The moment the He Yi Sword pierced the Demon Lord's heart, everything began to spiral out of control.
Jian Lin's wrist trembled, almost losing her grip on the He Yi Sword.
A powerful force erupted from her fingertips. Jian Lin felt as if she had touched an electric current, her entire body aching and numb.
A blinding white light flashed. For a moment, she thought she had gone blind.
Outside the window, the wind howled, and thunder rumbled. With a crack, the window was blown open.
A black mist burst from the Demon Lord's chest. The two powerful forces clashed, emitting a deafening roar.
Things far exceeded Jian Lin's imagination and control. Amidst endless pain, she looked directly into the Demon Lord's eyes and silently said, "I'm sorry."
The wind and clouds changed drastically. A lightning bolt, tinged with purple and gold, struck the Demon Lord's sleeping chambers directly.
With a thunderous boom, it snapped the main beam. Jian Lin looked up in shock as the beam fell directly onto her forehead.
Her vision went black, and she fainted.
In the last second before losing consciousness, Jian Lin was furious. She had been told she would ascend to godhood, but she looked like she was heading to hell in her current state.
When she regained consciousness, Jian Lin's eyes snapped open to a field of pure white.
She floated in an endless white expanse, with no markers in front, behind, left, or right. It was as if she had fallen into nothingness.
Jian Lin checked her hands and touched her forehead, confirming she was not injured.
Then, she closed her eyes and called out to the system, only to find her sea of consciousness empty.
What did this mean? Had she ascended successfully or not?
Why hadn't she returned to her original world?
Was she dead now?
Her mind was filled with unanswered questions. She felt like a wanderer lost in the universe, constantly spinning and drifting.
After an unknown amount of time, she was suddenly pulled by a strong force, flying upwards.
Her speed increased, as if she had entered a tunnel. Soon, black markers appeared around her.
She tried to discern them, but the speed was too great, giving her no chance to see clearly.
More and more black markers appeared. Ahead, a black pinpoint of light emerged. Jian Lin was absolutely certain it was an exit.
She struck a pose and leaped out of the opening. To her confusion, the area before her was still pure white.
Unlike before, she was standing on solid ground.
The white surroundings were not nothingness, but a dense fog that flowed slowly. Jian Lin followed her intuition and took a step forward.
After walking for an unknown duration, she saw an archway with two large characters inscribed on it: "Heavenly Court."
Well, so she had truly ascended to godhood.
It was just that this Heavenly Court was too simple, lacking any sense of grandeur.
This was what the legendary Divine Realm felt like.
Jian Lin let out a laugh and strode forward.
After passing through the Heavenly Court's archway, the dense fog seemed to gradually dissipate.
She walked a distance and noticed the faint silhouettes of palaces and temples on the distant horizon.
She felt a slight sense of relief, realizing she hadn't gone in the wrong direction.
Her pace quickened. Suddenly, her vision ahead cleared, revealing a staircase leading to the highest palace.
Jian Lin did not hesitate and immediately began to climb. After considerable effort, she finally reached the grand hall. Looking up, she saw a figure seemingly seated on the high throne.
She stopped, not daring to move forward, pondering the person's identity. Perhaps it was the ruler of the Divine Realm, whom she should address as the Heavenly Emperor?
As she was contemplating, the figure on the throne slowly spoke, "You have finally arrived."
Jian Lin froze. The voice was too familiar, sounding like the real person who had recorded the AI voice for her system. The voice was so similar, only the speaking rhythm was different.
In a flash of insight, Jian Lin guessed, "It's you! You, you, you, Ah Zha!"
The person on the throne sighed and weakly defended himself, "My name is Tian Yi."
Jian Lin clapped her hands. That made even more sense. Wasn't the system's full name something like the Heavenly One Scum System?
"Alright, Tian Yi, let me ask you, did I ascend successfully or not?" Jian Lin cared most about this.
"You succeeded. Your arrival means you succeeded," Tian Yi said, sounding extremely weary, as if speaking took all his strength.
Sensing his weakness, Jian Lin's demeanor softened slightly. "Then, what should I do now? According to our agreement, can I go back?"
"Yes. Before that, I have something to give you. Please... come before me."
Jian Lin had no doubts. She stepped onto the white jade stairs and slowly walked towards Tian Yi.
Only when she got closer did she realize Tian Yi had his eyes closed the entire time. He was clad in pure white, his attire magnificent, indicating an extraordinary status.
She thought he was resting due to fatigue, but then he suddenly spoke, "Please, hold my hand. Please forgive me, my power is limited, and I am not as free as before."
Jian Lin was shocked. He had his eyes closed, appearing unconscious, yet his voice came from somewhere.
This was truly bizarre.
"Please, hurry. I may not be able to hold on much longer," Tian Yi's voice sounded again.
"Ah, okay." Jian Lin, filled with reverence, held Tian Yi's fingertips. "Is this okay?"
There was no response. In an instant, her vision went black, and her head split with pain.
Too many images flooded her mind, scenes from ancient times, both familiar and strange.
Jian Lin couldn't bear it and collapsed at the foot of the throne, her eyes shifting before gradually clearing.
She couldn't put into words what she had just experienced.
It was too shocking, leaving her speechless.
She looked up, gazing at Tian Yi, who remained in his slumber. Naturally, a method to save him surfaced in her mind.
She needed to go to the Void Realm and find a suitable Primordial Spirit Bead for him to help him recover his power.
