"Congratulations to both goddesses for breaking through the realm. If you wish to descend to the lower world, please proceed to the Ziwei Palace and await instructions," Hina and Rixiang said in unison as they bowed respectfully.
Their tone was formal and reverent.
Ao Li asked in surprise, "Wait—we can return to the mortal realm after entering the God Realm?"
She had assumed they'd be living here permanently. The God Realm was vast and fascinating, but the idea of being able to return to her home world… it was tempting.
Rixiang nodded and explained, "The Eternal God has decreed that once a goddess reaches seventh-tier strength—that is, the seven-star sacred beast level—she may qualify for lower realm missions. But final approval depends on the will of the Eternal God."
Bai Suzhen's eyes lit up.
If she could cultivate to seventh-tier, she could return and see her sister again.
That alone was motivation enough.
Meanwhile, Li Xiuning and Shi Feixuan both stood up wordlessly and departed toward their own palaces.
Their lack of interaction made one thing clear to Bai Suzhen: the goddesses were not a united front.
They were in quiet competition—each striving for favor and power.
After they left, Chu Yi led Bai Suzhen and Ao Li to the Ancestral Sky Pool.
This special pool had been created personally by Liu Che, specifically for non-human goddesses.
After all, not every goddess could be born human.
To save time from performing individual baptisms each time, he had forged this pool with supreme-grade materials and divine medicines.
The Sky Pool floated above the temple.
At a glance, it looked small—but within it was a separate pocket world, nearly the size of the moon.
Hina stood at the entrance and said to Bai Suzhen, "Disrobe and enter the Sky Pool. Once the moon and stars revolve three times, I'll come retrieve you."
The two girls obeyed without hesitation.
After removing their clothes, they stepped into the waters.
Only after submerging themselves did they realize—
The water, which seemed icy, was actually like liquid fire—lava infused with divine medicine.
Ao Li instinctively reverted to her dragon form.
Her white-scaled baby dragon body floated adorably, splashing lightly.
Bai Suzhen, too, transformed into her true self.
As the divine medicine penetrated her body, it awakened the latent Torch Dragon bloodline hidden in her genes.
Her originally white jade-like scales began to darken.
One by one, the scales turned pitch black, glowing faintly like ink polished to a mirror sheen.
It wasn't the kind of black that felt evil or cold—it had an eerie, seductive beauty.
It was said that the Nine Yin Torch Dragon possessed infinite power.
Its existence devoured all things.
According to legend, the gods once united out of fear and eradicated it.
And yet today, that very same ancient might was awakening in Bai Suzhen.
Her dragon body wasn't particularly large—only a few hundred meters long.
Yet half the Sky Pool was being pulled into a massive whirlpool by her presence.
Hina, watching from above, was astonished.
She hadn't expected this.
This wasn't just a goddess—this was clearly one of the Daughters of Destiny.
The difference between an ordinary goddess and a true goddess of fate was night and day.
The Daughters of Destiny were naturally blessed with enhanced cultivation speed, absurd talent, and innate advantages.
Why had Li Xiuning surpassed Shi Feixuan so quickly?
Because she was the emperor's biological sister.
The emperor's fate had been tied to her since birth.
Combined with her own cultivation and destiny, she advanced faster than most.
Even so, her lead was slight—just a fraction.
Below, in the Sky Pool, the disparity was far more obvious.
Bai Suzhen had only absorbed a small amount of divine energy, yet her body was evolving rapidly.
Meanwhile, Ao Li was still absorbing medicinal essence to stabilize her genes.
She hadn't even reached the bloodline awakening stage yet.
That… was the difference.
Inside Ziwei Palace
Liu Che sat atop his divine throne, reading the report from Chu Yi.
He had thought those two new girls would need more time…
But their progress had exceeded expectations.
"Shi Feixuan, Li Xiuning."
The two women appeared before him, dressed in celestial robes.
They dropped to one knee.
"Glory to our God."
"Rise," Liu Che said. "Since your strength now qualifies, you may descend to visit your families. While you're there, assist Li Shimin in unifying the world in my name."
The Tang World had remained fragmented for too long.
Now was the time to seize it fully.
The women glanced at each other briefly.
"Yes, my Lord," they said in unison.
"One more thing. Since your first descents weren't handled properly, this time I'm sealing 90% of your power."
Liu Che lifted his finger.
A flash of divine light sealed the majority of their strength.
He wasn't worried about rejection from the lower world.
They were both Daughters of Destiny—even at full power, they wouldn't cause a collapse.
But uncontrolled divine power could damage the fabric of the world.
And that was a mess Liu Che didn't want to clean up.
The portal to the mortal world was located deep within the Eternal Shrine.
Liu Che's divine consciousness entered it directly.
[The Celestial Court has now been renamed the Eternal Shrine.]
With each passing day, more and more world portals were forming.
The two women found a shimmering light gate at the far end of the divine corridor.
It pulsed with familiar energy.
"This is the one, right?" Li Xiuning asked.
Shi Feixuan nodded. "Yes. Let's go together?"
"Of course."
Though they often competed, when it came to their home world, they still shared camaraderie.
After all—they came from the same place.
———
Datang Double Dragon World
Liaodong Region
At this moment, war raged across the region.
