In the pyramid temple.

With a graceful wave of his hand, Yin Shen erased the image in the mirror. As his arm lowered, the pure white sleeve cascaded down, veiling his fair, slender hand from view.

The shadows of the Sacred Mountain and the divine tool Little Person in the Bottle vanished from the mirror, which now reflected the interior of the temple.

The spirit trailed behind Yin Shen, her curious eyes darting left and right, taking in every detail of the grand hall.

“God!” the spirit exclaimed. “Why are you wearing a hood? I can’t see your face like this.”

Yin Shen: “Is that so? I forgot.”

Yin Shen took off his hood, revealing that his short black hair had grown long, while his dark eyes remained unchanging.

The spirit asked another question: “Why is my hair golden, while yours is black, God?”

God replied: “Because my heart is the dark outer space, while the spirit’s heart is like the golden sun.”

The spirit was captivated by these words.

She then took out a small notebook, intending to write this down.

Seeing that the spirit truly believed him, God smiled.

“I’m just teasing you.”

The spirit looked bewildered: “Does God also deceive people?”

Yin Shen: “Only if God wishes to.”

Yin Shen walked to the center of the great hall, beneath the statue that Redlichia had personally carved for him.

God pointed at the pillars in the hall, which bore stone carvings made by King Redlichia for him long ago.

The carvings depicted steel jungles, cities stretching to the horizon, roads spanning the world, and iron birds flying in the sky.

Redlichia’s power came from Yin Shen, who was the source of wisdom. From the moment of his birth, he inherited some images from Yin Shen’s memories.

“Do you know where this is?”

The spirit shook her head: “No, I don’t.”

A look of nostalgia appeared in God’s eyes: “This is my hometown.”

“You asked why my hair is black. It’s because I was once one of them.”

“There many people have black hair, and eyes like mine.”

The spirit’s expression turned to one of admiration. In her imagination, it was a world of unimaginable power, with so many gods.

“Is that the divine race?”

Yin Shen shook his head: “No, we don’t believe in gods.”

“Only you call me God, and I’m not called Yinsai.”

“It’s just because you can’t pronounce my name that I’m called Yinsai.”

As he spoke, he seemed somewhat distracted, lost in thought.

He once again pondered the Little Person in the Bottle he had just seen, an unstable mythical life.

The last qualitative change in the power of ability had led to the appearance of the divine moon.

The God-Descending Technique proposed by Polo had also been truly realized for the first time.

Did the emergence of this divine tool, the Little Person in the Bottle, represent the direction of progress for the Wisdom Ability and other abilities?

“Anhofus’s experiment was somewhat accidental, but the direction should be correct.”

The human body is not some immortal ritual, and immortality doesn’t necessarily need to take human form.

The reason they instinctively associated immortality with human form was simply because Yinsai God, the Mother of Life Shelly, and the divine messenger Hila all had human forms.

“Tell me.”

“How can one become a complete mythical life?”

Yin Shen suddenly turned his head, abruptly questioning the spirit.

Sometimes he would suddenly ask questions, even to Shelly, usually receiving only a series of gurgles in response.

He wasn’t necessarily seeking an answer, but rather seemed to be questioning himself and thinking aloud.

“I don’t know.”

The spirit shook her head vigorously, how could she possibly know?

The mere thought of the Little Person in the Bottle’s creation filled her with a sense of horror and revulsion, its birth steeped in insanity and bloodshed.

Moreover, the spirit felt that someone like Anhofus was truly incomprehensible, killing people from several cities to pursue the power of immortality.

And it wasn’t even for his own immortality.

This fellow created another version of himself, allowing that one to attain immortality.

Paying such a heavy price, just to know the secret of immortality.

A shudder ran through the spirit’s body, her mind reeling at the sheer madness of it all. The ruthlessness and unwavering determination behind such an act left her utterly shocked.

At that time, she had been reading stories with the little spirits in the Spirit Country when suddenly a little spirit cried out.

Saying: “It’s terrible, it’s terrible.”

