Chapter 884
The Second Origin River
Everyone present was not ignorant of occultism. Upon hearing Eivass’s words, Encyclopedia immediately reacted, “Bewitchment Dispelling?” The Bewitchment Dispelling Art of the Path of Balance, also known as the “Technique of Non-Sufficiency.” It is the ability to dispell the occultism of others, rendering them powerless and “balanced.” This is also the fundamental principle by which the Path of Balance can nullify the power of all other paths. The “language” that once killed the Second Sun has now become merely a tool for people to communicate and interact. This popularization and weakening is precisely the Power of Bewitchment Dispelling of the Path of Balance!
Eivass said softly, “The Third Sun is Hengwo and the Son of Hengwo, Xi Tian Si. He is a gentler and weaker sun than the Second Sun… Since the Second Sun could disintegrate into the stars after death, does this indicate that the Second Sun possessed power greater than Heavenly Envoys, for example…” Encyclopedia murmured and finished his sentence, “Pillar Gods?” Even speaking this aloud sent a shiver down everyone’s spines.
“A mortal body killing a Pillar God… is this truly possible?” The Vagrant found this hard to believe.
—It is possible. Eivass was certain in his heart. The evidence was the Wing Heavenly Envoy. After the Wing Heavenly Envoy defeated the Sky-Devouring Beast Nibiru, he commissioned the Hourglass to cut him in half. One half entered the masterless Fourth Origin River, becoming the Lord of the Path of Wisdom. As for his other half, the “Supreme Heaven,” he did not enter an unowned Origin River—because there was no war for the position of Pillar God afterward. However, in the second painting of Eivass’s Ascension Ritual, he “donned a bear’s hide,” and his eyes became like those of the Sky-Devouring Beast.
—From another perspective, could it be that the war for Pillar Gods has already ended? Eivass’s mind conjured the ancient secret his boss had told him:
[—At that time, the Sky-Devouring Beast was almost the overlord of the earth.]
[—He ate powerful beasts and became more powerful; he ate wise beasts and became wiser. He devoured the long-lived magic tree, ate tens of millions of those with scales, and obtained a tough shell and strong bones.]
By devouring… to acquire the abilities of the other party. And the King of Winged Ones, who had not yet become the Wing Heavenly Envoy—or possibly already had—with the blessings of the “Hunting King,” the master of the Path of Hunting, followed the Path of Hunting and hunted the Sky-Devouring Beast. Then came the crucial part—
[—He drank its blood, ate its flesh, and wore its hide. He obtained power from the King of Earth.]
Drank, ate to the fullest. And then obtained the power of the other party. What the King of Winged Ones did at that time was exactly the same as the Sky-Devouring Beast Nibiru! And the reason he was able to win in this process was because he possessed greater “Power” than the other party! Eivass had already witnessed similar wars from him. That was the final battle of Supreme Heaven—the Silver Crown Dragon, following the Path of Transcendence, defeated the Pillar God Supreme Heaven of the Path of Power with power and usurped his authority. And all this was because he possessed greater “Authority” than the other party!
—Borrowing the power of other paths and following the path of the opponent to surpass them, the necessary condition for victory is a new path in the same Origin River. Now it seems, this is the necessary ritual for the change of Pillar Gods! In other words, the Sky-Devouring Beast Nibiru was the previous Pillar God defeated and turned into nourishment by Supreme Heaven! The path he mastered… should be “eating” or “devouring.” The so-called survival of the fittest is a more primitive jungle law than the era of “power is supreme,” the most primitive form of “violence” in life. Just as “Power” is still hidden within the Silver Crown Dragon, so too can the Authority of the Material Realm occasionally be defied by greater power; after Supreme Heaven defeated and devoured Nibiru, the Giant race he created also had the instinct and bad habit of “devouring other races.” Winged Ones have no custom of eating humans, as can be seen from Great Philosopher. Even Supreme Heaven himself does not eat humans… Giants do not practice live sacrifice. Why did the Giants, created directly by Supreme Heaven himself, have such barbaric habits? Why were they looked down upon by Supreme Heaven himself, even regarded as uncivilized beasts? There is only one reason—the instincts within the Giant race did not entirely come from Supreme Heaven, but a large part of it came from Nibiru! Rather than creating a spokesperson for his Material Realm, Supreme Heaven was “cutting off” the uncontrollable “eating” remnants within himself! And this, from another perspective… it also implies something else. That is, in that era, Pillar Gods could walk the earth, devour people at will, and even be killed by others! In the era of the Second Sun, the Material Realm and the Dream Realm had not yet completely separated! If the Veil of Balance covered the entire world, completely separating the Dream Realm and the Material Realm… even if dreams, rituals, and prayers could not connect, then this world would have no Extraordinary Power at all. Conversely, if the Master of Balance had not yet achieved the complete separation of heaven and earth, the Material Realm and the Dream Realm would inevitably be confused. In that case, both Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods could walk freely in the Material Realm. These true gods held authority and could change the world at will… this would inevitably lead to great chaos. The Wing Heavenly Envoy himself is the Lord of the Sky-Piercing Tower—or rather, he at least once borrowed the power of the Sky-Piercing Tower. The fact that he could kill the Sky-Devouring Beast should also be somewhat related to the Sky-Piercing Tower. Among the “herbivores” led by the Wing Heavenly Envoy in the second painting, there might have been mages from the Sky-Piercing Tower.
