Outside Moonlight Jungle

On the rooftop botanical garden, which was in full bloom, Kurmis prepared for a unique experiment.

He carefully set up a ritual barrier on the ground, surrounding it with a dense array of plants. The precautions suggested his concern over potential accidents, for this experiment was unlike any he had attempted before.

“Ritual barrier, activate!”

Kurmis crouched down carefully.

He picked up the jar, channeling his Seal Imprint power into it along with a portion of his Divine Grace power.

From a spiritual perspective, streams of silver light flowed down, accompanied by intricate three-dimensional symbols that filled the jar.

The vivid red flower petal began to emit a glow in response.

This extraordinary spiritual light took on a red hue, casting a scarlet glow over the jar.

The barrier shimmered with vibrant colors, blending with the silver Divine Grace power and the crimson radiance from the jar.

Densely packed plants surrounded him. In the distance lay the mysterious Moonlight Jungle, and overhead stretched the boundless starry sky.

Kurmis felt a part of himself connect with the flower petal as the Seal Imprint’s power slowly integrated it into a puppet.

He watched closely.

The flower petal immediately began to grow, piece by piece, gradually restoring its original form.

It was a complete Blood Mist Cup.

Kurmis’s face lit up with joy. He believed his experiment had worked.

“A complete Blood Mist Cup. A divine flower.”

But as he was on the verge of fully experiencing the power of this divine flower, the Life Ability power within the Blood Mist Cup completely intertwined with his Wisdom Ability power.

In an instant, Kurmis’s extraordinarily powerful spirituality sensed something.

It was an ominous sensation.

A terrible crisis loomed over his heart like dark clouds, filling him with a sense of impending doom and finality.

“This isn’t right!”

“What is this power?”

“Why does this feel so strange?”

Before his body could react, before a terrified expression could fully form on his face, his spiritual instinct acted.

His spiritual instinct immediately abandoned the separated portion of Divine Grace power, severing the connection with that part of his strength.

It was like a warrior choosing to sever his own arm, discarding a portion of his power.

Even so, it could not stop the experiment already underway.

The flower, infused with both Wisdom Ability and Life Ability, unleashed a terrifying radiance.

The light shimmered in a mixed gray hue.

From within the glow, Kurmis could feel the overwhelming presence of distortion, darkness, and chaos.

Kurmis did not realize the true significance of this experiment. He thought he was creating a unique plant puppet, but he had initiated something far more profound.

The flower of life became a battleground where the two abilities clashed, unleashing a strange light from the jar.

In an instant, the red flower expanded to an enormous size, towering several meters high.

Gray light washed over Kurmis’s face and body, capturing his bewildered expression.

The area it covered was not especially large, but caught off guard, he had no chance to avoid it.

Ah!

Before he could grasp what was happening, he saw his body start to break apart. A cry of agonizing pain escaped his lips.

The light appeared to be unraveling the very bloodline that made up his body.

This was the power of mutation, a force created by the clash of two abilities.

The light consumed Kurmis entirely.

Within its glow, Kurmis’s life form began to disintegrate.

“What is going on?”

“This power is tearing apart my body! This is not good. I need to act quickly.”

But as the light spread, Kurmis’s wisdom power halted, and the life form granted by the Mother of Life crumbled in an instant.

He lost all control over his extraordinary power and could not perform even the simplest movements.

Kurmis felt as if he were dissolving into a shapeless mass. His body’s structure was breaking down, and his skin unraveled layer by layer.

Then his vision faded into darkness as the structure of his eyes was destroyed.

This power was not especially strong, but it was incredibly peculiar. If Kurmis had been ready to defend against it, this situation might have been avoided.

However, not only did he face it directly, but he also endured its full force without any protection.

To him, this power felt like consuming a deadly poison with his own hands.

“Mutation…”

“Mutation…”

“Mutation… mutation… mutation…”

But in that fleeting moment between life and death, as his mind wavered in confusion, his extraordinarily powerful spirituality detected something unusual.

He heard strange voices murmuring words he could not fully comprehend.