She walked outside and looked up, seeing thousands upon thousands of dreams in the upper layers of the dream star sea suddenly shatter, appearing as if they had been directly torn apart.

Moreover, the Dream Realm Ferryman at the gates of the divine realm was also very strange.

The ferryman sensed that many people had died, splitting into one puppet boatman after another, but not bringing back any life dreams.

In the end, they could only run empty boats back and forth.

The spirit saw the despairing God-Servant City through the broken dreams of mortals, and hurriedly ran to the mortal world.

Unfortunately, everything happened too quickly. By the time she arrived in the mortal world, the Sacred Mountain had already become a home for ghosts, a massive graveyard.

“The price of becoming a mythical life in this way is too great.”

Yin Shen nodded: “The key is having enough mythical blood, not necessarily sacrificing others.”

“I believe,” Yin Shen continued, “that future Wisdom Ability users will discover their own unique methods.”

Yin Shen asked her: “If there was a way that didn’t require sacrificing others’ lives, would you want to become a mythical life?”

The spirit was not the original ancestor of ability, she was just a spirit born after Polo, the first second-rank spirit created by Yin Shen’s own hands.

“How could I possibly have so much mythical blood!”

Indeed.

In terms of the speed of mythical blood’s spread and multiplication, the Wisdom Ability was undoubtedly the first.

Moreover, the number of spirit races derived from the Dream Ability couldn’t compare at all with the races derived from the wisdom bloodline.

Since the Wisdom Ability was born in Redlichia, the Trilobite Men, People of the Abyss, monster race, and now the ghost race had successively appeared.

Both in quantity and variety, they far exceeded the Dream Ability.

God said: “I can give you the Divine Cup.”

The Divine Cup was the unique artifact of the Dream Ability, left behind by Polo, the ancestor of spirits.

Possessing the Divine Cup would make the spirit like Shelly, becoming the supreme authority holder of the Dream Ability, and the power contained in the Divine Cup was about enough to create a mythical life.

However, the spirit sensed a different meaning.

God wouldn’t mention something for no reason. When He spoke of something, He definitely had His own thoughts and decisions.

“Does God want me to be immortal?”

“Why?”

Yin Shen didn’t look at her eyes, his gaze still on the steel jungle cities in the mural.

“I might…”

“Be preparing to move on to the next era.”

God’s words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. He didn’t specify what this next era entailed, nor when it would come to pass.

But the spirit understood. It would be a span of time unimaginably long for life.

It was time enough for life to evolve, for civilizations to perish, for everything to be erased and disappear.

Furthermore, the spirit understood the profound implications of how Yin Shen would transition to the next era.

God was eternal, time before God was just a breeze passing through His fingertips.

With but a single slumber, He could traverse the expanse of millions of years, reaching the distant shores of time itself.

Although the spirit had long anticipated this, she still felt a twinge of sadness: “So soon?”

Yin Shen nodded: “I’m not fully prepared yet, but I have an idea.”

“When the preparations are complete, we’ll begin.”

The spirit gazed at God, her eyes filled with tenderness and a hint of sorrow: “If this is God’s will, Hila will obey.”

Yin Shen turned back, looking at the spirit: “But I hope to see you in the next era as well.”

He smiled, adding another sentence.

“And that one outside.”

Outside the temple gates appeared a hot air balloon, composed of colorful patches, with a basket intertwined like vines.

Shelly stood in the balloon’s basket, flying haphazardly above the temple and over God’s head all day long.

The “terrifying” King of Beasts seemed to notice God looking at her and stomped her feet, making a sound.

“Gurgle gurgle.”

In the Spirit Country.

The spirit sat in the great library, holding a pen, sometimes biting the end, sometimes lowering her head to write.

“Because God’s heart is the boundless outer space, His hair and eyes are black.”

“Because the spirit’s heart is like the sun in the sky, our hair and eyes are golden.”

At this moment, she suddenly thought of something and began to laugh, shaking her head.

