Act Four: The Demon God.

So even he would have a day like this—his heart wavered.

Realizing that this state could not continue any longer—it was too dangerous, and he had no choice but to leave. The Creator God decisively withdrew his divine consciousness and returned to the Dark Source.

A month later, when Mo Jiuli came again to deliver a painting, the Creator God asked, “When Qizhao saw you, did he say anything?”

“He said, ‘Why have you become so dull again? I know I went too far that day, but I’m about to die, and you still won’t give me a word of reassurance?'”

Bai Fanlu, who was reading the lines in a calm and even tone, was puzzled. How could Qizhao be dying?

“He said he was going to die?” the Creator God also asked.

“Yes.”

“The gods are supposed to have endless life. Unless his primordial spirit is destroyed, how could he die?”

The Creator God hesitated repeatedly, unable to let go. He again borrowed Mo Jiuli’s body to descend into the mortal world. When he met Qizhao, the man indeed appeared haggard, a far cry from the spirited figure of their last meeting.

“Such a majestic God, how did you end up in such a disheveled state?”

“Heh!” Qizhao smiled comfortably. “It’s still pleasant hearing you talk like this. What is it? Softened your heart because you see I’m about to die?”

“Or perhaps… are you happy to know that soon no one will pester you anymore? Well, at least that’s better than ignoring me entirely.”

There were no more lines; Bai Fanlu read the plot below.

This time, Mo Jiuli had come with a little spiritual power. When Qizhao fell asleep, he explored his divine consciousness and indeed found that Qizhao’s primordial spirit was damaged, which shocked him.

Searching deeper into Qizhao’s memories, Mo Jiuli discovered that in the central Lingyun Heaven, the Celestial Emperor had perished. The High Gods had split into two factions: the Eastern and Western Emperor Gods fought for the throne. To achieve their ends, they even destroyed the Celestial Altar and sought to rebuild Heaven, tearing down the Celestial Oracle.

While protecting the Celestial Altar, Qizhao had been severely wounded by both factions, injuring his primordial spirit. Normally, his power would have been enough to withstand this, but because the altar was crucial to the stability of the mortal world, Qizhao had used his own primordial spirit to repair it, leading to his current state.

Mo Jiuli knew well what the shattering of a primordial spirit meant. Looking at the sleeping Qizhao, he remained awake all night.

“Ali? Where did you go?”

When Qizhao awoke, Mo Jiuli was gone, and he returned to Nameless Valley disappointed.

Lying beneath the endless sky of stars, Qizhao thought his end had come when suddenly, a ball of white light descended from the heavens, enveloping him.

In the next moment, he lost consciousness. When he woke again, his primordial spirit had miraculously been restored.

Mo Jiuli was hiding not far away, silently turning to leave. His next appearance was in the palace’s sleeping quarters.

“I never thought I would act so irrationally.”

Seeing this line, Bai Fanlu vaguely began to understand what was happening.

The subsequent plot revealed that to save Qizhao, the Creator God had risked taking half of his power along with his spiritual consciousness, using the ancient power of creation to perform a miracle and repair Qizhao’s primordial spirit.

“But now, until this body perishes, I can’t return.”

Mo Jiuli raised his hand, and a golden key appeared in it. Bai Fanlu recognized it—it was the Key of Hengqing.

Seated on the ground, Mo Jiuli formed a seal with his hands before his chest. A thin, black thread-like wisp of energy escaped from his lips, entering the Key of Hengqing, which he then sealed in his abdomen’s dantian.

“In my current state, he’ll find out sooner or later…”

As expected, Qizhao soon came looking for him. Though his primordial spirit had only just been restored, he was eager to see Mo Jiuli. Because of his haste, he didn’t notice the divine power Mo Jiuli was suppressing.

“Ali, I’m not going to die anymore!”

“You’re a god; you were never supposed to die.”

“Gods have their weaknesses too. I don’t know which god helped me, but once I find them, I will repay them properly.”

“Mm.”

Qizhao looked at Mo Jiuli’s indifferent expression and hesitated before saying, “Ali, I need to return to Nameless Valley and go into seclusion for a while to fully recover. You…”

Mo Jiuli looked up, “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Ah…” Qizhao seemed a bit flustered.

