Lu Wu was even less patient than Ye Yang: “Didn’t you just say this child was conceived entirely by you? What does he have to do with it?”
A flash of murderous intent flickered in Bai Hu’s eyes. “No one asked for your opinion here.” As he spoke, he suddenly struck. Without any visible movement, the tar emerged from behind the three of them, and a single wave slammed both Lu Wu and Ye Yang into the vast expanse of tar.
Ye Yang: … Speechless. What did this have to do with him? Why did he get knocked down too?
Lu Wu was spun around several times by the wave before finally landing half-crouched. He was immediately tightly bound by the tar—whatever it really was—and couldn’t move.
Ye Yang, however, felt something was different. He could move freely within the tar. Through his scales, he secretly sent Shen Ming a message not to act rashly. Carefully, he moved behind Lu Wu, using Lu Wu’s body to completely conceal himself as he did something stealthily.
Shen Ming’s first instinct was to go down and rescue them. But Ye Yang’s timely telepathic message stayed his hand. Though anxious, he chose to trust Ye Yang.
Bai Hu didn’t even look at them. He just snorted. “Allowing you to stand before me is already my mercy. You look much better like this.” Only then did he turn his attention back to Shen Ming.
“This child will be the foundation of the new realm. But he is still missing a bit of ancient water energy.”
In Bai Hu’s plan, he should have been able to absorb Shen Ming’s power during the Divine War itself. Unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated that the Heavenly Emperor would rather sacrifice himself than let Shen Ming die.
This had delayed Bai Hu’s plan by an immeasurable amount of time.
Shen Ming glanced imperceptibly at the tar behind Bai Hu, then asked him, “Haven’t you already opened the new realm? What use is this child?”
Bai Hu had spent several eons brewing this cataclysmic transformation, guarding the secret closely all the while. Now, with only the final step remaining, even a sage might feel a bit smug.
Aside from the two insignificant pawns already trapped, the only one still standing before him, Shen Ming, was no match for him at all. And on his own turf. Finally, he could no longer resist boasting about his achievements.
“The new realm isn’t stable enough yet. This child is the cornerstone. Without her, there is no new realm.”
Shen Ming’s heart stirred. It sounded like there was still a chance.
But Bai Hu’s next words dashed his hope: “None of you probably know this, but once a new realm is opened, it will operate on its own. This process is irreversible. But with this child, I can fully control the new realm.”
For now, he could only take advantage of the new realm’s newborn state to crudely direct it to devour the Underworld and grow rapidly. But once the new realm reached a certain critical point, he would lose control. As formidable as he looked right now, he could barely command the tar below him or the black fog behind him. He even had to constantly concentrate to resist being counterattacked by those lowly forces. This child was his preparation for regaining control over the new realm in the future.
It was just a pity that he wasn’t naturally female. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need this child to complete himself.
Of course, Bai Hu wouldn’t tell anyone this. He was going to be the new master of all creation. How could he have weaknesses or things he couldn’t do?
“Why… why are you doing all this?” Shen Ming’s question wasn’t just to buy time for Ye Yang. It was a genuine question from the depths of his heart.
“Why?” Bai Hu suddenly laughed. It wasn’t a cold laugh or a loud laugh, but an exasperated laugh, like that of an elder looking at a foolish junior. “I suppose you wouldn’t understand.”
Just as Shen Ming thought Bai Hu was about to reveal some hidden suffering, some desperate necessity, Bai Hu’s expression abruptly changed into an extremely arrogant, sinister grin. Anyone would have to admit—it was a textbook villain’s smile.
With that grin on his face, Bai Hu said, “Why does there need to be a reason? I want to be the master of heaven and earth. I hate the Heavenly Emperor. Oh, no, that’s not right. There is no Heavenly Emperor anymore. I personally—” His large hand clenched fiercely in the air. “I personally killed him.”
“He was incompetent. He listened to the wrong people and ignored the right ones. Look at what the upper realm had become under his leadership. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry could become a god! What gave them the right?!”
Shen Ming was caught off guard. Hearing such words from Bai Hu, of all beings, the one always known as the most just and fair… “You—are you possessed?” Unless an outer demon had taken over his mind, Shen Ming couldn’t think of any other reason for Bai Hu to truly believe such things.
But he couldn’t be mistaken. This thing before him, now infinitely close to being a monster, was Bai Hu.
Bai Hu turned slightly, no longer looking at Shen Ming. His eyes fixed on the depths of the tar, on the boundary between the two realms. “You probably don’t know this, but the upper realm was destined to perish anyway.”
Shen Ming, of course, didn’t believe him. Bai Hu continued on his own: “You were all deceived by the Heavenly Emperor. No one noticed except me! Or maybe you just didn’t want to notice—all the changes in the upper realm.”
“The Spirit Lotus used to bloom once every hundred years. Then it became three hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years. Newly born gods grew weaker and weaker. The distance between the upper realm and the lower realms grew closer and closer…”
As Bai Hu listed more and more examples, Shen Ming’s expression began to shift.