Guided by the mutating power and drawn toward its source, he caught a glimpse of the most powerful mutated entity in this world.

It was just like when he first became an apostle and used his eyes to peer into this world. He had followed the power of Ruhe Beast Island to see the seven great gods supporting the earth.

His vision stretched across the vast lands, and in the darkness, he saw an altar.

The altar appeared to exist in another realm. The sky glowed with an unfamiliar light, and above it was a mirror-like lake reflecting brilliance in every direction.

In the distance, peculiar plants stood indistinct, and massive entities drifted through the air.

At the center of the altar rested a strange and mysterious eye.

“Whose eye is that?”

Soon, he noticed the name of this eye engraved on the altar.

The inscription was written in the Wisdom Script, a language Kurmis was fortunate to understand as a Snake Person skilled in its study.

“Life Altar.”

“Eye of Mutation.”

He uttered the name of this eye.

In that moment, everything aligned.

Medium, ritual, true name.

The offering placed before him, the inscription etched beneath his feet, and the name he had just spoken.

These three elements came together in harmony.

A unique ritual was completed, establishing a connection with a distant existence and channeling its power from the depths of the unknown.

The ritual light beneath his feet began to spin instantly, opening a passage to a distant space.

The red flower transformed into a bud.

As the bud rotated, the vivid red divine flower withered completely from its roots.

The bud then opened, revealing something that did not belong to the mortal realm.

It was the terrifying eye sealed upon the altar.

A projection of the eye appeared in the present world.

It was not a myth, yet its power was already equivalent to one.

Brilliant light erupted from within the eyeball, casting its gaze from above.

It looked directly at Kurmis, who had summoned it.

Or perhaps, it focused on the puddle of rotting flesh that was once him.

A brilliant beam of light shot down, instantly engulfing Kurmis at the center of the ritual.

The gray light grew brighter and brighter until it became a searing white.

Under the light from the earlier conflict of abilities, Kurmis had already turned into a puddle of rotting flesh within the chaotic mutating force. Even the surrounding plants began to grow wildly.

The plants wrapped around the entire house, twisting into various terrifying forms and devouring each other like monsters.

This was a partial characteristic of Life Ability, and the Wisdom Ability in the conflict had amplified this power to its extreme.

However, once the mutating force condensed into this eye, everything changed completely.

It seemed to have been imbued with a unique power.

In the distant First Era, the Creator God had crafted it for a specific purpose and entrusted it with a unique mission.

The power of the Eye of Mutation was unlike the Wisdom myth, which directly altered the origin of intelligent species, such as when Xiao created the Feathered Serpent. It was also different from the Life myth, which violently and directly distorted the bloodline of life.

This terrifying eye appeared to accelerate time, hastening a life’s evolution on two levels. It condensed ten thousand years, even a hundred thousand years, into a single moment.

Under this power, Kurmis, who had already lost his life form, began to condense a new one piece by piece.

He once again became a Feathered Serpent.

But the Feathered Serpent’s life form collapsed almost immediately. This was not a complete life form but only an outer shape created by spiritual distortion, lacking the necessary support of bloodline.

The Feathered Serpent’s form kept shifting. At times it was still recognizable, while at other moments it became an unidentifiable monster.

Gradually, he reverted to the form of a lizard.

From the lizard, he continued to evolve, eventually forming the upper body of a human.

Under the gaze of the eye, driven by the light, he transformed once more into a Snake Person.

At this moment, the projection of the Eye of Mutation summoned into the present world began to lose its power and withdraw from the ritual.

As the remnant light of the Eye of Mutation lingered, Kurmis’s Snake Person form underwent further changes.

Within Kurmis’s body, partial traits of the Feathered Serpent began to emerge. His curly hair slowly turned yellow, and his pupils shifted in the light, taking on a golden hue.

Finally, the ritual’s light faded, and the condensed eye disappeared from above.

Only Kurmis remained, standing in the center of the ritual array. Outside the ritual, the ground was covered in decayed and withered plants.

