"Impressive." The Qilin God finally spoke up again, his tone carrying both astonishment and admiration, "In such a short time, you have shaken my soul countless times. At this point, I believe that being the inheritor of the Creation God of Elements is not even your most impressive achievement."
"I don't know how you managed to learn this secret, but I won't ask how you knew." The Qilin God showed no curiosity about how Yun Wuji had uncovered it. Since he was able to find out, it meant it was not impossible for someone else to do the same. In fact, anyone with profound knowledge, especially the knowledge of a Creation God, would discover this truth once they learned about the 'Cradle.'
The Qilin God assumed that Yun Wuji might have gained this knowledge from Ni Xuan.
Yun Wuji felt nothing from being praised by a Divine Being once worshipped by all. Instead, he asked, "May I retake the elemental seed now, senior Qilin?"
Honestly, if the Qilin had been female like the Phoenix, Golden Crow, Ice Phoenix, or even the Azure Dragon who had given him his daughter, Yun Wuji would not have minded talking with him for days on end. But this guy was a male, the only one left of his race, and Yun Wuji had no intention of wasting more time with him.
He would much rather spend that time having fun with Hei Xiaolian later.
"I will. That is only natural," the Qilin God said.
The moment his words fell, a yellow light burst forth from above. Yun Wuji's Heretic God Profound Veins pulsed more violently than ever before. He instinctively raised his head and saw a yellow star descending toward his Heretic God body.
As it drew closer, its light gradually deepened, and the Heretic God Profound Veins throbbed with even greater force. Yun Wuji carefully received the star in his hands, and at that instant, every seed within his profound veins radiated like stars of their own. A profound sense of satisfaction and excitement coursed through every corner of his body.
The Qilin God sensed his excitement as clearly as daylight and let out a warm chuckle, "To tell you the truth, your second reason alone was enough for me to grant you the Heretic God seed. As you said, it is only thanks to the Creation God of Elements that I still exist to this day. I once thought I would never be able to repay this favor, but then you appeared before me."
"Your arrival is the most pleasant surprise I have received in a long time. At last, I can repay the Creation God of Elements for his kindness and pass away in peace."
The Qilin God fixed its enormous eyes on Yun Wuji and said, "I do not know what you seek by coming to this damned world, but it is obvious that your goal is not merely the Earth Seed."
"The Abyss is fated for destruction."
"That man's obsession is the most terrifying force, one that no one can defy. The only reason I forced myself to endure until now was to witness that day, no matter how reluctant or helpless I felt."
"There is no hope left for this world. I can only hope that you will find a way to return to your own."
'No shit, bro!' Yun Wuji and Hei Xiaolian, who was watching from within the Sky Poison Pearl, thought at the same time. If he could, why would he have even come to this damned place?!
If the Abyss were destroyed, the Primal Chaos would be dragged down with it! Even if it was not completely annihilated, the damage would be catastrophic. It would be lucky if even ten percent managed to survive the shockwaves!
"Thanks for your advice." Yun Wuji did not bother explaining his true motive. The guy was going to die soon anyway, and telling him would only add to his despair.
"No thanks are necessary. The power of the Creation God of Elements was yours to begin with."
That single line seemed to drain a great deal of strength from the Qilin God, for the light in his eyes grew noticeably dimmer. "This elemental seed has remained within my body for a long time; it has become one with my life force. The divine energy surrounding the seed is my divine origin. Rather than absorbing the elemental seed immediately, you should take the time to slowly refine my divine origin as well. I am certain it will greatly accelerate your cultivation."
Yun Wuji sensed the Qilin God's divine origin the moment he touched the Heretic God Seed. The Qilin God could have separated the seed from his life force and preserved himself for many more years. Instead, he gave everything to Yun Wuji, simply to aid him on his path and to repay the favor he owed the Heretic God.
"Thank you, I will use it well." Yun Wuji felt somewhat moved by the gesture. He had not expected that, despite his own slightly rude attitude toward the Qilin God, he would actually receive such a tremendous boon.
"Haha, glad you like it." This time, even the Qilin God's voice had grown noticeably weaker. "This secret realm is tied to my life force. Once I die, the Qilin God Realm will automatically collapse within six hours, and I have only about a hundred breaths left."
