The strength of that innate mosquito, in Zhang Chen’s current view, still seems unfathomable.
"That innate mosquito avoided catastrophes within the Underworld, and its strength had infinitely declined, yet it could still battle with that gray-robed man. According to my recollection, its strength should have reached the twelfth tier, if not surpassed it." Zhang Chen murmured to himself.
However, his cultivation at that time was too low, and there was also the Six-Word Mantra restraining the innate mosquito. In retrospect, his view of it at the time was unreliable.
"I should go back and check on my physical body." Zhang Chen worried about his body, fearing it might decay, and quickly returned his Primordial Spirit to the Material Realm.
With his Primordial Spirit returning to the body, blood began to flow through his body, and a glint of brightness appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes: "Not bad! My Blood Sea Dao is indeed extraordinary; my body hasn’t decayed yet."
After his Primordial Spirit returned to his body, Zhang Chen flexed his legs, and a look of delight appeared in his eyes. His body was exactly the same as when he left.
Since cultivating the Blood Sea Dao, Zhang Chen felt that his body had transcended the ordinary, shifting towards an unknown state.
"My body has been transformed by the Blood Dao, converting towards a divine state. Even if my Primordial Spirit leaves my body, the power of the Blood Dao mystically nourishes it, preventing decay." Zhang Chen stood up and stretched, feeling very pleased.
But in the next moment, Zhang Chen’s expression changed dramatically, and panic flashed in his eyes: "Not good! What’s going on?"
At that moment, Zhang Chen felt his lifespan rapidly draining, with each breath losing a year’s worth of life. Moreover, his magical power weakened, and a mysterious dust enveloped his Primordial Spirit, invading it.
In less than sixty breaths, his life would exhaust, his body would decay, and his Primordial Spirit would dissipate.
It seemed as if a mysterious force was continuously extracting the essence of his life.
"What’s happening? Could someone be plotting against me?" Zhang Chen’s face changed dramatically, and he quickly attempted to suppress it with the Law of Life. But, to his surprise, mobilizing the Law of Life only accelerated the loss; one breath led to a ten-year loss of life, shocking Zhang Chen into ceasing its use.
"How can this be?" Zhang Chen’s face changed greatly; in just a few dozen breaths, he would die of old age.
Death approached with unprecedented proximity!
Zhang Chen was shocked: "Could it be that the strangeness of the Spiritual World has invaded the real world to attack me? What should I do now? The Law of Life cannot be moved; my means cannot suppress it!"
In this moment of life and death crisis, Zhang Chen finally panicked; faced with the crisis, he was utterly helpless.
He didn’t even know the reason for his lifespan drain, unable to counterattack.
"Six Paths of Reincarnation! I still have the Six Paths of Reincarnation! Suppress it for me!" Zhang Chen hurriedly mobilized the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation to suppress his lifespan.
As the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation circulated, Zhang Chen tried to suppress his energy, but it only slowed his lifespan drain from dozens of breaths to over a hundred. The result was equally futile.
Is there a difference between living sixty breaths and a hundred?
"I still have innate spiritual treasure..." In his panic, Zhang Chen wanted to use the Golden Scissors to suppress his energy, but the state of the Golden Scissors wasn’t good either; its essence was also draining towards the Great World, its luster dim and emitting a mournful wail, seemingly about to fall from its innate state.
"The essence of the innate spiritual treasures is accelerating its loss?" Zhang Chen’s face was grim: "Why is this happening? Who is plotting against me?"
As Zhang Chen panicked internally, a voice from the Great Freedom Celestial Demon arrived:
"Boy, you are now beyond the twelfth tier, stepping into the realm of fruit. Your energy, no matter how hidden, is as conspicuous as the bright moon in the sky to the rules of this world. The upper limit of this world is the twelfth tier. Once you surpass that, the essence will be plundered by Heaven and Earth, flowing from high concentration to low concentration. Breaking through the twelfth tier means you’re not far from death. If you want to save your life, either set up a Feng Shui Grand Array like the princess to suppress and isolate the Great Thousand Worlds’ energy, or directly ascend to the Spiritual World to find a way to extend your life." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, knowledgeable as always, pointed Zhang Chen towards the road ahead.
Zhang Chen was taken aback at the words: "So it’s because of my breakthrough to the twelfth tier."
Since he understood the cause of the matter, Zhang Chen quickly looked at the Golden Finger Interface, then his gaze fell on the equipment slot of the Authority of Wood Element. The Heaven-Reaching Jianmu immediately separated from the Authority of Wood Element, and in an instant, Zhang Chen fell from a realm beyond the Twelfth Tier. At this moment, the Golden Finger Interface refreshed:
[Authority of Wood Element (Sixth Tier): Reversed Peanut Seed*Plant Body*Rooted in the Earth*Extraction*Equipment (0/10000000000000)]
[Remark 1: Rooted in the Earth. As long as you are buried within the earth, even if only a piece of skin, a strand of hair, or a drop of blood remains, you can absorb Earth Qi to revive.]
