The divine arena. A gong dragon, with gray-white scales and purple mane, though in the form of a dragon, exudes an otherworldly grace. As soon as it plunged into the battlefield, it opened its long, serpentine muzzle, bared its fangs, and unleashed a black flame stretching for several kilometers toward the delicate, youthful child. This flame seemed to embody the power of decay, plunging the arena over several kilometers into ruin—soil losing its nutrients, bacteria and microorganisms rapidly perishing, and the already barren ground transforming into a texture resembling fine sand. The Flame of Extinction! One of Zhuxu's strongest abilities, its core authority. This flame can consume all life, spiritual energy, and nourishment, leaving the world desolate and lifeless. Master Xie of the She family offered no resistance, no evasion—there was no point in trying to dodge, as the Flame of Extinction was a widespread, area-of-effect damage. His skin quickly dried out and wrinkled, his hair turned white, and his eyes grew hazy. Though his physical form remained that of a child, his appearance now bore the signs of advanced age. But in the very next instant, a powerful surge of vitality erupted from within, nourishing the skin, darkening the white hair, and restoring clarity to the eyes. The elder of the She family endured the scorching of black flames, constantly aging and renewing, in an endless cycle. Suddenly, a thick, viscous black liquid flowed from the void above his head, cascading over the child's head, dripping and glistening down his cheeks and chest. This left him enveloped in a layer of filth and foul odors. Immediately, the child's regenerative abilities plummeted, no longer able to restore himself into a fresh, delicate young boy; each time he aged into a white-haired elder, he could only recover to a middle-aged state with great effort. He was being eroded by the power of the impure, malevolent spirits. A master of curses, impurity, and decay—exactly the kind of witch-guerrilla who countered the musician's vitality and healing. The elder of the She family remained calm, opening his inventory, and withdrew first a baby's head, then the trunk and legs—missing only the arms. This was the She family's rule-based artifact—the Sacred Infant! The Infant only responds to its mother's soothing touch and thus must be separated and preserved; once reassembled into its complete form, it becomes uncontrollable. The Infant opens its eyes and cries out, a strong, resonant wail. The vibrant cry of the infant is met with a cheerful lullaby sung by the elder of the Xie family, who gently rocks the baby in her arms. The cry gradually shifts from bright and clear to sharp and piercing—this is a power the musician has mastered even at the Transcendent Realm level: inspiration. Through inspiration, he amplifies the strength of his own abilities or those of his allies; now, he channels this power to intensify the infant's cry. The cry echoes repeatedly, causing the gū-long's abdomen to swell, gradually pushing its scales apart, as the infant's啼 cries resonate through the expanding belly. The Infant's innate power, combined with the half-divine enhancement, successfully enables the gū-long to conceive. The developing fetus draws away part of the gū-long's strength, visibly weakening the once-burning, world-consuming flame, which now grows dimmer and less potent. Seizing the opportunity, the elder of the Xie family restores her youthful maidenly form. The black flames spewed by the gūlóng flowed back, enveloping its serpentine body stretching over fifty meters. He burned himself to extinction with the world-consuming fire, sacrificing the fetuses within his belly. The cries immediately softened, and the once-swollen abdomen began to shrink. Seeing this, the elder of the Xi family, cradling the holy infant, opened her mouth and expelled a golden, thick, soup-like liquid that poured through the air like a downpour. Most of it was consumed by the world-consuming fire, while a portion fell gently upon the gūlóng’s body. The fetus, on the verge of death, suddenly seemed to receive a powerful tonic, emitting loud cries; the previously sunken abdominal cavity once again swelled, and no matter how fiercely the world-consuming fire burned, it could not prevent the renewal of life within. The combination of "fostering" and "nurturing" from the profession of a musician transformed, within the semi-divine realm, into an inevitable rule of childbirth! Observing that the world-consuming fire could not swiftly kill the fetuses within, the gūlóng ceased spewing the flames and, through its long, tooth-studded muzzle, emitted a hesitant, dim Two sharp points above his head glowed, radiating waves of gray energy. Instantly, both the elder of the Xie family and the holy infant cradled in his arms grew dim, their armpits clouded with turbid matter, succumbing to the five signs of celestial decline. Then, a viscous liquid poured down from the void, settling upon the heads of the holy infant and the young disciple. The forces of diminished fortune and impurity combined, effectively countering the assault, stripping the infant of its spiritual essence and severely weakening the elder of the Xie family. The cries ceased immediately. With a delicate thread of red light extending from his fingertip, the elder wrapped the infant, soiled and murky, in a protective embrace. In a short while, the infant within the "red cloth" burst forth with a strong, clear cry—revived. Core skill level 7 of the Musician: Revival. The gilded dragon's abdomen swelled to its fullest, then burst with a soft "pffft," its flesh splitting open to birth a young dragon of arm-thick stature. The dragon had no eyes, no antlers, no claws, and writhed wildly, emitting sharp, infantile " The Gūlóng snorted, turned, and prepared to swallow the young dragon whole, reclaiming the lost power and authority. At that moment, Xie family elder produced a compact, verdigris-speckled pot of spirit cultivation—borrowed from Chu family's young lady in advance. He had done so out of concern that she might perish in the quest, risking the loss of this semi-divine artifact. Moreover, the situation had now reached a critical juncture where a semi-divine battle could unfold at any moment; having a semi-divine artifact at hand would not only ensure survival in emergencies but also allow for unexpected, decisive attacks—just as was happening now. Of course, in return, he gifted the Chu family young lady a high-tier, master-class item. For the Master of the Halt Palace, this was a sound, even slightly profitable arrangement. Semi-divine artifacts are too lofty in status