At the foot of the Sacred Mountain.

The City of Ghost Cult Followers.

Today was the God of Knowledge’s birth celebration, the most important festival for Ghost Cult followers and all believers of the God of Knowledge. The cultists had “invited” a renowned performance troupe to hold a grand show on this divine birthday.

For their God of Knowledge loved watching performances most of all, whether real or staged.

The most important play was titled: “The God-Given City.”

Ever since the Spirit Performance Troupe had introduced puppet shows throughout Yinsai, nobles and commoners alike had fallen in love with this form of performance using puppets as vessels.

Every city had its own performance troupe, and many classic plays were born from this.

For example, the story of the first-generation King of Wisdom, Redlichia, had spawned many variations – some recounting his achievements, some telling of romance, some describing family relationships, and others portraying faith.

This particular play focused on the story between King Redlichia and God Yinsai.

At the mountaintop, the “God of Knowledge” watched the performance at the foot of the mountain from within its bottle.

It saw King Redlichia’s two sons attempt to murder him for the throne of the Wisdom King and the Crown of Wisdom Authority. It sneered:

“Laughable mortals, betraying even gods for their own benefit.”

When it saw King Redlichia place the crown on King Yesael’s head and die, abandoning the power bestowed by Yinsai, it fell into contemplation and grew quiet.

Suddenly, it flew into a rage.

It was a capricious being.

“What nonsense, how could a god die?”

“He must not have been a real god, but a false one.”

“And to divide his power among his children, utterly foolish, utterly foolish.”

The Little Person in the Bottle reacted with intense dislike to this story. In its view, Redlichia was unworthy of the title of god or the offerings made in temples.

For it seemed to see in King Redlichia’s fate an omen of its own downfall.

Except Redlichia had willingly given up his royal power and strength, while it might very well be pushed from the throne of myth by others.

Down in the city below.

The people quietly enjoying the performance suddenly saw the sky change due to the Little Person in the Bottle’s anger. Terrified, everyone knelt and kowtowed in prayer.

“Why has God suddenly become angry?”

“Have we violated some taboo?”

“Who has offended God?”

No one knew exactly what had happened; they could only beg for forgiveness.

The originally lively divine birthday celebration ended hastily in fear and panic.

At dusk, the Original Sin High Priest returned with his mission.

“Xiao’s mythical blood did indeed fall into the hands of the Temple of Truth. It seems the Sage of Truth, Vivien, hasn’t been in the God-Descended City recently, though I can’t be certain. After all, I couldn’t make any big moves in the God-Descended City area.”

“The Sage of Truth Vivien and Stuen haven’t appeared for a long time. I’m worried they might be planning some conspiracy against the Ghost Cult and you, God.”

The Little Person in the Bottle nodded. Having confirmed that Xiao hadn’t faked his death, it deemed that even a figure of Xiao’s caliber no longer warranted its concern.

It now had only two enemies: one was the Blood Plague, Stuen.

The other was Asai, or rather, Anhofus Samo.

The Little Person in the Bottle said: “Of course they’re preparing conspiracies against me. Foolish mortals are always thinking about how to rebel against God.”

“But… it’s all in vain.”

“Because God is invincible, undefeatable.”

The mythical shadow on the mountain cast its gaze upon the Original Sin High Priest: “That matter I asked you to prepare, is it ready?”

The Original Sin High Priest replied: “Everything is prepared.”

While Xiao was conducting his Path of Wisdom experiment, the Original Sin High Priest was simultaneously carrying out another plan called the Divine Body Project.

As the name suggested, it was the Little Person in the Bottle’s plan to step onto the Path of Wisdom Myth.

This bottle had created it and protected it.

But at the same time, it also confined its spirit inside, becoming its greatest weakness.

Previously, the Little Person in the Bottle had been fearless, for no one could attack the Sacred Mountain, let alone defeat it.

But now things were different.

Asai, who had become a reincarnator on the Path of Wisdom, and the long-absent Blood Plague Stuen, might both be plotting against it.

