The Magic Wheel House sped across the land of Suinhor.

It traveled through dense jungles and open grasslands, passing through lively cities and quiet towns. Its journey left its mark on nearly every part of this vast nation.

At last, the Magic Wheel House came to a halt on a mountain peak along the Great Serpent Road, from where it overlooked the entire world.

In her hand, Vivien held a blood-red flower, its petals glowing faintly in the dim light.

This was a Blood Mist Cup, born from a Sun Cup that had been imbued with the essence of Life Ability.

When the Scarlet Goddess first returned and walked upon this land in the early days of the era, the population across the entire territory of Suinhor was so small it might not have matched the size of a single small town today.

Now, Suinhor is filled with cities and towns, and the Snake People have spread to every part of this land. They have even established themselves and thrived on a distant continent.

It is a civilization of remarkable prosperity.

However, after reaching this peak of prosperity, the civilization encountered a bottleneck.

The Scarlet Goddess had recognized the issue, but a true solution still eluded her.

Vivien ultimately made a choice. She decided to address the first problem as a starting point.

She turned to King Alpens and said, “Alpens, you were the first. Every generation to ascend to the throne after you has been a Trilobite Symbiote.”

“I have decided that, starting with the next generation, I will no longer arrange for the Divine Blessed King to reincarnate.”

“From this point forward, even if Trilobite Symbiotes become kings, it will no longer follow the tradition of the Divine Blessed King lineage. The inheritance will no longer be designated and passed down from generation to generation.”

“Royal authority shall return to mortals, and they will determine the succession of their dynasties.”

This statement effectively revoked the privileges of the Divine Blessed King, nullifying the divine decree that established kingship through divine authority.

In the early days of the era, this method of inheritance had undeniable advantages, and Suinhor’s current state owed much to this stable succession.

However, as time passed and circumstances evolved, what was once the best choice had become outdated.

There was no such thing as perfection, only what suited the moment.

Vivien had made her decision, but she still sought the opinions of her two juniors.

“Alpens, Lyons Tito, do you believe the dynasties you built will fall because of this? Will you have regrets?”

Alpens replied, “Even Yinsai faded away with the passage of time. The decline of Suinhor cannot be avoided. There is some regret, yes, but it is a reality we have long anticipated.”

Smerkel added, “Civilization does not vanish simply because dynasties rise and fall, Lady Vivien.”

Vivien stood by the window, gazing at the horizon, her thoughts seemingly far away.

Her fingers, which had been gently caressing the Blood Mist Cup flower, suddenly tensed. A petal slipped from the flower’s cup, floating down from the windowsill.

It was only then that Vivien seemed to return to herself.

Alpens and Smerkel’s words had seemingly reminded Vivien of the past, stirring emotions within her heart.

Vivien turned her gaze back to Suinhor. Cities spread across the vast land like stars, while fields and river canals wove intricate patterns.

“In truth, the population of the Snake People has grown far beyond that of the ancient Trilobite Man, spreading across Suinhor, the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, the Land of Sunrise, and to the Avel people who journeyed to another continent.”

“What it will become in the future is something neither You nor we can foresee.”

“This era is entirely different from the last. We can only observe and wait for new opportunities to emerge.”

“The Storm Sea has opened. God Yinsai and the Life Sovereign may have already descended to the mortal realm.”

Vivien turned to Alpens and Smerkel. “Let us return,” she said. “We understand Suinhor’s current state, and there is still much work ahead of us.”

The Scarlet Goddess was preparing to conclude this journey.

Meanwhile, a figure followed the path of the Scarlet Goddess’s progress.

Kurmis, gifted with extraordinary spirituality, had been tracking the Scarlet Goddess’s vehicle throughout the journey but had always fallen just short of catching up.

“Over there!”

The soil, crushed by the Magic Wheel House’s wheels and carrying faint traces of dissipating shadows and aura, guided Kurmis along the path.

However, upon reaching the Great Serpent Road, the trail vanished completely, as if the other party had melted into the mortal realm.

On a green hillside, at the final spot where the aura faded, Kurmis still managed to find something.

The wind carried a bright red fragment, fluttering through the air.

It rose and fell, drifting intermittently.

“What is this?”

At the bottom of the slope, Kurmis reached out and cupped the object in his hands.

It was a fragment of a flower petal.

After observing it for a while, Kurmis immediately recognized it.