Forces from the remnants of the Sui Dynasty, the rulers of Korea, and martial sects dissatisfied with Li Shimin had all gathered here in defiance.
Among them stood:
Master Yijian, the solitary sword sage
Fu Cailin, Korean grandmaster
Xie Zhixuan, master of the demonic sect
Bi Xuan, war sage of the grasslands
These titans had united.
Why?
Because the stronger the Eternal Religion became, the smaller their place in the world.
And now that Heavenly Dao Song Que had returned, the pressure on them only grew heavier.
The demonic paths had no choice—they had gathered into a single resistance force.
Even though Cihang Jingzhai had been wiped out, other factions still remained.
Kou Zhong and others had risen as well.
But in the end, none of them could stand against the Eternal Religion.
On the City Walls
Xie Zhixuan stood atop the ramparts, his gaze scanning the horizon.
Far in the distance, countless troops marched.
He frowned.
That was their enemy's army.
And they were absurdly strong.
Most regular soldiers had already crossed other borders, conquering nearby nations as easily as flipping a hand.
Clearly, they didn't consider this resistance a real threat.
"How's it going? Didn't the demonic sect send out assassins? I thought you said they uncovered the secret technique of the Longevity Formula?" asked Fu Cailin, walking over with anxious eyes.
Their Korean agents had reported nothing.
Even the top assassins they'd sent had gone dark.
Even his three most talented disciples had lost contact—most likely, they were already dead.
Xie Zhixuan's expression hardened. "Even so, we can't let Li Shimin get too arrogant. If he's allowed to dominate the world, all our sects will be wiped out."
Li Shimin now controlled the Central Plains.
The aristocratic clans were disbanded.
The sects were abolished.
Only the Eternal Religion remained.
There were no more political officials.
It was a world of pure unity.
A world without division.
A world without conflict.
And yet, to Xie Zhixuan… that was terrifying.
Was this still humanity?
No war. No chaos.
People growing stronger every day.
Each soldier now possessed strength that rivaled martial sect masters.
If Li Shimin brought just 10,000 of them here, this entire rebellion would be crushed in a breath.
It made him feel deeply inferior.
He had once considered joining the Eternal Faith.
But when he asked, they told him plainly:
"Your karma runs deep. To cleanse it, you'll need to complete 30 years of hard labor."
Thirty years!
Him? The infamous Evil King Xie Zhixuan?
Doing manual labor?
He refused.
But now… he regretted it.
Just a little.
Fu Cailin sighed. "Let's hope those assassins join forces with Bi Xuan soon and eliminate Li Shimin. Otherwise… we won't last much longer."
Their numbers were dwindling.
Every enemy charge cost them dearly.
The nation could no longer support war.
Resources were drying up.
As the two spoke, a beam of multicolored light descended from the heavens.
Within it were two celestial figures—women cloaked in divine radiance.
Fu Cailin's eyes widened, and his bony fingers trembled.
"Wh-What… is this?"
Even Xie Zhixuan was stunned.
They had just rid the world of an eternal god…
And now fairies were falling from the sky?
"Are they immortals from this world…?" he murmured, heart pounding with excitement.
Without another word, he shouted, "I'll go see who it is. Wait here!"
He leapt off the city walls, his body like a soaring eagle.
With a few blinks of movement, he landed in the open plains, racing toward the descending figures.
His speed was unmatched—far beyond what normal soldiers could follow.
Meanwhile, the two goddesses landed gently on the earth.
Li Xiuning and Shi Feixuan wrinkled their noses.
The air here… was filthy.
Thick. Stagnant. Hard to breathe.
Was this really their home world?
"It seems I've grown too used to the God Realm," Li Xiuning muttered. "This is nauseating."
"Switch to internal breath," Shi Feixuan advised. "We don't need to breathe the air here anyway."
Li Xiuning nodded. "Good idea."
Then Shi Feixuan added with a sly grin, "There's something else too."
"What?"
Li Xiuning raised an eyebrow.
"Veils," Shi Feixuan replied, laughing softly. "We serve the Eternal God now. We shouldn't let mortal men see our faces."
Realization struck.
Li Xiuning quickly conjured a thin veil made of divine light, covering everything but her eyes.
Just as they were preparing to leave, a silhouette approached in the distance.
"Is that one of my second brother's soldiers?" Li Xiuning wondered aloud. "Doesn't look like it. Oh well… let's see what he wants."
They stood still.
Moments later, Xie Zhixuan arrived.
Seeing their ethereal glow, their unmatched beauty, and the divine aura around them—he was overjoyed.
"May I ask… are you fairies from the heavens?"
The two women didn't speak, but gave a slight nod.
That was enough for him.
"This is incredible! Do you know of a man named Li Shimin?" he asked, voice rising with excitement. "He recently allied with the Eternal God and is trying to take over the world. If the two of you could kill him, we'd all become your loyal followers!"
Shi Feixuan couldn't help but laugh softly.
Li Xiuning looked at the self-proclaimed Evil King and smiled faintly.
"Well now… looks like our luck is good," she said. "We descend from the heavens, and the first person we meet just happens to be an enemy of our God. That certainly saves us a lot of trouble."