Within the dimension tunnel, the Netherworld's Death Country spread like a mist in the dark, accompanied by terrifying flashes of lightning, roaring scarlet blood rain, and a sky on the verge of collapse.

The peerless Candle Dragon Venerable hovered silently in the boundless chaos.

She was just one step away from tearing through the dimension tunnel to reach the depths of the Qilin Immortal Palace to uncover its secrets.

After all, there was still a ward she had left behind in the Qilin Immortal Palace two thousand years ago.

With her authority, she could use it as an anchor point to pinpoint her target's location.

And thus open the gates of time and space.

But unexpectedly, in an instant, the Qilin vanished strangely from her perception.

"How is that possible?"

She murmured softly, "What you used just now was unexpectedly modern Chinese."

Her enchanting blood-red vertical pupils stared silently into the endless darkness, devoid of emotion.

"I underestimated you. You are indeed not so easily killed. Now I'm a bit curious about what you've been doing for these past two thousand years… Moreover, it seems you're no longer as madly violent as you were back in the day."

Suddenly, she smiled faintly, her smile was as devastatingly beautiful as the Goddess in myth yet faintly exuded an icy and solemn killing intent: "But regardless, you can't escape."

The Candle Dragon Venerable raised a single jade-like finger, a bead of blood coagulating on her blood-red nail.

That bead transformed into crisscrossing streaks of blood light, forcibly tearing apart the space that was about to mend.

The rumbling sounded like the collapse of heaven and earth.

Yet the stunningly beautiful woman in red stood resolute, the smile on her crimson lips growing deeper and more chilling.

"I'll wait for you here, Qilin."

In the silence, faint song-like humming arose.

Like the drifting melody of wind chimes.

The gods were singing in the darkness.

·

·

Thud.

Gu Jianlin fell heavily onto the cabin floor, leaning against the wall, his head tilted back, staring up at the sky, gasping for breath.

The cold wind and rain smacked randomly against his face as he struggled to rein in his emotions and force himself to calm down.

His mind was, in reality, completely blank at the moment.

To describe his recent experience, there were only two words.

Holy shit.

That was the Candle Dragon Venerable, an Ancient Supreme who descended to Earth in the Ancient Times, the most powerful being of the Ancient God Clan, who had slaughtered countless lives across the ages to ascend to the ultimate throne.

Even the first-generation Qilin Venerable couldn't escape her ruthless suppression.

Let alone himself, a mere second-generation successor who had just inherited the position.

Earlier, the Candle Dragon Venerable unquestionably harbored murderous intent, even using some unknown method to forcibly transcend time and space. The overwhelming ancient barbaric killing intent she exuded was so profound and imposing that it utterly extinguished any will to fight.

Gu Jianlin merely felt the pressure, and his soul quivered with fear.

He couldn't breathe; his heart felt as though it might burst.

In that moment, Gu Jianlin felt he was carrying burdens beyond his age.

Perhaps, he could empathize with the Scholar's feelings now.

That was a Supreme.

A living Supreme. Though uncertain in what state, she retained most of her power at least.

And she could still speak modern Chinese—who knows how many years she had stayed in the human world.

Although the Candle Dragon Venerable possessed breathtaking beauty, her incomparably exquisite visage was like the sun illuminating the night. Even a fleeting glance would sear her image into one's memory for eternity.

No words could capture her beauty.

Even the portrait in the grocery store only managed to convey a fraction of her divine charm.

Still, the more beautiful the woman, the greater the danger.

Gu Jianlin believed that on Earth, or even across the Milky Way, there wouldn't be anyone more beautiful than her.

Similarly, there wouldn't be anyone more dangerous.

"Fortunately, I broke free of her grip in advance; otherwise, I'd truly have been done for today."

Gu Jianlin relaxed upon this thought.

Judging by the current circumstances, as long as he left the Qilin Immortal Palace, he wouldn't face any threats.