Kurmis was completely dazed, standing blankly in the powerless ritual inscriptions at the center.

“What… what is this?”

“What… was that?”

His words were disjointed and frantic, as if he was still reeling from the overwhelming power of that terrifying eye.

It was as though he had been killed and brought back to life countless times in an instant.

He felt like a lump of clay molded into countless shapes, as if he had witnessed the creation of the Snake People firsthand.

In a daze, Kurmis pushed aside the withered plants that covered the entire building and tried to walk downstairs.

His body felt drained. Unable to support himself, he ended up rolling down the stairs.

The next morning, the young servant arrived early to deliver food to Kurmis. As he approached, he was shocked to see the small house completely overrun by withered and twisted plants.

He stood frozen for a moment before rushing forward without hesitation.

After searching through the chaos, he finally found Kurmis on the second floor, slumped against the withered plants.

“Lord Kurmis…”

“Are you alright? What happened?”

The servant looked around with an expression of utter incomprehension.

“What happened here?”

Kurmis looked at the servant with the same incomprehensible shock.

“I am not sure exactly what happened.”

Even now, Kurmis could not fully grasp the nature of the existence he had encountered.

The world held too many mysteries and wonders beyond his comprehension.

As Kurmis stood lost in thought, the servant’s gaze fell upon his face.

“My lord, your hair… and your eyes… what happened to them?”

Only then did Kurmis notice something. He quickly stood up.

He pushed aside the thick vines and stepped in front of a bronze mirror, staring at his reflection.

His gaze fell on his hair, its golden strands flowing like the mane of a Feathered Serpent.

Then he saw his eyes, those unique golden pupils, a color that was never his own.

Kurmis’s expression shifted sharply. He recognized these eyes all too well.

“Golden eyes?”

“How is this possible?”

“These are the eyes of the Feathered Serpent. How could they appear on my body?”

Kurmis looked at his hands and tail, recalling the earlier process and the incredible journey of transformation he had undergone.

“I turned into a lizard, and then I became a Snake Person.”

“After that, I ended up like this.”

“What is happening?”

“How did I become a lizard?”

“How did a lizard become a Snake Person?”

A terrifying thought suddenly emerged in Kurmis’s mind, one that might reveal the truth of their origin.

They might have evolved from such a lizard.

The process of transforming step by step from a lizard into a Snake Person had felt so seamless, as if history itself was repeating.

It was as though, long ago, at the dawn of their era, someone had created them in this very way, embedding the process and traces of evolution deep within their bloodline.

Kurmis felt a shiver course through his entire body, leaving him speechless.

The myths recorded that the Mother of Life created them, but most people did not understand the process by which she brought them into existence.

Moonlight City

For the past few days, Kurmis had been staying in the city’s largest library.

He had decided to stop his experiments, since ordinary ones no longer seemed meaningful to him.

He had witnessed an unimaginable power, one capable of altering life itself.

This was the authority of the Creator God.

Kurmis was determined to uncover the truth about that eye and understand what had happened to him.

He believed it held the key to unraveling the mystery of life.

“That altar,” Kurmis said, his voice filled with curiosity.

“I feel as though I have heard about it somewhere before.”

After delving into myths, ancient texts, and prayer poems, Kurmis eventually discovered the information he sought on an ancient clay tablet.

Inside a hidden room in the library, Kurmis held the clay tablet in his hands. It was said to have been passed down from the era of the Fire Guardians and recorded the myth of the City of Life.

In ancient times, the Mountain of Life’s Origin was home to the kingdom of the divine.

That was the time when their Creator still walked the mortal realm. It was the era of the Snake Mother Sermos.

The content on the tablet described scenes from the City of Life, and the altar Kurmis had seen matched perfectly with one illustrated on it.

Kurmis’s excitement was evident as he held the stone tablet, his eyes wide with amazement.

“That was the sacred altar of the City of Life.”

“The first generation of Snake People once performed sacrificial dances to the Life Sovereign beneath this very altar.”

