Chapter 222: Transformation into a Planet, Simulating the Origin of Life

The water source, as if a potent poison, quickly began to permeate the entire land. Within just a few days, the vibrant green trees began to rot, and drops of viscous liquid covered the ground. Animals gradually weakened, running frantically until they collapsed with a thud, unable to rise again.

Life was being destroyed, and panic spread everywhere.

“Help!”

“What’s happening to the world?”

Members of ancient tribes cried out, running frantically within their settlements before gradually collapsing. Blood streamed from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and soon, all signs of life vanished.

Eerie.Deathly silent.Desolate.

Even many nascent cultivators within the inner world were contaminated and severely wounded.

Within his Dantian, a fiery red Golden Crow, resembling a scorching sun, gazed upon the desolate world ravaged by what seemed like nuclear radiation. It appeared utterly bewildered and incredulous, as if witnessing the apocalypse. In the ancient world, the phenomenon of “poison” was almost nonexistent. No Heavenly Emperors had ever focused on developing poison-related cultivation; they all pursued orthodox Dao methods and physical body cultivation. Thus, he had never imagined that this “toxic water” and “toxic soil” could devastate his inner world.

“The Guixu…”

A Golden Crow floated in the center, observing the terrible cataclysms constantly erupting across the nine worlds, life perishing amidst agonizing cries. Its gaze burned with fury. “As expected of the Land of All Things Returning to Stillness,” it thought, “I vastly underestimated it. I simply cannot comprehend it using my understanding from the ancient world… This dead zone is filled with unfathomable and mysterious dangers! Not only can no life survive here, but even the water is highly toxic!”

Di Qi had not anticipated that upon entering the Guixu for his long journey through the stars, his inner world would instantly suffer such immense damage.

Swoosh!

The land seemed utterly desolate, plunged into a deathly silence. Nearly all the native species brought from the ancient world were obliterated. Their carcasses sank into the seawater, and after several days, began to decay, emitting a putrid stench. Yet, strangely, some spores had begun to germinate peculiar life forms on their decaying bodies…

Another three days passed.

Suddenly, patches of muddy, decaying aquatic plants gradually emerged in the water. Instantly, he felt a weight lift from his heart. He knew that at this very moment, he was perilously close to death. If all life within his inner world were extinguished, he would lose his supply of “incense”—the spiritual energy. Like a rootless duckweed, his energy would eventually deplete, leading to his demise within the Guixu.

“That mysterious ancient woodcutter sage, with his divine foresight, must have already predicted that the life forms I brought from the ancient world would be extinguished, hence this contingency plan.” Di Qi was utterly convinced, feeling that this ancient sage, whose true power level was unknown, was far too enigmatic and had accounted for every possible outcome.

He quietly observed the land, then mused aloud, “It seems new life has adapted to these potent poisons, thriving amidst the decay and even rooting themselves in the corpses of the ancient world’s beings, absorbing their nutrients… Does the environment shape the life that emerges? If so, what would happen if I were to introduce the remains of those ten Great Emperors?”

Those ten Ancestral Witch Heavenly Emperors had been slain by him in the Great Luo Heaven. Their immense inner worlds, each comparable to a Great Luo Heaven, had long been absorbed into his body, expanding his Nine Heavens. Their innate primordial spirits had also been refined by him, becoming a part of his primordial spirit clones. However, their physical remains—the human bodies of these Void-Piercing Great Emperors—had been stored away by him, unused. Now, perhaps they could nourish this world and serve one final purpose.

“In ancient times, the Dao Lord infused his own blood and bones into this world to create us, the thirteen innate ancient gods. So, if I use the corpses of the eleven ancient Ancestral Witch Heavenly Emperors for gestation, what kind of life might emerge from them?”

His eyes gradually brightened. Following the disaster, this new idea sparked in his mind. These were the bones and bloodlines of Heavenly Emperors, immensely noble! What kind of life would emerge if creatures were to assimilate them?

He slowly extended a hand.

CRASH!

In the distant Heavenly Emperor tombs, graves were unveiled one by one. The bodies of the Ancestral Witch Heavenly Emperors—each with eight arms, a serpentine body, and a pointed tail—soared into the air, appearing heroic and towering, still radiating wisps of imperial might.

“Go!”

BANG!!

The flesh and bones of the Heavenly Emperors shattered. Their bloodlines, muscles, and bones exploded into a bloody mist, their essence scattering across the nine great worlds. Countless spores rapidly perished. They had previously withstood heavy metal toxins and and radiation, but now, they could not endure the terrifying power contained within a Heavenly Emperor’s flesh and blood.

The first great extinction event had begun.

Survival of the fittest.

A deathly silence permeated the entire world.

Gradually, after several days, new life forms rooted themselves in the decaying soil, absorbing the Heavenly Emperors’ flesh and remains. They slowly evolved and mutated, their life structures appearing somewhat grotesque, viscous, and equipped with scythes, arms, and sharp claws…

“If that is the case, then I shall make the best of this situation. I will continue outward, searching for vast amounts of soil and water.” Di Qi stated calmly.

In fact, this approach was sound. Finding truly clean water and soil would be highly unrealistic; such resources might only exist on larger planets protected by an atmosphere. The small meteorites drifting through space were, by nature, akin to “debris and impurities,” inherently incapable of being clean.

With this thought, Di Qi, now outside, strode through the dark void. He drifted continuously outward, beginning to collect various stellar resources along his path, effectively transforming into a humanoid “resource harvester.”

