The eerie blue flames erupted from the rifts in the earth, and the silver-white Nine-Tailed Demon Fox burst out from the surface, enveloped in smoke and dust. Hu Li sprinted to a nearby hill in one breath.

"We made it out, we made it out!" Erin, riding on Hu Li's back, shouted excitedly, "Whoa, that was thrilling! It feels like the whole world is collapsing, silly fox, you're impressive, body cultivation is such a great discipline..."

As she spoke, a pure white light floated over from the side. The Artificial Angel, with wings on her back, slowly landed next to Hu Li. She curiously watched the large swaying tails behind Hu Li, then slightly tilted her head up to look at the sky, lost in thought.

"I have no idea where this is," Hu Li muttered, as he looked around, "The passages we used to get into the mountains have all collapsed. Most of the tunnels below are unfamiliar, and I think we drifted at least ten kilometers when we rushed up."

"The surrounding terrain has changed," Luna said solemnly.

The sunset and distant smoke dyed the sky red. As far as the eye could see, it was a vast stretch of desolate wasteland. Smoke was billowing from a distant forest, while a close-by portion of hills had been plowed by artillery, with twisted wreckage visible between the rubble and large craters.

The way they had entered the mountain facilities was completely gone.

The ground trembled slightly, and a disturbing low rumble occasionally came from deep underground, making it impossible to discern the direction.

"It feels like an earthquake," Hu Li said nervously, "No, it's not just an earthquake..."

"Really?" The small puppet on her back raised her head, "All I hear is some rumbling sounds."

"Of course, you're sitting on my back, so you wouldn't feel it," the Great Demon Fox snarled, baring her teeth at the unperturbed passenger on her back, "If you could feel the shock absorbers on my four limbs, that would be strange indeed."

The small puppet didn't take it to heart and simply straightened up, shading her eyes with her hand as she gazed into the distance.

She saw columns of smoke large and small rising on the horizon.

Then, with a loud rumble, a nearby hill suddenly collapsed and split open. Amidst the collapse, a passage seemed to open deep below, with thick smoke and crystals shooting skyward.

"No, it's not right, something feels off," the small puppet suddenly tensed up, "Yu Sheng is up to something big down there..."

She was interrupted halfway through when a voice suddenly came to her mind: "Erin."

"Yu Sheng? What's happening?" the small puppet quickly asked, "I just saw the nearby hills suddenly collapse! And on the distant horizon, there are huge smoke columns rising..."

"Notify Baili Qing, all ground troops should immediately withdraw to space," Yu Sheng's voice sounded serious, "I'll mark the available surface rally points. The Artificial Saintess and the Knight Order will go to the nearest gathering point and take them."

"Uh? Oh, okay," Erin paused momentarily, then quickly recovered and, while having her other bodies message Baili Qing, asked anxiously, "What's happening on your end? Why are we suddenly pulling the troops out? We're just about to take this planet..."

"It's no longer necessary to capture it," Yu Sheng interrupted her, "'Holy' and the Dark Angel behind him tunneled to the limit of this planet's interior centuries ago. Now, this planetary shell is held together purely by Angel Power—it's about to disintegrate."

"...Holy shit!"

...

Brilliant Holy Light surged around the earth core, like a sea of light radiating intense heat, yet within this radiance lay black holes that devoured all light, located at the very center of this light sea, creating an unsettling, contradictory scene, shadows within the light.

Countless space rifts of varying sizes covered the surface and surroundings of the Gate of Eden, reflecting distant starlight, densely packed crystal branches growing out, tightly entwining the radiant and holy body hundreds of meters away.

The light from the body was gradually dimming, the Spiritual Energy Power that composed its flesh dwindling away, leaving behind only a hollow skeleton.

Only the face, seemingly fused from countless individuals, continued to stare unwaveringly in the direction of the Gate of Eden.

"Holy" discovered he could not stop the power from draining, with all material and energy of this shell rapidly transforming into nourishment for the Gate of Eden.

"Why..."

He subconsciously murmured.

"Have you forgotten? 'To power the Gate of Eden,'" Yu Sheng's voice came from the midst of the rampant crystal branches, patiently answering "Holy's" question. "This was the final and most intense wish you, along with the entire Hidden Monastery Order, made—now the wish is about to come true."

Then came a brief silence.

Following that silence was a fierce struggle.

