"That means, the candidates are down to..."

Aya and Tiran both turned their gaze to a few people besides themselves, speaking at the same time.

"Who is more suitable, Xingjian or Xiangling?"

"Why don't we bring little Angel over?"

"..."

The scene fell into a slightly awkward silence.

"Are you a devil? Little Angel has turned out like this, and you still want to persecute her!" Aya exclaimed.

"Isn't this a practical consideration? Little Angel already has a Holy Spirit stuffed into her body, maybe adding one more soul will balance things out," Tiran retorted.

"I'm sorry, everyone, I won't bear a celestial spirit," Xingjian took a step back. "Your Highness Tiran, I've said it before, I'm doing all this to free myself from Xingjian's duties. There's no reason to trap myself in new responsibilities again."

Doesn't that leave Xiangling as the only option? Tiran's mouth quirked, glancing at Xiangling. Born with exceptional talents and having opportunities for power growth, it seemed like she was holding the script of a protagonist.

"I have no objections, how to proceed."

Xiangling agreed readily, as for her, there weren't better options available. Minglin breaking free from Kongming's restrictions was only a matter of time. Leaving aside whether the celestial spirit might go berserk, just their unrestrained confrontation could already cause devastating damage to this political and economic center of Xichu. Not to mention the subsequent dangers brought by a rampaging powerful celestial being, which would far exceed any natural disaster encountered since the founding of Xichu.

Compared to that, risking absorbing a celestial spirit herself, as long as her will could overpower it and protect Luojing, would also lead to a significant increase in her strength.

"It's simple, just stay in the array like that little one did before. When Kongming's The Realm releases her, activate the ritual... Hmm?"

The demon dragon landed on the ground, a small claw pressed against the mysterious patterns, inputting subtle and precise magical threads to activate the formation. Suddenly, it raised its head alertly.

"What the hell?"

Not just the demon dragon, everyone present realized that something extraordinary was about to happen. The concentration of energy above their heads was terrifying. Although the sky was still clear blue so far, there was a strong sense of oppression.

Ding—

A blinding halo suddenly lit up in the sky, a large part of the sky shattered like a broken mirror, replaced by black and white colors, swirling and merging rapidly, like the yin and yang of tai chi.

"This doesn't look good..."

Before Tiran could finish his sentence, the immense stored power in the sky erupted.

A black-and-white mixed color, like ink splattering, descended from the sky, as if an invisible giant hand held a brush, creating a stroke that erased a corner of the world.

"Phew... Is this a joke?"

For most people, their knowledge of deities had always been limited to hearsay or religious scriptures, with occasional mentions of "miracles" mostly being bombastic and empty rhetoric.

This time, however, the might of the gods, at least in terms of destruction, was vividly displayed before the eyes of the world.

A massive fissure, a hundred meters wide and deep, with walls as smooth as if crafted by artisans, extended from the eastern side of the imperial city to the outskirts of Luojing, spanning the upper, middle, and lower districts of the city.

Regardless of the tranquil and luxurious residences of the nobility, the bustling and noisy streets of the common folk, or the dirty and chaotic slums, under the brushstrokes that belong to immortals, all are treated equally, dissolving as the purest manifestations of Yin and Yang between heaven and earth.

"Truly godlike."

The dragon, who had experienced The Realm-level power, only paused for a moment before regaining his composure and remarked with a bit of sourness. He wasn't surprised by the power, just relieved that the strike didn't land directly on him. If that brushstroke had hit them, their few Holy Ranks would be as defenseless as ordinary people.

After the strike, the Tai Chi pattern in the sky dissipated, the pale purple silhouette continued to overlook the world, with its gaze lingering particularly on her masterpiece for a while.

Another figure barely landed next to Tiran and the others.

Kongming, who was now far from the calm and composed demeanor he had when he first appeared, his white robes almost ragged, and his usual guqin in shambles, reduced to just a wooden base.

"Oh, new look?" The dragon gloated.

"I am indeed in a sorry state," Kongming coughed a bit, his mouth tainted with a smear of blood, "However... I was engaged in combat with her in half of The Realm within brother Dragon's, unfortunately missing out on that scenic view."

"Your damn Silvis!"

"Compared to that," Kongming fended off a furious young dragon who was trying to bite and claw at him, turned his head and asked, "A divine magic circle? I can't delay any longer."

"Ready."

Xiang Ling stood at the center of the array. Despite trying to control herself, a slight tremor could still be heard, probably due to the destruction caused by the strike that razed a large part of the city earlier.

Even if one becomes an emperor, or a Sage, or a Holy Rank, in the face of such irresistible power, there is nothing they can do. If they are content with the status quo, they will only meet with destruction in the end.

