If it had been anyone else here— even a Heavenly Sovereign-level expert— they likely wouldn't have understood what they were witnessing. But Xiao Yan recognized it at a glance. It was the birth of the universe.
After all, he had once come from Earth, and in that world, people had studied the origins of the cosmos. The most well-known theory was the "Big Bang." And now, before his eyes, the very scene he saw was a perfect manifestation of that hypothetical theory.
Xiao Yan didn't know whether the universe in his old world had truly formed in that way, but it was clear this was how the universe of the Great Thousand World had begun. Though he couldn't yet comprehend the profound meanings contained within it, he instinctively knew that this was an incredibly rare opportunity.
If he missed this chance, he might never again witness the birth of a universe. So he stared at the scene before him with unwavering focus, committing everything to memory. He wasn't trying to grasp its mysteries—he just wanted to memorize as much as possible, down to the smallest detail.
To retain even more, he summoned both of his avatars and had them observe the scene with him. But after several minutes of intense concentration, Xiao Yan's mind reached its limit. A searing pain exploded in his head, forcing him to shut his eyes and regulate his breathing.
When he opened them again, everything had vanished.
In its place was the same location where they had first entered. Xiao Yan sighed helplessly—his strength was still too weak. If he were stronger, he might've lasted longer and seen more.
He glanced at Qing Tan, who had also been teleported back. Just as he was about to step forward, his legs gave out and he nearly collapsed. Startled, he quickly scanned his body and was shocked to find that both his Spiritual Energy and soul power were severely depleted.
No wonder he felt so weak.
But more troubling was the faint sensation that something else inside him was slipping away. He couldn't identify what it was until Xiao Yao's voice echoed in his mind.
"Master, what did you do?! Your life force is draining at an alarming rate!"
Xiao Yan froze for a moment before realization dawned.
It seemed the price for watching the birth of the universe had been his life force. He hadn't known it at the time, but he had come dangerously close to death—his life force nearly burned away entirely in that vision. Thankfully, the Life Spirit Flame within him had intervened at the last second, pouring a vast amount of life energy into his body. Without it, Xiao Yan would've died young, right then and there.
If the Life Spirit Flame had a will of its own, it would probably be drenched in cold sweat. This was a high-stakes gamble—if its reserves hadn't been enough, Xiao Yan would've died on the spot. Even so, the damage was considerable. Xiao Yan now had less than ten years of life remaining.
Yet he didn't panic or feel despair. For most people, regaining lost life force would be incredibly difficult. But not for him. He had multiple methods for restoring it slowly over time. More importantly, he was already a Seventh Grade Sovereign. A few more breakthroughs, and once he reached Earth Sovereign, his lifespan would increase by hundreds or thousands of times.
"Congratulations—you've successfully passed the Nine Nether Secret Realm," Tianling appeared once again before them. For the first time, her usually cold expression held a faint smile. "When you return, take some time to go into seclusion and reflect on what you've gained. After that, you'll be ready to take on missions."
"Thank you, Elder, for your guidance," Xiao Yan said with a respectful cupped fist. His gains this time were enormous—just the image of the universe's birth alone was worth years of insight. Still, this wasn't something he would tell others easily. Not that they would understand—after all, how many here had even heard of the Big Bang?
"No need to be so polite. This is all the result of your own efforts," Elder Tianling said, waving her hand. Then, as if recalling something, she added, "By the way, the Sovereign Spiritual Liquid I promised you has already been transferred into your Nine Nether Token. You can retrieve it whenever you like."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly without declining. Their current resources were far from abundant. If he could get some Sovereign Spiritual Liquid for free, why not take it? Moreover, both he and Qing Tan had advanced by two grades during the trial. This meant their share of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid had also increased.
With that, he finally had enough to exchange for the materials Qing Tan needed to cultivate her Sovereign Celestial Body.
After gathering those materials, Xiao Yan was left with just five hundred thousand units of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid. Qing Tan had less than ten thousand. Seeing how little she had made Xiao Yan sigh helplessly—he ended up loaning her another hundred thousand, leaving himself with four hundred thousand. That should be enough to support him for the next month.
While Qing Tan began studying how to refine her own Sovereign Celestial Body, Xiao Yan retreated into his Heavenly Tomb to recover.
The depletion of spiritual energy and soul power was nothing new to him—he'd been through that many times. The only real problem was the drastic loss of life force.
He could no longer rely on the Life Spirit Flame. It had burned through too much during his near-death experience and was now essentially on strike. Its life energy reserves were dangerously low. If he drained it again, the flame might cease to exist entirely.
So Xiao Yan had to find another solution.
After a moment of thought, he summoned the Life-Death Ancestral Symbol. He began channeling the boundless life force it contained, slowly replenishing what he had lost. In addition, he pulled out a small pouch from his spatial ring. It contained the remaining half of the Profound Origin Pills he had tricked out of Qing Tan back on the Tianxuan Continent.
He had refined half of them back then to heal himself. This was the rest.
While they weren't especially useful to someone who now possessed the Life-Death Ancestral Symbol, Xiao Yan chose to feed them into the Life Spirit Flame instead. As the vast vitality from the pills poured into the green flame, its dim, weakened glow brightened visibly.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he closed his eyes and focused on quietly restoring his body.
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Members on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.