Since comprehending the third killing move of the Illusory Realm Path in the Thunderbolt World, Dongbo Xueying’s soul had undergone a qualitative transformation, bringing him infinitely close to the Ultimate Realm. He could even sense the World Origin, nearly merging his soul with it. Once merged, his soul would become indestructible as long as the World Origin endured!
Yet, that final step eluded him, a lingering frustration that haunted him.
Having reached the Half-Origin Lifeform stage, Dongbo Xueying had devoted almost all his focus to the Illusory Realm Path, seeking the perfect union of body and soul. But the harder he pushed for a breakthrough, the more it seemed to slip away.
Thousands of billions of years had passed since he left the Thunderbolt World for the Sacred Cultivation World, yet the final veil of the Illusory Realm Path remained untouched.
And then—
As the Abyssal Sea Master’s colossal foot descended, crushing down on Dongbo Xueying with a sneer as if he were nothing more than an insect, Dongbo Xueying paid no heed to his own fate. Instead, he watched as countless cultivators faced death with unwavering resolve, stirring a tumult of emotions within him.
Under absolute power, resistance was futile—but one’s heart could still dictate the dignity of their final stance.
Even the weakest could stand invincible in their own spirit.
The freedom of the soul…
That was the true brilliance of every life.
“Freedom.”
“Freedom.”
Dongbo Xueying remembered the countless souls he had once liberated from the enslavement of the ‘Sacred Master.’ The sheer joy of their spirits upon being freed…
Now, witnessing the cultivators’ fearless acceptance of death, he suddenly understood:
“The most wondrous aspect of this world is life itself. Every being has its own aspirations, and it is the collective will of countless lives that makes the world vibrant and magnificent. A world devoid of life is but a desolate void. A world where all souls are enslaved is nothing more than a graveyard of puppets, devoid of hope.”
“If a world has a soul, then its living beings *are* that soul.”
“A world with a soul is alive.”
“A world without one is dead.”
His accumulation in the Illusory Realm Path had long been sufficient. Now, with a shift in perspective—from the grand scale of the world to the significance of each individual life—everything fell into place.
The five branches of the Illusory Realm Path converged, with the ‘Soul Branch’ as the guiding thread.
What had once seemed an insurmountable barrier now dissolved in an instant, forming a flawless, perfected ‘Dao’—like the final stroke that brings a dragon to life. All his accumulated insights merged into one.
At the peak of accumulation, sometimes all it takes is a single spark of enlightenment.
And with that realization—
*Boom!*
Dongbo Xueying’s soul underwent its final metamorphosis.
The World Origin, already vividly perceptible to him, now felt like a mother’s embrace—utterly within reach. His soul merged seamlessly into it.
The soul, the most mysterious force, was the condensed essence of the World Origin itself. Thus, extracting the ‘Blood-Soul Essence’ of countless beings yielded effects surpassing even Sourceworld Stones.
A soul perfected to the Ultimate Realm faced no resistance from the World Origin, permeating it effortlessly.
Enlightenment.
Union with the World Origin. Boundless joy.
For the first time, an unprecedented brilliance shone in Dongbo Xueying’s eyes.
*Crash!*
The foot came down, annihilating his body.
But though his flesh perished, his soul endured.
As long as the World Origin remained, so too would his soul.
—
Fleeing in another direction, Fengyun Yiye and his right-hand man, Xie Fan, kept their attention fixed on Dongbo Xueying’s fate.
They watched as that colossal foot descended from the clouds, crushing the Snowflake Divine Emperor.
“No matter how dazzling the talent or formidable the strength, death comes for all,” Xie Fan muttered through gritted teeth, madness flickering in his eyes. “The Snowflake Divine Emperor is dead. Soon, the others will follow—and then it will be my turn, Fengyun Yiye’s turn…”
“Unless…”
“Unless someone breaks through to become an Origin Lifeform. Then, perhaps, there’s a sliver of hope.”
Even if one awakened their bloodline, they’d only barely qualify as a High-Level Origin Lifeform. The Abyssal Sea Master, though suppressed by the grand sealing array, was still a World-Class Origin Lifeform. Even weakened, it could likely slay a newly ascended High-Level Origin Lifeform.
Of course, a High-Level Origin Lifeform might still survive—or at least escape more easily. The Abyssal Sea Master, bound by chains, was far slower than an unshackled High-Level Origin Lifeform.
