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For more than a million years, the eighteen supreme races and over a thousand great tribes wandered the vast cosmos in fearful exile. They hid in shadows and distant realms, always fleeing the rampaging mutated beasts that hunted them like relentless predators. Every thousand years or so, the beasts would discover a sanctuary, laying waste to it with merciless fury. The cycle repeated without end, crushing hope beneath its merciless weight.
Desperation gripped the scattered peoples. Their world, once sprawling and vibrant, had shrunk into pockets of fleeting refuge under siege. The prophecy of the fourth son, Wisdom, lingered hauntingly in their minds—his mention of Yang, a heavenly calamity, and a mutated serpent illuminated by the void's light. Yet, despite endless searching, no one could uncover what these cryptic words truly meant. The void dimension cast no further clues; only darkness and silence answered their pleas.
As hopelessness settled, the tribes ceased seeking salvation through prophecy and turned instead toward survival by other means. The beasts had not driven themselves back from the cosmos; their dominion seemed complete, choking all paths of escape. The gateways to the outer cosmos, vast and infinite, were locked behind this monstrous siege. Breaking through headlong was suicidal—a desperate attempt at self-destruction rather than salvation.
To escape extinction, minds turned to invention: crafting an artifact or a Gu that might teleport entire tribes away, beyond the beasts' reach, into the outer cosmos where freedom awaited. But such a path was fraught with peril and uncertainty.
Amid the chaos, the second son of Yuan Zu's seventh daughter—renowned for his mastery of refinement—stepped forward with a vision born of necessity. Drawing upon forbidden knowledge and the scattered remnants of hope, he set about forging what would come to be known as the "Desperate Escape Gu."
His creation started with the essence of a serpent basking in the spiritual light of the void dimension—a glowing, writhing force embodying elusive power. Into this core, he infused the blood essence of a mighty Yang cultivator amid a breakthrough turbulence—the rare and violent testing of worthiness that decided who could pierce the heavens and transcend realms.
Yet, the creation was far from simple. The entire process was devoured and shaped by mimicry Gu, a creature of uncanny adaptability and voracious hunger for power. In its relentless molding, the Gu absorbed all, combining the serpent's serenity, the Yang's raw potential, and the turbulent chaos of breakthrough into a singular, desperate hope.
From this crucible, the Desperate Escape Gu was born—a fragile yet potent beacon that might just be the salvation the hunted tribes craved. It was a symbol of their final gamble: a chance to slip through the chains of the beast overlord's blockade, to flee beyond the cosmos' confines and live again.
...
In the shadow of annihilation, the tribes rallied their remaining strength and activated the Desperate Escape Gu. With a surge of raw, unfathomable energy, the Gu blossomed—its power extending beyond all known limits, weaving a celestial bridge to the outer cosmos and beyond.
One by one, the eighteen supreme races and thousands of great tribes stepped through the veil, fleeing the relentless siege of the mutated beasts. Their exodus tore across the boundaries of space and reality, carrying the last vestiges of cosmic life to Outer Cosmos.
But amid the fleeing light, a tragic cost was sealed.
The Desperate Escape Gu, strained beyond its fragile capacity, shattered. Its cosmic threads unraveled and dissolved into nothingness. The only known Gu capable of such mass teleportation was extinguished—forever lost to time.
To make matters worse, the beasts had ravaged the Void Heaven's heart, destroying the sole source of void light that had once illuminated the cosmos with mystery and power.
Now, with the Void Heaven darkened and the Desperate Escape Gu extinct, the survivors faced an uncertain future. The veil between realms was fragile.
—--
Han Chen sat silently, the weight of his thoughts heavy upon him. Yue Ruo's voice came soft and steady beside him, attempting to pierce the cloud of his sour mood.
"Do you remember when you first obtained the Heavenly Eye?" she began gently. "It wasn't me who chose you—it was the remnant will of the Devil Immortal."She paused briefly, as if measuring each word carefully. "When you heard the voice introduce itself, that was his will speaking. But when it instructed you to absorb the seven types of Qi into the Heavenly Eye, that voice was mine. He did not know about the Heavenly Eye; it was something I discovered on my own."
Han Chen made no reply. The cold silence lingered. While Yue Ruo wished to lighten the mood, the weight of uncertainty and frustration still clung thickly to him, muting even the faintest flicker of hope.
...
Han Chen sat on the quiet grassland, his mind aflame with conflicting thoughts. He ignored Yue Ruo's gentle words, letting them drift into the silence between them like pale echoes.
His thoughts stirred dark and relentless. 'Desperate Escape Gu.' The name alone was a whisper of salvation in his restless spirit. If only he could obtain it—the Legends of Yuan Zu said to grant escape from the most hopeless binds. But how?
Han Chen's mind painted a vivid image of the origins required: the Source Void Light and the Heavenly Calamity. These were forces woven into the very fabric of legends—epic, unattainable marvels that defined the realm of myths. To relive the legends was a dream mired in impossibility. After all, legends are legends precisely because no one could replicate them, no one could climb the exact path that broke the heavens.
His jaw tightened as he arced his gaze toward the still, unmoving sun. The solace of beauty was nothing to him now."So... how do I get out of here?" his thoughts whispered bitterly.
The truth confronted him without mercy. The real problem was his own incompetence. There was no one but himself to blame—not the trials, not the spirits, not fate. If he were powerful, truly powerful, he wouldn't be trapped here, waiting for forces beyond his grasp.