The photon-forged body desperately tried to break free from its crystal shackles, and for a moment, Yu Sheng even suspected that this fearsome entity might actually break free from this bondage—a surge of Holy Light even punched through a small section of the upper crust, creating a terrifying gap through which starlight could be seen. A shattered mountain peak fell from above, crashing into the scorching sea of Holy Light near the earth core.

Some larger and smaller planetary fragments were falling from above, only to be caught by the Holy Light surrounding the earth core, orbiting the Gate of Eden like satellites.

The terrifying energy fluctuations slowly settled down once again.

"This is a bad place."

A calmer voice than before suddenly rang in Yu Sheng's ear.

There was no longer the feigned gentleness from before, no mysterious tone, only genuine calmness, along with a trace of fatigue and nostalgia.

Yu Sheng looked somewhat unexpectedly at the "Holy Spirit."

He saw that the skeleton was lifting its head, a blurry phantom covering the bones.

Wearing a thick outdoor work suit, with a scruffy beard, an exhausted expression, and a calm face.

"Terrible, terrible, cold, dry, the earth veins exhausted, the atmosphere toxic, food unable to grow, even things planted in the ecological pods often mysteriously die from disease.

"Even this star system is terrible—pirates, interstellar warlords, military conglomerates, and Angel Sect believers and subspace lunatics popping out from every nook and cranny... every planet is at war, either already wrecked or being wrecked.

"In this rotten place, even the rats crawling out of the sewers are cleaner than humans."

Yu Sheng looked at the other calmly.

The middle-aged man in the heavy work suit closed his eyes, then turned into the face of a young man.

"Some of us were exiled here, others were captives of pirates, and we have a scientist, once a Star Noble of Algerde before being expelled by the Astrology Association.

"We gathered together, got an industrial carrier from the warlords, and found a safe zone within the gravitational Fault—we thought we could change this place."

"You did change this place," Yu Sheng said slowly, "Is it like this in your plan?"

"...When the path is too long, it's hard to maintain the same direction," the face on the skeleton turned into a short-haired woman, her starlike eyes showing she was once an Arglede Elf, "But still, we built order in this decaying place, twelve habitable planets, fleets, laws, industrial systems, even the worst places are better than those recruitment planets of the warlords."

"We, once represented progress and hope here," the short-haired woman's face faded, a blonde young man appeared on the skeleton, "Yet transformation is endless, and the costs grow heavier."

"Like that Pasture Star? And your series of 'Holy Spirit' technology?"

"...You must see, this technology is also used on ourselves."

Amidst the floating brilliance, the Arglede Elf appeared again on the Holy Spirit's face, she lifted her head, calmly meeting Yu Sheng's eyes.

"Your story deeply moved me."

Yu Sheng sighed softly.

The holy light beside the "Holy Spirit" seemed to pulsate slightly, a hint of hope appeared on its face again.

"So, give it your all next," Yu Sheng's face remained calm as he spoke at the Gate of Eden's surface, "Oppose me with all your strength, to live up to this millennium-long path of seeking."

All the Crystal Branches tightened suddenly, the countless cracks on the Gate of Eden's surface began to grow again, the massive light-forged body of the "Holy Spirit" struggled with all its might, yet it began to be slowly dragged into the dark hole in the Earth Core.

Inside the Holy Realm Planet, the roiling holy light began its final roar, scorching waves erupted in the empty planetary core, spreading outward wave after wave, impacting the fragile crust that was already full of rifts and on the verge of collapse.

The planet roared like a giant bell, the structure supported by Angel Power started to disintegrate layer by layer from the inside out, countless rocks and crystals detached from the dark earthly dome, crashing down like a storm into the sea of holy light at the Earth Core.

The Gate of Eden began to grow, devouring all matter and energy within its predator range that could serve as material for the gate.

The "Holy Spirit" (Shadowless Skeleton) also rapidly fell toward the Gate of Eden, in the blink of an eye, half of the massive body had already been swallowed by the hole.

Even the shell of the Dark Angel could not resist this creation powerful enough to tear through space-time and pierce the Barrier of the world.

It began to be ground down bit by bit, countless faces rapidly changing on that skull, countless bodies cycling through its remnant structure.

In the end, even the last remaining skull touched the surface of the Gate of Eden.

Yu Sheng's face looked slightly downward.

"Did you give it your all?"

"Yes." The skull said calmly.

"Any last words?"

"None."

"Very well, your Path of Sanctification is over."

"..."

Then, the skull quietly merged into the space-time rift opened by the Gate of Eden, becoming its nourishment.