It had to break free from the bottle’s constraints as quickly as possible, while also being able to awaken immediately after reincarnation and possess immense power.

Only then could it face Asai and Stuen in its most powerful form.

It would truly descend upon this world, sweeping away all forces that opposed it, resented it, and hated it.

Finally becoming what it desired – the one and only god of the mortal world.

The Original Sin High Priest said: “The Divine Body Project is ready. The experimental subject has now been escorted to the Sacred Mountain.”

The Little Person in the Bottle glanced down. An object sealed in a box floated up and landed on the city wall of the God-Servant City.

The box, covered in dense runes and magical arrays, opened. A terrifyingly distorted human figure emerged from within.

That shadow was dark and profound, wearing tattered robes.

It wielded a scythe in one hand and held something like a book or tablet in the other.

But the shadow dissipated in the blink of an eye, revealing its true form.

This was a life not yet born, a dark oval cocoon.

The Original Sin High Priest called it: “The Lord of Death.”

It was an evolved form based on spirits, a being that spirits transformed into after reaching the fourth level.

But after reaching the fourth level, the Original Sin High Priest had used the four-part secret technique of the God’s Grace Stone to craft its body.

Its shell contained the power of divine technique imprints. Its scythe was formed from the Desire Stone; when swung down, it could unleash the Light of Original Sin, capable of harvesting everyone’s spirit.

The book it held in its left hand represented the power of the divine contract, controlling the fates of all who had made pacts with God.

This was a body tailor-made for the Little Person in the Bottle.

Anhofus’s reincarnator was the Trilobite Man, while Xiao’s was the Ancestral Fish.

But the Little Person in the Bottle would absolutely not choose such ordinary creatures as its reincarnator. It wanted to select the strongest being, even if this approach carried hidden dangers.

After all, the divine blood composing this life still wasn’t the Little Person in the Bottle’s own, but someone else’s.

It was as if it was jumping from one bottle made by others into another pre-made bottle.

But this way, it could possess immensely powerful strength as soon as it reincarnated.

It wanted to appear in its most powerful form to annihilate its enemies.

The mythical shadow on the Sacred Mountain gazed at this black cocoon for a long time before saying: “To cultivate it, the current mythical blood is not enough.”

The Original Sin High Priest trembled: “You mean…?”

The Little Person in the Bottle said: “It’s time to begin the second phase of the plan.”

The Original Sin High Priest understood the implications all too well. The Little Person in the Bottle intended to sacrifice everyone it could to obtain divine blood and perfect its divine body.

To craft another bottle for itself, one to contain its spirit, wisdom, desire, and memories.

If it were the Little Person in the Bottle from before, the mythical blood it had accumulated over so many years would have been enough. There would have been no need to implement any second phase of the plan.

But the Little Person in the Bottle had just experienced Xiao’s betrayal and lost the Door of Truth, causing unimaginable damage.

It had nearly fallen from the throne of myth.

This made it somewhat regret sending the Truth High Priest with the Door of Truth to Anho City. But without the Door of Truth, who could have captured characters like Asai and Xiao?

It couldn’t possibly descend again itself, could it? What if Stuen, who hadn’t shown himself for so long, was lying in ambush around the Sacred Mountain?

The Original Sin High Priest hesitated for a moment. He knelt on the ground and devoutly said to his god: “Great God of Knowledge!”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t prepare for war directly now. A more appropriate retreat might be better suited to the current situation.”

“Choose a more secure reincarnation plan, avoid all attention. Even if Anhofus and Stuen can’t do anything to you, great God.”

“Until…”

The Little Person in the Bottle didn’t even let the Original Sin High Priest finish before interrupting him.

“Oh?” it hissed, its voice dripping with menace.

“My servant,” it continued, “are you presuming to give orders to God?”

The Original Sin High Priest was so frightened that he immediately kowtowed: “I wouldn’t dare.”

The Little Person in the Bottle persisted: “You want your God to cower like a coward, compromising with a group of mortals?”

The Little Person in the Bottle grew increasingly furious as it spoke, nearly shrieking.

“I am God.”

