Chapter 436: Ancient Ape Evolution History (Two-in-One)

**Volume 1: Main Text**

It was the seventeenth year of the Great Joy Dynasty. The Great Joy Emperor had been missing for four years.

Four years prior, three deities had secretly joined forces to launch a surprise attack on the Great Joy Emperor. Astonishingly, he was not instantly killed. Despite his severe injuries, he unleashed incredible combat power, repelling the three deities and escaping while gravely wounded.

The Great Joy Dynasty fractured, its ruler nowhere to be found. Logically, a new dynasty should have been established by a deity, similar to when the Holy Sakura Dynasty fell, to re-establish governance. However, the three deities did not found a new dynasty. Instead, they established several new cities, forming three major clans. They focused on recovery, reorganized human marriages, and restored social order. After all, the Sakura Deities had established their new dynasty only after indirectly confirming the previous ruler's death through various means.

The Great Joy Emperor, however, was merely gravely wounded and hidden in the shadows. The fear he instilled in humanity lingered in everyone's hearts. Unless he was definitively killed, it would forever remain the era of the Great Joy Dynasty! This was his dark era of rule, with a terrifying and powerful entity looming high, looking down upon all beings.

Even though the reigning Emperor was severely injured and missing, his Great Joy Dynasty had not been overthrown. It continued, with time still measured according to his dynastic calendar, as if people were almost certain he would return to reign supreme once more. This was an unprecedented situation in history! One person astounding the world—never before seen! This demonstrated the profound shadow cast by this dark deity, who descended upon the world and established twelve cities, deeply impacting contemporary humanity. Even in the future, it would be difficult for such a bizarre and bloody era to re-emerge. The Great Joy Emperor's wickedness during this dynasty would mark him as the most notorious figure of all ages, destined to be recorded in history and become a turning point.

At this time, humans were able to remarry, form clan tribes, and give birth to new offspring. The zombie virus continued to spread, subtly altering their physiques and consciousness. Within mere decades, the newly born infants began to exhibit unbelievable transformations.

“This is terrifying!”“Babies are born the size of two-year-olds!”“Such large births are incredibly painful for women! If they weren't third or fourth-tier beings, they would likely have…”

Countless people were terrified; such body sizes were abnormally frightening. It was as if they were evolving beyond humanity. The children they bore seemed like a different human species from themselves. They rapidly gained intelligence upon birth, growing tall and strong, playing boisterously throughout the tribes, crawling and rolling in the mud.

“Perhaps the Great Joy Emperor's tyranny, his establishment of twelve cities to detain our women and prevent us from procreating, inadvertently halted our evolution! Otherwise, this situation would have begun much earlier!”

No one knew what the future held. Even the high-ranking clan deities wore solemn expressions. This period was later termed the "Paleozoic Era." It was a brief seven-year period, later recognized by humanity as profoundly influential and pivotal. It marked humanity's first life leap, the initial stage of its grand evolution, which subsequent deities dubbed the "Early Ancient Ape Age."

It was the twenty-fourth year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

Several years passed, and terrifying signs reappeared. As the number of newborns steadily increased, people horrifyingly discovered that their own body types were gradually transforming to resemble those of the infants.

“Our bodies?”“How is this possible! Our faces, hair color, pupils, and bones are all changing and growing! We're getting taller! People in our tribe have grown over twenty centimeters in just one week! Such growth is clearly a change that should only occur in infancy, but we are already adults!”“Even we are starting to be infected!”

Amidst countless exclamations, their bodies elongated, gradually reaching over three meters in height. They became graceful and slender, with well-defined muscles. Their previously built homes were no longer sufficient. They still retained the handsome features of the Ishudal people. The evolutionary characteristics of their bodies gradually and fully erupted! Humans from the central and western regions had always intermarried, with mixed-race individuals accounting for 40% of the population. Yet, the faces of the two races remained distinct. At this point, however, their genes seemed to merge and transform in some way! Races seemed to disappear, and they unified into a single new human species.

Initially, humans above the sixth tier were spared, maintaining their original forms due to their higher life essence, which provided strong resistance. Three more years passed, and even sixth-tier humans could not escape. Their bodies were rapidly assimilated, becoming tall and formidable, reaching three meters in height. The old humans, who were originally 1.7 meters tall, only came up to their waists. Only seventh-tier Heavenly Emperors and deities remained unaffected, retaining their original, normal human forms.

“Where will our era lead?”

In the tribes, white-haired elders prostrated themselves on the ground. Having reached a "second spring" in their old age, they grew wildly, transforming into 3.4-meter-tall giants, praying to the heavens. This brief nine-year period marked the second life leap. Its bizarre and mysterious nature caused later deities to speak of it with apprehension, unable to fathom its cause. They termed it the "Late Ancient Ape Age."

