Chapter 453: Unraveling the Clues! Chu Yang

Although the Bodhi Ancient Tree could perceive memories, Chu Yang was no ordinary person; his soul was connected to his Soul Palace, making it impossible for the Bodhi Ancient Tree to read his memories.

Thus, the Bodhi Ancient Tree could never know that although he was only a Six-Star Dou Saint, he possessed power nearly approaching that of a Dou Emperor!

Or perhaps… the Bodhi Ancient Tree learned something about him from others’ memories?

But even so, since the Bodhi Ancient Tree had allied with the Sound Emperor’s followers to kill a Earth Sovereign—even one severely wounded—the corpse of a camel still outweighs a horse, and its strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Dou Emperor.

This suggests the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s power was at least at the Dou Emperor level—so why fear this “half-Emperor”? Wait!

Chu Yang’s gaze sharpened; he suddenly realized another possibility.

The Soul Palace!

Since the Bodhi Ancient Tree could pull him into this mental realm, it meant it had already attempted to read his memories—and had undoubtedly failed.

In other words…

The Bodhi Ancient Tree had likely detected the existence of the Soul Palace, or at least sensed its aura.

That explained everything.

After all, even an Earth Sovereign, let alone a Heaven Sovereign—or even a Master who had left his name on the Great Immortal Realm’s Celestial List—paled in comparison to the Soul Palace.

Soon after, the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s spirit returned, projecting a scene before Chu Yang’s eyes.

In the scene, Akatsuki Yan helped the tree spirit purge its negative emotions, after which the Bodhi Ancient Tree drew him into its trunk, and Akatsuki Yan immediately entered a state of sudden enlightenment.

Chu Yang smiled in satisfaction and asked, “Now that Itachi’ve shaken off those negative emotions, can Itachi communicate normally?”

The Bodhi Ancient Tree swayed its trunk, conveying a trace of helplessness.

Clearly, its simple consciousness was insufficient for seamless communication with humans.

Ao Ting’s true form was a transformed Ninth Mystic Golden Thunder, already reaching the pinnacle of non-sentient treasures on the Dou Qi Continent, which is why its spirit gathering was so agonizing—even nearly failing during a terrifying heavenly tribulation.

Compared to Ao Ting, the Bodhi Ancient Tree was far stronger by more than a single tier; thus, its emergence of rudimentary consciousness was already remarkable, and spirit gathering was nearly impossible.

“Then let me ask Itachi some simple questions…”

Chu Yang stroked his chin. “Why did Itachi appear in the Wild Ancient Region?”

“What secrets does the Wild Ancient Region hold?”

“What does the historical gap of the Dou Qi Continent conceal?”

The Bodhi Ancient Tree trembled violently, emitting intense emotional fluctuations—as if saying…

Itachi call these simple questions?

But moments later, a scene unfolded before Chu Yang.

It was the Wild Ancient Region—but unlike today, the scene showed it teeming with life, filled with powerful beasts, each one stronger than the three dominant beast races of the present era, a true paradise for beasts.

The scene shifted: the Wild Ancient Region was engulfed in war, its vitality gone, nearly half its land shrouded in gray-black mist.

The mist spread like a plague; any beast touched by it grew bloodshot eyes, became savage and bloodthirsty, and lost its intelligence.

Figures radiating sinister energy emerged from the gray-black mist, commanding the infected beasts, attempting to break out of the Wild Ancient Region.

The war reached a fever pitch; countless powerful beings fell, both sides locked in brutal stalemate.

The strongest among the Dou Qi Continent’s forces was the Earth Sovereign wielding a bamboo flute.

But the Outworld Demon Clan had three Earth Sovereigns—including the black-robed Earth Sovereign whose negative emotions had later infiltrated the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s spirit.

The flute-wielding Earth Sovereign was immensely powerful, holding his own against three opponents, employing clever tactics to divide and conquer them one by one.

But this was merely drinking poison to quench thirst; the Outworld Demon Clan seemed endless, surging endlessly from the depths of the Wild Ancient Region.

The scene shifted again: the peerless Sound Emperor appeared in the Wild Ancient Region, carrying a glowing orb.

At the sight of the orb, Chu Yang’s pupils contracted.

He sensed a familiar aura from it—the same as that of the black crystal!

The Dimensional Spirit!

With the Dimensional Spirit’s enhancement, the Sound Emperor drew forth an ancient qin; as its melodies filled the air, all Dou Qi Continent warriors’ power surged, annihilating the Outworld Demon Clan entirely.