“It’s not impossible.”

Qizhao was pleasantly surprised. Mo Jiuli was actually willing to accompany him to Nameless Valley to recover, but little did he know, Mo Jiuli’s true purpose had nothing to do with him.

That night, while Qizhao was in seclusion, Mo Jiuli turned into a mist and approached the divine steed behind the mountain.

Bai Fanlu didn’t know what he was planning until a thought appeared in the corner of the screen from Mo Jiuli’s inner monologue.

“The divine steed is a perfect vessel to store divine power, and since it’s often by Qizhao’s side, it can act as a conduit to help him in critical moments. This will work perfectly.”

After a brief respite, chaos erupted once again in Heaven, even spilling into the mortal world. Both realms were engulfed in flames of war.

Mo Jiuli noticed the strange flow of dark energy within his dantian. “The darkness inside the Key of Hengqing is beginning to stir… It’s going to affect the Dark Source soon.”

Qizhao hadn’t visited for a long time, and the situation in Heaven was likely unstable.

With unrest everywhere, Mo Jiuli stayed within the royal city, occasionally walking through the streets. He overheard a conversation.

“Did you hear about the…”

“Yes, it’s terrifying. The emperor has been praying in the temple for days, but disasters keep happening. What’s going on?”

“Have the gods abandoned us? That demon god… Is he really a god?”

“How could he be a god? He killed so many people!”

“But he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person…”

Demon God?

Bai Fanlu thought back to the dream sequence in the chess game. It seemed to connect with this plot. He was curious—how had Mo Jiuli, a fragment of the Creator God, become the Demon God? Could it be related to the darkness he mentioned?

Mo Jiuli frowned. “I created the gods. Though they possess great power, they are bound by the Celestial Oracle and Heavenly laws. How could they kill?”

“Brother, who is this Demon God?”

“You haven’t heard? It’s all over the place. That thing appeared out of nowhere, calling itself the Demon God. When our country attacked Jiang Nation, it appeared and slaughtered both armies!”

Mo Jiuli’s heart sank. Just the other morning, he had woken from what he thought was a nightmare, smelling faintly of blood.

“What day did that happen?”

“The day before yesterday. It was terrifying!”

The voices of the people faded as they walked away. Mo Jiuli returned to his chambers and closed the door.

“Ninth Prince?” a maid timidly asked outside.

“Without my orders, no one is to enter.” Mo Jiuli’s voice was cold.

“Yes.”

Mo Jiuli locked himself in his room. He vaguely remembered the content of the nightmare: a bloody slaughter, battle flags falling, corpses everywhere… It turned out to be real.

He used his spiritual sense to search for the divine steed but found it trapped in Nameless Valley by a formation.

He recalled borrowing the steed to help Qizhao during the recent battle among the gods.

“He’s suspicious of me…”

Mo Jiuli couldn’t retrieve his divine power. If Qizhao didn’t come to see him, he had no means, as a mere mortal, to reach Nameless Valley.

Later, the Demon God appeared again, and Mo Jiuli finally confirmed that the nightmares were real, caused by the dark power within the Key of Hengqing controlling his body.

“Darkness… You couldn’t resist after all, could you?”

From then on, the Demon God roamed the world, bringing chaos. The situation grew more dire, with the heavens and earth increasingly destabilized.

Qizhao eventually rushed back. “Ali, I heard a Demon God appeared in the mortal realm. Are you alright? Stop wandering around—it’s dangerous. Stay in the palace and don’t go anywhere.”

“But I… I want to go to Nameless Valley.”

“Nameless Valley?” Qizhao looked at Mo Jiuli, then said, “That’s fine too.”

“Wait for me. I need to leave a letter for my mother.”

“Alright, I’ll wait.”

By this time, Mo Jiuli knew that he would never return once he left.

After Qizhao saw him finish the letter and place it under the paperweight, he said, “Let’s go.”

Once Mo Jiuli was settled in Nameless Valley, Qizhao seemed hesitant to speak several times.

Mo Jiuli said, “You’re busy. Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay here and won’t go anywhere.”

“Alright. Once things settle in Heaven, I’ll return to accompany you.”

Mo Jiuli smiled but did not respond.

