Ji Jue looked confused.

Ye Xian shook her head. “Forget the realm of a sage. Even the realm of a Celestial Being is already unimaginably far, way beyond your reach. It’s too distant for you to have any real sense of it, which is precisely why you keep acting so recklessly. 

“The relationship between the Chosen Ones and the Supreme Benevolences has always been an intimate one. Chosen Ones draw upon the power of the Supreme Benevolences to achieve their growth, while the power of the Supreme Benevolences is likewise exercised through countless Chosen Ones.

“The relationship between the two is like what modern alchemy describes as the Whole and the One. Neither can exist without the other; without the Whole, there can be no One, and vice versa. But once a Chosen One becomes a Celestial Being, the distinction between them and Supreme Benevolence is no longer so clear-cut. In a sense, they can be considered a part of the Supreme Benevolence itself.

“The realms of the sage and the dragon stand even higher still. Sages inscribe themselves upon time and establish origins. Even after death, their imprints endure eternally within the world of the Supreme Benevolence. The power they leave behind and the Paths they create continue to manifest and circulate through countless esoteric rites and phenomena.

“The most obvious example is the Fluid Alchemy Mercury created. If she had not reached the level of a sage, do you think Fluid Alchemy could have been elevated to its current extent? Without her final consent before death, do you think you would have been able to learn it so quickly?”

To ordinary people, those...