Near the Fourth Star Ring in the cosmic starry sky, the ancient god's hidden dark sun clone, buried deep within the void, felt something amiss.
In an instant, the ancient god's true body teleported through time and space to the clone's side, then unleashed a spatial-temporal domain that enveloped the depths of the void.
The Taiyin Holy God, having just escaped the Holy Sanctuary's siege through time-space traversal, was immediately covered by the ancient god's spatial-temporal domain.
As the ancient god moved to capture its prey, the Heaven-Cleaving Divine Axe already descended in a single strike that seemed to split heaven and earth.
Though the axe stroke appeared simple, it carried the full might of the ancient god's world force—an unparalleled pure power granted by the life source of the ancient god's cosmos, and ultimately infused with the destructive force of temporal-spatial reincarnation.
Yet when facing this strike capable of severely wounding an eternal being, the Taiyin Holy God merely glanced at it.
Its gaze projected moonlight that flowed like water, neutralizing all harm.
Although much of the damage neutralized by the moonlight was already worn away by the Heaven-Cleaving Divine Axe, the moonlight remained undying and could reconstitute at any time, forcibly wearing down and dissolving the ancient god's world-shattering strike. The Taiyin Holy God even instantly counterattacked in synchronization.
Not only did the moonlight neutralize the strike, it also copied it in perfect synchronization.
When the Taiyin Holy God looked toward the ancient god, the Heaven-Cleaving Divine Axe's void—composed entirely of undying will—flashed and transformed into a phantom axe shadow, striking the ancient god's consciousness sea.
Though most damage was blocked by the spirit realm's consciousness sea, some penetrated, wounding the divine source.
The injury was minor, but the ancient god's expression changed drastically.
Because the temporal-spatial reincarnation effect acting on the divine source could not heal the damage.
Moreover, the terrifying will that caused the injury had somehow fused with part of the ancient god's divine source.
The ancient god tried to eradicate this foreign will, but even its eternal will suffered permanent erosion, while the fused foreign will remained unharmed.
Helpless, the ancient god had no choice but to sever and seal this part of the divine source.
Seeing the Taiyin Holy God prepare to counterattack again, the ancient god immediately teleported away through time and space without hesitation.
The Taiyin Holy God did not pursue but instead paused briefly, then warped space-time toward the cosmic primal sea.
Though lacking mastery over the cosmic seed, its undying will allowed it to forcibly control spatial-temporal laws, with only the limitation of shorter single teleport distances.
This delay of a few minutes still found the Taiyin Holy God already arrived at the cosmic primal sea.
The Chaos Holy God intercepted the Taiyin Holy God there, cautiously scrutinizing it.
It never imagined that the Taiyin Holy God, transformed into a sinful life form, could reclaim its consciousness.
Had it known, it would never have allowed the Holy Sanctuary to besiege the Taiyin Holy God.
Now the only choice was to persuade the Taiyin Holy God to drag it down as well.
But this was not a good option, because even if the three Dimension Holy Gods teamed up, the Chaos Holy God was confident it would not lose.
However, if the Taiyin Holy God sided with them, the four attacking together could pose a fatal threat.
So it had to convince the Taiyin Holy God to join before the Dimension Holy Gods could.
Time was urgent.
The Chaos Holy God stripped part of its memories, merged them into its eternal will, and assaulted the Taiyin Holy God's consciousness sea.
This portion of eternal will was quickly assimilated by the Taiyin Holy God's undying will.
After reading the memories, the Taiyin Holy God pondered briefly, then nodded.
Though it had partially revived its past life memories and, empowered by undying will, was even stronger than the Chaos Holy God, it also knew the undying will was unwelcome by the cosmos.
Mastery of undying will would lead to cosmic rejection, innate disgust by the universe itself.
A quiet, dying cosmos was entirely different from one crazily retaliating under provocation.
Therefore, the undying will must be discarded, but with sufficient gain in return.
After teleporting to the cosmic primal sea, the Taiyin Holy God voluntarily relinquished the undying will and merged it into the Heart of the Cosmos.
The Heart of the Cosmos immediately began to suppress the undying will, but at the same time, the undying will corrupted and assimilated part of the Heart.
By leveraging this assimilation, the Taiyin Holy God successfully extracted a cosmic seed from the Heart of the Cosmos.
Losing the undying will, the Taiyin Holy God's power sharply dropped but roughly remained on par with the Dimension Holy Gods.
By the time the Dimension Holy Gods and ancient god noticed the drastic change in the cosmic primal sea, it was already too late.
