391 Death Inheritance
Following the thin trail of aura left behind by a divinity wasn't easy, but it was made especially difficult in the even more chaotic than usual Chaotic Sector. A normal divinity would struggle to track down another divinity with this method given that the target of the pursuit was concealing their tracks, but Yaan had Reveal Truth, an analytical Dao Spell that had continually grown alongside him.
This was the merit of Dao Spells, they did not stagnate, improving along with the creator's dao. After comprehending the dao of origin in the Boundless Dao Library, Yaan had discovered another benefit of Dao Spells.
'In each Era, it isn't just the Heavenly Dao that changes and affects the world; the Origin itself also undergoes its own transformation. Because of this, any spells that I learn or create will become useless in the other Origin Eras. Naturally, those spells can't be used in the expanse of Chaos either. However, Dao Spells are inherent to their creator and not dependant on the external world to function, meaning that they can still be used no matter the environment! Dao Spells and Sword Arts, these are the only methods that I will be able to take out from this 2nd Origin Era…'
This was Yaan's own realisation, it was not something that was known to the world at large. After all, only Defiance spoke publicly about the outside world, and he only shared the information that he cared to share. He probably had his own reasons for doing this, but Yaan couldn't begin to guess what those reasons might be. Regardless, it was clear to him that Defiance wasn't stupid, he wouldn't share anything that would actually help others to overcome the Origin.
Thinking along these lines, he couldn't help but wonder about his Divine Power…
'My Divine Power is the accumulation of everything I have cultivated over the years, fused with Divine Essence, and my dao heart of fate as its core. There are powers within my Divine Power that simply cannot be used outside of the 2nd Origin Era, so no matter what, transcending the Origin will involve some sort of change to my Divine Power…or perhaps, Divine Powers are unique to the 2nd Origin Era, and transcending this Origin Era will involve a complete metamorphosis and discarding of the Divine Power.'
As he thought about it, Yaan could only come to one certain conclusion.
'There is likely no common method of transcending the Origin and ascending to the Origin Step, thereby becoming an Origin God. Like all who succeed in this ascension, I will need to create my own path forwards.'
Yaan continued to pursue the trail left behind by the Primordial Sage and the Earthly Deity accompanying her - whom he identified as Mad Axe Deity based on the aura trail.
Mad Axe Deity was only an Earthly Deity, but he was somewhat famous for being one of the most powerful Earthly Deities of all when it came to direct combat. This was no surprise though; as his name implied, Mad Axe Deity had a dao heart of axe, he was a true combat-lover who had revelled in battle for his entire life, spreading blood and war across the Blood Plane for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Primordial Sage was too adept at hiding her aura, Yaan could barely make out the faintest trace of her aura every now and then, so for the most part, he was following the bloody aura trail left behind by Mad Axe Deity.
If the Sage truly wanted to, she could probably exert some effort to conceal her companion's aura too, but that clearly wasn't her priority right now.
Anyway, with the chaotic state of the sector, their path would be naturally concealed within several hours even if they did nothing. It was only because Yaan was following them right away that he was able to keep track of their passage.
As he continued to follow the trail, Yaan needed to keep both Reveal Truth and Conceal Truth active. If he stopped using Reveal Truth, he would lose track of the trail and waste time, and if he stopped using Conceal Truth, it was very possible that he might be noticed by the Sage. That wouldn't be a big deal, but he would be unable to continue acting in secret if she caught on.
Perhaps, the Sage wouldn't mind it, and perhaps, the Deities would be too afraid to speak out against him, but he didn't see any reason to take the risk.
This was his first time using Conceal Truth, and it was rare for him to keep Reveal Truth active for this long. Using these two Dao Spells simultaneously was exhausting, but his proficiency with both spells grew rapidly. He slowly became more efficient, wasting less energy whilst simultaneously improving the effect, but this wasn't the only benefit that Yaan gained from using the two Dao Spells for so long.
Now that his dao body had returned from the Boundless Dao Library, his two bodies once again shared a mental connection. Thanks to this shared connection, combined with his usage of the two Dao Spells, Yaan finally came to a realisation.
'Perhaps I could transform my Dao Spells into Divine Spells?'
His dao body could only use Dao Spells, but his cultivation body could not use Dao Spells at all. In the past, he had never considered trying to transform his Dao Spells into Divine Spells, because the two types of spells were very different. Now, however, with his form split into two distinct bodies like this, he started to feel like it might be possible.
Creating a Divine Spell was nothing simple, but if he had something to start with, the process could be cut down substantially. Silently, as he travelled through the stars with the two Deities following close behind, Yaan's cultivation body began to work on this transformation, attempting to create a Reveal Truth Divine Spell.
If he really succeeded in doing this, not only would it become easier to devise new Divine Spells in future, but perhaps he would be able to better understand his Divine Power, and its relation to his dao. Any understanding that he could develop would be useful in paving the path towards the Origin Step.
Eventually, Yaan's dao body finally caught up to the Sage and Mad Axe Deity. As soon as he caught sight of them, Yaan held back and followed from a distance, keeping them in view but not approaching too close, in case he was noticed.
For some time, he continued to follow the pair in silence.
