“Xiangxiang?” A thought was transmitted. Literary Network

“Aiyaya?”

The little creature woke as if from a deep dream, turning its uā doubtfully. But instantly, it leaped up in fright from the terrifying power surging into its Spiritual Divine Acupoint. Strands of its life essence leaked from its body, extending like vines to every part of Nie Kong’s limbs and bones in the blink of an eye. “Aiyaya, aiyaya…”

Anxious cries rose one after another.

“Returning to the Primal State?”

In an instant, Nie Kong understood the meaning behind the little creature’s words and couldn't help but be stunned. This was a skill the little one had grasped just after advancing to the eighth rank, and in his past life’s Yao Mo (Demon/Monster) game, it was a powerful auxiliary skill exclusive to the Master class.

In Yao Mo, there was a boss second only to the “Purple Phantom Spirit Incense”—the “Snow Region Demon King.” Once its health dropped to thirty percent, it would unleash an area-of-effect skill called “Blizzard Collapse,” causing continuous health depletion for players for a full minute.

This was the lesser effect. More severely, it would also send players into a frenzy, causing them to wander aimlessly like headless flies for thirty seconds. This negative status could not be solved by other auxiliary skills of the Master class; only the high-level Master skill, “Returning to the Primal State,” could thoroughly dispel it.

When considering ways to resolve his current predicament, Nie Kong had indeed thought of this skill, though it was merely a fleeting thought, never deeply examined.

After all, he had no idea how long it would take for the little creature to awaken!

Furthermore, there was the uncertainty of whether the skills the little creature grasped would change after being manifested, and whether they would retain their previous effects. Most importantly, he had assumed that even if the little creature awoke, it would only have reached the seventh rank, whereas “Returning to the Primal State” was an eighth-rank Master skill.

What Nie Kong hadn't expected was that after absorbing the power of the Dragon Taming Grass, the little creature had managed to advance two full ranks, and “Returning to the Primal State” had not been lost.

This outcome was due to both luck and previous efforts.

If Nie Kong had not entered Dragon Island and found the Dragon Taming Grass in the Dragon Temple passage for the little one to absorb, it would never have advanced to the eighth rank, and without reaching the eighth rank, the skill “Returning to the Primal State” would naturally have never appeared. Even if Xiangxiang had awakened, she probably couldn’t have resolved his current abnormal condition.

Time was pressing, and Nie Kong couldn't dwell on his good fortune. He secretly mused, “Though nature itself cannot be moved, the power of Tai Yan is currently clashing and surging within my body, much like the frenzy status. And Xiangxiang’s grasped ‘Returning to the Primal State’ is a skill that returns one to their original, natural condition.”

“Perhaps this skill really will work!”

As the thought formed, Nie Kong painfully urged a speck of ‘Spirit Treasure Essence Qi’ from the corner of the Spiritual Divine Acupoint and integrated it into the little creature’s body. During this time, Nie Kong had been constantly trying to find a way to make his Spiritual Divine Acupoint and the Nine Great Nether Stars operate again; this small amount of Spirit Treasure Essence Qi was the result of his efforts.

The vast reserves of Spirit Treasure Essence Qi in his body were being forcefully displaced by the power of Tai Yan. Fortunately, this tiny amount of ‘Spirit Treasure Essence Qi’ had been compressed between a pair of small acupoints; otherwise, mobilizing them would have been impossible. Nie Kong had thought he might never get a chance to use them, never imagining they would be needed so soon.

“Aiyaya…”

Stimulated by the Spirit Treasure Essence Qi, the little creature cried out joyfully.

Moments later, the life essence the little creature had sent into Nie Kong’s body began to spin rapidly. Emerald-green vortices materialized throughout Nie Kong’s system. In the blink of an eye, their number reached several hundreds, and a marvelous force spun out from these vortices.

Affected by the power of the vortices, Nie Kong’s Spirit Treasure Essence Qi quickly began to stir. First around the Spiritual Divine Acupoint, then through the meridians…

Finally, even the divine power within the Nether Stars began to ripple slightly.

Several minutes later, when the emerald vortices dissipated, the condition within Nie Kong’s body became even stranger. The power of Tai Yan continued to pour in and flow out ceaselessly, but his own Spirit Treasure Essence Qi and divine power were no longer being squeezed out or compressed; instead, they flowed thread by thread within the acupoints, meridians, and Nether Stars.

However, the speed was significantly slower than before.

With a flicker of thought from Nie Kong, the forty-one stagnant Spiritual Divine Acupoints and the Nine Great Nether Stars trembled and flickered almost simultaneously. The Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art and the War God Star Seal actually began to circulate together. This change stirred great excitement in Nie Kong’s heart. He hadn't expected that one use of “Returning to the Primal State” would completely restore his body to its original state, given how overwhelming the power of Tai Yan was.

To have his Spirit Treasure Essence Qi and divine power resume their natural flow, as they did now, was already an unexpected delight for Nie Kong. As long as he could circulate these two spiritual arts, the Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art and the War God Star Seal, it provided a rare opportunity to break free from this cyclical entrapment.

“Aiyaya…”

Suddenly, the little creature’s cry sounded again.

“Fusion?”

Understanding Xiangxiang’s meaning, Nie Kong was first stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

The little creature seemed to be wildly overthinking things. Fusing with the power of Tai Yan—how could that be possible? Although his ‘Spirit Treasure Essence Qi’ possessed the strength of the Spirit Second Grade, compared to the terrifying power of Tai Yan, it was the difference between the depths of the earth and the heights of heaven; there was simply no basis for comparison.

After this brief amusement, Nie Kong couldn't help but ponder further.

Great Yan Spirit Venerable cultivated by absorbing the death qi of the Nether Earth to achieve Spiritual Divinity. To transition her main body and her avatar, she transferred the majority of her power into Tai Yan. Although Tai Yan was a Spiritual God Spirit, she only possessed power equivalent to a Spiritual God, not the true Spiritual Divinity of Great Yan Spirit Venerable.

Therefore, Tai Yan’s current power wasn't yet pure divine power, but should be considered Dark Origin Power. His Spirit Treasure Essence Qi, however, was formed by absorbing a bit of fire spirit element into wood spiritual power, which then condensed both vitality and death qi. Death qi was the extreme power achieved when dark spiritual energy reached its zenith.

Taking extreme power one step further leads to Origin Power.

Heaven and earth are naturally composed of life and death. His Spirit Treasure Essence Qi also converged the paths of life and death, making it one of the forces closest to the Origin of Heaven and Earth itself. Still, the Spirit Treasure Essence Qi was ultimately not Origin Power, separated by a vast gulf from true Origin Power. If it were the little creature’s life essence, perhaps it could truly fuse with Tai Yan’s Dark Origin Power, allowing his own Spirit Treasure Essence Qi to become complete Origin Power.

However, as the thought turned, Nie Kong hesitated.

What if he truly absorbed Tai Yan’s Dark Origin Power? Wouldn't she be left without any power to protect herself? If that were the only consequence, so be it. But what if losing this power caused her strength to regress so severely that she could no longer assume human form, or worse, the entire ‘Recalling Grass’ withered? That would be a massive problem!

…… ……RH