Volume 7, Chapter 0-4 – Prologue (Part 1)

Earth, Ancient Era

…

Within the core hall of a solemn sacred temple located in the heartland of Shenzhou, the air was so quiet one could hear the faint sound of crystal energy flowing.

Dozens of human powerhouses at the Divine Departure Realm, each radiating formidable auras, stood motionless as mountains, hands clasped behind their backs, standing guard with imposing presence.

These were the guardians of this temple.

Guarding this place, protecting it from the erosion of Corruption and Corrupted Beasts — after all, this temple was the most sacred place on the entire planet at this moment.

…

While guarding the temple, these guardians also occasionally cast their gazes toward the graceful figure at the center of the hall.

She was a woman whose beauty was breathtaking.

She hovered before the massive star crystal at the center of the hall, clad in a white gauze dress embroidered with intricate cloud patterns. Her golden-red hair cascaded like burning flames down to her waist, the ends occasionally brushing against the crystal’s surface, stirring rippling waves of faint golden energy.

Her flawless face, paired with those soul-stirring silver eyes, gave her an otherworldly beauty that transcended the mundane.

The woman’s eyes were calm as a deep pool, focused intently on the shifting light and shadow within the crystal, as if she were monitoring the flow of energy across the entire Earth through it.

Watching this woman, everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but well up with an inexpressible reverence and admiration.

Though the woman was as beautiful as a celestial being, not a hint of disrespect stirred in anyone’s heart.

After all, this woman was no ordinary person — she was the creator of this world, the goddess who bestowed strength and wisdom upon humanity, the supreme being known as “The Lord.”

Simply being permitted to guard by The Lord’s side was, to these guardians, an honor beyond measure.

However, alongside their reverence, a look of solemnity also surfaced on the faces of some of the guardians.

“Lord… doesn’t her complexion seem a bit… off?”

Looking at the woman’s somewhat pale face, a white-haired youth spoke up uneasily.

“Baomian, don’t talk nonsense. How could the Lord be unwell?”

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Beside him, a stern-faced middle-aged man scolded him quietly, displeased.

“I’m serious… The flow of the Lord’s aura hasn’t been as smooth as before, either.”

Baomian rebutted seriously.

“We’re not outsiders here, there’s no need to hide it from us. Old brother, what’s wrong with the Lord?”

“…”

Glared at by Baomian like this, the middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Corruption has been spreading more and more severely lately. Corrupted Beasts appearing everywhere, and those Corruption Amalgamations that could show up at any moment — it’s kept the Lord from resting for months now. Every day she still monitors every corner of the world at high intensity, to make sure any Corruption Amalgamation is destroyed the instant it appears. On top of that, she has to coordinate our response to the Corrupted Beasts that show up. Sigh… Even the Lord’s body seems to be struggling to keep up. And I heard that the last Amalgamation actually wounded her.”

“Ho-how could that be?! Wasn’t that Amalgamation something the Lord could crush without even trying?”

“That was before. The Amalgamations have been getting stronger and stronger lately. Who knows what’s coming next…”

As he spoke, the man’s expression grew even more grave.

Seeing this, Baomian couldn’t help but clench his fists.

“Is there really no way to wipe them out completely? Where do these filthy things even come from…”

However.

Just as Baomian muttered unwillingly under his breath, a strange ripple of energy suddenly surged through the hall, instantly making every guardian’s body shudder.

At the same time, as if sensing something, the golden-haired woman at the center of the hall furrowed her brow slightly.

A look of gravity surfaced between her eyebrows.

And before the golden-haired woman could take any action…

“Lord! Something’s wrong! Some… something terrible has happened!”

An urgent cry shattered the hall’s stillness. Amid a chaotic patter of footsteps, a small figure rushed frantically into the hall. It was a little girl of about seven or eight, her hair tied in twin buns, her pink skirt covered in dust, her small face full of urgency, fine beads of sweat on her temples — it was Luolin, still in her youthful form at the time.

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She ran the whole way, her short legs pushed to their absolute limit, and by the time she reached the Lord, the momentum nearly made her stumble; she barely managed to steady herself by grabbing onto a nearby jade pillar. Gasping for breath, her chest heaving violently, she raised her sweat-drenched face and called out urgently to the hovering Lord:

“Lord, in central Shenzhou… the Corruption aura in central Shenzhou is condensing rapidly! The concentration is several times denser than in any previous outbreak!! And… the speed is faster than anything imaginable. Over in Lanyue Nation… something terrible must have happened.”

As she spoke, Luolin couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly as well.

Corruption…

That inexplicable thing that had, over the years, riddled the Earth with countless wounds.

Even with her and the Lord’s ceaseless efforts, they had never been able to eradicate it completely.

And this time? The intensity of the Corruption outbreak was actually so much stronger than before?

This time… how many Corrupted Beasts would emerge, and would the Amalgamation be even stronger than the last one?

At the same moment, the golden-haired woman’s gaze quietly withdrew from the crystal. She slowly descended to the ground.

“Has the emissary stationed there sent any word?”

