Chapter 542: Original Energy
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Outside the Green Bronze Door.
Tantai Guijing, Daoist Sanmu and Master Kuhai stared at the Door with doubt in their eyes.
"The Door...is only a protective layer. The true core lies behind it?"
Tantai Guijing's eyes were open wide.
"Just this Door alone was enough to nearly wipe out the Tantai family..."
The more he found out, the more insignificant he felt in the grand scheme of things.
He felt a wave of panic too.
The Tantai strategies had always been targeted at the Green Bronze Door. Now, it was clear that even if the Door were to be destroyed, the Tantai family would not be safe. If anything, having to face that entity directly would plunge them into greater despair.
"Amituofo...I'm ashamed at myself for not being of any help..."
Master Kuhai shook his head sadly.
Even though the Green Bronze Door had closed and lowered its defences, no one was powerful enough to approach it.
This alone was enough for them to realise the huge disparity between their abilities and Fang Yuan's.
"It's been so long. What in the world could be happening in there?"
The Daoist Sanmu made use of his daoist techniques and divination skills, but he only ended up more confused than ever.
"I can't be sure..."
Tantai Guijing shook his head.
"With regards to that entity, the concept of Time would be of no concern. Years in the outside world might be the equivalent of a mere moment in there!"
Buzz!
Just as he spoke, the Green Bronze Door began to scream once more.
"Woowoo!"
The black chains slid off the Door and the two ghostly guards let out a whimper before they melted into a puddle of blood.
The carved figures of people crying tears of blood had adopted serene expressions on their faces and were beginning to fade.
"Amituofo...helping souls gain salvation is truly a noble deed!"
Master Kuhai pressed both his palms together and recited mantras at the top of his voice.
Crack! Crack!
Web-like cracks appeared on the Door and began to extend like cracks on ice. Then the Door exploded into pieces.
Another great black Door appeared in its place. It was like a rebirth.
Although this Door still carried with it the smell of death and silence, it was peaceful. It no longer displayed the intent to brutalise.
"This...this is the legendary Heaven's Gate!"
Tantai Guijing and Daoist Sanmu were awed.
"This is the mythical core of the world. Crossing it would lead to immortality and sagacity!"
At this point, a mysterious light emitted from the Door and cleansed the world.
Before the Tantais, the monk and the daoist knew it, they were transported out of the netherworld and back to the human world.
"This is...the human world!"
"We're...finally back!"
At that moment, all the Tantais were shedding tears of joy.
Tantai Guijing saw more.
"The curse...it's gone?"
The 20-year cycle had been a part of the Tantai bloodline for as long as they could remember. Now, it was finally gone forever.
"Could it be...that Tantai Mieming has succeeded?"
Tantai Juexin had a mixed look of disbelief and elation on his face.
"Everything wrong with the world...is right again?"
Daoist Sanmu and Master Kuhai looked astonishedly at each other.
"I did not think that our young Friend Fang Yuan was this formidable!"
Unfortunately, from this day onwards, no one would hear from Fang Yuan again.
In a blink, 30 years had gone by.
Time passed in the original world as per its original track, as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened before.
The widespread rumours of ghosts and curses were eventually proven to be fake.
The professional exorcists also found that the supernatural abilities that they had inherited or cultivated with great effort were leaving them. They became no different from the man on the street.
As more time passed, even within closed circles, talk of ghosts and curses became myths.
Only a select few knew that their world had once fallen into a bottomless abyss.
But the evil, fear, despair and struggle of days past were insignificant in the face of time's passage.
Years later, even the Tantai family had reintegrated into the masses. That person's name was gradually lost in history.
...
In the deepest recesses of the netherworld.
On a black piece of land, a mound appeared, then a hand.
"Whew…"
Fang Yuan exhaled and looked up at the quiet glimmering of the stars in the night sky.
"This is...the netherworld?"
He scanned his surroundings. The darkness of the environment made it a good resting place for spirits. It was a tranquil and forgotten place.
"This must be the true appearance of the netherworld. To think that the other world collapsed after the purple crystal was sealed up…"
Fang Yuan looked down at his naked torso.
A strange circular mark had appeared on his belly. The circle had a purple mark in the middle that it trapped.
"After a stalemate that dragged on for so long, I emerged victorious!"
Fang Yuan's mouth began to twitch and he broke out into heavy laughter.
