Ji Jue heard for the first time the dreadful screams, the shrieking, the wailing emitted from the boiling spiritual essence.

It was as if he were enduring flaying torture.

A blurred face emerged from the surging spirits, contorted in terror, wailing miserably as it tore its own body apart over and over, countless fragments scattering, yet unable to escape the horrific gravitational pull from the darkness.

Until finally, it made a resolute decision.

Invisible, it exploded violently!

Hundreds and thousands of blood lights burst out in all directions, but most were instantly swallowed by the darkness, vanishing without a trace, leaving only scattered fragments to flee from that terrifying pull, and in an instant, they fled headlong without looking back.

Not even daring to glance back.

Thus, it passed by the deer-headed bizarre shadow that had arrived on footprints of blood, the eerie creature pausing for just a moment in its footsteps, indifferently withdrawing its gaze.

And just like that, it slowly stepped through that dust-covered gate.

In the silent darkness, vague silhouettes emerged from the eternal gloom, their hoarse and scattered singing of ancient tunes.

Just like dead spirits imprisoned in an endless cycle of rebirth.

Futilely, reminiscing their homeland.

"Thinking of home… thinking of home…"

Souls of the departed sang from hell, "How lovely is the homeland…"

Thus, from the singing, a chilling breath surged forth like a waterfall, sweeping away, gradually submerging the entire Crack Realm.

And in the heart of the core, Ji Jue's vision blackened again and again.

He felt an unprecedented tremor and fear… as if invisible, cold hands were brushing through his soul, selecting materials, examining indifferently, but withdrawing slowly.

What he felt was the terror of a chasmal disparity between them, the dread and helplessness of being human flesh with no power to resist.

He still recognized the continuous wails of the spiritual essence signal, which only added to his alarm.

Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony?

What's going on? Are they serious?!

Is this some kind of freak giveaway?

No, Ji Jue was already prepared to go head-to-head with such a monstrously high-caliber creature to take down Non-attack; he even had a strategy planned out.

He would use the core's operation to fight and retreat, holding onto the hatred, retreating all the way to the Sea of Spirit outside… then, go straight for the throat and turn on that crushing device!

He refused to believe that a creature entirely composed of spiritual essence could withstand the purification program of the Mercury Workshop!

And yet, he was all set to prepare for another fight with a Shepherd, and suddenly, the other side just vanished so simply?!

Can't be – could it? No way, right?

Ji Jue wasn't itching for a fight just for the heck of it, but the problem was… if the Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony's Shepherds are dealt with so easily, how could he possibly escape with his little bit of weight?

"Prophet—"

Ji Jue turned around, his voice rough with inquiry, "What exactly was that?"

"What else could it be?"

The Prophet, expressionless, felt the dark waves rising in the distance with the singing, "That is Mercury, Mr. Ji Jue, the Embers that were once called Mercury, instinctively flocking to a flame that hasn't completely extinguished."

Boom!

A deep, muffled sound seized everyone's souls.

It was the sound of a heartbeat.

From the deepest darkness.

In the solution of spiritual essence, a withered heart suddenly leapt.

Then, another leap…

.

.

"Damn it, they're all mad, completely insane."

Outside the expanding core, within the shaking Crack Realm, specks of spiritual essence residual light gathered from corpses, vague faces emerging, desperately devouring the remaining spirits, barely managing to maintain a faint outline, like the last flicker of a candle in the wind.

Trembling in terror.

When Invisible looked back at the rising core, concealing its horror and shudders became impossible, cursing madly, mumbling incoherently, "To hell with Saints… all liars… they're all damn mad, all of them!"

"Pardon me, I don't mean to intrude."

A gentle voice came from the darkness, accompanied by footsteps, causing Invisible's blurred silhouette to suddenly tremble, almost dissipating, not even bothering to consume the lingering spirits, rapidly retreating, and warily looking back.

Then, it saw a dust-covered face.

It was as if it had just crawled out of some hidden nook, carrying a heavy backpack, clutching a map torn in frustration.

The elderly woman with white hair took off her hat, fanned herself, and after taking several large gulps from her water bottle, she finally exhaled with relief and sat on the ground, "Almost fell down there by accident, the damn map led me astray, nearly couldn't climb back up… um, whoever you are, did you just come out from there?"

She asked curiously, "Could you please tell me how is Mercury doing right now?"

The mere mention of that name caused the invisible contours to sway violently, barely able to maintain their form, no longer able to contain the fierceness and malice as they fixated on that one face.

Incredibly... without any Matrix, without any blessing, and even showing no discernible abilities, but the soul was so condensed that not a trace of aura leaked out, impossible to identify any mark.

So strange.

Yet, so enticing.