“God said to me.”

“He hopes to see me in the next era as well.”

Dream Spirit Hila put down her work and soared towards the sky.

In the colorful, dreamlike realm, thousands of spirits followed the spirit, racing towards the sun. The sky resonated with the spirits’ laughter and chatter.

They tightly surrounded Dream Spirit Hila. Although Hila was a spirit, she seemed somewhat out of place at this moment.

For she was the only one with a complete human form and body, standing out starkly among the crowd.

Together they raced towards the sun, which was also the supreme Divine Artifact of the Dream Ability, the Divine Cup.

“Lady Hila, are you going to become our king?” the spirits chirped.

“She’s becoming our deity!” other spirits cheered.

Dream Spirit Hila looked at the children, smiling as she answered them.

“Spirits have no king.”

“And there is only one God, that is Yinsai God.”

Dream Spirit Hila approached the sky, where the dazzling Light of Wishes gradually receded into the Divine Cup under her control. The spirits immediately saw the divine spirit dreams floating within the Divine Cup.

“Divine Cup!”

“Obey Yinsai God’s will and follow me!”

She left her mark on it, but it was merely a mark.

Although the spirit had received God’s promise and obtained the supreme Divine Artifact of the Dream Ability.

However, she was not the original vessel in which the ability was first born.

To integrate the power of the Divine Cup into her own power, she still needed a process and method.

—

Due to the sudden death of the previous king, the capital and the entire Sacred Mountain had become a forbidden zone of death, a realm of ghosts.

Even the villages that had lived for generations by the Sacred Lake began to evacuate and flee, abandoning their homes out of fear of death.

In an instant, the entire Yinsai Kingdom found itself without a ruler.

Messengers from the God-Descended City set out in all directions, carrying the new king’s decree.

But they received few responses, with most adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Some even killed the messengers outright, calling the king an impostor.

The governing structure was completely paralyzed, with the royal army and Sky Priest group that had suppressed the four corners reduced to nothing.

How could a prince with nothing but a title possibly gain everyone’s recognition?

The realm of Yinsai erupted in large-scale rebellions, including members of the former royal bloodline families, powerful lords from various regions, and even the High Priest of the Oil Temple, one of the Nine Great Ritual Temples, who rebelled directly.

The moment this High Priest rebelled, he garnered support from over a dozen surrounding cities, his influence swiftly becoming unparalleled.

This even stirred unrest among the other ritual temples.

“There is no King of Yinsai anymore, the era of royal power has ended.”

“Only God and His apostles can become the rulers of all, the true controllers of the earth.”

The High Priest of the Oil Temple declared that the era of royal power had ended, and henceforth God’s apostles would govern the realm of Yinsai.

Since King Henir ended the era of royal bloodline families, who could sit on the throne no longer depended on bloodline.

Now these ambitious lords and priests, wielding great power, each yearned to become Yinsai’s new ruler.

Meanwhile, a large number of pirates suddenly appeared on the high seas.

They plundered passing ships at will, even landing to raid coastal areas.

These pirates included not only Trilobite Men but also People of the Abyss, and even monsters who had formed spirit contracts with them.

Chaos, robbery, killing, and war erupted everywhere at once.

God-Descended City.

The Yesael Palace, abandoned for who knows how many years and renovated time and again, finally once more became the core of Yinsai’s power.

Surrounded by the Sage of Truth Lan, his followers, and nobles who still maintained loyalty to the Henir Dynasty, the prince became the third-generation king of the Henir Dynasty.

The new king donned the crown and stood before Yesael Palace to issue his first decree after ascending to the throne.

“The High Priest of the Oil Temple has betrayed the Henir family…”

It was an order to suppress the rebels, with the first target being Sele City and the Oil Temple.

On the day the new king’s decree was issued.

Terrifying shadows appeared one after another above Sele City and the Oil Temple. They had slender bodies emitting a faint glow, spreading huge, strange wings.

These were the flying monsters, wing demons, cultivated by the Temple of Truth.

