435: The Secret of the Core

The great hall was terrifyingly empty.

Only at the very center stood an altar carved from a single piece of massive black stone.

The altar was pyramid-shaped with nine steps, and at the top was a smooth platform.

On the platform, there were no Divine Weapons, Sharp Weapons, or Cultivation Technique Jade Slips as one might imagine, but instead, something indescribable floated there.

It looked like a mass of solidified light mist, constantly shifting between dark gold and gloomy hues, yet also like a slowly pulsing giant heart composed of pure energy.

Countless fine energy threads, like blood vessels, extended from this light mist, rooting deeply into the interior of the altar and even stretching into the walls, ceiling, and broken pillars of the hall.

The remaining power of the entire ruined palace seemed to be slowly absorbed by this light mist, sustaining its existence.

A vast, ancient, and overbearing aura emanated from the light mist.

This aura resonated with unprecedented intensity with the Divine Demon Transformation technique and the God-Demon Nirvana Body within Di Jintian!

It was as if waters of the same Origin, separated for many years, were finally converging!

Di Jintian's heart began to beat violently and uncontrollably.

He walked toward the altar step by step, his pace steady, but his gaze burning with intensity.

He could feel that the thing attracting him, calling to him, was right before his eyes!

Was this light mist the ultimate mystery of the Divine Demon Transformation?

The moment he stepped onto the first step of the altar, another transformation occurred!

At the top of the altar, the slowly pulsing light mist suddenly froze!

Immediately after, an unimaginably massive will, like a primordial beast awakening from a ten-thousand-year slumber, instantly locked onto Di Jintian on the steps!

"Ant... God-Demon body... impure... but... enough..."

An intermittent, grand, yet blurry fluctuation of consciousness echoed directly in the depths of Di Jintian's Soul!

Di Jintian's pupils shrank, and his hair stood on end!

An unprecedented sense of crisis washed over his entire body like ice water!

In the center of the hall, space distorted like ripples on water, and a mass of pure dark energy, large enough to obscure his vision, suddenly condensed!

It rolled and writhed, emitting a bone-chilling cold and malice that seemed to freeze the Soul.

A distorted, blurry giant face composed of pure will emerged from the darkness, its hollow eye sockets staring intently at Di Jintian.

"Ten thousand years of silence, finally a perfect shell! Your Bloodline, your bone structure, your Dao foundation... all are nourishment for my Rebirth! Sacrifice yourself!"

The voice of that will was like billions of ice needles, stabbing fiercely into Di Jintian's Sea of Consciousness.

Possession!

Alarm bells rang frantically in Di Jintian's mind.

He instantly understood the source of his palpitations—it wasn't an Opportunity, but a fatal trap set long ago!

The core will of the Divine Demon Transformation had been lurking for ages, just waiting for a perfect vessel capable of carrying it!

His blood surged, and the Divine Demon's wrathful flames burned fiercely in his pupils.

His sister Di Qingge's smile, the heavy burden of the Family blood feud, the ultimate desire for power... countless thoughts rushed through him in that moment of life and death.

No!

How could he, Di Jintian, become a sacrifice for another's Rebirth?

The God-Demon Nirvana Body erupted to its limit, and dark gold and gloomy demonic patterns moved frantically under his skin like living things, trying to resist the all-pervasive erosion of that will.

"Roar!"

Di Jintian let out a beast-like roar, and the God-Demon Heaven-Rending Claw swung out fiercely, tearing through the air and clawing toward the mass of dark will.

However, the claw shadows, which were enough to shred mountains, were silently swallowed by that pure dark will without even causing a ripple.

"Struggle is futile! Your body is my vessel!"

The dark energy turned into billions of black threads thinner than hair, ignoring the defense of the god-demon battle armor and instantly piercing into Di Jintian's brow and throughout his entire body!

The intense pain, penetrating his marrow and invading his Divine Soul, instantly overwhelmed him!

