by blood and soul was incredibly clear.

The ferocity of the eternal night, the gentleness of the colorful stars, the swiftness of the golden roc, the explosiveness of the red dragon, the resilience of the black tortoise, the shattering of the amethyst, the sharpness of the sword spirit... countless fragments of familiar auras, like rivers flowing into the sea, all merged into the little guy in front of me.

"All beasts... return to one..." Yu Changsheng's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed, yet it carried a trembling hint of enlightenment.

He reached out and, extremely slowly, touched the pair of tender, emerald-green antlers on the head of the Chaos Origin Beast cub with a single finger.

The little animal squinted its eyes comfortably and let out a soft, dependent whimper.

Immediately afterwards, Yu Changsheng's cloudy gaze turned to Chen Xueqing, who stood to the side, her life completely extinguished, like an ice sculpture.

In an instant, intense human emotions—pain, self-blame, rage, and sorrow—rushed out like a volcano, shattering the newly formed chaotic state of mind and filling his gray eyes!

"Xue...Qing..." He struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his still-healing injuries, and he spat out another mouthful of black blood mixed with gray mist, which splashed onto the cold rocks, making a hissing corrosion sound.

"Brother Yu! You're awake! That's wonderful!"

Wang Cheng wept with joy, then cried out in sorrow, "But Miss Chen... the life runes left by the Colorful Star Deer have been completely extinguished..."

The Chaos Source Beast cub also sensed its master's intense emotional fluctuations. It stopped transmitting source energy and anxiously circled around Yu Changsheng, whimpering softly, as if trying to comfort him.

Yu Changsheng endured the excruciating pain and dizziness, staring intently at Chen Xueqing's lifeless face.

The image of the Rainbow Star Deer resolutely severing its antlers and merging them into her heart flashed through her mind, as did the poignant image of her burning her life essence to unleash "Blood Phoenix Burning the Heavens" and smash through the giant claws of Monslan...

Endless sorrow and boundless rage intertwined and burned within his chest! This rage was not only directed at Qingzhou Huangfu Hongxuan, at the betrayer Fengyin, and at the Yuan Clan, but also at this damned fate!
This intense emotion was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up the chaotic source energy within his body that had just calmed down!
A gray current surged uncontrollably across his body, emanating an even more dangerous aura than before.

"Ugh—!" he growled, not from the pain, but from the grief and anger that almost burned away his reason!

At this moment, another change occurred!
He sensed a faint aura in the distance, a power wandering within the deathly aura.

"Brother Yu!" Wang Cheng struggled to help him up, but was pushed away by an invisible force.

Yu Changsheng didn't look at him. His eyes, filled with a sense of chaos, pierced through the thick, dark death aura and were fixed on the distant center of the massive beast bones. There, the outline of an altar made of dark boulders was faintly visible in the vortex of death aura.

The altar was strangely shaped and rugged, clearly not the work of humans. The surface of the mottled boulder was covered with bottomless ravines eroded by time and energy.

A throbbing sensation originating from the depths of his bloodline became clearer than ever before as his chaotic source energy flowed.

That's a resonance!
The immense death energy accumulated over countless ages in the Valley of Sinking Souls is being slowly and steadily swallowed up by that altar!
It is like a giant heart, pulsating with the primal power of this land of despair.

"altar……"

Yu Changsheng gasped for breath, the chaotic gray source energy flowing and colliding uncontrollably around his body. Each flicker tore at his still unhealed wounds, causing excruciating pain, yet he could not suppress the wildly growing flame in his heart.

The imprint of the Myriad Beasts Scripture burned deep within his sea of ​​consciousness. A fragment of the scripture, extremely obscure and sealed by powerful restrictions, seemed to sense the call of death energy from the outside world and was violently attacking the seal!

"Using oneself as a guide... to the path to the underworld... the extreme of death... the gate of life..."

The shattered scriptures, like a thunderclap, exploded in his chaotic consciousness.

An indescribable resolve instantly overwhelmed all hesitation!
This is not the time to consider whether it is feasible or not.

Xueqing's soul is dissipating! This is the only, and last, path in this desperate situation!

He suddenly looked down at the small beast that was anxiously rubbing against his chest.

The little creature seemed to sense its master's all-consuming will, stopped whimpering, raised its tender head, and its chaotic eyes met Yu Changsheng's gray gaze.

Without a word, the bond of blood and soul burned to its fullest extent at this moment.

"Help me...find her!" Yu Changsheng roared in his heart.

