Chapter 124 Shocking Changes in the Human Race
The essence of these spirit beasts was still wisps of innate energy imbued with the elixir of creation.
Their strength ranged from the Innate Realm to the Golden Immortal Realm. Those containing innate energy equivalent to the Innate Realm were in the Innate Realm; those comparable to the magical power of a Golden Immortal were in the Golden Immortal Realm.
Watching the spirit beasts scatter throughout the Purple Chen Cave Heaven, Feng Zichen's heart stirred. He spread his five fingers and pressed them against the void, producing thirty-six rays of light containing innate Dao patterns—the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang.
A Great Luo Golden Immortal is the embodiment of the Great Dao, already approaching its ultimate limit.
With this power, Feng Zichen's previous confusion vanished when he looked at the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang. In the blink of an eye, he learned a divine ability he had never comprehended before.
Of course, "learned" here refers to being able to barely execute it, not fully comprehend it or unleash its earth-shattering power.
All the great paths and myriad supernatural powers ultimately lead to the same destination; the saying "understand one method, understand all methods" applies here.
The thirty-six rays of light, flowing like water, danced in the air above the Purple Chen Cave Heaven for a moment before exploding with a roar, transforming into specks of fluorescent light that drifted down like fine rain, merging into the bodies of the spirit beasts.
"Roar!" Absorbing the fluorescent light, the spirit beasts roared in pain, their bodies radiating light, runes intertwining to form small supernatural powers.
Then, the light faded, and the spirit beasts' pain vanished, each revealing an excited expression, breathing fire, spitting water, emitting lightning, and so on—clearly possessing supernatural abilities.
"Haha, good!"
Casually capturing a ferocious beast, Feng Zichen sensed its strength; it already possessed one-tenth the power of a beast of the same realm, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Go!"
With a wave of his sleeve, the Purple Chen Cave Heaven burst open, and the spirit beasts, as if receiving a command, charged madly towards the cave entrance, attacking the human settlement.
"Ancestral land at peace? Just loafing around waiting to die?"
"Hmph! I'd like to see how you all manage to survive now!"
With a cold snort, Feng Zichen flicked his sleeves, turned, and left Zichen Cave Heaven, heading towards the Human Ancestral Temple.
"What?"
"What's going on?"
"What is this thing? It looks like a ferocious beast, but it doesn't have the malevolent aura of a beast; instead, it's filled with spiritual light!"
"This thing comes from Zichen Cave Heaven... it's... the clan leader! What's he up to now? Doesn't he feel comfortable if he doesn't cause trouble every day? He's already the clan leader, why can't he calm down a bit!"
A large amount of unfamiliar energy appeared among the humans, immediately sensed by the elders. Shocked, they all emerged from their meditation rooms and looked towards Zichen Cave Heaven.
The spirit beast was extremely fast, and in a short time, it arrived at the human tribe closest to Zichen Cave Heaven. With a roar, it charged forward.
"Not good!"
An elder, seeing this, was greatly alarmed and quickly stretched out a giant hand to strike the ferocious beast.
To become a human elder, one must at least reach the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. The poor spirit beast was merely a Xuan Immortal; how could it withstand the divine power of a human elder?
With a single strike, the spirit beast was shattered into pieces, dissipating into innate energy, leaving behind a drop of Creation Spirit Liquid shimmering with five-colored light.
"Eh, it's Creation Spirit Liquid!"
With a soft exclamation, the human elder's face lit up with joy, clearly recognizing the Creation Spirit Liquid's origin. He quickly reached out to grab it, intending to collect it.
"Hmm? That monster was actually formed from Creation Spirit Liquid! This is a good thing!" Seeing this, the remaining people all showed excitement and hurriedly attacked the other spirit beasts.
"Freeze!"
Just then, Feng Zichen's voice rang out, and the void instantly froze. Everyone felt their bodies unable to move, their connection with heaven and earth severed, and their unleashed divine powers vanished.
"Is this a Great Luo Golden Immortal? Truly, a being beyond the reach of a Taiyi Golden Immortal!"
At this moment, the many elders of the human race felt the greatness of a Great Luo Golden Immortal for the first time, a sense of powerlessness welling up in their hearts.
"Elders, please do not act! I have a great use for this spirit beast; I cannot allow you to kill it!" A ripple spread through the void as Feng Zichen stepped out.
Simultaneously, the void resumed its flow, and the restraints on the elders were released.
"A spirit beast? Is this beast called a spirit beast? Why have I never heard of it?" Gu Yueshi asked as soon as he could move.
"It's normal that elders haven't heard of it. This beast is appearing in the primordial world for the first time. It is not a living being, but a form of innate energy, created by me specifically to temper the human race," Feng Zichen explained with a smile.
"Another form of innate energy?" Nodding in confusion, Gu Yue suddenly realized, exclaiming, "To temper the human race?"
"Is this how you temper the human race? Without even a warning, you send out an army of spirit beasts to attack?"
"Aren't you afraid your people will be killed by these spirit beasts?"
"Elder, please rest assured, you're so anxious. This place is protected by the barrier set up by the Goddess; our people will be safe."
But as soon as he finished speaking, a scream rang out; a human had been killed by a spirit beast.
"You…" Seeing this, the elders' faces changed drastically, pointing at Feng Zichen, speechless.
"Don't panic, this person is alright, elders, look again!" Feng Zichen pointed in the direction of the corpse.
A flash of white light, and the wounds on the person's body healed, the shattered body restored, and the person rose from the ground.
"How could this be?" Seeing the man revive, the crowd didn't relax; instead, their pupils constricted, and they exclaimed in disbelief,
"Where is his cultivation?"
Before his death, the man was a Celestial Immortal, but after his revival, his cultivation had plummeted to the Acquired Realm. A thousand years of hard work had been lost in a single day, leaving everyone astonished.
At this moment, the man suddenly showed a look of terror, clearly realizing his situation. However, before he could think, the spirit beast came again and killed him.
Moments later, he was revived again, killed again... until an elder couldn't bear to watch any longer and killed the ferocious beast, saving him. But his cultivation was completely gone forever.
"Clan leader, what happened? Where is his cultivation?" After a long while, Gu Yue asked Feng Zichen.
"It's just as you see. Being killed by a spirit beast won't kill them outright, but their cultivation will be lost."
"If they want to continue cultivating for immortality, they'll have to start all over again!"
With a dismissive smirk, Feng Zichen uttered the most cruel words in the most indifferent tone.
"But this...is too cruel!"
"Thousands upon thousands of years of arduous cultivation, all gone in a single day—how many could bear that?"
"This is worse than death!"
Hearing Feng Zichen's words, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"Cruel? Terrifying?"
"There's something far more cruel and terrifying in the primordial world!"
(End of Chapter)