Menia, Cynia, and Erigya all turned their gaze toward Sektyra. Their knowledge of the underground relics was rather superficial and fragmented—they knew only that the relics were deeply connected to their mother, and that the bloodline of the mother could awaken them, granting powerful strength. But they had no clear understanding of how that strength would manifest itself. Yet Sektyra must know, for she carried the most pure and maternal bloodline, most resembling her mother. The mother held Cupid in the highest regard, but as for the heir of Paphos, it was undoubtedly Sektyra, a woman. The radiant, luminous Sektyra, with her long white hair, glanced at the unconscious "half-gods," nestled in her lover's arms, and said, "The underground seal holds the Primordial God, the deity who gave birth to the goddess of beauty." What was the Primordial God? Zhang Yuanqing asked. "…Was He a god?" "Seckettia furrowed her brow, musing, 'He is a deity, yet more like an object— I cannot quite describe Him. Come with me to the basement, my dearest Amini, and you will understand everything.' Zhang Yuanqing nodded, choosing not to press further, and asked, 'Is Cupid sufficient for a sacrifice to the Primordial God?' Seckettia's eyes glistened with sorrow, 'Cupid is my mother's first child, and his lineage is no less noble than mine.' Implied, he is more than enough. As Cupid's sister, born of the same parents, she felt deeply saddened—though he had always been a stubborn, petty, jealous brother, they had shared a thousand years of companionship. Yet she did not hold any resentment toward Amini, for Amini was her lifelong beloved; Cupid's passing was a matter of his own choosing, not Amini's fault. 'The time we have left is even less than that granted to the foot athletes in the distant East. Let us go to the basement,' Zhang Yuanqing said, giving a glance to his duplicate, who then took Cupid's body with him." As for the semi-gods who had fallen into unconsciousness, they remained in place. Pushing open the iron gate of the main building and turning right into the storage room, Zhang Yuanqing noticed two torches fixed into the stone walls, their flames dancing and casting a warm, bright light. He observed that the wooden planks bearing the seal had been lifted, revealing a dark, open entrance. Sectiya, aware of the urgency, quickened her pace and walked ahead, removing the torches from the wall and stepping first down the stone stairs into the basement. The warm glow of the torches dispelled the darkness of the basement, the stone steps spiraling downward into the gloom. Each step was one meter wide, allowing only one person to pass at a time; they formed a line, led by Sectiya and with Menia at the rear, both goddesses holding torches. Zhang Yuanqing turned and surveyed the surroundings; the walls on either side of the steps were constructed of black stone bricks, with clear joints—here, free from the erosion of sea winds, the surfaces remained well-preserved. Ticking, ticking, ticking… The sound of their footsteps echoed through the darkness. The underground chamber was extremely deep; it took fully ten minutes to descend the stairs and reach the platform floor. This was a grand hall, about ten meters in height, with water droplets glistening on both the floor and the ceiling, the air damp and carrying a distinct, old-fashioned aroma. Menya raised her large sword high, its bronze glow radiating like a surge of sword energy cutting through the darkness, illuminating the entire hall—approximately six hundred square meters in size. Once the scene came into view, Eriya, Menya, and Sinzia scanned the hall together, their eyes converging on the area directly ahead, near the wall. There, a tall stone platform stood, with six steps leading up to it. On the platform rested a massive bivalve creature, its shell gleaming golden, with a viscous liquid seeping steadily from the crevices. Zhang Yuanqing, with his night vision, had already examined the golden bivalve earlier. Now, he shifted his gaze to the walls and noticed several uncolored murals carved into the stone. Sektyra looked at the giant clam and said, "My mother says He is the primordial deity. I once visited the underground and had a close encounter with Him. Most of the time, He sleeps, and can only be awakened by my mother's blood. I feel He lacks self-awareness—more like an object. Yet, how could such a being give rise to the deity of beauty, unless He transcends the realm of gods?" "What are the inscriptions on the wall?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. "They were carved by my mother. She says she has always remembered many things since birth, but forgets them quickly. She believes these memories belong to the primordial deity, and fearing she might forget them all, she has inscribed them onto the stone walls." Sektyra explained. Zhang Yuanqing listened, looking utterly puzzled. Indeed, the deity of beauty had emerged from the clam? Wasn't it the case that ancient deities had grown through human cultivation and ascended to their peak over time? Still, if these were truly the memories of the primordial deity, their value must be immense. Zhang Yuanqing walked to the wall and examined the several murals, which together formed a continuous narrative: the world was chaotic, the sky dim, and the land barren; a beam of light descended from an infinite height, illuminating a mollusk-shaped creature. The mollusk opened its hard shell, spewing forth several luminous figures. These were: a deity wrapped in fierce winds, crowned with a thunderous diadem; a deity radiating a strong, solid glow; a deity with fin-like ears and covered in scales; a dark, formless human silhouette, and a plump female deity. The murals employed abundant lines to outline the scenes, though uncolored; still, the artists' skill in rendering the beauty of the divine figures was exceptional, with exquisite details vividly brought to life. Wind-and-thunder magicians, knights, sea nymphs, ethereal beings, and deities of love and desire—Zhang Yuanqing identified each figure as symbolizing a specific profession. He was astonished—were all the deities of the first district born from the mollusk shell? Zhang Yuanqing was deeply moved and soon began to question the content of the murals. He had previously seen similar murals inside the bronze sacred tree at Gao Tianyuan, depicting the sky collapsing