As the contemplation within Qing Ling deepened, the battle on the battlefield gradually drew to a close. After more than a month, the treants and insectoid beasts all perished.
Across the vast expanse, bodies lay scattered, the earth stained with blood, and the world emanated deathly stillness. Luo Hua, her face etched with exhaustion, returned, radiating an aura of carnage.
Mustering her strength, Luo Hua forced a smile and said, "Fellow Daoist, it seems the Supreme Being of Heaven's Devourer will emerge victorious in this world!"
Qing Ling's senses returned, and he found no trace of life or living beings left on the land.
A shiver ran through his soul. His primordial spirit, channeled through bloodworms within the puppet, spoke to Luo Hua with a heavy tone, "Fellow Daoist, we have both miscalculated one matter."
Luo Hua's eyes widened in surprise. "What matter?"
"This conflict, from its very inception, was a trap, a dead end! As long as both sides fought, there was bound to be casualties.
Whichever side won, there would be death. Even if Mu Gong emerged victorious, the corpses of treants and insectoids littering the land would signify another path of death. If the Supreme Being of Heaven's Devourer won, then all life would be extinguished in the wilderness, signifying the death of the entire world! Naturally, this includes you and me within this world!"
Luo Hua's expression turned grim. "Then when should we act? Why not now? The Supreme Being of Heaven's Devourer is likely empowered by death energy and is currently engaged in a fierce assault, so he should not be distracted by two ants like us."
She watched as the corpses in the four directions were gradually buried by the swirling sandstorms, green mountains turned barren, and clear waters dried up. A strange feeling welled up within her.
"We cannot. What the Supreme Being of Heaven's Devourer seeks is absolute death, the annihilation of the world. If we two were to escape, it would represent a sliver of hope for this world, a spark of life amidst death. How could he permit that?"
Luo Hua's face darkened. She raised her gaze to the sky and sighed, "So we can only wait?"
Qing Ling nodded. "We must wait for Mu Gong's counterattack. When both of them are at their most desperate, facing life or death, that will be our chance!
But before then, we can help the two seniors to merge their Dao faster!"
"Oh? How does Fellow Daoist plan to do that?" Luo Hua's eyes brightened. She detested the feeling of being powerless, waiting for others to control her fate. She preferred to fight for her own chance of survival.
"Fellow Daoist, merely guard the Grand Void Illusory Cocoon well. If Mu Gong's separated consciousness shows signs of awakening, you must immediately employ decisive means to destroy or injure it."
Luo Hua couldn't help but ask, "And what about you, Fellow Daoist?"
Qing Ling rose, his green robe flowing, his black hair flying in the wind. He gazed at the sky.
"I shall walk into life and death."
As his words fell, the Fuchun Divine Spark flickered between his brows, manifesting a majestic figure in the heavens.
A being with a human torso and a serpent's tail, one hundred thousand feet tall, with three thousand zhang of black hair. From the east, the spring breeze arose, and from the west, a gentle rain descended. Clouds gathered in the sky like a sea of light, and the earth was graced with a thousand miles of spring water.
This was the first time Qing Ling had unleashed the Fuchun Divine Spark with all his might, standing tall in the heavens, with life to his left and death to his right, flowers blooming before him and wilting behind.
One tree after another bloomed, and bit by bit, brilliance unfolded. The sea of flowers swayed, the spring light was brilliant, and Luo Hua below, within the world, felt lost. The rise and fall of all things were reflected in your eyes, and I was utterly captivated. And your smile, so clear and bright, extinguished all beings in my sight.
It felt as if something had taken root in her heart, or perhaps, someone had entered its depths.
Within this world, life and death, the two supreme beings, the Great Luos of the Dao, clashed amidst heaven and earth.
Endless cycles of life and death, the Great Buddhist Pagoda of the Dao, the Grand Void.
Qing Ling extended his hand and gently caressed, the Spring Sequence Divine Map unfurling majestically.
Amidst the rolling yellow sands, spring flowers bloomed, grass turned verdant, trees vied for spring, spring waters flowed eastward in curves, and distant mountains appeared beyond the green hills.
The Spring Sequence Map entered the Grand Void Illusory Cocoon, its boundless spring aura further deepening Mu Gong's separated consciousness into an even more hazy illusion.
