Myth Beyond Heaven

The blinding light subsided, leaving behind a stunned silence. Yun Lintian lay still, his breathing shallow and erratic. The black veins that had marred his skin were now gone, replaced by a faint, ethereal glow emanating from his abdomen.

Tian He slowly pushed himself up, his eyes glued to Yun Lintian. "What just happened?" he rasped, the lingering effects of the temporal backlash making his voice hoarse.

Shan Que stood tall, his emerald aura fading like embers. A grimace twisted his features. "Fan Shen's control over time hasn't weakened. In fact, it's grown stronger. We were utterly wrong about him."

At this moment, Yun Qianxue and the others burst into the hut, their faces etched with worry.

Shan Que didn't turn around. "Leave," he commanded, his voice gruff with strain. "There's nothing you can do here."

Yun Qianxue and the girls' fists clenched, their eyes fixated on Yun Lintian. Leaving him like this was an agonizing choice.

Lan Qinghe, understanding their anguish with a single glance at Yun Lintian, gently ushered them out of the hut. Their worried whispers drifted back as the door shut tight, leaving Shan Que and Tian He alone with his unsettling discovery.

"Do you need my help?"

The silence within the hut was broken by a calm voice. Shi Xuan strode in, his presence heavy despite his attempt to enter unnoticed. Since his arrival, he'd remained a ghost in the periphery, a clear aversion to encountering another Primordial God inheritor like Shan Que.

Shi Xuan cast a worried glance at Yun Lintian's pallid face. "Perhaps I can intervene," he offered, his voice calm despite the urgency in his eyes. "Invoking his Dragon God Soul might provide a temporary buffer against the temporal energy."

Shan Que shook his head, his expression grim. "No, that would be reckless. It could exacerbate the situation."

He knelt beside Yun Lintian, his touch gentle as he placed a hand on the young man's chest. A soft emerald light emanated from him, probing but careful.

Tian He and Shi Xuan exchanged a troubled look as they observed the scene.

As Shan Que's light delved deeper, a gasp ripped from his throat. His eyes widened in disbelief, a tremor shaking him to his core.

"This can't be..." he murmured, his voice a threadbare whisper.

Tian He, his own concern spiking, demanded, "What is it? What have you found?"

Shan Que remained frozen, his hand hovering inches above Yun Lintian's chest. The emerald light flickered erratically, as if encountering an unseen obstacle. Finally, he retracted his hand, his face drained of color. He met Tian He's gaze, a mix of awe and dread swirling in his eyes.

"He's..." Shan Que began, his voice barely above a whisper, "absorbing the power of time." He shook his head, urgency creeping into his tone. "No, that's not quite right. He's... becoming one with it. It's merging with his very being, integrating into his core existence."

Tian He and Shi Xuan exchanged a stunned look. Among the thirteen Primordial Gods' powers, time was notoriously difficult to master. Even with their knowledge of Yun Lintian's prodigious talent, this feat of raw absorption, with no external aid, seemed utterly impossible.

"We were wrong about Fan Shen and this young man," Shan Que spoke.

This was beyond anything he had ever encountered, beyond even the realm of comprehension. The power of time, supposedly a chaotic and destructive force, was seemingly integrating seamlessly with Yun Lintian.

Shan Que glanced at the serene face of the unconscious Yun Lintian. "There's something unique about him, something that allows him to… tame the untamable."

He fell silent for a moment, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Then, he spoke, his voice carrying a newfound weight.

"This isn't just about the power of time, Old Jiang. This… this is something far greater at play. Something that transcends our understanding."

A heavy silence descended upon the hut. The implication of Shan Que's words hung heavy in the air, a suffocating weight of the unknown. They were mere spectators to a phenomenon that defied all their knowledge, a dance orchestrated by forces beyond their comprehension.

Buzz—

As the revelation settled in, a wave of energy pulsed from Yun Lintian's body, vibrating through the very fabric of the hut. The furniture creaked, and dust rained down from the ceiling. Even Shan Que, Tian He and Shi Xuan, beings of immense power, felt a faint tremor ripple through them.

This surge wasn't destructive, but transformative. A faint golden light, akin to the dawning sun, began to emanate from his body, intertwining with the lingering emerald glow from Shan Que's touch. Within Yun Lintian, a silent symphony unfolded.

The Tree of Life, bathed in celestial light, began to undergo a metamorphosis. Its branches, previously skeletal and dry, sprouted emerald leaves that shimmered with an otherworldly luminescence. The celestial light, once the sole source of its radiance, now pulsed with vibrant hues mirroring the seven relics embedded within.

The Moon Relic, a pearlescent crescent, glowed a cool, silvery white, imbuing the leaves with a sheen that resembled moonlight.

The Storm Relic, a jagged stormcloud, crackled with miniature bolts of azure lightning, infusing the leaves with the raw energy of a tempest.

The Sun Relic, a miniature sun radiating warmth, bathed the leaves in a golden glow, infusing them with the life-giving essence of fire.

The Golden Mountain Relic, a miniature mountain carved from pure gold, pulsed with a metallic light, solidifying the very structure of the Tree.

The Spatial Wheel Relic, a shimmering whirlpool, warped the space around the Tree, creating an ethereal dimension within its branches.

The Thunder Relic, a miniature thunderbolt, crackled with raw power, imbuing the leaves with the destructive might of lightning.

Finally, the Earth Relic, a miniature globe swirling with vibrant colors, pulsated with the life force of the earth, nourishing the Tree from within.

As the transformation reached its peak, the leaves of the Tree of Life morphed further. They took on the shapes of various divine beasts, miniature representations of the bloodlines coursing through Yun Lintian's veins.

A majestic Vermilion Bird soared through the branches, its wings painted with flames.

A radiant Golden Crow perched on a branch, its feathers glowing with solar energy.

A ferocious White Tiger stalked amongst the leaves, its stripes shimmering with moonlight.

A stoic Black Turtle lumbered across the ground within the Tree's dimensional space, its shell imbued with the power of the earth.

A mighty Azure Dragon coiled around the Tree's trunk, its scales shimmering with the power of lightning and water.

A majestic Divine Phoenix perched atop the highest branch, its feathers adorned with a celestial luminescence…