“But achieving the Origin Realm is no simple feat,” Xie Fan thought bitterly.
Without an innate Origin bloodline, his only path was the near-impossible ‘Force Breaks Law’ method.
“Still… one can dream.”
Every Half-Origin Lifeform cultivator clung to that hope.
—
“Brother Snowflake…” Fengyun Yiye sighed.
He was proud.
In Chiyun City, only the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor had earned his genuine respect. Both were paragons of profound cultivation. As for Wu Xiao? His strength matched theirs, but that was solely due to his monstrous bloodline—his actual cultivation insights paled in comparison.
The Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor had ultimately awakened nine bloodlines simultaneously, ascending as a new breed of Origin Lifeform.
Fengyun Yiye admired him deeply—but Dongbo Xueying was the one he revered most in the entire Sacred Cultivation World.
“Such mastery of the Soul Path… and yet, even he…” Fengyun Yiye shook his head. “My time will come soon too.”
With that, he redoubled his desperate flight.
The Abyssal Sea Master was systematically exterminating them in all directions. If he could just buy enough time, perhaps a sliver of hope remained. Giving up was not an option.
—
“The Snowflake Divine Emperor has fallen too,” Wu Xiao observed silently. “Enough. Time to go.”
In all the Sacred Cultivation World, only one person stood a chance of escaping alive—Wu Xiao himself.
As the most exceptional descendant of a mighty Primordial Sovereign, Wu Xiao had been sent to temper himself through trials. His progenitor had embedded a failsafe in his soul—a single thought could trigger it, whisking his soul to safety.
According to his ancestor, this escape would work against all but a Sovereign-Class Origin Lifeform.
Wu Xiao had resisted using this last resort, for it meant admitting defeat and returning in disgrace.
But now, he had no choice.
*Hum.*
With a thought, he activated it.
His body disintegrated, his soul vanishing in a streak of blinding white light.
—
The Abyssal Sea Master paused mid-slaughter, sensing a cultivator’s soul forcibly escaping his dominion. That fleeting white radiance sent a chill down his spine—not out of fear for its power (which could at most lightly wound him), but for what it represented.
That was the essence of a Primordial Sovereign’s might—akin to the most terrifying of innate Origin Lifeforms, the Sovereign-Class.
In the infinite expanse of the Origin Space, innate Origin Lifeforms who honed their bloodlines to the limit became Sovereign-Class beings, each wielding unfathomable powers. One such being, a Sovereign of Time and Space, had been slain by a cultivator Sovereign, only to resurrect eons later.
Though weakest in direct combat, that entity was truly unkillable, reborn endlessly from the fabric of spacetime.
Every Sovereign-Class being wielded equally heaven-defying methods, capable of harming even cultivator Sovereigns.
Yet—
The eight cultivator Sovereigns stood a step above their innate counterparts. Having fully grasped the highest truths of power, their understanding of the ‘Dao’ made them nigh-invulnerable. Even their main combat avatars were virtually indestructible, let alone their true bodies safeguarded within their personal Sourceworlds.
“That was a Sovereign’s power. That cultivator was under a Sovereign’s protection?” the Abyssal Sea Master mused.
With a snort, he dismissed the thought. Trapped in this prison-world by the sealing array, his power a mere shadow of its true self, he could only continue his methodical slaughter.
—
As long as the World Origin endured, so too would Dongbo Xueying’s soul.
*Hum.*
His consciousness now merged with the World Origin, a vast luminous entity, Dongbo Xueying found even the damage from his avatar’s destruction instantly mended.
“The Illusory Realm Path… perfected.”
He took stock of his newfound power, even as he raced against time to devise a way to save the remaining cultivators.
“How can I rescue them from a World-Class Origin Lifeform?”
Though his Illusory Realm Path had reached its zenith, he was not yet an Origin Lifeform himself. What could he do?
Then—
A revelation.
“*This* is the benefit of merging with the World Origin?”
To his astonishment, he found he could now command the very fabric of the Sacred Cultivation World’s energy—even tapping into the World Origin’s power to a degree.
Legends spoke of those who refined a Sourceworld’s Origin, becoming its master and wielding its full might.
Though far from that level, Dongbo Xueying now stood as a ‘World Emissary,’ capable of channeling a portion of its strength.
“They can be saved!”
Without hesitation, he acted.
Every second counted.
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