After Qizhao left, Mo Jiuli immediately found the divine steed and reclaimed his divine power.

But it was already too late. The darkness within the Key of Hengqing had developed its own consciousness. Mo Jiuli’s body had absorbed too much malevolent energy from the killings. Returning to the Dark Source with the Key of Hengqing was no longer within his grasp.

At the dawn of creation, pure energy rose while impure energy sank. Except for the highest realm of Lingyun Heaven and the deepest layer of Avici Hell, the mortal and celestial realms maintained a balance of purity and impurity.

But with the war between the heavens and the mortal world, the impure energy grew, while pure energy dissipated.

As the impure energy rose and pure energy descended, the balance between yin and yang, good and evil, was lost. Bloodshed and chaos spread everywhere.

The gods, once noble beings of Heaven, were corrupted by the impure energy, reduced to instinctual slaughter. The mortal world fared even worse, filled with endless suffering and devastation.

The darkness, seizing the opportunity, gained more control over Mo Jiuli’s body. At first, it only appeared at night, but soon, it began to surface during the day as well, with Mo Jiuli’s consciousness growing weaker.

“Darkness grows strong through impure energy. To take it away, I must purify the impure energy within me with pure energy, break free from my physical form, and reseal the darkness in the Dark Source.”

Mo Jiuli thought, at the dawn of creation, he had bestowed pure energy upon Lingyun Heaven, where the first Celestial Emperor was born. The pure energy must have been passed down through generations.

When Qizhao returned to Nameless Valley, he said, “I encountered the Demon God, but he escaped.”

Mo Jiuli asked, “What did he look like?”

Qizhao frowned, “He was shrouded in black mist—I couldn’t see him.”

“…” Had he really not realized anything? Bai Fanlu read Mo Jiuli’s thoughts.

Qizhao added, “The heavens should not interfere with the mortal realm, but since this Demon God claims to be a god and has thrown the mortal realm into chaos, we can’t just stand by.”

Mo Jiuli nodded. “Among the gods, is there anyone with pure energy?”

Qizhao looked at him, puzzled. “Me. Didn’t I ever tell you?”

“…” Mo Jiuli was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly and shook his head. “You never mentioned it.”

“Why are you suddenly asking this?”

“The Demon God is wreaking havoc because he’s tainted by impure energy. A god of pure energy should be able to defeat him.”

“How do you know that?”

“You don’t need to worry about how I know. Next time you encounter him… just strike him with pure energy, and he’ll perish, ending the threat.”

“Ali?” Qizhao suddenly approached, his gaze piercing. “Are you hiding something from me?”

“I’m just a mortal. What could I possibly hide from a god of pure energy?” Mo Jiuli smiled lightly. “I’ve simply been idle, reading some celestial history books. I’m only guessing.”

“Really?”

“Whether it’s true or not, you’ll see if you try.”

Mo Jiuli’s voice was distant, his thoughts consumed by the fact that this disaster was his doing. It was up to him to bear all the consequences and restore everything to its rightful place.

By this point, Bai Fanlu had connected the dream from the chess game with the current plot. At this moment, Qizhao still didn’t know that Mo Jiuli was the Demon God. Later, when he found out, he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

But eventually, he must have acted, didn’t he?

Act Five: Time and Space.

Outside the deep, dark abyss…

Mo Jiuli said, “This is the Dark Source I told you about. I was its guardian. Out of selfishness, half of the darkness that has accumulated since the creation of the world has escaped.”

“Now it resides in my body, and it must be sealed back, or the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Qizhao looked at Mo Jiuli, “Your selfishness—does that refer to me?”

“…No.”

“Stubborn.”

“You’d better hurry. If you delay any longer, we’ll end up fighting, and you might not be able to beat me.”

Qizhao summoned the Qian Yuan Seal, setting up a formation. Pure energy surged like a flood, rushing into the core of the formation and transforming into sword energy from all directions.

Mo Jiuli closed his eyes, waiting for the sword energy to pierce his body, dispersing the impure energy and drawing the darkness back into the Dark Source.

But the expected pain never came. Instead, the pure energy within him suppressed the impure energy. Mo Jiuli opened his eyes and saw Qizhao drawing a talisman.

