No matter how long one stayed in the time chasm, to the outside world, it was merely an instant.
After dealing with Lucifer, Wang Lan and Yulia returned to Heaven, side by side.
The Holy Bell in Heaven continued to toll distantly, and an additional figure had unknowingly appeared beside Gaia.
The moment Wang Lan appeared, he instantly flashed to Jiang Xinyu's side. "Xinyu, when did you get here?"
"The instant you charged forward, I was already here. So, did you win?"
"He won," Gaia said with a faint smile, speaking softly. "Now that the God of Heaven has safely returned, my mission is also over."
Hearing Gaia's melancholic words, Wang Lan was slightly taken aback. Gaia nodded subtly toward the God of Heaven, and her form began to dissolve into particles of light, slowly fading away.
"Mother of the Earth Gaia had only a remnant soul left after merging with the Earth. She had been silently guarding the Earth and had also guided my return. The dream that the former Pope had twenty years ago was Gaia's guidance. But the remaining divine soul cannot linger in the world for too long. Having completed her mission, Gaia was to return to chaos."
"As the God of Heaven, can't you save Gaia?"
"Her return is decreed by fate; even we, as gods, cannot defy that destiny." Yulia slowly reached out her hand, and the Holy Bell once again flew back into her grasp.
Yulia gently shook the Holy Bell. With a single, clear ring, waves of sound spread, and Heaven began to tremble violently.
The ground, pitted and uneven from battle, rapidly smoothed over. Collapsed structures soared into the air and reassembled. Columns rose from beneath the ground. With the aid of Yulia's Divine Power, the ruins of Heaven seemed to reverse time, rapidly returning to their original state.
After Yulia had finished, Wang Lan approached. "Yulia, now that everything has ended, can we leave?"
"Wait for me; we'll go together."
"Together? You're not staying in Heaven?" Jiang Xinyu asked curiously.
Instantly, Yulia gave the two of them a mischievous look. "Just me alone in Heaven? Can you two really bear that?"
"Alone? You are a god now."
"Even gods get bored and feel lonely, you know."
Wang Lan looked around; the vast Heaven indeed held only Yulia. Even a god could not endure such loneliness.
Upon their exit from Heaven, the Pope and leaders from various countries were already there, having been anxiously awaiting them for a long time. The time for the Fifth Epoch to begin, as prophesied in the Bible, had arrived. It would be either destruction or rebirth, depending on the outcome of this event. Reports from the evacuating soldiers suggested the situation was indeed dire.
Then, with a few tolls from Heaven's Holy Bell, the Heaven Door shone with dazzling divinity. Soon after, everyone gathered at the foot of the Heavenly Ladder, gazing up at the Heaven Door.
The moment Wang Lan and his two companions stepped out from the Heaven Door, the world fell utterly silent.
After a lengthy pause, thunderous cheers erupted as everyone released the emotions they had suppressed for so long. The greater the agony they had repressed, the more intense their outburst now. Even heads of state could not help but look to the sky and roar in exultation.
Wang Lan emerging from the Heaven Door meant they had defeated evil; they had won. How they won didn't matter, nor did the details of their comeback. What mattered was that they had won.
This day was one of worldwide celebration. For God's Country, it was the most glorious moment in its history.
After the banquet, the Pope of God's Country and all the Cardinal Bishops knelt before Yulia. Holding the Divine Staff, Yulia sat majestically on the divine throne, accepting the worship of the Pope and the Bishops.
"God of Heaven, I will have the editorial office draft an announcement immediately. Tomorrow's morning news will be the first to inform believers around the world," the Pope said after his homage, his face flushed with excitement.
The God of Heaven had descended. Among the five major religions of the world, only their Heaven God Sect's deity had manifestedโa real, living god, although this god was vastly different from the one they worshipped day and night.
But did that matter? Not at all. It was just a matter of replacing one statue, right? Once this news broke, God's Country would ascend above any other nation in the world. God's Country would become a truly sacred nation, the center of the world in the hearts of all humanity.
"No," Yulia said, suddenly rejecting the Pope's proposal. "My existence must not be known to the believers."
"But... why?" The Pope and the Cardinal Bishops exchanged incredulous looks, their expressions changing.
"Humans no longer need divine guidance. They needed gods in the past because they couldn't survive on their own. Now, humanity has embarked on the path of technological civilization. Their future, though full of hardships, is one of unyielding self-improvement. If I am merely a spiritual belief for humanity, then let's keep it as it is. Those who truly believe in me will not waver in their faith just because I am not manifest. And I do not need the faith of those who believe only because of my physical existence."
"Yes, we shall heed God's teachings. But with Heaven now visible to the world, how should we explain it?"
"Call it a mirage or an image of God's Country's Holy Light; either explanation will do. Besides, Heaven is too empty right now, and I don't wish to stay there for now. I will continue to reside in the Palace of the Saintess under my identity as the Saintess of God's Country."
"Yes!"
Returning from the Pope's Palace, Yulia came back to the Palace of the Saintessโa place both familiar and yet somewhat strange to her. "It's only been a few days, but why does it feel so desolate?"