and countless "meteor stars" descending to Earth, where ancestral humans in close proximity to these meteor stars unexpectedly acquired miraculous powers, giving rise to the first practitioners. Although neither mural could be definitively verified, the one inside the bronze sacred tree clearly adhered better to logical coherence than the one left by the goddess. Zhang Yuanqing thus believed more firmly that humanity had gained divine powers from extraterrestrial meteor stars, rather than the deities having originated from shells. His gaze shifted, incorporating the remaining mural content into his view. The subsequent scenes were somewhat more mature, belonging to a premium offering: countless beings passionately engaged in copulation around a massive, shell-shaped creature, including the deities themselves who had emerged from it. Thus, mountains, rivers, grasslands, and forests came into being, and life flourished, multiplying and evolving. So, the world was entirely sustained by creation, wasn't it? Why make it so sensual when it's just about conception? Zhang Yuanqing's gaze suddenly sharpened as he reexamined the earlier part of the mural. Wait—why is there no God of Light?! The primary region's professions are all present, yet the God of Light is conspicuously absent. If the God of Light truly is the deity of the primary region, then why should the Goddess of Beauty treat him differently? Moreover, in reality, there is no profession dedicated to the God of Light. Combined with the information from the Compass of Light, Zhang Yuanqing had firmly concluded one thing: the God of Light is actually the deity of the third region! But why would the deities of the third region appear in the primary region during ancient times? He turned to Seckettia and said, "According to the mural, besides the mother, all other deities were also born from the 'Primordial Deities'? Hmm, yet the God of Light is missing." He was testing whether Seckettia knew the origin of the God of Light. Seckettia nodded: "The mother mentioned this, but none of the deities—including the God King—have acknowledged it." "As for why there's no God of Light, I'm not sure either—my mother never mentioned it." She had no knowledge of the God of Light's origins, so how could she possibly know why the God of Light appeared in the First Region? If no deity acknowledged being born from a mussel, was it the Goddess of Beauty exaggerating her own birth? Was such an exaggeration necessary? Without seeing the murals, I never realized that sacred relics were connected to the deities' origins. If the murals are true, wouldn't the gods have handed the golden mussels over to the Goddess of Beauty? Zhang Yuanqing found himself filled with numerous questions, then turned his gaze toward the body of Cupid. Heraxini had said that the Goddess of Light and the Goddess of Beauty had fallen out because Cupid had launched a sword of resistance against the beloved of the God of Light, ultimately causing the death of the Goddess of the Laurel. Although this account had not been confirmed by either the Goddess of Beauty or Cupid, it was widely accepted on the island of Paphos. Perhaps Cupid knew more about the God of Light. At this, Zhang Yuancheng turned to his duplicate and said, "This kid's residual spirit hasn't dispersed yet, you know." I know, you're kidding! The duplicate rolled his eyes, reluctantly activating the spirit-consuming technique. A thick, black energy surged in his eyes, spreading over the sclera and iris. He opened his mouth and gently inhaled, and as a result, a semi-transparent Cupid floated out from the body he was holding. Now, the little Cupid looked fierce and grim, no longer the round, endearing figure he once was. This residual spirit had just appeared and was immediately drawn into his mouth. The duplicate froze, overwhelmed by intense mental pressure. After two minutes, he opened his eyes, pressed his hands to his head, and exhaled heavily. "Quick—share the memories now, and then, get me out of here. I'm expendable, but I can't be treated this badly..." Consuming the residual spirit of a peer-level high dominator is an extremely painful experience. Zhang Yuancheng said nothing, immediately shared his duplicate's memories. One after another, memory fragments free from spiritual pollution surged through his mind like electric currents. From these fragments, he captured key information: a serene, deep mountain pond, where a stunning blonde woman lounged lazily in the cool water. Her beauty was beyond words—nude, her skin as pure and bright as snow, full-figured and graceful, the water level just reaching her chest. Clear, creamy ridges of her body were visible, and beneath the surface, her form shimmered faintly, glowing white. Yet, since these were mere memory fragments, they lacked the "charming" influence that would otherwise have ignited Zhang Yuanqing’s passion. Otherwise, he would have been consumed by desire now. On her shoulders rested a similarly bare boy, with two pairs of snow-white wings extending from his back, like a pair of adorable little angels. "Cupid," the beautiful woman gently stroked the boy’s head, sighing, "the God of Light is unaffected by my charm. In his heart, there is only myrtle—no room for any other woman." Apollo furrowed his slightly arching brows, huffed, "Mother is the most beautiful woman in the world, admired by all men. Yet, only the God of Light is proud and haughty—he once scolded me! Why should Mother worry about the God of Light? You have a father, after all." The graceful, beautiful woman shook her head gently. "Not at all. Different! Your father is the most courageous deity, a strong guardian of cosmic order. But I wish to embrace the primordial gods and become a true mother goddess—this requires recognition, a status. Your father’s rank is not sufficient." Apollo was not satisfied. "Then, you can seek the God of the Gods—the most powerful deity of all." The woman smiled softly. "Eris is the child of the God of the Gods, yet even He is not enough." "Can the God of Light grant you this recognition? He is not even as powerful as the God of the Gods." "Rank is not merely strength. The recognition I seek is a status—higher than that of the gods themselves." I don't know whether the God of Light can grant it to me, but I'd like to try, because... " The woman's tone grew serious: "He is the servant of the Sun.