102: Devouring the Origin Dao Artifact

"Resolve devouring through resonance?" A hint of surprise flickered in the old man's eyes, quickly turning into gratification. "Good! Good! Good!" In an instant, the old man's memories surged into Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness like a tide:

A scene from three hundred thousand years ago slowly unfolded—the Ancestral Master of Spirit Martial Hall, holding the heavenly soul pagoda, engaged in an earth-shattering battle with the Soul Clan Saint King. That Saint King had grasped the essence of the Great Dao of Devouring. Even after being slain, his soul read stubbornly persisted, making it difficult for even the heavenly soul pagoda to refine it.

To completely eliminate this menace, the Ancestral Master opened a special Secret Realm in the Void Realm, breaking down the Soul Clan Saint King's soul read into countless wisps, slowly refining them into heavenly soul liquid with the power of the heavenly soul pagoda. He established a trial Secret Realm, allowing his Disciples to temper themselves by battling residual thoughts. Those who performed exceptionally well could not only obtain heavenly soul liquid but also have the chance to gain the heavenly soul pagoda's recognition.

However, one hundred thousand years ago, the Ancestral Master ventured into the Chaos Sea to seek a higher Realm and was never heard from again. Within the heavenly soul pagoda, now without its master's control, those unrefined soul read gradually revived, evolving into the Soul Spirits, a race capable of Devouring Evolution. The Ancestral Master's residual thought could only barely alter the heavenly soul pagoda's rules, regularly summoning Advanced Soul Spirits to battle, secretly refining their energy to maintain balance.

It wasn't until this time that a deeply hidden wisp of soul read awakened the Ancestral consciousness, possessing Huang Wuji and then manipulating Nine Nether Emperor to enter the heavenly soul pagoda. The Ancestral Master's residual thought, worn down by the passage of time, was no longer able to discern carefully, mistakenly believing them to be junior Disciples of the Spirit Martial Hall, allowing the Soul Spirit Ancestor to seize the opportunity to infiltrate the Heavenly Soul Pool.

Only a true inheritor who comprehended the Devouring Origin could completely eliminate the Soul Spirits. Lin Yuan, with his Heaven-Defying combat power and the unique nature of his Chaos Origin, coincidentally reached the top floor of the heavenly soul pagoda; and the Devouring Origin talent bestowed by his Primordial Dao Body made him the true inheritor the Secret Realm had long awaited.

"So that's how it is!" Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, the memory images in his Sea of Consciousness dissipating. "Everything before was a trial arranged by you, Ancestral Master? And that Soul Spirit Ancestor... was also a whetstone for me?"

The old man nodded with gratification. With a flick of his six fingers, the chains transformed into nine small blood-colored Dragons coiling around Lin Yuan's wrist. "Now, accept the final trial."

Space twisted and shifted, and Lin Yuan appeared in a blood-red starry sky. Across from him, the true form of the Soul Spirit Ancestor finally manifested—a mass of dark red matter constantly changing shape, sometimes like a human, sometimes like a beast, with a pulsing black heart suspended at its core.

"Devour him, and you will obtain the complete Legacy." The old man's voice gradually faded. "Remember, true devouring... is transformation and absorption, not destruction."

The Soul Spirit Ancestor let out a piercing shriek, and a million blood-red tentacles shot out. Each tentacle's tip bore a hideous maw, and wherever they passed, even space was gnawed into black holes.

"Devouring Origin Law, devour for me!"

The nine blood Dragons on Lin Yuan's wrist flew off his body, transforming into nine layers of blood-red halos that enveloped him. The tentacles struck the halos, only to be devoured in return! But the Ancestor's power was endless, and more tentacles grew from the Void Realm.

The battle fell into a stalemate. Although Lin Yuan's devouring speed was astonishing, the Ancestor's sheer size was too great. More troublesome, he sensed that the Ancestor's body contained countless resentments from those it had devoured, and these negative emotions were eroding his consciousness.

"If this continues, I'll suffer a backlash..."

At a critical moment, he suddenly retracted his Devouring Domain and instead activated the Great Void Body's characteristic—untainted by all methods! All the tentacles pierced through his body, but only caused half the damage.

"Now!"

Seizing the instant of the Ancestor's attack, Lin Yuan, dragging his injured body, transformed into a streak of blood-red light and directly rushed into the black heart. Inside were countless struggling vengeful spirits, and at the deepest part slumbered the Ancestor's true core—a fragmented Devouring Origin crystal.

