That brush with the dream did not initially cast many ripples into Rong Ji’s life.
She was simply too busy.
She had to select new managers for the Mei section, replace certain key personnel, and learn to apply the arts of leadership Sang Ruo had taught her. This time, Sang Ruo did not interfere. Rong Ji knew this was a delegation of power; she had to personally forge a team that belonged to her.
Knowing it was one thing; doing it with ease was quite another.
After two days of chaotic transitions, Rong Ji finally secured preliminary control over the Divine Court’s authority and settled the remaining legacy issues. She also formed a strategic plan for dealing with the City Lord’s Manor and the tangled local factions.
Finally able to breathe, Rong Ji gathered with Sang Ruo, Lan Nineteen, and Jilan for a meal.
According to the rules of the Divine Court, this was a breach of etiquette. After the coup, Rong Ji’s living quarters and dining arrangements had officially moved to the Great Hall. But Rong Ji thought that since she was a High Priest who had already survived a usurpation, a few minor indiscretions in protocol wouldn’t hurt.
In the small courtyard where she had lived for over a decade, the four of them sat around a bluestone table piled high with local seafood.
“What is this?”
Sang Ruo curiously picked up a bizarre-looking conch. In her world, she had never seen such a thing; she assumed it was a species unique to this island.
However, eating it proved to be a struggle.
Sang Ruo frowned, and after several failed attempts, her patience frayed. She was about to find something to smash it open when Rong Ji stopped her with a laugh.
“It works like this…”
Since verbal guidance wasn’t enough, Rong Ji moved her stool closer to Sang Ruo’s side and covered Sang Ruo’s hand with her own.
Sang Ruo’s hand was suddenly enveloped by a wave of warmth, and her eyelashes fluttered. Ultimately, curiosity won out, and she didn’t pull away, allowing Rong Ji to guide her movements.
Perhaps influenced by her two days in power, a part of Rong Ji’s natural dominance had been unleashed. Her movements carried an undeniable strength. Sang Ruo felt a strange sensation; usually, it was Sang Ruo teaching Rong Ji, but now their roles seemed reversed.
Rong Ji guided Sang Ruo, inch by inch, poking the chopstick into the shell and applying a clever bit of leverage.
The conch meat came sliding out.
Sang Ruo’s attention shifted, and she quickly ignored the slight flutter in her heart. “I did the same thing just now, but I failed.”
“It requires a specific knack. It’s your first time eating it, so it’s natural you wouldn’t know,” Rong Ji said with a smile. “If you used other methods, the juice inside would be wasted, and it wouldn’t taste as good. Try it?”
Rong Ji released her hand just as the lesson ended.
Sang Ruo placed the conch meat in her mouth. This local specialty had no fishy smell; it had the characteristic sweetness of fresh seafood, and thanks to the unique cooking method, it carried a hint of herbal fragrance. It was delicious without being heavy.
“Not bad.” Her eyes brightened slightly as she gave a reserved nod.
Rong Ji beamed, as if she had received the greatest praise imaginable.
Because of the hands-on instruction, they were sitting very close, and Rong Ji made no move to pull away, watching her intently. Sang Ruo felt her face heat up under that gaze and looked away slightly.
“Lady Priest, Miss Sang.” A Divine Attendant wearing a plum blossom mask hurried toward them and bowed.
Sang Ruo broke away from the inexplicable atmosphere and breathed a sigh of relief.
Rong Ji pulled back, the smile vanishing from her face as she returned to her noble, majestic posture. “What has happened?”
The attendant glanced at Lan Nineteen and Jilan. Rong Ji signaled it was fine to speak. “The man named Helian Yun, who was imprisoned in the Black Stone Jail… he has vanished!”
Rong Ji’s brow furrowed. “Vanished?”
The attendant nodded. “Yes. More strangely, our guards were all at their posts, and there are no signs of a break-out or damage to the cell. We only discovered his disappearance when someone went to deliver breakfast this morning.”
She knelt down. “This subordinate has failed her duty. I beg the Lady Priest’s punishment!”
Rong Ji found it baffling. “No traces at all…”
A cryptic look flashed in Sang Ruo’s eyes. The fish had taken the bait.
She stood up. “I know where Helian Yun is. I will handle this matter; you need not involve yourselves.”
Rong Ji started to stand as well. “I will go with you.”
Sang Ruo gently pressed a hand on her shoulder and said softly, “This matter has nothing to do with you. I will return once it is resolved. Finish your meal.”
She refused any escort and walked out of the courtyard alone. Rong Ji frowned, watching the corner of Sang Ruo’s black robe disappear around the bend.
On the other side, the System noticed its host wasn’t searching aimlessly but was heading straight for a destination, even intentionally avoiding patrols. It realized something was wrong: 【You know where the male lead is? How?】
Sang Ruo skillfully dodged another guard, deigning to answer: “Remember during the Great Sacrifice when I fought Helian Yun’s soul-contracted beast?”
The System nodded, confused.
“I took that opportunity to inject something into his physical shell.”
System: 【!!!】
“Just a little tracking agent.”
The System sensed a deeper plot: 【Was imprisoning him and planting the tracker all for this specific moment?】 It paused. 【What exactly are you trying to do?】
“Are you asking me?” Sang Ruo’s eyes were playful. “Do you truly not know?”
The System went silent. After a long while, it said: 【I… I don’t quite understand…】
They had arrived. Sang Ruo hid in the shadows. Ten paces away stood a heavily guarded, magnificent hall. The number of Divine Attendants on guard was staggering.
The upturned eaves were solemn and imposing. A plaque hung over the entrance, yet the plaque was blank.
“So this is the Place of Divine Worship,” Sang Ruo mused.
