Chapter 409: Chapter 275: Source of the Xian Fire Lamp, We Too Walk Different Paths to the Same Destination
This information was merely a possibility—a path left by those who came before, with no successful examples to follow.
Perhaps some had succeeded, but their methods were not suitable for others, or for some other reason, they left no clues behind.
But this information made one thing clear to Yang An: the Origin Realm was no place to linger. Its collapse was inevitable. His future task was to reach the peak of his Cultivation Level before that happened, and then leave.
Otherwise, he would be trapped in the Origin Realm forever, destined to collapse and sink into the abyss along with it.
Fu Ming had told him everything he knew, and it was all accurate. Although Fu Ming hadn’t mentioned severing one’s connection to the Origin Realm, after revealing so much, there was no reason for him to deliberately omit that single detail.
Most importantly, Yang An trusted his Identification Ability. ’Fu Ming might lie to me,’ he thought, ’but what I see with my Identification Ability never will.’
Since the information aligned perfectly with what Fu Ming had told him, it meant Fu Ming was trustworthy. Yang An could choose to believe him.
He was currently mired in the conflict between the Golden Thread Pavilion and the Great Virtue Temple, walking on thin ice.
Fortunately, this new knowledge gave Yang An a clear path forward, preventing him from getting stuck in the quagmire and being manipulated by others without a purpose of his own.
Pushing aside these scattered thoughts, Yang An found he wasn’t really that shaken. The ultimate goal of leaving this world perfectly matched his own ambitions, and he was already on that path.
’After I’m gone, who cares if floods rage and the heavens fall?’
The process of exchanging blood for fire went smoothly. In less than a quarter of an hour, Yang An had completed the entire procedure. Using the Source of the Xian Fire Lamp, he reinforced his Lighting Technique, making its power even more terrifying.
As the first Technique he had mastered in this world, the power of the Lighting Technique could no longer keep up with him. When fighting enemies, Yang An could only use it as a minor supplement, mixing it in with his various other Light Magic techniques.
Things were different now. After being reinforced by the Source of the Xian Fire Lamp, the Lighting Technique’s power was in a different league entirely. Although it wasn’t technically in the Light Category of magic, it now possessed the might of Light Magic.
With everything done, it was time to leave the Xian Origin Land and return to reality. His physical body was still outside, safe and sound, untouched by the battles of others.
But Yang An knew it wouldn’t be long before he had to return.
He was now a Zombie God, and his next step was to fuse with a Forbidden Artifact Fragment. For anyone else, any random fragment would do without much thought, but not for Yang An.
For one, he could not afford any entanglement with the Origin Realm. Therefore, he was uncertain what effect fusing with an Immortal Source Forbidden Artifact Fragment—which belonged to the world’s yin-aspect—would have on him.
For another, he would only fuse with a Forbidden Artifact Fragment whose price of use had been erased, allowing him to avoid bearing the cost himself.
This meant he had to find a suitable Forbidden Artifact Fragment that contained two opposing Powers of Rules, one of which could be consumed as the price. This would not be a simple task.
’I’d like to plan this out carefully,’ he thought, ’but time waits for no one.’ No one knew when the Origin Realm would collapse. From now on, he would have to stop at nothing to plunder cultivation resources.
His mind made up, Yang An walked toward the barrier of the Earth Spirit Stele and departed.
「...」
Great Virtue Temple, Grand View Cave Zen.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. The night would soon be over, giving way to the first light of dawn.
The Monks trapped within the Grand View Cave Zen were still fighting relentlessly. No clear victor had emerged among the Zombie God-level combatants, but the Abbots at the Corpse Transformation level, on the other hand, had suffered immensely.
Although the Joyful Shrine Association had forbidden Zombie Gods from using any Power of Rules, even without it, the Zombie Gods were still far stronger than them.
Even though the Zen Masters couldn’t attack them directly, the collateral damage from their battle alone was agonizing.
The Zen Masters seemed to have been pushed to their limits. As the saying goes, even a Buddha has a temper. One by one, they unleashed their ultimate skills. Every building in the Grand View Cave Zen had been obliterated, leaving a tragic scene of utter devastation, with nothing but shattered eaves and ruined walls.
Some transformed into towering Arhats, others into ferocious Buddha Demons, and some into other bizarre forms. Techniques flew left and right, with none willing to yield.
As for the remaining cultivators at the Corpse Transformation level, they could only cower at the edges, praying for the battle to end and for the gray fog Seal over the Grand View Cave Zen to disappear.
They had already lost all will to fight within the Grand View Cave Zen. With so many Zen Masters on the field, what was the point? If they got injured and were then caught in the crossfire of the Zen Masters’ battle, the outcome would likely be complete annihilation.
No one knew which of these Zen Masters would be the last one standing, so all they could do was huddle at the edges and try to stay out of the way.
An Abbot had just dodged a massive, sweeping wave of Demonic Qi. The attack was so terrifying that even the gray fog Sealing the Grand View Cave Zen trembled from the impact.
The next moment, however, he suddenly bumped into something inexplicable.
There was nothing before his eyes, and his senses perceived nothing, yet it felt as if an invisible, yielding wall had just blocked his path.
’What was that?’
A confused look appeared on the Abbot’s face. With a flick of his finger, the Prayer Beads on his wrist shot forward.
