Chi Yan’s appearance had undoubtedly changed significantly compared to the young girl she once was.
She was young in appearance but possessed an extraordinary aura, like a female general who had conquered countless enemies on the battlefield and commanded awe-inspiring divine might.
No, not like one; she was one.
She had become a paramount figure among the Pillars of Heaven in the Kandelan Empire.
Fang You felt both gratified and pained. He had never imagined that one of the nine Pillars of Heaven in the Kandelan Empire had been cultivated by him.
However, seeing the profound and vast aura of law surrounding Chi Yan, Fang You found himself in a dilemma.
He had just witnessed seven-star fiends attempting to devour Chi Yan, only to be directly shattered by the powerful protective aura of law that enveloped her.
If his own laws were at the level of an elementary school student, then the protective laws Chi Yan unconsciously exuded were at least at a university student's level.
Profound and abstruse, difficult to look at directly.
After contemplating for a moment, Fang You still walked forward step by step.
He didn't walk quickly, his heart filled with apprehension, his divine sense fixed on the changes in the laws before him.
Soon, the resonance of the laws changed!
But it wasn't as he had imagined, like a raging tidal wave crashing down. Instead, it slowly dissipated like a receding tide, returning to the girl's body and disappearing.
In the depths of the nebula, space churned, time stagnated, and the girl curled up within, like a fossil preserved in amber.
Her body was incomplete, her armor torn, appearing lifeless without any sign of vitality.
If she were merely a demigod or a lesser deity, this would already be considered a divine fall.
But Chi Yan, as a high-ranking existence, as long as the resonance of the laws bearing her imprint remained, her light of life still persisted.
Some high-ranking beings with strong self-preservation abilities could be reborn from a single drop of blood.
Chi Yan's abilities were primarily focused on attack, destruction, and annihilation. Her injuries were not merely physical; they were deep wounds of law.
Fang You mused for a while, then took out a tender sprout from the core of Eldoria's Tree of Life. He shaped it into a bed and placed it beneath Chi Yan.
Instantly, the gentle power of life law diffused from the sprout, nourishing Chi Yan's damaged body and purifying the filth upon it.
The Bed of Life withered and became contaminated at a visible rate.
—It could not purify the filth, only transfer it, using itself as a vessel.
"But it's not enough."
Fang You then produced three large water vats filled to the brim with Life Water. The moment they were brought out, a potent life force emanated from them, enough to astound any demigod.
—Life Water, which was used sparingly, drop by drop or in small cans, could now be used like bathwater?
Under the irrigation of the Life Water, a trace of life began to emerge from the girl Chi Yan, who had appeared like an inanimate object.
This dense life force enveloped the damaged girl, forming a giant milky-white cocoon of light. From the shadow of the cocoon, one could vaguely discern that the girl's fractured limbs were slowly growing back.
Chi Yan received treatment.
After a long while, when the cocoon of life shattered and dissipated into motes of light, Chi Yan's body was no longer incomplete.
Fang You took out an epic-grade robe and draped it over her.
But…
"She is still far from healed. What she has recovered is only superficial; the internal trauma has only slightly improved."
"Life Water is indeed a divine medicine for healing, and the amount in these three vats is enough to pull many myths and demigods back from the brink of death, but for Chi Yan… it's not quite enough."
Her status was too high.
Her injuries were too severe, possibly related to an unspeakable evil god.
To achieve complete recovery, either Chi Yan had to rely on herself, or a treasure of Crimson-tier for healing would need to be found.
This was not something to rush, but the question remained: could Chi Yan awaken now?
He hoped no accidents would occur.
…
No accidents occurred. About half an hour later, Chi Yan's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was filled with bewilderment, reflecting Fang You's figure.
After a pause,
"Te-Teacher…?"
"Teacher!"
*Aowu*, it didn't seem like a dream.
But where was she, what had happened? She seemed to have slept for quite a while.
Looking at Chi Yan, who was as bewildered as a kitten, Fang You habitually rubbed her hair and then proceeded to explain the current era to her.
Then, Chi Yan became even more bewildered.
"Aowu~?"
She didn't seem to understand very well.