The pair of emerald green antlers on the head of the Chaos Origin Beast cub suddenly burst forth with an unprecedented light!
The gentle aura of life and the chaotic gray mist of destruction miraculously merged, transforming into an invisible bridge of spiritual connection. One end was connected to Yu Changsheng's burning will, while the other end ruthlessly pierced the deepest darkness at the center of the altar!
Om-!
The altar resembled an ancient, ferocious beast that had been awakened.

The deathly aura of the entire Soul-Sinking Valley instantly boiled over!

Visible gray-black currents, like billions of wildly dancing pythons, roared out from every corner of the valley and every inch of the skeletons, surging madly toward the pitch-black altar!
The deep ravines on the altar's surface seemed to come alive, greedily devouring the converging torrent of death.

The giant rock, which had been silent for countless millennia, began to emit a chilling luster that could freeze one's soul, and the deepest darkness at its core began to rotate and collapse violently!
"Cough cough... Brother Yu! What are you doing?!"

Wang Cheng was terrified by the terrifying sight of the world changing color. The sudden loss of life in the valley even made him suffocate. He struggled to rush over, trying to stop Yu Changsheng's crazy actions.

Yu Changsheng ignored him.

He suddenly bit his tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood essence, which contained his own blood essence, chaotic energy, and the remaining ferocious aura of the Eternal Night Evil Beast, towards the altar!
"Using my chaotic body as a conduit, I will merge with the power of all lifeless stillness!" he roared hoarsely, each syllable tearing at his throat, accompanied by blood and foam.

"Open! The Gate of Hell—!"

Boom, boom! ! !

The rotating dark abyss at the core of the altar suddenly stopped, and then shattered like a glass mirror being hit by a heavy hammer!
There was no loud noise, only a teeth-grinding "sizzle" sound, as if space itself had been forcibly torn apart. A long, narrow crack, its edges flowing with a viscous, ink-like darkness, appeared out of thin air at the core of the altar!
Inside the crack is absolute nothingness!
No, it's not nothingness, it's a depravity that's even more terrifying than nothingness!

An extremely cold and yin aura, capable of freezing the soul and extinguishing all vitality, swept through the entire cavern like a bursting dam!

Wang Cheng felt as if his soul was being frozen and pulled away by the cold air, and he screamed and fainted.

The River Styx! The viscous, ink-like water flowed silently deep within the cracks, without waves, only a stagnant, despair-inducing texture.

On the surface of the river, countless blurry, distorted, pale shadows floated, rising and falling silently, struggling and emitting shrill cries that only the soul could hear, filled with endless pain and confusion.

Those are countless souls who have fallen into this place and cannot escape! Even a mere wisp of their breath is enough to wither the life force of living beings and cause their souls to sink!
Yu Changsheng was the first to be hit!
The chilling aura originating from the source of the Styx River, like billions of ice needles, pierced his body, which had just been repaired by the chaotic source power, and frantically eroded every inch of his flesh and blood, and every bit of his soul light! The chaotic gray mist on his body surface fluctuated violently and dimmed, and his skin instantly lost all color, covered with a layer of deathly bluish-gray.

The mark on its back, which had merged multiple powers, spun wildly, trying to devour the power, but it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; fine cracks began to appear on the mark itself!

"Uhhhhh-!"

The unimaginable pain caused Yu Changsheng to let out a beast-like scream, his body trembling violently, almost collapsing to his knees.

But his gray eyes burned with an almost insane obsession as he stared intently into the depths of the crack, letting the Styx's aura corrode him, his spine ramrod straight!
Just as he felt his soul was about to be frozen and torn apart!

A dilapidated bone boat silently emerged from the viscous depths of the River Styx. Its hull was pieced together from the stark white ribs of an unknown behemoth, riddled with cracks and holes, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

A "thing" wearing a tattered gray robe stood at the bow of the boat.

It had no physical form, more like a swirling, twisting gray mist that had coalesced into a human shape. In the shadow of the hood, no face could be seen, only two tiny specks of light, burning with cold, eerie green flames, like two will-o'-the-wisps from the deepest depths of the netherworld, emotionlessly "watching" at Yu Changsheng outside the crack, who had forcibly opened the gates of hell.

"The living must open the gates of hell."

A dry, hoarse sound, like the friction of two rough bones, resounded directly into the depths of Yu Changsheng's soul, ignoring spatial distance and chillingly devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"If you wish to cross the river to search for your soul, you must pay... the boat fare."

Shipping costs!

These two words were like cold iron spikes, striking Yu Changsheng's nearly frozen mind.

He knew that this was not just about gold and silver treasures, but a price that truly touched upon the core issues!
What are resources?