The hunger-driven appetite instinctively urged him to gorge himself, no longer able to endure—eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!

From the hissing, the invisible being lunged forth.

But in the next moment, it stopped abruptly, from within its closed fingers.

"So many years have passed, and the Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony still looks this pathetic?" she sighed lightly, as if holding a dead dog, she gripped the invisible being in her hand, casually shaking it, "To get in here, I even dismantled my Matrix, you could at least be a little polite, stop with the incessant fighting and killing. But, since you were rude first..."

From the flickering light, her face was shrouded in shadow, gradually shifting, until at last, it faintly outlined the ferocious visage of a predatory bird.

A blood-soaked, eerie mask slowly emerged, casting a shadow over her warm, gentle smile, as an unreal crimson slowly dripped from the long beak, radiating malevolence.

"Then I don't need to pretend to be a gentleman any longer."

White Owl bared her teeth, a soundless, sinister smile.

Boom!

Amidst a deafening roar, the ground collapsed and fissured, thunder echoing throughout the entire Crack Realm.

The ground, at last, split asunder.

At its core, it bloomed like a lotus, opening, piercing through earth and sky, bathed in the eternal twilight sun, a complex structure unfolded from within, intricate and ephemeral, like countless invisible hands reaching towards the heavens and earth, grasping everything in between.

And from the highest point, what unfolded was a set of translucent wings.

Reflecting the evening sun's dim light, so splendid.

Then came the second pair, the third pair, the fourth pair...

Until at last, innumerable wings shrouded the sky, and eyes upon the wings opened one after another, once more overlooking all, fixating on the ravaged earth and ruins.

Blood-hued tears fell like rain.

No cries could be heard.

But sorrow surged like tides, making the fractured earth tremble once more, engulfing everything...

Among the countless wings, faint outlines of palms emerged, overlapping, entangling, extending, hundreds of hands spreading out from the center, weaving into a monstrous ring.

[■————]

As if the keening of millions overlapped in one place, resonating throughout the entire Crack Realm.

Snap!

The last remnants of the ancient Shepherds dissipated completely from White Owl's hands, without even a chance to lament.

At this moment, she raised her head, gazing at the countless wings covering the sky, even the twisted conglomeration of myriad palms, involuntarily inhaling sharply.

"Hey, Old Deng—what on earth is this?!"

White Owl yanked the map in her hand, demanding angrily, "You only told me to pick up a delivery before coming here, you didn't mention there was something this outrageous in the Crack Realm!"

[That is Mercury, have you not already seen it with your own eyes?]

Silent script slowly emerged on the still map: [This bitterness and despair is what Mercury bears on behalf of all Mo Zhe, the sins and wicked consequences.]

"...The Saint's Mutation?"

Within the silence, White Owl's voice croaked out, unable to deny reality: "The backlash of Tian Yuan's fracture is this exaggerated?

When those Mo Zhe cut down the Heavenly Origin Tower, had they not foreseen the consequences?"

[The fracture of the Heavenly Origin Tower is the worst possible outcome, but even the worst outcome is better than watching the Heavenly Origin Tower be completed, doing nothing.

There's no place for gods in the world of men, and no such thing as eternal rulers and emperors should exist. If the Emperor wishes to render this world meaningless, then even if the world is destroyed, the Emperor must not be allowed to live.

The fall of the Eternal Empire is essentially the rest of the Superior retaliating against Tian Yuan's attempt to control everything, and it's not something a few Heavenly People from the Mo can trigger.

Similarly, severing the Heavenly Origin Tower is not the duty of Mercury...]

The script on the map flowed like water: [But when breaking through the Empire's siege and reaching the Heavenly Origin Tower, of the forty-one Heavenly People who set out, half were gone, the survivors critically wounded and dying, leaving only her blood to awaken the edge of transformation.

If it were you, how would you choose?]

White Owl fell silent, staring at the enormous, silently wailing silhouette.

Speechless.

The world's last chance, the accumulation and sacrifice of the Mo over thousands of years, the fate and duty passed down through generations... When the road reaches the end, the world remains dark and unstable, while the dreamed-of Paradise is still so distant, elusive as a dream.

Faced with the most brutal choice at the end,

Will one turn back to the illusory dream of eternity promised by the Emperor, to sleep like a baby in a cradle of iron, or to ignite oneself, sacrifice everything, in the hope of a future that may never be reached?

In that instant, amidst the thunder above the sky, the illusion of the Heavenly Origin Tower's collapse reappeared. This time, she finally saw the dazzling light rising from the darkness into the sky...

That was the first strike Saintly Mercury dealt against the Eternal Empire over four centuries ago.

And what fell to the ground were only tears of lament.

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