Though the records showed no such eye upon the altar, this did not prevent Kurmis from connecting that eye with the Sovereign Deity.

“So that eye is a divine object left in the mortal realm by the Mother of Life. It makes perfect sense.”

In that moment, Kurmis realized everything. He understood why that eye held such immense power, capable of influencing and altering the bloodline and essence of life.

If this eye was left behind by the Sovereign Deity who wielded the ultimate authority over life, its extraordinary power was not surprising.

Yet one question remained. How had he managed to communicate with that eye?

“Why did merging with that divine flower and making it a puppet allow me to connect with the eye?”

“No, that cannot be the only reason!”

“There was also the ritual for reaching the Dream Realm.”

“Yes, that’s it!”

“The key lies in the name.”

Kurmis recalled the entire process, analyzing the truth behind how he had accidentally communicated with the Eye of Mutation.

He realized he had connected with this extraordinarily powerful existence. This connection caused its power to condense into a shadow in the present world, much like how divine servants communicate with the will of deities.

“Medium, ritual, and true name.”

“The three keys to a ritual. I happened to achieve them all.”

Kurmis had never imagined that his experiment to create special puppets using Wisdom Ability would accidentally complete a ritual to communicate with a divine object left by a Sovereign Deity.

The process was not particularly complicated. However, for ordinary Ability Users, collecting both Life Ability and Wisdom Divine Blood was nearly impossible. Wisdom Divine Blood was abundant and not difficult to obtain.

Life Divine Blood, on the other hand, was entirely different. It was almost always connected to deities.

As a result, those who possessed both types of divine blood simultaneously were typically myths or beings from the previous era. They would never risk their lives attempting to fuse the two.

They still remembered the fate of the Sal Family of The Royal Bloodline.

Even the terrifying and unstable individuals born later from this family had never tried such a reckless act.

Only someone like Kurmis, who had a little knowledge about everything but lacked complete understanding, would dare to attempt it.

After understanding the cause and effect, Kurmis’s initial fear began to fade.

People often fear what they do not understand. Once the unknown becomes clear, they explore and interact with the power they now recognize.

They analyze it, seeking to comprehend its nature.

“That eye has the ability to truly alter life forms.”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

“It completely transformed the bloodline within my body. I can now say I am somewhat distinct from other Snake People.”

Kurmis ran his fingers through his hair and gazed at his own eyes.

Despite everything that had happened, his hair and eyes had not reverted because these traits were now deeply rooted in his bloodline.

It was possible that even his future descendants might inherit this hair color and these eyes through their lineage.

This was the profound mystery of life, a reflection of the authority of the Mother of Life.

“But why, after so many transformations, did I still end up as a Snake Person?”

“Why did I not ultimately settle into another form, or even remain as a lizard?”

“And why did I acquire the Feathered Serpent’s hair and eyes?”

Kurmis suddenly recalled his first transformation, remembering how he had directly taken the form of a Feathered Serpent under that light, only to collapse when the bloodline failed to support it.

Fragments of chaotic memories began to surface.

Kurmis clutched his head immediately, his face turning pale as he was overwhelmed by the pain and lingering fear.

“Perhaps it’s because my spirituality and Seal Imprint power kept forcing me to take the form of a Snake Person.”

“So, when that divine eye was modifying my life form, it was also influenced by me, shaping my body back toward a Snake Person’s appearance.”

“It was affecting me, and I was affecting it in return.”

“However, this influence has its limits. For example, if I wanted to become an authentic Feathered Serpent, that would not be possible.”

“I can only make adjustments to a certain extent, within specific boundaries.”

At this moment, Kurmis was unaware of the truth.

Life was always evolving and never remained static.

He believed that divine power could alter life forms, without realizing that the Eye of Mutation was simply speeding up life’s evolution and unlocking its inherent potential.

This lack of understanding did not stop him from entertaining peculiar ideas.

Kurmis began thinking aloud. “If I use my Divine Grace power to assimilate plants into puppets, and then use my spirituality and Seal Imprint power to modify the plants’ forms, making them bear fruit or transform…”

“Then, if I summon that divine eye, couldn’t I make ordinary plants become what I want them to be?”

