Yu Mei-ren's answer was earnest and firm, and even Rovi paused at it.
Of course he knew she saw him as one of her own kind. For a planetary Elemental who had always been alone, having a companion was without question something exceedingly rare, something to be cherished.
Just like Tiamat before her, lonely beings would always try desperately to grasp at any solace they could.
"Then... let's go together." Rovi thought for a moment and did not refuse.
As Yu Mei-ren herself had said, much of the information she held was, in fact, something Rovi needed.
A planetary Elemental who had manifested a body in the present world since an age long past had seen far too much. She knew the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and she also knew many secrets of the Age of Gods.
She needed him.
And he needed her as well. Only by grasping enough information could he locate danger more accurately.
Rovi took Yu Mei-ren's hand.
Below them, the people carried by the Kun-fish were still weeping. When they raised their eyes, they could see a blazing sun revealed above them. The light that sun cast upon them drove away the chill that had followed them all the way here as they drifted across the sea, but it could not drive away the sorrow in their hearts.
Faced with an undeserved disaster, faced with the grief of ruined homes and dead families...
"DO YOU WANT TO GO HOME?" the god bent down and asked.
Did they want to go home?
Of course they did.
But their homes had fallen. How could they return?
"DO YOU, OR DO YOU NOT?" Rovi asked again. The power of Donghua Dijun stirred the waves of the vast sea, and in that instant, the boundless sea stirred.
The people were terrified and bewildered. Someone drew in a deep breath. "I... I want to go home!"
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to return to the place where he had grown up.
To return to the place he longed for...
Even though he had fled in a panic, he had only done so because he had no other choice. In the end, it was hard to leave one's homeland. More than that, his family was still there.
"I want to go home! I want to save my family!"
"I'm willing to offer everything I have."
"Please, grant us your aid—!"
"Honored sea god, we are willing to offer everything we have. No matter what we must do, we are willing."
"We want to go home!"
They were begging for help, just like countless people Yu Mei-ren had once seen before. And yet somehow... it felt different?
"This is not simple pleading. It is an exchange." Rovi smiled. "Those who live at the bottom are different from the ruling elite above."
"The ruling elite are clothed in silk and fed on delicacies. They are born to wealth and rank. In the mythical era, many people were favored by gods the moment they were born, and many were born already possessing everything ordinary people could never have. That is why they do not understand that in this world, only by paying a price can one possibly gain something in return."
Only by paying a price could one possibly gain something in return.
Possibly.
It was common sense, yet not a principle everyone could take for granted.
And the people before him were by no means evil people. Perhaps they could not be called good people either. They were simply people who understood this principle, who knew only this principle, and who struggled to survive in this world by living according to it.
The human heart was easily changed.
But there were also parts of it that did not change.
Yu Mei-ren looked at Rovi, deep thought surfacing on her beautiful face... This guy really knew a lot.
The girl could not help thinking that.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, she liked listening to him speak of principles. She liked listening to him speak of principles she had never seen before.
Such as now...
He bent down and asked again, "ARE YOU WILLING TO BELIEVE IN ME?"
"THIS SOVEREIGN PRESIDES OVER THE RISING OF THE SUN AND THE SETTING OF THE MOON. THIS SOVEREIGN IS THE MASTER OF THE FUSANG TREE. THIS SOVEREIGN IS... FUSANG GREAT EMPEROR. THIS SOVEREIGN IS DONGHUA DIJUN..." Different names. Different titles.
Rovi swept his sleeve. "IF YOU ARE WILLING TO BELIEVE IN ME, THEN FOLLOW ME HOME!"
Back to your home.
And also—
Back to mine!
A blazing sun stirred. Boundless seawater rose and fell, crashing down like a drifting downpour.
The countless drops fell upon everyone, washing away the grime and wet misery of their journey. Some wiped away their tears and stood. Some drew in a deep breath and clenched their fists. Others remained motionless. Not everyone dared to believe, and not every heart could be of one mind.
Rovi did not force them.
Those who believed in him would return home. Those who did not would stay where they were.
"Come on. Let's go home."
This time, Rovi was looking at Yu Mei-ren.
Home—?
Yu Mei-ren froze, then smiled.
She did not really know what home was. But at least in this moment, her heart felt very peaceful. There was none of her old hesitation, none of the confusion from before.
Someone had once said that wherever the heart was at peace was home.
Then wherever Rovi went, that would be her home.
"Do whatever you want." She revealed a pair of small, delicate fangs. Her sleeves fluttered as she deliberately made her face look as if she did not want to go but had no choice. "Going to take a look... wouldn't be bad either."
So Rovi laughed freely and lightly tapped the Pure Yang Sword's radiance with a bent finger.
And the sword cried out, its voice echoing through heaven and earth.
The sword rang. The wind rose. The sea moved. In that instant, the boundless East Sea of the Divine Land curled up into endless whirlpools. Dark clouds appeared in the sky. Countless fish darted through the sea. The Kun-fish carrying everyone let out a long cry and swiftly rose toward the surface.