These newly born creatures made a terrifying debut, showcasing their immense power and speed.

The citizens, at first oblivious to the rapidly moving shadows on the ground, were caught completely unaware.

In their memory, there couldn’t possibly be living things in the sky.

But as the monsters’ cries echoed from above, everything changed.

“Screech!”

Wing demons swooped down from the sky, with priests standing on their backs casting divine techniques from on high, hurling massive fireballs that directly destroyed the Oil Temple.

Under the guidance of mental power, dozens of fireballs accurately hit their targets.

The entire temple was caught completely off guard, never expecting the enemy to come from the sky, let alone that they would have no chance to escape or prepare before being engulfed by flames.

Fire surged skyward.

The city fell into panic.

“What are those things?” On the streets, commoners seeing wing demons for the first time were terrified and at a loss.

“Monsters, they’re monsters!” In the minds of Trilobite Men, monsters also included magical beasts.

“There are people on the monsters, and they bear the Henir emblem.” Some priests who happened to be outside the temple saw the scene in the sky through telescopes.

“It’s His Majesty the King’s people, His Majesty has attacked!” Some shouted, while others sent word to immediately organize the city’s defenses.

Suddenly, warships bearing the emblem of the Henir Dynasty emerged on the horizon, their sails billowing as they charged towards the harbor.

Soldiers and powerful priests disembarked in waves, swiftly seizing control of the port.

On land, an entire priest corps led soldiers in an assault on Sele City, while flying monsters cast menacing shadows from above.

In a maelstrom of chaos and terror, Sele City’s defenses crumbled in less than an hour.

This city that had rebelled against the Henir Dynasty was reclaimed, and soldiers from the God-Descended City poured in to extinguish fires and quell pockets of resistance.

Most people surrendered immediately, while many others seized the chaos as an opportunity to flee.

All the temple priests of the Oil Temple were captured and branded as traitors to the kingdom.

“What? They couldn’t even hold out for a day?”

“They have monsters that can fly in the sky and rain fireballs to destroy buildings and cities?”

“Did the Sage of Truth, Lan, intervene?”

“Lan didn’t even make an appearance?”

The news spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of lords across Yinsai like a thunderclap.

The strongest rebel force, which had occupied more than a dozen coastal cities and was even preparing to establish its own country, was extinguished in a single day.

This dealt a massive shock and blow to the others.

Those who had already rebelled were now in a state of panic, desperately seeking allies, hoping to carve out their own territories and bide their time.

The ambitious who had been itching to act now reined in their greedy, frenzied hearts, immediately writing letters or even personally traveling to the God-Descended City to pledge allegiance to the new king.

The new king’s swift and decisive suppression of the rebels yielded immediate results.

More importantly, the new king had gained the support of the Temple of Truth.

With a legitimate foundation for rule and the backing of powerful forces, this rebellion was declared over from this moment.

Next came the task of stabilizing relations with local lords and vassals.

As for the rebels, they were to be eliminated with ruthless efficiency.

However, it wasn’t until several years later that the fires of war on the borders were truly extinguished.

As the returning expeditionary forces entered the city, the general presented the head of the last desperately resisting rebel. Cheers erupted like a tidal wave throughout the palace and the God-Descended City.

Nearby subjects offered words of praise, vilifying the rebels while extolling the new king.

“Your Majesty,” they proclaimed, “facts have proven that you are the true King of Yinsai.”

Before the great hall of the palace, the new king let out a long sigh of relief.

“It’s finally over.”

He looked at everyone: “In the future, I will still need everyone’s help to govern this country well.”

Around him, behind him, and in the great hall stood many priests who had come from the Temple of Truth.

The Nine Great Ritual Temples had suffered heavy losses during this rebellion, and they were constantly having their powers reclaimed and suppressed by the king.

Meanwhile, as the Nine Great Ritual Temples were being suppressed, priests from the Temple of Truth were stepping onto the stage of history, grasping the core power of the kingdom.