“It is the sacred object of the Scarlet Goddess. The divine flower that blooms within the Blood Kingdom of the Deep Sea.”

It was a petal of a Blood Mist Cup, slowly fading and withering after being separated from the main body. It seemed likely to decay completely over time.

Kurmis quickly sealed the petal and preserved it with great care.

In the days that followed, Kurmis spent his time searching for various plants on the outskirts of Moonlight Jungle.

His temporary residence in Moonlight City gradually transformed into a space resembling a botanical garden.

The room contained numerous, carefully arranged flowerpots. He had even hired a young person specifically to help care for them.

In truth, he had purchased this young person for only three copper coins, a fact which confirmed that what those people had told him was entirely accurate.

Technically, the youth had become his slave from the moment he was paid for, but Kurmis insisted on calling it employment.

At the table, Kurmis began keeping records in a manner similar to the Witch Spirits, seemingly influenced in some way by Long and Sukob.

“What should this plant be called?”

“The locals call this plant Beast Fang Fern.”

“And this one…”

He carefully documented these plants in his notes, creating names for the ones that had none as he wrote.

Over time, books like this often gained a title.

It would likely be named after Kurmis himself, perhaps something like the Book of Kurmis or the Secret Tome of Kurmis.

At this moment, Kurmis did not consider that his simple records and the names he quickly assigned might one day be preserved for future generations. He wrote these notes primarily to help himself remember and organize his plans.

The various plants around Moonlight Jungle, and even Moonlight Jungle itself, sparked Kurmis’s intense curiosity, causing his thoughts of returning home to fade for a while.

It was also possible that a growing fear held him back as he got closer to home, a worry that what awaited him there might be completely different from what he had imagined.

In the courtyard, Kurmis began applying the knowledge he had gathered from various sources. Though his learning was incomplete, he combined it with his own self-created Divine Techniques to conduct experiments.

“Quickly, bring me the Curled Ball Fern that has the most robust growth.”

A young person carefully carried a Curled Ball Fern in both hands, placing it gently into a gray earthenware pot with deliberate and precise movements.

“Mr. Kurmis, what are you trying to do with all this?”

“You have so many things here that you can’t even eat.”

“And they’re not much to look at, either.”

“Besides, who plants a Curled Ball Fern in a pot? That pot is probably worth more than the fern!”

The young person looked at Kurmis with confusion.

Kurmis turned to him. “Do you understand why the Curled Ball Fern is so important?” he asked. “It has sustained countless people. For us, there is no plant more valuable.”

“It is the backbone of our civilization, the very thing we depend on for survival.”

Kurmis steadied himself and focused his energy, channeling his Seal Imprint into the Curled Ball Fern in the earthenware pot.

This Seal Imprint was unique to Kurmis, enabling him to merge with objects and transform them into different puppets. He called this ability the Spirit Fusion Seal Imprint.

“Spirit Fusion Seal Imprint.”

As he activated the Spirit Fusion Seal Imprint, a special power flowed into the Curled Ball Fern.

The ordinary Curled Ball Fern began to change dramatically. Its roots broke through the jar and pushed into the earth, growing larger with every passing moment.

“Spiritual erosion and modification!”

In an instant, the Curled Ball Fern transformed into something entirely different.

The fern leaves sprouted on top, while the bulbous fruits grew downward into the soil.

Simply infusing spiritual power into an ordinary life form had no effect, but when a Seal Imprint acted as a medium, the outcome changed entirely.

Through this process, it was even possible to alter the original appearance of a species.

This discovery filled Kurmis with excitement.

However, this technique was nothing more than the creation of a puppet.

As soon as he withdrew his power, the Curled Ball Fern reverted to its original form.

It quickly became droopy and lost its vitality.

This result clearly fell short of Kurmis’s expectations. He sought to create a new species that could thrive naturally.

His goal was to develop a food variety that surpassed the Curled Ball Fern in quality and utility.

Kurmis shook his head with a hint of disappointment. “It still does not work.”

He let out a deep sigh. “If only I had a way to permanently alter the form of these plants.”

However, that was already within the domain of creating new species, something even Kurmis believed to be improbable.

The young person who had been helping Kurmis stood frozen. It was only now that he realized the man, who seemed not much older than him, was an Ability User.

At that moment, the street outside erupted into noise.

A group of people dressed in white linen clothes adorned with moon patterns marched down the street, shouting.

“This is the Moon God’s punishment!”

“A calamity is upon us!”