The Pangu Golden Body had not disappeared either. After all, this form was achieved by expending immense energy to expand his physique, growing flesh and bone to create a gigantic combat body. Shrinking it, however, proved difficult. Just as a person can grow with energy but cannot condense back into an infant state once grown, so too was his Pangu form. To abandon the Pangu form, he would have to relinquish this immense physical body, allowing his minuscule “true self” to emerge, much like Dao Changsheng did in the past.

“This is also why manifesting the true Pangu form requires such immense energy expenditure. After collecting these resources, I naturally cannot discard it, but the energy needed to maintain its movement is also enormous. I can only enter a state of slumber and activate it when necessary.”

“Since the resources are gathered, I shall now embark on my long journey… into hibernation.”

RUMBLE!

His massive body began to bend and curl into a crouch, his eight arms wrapping around himself, forming a “sphere.” Gradually, a hard, dark, bony protective shell began to envelop the exterior of his Pangu True Body. These bones, resembling gold and jade, were incredibly hard.

“Thus, I will no longer fear detection by other life forms; the previous incident with the light will not recur… I can disguise myself as a celestial body, and through hibernation, conceal my life aura.” He curled into a tight ball, resembling a spherical, bony meteor, flying at tremendous speed toward the depths of the universe.

WHOOSH—

Surrounded by stars, in a night sky ablaze with the Milky Way, he was gradually departing the solar system.

This world was breathtakingly beautiful! Stars sparkled, dotted with brilliant lights, and the scenery of the dark cosmic sea never repeated along his journey. Drifting through the splendid galaxy, he felt no boredom; merely gazing upon its grandeur and vastness brought him satisfaction. Furthermore, Di Qi possessed an immense curiosity. What could that terrifying, distant galaxy, with its hundreds of millions of colossal stars, possibly contain if he were to approach them? New forms of life? Alien civilizations? One of the myriad realms? Or, some entirely unforeseen cosmic phenomenon?

His heart burned with eagerness, feeling that this was precisely what his Great Luo Heaven Scripture truly required: to encompass all creation.

“Hmm? What kind of Guixu laws govern these? Small stars are one thing, but these enormous, sprawling celestial bodies all appear to follow specific trajectories and patterns… Are they in fixed orbits? And they possess terrifyingly thick, white atmospheric shields, within which lie mountains, valleys, and land?”

As he sped along, a solemn, contemplative expression settled on his face. As a Heavenly Emperor, one naturally possessed vast knowledge and wisdom, and he was no exception. He again gazed at the dazzling starry expanse around him. Not far off, immense, desolate planets were also enveloped by atmospheres, and even larger celestial bodies had smaller ones orbiting them.

He stated calmly:

“These large celestial bodies inherently possess terrifying gravitational pull, attracting smaller celestial bodies to form ‘satellites’—a truly extraordinary cosmic phenomenon… And the natural mist enveloping these massive celestial bodies, much like our immortal Dao’s defensive garment techniques, acts as a natural protective shield, capable of resisting damage… Is this the natural order within the Guixu? This truly is the essence of the world! Since this phenomenon is prevalent throughout the Guixu, there must be a profound reason for it, aligning with the universal laws of the Guixu… I can attempt to emulate it. As the woodcutter sage once said, ‘The Dao follows nature.’ I shall take heaven and earth as my teachers… to uncover their profound truths.”

He was adept at drawing inspiration, secretly learning the unique techniques of various Heavenly Emperors. Now, he even sought to emulate celestial bodies. As the most powerful Heavenly Emperor spanning the ancient world, the hidden manipulator behind every era, he had just stepped into the Guixu and was already demonstrating boundless audacity! The first thing he intended to do was to begin learning from the planets themselves!

“An atmospheric protective shield… what if I were to emulate it using our ancient world’s body-protective Dao techniques?” he mused calmly.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Wild winds howled, and manifold phenomena erupted from his outer surface. Originally, the semi-transparent ancient robes that enveloped his Pangu Golden Body began to transform into a layer of gaseous energy shield, gradually encasing his body… White streams of energy slowly circled his spherical form. It truly resembled a vast, cloud-like atmosphere.

“Isolating myself from the outside is indeed effective… Moreover, as it’s fundamentally a body-protective Dao technique from our ancient world, its energy upkeep is minimal as long as it’s not subjected to direct impact. A single world within my body is sufficient to easily restore it.” His thoughts stirred, “If that’s the case, could I inject air into this protective shield, allowing life to thrive on the surface of my celestial body?”

He then looked at the distant celestial bodies; some of their surfaces remarkably featured rivers and mountains… This was no longer mere imitation. While these desolate celestial bodies bore no life, he intended to foster it—this was transcendence! But he was already long accustomed to such endeavors: learning from others, integrating knowledge, innovating, and then incorporating it all into the Great Luo Heaven Scripture!

“However, even this isn’t enough. These large celestial bodies all rely on gravity for soil and water to adhere to their surfaces. But I can utilize gravitational Dao techniques to absorb soil and water, allowing them to cling to my form…”

CRACK!!

How decisive he was! As this spherical form flew, it violently shattered many meteorites along its path, absorbing their soil and water and wrapping them around itself.

“Given this, I shall allow life to proliferate upon my form and observe the outcome!”

The next moment.

WHOOSH!

From his inner world, he attempted to release a patch of spores and poured forth rivers, covering the surface of his planetary form. Like a miniature living world, life swiftly began to proliferate upon his exterior.