Chapter 212: Mental Metamorphosis
Inside a towering palace, within a quiet chamber.
Divine King Jiuyè revealed his true form—an enormous bird! Dense, ink-like mist surged from the feathers covering his body, and a stroke of blood-red marked the top of his head. His pair of icy eyes were half-closed, yet seemingly alert.
He had been born in a Primal Universe and entered the Origin Continent through the Reincarnation Passage.
In the Primal Universe, he was a special lifeform, born as a ferocious predatory bird! He delighted in devouring living beings… In that Primal Universe, he was a nightmare—wiping out one race after another.
Eventually, he became the most terrifying existence across the border regions surrounding that Primal Universe. All life within was consumed. After he passed through reincarnation, only then did the newly-born lifeforms of that region finally catch a breath.
However, upon arriving in the Origin Continent, his strength continued to rise. Later, he even gained control over his original home, the Primal Universe! His Divine Power Incarnations casually devoured all life.
"On the Origin Continent, I'm still not strong enough. I must endure," thought Divine King Jiuyè. He was born with a craving for devouring life, yet now could only ‘satisfy his appetite’ slightly within his own territory.
The children he raised on the Origin Continent carried extraordinary bloodlines and were powerful from birth. Most of them also delighted in devouring life.
"When the day comes that I truly become invincible on the Origin Continent, then the entire Origin Continent will become my hunting ground." A look of anticipation surfaced in Divine King Jiuyè's icy eyes. "That would be true bliss and freedom."
Suddenly—
A formless attack descended.
Divine King Jiuyè silently faded into nothingness.
It was as if an eraser had simply wiped him away! Just like that, he was gone.
However, his weapons, secret treasures, and other items fell to the side, completely untouched.
"Hmm?"
Inside the quiet chamber, Luo Feng in black appeared.
"Too weak." Luo Feng shook his head slightly. "My Great Annihilation Form only began to seep in, and he was already gone."
The Great Annihilation Form was formed by the fusion of the six branches of the Life-and-Death Path. It carried a curse-killing nature and could affect all of the opponent’s incarnations! Of course, this Divine King Jiuyè had no incarnations. The moment he died, his Resurrection Vessel was affected as well.
A Resurrection Vessel might be something like a drop of blood or a feather… Its ability to resist was far inferior to an incarnation.
Under the Great Annihilation Form, it naturally disintegrated in an instant.
He died so quickly that Divine King Jiuyè didn’t even have time to activate the Reincarnation Secret Technique.
"You’re the first Divine King to die under the Great Annihilation Form." Luo Feng was very satisfied with the power of this move. It was, after all, created based on dream memory images, crafted over more than thirty cycles of reincarnation.
"Extinguish." Luo Feng moved with a thought. A wisp of black smoke instantly crossed a vast distance and descended upon Divine King Jiuyè’s seven children. Except for one daughter who despised devouring life and became a disciple of another Divine King, the remaining seven were like Divine King Jiuyè—addicted to devouring countless lives over long periods.
...
With Divine King Jiuyè's death, the Primal Universe he controlled regained its freedom.
"Buzz." Outside the Primal Universe, a slightly smaller, massive Small Universe began to collapse.
"The sacred land is collapsing? The Ancestor is dead?"
"Impossible. How could the Ancestor die?"
Within that Small Universe, some of Divine King Jiuyè’s descendants were terrified beyond belief.
Meanwhile, the powerful beings across the Primal Universe and many Small Universes erupted in jubilation! Generations of life across countless cycles of reincarnation had lived under the shadow of Divine King Jiuyè. Even the Primal Universe had been under his control.
They had all been mere meals for Divine King Jiuyè—subject to his choosing and devouring, powerless to resist.
Until today, Divine King Jiuyè finally perished. They were at last delivered!
The death of Divine King Jiuyè, while drawing some attention from various powers on the Origin Continent, did not stir up major reactions.
After all, ordinary First Stage Divine Kings often perished. Even if they were relatively weak and destroyed, they usually had time to reincarnate! Avoiding calamity through reincarnation was a common practice among ordinary Divine Kings.
Though Divine King Jiuyè was weak, Luo Feng had been unable to prevent his reincarnation before comprehending the Great Annihilation Form.
The power of the Undying Mixed Cave Light couldn’t instantly destroy Divine King Jiuyè and his Resurrection Vessel.
Even the will of an Ultimate Divine King combined with the Lieu Yuan Technique couldn’t guarantee the complete annihilation of Divine King Jiuyè. After all, Divine King Jiuyè had walked the path from the Primal Universe and wasn’t like the Shadow Heaven Realm Divine Kings created by external forces.
"Whooo~~~"
After sending his disciple An Fengya back to Huyang City, Luo Feng continued his journey across the Origin Continent.
In the Extremely Cold Ice Field, the environment was harsh and grew colder the deeper one ventured.
"This place…" Luo Feng arrived in a vast, warm, and comfortable territory. There was no snow or wind here, and countless plants flourished. Many tribes lived across the wilderness.
The comfortable environment greatly increased the number of cultivators here.
"This is the Fire Ancestor Realm."
The Fire Ancestor resided long-term in Fire Ancestor City and governed an immensely vast territory. Because of his presence, this region had become warm and habitable.
This area took up less than one-tenth of the Extremely Cold Ice Field but housed over half the population of the entire Ice Field.
"There are five independent cultivators with Divine King Second Stage strength and Emperor-level power. Among them, Queen Fengdu and the Fire Ancestor are particularly transcendent."
