Amidst the vast Sea of Chaos, Ji Changkong strode toward the Heart of the Universe, accompanied by Ling Meng, Zi Han, and Osuojin. He remained entirely composed, conversing pleasantly with the three of them.
However, within the Tianyuan Pearl, an eerie transformation was taking place.
The Sky Soul and the Tianyuan Pearl, connected through the Celestial Eye, had merged with the complete Requiem of Souls. His understanding of the Tianyuan Pearl now surpassed that of the High Priest Ouro; the very essence of cosmic power was laid bare before him. What he lacked now was merely sufficient strength—a monumental force capable of facilitating his final evolution!
The Tianyuan Pearl had morphed into the Celestial Eye within his body, an eye capable of illuminating the minutiae of every cosmic corner. With the Sky Soul as the core and the Celestial Eye as the instrument, his divine soul was no longer constrained by space or time!
Ji Changkong’s divine soul suddenly bifurcated into eleven streams, soaring and exploring the furthest reaches within the boundless expanse carved out by the Tianyuan Pearl.
After an indeterminate span of time, one of these eleven streams reached an extremely distant region of the Tianyuan Pearl. In that area, this specific divine soul slowly burrowed into a massive vortex existing within the void.
The remaining ten streams of divine soul, after their long journeys, also located their targets and entered the vortex in that faraway region.
The Tianyuan Pearl suddenly blazed to life. Within his body, the Celestial Eye snapped open, projecting eleven distinct spatial visions.
Advancing toward the Heart of the Universe, toward the source of the Sea of Chaos, Ji Changkong’s expression remained serene; he continued conversing with Zi Han, Ling Meng, and Osuojin.
Yet, across the boundless cosmos, eleven miraculous spaces were undergoing profound and mysterious events.
These eleven miraculous spaces did not belong to the same stellar domain, nor even the same universe!
On an abandoned star, a group of humans still clad in animal hides remained ignorant of the infinite mysteries of cosmic power.
However, beneath the seabed of a dark, deep ocean on this very star lay a colossal skeleton, one so vast it nearly filled the entire deep sea!
At the bottom of the deep ocean, the spectral image of Ji Changkong’s divine soul suddenly materialized. A smile touched his lips as he murmured, "Finally, I have found its remains. This is the first location."
A single eye opened within the center of Ji Changkong’s divine soul projection—this was the true form of the transformed Tianyuan Pearl.
The third eye opened, casting a dazzling beam of light that illuminated the immense skeleton. The bones suddenly glowed, shrinking slowly until they attained a miniature form.
Light flickered erratically within the third eye, and a gigantic vortex manifested on the deep-sea floor.
The shrunken skeleton, seemingly pulled by some inherent force, lifted from the seabed and slowly entered the vortex.
As the remains vanished into the vortex, Ji Changkong’s phantom form offered a slight smile and said calmly, "The first item."
The Dead Star Domain, territory of the Sacred Beast Clan.
Most of the Sacred Beasts were absent. The Qilin and the Azure Dragon were currently negotiating a truce agreement in the domain of the Ancient Demonic Dragon.
Upon a colossal mountain constructed entirely of fossilized bones within the Sacred Beast Clan’s territory, the bones were bound together by thick, incredibly resilient sinews. This Bone Mountain served as the sacred ground of the clan; the bones of every fallen Sacred Beast were placed here, following their tradition.
On this day, in one corner of this Bone Mountain, the phantom form of Ji Changkong slowly coalesced. His third eye opened, shining upon the massive structure of bone.
Among the numerous sinews intertwining the bones, one massive, crystal-clear tendon, as thick as a forearm, suddenly erupted in a brilliant, dazzling radiance.
A vast vortex suddenly appeared, and a strange force entangled that great tendon, forcibly yanking it into the swirling mass.
From a distance, Sacred Beast Clan members, perceiving the upheaval of heaven and earth, rapidly gathered.
Among them was the Vermilion Bird!
"Ji Changkong!" the Vermilion Bird cried out, flames surging around its body, shocked. "What are you doing?"
"Taking something small," Ji Changkong’s projection smiled faintly. Before the Vermilion Bird could approach, he pulled the tendon into the vortex, then said, "Farewell, Vermilion Bird. Rest assured, I will not do anything detrimental to you. I am taking its tendon; please send my regards to the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise."
With those words, Ji Changkong’s projection vanished into thin air.
"He has cultivated the Sky Soul! The upper and lower volumes of the Requiem of Souls have merged!" The Sacred Beast Heavenly Serpent arrived, its enormous body dragging along the ground, and exclaimed in sudden alarm.
Every Sacred Beast aware of the ancient secrets displayed expressions of sheer terror in their eyes.
"Let us hope he can control its power," the Heavenly Serpent sighed heavily. "Otherwise, we must prepare to flee this universe once more; the Great Destruction will occur again."
"It is all our fault," the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird lamented regretfully. "We should never have spared his life."
"It has nothing to do with you," the Heavenly Serpent replied helplessly. "What is destined to happen will happen eventually. Even if it wasn't him, someone else would have obtained that power; it was predetermined."
