Although Ye Jingyu didn't know why the Eye of Reincarnation was showing him those strange visions at this moment, he felt they were intensely real, that they were likely to happen. He could not just die so easily; he absolutely could not perish like this...
He fought to control the surge of the two extreme energies, trying to rein them in, but they were simply too powerful, far beyond his capacity to command...
With a deafening BOOM, Ye Jingyu felt his mind go utterly blank, as if something vital had shattered within. A moment later, his head spun violently, and he completely lost consciousness, his body instantly consumed by a brilliant light...
Yet, those two energies relentlessly cleansed his flesh, subjecting his body to a continuous cycle of destruction and reorganization amidst the tempest...
Flesh undying, spirit undiminished...
At the epicenter of the dual energy explosion, two streams of light—one black, one white—continued to spread outwards, neither power able to suppress the other, clashing ceaselessly...
Eventually, the two forces began to orbit a minute central point. As they spun, more and more energy erupted, appearing from a distance like a perfect Taiji symbol...
The entire void became saturated with this energy. Everyone was enveloped by the light—Ye Jingyu, Xiao Taotao, Ni Bo, the three Demon Lords who had miraculously survived, and even the myriad beings of the Nine Provinces hidden deep within the void...
It was as if the world was being forged anew, at the dawn of creation...
Time ticked by, and after an indeterminate period, Ye Jingyu regained consciousness. He felt an agonizing, explosive pain in his head, as if it might burst at any second. He tried to open his eyes but found himself completely without strength.
What had happened to me? Am I dead? No, if I were dead, how could I still possess sensation, still feel pain? I must not be dead, but where am I now?
Ye Jingyu forced himself to calm down, dredging up everything he could recall. It felt like a cataclysmic destruction had occurred. He wondered if the myriad beings of the Nine Provinces, hidden away by the Old Dragon, had managed to escape such a calamity...
Recalling the visions granted by the Eye of Reincarnation just before the energy consumed him, Ye Jingyu felt those events must have been true. If so, they should be safe...
Slowly settling these thoughts, he remained still, sensing the faint, returning trickle of strength within him. After what felt like ages, when the searing pain in his head had subsided and the crushing weakness in his body had lessened, he slowly opened his eyes...
The surroundings were still pitch black, the air scarce and heavy. He extended his divine sense to probe the area and was instantly startled: he... he was buried underground...
What in the world? How did I end up buried in the dirt? Did I actually die and someone buried me?
But that didn't make sense. The mortal realm had been utterly destroyed, and the lands of the Nine Provinces were gone—who could possibly have buried him?
His colossal divine sense swept over his body again, and his expression shifted dramatically. The reason was simple: he discovered that his physical body had undergone a fundamental, earth-shattering transformation.
With his current divine sense, he couldn't even gauge the true extent of his body's new power. If his previous body was iron, his current one was steel—refined, tempered steel, hardened countless times over?
What happened? Why did my body suddenly become so strong? Ye Jingyu desperately dredged up the memories of the moments before he lost consciousness. Could it have been those two energies?
He could clearly feel that he still only possessed the five Golden Cores, yet his inherent power had increased by more than double. He didn't even know what realm he had attained now...
Feeling the stifling environment around him, Ye Jingyu suddenly lashed out with a punch upwards...
With a resounding CRASH, the soil above him disintegrated, and Ye Jingyu shot out of his confinement...
Immediately, his eyes stung, forcing them shut involuntarily, but he felt a warm sensation—the feeling of sunlight warming his skin.
Slowly opening his eyes, he gradually acclimated to the long-absent sunlight...
As his vision cleared, he finally took in his current surroundings...
He was on a small hillside dotted with a thick grove of trees, from which small animals occasionally darted out. A sweep of his divine sense caused his expression to change drastically: these creatures all possessed incredibly potent inner energy...
It was then he realized the surrounding spiritual energy was frighteningly dense. Under such an abundance of Qi, even the weakest little rabbit, given enough time, could likely awaken its sentience and transform into a demon.
Looking down the slope, he saw a vast plain stretching out below, upon which an enormous city had been built. The city was immense, dwarfing even the grandest Storm City Ye Jingyu had ever witnessed...
Where was this place? Could it be the Nine Provinces? But the Nine Provinces never had spiritual energy this abundant, nor a city of this scale? Was he dreaming? Or had he transmigrated again?
Puzzled beyond measure, he set his feet in motion, heading toward the city. He had to see what this place truly was!
Ye Jingyu soon arrived at the city gates. Finding no soldiers guarding the entrance, he walked smoothly into the metropolis. The environment looked much like the other cities he had seen.
There were shops, taverns, and inns, all present and accounted for. The only significant difference was the populace walking the streets; under his vast divine sense, the physique of every person was vastly superior to the ordinary folk in his memory—the weakest among them possessed the power equivalent to a Grandmaster from the Nine Provinces...
How was this possible? Had he really transmigrated again?
Just as Ye Jingyu stood there, stunned, a loud shout suddenly echoed down the street, followed instantly by the sound of rapid hoofbeats. The common folk on the street scrambled desperately to the sides, and then he saw a richly dressed youth charging straight down the thoroughfare on a snow-white Dragon Horse, shouting as he sped along: "Make way! Make way!"
Trailing behind him was a squadron of Golden Armored Warriors...
The Dragon Horse was moving at incredible speed, arriving before Ye Jingyu in an instant...