“No!” Luolin wiped the sweat from her face, speaking rapidly,

“I can’t reach anyone over there at all. If it weren’t for the automatic alarm from the Sacred Stone in their Priestess’s Hall, I wouldn’t even have known Corruption had appeared there. There’s been no word at all… Lord, it… it feels really bad. Wh-what should we do now?”

“Let’s go take a look.”

The golden-haired woman said, her expression grave.

As the words left her mouth, a faint golden barrier of light had already risen around her, shielding Luolin beside her.

—”The rest of you, stay here and hold this position.”—

“Yes!!!”

The guardians answered respectfully in unison.

In the next instant, the two figures turned into streaks of light, racing toward central Shenzhou.

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…

Before long, racing at full speed, they entered the territory of Lanyue Nation.

And as the golden-haired woman and Luolin drew ever closer to Lanyue Nation’s capital, the scenery along the way gradually grew eerie.

At first there were still lush green forests and villages with smoke curling from chimneys, but the closer they got to the capital, the more withered and yellowed the vegetation became, and the Corruption aura permeating the air grew ever thicker. That aura carried a rotten sweetness, so putrid that even someone of Luolin’s strength felt her chest tighten just from a single breath, her spiritual power circulation growing sluggish.

The villages were already empty of people, houses collapsed, fields lying fallow. Occasionally scattered clothing and farm tools could be seen, but not a single person was in sight, as if everyone had simply vanished into thin air.

Huddled within the golden barrier of light, her small face full of terror, Luolin gripped tightly onto the golden-haired woman’s sleeve:

“Lord, where… where did everyone here go?”

“…”

The golden-haired woman did not answer, her gaze remaining fixed ahead.

…

Some dozens of seconds later, the two arrived above the capital.

The sight before them made even Luolin, who had seen her share of Corruption’s ravages, freeze with pupils constricted, her breathing growing heavy.

The once-prosperous capital of Lanyue Nation had now become a living hell.

The towering city walls had mostly collapsed in a thunderous ruin. Among the crumbling walls and rubble lay countless mutilated corpses — some curled up in street corners, some fallen beside doorframes, their faces frozen in expressions of utmost terror, eyes wide open as if they had witnessed the most horrifying sight in the world. The stone pavement of the streets was soaked through with blood, dark red stains flowing along the terrain, converging into rank, foul-smelling streams. The Corruption aura permeating the air mixed with the stench of blood, nauseating.

Most of the houses had been destroyed, their wooden beams burned to ash, leaving only charred remains. Occasionally, unextinguished embers crackled, sounding especially jarring in the deathly silent city. A few crow-shaped Corrupted Beasts perched on the corpses, pecking at the rotting flesh, letting out hoarse cries that added an extra layer of dread to the scene.

“This… this is too horrific…”

Luolin couldn’t help but murmur, her voice trembling.

The golden-haired woman’s gaze swept over the horrific scene below, and in her usually calm silver eyes, a rare glint of icy cold surfaced.

She could clearly sense that the life-force of every living being had been forcibly stripped away, converted into pure Corruption energy, and drawn together toward the center of the city — there, was the residence of Lanyue Nation’s Divine Maiden, a jade palace pure white from top to bottom.

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At this moment, the jade palace was shrouded in thick black miasma, the miasma roiling and surging like a living thing, ceaselessly absorbing the remaining Corruption energy around it. Atop the palace, countless strands of black curse power coiled and converged like writhing serpents, forming a massive vortex. At the vortex’s center, a faint light flickered, as if something were taking shape within it.

“Corruption… has it really taken physical form again? Will this ever end?!”

Witnessing this scene, Luolin’s expression changed drastically. The little girl hastily gathered crimson spiritual power in her hands, clearly assuming a battle-ready stance.

Of course, just as Luolin prepared to launch an attack, she was directly stopped by the golden-haired woman raising a hand.

“Let me handle this… This thing isn’t something you can deal with.”

Although the entity had not yet fully taken shape, the leaking fragments of its energy alone were already enough to send a chill through the golden-haired woman.

This particular fusion of Corruption was clearly more powerful than any of the previous ones.

Power of this level was not something Luolin could handle…

And at this moment, the golden-haired woman couldn’t shake the feeling that… this fusion of Corruption felt somehow different from before.

In the past, Corruption’s fusions had felt like repeated attempts at trial and learning, but this time… the flow of Corruption energy carried a clear sense of purpose, entirely unlike before.

—”We can’t be careless.”—

And as the golden-haired woman held Luolin back, the curse power vortex’s rotation suddenly accelerated, black miasma surging into the vortex’s center like a tide.

Under the two women’s grave watch, accompanied by a piercing hum of energy, the vortex gradually contracted, condensing further…

Before long, a slender figure slowly emerged from within it.

…

“Hm? What is that?”

A flicker of strangeness passed through the golden-haired woman’s eyes.

The reason was simple — what emerged from the black miasma was not, like the previous times, some unspeakable, eerie thing, but rather an exquisitely beautiful young girl…

—”A… a girl?? A girl??”—