“Who the hell are you, and why are you ruining my good thing?”
The Goddess of Fate was dangled in midair, a look of utter exasperation on her face.
“If we drag this out any longer, I really won’t be able to interrupt at all…” the goddess muttered under her breath.
“Xiao Xiao, put her down. She’s the one who saved us.” Xue Ji’s voice echoed once more in Ling Xiaoxiao’s mind.
Reluctantly, Ling Xiaoxiao set the goddess down.
After a brief silence, the goddess composed herself and finally spoke.
“So we meet at last, Sage-sama.” The snake-tailed goddess carried herself with elegance, raising her hands gently as the mist that had shrouded the coastline vanished completely.
All that remained was the pitch-black tide and the crimson moon hanging high above.
In that moment, both Ling Xiaoxiao and Xue Ji felt an overwhelming pressure—like staring into an abyss.
Was it the fear prey feels toward its natural predator? No.
Nor was it the fear of death. The stronger one’s soul, the clearer their perception of death becomes.
Death is but the beginning of the cycle of life.
But that black tide—even death itself could not touch it.
Xue Ji gazed out. From within the boundless darkness, an immense oppressive force radiated outward.
Just that pressure alone was enough to freeze space itself. In the current Blue Star, only the Monarch Deer could achieve such a feat.
Yet from this overwhelming presence, Xue Ji sensed only emptiness.
Perhaps this being had once been capable of shedding tears, but now it had forgotten. To protect itself, it had chosen to forget its own will…
A colossal whale, its aura rivaling that of the Monarch Deer, thrashed as it leaped above the sea’s surface—only to sink back beneath the waves, drowning.
“Forgetting is a form of self-preservation. Ignorance, in a way, truly is bliss.” The goddess faced the direction where the whale had vanished, mourning the will of the ocean.
“So this is the thing that’s devouring the world?”
“No, Sage-sama. This is merely its shadow.”
“Shadow? What exactly are you trying to say?” Ling Xiaoxiao grew impatient, urging her on.
“Darling of the Heavenly Dao—as I said, ignorance is bliss. Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand. This is our way of protecting you.”
Xue Ji nodded gently, giving Ling Xiaoxiao a soft push.
“Xiao Xiao, go wait for me over there.”
Ling Xiaoxiao looked utterly wronged, still completely lost.
Xue Ji could only take her arm, give it a little shake, and say in a nearly coquettish tone, “Just wait for me over there for a bit, okay~?”
“Ah… fine.” Though still a little dejected, she stepped aside.
Once only Xue Ji and the Goddess of Fate remained, the goddess turned to face her directly.
“Is this truly something that Xiao Xiao and I can even influence?”
Xue Ji understood—the very existence causing everything to crumble might not even be aware of this world at all.
This world was far too small before It—so small that It couldn’t even perceive it.
Merely Its shadow was enough to bring the world to ruin.
The origin of all life could ultimately be traced back to the light and heat given by the sun.
But their world’s “sunlight” had been blocked by that being.
“Then what about my experience at the Boundary Stele in my past life?” Xue Ji asked, puzzled.
“That was my mother—the World Will itself—creating an illusion. Even the World itself could not comprehend that being. Originally, my mother had already given up resistance.”
The goddess paused here, gazing quietly at Xue Ji.
“But my mother never expected that a living being would stumble into that place and give Her the hope to carry on.”
“The illusion you created back then gave form to that being’s shadow—a simple, powerful invader.”
Xue Ji understood now. The Great Demon, the Demon Gods, and that unfathomably terrifying existence—all of them were illusions born from the observation of the Immortal Xue Ji.
Those illusions altered the world’s perception, shielding it from having to face that unspeakable entity directly. She had constructed a fictitious enemy for the World Will—one that could be fought.
“Do you understand now? It is you who has prolonged our world. You are the Corrector of Reality. The Guardian who, through illusion, isolates this world from that being.”
Yes. Everything, everything was now clear.
And what had to be done now was to turn this illusion into reality.
“I see… So you want me to see through this benevolent lie…” Xue Ji realized in her heart.
The goddess smiled gently along the shoreline.
The next instant, the environment around them shifted.
Where was the so-called Coast of Fate? There was only the world-ending tribulation lightning, coalesced into a sphere of pale white light, hanging high in the heavens.
And Ling Xiaoxiao was still holding Xue Ji tightly, continuously channeling spiritual energy into her.
“Well then, time to make our grand entrance—our big bad villain.”
“Sister, I’ll go now.” Lilith’s voice came from deep within her soul.
“Mm.”
Xue Ji grasped all the threads of fate, tainting them with Lilith’s power.
Almost simultaneously, the entire world was enveloped in black mist.
Within the Spirit Race’s secret realm, the Monarch Deer’s gaze pierced through dimensions, fixed upon Xue Ji.
“Now, the time has come.”
A green-robed immortal, exuding the aura of the Great Dao, tore through the void and appeared beneath the lightning tribulation, surrounded by countless fragments of the Boundary Stele—countless as the stars.
“Finally, my turn to step onto the stage.” The one who had only appeared in memories—Yu Gongzi, the guardian of the Boundary Stele world—having endured countless ages and traversed countless dimensions, had finally returned to where it all began.
“The hell are you copying some protagonist’s entrance for?! We almost got struck dead!” Xue Ji shook the dazed Ling Xiaoxiao awake.
“Xiao Xiao, go wait for me over there.”
“Why is it always like this?!” Though frustrated, Ling Xiaoxiao knew when to read the room.
Xue Ji summoned her World Tree staff and arranged the Boundary Stele fragments into a colossal magic circle.
The magical halo of a six-pointed star covered the entire sky—and at that very moment, the world-ending tribulation lightning came crashing down.
Absolute silence. In that instant, it seemed as though the world itself had been erased.
A brief despair reflected in the souls of all living beings.
But it was only an illusion—the true lightning tribulation had already been diverted by the Boundary Stele fragments.
A single divine bolt of lightning flashed through countless lesser worlds.
That commotion also drew the attention of an unobservable existence.
After the tribulation, it wasn’t just the path of cultivation—all incomplete Daos had been reborn.
Cultivation, magic, awakening, psychic powers…
All restrictions on every form of power between heaven and earth had been lifted.
And the pitch-black being that had been peering into the world was now fully exposed to the eyes of all.
A black sun hung high beyond the heavens, staring down at every living being in this world.
And while it sowed panic and terror everywhere, several gentle gazes were directed toward it.
[Mediocre Sage, Idiot Wolf King, Violent Immortal, Blue Quiet One… don’t look at me like that…]
…
Aboard the Canglong, under such sudden circumstances, Commander Ye received an urgent communication from Xue Ji and Ling Xiaoxiao.
[The Immortal Path has opened. The World’s Peeping One has appeared. Please do your utmost to maintain order.]
“So something like that actually exists? It’s like the ultimate final boss from an anime…” The communications officer couldn’t help but remark.
Commander Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Of course not. Send the transmission according to this document.” He had received the message ten minutes early and had already prepared.
That document framed the Black Sun, which Lilith was playing, as being tied to the heretical organization known as the Secret God’s Hand.
In short—the evil god worshipped by the Secret God’s Hand had descended.
And at the headquarters of the Secret God’s Hand, absolute madness reigned—because they truly believed their worshipped evil god had arrived…