Based on his speculation, there'd never been a case like his in history—someone inheriting the powers of an Ancient God while retaining a human identity and becoming an ultimate anomaly.

He could be both human and Ancient God.

Switching between the two at will, reaping benefits from both sides without any downside.

He possessed the authority to use the Ancient Divine Language and could freely learn breathing techniques. It was ridiculously absurd.

The only lamentable part was that he didn't inherit the full strength of the first Qilin Venerable at her peak and needed to level up again.

"I've heard of adaptive citizenship, but adaptive species? That's a first."

Gu Jianlin rubbed his forehead, trying to relax.

Yet, upon reflection, a bitter laugh escaped him.

First, there was the Gu Family curse, with a Primordial Ancestor from the Vermilion Bird Clan waiting for him in the future.

That issue remained unresolved, and now he'd provoked the Candle Dragon Clan.

And it wasn't just any member—it was their strongest Supreme.

Gu Jianlin took a deep breath, grabbed the black umbrella, and stood amidst the corpses scattered across the ground. Wiping his face with the rainwater, his vacant eyes regained the aloofness of days past.

Ultimately, he bore everything alone.

No matter—it didn't matter anymore.

When one's mental state completely collapses, it reaches a point of apathetic resignation.

"The Candle Dragon Venerable wants to enter the Qilin Immortal Palace to kill me. I wonder if she can ever go back afterward."

After a brief hesitation, Gu Jianlin decided to test his luck: "Let's experiment and see if she's gone."

He closed his eyes and began visualizing the Floating Qilin Island in his mind.

The world shattered instantly, and scarlet light poured out from endless rifts, spreading like a tide.

Gu Jianlin began to undergo Ancient God Transformation, the pitch-black Qilin Mask enveloping his face.

Bathing in the Ancient God's Breath, he commenced Qilinization.

Yet, in the darkness, a pair of enchanting and terrifying blood-red vertical pupils suddenly lit up, gazing down at him with cruel, mocking amusement as ethereal singing echoed faintly.

Hiss!

Gu Jianlin hurriedly halted his visualization, his mind echoing with a roaring hum, his face pale to the extreme.

The Qilinization state quickly receded, as if it had never appeared.

She hadn't left—she was still outside the Qilin Immortal Palace.

Waiting.

No, more accurately guarding the tomb, waiting for the Qilin!

"But it seems… she genuinely can't do much to me?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second, then decided to tempt fate once more, beginning to visualize the Floating Qilin Island again.

With a thunderous crash, the scarlet light from the dimension rifts poured forth once more, and the blood-red vertical pupils reappeared in the darkness.

Gu Jianlin underwent Ancient God Transformation again, forcing himself to meet her gaze for one second before halting his visualization.

Again, he visualized, and again those blood-red vertical pupils shimmered in the darkness.

Gu Jianlin immediately ceased visualization, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

The optimistic takeaway was that despite numerous attempts to push his luck, he remained unharmed.

This confirmed that even the Candle Dragon Venerable couldn't directly cross into the real world to attack him.

"Fine, you're the strongest Supreme, you're amazing. Go ahead, stay there forever while I level up outside."

With this thought, Gu Jianlin once again visualized the Floating Qilin Island, undergoing Qilinization amidst the scarlet light pouring from the dimension rifts, staring at the blood-red eyes glowing in the dark.

This time, for the first time, those enchanting blood-red eyes revealed a clear emotion—frigid coldness.

As if silently saying: Come in if you dare!

Unfazed, Gu Jianlin met her gaze with his golden vertical pupils.

As if silently replying: Come out if you dare!

Silence persisted as neither side could do anything to the other.

Finally reassured, Gu Jianlin even waved casually, saying indifferently:

"Goodbye. I'll come visit again sometime."

Boom.

As the visualization faded, the world returned to normal.

[ps: This book debuts on the Qidian Reading App. Next update at 11:30 PM. Read the official version for further content.]