The Chaos Holy God had disturbed their perception of the primal sea, and the Dimension Holy Gods had not carefully monitored the Holy Sanctuary, causing them to miss the chance to recruit the Taiyin Holy God.
A new seat was formed among the universes, and Rosen unexpectedly saw the Taiyin Holy God after arriving between universes.
The mysterious black mist between universes could block all detection, which explained why his true identity had never been discovered.
Busy with matters at the Holy Sanctuary, he hadn't noticed the primal sea's situation immediately.
But he was certain the newcomer was the Taiyin Holy God.
Because the Taiyin Holy God had stolen a tenth of the undying will via its primal incarnation, and the mysterious black mist could not block undying will's connection.
So when he realized the newcomer was the Taiyin Holy God, the Taiyin Holy God also knew his identity as the Heaven and Earth Holy God.
"How did you come to regain your consciousness?" the Dimension Holy Gods asked cautiously once everyone was assembled.
"There are many reasons…" the Taiyin Holy God replied. "After my past life's demise, the core of my undying will was sealed within the Nightfall Society's prison.
"No undying will was reborn elsewhere, and the new Taiyin Holy God happened to be a member of the Nightfall Society.
"Additionally, I had earlier scattered the primal relic Moonlight Splendor across the entire universe.
"But the most crucial reason was that I heard an endless natural symphony of joy."
"The natural symphony of joy!" the Chaos Holy God exclaimed uncontrollably.
Back then, many primal lives had fallen, and most undying wills were tainted by evil intent.
All primal lives searched for the natural symphony but ultimately failed, so they had no choice but to gather all scattered undying wills in the Nightfall Society, then used the Nightfall Parasitic Flower's mother plant to seal away all evil.
Now the appearance of the natural symphony of joy meant all sinful lives could potentially awaken.
The cosmic pie was only so big.
Though more people meant smaller shares, more competitors made it harder.
They were not afraid of competition, but feared that fierce fights would overturn the table.
If that happened, everyone would lose everything, and no one could swallow the pie to ascend as a primal transcendent.
"The natural symphony of joy is not allowed to exist. Do you know who holds it?" the Chaos Holy God said coldly and decisively.
The Taiyin Holy God raised a hand and pointed at Rosen.
"I don't know what he calls himself, but I'm sure it's him. This person used the natural symphony of joy to seize at least a tenth of my undying will and led eternal lives to besiege me."
"Are you trying to frame me?" Rosen said, dissipating the black mist enveloping him.
Of course, he did not reveal his true form, since before arriving between universes, he had already become the Heaven and Earth Holy God.
In these years, his identity as Rosen had never surfaced.
The ancient god was beginning to suspect some connection between him and Rosen.
This was the perfect chance to reveal his Heaven and Earth Holy God identity as a shield.
"I don't know what the natural symphony of joy is…" Rosen said seriously. "But when besieging you, I did hear a special melody from you. You're clearly crying wolf. I propose killing him to reduce the number of competitors for the pie.
"Through his memories, it won't be hard to tell who's lying—me or him.
"If his memories prove I'm lying, then you can all attack me next."
Rosen's proposal tempted even the Chaos Holy God.
If the natural symphony was truly held by the Taiyin Holy God, then the Taiyin Holy God was simply framing this upstart Heaven and Earth Holy God.
Killing the Taiyin Holy God would reduce threats and might even secure the natural symphony, leaving a way out.
If the Taiyin Holy God was innocent, then the Heaven and Earth Holy God would be next to die.
Removing these two obstacles would leave only the Dimension Holy Gods and ancient god as threats.
Like the Chaos Holy God, the Dimension Holy Gods also wanted to obtain the natural symphony of joy.
Though the ancient god didn't know what the natural symphony was, the fact it could awaken sinful lives and tempt the Chaos and Dimension Holy Gods was proof it was valuable.
Thus, at this moment, the Taiyin Holy God became the target of all attacks.
Rosen and the others disappeared simultaneously between universes and began their joint siege against the Taiyin Holy God.
The Taiyin Holy God reacted swiftly, using the cosmic seed's power to teleport to the universe's edge, approaching what it perceived as the strongest sinful life, hoping to stir the waters and fight for a chance to survive.
Both Rosen and the Taiyin Holy God had entered between universes, but their fates were starkly different.
The key difference was his insufficient strength, while the Taiyin Holy God was far too powerful.
Furthermore, he was useful to the Dimension Holy Gods and ancient god, so the Chaos Holy God could not bypass them to kill him alone.
The Taiyin Holy God was unlucky.
