Chapter 640

Not long after, Ming Yu and Ning Wanzhu walked through much of the Kongji Holy Domain under the guidance of the Kongji Holy Master.

Strangely, along the way, magnificent buildings stood side by side, extremely prosperous, yet not a single sign of life.

Aside from soldiers clad in silver heavy armor lining the streets, there was not a trace of life.

Ning Wanzhu said nothing, but secretly suspected that Kongji Holy Domain’s current state might be linked to what the Kongji Holy Master had just mentioned—that she had “died” after losing to the Dongming Holy Master.

They arrived at the core region of the Kongji Holy Domain.

A black tower, entirely engraved with faint golden runes, rose before them.

From afar, it seemed unremarkable, but now that they were near, they could see countless runes covering the entire tower, forming a mysterious, incomprehensible aura that filled the entire structure.

And its purpose…

It seemed to be “maintenance” and “repair.”

Hum~

The faint golden runes on the tower’s surface suddenly brightened.

The pitch-black tower before them appeared to melt, rippling with visible waves.

From within, an old man with snow-white hair slowly stepped out, his eyes entirely pure white, giving him a chilling appearance.

He walked step by step toward the Kongji Holy Master, his emaciated body swaying as if an ancient machine on the verge of disintegration.

Yet Ming Yu and Ning Wanzhu felt no hint of disdain.

This suddenly appearing, pitiful-looking old man was, in truth, equivalent to a He Dao.

Though extremely weak and suffering grave injuries, He Dao was still He Dao.

Every being who reached He Dao was not to be underestimated.

“Greetings, Holy Master.” The old man bowed.

“These two outsiders seek those who once came to the Taiyi Realm.” The Kongji Holy Master’s tone remained as calm as ever.

“Understood.”

As the old man stepped aside, the black tower slowly opened, its surface revealing irregular blocks that drifted aside.

In the blink of an eye, the seamless black tower revealed an arched gateway large enough for three to pass through.

A thin layer of pure white light curtain covered the entire archway, seemingly to prevent the “maintenance” and “repair” energy from leaking out.

But this also obscured the view of the tower’s interior.

“Please follow me.”

Saying this, the Kongji Holy Master stepped inside first.

Seeing this, Ming Yu glanced at Ning Wanzhu.

Extreme “goodness” might not be bad for outsiders like them, but whether it was truly “good”…

That remained to be seen.

“It’s fine.” Ning Wanzhu transmitted her thoughts.

Facing such an extremely good-hearted being, her cultivation, the Lingyin Xin Dian, could exert greater influence.

Moreover…

The Kongji Holy Master had never once attempted to conceal her own heart.

For the vast majority of powerful beings in the Taiyi Realm, concealing one’s heart was equivalent to refusing to face one’s true self.

In a sense, it was an act of undermining one’s own beliefs!

Thus, the two quickly followed the Kongji Holy Master into the black tower.

Soon after they entered, the irregular blocks began swirling around the arched gateway, eventually covering it entirely, leaving no gap.

The emaciated old man with pure white eyes swayed unsteadily and merged back into the black tower.

…

…

Inside the tower.

“Unlike me, the Dongming Holy Master reveres the survival of the fittest and natural selection,” the Kongji Holy Master’s voice echoed, “He believes ‘chaos’ is the essence of the world, and order is merely a fleeting wave in the long span of time.”

Before them, countless translucent crystals floated silently, stretching endlessly in every direction.

The ground glowed with a soft, bright pure white light.

This light illuminated every crystal, allowing one to see clearly inside.

Inside each crystal, figures were sealed, just like the pillars of the holy domain before—old and young, male and female, mostly human, but many non-humans as well.

These were the beings caught in the crossfire during the great war three years ago between the Kongji Holy Master and the Dongming Holy Master over their differing ideals.

Some belonged to the Kongji Holy Master’s faction, but most were not from the “Taiyi Continent,” but from the thirty-six upper heavens and seventy-two lower heavens.

After reviving, the Kongji Holy Master immediately gathered the shattered souls of those affected by the war and constructed this tower, forcibly drawing upon the power of the Kongji Realm to send the fragmented souls inside for repair.

Yes, forcibly drawn!

The Kongji Holy Master was one of the strongest beings in this realm, even rivaling the Tong Xuan of the Tai Xuan Realm as one of its pinnacle figures.

So many years ago, she had turned the tables.

It was no longer the world choosing her—she had made the world her “subject.”

Precisely because she devoted most of her power to “maintaining” and “repairing” the lives of those affected by the war, the impact of her “death” has yet to fade.

In her most critical confrontation with the Dongming Holy Master, she fell into disadvantage.

“Perhaps your beliefs differ from mine, but I can see you are not followers of ‘chaos.’”

Here, the Kongji Holy Master’s tone finally grew serious.

“If the Dongming Holy Master obtains the third supreme authority, even your world may be corrupted by ‘chaos.’”

Corrupted by “chaos”?

The Tai Xuan Realm?

Hmm…

That’s hard to judge.

“The third supreme authority?” Ming Yu asked.

This was the first question she had asked since meeting.

“Correct,” the Kongji Holy Master nodded slightly. “The Taiyi Realm possesses three supreme authorities. ‘Kongji’ is the first, ‘Dongming’ the second, and the third supreme authority appeared suddenly five years ago.”

The emergence of this third supreme authority was the primary cause of the great war between her and the Dongming Holy Master.

Originally, neither she nor the Dongming Holy Master had confidence in killing the other, so neither had moved.

“If Kongji is first, why did you lose?”

“The Dongming Holy Master sought to detonate the seventy-two lower heavens and the thirty-six upper heavens. I could not stand idly by, so I failed while protecting the one hundred and eight heavens.”

In raw power, she was actually slightly stronger than the Dongming Holy Master.

But the Dongming Holy Master believed in the supremacy of the strong and that chaos was eternal, so he was far more ruthless.

As she spoke, Ning Wanzhu sensed not a trace of resentment in her heart.

That meant she knew her “goodness” would be exploited by the Dongming Holy Master, yet she still acted that way.

She didn’t even consider it “wrong.”

More precisely, she believed only the Dongming Holy Master’s act of detonating the one hundred and eight heavens was wrong, but not his exploitation of her “goodness.”

An extremely good-hearted person…

Indeed, any trait pushed to an extreme becomes abnormal.

As they asked and answered, the three passed through the long corridor inside the tower and arrived before a towering crystal wall at its center.

Within it, too, were sealed objects—but not living beings, rather “artifacts.”

A withered, twisted branch, still bearing a few yellowed leaves, appeared utterly unremarkable.