Mo Jiuli suddenly realized he couldn’t move. In the next moment, the Key of Hengqing was pulled out of his body by the Qian Yuan Seal, slowly separating from him.

Qizhao looked at him, raising an eyebrow with his signature confident smile.

Bai Fanlu, reading this part of the story, unconsciously looked up, finding that smile strangely familiar.

His heart trembled, and he instinctively muttered the lines, “No… don’t act recklessly…”

“You already know what I’m planning?” Qizhao laughed. “You’re smart, but I don’t always have to listen to you.”

Qizhao withdrew the Qian Yuan Seal. Mo Jiuli desperately tried to break free from the binding, but he couldn’t. He could only watch as Qizhao took the seal into his arms.

Then, Qizhao slowly took out a pill.

Mo Jiuli was shocked. “That’s… you… you had this all along?”

Qizhao chuckled. “Yes, originally, if this didn’t work, I was going to kill you and then… well! Luckily, it worked, and you didn’t get your way.”

Mo Jiuli shook his head, unable to speak.

“So, you see, this is much better. Rather than some tragic and humiliating end, it’s much more practical for one of us to survive.”

“Who… who said anything about dying with you? I never—”

“Yes, yes, I know. It’s all been one-sided on my part, right? Still, I think I’m quite charming and well-matched with you.”

Mo Jiuli gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red.

Qizhao looked at him tenderly. “Now I understand why you’re afraid of the dark. I’ve been roaming free for so many years, while you’ve been stuck here in this dark, lonely place. Let me take your place for a while.”

Bai Fanlu felt a sharp pain in his heart as he read this. Initially, he only needed to recite the lines with the right emotions, but now it felt unbearable. Even though there were no more lines for him, he wished he could speak to Qizhao—unlike Mo Jiuli, who could say nothing at this moment.

“What’s with that look?” Qizhao’s tone was dismissive, but his eyes were full of reluctance.

“It’s not like we won’t see each other again. Let’s deal with this troublesome matter first, and when I’ve had enough of being stuck in there, you can take my place.”

“Well then… no need for goodbyes. We’ll meet again!”

In the end, Qizhao didn’t wait for Mo Jiuli to say a word. He turned around and, with a carefree wave, resolutely entered the Dark Source.

Bai Fanlu couldn’t believe it. Things had turned out like this.

This was completely different from the dream he had seen in the chess game. In the dream, Qizhao had killed Mo Jiuli, but why here had Qizhao taken Mo Jiuli’s place in the Dark Source?

The story continued.

The Dark Source returned to calm. The balance of pure and impure energies between the heavens and the mortal world was restored after a hundred years.

Mo Jiuli, using his power as the Creator God, stabilized the heavens, but after appointing a new Celestial Emperor, he suddenly disappeared. No one knew where he went.

A hundred years later, the Dark Source vanished.

Mo Jiuli stood in the wind. “Perishing together? Only you would do something like that.”

Perishing together? Bai Fanlu was stunned. Could it mean Qizhao and the darkness?

The divine steed appeared behind Mo Jiuli. “Your Highness… have you really decided?”

Mo Jiuli said, “I’ve spent a hundred years searching and finally found this method. There’s no turning back. And now that he’s done this, I…”

He sighed softly. “This was always my responsibility. It shouldn’t have been his burden.”

“The world is at peace now, and I can carry out this task without any worries.”

Bai Fanlu didn’t know what Mo Jiuli intended to do. With Qizhao gone into the Dark Source, what else could Mo Jiuli do to save him?

Mo Jiuli began forming a spell. Beams of pure light coalesced into intricate symbols in the air, gradually forming a seal. Standing at its center, his hair whipped by the fierce wind, Mo Jiuli looked up as the sun, moon, and stars shifted in the sky, casting strange shadows.

“Time reversal, rise!”

Qizhao, I’m coming.

This time, I won’t let you do something so foolish.

With those two thoughts, Bai Fanlu vaguely understood the meaning of “time reversal.”

The scene shifted, returning to that day.

It was the scene Bai Fanlu had witnessed in the chess game dream.

Qizhao held a sword in his hand.

The sharp blade pierced flesh, cutting through ribs, and crimson blood soaked the white robes as pure energy tore through the Demon God’s body.