She had once tentatively asked Rong Ji what it was like inside and if she could see it. Rong Ji, who usually followed her every whim, had only shaken her head with guilt. This so-called God was an incredibly vital existence to Rong Ji’s people.
In ancient times of conflict, the Ganmu tribe had followed their God’s protection to this secluded island to live and multiply in isolation. But as time passed, the tribe’s bloodline grew thin, and the God’s power waned. According to Rong Ji, the last miracle occurred over six hundred years ago.
Sang Ruo looked at the hall, a dark glint in her eyes. Just like her dark blade, she sensed her prey was right in front of her; her very spirit was filled with a sense of bloodlust and danger.
Helian Yun was inside. He was waiting for her, knowing she would come—or rather, the entity behind him knew she would come.
She had waited for this moment for too long.
The System stammered: 【H-Host, the male lead isn’t inside there, is he?】
“He is.”
【Then… you’re going in?】
“Naturally.”
As Sang Ruo stepped forward, the System desperately tried to stop her: 【You can’t!】
“I can’t?” Sang Ruo’s gaze grew even more playful as she took a few more steps forward. She wanted to push the System to see what it would say. Truthfully, according to her understanding, it shouldn’t be stopping her now.
Seeing it couldn’t persuade her just as it couldn’t persuade her to spare the male lead two days ago, the System hesitated for a few beats before saying: 【You cannot go in! Because, what’s inside is your own body!】
Sang Ruo: ?
“What nonsense are you talking about? My body is dormant in my original world.” She could even faintly sense its existence.
She was genuinely confused.
【I don’t mean that one,】 the System said, and once the secret was out, the rest came easily. 【Host, you are a unique existence.】
In the Three Thousand Worlds, souls are usually distinct; a person dies in one world and moves to another. There is only one exception. There is an entity that has ‘fragments’ in every world. These fragments are born powerful but have faint desires—they are like empty shells, connected by a hidden thread that is nearly imperceptible.
【You are that entity.】
Sang Ruo frowned. “You mean…”
The System paused: 【The ‘God’ in this Place of Divine Worship is your fragment in this world. Due to your unique nature, once you enter, you will merge with this fragment.】
“And what happens after merging?”
【You are the only fragment that possesses desire, so you will still be ‘you’.】 The System’s tone shifted. 【But this fragment is in a state of decay, possessing a piece of incense wood. If you enter that body, you will be stuck inside that wood, unable to move and at the mercy of others. If you go in now, the attraction between souls will force the merger!】
Sang Ruo pondered for a moment. “I see. So that’s why you deducted energy points without a word to reconstruct a body for me?”
System: 【Yes.】
“I suspect that’s not the only reason.” Sang Ruo reviewed the System’s behavior in her mind and suddenly understood the crux of it. She sighed softly. “You don’t have a very good relationship with your superior, do you?”
The System’s voice caught.
As she spoke, Sang Ruo transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished into the hall. “You are right, but unfortunately, after all my planning, there won’t be a better opportunity. I must go.”
She regained human form inside the hall and was immediately hit by a wave of dizziness. Just as the System said, it felt as though her soul were being sucked out.
The System was stunned: 【What are you doing?!】
Sang Ruo told the System in her mind: “You’ve done a great service.”
“You finally came.”
A man’s voice came from nearby. Sang Ruo looked up. Helian Yun had been waiting in the hall, right by the shrine at the far end. He held a piece of incense wood in his hand, his expression unfathomable.
This cultivation world male lead was indeed a cowering dog when he had no backing, and a tyrant when he did.
Sang Ruo used her black blade to prop herself up, her expression cold. “Stop putting on an act.”
Helian Yun walked toward her. “You didn’t expect this, did you? If you can track me, I naturally have my own tricks. That Great One has told me everything; we’ve been waiting for you.”
Sang Ruo said indifferently, “So what?”
“How arrogant. I wonder if you’ll still be so arrogant in a moment.” Helian Yun studied Sang Ruo’s face. “Your Excellency from another world.”
Unfortunately, after he spoke, Sang Ruo’s head drooped slightly, her hair covering most of her face. She appeared unable to withstand the suction of the incense wood.
Helian Yun drew closer. With the help of that Great Being, he had bypassed the barriers of this godforsaken domain and regained his strength as a high-level cultivator. He had no reason to fear her.
Remembering what that Great One had revealed, he couldn’t help but feel enraged. “You came to steal my providence! If not for you, in my original destiny, I could have…”
“Your providence?” Sang Ruo said slowly. “Wasn’t that providence stolen from others by you? I am merely returning it to its rightful owners. What was your original destiny? You were a lowly servant who committed an atrocity out of lust for your mistress. Someone like you should have been beaten to death.”
Helian Yun didn’t believe her for a second. “You truly are skilled at bewitching words.”
His tone shifted. “But no matter how skilled you are, it is useless now.” He was right in front of Sang Ruo. This mysterious, terrifying woman stood fragile before him, head bowed and struggling to stand.
He knew that the souls of these world-travelers were very weak. No matter how strong they were in their home world, once they lost that protection, death in this world was final. As long as Sang Ruo merged with this incense wood, he could destroy it, just as destiny intended.
Then everything would be back on track. His opportunities, his beauties, his…
Helian Yun’s fantasy suddenly froze.
Sang Ruo looked up slightly, revealing that cold, beautiful face. Her eyes were so dark they seemed capable of swallowing a person whole.
“Mmph!”
His throat was suddenly gripped by the woman. He felt as if he had lost all ability to resist, unable to move as he was lifted off the ground by his neck.
The mysterious voice that had been guiding him in his mind began to flicker and break as if suffering a malfunction.
“I’ve caught you,” Sang Ruo’s lips curled into a smile, her eyes filled with absolute madness. “Main God.”