“It is surely the wrath of the divine!”

A large crowd of people followed behind them.

The Moon God was the name the people of Moonlight City gave to the Ruhe Great God, also known as the Moon Magic Fern.

As the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents worshipped the Ruhe Great God, the idea of revering the God of Earth began to spread.

This shift also brought new perspectives on the Forbidden Zone of Death.

In Moonlight City, the thousand-year fear and longing for the Forbidden Zone of Death had taken on a new form.

This transformation gave rise to a growing number of believers in the Moon God. They frequently petitioned for the Moon God to be honored and included in the Temple of Life.

Kurmis stepped out of his home and noticed a crowd gathering on the street.

He paused for a moment, observing the commotion, but he could not quite grasp what was going on.

He turned to his servant. “What is happening?”

Kurmis spent his days either wandering outside Moonlight Jungle or writing books at home, so he had no way of knowing what had occurred.

His young hired servant, however, ran around the city every day and was well aware of the causes and consequences.

“A strange vine has been popping up all over the farmlands in Moonlight Territory. It grows like crazy underground, and no one can get rid of it. The Curled Ball Ferns don’t last long once it shows up.”

“It started spreading from Moonlight Jungle and just keeps going.”

“The Moon God believers are saying it is some kind of punishment. Now everyone is too scared to even try clearing it.”

The servant turned to Kurmis. “Sir,” he said, “don’t we have some of that vine at home?”

Kurmis remembered something and took out a strange green vine he kept in a jar. The jar was full of soil, and the green vine had already grown out from it.

“Is it this vine?”

Kurmis had collected this vine and named it Green Ground Vine because it grew deep underground while green leaves sprouted on the surface.

Its vitality was incredibly strong, but it did not seem to have any specific purpose.

As a result, Kurmis had only collected it and had not given it much thought since.

The young person said reverently, “That’s it!”

The young servant clearly believed the claims of the Moon God believers, viewing this strange, suddenly appearing plant as a form of divine punishment.

“This is a disaster no mortal can handle on their own.”

“Everyone’s scared out of their minds. With the harvest in trouble, no one knows what to do next.”

Kurmis said resolutely, “This is not a natural disaster. It is simply a conflict between old and new species. You should not hastily attribute everything to divine beings. That, too, is a form of disrespect toward the divine.”

After hearing everything, Kurmis began to piece together the situation. A new species had seemingly emerged from Moonlight Jungle and spread into Moonlight Territory, leading to this crisis.

The local people were helpless against it. Some believers had declared this event an act of the divine, which only deepened the fear and discouraged any attempts to address the problem.

Kurmis asked, “How serious is the situation now?”

The young servant answered, “It’s really bad. They say this stuff has taken over almost half the fields. It grows super fast, and it always shows up where the Curled Ball Ferns are, like it’s trying to wipe them out on purpose.”

“Once it starts growing, you can’t get rid of it no matter how hard you try. When you pull it out, the Curled Ball Ferns die too because its roots are all tangled up deep in the ground.”

Kurmis set out immediately, leaving the city to visit the villages and towns scattered across Moonlight Territory.

He brought his servant along, traveling through the countryside. Whenever he encountered farmland overrun with Green Ground Vines, he stopped to investigate. The situation was just as dire as he had been told.

In the fields, he saw farmers struggling to pull out the invasive vines, but their efforts were futile. Exhausted and defeated, many collapsed to the ground, clinging to one another as they wept.

“It’s over!”

“We’re finished!”

“What is this thing? Some kind of monster?”

“It’s devouring our Curled Ball Ferns and taking everything with it!”

Kurmis stood at the edge of the farmland, watching the farmers weep below.

He could feel the weight of their despair. For these people, the farmland was their entire world. The harvest of Curled Ball Ferns was not just their livelihood but the lifeline of their families.

To them, this was nothing short of a catastrophe. Describing it as the sky falling did not seem like an exaggeration.

The young servant beside Kurmis was equally terrified. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with his own eyes was entirely different.

This situation had already gone beyond what anyone could imagine. He could almost sense the looming disaster. In just a few months, Moonlight Territory might be completely transformed.

“This has to be divine punishment!”

“It must be divine punishment!”

Kurmis placed a hand on his shoulder, a gesture meant to calm the boy’s frantic and panicked heart.

“No divine being would punish mortals without a reason,” he said. “When a problem arises, we ought to focus on finding solutions, not blame everything on divine beings and wait helplessly for disaster to strike.”