"We must summon the Qilin back," the Golden Crow, radiating like the sun, stated immediately after descending. "The world is about to undergo a massive change; we must prepare ahead of time."
"Yes,"
"Golden Crow, you must travel quickly to the Ancient Demonic Dragon’s territory, find the Qilin, explain the situation here, and instruct him to return immediately!" the Heavenly Serpent commanded.
"Understood." The Golden Crow transformed into a streak of firelight and vanished in an instant.
In another universe.
A race of long-eared beings known as the Tiyans had fallen into decline over many years. This was because no one among them could cultivate and comprehend the profound divine arts inherited from their ancestors.
They had inscribed these ancestral divine mysteries into an Ancient God Temple, where any Tiyan youth could meditate upon them. Tragically, tens of thousands of years had passed without a single soul grasping the true meaning of those profound arts.
On this day, within the Ancient God Temple, the phantom form of Ji Changkong slowly materialized.
A group of Tiyans watched in horror, their expressions shifting drastically, and they began shouting and attacking.
However, no matter how fierce the Tiyans’ assault, it could not harm Ji Changkong in the slightest. Without wasting words on the Tiyans, Ji Changkong opened his third eye upon arriving, shining it upon the strange characters inscribed on the Ancient God Temple, absorbing the ancient Chaos Mysteries carved there into his mind.
Only after all the profound arts on the Ancient God Temple were fully imprinted in his memory did Ji Changkong smile faintly. "I shall tell you the true method for cultivating this Chaos Mystery as compensation for you."
As he spoke, a strange beam of light shot from his third eye, illuminating the head of a cute little girl among the Tiyans, who appeared to be no more than ten years old.
The little girl froze. Symbols rapidly scrolled across her eyes, and her expression fluctuated constantly. Eventually, she clutched her head, unable to suppress a burst of tears.
The process was brief. Ji Changkong withdrew his gaze and smiled. "Meditate well on this. If you comprehend what I have given you, your Tiyan Clan will become the most powerful race on this continent." With those words, Ji Changkong’s phantom form disappeared.
Three hundred years later, a woman named Fang Ni from the Tiyan Clan emerged from seclusion, swept across the entire continent, and became the supreme goddess of that land. Her rule persisted for ten thousand years.
Yet another universe.
Before a black hole in a boundless galaxy, a beam of intense light suddenly flashed. The light slowly condensed, transforming into another manifestation of Ji Changkong.
He reached into the black hole and, after a moment, pulled out a stone radiating intense evil energy. The stone was covered in ancient symbols that rotated slowly, seemingly possessing the power to bewitch the mind.
"Another Chaos Mystery," Ji Changkong smiled slightly. He opened his third eye, absorbing all the symbols on the stone into his mind, then casually tossed the stone away.
The stone drifted through the void, and after several centuries, it turned into a meteor that plunged into a small star.
Ten thousand years later, on this small star, a peculiar sect named the ‘Evil Heart Source Sect’ was born. Experts emerging from this sect practiced terrifying, malevolent power, being utterly ruthless and bloodthirsty. That stone Ji Changkong had carelessly discarded became the sect’s most treasured artifact.
At the same time, similar events continued to unfold across various stellar domains in different universes.
Ji Changkong’s divine soul avatars traversed time and space, appearing in various secluded, extraordinary locations. There, they systematically collected the scattered artifacts belonging to It, gathering the Chaos Mysteries directly inherited from It back into their minds.
The fusion of the upper and lower volumes of the Requiem of Souls formed the Sky Soul, which was the final Chaos Mystery It had formed. Containing the imprints of the other Chaos Mysteries, this allowed Ji Changkong, through its eye, to locate the remaining Chaos Mysteries and the organs of It scattered across the various star fields.
The strange vortices within the Tianyuan Pearl were keys connecting to countless universes. Everything seemed predestined; all he had to do was follow the prompt in his heart and return the scattered pieces to their proper place.
The Sky Soul, the Myriad Heavens Star River Art, Primordial Unity (Hun Yuan), and Spirit Mobility (Ling Dong)—he already possessed four Chaos Mysteries. The remaining five Chaos Mysteries were also gathered one by one.
The Essence Blood of the Purgatory Ghost Race, the Tianyuan Pearl, the Plague Demon—these were artifacts belonging to It. Ji Changkong already held three, lacking only six more to fully reassemble It. Utilizing the vortices within the Tianyuan Pearl that connected to all realms, his Sky Soul transcended space, entering various star fields to collect these items.
The eleven streams of divine soul pursued five Chaos Mysteries and six artifacts belonging to It, locking onto targets across various universes and drawing everything back into the Tianyuan Pearl.
While smiling and conversing with Zi Han and Ling Meng, his soul had split into eleven streams, completing the task without their knowledge. As the fragmented artifacts and Chaos Mysteries were reassembled, the Tianyuan Pearl slowly began to change once more.
The artifacts were being cleansed and purified within the Tianyuan Pearl, absorbing the latent energy within to refine and transform.
The Chaos Mysteries poured into the Seven-Colored Soul Imprint, undergoing fusion once more within the Sea of Souls, aided by the wondrous synergistic effect between the Great Void (Tai Xu) and the Calculus (Jia Lu).
Everything was proceeding methodically.