He felt his consciousness being crudely torn and stripped away by an irresistible brute force; that will was like a cold tide, frantically pouring into his shell, wanting to completely erase the mark of his existence!

His vision began to blur, and control over his body was rapidly slipping away, as if he were falling into a bottomless abyss.

Just as Di Jintian's consciousness was about to be completely submerged, and the cold tide of will was about to fully occupy this God-Demon body—

"A mere lingering remnant will dares to covet my Di Clan Bloodline?"

A calm yet supremely majestic voice, like a divine thunderclap that created heaven and earth, suddenly exploded within the hall sealed by the dark will!

Space, like a fragile glass mirror, cracked with a 'kacha', opening a hideous fissure that spanned the entire ceiling of the hall!

Within the fissure flowed the turbulent currents of time and space in colors of Chaos.

A figure stepped out from that turbulence!

Di Shenglong!

As his deep eyes swept over, the giant face of dark will that was frantically eroding Di Jintian seemed to be suppressed by billions of tons of divine mountains, letting out a shrill, distorted shriek!

"No—!"

The dark will instantly boiled and contracted violently, filled with unbelievable terror.

The power it had gathered over ten thousand years was as insignificant as dust before this figure.

Di Shenglong didn't even spare the giant face of will a second look; his gaze fell upon Di Jintian.

The God-Demon demonic patterns on Di Jintian's body were currently twisting frantically, the dark gold and gloomy light flickering uncertainly like a candle in the wind.

"Jintian, circulate the lower volume of the Divine Demon Transformation, maintain your center! This thing is formed from the hostility and instinct stripped away when the Divine Demon Transformation technique was first born; it attempts to return to the Origin and seize the nest. It is, in fact, your nourishment!"

The voice wasn't loud, but it was like a great bell, carrying the power to sever all confusion, and it crashed fiercely into the depths of Di Jintian's crumbling consciousness!

Clan Chief!

Di Jintian's flickering flame of consciousness was suddenly injected with a surge of boundless power by this voice!

It's the Clan Chief! The Clan Chief is here!

"Ah—!"

Di Jintian let out a roar that shattered the pain in his Soul, forcibly gathering the last shred of clarity. Ignoring the bone-deep tearing pain, he frantically activated the lower volume of the Divine Demon Transformation technique!

The potential of the God-Demon Nirvana Body was completely squeezed out, and the demonic patterns on his body erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!

Boom!

As Di Jintian reversed the circulation of his technique, the black threads of pure will that had invaded his body seemed to encounter their nemesis, making a sizzling melting sound!

It was no longer erosion, but rather being frantically pulled, devoured, and refined by Di Jintian's Origin power!

A boundless, ancient, and unimaginably pure torrent of energy, like a celestial river bursting its banks, surged back into Di Jintian's entire body, washing through every one of his Meridians and acupoints!

"No! I am unwilling! I am the source of the divine demon... Ah—!"

The dark will let out a howl of ultimate despair, and the energy composing its massive body rapidly drained away visibly to the naked eye, as if being sucked away by an invisible vortex, continuously pouring into Di Jintian's body.

Finally, with a cry of unwilling misery, it completely disintegrated, turning into a final surge of pure will that was entirely swallowed by Di Jintian!

The suffocating darkness and pressure within the hall receded like a tide.

Di Jintian floated in mid-air, his eyes tightly closed.

The God-Demon demonic patterns on his body were no longer boiling violently, but were pulsing with light like breathing; the dark gold and gloomy light blended perfectly, flowing with an ancient, profound, and Perfection charm.

A brand new, boundless aura, far exceeding the Ninth Level of the Heaven-Reaching Realm, erupted from within him!

Boom—!

An invisible wave of Qi spread violently with him as the center, crashing heavily against the ancient walls of the hall, making a dull roar and shaking down countless layers of dust.

Countless shackles within his body seemed to snap in an instant; spiritual power surged and roared, and the power of his Divine Soul skyrocketed and solidified!

Tong Tian Realm Tenth Level!

Di Jintian slowly opened his eyes.