“I fear no challenge, whether from Xiao, Stuen, or that Anhofus.”

“None of them can make me compromise.”

The mythical shadow’s eyes revealed endless madness: “I will show Anhofus that my power far surpasses his.”

“I will prove to this world that I am the true myth.”

The Original Sin High Priest was devout; everything he did was for his deity.

At this moment, he once again obeyed the will of his god.

“Everything will be as you wish, great God of Knowledge.”

Massive chaos erupted across Yinsai. Many cities and territories were engulfed in rebellion and riots, followed by brutal suppression and purges.

Numerous Ghost Cult members and believers of the God of Knowledge initiated large-scale sacrificial rituals in cities and villages, using living people as offerings to pray to the God of Knowledge for longevity or power.

Dark temples, eerie idols, bloody altars.

Great fires raged in the streets, filled with terrified screams and slaughter.

Groups of believers voluntarily threw themselves onto the altars, becoming corpses.

“God is calling me, God is watching me,” a man in cult robes shouted hoarsely, appearing insane.

“I see it, I see God’s domain,” others were no better off, tears streaming down their faces as they gazed at the light emanating from the idol.

“Immortality, pleasure, peace.” Soldiers were already breaking in outside, the sound of weapons clashing could be heard through the door, but these people remained unmoved.

“Ah! The gates are opening for me.” One after another, the believers sacrificed themselves. By the time the doors were finally broken down, not a single living person remained inside.

In the villages outside the city, countless innocent villagers were driven by frenzied cultists to become sacrificial victims.

“Please don’t do this!”

“Spare us.”

“We also believe in the God of Knowledge, we can believe in him too.”

“Don’t kill us.”

But these crazed cultists not only sacrificed the entire village, but in the end, they also jumped into the altar to become part of the offering.

By the time the garrison troops arrived, the entire village was left with only corpse-like statues, still retaining the madness and fear from their final moments.

It seemed that riots had broken out all over Yinsai, but at the same time, these Ghost Cult members who had been deeply hidden everywhere were also completely exposed.

The Temple’s Demon-Hunting Group and the priests of the Nine Great Ritual Temples were all mobilized, and garrisons everywhere moved into the cities to encircle and suppress these heretics.

The Ghost Cult suffered heavy losses, decades of accumulation were almost entirely lost in a single moment.

In the depths of the sea.

Sunlight penetrated the water’s surface, illuminating the seabed.

Among the endless underwater plants, there stood a magnificent city.

This was a country that had split off from the Abyss Kingdom, built by the People of the Abyss. For decades, it had been constantly opposing the Abyss Kingdom, becoming its greatest enemy.

On the underwater altar, an Abyss person wearing a metal mask used the power of the Wisdom Ability to address everyone.

“God has promised us, He will grant all of us immortality.”

“In His domain, we will enjoy eternal peace.”

“Let us offer everything to God.”

All the Abyss people in the city responded to him, prostrating themselves before the idol of the God of Knowledge.

Finally, this metal-masked Abyss person initiated the sacrificial ritual array.

He personally lit up the name of the evil existence known as the God of Knowledge, forming a contract with it.

The Light of Original Sin descended from the heavens, bathing the entire city.

Everyone raised their heads, their eyes revealing a glimmer of happiness.

After the light faded, only silence remained.

No living beings could be seen anymore, as quiet as if it were a ruined city untouched for decades or even centuries.

They had established their own kingdom with the support of the God of Knowledge and the Ghost Cult, and ultimately perished in a frenzy of sacrifice.

Whether in Yinsai or the Abyss Kingdom, countless madmen answered the call of the God of Knowledge and the Ghost Cult, becoming part of their god.

Of course, many more people fled in panic, abandoning the Ghost Cult and their faith in the God of Knowledge.

Chaos and evil descended, raising the curtain on everything.

The Little Person in the Bottle’s actions directly led to the near collapse of the Ghost Cult under these circumstances, but it didn’t care.

They were just consumables anyway, if not used now, when?

Besides, at this point, what use were more believers?

Winning meant owning everything; losing meant having nothing.

