The shadowy figure of the Devouring Incarnation writhed violently, its emotions turbulent.

Souls, released as ethereal forms by him, now rushed back from every direction like birds returning to their nests, merging into that single shadow one after another.

An aura, growing increasingly sinister, malevolent, icy, and bizarre, permeated from him as the return of the soul forms gradually consolidated his power.

Ega followed silently by his side, listening to his eerie, ghostly howls, and felt a secret surge of excitement. "Congratulations, Ancestor! Greetings, Ancestor!"

"Heh heh heh! Once I fuse with that Origin of Profound Truth, I will be the wellspring of the Devouring Profound Truth between heaven and earth. When Shi Yan sees me, he won't even have a chance to fight; he'll be instantly consumed by me!" The Devourer was in excellent spirits. "After fusing with the Origin, slaying Huang, I will break through the barrier that even the Primordial Era could not shatter, truly reaching the state of Ultimate Eternity, reopening the world, and making the Devourer Clan the supreme race across the boundless starry domains!"

His depiction made Ega’s spirit soar and his heart race with hidden excitement.

"Hui is also near that black hole of devouring, but it doesn't matter. The Profound Truth she cultivates is not Devouring, so even if she found the location, it wouldn't help her at all," the Devourer sneered coldly, turning into two streaks of black light with Ega, and sweeping towards Ziyao’s location.

At the same time, Shi Yan's various clones also streaked towards the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth from all directions.

He knew that even if he reached the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth, he might not necessarily be able to fuse with it, but he still had to go—and he had to get there sooner!

—Because he could not let the Devourer fuse with the Devouring Profound Truth first!

If the Devourer managed to fuse first, given his level in the Profound Truth of Devouring and his capabilities, his power would surge several times over. The Devourer's might would leave him with no chance of survival; he had to stop it!

The Devourer and Shi Yan's clones advanced with all their might towards a single objective.

Ziyao waited silently.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

A strange fluctuation arrived, and to Ziyao’s look of surprise, a Shi Yan suddenly flickered into existence, immediately asking, "He hasn't arrived yet, has he?"

Ziyao first breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled sweetly, "He hasn't arrived yet, for now. Good timing. Mm. What do you think? Should we immediately enter and fuse with the Origin of Devouring, or wait for the Devourer to arrive, force him back, and then proceed?"

As she spoke, Ziyao’s delicate brows furrowed, and she sharply exclaimed, "You, you only arrived as a clone?" She had seen it.

Shi Yan gave a wry smile. "It is indeed just a clone. The main body... is very, very far from here. I split several clones, and they are all rushing over. They won't be able to gather completely for some time. Moreover, even if the main body and clones arrive, I cannot fuse with the Devouring Profound Truth."

"Why?" Ziyao was startled.

"I found the Origin of the Profound Truth of Life first. Unfortunately, despite many attempts, I haven't been able to fuse with it..." Shi Yan quickly explained.

Ziyao looked bewildered. "So, with your complex array of Profound Truths, you don't even qualify to fuse with a single one? Space, Star, Life, Devouring—all these Profound Truths. Can you only fuse with the Origin of a Profound Truth by purely retaining just one? You... how do you plan to choose?"

Shi Yan looked helpless. "I don't know how to choose yet. For now... I haven't thought it through clearly. I want to keep looking, to find another way, to see if I can fuse with an Origin of a Profound Truth while still retaining those other Profound Truths."

"The Devourer will be here soon," Ziyao frowned tightly, her expression grave. "From what I know of him, his true strength upon arrival won't be inferior to mine. After recovering these past few days, the immense slaughter he committed using the Devouring Profound Truth has allowed his power to recover faster than mine..."

"Let's stall him, stall until my main body arrives," Shi Yan said in a deep voice.

The two said no more, guarding the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth, awaiting the Devourer’s arrival.

Shi Yan's clone focused his mind, using a wisp of his soul to attempt to probe deep into the abyssal black hole of devouring, wanting to see the mysteries within.

An incredibly terrifying suction force emanated from within the black hole of devouring. Sentiments of deathly stillness, destruction, despair, and fear suddenly surged into his mind. This clone's soul was like a tiny boat on a violent sea, rocking fiercely, threatening to be pulled into the black hole.

He was startled and dared not probe further, observing only from a distance.

The black hole of devouring spun madly like a vortex of darkness. The eight islands, representing the Eight Great Evil Forces, were spread out, guarding the Origin of Devouring in an octagonal formation, somewhat similar to the arrangement within his main body's soul altar, yet not entirely the same—it seemed to conform to some profound and marvelous philosophy of heaven and earth.

Between the clone and the main body, regardless of the distance separating them, the souls maintained a direct connection.

What the clone saw and thought, bypassing the limits of time and space, was instantly reflected in the main body's mind. At this moment, Shi Yan’s main body, speeding along, clearly saw that dark black hole of devouring through the clone, able to discern the Eight Great Evil Force Islands in detail.

A subtle flicker of thought from the clone instantly transmitted to the main body’s mind, suddenly giving the main body an idea—to try altering the arrangement of the Eight Great Evil Forces and the main Profound Truth to match the form of the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth!