“By borrowing the influence of that divine eye on life’s changes, is not it possible to create the new plants I desire?”

Kurmis’s eyes brightened with excitement. “That’s correct. That divine eye can certainly do it.”

“That is the Authority of Life, a divine object left by the Life Sovereign. It absolutely can.”

But in an instant, a deep fear surged within him.

He realized he was treading on the realm of divine authority.

“No, that isn’t right. This power does not belong to me.”

“I am merely using the power of that divine eye, which is ultimately the power of the Sovereign Deity.”

“When I wield this power, the Great Sovereign must surely be aware.”

Kurmis looked beyond the library, gazing in the direction of the Mountain of Life’s Origin.

“If the Great Sovereign did not permit this, She would certainly intervene and punish me.”

“The fact that I remain unharmed cannot simply be a matter of chance.”

Kurmis paused, as if a realization had dawned upon him.

But then, his tone shifted slightly.

“If I am able to use this power again, it must mean that the Sovereign Deity acknowledges me.”

“The Great Sovereign is choosing to work through me, granting new blessings to us all.”

Thinking this way, Kurmis felt his fear ease significantly.

His eyes showed a hint of anticipation, whether for the success of his ideas or the possibility of being acknowledged by the Sovereign Deity.

However, to restart the experiment, there was still one problem that needed to be resolved.

“I need to obtain that red divine flower.”

“It is the key to establishing a connection with that divine eye.”

Just as mortals wishing to communicate with deities required not only the deity’s name but also a divine image, the process was rarely straightforward.

Unless the deity had already marked you, making you their apostle or favored one, the connection was difficult to establish.

To obtain the red divine flower again, Kurmis needed to find the Scarlet Goddess.

Fortunately, Kurmis knew a way to locate this goddess.

In the past, he had no reason to seek an audience with this deity. Now, he had one.

“The favored ones of the Scarlet Goddess… the Trilobite Man.”

Kurmis had learned this secret from the God of Demon Spirits. To seek an audience with the Scarlet Goddess, he could locate those who were once the Trilobite Man.

Although they now appeared as Snake People, they still carried the bloodline of the divine species.

Such beings would undoubtedly be found in the temple of the City of Fire Protection, the capital of Suinhor.

Furthermore, the Divine Blessed King, who resided in the City of Fire Protection as the supreme ruler of Suinhor, was certainly an existence that carried the bloodline of the divine species.

Kurmis found his next goal. He immediately put down the clay tablet and gathered his things on the table.

“It is time to set out once more.”

“I will go to the City of Fire Protection!”

Coincidentally, the City of Fire Protection was along Kurmis’s route back to Maya City. It was a necessary stop on his journey home.

The Blood Kingdom of the Deep Sea

In the nation covered by the blood-colored crystal dome, an ancient lighthouse rose high into the sky.

Legends spoke of the Bone Book left behind by the saint, enshrined within the lighthouse and radiating a brilliant light. Those who approached claimed they could faintly hear the voice of the Saint’s Chapter echoing outward.

A multitude of God’s Forms and beings, whose appearances were too ancient to describe, had gathered beneath the Temple of Truth. They seemed to be waiting for the arrival of a great existence.

At the kingdom’s edge, blood-colored flowers bloomed and began to spread outward, creeping steadily up the stairs.

As the sea of flowers expanded, its blood-red hue consumed everything in its path.

Several figures emerged from the blood-colored haze, gathering beneath the lighthouse.

Leading them was a red-haired woman dressed in the ceremonial robes of a Yinsai High Priest.

The Trilobite Symbiotes in the plaza immediately bowed in unison, showing their reverence for the third-generation Sage of Truth and the deity who had returned to them.

“Lady Vivien!”

The Scarlet Goddess Vivien had returned and now stood before the lighthouse.

She shared startling news with the Trilobite Symbiotes.

“From this day onward, I will no longer arrange for the Divine Blessed King lineage to reincarnate.”

