Chapter 516

As the current chief of the Eternal Eternal Jingtu, Zang Xing's status was akin to that of the sect's junior leader; barring unforeseen circumstances, she would eventually succeed the Grand High Priestess and become the next leader of the Eternal Eternal Jingtu.

Thus, she naturally knew many of her organization's secrets.

The Eternal Eternal Jingtu was founded during the later stages of the God-King's rise—when the God-King had successfully driven the Angels out of the Witch World and begun fleeing with the world itself to develop.

At that time, to accelerate the Witch World's growth, increase the number of witches, and reduce unnecessary talent loss, the God-King authorized two followers to establish a specialized department dedicated to researching death and reincarnation, with the ultimate goal of constructing the Underworld System.

That special department was the precursor to the Eternal Eternal Jingtu; those two followers of the God-King were the founders of the Eternal Eternal Jingtu —the ancestral masters of all their successors.

Of course, ordinary people only knew the honorific titles of these two ancestral masters, not their true names—but Zang Xing knew them. When she first became chief, her teacher—the current Grand High Priestess—had taken her to pay respects before the portraits of the two ancestral masters.

The Crimson Moon Sage, Lilith. The Eternal Sage, Qiong.

These were the true names of the two ancestral masters.

The Crimson Moon Sage was the founder of the Underworld reincarnation system, while the Eternal Sage specialized more in the nature of the soul itself.

One pursued natural reincarnation after death; the other sought eternal existence of the soul even after bodily demise.

The divergence in their philosophies ultimately led to their parting ways: the Crimson Moon Sage chose to personally practice her own success, repeatedly reincarnating despite being capable of eternal life.

The Eternal Sage, however, remained stationed in the Underworld as its ruler; the Eternal Eternal Jingtu was later founded by her as a training organization to better cultivate personnel for the Underworld.

Zang Xing had never been a student at the Witch Academy. Originally, she and her teammates had been assigned by the Joker to monitor the Angel delegation—but for reasons unknown, as soon as the Witch Night began, she was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense wave of sleepiness. When she regained consciousness, she found herself here, within Witch Night.

Still, she wasn't particularly alarmed; she found it rather intriguing, since she had never attended school before...

E, well, she couldn't say she'd never attended school—after all, the Eternal Eternal Jingtu was itself a kind of academy, albeit a netherworld one dedicated to training Underworld civil servants, a private institution of sorts.

But in the Eternal Eternal Jingtu, ghosts outnumbered the living, and there was little to do for entertainment. Most people spent their days alone in their tomb-laboratories conducting research, speaking little, let alone organizing events.

Zang Xing remembered the largest event she'd ever attended was when a certain zombie witch senior was finally accepted into the Underworld and joyfully invited everyone to dance at her grave.

Hmm, even though Zang Xing herself was a wraith witch, she still thought that celebration was profoundly netherworldly.

Now, finally getting to experience some "worldly" activities of the Witch Academy, Zang Xing was naturally delighted.

Especially when she learned this was the mid-stage of the God-King's rise—the moment just before the decisive battle with the Angels—she became even more excited, thinking she might finally get to meet the younger versions of her ancestral masters.

Of course, at the time, she'd merely entertained the thought—after all, what chance did a powerless, insignificant little witch like her have of approaching anyone near the God-King? Her own two ancestral masters were surely already towering figures by then, impossible to meet casually.

But reality was often far stranger than any plan.

The day after she arrived, she encountered her superior, the Joker. A few days later, she received a new mission from him: to join the Underworld Construction Project. And suddenly, she found herself working alongside her own ancestral masters.

Even now, Zang Xing often felt as if she were dreaming...

Well, she was indeed dreaming—but it still felt as though she'd been preordained. What exactly was the Joker's identity? Why could she so easily shove me—

—into such a top-secret project?

Whenever she thought of her mysterious superior, Zang Xing felt intense curiosity.

