"What do we do now?"
"What else? Retreat."
Barn cast one last long look at the stone giant, towering like a mountain, then turned and vanished into the hills.
The only option was to find Xilan first. Hopefully that man could produce some kind of miracle.
Otherwise, the empire was finished.
---
Meanwhile, in the demon realm.
Katie's sacrifice had finally rattled Herder into action.
She hadn't expected Casillas's side to move so quickly. She didn't know exactly who they'd sent to the mortal plane—
But one thing was clear.
Shilock had left. The other side had gained a formidable new force.
Anxious as she was, Herder was trapped in a dilemma as Casillas's influence grew.
The altar was simple enough—Luke was already building it.
But the sacrifice? What would she offer?
She had some water of life left, but not much. The stolen apostle energy was substantial, yet still lighter than a true apostle.
Footsteps echoed behind her. Cain appeared.
"Luke says it'll take another month to finish."
"Too slow. Ten days. Tell him if it's not done in ten days, his head goes on the altar."
"That urgent?"
"Urgent? We need to head for the heavens now. They've sacrificed Shilock. That means Antun is the best sacrifice we have left."
Without Shilock, the Terra Star could never recover.
That severed Herder's last hope.
Beyond submitting to the gods, she had nowhere to go.
Cain nodded, and the two of them flew toward the heavens.
---
In the world of A Chinese Ghost Story.
Yan Chixia sat among the clouds, a wine gourd at his waist, his eyes bright as stars.
Through his efforts and those of several loyal ministers, Daming had finally achieved peace.
But peace on earth didn't mean peace below it.
Ghostly disturbances. That meant something had gone wrong in the underworld.
The Fu Qingfeng sisters had been guarding the mortal realm, serving as female officials for a full year. There was no emperor—but with the Eternal Church in place, it was a world where everyone could aspire to greatness.
Yan Chixia soon arrived at the foot of Yin Mountain. Beyond it lay the Yellow Springs Road.
When he landed, several divine ghosts flew down from the mountainside.
"Greetings, Lord Chief."
"How's the underworld?"
"My lord, the Six Wheels of Reincarnation are completely shattered. The Ten Yama Kings have been gone for ages..."
"So even finding the real underworld can't bring peace to the world."
Yan Chixia sighed heavily. His road only seemed to grow longer.
He'd always wanted to bring the mortal world to peace, then spread God's teachings across all lands. But this crisis in the underworld had thrown everything off.
When should he sacrifice?
Nie Xiaoqian was the priestess—she couldn't be a sacrifice. The Fu Qingfeng sisters managed the entire mortal realm and were indispensable.
He was truly at a loss.
The anxious Yan Chixia hadn't touched wine in half a year.
He'd discovered the broken underworld a year ago, when the goddess descended to eradicate the centipede spirit and restore peace. After settling all affairs, he'd opened the Yellow Springs Road and descended into the underground palace.
What he found was chaos. Countless ghosts wandering aimlessly. The only ones managing them were powerful ghosts who called themselves Yama.
But the real Yama—
Gone.
There was no Bridge of Helplessness either.
He'd eventually tracked down a thousand-year-old ghost and learned the truth: the underworld had vanished long ago. Perhaps the mountains between worlds held some answers.
Half a year of searching finally led him to the remnants of the underworld.
And the result was no different from not finding it at all.
"My lord, what do we do now?"
"Forget it... the world is what it is. Time to accept fate and go home. Prepare for the sacrifice. Whether it works depends on the gods' will..."
Yan Chixia surrendered his hope.
Even if he hadn't given up, there was nothing more he could do. All of Daming had become the land of the Eternal Church. He'd reached the limit of what was possible.
Over a million ghosts had now joined the faith.
What else was left?
A few days later, Yan Chixia returned to Kyoto alone.
Ishtar's star strike from before had leveled mountains for thousands of miles, effectively carving out a grand canal. A stroke of unintentional fortune.
"Master, welcome back..."
Believers of the faith knelt at his feet.
Yan Chixia nodded. "Are the priestess and the goddesses all present?"
"They are all in the Morning Dew Hall, kneeling in worship of the gods."
"Understood."
The bearded swordsman walked inside.
In this temple, stretching ten thousand meters deep, many high-level believers cultivated in pious devotion, untouched by worldly desire. Thousands had already achieved immortality.
Soon, Yan Chixia reached the innermost palace.
This was the resting place of the three goddesses. No male believer was permitted to enter—not even Fu Qingfeng's father.
"Hey... Yan Chixia, back already? Is the situation in Fengdu that bad?"
