Xu Yanli's speed was terrifying, chasing the wind and racing lightning, twisting space itself. Nothing in the world could keep up with his trajectory.
His face was cold and impassive, without sorrow or joy, anger or agitation.
Only the stillness of a frozen lake remained, while beneath it surged hidden currents no one could glimpse.
A thousand miles away, in the Sun Moon Empire's Crown Prince's Mansion in Ming Capital.
The secret chamber's doors were tightly shut, yet the room inside was as bright as day, its light and shadows crystal clear.
At the very center of the secret chamber stood the "Nuwa" device. Its silver-white body glowed with a faint blue light, rising and falling steadily like the pulsing heart of a sleeping machine.
Inside the cultivation chamber at the device's core, a wisp of golden light hovered, extremely faint, tiny as a spark and perilously close to going out. It was like a tender shoot just breaking through the soil, so fragile it could vanish completely at any moment.
Xu Tianran stood before the device, staring fixedly at that wisp of light. His eyes churned with complicated emotions, a jumble of conflicting feelings.
Kong Deming stood behind him, holding a cup of tea that had gone completely cold. He had not taken a single sip. His brows were knitted, his expression grave to the extreme.
"Did it work?" After a long silence, Xu Tianran spoke hoarsely, breaking the stillness.
"It worked." Kong Deming nodded heavily, his tone complicated. "Nuwa's first cultivation ritual was completed successfully. The foundation has been laid."
Xu Tianran fell silent for a long while, then raised a hand and pointed at the golden light inside the cultivation chamber.
The moment his fingertip touched the cold chamber wall, he abruptly pulled it back.
He was