Yulia tilted her head, pondering for a moment before realization dawned. So loneliness isn't because of being alone; it's because the person you miss isn't by your side. I never felt the Palace of the Saintess to be empty before because there was no longing in my heart. It seems human emotions are so complex and delicate...
ใJade Country, Suzhou City!ใ
Wang Lan lay sprawled on the bed in a star shape, speechless, while Jiang Xinyu stretched out a slender, jade-like finger, playfully touching his chin.
"Feeling smug, huh? Even after evolving into a god, I don't see any improvement in your stamina..."
"I'm just tired from back-to-back battles, okay? Let me rest for two days, and I guarantee you'll be calling me daddy. Besides, I didn't evolve into a god. I'm just an ordinary human, the most ordinary kind."
"Yulia herself said you've become a god."
"That state was very special. Firstly, my Saint Cloth evolved into the Holy Cloth, and my divinity doesn't come from me; it comes from the Holy Cloth. Secondly, I was holding the God-killing Spear gifted to me by the great god Gaia. I'm just a mortal equipped with god-level gear. Actually, my combat power in my normal state hasn't increased much; it's pretty much the same as before."
"Humph! Do you think I'll believe that? Yulia hadn't even become a god then, yet only you two could pass the divine path while the Pope and I couldn't."
"That... might have been an accident. Xinyu, can you get off me? Are you really trying to drain me dry?"
"I really want to see... what a man looks like after being drained dry..."
Experience proved that all women had desires; the only difference was their skill in pretending otherwise. He had always thought Jiang Xinyu was rather reserved in this aspect, but now it seemed she had finally shed her disguise after so many years. No more pretending, cards on the table!
Before they knew it, a week had quietly passed.
The two of them, like all couples deeply in love, spent every day blissfully together, the days slipping by unnoticed.
Suddenly, a phone call shattered the peaceful life of Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu.
Jiang Xinyu snatched the phone and glanced at it, her brow furrowing slightly. The caller ID displayed 'Mr. Jin.'
Wang Lan took the phone and swiped to answer. "Wang Lan, I hope I'm not interrupting your date?"
It seemed Mr. Jin started every call with this line. Not to mention Wang Lan, even Jiang Xinyu raised an eyebrow in slight annoyance.
"Not at all. What's up? Is there a mission?"
"Not a mission. I just wanted to let you know that we've found a way to open the Tianji Lock."
"Ah? What Tianji Lock?"
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Huzhou Province, the Tianji Lock in Zhangjiajie."
With that, Wang Lan instantly remembered. Lucifer's reappearance had kept Wang Lan on edge, and the Tianji Lock had slipped his mind after things in Huzhou Province were resolved.
"Has it been opened already?"
"Not yet. We just found the method. We'll start opening it tomorrow morning. I'm calling to let you know. Do you want to come over and take a look?"
"Sure. That's the secret left by the legendary ascended immortals. Of course, I'm interested in seeing it."
Actually, deep down, Wang Lan wasn't really interested. Now that he had seen true Ancient Gods, this Zhang Lingxian seemed like small fry in comparison. This feeling intensified after learning that so-called ascension was merely traveling to an extraterrestrial Cultivation World.
After Yulia became a god, her strength was undeniable. If the Demon Clan dared to invade again, she would annihilate them, whether they came one by one or in groups. However, for Yulia to undertake interstellar travel, it would take her hundreds or thousands of years. Besides, the Milky Way galaxy was currently a giant sealing formation, and Yulia couldn't fly out of it.
Yulia also didn't know how the Ancient Gods had traveled to the Magellan Galaxy. The God of Heaven came into being relatively late, far later than the Eastern Celestial Court. The Eastern Paradise known to the God of Heaven was also different from the ancient Heavenly Court.
How the Earth Star Realm had appeared in the Magellan Galaxy would likely remain an eternal mystery.
Early the next morning, Wang Lan took Jiang Xinyu and teleported to Huzhou, then flew through the air to reach Zhangjiajie. During this period, Zhangjiajie had been under lockdownโnot just for a day or two, but for several months.
Some citizen journalists and news agencies had tried to probe into what had happened in Zhangjiajie, but as soon as they made a move, they were 'invited for a talk' by the relevant authorities. This made Zhangjiajie even more mysterious, with rumors spreading about the discovery of an alien base. There were even whispers in underground circles that Zhangjiajie housed Zhang Lingxian's Daoist retreat and that the nation was making all-out efforts to excavate it.
Although their guesses weren't entirely accurate, they were heading in the right direction.
When Wang Lan arrived at Zhangjiajie, the staff were already bustling with preparations. Each mountain peak had been assigned a number, and a high-powered thruster had been installed on every one.
"Mr. Jin, what's all this for?"
"Wang Lan, you're here. We've analyzed that the stone pillars of this Thousand Machine Lock must be pressed down to open it, and it must be done in a fixed sequence. If the order is wrong, it can never be opened again. So, we can only succeed, not fail."
"Are you planning to use thrusters to push down the mountain peaks?" Wang Lan asked, his expression incredulous. What a genius idea! What kind of joke is this?