It was the thirty-seventh year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

Ten years had passed since the drastic transformation of human bodies, and the changes were gradually stabilizing. For a period, there were no further anomalies, as if evolution had ceased. Unlike the Ishudal people, whose advanced civilization modified genes to imbue cultivation instincts, allowing adults to reach third or fourth tier, these new humans appeared more natural, without any mixed artificial traces! After all, they were undergoing "natural" evolution at a frantic pace. The new humans also possessed fourth-tier cultivation upon adulthood and perfectly activated demon cores. There was no longer a need for the Ishudal's "Human Eugenics Program," which ensured every infant could activate a demon core by reducing the birth rate. They had enormous appetites and absorbed vast amounts of energy. Even an eight-year-old child could lift a 300-jin (approx. 150 kg) stone lock in the tribe!

“We are perfect new humans!” someone proclaimed loudly. “Originally, we were the Corpse Tribe, intelligent beings born from corpses. But now the entire world is filled with Corpse Tribe members... so the concept of the Corpse Tribe will disappear! We are a new human race!”

However, after a decade, a second, even more terrifying mutation erupted!

It was the thirty-eighth year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

While the original Corpse Tribe, born from corpses, was predominantly human due to their numerical advantage, intelligent Corpse Naga and Corpse Dragons from sea and dragon races also existed in significant numbers. At this point, their bodies underwent horrifying mutations.

“Our bodies?”“This!! This!!”

To their horror, they found their own bodies transforming towards the new human form. Their scales contracted and fell off, revealing fair skin. Even their claws changed, developing human hands and feet.

“Even we are being forcibly transformed into new humans over three meters tall?” They were utterly terrified.

This period lasted for over four years. The former dragons, nagas, and hydras had been forcibly infected, transforming into individual humans. Although their bodies still bore dragon horns or some scales, they were indistinguishable from the new humans. In fact, these features added a touch of mystery and handsomeness.

“In this world, there are no longer powerful magical beast races like dragons, nagas, or hydras!”“There is only us, the new humans!”“It's assimilating everything relentlessly!”

Countless humans from tribal clans cheered. This brief six-year period, strange and mysterious, was later termed the "Early Homo Sapiens Age" by subsequent deities.

It was the forty-fifth year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

Humans did not cheer for long. They discovered that their own bodies also began to undergo mutations, growing dragon horns, sparse scales like the Naga, and other partial features of various magical beasts. Only at this moment did they realize that it wasn't the new humans assimilating the great magical beasts. Instead, humanity and all the magical beasts' genes had completely intermingled, undergoing some mysterious optimization to become a single species. They were acquiring the genes of magical beasts, and magical beasts were acquiring human genes. They were ultimately becoming the same species! This was the true nature of the world! This period, during which humans integrated the genes of all superior species, undergoing a process of natural selection within the gene chain, was called the "Late Homo Sapiens Age."

It was the forty-eighth year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

Initially, humanity rejoiced and was happy about evolving and becoming stronger. But after the joy came an unknown fear of the virus! At this point, the fear intensified! The new humans, along with dragons, nagas, chimeras, and others, now lived together, all possessing a unified form. It was impossible to distinguish their original races: handsome dragon horns, Naga scales on key areas of fair skin, bodies around 3.5 meters tall, and hydra-like vertical pupils. They were handsome and mysterious new humans.

Countless people in the tribal clans wailed.“This is too terrifying! Plants, animals, life… it assimilates everything in the world, combining the genes of all creatures… transforming them into a single species! Life in the world is infected; soon, there will only be one species left!”“Then, those magical beasts won't also… be turning back into humans, will they?”“Won't all our efforts be in vain?”

Under the horrified gaze of countless people, events indeed unfolded as feared. Following the dragons and nagas among the magical beasts, those beasts that once possessed fur genes also began to experience fur regression. They seemed to be standing up again, taking on a form that was the same as the new human species.

“We’re doomed! It’s integrating the genetic material of every creature in the entire world, turning the whole world into a single species!” This was utterly horrifying. Indeed, strictly speaking, there was now only one species left in the entire world—zombies. Although this had technically always been the case, their differing body types had previously prevented them from considering themselves the same kind. But now, they were all undergoing evolution towards a single species!

“It's too overbearing! This is the Grand Unification Virus!” Even the deities were terrified, feeling powerless. Perhaps an apocalyptic disaster had arrived. While it couldn't infect them, the entire world beneath the deities would not be spared! These deities, concerned for their tribal residents and their own races, continued to traverse the land. What they discovered next sent shivers down their spines: “Not only magical beasts, but now even plants that forcibly grew demon cores are gradually integrating with us, slowly turning into people, into the same type of creature…”

“Plants, magical beasts—all are turning into humans!”“Under this infection, will there only be one type of humanoid creature left in the world in the future?”

As countless people shuddered in fear, an even more incredible scene unfolded! At this very moment, the magical beasts that were being forcibly transformed and gradually turning into humans began to regrow their fur, reverting to their beast forms and continuing to leisurely roam the mountains and lands. The plants also forcibly reverted to their plant forms, flourishing verdantly across the land and blooming with colorful flowers. It seemed as if something was resisting the Grand Unification Virus, refusing its assimilation, and even appearing to be on par with it!

Under careful human observation, it appeared that not just one, but two other viruses were contending with the Grand Unification Virus: a magical beast infection virus and a plant infection virus. These, along with the human infection virus, formed a terrifying three-way standoff! They competed and infected each other. It was only upon observing this that people fully realized something significant!

