Frozen Sea Treasure Light, Swimming Dragon Water-Splitting Art

Qingzhou, eastern border.

High above, the enormous rift in the void that had looked like a tear in the sky was gone. In its place stood the thick, stable barrier of the Heavenly Dao in present-day Great Zhou.

This was a thousand-mile stretch of territory newly incorporated into Great Zhou—the remains of the Azure Nether Realm.

As far as the eye could see, gray-brown wasteland and broken mountain ranges filled the view. Once brimming with spiritual energy, this secret realm had become a barren land devoid of it after the gods' chaotic battle and Chu Bai's Whale Swallow.

Gales swept dust across the sky with mournful howls, as though lamenting the death of that old world.

Yet at the heart of this lifeless wasteland, a speck of golden light flickered. It was faint, but it refused to go out.

"So this... is Great Zhou?"

An old man in an embroidered official robe stood atop a bare mound, a jade staff carved with coiling dragons in his hand. He slowly opened his eyes. His gaze held some bewilderment at entering a new world, but far more relief and resolve at having survived the catastrophe.

He was the Ridge Vein Land God, invested by Chu Bai's edict.

He lowered his head and examined his body.

No longer was he a clay effigy that might crumble at any moment. He now possessed a true "golden body," formed from Merit Gold Light and Divine Path Origin.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, a divine edict bearing the might of the Principal Eighth Rank floated silently, resonating with the thousand miles of Wasteland beneath his feet as though they shared one bloodline.

"My lord... you truly did it."

The Land God reached out with a trembling hand and touched the dry, cracked earth beneath him.