[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-destiny":3,"chapter-above-destiny-above-destiny-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Heavenly Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2225769,4117,"Chapter 68: Heavenly Pillar Scar","above-destiny-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>\"You have this function too?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, as soon as Brother Sphere spoke, Ji Jue and Xiao An lay on the little ox-horse and began to sneak toward the bell tower. Fortunately, there were many buildings around, and no one noticed them for a while, and the massive bell tower also obscured many lines of sight, leaving them space to approach quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Otherwise, do you want me to use my old arms and legs to help you fight that guy?】 The Ghostwork Sphere turned proudly: 【I’m a technical tool, okay!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it spoke, the sphere vibrated, and a faint blue light emerged, shrouding the two of them, instantly absorbing all the spiritual quality fluctuations that swept past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Hurry up, speed, I’ve already shielded all the detections of the bell tower for you and temporarily applied a disguise.】 The Ghostwork Sphere whistled in a very human-like way: 【Invisibility hack, kid!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue couldn't help but scratch his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't take it anymore. Why was the object influenced by the ability speaking more and more flirtatiously, and why did it love to take advantage of him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue pinched his chin, unable to help but feel terrified: Could it be that he really had a split personality?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Is there a possibility...】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ghostwork Sphere asked helplessly: 【That is to say, as a Heavenly Craft, I really have my own consciousness?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But how are you so skilled at picking locks and breaking into doors?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Question marks kept popping up on Ji Jue’s forehead: \"How could Professor Ye install such sneaky functions on you—oh, oh, oh!!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized and pretended he hadn't asked such a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What sneaky?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is called skillfully overcoming difficulties, okay!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the demeanor of a master, the pattern of a professor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the mountain won't come to me, I’ll go to the mountain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at it this way, when Professor Ye was young, she must have had times of gathering wisdom from all sources, brainstorming, and working together!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such an excellent master-disciple inheritance, school tradition, shouldn't it be continued from him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like that, with people holding bits in their mouths and horses wrapping their hooves, even the ox-horse kept its engine sound to the lowest, tiptoeing around a large circle, and finally confirming that no one was peeking around, carefully leaning against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ghostwork Sphere leaped from Ji Jue’s hand, and the moment it swept across the wall, a small gap had already appeared. After the little ox-horse drilled through, it instantly closed, leaving no trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even a piece of wall dust fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue was already inside the bell tower!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't help but want to gasp for several breaths of cold air...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw several massive puppets like the guardians outside, standing quietly in the dust—there were at least four more of these awesome ones!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, due to the lack of maintenance for too long a time, several guardians were already covered in gaps and cracks, almost on the verge of falling apart, and could no longer be activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two of them, the moment they detected the intruders, raised their gem-like eyes beneath their broken masks, projecting a wisp of red light that swept across them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was read, however, was only the identification circuit disguised by the Ghostwork Sphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Put down the gun, our own people.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Phew...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if cold sweat was about to break out from his back. He looked at Xiao An, and Xiao An shook his head slightly: \"There’s nothing alive here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bell tower occupied a large area, but the internal space was simple to the point of being empty. The entire first floor was piled with all sorts of things—rotting tables and chairs that couldn't be used at all, or various living tools, and there was even an old-fashioned manual lawnmower, a small wooden horse with peeling paint, a whole exquisite slide, the little dolls that girls liked most were already full of mold, and the armor that fit a child’s size was also covered in scratches...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was simply an entire children’s playground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did we go to the wrong place?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Upstairs】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ghostwork Sphere suddenly felt a bit regretful that it hadn't been set with the function of rolling its eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue looked up at the stairs winding up along the tower, then turned back, waved at the little ox-horse, flipped onto it, and pointed upward...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little ox-horse was silent for a long time, silent and dirty. If it weren't for Ji Jue’s order not to make any sound, it would have really wanted to honk its horn twice, which wasn't very pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like that, it grunted and squirmed, carrying the two of them rapidly upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, before breaking the frame, they arrived at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But looking at that ordinary door that was only slightly ajar...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——This trip, most likely, won't yield any goods!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, a place like this, where no blockade was set at the entrance and the door hadn't even been closed, didn't look like Mercury’s workshop at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He carefully took a pole and pried open the door that hadn't been pushed by anyone for who knows how many years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a sharp friction sound, there was a muffled thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door panel fell inward, and the breeze stirred up the dust accumulated on the ground. After hundreds of years, the visitors who arrived again saw only a mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bookshelves collapsed, the scrolls were scattered and rotten, the handwriting was hidden in mold spots, and could no longer be distinguished. And all around, the spiritual quality circuits collapsed, the runes were blurred, and the Supreme Virtue totems dissipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant cauldron cracked, the instruments rusted, the furnace went out...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue sighed silently, and his hanging heart finally died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blue sky and white clouds... the ship sank!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was indeed Mercury’s workshop, but unfortunately, it had been completely scrapped. He could even conclude that it wasn't damaged within these four hundred years, but had been abandoned more than four hundred years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some things that could be moved might have been moved away long ago, and things that couldn't be moved were left here. With no one to maintain them for so long, they were completely unusable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Mercury’s creations and achievements, there wasn't a single hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention the matrix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed and was about to say something, but felt his sleeve being pulled. Xiao An, with a pale face, hid behind him, trembling, \"Brother Ji Jue, it’s bad.