for the Master to fully utilize their true potential—especially in the realm of spirit cultivation. In contrast, a high-tier master-class item proves far more effective within the quest environment, and if she perishes during the quest, the spirit cultivation pot remaining in the Xie family elder’s hands is far preferable to being reclaimed by the quest The elder of the Xie family lifted the spout of the Pot of Immortal Transformation, reciting incantations. "Whoa!" A powerful suction force emerged,牢牢 locking onto the gusling dragon—the semi-divine being of the spiritual energy school—whose dilated pupils contracted violently, sensing an instinctive fear. He didn't hesitate to devour the young dragon, twisting his body and channeling his spiritual energy, desperately struggling to break free from the vortex's embrace. Yet, despite his frantic efforts, the weakened him could not escape the consuming power of the Pot of Immortal Transformation. Amidst a series of resounding, defiant cries, the gusling dragon vanished into the pot. The elder promptly covered the spout again, opened his inventory, and retrieved a fan of banana leaves, then swung it fiercely at the pot. A gale surged forth, and triple true fire erupted from the base of the pot. The gusling dragon within the pot thrashed wildly, the slender pot swaying and wobbling in the flames, yet it remained steadfast. Half an hour later, the roaring within the pot gradually softened, and the force of its impacts grew lighter. After another half hour, "The greatest function of the Immortal Pot is to refine and reshape living beings—no matter how mighty a half-divine or how humble a common creature, none can escape the process of being transformed." The elder of the Xie family unfolded his sleeve, gently taking in the newly born dragon. Amidst the subtle spiritual prompts resonating in his ears, he smiled warmly at the once-evil faction, whose faces were now at their most grim, saying, "Thank you." He then turned to the orderly half-divine beings, smiling and saying, "Well done." "For this reason, we unleashed the Great Flood, composed of the weak waters, which devoured the distorted beings. Subsequently, we sent the ten sun birds, embodiments of the sun's original evolution, to burn the earth and purify the powers of the evil deities." Thus originated the mythic cataclysms of the world! Zhang Yuanqing felt a profound sense of revelation, as if the fog had lifted and history unfolded before him. It was no wonder that Nü Ba said the chaos of the ten sun birds was both a destruction and a salvation. "Given the protection of the Great Moon, why could the evil deities find us here?" he asked. The Heavenly Emperor replied: "The Great Moon's concealment primarily hinders divination, detection, and prediction, but does not erase the actual presence of things. Though the universe is vast and boundless, as long as the searchers adopt the most rudimentary, exhaustive method of sweeping through every area, they will eventually find us. Of course, the most crucial reason is that among the deities of the Third Region, some have defected, drawing the evil deities to our realm." "The War of Extinction first erupted in the Third Region, resulting in the complete extinction of its deities and mortal beings. The spiritual realms there were most severely contaminated, thus remaining closed for a long time." Ah, that explains why the Third Region has never recorded any cultivators in its history—its entire lineage was wiped out... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood, and this aligned perfectly with the information he had previously gathered. After explaining, the Emperor of Heaven continued: "Subsequently, as the primary creator of the spiritual realms and the one entrusted with the authority of crafting artifacts, the Empress Waha sacrificed herself to repair the flaws in the realms. However, the incursions of the evil deities had already taken place, and they continue to penetrate the realms, contaminating the life of this planet. The well-known Battle of Zhuolu represents another such offensive by the evil deities. This campaign awakened the human leaders who governed the Five Elements, prompting them to cease their internal conflicts and unite against the common threat, ultimately concluding the Battle of Zhuolu." After two generations, Zhanxu, the grandson of the House of the Bear, reignited the conflict, slew the water deity, and gathered the five elemental powers, becoming the first true divine being. "At that time, the orderly deities had all perished, and I remained hidden behind the scenes, struggling to maintain the balance of the spiritual realm, battling against the chaotic gods. He realized that with only the strength of order, he could not withstand the forces of chaos, and thus, drawing upon the authority of an administrator, he modeled himself after the Huangdi of the Earth Mother, sacrificing himself to seal the spiritual realm—thereafter, the world entered a period of peace." The phrase "Jiedi Tian Tong" flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind. According to legend, Zhanxu severed the connection between mortals and the celestial realm, making human affairs entirely independent of celestial commands. While the legend differs from reality, it nonetheless reflects historical truths to a significant extent. Zhuanyu severed the connection between heaven and earth, effectively blocking the encroachment of malevolent deities upon the world, yet at the same time sealing off the spiritual realm. As a result, the world entered its late age, with the spiritual realm no longer stably generating spiritual energy. The entire world became stagnant, like a pool of still water, as the existing spiritual energy gradually diminished. The ceiling for practitioners kept lowering, until eventually, they vanished entirely. Later generations, despite their relentless pursuit of immortality, were still consumed by time, destined never to become stewards capable of reviving the spiritual realm. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and expressed his confusion: "The malevolent deities cannot penetrate the spiritual realm—yet can they not destroy planets?" Earth, after all, serves as the training ground for the orderly deities' successors; if they cannot undermine the spiritual realm, can they not at least destroy Earth? Heaven Emperor gazed at him for several seconds, then spoke a statement that completely overturned Zhang Yuanqing's worldview: "Because this planet itself is part of the spiritual realm—it is the largest of its many instances. To destroy it, one must fully command the spiritual realm."