Looking at the splendid lotus seed floating above the sea of fire, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but show excitement in his eyes. In the present world of Dou Qi, source energy no longer exists, a fact which signified the absence of the opportunity for the ascension to the level of a Dou Emperor. Hun Tian Di’s receipt of the Emperor-tier nascent pill had provided him entrance to Dou Emperor rank, while Xiao Yan and the allied clans pinned all their hopes on the inheritance left behind by the ancient Emperor. Presently, two ways—receiving the powerful Emperor-tier nascent pill and gaining the ancient inheritance—remained for ascending into the Dou Emperor stage, for only within these two relics remained vestiges of the final particles of source energy known to the world.
“My legacy demands a spirit as strong as immovable stone. The continuation of a single thought renders immortality possible!” With a gentle smile, Emperor Tuo Sha looked at the exuberant expression on Xiao Yan’s face, gently flicked his finger, allowing the scintillating fiery lotus seed to slowly lower and float onto the crown of Xiao Yan’s head.
A long deep breath escaped Xiao Yan as he quickly quelled his turbulent mind, casting aside distracting thoughts with a strong and resolute will.
Buzzing! Illuminating in peculiar lusters, the fiery lotus seed descended slowly before piercing straight into Xiao Yan’s cranium. At the instance the glowing lotus seed penetrated his frame, the momentary impact transformed Xiao Yan violently, reddening his entire body as incomprehensible amounts of energy surged throughout him at terrifying proportions. In barely a mere heartbeat of time, intense pressure swelled the internal channels of Xiao Yan, inflicting unbearable pain that shot outwards from within. Like streams rushing from pores beneath his skin came floods of sweating—within just several short moments, his body thinned, losing mass dramatically until the slender body he once owned dwindled into one akin to a skin-and-bones monkey.
Streams of perspiration poured relentlessly from Xiao Yan, etching the face with expressions twisted into agony so severe it nearly distorted. Looking on, Emperor Tuo Sha remained unimpressed—if one could not clear this first trial, acceptance of such an emperor’s inheritance was just a fantasy.
Quivers raged relentlessly amidst infernal fire. All within exploded to climax the moment Xiao Yan flung wide his eyes—exploding their contents into swirling mists of crimson blood.
BANG! His eyes annihilated—the process extended to other limbs and organs, echoing with explosive ruptures across Xiao Yan’s body. Finally—the mortal container exploded violently from the inside under an unstoppable power of legacy transmission!
Eyebrows twitched, Emperor Tuo Sha watched attentively; the commencement of such an inheritance now unfolded. Still, without adhering strictly to all requirements Xiao Yan’s flesh—and even soul—risked severe trauma.
“Failure already?” Watching crimson blood dissipate around, sensing an eerie weakening of his soul, waves of drowsiness beckoned him into its seductive call. The urge barely flickered within, when a sharp lucidity seized him as consciousness battled against temptation, for he knew too well—allowing himself to surrender would spell utter eradication for even his soul.
“My form proves feeble: utterly incapable of shouldering this legacy. With my physicality decimated, how may I absorb legacy’s essence?”
A glimmering orb materialized—the transformed Xiao Yan now a concentrated translucent pulse where spiritual force gathered. At present he stood at a crucial impasse: absent a living body, harnessing of energy remained impossible. However, the laborious crafting of even simple mortal vessels simply left impossible to accommodate such urgent demands.
“Heart like rock…so long as thought lives, extinction becomes illusion!” Fluctuations wildly surged around this thought pulsing brighter amid the emergency, when the urgency dulled into clarity—Tuo Sha’s ancient decree echoed. Realization crystallized instantly.
As revelation ignited thought, the orb pulsated violently. From its essence flickered scintillating glimmers—reveling unmistakably the lotus shape: the fire lotus returned from oblivion itself. Simultaneously, crimson sprays dispersed into surrounding air abruptly retracted—drawing into an enchanting cycle.
In several swift breath-lengths later condensed flesh rebirthing flesh wrapped itself around core energy once more. As flesh regenerated, euphoric sensations lit within—recognizing at once how stronger the new body stood than its antecedents.
“Creation amidst destruction…continuous regeneration reshaping flesh…to match inheritance’s might.”
The gleam ignited anew within Xiao Yan—glee fleeting amidst fresh power as the nascent lotus exuded an unprecedented power surge.
CRASHED: Shockwave struck. Barely remanufactured frame exploded—again transforming into spreading vapour. This blast even inflicted deep pain throughout spiritual self as waves tore against the core essence.
