Above the Ice and Snow Empire, over the forest canopy.

The gentle night wind caressed the sky, where a thousand stars winked playfully.

Starlight, pouring down like quicksilver, spread across the dense, lush foliage like satin, reflecting a faint, deep emerald glow.

Under the hazy moonlight, this jade-green surface now appeared somewhat menacing and bloody, stained with thick, variegated smears of gore, as if the entire tree were weeping in agony.

Every vine and leaf trembled in the night breeze, and droplets of crimson blood fell from the leaf tips.

Suddenly looking up, one would notice that the vast starlight was obscured by a layer of ashen haze, and a rain of bloody dots drifted down.

Two figures, like screech owls, stood suspended in the sky, pressed tightly together, almost as if embracing.

The moonlight pierced through the clouds and mist, encasing the two figures above their heads like spilled quicksilver.

It shone upon their smooth hair, causing it to flutter lightly in the night wind, then cast upon their cheeks—two exquisitely perfect faces, both possessing devastating beauty.

Now, they stood intimately close, their noses nearly touching.

The figure on the left was a tall woman with a cascade of blue hair, smooth as a waterfall, reaching her lower back.

A delicately carved, soft robe clung to her graceful figure.

The silver-white, embroidered trim at the collar glittered in the moonlight.

Her refined face was etched with shock and terror, her pupils tightly constricted and minutely trembling, appearing on the verge of collapse.

Against her soft yet firm chest, a slender, pale, delicate hand was thrust deep, as if probing beneath the robe to touch the softest part within. "So smooth," murmured the woman embracing her, whose long black hair was draped beneath a voluminous black robe.

A faint sheen played across her beautiful, captivating face as she smiled softly. "Weren't you going to detonate the Void Artifact? Why have you stopped?" She leaned close to the Ice and Snow Goddess's ear, whispering sweetly, like a lover, "Didn't you know? Even the coldest ice only serves to make the earth firmer...

That's all." The Ice and Snow Goddess’s lips parted slightly, as if something choked her throat, making her want to retch.

Her body shuddered as if scraped by a cold wind, her face filled with dread.

The black-robed woman gently plucked the teardrop-shaped crystal, which resembled blue glass, from the Goddess's grasp.

The Ice and Snow Goddess possessed no strength to resist.

Then, the woman raised the Water God's Tear before her eyes, gazing at it intently.

Light struck the crystal, refracting at different angles; a single tear mirrored the entirety of the pitch-black world. "They say this is a naturally formed Void Artifact, crystallized from the Water God's tears, tempered by countless cosmic rays.

If a single tear holds such power, I wonder how formidable the true form would be if they were present in person," the black-robed woman murmured softly, then let out a light chuckle, her voice carrying a strange magic as she spoke as if to herself. "It’s a pity such a peerlessly beautiful figure perished in the Great Holy War in the Upper Heaven, vanishing from the world..." A faint blush rose on the Ice and Snow Goddess's cheeks, whether from shame or anger was unclear.

For every generation of Ice and Snow Goddesses, the Water God was revered tenfold more than any parent, and any form of blasphemy was intolerable.

Seeing her expression, the black-robed woman’s lips curved into an arc. "Does that feel good? Should I press a little harder with my hand...?" As she spoke, the hand buried in the Ice and Snow Goddess's chest moved slightly.

The Goddess's delicate body trembled, and a moan of pain escaped her throat.

Her crescent-moon eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and painful horizontal lines creased her snow-white eyelids above her delicate nose. "Quite resilient," the black-robed woman chuckled. "Then, how about this?" Her hand shifted, seeming to grasp something, and she gently shook it, causing the Ice and Snow Goddess's body to tremble faintly.

Her diamond-white little teeth clamped together, desperately suppressing a painful groan. "Cry out.

It will feel better if you let it out..." The black-robed woman's voice was hypnotic, like a siren's call.

The Ice and Snow Goddess gritted her teeth.

Finally, as the shaking from the black-robed woman's hand accelerated, a taut string in her mind snapped.

She opened her mouth and shrieked in agony, "Ah, ah, ah, no...

stop...

ah!" The black-robed woman's eyes were shrouded in shadow cast by her brow, like two malevolent pupils in the darkness.

She quickened the speed of her shaking, causing the silver-white robe covering the Ice and Snow Goddess's chest to billow open. "Pfft!" The Ice and Snow Goddess spat out a mouthful of blood, crying out incoherently in delirium, "No...

stop...

ah, ah, ah..." The black-robed woman watched her with cold elegance.

After shaking her hand for a moment, she suddenly stopped, a captivating smile blossoming on her exquisite face, like ripples spreading across a tranquil lake disturbed by a falling raindrop.

