Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast

Just before the Chaotic Imperial City erupted, Chen Chu and the Endbringer Dragon Emperor completed the forging of their undying bodies in the distant Sea of Chaos. Their cultivation had soared to new heights, but compared to the world-shaking spectacle of their breakthroughs, the man and the beast now appeared almost ordinary.

Chen Chu's true form now stood a million kilometers tall. The black Imperial Crown of Twenty-Four Heavens rested on his head, and a ten-thousand-kilometer-wide white halo flowed endlessly behind him. His presence radiated vast, divine majesty, like the supreme god of myth and legend from Blue Planet.

As for the Dragon Emperor, its true form was far larger. Even in its standard state, it reached an unimaginable one hundred and fifty million kilometers. A single heavy scale on its body was the size of Jupiter, and the thinnest abdominal scale was ten thousand kilometers thick. Three rows of mountain-like dorsal peaks rose from its back, stretching tens of millions of kilometers into the distance.

The mere existence of such a creature, spanning the void, exuded overwhelming pressure. Although Chen Chu and the Dragon Emperor no longer released destructive power, the Silver Colossal Dragon perched upon the black-and-red beast's head dared not move recklessly.

From what Silver Colossal Dragon could perceive, the tens of thousands of kilometers of space-time surrounding the Dragon Emperor were compressed, layer by layer, to the point of twisting and crushing all principles.

Ao Tian and that human have become terrifyingly powerful.

The Silver Colossal Dragon trembled in awe and excitement. It shook its four claws and flicked its tail upward as it basked in the Dragon Emperor's immense aura.

The Dragon Emperor's strength had advanced without a hitch during the three centuries of seclusion. But the breakthrough aura it released and the origin energy surrounding it had also immensely benefited the Silver Colossal Dragon.

It had grown to a million meters in length, and its cultivation had reached the semi-primordial level. Primordial qi had begun to condense and take shape within its body.

Its overall form had grown closer to that of the Dragon Emperor. Its three rows of dorsal fins rose like mountain peaks; its tail was longer and more slender than that of most dragons; and a flowing silver mane surrounded its head, giving it a regal presence.

At first glance, one might even mistake the two as father and daughter. In just a few centuries, it had advanced from the beginning stage of the true spirit level to the semi-primordial level. When compared to the Dragon Emperor's leap from the peak of the true spirit level into the pinnacle of the Sixth Primordial Heaven, it seemed rather ordinary, yet for other colossal beasts of the mythical world, such progress was already astonishing.

More importantly, the Silver Colossal Dragon's bloodline had continued evolving under the influence of the Dragon Emperor's heavenly-tier bloodline, rising from high-grade emperor-level bloodline to pseudo-heavenly-tier. So long as it did not perish midway, it now had enough bloodline potential to grow into a primordial-sovereign-level being.

As Chen Chu stood amid chaos, he felt a trace of regret. Whether it was he or the Dragon Emperor, both had halted just one step short of crossing the Sixth Primordial Heaven.

The nine Primordial Heavens could be divided into three major tiers, each marked by a profound transformation. The essence of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Primordial Heavens lay in the source of chaotic space-time. When the past, future, and present united in harmony, one would be able to step into the Seventh Primordial Heaven.

Chen Chu had already grasped the past, condensed the future, and completed the step toward fusion. His realm had reached perfection, yet he could not achieve the final metamorphosis of his true form, for his undying power was still insufficient.

There was no helping it. Their foundations had simply been too immense. It was both a blessing and a curse. Their physical strength had allowed them to wield battle power far beyond their realm, but when breaking through, that same strength became a barrier, demanding over a hundred times more energy than others at their level.

Even after refining an undying body each, the power contained within was still not enough for them to advance. The Dragon Emperor, whose true form was far more formidable than Chen Chu's, had not even completed one-tenth of its transformation, let alone touched upon the eternal and immortal state of true undying.

Under normal circumstances, even for Chen Chu, this final step would have required thousands or tens of thousands of years. The source of undying power lay in chaotic qi. One had to devour and refine vast quantities of chaotic qi, extract the chaotic origin, and temper it through will and life force to transform it into undying power.

That refinement was painfully slow, often spanning tens of thousands of years. This was why there were only a few beyond the Seventh Primordial Heaven in the Sea of Chaos. Those powerhouses spent their lives in endless seclusion, devouring and refining chaos rather than waging war.

Of course, eternal qi was even greater. It stood above chaos itself. That was precisely why Chen Chu and the Dragon Emperor had managed to forge their undying bodies. In that way, the remnant eternal power of Heng had aided them. Without that, even an Eighth-Primordial-Heaven being could never have refined the corpse of a Seventh-Primordial-Heaven powerhouse.

Undying was not some mere walk in the park.

Origin... I need more origin. Any energy that can be converted into origin will do.