"They are transcendent because they do not vie for anything."
The Fire Ancestor lived in a remote part of the Extremely Cold Ice Field. He had joined no force and was almost never seen in any Treasure Land, yet his strength was immense.
The Two Ancient Kingdoms were also fond of such powerful individuals!
"He does not compete, yet he shelters over half the life in the Extremely Cold Ice Field." As Luo Feng walked through the prosperous territory of the Fire Ancestor Realm, he saw how countless beings revered the Fire Ancestor.
Luo Feng gazed at Fire Ancestor City from afar.
The city seemed like a warm source, with invisible laws at work that naturally spread across the vast lands.
"Though he does not contend, he protects countless lives to the best of his ability."
"Admirable."
Luo Feng was filled with respect. On the Origin Continent, there were very few strong beings he admired, and the Fire Ancestor was one of them.
Whoosh~~~
Luo Feng continued his journey.
"Luo He?" In Fire Ancestor City, a plainly dressed red-haired figure gazed into the distance toward Luo Feng and smiled. "The Origin Continent is about to produce another formidable existence."
As long as one entered the Fire Ancestor Realm, the Fire Ancestor could sense it.
He then closed his eyes. His soul merged with countless flames across the heavens—some flames were cooking food, some refining elixirs, others forging artifacts…
...
Luo Feng also arrived at the East Extremity Region—the most remote and desolate area of the Origin Continent.
"The East Extremity Region Ancestor shelters this place. Queen Fengdu also hails from here." Luo Feng walked through the vast land, where the Power of Heaven and Earth was significantly thinner and rare treasures scarce.
Yet the environment was pleasant, with various fruits in abundance.
The native lifeforms here were large and burly. They rarely used refined weapons or secret treasures, preferring stone clubs, wooden rods, and similar tools. Their diet was also simple—mostly common fruits.
They revered Heaven and Earth. Many native lifeforms sought to comprehend and resonate with the world.
Once they fought, however, they were savage and wild.
"These native lifeforms don’t care about external things; they seek inward development instead."
"Yet among them, many Divine King-level beings have emerged—even someone like Queen Fengdu. Who can say their path is wrong?" Luo Feng understood their path.
Abandoning all externalities and focusing solely on the self and the Origin Path—that was the path of the native lifeforms.
...
Luo Feng walked to the end of the Origin Continent and looked ahead toward the endless Universe Ocean.
Chaotic streams surged and raged, a dark, boundless expanse.
"Whether it’s the Primal Universe or the Origin Continent, this world is truly magnificent." Luo Feng sat cross-legged at the edge of the continent, gazing at the Universe Ocean. "Yet many ancient Divine Kings treated countless lives as mere fuel for their cultivation."
"They were all extremely wise and had seen parts of the mysteries of the Origin Path’s operation."
"But they did not care about the joys and sorrows of ordinary lives. What mattered to them was their own power! Whether they could reach the Ultimate Divine King level! Whether they could transcend the Source World!"
Thus, each of these ancient beings schemed with precision.
"Perhaps this, too, is part of the rules governing Heaven and Earth."
Luo Feng understood this point well.
The operation of the world was governed by nine complete Origin Paths.
Survival of the fittest… was one aspect of it, driving all life into constant competition.
Emotional resonance… was a feature of life. Luo Feng understood that his compassion for the weak was his emotional facet—‘compassion.’
Heaven and Earth’s operation intertwined aspects of survival, emotion, order, destruction and cleansing, hope… all together forming the world’s mechanisms.
"Everything has its path; each has its own destiny."
"However…"
"I have my path!"
"A cultivator is one who, by their own strength, surpasses Heaven and Earth!"
"By my path, I will transcend the path of Heaven and Earth, fully surpass the Source World." Luo Feng’s gaze was calm. "By then, I will determine how all things operate! So-called order and fate shall be decided by me!"
"This is cultivation!"
Following the heavens—that is the way of the mediocre.
But those who surpass Heaven and Earth by their own power—this is the true pursuit of a cultivator. It is also the expectation of the Supreme Laws, which give birth to countless lifeforms, hoping that one among them… will surpass even it!
At this moment, Luo Feng’s mental will underwent another metamorphosis.
Over more than two hundred cycles of being a Divine King, with a strong soul foundation, cultivation in the Dream Domain, Infinite Space training, assistance from treasures like the Five-Colored Elixir and the Scale of Destruction, direct confrontation with dream memory to create the Great Annihilation Form, and the Seven Emotions Heart Refining Technique during his travels across the Origin Continent…
After one transformation after another, at last, quantitative change had brought about qualitative change.
"Power can overcome the heavens!"
Luo Feng’s Mental Will formed a clear humanoid shape, bearing the same face as him.
The distinct silhouette enveloped Luo Feng. The terrifying will completely condensed, scanning in all directions, radiating immense power.
"A Mental Body?"
His Mental Will had become so overwhelming that it could now separate from his flesh and form an illusory body.
"I feel this Mental Body… is stronger than my physical body." This was a Mental Will that surpassed the Divine King-level—immensely powerful, able to suppress and even shatter any Divine King Will before it.
From Divine King-level Will to a Will that surpassed it—this bottleneck was the most difficult one on Luo Feng’s path of Mental Will.
It had trapped many Divine Kings.
On the Origin Continent, those who had achieved this were rare. Luo Feng was now one of them.