Threads of Mu Gong's soul power flowed into Qing Ling's brow. The Great Dao of Life, with its infinite proliferation, and the eternal mark of creation upon heaven and earth were merged by Qing Ling's primordial spirit.
Qing Ling's majestic form, with arms outstretched, his right palm holding up the sky, filled with infinite life. The Fuchun Divine Spark was infused with the Dao of Life, and the Great Dao of Wood joined forces.
Then, he extended his left palm. The Ancestral Seal of Ten Thousand Snakes, which had been silent for a long time, symbolizing the withered and dead Tai Geng Ancestor, held up the sky with its palm.
The heavens divided into two colors: black for death, and green for life.
Qing Ling's left palm supported half the sky of death, and his right palm held up half the sky of life.
The divine body connected the two paths of life and death, merging them. The Great Dao of Life and the Great Dao of Death were drawn into his body, along with his inherent Great Dao of Wood, creating three paths flowing together.
The two Supreme Beings in the sky, their bodies merged with the world, were both startled but did not rashly attack. After all, what great waves could a mere Golden Immortal stir?
It was not arrogance on their part, but rather their knowledge of the vast difference between a Golden Immortal and a Great Luo.
Within Qing Ling's mystical gate, his primordial spirit stirred, dividing into myriad divine senses, gathering the three Great Daos into one. He seemed unchanged, yet Qing Ling perceived that he had died.
But in his memories, he was still alive. Life and death intertwined, the Dao of Wood infused.
Qing Ling fell into a deep slumber, resting at the heart of a world, becoming its deity. The east represented life, and the west represented death. The world was divided.
The boundary between life and death was distinct and uncrossable.
His primordial spirit circled countless times. It seemed he finally remembered that the inseparable companions of life and death, flourishing and decaying, were Yin and Yang, the Two Principles. The convergence of life, death, flourishing, and decay with the Dao of Wood, and then entering the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, allowed all Daos to flow and merge.
Memories from countless past lives surged forth, and the enlightenment of the Great Dao in this life manifested. He was no longer himself.
In the Primordial Spirit realm, Qing Ling perceived: "I was born between heaven and earth, like a fleeting moment, disappearing in an instant. Suddenly arising, suddenly flourishing, all things emerge, softly and serenely, all things enter. Transformed and born, then transformed and dead, life decays, and my heart grieves. Shedding the heavenly armor, discarding the heavenly shell, confused and chaotic, the soul and spirit will depart, and the body will follow, returning to the great unknown! The formless form, the form of the formless, this is what all know of the Dao!
When one law is understood, all laws are understood! When one Dao is achieved, all Daos are achieved!"
Qing Ling slept. The world was enveloped in deathly stillness, all things at rest.
Qing Ling awoke. The world was brimming with vitality, all things reviving.
Clear blue sky in the day, a dark moon in the night.
The single point of the seed of the world within Qing Ling's Dantian, instantly expanded to the size of Mount Sumeru. Heaven and earth were absorbed, the Dao of Wood integrated, and then infused with the life force of Mu Gong and the death energy of Heaven's Devourer from this world.
Life and death, black and white, the two principles reversed. The green wood stood in the center. Life and death, flourishing and decay became the heart's moment. My heart was reason, my heart was the heart of heaven, my will was the will of heaven.
In a world of black and white, Qing Ling stood at the center, life and death complementing each other. I am the deity!
Above the heavens, the two Supreme Beings were somewhat dumbfounded. Could this truly be the primordial spirit of a Golden Immortal?
How could a Golden Immortal's primordial spirit achieve this? If they hadn't known that this boy was truly only a Golden Immortal, they would have truly believed him to be a Great Luo Immortal!
Within the Grand Void, Mu Gong's heart trembled slightly. He transmitted, "Fellow Daoist Heaven's Devourer, how about we call an end to this contest?"
Heaven's Devourer's thoughts turned, and he replied through telepathy, "That will not do. As per our agreement, we cannot cease until one of us is victorious. Your Great Dao oath does not permit it."
Although their Dao realms were currently affected, his Dao of Death was still superior! As long as he could suppress the other, on the Great Dao, death would come first, and life would follow, allowing him to reach the peak, and potentially ascend to another realm!
As for this young fellow, even if he absorbed their world's Dao power with the seed of his Dao realm, this degree of influence was negligible to them. As long as they suppressed Mu Gong, two junior Golden Immortals would be easily subdued with a mere flick of their hands.