Yet as a Judge, she still possessed basic professional integrity: you learn what you're meant to know, and you don't ask about what you're not meant to know. Knowing too much never helped. Since it was her superior's mission, she'd simply do it well.

Besides, working alongside her ancestral masters felt truly wonderful.

Though the ancestral masters were still far from the profound knowledge they'd later attain, and their theoretical foundations were still immature—less solid than her own future-born understanding—their innate talent was undeniable. Sometimes, she'd casually mention something based on future experience, and they'd instantly grasp it, then extrapolate and expand upon it, leaving her stunned.

In these past days, she'd learned a great deal by staying close to the two ancestral masters.

Of course, that was secondary. More importantly, she was actually building the Underworld—indeed, one of its three lead architects. The feeling of personally shaping history filled Zang Xing with profound satisfaction.

She was now brimming with motivation, wishing she could live, eat, sleep, and breathe entirely within the Underworld to better contribute to its construction.

But this sudden meeting had disrupted her rhythm.

"Director Qiong, why the sudden meeting? Has something happened?"

Zang Xing asked curiously, addressing the young ancestral master beside her.

Qiong considered for a moment, then, deciding it wasn't classified information, began to explain.

"Nothing serious—just a routine briefing to report progress to the Prime Minister and the Head of State. But there is indeed a new research project to launch. I was originally meant to lead it, but I'm overloaded with work, so I recommended you to the Prime Minister."

"What project?"

Zang Xing frowned. Her mind was entirely focused on dedicating herself to building the Underworld—she had no interest in any other research.

"Mechanical Rebirth."

Qiong replied.

Zang Xing: "..."

What the hell is that?

Zang Xing's expression darkened. Not mechanical again?

She already knew this Witch Night differed from canonical history—the normal Witch World was a purely magical civilization, with no Mechanical Church or Magi-Body system.

As a witch, she instinctively rejected such things. She still believed pure magic was superior. She had no desire to study machinery.

"What's wrong? You're unwilling?"

Seeing her talented junior's expression, Qiong frowned. "If you're unwilling, it's fine—I'll handle it myself."

She thought for a moment, then spoke decisively.

"No, no, no—I'm willing! Of course I'm willing!"

Seeing her ancestral master about to walk away, Zang Xing hurried after her.

Sigh. What else could she do? If it was her ancestral master's mission, she'd just have to grit her teeth and carry it out.

But Qiong turned back, looked at her, and said seriously:

"This mission is important. If you undertake it with resentment, I no longer consider you the right candidate."

She was always blunt, speaking plainly—her emotional intelligence was low.

But Zang Xing didn't overthink it. Instead, she calmly composed herself, adjusted her mindset, and looked earnestly at the ancestral master before her.

"Director Qiong, don't you think pure soul-forms are superior? Isn't a mechanical body entirely unnecessary?"

She asked, gazing at her ancestral master.

In reality, the Eternal Sage Qiong had devoted her life entirely to the soul path—she was the origin of wraith witches. As a wraith witch herself, Zang Xing now wanted to ask: Master, why have you turned traitor?

Hearing the young woman's question and seeing her earnest gaze, Qiong fell into deep thought. She didn't answer hastily, but pondered carefully before speaking.

"The path of pure soul-forms does have some feasibility—but ultimately, it is a heretical path."

Asking, seeing the earnestness in the other's eyes, Qiong fell into thought; she did not answer lightly, but pondered carefully before speaking.

"The path of pure spiritual form does hold some feasibility, but it remains a heretical way."

At this moment, her emotions were complex. The dream-ancestor before her had just personally rejected the very path she herself had devoted her life to.

That path led directly to Sagehood—how could such a clear road be called heretical? What did that make all her successors who followed the soul path? Deviants?

"Because it is too narrow—so narrow that only a few with exceptional talent can walk it. It is unsuitable for the masses. It cannot save this world."

"Moreover, body, soul, and mind are one—none can be missing. The path of pure soul-forms lacks the body, and is therefore inherently limited."

