The Divine Temple

Universe Domain.

Heaven Mending Pavilion.

On the immortal mountain suspended in the firmament, suffused with auspicious mist.

Yue Chan's main and secondary bodies were both sprawled on the ground, their fair, porcelain-like faces devoid of any color, their auras weakened to the extreme.

Just moments ago, a terrifying force had nearly drained them dry. Even now, the mere thought made their spirits tremble, for they had been only a hair's breadth away from being erased by that power.

Fortunately, neither was an ordinary person. They each produced a crystalline leaf radiating divine brilliance and placed it into their mouths. As the radiance enveloped their bodies, their vitality and spirit began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Cosmos Domain.

Heaven Severing Sect.

Secret Realm.

"This is a trap! Damnable, to think someone actually dared to scheme against your Great Aunt."

The Witch pointed at the jade bone, now devoid of all luster, and cursed without a shred of decorum. She had always been the one to scheme against others; never had she imagined she would be the one outmaneuvered today, suffering such heavy losses.

Losing a bit of semi-divine medicine was nothing, but what she found truly intolerable was that she had actually been fooled—treated like a leek to be harvested.

Desolate Region.

Mist Mountains.

The profound patterns on the Totem Pillar erupted with brilliance, spreading out into the surrounding void and manifesting a world of their own.

Su Ye's physical body collapsed, his spirit manifesting as a solid entity standing in place. He gazed at the world before him and the magnificent, sacred Divine Temple with a grave expression. Looking at the peerlessly elegant Little Dream God Lotus beside him, he asked, "Fairy, this Divine Temple still stands—could it be that God Emperor Qimu isn't completely dead?"

"This Divine Temple is not God Emperor Qimu's; it is a temple dedicated to a Sacrificial Spirit."

Fairy Menglian spoke, her gaze merely brushing over the magnificent and sacred temple before shifting to the vast ocean of energy. Her beautiful eyes held shock; such terrifying energy—let alone in God Emperor Qimu's prime, even a hundred God Emperors like him could not have gathered such a vast amount.

This Totem Pillar was certainly not something an ordinary Sacrificial Spirit could possess.

Following the shock came wild ecstasy.

With this much energy, she had absolute certainty that she could return to her peak, or perhaps even go further.

However, she quickly suppressed the joy in her heart, her gaze turning profound. Her past life was dead, and in this life, she did not intend to walk the original path.

That is to say, the path of a Sacrificial Spirit.

Moreover, the energy here contained the lingering traces of the original Sacrificial Spirit. Although this power was faint, it was incredibly potent. If she were to truly merge with it, it would not be the energy integrating into her body, but rather she being assimilated by the energy.

Whether she would still be herself by then was unknown.

On the other side.

Su Ye cautiously entered the Divine Temple, his eyes filled with curiosity and vigilance. Even though Little Dream God Lotus had said there was no danger, he still had to be careful.

The main hall was empty, devoid of any decorations.

As Su Ye stepped inside, he immediately felt a terrifying pressure, as if a formidable existence stood before him, stirring a sense of dread in his heart that compelled him to kneel and worship.

However, he quickly suppressed this feeling, standing tall and fixing his gaze on the hall. Runes manifested in his eyes, and the previously empty hall began to change within his vision. The hall...

"Pfft."

Su Ye suddenly spat out blood, his face turning deathly pale as his body swayed violently. He had attempted to use his Samsara Eye to peer into the past through the causality here, to see who had left this temple behind, but before he could see anything, he suffered a backlash.

"Do not look blindly."

Little Dream God Lotus walked over, her fair face filled with gravity. "The origin of this Totem Pillar must be earth-shattering. Even if that person is no longer here, it is not something a mere Blood-Moving Realm cultivator like you can peer into. Not to mention the Blood-Moving Realm, even much stronger existences have no right to pry."

"Bang."

With a wave of her hand, the Imperial Throne placed at the highest point of the hall, representing supreme authority, shattered and turned into nothingness. She said coldly, "That God Emperor Qimu was truly ignorant and fearless to sit here so brazenly."

She had once been a Sacrificial Spirit and possessed powerful spiritual strength, allowing her to see more. Although this temple was currently ownerless, it was not something just anyone could occupy; otherwise, they would inevitably suffer immense karmic consequences.

As the massive Imperial Throne shattered, the wall behind it was revealed. On the wall was a carving—a carving of a... willow tree.

Su Ye looked at the abstract willow tree carving with a shocked expression. He had not expected a willow tree to be depicted in this temple. Recalling something, he looked at Little Dream God Lotus and asked, "You said earlier that this temple was not God Emperor Qimu's, but one dedicated to that Sacrificial Spirit."

"Yes."

Little Dream God Lotus nodded. Her beautiful eyes looked at the abstract willow tree; although it was not depicted realistically, looking like a child's doodle, every single line contained supreme principles, as if expounding the true essence of the Great Dao of heaven and earth.

Su Ye looked at the willow tree carving, runes surfacing in his eyes. The carving was no longer just a carving, but a colossal willow tree reaching toward the heavens, wreathed in misty radiance, every branch appearing as the embodiment of the laws of the Great Dao.

Could it be...

A possibility crossed Su Ye's mind. He looked at Little Dream God Lotus and asked, "The origin of this Totem Pillar is mysterious, powerful, and ancient. Can you be more specific?"

Whether it was God Emperor Qimu or Little Dream God Lotus, both had said this Totem Pillar was extraordinary, with an earth-shattering origin, stemming from a powerful Sacrificial Spirit. But how powerful? How earth-shattering?

Little Dream God Lotus shook her head and said, "At my peak, I was only a True God. However, I can be certain of one thing: this Sacrificial Spirit is at least at the Supreme level, and it is even possible that it does not belong to this mortal world."

"At least a Supreme, perhaps not even of this mortal world."

Su Ye whispered, feeling more and more that this Divine Temple was related to that person. After all, when it came to a willow tree sacrificial spirit, the only one he could think of was that legendary figure—one who was once unimaginably powerful, known as the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit, capable of suppressing and slaying an Immortal King.

He did not continue to dwell on it; regardless of whether it was connected to the Willow Deity, it was of no consequence to him right now. The most important thing at this moment was the Willow Tree Carving.

Gazing at the Willow Tree Carving, Su Ye's eyes burned with intensity. This carving contained the supreme truths of the Great Dao; comprehending it would be enough for him to grasp peerless mystical techniques.

Without the slightest hesitation, he sat cross-legged directly in front of the carving.

He pushed his Samsara Eye to its limit to comprehend the carving. Within his gaze, runes darted rapidly, and radiance permeated the air as if the world were being created anew. In that newly formed heaven and earth, misty vapors billowed and rays of light soared for ten thousand zhang, while a single willow tree rose from the ground, piercing the clouds—the sole existence in this world.

Hum.

Su Ye's entire body was suffused with radiance, runes dancing and light flowing, making him appear incredibly sacred. Slowly, the carving began to emit a glow, and the two seemed to establish a certain connection.

Little Dream God Lotus did not attempt to comprehend it; instead, her expression was somewhat hesitant. She knew that to comprehend this carving was to inevitably forge a karmic bond with that person.

The path of a sacrificial spirit is profoundly mysterious. That person had not necessarily perished completely; to be precise, traces of them must surely still exist between heaven and earth. Comprehending the techniques left behind by them here would, in the dark, establish a connection with them, just as those two who had comprehended the techniques she left behind had been harvested by her.