Some deities traversed mountains, rivers, and lands, conducting continuous research, only then discerning some truths about the world: “Unbeknownst to us, the virus had, through evolution, undergone a terrifying diversification! They were no longer the same virus!”“Now there are three viruses, competing with each other!”“The first virus, the human infection virus, was likely the original one, erupting in the Ishudal people. Later, through continuous evolution, a branch mutation appeared: the second virus, specifically infecting plants and forcing them to grow demon cores. This could be called the plant-type virus!”

They had initially thought that the zombie virus infecting plants and forcing them into demon core plants was the same virus affecting themselves. Only now did they realize it was completely different! It was a mutated variant that had detached from the original, exclusively infecting plants.

“The third magical beast virus, which we likely engineered as a dominant gene virus and implanted into magical beasts… this virus has actually merged with the human infection virus, creating a new variant. This third virus was indirectly produced because of us!”

Everyone continued to analyze, finding it terrifying yet also feeling fortunate, as if having survived a great calamity. After all, the Grand Unification Virus was simply too terrifying! If the other two viruses—the magical beast virus and the plant virus—had not refused assimilation and instead joined forces to resist the most powerful and widespread Grand Unification Virus, the world would likely have been doomed!

At this point, the virus's evolution was suppressed, entering a completely stable period. The three mysterious viruses—humanoid, beast, and plant—were named by the people across the land as the Three Primordial Pillar Gods. They were the creators who controlled the origin of life and the shackles of evolution, formless and intangible, utterly mysterious. It was even unknown whether they possessed their own intelligence!

According to historical records, the ancient humans of this era experienced terrifying anomalies. Achieving instant evolution in a long history of evolution was a discontinuity in human evolutionary history. No one knew how the small, meter-tall ape-like "ancient apes" could transform into three-meter-tall "Homo Sapiens" in just over forty years. Some say it was due to ancient human ancestors encountering an unknown virus, but the exact truth remains unexplored. Consequently, the civilization of the Ishudal people became even more buried in the dust of history.

In later ages, the previous Ishudal people, with an average height of 1.75 meters, were referred to as the "pre-Paleozoic" short prehistoric people. People found it hard to believe that such short, slender, and "ugly" ancient ape-like beings could have once developed such a terrifyingly brilliant super-ancient civilization. It was like modern Earth humans refusing to believe that scrawny 0.5-meter monkeys could develop an advanced civilization. Time is always cruel, burying the glory of ages past. The once passionate, zealous, and brave Ishudal people were completely forgotten by later generations.

It was the fiftieth year of the Great Joy Dynasty.

Just as humanity had barely adapted to the terrifying three viruses, still reeling from the shock, a horrifying roar echoed throughout the entire Cloud Green Mountain Range:

“Fifty years since the founding of my nation, I return once more! Thank you, all beings, for helping me raise my women!”“In this world, both men and women are over three meters tall. My height only reaches their waists—how novel! Truly novel!”“Henceforth, the whole world shall be my children!”

After thirty-six years, the Great Joy Emperor returned, sending shockwaves across the world.

***

**Spore Evolution Forum**

A screenshot was posted, showing the Great Joy Emperor's sudden emergence, indicating a tense situation. All players stared in astonishment.

“Holy cow, he's still so arrogant? There are already seven or eight deities in this land now!”

“If it were me, I'd definitely launch a sneak attack, kill one or two ordinary deities, and only strike openly once they reacted. That way, the chances of ruling the world would be higher!”

Everyone debated, agreeing that, by conventional wisdom, this would be the optimal choice. Who knew this guy would be so arrogant, revealing his identity immediately without any stealth attacks, giving everyone time to prepare.

**Old Wang Doesn't Brag:** “Hmph! I, the Cuckold Deity, live for joy! I'll do whatever feels good, whatever's most exciting! You three ambushed me, and you think I'd stoop to ambushing you?! I disdain such vulgar acts! If I were him, I'd only ambush in a different way… that's the true nature of a real man! I'd first go to your house, find your wife, cuckold you, and then happily wait for you there!”

Everyone spat out old blood. *This* kind of ambush!? Everyone was instantly shocked. This netizen spoke with such familiarity, appearing so seasoned; he seemed to be a person with a story. They needed to be wary of him.

*Screenshot,**Screenshot,*More screenshots were posted one after another.

**Scare Your Life 3000:** “Hello everyone, the situation just exploded! The Great Joy Emperor appeared in the Cloud Green Mountain Range, and it wasn't without a target. The deity of the Cloud Green Clan was one of the three who attacked the Great Joy Emperor back then… When the Cloud Green Deity rushed home, he found he'd already been cuckolded. The Great Joy Emperor was there, happily embracing his wife, waiting for him. The two immediately engaged in a furious battle. The Cloud Green Deity escaped, severely wounded. After all, even as a mid-tier deity, directly killing the Great Joy Emperor was difficult. As you know about the Corpse Tribe's awakened form—unlocking genetic locks, burning cells, zombification—as long as they have determination, they won't die. So he still managed to escape!”

Everyone fell silent on the spot. Listening to the unfolding events, the previous netizen was practically a prophet!