The aura of a battle-hardened, ruthless, and awe-inspiring general gradually receded as she awoke. In the dimensional palace, she skipped and jumped, as happy as a child who was hundreds of years old.
Her face was as young as a maiden's. When not engaged in combat and bloodshed, she always had an innocent demeanor, which made Fang You wonder: was Chi Yan truly the Ninth Pillar of Heaven, the Scarlet Pillar?
Thinking this, he asked her directly.
There was no need to conceal anything from his disciple.
Chi Yan scratched her head, "It seems so. I was conferred the title of the Ninth Pillar of Heaven back then, with the epithet 'Splitting Void Light'."
She spoke of it as if it were a commonplace matter.
"Then…"
"Back then, did the Kandelan Empire wield 18 God-Slaying Weapons and launch an offensive against the unspeakable evil gods? What exactly happened in that war?"
This was history's greatest mystery!
But the girl tilted her head, as if thinking, or perhaps without thinking at all, "Chi Yan doesn't know."
Fang You: "!!!"
Chi Yan widened her innocent eyes, "But I really can't find that part of my memory..."
What could Fang You do? Of course, he doted on her.
…
A day later, at the Hearth Base, outside the medical room.
Beep, beep, beep—
A green light illuminated, and the alloy door slid open to the side with a hiss.
Yin Ling, a tall woman in a white lab coat, stared at Chi Yan, who was also in a white lab coat but as a research subject. Her gaze was enough to unnerve any normal person.
"Don't worry, Miss Chi Yan's body is very healthy. Her physical strength is exaggeratedly high, but it's unbalanced… There's a huge disparity in power between her left and right arms, which is clearly not normal."
"Furthermore, her soul has suffered severe damage, which may lead to memory loss and occasional confusion in her behavior."
Chi Yan blinked her large eyes. She showed no signs of dejection upon hearing Physician Yin Ling's words.
Oh, perhaps she didn't understand?
Never mind.
"How can she recover?"
"It's hard to say," Yin Ling propped her chin. "We could use some spirit-warming potions, treasures, and then gradual recuperation, relying on her own strength… How about you leave Chi Yan here, Mentor? I can continue my research, and who knows, I might discover something."
Not yet.
Leaving her here might lead to her being corrupted. Even if not, the innocent Chi Yan could easily be led astray.
Fang You was not surprised that Yin Ling couldn't provide any reliable recovery methods. The higher the status, the harder it was to kill, but also harder to recover.
Chi Yan's status was too high.
Even a drop of blood extracted from her at this moment was a precious treasure, and a poison that low-level awakened individuals could not withstand.
He suspected Yin Ling had already drawn several tubes of blood from Chi Yan.
Using medication to aid Chi Yan's recovery of her soul through her own strength was a feasible approach.
Chi Yan was a high-ranking existence of the Ninth Realm, a quasi-divine life form.
Comparable to ordinary ancient gods.
Even after the fall of an ancient god, they could still reincarnate, as seen with Yi Yueluoxi and Qian Xiaocao. Moreover, Chi Yan had not fallen. She would eventually regain her former glory, don her armor, and become the awe-inspiring Scarlet Pillar.
Even now, Chi Yan retained many memories from her time as the Scarlet Pillar.
She was still the formidable Ninth Pillar of Heaven.
… Probably.
Chi Yan needed recuperation. Although she had lived for a long time in her 'previous life,' she might not have had much leisure time, spending it all on cultivation and combat. Fang You then took her to roam within the Hearth's secret realm.
This secret realm was ten times larger than the Hearth Academy.
Within it, day and night alternated, the continent slowly expanded, and laws became increasingly complete. Perhaps one day, it could evolve into a special world.
The secret realm was also equipped with complete infrastructure. Air rail trains connected various parts of the secret realm, allowing one to reach any location within ten minutes, and even pass through the secret realm gate to reach external stations.
The small city located by the sea was the only town within the secret realm. It was adorned with numerous exquisite villas, and various flowers and exotic plants were cultivated within the city, filling the air with a refreshing fragrance of vegetation and flowers.