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lowered his voice: \"There’s a ghost!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue was confused, looked in the direction Xiao An was pointing, and then, as if falling into an ice cellar, almost couldn't help but curse in Haizhou style: \"Damn—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There really is a ghost!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The direction Xiao An was pointing was in front of the huge stained-glass window of the bell tower’s dial, in front of half a window that had long since rotted away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the sunlight, a vague, blurred outline emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like a back view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed in a pure white lady’s dress, as if floating in the wind, long hair hanging down almost to the ground, the faint side profile was beautiful, charming, and exquisite, staring blankly into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making Ji Jue almost unable to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mercury!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——Sage·Mercury!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no expected cold sneer when looking back, or a casual wave of the hand to turn the two intruders and a motorcycle into ashes. Instead, there was no reaction at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how politely Ji Jue greeted or probed, from beginning to end, she remained unmoved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if it were a phantom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be precise, it was no different from a phantom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a residual trace left by the Sage’s will, inscribed in time. Even if it was only for an instant, it could never be erased for eternity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue plucked up his courage, leaned over, and looked into the distance along her gaze... and saw the massive giant pillar at the end of the firmament, standing solemnly, as if supporting heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The axis of the world was here, and the center of heaven and earth was the position of the giant pillar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just by staring, he felt a sense of majesty and oppression inexplicably, unable to breathe, filled with the urge to bow his head and even kowtow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Ji Jue distinguished carefully, he found that her gaze didn't seem to be on the giant pillar, but downward, on the other side of the bell tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That gorgeously decorated sanctuary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring the loud noises and tremors constantly coming from the square, Ji Jue could faintly hear intermittent music. A busy band was playing a joyous melody, and in the bustling traffic, people with smiles on their faces walked in, offering bouquets and blessings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If those so-called history experts hadn't lied to him, judging from the white gauze flying around and the signs of a large number of birds gathering... that was a wedding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A horn blew once, and all guests witnessed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horn blew a second time, and an elder presided over the ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the horn blew for the third time, the newlyweds became husband and wife amidst applause and blessings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... there would be no third horn blowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because what swept through the entire Rift Realm was the lingering sound of heaven and earth collapsing, the earth shaking, the firmament collapsing, the mountains rising and falling, the city trembling... and at that moment, Ji Jue saw it again—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On that giant pillar that was like the axis of heaven and earth, a tragic crack appeared!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magnificent mark emerged from the high tower, fleeting, complex and solemn, as if shrouding everything, covering everything—that was a Supreme Virtue emblem far beyond Ji Jue’s cognition a thousand times over!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——【Heavenly Origin】!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Heavenly Origin had collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The magnificent destruction and collapse began, the giant pillar shattered and broke at the waist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn't fall to the ground; those countless fragments floated in mid-air, radiating a terrifying brilliance that filled the entire Rift Realm, rising and erupting!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, the stars lost their tracks again, the sun dimmed, and endless fire rain fell from the sky, smashing down, setting off waves and destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mournful sounds rang out from that quiet and peaceful city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sanctuary collapsed, it collapsed, for the who knows how many-th time, the guests fled in all directions. In the dust that rose, Ji Jue faintly saw a slender figure abandoned in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman in bridal attire knelt in the dust and ruins, wailing and asking for help powerlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one responded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her arms, the man whose lower body was pressed under the ruins struggled with difficulty, as if saying something to her, and pushed her away with all his might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Final farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst the roar, everything was completely buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the bride, covered in dust, stumbled out of the ruins, tears falling from her face, washing away her makeup and dust, leaving a scar that could never be erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She held the place on her chest stained with blood with both hands, shouting and roaring at the ruins again and again, until, completely desperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like that, completely swallowed by the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No longer visible, only fragmented wails echoed in the wind, shrouding everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the city, on the streets, accompanied by the collapse of the giant pillar, everyone fell into chaos, the sound of breaking rang out again, and alienation began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After losing their fragile human fetuses, the crazed puppets turned into twisted monsters again, killing each other, destroying everything within reach, and scattering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From paradise to hell, it seemed to only take an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Jue almost forgot to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash like a hallucination fell from beside him, like tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ji Jue slowly turned his head, he finally saw the Sage’s eyes, like a void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the disasters that had happened in the past, watching them repeat again and again in the Rift Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silently waiting, until a miracle or true destruction arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, Ji Jue felt as if he understood something. Perhaps, this was the reason why this Rift Realm had fallen to this point: \"Brother Sphere, what exactly happened just now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ghostwork Sphere was silent for a moment and answered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Didn't you see it with your own eyes?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——The Collapse of the Heavenly Pillar】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sorry, I overslept. \u003C\u002Fp>",2120,"2026-06-17T22:21:51.502Z","2026-06-18T03:13:38.468Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","7acc2f772ea0d2e605fe79de406ffd27dbb6f1d5994defc2a6604ecc2845fda9","above-destiny-chapter-69","above-destiny-chapter-67",461,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-heavenly-fate-cover.jpg"]