They fought their way deep into the Wild Ancient Region, where a spatial rift existed—the very passage through which the Outworld Demon Clan had invaded the Dou Qi Continent.

Then, one after another, the Dou Qi Continent’s warriors exploded, pouring their life force and lifetime cultivation into the Dimensional Spirit.

Ultimately, the Dimensional Spirit sealed the spatial rift.

After that battle, not a single Dou Saint remained on the Dou Qi Continent. The final image showed the Sound Emperor, carrying a dimming, cracked Dimensional Spirit, flying northward.

When the scene ended, Chu Yang fell silent. After a long while, he frowned and asked, “At that time, had the Dou Qi Continent already been completely severed from the Great Thousand Realm?”

Judging from the aura in the scene, the Sound Emperor’s realm was only slightly higher than the flute-wielding Earth Sovereign’s.

Only with the Dimensional Spirit’s enhancement did he briefly reach power comparable to a Heaven Sovereign, boosting the entire Dou Qi Continent’s strength.

The Bodhi Ancient Tree gave no answer.

Chu Yang understood: silence meant the Bodhi Ancient Tree did not know.

Chu Yang slowly closed his eyes, connecting all the clues in his mind.

In the original storyline, Akatsuki Yan opened a passage between the Dou Qi Continent and the Great Thousand Realm above the Tianfu Alliance headquarters.

During his visits to major factions, Chu Yang had traversed nearly all of the Central Continent.

Yet, aside from the spatial fissures in the Northern Desert and the Beast Domain, he found no other potential nodes connecting to the Great Thousand Realm.

That meant the passage was entirely created by Akatsuki Yan—not preexisting.

In the scene shown by the Bodhi Ancient Tree, the Sound Emperor ultimately carried the Dimensional Spirit northward, prompting Chu Yang to link it to the Northern Desert’s spatial rift.

Thus, everything seemed to make sense.

The Dou Qi Continent had indeed been completely severed from the Great Thousand Realm before the war; otherwise, such massive upheaval would not have gone unnoticed by the Great Thousand Realm’s powerful beings.

Of course, the truth could not be this simple—Chu Yang had deeper suspicions…

That is, when the war broke out, the Outworld Demon Clan was launching a massive invasion of the Great Thousand Realm.

The original spatial node connecting the Dou Qi Continent to the Great Thousand Realm lay within a region already occupied by the Outworld Demon Clan.

The Sound Emperor only appeared with the Dimensional Spirit at the very end because, prior to that, he had used the Dimensional Spirit to temporarily sever the connection between the two realms—thus preventing the Outworld Demon Clan from launching a full-scale invasion through the dimensional passage, forcing them to rely solely on a single spatial rift to send waves of cannon fodder and a limited number of Sovereigns, including three Earth Sovereigns.

After the war, the Sound Emperor returned to the dimensional passage and, by unknown means, permanently severed the link between the Dou Qi Continent and the Great Thousand Realm.

That was why the Dimensional Spirit shattered, leaving only a dead embryo.

The dimensional passage’s location was almost certainly the Northern Desert’s spatial rift! But ultimately, this was still only his speculation—he needed to enter the Northern Desert’s rift to verify it.

But Chu Yang had no intention of doing so now; if the node still connected to a region of the Great Thousand Realm occupied by the Outworld Demon Clan, venturing alone would be extremely dangerous.

He had sent Sun Wukong to the Outworld Demon Clan to prove his Dao through killing—it was already extremely risky, but at least Sun Wukong could revive via data backup.

If he himself died, there would be no chance of revival!

Without reaching the Dou Emperor realm—the Sovereign realm—he would not risk it.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Chu Yang slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s spirit, speaking softly: “I can grant Itachi true consciousness—but Itachi must abandon your physical form.”

“The choice is yours. If Itachi agree, I will show Itachi the wonders of the Great Thousand Realm.”

“If Itachi refuse, sever half your essence and spirit, and I can still help Itachi gather your spirit.”

“But then Itachi must start from scratch, endure countless eons, before Itachi can take form and walk freely in the world.”

The Bodhi Ancient Tree’s spirit trembled violently; it did not doubt Chu Yang’s words, for as Chu Yang had guessed, it had sensed the aura of the Soul Palace.

That power made it instinctively wish to kneel—as a subject would before a sovereign.

Though the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s consciousness was simple, it understood what abandoning its form meant—and how arduous its countless eons of endurance had been.

Abandon everything and take a gamble—or start over? Precisely because its consciousness was simple, the Bodhi Ancient Tree hesitated no longer and swiftly transmitted a soul ripple.