The resident population in the town was somewhat sparse, not enough to fill all the necessary positions.
Fang You had introduced some intelligent puppets, and at a glance, the town exuded a lively atmosphere.
Hearth's current technological strength was far inferior to the Kandelan Empire's, but when it came to the art of living and enjoyment, it surpassed Kandelan—the people of Blue Star were all about flair.
Chi Yan, at this moment, was happily eating cotton candy in one hand and a lollipop in the other.
"Mentor, who is this child?"
An Jianyou, wearing a black dress and a red hair tie, had given herself a break and spotted her mentor with an unfamiliar figure from afar.
The girl had a youthful face, her hair tied in a bun, and she was slightly shorter than Yi Luoxi.
She was a very cute child.
An Jianyou habitually reached out and patted Chi Yan's head, and Chi Yan habitually enjoyed the petting… Fang You was stunned.
One was Mama An, who was only in her early twenties;
The other was Sister Chi Yan, who was at least hundreds of years old;
Ah, this…
But he thought about it, and it seemed to make sense.
Chi Yan was the senior disciple of Hearth Academy, an 'ancient person' who had returned from tens of thousands of years ago. But if measured by Fang You's own timeline, An Jianyou was the senior disciple of Hearth, and Black Saber was the senior brother.
Therefore, Chi Yan being An Jianyou's junior disciple seemed perfectly reasonable to him.
He guessed that An Jianyou would find it hard to imagine that Chi Yan was also the senior sister of Liu Feng and Zhou Bao, right?
Back then, Chi Yan was slightly older than Liu Feng and the other two.
The youngest was Zhou Bao.
But due to his innate talent, Zhou Bao had been a muscular fellow since childhood. Apart from his youthful appearance, he had already reached heights of two or three meters, even three or four meters.
By the time he advanced to the mythic stage, he already looked like a robust young man.
Liu Feng was of the 'ordinary' type, with a height above average. His face was originally quite youthful, but after becoming the Dean, Liu Feng intentionally dressed more maturely, so as not to be looked down upon by outsiders.
He had served as Dean for over a hundred years, receiving guests from all walks of life and handling various matters, naturally becoming more mature.
On the contrary, Chi Yan had lived longer, but she was either in secluded cultivation or on her way to battle.
How did her invincible combat power come about? Of course, it was by sacrificing… ahem, all her leisure time.
If her fans who worshipped the Ninth Pillar of Heaven discovered what the Scarlet Pillar was actually like, he wondered if their faith would collapse.
An Jianyou seemed to have intuitively mastered the skill of childcare. After showcasing her culinary skills, she had also completely won over Chi Yan.
Fang You did not assign any tasks to Chi Yan, allowing her to continue recuperating.
In the following days, Chi Yan accompanied him or An Jianyou, hopping around the base, the Starfire Oasis, and the Burning Fire Oasis.
He had also managed to rest for a few days.
"Chi Yan has far from recovered, and her combat power is severely damaged. She definitely cannot go to the front lines at this time. However, with Shallow Red and the Secret Puppet, Hearth now possesses two high-ranking existences, barely capable of fighting against disasters."
In this era, disasters were escalating, and the faction of evil gods was becoming increasingly rampant. Only those of high rank could barely control the battlefield.
Below the high rank, all were ants.
The organization's strategy remained to seek God-Slaying Weapons and develop means capable of harming high-ranking beings, all based on the foundation of 'universal cultivation.'
Simultaneously, the combat power of the existing two high-ranking existences needed to be enhanced.
The path for Shallow Red to improve was very clear: slay high-ranking envoys of evil gods and absorb their divine source power. There would be no bottleneck before reaching 89.99% repair completion.
The secondary puppet, Zero, was not a true life form. His subordinate apostle recruitment certificate could not be used on the secondary puppet, thus preventing the puppet from learning skills.
And the secondary puppet's own combat power had reached its peak, and its strength could not be further enhanced by adding external components.
However, Fang You still came up with a bold plan.
—To use the 'Netherworld Envoy' skill to contract the secondary puppet and gradually increase its power.
This was likely feasible.
The difficulty lay in the contract itself.