Moving forward, climbing to the peak, looking down is the way to descend the mountain.

"Bearing it with your body? I hope you can overpower her will." Kongming paused for a moment, then smiled lightly.

"Then let's begin."

With this proclamation, the residents of the entire city, still recovering from the fear and awe of the immortal's strike, were once again shocked to find that the magic circles that had ceased were now rising again, gathering massive amounts of energy to supply the deity's creation.

The activation of the array also alarmed the celestial spirit silhouette in the sky.

As a spiritual being, she was quite sensitive to this array and immediately prepared to leave the vicinity of Lujing. However, at the same moment, countless luminous chains consisting of spiritual entities rose from the ground at an astonishing speed, directly pursuing the celestial spirit that intended to retreat.

"Even at a time like this, I won’t let you go so easily."

Kongming took control of the deity's magic from the dragon, multitasking to manipulate the chains into various formations to chase down the celestial spirit's silhouette.

During the pursuit, the celestial spirit attempted to counterattack, but with her mastery over the elements of Yin and Yang, the effects were limited to physical matter, rendering the attacks on the spiritual chains almost ineffective, except for some impact from the solar explosions caused by the condensed Yang energy.

However, as the number of chains increased, the skills that repelled them gradually lost their effectiveness. Countless chains pierced the celestial spirit, and after the resistance failed, the pale purple silhouette was immediately pierced by several chains.

The spiritual chains caused immense pain to the fairy spirits in their soul state, and although the phantom did not have vocal organs, the twisted expression of pain on their faces and the silent cries were enough to evoke a vivid image.

"Mi—," Aya subconsciously reached out to Minglin.

"Don't underestimate it, that's no ordinary spiritual entity."

Kongming continued to focus. Now was the ultimate test of mental strength, but was it fortunate in misfortune or a blessing in disguise? At this moment, controlling the spiritual chains of the divine formation against Minglin's fairy spirit phantom surprisingly made significant progress. These spiritual chains, originally used for ceremonies, were revealing a strong controlling ability, even resisting the struggles of the rampant fairy spirit. The energy from Yuan happened to be the blood and soul of the person killed by the burst of the fairy spirit piercing The Realm.

While controlled by the spiritual chains, the final step of the restored divine formation began.

"What do you mean by making a cocoon out of oneself?"

Tiran watched attentively from the side, couldn't help but sigh, and then turned back to look at Xiang Ling again.

Now, all the pressure was on the princess's shoulders.

…

Who am I?

Xiang Ling… Hua… Ling?

Commander of the Eastern Army, princess of Empire Chu in the West, future ruler of the empire, and… the child of the wandering musician Hua Ning.

In the darkness, Xiang Ling kept asking herself questions to maintain a clear mind. However, the vast amount of information carried in that darkness continued to shatter most of her consciousness and memories, as if being sealed in a dark drifting bottle thrown into the sea, floating with the surging waves, having nothing to rely on.

After countless time passed, she opened her eyes again.

What she saw was a familiar yet unfamiliar roof.

Decayed beams supported the dilapidated roof tiles, a gecko waited quietly in the corner of the beam to catch mosquitoes that came near, and the air was filled with a familiar smell.

It was a scent made of the mix of rotten garbage and cheap wine, an unforgettable smell imprinted in the childhood memories of Xiang Ling.

"Mother…?"

Xiang Ling climbed out of bed somewhat bewilderedly, and the bed frame made a creaking sound under her weight.

No, at this point Xiang Ling did not yet know her last name, only the name she used with her mother, Hua Ling.

She looked down at her hands, which were those of an ordinary young child, very small but with calluses from helping her mother with needlework.

Her hands… seemed wrong, but at the same time not.

Had she forgotten something?

…

Outskirts of Luo Jing City, Backup Transfer Point 2.

This was inside a hillside, where Yuan had prepared to excavate it using earthen symbols and also set up a telescope to easily observe the situation in Luo Jing City.

Angelo and Vera stood aside, silently watching as a body with a large opening in the chest where lung tissue and a damaged heart were visible, rapidly regenerated before their eyes—nerves and blood vessels reconnecting, muscles regaining elasticity, skin gaining color…

Then, Yuan opened his eyes.

Even Angelo, who had witnessed Yuan's resurrection before, was still astonished by it.

This was resurrection, not just once, but twice, completely defying the rules of life and death in the world.

"Good morning."

Can we not equate resurrection with waking up in the morning?

"Bro, they have activated the magic array."

In contrast, Vera remained calm and simply described the actions of Tiran and the others after Yuan's "death."

"Minglin's soul is likely still sealed."

"It's okay, the only bodies capable of containing the soul are the living ones, right? In any case, today we will witness the birth of a god."

"That will suffice."