An stronger craving for the world's origin welled up within Chen Chu's heart. Yet he then exhaled softly, cutting off that restless surge and showing a faint smile.

One should not be too greedy. Leaping directly from the beginning stage of the primordial level to the Sixth Primordial Heaven was already an extraordinary harvest. Moreover, this was merely his cultivation realm. His transformation in every other aspect was even more astonishing. The ten chaotic light wheels behind him had now become thirteen, each one embodying a force equivalent to a life-bound ability or a supreme principle.

The Dragon Emperor had undergone a terrifying evolution as well, once again condensing three new life-bound abilities with its three divine transformation abilities as cores.

By now, even Chen Chu no longer knew how strong he or it had become. He had no benchmark, nor comparison to measure against.

"It's time to return. The Ancient Battlefield will be a fine testing ground, and those people have been looking for me anyway."

The blood-red eye at the center of his brow slowly opened. A ferocious wheel appeared within that crimson gaze, surrounded by rolling tides of blood-colored light, as if foreshadowing something ominous.

When the strongest of the Shadow War God Race shattered the True Reincarnation Emperor's power of reincarnation and combined it with the concealment of Hidden Divinity, they finally caught a glimpse of Chen Chu's true name. At that very instant, Chen Chu sensed it.

The black flames that shrouded layer upon layer of space-time and drowned countless dimensions had made it clear to Chen Chu that the spies were from the Shadow War God Race. That race's power was far too distinct to be mistaken.

Moreover, faint golden light had also flickered around the illusion of those endless black flames, a sign that another supreme powerhouse had lent assistance. However, that act of spying had been shattered by a single roar from a colossal beast before it could lock onto Chen Chu's location and space-time coordinates through his true name.

But Chen Chu naturally would not let this enmity pass. To use a great divine ability to lock onto another's true name and search their coordinates was, in essence, an act of eternal hostility and something that would never end until one side perished. Such an art was never used without deep, irreconcilable hatred.

Boom!

A blood mark stretching billions of kilometers descended. Endless blood light burst forth from within, transforming into a sea of blood that engulfed Chen Chu. He vanished into the depths of the dimensional void in a violent surge of spatial fluctuation.

The Silver Colossal Dragon finally exhaled in relief as it watched the red light fade away like a mirage, along with that terrifying human.

Ao Tian, that human is gone.

The Dragon Emperor gave a slow nod, letting out a low rumble that shook the chaos itself.

Yes, he's gone.

Now that the overwhelming pressure was gone, the Silver Colossal Dragon relaxed. It roared again and asked.Ao Tian, where do we go now? Should we return to find Yiyi, or should we head straight into the depths of chaos and hunt a few primordial colossal beasts to eat?

When it spoke of hunting primordial colossal beasts, the Silver Colossal Dragon's tone grew excited, revealing its cruel and ferocious beastly nature. Of course, it was the Dragon Emperor who would be doing the eating. The Silver Colossal Dragon didn't have the stomach for such prey. It could not digest the flesh of a beast an entire major realm above itself, let alone convert it into evolutionary energy.

Despite the Silver Colossal Dragon's eager gaze, the Dragon Emperor shook its massive head. When its enormous, feral head moved, the surrounding Sea of Chaos quaked violently beneath its power.

No rush. There's still a battle to fight. Once it's done, we'll head into the depths of the chaotic void.

The Silver Colossal Dragon howled with joy.

Battle! The great Saixitia loves battle. The great Saixitia wants to see rivers of blood.

***

Chen Chu crashed through dimensions surrounded by the power of the Supreme Hell, leaping toward Chaotic Imperial City. Yet the moment he used the Hell Plane as a conduit, his energy began to drain at a terrifying rate, a full tenth of it vanishing instantly.

Even the Supreme Hell Plane struggled to move a being who had reached perfection in the Sixth Primordial Heaven, so Chen Chu paid cost of this act himself. As he crossed the dimensional layers, his surroundings streaking past like flowing light, a sudden surge of power and a familiar call resonated through the void.

Chen Chu's brow lifted slightly. "Alvaron? What does it want from me?"

Chen Chu did not refuse the call. The blood-colored light surrounding him twisted, and he instantly descended into a world where the sky, the earth, and even the air and energy were dyed blood-red.

His towering million-kilometer-tall figure stood within that realm, and the terrifying pressure of the Sixth Primordial Heaven erupted from him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

That single surge of aura made the blood-colored world quake. Layer upon layer of principles shattered, and the land for billions of kilometers around collapsed and disintegrated. Even the towering figure at the end of the world, who was shrouded in a blood-red robe, wearing a cruel crown, and standing a million kilometers tall, was momentarily stunned.

