Swallowed Star: Lord of the Wolf

Neither Gu You nor Bai Yu would work. One is the Mother River of Life, and the other is the Eastern Extreme Region, both of which are powerful forces. Even if they could join the Thunder Ancient Kingdom as guest elders, it would still be absolutely inappropriate.

At this moment, Xu Yang remembered his third clone—a "blank clone" that had never been publicly revealed and had no identity markings.

This clone was a backup plan he had prepared. With the blessing of the formless, it was completely different from Gu You and Bai Yu, like a new life naturally born in the chaotic void, a true blank sheet of paper.

"An opportunity!" A sharp glint flashed in Xu Yang's eyes.

"Using a third avatar, I will forge a completely new and clean identity! I will join the Thunder Kingdom and become a retainer of a prince! By leveraging the prince's influence, I will legitimately compete for a spot in the Heart of Thunder Source! At the same time..."

His mind raced, and a bold yet meticulous plan quickly took shape.

“However, since it’s a new identity, we naturally need to use new methods. We can’t use the same methods as Gu You and Bai Yu.” Xu Yang rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Gu You primarily uses the Dao of Life Origin, supplemented by the Dao of Destruction Origin. Bai Yu, on the other hand, purely uses the Dao of Destruction Origin. Now, after sparring with the Golden Feather Divine Bird, he has also gained some understanding of the Dao of Space Origin, but his main focus remains on the Dao of Destruction Origin.

“The Dao of Destruction is the most widespread on the Origin Continent, after all, it is the Dao with the heaviest killing aura, and its direct attack power is second to none.” Xu Yang’s hand stroking his chin slowed down, and an idea came to his mind. “However, my two clones have already used the Dao of Destruction. For the third one, in order to distinguish it, I will not use the Dao of Destruction, but instead use the Dao of Life Origin!”

Three clones, three identities.

It is because of the system and the formless and intangible nature that such a magnificent spectacle can be achieved! Even those powerful beings in the Origin Continent who cultivate the art of creating clones cannot achieve this level, because no matter how they change their appearance or aura, their true inner self can still be seen through by the Emperors and Ancestors. The power of a God Emperor Realm expert far exceeds the imagination of a Chaos Realm expert.

But Xu Yang is different. As long as he doesn't give himself away, he has no fear of powerful people prying into his past or predicting his future.

After making up his mind, Xu Yang felt much more determined.

"It's still a hundred epochs away from starting, so I'm focusing my main efforts on comprehending the Great Dao of the Origin of Life. As long as I can comprehend two of the six branches of the Origin of Life to the peak of the Chaos Realm, I'm confident I can crush all opponents." Xu Yang was full of confidence because at the crucial moment, he could unify his three bodies, and with the two peak levels, he could completely reach the transcendent strength of the Chaos Realm!
Currently, his mastery of the Great Dao of the Origin of Life is somewhat low. Even with the three bodies united, he would only reach the peak of the Chaos Realm at most, making it extremely difficult to stand out. Moreover, the peak of the Chaos Realm is 'too weak' on the Origin Continent, and Xu Yang is unwilling to unite his three bodies for such strength. After all, he can already reach the peak of the Chaos Realm with his killing move that destroys the Great Dao of the Origin.

But the Chaos Realm Transcendence is different. Those are even rarer than the God King level. Xu Yang remembered that when Luo Feng advanced to the Chaos Realm Transcendence in the original work, an observer said that he was the 71st Chaos Realm Transcendence in the Origin Continent... And so far, Xu Yang has not heard of any new Transcendence, which means that there are only 70 Chaos Realm Transcendence experts on the entire Origin Continent!
At that time, demonstrating the power of transcending the Chaos Realm will undoubtedly make them stand out.

Reaching the Chaos Realm and becoming comparable to a newly ascended God-King is a qualitative leap! For someone at the Transcendent Realm to fight a peak-level opponent is like a father beating his son – easy and perfectly natural. Unlike now, where both are at the peak, but the difference in strength makes it difficult to overwhelm each other, and in the event of a siege, they can only desperately try to survive.

Otherwise, the three of them wouldn't have been able to force Shi Fangke into reincarnation.

……

Calm down and begin to understand.

"Branch of Blood... Branch of Life and Death..." Xu Yang's thoughts traversed the vast inheritance of the "Record of the Origin of All Spirits." This supreme book, originating from the core of the Mother River of Life, is all-encompassing and fully elucidates the six major branches of the Great Dao of the Origin of Life.

The lineage of the bloodline is known as "The True Explanation of the Bloodline".

The opening lines read: "Blood is the essence of life, the quintessence of destiny, the vessel of form and spirit. All living beings are born from blood, grow with blood, and decay because of blood... Tracing back to the source, one can glimpse the beginning of life. Controlling blood and understanding its mysteries allows one to control the rise and fall of all living beings..."

