As dawn broke, the long winds still raged over the altar of Ashen Territory.
Chen Jieqi withdrew his gaze from the distant Spirit City. Believers came and went in all directions around him, and the noise of the crowd made his white robes appear even more serene.
The thought that he had just seen through the whole game settled in his mind, and he was already considering entering the game. However, at this moment, he needed to observe the direction of the people in the city and suppress his thoughts for the time being.
The same sunlight crossed the high walls for thousands of miles and fell into the strictly regulated Martial Spirit City.
The night passed peacefully. Tranquil Mind Hall, a maidservant, carrying the Pope's decree, walked lightly to Xiao Wu and bowed to convey the summons.
Xiao Wu sat upright on the steps, her pink scorpion braid unchanged, but the softness and dependence in her eyes were gone, replaced by a calm and clear gaze.
After breaking free from the illusion and seeing through the shackles of love last night, her mindset is completely different.
Upon hearing that Bibi Dong had summoned her, she felt no fear whatsoever, and simply nodded in response.
She knew that a blood feud separated her from the Pope, and their positions were worlds apart, yet they were both pawns caught in the game.
Perhaps we can glean more truths about what the gods have laid out from the other party's words.
He quietly thought of Chen Jieqi, who was far away in Ashen Territory, and firmly remembered the admonition to guard one's heart. He straightened his clothes and walked alone toward the Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong sat on the highest Pope throne, her magnificent crown making her expression indifferent. A very faint layer of Rakshasa black aura surrounded her. She did not deliberately release any pressure, but simply looked down at the pink figure who slowly walked in.
Bibi Dong spoke first, her voice calm and unwavering, revealing no emotion:
"Last night you severed the shackles in your heart and completely broke free from the illusion, which is quite rare."
Throughout the entire Spirit City, only you have remained untouched by any divine trial mark, your heart uncorrupted by divinity.
Xiao Wu stood in the center of the hall, looking up at the person on the high platform with neither arrogance nor servility:
"I simply refuse to become an appendage of others, and even more so, I refuse to have my fate controlled by the gods."
"Manipulated by the gods," Bibi Dong repeated softly, a faint hint of self-mockery flashing in her eyes.
"Do you know that those divine trials that people flock to are never the path to heaven, but merely a cage for the gods to tame their souls?"
Angels, Rakshasa, Asura share a common origin, using assessments as a disguise to gradually replace a person's true nature.
Upon becoming a god, one's own personality will completely dissipate, becoming a pawn in the hands of the gods.
These words were exactly the same as what Chen Jieqi of Ashen Territory had said earlier, and Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat.
Before she could speak, Bibi Dong slowly began to recount her past, without trying to elicit sympathy, simply recounting her life that had been crushed by the order of light.
Qian Xunji devoted his life to believing in the righteous path of angels and adhering to the ultimate order of light. However, under the assimilation of the orthodox divine path, humanity was constantly stripped away, and no variable that could escape control was tolerated.
Her talent transcended the system, and she was even willing to leave the Spirit Hall for personal reasons. This loss of control attracted the most obsessive confinement and plunder.
The ultimate light of the Angel God gave rise to ultimate darkness, pushing her into the abyss. The Rakshasa God seized the opportunity to Rooting her soul, feeding her divinity with hatred and gradually eroding her personality.
"Suffering was imposed upon me by the gods, but slaughtering sects, stirring up war, and using darkness to fight against the world's order were all choices I made myself."
Bibi Dong openly admitted her sins without any attempt to conceal them.
"I know my hands are stained with the blood of innocent lives, and I never ask for anyone's forgiveness."
However, I believe that the gods use a game of chess to bind all living beings, and that simply enduring and seeking only personal gain will never break this game.
Only by creating chaos and shattering the rules set by the gods can one escape this fate.
Xiao Wu gently shook her head, her tone firm, unmoved by the other party's dark ideology:
"Hatred should not implicate innocent people. Those who harmed me were the Spirit Hall members who slaughtered the Star Dou Great Forest back then, and the gods who control everything."
But countless ordinary Soul Master and common beings on the mainland have never wronged me in the slightest.
If one wreaks havoc on the entire continent for revenge, causing countless mortals to suffer the ravages of war, how is that any different from those gods who arbitrarily manipulate all living beings?
"The justice I seek is only directed at those who truly hurt and harmed me; I will never indiscriminately escalate hatred."
Even if the road ahead is difficult, I will not take the path of using evil to oppress the world. Upholding my own conscience is my only bottom line.
Both of them harbored the same scars in their eyes, and a fleeting sense of empathy arose in their hearts.
However, the paths they chose ultimately diverged, and neither could persuade the other.
Bibi Dong remained silent for a moment, then revealed a secret hidden deep in her heart. "Angels, Rakshasa, Asura have been locked in a ten-thousand-year standoff."
