Xia Xiu slit open the oval wrapping paper, then took out a sandalwood box.
He opened the lid. Inside lay a scroll wound from left to right around a jade spindle.
A red gift ribbon was tied around the scroll. Xia Xiu took it out and found a red note attached to it.
[Covered in high-risk meme contamination. Read with extreme caution!!!] []
After reading the note, Xia Xiu immediately summoned the Red Book and the parchment.
With Eden and Adaposs watching over me, I have nothing to fear!
Xia Xiu casually tore off the note, untied the ribbon, and unrolled the scroll horizontally.
The first thing he saw as the scroll unfurled was a jumble of chaotic handwriting. Then a sudden boom rang in his ears.
Clang-
A tremendous roar resounded, and Xia Xiu's spirit was instantly dragged into the [Ether Sea].
When Xia Xiu opened his eyes again, he stood amid a vast expanse of sand. Two luminous celestial bodies shone overhead, while waves of heat rolled through the desert.
In his spirit form, Xia Xiu instinctively raised a hand to his forehead, using the shade cast by its back to shield himself from the terrifying glare of the two celestial bodies.
As Xia Xiu instinctively looked around, the space before him suddenly dimmed. A shadow swept in from the distance and engulfed his surroundings. He looked up toward its source.
In the distance, a terrifying serpent over fifty meters long lay coiled. He had golden scales, every one of them pulsing constantly in a rhythm of opening, closing, opening, closing.
With each opening and closing of his scales, the free-floating EVE particles in the surrounding space were drawn into the giant serpent's body. The light reflected during their absorption made his golden scales all