The Moon Palace, The Frozen Watcher

Taiyin Star.

A giant celestial body radiating a cold, clear brilliance.

It was not like the Solar Star, which was savage and filled with destructive power.

Its surface was covered in a thick layer of ten-thousand-year profound ice, condensed from Taiyin True Force.

There was no life here, no sound.

Only eternal solitude and cold.

Three figures passed through the chaos and descended upon this frozen world.

They were Nuwa, Xihe, and True Lord Yuding.

As soon as they landed, an extreme chill seeped into their spirits from the soles of their feet.

This chill was not simply low temperature.

It was more like a Law.

A Law that could freeze thought, obliterate emotions, and turn everything into absolute "stillness."

"Such terrifying Taiyin power."

A hint of solemnity appeared on Xihe's face.

She had once been the god of Taiyin, but she had never felt such pure, such powerful cold.

During the era of the ancient Demon Heavenly Court, although the Taiyin Star was cold, it still had the Moon Laurel Tree, Guanghan Palace, and the flow of life.

The current Taiyin Star, however, was left with only a death-like silence.

"This place has been modified."

Nuwa reached out and touched the profound ice beneath her feet.

A flicker of understanding flashed in her eyes.

"Father God Pangu, while suppressing the Solar Star, also modified the Taiyin Star."

"He turned this place into a lock, a lock of Yin that echoes the Solar Cage."

True Lord Yuding remained silent.

He merely circulated his profound techniques, using his own Yuqing Immortal Light to resist the pervasive chill.

At the same time, his divine sense, like the most precise instrument, began scanning the entire Law structure of the Taiyin Star.

He needed to construct a complete Law model of this place for Chen Ran, who was far away on the flagship.

This was his mission.

"Where is the key?"

Xihe asked.

Her gaze swept towards the depths of the Taiyin Star.

There, an area shrouded in even deeper darkness could be seen.

According to the information left by Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the key was there.

The three did not hesitate and flew in that direction.

The deeper they went, the stronger the soul-freezing chill became.

Even a Saint like Nuwa felt a slight strain.

It was as if the entire world was rejecting their entry.

Finally.

They arrived before a colossal ice mountain.

Beneath the ice mountain, the outline of a palace could be vaguely discerned.

The palace was magnificent and beautiful, yet it exuded a heart-wrenching solitude.

Guanghan Palace.

"This is it."

Xihe's voice trembled slightly.

She could feel that the final guidance from Eastern Emperor Taiyi ended here.

However, just as they were about to enter the palace.

A thought, so cold and devoid of any emotion, emanated from the deepest part of the palace.

"Outsiders, halt."

This thought caused both Nuwa and Xihe to stop in their tracks.

Disbelief appeared on both their faces.

There was actually someone here!

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows of Guanghan Palace.

It was a woman.

She wore a plain white palace dress, her beauty unparalleled, yet she was like an ice sculpture.

Her eyes held no light, no emotion.

Only a vast, unchanging, dead stillness, like the Taiyin Star.

"Chang'e?"

Xihe exclaimed in disbelief.

She recognized this woman.

She was the wife of Hou Yi, a leader of a Human Race tribe during the ancient Demon Race era.

Back then, Hou Yi's shooting of the suns had created a deep enmity with the Demon Race.

Di Jun, seeking revenge, had bestowed poisoned wine, which Chang'e mistakenly consumed.

Finally, Chang'e ascended to the Moon Palace, forever separated from Hou Yi.

But this was just a legend.

Xihe knew clearly that the Chang'e of that year was just an ordinary mortal.

How could she have lived on the Taiyin Star until now?

And how could she possess power that even Saints could feel threatened by?

"I am not Chang'e."

The woman spoke.

Her voice sounded like two pieces of black ice grinding against each other.

"Chang'e died the moment she stepped into the Moon Palace, assimilated by the Laws here."

"I am the Watcher of this 'key'."

Watcher.

The word sent a tremor through Nuwa's heart.

She understood.

The woman before them was no longer a living being.

She was a being similar to an Artifact Spirit, integrated with the Laws of the Taiyin Star and this 'key'.

She was the last line of defense for this lock.

"We need to take the key."

Nuwa stated her purpose directly.

"The Primordial Era is in danger, and it is needed to open a glimmer of hope."

"Hope?"

For the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared on the Watcher's face.

It was an extreme, mocking expression.

"Your so-called hope is to use it to open another hell?"

"Using destruction to exchange for destruction. Is this the method you've conceived?"

Her words left Nuwa speechless.

"The key will not be given to you."

The Watcher's attitude was resolute.

"This is my mission."

"Unless..."

Her gaze swept over Nuwa and Xihe.

Finally, it landed on True Lord Yuding, who had remained silent the entire time.

"Unless you can prove to me."

"Prove that you are worthy of wielding this power, which is capable of destroying the world."

"How do we prove it?" Nuwa asked.

The Watcher extended a finger.

She pointed towards the depths of Guanghan Palace, at a giant ancient tree that had completely withered, leaving only ice-like branches.

The Moon Laurel Tree.

"Make it bloom again."

This request made Xihe gasp.

This Moon Laurel Tree is the origin of the Taiyin Star.

It has completely died along with the Taiyin Star's transformation.

Its life, its laws, have all been utterly annihilated by that power of eternal stillness.

To make a tree that is already completely dead bloom again?

How is that possible!

Even a Saint couldn't do it!

This isn't creation, this is reversing the laws of the entire world!

Nuwa's expression also turned incredibly solemn.

She could create life.

But she couldn't make something that had completely returned to "nothing" become "something" again.

This was something only Pangu could do.

Just as everyone was falling into despair.

True Lord Yuding finally spoke.

"I can try."

His words drew everyone's attention.

He slowly walked to the base of the withered Moon Laurel Tree.

He didn't use any magical power, nor did he summon any magic treasures.

He simply sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Then, everything he saw and felt here, along with the impossible trial proposed by the Watcher.

He transmitted it all, intact, through his divine sense to Chen Ran, who was far away on the flagship.

"Executor."

"The choice is yours."