61: Trinity 2

Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao, who was still unconscious, and then at the startled allied forces in the distance: "What about these people? The Source World is not safe anywhere right now."

Ling Xiao smiled faintly, forming a hand Seal. A seven-colored light barrier spread out from the three of them, instantly covering the entire camp: "It's temporarily safe. This barrier can last for twelve hours, which is enough for our round trip."

Xiao Bing nodded: "No time to lose, let's go."

Ling Xiao placed his left and right hands on Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing's shoulders respectively: "Close your eyes, the first spatial jump might make you a little dizzy."

Before the two could respond, a flash of seven-colored light appeared, and the three figures had already vanished.

......

Tai Ling Ancient Clan Forbidden Ground, Eternal Ice Cave.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and found himself standing in a crystal-clear ice corridor. The walls on both sides of the corridor were covered with ancient murals, depicting major events since the creation of the Source World.

"This is..." The white mist Xiao Yan exhaled instantly condensed into ice crystals.

"The deepest part of the Tai Ling Ancient Clan, a Forbidden Ground that even successive Clan Chiefs are forbidden to enter." Ling Xiao walked in front, his silver hair particularly dazzling in the dim blue ice light. "Mother sealed me here, both to protect me and to await the opportune moment."

Xiao Bing reached out to touch the murals on the wall, a bone-chilling coldness emanating from his fingertips: "These paintings..."

"They record the history of the plane of origin." Ling Xiao stopped before a huge mural depicting a blue light being born from the Chaotic Sea. "The Source World was not formed naturally, but rather a world actively evolved by the plane of origin after its Awakening from Chaos."

As the three moved forward, the content of the murals gradually changed—the plane of origin nurturing life, establishing order, selecting guardians... And the appearance of those three guardians was strikingly seventy percent similar to the later three Evil Gods!

"They were once plane guardians?" Xiao Yan asked in shock.

Ling Xiao nodded: "The first three Ancient Gods were granted supreme authority by the plane of origin. But as time passed, greed grew within them, and they desired to seize the power of the plane of origin."

The murals then showed a tragic divine war—the three Ancient Gods betrayed, the plane of origin was wounded, and forced to split and escape. The largest fragment, carrying its core consciousness, hid within the Tai Ling Ancient Clan, which later became Ling Xiao.

"Mother was the Tai Ling Saintess at that time. She discovered me and used herself as a vessel to hide me." Ling Xiao's voice carried a deep sense of nostalgia. "She could have refined me to gain power, but she chose to protect me, and even... at the cost of her own life, divided me into three."

At the end of the corridor was a circular ice chamber, with a giant ice heart suspended in the center, exactly as Xiao Bing had seen in his vision. Below the ice heart, a crystal coffin lay quietly, containing a silver-haired woman whose appearance was seventy percent similar to Ling Xiao.

"Mother..." Xiao Bing involuntarily knelt down.

Xiao Yan also felt an inexplicable heartache. Although he had no memory of his birth mother, the deep connection in his Bloodline could not be faked. Ling Xiao stood by the coffin, gently caressing the ice crystal surface: "Before her death, she divided the plane of origin into three parts—ice given to Xiao Bing, fire given to Xiao Yan, and spirit... which is me, sealed here by her, awaiting the day of reunion."

The ice heart suddenly lit up with a soft blue light, projecting a scene—the young Ice Heart Saintess holding two infants, tearfully sending them into a spatial passage, then turning to face the pursuers and self-detonating her spiritual power...

"She did it to protect us..." Xiao Yan's fists clenched, making cracking sounds.

Ling Xiao placed his hand on the ice heart: "Mother left her complete memory here, including how to awaken the plane of origin without sacrificing anyone."

Xiao Bing eagerly asked: "Is there such a method?"

"Yes, but the conditions are extremely harsh." Ling Xiao looked at the two of them. "It requires a temporary Fusion of the trinity, experiencing the power of the complete plane of origin, and then... one of them bearing the entire burden."

Xiao Yan frowned: "Isn't that still a sacrifice?"

"Not entirely." Ling Xiao explained, "The bearer will not disappear, but will permanently lose their self-consciousness, becoming an Incarnation of the plane's rules, like... a Divine Artifact with a Soul."

Silence fell in the ice chamber. This choice was not much better than complete Fusion; it merely changed from sacrificing three people to sacrificing one.

"Let's try the temporary Fusion first." Xiao Bing finally broke the silence. "At least we'll know what we're facing."

Ling Xiao nodded and walked to the center of the ice chamber: "Hold hands around the ice heart, relax your minds, and don't resist the resonance."

Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing exchanged a glance, then simultaneously reached out and grasped Ling Xiao's hands. As the three hands connected, the ice heart burst forth with a dazzling bright light, illuminating the entire ice chamber as if it were daytime!

In an instant, Xiao Yan felt his consciousness being pulled into a strange space—there was no up, down, left, or right here, only an endless torrent of energy. He saw the Soul essence of Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao, so pure it made his heart tremble.

"This is... the complete plane perspective?" Xiao Yan's voice echoed in the space.

Xiao Bing's Soul light flickered: "I can see every corner of the Source World... I can even sense the fluctuations of the Chaotic Sea..."

Ling Xiao's voice was gentle and distant: "Feel this power, but also remember its cost."

A vast stream of information poured into the three's consciousness—in its complete state, the plane of origin indeed possessed the mighty power to change heaven and earth, but it also meant eternal loneliness. As an Incarnation of the plane's will, there would be no more joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, only a cold observation of the world's changes.

Xiao Yan suddenly noticed a hint of loneliness deep within Ling Xiao's Soul—this "younger brother" had waited alone in the Forbidden Ground for tens of millions of years, long accustomed to isolation. Perhaps for him, becoming a rule of the plane was a form of liberation?

As this thought arose, the Fusion state suddenly dissolved. The three returned to reality simultaneously, each stumbling back a few steps, their faces not looking well.

"Now you understand." Ling Xiao said softly, "The complete plane of origin is both a blessing and a curse."

Xiao Bing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "So Mother chose to disperse the power back then..."

"Yes, she hoped we could both protect the Source World and not lose our humanity." Ling Xiao looked at the ice heart. "But now, we have no choice but to make a decision."

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Ling Xiao, you said the mastermind is still in the Chaotic Sea, what exactly is it?"

Ling Xiao's expression became extremely solemn: "The creator of the three Ancient Gods, the primordial evil thought born in the Chaotic Sea—the 'Chaos Devourer'. The Fallen Ancient God is merely one of its pawns."

"Then even if we fuse, can we fight it?" Xiao Bing keenly pressed.

Ling Xiao was silent for a while, then honestly replied: "Uncertain. There is no relevant record in the memories Mother left behind."

The three fell silent again. Sacrificing themselves might not necessarily save the Source World, a fact that made the choice even more difficult.

"Let's go back and see Senior first." Xiao Yan finally said. "Perhaps he can offer some advice after he wakes up."

Ling Xiao nodded, about to perform a spatial jump, when his face suddenly changed: "Oh no! Yao Lao Senior is in danger!"

"What?" Xiao Yan was greatly alarmed.

Ling Xiao had no time to explain, grabbing both of them: "The Chaos Devourer has detected our actions, it sent its minions to attack the camp!"

A flash of seven-colored light appeared, and the three instantly vanished from the ice chamber.

......

Allied forces camp, Yao Lao slowly opened his eyes, finding himself protected by a layer of seven-colored light barrier. Intense sounds of fighting came from a distance; outside the light barrier, dozens of allied strongmen were battling a group of never-before-seen monsters—those monsters were like shadows, yet could materialize to attack, and ordinary spiritual power had almost no effect on them.

"These are... Shadow Demons?" Yao Lao struggled to sit up, recognizing them as the minions of the Chaos Devourer recorded in ancient texts. "Could it be..."

He struggled to his feet, pulling an ancient Jade Slip from his Pregnant. This was given to him by Elder Gu Yuan before his death, containing an ancient prophecy.

Yao Lao's trembling fingers traced the characters on the Jade Slip, and a bright light gradually lit up in his cloudy eyes: "So that's it... So that's it!"

Just then, three figures appeared out of thin air beside him—it was Xiao Yan and the other two, who had rushed back from the Tai Ling Forbidden Ground.

"Teacher!" Xiao Yan quickly supported the tottering Yao Lao. "You shouldn't be up!"

Yao Lao, however, excitedly grabbed Xiao Yan's wrist: "Little Yanzi, I found it! The prophecy Elder Gu Yuan left behind records a third method!"

The three of them were simultaneously startled: "What method?"

Yao Lao took a deep breath and pointed to the last paragraph of text on the Jade Slip: "The trinity does not need to fuse; they only need to find the 'Heart of Chaos' and use it as a vessel to bear the power of the plane of origin!"

"Heart of Chaos?" Ling Xiao frowned. "What is that?"

Yao Lao was about to explain when a heaven-shaking explosion suddenly erupted from the outskirts of the camp. Everyone turned to look, only to see the seven-colored light barrier being forcibly torn open, and a blurry black shadow slowly descending from within...