That purple crystal was truly the highest form of energy in the Demonic Heart Realm. Sealing it had almost destroyed his body.
Nevertheless, he was not of this world and his stats had broken the scale. His regenerative abilities were stunning, which led to a stalemate. He had also been quietly aided by the World's Will, which had begun to awaken. After a protracted stalemate, he had finally managed to seal up the purple crystal.
Still, he had been seriously injured and found that he was not even able to move at all. Thus, he fell into a deep sleep.
When he had woken up, he had turned up right here.
"This was...truly a close shave. It's a good thing that I've reaped a great deal from this!"
Fang Yuan rubbed the mark on his body and received information from the Spirit Sealing Body.
"Original Energy?"
Cultivators who wanted to unlock the path towards supernormality had to begin by cultivating elemental force.
The martial artists had their own brand of elemental force, as did the spiritual knights. The same goes for the dream masters, who had dream elemental force!
Although dream elemental force was extraordinary, it was more similar than different with regards to elemental energy for they were both forms of energy that had been emitted from the origin of the world.
Original Energy was different. It was from the core, or even from a higher power!
It was the substance that held the laws of nature together. It was the essence of the world. It was everything!
Even though a small amount was left, it was enough to support the world. Not to mention that it continues to release lower forms of energy.
That purple crystal was Original Energy!
As long as it was still around, it would continue to give our dream elemental force. To Fang Yuan, this was an incredible thing.
"This does not tie in with the law of conservation of energy...wait a minute, the laws of nature are immutable...doesn't its existence prove that perpetuity is possible?"
Fang Yuan's eyes lit up.
If a perpetual motion machine could exist, then immortality was possible too!
Fang Yuan had finally come into contact with the edge of immortality.
"This trickle of Original Energy beats all of the energy that I have harvested from the core of worlds so far...they are all of inferior quality…"
Given Fang Yuan's experience in the harvesting of worlds, he could definitely tell the difference.
If energy from the other worlds could be seen as blood cells, then Original Energy was akin to the bone marrow!
It was able to create and change the world because Original Energy was the foundation for world creation!
"This energy is of the same level as the entity that stripped the path of dream masters in the Da Qian world!"
Fang Yuan's eyes gleamed brighter.
"The propagation of just a small amount of that energy led to the creation of strange curses and invincible ghosts...it can manipulate spacetime, cause and effect, dream worlds...because it is the origin and the end of everything. Thus, we can call it 'Original Energy'!"
If Fang Yuan could fully absorb the essence of this bit of Original Energy, he would undoubtedly be as powerful as the entity from the Demonic Heart Realm.
However, although he had given his all, Fang Yuan had only managed to seal this trickle of Original Energy. Even his Spirit Sealing Body had undergone some major changes.
Fang Yuan squinted and looked towards his stats board:
"Name: Fang Yuan (Tantai Mieming)
Essence: 100
Spirit: 100
Magic: 100
Profession: Exorcist
Technique: Exorcism (Peak), Pharmacy (Peak), Eagle Claw Grappling Technique (Peak)
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 6)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)], [Spirit Sealing Body (???)]"
As he was focusing on the question marks on 'Spirit Sealing Body', they disappeared and gave way to a full description:
'The Spirit Sealing Body has been maxed out and has changed in nature. It has transformed into a new speciality — Body Seal! '
"Body Seal — Your physique can tolerate everything. Right now, it cannot be activated because it has sealed up Original Energy!"
"My skills have levelled up?"
Fang Yuan was silent for a moment.
"The evolution of Spirit Sealing Body into the Body Seal seems rather useless. Of course...this is because sealing up the Original Energy was a most horrifying experience. Also...I sense that the other 4 curses have been absorbed by the Original Energy!"
The Original Energy from the Demonic Heart Realm was overbearing, but Fang Yuan had no regrets.
After all, he had the source of these energy forms in his firm grasp.
Besides, the Purple Eye Realm was weak to begin with. If it had been the Da Quan world, it would definitely be more difficult to break its laws.
"When I recover fully, I will be able to challenge worlds!"
Fang Yuan clenched his fists and realised that he had never felt better.
The boundaries between the netherworld and the human world would no longer bother him. Just a thought and he would tear a hole in space and arrive in the human world.
He closed his eyes and extended the tendrils of his spiritual will. Suddenly, he felt a wave of desolation sweep over him.
"So...it's been 30 years?"