With a thought, his soul altar rippled with mysterious soul waves. Pure intent, released from the energy of his Sea of Consciousness, entered the Profound Truth Layer.

In the Profound Truth Layer resided the Profound Truths of Life, Star, Space, and so on. The Devouring Profound Truth hung high above, and the eight islands corresponding to the Eight Great Evil Forces were situated beneath the black-hole-like Devouring Profound Truth—an arrangement of above and below, with Devouring above and the Eight Great Evil Forces below.

This was clearly different from what the clone had observed.

The scene the clone witnessed showed the Eight Great Evil Force Islands tightly encircling the Devouring Profound Truth, forming a single, interconnected entity. The wondrous way they communicated and linked suggested a rule more inherent to this evil Profound Truth...

With that thought, the islands corresponding to Soul Command, Death, Despair, and Darkness, representing the imprints of Profound Truths, slowly floated out, hovering near the black hole of devouring. As his clone diligently examined the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth, the main body began to learn, meticulously copying the pattern.

Gradually, the islands representing his Eight Great Evil Forces completely mirrored the structural rules of the Origin of the Devouring Profound Truth, encircling the black hole of devouring.

"Boom!"

An extremely intense soul tremor resonated from the Devouring Profound Truth and the imprints of the Eight Great Evil Forces. Instantly, the Devouring Profound Truth and the Eight Great Evil Forces fused as one, becoming an interconnected Profound Truth—with Devouring as the core, and the Eight Great Evil Forces as supporting elements. This, fundamentally, was a single Profound Truth!

Enlightenment suddenly flooded his mind. Many obscure and difficult aspects of the Devouring Profound Truth and the Eight Great Evil Forces, many perplexing problems regarding Profound Truths that had always troubled him, were suddenly cleared up. The connections, mutual assistance, and interdependence between the Devouring Profound Truth and the Eight Great Evil Forces became perfectly lucid.

While en route, the main body’s understanding of the Profound Truths of Devouring and the Eight Great Evil Forces had sublimated, rising to an entirely new level of comprehension!

All of this was solely because his clone had reached the Origin of Devouring first, studied the form of the black hole of devouring and the Eight Great Evil Forces, and constructed them through the soul. Merely by mimicking that Origin of Devouring, he had gained ineffable wonder, elevating his comprehension of the Profound Truths to a new realm.

When one law is understood, all laws become clearer!

His wisdom seemed unleashed, and he suddenly conceived of many brilliant ideas, finding a completely new path out of the deadlock!

If he imprinted different Profound Truths—Life, Star, Space, Devouring—onto different clones, with each clone retaining only a single Profound Truth, in the purest possible form, could he, like Mei Ji, gain the qualification to fuse with an Origin of a Profound Truth?

As this thought arose, his soul felt as if a door had opened, and he was overcome with excitement.

The problem that had plagued him seemed suddenly resolved. His soul trembled, filled with an urgent desire to try it out.

The clones he condensed were formed from his own Primordial Blood, using split portions of his soul as their minds. If he could also transfer part of his Sea of Consciousness and Soul Power, then the clone... would be almost indistinguishable from the main body. If there was any difference, it was merely that one was stronger and the other weaker.

Essentially, they were one person!

Could this method succeed in obtaining the Origin of a Profound Truth?

The moment this door opened, he suddenly saw hope, feeling a very high probability of success, and his entire being filled with delight.

The various clones drew closer to each other, advancing toward the same goal.

"Shhh!"

A clone suddenly arrived from the distance, settling down right next to his main body, shoulder to shoulder, heading towards the Origin of Devouring together.

The two Shi Yans simultaneously turned their heads, facing each other. The main body's eyes shimmered with a deep, mysterious dark light.

The island formations composed of the Devouring Profound Truth and the Eight Great Evil Forces suddenly flew out of the main body's mind, carrying a section of the Sea of Consciousness and Soul Power, settling down into the clone's mind.

It was incredibly marvelous; without the slightest hesitation or blockage, the Devouring Profound Truth and the imprints of the Eight Great Evil Forces settled directly into the clone's mind, fitting together seamlessly!

Shi Yan’s spirit was greatly boosted. When he actually put it to the test, he found the process astonishingly smooth!

"Opening a door, opening the acupoints, acupoints..."

Thinking along these lines, his clone’s acupoints suddenly emitted a strange fluctuation. As this fluctuation occurred, both Shi Yan’s main body and the clone trembled violently.

He experienced an indescribable, wondrous sensation!

The clone's acupoints, together with the main body's acupoints, resonated, and even the main body’s Domain Realm was replicated in a phantom form, slowly taking shape within the clone's mind.

The shared Sea of Consciousness, a portion of the Soul Power, the Profound Truth Layer centered on Devouring and the Eight Great Evil Forces, the illusory Domain Realm above the Profound Truth Layer, and a portion of the split soul above that...

What difference was there from the main body?

It was another him!

"Hahahaha!" The main body and the clone suddenly burst into simultaneous laughter, filled with excitement and joy. He was eighty percent confident that the method he found would work, that he could truly fuse with an Origin of a Profound Truth!

...RQ