Chapter 1858: Refusing to Eat

He still held the crimson gem in his hand. The dark patterns on the pearl still emitted a faint glow.

Suddenly, He Lingchuan understood: Myriad Illusions Master had painstakingly refined the Great Millstone Pearl within his own sea of consciousness to comprehend the spark of vitality within it. He wished to advance further on the Great Dao, truly transforming from illusion to reality, and what he lacked was precisely the infinite changes that sprung from this "spark of vitality."

The vast world was inherently vibrant and diverse because of the existence and transformation of life.

However, in the secret history revealed to He Lingchuan by the Great Millstone Pearl, although the pearl had remained on the South Gate of Panlong City for over a decade, the "vitality" it absorbed was insufficient and therefore not utilized by the Vast Cube.

This foiled Zhong Shengguang's grand plan. At that time, Panlong City was on its last legs, and the glimmer of hope Zhong Shengguang sought for its citizens was to create space within the Vast Cube, allowing everyone to escape the chaos and find refuge. There was no longer any place for them in the world.

However, the Vast Cube at that time was not capable of achieving this. Zhong Shengguang could only settle for a lesser outcome: "Even if they exist, they will no longer be in the form of living beings."

Consequently, the wandering souls of Panlong Wasteland and the heroic spirits of Panlong City were all absorbed by the Vast Cube. There was indeed a space within, but it was not intended for the living.

He Lingchuan recalled what Myriad Illusions and Profound Azure Heaven had said during their battle: Mist Heaven had once acquired a portion of a divine spark from an ancient god, the "Divine Spark of Death."

The power of an ancient god's divine spark was evident from Nether Heaven. Therefore, could it be that the Vast Cube used the power of the divine spark to reconstruct an ethereal city of the deceased for the heroic spirits of Panlong City, allowing their iron-blooded lament to continue in another dimension?

From this perspective, it seemed plausible that the Soul-Snatching Mirror constantly called it a "ghost city."

Thinking of Nether, He Lingchuan's heart stirred again. Why did Zhong Shengguang and the Vast Cube favor him? Why did they pass on the divine bone necklace and the fire seed to him? Could it be because He Lingchuan was connected to Nether Heaven?

Just now, he had also heard Zhong Shengguang say that the successor needed to be smarter, more resilient, and most crucially, possess good fortune. To overthrow a demon lord would indeed require extraordinary luck. And He Lingchuan had always been a lucky general. Combining this with information he had previously obtained from other lesser demon lords, He Lingchuan had long suspected that Nether Heaven might have lost the "Divine Spark of Destiny" after its avatar was consumed by the Vast Cube.

Of the three ancient gods' divine sparks – Life, Death, and Destiny – the Vast Cube might have already acquired two. In whose hands was the "Divine Spark of Life"? Was it because the Vast Cube couldn't obtain the Divine Spark of Life that it needed the "vitality" nurtured by the Great Millstone Pearl?

Life, death, and the destiny between life and death – were these not the most crucial elements that constituted the myriad beings of the vast world?

He Lingchuan picked up the Great Millstone Pearl and asked the Chaos beneath his feet, "Will you eat this?" With that, he placed the pearl on Chaos's back.

After Myriad Illusions Master acquired the Great Millstone Pearl, he took it to Yao Nation, where it underwent ninety years of mortal tempering, before bringing it back to the Upside-Down Sea for refinement. Ninety years was not a short time; would the vitality gathered within the Great Millstone Pearl now be enough to satisfy the Vast Cube's requirements?

Although the creature beneath his feet had neither fins nor hands, he believed that if Chaos wanted to eat it, it would find a way to get it. After more than ten breaths, the Great Millstone Pearl merely spun on Chaos's back but refused to sink. It hadn't been absorbed. Did Chaos still not want it? That meant it still wasn't enough. How much mortal vitality did this creature truly need?

Having no alternative, He Lingchuan could only put the pearl away. It seemed this task would fall to him.

How was he to get out? He walked for a long time until he reached the edge of Chaos's head – though he wasn't even sure if it was Chaos's head. Looking down, the water was crystal clear, but below Chaos, chains hung down, one after another, extending all the way to the seabed, resembling a gigantic cluster of seaweed. These were the chains Chaos carried with it, ranging from a dozen to hundreds or thousands, deployed as it pleased. Ordinarily, they were silent, only stirring when attacking or capturing prey.

Just as he thought of movement, He Lingchuan heard the clanging sound of chains striking each other. "What's that?" Was there another living creature in this sea of consciousness besides him?

A chain rose from the sea and landed before He Lingchuan. Bound to the tip of the chain was something, or rather, a four-legged lizard. "Blood Fiend?" He Lingchuan gave a slight sneer. "You managed to get out too?"

After Profound Azure Heaven's demise, the Blood Fiend naturally coveted Myriad Illusions' body. However, this was Myriad Illusions' original sea of consciousness, and it was simply too difficult for it to control the giant clam as it would other demons or humans. Who could single-handedly operate an ocean-going leviathan? It was not a demon lord of Profound Azure Heaven's caliber, and it had been heavily wounded in the previous battle, now desperately needing to recover.

So its most practical idea was to slip away and reclaim the freedom it had lost for over two millennia. However, after the lone city of Panlong, represented by the Great Millstone Pearl, collapsed, it jumped into the sea of consciousness. Just as it found an exit, it was seized by Chaos's chains, utterly unable to escape!

Though the Blood Fiend was powerful, its size was negligible before Chaos. "Why?!" It couldn't understand. "Why is this thing blocking me?"

"It wouldn't have, originally," He Lingchuan said, lightly tapping Chaos a few times with his foot. "But Myriad Illusions and Profound Azure Heaven are both dead. This sea of consciousness is without a master, so for now, it's under its—temporary management."

Simply put, after both Myriad Illusions and the Great Demon Lord perished, neither He Lingchuan nor the Blood Fiend possessed the power to control the sea of consciousness. So, He Lingchuan had the Vast Cube temporarily take over Myriad Illusions' sea of consciousness. Whoever could, would. Thus, this sea of consciousness became like the Sea of Chaos itself, able to seize whomever it wished; not even a fly could escape. This was the temporary benefit He Lingchuan had secured for himself after defeating Profound Azure Heaven.

"You humans are truly untrustworthy!" the Blood Fiend raged. "You clearly promised before that if I helped you get rid of Profound Azure Heaven, you would return my freedom!"

"That was an agreement between you and the Sect Master of Illusions, not me," He Lingchuan said, spreading his hands, his tone righteous, as he had indeed merely been a bystander at the time. "Whoever makes the promise is the one who fulfills it, isn't that the most basic principle of contract?"

The Blood Fiend was exasperated. How could it have known that the once mighty and invincible Sect Master of Illusions would rapidly perish within hours, leaving it to fall into the hands of *this*... what even was this thing, Chaos?

But He Lingchuan knew that if the Vast Cube wanted to devour the Blood Fiend, it would take but a single gulp. Yet, it had placed the creature before him, which meant... it was letting He Lingchuan decide its fate? Indeed, among the countless things the Vast Cube had experienced, it certainly wasn't lacking in monstrous blood-karma. It likely had no real interest in the Blood Fiend.

How should he utilize this thing? He Lingchuan took two steps forward, leaning down to examine the four-legged lizard, so close that his face was almost against it. The Blood Fiend was controlled by Chaos and utterly incapable of harming him.