An Jianyou, with her mere seven awakenings, was far from enough to contract a high-ranking secondary puppet. Even draining her dry would not suffice.
Therefore, Fang You himself attempted it.
And failed.
"I am already a half-god with eight awakenings. Although I lack the talent boost from An Jianyou and am somewhat inferior to her in contracting fiends, my overall strength is greater."
If he couldn't contract it, An Jianyou certainly couldn't.
Under normal circumstances, he might need to reach the Ninth Realm to contract a secondary puppet of the same rank and amplify it. But by the time he advanced to the Ninth Realm, it would be too late.
He then prepared to use a contingency plan.
To amplify his own status with world power, reaching the level required for contraction. Once the contract was established, the bridge would be connected.
"But the prerequisite is to wait until my Netherworld Envoy skill reaches introductory level."
Moreover, when he was rescuing Chi Yan not long ago, he had unleashed world power, and his lower back was still aching faintly.
His old back was getting worse and worse.
…
The gears of Hearth were spinning at high speed, and other human forces were not slacking.
Now, several months had passed since the Black River disaster, and Hearth Academy had received invitations from the seven great nations to participate in the 'Human Alliance Supreme Conference.'
This conference had existed since ancient times, dating back to the Kandelan Empire.
The Human Alliance was also jointly established by the Kandelan Empire and several powerful human forces at the time.
After the fall of the Kandelan Empire, the Human Alliance became nominal.
Many human forces were destroyed or heavily damaged, leaving humanity with less than a tenth of its former strength, and human influence shrunk to its extreme.
At that time, humanity's overall national power was inferior to that of powerful fantasy creature nations like the Merfolk Empire and the Elemental Court.
Later, through the efforts of some human demigods and myths who traveled far and wide, the Human Alliance was revitalized. The oasis nations scattered across various regions were able to communicate, trade, and support each other through the platform of the Human Alliance.
It was also because of the re-establishment of the Human Alliance that humanity, still quite weak, managed to survive and gradually grow stronger amidst the great changes in the world and the rampant fiends.
Tens of thousands of years later, humanity's comprehensive strength far surpassed that of various fantasy nations, making them the 'Overlords of the Fiend Realm.' The presence of humans in many vast domains of the Fiend Realm was proof of this.
As for the faction of evil gods? Those who conducted statistics never included them.
However, as humanity's strength increased and super-oases became more numerous, the pressure to survive eased, and the meaning of the Human Alliance's existence gradually deviated from its original intention.
In the last ten thousand years, the various factions of the Human Alliance no longer supported each other much, and their seats gradually became symbols of status and power.
The Human Alliance Supreme Council meetings were mostly held to distribute certain benefits.
The frequency of these meetings also decreased with the passage of time.
The last Human Alliance meeting was held in the previous epoch.
This time, however, with the impending disaster of evil gods, the Human Alliance had rediscovered its original purpose, and the scale of the conference was unprecedented. Over 90% of the alliance members expressed their intention to participate, and dozens of new members were about to join the alliance family.
Hearth Academy was jointly nominated by the seven great nations of the Cloud Radiance Great Domain, obtaining a superior seat in the Human Alliance.
Fang You did not care about the seat itself.
But to resist the evil gods, it was necessary to unite all possible forces, and besides, Hearth's current scale could not yet be considered the highest among humanity.
With the current disaster, it was natural to let others bear the brunt together and buy more time for development.
The venue for the Human Alliance Supreme Conference was within a vast projection space.
The seven great nations and the four overlords of the Shattered Sea all possessed similar equipment, but the Human Alliance conference equipment was sufficient to connect the entire Fiend Realm. Possessing such a conference was not only due to technology but also thanks to the foundation of the equipment—an extremely precious artifact of the divine and demonic tiers.
This foundation was not kept by the Holy Court but was housed within the territory of the overlord of the Northern Fiend Realm, the 'Winterless Empire.'
Within the vast space, strands of divine sense traversed vast distances and manifested as crowned figures, some handsome and beautiful, others awe-inspiring, or radiant with divine light.
Scholars conversed, and crowned figures mingled.