Mo Jiuli died by Qizhao’s sword, and Qizhao, attempting to take poison and die, was stopped by Mo Jiuli, who kissed him and took the poison himself.

Then came the moment when Qizhao was drawn into the Dark Source—a place the Creator God had guarded for eons, where he had also been imprisoned for eons.

“When I leave, destroy this body, and keep the Key of Hengqing. Guard it well. One day…”

Although Mo Jiuli’s consciousness returned, his body had been corrupted by impure energy, transforming him into the Demon God. But Qizhao didn’t destroy him as instructed; instead, he chose to seal him.

History was altered, and from then on, events unfolded differently.

The heavens were restored, and the gods who had failed in their bid for the throne were cast down. Among them, the Dragon God Xunhuang led a faction that never accepted Qizhao’s rule.

“Qizhao, do you think I didn’t know about you and Mo Jiuli? I saw it all! You, a heartless and cold-blooded man, dare to call yourself the supreme of the heavens? What a joke!”

Failing to save Mo Jiuli had always been a hidden pain in Qizhao’s heart.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you. But for the sake of our past as brothers, I advise you to get back on the right path, or I won’t be so kind.”

“Then let’s see how unkind you can be. Come!”

Xunhuang and Qizhao battled for a month, and in the end, Xunhuang was sealed in the far north. His followers were banished to the mortal realm, where they lost their divine immortality.

Over the long ages, the descendants of those gods merged with the impure energy of the mortal realm, developing a demonic nature. Their descendants revered the Demon God as their ancestor, gradually calling themselves demons.

The world was no longer divided into just heaven and the mortal realm but became three realms: heaven, demons, and humans.

Qizhao sought to establish new order among the three realms, but the gods of heaven resisted. Ignoring their opposition, Qizhao personally inscribed the new divine edict on Lingyun Heaven.

“Your Majesty, is it truly worth exhausting your primordial spirit for this?”

In the void, a voice asked.

Qizhao, half-closing his eyes and looking relaxed, as if free from all burdens, replied, “The gods have held dominion for too long. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. From now on, there will be no more immortal gods, only long-lived immortals.”

“The demon race will rise to rival the immortals, while the human realm, flourishing with the spirit of heaven and earth, will stand neutral. The balance of the three realms will ensure lasting stability.”

As Qizhao spoke, the Key of Hengqing appeared in his hand. “The demons’ lifespan is shorter than the immortals, and their territory smaller than the humans’. This key will provide the demon realm with spiritual veins, protecting your people for generations. After this, you need not return.”

“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“I’m tired. You may go.”

“Yes.”

Leaning against the clouds, Qizhao seemed to see someone in a daze.

That person sat across from him, elegant and composed, their expression indifferent. Their hands, pale as jade, likely held a wine cup, the fragrance filling the air.

They sat there, not smiling, but with a casual glance in his direction, it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

“Wine doesn’t make one drunk, but people can get drunk…” Qizhao raised his hand as if to toast, just like sharing a drink with an old friend.

“Ali, the world is at peace now. You don’t need to worry anymore. Isn’t it time for you to come out and see it?”

“But as for the afterlife you spoke of… I’m afraid I can’t wait for that. You’re so slow… making me wait so long…”

“If you don’t come out soon… I might not even get to see you one last time… Would you regret that?”

Qizhao shook his head, laughing bitterly at himself. “It’s always been my one-sided feelings. You care for the world. When was there ever room for me in your heart?”

“Forget it, forget it…”

Qizhao raised his hand and drank the imaginary cup, tossing it aside. The cup fell like a cloud, disappearing without a trace.

“Ali… I’m really useless… Why… did you have to figure it out… If only that day…”

Bai Fanlu saw Qizhao lying on the ground, seemingly drunk, and felt a sharp pain in his heart. At that moment, he had a strong urge to tell him the truth.

To tell him that he had succeeded. He had saved Mo Jiuli and taken his place in the Dark Source. It wasn’t that Qizhao had failed.

But Qizhao couldn’t hear him.

After a long time, Qizhao’s form slowly dissipated, and in the place where he had just been lying, a faint ball of white light emerged.

“Was I still too late?”

Act Five: Time and Space, End.