Chapter 181: Taking the Place of the God

“Core Condensation.”

The surrounding humans looked at each other in dismay.

In the tribe, Xu Younian explained to everyone, “What the Dao Lord passed down to living beings was the method of opening an inner space. However, while human consciousness resides within this inner space, it cannot be refined; it merely strengthens as the space itself expands.”

“This is a quantitative change, an increase in quantity, but not a qualitative transformation.”

Thus, he conceived an idea:

Since the demon race could awaken their intelligence in such a dense Sea of Consciousness, could humans also utilize this high-concentration energy Sea of Consciousness to compress their energy souls, thereby achieving soul metamorphosis?

Perhaps this was the true purpose of the Sea of Consciousness.

So, he attempted to rotate the high-energy, dense Sea of Consciousness into a vortex, ultimately condensing the energy onto his soul, which gradually transformed into a golden energy pellet....

The surrounding humans stirred with excitement, “Is this the Soul Core Condensation method?”

Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Then, Human Ancestor, can this Golden Soul Core be transferred into other people’s Seas of Consciousness to possess their bodies? Like how the demon race transforms?”

After all, the Human Ancestor’s body was now breaking down, on the verge of collapse.

He had borne the entire cultivation of all human cultivators, and his Sea of Consciousness was nearly shattered from the strain.

Xu Younian coughed up blood continuously but shook his head, saying, “Impossible. The demon race can occupy a human’s Sea of Consciousness because they have physical bodies. My Golden Core’s essence is an energy soul body; it’s incompatible with other people’s Seas of Consciousness and cannot survive there.”

Three more years passed.

The human race gradually returned to peace, but the wounds they had sustained could not be erased.

In those days, the power of various great ancient human cultivators had converged upon the Human Ancestor, leaving their own cultivation utterly wasted. They swiftly aged into decrepit elders and died of old age.

The Human Ancestor Xu Younian’s Sea of Consciousness also could not bear such immense power; he was nearly dying when he returned from that battle, coughing blood daily and requiring assistance to walk.

The human race was at the end of its tether.

Another ten years passed.

Within the human lifespan of thirty to forty years, all the ancient cultivators of that era, whose cultivation had been lost, had now died of old age.

Only Xu Younian remained, solitary, in the human tribe.

The nine Great Sun Heavenly Gods in the sky remained calm, continuing their self-reproach, occasionally gazing down at the entire land, awaiting Xu Younian’s death.

“Why isn’t the Human Ancestor dead yet? His aura is clearly so weak every day, almost on the verge of dissipation...”

“He’s holding on by a thread, but what’s the point?”

“Let’s see how long he can last.”

The ancient gods in the sky all sneered.

Yet another five years passed.

The mountain range was lush green. From Mount Changyang, an extremely joyous voice rang out, “Hahaha, it’s a success, it’s finally a success!”

The woodcutter who climbed the mountain every day to chop firewood had aged considerably over the years, “We finally succeeded?”

“Yes.”

Tiantu laughed heartily. His head, neatly trimmed with an axe, sported a close-cropped haircut. “I have created the Immortality Elixir; you can now merge into my body.”

He muttered to himself, “Life in this world inherently possesses the first gene. Developing a second gene is not easy. Over these years, I’ve had them constantly collect herbs from all over for my research....”

In fact, it was very difficult to create a new second-gene potion in just ten years. The reason it could appear now was that this gene expansion potion was modeled after the Alchemist Emperor’s potion.

Because the most crucial substitute for “Phoenix Blood” had been found!

Many ancient gods here seemed like weakened versions of Phoenix Blood, which could be easily refined and purified.

Before him stood several strangely shaped humans.

Some had six legs and four wings, some were covered in black scales, and some had human heads with beast bodies, adorned with two green snakes in their ears.

Tiantu looked at this group of people. “You, the Witches, have inherited my power. Your physiques are robust, your regenerative abilities strong, and you are almost immortal. However, you need to hide and cultivate, letting the human race draw attention in the front...”

There was some unease among them.

Tiantu, however, smiled and encouraged them, “Repeat after me: ‘The history of humanity is a history of struggle against nature, a hymn to courage! Down with evil... Down with the ancient gods! Death cannot break our spirit, nor destroy our bodies!’”

Another fifteen years passed.

The nine Sun Ancient Gods in the sky gradually showed impatience.

“There’s new activity in the heavens; I’ll ascend once more.”

Xu Younian had become a white-haired old man, trembling as he barely propped himself up.

“Father.”

Beside him, several of his descendants, including Xu Wentu, hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

After the Dao Lord’s retreat, the Celestial Realm gradually fell under control, and Xu Wentu’s divine office, which oversaw heavenly laws, was revoked under some pretext.

“Father, please take our cultivation.” They hesitated, then opened their Seas of Consciousness.

Xu Younian, his aged body seated on a beast hide, calmly watched his children before him.

And the new generation of tribal elites appeared one after another, “Please take us too.”

The aged Xu Younian looked at them calmly.

Every one of them was a born genius; some even possessed talent no less than his own. It was just that they...

...the time was too short.

“Old man, you’re here again.”

From within the Jianmu tree, a faint sigh resonated.

She had never imagined that the strong human in beast hide, who had sat with her on the futon listening to the Dao, would reach this point.

“Mother Earth Qing Teng.” Xu Younian’s aged body slowly ascended to the Celestial Realm, step by step, uttering a profound sigh, “You are the only ancient god unlike the others....”