A pair of blindingly bright yellow stars descended from the air once more. "Over half of my body was eroded by abyssal dust long ago, and if it weren't for the elemental seed, I would have become an abyssal beast like my ancestor… This is the remnant of my purest Origin blood and Marrow. The greatest defense of my race, the Qilin Sacred Palace, is engraved within them as well."
"This is the only way I can repay the Creation God of Elements. May they be of use to you, young human."
"You should leave this realm and find a safe place to refine my power and the seed as soon as possible… the reborn Creation God of Elements, no, the reborn Heretic God. Hehehe, I cannot wait to witness it from the afterlife."
Yun Wuji reached out and held the two shining yellow stars. "You may not be a woman, but I will certainly remember you in this life."
"Haha! I should be honored then!" The Qilin God's weak laugh sounded genuinely pleased by his words. "All things come and go, and the light of the Qilin should have faded long ago. If anything, I am glad I lasted long enough to see the light of the Creation God of Elements reborn in his successor. I have no regrets."
Among all the Divine Beings Yun Wuji had interacted with, this was by far the easiest to deal with. Now that he had what he wanted, he realized that even if he hadn't shown his strength or even used his ultimate bullshit skill, he could have gotten what he needed anyway.
In the past, he had to hypnotize himself, create fake memories, and keep up the act just to trick other Divine Beings.
This Qilin God, however, genuinely wanted to repay him and even considered returning the Earth Seed to him a duty.
"Qilin God, do not be so hasty to speak," Yun Wuji said, holding the Divine blood and Marrow tightly. "I, Yun Wuji, will ensure that your bloodline endures. Your life may end very soon, but I will create a new Qilin God in the future to carry your race's bloodline and glory."
"I will make sure that the lineage of the Qilin God shines as the brightest light in Primal Chaos."
With his terrifying genius, as long as he set his mind to it, creating another Qilin God with a pure bloodline to continue the race's existence would not be difficult.
"Hahaha, although I do not know where your confidence comes from, I am gratified by your words," the Qilin God laughed again, his voice growing weaker with each sound. "With this, I have no regrets… though I suppose I still have some concerns."
Yun Wuji looked up. "Feel free to tell me your concerns, senior." This time, there was far more sincerity and respect in his voice when he said 'senior.'
After a long silence, the Qilin God finally spoke. "During the war between the Gods and the Devils, my Qilin God race was nearly wiped out, and my ancestor, the true Qilin God, was driven into the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. Cornered and unwilling to perish at the hands of the Devil Gods, he and what remained of my race leapt into the Abyss. They thought they were committing suicide, but instead they were saved by the Abyssal Monarch."
Yun Wuji listened attentively, even though he already knew this story. He did not want to interrupt the Qilin God's final words.
"However, the erosion of abyssal dust was an inescapable nightmare. Those who were fully corrupted transformed into abyssal beasts, knowing nothing but destruction."
"In just a few generations, the Qilin God race perished to the last, leaving only my ancestor and me behind."
"My ancestor was beyond powerful. He was even stronger than the Seven Gods of the Six Kingdoms of God today. Yet the Abyss was far deadlier back then than it is now, and the abyssal dust eroded us far faster than it does humans. No matter how strong my ancestor was, he kept losing power and flesh until he fell from the True God Realm… all the way to the Divine Limit Realm."
"At that time, over ninety percent of his body had been corrupted by abyssal dust."
When speaking of his ancestor, the Qilin God's voice carried both admiration and deep-seated regret. "The elemental seed was first received by my ancestor. Had he chosen to keep it for himself, I am certain he would have lived much longer. Instead, he gave it to me."
"My ancestor told me that it was a gift from the heavens, that the seed of power had come to us by chance, but that it ultimately did not belong to this world. He hoped that one day, someone would return it to its rightful place."
"He said that from the moment he discovered the seed, it became our sacred duty to protect it until the right person arrived. No matter what we faced, we must never allow it to fall into the hands of a malicious being, nor let it be stained with filth and sin."