“The upper realm was on the path to destruction. I discovered it. But the Heavenly Emperor told me I couldn’t tell anyone. He treated my suggestions like dirt and punished me by sending me to guard the sky curtain!”
Shen Ming remembered that incident. Bai Hu had been punished suddenly, and no one knew why. Could it be… that everything he was saying was true?
“…At first, I tried to find another way. But there really was no other way! The upper realm was already dying on its own. I only accelerated the process! Those living beings who were destined to perish along with the upper realm—I extracted their power and used it for the new realm. That way, nothing went to waste!”
Shen Ming’s expression sharpened. “If what you say is true, then wouldn’t the new realm be destined to perish as well?”
“No,” Bai Hu stroked his belly, his expression eerie. “Not with this child.”
There was still no movement from within the tar. Suppressing his anxiety, Shen Ming continued to engage Bai Hu. “And what about this child?”
Bai Hu shot a sideways glance at Shen Ming, then suddenly struck—
“!” Shen Ming hadn’t even seen when he made his move. He was instantly pinned down by an overwhelming force, falling to one knee. The ground beneath his knee cracked in layers, quickly filling with tar.
Bai Hu was pleased with his own power. He stepped forward and contemptuously patted Shen Ming’s head. “Hmph, I know what you’re trying to do. But at this point, there’s nothing I can’t say.”
Under the immense pressure, Shen Ming struggled to lift his head. His voice was strained but persistent. “Then… go ahead… tell me… ah.”
“Still able to talk?” Bai Hu raised his hand, and the pressure on Shen Ming intensified several times over. His entire body sank inch by inch until only his head remained above the surface.
Within the tar was a powerful suction force, constantly draining Shen Ming’s divine power. If nothing was done, soon—perhaps just a few hours—he would lose all his divine power.
As he thought this, the suction within the tar slowly increased. Shen Ming’s heart sank. At this rate, he might only have half an hour.
He couldn’t even move his scales now, and had no way of sensing Ye Yang’s condition. But still, he didn’t struggle, as if he were truly out of options.
With Shen Ming down, Bai Hu was satisfied. He pretended to be concerned. “Oh dear, I almost forgot. I haven’t answered your question yet.”
“Come to think of it, this child really took a lot of effort. Six thousand years. A full six thousand years!”
Bai Hu had probably been skulking around and scheming in secret for so long that he was stifled, and his mind wasn’t quite right anymore. His speech was erratic and jumpy.
“This child is not only the cornerstone but also the future!”
“With her, my new realm will last forever!”
Shen Ming wanted to say more, but in just those few seconds, he had already been suppressed to the point where he couldn’t speak.
·
While Bai Hu and Shen Ming were talking, Ye Yang was secretly swimming through the tar.
This tar was a product of the fusion between the two realms. In order to open a perfect new realm, Bai Hu had been waiting for Shen Ming’s power. The moment this tar came into contact with Xuan Wu’s power, it would absorb it wildly. Ye Yang carried Xuan Wu’s power within him, so he should have been drained dry immediately. But at the same time, he also had his own energy.
His innate ability, upon encountering this tar, rapidly evolved. That healing power of his was originally without attribute, able to accommodate all different kinds of spiritual and demonic energy. And within the tar was a convergence of all the energy Bai Hu had plundered.
Human, demon, divine, ghost… All kinds of power were wrapped in the tar but couldn’t fuse together—until this oddball, Ye Yang, fell in too.
The moment he entered the tar, Ye Yang’s innate ability began to operate automatically. The complex energy within the tar constantly intertwined and exchanged with his own energy, inexplicably transforming into power he could use.
This tar was too strange, and the situation was also very strange. Ye Yang didn’t dare to recklessly use this energy. Even though the situation was urgent, he had to spend some time studying it first.
Fortunately, he quickly discovered that the divine power Shen Ming had left on him was playing a crucial role.
Bai Hu had long coveted Xuan Wu’s power precisely because Xuan Wu’s power was the most primitive, original water power from the dawn of chaos. Water was the source of life. A true new realm absolutely could not lack this power.
And Ye Yang—his mutated special ability was an accident.
His ability could unlock potential. At first, he could only unlock the potential of living beings, and to a very limited extent. But now, through trial and error, he could directly unlock primal power!
Ye Yang didn’t really understand exactly how it worked. But one thing was clear: if he tried hard enough, he could turn the entire tar into his own power!
He didn’t even need to worry about the spiritual energy required for the conversion process. Wasn’t it everywhere in the tar?
Once he understood the key, Ye Yang sprang into action.
At first, he didn’t dare make too much noise and moved carefully. But unexpectedly, not only was he moving, but the various kinds of spiritual energy within the tar, upon contacting the energy he released, actively surged toward him.
Beneath the calm surface of the tar, an earth-shattering transformation was taking place.
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