Jianmu was silent for a moment, then a catkin suddenly drifted onto him. “Go back. You shouldn’t die so quickly... Take a part of my body; it belongs to you and will help you find a way to become stronger.”

Xu Younian paused, took the catkin, looked startled for a moment, then turned and returned.

Three more years passed.

Xu Younian made a breakthrough and ascended to the heavens again, his thick white hair wildly swirling as he sat before the Sun Temple.

“I will sit here for a month; only one sun is permitted to be on duty.”

“How dare you!!”

“A mere human dare to offend an innate ancient god, born alongside heaven and earth!”

“Human Ancestor Xu Younian, you are far too presumptuous, having absorbed the power of the entire human race again....” The Great Prince of the Golden Crows, Long Hong, sneered, his expression dark and uncertain, as he stared at the old figure before him.

The gaunt old man before them was wreathed in mist, his eyes hollow, devoid of spirit and light.

He looked like a corpse.

According to their calculations, Xu Younian should have died ten years ago.

His Sea of Consciousness had absorbed the cultivation of the entire human race, leaving his spiritual space shattered. They couldn’t fathom what will sustained him until today, and now he had even absorbed it a second time.

“You are completely finished.”

“You cannot stop us from enslaving humanity and establishing the Ancient Heavenly Court....”

The nine Golden Crows lunged forward, unleashing boundless light and fire, shaking the entire Heavenly Court.

Rumble!

A moment later, the entire Sun Temple was stained with blood.

Xu Younian returned from the sky once more, coughing up large amounts of blood, then sat within the tribe, calming the people around him.

“Human Ancestor....”

“Human Ancestor....”

Xu Younian paused in silence, then calmly looked around: “The reason I could return is that Mother Earth Jianmu gave me a hint. I’ve taken another step beyond Core Condensation! I’ve opened up another realm for humanity!”

Xu Younian slowly opened his Sea of Consciousness. The golden pellet, which had also been on the verge of shattering, was now gone.

In its place stood a Jianmu tree, rooted in the wisps of mist within his Sea of Consciousness, as if it had opened heaven and earth, supporting the entire cosmos. “This is the Nascent Soul. A Nascent Soul can take millions of forms... mine is a Jianmu Nascent Soul.”

The surroundings trembled.

The condensed Golden Core transformed into a Nascent Soul?

Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Then why is the Nascent Soul in the shape of the Jianmu tree?”

“I discovered that consciousness cannot be like rootless duckweed; it needs a tangible anchor. So, my Golden Soul Core parasiticized a section of Jianmu’s branch, using Jianmu as its Nascent Soul, hidden within my Sea of Consciousness, tempered and refined daily... This Nascent Soul can enhance soul cultivation and also serve as a Natal Acquired Supreme Treasure, conjured to attack others.”

A Nascent Soul?

A Natal Acquired Supreme Treasure?

The minds of the people around them were greatly shaken.

Xu Younian calmly stated, “I once thought, since ancient gods can assume human form, using humans as bodies and their true forms as Nascent Souls... why can’t we humans do the opposite? Use *them* as Nascent Souls?”

The surroundings trembled violently, as if a new world had opened up.

“Therefore, I chose Jianmu.”

Xu Younian continued, “Ancient gods erase human consciousness, occupy human bodies, and act as Nascent Souls within the Sea of Consciousness. So, we will erase the consciousness of ancient gods, integrate them into our Seas of Consciousness, and make them *our* Nascent Souls!”

Humans can kill ancient gods and transform them into Nascent Souls?!

Among the crowd, a thunderclap seemed to echo in their minds!

This was no longer a relationship where humans were hunted by ancient gods, but one where humans and ancient gods could hunt each other.

The human race possessed bodies but lacked Nascent Souls.

Ancient gods were Nascent Souls but lacked bodies.

Xu Younian calmly said, “In this way, we can kill various ancient gods—the Thunder God, the Lightning Mother—and even use the nine suns as our own Nascent Souls.... I have used Jianmu as my Nascent Soul and pioneered a scripture called ‘Jianmu Creation Sutra.’ By taking Jianmu as one’s Nascent Soul and cultivating to the pinnacle, one can transform into a sky-opening Jianmu, devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with boundless combat power. This is for your reference.”

As Xu Younian spoke, he unrolled an ancient beast-hide scroll and handed it to the crowd.

He couldn’t help but slowly raise his head.

“Our Seas of Consciousness can accommodate the ancient gods of heaven and earth. Moreover, if we kill a sun, erase its consciousness, and integrate its Golden Core, it will become a Sun Nascent Soul, which can be refined into a Natal Magic Treasure, allowing us to assume the divine office of the sun and take its place!”

They could even kill the suns and thereby replace the innate divine positions?

The people around them trembled, an incredible thought irresistibly budding in their minds.

Xu Younian calmly stated, “From this point on, I have established a Dao tradition for humanity! Human cultivation should encompass the Core Condensation realm and the Nascent Soul path.... Humanity should also possess the ‘Miro Heavens Great Sun True Scripture’! There are nine suns in the world, and only nine people can cultivate by slaying them!”

As soon as these words were uttered, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky!

In the Moon God Palace.

The Moon God was cooking osmanthus in a pavilion. The Great Prince of the Golden Crows, Long Hong, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes: “This is bad!”

“What!?” The Moon God was startled.

Long Hong stood up and paced back and forth, “Humans seek to conquer the heavens, to seize the positions of the ancient gods and replace them, taking control of the cosmic order. The great catastrophe of the ancient gods is upon us!”