Under the sacrifice of countless people, streams of the Light of Original Sin carrying power returned to the Sacred Mountain, transforming into silver ribbons that fell into the black cocoon.

The shadow revealed by the cocoon became increasingly clear, and a strange sound could faintly be heard.

“Whoosh!”

The sound was like wind, yet also like the sigh of death.

As the Lord of Death was about to be born, the ghost race also underwent a transformation.

All the ghosts on the Sacred Mountain seemed to become somewhat clearer, with some powerful ghosts even breaking free from their original constraints, leaving the houses and streets that had confined them, and even walking out of the God-Servant City.

This also meant that they had truly become a race, a race with a path of advancement.

And not just remnants under the erosion of the Little Person in the Bottle’s power.

By the Sacred Lake.

Asai and Polik lived in a small town that had been abandoned for who knows how many years. Polik was still fishing in the lake; he had never seen a place so abundant, with so many fish.

Such a place, originally capable of supporting the population of many cities, now had no one daring to approach due to the presence of the Little Person in the Bottle.

“Master.”

“Today we’ll eat this.”

Polik returned with fish. Although the food paste mixed with sugar tasted fine, it became tiresome after eating it for too long.

Asai’s gaze was fixed on the distant Sacred Mountain, his attention keenly focused on its every movement and disturbance in recent days.

“It’s about to reincarnate.”

A statement out of the blue, but Polik clearly understood its meaning.

Polik said excitedly: “Then perhaps we can strike while it’s weak.”

Asai: “The key is not knowing when it will reincarnate. It might still be waiting, or it could be happening right now.”

Polik: “Can’t we ask someone, or send a few people to infiltrate the Sacred Mountain?”

Asai understood the Little Person in the Bottle better than anyone: “It’s useless. It won’t trust anyone.”

“It won’t tell anyone either. No one knows when it will reincarnate.”

“However,” Asai paused, “we can indeed put it to the test.”

As soon as Asai finished speaking, he took action.

A massive Door of Truth descended from the sky, suddenly appearing at the foot of the Sacred Mountain.

“Boom!”

The sudden attack caused entire sections of buildings to collapse in the city at the mountain’s base. Half the city instantly turned to ruins, with countless Ghost Cult members perishing in this single strike.

The enormous door opened, locking onto countless people.

They were immediately stripped of the knowledge and memories they had accumulated over a lifetime by the Door of Truth.

The mythical monster on the Sacred Mountain instantly awoke. It first stared at the Door of Truth in a daze, then roared in a fury.

“Anhofus!”

A giant bottle shadow enveloped the Sacred Mountain, attempting to trap the Door of Truth and Asai.

Asai confirmed: “Still awake, it seems it hasn’t started yet.”

The Door of Truth was violently struck by the Light of Original Sin erupting from the mountaintop, causing Asai himself to suffer no light injury. His brain buzzed with pain, as if his consciousness was about to be shaken out of his body.

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, Asai immediately retreated. The shadow of the Door of Truth disappeared before the bottle domain could fully expand.

The Little Person in the Bottle held back from pursuit. While the current Asai was not yet its match, it knew Asai wasn’t its sole adversary.

Asai and Polik had already vanished from their original location, appearing on the other side of the Sacred Lake.

Polik gazed in awe at the shadow of the God of Knowledge and the domain that covered the sky and earth.

“Is that the God of Knowledge?”

Asai: “It looks like it hasn’t started yet. It’s being very cautious.”

“And it seems that my power alone is not enough to kill it.”

If given more time, Asai was confident he could gradually surpass the Little Person in the Bottle.

But it appeared that the Little Person in the Bottle wasn’t planning to give anyone time. It wanted to break its own bottle, eliminating its greatest weakness.

Once it successfully reincarnated and regained its memories and power, Asai and his allies would lose a crucial opportunity. Who knew what changes might occur afterward?

He looked towards the direction of the sea: “But with such a big commotion, the Temple of Truth won’t fail to notice.”

The Little Person in the Bottle’s hysterical madness made it clear without any guesswork that it must be carrying out some kind of plan.

