Chen Luo stood frozen in the high heavens for ten years, observing the mortal realm and contemplating a way out for all living beings.
After all, if he were to officially go to war with the Heavenly Dao, all beings, regardless of victory or defeat, would face certain death!
Even more chilling was a discovery Chen Luo made after observing the mortal realm for a decade.
Chen Luo shook his head, briefly explained the stakes to the various Dao Masters, and then stated solemnly:
"To survive, you must first die!"
With that, under the silent gazes of everyone, Chen Luo strode proudly from the firmament.
In a single step, a supreme formation, surpassing all grand formations in history, slowly unfolded beneath his feet!
In mere moments, the brilliance of the formation completely enveloped the entire world.
Chen Luo calmly looked down upon the mortal realm, spread his arms, and loudly chanted:
"Souls, return!"
*Buzz!*
The formation quietly activated. All living beings in the world, who had been bustling with life, lost their breath under the formation without even a fraction of a second to react.
Between heaven and earth, streaks of pure white light rapidly rose from the land and oceans, converging towards the formation beneath Chen Luo.
In the heavens, the Dao Masters, in their silence, also threw themselves into the formation.
All Dao Masters who entered the formation also silently lost their lives, transforming into balls of soulless, luminous spirits.
When Qin Shang descended, a sense of relief flickered in his eyes.
Regardless of whether his master's battle succeeded or failed, his life could finally reach its end…
Long Ji was the last Dao Master to descend, and the only living being left in the world besides Chen Luo.
The Mistress of the Vast Sea gracefully approached Chen Luo, embraced him gently, and whispered:
"Master, if there is a next life, I will not be your disciple."
Saying this, without waiting for Chen Luo's reaction, Long Ji turned and leaped into the formation.
In an instant, her true form, a colossal silver-white dragon, manifested.
"Roar!!!"
Her dragon's roar echoed through heaven and earth, as if singing the final lament for this world.
After that roar, the last true dragon in this world was directly slain by the formation.
Only a ball of pure white soul slowly floated into the formation.
Chen Luo remained silent throughout, his entire focus concentrated on the formation beneath him.
This formation had instantly killed all living beings in the world, but Chen Luo's purpose was to save them.
If the Great Source perished, all beings would perish. If the Primal succeeded, all beings would still die.
After years of deep thought, the method Chen Luo devised to save them was to first kill them himself!
However, killing life to protect life!
The formation beneath Chen Luo continuously rotated. After annihilating billions of lives, the true power of this formation began to reveal itself.
The endless orbs of soul light, which should have returned to the void, manifested due to the formation's power!
These souls were the very essence of life, untouched even by the death of the Great Source.
"Souls, return!!"
Chen Luo's voice boomed like heavenly thunder. The scattered, drifting orbs of light rapidly converged towards the formation.
The convergence of billions of souls faintly formed a pure white vortex.
This vortex bore a striking resemblance to the soul vortex Chen Luo had seen in the unknown.
Without hesitation, Chen Luo used his supreme power to gather the souls of all living beings!
"Souls, return!!!"
*Boom!!*
In a daze, the surging vortex of souls seemed to emit the sound of a rushing river.
The formation beneath Chen Luo spun relentlessly, the sound of the great river growing more turbulent, and the source of the soul vortex became increasingly blindingly white!
*Buzz!!*
As the rotation reached its apex, the soul vortex buzzed and paused, then instantly dissipated into nothingness.
In its place, countless pale white soul pearls, of extreme purity, quietly appeared in the air.
A large hand reached out, firmly grasping the spirit pearl that contained the souls of all living beings in the world.
[Congratulations on obtaining the race-foundation item "All Beings"]
[All Beings]
[Type]: Item
[Tier]: Race-Foundation Tier
[Effects]:
1. Tomb of All Beings: The souls of a civilization are all buried here.
2. Soul Pearl: Preserves the souls within completely, with time within the souls nearly stopped.
[Evaluation]: An insurance policy forged by an supreme being with astonishing power.
Chen Luo looked at the soul pearl in his hand with complex emotions. After a moment of contemplation, he pressed it directly into his chest:
"When you awaken again, I hope I can give you a new world."
The Great Source could directly influence the birth and death of all beings, but the true spirit deep within their souls was something even the Great Source could not affect.
Therefore, before the great war, the best method Chen Luo could think of was to extract the souls of all beings.
Otherwise, once the war began, all beings would likely face eternal suffering without a chance for reincarnation.
....
After annihilating all living beings in the world, Chen Luo stood alone in the high heavens, looking down upon the lifeless mortal realm.
As he watched, the light in Chen Luo's eyes grew colder. Finally, he shouted into the deserted mortal realm:
"Primal! Show yourself!!!"
If the Primal had truly merged with the Great Source, then his act of annihilating all life would undoubtedly affect its power.
Previously, Chen Luo had focused all his attention on the formation, guarding against any sneak attacks from the Primal.
But to Chen Luo's surprise, even after he had completely annihilated all life and gathered their souls, the Primal still did not appear.
And after his shout,
*Screech,.,*
A piercing sound, like glass scraping against glass, suddenly echoed through heaven and earth.
Chen Luo looked closely and saw countless fine black lines appearing between heaven and earth.
In the next moment, these lines burst open!
Suddenly, spatial tunnels opened everywhere, above and below.
Chen Luo recognized this familiar style, realizing it was the same type of passage connecting the Nine Heavens and Nine Earths that the Primal Immortal Venerable had appeared through before!
However, Chen Luo's brow furrowed deeply because, beyond the passages, he felt not pressure, but an extremely terrifying resentment!
*Plop....*
A dark mass suddenly fell out of a passage that opened in the sky, plummeting rapidly towards the ground.
Chen Luo looked closely and saw a severed head.
Before Chen Luo could get a better look...
The next moment....
*Whoosh....*
As if some switch had been flipped, endless rivers of blood poured down from all the opened passages in heaven and earth.
Within the rivers of blood were horrific, dismembered limbs of the dead.
On these limbs, residual traces of extremely powerful immortal essence fluctuations remained.
It was likely that they were all powerful immortals in life, but at this moment, they were all dead.
The rivers of blood pouring from the countless fissures seemed endless.
Even more terrifying was the fact that new spatial passages were continuously opening in the world.
More and more rivers of blood poured down. In moments, the Primal land and the vast sea were submerged by limbs and seas of blood...
*Gulp...*
In a daze, Chen Luo heard a gulping sound.