During these years, the new king’s emotions had been constantly tense.

He couldn’t help but be afraid.

Suddenly, the King of Yinsai had died, and he had been thrust into the role of King of Yinsai overnight, with rebellion erupting across the land.

The Yinsai that King Henir had unified had almost fallen apart in his hands.

A priest standing nearby spoke, with a hint of warning in his tone.

“Your Majesty,” the priest said solemnly, “the people of Yinsai need peace, and you alone can bring it to them.”

“This is also why the war ended so quickly. I hope Your Majesty will take this as a lesson.”

The new king nodded, without saying anything more.

With the end of one chaos, peace returned once again.

That disaster which had destroyed the capital became a topic of discussion among the common people, a terrifying story passed down by word of mouth.

Unsurprisingly, Anhofus surpassed all villains and evil characters, becoming the most terrifying demon in the history of the Trilobite Men.

At the same time, his unique identity and legendary experiences were also the most talked-about topics.

He came from the illustrious direct lineage of the Samo family, was a disciple of the Sandean lineage, and a student of the fire demon Haru. Any one of these would have been enough to amaze people.

He possessed unparalleled evil wisdom, creating bone demons that could hide within the realm of Yinsai.

He delved into forbidden divine secrets, and his creation still held the Sacred Mountain in its grip. Even the Sage of Truth Lan could not reclaim the lost capital.

Some said Anhofus had not died, but had become an immortal being.

In that realm of ghosts, he guarded the spirits and treasures of the Henir Dynasty, safeguarding the secret of immortality.

Others said he had been eternally trapped on the Sacred Mountain by divine punishment for touching the forbidden.

He was waiting for a chance, an opportunity to break out of the seal and divine punishment.

When that time came, it would be a disaster for all of Yinsai.

The Sacred Mountain, wreathed in white clouds, stood in eerie silence.

Only the whisper of wind could be heard, while the lake’s mirror-like surface perfectly reflected the sky above.

This place had become a land of death that everyone spoke of with fear, and no one dared to approach.

The former holy site no longer saw the figures of pilgrims, and people only mentioned this place with trepidation and fear.

Except for the fish in the Sacred Lake occasionally leaping up to glance at the distant mountains and the misty palaces among the sea of clouds, no living being ever looked back upon this place.

On the square outside the Sky Temple, a flask lay on the ground.

The flask was covered in dust, its neck leaning against a corner, with the stopper facing upward.

It was so inconspicuous, like a discarded piece of trash.

In the cracks between the dust, an eerie eye gazed longingly at the outside world.

The eye held only loneliness and desire.

“Come on!”

“Come on!”

“Someone come here!”

“Someone come and talk to me.”

The little person in the flask, composed of light dust, pressed its hands against the glass wall, its face tightly pressed against it.

“Anyone will do.”

“Just talk to me, say anything.”

But there were only dead people here, those ghosts who had long forgotten their past.

The little person in the bottle inherited Anhofus’s memories, possessing everything of Anhofus.

But he felt those memories were illusory, for he had never truly lived a single day.

He was an anomaly born inside a flask, a monster artificially created.

“What does food taste like?”

“What is wind like?”

“Does water feel cool?”

People can endure having nothing, but they cannot bear to lose what they once had.

When you have tasted freedom, delicious food, and all the beautiful things in the world, and then lose them all at once, the pain of recalling them over and over in confinement is enough to drive one mad.

And the little person in the bottle was even more tragic.

He knew the beauty of freedom, knew everything about the outside world.

But those memories were also illusory and hazy.

Because they all belonged to someone else.

He had never possessed anything of his own.

He had never experienced those things, yet in the lonely, desperate flask, he recalled those beautiful things over and over again.

Day after day.

Year after year.

“Ah!”

“Just wait and see! Just wait and see!”

“I will definitely go to the outside world, this flask can’t keep me in,”

“One day… I will definitely descend upon this world.”

The little person in the bottle longingly knocked on the glass wall, letting out a desperate roar inside the flask.