It chose the first option! To abandon its form!

Chu Yang smiled, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Though he offered two choices, he clearly favored the first.

If the Bodhi Ancient Tree abandoned its form, Chu Yang could refine its spirit into his forehead bone, using it as Pangu’s vessel.

And in this process, preserve the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s consciousness, allowing it to take control of Pangu.

Thus, Pangu would transform from a mere computer into an “information life.”

Or put another way—the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s consciousness would control Pangu! The Bodhi Ancient Tree was also known as the Tree of Wisdom; making it the treasure refined into the forehead bone was perfect.

With wisdom, Pangu’s capabilities would greatly enhance, even acting autonomously to make the most accurate judgments at the most fitting moments—without Chu Yang needing to control it.

A single move, multiple gains! “Then let us begin!”

Chu Yang took a deep breath, stepped before the spirit, and placed his hand on the trunk.

The Bodhi Ancient Tree’s spirit hesitated not at all, immediately severing its connection to its physical form, its aura rapidly fading.

Outside, deep within the Wild Ancient Region, countless powerful beings still waited, unable to seize the opportunity, merely watching from afar.

They waited—for those who had gained something to emerge, hoping to pick off the weak, kill them, and steal their treasures! After all, Chu Yang had said all below Dou Saint level could compete for the opportunity by their own strength.

In the cultivation world, the strong devour the weak; “competing by one’s own strength” naturally included killing and stealing treasures.

If Itachi obtained a treasure but could not hold it, Itachi could only blame your own weakness! But at that moment, everyone was stunned to see the towering ancient tree standing on the plain withering visibly before their eyes!

This sudden change left everyone bewildered—even the leaders of the various factions who had been observing from afar were horrified.

Space trembled; Dou Saint after Dou Saint appeared, exchanging glances, none knowing what had happened.

“Could this be… the work of Emperor Chu?”

A Spirit Clan Dou Saint twitched his lips, staring hopefully at the Fire Cloud Patriarch and the Forest Demon.

The Forest Demon was equally baffled, turning to look at the Fire Cloud Patriarch.

After all, their Dan Tower was merely on good terms with Chu Yang; the Burning Flame Valley was truly under Chu Yang’s command.

The Fire Cloud Patriarch glared and snapped, “How would I know?”

“Why don’t Itachi ask Emperor Chu yourself?”

Everyone looked embarrassed. A Heavenly Phoenix Clan Dou Saint frowned and asked, “Many are still inside the tree’s space—will they be harmed as well?”

The Fire Cloud Ancestor waved his hand and said, “If this is truly the work of Emperor Chu, then naturally they won’t come to harm.”

“Don’t forget, our Yunlan Sect’s leader is also inside the Ancient Tree’s space!”

“If this isn’t Emperor Chu’s doing, he certainly won’t stand idly by!”

The others felt his reasoning held merit, so they stopped pressing the matter and dispersed, pairing up with allied factions or personal friends to find a mountain peak and observe quietly.

Seeing even the great masters could only wait helplessly, the Dou Zun experts guarding the Bodhi Ancient Tree dared not approach, each feeling uneasy inside.

They had endured great hardship to fight their way deep into the Wild Ancient Realm—no one wanted to end up with nothing after all that effort.

…………

Soul Palace.

The others were tinkering with a purple crystal—the very object Super God Chu Yang had just brought back, suspected to be a product of the Void.

“It seems Karl will soon fully connect to the Void. What are your plans next?”

Marvel Chu Yang played with the purple crystal, reluctant to let it go.

This substance holds even greater research value than Void Matter; if a compatible method can be found to integrate it into the flesh, it will surely further enhance the Source Martial True Body.

“The fusion of the two ultimate genes is nearing perfection. I’m now combining the Source Martial True Body with the Zanpakuto, trying to maximize the expression of the ultimate gene’s power.”

Super God Chu Yang murmured, “After all, the dark energy algorithm has too many limitations—it’s useless in other worlds!”

The algorithm only works within the Super God Universe; once outside it, Pan Gu must first acquire a complete database of a given world before a new algorithm can be created.

This process is long and complex, and for Pan Gu to possess a complete database of a world, one must master that world’s core power.

Take the Qi Realm as an example: for Pan Gu to fill its full data, Chu Yang of the Qi Realm must at least reach the peak of Heavenly Sovereign, even attracting the attention of the Azure List.

But once one possesses such power, one stands atop the Qi Realm—why then waste time and effort creating an algorithm? (End of Chapter)