It was merely a game between the gods; all those who underwent divine trials were vessels they had prepared in advance.
The Tang San you cherish so much has already entered the Asura God Trial, his soul gradually assimilated by the divine nature of slaughter.
"People rave about how the Tang Family has used the Clear Sky Hammer for three generations to fight against the Angelic lineage, portraying them as heroes who rebelled against the Order of Light."
However, if placed within the schemes of the gods, this is nothing more than a meticulously crafted joke.
The conflict between Tang Chen, Tang Hao, and Tang San generations, is entirely within a game of chess predetermined by the gods.
Seemingly rebelling, they are still merely pawns to be manipulated.
These words struck Xiao Wu hard. The image of Tang San standing alone in the forest flashed through her mind, and her worry intensified.
"But that silver-haired boy far away in Ashen Territory..." Bibi Dong changed the subject, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon beyond the city.
"He doesn't follow the orthodox lineage of divine examinations; instead, he uses the faith of the masses to gather God of Light, using power as a means and his own heart as the master."
It is the only variable on the entire continent that is not controlled by the gods.
If you want to truly break free from the shackles of fate, you don't need to depend on anyone; you can seek another path of self-discipline from him.
There was nothing more to say at this point in the conversation.
Xiao Wu thought the other party would either take her Soul Ring, but Bibi Dong simply raised her hand, summoned a maid outside the hall, and said in a calm tone:
"Send her back to the Tranquil Mind Hall. Without my order, all provisions within the palace shall be provided as usual. She shall not be mistreated, and she shall not be allowed to step out of Spirit City."
They neither killed her nor let her go.
Xiao Wu was slightly taken aback, then realized that the other party was keeping her around not out of pity.
She is the most effective bargaining chip to restrain Tang San; killing her will only drive Tang San completely insane.
Allowing him to throw himself into the arms of the Asura God without any scruples, thus accelerating the implementation of the inheritance, would be entirely detrimental to Bibi Dong.
Keeping her under their noses allows them to exploit Tang San's weaknesses and observe this "untainted by the divine test," to see what kind of path she can take.
Even more chillingly, Bibi Dong harbored an even colder scheme in her heart:
The gods wanted Tang San to follow the script, but she insisted on keeping this unpredictable variable to disrupt the gods' plans.
Having already fallen into darkness and become a pawn herself, she was even more eager to see someone escape the chessboard, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance.
Xiao Wu didn't say much, bowed slightly, turned and followed the maid out of the Pope Palace, her mind in turmoil.
On one side is Tang San, deeply Asura into the Shura world and reduced to a pawn in the game; on the other side is Bibi Dong personally descended into darkness and vented her anger on the chaos of the world.
Only Chen Jieqi has walked a path free from the constraints of the gods; she has already made a vague decision in her heart.
The camera suddenly zooms out, splitting in two and focusing on two other corners.
In the dense forest outside the city, Tang San sat quietly all night, his dark red aura even heavier than the night before.
The whispers of the Asura God constantly Entanglement his soul, amplifying his inner unease and possessiveness.
He clearly sensed that Xiao Wu had stayed in the Pope's Palace for a long time, and his suspicion and panic surged up, making him almost unable to suppress the urge to rush into Spirit City.
Images of Tang Chen, Tang Hao, and himself wielding hammers against the angelic lineage flashed through his mind involuntarily.
The phrase "The third-generation Clear Sky Hammer against angels is a joke" inexplicably surfaced in my mind, and an absurd sense of emptiness swept over me.
But in just a moment, the Asura's will forcefully suppressed this clarity, leaving only intense obsession and ferocity.
In another side hall of the angels, Qian Renxue sat alone, her fingertips tightly clutching the silver-white feather.
The angelic mark on her brow flickered in and out of focus, its divinity constantly suppressing the doubts that arose in her heart.
She heard everything that happened last night: the dramatic change in everyone's mood in the city and the Pope's summons to the Soft Bone Rabbit.
She found it increasingly difficult to believe the divine pronouncements she had followed since childhood. Her longing for Chen Jieqi and her doubts about the gods Entanglement, creating a prolonged internal struggle.
Sunlight bathed the entire Spirit City, while people from all directions were trapped by their own inner demons.
Tranquil Mind Hall, Xiao Wu alone reviewed the conversation she had just had, remaining true to herself and contemplating the path ahead.
In the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong sat alone on her high seat, coldly observing the eternal chess game laid out by the gods.
In the dense forest outside the city, Tang San was firmly imprisoned by the Asura God, trapped by his obsession, unable to see that he was nothing more than a pawn.
In the side hall of the angels, Qian Renxue was torn between trust and doubt, torn by the God of Light.
Within the city, all beings are trapped in the cage woven by the divine test of assimilation. Only the white-clad youth of Ashen Territory, a thousand miles away, holds the unique path to breaking the deadlock, patiently awaiting his turn to enter the game.