That night, Kurmis carefully observed the Green Ground Vine, studying its habits and unique characteristics in detail once more.

The next day, he went to the City Lord’s mansion to meet with the City Lord of Moonlight City.

As Kurmis approached, the City Lord watched in astonishment. All the guards and even the Ability Users collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

It became immediately clear to the City Lord that Kurmis was an extraordinarily powerful Ability User.

“Who are you?”

He was very afraid but forced himself to remain calm.

Kurmis said to the City Lord, “My name is Kurmis. You may not know me, but I have come to discuss an important matter. I hope we can work together.”

The City Lord nodded thoughtfully. “I have heard of you,” he replied. “They say a physician with extraordinary skills recently arrived in the city. So, you are also an Ability User.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. “I did not realize we had someone as powerful as you here. If I had known, I would have made it a point to visit you personally.”

The City Lord then smiled warmly. “Please, tell me what you need. I will do my best to assist you.”

Kurmis spoke plainly. “I have a solution for the recent issue of farmlands being overrun by an alien plant species. I can eliminate these plants, but I will need you to issue a decree to ensure everyone’s cooperation.”

The City Lord hesitated for a moment. “So this is about that matter. However…”

After a brief pause, he continued, “This is believed to be the power of the Moon God. If we intervene, would we not risk angering the divine being?”

“There are many followers of the Moon God in the city. They would never allow such an action to take place.”

Although the City Lord was a believer of the Scarlet Goddess, this did not diminish his fear and awe of another divine being.

The Scarlet Goddess resided far away in the heavens, while Moonlight Jungle loomed right before his eyes.

This proximity was one reason why Moon God believers had gradually risen in Moonlight City in recent years. Moonlight Jungle stood beside them, and generations of fear and tradition had led them to regard the jungle itself as divine from ancient times.

Additionally, the Moon God was a servant of the Life Sovereign and part of the Temple of Life lineage. Voices in the city had long called for the Moon God to be enshrined in the Temple of Life.

Kurmis already understood the other’s concerns and addressed them directly.

“I am an apostle.”

“I have stood in the presence of divine beings and have even spoken with them.”

“Do you truly wish to speak of divine will before me?”

Kurmis had not lied. He was an apostle, though he himself did not know which divine being he served.

He had witnessed divine beings with his own eyes and had even spoken with them, though the one he encountered was neither the Scarlet Goddess nor the Moon God.

His words were deliberately vague, leaving the City Lord uncertain.

However, once Kurmis spoke, the City Lord was visibly shaken, his face betraying a mix of shock and fear.

The City Lord dared not question him further.

“Then I ask for your cooperation,” Kurmis said. “I must address this matter without delay. Your people cannot afford to wait much longer.”

“If we postpone any further, it will undoubtedly escalate into a far greater disaster.”

“At that point, no one will be able to predict what consequences may unfold in your territory.”

Kurmis did not think highly of the Lord of Moonlight City. Despite this, he had ultimately decided to come, not for the City Lord’s sake, but to assist the people of this territory.

The City Lord, in turn, quickly expressed his willingness to cooperate. He understood that a decline in food production would have serious consequences for him as well.

With a divine apostle offering assistance, the City Lord saw no reason to refuse such an opportunity.

A few days later, the City Lord’s decree was issued across the entire Moonlight Territory, reaching both the city and the surrounding areas.

Kurmis arrived at a temporarily constructed altar. Using a ritual array, he prepared to unleash the full extent of his power.

“Look! It’s the apostle!” someone shouted as Kurmis stepped out, stirring the crowd.

“That’s Mr. Kurmis? He’s the apostle?” another voice chimed in, filled with surprise.

“I thought apostles were supposed to look like spirits or something. He looks just like one of us,” someone muttered skeptically.

On the altar, Kurmis unleashed his Divine Grace power, channeling all his Spirit Fusion Seal Imprints into the Green Ground Vine in front of him.

The Green Ground Vines rose into the air, intertwining as they ascended.

From their union, a massive Divine Grace Puppet began to take shape.

It resembled a colossal Feathered Serpent, its form made entirely of green vines.

Whoosh!

A fierce wind surged through the area, carrying the scent of earth and greenery.

Green vines cascaded from the sky, swaying like the tendrils of a living creature.

The massive Feathered Serpent, formed entirely of green vines, soared into the distance with an air of majesty.

It was only then that the people truly believed Kurmis was a divine apostle.