[—Without wisdom, we lived confusedly on the earth, always falling into a cyclical loop. Only by coming into contact with truth could everything become clear.]
[—I will return, Fox. You just guard this tower… When I obtain the truth, I will answer everyone’s questions. Why we fight, and why we live.]
This was spoken by “White Horse” to “Fox” on the Sky-Piercing Tower before heading to the Fourth Origin River during the Ascension Ritual.
So if we connect these things—the Second Sun was killed by “language,” the Second Sun turned into countless stars, the Sky-Piercing Tower was shattered, language was popularized and dispelled… And Great Philosopher was also deeply influenced by Balance—Great Philosopher’s birth came directly from Balance, the “profession system” was concocted by Great Philosopher and the Hourglass, the existence of the King of the Wild Hunt, a soul-killing software contracted by Great Philosopher, was also to maintain the balance of the Material Realm, and the Hourglass gave the remnants of Supreme Heaven to Great Philosopher…
“I might have a thread of an idea…” Eivass murmured.
“What?” Professor Bard looked at Eivass expectantly, “Tell us?” Eivass just shook his head. He simply asked everyone, “What do you think, which path does language belong to?” This question plunged everyone into thought.
“【Beauty】.”
“Although I want to say Authority, Authority should not have been born in this era.”
“Undoubtedly, language can only belong to the domain of the Path of Beauty.” Not long after, people gave their answers. Except for “Doll” Cardinal Galatea. …Indeed, this was the case. As things stood, language could only belong to the Path of “Beauty.” However, paths are not the source of power. If we consider the concept of “Origin River” instead of “Path,” language should actually belong to the Origin River of “Civilization”—that is, the Third Path, belonging to the Path of Devotion of the Candlemaster. But obviously, language has nothing to do with “Devotion”… Eivass realized the crux of the problem.
“Doll…” He softly asked Cardinal Galatea, the devotee of the Twin, “What is the Origin River of the Path of Beauty?” Cardinal Galatea’s High-Tier Divine Art contracted the Twin. Just as the Lord of Scales and Feathers could hear everything Eivass heard at any time, this question was equivalent to asking the Twin himself. —If Cardinal Galatea did not know the answer to this question, no one in this world would.
At this moment, Cardinal Galatea, who was as cold and emotionless as a doll, suddenly broke into a gentle and bright smile. She smiled adorably, as if the solid ice had melted. “You’ve realized it,” Cardinal Galatea said smilingly, her voice soft and light, “The name of the Second Origin River is… 【Difference】. 【Beauty】 is born from the difference of all things—’Comparison’ is born from difference, only after comparison are ‘Beauty’ and ‘Ugliness’ born. The difference from imperfect reality gives birth to childlike innocence and fantasy, the difference from usual words and actions gives birth to dance and song. The difference from others gives birth to self, the difference from ideals gives birth to jealousy… And the thing that can infinitely compare ‘differences’ is the Twin Mirror that reflects each other—” At this point, “Cardinal Galatea” seemed to fall into a trance for a moment. Then her expression returned to being cold, and she remained silent, as if she had not heard Eivass’s question at all. That was the Twin Mirror directly responding to Eivass! …As expected. Eivass looked at these radiant ancient ruins, his heart settling. “The miracle of ‘Civilization,’ if we subtract the power of ‘Creation’… we get the language used to distinguish each other’s ‘differences,’ each being unique. Thus, people were scattered everywhere, unable to understand each other—” The power of Origin Rivers, in addition to being able to add, can also subtract!
(End of chapter)