Only then did they abruptly realize that what carried them beneath their feet was not an island, but a fish.
Vast winds and waters gathered into countless whirlpools.
Those who wished to leave were lifted by the descending cloud vapor. Flying fish formed from water mist carried them along with the surging ocean current.
A blazing sun stood before them, dyeing everything in brilliant morning light.
The giant Fusang Tree swayed.
Since antiquity, the overall terrain of the Divine Land had always slanted, with heaven tilting northwest and earth lacking in the southeast.
The waters of the great rivers had also always flowed from west to east into the sea.
But this time, the seawater rose layer upon layer. The churning waves were like fireworks in full bloom, rolling in pure white, yet as they roared, they surged up toward the clouds, rushing toward the Divine Land on high.
That was boundless water vapor, immense as a giant roaring between heaven and earth, as if clawing at heaven and earth and dragging them together.
Yet within it, a single line swept past, as if dividing heaven and earth.
That light was sunlight.
That sun carried the brilliance of dawn.
In the lands of Qi by the sea, on the shore of the East Sea, someone living there looked up at the vast ocean and stared at the surging current.
"What... what manner of extraordinary sight is this!?" The man froze, his eyes filled with astonishment and horror.
It was not only the sea.
In that moment, the single line of light and shadow within it also seemed even more dazzling, even more radiant.
In the state of Qi, in the capital of Linzi, the officials in charge of celestial phenomena submitted a report to the King of Qi, saying, "The heavens have changed. The imperial star is difficult to shift. The sun moves through the sky, and life shall arise after calamity."
The spiraling water vapor rose higher and higher, coiling deeper into itself as it grew larger and larger.
Yet it did not enter the Divine Land directly.
Because Rovi sensed a "boundary."
It was the boundary between the inside and outside of the Divine Land.
"In ancient times, Emperor Yu cast the Nine Cauldrons to divide the Nine Provinces. Once the Nine Cauldrons were complete, the Nine Provinces were established." Surrounded by the Pure Yang Sword's escaping light, Yu Mei-ren stood beside Rovi and looked up at the invisible boundary as she slowly spoke. "The Nine Cauldrons were conceptual Nine Cauldrons, while the Nine Provinces are the 'array' that envelops the Divine Land!"
A massive array, gathering the endless Greater Source magical energy—yuanqi—of an entire world and using it as its foundation to envelop that world. It was a conceptual manifestation of far higher rank than a large-scale magecraft such as a Reality Marble.
It was precisely this array, cast by Emperor Yu, that had blocked Rovi's scans and perception from the East Sea toward the Divine Land.
Yu the Great had once served as a Heavenly Emperor.
Something left behind by a supreme, primordial existence could indeed accomplish that.
It could even obstruct Rovi from entering directly.
Rovi lowered his brows. He glanced at the surging seawater behind him, at the vast, roiling cloud vapor.
He smiled. "In that case..."
"Let's tear this Bounded Field open."
The Nine Provinces array was used to protect the Divine Land.
But times changed, and all things had to be renewed. The protection of the past had now become a restriction.
Yes. Rovi could see it.
The Nine Provinces Bounded Field now limited the expansion of the Divine Land, and limited passage between the inside and outside of the Nine Provinces.
Emperor Yu had meant well. Yet those who came after could not cling forever to the rules left by their predecessors.
Change was necessary.
Change brought flow. Flow brought strength.
Then—
"BEHOLD THIS SWORD!" With a ringing cry, sword-light remained as brilliant radiance condensed in Rovi's palm into a crystalline, fiery-red sword.
He said, "CLOUDS, COME."
The vast cloud vapor gathered behind him surged toward the sword in an instant.
He intoned, "RAIN, ARRIVE."
The countless falling droplets wound toward it.
"RIVERS, LAKES, AND SEAS!"
The sea boiled. Countless rivers and river mouths flowing into the East Sea also showed signs of boiling at the same time.
Mist-laden water vapor condensed upon the sword.
Carried by the cloud vapor behind him, countless people looked up at the figure standing before them.
The god, unknowable and invisible to ordinary people, revealed his form.
Rovi gripped the sword, his long sleeves fluttering like fire.
From here, he would—
Swing his sword!
This sword condensed the concepts of clouds, rain, and water—the threefold cycle of heaven, earth, and man.
This sword gathered the weight of an entire sea to oppose the barrier of the Nine Provinces Bounded Field, which had gathered the yuanqi of heaven and earth.
He met the immeasurable with the immeasurable.
Wind and cloud roared!
On the shore of the East Sea, at the edge of the Nine Provinces, invisible ripples shimmered.
They crossed violently. Collided.
Then came shattering.
Cracks appeared layer upon layer. Fractures spread layer upon layer.
The Nine Provinces array shattered.
Heaven and earth grew vast in an instant.
The surging seawater, rising and falling in layer upon layer, submerged the land.
Vast and boundless. Pouring without end.
Only one man held a sword and advanced—where wind and rain fell, it was as though a new heaven had been opened!
...