"So you're just a vessel after all." Lin Yuan suddenly understood.

He no longer devoured violently but released pure Devouring power. The vengeful spirits, sensing a power of the same Origin but higher grade, actively fused. As the vengeful spirits were purified, the black heart began to fade, eventually transforming into a crystal-clear Devouring crystal.

Outside, the massive Ancestor's body suddenly stiffened, then collapsed like a sandcastle. Countless points of light rose from the wreckage—these were the liberated Soul Spirits' Origins. They circled Lin Yuan, finally merging into the crystal on his chest.

"Congratulations."

The old man's phantom reappeared, more transparent than before. "The true meaning of devouring lies in giving new life to the devoured." He pointed to the crystal in Lin Yuan's hand. "This is the complete Devouring Origin crystal."

As the Devouring Origin crystal fused, Lin Yuan's Devouring Origin Law began to undergo a qualitative change. The black patterns on the Immortal Dharma Idol became more complex, more profound, and the aura of the Immortal Dharma Idol continuously strengthened!

Lin Yuan's comprehension of the Devouring Origin Law also continuously increased: 10%...25%...50%... When the transformation was complete, the entire heavenly soul pagoda vibrated violently, transforming into a streak of blood-red light that entered Lin Yuan's glabella. A vast stream of information surged into his mind:

The heavenly soul pagoda was actually a Devouring Origin Dao Artifact, originally named the heaven swallowing pagoda, capable of devouring all things and refining them into the purest Origin; it was an Origin Dao Artifact that only Martial Artists who comprehended the Great Dao of Devouring could control.

Lin Yuan was ecstatic; this was a true treasure! In Taichu Divine Continent, above Spiritual Artifacts were Dao Artifacts, and the grades of Dao Artifacts could be classified into Low Grade Dao Artifact, Medium Grade Dao Artifact, High Grade Dao Artifact, as well as Supreme Grade Dao Artifact, and Origin Dao Artifact, five levels. But Dao Artifacts actually had a sixth level—Great Dao Origin Dao Artifact, an Origin Dao Artifact named after a Great Dao. There were only three thousand such items in the entire Taichu Divine Continent; these were Great Dao Origin Dao Artifacts that only Martial Artists who had comprehended an entire Great Dao could control, their value immeasurably higher than other Dao Artifacts!

The old man's residual thought began to dissipate, his six fingers pointing towards the direction of Taichu Divine Continent. "I was originally the Grand Elder of the Devouring Divine Hall in Taichu Divine Continent, and later because... Since you have already comprehended the Devouring Origin Law, you can go to the Devouring Divine Hall to become a Core Disciple. But remember, before you become powerful, you must not expose the existence of the Heaven Swallowing Soul Devouring Pagoda."

"Disciple remembers Ancestral Master's teachings." Lin Yuan bowed deeply to the dissipating residual thought.

The old man's phantom nodded with gratification, his six fingers suddenly forming a strange seal. "Finally, a gift for you." A spiritual light entered Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness. "This is the complete version of the 'Devouring Origin Law Secret Manual,' in the Devouring Divine Hall..."

As the last trace of residual thought dissipated, the entire space began to collapse. Lin Yuan activated the pagoda mark on his glabella, and his body was immediately enveloped in a blood-red light cocoon.

When Lin Yuan opened his eyes again, he was back in the Soul Ruins Secret Realm, standing on a vast ruin. The once towering heavenly soul pagoda had vanished without a trace.

The Soul Ruins Secret Realm, deprived of the heavenly soul pagoda, was being eroded by violent spatial rules. The once stable Laws of heaven and earth were now shattering like a broken mirror. Spatial currents transformed into tens of thousands of invisible blades, weaving a net of death in the Void Realm, tearing the entire Soul Ruins Secret Realm into fragments. Lin Yuan stood amidst the collapsing heavens and earth, the ground beneath his feet emitting a terrifying groan, spiderweb-like cracks spreading at an alarming speed in all directions. From each crack, chaotic Void Realm energy gushed forth.

He had just taken out his Void-Crossing Boat when the Saint mark on his glabella suddenly flared with a burning pain—the golden rune seemed to come alive, throbbing violently beneath his skin. At the same time, a vast will pierced through layers of space, booming in everyone's Sea of Consciousness:

"All Saints, evacuate immediately!"