“So powerful!”

“Is this really the power of the divine?”

“Kurmis… could he truly be the voice of the divine among us?”

At this moment, Kurmis’s consciousness was fully intertwined with the Divine Grace Puppet, soaring high in the sky.

As the massive Feathered Serpent composed of green vines left the city, it began to divide into numerous smaller Feathered Serpents.

In the sky, many people could be seen waving wooden sticks below. Others were marking the farmlands to indicate areas where Green Ground Vines had taken root.

The massive Green Ground Vine puppet dove down, sweeping across the ground with precision.

The Green Ground Vines seemed to respond to the presence of their own kind. They began to emerge from the soil, surging toward the puppet in the sky as if drawn by an unseen force.

In an instant, Kurmis absorbed large quantities of Green Ground Vines, incorporating them into his own form.

In just a few days, Kurmis managed to resolve the Green Ground Vine problem across Moonlight Territory.

He saved countless farmlands and farming families from devastation.

He also compiled a series of techniques based on the behavior of Green Ground Vines.

Kurmis taught the farmers of Moonlight Territory how to prevent these invasive vines from taking over their fields again and how to remove them before they could fully spread.

On the final day, a massive crowd of fervent supporters gathered below the altar, shouting Kurmis’s name with unrestrained enthusiasm.

“Lord Kurmis!”

“Lord Kurmis, over here!”

He had become a story.

Perhaps one day he would become history, and then transform into myth.

Standing on the altar, Kurmis looked at the scene before him, too nervous to speak.

He felt a mix of excitement and a hint of intoxication. For the first time, he was being recognized by so many people, their admiring gazes fixed on him.

In this city, he had received an outpouring of adoration from the crowd.

In the past, he had been seen as nothing more than a monster. No matter how powerful he was, people only felt fear when they saw him.

No one acknowledged him, and he had no companions.

But now, it felt as though he had gained everything.

Kurmis spread his arms wide, and the crowd below erupted into even louder cheers. Some even began to bow before him in reverence.

Kurmis whispered to himself, “I am not a monster.”

“I am one of them.”

“I live among them, surrounded by countless companions.”

In that moment, he seemed to find his purpose and the true meaning of his existence.

After resolving the Green Ground Vine incident, Kurmis found himself admired by countless people in Moonlight City. This newfound recognition, however, came with its own set of challenges.

Kurmis decided to relocate his home. He chose to live outside the city, settling in a spot not far from Moonlight Jungle.

This location was ideal for his next experiment, one he had been planning for quite some time.

It was a stone house that Kurmis had crafted by using the Spirit Fusion Seal Imprint to bind stones together.

On the roof, he had created a stunning botanical garden. At this moment, he lay on the rooftop, holding a jar in his hand.

Inside the jar was a bright red flower petal, as vibrant as the moment it had fallen.

Kurmis said, “The divine flower that blooms in the kingdom of the Scarlet Goddess.”

This red flower appeared frequently in mythology. It was said that when the Divine Blessed Kings of past generations passed away, they left behind a land covered in a sea of red flowers.

When Kurmis was a child, he had often heard these stories.

“King Alpens said, ‘When winds rose, I was the hero of the age. But now, the winds have stilled. My era ends, having lived my glorious life complete. Smerkel, from here on, it falls to you.'”

“King Alpens passed the glory to the next generation. Without the slightest attachment, he stepped into the sea of blood-colored flowers and returned to the kingdom of the divine.”

This was the story Kurmis had heard.

Now, standing before the flower, he finally saw it with his own eyes. Yet, the power within this flower was peculiar and elusive. He could not discern how its power shifted or manifested.

Even so, this flower was the most treasured plant in Kurmis’s collection. Lately, he had been experimenting with fusing various plants into puppets, exploring every possible method to alter their original forms.

But that feeling was like trying to carve a shape into water. No matter how much effort he put in, the water would always return to its original form.

He decided to attempt transforming this flower petal into a puppet as well.

He believed that this extraordinary plant, the flower that bloomed in the divine kingdom, must hold qualities that set it apart from ordinary plants.

Kurmis stood up and turned to face the direction of Moonlight Jungle.

“This is the place!”

Kurmis prepared to conduct his experiment here, as it was conveniently far from the bustling city.

However, no one had informed Kurmis that the Blood Mist Cup was not just an ordinary plant or even an extraordinary species.

This was the Flower of Life Ability.