This was the main reason, aside from his kind nature and creed, that the Qilin God had handed Yun Wuji the Earth Seed and his Divine blood and Marrow without much effort in convincing him.
"This duty is why my ancestor wanted me to live no matter what. Beyond that, he gave me a final order. He wanted me to kill him before he was fully corroded by abyssal dust."
"However… due to my soft heart, even when my ancestor lowered all his defenses so I could strike, I… I just could not."
Hundreds of thousands of years had passed since that day, yet the Qilin God's voice was still tinged with deep pain. He claimed he had no regrets, but only he knew whether that was truly the case.
"In the end, I chose to knock out my ancestor and carry him into the Endless Fog."
Yun Wuji knew of the Ancestor Qilin God. It was quite famous in this world, and in the novel, it had helped Yun Che many times. "You wish for me to… free him if I encounter him in the Endless Fog?"
By now, the Qilin God's enormous pupils had narrowed to tiny slits, and his voice sounded as ephemeral as a dying candle flame. "I have only repaid what I owe. You owe me nothing, so I have no right to entrust this task to you. I can… only… beg…"
"I will," Yun Wuji said solemnly. "Once I enter the Endless Fog… I promise to give him the slumber he deserves."
The Qilin God's eyes closed completely and slowly disappeared. A final few whispers entered Yun Wuji's soul, "A million words isn't enough to convey my thanks… I was already nearing the end of my lifespan, even if I hadn't returned the seed to you, so you don't need to worry about the Abyssal Monarch suspecting foul play… or rather, I'm sure he has forgotten about me a long time ago."
"Remember, this secret realm will collapse in six hours. Now go… may your future be as bright as my ancestor's light."
One final yellow flash later, its voice forever fell into silence.
The Qilin Sacred Palace, which had isolated everything, disappeared completely as well.
"He was a good guy, a great guy even," Hei Xiaolian materialized next to him and commented on the Qilin God. She rarely praised anyone.
"Indeed." Yun Wuji stored the three items in the Sky Poison Pearl, then cast a glance toward the spot where the Qilin God had been. After that, he flew south.
He did not immediately head for the exit. There were still about six hours before this world would be destroyed. Aside from the three divine items, there was still one more valuable thing here, though not even ten thousandths as valuable as the Qilin God's Divine Blood or Divine Marrow.
It was the Qilin Bone Spirit Orchid. In the novel, one had appeared as well, and it was even much larger than the one discovered by the ancestor of the Helian Empire.
In the novel, Yun Xi had found it and ended up besieged by everyone who had lost their minds.
Spreading his senses lazily for over a quarter of an hour, Yun Wuji finally detected a yellow light.
As he drew closer, the yellow light revealed its true form. It was a blooming spirit flower about a meter tall, with four gem-like petals and a stem radiating yellow light. Floating above the sand, at least a thousand earth spirits of all shapes and sizes danced around it. The dust clouds seemed to forget how to swirl, and even the quicksand beneath moved sluggishly, as if afraid of disturbing this emperor of spirit flowers.
If anyone from the Qilin Abyss Realm were to see it, their eyes would pop, and they would lose all reason; rivers of blood would flow. Back then, the ancestor of the Helian Empire was the first to discover this flower, and with it, he managed to reach the Divine Extinction Realm, becoming the strongest being in the history of the Qilin Abyss Realm. Not only that, his control over the Earth Law became incredibly powerful, and his lifespan extended so greatly that he was still alive to this day, though barely.
The most ridiculous part was that the flower he had found back then was only sixteen centimeters... above average size.
Yun Wuji got closer to the flower and casually waved his hand, and the flower immediately vanished into the Sky Poison Pearl.
Now that he had claimed all the valuable things in this place, Yun Wuji stored the Heretic God body within his Profound Vein World and transformed into a silver beam, heading toward the exit.
Repeating the same process he had used to enter, Yun Wuji passed through the barrier.
He did not stop for a moment, flying for over half a day until he found a remote place. There, he set up a simple formation to guard him. Only then did he take out his Heretic God body and sit cross-legged with both bodies.
The Heretic God body took the Earth Seed and immediately threw it into its mouth, swallowing it.
...
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