I stared blankly at the spot on my chest where my heart should be—a massive cavity had been gouged out, as if a huge subterranean cavern had opened there, its diameter stretching dozens of meters.
"The hearts have been taken. All the Gods’ hearts have already been stolen by foreign entities that invaded this world."
My eyes widened in shock. Then, led by the Spirit of the Mountain, I visited different caverns. At the heart of every God, a gaping wound had been carved open.
Suddenly, I began to understand how the Emperor God and his followers managed to establish a base in this law-bound Yang Realm. Xu Fu had told me before what happened between the Yang and Shadow Realms—the Shadow Realm had already been destroyed, yet the Emperor God’s offensive still hadn’t ceased.
"Can you take us to the Emperor God’s stronghold?"
The Spirit of the Mountain shook his head.
"You will never reach it."
"What do you mean?"
The Spirit of the Mountain shook his head again, then raised one hand. Instantly, a wound appeared on it, and we were transported back to the brown mountain peak. He pointed toward the urban forest in the distance.
"That city is the gateway to where the Emperor God resides—but you will never reach it."
"Because of the dimension?"
The Spirit of the Mountain nodded.
"They established a higher-dimensional space between the darkness and the Yang Realm. Without knowing the correct dimension, you cannot enter their domain."
For a moment, I thought of the methods used by the Dark Banquet—of course, they were still working together. Anger surged as I clenched my fists. Xu Fu must have realized something, which is why he left. Maybe what he sought was the Gods’ hearts, but this place had already been looted by the Emperor God and his followers. The hearts of the Gods simply no longer existed here.
"Do you know what their true goal is?"
I asked, but the Spirit of the Mountain shook his head.
"After the world was remade, they arrived here immediately, and in that brief window, forcibly took the hearts of the Gods. No one could stop them—the Forsaken had not yet awakened. Then they began using the Gods’ power to create a higher-dimensional space, completely leaving this world behind and conducting experiments with faith based on it."
I gazed helplessly at the distant forest. By now, Agent One should have awakened. No matter how powerful she is in this world, she still cannot reach the Emperor God and his followers. And I still don’t understand their purpose, nor do I know what’s happening in the Yang Realm.
"Let’s go. That girl should be awake now."
The Spirit of the Mountain said this and floated up ahead. I hurried after him, and soon we returned to the urban forest, to the place where Agent Seven had once lived.
"What is this thing?"
The moment Agent One saw the Spirit of the Mountain, she grew suspicious. I briefly explained a few things to her, and her jaw dropped in shock.
"So what exactly is going on here?"
Agent One immediately asked, and the Spirit of the Mountain responded.
"The Emperor God and his followers used the Gods’ power to infinitely dislocate the Yang Realm. For every Forsaken, they created a separate Yang Realm, each one slightly different, yet existing in a different dimension. They did this to prevent the Forsaken from gathering and disrupting their plans. So now, you are the only Forsaken in this world, and this Yang Realm belongs to you."
My face grew grim. It seemed the Emperor God and his followers had planned everything from the start. Their deep understanding of the Yang Realm was likely thanks to those Dark Banquet members. The infinite dislocation and overlap of the Yin-Yang Realm probably began with the world’s self-destruction.
"What about the World Will? Can’t it do anything?"
The Spirit of the Mountain shook his head.
"They haven’t violated the Principle of this world, so naturally, the World Will can do nothing."
"Didn’t they previously establish a Faith Graveyard to collect belief?"
001 sat gloomily off to the side, resting her cheek in her palm, looking utterly miserable.
I walked over and crouched beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright. I won't leave."
For a moment, 001 looked at me in astonishment.
"Really?"
I nodded, stood up, and looked resolutely into the distance.
"Of course. Until everything is clear, until you all can gain strength in the Yang Realm, I absolutely won't leave."
Thinking back to how we arrived, it seemed the Emperor God and his followers could precisely control who entered this world. By coincidence, we ended up in the Yang Realm where 001 was.
"Can you make the World Will of this realm appear?"
I asked, and the Spirit of the Mountain shook his head.
"The World Will of this realm has not yet awakened. Because the world once destroyed itself, now it only possesses laws, but no will."