If left unattended, he would gradually deplete his own power and perish, just like Divine Venerable Li Yang.
Oh, so Divine Venerable Li Yang had already perished.
Also, she and Li Yang had been quite close. They used to play chess together.
When she heard of his demise, she had felt rather sad.
Following her instincts, Jian Lin arrived at the edge of the Divine Realm. Not very skillfully, she used her power to break through the small world's barrier and entered the Void Realm.
A brilliant galaxy unfolded before her eyes. Most of the ancient primordial spirits had perished, and new generations of primordial spirits were born amidst fierce collisions.
Jian Lin cautiously dodged, and after countless hardships, she reached the center of the Void Realm to find a suitable primordial spirit.
She couldn't tell by appearance alone; she had to test each one with her own power.
This task was dangerous, complex, and arduous. Jian Lin breathed slowly, adjusting her mindset, and strived to move forward.
Just as she touched a seemingly ordinary blue primordial spirit star, a force repelled back into her palm, startling Jian Lin into quickly retracting her hand.
The blue primordial spirit star trembled and tightened. Jian Lin thought it was about to explode. As she was about to retreat further, the primordial spirit star emitted a white humanoid projection.
Starlight converged, and a familiar human face appeared. Jian Lin's eyes widened in surprise. It was Divine Venerable Li Yang.
"Li Yang, you, you, you, you," Jian Lin was so excited she didn't know what to do. "You're not dead!"
Li Yang opened his eyes. They seemed like old friends reuniting, with no trace of unfamiliarity. "Mu Sheng, you still speak so casually. How could we, who possess primordial spirits, die?"
Jian Lin paid it no mind. "Alright, alright, you're not dead. All I know is that you can't leave the Void Realm yet and need to undergo long cultivation to regain your Divine Venerable power."
In reality, it was almost the same as being dead, except for retaining memories. After a long time, one would be reborn.
Li Yang didn't argue with her and said with emotion, "When I left, only Tian Yi was struggling to hold on in the Divine Realm. Before I departed, I encouraged him, saying you would definitely return. At that time, I wasn't certain, Mu Sheng, you've impressed me."
Mentioning this, Jian Lin wore an expression that was hard to describe. "Don't say that. I failed to overcome my emotional tribulation. My resolve was not firm enough. It's truly embarrassing."
"No, too many primordial spirits have failed their emotional tribulations. Many primordial spirits are willing to spend their lives with their beloved, one lifetime, one person, and then turn to ashes, returning to the Void Realm." Li Yang pointed to a cluster of yellowish-white stars in the distance. "You, they are all over there."
Jian Lin looked at the cluster of twinkling stars and couldn't help but smile. Well, she wasn't the worst.
After a brief chat, Jian Lin suggested that Li Yang help her find a primordial spirit star. The urgent matter was to save Tian Yi before he perished.
If he wasn't saved, with only Jian Lin left in the Divine Realm, it would be a terrifying scenario. It absolutely could not happen.
With Li Yang's help, Jian Lin quickly found a suitable primordial spirit star.
It was a dual primordial spirit. Taking one was just right, otherwise, a great battle would inevitably occur between the two primordial spirits, and one would have to die.
Jian Lin's action now was a great act of kindness.
Jian Lin exerted all her strength, struggling to control a primordial spirit. Escorted by Li Yang, she arrived at the boundary of the Void Realm.
As they moved further away from the home star, Li Yang grew weaker, eventually becoming transparent like a ghost.
Jian Lin stopped and said, "Alright, you've escorted me this far. Li Yang, I hope when you emerge from seclusion, our world hasn't collapsed. You must come back to find me. Go back."
Li Yang smiled gently and clasped his hands in a bow, "Take care. We will surely meet again in the future."
After bidding farewell to Li Yang, Jian Lin returned to the Divine Realm and went before Tian Yi, placing the primordial spirit into his chest.
A new god descended, and the world trembled.
It was said that on that night, a star in the sky suddenly erupted, its light illuminating the earth. The Three Realms shone as bright as day.
Both humans and demons were stunned by this celestial phenomenon.
The emperor of the mortal realm issued a decree of self-accusation, begging heaven for forgiveness and not to inflict punishment upon the human world.
The war between immortals and demons was at its peak. Both sides believed this was a trick by the other, and they were too afraid to make any rash moves, constantly gathering information.
The Demon Emperor was the most excited. He looked up at the phenomenon, believing it was a sign from Bai Xian, indicating that the day of his ascension to godhood was not far off.
He toyed with the jade bottle in his hand, gazing at the dragon-like movements within, and revealed a ferocious smile.
The starburst, as bright as day, lasted for three days. Afterward, a heavy rain fell for three days and three nights.
When the rain stopped, everything ended, and the celestial phenomenon in the sky disappeared.
Simultaneously, in the Divine Realm, Tian Yi slowly opened his eyes.
"Master, you have returned." This sentence, spanning across distant ages, reached Jian Lin's ears.
She stood on the high platform of the throne, the surrounding fog having dispersed, revealing the magnificent palace.
"Yes, I have returned," she said with a heavy heart.
At this moment, the Divine Realm was like a ruin, and the Three Realms were in chaos.
With only her and Tian Yi as gods, there were so many matters to resolve, it felt like it would kill her.
While waiting for Tian Yi to awaken, Jian Lin recalled many things.
Including her and the Demon Lord, it turned out they had a past relationship that was etched in their memories.