“Divine authority shall return to the temple, and royal authority shall return to the mortals.”

Everyone gasped in astonishment. They all understood this signified the end of one era and the beginning of another.

With the current Divine Blessed King returning to the Blood Kingdom, the Suinhor dynasty would be left without an heir, inevitably leading to its collapse.

Despite this, no one dared to challenge Vivien’s decree. Most of the Trilobite Symbiotes present were indifferent to the fate of royal power.

In the past, when the Divine Blessed King reincarnated, many had chosen not to take on the role. They preferred to dedicate themselves to being divine servants, artists, craftsmen, or poets.

Standing beneath the lighthouse, the Scarlet Goddess called upon a Trilobite Symbiote.

“Where is the Eye of True Knowledge?”

“Has it accumulated enough power?”

Among Suinhor’s divine servants, many shared Divine Techniques by communicating with the Eye of True Knowledge. This unique practice was a defining characteristic of Suinhor’s Temple of Life.

It helped to bridge the gap between them and the Witch Spirits and Alchemists.

Some of Suinhor’s divine servants, after passing away, chose to become part of the Eye of True Knowledge. They served as guides for future generations, ensuring their knowledge was preserved and passed down.

This continuous cycle of contribution and growth steadily strengthened the Eye of True Knowledge over time.

The Trilobite Symbiote bowed respectfully and said, “The Eye of True Knowledge has not yet accumulated enough Mythical Blood. It is still far from reaching the threshold of myth.”

The Scarlet Goddess gave a slight nod and replied, “The Eye of True Knowledge is critical to our next plan, the plan to compete for the title of True God of Wisdom.”

“There must be no mistakes.”

The Trilobite Symbiote’s expression grew serious as he responded, “Lady Vivien, I assure you, everything will proceed exactly as planned.”

Only then did the Scarlet Goddess ascend the steps, returning to the divine throne within the Temple of Truth.

She paused for a moment, pressing her head as if weary, and spoke to Alpens and Smerkel beside her.

“We need to create a demigod in this era who is capable of competing for the Wisdom Fruit. This will not be an easy task.”

“We are no longer Wisdom Ability Users. Mythical Artifacts are the crucial stepping stones that will allow us to open the door to this era.”

“Only by relying on Mythical Artifacts can we make up for two hundred and fifty million years of reincarnation time.”

Alpens said, “Lady Vivien, you have already made all the arrangements. Everything is moving forward as planned.”

Vivien nodded thoughtfully. “True, but it is not enough. I must ensure He is left with a land of faith that is truly prosperous, not the current state of Suinhor.”

“Reclaiming the divine authority of kingship is only the first step. From this point onward, I should no longer need to oversee it directly.”

“The dynasty will change over time. In the future, we will only need to maintain control of the temple. Whoever becomes the King of Suinhor will no longer be our concern.”

“Faith will return to the temple, and royal authority will return to the mortals.”

“The dissipating Storm Sea will open the path to the outside world. The Era of the Sea is upon us, and it will transform Suinhor, bringing new vitality and change.”

Alpens said, “The changes in dynasties will be a matter for mortals to decide. As long as the faith within the temples of the mortal realm remains steadfast, that will be enough.”

Vivien, however, continued, “There is still a fundamental issue that has not been addressed. How should civilization progress and evolve?”

Smerkel suggested, “Perhaps we could consider collaborating with the Land of Sunrise.”

“The expertise of Alchemists in certain areas is difficult for other Ability User professions to replicate.”

Alpens turned to Smerkel, his brow slightly furrowed. “But if we do that, we would be allowing his faith to spread into Suinhor.”

The Scarlet Goddess paused in thought before speaking the name of the deity worshipped in the Land of Sunrise. “Iva, God of Alchemy and Desire.”

“Royal authority is returning to mortals, and faith is returning to temples. It seems that all nations are moving in this direction.”

“What will the next era bring?”

The Scarlet Goddess had a faint sense that the time of dividing faith by territory could be coming to a close. It only needed a spark to set it in motion.