Though the Chaos Holy God had recruited it, that was before the appearance of the natural symphony of joy.
The symphony's value changed the Chaos Holy God's mind, and the Dimension Holy Gods did not want to see it and the Chaos Holy God join forces.
Otherwise, how could three of them agree to besiege the Taiyin Holy God based on Rosen's accusation?
Unlike previous encounters, everyone was hiding secrets and holding back.
The Taiyin Holy God was not inferior to the Dimension Holy Gods at all, so it was impossible to hold back or conceal weapons while under siege.
At best, it could keep a few trump cards, but most methods were exposed.
The Dimension Holy God opened with the Eternal Holy Law's multi-dimensional division, separating the Taiyin Holy God from the sinful life and sealing off spatial-temporal dimensions to prevent escape.
Achieving this level of control already exhausted the Dimension Holy God.
The Chaos Holy God wielded a chaotic universe in its hand, devouring and destroying all methods in its path.
After losing its undying will but gaining the cosmic seed, the Taiyin Holy God, though wielding the infinite primal cosmic power from its sinful life period, was unfamiliar with the cosmic seed's power and had not developed corresponding Eternal Holy Laws for it.
Therefore, it could not fully unleash the cosmic seed's power and could only rely on the primal relic Moonlight Splendor to resist the chaotic universe.
Though it withstood the Chaos Holy God, the ancient god and Rosen were watching like hungry tigers.
The ancient god's Heaven-Cleaving Divine Axe and Rosen's Heaven-Splitting Axe relentlessly struck the Taiyin Holy God's defensive Eternal Holy Laws, continuously damaging it.
This time, the Taiyin Holy God was no longer an immortal undying monster.
Facing the siege by four, the Taiyin Holy God immediately realized it was a dead end.
It had underestimated their strength and overestimated itself.
It was no longer a primal life, nor were they mere ants among eternal lives.
Had it known this outcome, it would never have tried to use the natural symphony of joy to trap the Holy God who possessed the cosmic seed.
Now regret was too late.
The Taiyin Holy God exhausted all efforts to find an escape.
To gain, it must first give up.
The Taiyin Holy God decided to gamble.
As the moon formed from Moonlight Splendor fought back the chaotic universe with all its might, the Taiyin Holy God detached the still-warm cosmic seed, along with Moonlight Splendor, broke its bond with its master, and reclaimed its eternal will.
Then it voluntarily handed over the two unclaimed treasures to the Dimension Holy God.
Presented with two priceless treasures, even the Dimension Holy God could not resist taking them.
Though the natural symphony of joy was valuable, it was not as tangible as Moonlight Splendor and the cosmic seed.
With these in his grasp, the Dimensional Holy God no longer had to fear the Chaotic Holy God.
The Chaotic Holy God understood this as well. He was concerned that the Dimensional Holy God's power would rise even further. If the Ancient God and the Heaven-Earth Holy God also stood on his side, then he would be the one surrounded and hunted down. He absolutely couldn't allow the Dimensional Holy God to monopolize both treasures.
The Chaotic Holy God immediately turned and began battling the Dimensional Holy God, while Rosen and the Ancient God together were still able to restrain the Lunar Holy God.
The Lunar Holy God knew this was the decisive moment between life and death. Every Eternal Sacred Law he used was of the self-destructive type, and all of them targeted Rosen in his Heaven-Earth Holy God form. The Ancient God, not wanting to get injured in the crossfire and desiring to seize the Moonlight Splendor and the Cosmic Source Seed as well, gave up the siege and joined the scramble.
Moreover, the Ancient God still harbored resentment over being tricked by the Heaven-Earth Holy God, and immediately gave up the joint attack to compete for the Cosmic Source Seed.
With only Rosen left, he no longer had the strength to restrain the Lunar Holy God, who was fighting with everything he had to break out alive.
Rosen reluctantly let the Lunar Holy God escape and turned back to seize the Moonlight Splendor.
He didn't care about the Cosmic Source Seed—his own Origin Source Seed could transform freely.
But he did care about the Moonlight Splendor. From the moment he first saw it, he felt it would greatly benefit him.
The Cosmic Source Seed held the highest value, so the Ancient God and the others focused mainly on seizing that.
Rosen had seized ten percent of the Lunar Holy God's undying will through his primal incarnation. The Moonlight Splendor had been fused with the Lunar Holy God's undying will for countless years. Even though the Lunar Holy God had stripped away his own will, the deep-rooted compatibility between the two hadn't disappeared.
Thus, even though Rosen acted last, his undying will was the first to integrate into the Moonlight Splendor.