“Thought anchored steadfast to immortality!” Unshook by pain, Xiao Yan fortified his psyche resisting disturbances that could destabilize progress. Under calm, renewed resolve the blood mists condensed. In mere flashes of time, new flesh enveloped once again. Strengthened compared to prior versions, it now stood resilient than before.
Explosions echoed in cascaded tones like unending thunder across an ocean of flame. Flesh formed, destroyed: cyclic patterns of life. Watching, an appreciative smirk formed subtly on Emperor Tuo Sha’s stoic face. With nod—impression registered, a remarkable understanding displayed at such an age. Rarer still was Xiao Yan’s unshakable spirit mirroring timeless endurance, and sheer strength of spirit.
“It indeed feels like…near to my own journey’s end.” The Emperor’s voice wavered, yet carried soft elation in his sigh; relief lingering in its timbre.
……
Amid practice, years slipped swiftly like flowing days without cease; full twelve moons had passed.
A full calendar year saw an unthinkable cycle upon Xiao yan’s frame—expelled from and then reformed from self-birth in cycles never ceasing. Such relentless torment pushed beyond mortal limits—tested not endurance alone but wisdom too. Pain threatened madness—but even as awareness blurred into unconscious fog, fragments of consciousness preserved his essence. A singular persistent conviction kept his soul whole.
Still, such a torturous process lacked definitive sign of completion: the self-annihilation cycle persisted. Destruction. Reconstruction repeated perpetually.
Yet to Tug of ancient emperors, these Earth years felt akin to but fleeting moments of merely over two months within.
During those months across land known as Central Plains, turmoil brewed as ancient barriers cloaked entire landscapes—sealing all who dared seek freedom below that blood-drenched dome of death.
Serenity shattered under crimson skies, where thick ominous clouds choked light from above casting ghostly glows upon soil where laughter dared die beneath the pervasive gloom. Blood stench soaked each nook while periodically spouting red rays from sky-sweeping death rays, their deadly arcs carving destruction. Carnage ensued as corpses piled and red rivers flowed—witness a true calamity engulf the lands.
Initially furious opposition swirled—united sect armies rallied toward the veil hoping for vengeance…yet their unified counter-attack had shattered into ruin when descending fiery scythes severed half their forces. From fury—fear emerged.
Eventually acceptance dawned—such ruthless strength displayed knew no bounds, nor pity.
When crimson arcs reemerged periodically for deadly cleansing—sects and martial clans retreated en masse towards the Alliance—Seeking sanctuary within the fortified halls housing Alliance Central’s forces alone offering protection.
Hence, before passage of merely one full moon’s measure—within a radius span encompassing ten thousand miles from Alliance territory had become the sole haven. Crowds packed densely across plains, swarmed across every corner in a living ocean. Across these vast expanses now lived chaos, as war-torn migration spread despair.
For the Alliance, these desperate pilgrims seeking safety had left leaders of the Alliance struggling—no room to refuse. The Alliance mustered resources combining forces to erect a mighty protective veil covering ten thousand miles radius of terrain.
Despite all measures, congestion and tensions persisted—sect rivalries sparked fierce battles for dominance in cramped defensive sanctity, costing hundreds lives. Such tragedies proved inevitable as chaos ruled—Alliance hands bound; the barrier all they managed under duress. Under the looming threat of death—the remnants of organized civility vanished.
Amidst such chaos, leaders such as Gou Yuan and Zhu Kun had mounted multiple attempts to prevent Hun Tian Di’s completion of the Emperor-level Dan from absorbing masses’ vitality via sacrificial ritual, yet their valour was not to prevail—a vast sacrificial enchantment fortified the altar of Hun while its sovereign god watched closely guarding. Penetrating that formidable presence—dream it not.
As time waned onwards, Central Plains, once verdant landscapes blooming vibrant life, transformed into desolation. Scenes evoked visions of impending Armageddon.
Meanwhile from the blood cloud—each subsequent rising moment brought a malevolent qi so dense—so fierce—that all understood clearly the arrival drawing nearer—a demonic presence about to descend from skies…Perhaps spelling doom upon Central Plains.
Yet none found themselves capable of halting such a fate. Despairingly, as they observed those heavens bleed red—the sole deed afforded—the powerless watching blood thickening endlessly above the scorched land beneath.
The sky choked crimson: heraldry of cataclysm; annihilation of lands unfurl like an apocalyptic storm.
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