Yu Changsheng's soul was transmitted with difficulty, each thought groaning under the corrosive influence of the Styx River.

The gray-mist humanoid figure leaned forward slightly, and two eerie green ghost flames swept across Yu Changsheng's body, finally landing on the cold body in his arms. They then moved towards the stubbornly struggling chaotic source power within his body, and finally locked onto the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness—where something was burning and roaring desperately.

"The obsessions of living beings, burning like fire, can withstand the torment of sinking and floating in the River Styx." The gray mist's voice remained calm, yet it carried an undeniable power of rules.

"The obsession in your heart is the fare for ferrying this soul across."

Obsession!

These two words struck Yu Changsheng's mind like a heavy hammer.

The final, relieved smile on Huang Xiren's withered face, Lin Hao's resolute turn as he lunged towards the Cleaner, the faint light of the broken antlers of the Rainbow Star Deer merging into Chen Xueqing's heart... countless images flashed by in an instant!
This is the source of his strength, the pillar that enabled him to rise again and again from desperate situations, and the deepest imprint on his soul!
Without it, is he still Yu Changsheng?

"Hooooo..."

A faint sob came from my chest.

The Chaos Origin Beast cub seemed to sense a great threat. Its fine gray scales bristled, and it let out a low roar at the crack in the Styx River. The few sword-like feathers on its back stood up, gleaming with a sharp silver light.

Its small body erupted with a stubborn, chaotic pressure, attempting to resist the invisible force that drained its "obsession" for its master.

Yu Changsheng looked down at Chen Xueqing's lifeless face in his arms. Her face was pale and cold, yet it was still the most beautiful face in his memory.

In his gray eyes, the last bit of struggle extinguished, leaving only a resolute determination.

"for you!"

A hoarse, soul-piercing cry, like the final howl of a lone wolf, exploded against the deathly silence of the River Styx!

Om-!
An invisible, scorching power, seemingly capable of igniting the soul, was forcefully extracted from between his brows! It was a blurry mark composed of countless interwoven fragments of will: perseverance, sacrifice, tenderness, roar, claws, wings, sword edge... encapsulating his promises to all his fallen comrades and his vow to protect his beloved in his arms until death!

"Uhhh-!!!"

The pain of being ripped away far exceeded the limits of the body! Yu Changsheng felt as if a core of his soul had been forcibly ripped out!
His consciousness instantly went into a blurry blank, his body convulsed violently, and what seeped from his seven orifices was no longer blood, but wisps of dark gray mist!
He seemed to have instantly lost some core foundation that sustained his spirit and vitality; his aura rapidly weakened and decayed, and even the flow of chaotic energy became sluggish. A vast emptiness and bewilderment, originating from his very life instinct, overwhelmed him like a flood, almost causing him to kneel down.

That burning obsession transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the gray mist humanoid's hand.

The two eerie green will-o'-the-wisps seemed to flicker for a moment before returning to stillness.

The broken bone boat trembled slightly and silently slid to the edge of the crack.

"Get on the boat. Your soul fire is about to go out, and the River Styx will not ferry those without a soul."

The cold voice rang out again, calmly announcing the time limit.

Success! The fare has been paid!
Yu Changsheng endured the excruciating pain as if his soul had been hollowed out and the overwhelming dizziness that followed. With his last bit of strength, he picked up Chen Xueqing's cold body and, step by step, treading on the viscous, icy air of the Styx River, strode toward the dilapidated bone boat!

The bone boat, without oars or sails, drifted slowly along the viscous, silent flow of the Styx. Beneath its hull, countless pale, twisted shadows of the dead rose and fell, wailing, their cold, slippery arms occasionally reaching out from the water, attempting to cling to the small boat that exuded the aura of living souls.

The gray-mist humanoid simply stood quietly at the bow of the boat. The moment its arms touched the edge of the bone boat, they rose up as if they had been branded with a hot iron, and silently retracted and dissipated.

Inside the boat, Yu Changsheng held Chen Xueqing tightly. The Chaos Origin Beast cub curled up at his collar, growling warily. The sword feathers on its back glowed slightly, dispelling the ever-encroaching deathly aura of the Styx River.

But his own condition was already extremely bad. The emptiness in his soul caused by the removal of his obsession was like a huge wound, and the aura of the River Styx, like a maggot clinging to his bone, frantically poured into this wound, eroding his consciousness.

His vision began to blur at the edges, and a gray, chaotic aura flickered on his body, sometimes dim like a candle in the wind, and sometimes eroded by wisps of black energy.

The fusion mark on his back glowed faintly, and cracks spread. (End of Chapter)