I fell into silent contemplation, gazing toward the distant brown mountains.
"The bodies of the Gods should still contain some power, right?"
I asked, and 001 looked at me with confusion.
"Why do you want corpses? That's disgusting."
I smiled slightly.
"Maybe we can do something with the bodies of the Gods."
The Spirit of the Mountain nodded.
"There is still power left, but it's already completely transformed into everything in the Yang Realm. Trying to use that power is impossible."
"How did the Forsaken gain the power of the Gods?"
I asked, and the Spirit of the Mountain began to explain.
Before the Yang Realm was formed, the corpses of the Gods already existed in this space. When the sediment of the Yin-Yang Realms reached a certain point, the derivative laws began to create this world. When the things people believed in were destroyed, people fell into deep sorrow and pain, especially those with strong faith. The dead faith accumulated here, gradually gaining all the thoughts and consciousness of their original bodies.
Under the laws, the Forsaken also needed to eat and drink. They were part of what this world birthed, so they started consuming things that appeared here. At that moment, the power of the Gods began to mix into the Forsaken’s bodies, eventually transforming into their strength. At first, the Forsaken who arrived here had no power at all, but after some time, they gained strength.
I was a bit surprised and looked at 001. She nodded and said that when she first came here, she didn’t have any powers. She had to hide to avoid being hunted by other Forsaken, but one day, her power suddenly awakened. It was strong from the very start, instantly rising to the level of 001. She once fought the former 001, who was no match for her, but she didn’t kill him—she let him go.
"The stronger one’s faith, the greater the power gained in this world."
I thought of Lan Yinyin, who was once 000. His power was even greater than 001’s. But right now, we are powerless. I plan to rest for a while, then go inspect the bodies of the Gods to see how much power remains within them.
There’s another reason I can’t leave: the Emperor God and the Dark Banquet. They might become the biggest winners in the resurrection of the Wraithlord. Their plans were laid long ago for a specific purpose. Whenever an opportunity arises, they seize it immediately. They truly want to seal the Wraithlord, who is the greatest obstacle to their plans.
I can imagine they won’t let the Wraithlord keep wreaking havoc in the Yang Realm and seize the Yin-Yang Realms. They’ll find a chance to seal the Wraithlord and then take over the world. If I can help the Forsaken gain power, we’ll be able to resist the Emperor God and his followers. Now that they’re entrenched here, only the Forsaken’s power in this world can stand against them.
"First, let’s find a way to bring this fragmented Yang Realm back on track. Once it’s restored, we can gather the Forsaken and effectively restrain the Emperor God and his followers."
001 smiled joyfully and nodded.
"Spirit of the Mountain, are you really not planning to leave? Aren’t you worried about the Spirit of the Earth?"
I shook my head.
"Actually, I’m worried about Lan Ruoxi. After the Spirit of the Earth died, the only place he could go was hell, becoming part of it and losing all consciousness. But if Lan Ruoxi really dies, Ethan Zhang will never be able to return."
001 put away her smile, replied with an 'oh,' and I smiled, patting her head.
"It’s alright. Worrying is pointless. Even if I care, going there now won’t help. Only by solving this world’s problems can I help them in some way. Knowing that is enough."
001 smiled and nodded, then floated up, saying she’d help me find some wine, and flew off toward the snowy plain. At that moment, I saw the Spirit of the Mountain sitting quietly at the edge of the rooftop, gazing at the brown mountains.
"You spirits don’t seem to have any power."
I said, and the Spirit of the Mountain nodded.
"No one can interfere with us, and we can’t interfere with anything either. We’re different from the souls born from your body, which are called realms. We have no physical form to support us, so we can’t affect reality."
I smiled faintly. Although I could sense the presence of Oblivion, I couldn’t feel any real power from it—just that I could perceive much more than before.
Everything now felt unbearably heavy to me. I knew clearly that if I couldn’t pose any threat to the Emperor God and his followers, they would take everything from the Yin-Yang Realms.
"Give it a try, Spirit of the Mountain. I think you can do it, because you’ve been watching this world for a long time! You know everything about it."
I smiled and shook my head.
"Maybe. But right now, I don’t need to understand the world—I need to become part of it."