[Remark 2: You acquire equipment skills. You can smelt the acquired Heaven and Earth Spirit Root into your Authority of Wood Element, granting your Authority of Wood Element incredible power. Heaven and Earth Spirit Root can substitute for points to upgrade.]
Zhang Chen fell from the realm of the Dao Fruit, and his draining lifespan also ceased. The anomalies on his body disappeared, and the Innate Spiritual Treasure also began to return to tranquility, as if everything had returned to the past.
Zhang Chen knew in his heart that it was because he had achieved the Dao Fruit and exposed himself under the eyes of the Great Thousand Worlds, akin to the bright moon in the sky, that he attracted the will of the Great Thousand Worlds. And following him, his Innate Spiritual Treasure suffered from this connection, accelerating the rate of his original essence’s loss.
"Terrifying, I almost croaked!" Zhang Chen stood in place with lingering fear, only to see his skin full of wrinkles, his head of black hair had turned withered and white, with no vitality. He had turned from a young man into a frail old man, his overall state incredibly worrying.
"Half a month of lifespan..." Zhang Chen’s eyes filled with dread. Had his lifespan truly dwindled to just half a month?
This was merely within a span of several dozen breaths, and he almost perished on the spot.
"No wonder the princess rushed into the Spiritual World as if her backside was on fire. No wonder the Innate Water God separated his Original True Spirit from his physical body to lower his realm. No wonder the Ancient Gods chose to bury themselves. The Great Thousand Worlds are devouring lives, who can withstand this? Even the old beings with lifespan of billions of years, living as long as Heaven, can’t withstand the absorption of the Great Thousand Worlds. The most crucial part is, the higher the cultivation, the faster the loss of original essence, leading to quicker death," Zhang Chen expressed his lingering fear.
He was terrified! Utterly terrified to death!
The stronger the cultivator, the higher the concentration of original essence within, leading it to flow from high to low concentration, nourishing and reciprocating the Great Thousand Worlds. Who could endure this?
"Achieving the realm of the Dao Fruit is a dead end. Anyone foolish enough to proceed is not far from death," Zhang Chen said with lingering fear.
"Indeed, otherwise why do you think the Ancient Gods were willing to die? Did you really think they were pushovers? You underestimate them too much." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon sighed with a quiet lament, "If not driven to extremes, how would they resign themselves to death?"
"What indeed has happened to the Great Thousand Worlds to bring about such things?" Zhang Chen inquired.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook his head, "I have entirely lost the memories regarding this part. I do not know what happened."
"Could it be that during the Ancient Times, there were too many cultivators, consuming too much of the Heaven and Earth Origin, drying out the Heaven and Earth Origin of the Great Thousand Worlds, disrupting the balance, leading to the reverberation of the Heaven and Earth’s origin concentration within the Great Thousand Worlds dropping below what is within cultivators, resulting in Heaven and Earth’s counterattack?" Zhang Chen proposed a hypothesis.
"Makes sense!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon nodded, "Your hypothesis makes a lot of sense. The sheer number of all beings is too large, with everyone cultivating and consuming, the Great Thousand Worlds simply couldn’t sustain."
"However, there’s one point that can’t be explained, and that is the annihilation of the ancient powerful ones and their original essence returning to the Great Thousand Worlds. Logically, the origin concentration within the Great Thousand Worlds should continously rise with the death of the gods, but it hasn’t, has it?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Could it be that some old folks aren’t dead yet, preserving themselves using some unique method, lingering on, so the Heaven and Earth Origin concentration within the Great Thousand Worlds hasn’t restored until now?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon suggested a hypothesis.
But upon these words from the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, Zhang Chen’s entire being was instantly filled with dread, his eyes looked in horror in all directions, always feeling as though some immortal was secretly watching him.
"Damn, that’s scary! Looks like I better keep my head down. I must not reveal myself, for this world conceals deep waters!" Zhang Chen felt something wrong, deducing from the current situation, the matter seemed not quite right, with so many old beings lurking, it gave no sense of safety.
Even the princess could survive, the Innate Water God managed to continue existing through alternative means, if the other old ones are still alive, it might not be unacceptable, right?
"Hey old man, you, being a Celestial Demon, can you sense those old folks’ mental vulnerabilities? Can you locate their bodies and then take possession of them?" Zhang Chen pinned his hopes on the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, his voice filled with anticipation.
He thought if the Great Freedom Celestial Demon could possess those old beings, his future would be secured.
By then, he would be able to "rely on the Celestial Demon."