Shock filled the Lord of Hell's eyes as it exclaimed, "Impossible! Chu Batian, your cultivation has already reached the Sixth Primordial Heaven!"

Amid the chaotic turbulence, Chen Chu, whose presence was no weaker than Alvaron's, smiled faintly. "It's been a while, Lord Alvaron. You saw correctly. Due to certain opportunities, I've managed to reach the Sixth Primordial Heaven."

Damn!

Even with Alvaron's composure, he could not help but curse inwardly. When the fluctuation of hell power had stirred earlier, Alvaron had sensed Chen Chu's familiar aura and realized he had reached the primordial level. That alone had been surprising.

So it had instinctively reached out and pulled him here. It had always regarded this prodigy from the Eternal World with great interest and closely observed his growth. This time, upon sensing Chen Chu's breakthrough to the primordial level, Alvaron thought he had finally reached the minimum threshold to open his own layer of hell and thus decided to see if he needed help.

But it never expected that Chen Chu had not only reached the primordial level but had even reached the perfected stage of the Sixth Primordial Heaven, matching itself in power.

Impossible!

For a moment, Alvaron wondered if it was hallucinating. Barely a dozen years had passed since the last planar battle. What kind of fortune could allow a true-spirit-level being to leap six major realms in such a short span of time?

As Alvaron stood in stunned disbelief, Chen Chu asked calmly, "Lord Alvaron, you called me here so suddenly. What is it that you want?"

"Phew!There is indeed something." Alvaron exhaled, suppressing its shock as its tone turned solemn. "I had thought that it would take at least ten thousand years to reach this point, even with your monstrous talent. I truly underestimated you. But this is good. The plan can now begin ahead of schedule."

Chen Chu's eyes shifted slightly. "What plan?"

Alvaron did not hide it. "To kill a Lord of Hell of the Seventh Primordial Heaven and divide the layer of Hell it commands. I have prepared this plan for a long time. The only question is, Chu Batian, do you dare to join me?"

As it spoke, a band of blood-colored light appeared between them, glowing faintly with a terrible power, and slowly floated toward Chen Chu.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Chu reached out with his right hand and grasped the band of blood.

Boom!

His consciousness trembled slightly. The power transformed into a vast, broken, blood-colored cosmos within his mind. At the center of that universe lay a blood-red figure, far larger even than the corpse of Emperor Heng.

Just the mere image of that figure required primordial principles to bear its weight. Along with it, the details of a plan surfaced in Chen Chu's mind.

The slumbering blood-red figure was Asmodiel, the third-ranked Lord of Hell in the hierarchy of the Supreme Hell. Tens of thousands of years ago, Asmodiel had suffered grievous wounds. Its aura had since remained weak, and it lay dormant to this day. The layer of the Supreme Hell it ruled was broken and on the verge of collapse, hidden deep within an unknown region.

Yet Alvaron had discovered the layer, and had since set its sights on the wounded and sleeping Asmodiel. As one of Hell's own rulers, if Alvaron could slay Asmodiel, it could seize its undying power, devour and fuse its Hell Plane, and become an even stronger Lord of Hell.

However, every existence of the Seventh Primordial Heaven was unimaginably powerful. As ancient beings who commanded the power of supreme planes, they were far stronger than ordinary immortals.

Even though Alvaron had reached the pinnacle of the Sixth Primordial Heaven, and was half a step into the undying realm, it still did not dare strike recklessly at the injured and sleeping Lord of Hell. Instead, it had been searching for an ally strong enough to share the burden without posing a threat to itself.

That was when Chen Chu had appeared. However, what truly stirred Chen Chu's heart was the fact that Asmodiel had controlled its layer of the plane to devour hundreds of Great Thousand Worlds and countless powerful alien races during its reign. The amount of origin energy contained within it was beyond terrifying.

For Chen Chu, who stood just one step away from the undying realm, that was an irresistible temptation.

Bang!

The blood-colored light band shattered with a slight squeeze of his hand, scattering into the air as a storm of blood-red radiance. The trace of primordial power belonging to Alvaron dispersed into nothingness.

Alvaron asked, "Well, Chu Batian, are you interested in joining me to divide that layer of hell? Even if you do not open your own Hell Plane, you will still gain tremendous benefits from it."

Chen Chu replied calmly, "This matter is serious. I need some time to consider it."

"Of course. Notify me whenever you have decided," Alvaron said with a nod, not pressing the issue.

It was natural for Chen Chu to think carefully before agreeing to a plan that involved hunting a Lord of Hell of the undying realm. A single misstep could mean grievous injury or death.

Nodding slightly toward Alvaron, Chen Chu then invoked the power of Hell once again, his figure dissolving into boundless blood-colored light before vanishing completely.

He did indeed need origin power. But before that, there was something else to handle: the threat of the Ancient Battlefield, and the destruction of those peak civilizations.