It was clear that the Little Person in the Bottle was about to risk everything in a grand gamble.

As for the Temple of Truth, the controller of Yinsai and the Little Person in the Bottle’s greatest enemy.

They could not, under any circumstances, allow it to succeed.

On a small island near the Bottomless Abyss.

Stuen slumbered in a patch of shadows, his form indistinguishable from the darkness around him.

Despite being a God-Created Man, he was dreaming. Unlike usual, this dream was bright and beautiful.

He dreamed of Cross City.

It was Cross City at its best, with bustling merchant caravans, constantly busy cart-pullers, and shops with their doors wide open along the streets.

Everyone was busy, each person with their own life and happiness.

He saw young Vivien pulling her sister Anli as they ran across the street, Lester treating patients in his small clinic, and neighbors gathered for a casual chat.

But all these beautiful scenes eventually dissolved into darkness.

The clear blue sky turned a gloomy gray, and an evil presence descended from the heavens, bearing the Light of Original Sin.

Everything ended on that day.

Thousands of people appeared before Stuen’s eyes, surrounding him and wailing miserably.

“Stuen, kill that monster.”

“Why haven’t you killed that monster yet? You must avenge us!”

“Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!”

“You absolutely can’t let it go, absolutely can’t let it go.”

“Make it know what despair is, make it know the price of evil.”

The shadows in the corner writhed, finally transforming into a figure wearing a red robe.

Stuen slowly opened his eyes, a crimson light gleaming within them.

From the beginning, he knew he was more than just an individual. He was a manifestation of the collective grudges and hatred of all Cross City.

He knew that as long as the Little Person in the Bottle, that monster, didn’t die, he could never escape from this nightmare.

He had always strived for this, and he firmly believed he could accomplish it.

He could feel himself constantly getting closer to this goal. That day was not far off, or perhaps it was right before his eyes.

But today, another thought suddenly occurred to him.

What would happen after the Little Person in the Bottle died?

What should he do then?

Or rather, was there anything left in this world worth doing?

He even vaguely sensed some issues. When everyone’s grudges dissipated, could he, as an amalgamation of those grudges, continue to exist?

Stuen’s gaze lingered on the sea, his mind adrift with contemplation.

The next day.

Stuen and Vivien once again agreed to venture deep into the bottom of the Abyss together. This was their twentieth-something exploration this year.

All previous attempts had been fruitless, but this time they had made meticulous preparations and had considerable confidence.

After spending so many years, Stuen had already obtained six types of Ruhe Imprints. Now only one remained.

Several hours passed, when suddenly a violent rumbling came from beneath the earth, accompanied by a terrifyingly extreme sound.

The sea churned up massive waves, easily reaching over a hundred meters high.

The sheer magnitude of power was staggering. The fact that such force could transmit from the depths of the sea to the surface, despite the vast distance, was truly astounding.

Not long after, two beams of blood-red light shot out from the seabed.

One of the blood-red light beams coalesced into Vivien’s shadow. She was incredibly excited at this moment.

“We got it.”

“We got it.”

They had obtained the final Ruhe Imprint, belonging to the Sky Beast.

That most terrifying monster perched atop the City of Beasts, capable of releasing all-destroying lightning in an instant. They had racked their brains and exhausted every method, finally obtaining its divine blood.

But this also aroused the beasts. At that moment, all seven great beasts awoke.

Fortunately, those fearsome monsters couldn’t leave the deep sea, allowing them to escape once again.

Stuen also revealed his form, gazing into the deep sea.

“Vivien,” Stuen said thoughtfully, “do you really think our efforts alone led to this success?”

Vivien was still immersed in joy: “How long have we been working to achieve this! It’s the result of our repeated attempts, we’ve finally succeeded!”

Stuen spoke: “The power of those seven monsters is enough to destroy all of Yinsai and the Abyss Kingdom, yet time and again they allow us to intrude into their city and domain.”

“Although they seem to be often provoked by us, each time they let us leave.”

“Perhaps,” Stuen mused, “someone has secretly allowed us to obtain their power.”