Countless mysterious runes flow, illustrating how blood, as the most essential carrier of life, contains the most primal codes and power of life.

To cultivate this path, one must use one's own essence and blood as a guide to communicate with the blood and energy of all things in heaven and earth, and to comprehend the true meanings contained in the blood, such as "activity," "bearing," "circulation," "assimilation," "transformation," and even "extinction."

After entering the path, one can be reborn from a drop of blood, transform blood into a boundary, and even use blood as a guide to trace back to the origin of life, and even... touch the mysteries of the primordial bloodline.

“Blood, the carrier of life… activity, bearing, circulation…” Xu Yang had an epiphany.

This is essentially the same as the Hunyuan bloodline that the Thunder Kingdom pursues!
The Hunyuan bloodline is a higher-level life carrier, containing stronger vitality, more perfect carrying capacity, and a more vast flow of power.

Cultivating the Blood Branch not only allows one to perfectly integrate into the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, but also enables one to fundamentally understand the essence of the power they pursue, laying the most solid foundation for subsequent investigations into the Hunyuan Bloodline.

The more Xu Yang pondered, the more he understood, "No wonder so many cultivators go astray and commit acts of slaughtering and devouring the weak!"

On the Origin Continent, there are many powerful beings in the Chaos Realm and even the God King Realm who cultivate by devouring a massive number of living beings. Apart from a very few who have evil habits caused by twisted minds, most of them cultivate the Hunyuan Bloodline and are influenced by the mysterious will carried in the high-level bloodline, craving to devour and kill!
Of course, bloodline has its drawbacks, but it also has its advantages, namely, it can manifest without conscious effort!

Even if one doesn't understand the true meaning contained within this bloodline, as long as one can resist the influence of the will within the bloodline, one can use the power of the true meaning within the bloodline! And often the power is extremely great!

After all, a strong person who cultivates a bloodline will definitely choose a bloodline that is stronger than their current one.

This is why, despite the existence of so many powerful and madmen in the Thunder Kingdom, there is still a continuous stream of powerful individuals willing to join the Thunder Kingdom and cultivate the Hunyuan Bloodline.

For cultivators who spend their entire lives climbing the peak of cultivation, the real pain is never death, but the severing of their path and the inability to improve their strength even a little bit more!
Being stuck in the same place for countless eons, unable to make any progress, is worse than killing them!

"The Blood Branch is extremely dangerous; I must be careful in comprehending it." Xu Yang suppressed his urge to rush ahead. He was only at the peak of the Chaos Realm in terms of willpower. If it weren't for the system panel, he might have been corrupted when he absorbed the Great Abyss Ore and sensed the Primordial Aura. Now, when cultivating the Blood Branch, he also had to avoid being affected by 'blood'.

As his understanding deepened, Xu Yang began to slowly deduce the principles onto his body.

His heart, like a dormant volcano, pounded deeply and powerfully. Each beat sent his blood coursing through his veins like a river. Blood wasn't merely a simple carrier of energy; in his perception, it seemed to possess an independent life, each drop a miniature world, brimming with vibrant energy, resilient resilience, and rapid circulation…

He could even subtly perceive the exchange of energy between the blood and the outside world during its flow, the repair of damage to the divine body, and the subtle process of the potential contained in the blood being stimulated under surging pressure.

With the help of the "True Explanation of Blood Source", his mind sank into the microscopic world of blood. He seemed to see countless blood-red runes rising, falling, combining, and decomposing in the blood particles. These were the most fundamental codes of life.

He began to try to guide his own essence and blood, circulating it according to the profound principles of the "True Explanation of Source Blood." *Sizzle sizzle sizzle...!*
Fine beads of blood seeped from his skin. These beads did not drip, but instead floated up, attracting and merging with each other...

At the same time, he tried to communicate with the outside world.

As a super city, Xuanhu City is a gathering place for countless powerful individuals, with blood energy soaring to the sky! Although it is chaotic and disorderly, under the guidance of the "Origin Blood True Explanation", Xu Yang was able to capture the wisps of blood energy permeating the air for the first time, which he had previously ignored.

Try to use your own essence and blood as a guide to attract and assimilate the scattered active power, like a sponge absorbing water to strengthen the foundation of your own blood source.

This process was extremely slow and almost unhelpful, after all, his bloodline was far superior to that of the myriad spirits in Xuanhu City! But Xu Yang wasn't trying to improve his bloodline; he wanted to experience the cultivation process of the blood branch and try it out.

……

Two bodies are comprehending the branch of blood, while the third is comprehending the branch of life and death.

The scripture in the "Record of the Origin of All Spirits" concerning the branches of life and death is called the "Scripture of Withering and Flourishing".