It soon became clear to him that they did not know where the Death Inheritance had gone, and like him, were now scouring the Chaotic Sector in search. Of course, simply locating the Death Inheritance wasn't their only goal, they were also supporting the Transcendents in the conquest of this sector. Unfortunately, it seemed that a fair few of those Transcendents had lost their lives during the Qi Plane's fusion into the Blood Plane.
It was already risky enough sending Transcendents to the Chaotic Sector, but originally, the Primordial Sage had mapped out a route for them to take which should have allowed them to circumvent the major dangers. Now though, the Chaotic Sector's danger had risen to a new level, those previously safe routes were now fraught with danger, resulting in massive casualties.
Since nobody knew where the Death Inheritance had gone, Yaan gave up on following the pair for now. Perhaps the Sage had some leads, but their progress was too slow as they were constantly stopping at the surviving life-planets to support the conquest of the sector. After all, their mission was to conquer the Four Divine Star System, not to take all of the treasures for themselves. So long as they conquered the star system, the treasures would naturally come under their control, then they could divide the spoils of war afterwards.
That was the plan at least, but Yaan wanted to ensure that the Death Inheritance landed in his hands.
Before leaving, Yaan decided to test his newly devised Dao Spell, here and now. It would be somewhat troublesome if the others caught onto his actions, but it wouldn't really be a big deal. Honestly, he was unlikely to find a better opportunity to test Conceal Truth than this, it would be a waste not to take this chance.
Yaan made sure to completely restrain his killing intent. He calmed his thoughts, almost removing all thought from his mind, then approached the Sage and Mad Axe Deity as they stopped outside of yet another life-planet.
He closed in slowly, knowing that any sudden movements could disrupt the effect of the concealment. He had confidence in Conceal Truth, but no spell in this world was truly unrivalled; if he shot towards them with malicious intent, their senses would alert them to the approaching danger.
Soon enough, Yaan stopped, staring at the pair silently. They were not speaking out loud, clearly they were communicating telepathically. Despite being 'alone', the Sage was still so cautious…
Even so, she could not detect Yaan, even when he was stood right by her side.
Without a word, Yaan left the area. As soon as he left the range of their senses, his speed increased and he started his own search for the Death Inheritance. It might not even be in the Chaotic Sector any longer, but there should at least be some traces left behind that he could follow.
Overall, Yaan was extremely satisfied with his new spell.
'Conceal Truth's ability to conceal my presence is simply unrivalled. It's likely that I would be detected if I approached with true malicious intent, and I would certainly be revealed if I attacked, but the fact that I was able to get so close without them sensing anything at all is a bit terrifying.'
Time continued to pass by. The conquest continued despite the world-shaking event; in fact, thanks to so many divinities being preoccupied with stabilising the situation and repairing the damage that had already been done, nobody had time to deal with the Four Divine Star System, so their plans moved along quite smoothly.
Yaan's dao body didn't pay the conquest much heed. His cultivation base body was steadily working its way through the star system, assisting with the conquest in each sector, and subduing more divinities where possible. Since the Primordial Sage had sent one of her bodies along with an Earthly Deity to each sector, when Yaan showed up with Typhoon Deity and Shadow Deity by his side, none of the opposing divinities dared to continue resisting.
Thanks to their sheer power, they were able to subdue those who hadn't already fled without needing to resort to violence.
This was none of his dao body's concern. Even if the conquest reached its conclusion, so long as the Death Inheritance hadn't yet been found, he would continue his search. Of course, his cultivation base body stayed in contact with the Primordial Sage, allowing him to stay updated on the overall situation. He would be informed if they found the Death Inheritance, at which point, his dao body would stop this somewhat aimless search and rush to its location as quickly as possible.
He knew that the Sage had promised the Deities the opportunity to tackle these inheritances, that was why they had agreed to help out after all. But, even if he had to offend a few people, Yaan would definitely attempt to take the Death Inheritance for himself.
However, this situation never came to be.
Several days into his search, he noticed a strange aura of death orbiting a giant life-star in a ring. This life-star was far larger than the norm, and it was many times more dangerous too. Even from a distance, Yaan could feel the blasts of solar winds exploding from the star's surface, causing the 'planets' around this celestial body to become charred pieces of rock.
This was one of the stars in the Chaotic Sector that even divinities would need to be careful around. If they approached too close and happened to get hit by a particularly intense solar flare, they could very easily lose their life!
Even so, Yaan didn't hesitate to fly directly up to the surface of the star. As he approached, his skin turned red, and eventually, started to crack. Crimson steam rose up from his body, but he ignored this and flew straight into the star!
To others, this star was a terrifying natural calamity, but to Yaan, it wasn't really a big deal. His body wasn't truly made from flesh and blood, it was an illusion; the only reason his skin was cracking was thanks to the powerful law of fire, the flames themselves could not harm him.
And so, even though flying into the star did injure him, these injuries posed him no threat.
Wave after wave of flames exploded in Yaan's face, blocking his view and forcing him to fly deeper in. It was only after he broke out from the flames and reached the life-star's core, that he finally slowed down to a halt and smiled.
"As expected, the Death Inheritance couldn't escape from the Chaotic Sector, it was dragged into one of the sector's great natural calamities."
In the centre of this star, the usual star core was nowhere to be found…or rather, the star core had been infected with a powerful aura of death, causing it to extinguish and collapse into dust. The dust had long since burned away, leaving behind only the source of this aura of death - a giant black skull!
He had found the Death Inheritance!