The darkness itself seemed to brighten slightly. "It's over," she whispered softly, and under the terrified gaze of the Ice and Snow Goddess, whose eyes snapped open, the black-robed woman pulled her hand outward with sudden force, a cold smirk playing on her lips. "Pfft!" In the pitch-black night, under the cold moonlight, the black-robed woman held a heart, round and crimson like an apple, dripping with blood, still beating faintly.

Thick, viscous blood coated her entire snow-white palm.

Upon this scarlet heart, a faint yellow symbol flickered, barely visible.

This character was: Seal! Temple of Light, Mount of Brilliance.

Mount of Brilliance stood at the center of the peaks, like a central hub, guiding all surrounding mountains that spiraled around it like a sea of stars, resembling countless submissive subjects.

Mount of Brilliance was the highest, its body having stood for countless eons, reaching an altitude of ten light-years! Countless dark-green, seaweed-like plants covered the rugged mountain paths.

Numerous secluded trails intertwined complexly within Mount of Brilliance.

Birds chirped as they flew through the woods, carrying food in their beaks from the distant sky to feed their young in the nests.

Light streamed down from the sky onto the grandest palace-like structure at the summit.

The transparent metallic glass windows reflected halos of iridescent light.

The shadows of the distant mountains and nearby trees, like black scissors, were intricately carved piece by piece onto the windows, covering them densely, creating a cool, shadowed impression.

Standing on the jade-slab ground outside the scorching-hot palace entrance—ground softened by time and wind—was a tall, beautiful silhouette.

Her exquisite features were carved like ice, her eyebrows thin and perfectly drawn arcs.

Her clear, bright eyes held no impurity, resembling the purest, most transparent deep-sea black pearls.

Her silver-white garments fluttered in the gentle breeze, as if lifted by a spring wind rising from the ground beneath her feet.

She tilted her head slightly, gazing vaguely and lost toward the pavilion behind the palace.

From that direction emanated a familiarity akin to bloodlines, ceaselessly calling out from the depths of her soul, calling out...

like a mother's call to an infant.

She stood still for a moment, then, as if making a firm decision, she strode toward the grand palace gates.

Her demeanor was resolute, as if marching into fire and water.

Yet, in reality, she knew that given her current status, even the Palace Master of Brilliance would have to yield three parts respectfully, addressing her as "Ancestor" or "Envoy!" Her steps were slow, yet the gate, thousands of meters away, arrived within a few paces.

She crossed the threshold.

There were no guards outside the gate; instead, artificial intelligence lifeforms monitored everything, ready to instantly activate the most powerful and destructive technology—the World-Ending Cannon—at the slightest anomaly.

However, this [World-Ending Cannon] had been installed for many years and had only fired twice.

The first time was shortly after the Temple of Light established its foothold here, when it disturbed a monster left sleeping underground during the clearing of the Brilliance Mountains.

That confrontation involved a battle of world-shattering proportions, and the [World-Ending Cannon] was activated.

It was said that the Palace Master of Brilliance of that generation perished on the spot.

The second activation occurred tens of millions of years ago when the Heavenly Dao intended to depart from this place.

The Palace Master of Brilliance exhausted all means to keep it, but to no avail, finally firing the [World-Ending Cannon], yet still failing to retain it.

Yet, as Ye Zhu crossed the threshold now, everything remained peaceful.

Based on her original status as an outer sect member, entering here without announcement should have resulted in her being blasted into dust.

The scent of flowers wafted toward her nose, carrying a faint fragrance of Tiran perfume.

Light illuminated the pure white interior of the palace.

Before her stretched a long corridor, lined every ten meters or so with an elliptical archway.

Ye Zhu walked silently within.

The surroundings were deserted, as if everyone in the entire Temple of Light had vanished—not even a basic servant or mechanical worker remained.

A chilling cold permeated the air.

Walking, walking.

Ye Zhu reached the end of the corridor, where several side halls branched off.

Guided by the summons and familiar feeling from the depths of her soul, she chose a side hall carved from Dragon Sandalwood.

Ancient, dark-wood pillars stood supporting the structure.

This was a courtyard containing a small pond where golden-red fish surfaced, exhaling a bubble before flipping over, sending tiny ripples across the water, and then diving back to the bottom.

Light slanted into the side hall, falling upon Ye Zhu’s fragrant right shoulder.

After walking a short distance, she arrived before the grand pavilion.

Looking up, the immense structure towered like an iron spire, encircled by arcs of rainbow light in the sunshine.

She paused for a moment, then walked in resolutely.

She pushed open the sealed door of the pavilion.

Dust, like fine sand, drifted down lightly from above the doorframe, scattering in the shafts of sunlight.

This pavilion appeared untouched for many years.

Given its vital location behind the Temple of Light, it was naturally no ordinary place.

But why was such a crucial structure left unguarded? Ye Zhu did not ponder these questions.

Her gaze seemed tethered by an invisible rope, fixed upon the interior of the pavilion, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.