Standing on the peak of the Qingling Sword Sect, although not as renowned as those top-grade sects, they are not to be trifled with as they secluded themselves to focus on cultivation.

However, today they happened to encounter two unreasonable individuals. Despite their ordinary appearance and lack of spiritual aura, they brazenly broke through the misty array at the foot of the mountain and demanded to watch the sunrise from the highest peak of the sect, the Congyun Peak.

Naturally, such an absurd request was flatly rejected. When the two persisted, the reclusive cultivators of the mountain, already known for their solitude, decided not to waste any more time and attempted to drive them away.

But the outcome was unexpected.

"Wow~ That felt great! Having a strong backer who can fight is so satisfying! If it were just me, I would have been kicked off the cliff by them long ago."

At the observation pavilion atop Congyun Peak that originally belonged to the sect leader, a young man in a coarse shirt leaned against the upturned eaves, gazing at the sea of clouds. With the sky just beginning to brighten, the horizon where the clouds met the first light of dawn shone a deep red, ready to burst through the layer of clouds any moment.

By the way, the unlucky sect leader was currently hanging on a pine tree below, despite being a powerful cultivator in the Daoist Immortal realm, he still couldn't last three moves against the ethereal figure in white on the opposite side.

"Brother Yuan jests. I believe they are not wicked enough to push ordinary people off cliffs…"

"Ah, you really haven't met those cultivators whose brains are fried from cultivation. Once they have a bit of talent, they think they are superior to ordinary folks. I guess true immortals still acknowledge their 'human' lineage in their titles. It's from personal experience, similarities unintended."

Yuan sighed, chin resting on his hand. "If everyone were like the Qin Devil, skilled yet humble, the world would probably be much more peaceful."

Kongming chose not to comment, as Yuan, being a mere human, could easily end up in the underworld under the Bridge of Helplessness if what he said came true.

However, Yuan's judgment of him wasn't entirely accurate. After all, to Kongming, regular humans, martial arts masters, or royal figures were all the same. They were not of his kind. The reason he became close friends with Yuan was solely because Yuan was the most unique human he encountered after relinquishing the Demon King's throne and arriving in the Main Dimension, both in speech and action.

He hadn't encountered anyone so eccentric as to approach him while playing the ancient zither, giving themselves a name in a divine style, and even teaching a bunch of strange lines.

But he didn't dislike it.

Leaning against the eaves on the opposite side from Yuan, Kongming shook his four-dimensional sleeve, more precisely, he slightly utilized The Realm to manipulate the space law, pulling out an ancient zither from the sleeve and casually strumming a few strings.

"Hey, Qin Devil, look, the sun is rising!" Yuan's excited voice filled the air.

Kongming looked up as the intense red light pierced through the clouds. The enormous sphere rose from the horizon, the daily sunrise that repeated in this world, milder compared to the sun in Devildom.

"Don't you find it spectacular? Oh, right, don't you have something like The Realm, that little world of yours? Adding this in should be feasible as well," Yuan's proud voice chimed in.

...

Subconsciously recalling the travels from those years, the youthful figure in Kongming's memory gradually overlapped with the carefree smile of Yuan before him.

"Not belonging to this world?" Kongming frowned, "Are you saying that you come from Heaven or... similar to me?"

"No, it's far more remote than these alternate dimensions, that place is a completely different world on a dimensional level... It's hard to explain in just a few words," Yuan's expression shifted between "trying to explain" and "giving up," ultimately giving in, "Forget it, just consider me a human with strange knowledge in my head."

"An ordinary human living for thousands of years cannot be explained by this reason," Kongming sighed, "So, dear friend, what is your purpose in doing all this?"

In fact, Kongming arrived in the city of Luojing before the rebellion began, even sensing the abnormal energy flow in the city in advance, but he never expected to see divine formations appearing in the imperial capital.

Thousands perished in the battles of the rebels and the city riots, using their blood and souls to shape the divine spirits... If it was a revelation from ten thousand years ago when Kongming first met Yuan, he would indeed find it hard to believe that his seemingly harmless friend could do such things.

Yuan tilted his head, showing an innocent expression, "Would you believe me if I said it's just for fun?"

"Although reluctant to believe, with all those peculiar ideas in your head, it's not impossible for you to come up with something unexpected one day," Kongming pondered for a moment before replying.

"It feels good to be trusted by you, quasi-demon lord."

"That title of yours... So, is Milt's situation also related to you?" Kongming raised an eyebrow.