Yet, even as the weight of failure pressed down, Han Chen acknowledged the harsh law of this world: there were no 'ifs.' 'If I were stronger' was a hollow dream. The only way forward was through struggle in the present.
His breath deepened, a grounding rhythm amid the tempest of doubt.
Suddenly, a voice—deep, commanding, and ancient—echoed sharply in the air. "Final trial begins now."
In that instant, the flowers around Han Chen blurred into streaks of color and light. The sun dimmed, the gentle breeze stilled, and the vast grassland faded away as an unseen hand lifted him from the earth.
Han Chen was teleported, the world spinning into a rush of wind and shadows, hurtling toward the unknown next phase of his journey.
...
In the dimness that felt like the absence of all light, Han Chen's eyes fluttered open. He found himself standing within a dense forest, thick with ancient trees whose knotted roots gripped the earth like claws. The oppressive dome from before loomed overhead once again, its weight pressing unnoticed but unyielding.
Despite the darkness, his vision was clear—there was a faint sheen in the air, enough to map out the landscape and every shadowy form before him.
A voice sliced through the silence—a cold, merciless command echoing all around. "Kill each other. Fight until only ten remain alive."
The final trial had stripped them down to raw survival. Han Chen's mind raced. The inevitability of death was charged in the air, thickened by spiritual energy that would be released with every life extinguished. "A pity…" he thought, "I cannot absorb Death Qi for the Heavenly Eye."
But then, a flicker—an ember of possibility sparked within his thoughts. "What if I can absorb Life Qi from the living?" The energy of vitality flowing through the still-beating hearts around him—could it be siphoned to fuel the Heavenly Eye's reserves?
He turned inward and reached out through the bonds within his Sea of Consciousness. "Yue Ruo," he whispered silently, "can I absorb Life Qi from alive people?"
Her voice was hesitant, almost shy in its uncertainty. "Maybe… I don't know for sure, because I have never tried it." Han Chen's heart stirred at this fragment of hope amidst the pitch-black trial.
If even a fraction of living energy could be absorbed, it might be enough—not to return to his world, but enough to open a portal out of this dome… that possibility, fragile and distant, shimmered like a lifeline in the void.
The weight of this realization settled deep within him. He was no longer shackled by impossibility—not entirely.
His fingers tightened into fists. There was a way forward, not by brute force nor sheer ascension, but through careful gathering—through subtle borrowing of the power pulsing in others' veins.
Looming in the dark forest under the dome, Han Chen's resolve hardened. The path ahead was brutal—marked by conflict and bloodshed, but with every step, every moment, he might edge closer to his goal.
Han Chen's thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a crashing roar from behind.
A broad-shouldered man with a thick beard appeared, his heavy voice booming across the dark forest: "DIE!"
Without hesitation, the man launched a fierce strike at Han Chen's back.
Within the dome, all spiritual energy was sealed. Everyone here was effectively mortal. Though many had refined countless Grade 3 to 5 Gu in previous trial to fortify their bodies, Han Chen had chosen not to refine his. His flesh and bones remained fragile, vulnerable—truly mortal in every sense. One true hit would mean death.
Han Chen twisted sharply, dodging the crushing blow with fluid grace. The man growled, frustration burning in his eyes. "Rat! Fight me fairly instead of dodging!" he spat venomously. "You coward, always hiding, never facing your enemy like a true man!"
Han Chen said nothing, expressionless, moving with calm precision. His mind was set, unshaken by insults or threats.
Then Han Chen said, "HEAVENLY EYE—OPEN!"
His forehead skin split open vertically, revealing the black sclera and piercing violet pupil of the Heavenly Eye.
The man faltered, surprise flashing across his face, but he immediately pressed his attack nonetheless.
Drawing quietly from his hidden reserves, Han Chen summoned a surge of stored Death Qi infused with the aura of the Heavenly Eye. A chilling wave swept toward the man, freezing his limbs mid-strike."What… what did you do to me?" the man hissed, struggling in the icy grasp.
Han Chen gave a crooked grin, the faint glow of divine power radiating from within."If I can use this stored energy to freeze opponents like this, perhaps I can absorb more Life Qi then the amount of energy I spent."
With deliberate calm, Han Chen activated the Heavenly Eye again. The violet pupil pulsed like a star igniting, weaving a cold, hungry aura that drained the man's essence.
Gradually, the man's skin withered, flesh shrank from bone, and his eyes dimmed to vacant hollows. Within moments, the powerful aggressor was reduced to a hollow husk of bones, collapsing lifeless onto the ground.
The forest fell silent but alive with unseen tension, Han Chen's method clear; cold and efficient survival governed the merciless dome.
...
Han Chen's eyes sharpened with cold clarity. Now that he had found a glimmer of hope to escape the Deity Formation's grasp, he wasn't about to let it slip away. He wasn't interested in ideals like sacrifice or kinship—his will was ruthless and unyielding.
Hope wasn't some fragile dream for him—it was a tool, a weapon to be wielded without hesitation. Every step forward would be calculated, every move made with precision and cold efficiency. If the path demanded cruelty, so be it. He would burn away anything standing between him and freedom.
Han Chen's mind was steady; his heart was unflinching. This hope was not for salvation but for domination—domination of fate, of destiny, and of the trials that sought to break him.
He clipped the doubt away like dead weight and prepared himself to chase that spark through the darkness, no matter the cost.
-----TO BE CONTINUED-----