Its core essence points directly to the cycle of life: "The ultimate end of life is death, and the stillness of death gives birth to new life. Withering is not annihilation, but the opportunity to contain. Glory is not eternal, but the moment of blossoming... The cycle of life and death is the constant way of the Great Dao."

This teaching does not describe a devastating death, but rather the inevitable stages of "extinction," "annihilation," and "return" in the life process, as well as the opportunities for "rebirth" contained within these stages.

Like plants that wither in autumn and flourish in spring, they may appear to be decaying, but in reality, they are accumulating strength and harboring vitality.

To comprehend this path, one must perceive the natural rhythm of life's transition from prosperity to decline, understanding that "extinction" is not the end, but rather the necessary path for the transformation of life forms and the return of energy to its origin. Its true meaning is similar to the "return of all things to nothingness" of destroying the origin—destruction is ultimate annihilation, and within annihilation, spirit can be conceived (spirit conceives in the return to nothingness), which is precisely a higher-level manifestation of "death giving birth to new life" in the *Ku Rong Jing*.

Life and destruction, the two fundamental paths, converge here.

“The ultimate end of life is death, and death gives birth to new life... The cycle of flourishing and decay continues... Annihilation gives birth to spirit…” Xu Yang’s eyes gleamed with wisdom.

Comprehending the branches of life and death not only rapidly enhances one's mastery of the fundamental principles of life, but also, from another perspective, enriches and deepens one's understanding of the true meaning of "returning to the void to nurture the spirit"—the origin of destruction. These two seemingly disparate paths find common ground in the supreme philosophy of "cycle" and "transformation."

Under the combined influence of the Great Dao of Life and the Great Dao of Destruction, Xu Yang's consciousness seemed to be pulled into a strange realm.

On one side is a vibrant torrent of life, where all things flourish; on the other side is an eternal darkness where all things wither and return to death.

The two are not separate, but rather constantly rotating.

Like yin and yang fish, they chase each other tail to tail.

He 'saw' a lightning-struck tree swaying in the wilderness outside Xuanhu City. Its branches were charred black, its life force almost extinguished, but beneath the charred bark, a faint yet incredibly tenacious hint of green was struggling to sprout.

The boundary between life and death is blurred at this moment, and new life is born from decay.

He looked inward and saw that, under the cleansing influence of the true meaning of Nirvana, some old and inactive particles in his divine body cells were rapidly decaying and decomposing, while at the same time, under the nourishment of life, more vibrant new particles were growing rapidly.

This is a microscopic cycle of life and death; the old must go before the new can come. Even at this level, metabolism continues to maintain the peak vitality of the divine body.

……

The three bodies have been cultivating in isolation from the outside world. In the Eastern Extreme Region and the Mother River of Life, all communications from people other than the White Qi God King and the Green Vine Marquis have been intercepted.

Finally, one night ended and the sun rose in the morning.

boom!
At this moment, Xu Yang had been in seclusion for four cycles.

At this moment, a wisp of extremely faint, almost transparent gray energy swirled around his fingertips. This energy carried no destructive aura whatsoever, yet it possessed a chilling sense of "ending," as if it could accelerate the natural decay of all things.

This is precisely the manifestation of the true meaning of "withering" in the "Withering and Flourishing Sutra"—withering refers to the wind!
Although not as violent as the [Destroy the False World], its domineering essence is in no way weaker, specifically targeting the foundation of life force, silently and without a trace.

"As expected of the inheritance of the ultimate realm, it is clearly only a top-level technique of the Chaos Realm, but its intent is no weaker than my peak technique, and may even surpass it!" Xu Yang looked at the gray wind at his fingertips and exclaimed in admiration.

Of course, he would not underestimate himself.

His current level is low, so it's normal that his vision is not far-reaching and his aspirations are lower than others. For example, if he were to create techniques at the level of Eternal True God or Void True God now, with a high-level perspective, he could easily create extremely brilliant moves that are far superior to the techniques he painstakingly created when he was still at that level.

This principle has always been applicable.

"It was not unexpected that I was able to enter the 'Scripture of Withering and Flourishing' ahead of others because of my own considerable attainment in the Great Dao of Destruction. However, I did not expect that I would also progress so quickly in the 'True Explanation of Source Blood'!"

As he was speaking, Xu Yang activated the "True Explanation of Blood Origin," and a rich, active, and vibrant blood source power spread out, as if a sea of ​​life was lurking within his body, with blood and qi surging like dragons.

A faint blood-red glow even appeared on his body surface, and blood-red runes seemed to flow under his skin, giving him powerful self-healing ability and vitality.

He had mastered the basics of both branches, even reaching the pinnacle of the Chaos Realm techniques, all within just four epochs… This was beyond Xu Yang's own expectations. (End of Chapter)