Mo Lingtian immediately sat cross-legged, desperately restabilizing his collapsing soul state.
Suddenly, he felt a firm touch on his left shoulder. Pure Void energy instantly surged through his consciousness, not only rejuvenating but refining the very quality of his soul avatar in a single breath.
Mo Lingtian turned, watching the mysterious figure's robes brush past him as the man walked calmly toward the cosmic tree.
"Broclyx... greets Lord Haotian," the materialized soul state of the jade entity murmured, drifting down and bowing deeply as the figure approached.
"You wanted to live again, and the first vessel you set your eyes on was a descendant of the Devil Clan. What were you thinking?" Lord Haotian asked, his voice stern.
"Lord..." Broclyx stuttered, tears rolling down his jade-like face.
"No need for that. If you have any last words, you had better give them to him," Lord Haotian interrupted, turning to face Mo Lingtian, who remained seated, watching intently.
"You have his eyes. Very domineering," Lord Haotian noted, helping Lingtian to his feet.
"Thank you," Lingtian replied, taking a cautious step backward. The chief commander and the commanding generals all weakly stood, stabilizing their battered states with death energy.
Lord Haotian shifted his gaze to the vanguard behind Lingtian. His golden-hued eyes studied the strange energy radiating from the death phantoms.
Lingtian, noticing the sudden shift in interest, bowed slightly in gratitude.
"What a strange existence," Lord Haotian muttered, finally turning back. "I cannot stay here long before those three bring more trouble for me," he said, resting a hand on Lingtian's shoulder.
With a single point of his finger, he fired a swift pulse of void energy directly into Broclyx's chest, sending the ancient entity flying back into the roots of the cosmic tree.
"I have placed a restriction on his soul. He will not harm you again," Lord Haotian declared as his form slowly began to dissolve into fragments of light.
"We will definitely meet again." He released Lingtian's shoulder and cast a sideways glance at the tree. "As for you... do not leave any regrets behind," he sighed.
"Yes," Broclyx whispered, standing weakly as Lord Haotian fully disintegrated into the void.
"Come," Broclyx coughed, placing a hand over his chest. The pulse of void energy had left a gaping hole, from which his origin energy rapidly leaked. His end was inevitable.
Lingtian nodded. He walked across the emptiness, stepping under the massive canopy of the cosmic tree until he stood just paces away from the dying entity.
"Senior, do you have any final wishes?" Lingtian asked, his eyes locked on the dissipating hole in Broclyx's chest.
"What is your name?" Broclyx suddenly asked, walking heavily toward one of the massive extended roots.
"Mo Lingtian," he replied, following closely.
"In those days, you Devils were the most powerful force in the Origin Universe. Your bloodline alone could intimidate every living being that confronted it," Broclyx recounted, gently sitting on the exposed root.
"The Demon Realm was merely one of the thousands of vassal clans the Devil Realm cultivated to strengthen their hold." He motioned for Lingtian to sit beside him.
"As for me... I was the Third Prince of the Demon Realm. I was born with no core, and that meant I could never step onto the path of cultivation," Broclyx said, his voice deepening with ancient sorrow.
Mo Lingtian's eyes widened in shock. How could a being in the Three Realms be born without a core?
"I was of no use to anyone, not my father, not the Devil Clan. The Origin Universe only had a place for the strong; the weak were left with no choice but to perish." He looked up at the glowing branches.
"My salvation came knocking the day I met Lord Haotian. He took my father, my two brothers, and me to greet the Lord of Devils, the Void Conqueror. That day, I beheld existence at its absolute zenith. I witnessed the personification of power, authority, and inevitability. Those piercing green-hued eyes struck fear into everything that breathed." Broclyx's voice grew weaker.
"He always carried a single plant in his hand, the only fragile existence I ever saw by his side. I took one glance at it that day and suddenly achieved enlightenment. I still cannot explain what happened to me."
"The useless prince, the greatest joke of the Origin Universe, suddenly rose to power. Somehow, this cosmic tree, and the entire cultivation method I formulated step by step throughout my life, simply manifested in my mind," Broclyx said, resting his hand on the root.
"I called my creation the Great Transformation Art. My only regret is that I never had the chance to perfect this pathway before the era of the Great Chaos," he sighed deeply.
"I sealed my last bit of consciousness in this place, waiting for someone who could help me continue on this path, but I still could not escape my end," he murmured, staring down at the void expanding in his chest. "Who knows how powerful this cultivation could be if I had successfully become a Divine Lord?"
"You asked if I had any final wishes? Someone like you with two cores would probably have no need for my creation. But if you meet someone in the future willing to continue from where I stopped, please pass my legacy to them," Broclyx instructed, pressing a jade-like finger against Lingtian's forehead.
The entire cosmic tree immediately condensed into floating green particles, flooding directly into Lingtian's mind through Broclyx's touch.
"This is the last thing I can give you," Broclyx said, standing up and patting Lingtian's shoulder.
"Senior, Mo Lingtian will see to it that your wishes come true," Lingtian promised, standing and bowing deeply.
"Remember, all things came from the origin, and all things will return to the origin, to the root. That is the essence of the Great Transformation Art," Broclyx replied.
Lingtian simply bowed lower, watching the gap in Broclyx's chest expand wider and wider.
"You may all leave," Broclyx muttered, as the hole expanded entirely, consuming his form until only a fading trail of energy remained.
"Lingtian, this place is about to collapse! We have to leave," the chief commander urged hastily as heavy fractures tore through the void.
"Let us go back," Lingtian replied calmly.
He took a single step forward, and almost instantly, the collapsing void around them warped and condensed, shrinking into a miniature black hole floating right above his palm.
The chief commander and the phantom vanguard fidgeted at the sudden spatial shift. They were back in his sea of consciousness.
"Is that the void we were just in?" the chief commander asked, walking toward him, the three ascending halos glowing brightly behind her.
"Yes. His creation contains a terrifying compilation of laws. I just casually compressed a space, and I do not think I have even touched the threshold of the Great Transformation Art," Lingtian observed, staring at the black hole in his hand.
"Not just any space, that was a void," the chief commander corrected, deeply amused by the feat.
With this, my demonic cultivation has the potential to reach its peak, Lingtian thought, closing his palm and dissolving the anomaly entirely.
"Someone is approaching your door," the chief commander warned, jerking him back to reality.
"I almost forgot. I am supposed to meet with that old monster tonight," Lingtian muttered, swiftly pulling his awareness out of his sea of consciousness.