"Because it is too narrow, so narrow that only a few exceptionally gifted individuals can walk it; it is unsuitable for the masses and cannot save this world."

"Moreover, body, spirit, and heart are one entity, each indispensable; the path of pure spiritual form lacks the body, and is thus destined to have limits."

After all, what the ancestral master said was true.

The path created by the Eternal Sage had an extremely high entry barrier: becoming a wraith witch required a witch to completely abandon her original body and transform her soul into a wraith.

In other words, to enter this path, you had to kill yourself first.

And even then, suicide didn't guarantee success.

As the ancestral master said, body, soul, and mind were one. The body was the soul's vessel; the soul was the mind's container. All three were indispensable.

Without the body's protection, the soul easily deformed, corrupting the purity of consciousness.

For example, when a human dies, if their soul lingers too long without reincarnation, it quickly loses its humanity, becomes a demon, and may even attack its former loved ones.

Even among witches, if a weak witch's soul loses its body's protection, it deforms severely. Only witches above the Great Witch level could maintain soul stability.

But Great Witches already had their own paths—they'd never consider switching to become wraith witches. Only ordinary, weak witches had such needs—but most of them couldn't meet the extremely high entry threshold.

Only those witches with extraordinary soul talent who died prematurely before reaching maturity were suited for the wraith witch path—like Zang Xing herself.

And the soul path's limits were real too: in reality, the Eternal Sage had made no progress in tens of thousands of years.

But most witches could never reach Sagehood in their lifetimes—let alone the Eternal Sage, who was among the strongest Sages. Could such a limit truly be called a limit?

Did you want to go even higher? To the Three Kings? To omniscience and omnipotence?

For a moment, Zang Xing's emotions were tangled. She didn't know what to say. Her personal goal had always been merely to reach the peak—Sagehood, if fate allowed.

One could only say: ancestral masters were ancestral masters. The troubles of a great one were beyond the understanding of a little witch.

As she fell silent, Qiong continued, looking at the young woman as if seeing her own self five hundred years ago.

"If I were young, I might have agreed with you—pure soul-forms seemed fine. After all, my soul talent was decent; I could walk the path. Even without this fragile body, I could live long, even achieve the eternal life everyone dreamed of."

"But now, I am a mechanical cultivator. The teachings of the Mechanical Church have shown me what the true path is."

"The world outside is ending. What meaning is there in my personal transcendence? Must I endure eternal loneliness alone in the future?"

"Clearly, that is wrong. What we seek must be collective, for the clan—achieving the elevation of the entire race, not just individual transcendence."

"That was what the Head of State and the Prime Minister taught me. Hela, I hope you too can understand this truth."

Rarely talkative, Qiong had spoken more today than ever before. She looked at the young woman, earnestly hoping they could become comrades.

"But it doesn't have to be mechanical—we could use alchemical human transmutation..."

Zang Xing was already somewhat convinced, but her witch's disdain for weak machinery made her push back slightly. Yet as she spoke, she realized she couldn't even finish the sentence.

She was intelligent. She now understood the problem.

She had always viewed things from a witch's perspective—but the ancestral master before her was not yet a witch. She was still a weak mortal.

"Because machinery is cheap and easily accessible. Anyone willing to learn can master it. Magic, like the soul path, belongs only to the lucky few."

She was a smart person and had already realized where the problem lay.

She had always viewed the issue from the witch's perspective, but the Ancestor before her was not yet a witch—she was still a weak mortal.

"Because machinery is cheap and easy to popularize, anyone willing to learn can master it, while magic, like the path of spiritual entities, belongs only to a fortunate few."

Qiong continued to answer the young man's questions with patience.

"Alright, Director Qiong, I'll take on this mission."

Zangxing sighed and accepted his fate.

Seeing this, Qiong finally smiled.

She knew she would soon have a new comrade.

Holy Hammer above, may we forge eternal human glory through the power of machinery.

... ***In prayer...