Seeing his arrival, Fu Qingfeng asked softly.
"Not just bad. The underground palace is in complete ruins. We should prepare for the sacrifice. Whether it works depends on the will of the gods."
"In that case, let's announce it. The ceremony will be held in three days."
Nie Xiaoqian nodded and issued the order before the shrine. Every corner of Daming received the highest directive from the temple.
In truth, the territory here was small. Just a few barbarian tribes beyond the borders. Unlike other worlds, this wasn't a complete planet—just a fragment. A broken world, more severely shattered than most.
---
At that moment, Lucian was dining with the goddesses of Da Qin.
The beauties, fresh from their baths, were exquisitely radiant. They'd grown comfortable with his presence—some of the goddesses weren't shy at all.
Yan Lingji and Gu Lian cuddled against him, feeding him grilled meat. Yue'er danced alongside Consort Yan—one tall, one small—each displaying her own charms.
"Yue'er's dancing keeps improving. Well deserved praise—a hundred Star Fruits as a reward."
The little girl was out of breath after the dance, her cheeks flushed pink.
Hearing there was a reward, her face broke into a beaming smile.
Then the system prompt sounded.
[Ding... Your disciple Yan Chixia sacrificed a goddess, Fu Qingfeng, triggering a ten-thousand-fold amplification. You have obtained a Five-Star Goddess.]
[Ding... Your disciple Yan Chixia sacrificed a goddess, Fu Yuechi, triggering a ten-thousand-fold amplification. You have obtained a Five-Star Goddess.]
[Ding... Because these two sisters share a telepathic bond, the system has specially evolved them, forming the Nine Nether Twin Lotus Race.]
[Race]: Nine Nether Twin Lotus
[Attribute]: Nether
[Description]: This race vanished from the pages of history long ago. The system has extracted the genetic code and infused it into the bodies of the Fu Qingfeng sisters.
[Talent]: So long as one sister lives, they can bloom as twins. Even the death of their souls cannot prevent resurrection. Furthermore, their souls form a unique bond—when one comprehends a law, the other shares the benefit.
Lucian nodded approvingly as he read. He hadn't expected the Fu Qingfeng sisters to have this kind of fortune.
The system wasn't done. After the goddess sacrifice came another notification.
[Ding... The Fu Qingfeng sisters qualify as Daughters of Destiny. Congratulations on obtaining 10% of the world's luck. Current world luck: 70%. Would you like to absorb the world?]
In the past, high luck values had been necessary to safely seize a world. But as Lucian's strength grew, that threshold had been steadily lowering.
"Absorb," he told the system.
In the world of A Chinese Ghost Story, beyond its population, all he truly needed were the Fu Qingfeng sisters and Nie Xiaoqian. The rest of the immortals and spirits—he couldn't care less. Let them fend for themselves.
With a shift of his consciousness, the entire Divine Domain transformed into an invisible titanic hand and reached toward Yan Chixia's world.
The immortals lurking in the heavenly court never expected such a terrifying force. They scattered in panic.
But the sky-covering hand ignored them completely. It pierced through the barrier and grasped the world below.
The shattering of the world's barriers triggered violent turbulence. Even if Lucian hadn't killed those immortals, they would still perish in the chaotic currents.
The world of A Chinese Ghost Story rose slowly into the Eternal Divine Domain, bathed in radiance.
A group of ancient immortals were left behind, staring at the collapsing realm in despair.
No faith. No home. Nowhere to go.
Just after Lucian captured the fragmented world, a wave surged from the Sea of Chaos and swallowed them whole—immortals who had lived for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
[Ding... Congratulations to the host for absorbing a world. Received: 5% divine power blessing, 5% Divine Domain defense, 5% Divine Domain offense.]
[Ding... The system has integrated the fragmented underworld into the Netherworld. As for the remaining world, please assign it, host.]
"Merge it into the Immortal Realm."
Lucian spoke lightly.
Yan Chixia's world was extremely low-level—bottom tier among demon-class worlds. It could be absorbed directly into the Immortal Realm.
It wasn't much, but one more world strengthened his overall combat capacity.
Looking across his mighty Divine Domain, Lucian sighed silently. Still no new laws had emerged.
A pity.
Shilock's contribution had been fragments of the Law of Devouring—useful, but not a substantial boost. If he'd obtained the complete law, his power would have risen significantly.
Oh well. He could only hope Ye Laoxie and Ye Laohe would come through. Their worlds held the most abundant resources at the moment.
Lucian closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift into the sky.