Records from the twenty-fifth year of King Kaolie of Chu state: At that time, the people were in turmoil. Wind and waves rose from the East Sea, and a god called Donghua entered the lands of Jingchu by way of the great river. Surging waters swept across mountains and rivers, yet no calamity followed. The people of the time all regarded it as extraordinary, and from then on the god Donghua received many rituals and was regarded as orthodox legitimacy.
—Records of the Grand Historian: Hereditary House of Chu.
...
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
At this moment.
Wind and rain poured backward into the Divine Land. Dark clouds rolled, and thunder was bound to be born. In the lands of Chu, the flashing stream of light was concealed beneath the echoing roar of thunder, and violent winds tore across the vast fertile plains.
After the Nine Provinces Bounded Field had been shattered, the weight of an entire sea dispersed with it.
The people who had followed behind fell into the rivers and streams, landing safely. Thick water vapor protected them, and it could ward off all evils.
Rovi had brought them home.
They were already safe.
Yet their homeland was still in utter chaos.
As a powerful state known among the Warring States for its great population and vast territory, as a powerful state that still retained a measure of strength after centuries of warfare, what this land displayed now was not prosperity.
It was chaos—disorderly troops, bandits, rioters, maddened living beings.
The living beings were in chaos.
And so was the "evil" within human hearts.
Yet now that Rovi had entered this place, the chaos within his consciousness could not absorb any chaos or evil at all.
"Has it all... been absorbed by some existence?" He raised his head and looked toward the horizon.
High above the lands of Chu, a black sun had appeared.
Pitch-black. Deep.
It carried an intense sense of the uncanny.
It indeed possessed the concept of "Taiyi," yet it was not "Taiyi."
Rovi could sense the manifested concept within it, but it was only the manifestation of part of the concept left behind by the god Taiyi.
It was not its true body, and the gap between it and its true body was enormous.
Yet it was indeed mad, and it was indeed filled with chaos and malice. Because of that madness and twisted malice, the power it manifested appeared extremely vast.
At the end of the day, although Chu was only one state, its fertile lands stretched for thousands of li. It was larger than any state Rovi had previously encountered, and even larger than any entire region.
Its population was immense, and the malice built up from that population was naturally immense as well.
But the sun high in the sky was only a partial manifestation. Its true body was not here, but...
"In Tanggu!" Yu Mei-ren abruptly spoke, pointing Rovi toward a certain direction.
Rovi closed his eyes. Rain pattered down from the sky.
"Wait for me to come back!" Leaving those words behind, Rovi enveloped Yu Mei-ren in the Pure Yang Sword's radiance, intending to send her to the ground. Yu Mei-ren did not resist. She knew that a battle between primordial beings was not something she could involve herself in.
"You have to come back."
That was all she said. "Don't forget, you stole the place I lived in!"
"The place you lived in was never yours." Rovi laughed aloud. "But don't worry. I'll come back."
Hopefully as a dead man.
Yu Mei-ren landed on the ground, the Pure Yang Sword's qi continuing to envelop her. Rovi could also sense her presence at every moment.
He shook out his sleeves and went alone in the direction she had indicated.
Tanggu.
Another place of sunrise from ancient myth.
...
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
In the deep, silent valley, the grasses and trees, startled by thunder, shook violently. Amid the ruined walls left behind by what had once been a magnificent palace, a vast, twisted figure slowly opened its eyes.
"So you've finally come..." Nine tails swept before it, and at its side, an illusory projection revealed a smile. "I'll leave this to you, all right? Your Majesty Taiyi—"
"No. Perhaps I should call you one of the old qi of the Six Heavens."
The nine-tailed fox swayed her tails, looking at the black shadow before her. Though it was something condensed from Taiyi's concept from years past, it was far from the same existence as Taiyi, the former supreme god of Chu.
Because in essence, it was merely the side of mad chaos that the god Taiyi had separated from itself.
"I originally only intended to borrow Taiyi's power, but I never expected to discover something so interesting... To borrow the power of an Old One, to fuse with and reach beyond the planet, making contact with existences that represent the cosmic chaos of the universe, all in order to temper oneself and make oneself cross over from planetary life into the cosmos. Then, after succeeding, they stripped the chaos away once more... Such an inconceivable method actually succeeded. So the so-called Battle of Investiture was sealing away what they themselves had separated!"
"No wonder I was no match for them back then. No wonder those immortals who were clearly planetary Elementals all vanished without a trace after the Investiture. That group of immortals and gods... truly were terrifying."
Her thoughts churned in all directions, yet this only strengthened the nine-tailed fox's resolve to seize the Authority of the sun.
Because her opponents were far too terrifying.
The black shadow did not answer. It merely sat silently upon the divine throne amid the ruined walls. Its posture was identical to the black sun in the sky, but its manifested form held more than a little sense of chaos and distortion.
It had neither self nor wisdom.
But the nine-tailed fox's words were not directed at it. They were directed at...
"What do you think? Donghua Dijun?"
Amid the rain, a figure strode through the mist.
---
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