Chapter 651: Another Ancient Memory

In the underground cavern beneath the Mountain Peak Dojo.

The intangible barrier created by the isolation Array was completely useless against the Heaven-Covering Talisman. The Talisman’s formless influence had already penetrated the mountain, spreading throughout all of Qianmu Temple and Zhonghui City.

But Wang Ping was completely unaware of this, as his Primordial Spirit Consciousness was focused on fusing with the Spirit Vein’s consciousness.

The Spirit Vein Consciousness offered no resistance as Wang Ping drove his Primordial Spirit to fuse with it. In a way, it had long since become a part of Wang Ping’s physical body and was powerless to resist anyway.

An unknown amount of time passed before countless unfamiliar images and unknown memories surfaced in Wang Ping’s quiescent mind.

The remembered images were chaotic. Wang Ping felt as if he had just woken from a drunken stupor. His mind was groggy, unable to recall anything clearly, with only a few strange yet familiar scenes swirling within.

After another indeterminate period, the images began to arrange themselves in an orderly fashion.

Wang Ping, deep in meditation, felt as though he had been asleep for a very long time. Upon waking in an instant, his memories began to return…

The first thing he saw was a boundless darkness. Within it stood an incredibly dazzling figure that inspired an urge to prostrate himself in worship. The figure seemed to be speaking, but he couldn’t understand a single word.

There was no way to measure time in the darkness. It felt as though he had lived through countless eons, yet it could have been merely an instant. He discovered four other living consciousnesses beside him. Like him, they listened quietly as the dazzling figure spoke, yet none of them could understand what it was saying.

Soon, the other four beings discovered one another. Joy blossomed within them—the first time they had ever felt such an emotion.

After another endless age, the speaker before them seemed to grow tired and then simply vanished. He felt an unprecedented tension and waited anxiously.

But even after a long wait, the dazzling figure did not reappear.

While waiting, he discovered many different thoughts appearing in his mind. With every idea that emerged, patches of flowers, grass, and trees would spring into existence within the pitch-black space. Unfortunately, this space was so unique that the plants could only survive for a few moments before withering away.

At the same time, the other four figures also gained corresponding abilities. One could conjure flames to illuminate the darkness, another could summon spatial energy to form vast tracts of land, and another could transform into a source of water.

He immediately understood. This was the primordial Five Elements Energy!

So they worked together, setting a great landmass ablaze to dispel the boundless darkness. But the dark regions were still too vast, so they began their tireless, cyclical work.

An unknown amount of time passed. The Cosmos gained its first starry sky, and the first planets appeared. These five life forms began using their powers to shape the planets.

Then one day, new life emerged on the planets. They—or perhaps, *they*—were divided into different clans based on their Five Elements affinity. They helped the five original beings race across the Cosmos, shaping and creating one planet after another. Some planets would collide, the force of the impact destroying everything, only for new planets to form again with the passage of time.

Through this endless cycle, the starry sky slowly expanded into the boundless darkness.

Another immeasurable age passed.

‘Wang Ping’ saw the dazzling figure from the beginning appear once more. He immediately rushed over and prostrated himself before it, just as he had in the very beginning.

The figure spoke at length again. ‘Wang Ping’ still couldn’t understand a single word—or perhaps he couldn’t remember it. He only knew that it was speaking. When it seemed to be finished, the five of them invited the being into the palace they had built on that first planet.

Upon entering the palace, the dazzling figure seemed very pleased and began to speak again. ‘Wang Ping’ listened with joy, but that joy was short-lived. One day, the dazzling figure suddenly vanished into thin air once more.

While ‘Wang Ping’ was still lamenting the loss, he suddenly became aware of boundless slaughter raging in the world outside. He understood the concept of killing; when creating new planets, they would eliminate life forms that did not follow the rules.

But this slaughter filled him with agitation. When he and the other four beings stepped out of the palace, they found the once vibrant planet had become a wasteland.

The creatures of the Five Elements, having lost their leader, were carving up territories based on bloodlines and slaughtering one another!

‘Wang Ping’ felt a surge of rage. His body, once pure energy, transformed into a colossal tree trunk spanning several galaxies. Its branches lashed out, whipping the countless beings taking part in the slaughter.

Then, the Metal Spirit became a raging golden bull, the Water Spirit a giant dragon spanning several galaxies, the Fire Spirit a flaming Golden Crow, and the Earth Spirit the planet itself!

The slaughter was stopped. But perhaps because of it, the five original beings developed more complex thoughts. Not long after, they fell into slumber one after another.

What they didn’t know was that the “children” they cherished had long ago grown cunning from the slaughter, while their own thoughts remained as simple as ever.

So, when they awoke, they were once again met with the sight of slaughter spreading across the Cosmos.

They were deceived once again. All of their “children” claimed it was the others’ fault, making the five original beings lose their trust in one another.

This time, the slaughter was not stopped.

The dazzling figure seemed to have been awakened by the carnage. After appearing once more, it did not speak immediately. Instead, it first surveyed the slaughter across the Cosmos, then uttered a string of words: “Lies, war, slaughter, death…”

This was the first time ‘Wang Ping’ understood the being’s words. Or rather, the words from this particular memory were exceptionally clear.

When the five original beings gathered around the dazzling figure again, their initial harmony was gone, replaced by animosity and mistrust.

Then, another clear sentence reached his ears: “You are too indulgent with your children!”

With that said, the dazzling figure vanished once more.

The war and slaughter, however, did not stop.

This protracted war lasted for a very, very long time—so long that ‘Wang Ping’ forgot the peace that had once existed at the beginning of the Cosmos.

Then one day, at the edge of the Cosmos they had built, life forms they had never seen before appeared. But the present-day Wang Ping knew exactly what these beings were…

They were the Demon Race!

However, the memory ended abruptly there.

Wang Ping opened his eyes, looking around in a daze as his human memories returned to him.

“Are you all right?”

Yu Lian’s voice rang out.

Wang Ping’s thoughts snapped back to the present. After a few moments, he said softly, “I’m fine. Just feeling a little melancholic.”

Just then, he felt a powerful force gathering in his chest. He instinctively used his Primordial Spirit Consciousness to observe it and saw that a verdant, patterned Wood Spirit Crystal Core had already taken shape.

The Wood Spirit Crystal Core was absorbing a special energy from within his body. With a moment of recollection, Wang Ping realized what it was: the ‘Wood Spirit Origin’ he had devoured before!

Wang Ping had thought he had already digested the ‘Wood Spirit Origin,’ but he never expected it had only been integrated. Its energy still resided within his Spirit Body.

The Wood Spirit Crystal Core was devouring it very slowly. At this rate, it would likely take several hundred years to absorb it completely.

According to the memories imparted by the Heaven-Covering Talisman, Wang Ping knew he had already successfully advanced. The Wood Spirit Crystal Core’s current absorption was part of the subsequent cultivation process. It was just that by obtaining the ‘Wood Spirit Origin’ ahead of time, he had also started this stage of his cultivation early.