The struggles among the Primordial Beings were the most savage and cruel; it was the law of the beast’s kill-or-be-killed, tooth against tooth, claw against claw, flesh colliding with flesh!
The beings of this era rarely encountered Primordials, having never experienced that bloody age, and thus could not imagine the brutality and gore of those battles. Therefore, watching Shi Yan transform into his Primordial form, using sharp teeth to gnaw at Yuan’s muscle and swallow his fresh blood, utterly stunned them all.
Their minds trembled with fright.
Only Huang took it as nothing of consequence; in his eyes, a true battle between Primordials should unfold this way!
“Aoooah!”
Yuan’s screams of bone-deep agony grated on the ears, making scalps tingle. Those thick rivers of blood, the primordial essence blood, contained surging, miraculous power.
That power allowed the physical bodies of Primordials to transmute, filling the deficiencies of their ongoing evolution!
In fact, the physical evolution of Primordials like Yuan, Huang, Hui, and Shi () was not as advanced in the very early days as it was now. They too had achieved their current terrifying state by advancing through realms and growing in power, by absorbing and fusing the essence blood of other beings, gradually transforming their flesh, tempering their tendons, veins, bones, and skeletons.
They were nearly reaching the absolute zenith of biological evolution!
“Gulp! Gulp!”
Shi Yan, in his transformed Primordial body, grinned and madly devoured the essence blood flowing from Yuan. As the essence blood sank into his belly and merged with his own circulation, it seemed to be perfecting his cells, fibers, marrow, and physical flaws, propelling him toward a higher level of existence.
Ancient legends spoke of a being powerful enough to fuse the essence blood of all Primordial Beings—such a one could coalesce into the true appearance of the Primal One!
To manifest in the ultimate, perfect form of the Primordial!
Alas, no one had ever succeeded. Huang had once held the greatest hope of achieving this, but he was forced into a long slumber after being jointly pressured by Hui and Shi (), ultimately failing his endeavor.
As he swallowed the thick essence blood laced with strands of muscle and tendon, Shi Yan’s body showed extremely noticeable changes. The blade-mountain-like spikes on him actually grew longer by another segment, their tips eerie and sharp enough to cleave heaven and earth.
He had originally been hidden deep within the origin of Space Mystery, slowly integrating the origin essence, completely immersed in the process. He hadn't noticed the arrival of Huang and Soron. Only when the two began their desperate struggle did he vaguely perceive it, yet he remained unconcerned, continuing to focus all his efforts on fusing the Origin of Space.
When Huang shattered the Space Mirror and Yuan’s body was battered by the Huang Continent and fell, Shi Yan instantly awoke.
He realized this was an unmatchable opportunity!
Yuan, whose soul altar was currently imprisoned by Soron, had been forced onto the defensive with only his shell, suffering successive attacks until grievously wounded. When he fell, he was in the weakest state, dizzy and disoriented. This was because, due to the restraint on his soul, he could not fully manifest his Mysteries.
This presented Shi Yan with an opening. He instantly stopped integrating the Origin of Space Mystery, condensed his Primordial form, and launched a sneak attack from below, piercing Yuan’s abdomen!
Yuan’s abdomen was the softest and most vulnerable part of his body. Caught completely off guard, he was pierced in one blow, and blood immediately erupted.
Exposed defenselessly before him, Yuan was like a feast for the gluttonous beast, allowing Shi Yan to tear and devour to his heart’s content!
Naturally, Shi Yan showed no mercy and began gorging himself. Although Yuan shrieked miserably, because his soul altar was pinned, he could not fully manifest his Mysteries and was unable to shake Shi Yan off.
Huang then summoned the Huang Continent again, instantly blasting apart the fractured Space Mirror. The pieces of the mirror, which shared a subtle connection with him, all transformed into sharp blades that stabbed into Yuan’s main body, leaving Yuan bloody and mangled, tearing open even more wounds and causing more primordial essence blood to flow.
“Soul Release!”
Seeing the situation turn dire, Soron’s expression changed drastically. He reformed his Mystery Talismans and forcefully pressed them toward Yuan’s vital soul.
“Shhhrrrriiiip!”
Like invisible ropes snapping, the restrictions binding Yuan instantly vanished.
“Shi Yan! I will eat your flesh raw! I will chew you into bits and swallow you!”
Yuan’s roar echoed across the rolling heavens and earth. He struggled violently, and the river of blood flowing from him reversed course, pouring back into his body. Amidst the sound of surging ocean waves, an immensely heavy force erupted from within him. Drops of water, clear as pristine lakes, rained down, causing Shi Yan’s main body to suddenly plummet.
He had finally escaped Shi Yan’s bloody consumption.
“Thank you both.”
Shi Yan, his mouth smeared with blood and looking terrifyingly savage, chuckled wickedly before sinking downward, deliberately creating distance between himself and Yuan.
Soron’s expression grew grave. He watched Shi Yan while rapidly flipping through pages with one hand, trying to locate Shi Yan’s vital soul and the corresponding thread of fate. Unfortunately, despite searching diligently, even at such close range, he could not lock onto Shi Yan’s thread of fate. He lowered his gaze.
His tone held a strange quality: “I am truly curious, where exactly did you come from?”
“I want you dead!”
Yuan was now frenzied, roaring as he prepared to charge down and annihilate Shi Yan.
“I advise you to control your dog. I believe we should work together to deal with Huang first. He is capable of killing us all; you should have just experienced his might,” Shi Yan sneered, looking up at the remaining unbroken Space Mirror, his soul suddenly moving.
“Boom!”
The mirror beneath everyone’s feet shattered completely like a sheet of glass, sending countless fragments flying out.
Innumerable spatial fragments formed billions of blades, all hacking toward Huang. Simultaneously, Shi Yan roared: “Soron! If you want to live, fight Huang with me first! Once he is dead, you and I can settle our scores at leisure!”
Soron’s face was calm. He took a deep breath and commanded: “That is exactly my intention!”
Having initially targeted Shi Yan as his primary kill objective, Soron changed his mind after witnessing Huang’s horror, turning his sharpest point toward Huang!
This was because he sensed nothing within Shi Yan’s current body that posed an existential threat capable of scattering his soul. Furthermore, he believed Shi Yan’s devouring avatar had already been refined and absorbed by Shi ().
He personally felt that Huang, at this moment, posed a far greater threat than Shi Yan. If they could cooperatively kill Huang, he was confident that with Yuan, Hantian, Youyu, and the others, along with his own true strength, they would be capable of wiping Shi Yan out!
“Reform and attack Huang!” Soron roared.
Youyu, Hantian, Rupert, Mantis, Dracula, and the others, constrained by the bound soul altar and having no choice, looked up and charged again, burning their life souls, unleashing all their potential in a suicidal assault against Huang’s main body.
This time, they had the myriad spatial fragments leading the charge—the sharpest weapons in the world!
And Yuan, forcibly compelled, had to redirect his attack and tangle with them, rushing toward Huang!
Poor Yuan, after having his flesh gnawed by Shi Yan, not only couldn't exact revenge but was also held in check by Soron, forced to cooperate with Shi Yan to attack Huang.
“Hahahaha! A wise man indeed! Soron is worthy of his name!” Shi Yan laughed heartily.
“But your main body, which retained the Space Mystery, has not yet fully integrated the Origin of Space. Do you truly think you can play the decisive, game-changing role?”
Huang’s expression was icy and cold. He watched the incoming torrent of Mysteries, attacks, spells, and beams, appearing utterly unmoved and fearless.
“To kill me, this level of power is still insufficient!”