So this was what it meant… to wield the authority of Heaven?
Song Wanníng's heart trembled as her soul loomed over the battlefield within her sword domain.
The divine beast egg was still hopping madly, spewing Shenyou Profound Fire in every direction, the air thick with scorching heat. The entire space had become a furnace, suffocating and searing.
What hit hardest wasn't just the heat, but the burn gnawing at her soul.
Even within her own sword domain, shielded by her will, Song Wanníng could feel her spirit scorched. A tide of fury and dark intent stirred in the pit of her chest, dangerously close to boiling over.
If she hadn't anchored this realm with her sword intent, she might already have suffered true soul damage.
Shenyou Mystic Fire…
A flicker of dark light flashed across her eyes.
She wanted it.
Without warning, the sword domain responded to her desire. Blades of pure intent surged into being, a downpour of swords forming overhead, raining down on the egg with overwhelming force.
At the same time, her own alchemical fire roared to life, sweeping toward the egg in a blaze. If an ordinary person stood here, they'd be reduced to a perforated corpse in seconds. But the divine beast egg?
The sword rain clashed against its shell with the sound of ringing steel, then bounced away helplessly. Her fire fared no better. The moment it touched the Shenyou Mystic Fire, it recoiled with a painful screech, rolling back to her side like a scorched beast licking its wounds.
"Hahaha! Didn't I tell you? You're trash!" The egg cackled, arrogance climbing to new heights. It had said from the start—mere humans had no way to touch it.
Even as an egg, it was still a divine beast.
"Trying to kill me? You fool. Do you even know how tough a divine beast's shell is? You think you can crack this with your pitiful tricks?" It swung its fire wildly, glancing around the domain filled with her aura. But it couldn't pinpoint her exact location.
Still, it had to admit—this human had some skill.
"Big Sister, it's right," said the golden sword, its voice tinged with worry. "Divine beast shells are comparable to immortal artifacts. We might not be able to damage it at all…"
The sword carried ancient memories. It knew things most modern cultivators had long forgotten. Divine beasts had vanished from the world countless ages ago, and what knowledge remained was sparse, fragmented. Few had ever studied them in detail.
Even Song Wanníng hadn't expected the shell to be this impenetrable.
So was there truly no way to deal with it?
No wonder the beast dared to speak with such shameless pride. Her jaw tightened. A cold pressure seeped from her eyes, clouding her vision with killing intent. To be humiliated like this by something she couldn't even destroy—this wasn't just a failure. It was an insult.
And all because her strength… still wasn't enough.
Her thoughts spun, mind racing through every technique, every record, every forbidden method she had ever read or glimpsed in passing.
She had never been the type to give up.
And today would be no different.
She would find a way to kill this egg.
As she had once said: all things under heaven had natural counters. The divine beast was born privileged, its bloodline more exalted than anything in the mortal world.
But the stronger something was, the tighter Heaven's restrictions upon it.
That was balance.
This egg had been sealed here for possibly millions of years. There had to be something binding it. Some check imposed by Heaven.
"Scared stiff, are you?" the egg snarled, still sweeping its flame across the realm. "Come on then, if you've got the guts! I'll roast you alive!" It couldn't find her, and that only made it angrier. Flames surged as it howled in rage.
"Hiding like a coward in the dark, is that all you're good for? Get out here and face me!" It had already imagined over a hundred ways to kill her.
But Song Wanníng didn't respond. Her expression remained calm, utterly unbothered by the howling insults. She tuned its voice out entirely.
All her focus was on the puzzle. She scoured her memories for answers.
Then—her eyes lit up.
A single line echoed in her mind, something the beast itself had bragged about earlier.
"Not to boast, but in my lineage, we once fought on the Desolation Battlefield! Even those demon lords were nothing but trash!"
The Desolation Battlefield.
The Celestial-Tomb.
That was it.
The extinction of the divine beasts had begun after the great war on the Desolation Battlefield. If this egg had slumbered ever since, it had to be connected.
A cold laugh escaped her lips.
All because it was the "male lead"...
Even a divine beast egg, sealed for millions of years, was allowed to awaken—how convenient.
Heaven's bias was almost laughable.
The corner of her lips curled in derision as she withdrew her spirit from the sword domain. Her face had gone pale from blood loss, but her gaze… it gleamed with madness, sharp enough to draw blood.
No matter how hard she fought, the world itself kept trying to repair the script. If she couldn't break out again and again, she'd be dragged back onto the same path.
She would die. The Song clan would fall.
A wave of cold, suffocating rage welled up inside her.
Darkness erupted from her sea of consciousness. Her suppressed demonic energy surged forth, enveloping her like a second skin.
Her eyes—haunted, determined—landed on a familiar mark not far away.
Even Heaven couldn't run wild forever. It needed to preserve balance.
That was why villains like her existed in the first place.
So long as she kept destroying the pieces on the board, there might still be a path forward.
"Mmm… how about this, little thing?" she said softly, a grim smile curling her lips. "I send you somewhere fun."
The egg paused. Its flames flickered. It tore free of the sword domain's grip and followed her gaze. The moment it saw the mark she was looking at, its arrogance faltered.
"The Celestial-Tomb might still hold some of your ancestors," she whispered, her voice eerie and calm. "Don't you want to be reunited?"
She turned her head, staring straight at the egg.
It shivered.
"You… what are you planning?" it said, its voice no longer steady. That mark—it had felt its pressure from the moment it awoke. It was like a mountain pressing against its soul. Even glancing at it filled its chest with dread.
Back when it first awakened, it had tried to leave this cave, but no matter what it did, it couldn't cross the boundary. It had been trapped.
So it slept, day after day, curled into silence.
Until one day, something… pulled at it. Something outside. Familiar.
Unable to resist, it had released a trace of its aura. That moment, all the beasts around the mountain had gone mad. They smelled its bloodline and wanted to devour it. To survive, it had no choice but to suppress itself once more.
And then… it met Song Wanníng.
Now, hearing her speak of the Heaven-Tomb, a primal terror rose from within.
It wasn't just fear.
It was instinct.
It came from its very soul.
From the inherited memories buried in its bloodline.
And Song Wanníng saw it.
The sudden stiffness, the trembling… the fear.
Her eyes narrowed.
So she had been right. Whatever had suppressed this divine beast for eons… it had to be tied to the Celestial-Tomb.
Though the placement was slightly off from what she remembered. In her last life, the Celestial-Tomb had been located deep within demon territory…
"I'm not trying to do anything," she said, her tone almost playful. "The Celestial-Tomb is just a grave for the old gods. Your ancestors once served them as slaves. I thought you might want to go home. No need to thank me."
As soon as she finished speaking, her fingers formed a complex seal. The space around them twisted like a net closing in. Tendrils of force wrapped around the divine beast egg. With a gentle push from her palm, the egg felt itself dragged forward—toward that terrifying mark.
Its panic exploded.
"Stop! Stop, you crazy woman! Let me go, now!!!"
It thrashed wildly, struggling against the pull, but the net only tightened.
The fear in its voice was no longer masked.
It was real.
Deep and ancient.
Carved into its blood.