Reclaiming a master triggered the Moonlight Splendor's original sacred artifact power, tearing through the encirclement and landing in Rosen's hands. If the Dimensional Holy God and the others wanted to stop him, they'd have to give up the Cosmic Source Seed. In the end, they could only watch as the Heaven-Earth Holy God exited the battlefield.
After several days of struggle, the Cosmic Source Seed ended up in the hands of the Ancient God.
The Chaotic Holy God feared the Dimensional Holy God's power would catch up to his. The Dimensional Holy God and the Ancient God feared the Chaotic Holy God would become even stronger and uncontrollable. Only the Ancient God, with the least threat, was allowed to take the Cosmic Source Seed. Sometimes, not being too powerful makes it easier to profit from the chaos.
Failing to obtain either of the two treasures, the Natural Hymn of Joy absolutely could not be missed.
The Chaotic Holy God and Dimensional Holy God began hunting the Lunar Holy God across the entire universe, stirring up an upheaval on a cosmic scale.
Desperate, the Lunar Holy God chose to expose the Heaven-Earth Holy God's identity and joined the Divine Hall.
It was the same tactic Rosen had used back in the day—forcing out the Elemental Holy God and other pawns of the Chaotic Holy God to seize control of the Divine Hall. Because the siege at the edge of the universe was so high-profile, the Eternal Lives of the Divine Hall could no longer trust the Heaven-Earth Holy God to lead them.
Thus, the Lunar Holy God naturally replaced Rosen and was elected as the new Speaker of the Divine Hall.
Of course, the Lunar Holy God paid a heavy price. Not only did he expose all the secrets of the Chaotic and Dimensional Holy Gods, but he even spread knowledge only known to primal beings far and wide. Then, he led the Divine Hall to hunt down the Heaven-Earth Holy God across the universe.
Because only by obtaining the Natural Hymn of Joy could the evil beings awaken.
Only evil beings that held undying will could fuse it into the Heart of the Universe and obtain the Cosmic Source Seed.
Only with the Cosmic Source Seed could a small universe become worthy of the name—and only then would one have a chance at contending for the inevitable birth of a new universe.
During this time, to prove that he hadn't obtained the Natural Hymn of Joy, the Lunar Holy God even opened his own memories. This series of actions finally allowed him to establish a firm foothold in the Divine Hall and prove that he did not possess the Natural Hymn of Joy.
So now, not only the Divine Hall but also the Chaotic and Dimensional Holy Gods were searching for the Heaven-Earth Holy God.
But none of them could have imagined that as soon as Rosen obtained the Moonlight Splendor, he immediately changed identities.
The Heaven-Earth Holy God, now completely "dead," was, of course, impossible to find.
As he continued refining the Moonlight Splendor, Rosen discovered that its core material was most likely the moon's stellar core from the primal universe.
This stellar core had been polished into a gemstone composed of countless mirror surfaces. These mirrors could reflect all things, and with the help of the Moonlight Splendor, anything reflected could be projected into the real world—even the thoughts in one's mind could be manifested.
And that wasn't even the Moonlight Splendor's strongest ability. Its true power lay in reflection and amplification.
Rosen had his primal incarnation punch with full force—the reflection almost shattered it.
When testing its amplification ability, even though his eternal will couldn't achieve true indestructibility, it could become temporarily indestructible. Other amplified powers could easily reach the primal level. However, to unleash the Moonlight Splendor's full reflection and amplification abilities required the use of undying will.
Rosen's undying will was limited—and more importantly, it lacked roots.
It couldn't grow by itself. To strengthen it further, he had to keep plundering undying will from evil beings.
However, he had already sensed the Heart of the Universe's rejection of undying will.
Even though he differed from the Chaotic Holy God and others by holding a new universe embryo and being considered the heir of the cosmos, this rejection was not significantly lessened. As long as he held undying will, the rejection would only intensify. Worse, it directly targeted his true body—even the myriad-transforming sacred law couldn't shift the blame to someone else.
No wonder the Chaotic Holy God, after hiding in the universe for countless years, still hadn't reclaimed even a shred of undying will.
They had all abandoned it, just like the Lunar Holy God, and merged it entirely into the Heart of the Universe to seize more shares of control.
Once Rosen abandoned his undying will, he gained greater authority over the Heart of the Universe.
All in all, it wasn't a loss. By continuing to plunder undying will and fusing it into the Heart of the Universe, it would eventually become entirely his. But this would also make him a universal target—so it was best to use multiple identities to divert their attention.
(End of this chapter)