If an oasis lacked a crowned figure of mythic tier in its current generation, it naturally lost its qualification to attend the conference.
"Brother Luo, it's been over a hundred years since we last met."
"Haha, indeed. After more than a hundred years, Brother Ting's demeanor remains unchanged."
"Alas, disasters have been frequent recently. I heard this Human Alliance conference is to devise a solution."
"Yes, this disaster has spread across many vast domains of the Fiend Realm. Several super-oases that I know of have been destroyed. We urgently need to find a solution."
"A solution? I find it difficult. Disasters are part of the laws of the Fiend Realm's operation, just like sunrise and sunset. How can we humans change disasters? It would be better to secure one or two more seats during this conference."
"To be honest, yes. Our White Lake Island is preparing to recommend White Fruit Oasis to join the alliance. This way, we will have another staunch ally within the alliance and an additional voting seat, giving us greater influence in the future."
As for the disaster? Their White Lake Island was not affected, so naturally, they prioritized their own interests.
Humans had endured for so many years, why would they suddenly face a great calamity?
Similar thoughts existed in the minds of representatives from some super-oases. They wanted to expand their influence while also seeking patronage from high-ranking members.
The seven great nations, the four overlords, and the Winterless Empire were considered high-ranking members.
Although there were differences in the number of votes, any one of them was a supreme overlord to super-oases like White Lake Island.
"I heard that a senior seat will be added to today's conference."
"Oh, another senior seat? Which nation has been promoted?"
"No, it is said to be a newly joined faction, nominated by the seven nations of the Cloud Radiance Great Domain."
"While nations like Cloud Map and Water Overflow are indeed powerful, they do not have the qualification to directly nominate a senior council member, do they?"
The process for joining the alliance was to have a Level 7 oasis and be jointly nominated by three officially joining nations to be admitted.
Senior council members held greater power, and every move they made attracted much attention.
Although Cloud Map was strong, doing so did not comply with the rules. Would other overlords allow them to act arbitrarily?
"No, you misunderstood. The party that nominated this faction to join the alliance and obtain a senior seat was not a single nation from the Cloud Radiance Seven Nations, but… jointly nominated by the Seven Great Nations and the Seven Great Overlords. This is very much in compliance with the rules."
Ah, in that case, never mind.
However, the fact that the seven great overlords simultaneously recommended an unknown faction was compliant but unscientific.
The observing representatives fell silent.
Elsewhere,
Balaizemon was also present at the venue. He looked at Qianqiu, the representative of Burning Fire, raised his wine glass with a smile, and said, "Our two families are both in the Fallen Star Great Domain. We must support each other in the future."
Their Fallen Star City was one of the nominators for the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce. Balaizemon had originally wanted to curry favor with them based on this matter. However, the Guyue Chen family had directly guaranteed the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce, and even the overlord Guyue Dynasty was willing to be a recommender. Now, their Fallen Star City was merely benefiting from the association.
Steel City, Black Stone Alliance, and Sword Flower City also sent representatives, as candidate member nations/councilors.
Since they were here anyway.
Listening more and exchanging more would be beneficial.
The rules of the Human Alliance were very relaxed, and with the current disasters, closer cooperation among super-oases was even more necessary.
Within the venue, the seats were clearly stratified.
Representatives of ordinary member nations could only occupy the periphery, but this periphery occupied more than 4/5 of the space.
Representatives of senior member nations occupied the inner circle. These overlords were at least of the starting level of the Cloud Radiance Seven Nations. Although their numbers were not large, each nation sent at least a few representatives.
The central area was arranged in a semicircle with ten seats.
These seats did not represent any member nation but rather ten sages born of humanity.
The ten sages were each represented by a profound symbol.
Among them, seven symbol imprints shimmered with a faint brilliance, emitting wisps of divine aura, while the symbols of the remaining three connected seats were dim.
The Central Holy Court had no representatives present.
The meeting was presided over by a demigod from the Winterless Empire, 'Demigod Dihán.'
He did not dally and immediately dropped a bombshell.
"One of the Ten Sages, the great Sage Cangtu, paid a tremendous price to bring humanity a prophecy of destiny."