As a God-Created Man, he could vaguely sense that powerful force binding the beasts, and even faintly perceive their emotions.

Vivien nodded: “Perhaps!”

“At the very least, if it weren’t for that powerful force restraining them, preventing them from leaving the deep sea abyss, we probably would have died down there long ago.”

Stuen was about to respond when suddenly, a violent change erupted within his body.

His body disintegrated in an instant.

The final Ruhe Imprint fused into his body, triggering a qualitative change.

Stuen transformed into a terrifying demonic worm, easily tearing through the seabed and burrowing into it.

Next, he transformed into the Sele Sea Spirit, causing massive waves with a single tremor.

He successively transformed into the Moon Magic Fern radiating endless light, the Desert Worm casually altering terrain, the Lava Beast embodying volcanoes spewing fire and magma, and the starfish representing death.

On the seventh transformation, he became a jellyfish-like giant creature soaring into the sky.

He waved his tentacles above the sea of clouds, releasing lightning and power.

In the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered, and a storm raged over the sea with pouring rain.

Finally, he returned to his fundamental power, the Scarlet Apostle form.

A terrifying sea of blood surged atop the ocean, completely enveloping the island.

At this moment, all the mythical blood within him completed its metamorphosis, becoming Ruhe Imprints.

It was at this moment that mythical power overflowed from within him.

The Scarlet Apostle’s imprint flew out from his body, fusing with his heart to form something like an artifact, a crimson emblem.

Stuen looked at the crimson emblem, feeling the power bursting forth from it.

It seemed to be a part of Stuen, an organ outside his body. It was a part of himself; if destroyed, Stuen would fall from myth, suffering an unimaginable blow.

At the same time, numerous inscriptions appeared on the Divine Cup in the dream realm.

【Life Artifact – God-Created Man Stuen】

【Sequence Number 1】

【Ability 1 Deformed Immortality: The God-Created Man Stuen possesses an unimaginable lifespan, but every so often, Stuen’s consciousness will be erased in the cycle of reincarnation, and a new consciousness will be born, regaining the power of wisdom; Although Stuen has broken the limit of Life Ability’s difficulty in giving birth to wisdom and has become the first Life Myth, he still cannot break the limitations of life’s immortality.】

【Ability 2 Bloodline Bestowal: Having become a myth, Stuen can bestow his bloodline to others without any hidden dangers, creating an intelligent race belonging to life.】

【Ability 3 Progenitor of the Race: As the origin of the race and bloodline, you now not only gain the power of mythical blood from the cycle of life, but every individual belonging to your race will offer a portion of mythical blood to you upon death; Furthermore, as long as your race is not extinct, you cannot be truly killed.】

【Ability 4 Stuen’s Emblem: An artifact possessing powerful law-based power, related to the future mythical path.】

Stuen felt the power within his body, a power countless times stronger than before.

The power of immortality, the power of undeath, the progenitor of a race, an unknown powerful artifact.

From this moment on, his power truly lived up to the name of myth.

Stuen had become the mythical form of the life path, but he couldn’t notice that his record on the Divine Cup had not been erased.

Like the Little Person in the Bottle, he was still an artifact.

Below, Vivien looked at Stuen, her eyes filled with joy and awe as she shouted to him.

“Myth.”

“This is the myth of life.”

“Stuen,” she exclaimed, “you now possess the most powerful force in the mortal world. You’ve become the most perfect life in existence.”

Stuen descended from above. Although the power and aura bursting from his body made Vivien involuntarily tremble,

Her heart did not fear Stuen. She knew he was her companion.

She trusted him.

Stuen met her gaze, suddenly remembering yesterday’s dream.

If there were no Little Person in the Bottle, would Lester’s tragedy not have happened? Would Vivien not have had to bear everything to become the Sage of the Temple of Truth?

Could everyone have lived on easily, happily having their own beautiful lives?

Stuen extended his hand: “The final moment has come.”

Vivien clasped his hand firmly: “Let’s eliminate that evil demon.”

The two shook hands and laughed together.