"Well... somewhat? But the affairs of Devildom have nothing to do with me, those guys trying to wreak havoc in the Main Dimension will eventually come over, I just provided the coordinates... Well, it's like helping your kindred in a way."

"I don't want to see my kindred receiving such 'help,'" Kongming's tone grew heavier as he began weaving threads of rules with his fingertips.

Though Yuan enjoyed teasing, in front of an almost-angered quasi-deity like Kongming, he felt a slight tremor, not out of subjective fear, but an instinctive submissiveness towards the overwhelming strength of a superior being, "Just a friendly reminder, it might be better to prepare for the upcoming battle rather than dealing with me."

"A battle?"

Kongming hesitated. The Dragon Knight's contract was stronger in soul ties than the divine formations, theoretically, as long as the princess willingly signed this contract, Aya's soul could be protected, likely mitigating the interference of the divine formations on Aya's body. However...

"I wonder what will happen once Minglin's soul transforms into its primordial form."

Yuan chuckled, "Qin Mo, perhaps you are unaware of Minglin's past, that child carries the heavy memory of being a god yet slain by mortals atop the divine throne, if she loses her will, the resentment and brutality in her subconscious might destroy the entire country, right?"

"Of course, you could choose to ignore it, after all, she is a Demon."

"I could also choose to kill you here and then deal with the aftermath," Kongming raised his hand, and the spatial rules immediately separated the space between the two of them from their surroundings.

"Don't, we're friends after all." Yuan forced a laugh twice, but couldn't bring himself to smile when he saw Kongming's serious expression.

Plop.

A faint cracking sound, like cutting through a layer of paper membrane, as a large amount of bright red blood splattered on the ground. As the surrounding spatial barriers collapsed, Yuan's body also fell to the ground, his body slightly jerking as his carotid artery and trachea were cut open, his lungs struggling to breathe but ultimately unable to save the body from death.

Kongming pinched a drop of blood stuck to his index finger and thumb, presenting a slightly dark red color, just the most ordinary blood, radiating abundant vitality, not a ghoul, nor some strange alchemical blood golem.

"What kind of existence are you exactly..."

"Mr. Yuan?!"

Angelo's eyes were full of disbelief. He swiftly rushed forward and helped Yuan up with the silver dagger in his hands, while Yuan's eyes gradually lost their luster in the twin desperate situations of massive blood loss and the inability to inhale fresh air.

He attempted to heal Yuan's wounds with the most basic recovery and holy light spells that a priest must practice, but the wounds seemed to have been subjected to some kind of unhealable command by Kongming, rendering the spells useless.

Was this the same Yuan who caused the demon to descend at the Milt Institute and provoked Angel? The same Yuan who maneuvered among the inheritors of the throne in the Empire Chu in the west to advance his plans? Did he just die so easily?

Even though in front of a powerhouse at the level of The Realm or even quasi-god, all this seemed inevitable, Angelo still felt that such a person couldn't die so easily.

"Move aside, apprentice demon." Vera, who was following as the younger sister, reacted quite nonchalantly, casually took out a bandage to wrap around Yuan's neck wound and even tied a bow, giving it a somewhat whimsical touch.

Then she revealed another teleportation tool that Yuan often used, a transparent arc gradually enveloped the three figures.

Kongming showed no intention of stopping, instead watching with great interest the spell lines outlined on the ground by the light arc.

"Until next time, dear friend."

...

Meanwhile, outside the Star-Inducing Tower.

Although it was already possible to deduce from the commotion outside that the palace, and even the entire city, was thrown into chaos by the giant magic array covering the entire city, Xiang Ling still waited outside the Star-Inducing Tower. Also present here was Xingjian, carrying the unconscious Saint Spirit Ural who had lost to Kongming.

"What is he up to?"

Retracting his divine perception, Xiang Ling remained clueless about the situation on the second floor and underground of the Star-Inducing Tower. Perhaps it was due to the influence of the divine-made magic array below, while the second floor was where Kongming had just gone alone when leaving the place of deity-making.

The one being asked was the Abyssal Dragon lying on one shoulder, who impatiently snorted, "Go ask him yourself, but let me remind you, even though that guy gave me a bit of power to maintain the situation, I have no interest in stopping the divine-being down there if she comes out."

"The Silver War Maiden will handle it."

Xiang Ling felt quite reassured.

"Your Highness Xiang Ling, what's the situation inside now?" Xingjian, asking this question, felt quite complex at this moment.